AK

EXPOSITION,

WITH

PRACTICAL, OBSERVATIONS

UPON THE

POETICAL BOOKS

OF THE

OLD TESTAMENT,

NAMELY^

JOB,

PSALMS,

PROVERBS,

ECCLESIASTES,

AlTD

SOLOMON'S SONG.

, '\

THE

PREFACE

TO THK

POETICAL BOOKS.

These five books of scripture, which I have here endeavoured, according to the measure of the gift given to me, to explain and improve, for the use of those who desire to read them, not only with understanding, but to their edification—though they have the same divine origin, design, and authority, as those that went before, yet, upon some accounts, are of a very different nature from them, and froni the rest of the sacred writings: such variety of methods has Infinite Wisdom seen fit to take, in conveying the light of divine revelation to the children of men, that this heavenly food might have (as the Jews sa\ of the manna) something in it agreeable to ever)' palate, and suited to every constitution. If every eye be not thus oj)ened, every mouth will be stopped, and such as perish in their ignorance will be left without excuse. IVe have fiified unto you, and ye have not danced: ivehave mourned unto you, and ye have hot lamented, MaXth. xi. 17.

1. The books of scripture have hitherto been, for the most part, very plain and easy narratives of matter of fact, which he that runs may read and understand, and which are milk for babes, such as they can receive and digest, and both entertain and nourish themselves with. The waters of the sanctuary have liitherto been but to the ankles or to the knees, such as a lamb might wade in, to drink of and wash in; but here we are advanced to a higher form in God's school, and have books put into our hands, wherein are many things dark, and hard to be understood, which we do not apprehend the meaning of so sud-tlenly and so certainly as we could wish; the study whereof requires a more close application of mind, a greater intenseness of thought, and the accomplishing of a diligent search, which yet the treasure hid in them, when it is found, will abundantly recompense. The waters of the sanctuary are here to the loins, and still, as we go forward, we shall find the waters still risen in the prophetical books, waters to snvim in, (Ezek. xlvii. 3««5.) not fordable, nor otherwise to be passed over; depths in which an elephant will not find footing; strong meat for strong meji. The same method is observable in the New Testament, where we find the plain history of Christ and his gospel placed first in the Evangelists, and the Acts of the Apostles; then the mystery of both in the Epistles, which are more difficult to be understood; and, lastly, the prophecies of things to come, in the Apocalyptic visions.

This method, so exactly observed in both the Testaments, directs us in what order to proceed, both in studying the things of God ourselves, and in teaching them to others; we must go in the order that the scripture does; and where can we expect to find a better method of divinity, and a better method of preaching.^

1. We must begin with those things that are most plain and easy, as, blessed be God, those things are wliich are most necessary to salvation, and of the greatest use. We must lay our foundation firm, in a sound experimental knowledge of the principles of religion, and then the superstructure will be well-reared, and stand firm. It is not safe to launch out into the deep at first, or to venture into points difficult and controverted, until we have first thoroughly digested the elements of the oracles of God, and turned them insuccum et sanguinem—juice and blood. Those that begin their Bible at the wrong end, cnmmonlv use their knowledge of it in the wrong way.

And, in training up others, we must be sure to ground them well at first in those truths of God which are plain, and in some measure level to their capacity, which we find they take and relish, and know how to make use of, and not amuse those that are weak with things above them, things of doul^tful disputation, which they cannot apprehend any certainty of, or advantage by. Our Lord Jesus spake the word to the people as they were able to hear it, (Mark iv. 33.) and had many things to say to his disciples which he did not say, because as yet they could not bear them, John xvi. 12, 13. And those whom St. Paul could not sfieak to as unto spiritual —though he blamed them for their backwardness, yet he accommodated himself to their weakness, and spake to them as unto babes in Christ, 1 Cor. iii. 1, 2.

2. Yet we must not rest in these things; we must not be always children, that have need of milk, but, nourished up witli that, and gaining strength, we must go on to perfection, (Heb. vi. 1.) that, having, by reason of use, our spiritual senses exercised, we may come to full age, and put away childish things, and, forgetting the things which are behind, (Heb. v. 14.) that is, so well remembering them, (Phil. iii. 13.^ that we need not be still poring over them, as those that are ever learning the same lesson, we may reach

v^i PREFACE.

t .!th to the things which are before. Though we must never think to learn abo\'e our B".l)]e, as long as we are here in this world, yet we must still be getting forward in it. Ye have divelt long enough in lliia mountain; now turn you, and take your journey onward in the wilderness toward Canaan: our motto must be Plus ultra — Onward. And then shall we know, if thus, by regular steps, (Hos. vi. 3.) we folloiv on to know the Lord, and what the mind of the Lord is.

II. The books of scripture ha\ e hitherto been mostly historical, but now the matter is of another nature; it is doctrinal and devotional, preaching and praying. In this way of writing, as well as in the forme:, a great deal of excellent knowledge is conveyed, which ser\ es very valuable pui-poses. It will be of gor.d use to know, not only what others did that went before us, arxl how they fared, but what their notions and sentiments were, what their thoughts and affections were, that we may, with the help of them, form our minds ariijht.

Plutarch's Morals are reputed as useful a treasure in the commonwealth of learning as Plutarcli's Lives; and the wise disquisitions and discourses of the philosophers, as the records of the historians; nor is this divine philosophy, (if I may so call it,) which we have in these books, less needful, or less serviceable, to the church, than the sacred history was. Blessed be God for both.

III. The Jews make these books to be given by a divine inspiration somewhat different from that both of Moses and the prophets. The)*, divided the books of the Old Testament into the Law, the Prophets, and the '3^no— the H-nVm^s, which Epiphanius emphatically translates r(3«<j)«7=c— Things written, and these books are more commonly called among the Greeks 'Ayioyfia.<pi — Holy Writings: the Jews attribute them to that distinct kind of inspiration which they call a^-ipnnn—T'/ie Holy S/iirit. Moses they supposed to write by the Spirit, in a way abo\ e all the other prophets, for with him God spake mouth to mouth, even apfiarently; knew him, (Numb. xii. 8.) that is, conversed with him face toj'ace, Deut. xxxiv. 10. He was made partaker of divine revelation, (as Muimonides distinguishes, De hund, Legis, c. 7.) per vigiliam — while awake,* whereas God'manifested himself to all the other prophets in a di'eam or vision: and he adds, th it Moses understood the words of prophecy without any perturbation or astonishment of mind, whereas the other prophets commonly fainted and were troubled. But the writers of the Hagio-grapha they suppose to be inspired in a degree somewhat below that of the other prophets, and to receive divine revelation, not as they did, by dreams, and visions, and voices, but (as Maimonides describes it. More JVevochim — fiart 2. ch. 45.) they perceived some power to rise within them, and rest upon them, which urged and enabled them to write or speak far above their own natural ability, in psalms or hvmns, or in history, or in rules of good living, still enjoying the ordinary vigour and use of their senses. liCt David himself describe it. The Sfiirit of the Lord sfiake by me, and his word was in my tongue: the God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, 2 Sam. xxiii. 2, 3. This gives such a magnificent ac-cnmt of the inspiration by which David wrote, that I see not why it should be made inferior to that of the other prophets, for David is expressly called a firo/ihet. Acts ii. 30.

B it, since our hand is in with the Jewish masters, let us see what books they account Hagiography. These five that are now before us come, without dispute, into this rank of sacred writers, and the book of t'le Laii\entations is not unfitly added to them. Indeed, the Jews, when they would speak critically, reckon all those songs which we meet with in the Old Testament among the Hagiographa; for, though tliey were penned by prophets, and under the direction of the Holy Ghost, yet, because they were not the p'oper result of a.visu?n firopheticum — prophetic vision, they were not strictly prophecy. As to the Historical Books, they distinguish; (but I think it is a distinction without a difference;) some of them they assign to the prophets, calling them t\\t profihe'x priores — the former firophets, namely, Joshua, Judges, and the two books of the Kings; but others they rank among the Hagiographa, as, the book of Ruth, (which yet is but an appendix to the book of Judges,) the two books of Chronicles, with Ezra, Nehemiah, and the book of Esther, which last the Rabbins have a great value for, and think it is to be had in equal esteem with the law of Moses itself, that it shall last as long as it lasts, and shall survive the writings of the prophets. And, lastly, they reckon the book of Daniel among the Hagiographa,! for which no reason can be given, since he was not inferior to any of the prophets in the gift of prophecy: and, therefore, the learned Mr. Smith thinks that their placing him among the Hagiographical writers was fortuitous, and by mistake. :|: »

Mr. Smith, in his Discourse, before quoted, though he supposes this kind of divine inspiration to be more " fiacatc and serene than that which was strictly called prophecy, not acting so much upon the imagination, but seating itself in the higher and purer faculties of the soul, yet shows that it manifested itself t ) be of a divine nature, not only as it always acted pious snuls into strains of devotion, or moved tlieni strangely to dictate matters of true piety and goodness, but as it came in abruptly upon the minds of thosv! holy men, and transported them from the temper of mind they were in before; so that they perceived themselves captivated by the power of some higher light than that which their own understanding commonly poured out upon them; and this, says he, was a kind of vital form to that light of divine and sanctified re I son which they were perpetually possessed of, and that constant frame of holiness and goodness which dwelt in their hallowed minds." We have reason to glorify that God of Israel who gave such ftovjrr unto mm, and has here transmitted to us the blessed products of that power.

IV. The stvle and composition of tliese books are different from those that go befoi-e and those thut fallow. Ovu- Sa\ iour divides the books of the Old Testament into the Law, the Prophets, and the Ps.dms, (Luke xxiv. 44.) and thereby teaches us to distinguish those books that are poetical, or metrical, from t \e L iw and the Prophets; and such are all these that are now before us, except Ecclesiastes, which yet, having something restrained in its style, may well enough be reckoned among them. They are books in verse, according to the ancient rules of versifying, though not according to the Greek and Latin prosodies.

S'^mc of the ancients call these five books the second Pentateuch of the Old Testament,^ five snrred volumes, which arc as the satellites to the five books of the law of Moses. Gregory .Yar.iunzen, [carm. 33. /;. 98.1]) r,\lls these <t\ <rtx'^p^i Trivn — the five metrical books; first, Jolj, (so he reckons t'leni up,) then David, then the three of Solomon, Ecclcsiistes, tlie Song, and Proverbs, jlmfihilochius, Bishcp nt Ico nium, in his Iambic Poem to Srleiicus, reckons them up particularly, and calls them r/;:^"/'"^ tts'vts Bi0\;i(~

* See Mr Smith's Uisciiurse on I'ruplii-ty, rA. II t Ilil. Mcgil c -2 ^11. t Vii! Ilnttincpr. Tlirsnur. I'liilnl. lib 0 r.ip. 1. ^3

the Jive verse-books. Efiifihanius, (lib. de fionder. et mensur. fi. 533. J Triyrt riy^pii: — (he ^ve verse-books. And CyrU. Hierosol. Collect. A. p. Cmihi —m Tnj/cq/zy J 30. calls these five books ra s-i;t«/ia— books in verse. Polychronius, in his prologue to Job, says, that, as those that are without, call their tragedies and comedies noi>\Tix.a. — Poetics, so, in sacred writ, those books which are composed in Hebrew metre, (of which he reckons Job the first,) we call Ti^iipa ht0xid — Hooks in verse, written koto, g-i^ov — according to order. What is written in metre, or rhythm, is so called from /utTpo; — a measure, and o.pifijuo( — a nu?n-her, because regulated by certain measures, or numbers of syllables, which please the ear with their smoothness and cadency, and so insinuate the matter the more movingly and powerfully into the fancy.

Sir William Temple,* in his essay upon poetry, thinks it is generally agreed to have been the first sort of writing that was used in the world; nay, that, in several nations, poetical compositions preceded the very invention or usage of letters. The Spaniards (he says) found in America many strains of poetry, and such as seemed to flow from a true poetic vein, before any letters were known in those regions. The same (says he) is probable of the Scythians and Grecians: the oracles of Apollo were delivered in verse; so were those of the Sibyls. And Tacitus says, that the ancient Germans had no annals or records but what were in verse. Homer and Hesiod wrote their poems (the very Alcoran of the Pagan Dsmonology) many ages before the appearing of any of the Greek philosophers or historians; and, long before them, (if we may give credit to the antiquities of Greece,) even before the days of David, Orpheus and Linus were celebrated poets and musicians in Greece; and, at the same time, Carmenta, the mother of Evander, who was the first that introduced letters among the natives of Greece, was so called a carmine^'rom a song, because she delivered herself in verse. And in such veneration was this way of writing among the ancients, that their poets were called Vates — Prophets, and their muses were deified.

But, which is more certain and considerable, the most ancient composition that we meet with in scripture was the song of Moses at the Red Sea, (Exod. xv.) which we find before the very first mention of writing, for that occurs not until Exod. xvii. 14. when God bade Moses write a memorial of the war with Amalek. The first, and indeed the true and general end of writing, is, the help of memory; and poetry does in some measure answer that end, and even in the want of writing, much more with writing, helps to preserve the remembrance of ancient things. The book of the wars of the Lord, (Numb. xxi. 14.) and the book of Jasher, (Josh. x. 13. 2 Sam. i. 18.) seem to have been both written in poetic measures.

Many sacred songs we meet with in the Old Testament, scattered both in the historical and proplietical books, penned on particular occasions, which, in tli^ opinion of very competent judges, "have in them as true and noble strains of poetry and picture as are met with -in any other language whatsoever, in spite of all the disadvantages from translations into so different tongues and common prose;f nay, are nobler examples of the true sublime style of poetry than any that can be found in the Pagan writers; the images are so strong, the thoughts so great, the expressions so divine, and the figures so admirably bold and moving, that the wonderful manner of these writers is quite inimitable.":}: It is fit that what is emploved in the service of the sanctuary should be the best in its kind.

The books here put together are poetical. Job is an heroic poem; the book of Psalms, a collection of divine odes or lyrics; Solomon's Song, a pastoral and an epithalamium: they are poetical, and yet sacred and serious, grave and full of majesty. They have a poetic force and flame, without poetic fuiy and fiction, and strangely command and move the affections, without corrupting the imagination, or putting a cheat upon it; and while they gratify tlie ear, they edify the mind, and profit the more by pleasing. It is, therefore, much to be lamented that so powerful an art, which was at first consecrated to the honour of God, and has been so often employed in his service, should be debauched, as it has been, and is at this day, into the service of his enemies; that his corn, and wine, and oil, should be prepared for Baal.

V. As the manner of the composition of these books is excellent, and very proper to engage the attention, move the affections, and fix them in the memory, so the matter is highly useful, and such as will be every way serviceable to us. They have in them the veiy sum and substance of religion, and what they contain is more fitted to our hand, and made ready for use, than any part of the Old Testament; upon which account, if we may be allowed to compare one star with another, in the firmament of the scripture, these will be reckoned stars of the first magnitude.

All scripture is profitable (and this part of it in a special manner) for instruction in doctrine, in devotion, and in the right ordering of the conversation. -The book of Job directs us what we are to believe concerning God; the book of Psalms, how we are to worship him, pay our homage to him, and maintain our communion with him; and then the book of the Proverbs shows very particularlv how we are to govern oursehes h -rda-yi avets-po<pv — in every turn of human life: thus shall the man of God, bv a due attendance to these lights, be perfect, thoroughly furnished for e\ cry good work. And these are placed according to their natural order, as well as according to the order of time; for very fitlv are we first led into the knowledge of God, our judgments riglitly formed concerning him, and our mistakes rectified; and then instructed how to worship him, and to choose the things that please him.

We have here much of natural religion, its principles, its precepts—much of God, his infinite perfections, his relations to man, and his government both of the world and of the church: here is much of Christ, who is the Spring, and Soul, and Centre, of revealed religion, and whom both Job :md David were eminent types of, and had clear and happy prospects of. We have here that which will be of use to enlighten our understandings, and to acquaint us more and more with the things of God, with the deep things of God; speculations to entertain the most contemplative, and discoveries to satisfy the most inquisitive, and increase the knowledge of those that ai-e most knowing. Here is that also which, with a divine light, will bring into the soul the heat and influence of a divine fire, will kindle and inflame pious and devout affections, on which wings we may soar upward, until we enter into the holiest. We may here be in the mount with God, to behold his .beauty; and when we come down from that mount, if we retain (as we ought) the impressions of our devotion upon our spirits, and make conscience of doing that good which the Lord our God here requires of us, our faces shall shine before all with whom we converse, who shall take occasion thence to glorify our Father vjhich is in heaven, Matth. v. 16.

Thus great, thus noble, thus truly excellent, is the subject, and thus capable of being impj-oved, which gives me the more reason to be ashamed of the meanness of my performance, that the comment breathes so little of the life and spirit of the text. "V^^e often wonder at those that are not at all affected with the

* Miscell. part 2. | Sir W. Temple, p. 329. X Sir R. Blacttmore's preface to Job.

vm PREFACE.

great things of God, and have no taste or relish of them, because they know little of them: but, perhaps, we have more reason to wonder at ourselves, that, conversing so frequently, so intimately, with them, we are not more affected with them, so as even to bt wholly taken up with them, and in a continual transport of delight in the contemplation of them. We hope to be so shortly in the meantime, though, like the three disciples that were the witnesses of Christ's transfiguration upon the mount, we are but dull and sleepy, yet we can say. Master, it w good to be here; here let us make tabernacles, Luke ix. 32, 33. I have nothing here to boast of, nothing at all; but a great deal to be humbled for, that I have not come up to what I have aimed at, in respect of fulness and exactness. In the review of it, I find many defects, and those who are critical perhaps will meet with some mistakes in it; but I have done it with what care I could, and desire to be thankful to God, who, by his grace, has carried me on in his work thus far: let that gi-ace have all the glory, (Phil. ii. 13.) which works in us both to will and to do whatever he will or do, that is good, or serves any good purpose. What is from God, I trust, shall be to him, shall be graciously accepted by him, according to what a man has, and not according to what he has not, and shall be of some use to his church; and what is from myself, that is, all the defects and errors, shall, I tinist, be favourably passed by and pardoned. That prayer of St, Austin is mine, Domine Deus, gusecungue dixi in his libris de tuo, agnoscant et tut; et gux de mco, et tu ignoseeet tui — JLord God, whatever I have maintained in these books corresfiondent with what is contained in thine, grant that thy people may approve as well as thyself; whatever is but the doctrine of my book, forgive thou, and grant that thy people may forgive also.

I must beg likewise to own, to the honour of our great Master, that I have found the work to be its own wages; and that the more we converse with the word of God, the more it is to us as the honey and the honeycomb, Ps. xix. 10. In gathering some gleanings of this harvest for others, we may feast ourselves; and when we are enabled, by the grace of God, to do so, we are best qualified to feed others. I was much pleased with the passage I lately met with of Erasmus, that great scholar and celebrated wit, in an epistle dedicatory before his book De Ratione Concionandi, where, as one weary of the world and the hurry of it, he expresses an earnest desire to spend the rest of his days in secret communion with Jesus Christ, encouraged by his gracious invitation to those who labour and are heavy-laden to come unto him for rest; (Matth. xi. 28.) and this alone is that which he thinks will yield him true satisfaction. I think his words worth transcribing, and such as deserve to be inserted among the testimonies of great men to serious godliness. Kegue guisguam facile cr^at guam misere animus jamdudum affectet ab his laboribus in tranguillum oMum secedere, guodgue superest vitge, (superest autem vix brevis palmus srve pugillus,) solum cum eo solo collogui, gui clamavit olim, (nee hodie mutat vocem suam,) " Venite ad me, omnes gui laboratis, et onerati estis, ego rejiciam vos;" guandoguidem in tam turbulento, ne dicam furente, sseculo, in tot molestiis guaa vel ipsa tempora publici invehunt, velprivatim adfert setas ac va-letudo, nihil reperio in guo mens mea libentiius conguiescat guam in hoc arcano colloguio — J^o one will easily believe ho%v anxiously, for a long time past, J have wished to retire from these labours into a scene oftranguillity, and, during the remainder of life, (dwindled, it is true, to the shortest span, J to converse only with him who once cried, (nor does he now retract, J " Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy-laden, and I will refresh you;" for in this turbulent, not to say furious, age, the many public sources of disguietude connected with the infirmities of advancing age leave no solace to my mind to be compared with this secret communion. In the pleasing contemplation of the divine beauty and benignity we hope to spend a blessed eternity, and therefore in this work it is good to spend as much as may be of our time. One volume more, containing the Prophetical books, will finish the Old Testament, if the Lord continue my life, and leisure, and ability of mind and" body for this work. It is begim, and I fir.-i it will be larger than any of the other volumes, and longer in the doing; but as God, by his grace, shall funiish me for it, and assist me in it, (without which grace I am nothing, less than nothing,) it shall be carried on with all convenient speed; and sat cito, si sat bene — if with sufficient ability, it will be with sufficient speed. I desire the prayers of my friends, that God would minister seed to the sower, and bread to the eaters, (Isa. Iv. 10.) that he would multiply the seed sown, and increase the fruits of our righteousness; (2 Cor. ix. 10.) that so he who sows and they who reap may rejoice together; (John iv. 36.) and the great Lord of the harvest shall have the glory oi alU

M. H. Cheater, May 13, 1710.

AN

EXPOSITION,

WITH

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS, OF THE BOOK OF

JOB.

This book of Job stands by itself, is not connected with any other, and is therefore to be considered alone. Many copies of the Hebrew Bible place it after the book of Psalms, and some after the Proverbs, which perhaps has given occasion to some learned men to imagine it to be written by Isaiah, or some of the later prophets. But, as the subject appears to have been much more ancient, so we have no reason to think but that the composition of the book was, and that therefore it is most fitly placed first in this collection of divine morals: also, being doctrinal, it is proper to precede, and'introduce, the book of Psalms, which is devotional, and the book of Proverbs, which is practical; for how shall we worship or obey a God whom we know not?

As to this book,

I. We are sure that it is given by insfiiration of God, though ive are not certain who was the fienman of it. The Jews, though no friends to Job, because he was a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel, yet, as faithful conservators of the oraclen of God committed to them, always retained this book in their sacred canon. The history is referred to by one apostle; (James, v. 11.') and one passage {ch. v. 13.) is quoted by another apostle, with the usual form of quoting scripture. It is written, 1 Cor. iii. 19. It is the opinion of many of the ancients, that this history was written by Moses himself in Midian, and delivered to his suffering brethren in Egypt, for their support and comfort under their burthens, and the encouragement of their hope that God would, in due time, deliver and enrich them, as he did this patient sufferer. Some conjecture that it was written originally in Arabic, and afterward translated into Hebrew, for the use of the Jewish church, by Solomon, (so Monsieur Jurieu,) or some other inspired writer. It seems most probable to me, that Elihu was the penman of it, at least of the discourses, because (ch. xxxii. 15, 16.) he mingles the words of an historian with those of a disputant: but Moses perhaps wrote the two first chapters and the last, to give light to the discourses; for in them God is frequently called Jehovah, but not once in all the discourses, except ch. xii. 9. That name was but little known to the patriarchs before Moses, Exod. vi. 3. If Job wrote it himself, some of the Jewish writers themselves own him afirofihet among the Gentiles; if Elihu, we find he had a spirit of prophecy which filled him with matter, and constrained him, ch. xxxii. 18.

TI. We are sure that it is, for the substance of it, a true history, and not a romance, though the dialogues are fioetical. No doubt there was such a man as Job; the prophet Ezekiel names him with Noah and Daniel, Ezek. xiv. 14. The narrative we have here of his prosperity and piety, his strange afflictions and exeniplary patience, the substance of his conferences with his friends, and God's discourse with him out of^the whirlwind, with his retum, at length, to a very prosperous condition, no doubt, is exactly true, though the inspired penman is allowed the usual liberty of putting the matter of which Job and his friends discoursed, into his own words.

III. We are sure that it is very ancient, though we cannot fix the precise tiyne either when .Job lived, or when the book was written. So many, so evident, are its hoaiy hairs, the marks of its antiquity, that we ha\ e reason to think it of equal date with the book of Genesis itself, and that holy Job was contem-poraty with Isaac and Jacob; though not co-heir with them <'f the promise of the earthly Canaan, vet a joint-expectant with them of the better country, that is, t/ic heavenly. Probably, he was of the posterity of Nahor, Abraham's brother, whose first-born was Cz, {(\en. xxii. 21.) and in whose family religion was, for some ages, kept up, as appears, Gen. xxxi. 53. where God is called, not only the God of Abraham, but the God of JSTahor. He lived before the age of man was shortened to 70 of 80, as it was in Moses's time; before sacrifices were confined to one altar; before the general apostasy of the nations from the knowledge and worship of the true God; and while yet there was no other idolatry known than the worship of the sun and moon, and that punished by the Judges, ch. xxxi. 26, 28. He lived while God was known by the name of God Almighty, more than by the name of Jehovah; for he is

Vor-. HI. — R

called Shaddai — the Almighty, above thirty times in this book: he lived while divine knowledge was conveyed, not by writing, but by tradition; for to that appeals are hei e made, ch: viii. 8.—xxi. 29.—xv 18.—V. 1. And we have therefore reason to think that he lived before Moses, because here is no mention at all of the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, or the giving of the law. Tliere is indeed one passage which might be made to allude to the drowning of Pharaoh, {ch. xxvi. 12.) He dhndeth the sea with his poiver, and by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab; which name Egypt is very frequently called by in scripture, as Ps. Ixxxvii. 4.—Ixxxix. 10.. Isa. li. 9. But that may as well refer to the proud waves of the sea. We conclude therefore that we are here got back to the patriarchal age, and, beside its authority, we receive tliis book with \ eneration for its antiquity. IV. We are sure that it is of great use to the church, and to every good Christian, though there are inany passages in it dark and hard to be understood. We cannot perhaps be confident of the true meaning of every Arabic word and phrase we meet with in it. It is a book that finds a great deal of work for the critics; but enough is plain to make the whole profitable, and it was all written for our learning. This noble poem presents to us, in very clear and lively characters, these five things among others:—

1. A monument of firimitive theology. The first and great principles of the light of nature, on which oatural religion is founded, are here, in a warm, and long, and learned, dispute, not only taken for granted on all sides, and not the least doubt made of them, but by common consent plainly laid down as eternal truths, illustrated and urged as affecting commanding truths. Were ever the being of God, his glorious attributes and perfections, his unsearchable wisdom, his irresistible power, his inconceivable glory, his inflexible justice, and his incontestable sovereignty, discoursed of with more clearness, fulness, reveren-e, and divine eloquence, than in this book? The creation of the world, and the government of it, are here admirably described, not as.matters of nice speculation, but as laying most powerful obligations upon us to fear and serve, to submit to, and trust in, our Creator, Owner, Lord, and Ruler. Moral good and evil, virtue and vice, were never drawn more to the life, (the beauty of the one and the deformity of the other,) than in this book; nor the inviolable rule of God's judgment more plainly laid down. That happy are the righteous, it shall be well with them; and wo to the wicked, it shall be ill with them. These are not questions of the schools, to keep the learned world in action, nor engines of state, to keep the unlearned world in awe; no, it appears by this book that they are sacred truths of undoubted certainty, and which all the wise and sober part of mankind have in every age subscribed and submitted to.

2. It presents us with a sfiecimen of Gentile fiiety. This great saint descended, not from Abraham, but Nahor; or, if from Abraham, not from Isaac, but from one of the sons of the concubines that were sent into the east country; (Gen. xxv. 6.) or, if from Isaac, yet not from Jacob, but Esau; so that he was out of the pale of the covenant of peculiarity, no Israelite, no proselyte, and yet none like him for religion, nor such a favourite of heaven upon ttiis earth. It was a truth, therefore, before St. Peter perceived it, that, iwevery nation, he that fears God, and works righteousness, is accepted of him. Acts X. 35. There were children of God scattered abroad, (John xi. 52.) beside the incorporated children of the kingdom, Matth. viii. 11, 12.

3. It presents us with an exposition of the book of Providence, and a clear and satisfactory solution of many of the difficult and obscure passages of it. The prosperity of the wicked, and the afflictions of the righteous, have always been reckoned two as hard chapters as any in that book; but they ai'e here expounded, and reconciled with the divine wisdom, purity, and goodness, by the end of these things.

4. It presents us with a great example of patience, and close adherence to God, in the midst of the sorest calamities. Sir Richard Blackmore's most ingenious pen, in his excellent preface to his paraphrase on this book, makes Job a hero proper for an epic poem; for, (says he,) "He appears brave in distress, and valiant in affliction, maintains his virtue, and with tint his character, under the most exasperating provocations tliat the malice of hell could invent, and thereby gives a most noble example of passive fortitude, a character no way inferior to that of the active hero," &c.

5. It presents us with an illustrious tyfie of Christ, the particulars of which we shall endeavour to take notice of as we go along. In general. Job was a great sufferer, was emptied and humbled, but in order to his greater glory. So Christ abused himself, that we might be exalted. The learned Bishop Patrick quotes St. Jerom more than once speaking of Job as a type of Christ, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, who was persecuted for a time bv men and devils, and seemed forsaken <jf God too, but was raised up to be an intercessor even for his friends that had added affliction to his misery. When the apostle speaks oitYve patience of Job, he immediately takes notice of the end of the Lord, that is, of the Lord Jesus, (as some understand it,) typified by Job, James v. 11.

In this l)ook we have, (1.) The history of Job's sufferings, and his patience under them, {ch. i, ii.) not without a mixture of human frailty, ch. iii. (2.) A disjmte between him and his friends upon them, in which, [1.] The opponents were "Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. [2.] The respondent was Job. [3.] The moderators were. First, Elihu, ch. xxxii...xxxvii.' Secondly, God himself, ch. xxxviii.-.xlit ("5.) The issue of all in Job's honour and prosperity, ch. xlii. Upon the whole, we learn, that many are tl\e afflictions of the righteous, but that, when the Lord delivers them out of all, the trial of their faith will be found to praise, and honour, and glory.

M

CHAP. 1.

The history of Job begins here, with an account, I, Of his great piety in general, (v. 1.) and in a particular instance, V. 5. II. Of his great prosperity, v. 2. .4. Ill-Of the malice of Satan against him, and the permission he obtained to try his constancy, v. 6.. 12. IV. Of the surprising troubles that befell him; the ruin of his estate, (y. 13. . 17.) and the death of his children, v. 18, 19. V. Of his exemplary patience and piety under these troubles, V. 20.. 22. In all which, he is set forth for an example of suffering affliction, from which no prosperity can secure us, but through which integrity and uprightness will preserve us.

J. y I^HERE was a man in the land of 1 Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that f"ared God, and eschewed evil. 2. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. 3. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household ; so that tiiis man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

Concerning Job, we are here told,

I. That he was a m in; therefore subject to like passions as we are. He was Ish, a worthy man, a man of note and eminency, a magistrate, a man in avithority. The country he lived in was the land of Uz, in the eastern part of Arabia, which lay toward Chaldea, near Euphrates, probably not far from Ur of the Chaldees, whence Abraham was called. When God called one good man out of that coun-trv, yet he left not himself ivithoiU witness, but raisecl up another in it to be i\. preacher of righteous-fiefis. God has his remnant in all places, sealed ones nut of every nation, as well as out of every tribe of Israel, Rev. vii. 9. It was the privilege of the land of Uz to have so good a man as Job in it ; now it was jirabia the Hapfiy indeed: and it was tlie })raise of Job, that he was eminently good in so bad a place; the worse others were round about him, the better he was.

His name Job, or Jjob, (some say,) signifies one hated, and counted as an enemy; others make it to signify one that grieves, or groans; thus the sorrow he carried in his nanie might be a check to his joy in his prosperity. Dr. Cave derives it from Jaab, to love, or desire, intimating how welcome his birth was to his parents, and how much he was the desire of their eyes; and yet there was a time when he cursed the day of his birth. Who can tell what the day may prove, which yet begins with a bright morning* \

II. That he was a very good man, eminently pious, and better than his neighbours. He mas fier-f''ct and upright. This is intended to show us, not

only what reputation he had among men, (that he was .generally taken for an honest man,) but what was really his character; for it is the judgment of God concerning him, and we are sure that is according to truth. 1. Job was a religious man, one that feared God, that is, worshipped him according to his will, and governed himself bv the rules -oJF the divine law in every thing. 2. He was sincere in his religion; he was perfect, not sinless; he himself owns, (ch. ix. 20.) Tf I say I am perfect, I shall be proved perx<erse. But, having a respect to all God's commandments, aiming at perfection, he was really as good as he seemed to be, and did not dissemble in his profession of pietv; his heart was sound, and his eye single. Sincerity is gospel-perfection; I know no religion without it. o. He was i.

upright in his dealings both with God and man; whs faithful to his promises, steady in his counsels, tn.c to every trust reposed in him, and made conscieiut-of all he said and did. See Isa. xxxiii. 15. Though he-was not o/Israel, he was indeed an Israelite without guile. 4. The fear of God i-eigning in his hear: was the principle that governed his whole con\ er-sation. That made him perfect and upright, in \var<l and entire for God, universal and uniform in religion; that kept him close and constant to his duty.' He feared God, had a reverence for his majesty, a regard to his authority, and a dread of his wrath'. 5. He dreaded the thought of doing what was wrong; witli the utmost abhorrence and detestation, and, witli u constant care and watchfulness, he eschewed evU, avoided all appearances of sin and approaches to it, and tliis, because of the fear of God, Neh. v. 15. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; (Prov. viii. 13.) and then, by the fear of the Lord men depart fro?n evil, Prov. xvi. 6.

III. That he was a man who prospered greatlv in this world, and made a considerable figure iii his country. He was prospei-ous, and yet pious. Though it is hard and rare, it is not impossible, for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven: with God, even this is possible, and bv his grace the temptations of worldly wealth are not insuperable. He was pious, and his piety was a friend to his prosperity; for godliness has the promise of the life that now is. He was prosperous, and his prosperity put a lustre upon his piety, and gave him, who was so good, so much greater opportunity of doing good. The acts of his piety were grateful returns to God for the instances of his prosperity; and, in the abundance of the good things God gave him, he served God the more cheerfully.

1. He had a numerous family; he was eminent for religion, and yet not a hermit; not a recluse, but the father and master of a family. It is an instance of his prosperity, that his house was filled with children, which are a heritage of the Lord, and liis reward, Ps. cxxvii. 3. He had sez^en sons and three daughters, v. 2. Some of each sex, and more of the more noble sex, in which the family is built up. Children must be looked upon as blessings, for so they are, especially to good people, that will give them good instructions, and set them good examples, and put up good prayers for them. Job had many children, and yet he was neither oppressed nor uncharitable, I)ut very liberal to the poor, ch. xxxi. 17, 8cc. Those that have great families to provide for ought to consider, that what is prudently given in alms is set out to the best interest, and put into the best fund for their children's benefit.

2. He had a e;ood estate for the support of his family; his substance was considerable, v. 3. Riches are called substance, in conformity to the common form of speaking; otherwise, to the soul and another world, they are but shadows, things that are not, Prov. xxiii. 5. It is only in heavenly wisdom that we inherit substance, Prov.' viii. 21. In those days, when the earth was not fully peopled, it was, as now, in some of the plantations, men might have ImkI enough upon easy terms, if they had but wherewithal to stock it; and therefore Job's substance is described, not by the acres of land he was lord of. but,

(1.) Bv his cattle; sheep and camels, oxen and asses. The numbers of each are here set down, probably not the exact number, but thereabout, ;t very few under or over. The sheep are put first, because of most use in the family, as Solomon observes, (Prov. xxvii. 25, 26, 27.) I^mbs for thv clothing, and milk for the food of thy household. Job, it is likely, \\^t\ silver and gold, as well as Abraham; (Gen. xiii. 2.) but then men valued their own and their neighbours' estates by that which was

•12

JOB. I.

tor service and present use, more than by that which was for show and state, and fit only to be hoarded. As soon as God had made man, and provided for his maintenance by the herbs and fruits, he made him rich and great by givir^ him dominion over the creatures, Gen. i. 28. That, therefore, being still continued to man, notwithstanding his defection, (Gen. ix. 2.) is still to be reckoned one of the most considerable instances of men's wealth, honour, and power, Ps. viii. 6.

(2.) By his servants; he had a very good household or husbandry, many that were employed for him and maintained by him; and thus he both had honour and did good; yet thus he was involved in a threat deal of care, and put to a great deal of charge. See the vanity of this world; as goods are increased, they must be increased that tend them and occupy them, and they tvill be increased that eat them; and nvhat good has the owner thereof, save the beholding of (hem with his eyes y Eccles. v. 11.

In a word. Job was the greatest of all the men of the east; and tliey were the richest in the world: those were rich indeed who were refilenished more than the east, Isa. ii. 6. margin. Job's wealth, with his wisdom, entitled him to the honour and power he had in his country, whirh he describes, ch. xxix. and made him sit chief. Job was upright and honest, and yet grew rich, nay, therefore grew rich; for honesty is the best policy, and piety and charity are ordinarily the surest ways of thriving. He had a great household and much business, and yet kept up the fear and worship of God; and he and his house served the Lord. The account of Job's piety and prosperity comes before the history' of his great afflictions, to show that neither will secure us from the common, no, nor from the uncommon, calamities of human life. Piety will not secure us, as Job's mistaken friends thought, for all things come alike to all; pros])erity will not, as a careless world thinks; (Isa. xlvii. 8.) I sit as a queen, and therefore shall see no sorroiv.

4. And his sons went and feasted in their houses every one his day; and sent and railed for their three sisters, to eat and to drink with them. 5. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were g;one about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose uo early in the morning:, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said. It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

We have here a further account of Job's prosperity and his piety.

I. His great comfort in his children is taken notice of as an instance of his prosperity; for our temporal comforts are borrowed, depend upon others, and are as those about us are. Job himself mentions it as one of the greatest joys of his prosperous estate, t\\2A hh children-w&re about him, ch. xxix. 5. They kept a circular feast at some certain times; {xk 4.) they tvent and feasted in their houses. It was a comfort to this good man, 1. To see his children grown up and settled in the world; all his sons were in houses of their own, probably married; and to each of them he had given a competent portion to set up with. They that had been olive-plants round his table, were removed to tables of their own. 2. To see them thrive in their affairs, :>nd able to feast one another, as well as to feed t'lemselves. Good parents desire, promote, and rejoice in, their children's wealth and prosperity,

as their own. 3. To see them in health, no sickness in their houses; for that would have spoiled their feasting, and turned it into mourning. 4. Especially to see them live in love and unity, and mutual good affection; no jars or quarrels among them, no strangeness, no shyness one of another, no strait-handedness; but, though every one knew his own, they lived with as much freedom as if they had had all in common. It is comfortable to the hearts ot parents, and comely in the eyes of all, to see brethren thus knit together; Behold, hoiv good and howfileasant it is! Ps. cxxxiii. 1. 5. It added to the comfort, to see the brothers so kind to their sisters, that they sent for them to feast with them; who were so modest, that they would not have gone, if theyhad not been sent for. Those brothers that slight their sisters, care not for their company, and ha\ e no concern for their comfort, are ill-bred and ill-natured, and very unlike Job's sons. It seems their feast was so sober and decent, that their sisters were good company for them at it. 6. They feasted in their own houses, not in public houses, where they would be more exposed to temptations, and which were not so creditable.

We do not find that Job himself feasted with them; doubtless they invited him, and he would have been the most welcome guest at any of their tables; nor was it from any sourness or moroseness of temper, or for want of natural affection, that he kept away, but he was old and dead to those things, like Barzdlai, (2 Sam.xix. 35.) and considered that the young people would be more free and pleasant, if there were none but themselves. Yet he would not restrain his children from that diversion which he denied himself. Young people may be allowed a youthful liberty, provided they flee youthful lusts.

II. His great care about his children is taken notice of as an instance of his piety: for that we are really, which we are relatively. Those that are good will be good to their children, and especially do what they can for the good of their souls. Observe, {v. 5. ) Job's pious concern for the spiritual welfare of his children.

1. He was jealous over them with a godly jealousy: and so we ought to be over ourselves and those that are dearest to us, as far as is necessary to our care and endeavour for their good. Job had given his children a good education, had comfort in them, and good hope concerning them; and yet he said, " It may be my sons have sinned in the days of their feasting, more than at other times; have been too merry, have taken too great a liberty in eating and drinking, and have cursed God in their hearts," that is, " have entertained atheistical, profane, thoughts in their minds, unworthy notions of God and his providence, and the exercises of religion." When they -were full, they were ready to deny God, and to say, Who is the Lord? ready (Prov. XXX. 9.) toforget God, and to say. The/lower of our hand h:\s gof (en us this wealth, Dcut. viii. 12, iJfc. Nothing alienates the mind moVe from God than the indulgence of the flesh.

2. As soon as the days of their feasting were over, he called them to the solemn exercises of religion: not while their feasting lasted; (Let them take theii time for that; there is a time for all things;) but, when it was over, their good father reminded them that they must know when to take up, and not think to fare sumptuously every day; though they had their days of feasting the week round, they must not think to have them the year roimd; they had something else to do. Note, Those that are merry must find a time to be serious.

3. He sent to them to prepare for solemn ordinances, sent and sancdjied (hem; ordered them to examine their own consciences, and repent of what they had done amiss in their feasting; to lay aside

JOB, 1.

13

their vanity, and compose themselves for religious exercises. Thus he kept his authority over them for their good, and they submitted to it, though they were got into houses of their own. Still he was the priest of the family, and at his altar they all attended, valuing their share in his prayers more than their share in his estate. Parents cannot give grace to their children, (it is God that sanctifies,) but they ought, by seasonable admonitions and counsels, to further their sanctification. In their baptism they were sanctified to God; let it be our desire and endeavour that they may be sanctified/or him.

4. He offered sacrifice for them, both to atone for the sins he feared they had been guilty of in the days of their feasting, and to implore for them mercy to pardon, and grace to prevent, the debauching of their minds, and corrupting of their manners, by the liberty they had taken, and to preserve their piety and purity.

For he, with mournful eyes, had often spy'd, Scatter'd on Pleasure's siiiooih but Ireach'rous tide, The sfwils of virtu(;overpower'd by sense, And floating wrecks of ruiii'd innocence.

Sir R. Bl^ckmorg.

Job, like Abraham, had an altar for his family, on which, it is likely, he offered sacrifice daily; but, on this extraordinary occasion, he oflfered more sacrifices than usual, and with more solemnity, according to the number of them all, one for each child. Parents should be particular in their addresses to God for the several branches of their family; "For this child I prayed, according to its particular temper, genius, and condition;" to which the prayers, as well as the endeavours, must be accommodated.

When these sacrifices were to be offered, (1.) He rose early, as one in care that his children might not lie long under guilt, and as one whose heart was upon his work, and his desire towards it (2.) He required his children to attend the sacrifice, that they might join with him in the prayers he offered with the sacrifice, that the sight of the killing of the sacrifice might humble them much for their sins, for which they deserved to die, and the eight of the offering of it up might lead them to a Mediator. This serious work would help to make them serious again, after the days of their gaiety.

Lastly, Thus he did continually; not only whenever an occasion of this kind recurred, for he that is washed, needs to wash his feet: (John, xiii. 10.) the acts of repentance and faith must be often renewed, because we often repeat our transgressions; but, all days, every day, he offered up his sacrifices, was constant to his devotions, and did not omit them any day. The occasional exercises of religion will not excuse us from those that are stated. He that serves God uprightly will serve him continually.

6. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among tliem. 7. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said. From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it 8. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil ? 9. Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear Gk)d for nought? 10.

Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he lialli on eveiy side ? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land: 11. But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12. And the LoKD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thy hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

Job was not only so rich and great, but withal so wise and good, and had such an interest both in heaven and earth, that one would think the mountain of his prosperity stood so strong, that it could not be moved; but here we have a thick cloud gathering over his head, pregnant with a horrible tempest We must never think ourselves secure from storms, while we are in this lower region.

Before we are told how his troubles surprised and seized him here in this visible world, we are here told how they were concerted in the world of spirits; that the De\ il having a great enmity to Job for his eminent piety, begged and obtained leave to torment him. It does not at all derogate from the credibility of Job's story in general, to allow that this discourse between God and Satan, in these verses, is parabolical, like that of Micaiah, (1 Kings xxii. 19, &c.) and an allegory designed to represent the malice of the Devil against good men, and the divine check and restraint that malice is under. Only thus much further is intimated, that the affairs of this earth are very much the subject of the counsels of the unseen world. That world is dai k to us, but we lie very open to it Now here we have,

I. Satan among the sons of God, (v. 6.) an ad-versary (so Satan signifies) to God, to men, to all good. He thrust himself into an assembly of the sons of God, that came to firesent themselves before the Lord. This means, either, 1. A meeting of the saints on earth. Professors of religion, in the patriarchal age, were called sons of God; (Gen. vi. 2.) they had then their religious assemblies, and stated times for them. The king came in to see his guests; the eye of God was on all present: but there was a serpent in paradise, a Satan among the sons of God; when they come together, he is among them to distract and disturb them, stands at their right hand to resist them; the Lord rebuke thee, Satan.' Or, 2. A meeting of the angels in heaven; they arc the sons of God, ch. xxxviii. 7. They came to give an accountof their negociations on earth, and to receive new instructions. Satan was one of them originally; but how art thou fallen, O Lucifer! He shall no more stand in that congregation; yet he is here represented as coming among them, either summoned to appear as a criminal, or connived at, for the present, though an intruder.

II. His examination, how he came thither; {v. 7.) The Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? He knew very well whence he came, and with what design he came thither; that, as the good angels came to do good, he came for a permission to do hurt; but he would, by calling him to an account, show him that he was under check and control. Whence comest thou? He asks this, 1. As wondering what brought him thither, h Saul among the prophets? Satan among the sons of God? Yes, for he transforms himself into an angel of light, (2 Cor. xi. 13, 14.) and would seem rne of them. Note, It is possible that a man may he a child of the Devil, and yet be foimd in the asscm

JOB, I.

blies of the sons of God in this world, and there may pass undiscovered by men, and yet be challenged by the all-seeing God; Friend, how earnest thou in hither? Or, 2. As inquiring what he had been doing before he came thither: the same question was perhaps put to the rest of them that presented themselves before the Lord, " Whence came youi"' We are accountable to God for all our haunts, and all the ways we traverse.

III. The account he gives of himself, and the tour he had made. I come (says \i€)frQm going to and fro on the earth. 1. He could not pretend he had been doing any good, could give no such account of himself as the sons of God could, who presented themselves before the hord, who came from executing his orders, serving the interest of his kingdom, and ministering to the heirs of salvation. 2. He would not own he had been doing any hurt; that he had been drawing men from their allegiance to God, deceiving and destroying souls; no, I have done no wickedness, Prov. xxx. 20. 7'hy servant went no whither. In saying that he had walked to and fro through the earth, he intimates that he had kept himself within the bounds allotted him, and had not transgressed his tether; for the dragon is cast out into the earth, (Rev. xii. 9.) and not yet confined to his place of torment. While we are on this earth, we are within his reach;' and with so much subtlety, swiftness, and industry, does he penetrate into all the corners of it, that we cannot be in any place secure from his temptations. 3. He yet seems to give some representation of his own character. (1.) Perhaps it is spoken proudly, and with an air of haughtiness, as if he were indeed the firince of this world, as if the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them were his, (Luke iv. 6.) and he had now been walking in circuit through his own territories. (2.) Perhaps it is spoken fretfully, and with discontent; he had been walking to and fro, and could find no rest, but was as much a fugitive and a vagabond as Cain in the land of Nod. (3.) Perhaps it is spoken carefully; " I have been haid at work, going to and fro," or (as some read it) "searching about in the earth;" really in quest of an opportunity to do mischief. He walks about seeking whom he may devour. It concerns us therefore to be sober and vigilant.

IV. The question God puts to him concerning Job, {y. 8.) Hast thou considered my serxmnt Job? As when we meet with one that has been in a distant place, where we have a friend we dearly love, we are ready to ask, "You have been in such a place; pray did you see my friend there?" Observe,

1. How honourably God speaks of Job; he is my servant. Good men are God's servants, and he is pleased to reckon himself honoured in their services, and that they are to him for a name and a firaise, (Jer. xiii. l\.) and a ci-own of glory, Isa. Ixxxii. 3. "Yonder is my servant Job; there is none like him, none I value like him; of all the princes and potentates of the earth, one such saint as he is worth them all: none //^e Ajtm for uprightness and serious piety; many do well, but he excellvth them all; there is not to be found such great faith, no not in Israel." Thus Christ, long after held up the centurion and the woman of Canaan, who were both of them, like Job, strangers to that commonwealth. The saints glory in God; Who is like thee among the gods? And he is pleased to glory in them; Who is like Israel among the people? So here, none like Job, none in the earth, that state of imperfection; those in heaven do indeed far outshine him; those who are least in that kingdom are erreater than he; but on earth there is none his like. There is none like him in that land: so some good men are the glory of their country.

2. How closely he gi\ es to Satan this good cha-

racter of Job, Hast thou set thy heart on my ser vant Job? Designing hereby, (1.) To aggravate the apostasy and misery of that wicked spirit; "How unlike him art thou!" Note, The holiness and happiness of the saints are the shame and tor-nient ot the Devil and the Devil's children. (2.) I'o answer the Devil's seeming boast of the interest he had in this earth; " I have been walking to and fro in it," says he, " and it is all my own; all flesh have corrupted their way; they all sit still, and are at rest in their sins," Zech. i. 10, 11. " Nay hold," saith God, "Job is my faithful servant." Satan may boast, but he shall not triumph. (3.) To anticipate his accusations, as if he had said, "Satan, I know thine errand, thou art come to inform against Job; but hast thou considered him? Does not his unquestionable character give thee the lie?" Note, God knows all the malice of the Devil and his instruments against his servants; and we have an Advocate ready to appear for us, even before we are accused.

V. The Devil's base insinuation against Job, in answer to God's encomium of him. He cannot deny but that Job feared God, but suggests that he was mercenary in his religion, and therefore a hypocrite, {v. 9.) Doth Job fear God for naught? Observe, 1. How impatient the Devil was of hearing Job praised, though it was God himself that praised him.' Those are like the Devil, who cannot endure that any body should be praised but themselves, but grudge at the just share of reputation others have, as Saul, (1 Sam. xviii. 5, &c.) and the Pharisees, Matth. xxi. 15. 2. How much at a loss he was for something to object against him; he could not accuse him of any thing that was bad, and therefore charges him with by-ends in doing good. Had the one half of that been true, which his angry friends, in the heat of dispute, charged him with, {ch. xv. 4.—xxii. 5.) Satan would, no doubt, have brought it against him now; but no such thing could be alleged, and therefore, 3. See how slily he censures him as a hypocrite; not asserting that he was so, but only asking, " Is he not so ?" This is the common way of slanderers, to suggest that, by way of query, which yet they have no reason to think is true; whisperers, backbiters! Note, It is not strange if those that are approved and accepted of God, be unjustly censured by the Devil and his instruments; if they are otherwise unexceptionable, it is easy to charge them with hypocrisy, as Satan charged Job, and they have no way to clear themselves, but patiently to wait for the judgment of God. As there is nothing we should dread more than being hypocrites, so there is nothing we need dread less than being called and counted so without cause. 4. How unjustly he accuses him as mercenary, to prove him a hypocrite. It was a great truth that Job did not fear God for naught; he got well by it, for godliness is great gain: but it was a falsehood that he would not have feared God if he had not got this by it, as the event proved. Job's friends charged him with hypocrisy, because he was greatly afflicted; Satan, because he greatly prospered. It is no hard matter for those to calumniate that seek an occasion. It is not mercenary to look at the eternal recompense, in our obedience; but to aim at temporal advantages in our religion, and to make it subservient to that, is spiritual idolatry, worshipping the creature more than the Creator, and is likely to end in a fatal apostasy; men cannot long serve God and mammon.

VI. The complaint Satan made of Job's prosperity, v. 10. Observe, 1. What God had done for Job. He had ])rotected him, made a hedge about him, for the defence of his peiSon, his family, and all his possessions. Note, God's peculiar people

JOB, I.

]5

are taken under his special protection, they and all that belong to them; divine grace makes a hedge about their spiritual life, and divine providence about their natural life, so they are safe and easy. He had prospered him, not in idleness or injustice, (the Devil could not accuse him of them,) but in the way of honest diligence; TAou hast blessed the luork of his handsj without that blessing, be the hands ever so strong, ever so skilful, the work will not prosper; but with that, his substance is wonderfully increased in the land: the blessing of the Lord makes rich; Satan himself owns it. 2. What notice the Devil took of it, and how he improved it against him. The Devil speaks of it with \ exa-tion; I see thou hast made a hedge about him, round about; as if he had walked it round, to see if he could spy ever a gap in it, for him to enter in at, to do him a mischief; but he was disappointed; it was a complete hedge. The wicked one saw it, and was grieved, and argued against Job, that the only reason why he served God was, because God prospered him. " No thanks to him to be true to the government that prefers him, and to serve a Master that pays him so well."

VII. The proof Satan undertakes to give of the hypocrisy and mercenariness of Job's religion, if he might but have leave to strip him of his wealth. •' Let it be put to this issue," says he, v. 11. " make him poor, frown upon him, turn thine hand against him, and then see where his religion will be; touch what he has, and it will appear what he is. If he curse thee not to thy face, let me never be believed, but posted for a false accuser. Let me perish, if he curse thee not." So some supply the imprecation, which the Devil himself modestly concealed; but the profane swearers of our age impudently and daringly speak out. Observe, 1. How slightly he speaks of the affliction he desired that Job might be tried with; "Do but touch all that he has, do but begin with him, do but threaten to make him poor; a little cross will change his tone." 2. How spitefully he speaks of the impression it would make upon Job. " He will not only let fall his devotion, but turn it into an open defiance; not only think hardly of thee, but even curse thee to thy face." The word translated curse is barac, the same that ordinarily and originally signifies to bless; but cursing God is so impious a thing, that the holy language would not admit the name: but that, where the sense requires it, it must be so understood, is plain from 1 Kings xxi. 10-'IS. where the word is used concerning the crime charged on Na-both, that he did blaspheme God and the king.

Now, (1.) It is likely that Satan did think that Job, if impoverished, would renounce his religion, and so disprove his profession, and if so, (as a learned gentleman has observed in his Mount of Sfiirits,) Satan had made out his own universal empire among the children of men. God declared Job the best man then living: now, if Satan can prove him a hypocrite, it will follow that God had not one faithful servant among men, and that there was no such thing as true and sincere piety in the world, but religion was all a sham, and Satan was king de facto — in fact, over all mankind. But it appeared that the Lord knows them that are his, and is not deceived in any. (2.) However, if Job should retain his religion, Satan would have the satisfaction to see him sorely afflicted: he hates good men, and delights in their griefs, as God has fileasure in their prosfierity.

VIII. The permission God gave to Satan to afflict Job for the trial of his sincerity. Satan desired God to do it. Put forth thy hand now. God allowed him to do itj {y. 12.) "All that he has it i?i thy hand; make the trial as sharp as thou canst, do thy worst at him." Now, (1.) It is mat-

ter of wonder that God should give Satan such a permission as this, should deliver the soul of hi*: turtle-dove into the hand of the adversary, such a lamb to such a lion; but he did it for his own glory,. the honour of Job, the explanation of Providence, and the encouragement of his afflicted people in ah ages; to make a case, which, being adjudged, might be a useful precedent. He suffered Job to be tried, as he suffered Peter to be sifted; but took care that his faith should not fail, (Luke xxii. 32.) and then the trial of it was found unto praise, and honour, and glory, 1 Pet. i. 7. But, (2.) It is matter of comfort that God has the Devil in a chain. Rev. XX. 1. He could not afflict Job without leave from God first asked and obtained, and then no further than he had leave; " Only upon himself put not forth thine hand; meddle not with his body, but only with his estate." It is a limited power that the Devil has; he has no power to debauch men, but what they give him themselves, nor power to afflict men, but what \s given him from above.

Lastly, Satan's departure from this meeting of the sons of God. Before they broke up, Satan went forth (as Cain, Gen. iv. 16.) from the presence of the Lord; no longer detained before him (as Doeg was, 1 Sam. xxi. 7.) than until he had accomplished his malicious purpose. He went forth, 1. Glad that he had gained his point; proud of the permission he had to do mischief to a good man; and, 2. Resolved to lose no time, but speedily to put his project in execution: he went forth now, not to go to and fro, rambling through the earth, but, with a direct course, to fall upon poor Job, who is carefully going on the way of his duty, and knows nothing of the matter. What passes between good and bad spirits concerning us, we are not aware.

13. And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: 14. And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them; 15. And the Sabeans fell ujioii them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 16. While he ivas yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath,burnt up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 17. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said. The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea and slain the servants with the edge of tfia sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 18. While he was yet speaking, ther^ came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: 19. And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

We have here a particular account of Job's troubles:

JOB, J.

I. Satan brought them upon him on the very day | that his children began their course of feasting, at . their ddest brother's house, {y. 13.) where, he i having (we may suppose) the double portion, the entertainment was the richest and most plentiful. The whole family, no doubt, was in perfect repose, and all were easy, and under no apprehension of trouble, now when they revived this custom ; and this time Satan chose, that the trouble, coming now, might be the more grievous; The night of my tileasure has he turned into fear, Isa. xxi. 4.

II. They all come upon him at once ; while one messenger of evil tidings was speaking, another came ; and, before he had told his story, a third, and a fourth, followed immediately. Thus Satan, by the divine permission, ordered it, 1. That there might appear a more than ordinary displeasure of God against him in his troubles, and by that he might be exasperated against Divine Providence, as if it were resolved, right or wrong, to rum him, and not give him time to speak for himself. 2. That he might not have leisure to consider and recollect himself, and reason himself into a gracious submission, but might be overwhelmed and overpowered by a complication of calamities. It he have not room to pause a little, he will be apt to speak in haste, and then, if ever, he will curse his God. Note, The children of God are often \\\ heaviness, through manifold temptations: deep calls to deep, waves and billows, one upon the neck of another. Let one affliction therefore quicken and help us to prepare for another; for how deep soever we have drunk of the bitter cup, as long as we are in this world, we cannot be sure that we have drunk our share, and that it will finally pass from us. 3. They took from him all that he had, and made a full end of his enjoyments. The detail of his losses answers to the foregoing inventory of his possessions.

(1.) He had 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 she-asses, and a competent number of servants to attend them; and all those he lost at once, v. 14, 15. The ac-. count he has of this, lets him know, [1.] That it was not through any carelessness of his servants, for then his resentment might have spent itself upon them: the oxen were ploughing, not playing, and the asses not suffered to stray, and so taken up as waifs,* but feeding beside them, under the servants' eye, each in their place ; and they that passed by, we may suppose, blessed them, and said, God speed the plough. Note, All our prudence, care, and diligence, cannot secure us from affliction, no not from those affli^^ti ns which are commonly owing to imprudence and negligence. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman, though ever so wakeful, wakes but in vain; yet it is some comfort under a trouble, if it found us in the way of our duty, and not in any by-path. '2.'\ That it was through the wickedness of his neighbours the Sabeans, a sort of robbers, perhaps, that lived by spoil and plunder; they carried off the oxen and asses, and slew the servants that faithfully and bravely did their best to defend them, and one only escaped, not in kindness to him or his master, but that Job might have the certain intelligence of it by an eye-witness, before he heard it by a flying report, which would have brought it upon him gradually. We have no reason to suspect that either Job or his servants had given any provocation to these Sabeans to make this inroad; but Satan put it into their hearts to do it, to do it now, and so gained a double point, for he made both Job to suffer, and them to sin. Note, When Satan has God's permission to do mischief, he will not want mischievous men to be his instruments in doing it,

• Good* found, but unclaimed. Ed.

for he is a spirit that works in the children of dia obedience.

(2.) He had seven thousand sheep, and shepherds that kept them; and all those he lost at the same time by lightning, x;. 16. Job was perhaps, in his own mind, ready to reproach the Sabeans, and fly out against them for their injustice and cruelty, when the next news immediately directs him to look upward; Thejire of God is fallen from heaven. As thunder is his voice, so lightning is his tire: but this was such an extraordinary lightning, and levelled so directly against Job, that all his sheep and shepherds were not only killed, but consumed, by it at once, and one shepherd only left alive to carry the news to poor Job. The Devil, aiming to make him curse God and renounce his religion, managed this part of the trial very artfully, in order thereunto. [1.] His sheep, with which especially he used to honour God in sacrifice, were all taken from him, as if God were angry at his offerings, and would punish him in those very things which he had employed in his service. Having misrepresented Job to God as a false servant, in pursuance of his old design to set Heaven and earth at variance, he here misrepresented God to Job as a hard Master, who would not protect those flocks out of which he had so many burnt-offerings: this would tempt Job to say. It is in vain to serve God. [2.] The messenger called the lightning the fire of God, (and innocently enough,) but perhaps Satan thereby designed to strike into his mind this thought, that God was turned to be his enemy, and fought against him, which was much more grievous to him than all the insults of the Sabeans. He owns, {ch. xxxi. 23.) that destruction from God was a terror to him. How terrible then were the tidings of this destruction, which came immediately from the hand of God! Had the fire from heaven consumed the sheep upon the altar, he might have construed it into a token of God's favour; but the fire consuming them in the pasture, he could not but look upon it as a token of God's displeasure: there had not been the like since Sodom was burned.

(3.) He had three thousand camels, and servants tending them; and he lost them all at the same time by the Chaldeans, who came in three bands, and drove them away, and slew the servants, v. 17. If the fire of God, which fell upon Job's honest servants, who were in the way of their duty, had fallen upon the Sabean and Chaldean robbers who were doing mischief, God's judgments therein would have been, like the great mountains, evident and conspicuous; but when the way of the wicked prospers, and they carry off their booty, when just and good men are suddenly cut off, God's righteousness is like the great deep, the bottom of which we cannot find, Ps. xxxvi. 6.

(4.) His dearest and most valuable possessions were his ten children; and to conclude the tragedy, news is brought him, at the same time, that they were killed, and buried in the ruins of the house in which they were feasting, and all th^ servants th^t waited on them, except one that came express with the tidings of it, v. 18, 19. This was the greatest of Job's losses, and which could not but go nearest him; and therefore the Devil reserved it for the last, that, if the other provocations failed, thl.s might make him curse (iod. Our children arc pieces of ourselves; it is very hard to part with them, and touches a good man in as tender a pail as any other. But to part with them all at once, and for them to be all cut off in a moment, who had been so many years his cares and hopes, went to the quick indeed. [1.] They all died together, and not one of them was left alive. David, though jl a wise and good man, was very much discomposco

JOB, I.

17

bv the death of one son ; how hard then did it bear ii;ioii poor Job, who lost them all, and, in one moment, was written childless! [2.] They died suddenly: had they been taken away by some lingering disease, he had had notice to expect their death, and prepare for the breach; but this came upon him without giving him any warning. [3.] They (lied when they were feasting and making merry: hifd they died suddenly, when they were praying, he might the better, have borne it; he would have hoped that ;eath had found them in a good frame, if their blood had been mingled with their sacri-fices; but to have it mingled with their feast, where he himself used to be jealous of them, that they had sinned, and cursed God in their hearts —to have that day come upon them at unawares, like a thief in the night, when perhaps their heads were overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness; this could not but add much to his grief, considering what a tender concern he always had for his children's souls, and that they were now out of the reach of the sacrifices he used to offer, according to the number of them all. See how all things came alike to all. Job's children were constantly prayed for by their father, and lived in love one with another, and yet came to this untimely end. [4. ] They died by a wind of the Devil's raising, who is the firince of the fiower of the air; (Eph. ii. 2.) but it was looked upon to be an immediate hand of God, and a token of his wrath. So Bildad construed it; {ch. viii. 4.) Thy children have sinned against him, and he has cast them aivay in their transgressions. [5. ] They were taken away when he had most need of them to comfort him under all his other losses. Such miserable comforters are all creatures; in God only we have a present help at all times.

20. Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21. And said. Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. 22. In all this fob sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

The Devil had done all lie desired leave to do against Job, to provoke him to curse God; he had touched all he had, touched it with a witness; he whom the rising sun saw the richest of all the men in the east, before niglit was poor to a proverb. If his riches had been, as Satan insinuated, the only principle of his religion, now that he had lost his nches, he had certainly lost his religion; but the account we have, in these verses, of his pious de- ! portment under his affliction, sufficiently proved the i Devil a liar, and Job an honest man. ' I

I. He conducted himself like a man, under his afflictions; not stupid and senseless, like a stock or stone, not unnatural and unaffected at the death of i his children and servants; no, (v. 20.) he arose, I and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, which I were the usual expressions of great sorrow, to show that he Avas sensible of the hand of the Lord that | was gone out against him; yet he did not break out; into any indecencies, nor discover any extravagant | passion; he did not faint away, but arose, as a j champion to the combat; he did not, in a heat, ! throw off his clothes, but very gravely, in conformity to the custom of the country, rent his mantle, his cloke, or outer garment; he did nr t passionately tear his hair, but deliberately shaved his head; by <tll which it appeared that he kept his temper, and bravelv maintained the possession and repose of his

Vol. hi—C

own soul, in the midst of all these provocations. The time when he began to show his teelings is observable; it was not till he heard of tlie death t.f his children, and then he arose, then he rent liis mantle. A worldly unbelieving heart would have said, " Now that the meat is gone, it is well that the mouths are gone too; now that there are nj portions, it is well that there are no children;" but Job knew better, and would have been tliankful it Providence had spared his children, though he had had little or nothing for them, for Jehovah-jireh, the Lord ivill firovide. Some expositors, remembering that it was usual with the Jews to rend tlieir clothes when they heard blasphemy, conjtctuiv that Job rent his clothes in a holy indignation at the blasphemous thoughts which Satan now cast iiiti; his mind, tempting him to curse God.

II. He conducted himself like a wise and gocd m.m, under his alfiiction, like a fierfect and ufx-right man, and one that feared God, and eschewed the evil of sin more than that of outward trouble.

1. He humbled himself under the hand of God, and accommodated himself to the pro-, idences he was under, as one that knew Ixpw to want as well as how to abound. When God called to weeping and mourning, he wept and mourned, rent hin mantle, and shaved his head; and, as one tliat abased himself even to tlie dust before God, he fell down upon the ground, in a penitent sense of s!ii, and a patient submission to the will of God, accepting the punishment of his iniquity. Hereby lie sliowed his sincerity; {orhypocrites cry nottvhen God binds them. Job xxxvi. 13. Hereby he prepared himself to get good by the affliction; for how can we improve the grief which we will not feel?

2. He composed himself with quieting considerations, that he might not be disturbed, and put cut of the possession of his own soul by these events: he reasons from the common state of human life, which he describes with application to liimscif; JVa/ced came I (as others do) out of my mother's ivomb, and naked shall I return thither, into the lap of our common mother, the earth; as the child, when it is sick or weary, lays its head in its m.o-ther's bosom. Dust we were in our original, and to dust we return in our exit, (Gen. iii. 19.) to the earth as we were; (Eccl. xii. 7.) 7iaked shall we return thither, wlience we were taken, namely, to the clay, Job xxxiii. 6. St. Paul refers to this of Job, (1 Tim. vi. 7.) We brought nothing of this world s goods into the world, but have them from others; and /; is certain that we caji carry nothing out, but must leave them to others. We come into the world naked; not only unarmed, but unclothed, helpless, shiftless, not so well covered and fenced as other creatures. The sin we are born in, makes us naked to our shame, in the eves of the lioly Uod. We go out of the world naked; the bodv doesj though the sanctified soul gees clothed, 2 Cor. v. 3. Death strips us of all our enjoyments; clothing can neither warm nor adorn a dead body. This consideration silenced Job under all his losses. (1.) He is but where he was at first; be looks upon himself only as naked, not maimed, not wounded: he was himself still his own man, when nothins; else was his own, and therefore but reduced to his first condition. Xemo tam pauper potest esse quam -natus est — A'o one can be so poor as he was wheri born. Mm. Felix. If we are impoverished, we are not wronged, nor much hurt, for we are but as we were born. (2.) He is but where he must hfve been at last, and is oniv unclothed, or unloaded • rather, a little sooner than he expected. If v.-e put off our clothes before Ave go to bed, it is some inconvenience, but it may be the better borne when it is near bed-time.

JOB, II.

■ipon this occasion with a great veneration for the Divine Providence, and an awful submission to its disposals; we may well rejoice to find Job in this good frame, because this was the very thing upon which the trial of his integrity was put, though he did not know it. Tiie Devii said that he would, under his affliction, curse God; but he blessed him, ,ir>d so proved himself an honest man.

(1.) He acknowledged the hand of God both in the mercies he had formerly enjoyed, and in the afflictions he was now exercised with: The Lord gave, and the Lord halh taken awaij. We must own the Divine Providence, [!•] I^^ all our comforts. God gave us our being, made us, and 7iot we ourselves, gave us our wealth; it was not our own ingenuity or industry that enriched us, but God's blessing on our cares and endeavours; he gave us power to get wealth; not only made the creatures for us, but bestowed upon us our share. [2. ] In all our crosses. The same that gave, hath taken away; and may he not do what he will with his own? See how he looks above instruments, and keeps his eye upon the First Cause; he does not say, " The Lord gave, and the Sabeans and Chaldeans have taken away; God made me rich, and the Devil has made me poor;" but, "He that gave, has taken;" and, for that reason, he is dumb, and has nothing to say, because God did it: He that gave all, may take which and when, how and how much, he pleases. Seneca could argue thus, Abstulit, ned et dedit — He took away, but he also gave; and Epictetus excellently, (cap. 15.) " When thou art deprived of any comfort, suppose a child taken away by death, or a part of thy estate lost, say not uTr^Afo-* uutc — I have lost it; but, iTTsSaiKA — I have restored it to the right owner. But thou wilt object, (says he) xaxo? I ucpsAc^sno;— He is a bad man, that has robbed me; to which he answers, Ti J'i <roi y.iAii — What is it to thee, by what hand he that gives re?nands what he gave?

(2.) He adores God in both. When all was gone, he fell down and worshipped. Note, Afflictions must not divert us from, but quicken us to, tlie exercise of religion. Weeping must not hinder sowing, nor hinder worshipping. He eyed not only the hand of God, but the name of God, in his afflicti'ms, and gave glory to that. Blessed be the name of the Lord. He has still the same great and good thoughts of God that ever he had, and is as foi'ward as ever to speak tliem forth to his praise; and can find in his heart to bless (iod, even when he takes away, as well as when he gives. Thus must we sijig both of mercy and judgment, Ps. ci. 1. [1.] He blesses God f.ir what was gi\ en, though now it was taken 'tway. When our comforts are i-emoved from us, we must thank God that ever we had them, and had them so much longer than we deserved. Na\', [2.] He adores God, even in taking away, and gives him honour by a willing submission; nay, he gi\es him thanks for good designed him by his afflictions, for gracious supports under his afflictions, and the believing hopes he had of a happy issue at last.

Lasthi, Here is the honourable testimony which tlie Hoi}' Ghost gives to Job's constancy and good conduct imder his afflictions. He passed his trials with applause, v. 22. In all this. Job did not act amiss, for he did not attribute folly to God, nor in the leust reflect iqjon his wisdom in what he had done. Discontent and imixitience do, in effect, charge God with folly. Against the workings of these, therefore, Job carefully watched; and so must we, acknowledging, that as Ciod has done light, but we have done wickedly, soCiod has done wisely, but we have done foolishly, very foolishly. They who not only keep their temper under crosses :ind provocations, but keep up good thoughts of God and sweet communion with liim, whetlier thci:- J

praise be of men or no, it will be of God, as Job here was.

CHAP. II.

We left Job honourably acquitted, upon a fair trial be tween God and Satan concerning him. Satan had leave to touch, to touch and take, all he had, and was confident that he would then curse God to his (ace; but, oi> the contrary, he blessed him, and so he was proved an honest man, and Satan a false, accuser. Now, one would have thought, this had been conclusive, and that Job should never have had his reputation called in question again: but Job is known to be armour of proof, and therefore is here set up for a mark, and brought upon his trial, a second time. I. Satan moved for another trial which should touch his bone and his flesh, v. 1 . . 5. II. God, for holy ends, permits it, v. 6. III. Satan smites him with a very painful and loathsome disease, v. 7, 8. IV. His wife tempts him to curse God, but he resists the temptation, v. 9, 10. V. His friends come to condole with him, and to comfort him, v, II.. 13. And in this that good man is set forth for an example of suffering affliction and of patience.

1. A G AIN there was a day when the sons XjL of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. 2. And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said. From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 3. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Jol), that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fear-eth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. 4. And Satan ans\^ered the Lord, and said. Skin for skin; yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life: 5. But put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thy hand ; but save his life.

Satan, that sworn enemy to God and all good men, is here pushing forward his malicious prosecution of Job, whom he hated because God loved liim, and did all he could to separate between him and his God, to sow discord, and make mischief, l)etween them, urging God to afflict him, and then urging him to blaspheme God. One would ha\ e thought that he had enough of his former attempt upon Job, in which he was so shamefully baffled and disa])pointcd; but malice is restlessj the Devil and his instruments are so. They that calumniate good people, and accuse them falsely, will have their saying, though the evidence to the contrary i^e ever so'plain and full, and they ha\ e been cast in the issue which they themselves have put it upon. Satan will have Jciij's cause called over I'.gain. The malicious, unreasonable, importunity of that great persecutor of the saints is represented, (Rev. xii. 10.) by his accusing them before our God day and night, still repeating and urging that against them wiiich lias been many a time answered: so did Satan here accuse Job day after day. Here is,

I. The court set, and the prosecutor, or accuser, making his appearance, {v. 1, 2.) as before, ch. i. 6, 7. The angels attended (}od's throne, and Satan

JOB, II.

19

among them. One would have expected him to come and confess his mahce against Job, and his mistake concerning "him; to cry, Peccavi —/ have done wrong, for belying one whom God spake well of, and to beg pardon; but, instead of that, he comes with a further design against Job. He is asked the same question as before, IV/ience contest thou? And answers as before, From going- to and fro in the earth; as if he liad been doing no harm, though he had been abusing that good man.

II. Tiie Judge himself of counsel for the accused, and pleading for him; \y. 3.) " Haul thou considered my servant Job better than thou didst, and art thou now at length convinced that he is a faithful servant of n)ine, a fierfect and an upright man; for thou seest he still holds fust his integrity'^" This is now added to his character as a further achievement; intitead of letting go his religion, and cursing God, he holds it faster than ever, as that which he has now more than (U'dinary occasion for; he is the same in adversity that he was in prosperity, and rather better, and more hearty and li\eiy in blessing God th:m ever he was, and takes root the faster for being thus shaken. See, 1. How Satan is condemned for his allegations against Job; Ihou mov-edst me against him, as an accuser, to destroy him ivi'.hout cause. Or, "Thou in vam movedst me to destrov him, for I will never do that." Good men, when they are cast down, are not destroyed, 2 Cor. iv. 9. How well is it for us, that neither men nor de\ ils ar*^ to be our judges, for perhaps they would destroy us, right or wrong; but our Judgment pr. ceedsfrom the Lord, whose judgment never errs, or is biassed. 2. How Job is commended for his constancy, notwithstanding the attacks made upon him; " Still he holds fast his integrity, as his weapon, and thou canst not disarm him; as his treasure, and thou canst not rob him of tliat; nay, thine endeavours to do it make him hold it the faster; instead of losing ground by the temptation, he gets ground." God speaks of it with wonder, and pleasure, and something of triumph in the power of his own grace; Still he holds fast his integrity. Thus the trial of Jdb's faith was found to his p7-aise and honour, 1 Pet. i. 7. Constancy crowns integrit3%

III. The accusation further prosecuted, v. 4. What excuse can Satan make for the failure of his former attempt? What can he say to palliate it, when he had been so very confident that he should gain his point? Why, truly, he has this to sny,.Skin for skin, and all that a man has, will he give for his life. Something of truth there is in this, that self-iove and self-preservation are very powerful commanding principles in the hearts of men. Men love themselves better than their nearest relations, even their children, that are pieces of themsehes; will not only venture, but give, their estates to save their lives. All account life sweet and precious, and while they are themselves in health and at ease, they can keep trouble from their hearts, whatever they lose. We ought to make a good use of this consideration, and while God continues to us our life and health, and the use of our limbs and senses, we should the more patiently bear the loss of other comforts. See Matth. vi. 25.

But Satan grounds upon this an accusation of Job, slily representing him, 1. As unnatural to those about him, and one that laid not to heart the death' of his children and servants, nor cared how many of them had their skins (as I may say) stripped over their ears, so long as he slept in a whole skin himself As if he that was so tender of his children's souls, could be careless of their bodies, and, like the ostrich, hardened against his young ones, as though they were not his. 2. As wholly selfish, and minding nothing but his own ease and safetv, as if his religion made him sour, and morose, and ill-

natured. Thus are the ways and people of Gf;d often misrepresented by the De\ il and his agents.

IV. A challenge given to make a further trial cf Job's integrity; {v. 5.) " Put forth thine hand nor.', (for I find ?ny hand too short to reach him, and t'.o weak to hurt him,) and touch his bone and his fiesh, (that is with him the only tender part, 7nake him sick with smiting him, Mic." \i. 13.) and then, I dare

' say, he will curse thee to thy face, and let go his integrity." Satan knew it, and we find it by experience, that nothing is more likely to luftle the thoughts, and put the mind into disorder, than ac ute ; pain and distemper of body. There is no disputing I against sense. St. Paul himself had mucli ado to [ bear a thorn in the flesh, nor could he have borne it without special grace from Christ, 2 Cor. xii. 7, 9.

V. A permission granted to Satan to make this trial, V. 6. Satan would have had God put forth his hand and do it; but he afflicts not willingly, nor takes any pleasure in grieving the children of men, much less his own children; (Lam. iii. 33.) and therefore, if it must be done, let Satan do it, who delights in such work: He is in thine hand, do thy worst with him; (but with a proviso and limitation;) only save his life, or his soul. Afflict him, but not to death. Satan hunted for the precious life, would ha\ e taken that if he might, in hopes that dying agonies would have forced Job to curse his God; but (iod had mercy in store for Job after this trial, and therefore he must survive it, and, however he is afflicted, must have his life given him for a prey. If Ciod did not chain up the roaring lion, how soon would he de\our us! As far as he permits the wrath of "Satan and wicked men to proceed against his people, he will make it turn to his praise and their's, and the 7'e?nainder thereof he will restrain, Ps. Ixxvi. 10. " Save his soul," that is, "his reason;" (so some;) "preserve to him the use of that, for, otherwise, it will be no fair trial; if, in his delirium, he should curse God, that will be no disproof of his integrity. It would be the language not of his heart, but of his distemper.'"

Job, in being thus maligned by Satan, ^yas a type of Christ, the first prophecy of whom was, that Satan should bruise his heel, (Gen. iii. 15.) and so he was foiled, as in Job's case. Satan tempted him to let go his integrity, his adoption; (Matth. iv. 6.) If thou be the Son of God. He entered into the heart of Judas who betrayed Christ, and (some think) with his terrors put Christ into his agony in the garden. He had permission to touch his bone and his flesh, without exception of his life, because by dying he was to do that which Job could not do; destroy him that had the power of death, that is the Devil.

7. So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils, from the sole of his foot unto his crown. 8. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. 9. Then said his wife unto him, Dost thon still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die. 10. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foohsh women speak-eth. What! shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

The Devil, having got leave to tear and Wurry poor Job, presently fell to work with him, as a tormentor first, and then a-tempter. His own children he tempts first, and draws them to sin, and afterward torments, when thereby he has brought then*

JOB, 11.

t:> ruin; but this child of God he tormented with af-Riction, and then tempted to make a bad use of his affliction. That which he airted at, was, to make Job curse God; now here we are told what course he took both to move him to it, and mo\e it to him; both to give him the provocation, else it would be to no purpose to urge him to it, and to give him the information, else he would not have thought of it: thus artfully is the temptation managed with ;iU the subtilty of the old serjDent, who is here playing the same game against Job that he played ;igainst our first parents; (Gen. 3.) aiming to seduce lum from his allegiance to his God, and to rob him of his integrity.

I. He provokes him to curse God, by smiting him with sore boils, and so making him a burthen to himself, x<. 7, 8. The former attack was extremely violent, but Job kept his ground, bravely made good the pass, and carried the day: yet he is still imt girding on the harness, there is worse behind; the clouds return after the rain; Satan, by the divine permission, follows his blow, and now deep calls unto deep.

1. The disease was very grievous with which Job WHS seized; S;itan .s-mote /ii?n iv'uli boils, sore boils, all over him, from head to foot; with an evil inflammation, so some render it; an erysipelas, perhaps, in a higher degree. One boil, v/hen it is gathering, is torrnent enough, and gives a man abundance f f pain and uneasiness. What a condition was Job then in, that had boils all over him, and no part free, and those of as raging a heat as the De\ il could make them, and, as it were, set on fire of hell 1 The small-pox is a \ery grievous and painful disease, and would be much more terrible than it is, but that we know the extremity of it ordinarily lasts but a few days; how grievous then was Job's disease, who was sniitten all over with sore boils or grievous ulcers, which make him sick at heart, put him to exquisite torture, and to spread themselves o\er him, th.1t he could lay himself no way for any ease. If at any time we be exercised with sore and grievous distempers, let us not think ourselves dealt with any otherwise than as God has sometimes dealt with the best of his saints and servants. We know not how much Satan may have a hand (by divine permission) in the diseases with which the children of men, and especially the children of God, are afflicted ; what infections that prince of the air may spread, what inflammations may come from that fiery ser-l)ent. We read of one whom Satan had bound many vears, Luke xiii. 16. Should God suffer that roaring lion to have his will against any of us, how miserable would he soon make us!

2. His management of himself, in this distemper, was verv strange, i\ 8.

(1.) Instead of healing salves he took a potsherd, a piece of a broken pitcher, to scrafie himself withal: a very sad pass this poor man was come to. When a man is sick and sore, he may bear it the Ijetter, if he be well tended and carefully looked after: many rich, people have, with a soft and tender hand, charitably ministered to the poor in such •I condition as this; even Lazarus had some ease from the tongues of the dogs that came and licked his sores; but poor Job has no help afforded him. [1.1 Nothing is done to his sores but what he does himself, with his own hands. His children and servants are all dead, his wife unkind, ch. xix. 17. He has not wherewithal to fee a physician, or surgeon; and, which is most sad of all, none of those he had formerly been kind to had so much sense of honour and gratitude as to minister to him in his distress, and lend him a hand to dress or wipe his running sores, either because the disease was loathsome .ind noisome, or because they apprehended it to be ■nf'.-ctious. Thus it was in the former days, as it

will be in the last days; men were i vers of their own selves, unthankful, and without natural affection. [2. ] All that he docs to his sores is, to scrape them; they are not bound up with s( ft rags, i,< r mollified with ointment, not washed or kept clean: no healing plasters laid on them, no opiates, no anodynes, ministered to the poor patier.t, to alleviate the pain, and compose him to rest, nor nay cordials to support his spirits; all the operatic n is the scraping of the ulcers, which, when they a ere come to a head, and began to die, made his h( dy all over like a scurf, as is usual in the end <f ih'e small-pox. It would ha\e been an endless iliing to dress his boils one by one, he therefore res'hes thus to do it by wholesale; a remedy wh'ch >• ne would think as bad as the disease. [3.] He h ;S nothing to do this with but a potsherd, no surgcu's instrument proper for the purpose, but tlu.t which would rather rake into his wounds, and add to his pain, than give him any ease. Pti^ple that are sick and sore, have need to be under the discipline and direction of others, for they are often but b;-.d managers of themselves.

(2.) Instead of reposing himself in a soft and warm bed, he sat down among the ashes. Probably he had a bed left him; (for, though his fields were stripped, we do not find that his house was burnt or plundered;) but he chose to sit in the ashes, either because he was weary of his bed, or because he would put himself into the place and posture of a penitent, who, in token of his self-abhorrence, lay in dust and ashes, ch. xlii. 6. Isa. Iviii. 5. Jon. iii. 6. Thus did he humble himself under the mighty hand of God, and bring his mind to the meanness and poverty of his condition. He complains, {ch. \ii. 5.) that his flesh was clothed with worms, and c/orfs '/' dust; and therefore dust to dust, ashes to ashes. If God lay him among the ashes, there he will contentedly sit down; a low spirit becomes low circumstances, and will help to reconcile us t" them. The Septuagint reads it, He sat down upon a dunghill without the city; (which is commonly said, in mentioning this story;) but the original says no mri-e than that he sat iyi the midst of the ashes, which he might do in his own house.

II. He urges him, by the persuasions of his own wife, to curse God, v. 9. The Jews (who covet much to be wise above what is written) say that Job's wife was Dinah, Jacob's daughter: so the Chaldee paraphrase. It is not likely that she was; but, whoever it was, she was to him like Michal to David, a scoffer at his piety. She was spared to him, when the rest of his comforts were taken away, for this piu'pose, to be a troubler and tempter to him. If Satan leaves any thing that he has permission to take away, it is with a design of mischief. It is policy to send his temptations by the hand of those tha*. are dear to us, as he tempted Adam by Eve, and Christ by Peter. We must therefore carefully watch, that we be not drawn to say or do a wrong thing by the influence, interest, or entreaty, of any, no' n< t those for whose (;pini(^n and favour we have ever so great a \alue. Observe how strong this temptation was,

I. She banters Job for his constancy in his religion; "Dost thou still retain thine integritij? Art thou so verv obstinate in thy religion, that nothing will cure thee of it? So tame and shee]Msh, as thus to truckle to a God, who is so far from rewarding thy services with marks of his favour, that he seems to take a pleasure in making thee miserable, strips thee, and scourges thee, without any provocation given? Is this a God to be still loved, and blessed, and served?"

Dost thou not see that thy drvolion's vain?

What have thy pravei^ procur'd, but woe and paii,''

Hast thou not yet liiine inl'rest undeisuuid''

Perversely righteous, and absurdly jot d"*

JOB, II

21

Those painful soros, and all tliy losses, show Hiiw Heaven n-sards ihi; foolish saiuls below. Iiicuirigibly pious ! Can'! thy God Reform lliy siupiil virtue with his rod?

Sir R. Blackmore.

Thus Satan still endeavours to draw men from God, as he did our first pai'cnts, by suggesting hard thoughts of him, as one that envies the happiness, and delights in the misery, of his creatures, than which nothing is more false. Another artifice he uses, ;s, to drive men from their religion, by loading tliem witli scoffs and reproaches i^M their adherence to it: we have reason to expect it, but we arc fools if we heed it: our Master himself has undergone it, we sliall be abundantly recompensed for It, and with much more reason may we revnt it upon the scoffers, " Are you such fools as still to retain your impiety, when you might diess God, and live?"

2. She urges him to renounce his religion, to blaspheme (iod, set him at defiance, and dare him to do his worst; " Curse God, and die; live no longer in dependence upon Ciod, wait not for relief from him, ijut be tiiine own deliverer, by being thine own executioner, end thy troubles by ending tliy life, better die once than be always dying thus; th'iu mayest now despair of having any help from thy God, even curse him, and hang thyself." These are two of the blackest and most horrid of all S itan's temptatijns, and yet such as good men ha\ e sometimes been violently assaulted with: nothing is more contrary to natural conscience than blas-plieming God, nor to natural sense than self-murder; therefv)re the suggestion of either of these may well be suspected to come immediately from Satan. Loi-d, lead us not into temptation, not into such, not into any, temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

III. He bravely resists and overcomes the temptation, V. 10. He soon gave her an answer, (for Satan spared him the use of his tongue, in hopes he would curse God with it,) which showed his constant .resolution to cleave to God, to keep his good thoughts of him, and not to let go his integrity.

See, 1. How he resented the temptations; he was indignant at having such a thing mentioned to him; "What! Curse God? I abhor the thought of it; get thee behind me, Satan." In other cases. Job reasoned with his wife with a great deal of mildness, even when she was unkind to him; (ch. xix. 17.) / entreated her for the children's sake of my own body. But when she persuaded him to curse God, he was much displeased; Thou sp.eakest as one of the foolish women sfieaketh. He does not call her a fool, and an atheist, nor does he break out into any indecent expressions of his displeasure, as those who are sick and sore are apt to do, and think they may be excused; but he shows her the rvW of what she said, that she spake the language <if the infidels ;md idolaters, who, when they are hard hi bestead, fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, Isa. viii. 21. We have reason to suppose, that, in such a pious household as Job had, his wife was one that had been well-affected to religion, but that now, when all their estate and comfort were gone, she could not bear the loss with that temper of mind that Job had; but that she should go about to infect his mind with her wretched distemper, was a great provocation to him, and he could not forbear thus showing his resentment. Note, (1.) Those are angry and sin not, who are angrr only at sin, and take a temptation as the greatest affront; who cannot bear them that are evil, Rev. ii. 2. When Peter was a Satan to Christ, he told him plainly. Thou art an offence to me. (2.) If those whom we think wise and good, at any time speak that which is foolish and bad, we O'lght tore-

prove them faithfully for it, and show them the e\ ;i of what they suy, that we suffer not sin upon them. (3.) Temptations to curse God ought to be rejected with the greatest abhonence, and not so much as to be parleyed with: whoe\ er persuades us to tliat, must be looked upon as our enemy, to whom if we yield it is at our peril. Job did not ciirseGnd, and then think to come off with Adam's excuse. The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she persuaded vie to it, (Gen. iii. 12.) which had in it a tacit reflection on God, his ordinance, and providence; no, if thou scornest, if thou cursest, thou alone shait bear it.

2. How he reasoned against the temptation; Shall •w receive good at the hand of God, and shall we noi, receive evil also? Those whom we reprove, we must endeai^our to con\ ince; and it is no hard matter to give a reason why we should still hold fust our integrity, evei. when we are stripped of every thing else. He considers that though good and evil are contraries, yet they do not come from contrary causes, but both from the hand of God; (Isa. xlv. 7. Lam. iii. 38.) and therefore t'lat in both we must have our eye up unto him, with cbankfulness for the good he sends, and without fretfulnes* at the evil. Observe the force of his argument,

(1.) What he argiies/or; not only the bearing, but the receiving, of evil; Shall we not receive evil? that is, [1.] " Shall we not expect to receive it.'' If God give us so many good things, shall we be surprised, or think it strange, if he sometimes afflict us, when he has told us that prosperity and adversity are set the one over-against the other.?" 1 Pet. iv. 12. [2.] " Shall we not set ourselves to receive it aright.'" The woi-d signifies to receive as a gift, and denotes a pious affection and disposition of soul under our afflictions, neither despising them nor fainting under tliem, accounting them gifts; (Phil. i. 29.) accepting them as punishments of our iniquity; (Lev. xxvi. 41.) acquiescing in the will of God in them; ("Let him do with me as seemeth him good;") and accommodating ourselves to them, as those that know how to want as well as how to abound, Phil. iv. 12. When the heart is humbled, and weaned, by humbling weaning providences, then we receive correction, (Zech. iii. 2.) and take up our cross.

(2.) What he argues/ro7«; " Shall we receive so much good as has come' to us from the hand of God, during all those years of peace and prosperity that we have lived; and shall we not now receive evil, when God thinks fit to lay it on us.'" Note, The consideration of the mercies we receive from God, both past and present, should make us receive our afflictions with a suitable disposition of spirit. If we receive our share of the conmion good in the seven years of plenty, shall we not receive or.r share of the common evil in the years of famine.' Qui sensit commodum, sentire debet et onus — He who feels the privilege, should prepare for the privation. If we have so much that pleases us, why should we not be content with that which pleases God.' If we receive so many comforts, shall we not receive some afflictions, which will serve as fi.ilsto our comforts, to make them the more valuable; (we are taught the worth of mercies, by being made to want them sometimes;) and as allays to our comforts, to make them the less dangerous, to keep the balance e\ en, and to prevent our being liped up above measure? 2 Cor. xii. 7. If we receive so much good for the body, shall we not receive some good for the soul; that is, some afflictions, bv which we partake of God's holiness; (Heb. xii. 10.) srimething which, by saddening the countenance, makes the heart better.' Let murmuring, therefore, as well as boasting, be for ever excluded. IV. Thus, in a good measui-e, Job still held fast

'22

JOB, II.

his integrity; and Satan's design against him was ilefeated. In all this did not Job sm with his lifis; he not only said this well, but all he said, at this tinie, was under the go\ernnient of religion and right reason: in the midst of all these grievances, he did not speak a word amiss; and we have no reason to think, but that he also preserved a good temper of mind, so that though there might be some stirrings and risings of corruption in his heart, yet grace got the upper hand, and he took care that t:ie root of bitterness might not spring up to trouble him, Heb. xii. 15. The abundance of his heart was for God, produced good things, and suppressed the evil that was there, which was out-voted by the better side. If he did think any evil, yet he laid his hand ufion his mouth, (Prov. xxx. "32.) stifled the evil thouglit, and let it go no further; by which it appeared, not only that he had true grace, bat that It was strong, and victorious; in short, that he had not forfeited the cliai-acter oi ii/irrfcct and u/i-right mail; for so he appears to be, who, in tiie midst of sucl\ temptation, offends not in word, Jam. iii. 2. Ps. x\ii. 3.

11. Now vvlieu Job's three friends lieard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Elipliaz the Temanite, and Biidad the Shu-hite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him, and to comfort him. 12. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. 13. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

We have here an account of the kind visit which Job's three friends made him in his affliction. The news of his extraordinary troubles spread into all parts; he being an eminent man, both for greatness and goodness, and the circumstances of his troubles being very uncommon. Some, who were his enemies, triumphed in his calamities; (c/i. xvi. 10.— xix. 18.—xxx, 1, tfc.) perhaps they made ballads on him: but his friends concerned themselves for him, and endeavoured to comfort him; a friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Three of them are here named, {v. 11.) Eliphaz, Biidad, and Zophar. We shall meet with a fourth after, who, it should seem, was present at the whole conference, namely, Eliliu; whether he came as a friend of Job, or only as an auditor, does not appear: these three are said to be hhfrierids, his intimate acquaintances, as David and Solomon had each of them one in their court, that was called the king's friend. These three were eminently wise and good men, as appears by their discourses; they were old men, very old, they liad a great reputation for knowledge, and much deference was paid to their judgment, ch. xxxii. 6. It is probable that they were men of figure in their country— princes, or heads of houses. Now observ e,

I. That Job, in his prosperity, had contracted a friendship with them: if they were his equals, yet he had not that jealousy of them; if his inferiors, yet he had not that disdain of them, which was any hinderance to an intimate converse and correspon-

dence with them. To have such friends, added more to his happiness in the day of his prospent}, than all the heads of cattle he was master of. Much of the comfort of this life lies in acquaintance and friendship witli those that are prudent and virtuous; and he that lias a few such friends, ought to value them highly. Job's three friends are sup posed to be all of them of the posterity of Aijra ham, which, for some descents, c en in the families that were shut out from the covenant of peculiarity, retained some good fruits of that pious education which the father of the faithful gave to thi se under his charge. Eliphaz descended from Tem m, the grandson of Esau; (Gen. xxx\i. 11.) Biidad i^it is probable) from Shuah, Abraham's son by Keturah, Gen. XXV. 2. Zophar is thought by some to be the same wit.i Zepho, a descendant from Esau, Gen. xxx\i. 11. The preserving of so much wisdom and piety among those that were sti'angers to the cove-nantsof promise, was a happy presage'of God's grace to the Gentiles, when the partition wall should, in the latter days, be taken down. Esau was rejected; yet many that came from him inherited some of the best blessuigs.

II. That they continued their friendship with Job in his adversity, when most of his friends liad forsaken him, ch. xix. 14. Two ways they showed their friendship,

1. By the kind visit they made him in his affliction, to mourn with him, and to comfort him, v. 11. Probably, they had been wont to \ isit him in his prosperity, not to hunt or hawk with him, not to dance or play at cards with him, but to entertain and edify themselves with his learned and pious converse; and now, that he was in adversity, they came to share with him in his griefs, as formerly they had come to share with him in liis comforts. These were wise men, whose heart was i" ''"-house of mourning, Eccl. vii. 4. Visiting the afflict ed, sick or sore, fatherless or childless, in their sorrow, is made abranch oipure religion and undtjikdi (Jam. i. 27.) and, if done from a good principle, will be abundantly recompensed shortly, Matth. XXV. 36. By visiting the sons and daughters of affliction, we may contribute to the improvement, (].) Of our own graces; for many a good lesson is t(j be learned from the trouliles of others; we may look upon them, and recei\e instruction, and be made wise and serious. (2.) Of their comforts; by putting a respect upon them, we encourage them, and some-good word may be spoken to them, which may help to make them easy. Jc^b's friends came, not to satisfy their curiosity with an account of his troubles, and the strangeness of the circumstances of them; much less, as David's false friends, to make invidious remarks upon him, (Ps. xli. 6..8.) but to mourn with him, to mingle their tears with his, and so to comfort him. It is much more pleasant to visit those in affliction, to whom comfort belongs, than those to whom we must first speak con\ iction.

Concerning these visitants, observe, [1.] That they were not sent for, but came of their own accord; {ch. vi. 22.) whence Mr. Caryl observes, that it is good manriei's to be an unbidden guest at the house of mourning, and, in comforting our friends, to prevent their invitations. [2.] That thev made an appointment to come. Note, Good people should make appointments among tliemselves for doing good, so exciting and obliging one another to it, and assisting and encouraging one another in it. For the carrying on of any pi< us design, let hand join in hand. [3.] That they came with a design (and we have reason to think it was a sincere design) to comfort him, and yet pnned miserable comforters, through their unskilful management of his case. Many that aim well, by mistake, come shoi t of their aim.

JOB, III.

23

2. By their tender sympathy with him and concern fi.r hini in his affliction; when they saw him at sonic distance, he was so disfigured and deformed witli h,s sores, that they kncvj him not, f. 12. Hs fa.c w.ia fo'.'l iDit/t ivfefiing, {c/i. xvi. 16.) like Jems ilem's N.iza ites, that had been ruddy as the rubitfi, but weie now blacker than a coal. Lam. iv. 7, 8. Wliat a change will a sore disease, or, without that, oppi'essing care and grief, make in the countenance, in a little time! Is this J^aomi? Ruth i. 19. So, Is this Joby How art thou fallen! How IS thy glory stained and sullied, and all thine honour laid in the dust! God fit us for such changes!

Observing him thus miserably altered, they did not leave him, in a fright or loathing, but expressed so much the more tenderness toward him.

(1.) Coming to mourn with him, they vented their undissernbled grief in all the then usual expressions of that passion; they wept aloud; the sight of them, (as is usual,) revived Job's grief, and set him a-weep-ing afresh, which fetched floods of tears from their eyes. They rent their clothes, and sprinkled dust upon their heads, as men that would strip themselves, and abase themselves, with their friend that was stripped and abased.

(2.) Coming to comfort him, they sat down with nim upon the ground, for so he received visits; and they, not in compliment to him, but in true compassion, put themselves into the same humble and uneasy place and posture. They had many a time, it is likely, sitten with him on his couches, and at his table, in his prosperity, and were therefore willing to share with him in his grief and po\erty, because they had shared with him in his joy and plenty. It was not a modish short visit that they made him, just to look upon him and be gone; but, as those that could have no enjoyment of themselves, if they had returned to their place, while their friend was in so much misery, they resolved to stay with him till they saw him mend or end, and therefore took lodgings near him, though he was not now able to entertain them as he had done, and they must therefore bear their own charges. Every day, for seven days together, at the hours in which he admitted company, they came and sat with him, as liis companions in tribulation, and exceptions from that rule, JVullus ad admissas ibit amicus opes — They •who have lost their wealth, are not to exfiect the visits of their friends.

They sat with him, but none spake a word to him, only they all attended to the particular naiTa-tives he gave of his troubles. They were silent, as men astonished and amazed; Cures leves loquuntur, ingentes stufient — Our lighter griefs have a voice; those which are more oppressive, are mute; or, according to Sir R. Blackmore,

So lung a lime they held their peace, to show A reverence due lo suih prodigious woe.

They spake not a word to him, whatever they said one to another, by way of instruction, for the improvement of the present providence. They said nothing to that purport to which afterward they said much—nothing to grieve him; {ch. iv. 2.) because they saw his grief was very great already, and they were loath at first to add affliction to the afflicted. There is a time to keep silence, when either the wicked is before us, and by speaking we niay harden them, (Ps. xxxix. 1.) or when by speaking we may offend the generation of God's children, Ps. Ixxiii. 15. Their not entering upon the following solemn discourses till the seventh day, may perhaps intimate that it was the sabbath-day, which, doubtless, was obser\ ed in the patriarchal age, and to that day they adjourned the intended conference, because, probably, then company resorted, as usual, to Job's house, to join with him in his devotions, who might be edified by the discourse. Or rather,

by their silence so long, they would intimate, thi.t what they afterwards said was well considered and digested, and the result of many thoughts. 'J'/,e heart of the wise studies to answer. We should Ih nk twice before we speak once, especiallv in such a case as this, think long, and we sliall be' the belter able to speak short and to the purpose.

CHAP. 111.

Ye have heard of the patience of Job, says the apostle, Jav.. V. 11. So »ve have, and of his inipatience too. We wondered that a man should be so patient as he was; (ch. i. and ii.) but we wondered also, that a good muii should be so impatient as he is here in this chapter, where we find him cursing his day, and, in passion, 1. Complaining that he was born, v. 1.. 10. II. Complain-iii"^ that he did not die as soon as he was born, v. 11. . 19. III. Complaining that his life was now continued when he was in misery, v. 20. .26. In this, it must be owned that Job sinned with his lips, and it is written, not for our imitation, but our admonition, that he who thinks he stands, may take heed lest he fall.

FTER this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. 2. And Job spake, and said, 3. Let the day perish wherein 1 was born, and the nigiit m tvhich it was said. There is a man child conceived. 4. Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. 5. Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. 6. As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year; let it not come into the numbt r of the months. 7. Lo, let that night be solitary; let no joyful voice come thereiis. 8. Let them curse it that curse the day, wh.o are ready to laise up their mourning. 9. Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dai k; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the daVvning of the day: 10. Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

Long was Job's heart hot within him; while he was musing, the fire burned, and the more for being stifled and suppressed; at length, he spake with his tongue, but not such a good word as David spake after a long pause. Lord, make me to know my end,' Ps. xxxix. 3, 4. Seven days the prophet Ezekiel sat down astonished with the captives, and then (probably on the sabbath-day) the word of the Lord came to him, Ezek. iii. 15, 16. So long job and his friends sat thinking, but said nothing; they wete afraid of speaking what they thought, lest thev should grieve him, and he durst not give vent to his thoughts, lest he .«hould ofFend them. They came to comfort him, but, finding his afflictions very extraordinary, they began to think comfort did n; t belong to him, suspecting him to be a hvpccrite, and therefore they said nothing. But loset s think they may have leave to speak, and tlierefore Jo!) gives vent first to his thoughts. Unless they had been better, it had been well if he had kept them to himself.

In short, he cursed his day, the day of his birth, wished he had never been born, could not think ov speak of his own birth without regret and vexation. Whereas men usually observe the annual return of their birth-day with rejoicing, he looked upon it as

JOB, III.

llxe unhappiest day of the year, because the unhap-piest of his hfe, being the inlet into all his woe. Now,

I. This was bad enough. The extremity of his trouble and the discomposure of liis spirits may excuse it in part, but he can by no means be justilied in it. Now lie has forgotten the good he was born to, the lean kine have eaten up the fat ones, and he is filled with thoughts of the evil only, and wishes he had never been born. The prophet Jeremiah himself expressed his resentment of his calamities, in language not much unlike this, I foe is me, rny mother, t/iat thou hunt borne me! (Jer. xv. 10.) Cursed be the day wherein. I was born, Jer. xx. 14, &c. We may suppose that Job, in his prosperity, had many a time blessed God for the day of his birth, and reckoned it a happy day; yet now he brands it with all possible marks of infamy. When we consider the iniquity in which we were conceived and born, we have reason enciugh to reflect with sorrow and shame upon the day of our birth, and to say that the day of our death, by which we are freed from sin, (Rom. vi. 7.) is far better, Eccl. vii. 1. But to curse the day of our birth, because then we entered upon the calamitous scene of life, is to quaiTel with the God of nature, to despise the dignity of our being, and to indulge a passion which our own calm and sober thoughts will make us ashamed of. Certainly there is no condition of life a man can be in in this world, but he may, in it, (if it be not his own fault,) so honour God, and workiout his own salvation, and make sure a happiness for himself in a better world, that he will have no reason at all to wish he had never been born, but a great deal of reason to say that he had his being to good purpose. Yet 't iimst be owned, if there were not another life after this, and divine consolations to support us in the prospects of it, so many are«the sorrows and troubles of this, that we might sometimes be tempted to say that we were made in vain, (Ps. Ixxxix. 47.) and to wish we had ne\er been. There are those in hell, who, with good reason, wish they had never been born, as Judas, Matth. xxvi. 24. But, on this side hell, there can ^e no reason for so vain and ungrateful a wish. It was Job's folly and weakness to curse his day; we must say of it. This was his infirmity; but good men have sometimes failed in the exercise of those graces which they have been most eminent for, that we may understand, that, when they are said to be fierftct, it is meant that they weie upright, not that they were sinless. Lastly, Let us observe it, to the honour of the spiritual life above the natural, that, though many have cursed the day of their first birth, never any cursed the day of their new birth, nor wished they ne\ er had had grace, and the spirit of grace given them; those are the most excellent gifts, above life and being itself, and whicli will never be a burthen.

II. Yet it was not so bad as Satan promised himself: Job cursed his day, but he did not curse his CJod; was weary of his life, and would gladly have parted with that, but not weary of his religion; he resolutely cleaves to that, and will ne\er let it go. The disjnite between God and Satan concerning Job, was not whether Job had his infirmities, and whether he was suljject to like passions as we are; (that was granted;) but whetlier he was a hypocrite, and secretly hated (iod, and, if he were provoked, would show it: upon trial, it proved that he was no such man. Nay, all this may consist with his being a pattern of patience; for though he did thus speak unad\ isedly with his lips, yet, ijoth before and after, he expressed great submission and resignation to tlic holy will of (iod, and repented of his impatience; he condemned himself tor it, and therefore God did not condemn him; nor must we,

but watch the more carefully over ourselves, lest we sin after the similitude of this transgression.

The particular expressions which Jub used, in cursing his day, are full of poetical fancy, flame, and rapture; and cieate as much difficulty to che ci-itics as the thing itself does to the divine's: we need not. be particular in our observations upon tliem.

When he would express his passionate wish that he had never been, he falls foul upon the day; and,

1. He wished that earth might forget it; Let it perish, v. 3. Let it not be joined to the days of the year, v. 6. "Let it be not only not inserted in the calendar in red letters, as the day < f tlie king's nativity useih to be," (and Job was a king, ch. xxix. ult.) "but let it be rased and blotted out, and buried in oblivion. Let not the world know that ever such a man as I was bom into it, and lived in it, who am made such a spectacle of misery."

2. That Hea\en might frown ufion it; Let not God regard it from above, v. 4. "E. ery thing is indeed as it is with God; that day is honourable on which he puts honour, and which he distinguishes and crowns with his favour and blessing, as he did the seventh day of the week, but let my birth-day never be so honoured, let it be nigro carbone notan-dus — marked as with a black coal, for an evil day, by him that determines the times before appointed. 1 he Father and Fountain of light appouited the greater light to rule the day, and lesser lights to rule the niglit; but let that want the benefit of both." (1.) Let that day be darkness; {v. 4.) and if the light of the day be darkness, hoiv great is that darkness! It is terrible, because then we look for light. Let the gloominess of the day represent Job's condition, whose sun went down at noon. (2.) As for that night too, let it want the benefit rf morn and stars, and let darkness seize upon it, thick darkness, darkness that may be felt, which will not befriend the repose of the night by its silence, but rather disturb it with its terroi s.

3. That all joy might forsake it; "Let it be a melancholy night, solitary, and not a mei ry night of music or dancing; let no joyful voice c^me therein;" {y. 7.) "let it be a long night, and not see the eye-lids of the morning," (v. 9.) "which bring joy with them."

4. That all curses m\%hX.follow it; [xk 8.) "Let none ever desire to see it, or bid it welcome when it comes, but, on the contrary, let them curse it that curse the day. Whatever day any are tempted to curse, let them at the same time besti.w rue ciirse upon my birth-day; particularly those th;it make it their trade to raise up mourning a' funenls wrh their ditties of lamentation. Let them that curse the day of the death of oth.ers, in the same breath curse tlie day of my birth." Or, those who are so fierce and daring as to be ready to raise u]j the Leviathan, for that is the word here; who, hcivig about to strike the whale or crocodile, curse it \<. ith the bitterest curse they can invent, hoping by thi^se incantations to weaken it, and so to make themselves masters of it. Probably some such custom might there be used, to which cur divine poet a'-ludes. Let it be as odious as the day wherein men bewail the greatest misfortune, or the time ivhin-in they see the most dreadful apparitioji: so Bishf]) Patrick, I supprse, taking the Levi;:than liere to signify the Devil, as others do, who uiulcrsta; d it of the curses used by conjurers and magicians in raising the Devil, or when they have raised a devil that they cannot lay.

But what is the ground of Job's quanel with the day and night of his birth? It is because it shut not up the doors of his mother^s womb, v. 10. See the folly and madness of a passionate discontent, and how absurdly and '^vtr^.vKgantly it talks, when the reins are laid on the neck of it. Is this Job, who

JOB, III.

25

was so much admired for his wisdom, that unto him men gave ear, and kefil silence at his counsel, and after his vjords they spuke not ugaiii? ch. xxix. 21, 22. Surely his wisdom failed liim, ^1.) When he took so much pains to express his desire that he had ne\ er been born, whicii, at the best, was a vain wisii, for it is impossible to make that which has been, not to have been. (2.) When he was so li-Dei'al of his curses upon a day and a night, that could not be liurt, or made ever the worse for his curses. (3.) When he wished a thing so very barbarous to his own iooiher, as that she might not have brouglu him forth, when her full time was come; wliich must ine\itdbly have been her death, and a miserable death. (4.) When he despised the goodness of God to him, (in giving him a being, sucli a being, so noble and excellent a life, such a life, so far abovC that of any other creature in this lower world,) and undervalued tiie gift, as not worth the acceptance, only because tratmt cum onere — it was clogged with a firoviso of trouble, which now, at length, came upon him, after many years' enjoyment of its pleasures. What a foolish thing it wa* to wish that his eyes had never seen the light, that so they might not have seen sorrow, which yet he might hope to see through, and beyond which he might see joy! Did Job believe and hope that he should m his flesh see God at the latter day; {ch. xix. 26.) and yet would he wish he never had had a being capable of such a bliss, only because, for the present, he had sorrow in the flesh? God, by his grace, arm us against this foolish and hurtful lust of impatience!

11. Why died I not from the womb? lohi/ did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly ? 12. Why did the knees prevent me ? or why the breasts that I should suck ? 13. For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, 14. With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; 15. Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver: 16. Or as a hidden untimely birth 1 had not been; as infants which never saw light. 17. There the wicked cea.se from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. 18. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. 19. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.

Job, perhaps reflecting upon himself for his folly in wishing he had never been born, follows it, and thinks to mend it, with another, little better, that he had died as soon as he was born, which he enlarges upon in these verses. When our Saviour would set forth a very calamitous state of things, he seems to allow such a saying as this. Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that Tiever bare, and the fiafis which never gave suck; (Luke xxiii. 29.) but blessing the liarren womb is one thing, and cursing the fruitful womb is another! It is good to make the best of afflictions, but it is not good to make the worst of mercies. Our rule is, Bless, a7id curse not.

Life is often put for all good, and death for all evil; yet Job here very absurdly complains of life and its supports, as a curse and plague to him, and covets death and the grave, as the greatest and most desirable bliss. Surely Satan was deceived in Job, when he applied that maxim to him, jill that a man

Vol. III.— D

hath will he give for his life; for never any man valued life at a lower rate than he did.

I. He ungratetully quarrels with life, and is angry tliut It was not taken from him as soon as 't was given him; {v. 11, 12.) Why died not I from the womb? See here, 1. What a weak and helpless creature man is when he comes into the woild, and how slender the thread of Lfe is, when it is first drawn. We are ready to die fion) tlie womb, and to breathe our last, as soon as we begin to breathe at all. We can dc) nothing for ourseh es, as other creatures can, but should drop into the grave, if the knees did not prevent us; and the lamp of life, when first lighted, would go out of itself, if the breasts given us, that we should suck, did not supply it with fresh oil. 2, What a merciful and tender care Divine Providence took of us, at our entrance into the world. It was owing to th's, that we died not from the womb, and did not give u/i the ghost when we came out of the belly. Why were we not cut off" as soon as we were born? Not because we did not deserve it; justly might such weeds ha\e been plucked u,) as soon as they appeared, justly might such cockatrices ha\ e been crushed in the egg: not because we did, or could, take any care of ourselves and our own safety; no creature comes into the world so shiftless as man. It was not our might, or the power of our hand, that preser\ ed us these beings; but God's power and pro\ idence upheld our frail lives, and his pity and patience spared our forfeited lives. It was owing to this that the knees prevented us. Natural affection is put into parents' hearts by the hand of the God of nature: and lience it was, that the blessings of the breast attended those of the womb. 3. What a great deal of vanity and vexation of spirit attends human life. If we had not a God to serve in this world, and better things to hope for in another world, considering the faculties we are endued whh, and the ti-oubles we are surrounded with, we should be st)ongly tenipted to wish that we had died from the womb, which had prevented a great deal both of sin and misery.

He that is born ro-day, and dies to-morrow, Loses some hours of joy, but months of sorrow.

4. The evil of impatience, fretfulness, and discontent; when they thus prevail, they aie unreasonable and absurd, impious and ungrateful; they are a slighting and under\^aluing of God's fa\ our. 'How much soever life is imbittered, we must say, "It was of the Lord's mercies that we died not from the womb, that we were not consumed." Hatred of life is a contradiction to the common sense and sentiments of mank'nd, and our own at anothei time. Let discontented people declaim ever so much against life, they will he loath to part with it when it comes to the point. When the old man in the fable, being tired with his burthen, threw it drwn with discontent, and called for death, and death came to him, and asked him what he would have with him, he then answered, "Nothing, but help me up with my burthen."

IL He p issionately applauds death and the grave, and seems quite in "love with them. To desire to die, that we may be with Christ, that we may be free from sin, and that we may be clothed upon with our house which is fro7n heaven, is the effect and evidence of grace; but to desire to die, only that we may be quiet in the grave, and dcliveied "from the troubles of this life, sa\ ours of corruption. Job's considerations here may be of good use to reconcile us to death when it comes, and to make us easy under the arrest of it; but they ought not to be made use of as a pretence to quarrel with life while it is continued, or to make us uneasy under the burthens of it. It is our wisdom and duty to make the

JOB, III.

best of that which is, be it living or dying, and so t(i live to the Lord, and die to the Lord, and to be liis in both, Rom. xiv. 8.

Job here frets himself with thinking, that, if he had but died as soon as he was born, and been earned from the womb to the grave,

1. His condition would have been as good as that of the best. I should have been (says he, v. 14.) with kings and counsellors of the earth, whose pomp, power, and policy, cannot set them out of the reacli of death, nor secure them from the grave, \\)v distinguish their's from common dust in the grave. Even princes, who had gold in abundance, I 'Mild not, with it, bribe death to overlook them ulien he came with commission; and though tliey fi'.lecl their houses with silver, yet they were forced to leave it all behind them, no more to return to it. Some, by the desolate places which the kings and counsellors are here said to build for themselves, understand the sepulchres or monuments they pre-])ired for themselves in their life-time; as Shebna (Is '. xxii. 16.) hewed him out a sefiulchre; and by the gold which the princes had, and the sil\ er with which they filled their houses, they understand the treasures which, they say, it was usual to deposit in the graves of great men. Such arts have been used to preserve their dignity, if possible, on the other side death, and to keep themselves from lying even with those of inferior rank; but it will not do; death is, and will be, an irresistible leveller; Mors scr/itra li^ojiibus dequat — Death mingles sce/itres with sfiades. Rich and fioor meet together in the grave; and there, 2.hidden untimely birth, {y. 16.) a child that either never saw light, or but just opened its eyes, and peeped into the world, and, not liking it, closed them again, and hastened out of it, lies -.s soft and easy, lies as high and safe, as kings, and counsellors, and princes that had gold; "And therefore," says Job, " would I had lain there in the dust, rather than live to lie here in the ashes!"

2. His condition would have been much better thai n rw it was, v. 13. " Then should I have lain still and been quiet, which now I cannot do, I cannot be, but am still tossing and unquiet; then I should have slept, whereas now sleep departeth from mine eyes; then had I been at rest, whereas now I am restless." Now that life and immortality are brought to a much clearer light by the gospel than befoi-e they were placed in, good Christians can give a better account than this of the gain of death; " Tlien should I have been present with the Lord, then should I have seen his glory face to face, and no longer through a glass darkly;" but all that poor Job dreamed of, was rest and quietness in the grave, cut of the fear of evil tidings, and out of the feeling of sore boils. I'hen should I have been quiet; and hnd he kept his temper, his even easy temper still, which he was in, in the two foregoing chapters, entirely resigned to the holy will of God, and acquiescing in it, he might have been quiet now; his soul,, at least, might have dwelt at ease, even when his bodv lay in pain, Ps. xxv. 13.

Observe how finely he describes the repose of the gr;(ve; which (provided the soul also l)e at rest in Gnfl) may much assist our triumph over it.

(1.) Those that now are troubled, will there be 'out of the reach of trouble; {y. 17.) There the wicked erase from troubling: when persecutors die, they can no longer persecute, their hatred and envy are now perished. Herod had vexed the church, but when he became a prey for worms, he ceased from troiibling. When the persecuted die, they are out of the danger of being any further troubled. Had Job been at rest in his grave, he had had nodisturli-ance from the Sabeans and Chaldeans, none of all nis enemies had created him any trouble.

(2.) Th'^se tliat arc now toiled, will there see the

period of their toils; there th: weary are at rest heaven is more than a rest to the souls of the saints, but the grave is a rest to their bodies; their pilgrimage is a weary pilgrimage; sin and the world « they are weary of; their services, sufferings, and expectations, they are wearied with; but in the grave they rest from all their labours, Rev. xi.. 13. Isa. Ivii. 2. They are eusy there, i.nd make im) complaints; there believers sleep in Jesus.

(3.) Those that were here enslaved, are there i;t liberty: death is the prisoner's discharge, the reli f of the oppressed, and the servant's nuitiumis.sif;n, i . 18. There the prisoners, though thty walk nit ;.t large, yet they rest together, and arc net put to work, to grind in that pris'n-house. They aieno more insulted and tranii)led upon, menaced ai d terrified, by their cruel task-m sters; 'hey hear 7:0t the voice of the ojifiressor. They that were heie doomed to perj^etual servitude, that cou!d call nothing their own, no not their own b' dies, are there no longer under command or c ntr( 1; there tlie servant is free from his master; wlii^h is a gof d reason why those that have power should use it moderately, and those that are in subjection should bear it patiently, yet a little while.

(4.) Those that were at a vast distance from all others, there are upon a level, v. 19. The small and great are there, there the same, there all one, all alike free among the dead. The tedious pomp and state, which attend the great, are at an end there; all the inconveniences of a poor and low condition are likewise over; death and the grave know no difference.

LevelI'd by death, the conqueror and the slave, The wise and foolish, cowards and the brave, Lie mix'd and undistinguished in the grave

Sir R. Blackmore.

20. Wherefore is light given to him thai is in misery, and Ufe unto the bitter m soul \

21. Which long for death, but licometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;

22. Wliich rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they can find the grave ? 23. Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in ? 24. For my sighing Cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. 25. For the thing which T greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. 26. I was not in safet}-, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.

Job, finding it to no purpose to wish either that he had not been born, or had died as soon as he was born, here complains that his life was now continued, and not cut off. When men are set on quarrelling, there is no end of it; the corrupt heart will carry on the humour: having cursed the day of his birth, here he courts the day of his death. The beginning of this strife and impatience is as the letting forth of water.

1. He thinks it hard, in general, that miserable lives should be prolonged; (t. 20. . 22.) Wherefore is light in life given to them that are bitter in soul? Bitterness of soul, through sjiiritual grievances, makes life itself bitter. JVhy doth he give light k So it is in the original: he means God, yet does not name him, though the Devil had said, "He will curse thee to thy face;" but he tacitly reflects on the Divine Providence as unjust and unkind, in continuing life, when the comforts of litV are removed.

JOB, IV.

27

Life is called light, because pleasant and serviceable for walking and working; it is candle-ligtit, the longer it burns, the shorter, and the nearer to the socket, it grows. This light is said to be gwen us; for if it were not daily renewed to us by a fresh gift, it would be lost. But Job reckons, that, to th'ise who are in misery, it is iZ,f,ov aSajiov — gif( and no gift, a gift that they had better be without, wiiile the light only serves them to see their own miser)" Ijy. Such is the vanity of human life, that it sometimes becomes a vexation of spirit; and so alterable is the property of death, that, though d-eadful to nature, it may become even desirable to nature itself. , He speaks of those here, (1.) Who long for death, when they have out-lived their comforts and usefulness, are burthened with age and infirmities, with pain or sickness, poverty or disgrace, ind yet it comes not; while, at the same time, it comes to many who dread it, and would put it far from them. The continuance and period of life must be according to God's will, not according to our's. It is not fit that we should be consulted how long we would live, and when we would die; our times are in a better hand than our own. (2.) Who dig for it as for hid treasures; that is, would give any thing for a fair dismission out of this world, which supposes that theii the thought of men's lacing their own executioners was not so much as entertained or suggested, else those who longed for it needed not take much pains for it, they might soon come at it, (as Seneca tells them,) if they pleased. (3.) Who bid it welcome, and are glad when they can find the grave, and see themselves stepping into it. If the miseries of this life can prevail, contrary to nature, to make death itself desirable, shall not much more the hopes and prospects of a better life, to which death is our passage, make it so, and set us quite above the fear of it ? It may be a sin to long for death, but I am sure it is no sin to long for heaven.

2. He thinks himself, in particular, hardly dealt with, that he might not be eased of his pam and misery by death, when he could not get ease any other way. To be thus impatient of life, for the sake of the troubles we meet with, is not only unnatural in itself, but ungrateful to the Giver of life, and argues a sinful indulgence of our own passion, and a sinful inconsideration of our future state. Let it be our great and constant care to get ready for another world, and then let us leave it to God to order the circumstances of our removal thither as he thinks fit; "Lord, when and how thou pleasest;" and this with such an indifferency, that if he should refer it to us, we would refer it to him again. Grace teaches us, in the midst of life's greatest comforts, to be willing to die, and, in the midst of its greatest crosses, to be willing to live.

Job, to excuse himself in this earnest desire which he had to die, pleads the little comfort and satisfaction he had in life.

(1.) In his present afflicted state, troubles were continually felt, and were likely to be so. He thoue;ht he had cause enough to be weary of living, for, [1.] He had no comfort of his life; My sighing comes before I eat, x>. 24. The sorrows of life prevented and anticipated the supports of life; nay, they took away his appetite for his necessarv food. His griefs returned as duly as his meals, and affliction was his daily bread. Nay, sra great was the extremity of his pain and anguish, that he did not only sigh, but roar, and his roarings were poured out like the watei's in a full and constant stream. Our Master was acquainted with grief, and we must expect to be so too. [2.] He had no prospect of iiettering his condition, his way was hid, and God had hedged him in, v. 23. He saw no way open of deliverance, nor knew he what course

to take; his way was hedged ufi with thorns, that he could not find his path. See ch. xxiii. 8. Lim iii. 7.

(2.) Even in his former prosperous,state troubles were continually feared; so that theii he was ne\er easy, v. 25, 26. He knew so much r f the vanity of the world, and the troubles to which, rf course, he was born, that he was not in safety, neither had he rest then. That which made his grief now the more grie\ ous, was, that he was not conscious to himself of any great degree either of negligence or security in the day of his prosperity, which might provoke God thus to chastise him. [1.] He had not been negligent and unmindful of liis affairs, but kept up such a fear of trouble as was necessaiy to the maintaining of his guard: he was afraid for his children, when they were feasting, lest they should offend God; {ch. i. 5.) afraid for his ser\ants, lest the) should offend his neighbours; he took all the care he could of his own health, and managed himself and his affairs with all possible precaution; yet all would not do. [2.] He had not been secure, nor indulged himself in ease and softness, had not trusted in his wealth, nor flattered himself with the hopes of the perpetuity of his mirth; yet trouble came, to convince and remind him of the vanity of the world, which yet he had not forgotten when he lived at ease. Thus his way was hid, for he knew not wherefore God contended with him. Now this consideration, instead of aggra\ ating his grief, might rather serve to alleviate it: nothing will make trouble easy so much as the testimony of our consciences for us, that, in some measure, we did our di;*;," ,ii a day of prosperity: and an expectation of ti'ouble will make it sit the lighter when it comes. The less it is a surprise, the less it is a terroi*.

CHAP. IV.

Job having warmly given vent to his passion, and so broken the ice, his friends hore come gravely tn pive vent to their judgment upon his case; uhich pi ihaps they had communicated to one another apart, compared notes upon it, and talked it over amonjr themselves, and found they were all agreed in their verdict, that Job's afflictions certainly proved him to have been a hypocrite; but they did not attack Job with this high charge, till by the expressions of his discontent and impatience, in which they thought he reflected on God himself, he had confirmed them in the bnd opinion they had before conceived of him and his character. Now they set upon him with great fear. The dispute begins, and it soon becomes fierce. The opponents are Job's three friends, Job himself is icspondcnt, Elihii appears, fir't, as moderator, and, at length, God himself gives judgment upon the controversy, and the management of it. The question in dispute, is, whether Job was an honest man or no? The same question that was in dispute between God and Satan in the two first chapters. Satan had yielded it, and durst not pretend that his cursing of his day was a constructive cursing of his God; no, he cannot deny but that Job still holds fast his integrity; but Job's friends will needs have it, that, if Job were an honest man, he would not have been thus sorely and thus tediously afflicted, and therefore urge him to confess himself a hypocrite in the profession he had made of religion : " No," says Job, " that 1 will never do ; I have offended God, but my heart, notwithstanding, has been upright %vith him;"" and still he holds fast the comfort of his integrity. Eliphaz, who, it is likely, was the senior, or of the best quality, begins with him in this chapter; in which, I. He bespeaks a patient hearing, v. 2. II. He compliments Joh with an acknowledgment of the eminency and usefulness of the profession he had made of religion, v. S, 4. III. He charges him ivith hvpocrisy in his profession, grounding his charge upon his present troubles, and his conduct under them, v. a, 6. IV. To make good the inference, he maintains, that man's wickedness is that which always brings God's judgments, v. 7. .11. V. He corroborates his assertion by a vision which he had, in which he was reminded of the incontestable purity and justice of God, and th« meanness, weakness, and sinfulness, of man, v. 12..21.

JOB, IV.

By all this he aims to bring down Job's spirit, and to jl make him both penitent and patient under liis afflic- ji tiotis.

THEN Elipliaz the Temanite answered and said, 2. If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved ? But who can withhold himself from speaking ? 3. Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. 4. Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. 5. But now it is come upon tiiee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. 6. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, the uprightness of thy ways, and thy hope ?

In these verses,

1. Eliphaz excuses the trouble he is now about to give to Job by his discourse; (t'. 2.) " If we assay a word with thee, offer a word of reproof and counsel, wilt thou be grieved, and take it ill? We have reason to fear thou wilt: but there is no remedy; Who can refrain from words?" Observe, 1. With what modesty he speaks of himself and his own attempt. He will not undertake the management of the cause alone, but very humbly joins his friends with him; "We will commune with thee:" they that plead God's cause, must be glad of help, lest it suffer through their weakness. He will not promise much, but begs leave to assay or attempt, and try if he could propose any thing that might be pertinent, and suit Job's case. In difficult matters, it becomes us to pretend no further, but only to try what mav be said or done. Many excellent discourses have gone under the modest title of Essays. 2. With what tenderness he speaks of Job, and his present afflicted condition; **If we tell thee our mind, wilt thou be grieved? Wilt thou take it ill? Wilt thou lay it to thine own heart as thine affliction, or to our charge as our fault? Shall we be reckoned unkind and cruel, if we deal plainly and f uthfullv with thee? We desire we may not, we hope we shall not, and should be sorry if that should be ill resented which is well intended." Note, We ouu;ht to be afraid of grieving any, espe-ciallv those that are already in grief, lest we add affliction to the afflicted, as David's enemies, Ps. Ixix. 26. We should show ourselves backward to say that which we foresee will be grievous, though ever so necessary. God himself, though he afflicts justly, vet he does not afflict willinglv. Lam. iii. S.". 3. With what assurance he speaks of the truth and pertinency of what he was about to say; Who can tvithhold himself from s/ieakirig? Surely it was a pious zeal for God's honour, and the spiritual welfare of Job, that laid him under this necessity of speaking; "Who can forbear speaking in vindication of God's honour, which we hear reproved, in love to thy soul, which we see endangei-ed?" Note, It is foolish pity not to reprove our friends, even our friends in affliction, for what they sav or do amiss, only for fear of offending them. Whether men take it well or ill, we must with wisdom and meekness do our duty, and discharge a Rood conscience.

II. He exhibits a twofold charge against Job. 1. As to his particvilar conduct under this affliction; he charges him with weakness and faintheartedness; this article of his charge there was too much groimd for, v. 3. . 5. And here,

(1.) He takes notice of .Job's former serviceable-ness to the comfort of others. He owns that Job had instructed many, not only his own children and

ser\ants, but many others, his neighbours and friends, as many as fell within the sphere of his activity. He did not only encoui"igc tiicse who were teachers by office and crunteudnce them, and pay for the teaching of tliose who were poor, but he did himself instruct many: though a great man, he did not think it below him. King Solomon was a preacher: though a man of business, he ffund time to do it, went among his neighbours, talked to them about their souls, and ga\ e them good counsel. O that this example of Job were iniitated l)y our great men! If he met with those who were ready to fall into sin, or sink under their troubles, his words upheld them: a wonderful dcxteiity he had in offering that which was ])roper to foi-tify persons against temptations, to support them under their burthens, and to comfort affli ted consciences. He had, and used, the tongue of the learned, knew how to speak a word in season to them that were weary, and employed himself much in that good work. With suitable counsels and comforts he strengthened the weak hands for w( rk and service and the spiritual warfare, and the feeble knees for bearing up the man in his journey and under his load. It is not our duty only to lift up our own hands, that haiig down, by quickening and encouraging ourselves in the way of duty, (Heb. xii. 12.) but we must also strengthen the weak hands of others, as there is occasion, and do what we can to confirm their feeble knees, by saying to them that are of a fearful heart. Be strong, Isn. xxxv. 3, 4. 1 he expressions seem to be borrowed thence. Note, They who have abundance of spiritual riclies, should abound in spiritual charity. A good word, well and wisely spoken, may do more good than perhaps we think of.

But why does Eliphaz mention this here? [1.] Perhaps he praises him thus for the good he had done, that he might make the intended reproof the more passable with him. Just commendation is a good preface to a just reprehension, will help to remove prejudices, and will show that the reiirocf comes not from ill-will. Paul praised the C' rin-thians before he chid them, 1 Cor. xi. 2. [2.] He remembers how Job had comforted others as a reason why he might justly expect to be himself comforted; and yet, if conviction was necessary in order to comfort, they nnist be excused if tliey applied themselves to that first: the Comforter shall refirove, John xvi. 8. [3.] He speaks this, perhaps, in away of pity, lamenting, tlnit, thrrut'h the extremity of his affliction, he cf uld not apj)ly those comforts to himself which he had formerly administered to others. It is easier to ^^xe good counsel than to take it; to preach meekness and patience than to practise them. Facile onnw.i, cum valemus, rectum concilium Fegrotis damns — JVe all find it easy, when in health, to gii-e good advice to the sick. Terent. [4.] Most think th-,t he mentions it as an aggravation of his present discontent, upbraiding him with his knowledge, md the good offices he had done for others, as if he had said, "Thou th;it hast taught others, why drst not thou teach thyself? Is not this an evidence '^f thine hypocrisy, that thou hast prescribed thi't medicine to others which thou wilt not now titke thyself, and so contradictcst thyself, and actest against thine own known principles^ Thmi th;'.t teachest another not to faint, dost tlnni faint? Hrm. ii. 21. Physician, heal thyself." They who h:\\e rebuked others, must expect to hear of it, if they themselves become obnoxious to rcliuke.

(2.) He upbraids him with his present low-spiritedness, V. 5. "Now that it is come upon thee, now that it is thy turn to be afflicted, and the bitter cup, that goes round, is put into thy hand, now that it touches thee, thou faintest, thou art troubled *

JOB, IV.

sy

Here, [1.] He maKes loo light of Job's afflictions; "It touches thee." The very word that Satan h.niself had used, ch. i. 11.—ii. 5. Had Eliphaz felt but tiie one half of Job's afflictions, he would have said, "It smites me, it wounds me;" but, spitaking of Job's afflictions, he makes a mere trifle of It; "It touches thee, and thou canst not bear to be lo iched;" jYoli me tangere — Touch me not. [2. ] He makes too much of Job's resentments, and aggravates them; "Thou faintest, or thou art beside thyself; thou ravest, and knowest not what thou sayest." Men in deep distress must have grains of allowance, and a favourable construction put upon what tliey say; when we make the worst of every word, we do not as we would be done by.

2. As to his general character before this affliction, he charges hiai with wickedness and false-heartedness; that article of his charge was utterly groundless and unjust. How unkindly does he banter him, and upbraid him with the great profession of religion he had made, as if it were all now come to nothing, and proved a sham; {v. 6.) "Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hofie, and the ujirightnesH of thy ways? Does it not all appear now to be a mere pretence? For, hadst thou been sincere in it, God would not thus have afflicted thee, nor wouldest thou have behaved thus under the affliction." This was the very thing Satan aimed at, to prove Job a hypocrite, and disprove the character God had given of hini: wlien he could no: himself do this to God, but He still saw and said. Job is fierfect and upright, then he endeavoured, by his friends, to do it to Job himself, and to persuade him to confess himself a hypocrite: coald he ha\e gained tliat point, he would have triumphed, Hahes conjitentem reum — Out of thine own mouth will I cojidemn thee. But, by the grace of God, Job was enabled to hold fast his integrity, and would not bear false witness against himself Nijte, Those that pass rash and unchari-tal:)le censures upon their brethren, and condemn them for hypocrites, do Satan's work, and serve his interest, more than they are aware of, I know not how it comes to pass that this verse is differently read in several editions of our common English Bibles; the original, and all the ancient versions, put thy hope before the uprightness of thy ways. So does the Geneva and most of the editions of the last translation; but I find one of the first, in 1612, has it. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, the uprightness of thy ways, and thy hope? Both the Assembly's Annotations, and Mr. Poole's,' ha^•e that reading; and an edition in 1660 reads it, "7s not thy fear thy confidence, and the uprightness of thy ways thy hope? Does it not appear now, that all the religion, both of thy devotion, and of thy conversation, was only in hope and confidence that thiu shouldest grow rich by it? Was it not all mercenary^" The very thing that Satan suggested. Is not thy religion thy hope, and thy right ways thy confidence? So Mr. Broughton. Or, "Was it not? Didst thou not think that that would hive been thy protection? But thou art deceived." Or, "Would it not have been so? If it had been sincere, would it not have kept thee from this despair?" It is true, if thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength, thy grace, is small; (Prov. xxiv. 10.) but it does not therefore follow that thou hast nn grace, no strength at all. A man's character is not to be taken from a single act.

7. Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent ? or where were the righteous cut off? 8. Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness; reap the same. 9. By the

blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. 10. Tiie roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken. 11. The old lion perisheth ibr lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad.

Eliphaz here advances another argument to prove Job a hypocrite, and will have not only his impatience under his afflictions to be evidence against him, but even his afflictions themselves, being so very great and extraordinary, and there being no prospect at all of his deliverance out of them.

To strengthen this argument, he here lays down these two principles, which seem plausible enough.

I. That good men were never thus ruined: for the proof of this, he appeals to Job's own observa-titn; {v. 7.) "Remember, I pray thee; recollect all that thou hast seen, heard, or read, and give me an instance of any one that was innocent and righteous, and yet perished as thou dost, and w;is cut off as thou art." If we understand it of a final and eternal destniction, his principle is true. None that are innocent and righteous, perish for ever: it is only a man of sin that is a son of perdition, 2 Thess. ii. 3. But then it is ill applied to Job; he did not thus perish, nor was he cut off: a man is never undone till he is in hell. But, if we understand it of any temporal calamity, his principle is not true. The righteous perish; (Isa. Ivii. 1.) There is one event both to the righteous and to the wicked, (Eccl. ix. 2.) both in life and death; the great and certain difference is after death. Even before Job's time, (as early as it was,) there were instances sufficient to contradict this principle. Did not righteous .4bel perish being innocent; and was not he cut off in the beginning of his days? Was not righteous Lot burnt out of house and harbour, and forced to retire to a melancholy cave? Was not righteous Jacob, a Syrian, ready to perish? Deut. xxvi. 5. Similar instances, no doubt, there were, which are not on record.

II. That wicked men were often thus ruined: for the proof of this, he vouches his own observation; (v. 8.) "Even as I have seen, many a time, 77ifj/ that plough iniquity, and sew wickedness, by the blast of God they perish, v. 9. We ha', e daily instances rf that; and therefore, since thou dost thus perish, and art consumed, we have reason to think that, whatever profession of religion thcu hast made, ihouhastbutploughediniquity, andsownwickedness. Even as I have seen in others, so do I see in tlu-e."

I. He speaks of sinners in general, politic busy sinners, that take pains in sin, for they plough iniquity; and expect gain by sin, for they sow wickedness: they that plough, plovigh in hope; but what is the issuer They reap the same: they shall, of the fesh, reap corruptioji and ruin, Gal. vi. 7, 8. The harvest will l)e a heap in the day of grief and desperate sorrow, Isa. xvii. 11. He shall reap the same, that is, the proper product of that seedness: that which the sinner sows, he sows not that bodv that shall be, but Gnd will give it a body, a brdy rf death, the erid of those things, Rom. vi. 21. Somi% by iniquity and wickedness, luiderstand wrong nnd injury done to others; they who plough and sow them, shall reap the same, that is, they shall be paid in their own coin. They who are troublesome, shall be troubled, 2 Thess. i. 6. Josh, -v ii. 25. The sfioilers shall be spoiled; Isa. xxxiii. 1. (and they that led captive, shall go captive,) Rev. xiii. 10.

He further describes their destruction; {v. 9.) By the blast of God they perish. The prcjccts; they take so much pains in, are defeated; God cuts

JOB, IV.

in sunder the cords of those ploughers, Ps. cxxix. 3, 4. They tliemseh es are destri.yl:cl, which is the just punish'meiit of tliea- iniquity. They perish, that is, tliey are destroyed utterly; they are consumed, th.it is, they are destroyed gradually; and this, Ijy the blast and breath of God, that is, (1.) By his wrath: his anger is the ruin of sinners, who f'.re therenire caled vessels of -wrcith, and his breath is said f,o Ic'mdle 'I'ofiliet, Isa. xxx. 33. Who knows the /iowe7- of his anger ■^ Ps. xc. 11. (2.) By ins word; he speaks, and it is done, easily and effectually. The Spirit of God, in the word, consumes sinners; with that he slays them, Hos. vi. 5. Saying and doing are not two tilings with God. The man of s;n is said to be consumed with the breath of Christ's mouth, 2 Thess. ii. 8. Compare Isa. xi. 4. Rev. xix. 21. Some think, that in attributing the destruction of sinners to the blast of God, and the breath of his nostrils, he refers to the wind which blew the house down upon Job's children, as if they were therefore siimers above all men, because they suffered such things, Luke xiii. 2.

2. He speaks particularly of tyrants and cruel oppressors, under the similitude of lions, v. 10, 11. Observe, (1.) How he describes their ciuelty and oppression. The Hebrew tongue has five several names for lions, and they are all here used to set forth the terrible tearing power, fierceness, and cruelty, of pi-oud op])ressors; they roar, and rend, and prey, upon all about them, and bring up their young ones to do so too, Ezek. xix. 3. The Devil IS a roaring lion; and they partake of his nature, and do his lusts. Thev are strong as lions, and subtle; (Ps. x. 9.—xviii 12.) and, as far as they prevail, lay all desolate about them. (2.) How he describes their destruction; the destruction both of their p-nver and of their persons; they shall be restrained from doing further hurt, and reckoned with for the hurt they h:ive done. An effectual course shall be taken, [1.] That they shall not terrify; the voice of their roaring shall be stopped. [2.] That they shall not tear; God will disarm them, will take away their power to do hurt, the teeth of the young liojis are broken, Ps. iii. 7. Thus shall tlie remainder of wrath be restrained. [3.] That they shall not enrich themselves with the spoil of their neighbours. Even the old lion is famished, and perishes for lack of prey: they that have surfeited on spoil and rapine, are perhaps reduced to such straits as to die of !iun:i;er at last. [4.] That they shall not, as they promise themselves, leave a succession; the stout lion's whel/2s are scattered abroad, to seek for food themselves, which the old ones used to bring in for them, Nah. ii. 12. The lion did tear in pieces for his ".vhelps, but now they must shift for themselves. Perhajjs Eliphaz intended, in this, to reflect upon Job, as if he, being the greatest of all the men of the east, had got his estate by spoil, and used his power in oppressing his neighbours; but now, his ]30wer and estate were gone, and his fami-Iv scattered: if so, it was pity that a man whom God praised, should be thus abused.

2. Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a httle thereof. 13. In thouglits from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, 14. Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. 15. Then a spirit passed before my face ; the hair of my flesh .stood up : 16. It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image ?/r/,9 Ix'fore mine eyes; thnre was silence, and I heard a voice, saijing, 17. Shall mortal

man be more just than God? shall [i man be more pure than his Maker / 18. Beholci, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly : 19. View nnich less o/< them that dwell in houses off|;iy, whose foundation is in the dust, 7r/iicn hiv. crushed before the moth ? 20. They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever, without any regarding if. 21. Doth not their excellency it'/iich is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.

Eliphaz, having undertaken to convince Job of the sin and folly of his discontent and impatience, here vouches a vision he had been favoured with, which he relates to Job for his conviction. What comes immediately from God, all men will pay a particular deference to, and Job, no doubt, as much as ;my. Some think Eliphaz had this vision now lately, since he came to Job, putting words into his mouth wherewith to reason with him; and it had been well if he had kept to the purport of this \ision, which would ser\ e for a ground on which to repro\ e Job for his murmuring, but not to condemn him for a hvpocrite. Others think he had \t formerly; for God dicl in this way often communicate himself to the children of men in those first ages of the world, ch. xxxiii. 15. Probably, God had sent Eliphaz this messenger and message some time or other, when he was himself in an unquiet discontented frame, to calm and pacify him. Note, As we should comfort others with that wherewith we have been comforted, (2 Cor. i. 4.) so we should endeavour toconvince others with that which has been powerful to convince us.

The people of God had not then any written word to quote, and therefore God sometimes notified to them e\ en common truths, by the exti-aordinary ways y.^ re\elatinn. We that have Bibles, have there (thai.!?s be to God) a more sure word to depend upon than even visions and voices, 2 Pet. i. 19.

Observe,

I. The manner in which this message was sent to Eliphaz, and the circumstances of the conveyance of it to him. 1. It was brought him secretly, or by stealth; some of the sweetest communion gracious souls have with God, is in secret, where he only, who is all eye, can perceive. God has ways olt bringing conviction, counsel, and comfort, to his people, unobserved by the world, by private whispers, as powerfully and effectually as by the public ministry. His secret is vjith them, Ps. xxv. 14. As the evil spirit often steals good words out of the heart, (Matth. xiii. 19.) so the good Spirit sometimes steals good words into the heart, or ever we are aware. 2. He received a little thereof x'. 12. And it is but little of divine knowledge that the best receive in this world: we know little, in comparison with what is to be known, and with what we sh:ill know when we come to heaven. How little a portion is heard of God! ch. xxvi. 14. We knonvbut in part, 1 Cor. xiii. 12. See his humility and m«'des-ty. He pretends not to have understood it fully, but something of it he perceived. 3. It was brought him in the visions of the night; {v. 13.) when he was retired from the world and the hurrv of it, and all about him was composed and quiet. Kotc, The more we are withdrawn from the world and the things of it, the fitter we are for comnumion with (iod. W'hen we are communing with our own hearts, and are still, (Ps. iv. 4.) then is a proper time for the Holy Spirit to commune with us. \N hen others were aslee]>, Eliphaz was rcadv tr receive thisxision fi'om Heaven, and pr«b:ibly, likt Da\id, was meditating upon God in the night

JOB, IV.

31

ivatches: in the midst ot those good thoughts, this tiling was brought to him. We should hear more from God, if we tliought more of him; yet some are surprised with convictions in the night, ch. xxxiii.

14, 15. 4. It was prefaced with terrors; Fear rume upon him, and tremhl'mg, v. 14. It should seem, before he either heard or saw any thing, he was seized with this trembling, which shook his bones, and perhaps the bed under him. A holy awe and reverence of God and his majesty being struck, upon his spirit, he was thereby prepared for a divine visit. Whom God intends to honour, he first humbles and lays low, and will have us all to serve him with holy fear, and to rejoice with trembling.

II. The messenger by whom it was sent; a spirit, one of the good angels, who are employed not only as the ministers of God's providence, but sometimes as the ministers of his word. Concerning this apparition which Eliphaz saw, we are here told, (zi.

15, 16.) 1. That it was real, and not a dream, not a fancy; an image was before his eyes, he plainly saw it; at first, it passed and repassed before his face, moved up and down, but, at length, it stood still to speak to him. If some have been so knavish as to impose false \ isions on others, and some so foolish as to be themselves imposed upon, it does not, therefore, follow that there have been no apparitions of spirits, botli good and bad. 2. That it was indistinct, and somewhat confused. He could not discern the form thereof, so as to frame any exact idea of it in his own mind, much less to give a description of it. His conscience was to be awakened and informed, not his curiosity gratified. We know little of spirits, we are not capable of knowing much of them, nor is it fit we should; all in good time; we must shortly remove to the world of spirits, and shall then be better acquainted with them. 3. That it put him into a great consternation, so that his hair stood .on end. Ever since man sinned, it has been terrible to him to receive an express from Heaven, as conscious to himself that he can expect no good tidings thence; apparitions, therefore, even of good spirits, have always made deep impressions of fear, even upon good men. How well is it for us, that God sends us his messages, not by spirits, but by men like ourselves, whose terror shall not make us afraid! See Dan. vii. 28.—x. 8, 9.

III. The message itself; before it was delivered, there was silence, profound silence, v. 16. When we are to speak either from God, or to him, it becomes us to address ourselves to it with a solemn pause, and so to set bounds about the mount on which God is to come down, and not be hasty to utter any thing. It was in a still small voice that the message was delivered, and this was it, {v. 17.) ''Shall mortal 7nan be more just than God, the immortal God? Shall a man be thought to be, or pretend to be, more fiure than his Maker? Away with such a thought!" 1. Some think that Eliphaz aims hereby to prove that Job's great afflictions were a certain evidence of his being a wicked man; a mortal man would be thought unjust and very impure, if he should thus correct and punish a servant or subject, unless he had been guilty of some \ery great crime. "If, therefore, these were not some great crimes for which God thus punishes thee, man would be more just than God, which is not to be imagined." 2. I rather think it is onlv a reproof of Job's murmuring and discontent; "Shall a man pretend to be more just and pure than God? More truly to understand, and more strictly to observe, t'le rules and laws of equity, than God? Shall Enosh, mortal, miserable, man, be so insolent; nay, shall Geher, the strongest and most eminent man— man at his best estate, pretend to compare with God, or stand in competition with him?" Note, It

is most impious and absurd to think either others or ourselves more just and pure than God. Thosi-that quarrel &nd find fault with the directions of the divine law, the dispensations of the divine grace, or the disposals of the divine providence, make themselves more just and pure than God; and they who thus refirove God, let them aiisnver it. What! sinful ma* 1 (for he had not been mortal, if he had not been sinful!) short-sighted man! Shall he pretend to be more just, more pure, than God, who, being his Maker, is his I..ord and Owner? Shall the clay contend with the potter? What justi( e and purity there is in man, (iod is the Author of it, and therefore is himself moi-e just and pure. See Ps. xciv. 9, 10.

IV. The comment which Eliphaz makes upon this, for so it seems to be; yet some take all the following verses to be spoken in vision. It comes all to one.

1. He shows how little the angels themselves are in comparison with God, v. 18. Angels are God's servants, waiting servants, woi'king ser\ants, they are his ministers; (Ps. civ. 4.) bright and blessed things they are; but God neither needs them, oor is benefitted by them, and is himself infinitelv above them; and therefore, (1.) He put no trust in them, did not repose a confidence in them, as we do in those we cannot live without; there is no service in which he employs them, but, if he pleased, he could have it done as well without them. He nevei made them his confidants, or of his cabinet-council, Matth. xxiv. 36. He does not leave his business wholly to them, bwt his own eyes ru7i to and fro through the earth, 2Chron. xvi. 9. See this phrase, ch. xxxix. 11. Some give this sense of it, "So mutable is even the angelical nature, that God would not trust angels with tlieir own integrity; if he had, they would all have done, as some did, left their first estate; but he saw it necessary to give them supernatural grace to confirm them. "(2.) He charges them with folly, vanity, weakness, infirmity, and imperfection, in comparison with God. If the world were left to the government of tlie an gels, and they were trusted with the sole management of aflairs, they would take false steps, and every thing would not be done for the best, as now it is. Angels are intelligences, but finite ones. Though not chargeable with iniquity, yet with imprudence. This last clause is variously rendered by the critics. I think it would bear this reading, repeating the negation, which is very common. He will put no trust in his saints. In angelis snis non fionet gloria/ionem — .Yor will he glory in his angels, or ?nake his boast of them, as if their praises or services added any thing to him: it is his glory, that he is infinitely happy without them.

2. Thence he infers how much less man is, how much less to be trusted in, or gkried in: if there is such distance between God and angels, what is there between Gvx\ and man! See how man is represented here in his meanness.

(1.) Look upon man in his life, and he is uery mean, xk 19. Take man in his best estate, and he is a very despicable creature in comparison with the holy angels; though honourable, if compared with the brutes. It is true, angels are spirits, and tin. souls of men are spirits; but, [1.] Angels are pure j spirits, the souls of men dwell in houses of clay, such the bodies of men are. Angels are free, human souls are housed, and the body is a cloud, a clog, to it, it is its cage, it is its prison. It is a house of clay, mean and mouldering; an earthen vessel, soon broken, as it was first formed, according to the good pleasure of the potter. It is a cottage,not a house of cedar, or a house of ivory, but of clav, which would soon be in ruins, if not kept in constant repair. [2.] Angels are fixed; but the very foun

JOB, V.

dation of that house of clay in which man dwells, is in the dust. ,\ house of clay, if built upon a rock, might stand long; hut, if fduni'.C'd jn the dust, the uncertainty of the f )iuiJation will hasten its fall, and it will sink with its own weight. As man was made out of the earth, so he is maintained and supported by that which conies out of the earth. Take away that, and his b' dy returns to its eartl^ We stand but up(<n the dust; some lia'. e a higher heap of dust to stand upon than others, but still it is the tai'th that stays us up, and will shoitly swallow us u]). [3.] Angels are immortal, but man is soon crushed, the earthly house of his tabernacle is dissolved, he dies and wastes away, is crushed like a moth lietween one's fingers, as easily, as quickly; one may alinost as soon kill a man as kill a moth. A little thing will do it; he is crwihcd before the face of the moth, so the word is. If s( me lingering distemper, which consumes like a moth, be commissioned to destroy him, he can no more resist it than he can resist an acute distemper, which comes i-oar-ing upon him like a lion. See Hos. v. 12, 14. Is such a creature as this to be trusted in, or can any service be expected from him, by that God who puts no trust in angels themselves?

(2.) Look upon him in his death, and he appears yet more despicable, and unfit tc> be trusted. Men are mortal, and dying, v. 20, 21. [1.] In death, they are destroyed, and perish for ever, as to this world; it is the final period of their lives, and all their employments and enjoyments here; their place will know them no more. [2.] They are dying daily, and continually wasting; destJ-oyed from moryiing to evening; death is still working in us, like a mole digging our grave at each remove, and we so continually lie exposed, that we are killed all the dav long. [3.] Their life is short, and in a little time they are cut off; it lasts perhaps but from morning to evening. It is but a day; (so some understand it;) their birth and death are but the sun-rise and sun-set of the same day. [4.] In death, all their excellency passes away; beauty, strength, learning, not only cannot secure them from death, but die with them; nor shall their pomp, their wealth, or power, descend after them. [5.] Their wisdotn cannot sa\e them from death; they die without wisdom, die for want of wisdom, by their own foolish management of themselves, digging their graves with their own teeth. [6. ] It is so common a thing that nobody heeds it, or takes any notice of it; they perish ivithout any rcj^'arding it, or laying it to heart. The deaths of others are much the suliject of common talk, but little the subject of serious thought.

Some think the eternal damnation of sinners is here spoken of, as well as their temporal death. Then are destroyed, or broken to /lieces, by death, from morning to evening; and if they re/tent Jiot, they fierish for ever, so some read it, v. 20. They perish for ever, because they regard not God and their duty, they consider not their latter end. Lam. i. 9. Tiicy have nn excellency but that which death takes away, and they die, they die the second death, for want of wisdom to lay hold on eternal life. Shall such a mean, weak, foolish, sinful, dying, creature as this, pretend to be niore just than God, and more pure than his Maker? No, instead of quarrelling with his afflictions, let him wonder than he is out of hell.

CHAP. V.

Eliphaz, in the foresroinfr chapter, for the making good of his charjre ajjainst .Job, had vouched a word from Heaven, sent, him in a vision. In this chapter, he appeals to those that bear record on earth, to the saints, the faithful witnesses of God's trulh.s, in all ages, v. 1. They will testify, I. That the sin of sinners is their ruin, v. 2. .5. II. That yet affliction is the common lot of mankind, v.

6, 7. III. That when we are in affliction, it is our wisdom and dutv to apply ourselves to God, for he is able and ready to lielp us, v. 8.. 16. IV. That the afflictions which are borne well will end well: and Job particularly if he would come to a better temper, mj^'ht assure hiiii-self that God had great mercy in store for him, v. 17.. 27. So that he concludes his discourse in somewhat a better humour than he besan it.

"^ALL now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn ? 2. For wrath kil-leth the foolish man, and envy slayetii the silly one. 3. I have seen the fbohsh taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation. 4. His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver thctn. 5. \N'hose harvest the hungry eateth up, and laketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.

A very warm dispute being begun between Job and his friends, Eliphaz here makes a fair motion to put the matter to a reference; in all debates, per-liaps, the sooner that is done the better, if the contenders cannot end it between themselves. So well assured is Eliphaz of the goodness of his own cause, that he moves Job himself to choose the arbitrators; {v. 1.) Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; that is, 1. " If there be any that suffer as thou sufferest: canst thou produce an instance of any one, that was really a saint, that was reduced to such extremity as thou art now reduced to? God never dealt with any that love his name so as he deals with thee, and therefore surely thou art none of them." 2. "If there be any that say as thou sayest: did ever any good man curse his day as thou dost? Or, will any of the saints justify thee in these heats or passions, or say that these are the spots of God's children? Thou wilt find none of the saints that will be either thine advt catcs, or mine antagonists. 7'o which of the saints wilt thou turn'/ Turn to which thou wilt, and thou wilt find they are all of my mind; I have the communis sensjisjidelium — t/te unariimous vote of all the saints on my side; they will all subscribe to what I am g^ing to say." Observe, (1.) Good people are called saints, even in the Old Testament; and therefore I know net why we should, in common speaking, (miless be-catise we must loqui cum vulgo — speak as our neighbours,) appropriate the title to those of the New Testament, and net say St. Abraham, St. Moses, and St. Isaiah, as well as St. Matthew, and St. Mark; and St. David the psalmist, as well as St. David the British Bishop. Aaron is exj)! cssly called the saint of the Lord. (2.) All that are themselves saints, will turn to those that are so; will choose them for their friends, and converse with them; will choo.se them for their judges, and ernsult with them. See Ps. cxix. 79. The saints sh;dly'z/rfj;-e Mr world, 1 Cor. vi. 1, 2. Walk in the way of good men, (Prov. ii. 20.) the old way, the foofsfe/is of the flock. Every one chooses some sort of people v\ other to whom he studies to recommend himseU', and whose sentiments are to him the test of honoui-and dishonour: now all true saints endeavour to i-e commend themselves to those that are such, and to stand right in their opinion. (3.) There are some truths so plain, and so universally known and !je-lieved, that one may venture to a])])eal to any c f the saints concerning them. However there .are some things, about which they unha])pily differ, there are many more, and more considerable, in

JOB, V.

33

which the)- are agreed; as the evil of sin, the vanity of the world, the worth of the soul, the necessity of a holy life, and the like. Though they do not all live up, as they should, to their belief of these truths, yet they are all ready to bear their testimony to them.

Now there are two things which Eliphaz here maintains, and in which he doubts not but all the saints concur with him.

I. That the sin of sinners directly tends to their own ruin; {v. 2.) Wrath kills the foolish man, his own wrath, and therefore he is foolish for indulging it; it is a fire in his bones, in his blood, enough to put him into a fever; envy is the rottenness of the bones, and so slays the silly one that frets himself with it. " So it is with thee;" says Eliphaz; " while thou quarrellest with God, thou doest thyself the greatest mischief; thine anger at thine own troubles, and thine envy at our prospeiity, do but add to thy pain and miseiy: turn to the saints, and thou wilt find they understand themselves better." Job had told his wife she spake as the foolish women, now Eliphaz tells him he acted as the foolish men, the silly ones. Or, it may be meant thus: " If men are ruined and undone, it is always their own folly that ruins and undoes them. They kill themselves by some lust or other; therefore, no doubt. Job, thou hast done some foolish thing, by which thou hast brought thyself into this calamitous condition." Many understand it of God's wrath and jealousy. Job needed not be uneasy at the prosperity of the wicked, for the world's smiles can never shelter them from God's frowns; they are foolish and silly, if they think they will. God's anger will be the death, the eternal death, of those on whom it fastens. What is hell, but God's anger without mixture or period.*

II. That their prosperity is short, and their destruction certain, -v. 3"5. He seems here to parallel Job's case with that which is commonly the case of wicked people.

1. Job had prospered for a time, seemed confirmed, and was secure in his prosperity; and it is common for foolish wicked men to do so. I have seen them taking root, planted, and, in their own and other's apprehension, fixed, and likely to continue. See Jer. xii. 2. Ps. xxxvii. 35, 36. We set worldly men taking root in the earth; on earthly things they fix the standing of their hopes, and from them they draw the sap of their comforts. The outward estate may be flourishing, but the soul cannot prosper that takes root in the earth.

2. Job's prosperity was now at an end, and so has the prosperity of other wicked people quickly been.

(1.) Eliphaz foresaw their ruin with an eye of faith. They who looked only at present things, blessed their habitation, and thought them happy, blessed it long, and wished themselves in their condition. But Eliphaz cursed it, suddenly cursed it, as soon as he saw them begin to take root, that is, he plainly foresaw and foretold their ruin; not that he prayed for it, (/ have not desired the nvoe-fulday,) but he prognosticated it. He went into the sanctuary, and there understood their end, and heard their doom read, (Ps. Ixxiii. 17, 18.) That the prosperity of fools will destroy them, Prov. i. 32. They who believe the word of God, can see a curse in the house of the wicked, (Prov. iii. 33.) though it be ever so finely and firinly built, and ever so full of all good things; and can foresee that it wiU, in time, infallibly consume it, with the timber thereof, and the stones thereof, Zech. v. 4.

(2.) He saw, at length, what he had foreseen: he was not disappointed in his expectation concerning him, the event answered it; his family was un-tione, and his estate ruined. In these particulars.

Vol. hi.—E

he plainly and very invidiously reflects on Job's calamities. [1.] His children were crushed, v. 4. They thought tliemseh es safe in their eldest brother s house, but were far from safety, for they were crushed in the gate; perhaps the door cr gate of the house was highest built, and fell heaviest upon them, and there was none to delivei-them from perishing in the ruins. This is commonly understood of the destruction of the families of wicked men, by the execution of justice upon them to oblige them to restore what they have i.l-gotten. They leave it to their children; but the descent shall not bar the entry of the rightful i.wn-ers, who will ci-ush their children, and cast them by due course of law, (and there shall be none tc help them,) or perhaps by oppression, Ps. cix. 9, &c. [2.] His estate was plundered, v. 5. Job's was so; the hungry robbers, the Sabeans and Chaldeans, ran aw..y with it, and swallowed it; and this, says he, I have often observed in others. What has been got by spoil and rapine, has been lost the same way. The careful owner hedged it about with thorns, and then thought it safe; but the fence proved insignificant against the greediness of the spoilers, (if hunger will break through stone-walls, niuch more through thorn-hedges,) and against the divine curse, which will go through the thorns and biiers, and burn them together, Isa. xxvii. 4.

6. Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground, 7. Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. 8. ] would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause; 9. Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: 10. AY ho giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: 11. To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. 12. He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. 13. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong. 14. They meet with darkness in the day-time, and grope in the noon-day as in the night. 15. But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. 16. So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.

Eliphaz, having touched Job in a very tender part, in mentioning both the loss of his estate and the death of his children, as the just punishment of his sin, that he might not drive him to despair, here begins to encourage him, and puts him in a way to make himself easy. Now he very much changes his voice, (Gal. iv. 20.) and accosts Job gently, as if he would atone for the hard words he had given him.

I. He reminds him, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be attributed to second causes. It doth not come forth of the dust, nor spring out oj the ground, as the grass doth, v. 6. It doth not come of course, at certain seasons of the year, as natural productions do, by a chain of second causes. The proportion between prosperity and adversity

JOB, V.

is iKt so exactly observed by Providence, as thit between day and night, summer and winter, but according to the will and counsel of God, when and as he thinks fit. Some read it, Sm comes not forth of the dust, nor iniquity out of the ground. It men be bad, they must not lay the blame upon the soil, the climate, or the stars, but on themselves. If thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from (iod, nor our sins to fate, for they are from ourselves; so that, whatever trouble we are in, we nmst own that God sends it upon us, and we procure it to oui-selves; the former is a reason why we slir uld be very patient, the latter wliy we should be very penitent, when we are afflicted.

II. He reminds him, that trouble and affliction are what we have all reason to expect in this world. Afan is born to trouble; {v. 7. ) not as man, (had he kept his innocency, he had been born to pleasure,^ l)ut as sinful man, as born of a woman, {ch. xiv. 1.) who was in the transgression. Man is born in sin, and thei-efore born to trouble. Even those that are born to honour and estate, yet are born to trouble in the flesh. In our fallen state, it is become natural to us to sin, and the natural consequence of that, is affliction, Rom. v. 12. There is nothing in this world we are born to, and can truly call our own, but sin and trouble; both are as the sparks that fly upward. Actual transgressions are the sparks that fly out of the furnace of original corruption; and, being called transgressors from the womb, no wonder that we deaCvery treacherously, Isa. xl\iii. 8. Such too is the frailty of our bodies, and the \ anity of all our enjoyments, that our troubles also thence arise as naturally as the sparks fly upward; so many are they, so thick and so fast does one follow another. Why then should we be surprised at our afflictions as strange, or quarrel with them as hard, when thev are but what we are born to? Man is born to labour, so it is in the margin, is sentenced to eat his bread in the sweat of his face, which should inure him to hardness, and make him bear his afflictions the better.

III. He directs him how to behave himself under his affliction; {v. 8.) I would seek unto God; surely I would: so it is in the original. Here is, 1. A tacit reproof to Job for not seeking to God, but quarrelling with Him; "Job, if I had been in thy case, I would not have been so peevish and passionate as thou art, I would have acquiesced in the will of God." It is easy to say what we would do, if we were in such a one's case; but, when it comes to the trial, perhaps it will be found not so easy to do as we say. 2. Very good and seasonable advice to him, which Eliphaz transfers to himself in a figure; "For mv part, the best way I should think I could t ike, if I were in thy condition, would be to apply myself to God." Note, We should give our friends no otlier counsel than what we would take ourselves if we were in their case, that we may be easy under our afflictions, may get good l)y them, and may see a good issue of them. (1.) ^^'^e must by prayer fetch in mercy and grace from God; seek to liim as a Father and Friend, though he contend with us, as one who is alone able to support and succour us. His favour we must seek, when we have lost all we have in tlie world; to him wc must address ourselves, as the Fountain and Father of all good, all consolation. Js any afflicted? Let him firay. It is heart's-ease, a salve for c\ery sore. (2.) We must by patience refer ourselves and our cause to him. " 7'o God would I commit my cause: having spread it before him, I would leave it %vith_him; having laid it at his feet, I would lodge it in his hand; Here I am, let the Lord do with me as scemeth him good." If our cause i)e indeed a good cause, we need not fear committing it to God, for he is

both just and kind. They that would seek so as to speed, must refer themselves to God.

IV. He encourages him thus to seek to God, and commit his cause to him. It will not be in vain to do so, for he is one in whom we shall find eff"ectual help. He recommends to his consideration Gad's, almighty power and sovereign dominion.

1. In general, he doeth great tilings; {v. 9.) great indeed, for he can do any thing; he doth do every thing; and all according to the counsel of his own will: great indeed, for the operations of his power are, (1.) Unsearchable, and such as can never be fathomed, can never be found out/row the beginning to the end, Eccl. iii. 11. The works of nitui-e are mysteries; the most curious searches come fa-short of full discoveries, and the wisest philosophers have owned themselves at a loss. The designs of Providence are much more deep and unaccountable, Rom. xi. 33. (2.) Numerous, and such as never can be reckoned up. He doeth great things without number; his power is never exhausted, nor will all his purposes ever be fulfilled till the end of time. (3.) They are marvellous, and such as never can be sufficiently admired; eternity itself will be short enough to be spent in the admiration of them. Now, by the consideration of this, Eliphaz intends, [1.] To convince Job of his fault and folly in quarrelling with God. We must not pretend to pass a judgment upon his works, for they are unsearchable and above our inquiries; nor must we strive with our Maker, for he will certainly be too hard for us, and is able to crush us in a moment. [2.] To encourage Job to seek unto God, and to refer himself to him What more encouraging than to see that he is one to whom power belongs ? He can do great things and marvellous for our relief, when we are brought ever so low.

2. He gives some instances of God's dominion and power.

(1.) God doeth great things in the kingdom of nature: he gii'es rain upon the earth, {t.i. 10.) put here for all the gifts of common providence, all the fruitful seasons, by which hefilleth our hearts with food and gladness. Acts xi\'. 17. Observe, When he would show what great things God doeth, he speaks of his giving rain, which, because it is a common thing, we are apt to look upon as a little thing; but if we duly consider both how it is produced, and what is produced by it, we shall see it to be a great work, both of power and goodness.

(2.) He doeth great things in the affairs of the children of men: not only enriches the poor, and comforts the needy, by the rain he sends, {v. 10.) but, in order to the advancing of those that are low, he disa/ifioints the devices of the crafty; for -i>. 11. is to be joined to v. 12. and compared with Luke i. 51. . 53. He hath scattered the firoud in the imagination of their hearts, and so hath exalted them of low degree, and filled the hungry with good things.

See, [1.] How he frustrates the counsels oi the firoud and politic, x>. 12'•14. There is a supreme power that mnnages and overrules men who think themselves free and absolute, and fulfils its own purposes in despite of their projects. Observe, First, The froward, that walk contrary to God and the interest of his kingdom, are often very crafty, for thev are the seed of the old serpent, that was noted for subtilty. They think themselves wise, but, at the end, will be fools. Secondly, The froward enemies of God's kingdom have their devices, their enterprises, and their counsels, against it, and against the loval faithful subjects of it. They are restless and unwearied in their designs, close in their consultations, high in their hopes, deep in thei-l^olitics, and fast linked in their confederacies, Ps, ii. 1, 2. Thirdly, God easily can, and (as far as is

JOB, V.

35

fir his glory) certainly will, blast and defeat all the designs of his and his people's enemies. How were the plots of Ahithophel, Sanballat, and Haman, baffled! The confederates of Syria and Ephraim against Judah, of Gebal, and Amnion, and Anialek, against Clod's Israel, the kings of the earth, and the princes, against the Lord and against his anointed, broken! Tlie hands tliat have been stretched out against God, and his church, have not performed their ^terprise, nor have the weapons fomied against Zion prospered. Fourthly, That which enemies liave designed for the ruin of the churcli, has often turned to their own ruin; {v. 13.) He takes the nvise in their own craftiness, and snares them in the work of their own hands, Ps. \ii. 15, 16.—ix. 15, 16. This is quoted by the apostle, ( 1 Cor. iii. 19.) to show how the learned men of the heathen were liefooled by their own vain philosophy. Fifthly, When God infatuates men, they are perplexed, :md :.t a loss, even in those things that seem most plain and easy; {xk 14.) They meet with darkness even in the day-time; nay, as it is in the margin. They run themselves into darkness by the violence and precipitation of their own counsels. See ch. xii. 20, 24, 25.

[2.] Hnw he favours the cause of the poor and humble, and espouses that.

First, He exnlts the humble, T'. 11. Those whom proud men contrive to crush, he raises from under their feet, and sets them in safety, Ps. xii. 5. The lowlv in heart, and those that mourn, he advances, comforts, and makes to dwell on high, in the munitions of rocks, Isa. xxxiii. 16. Zion's mourners are the sealed ones, marked for safety, Ezek. ix. 4.

Secondly, He delivers the oppressed, v. 15. The designs of the crafty are to ruin the poor: tongue, and hand, and sword, and all, are at work in order to this; but God takes under his special protection those who, being poor, and unable to help themselves, being his poor, and devoted to his prnise, have committed themselves to him. He saves them from the mouth that speaks hard things against them, and the hand that does hard things against them; for he can, when he pleases, tie the tongue, and wither the hand.

The effect of this is, (x'. 16.) 1. That weak and timorous saints "re comtorted: so the fioor, that began to despair, has hofie. The experiences rf some are encnarnelements to others to hope the best in the worst of times; f->r it is the glory of God to send help to the helpless, and hnpe to the hopeless. 2. That daring threatening sinners are confounded; ini-quitv stops hermouth, being surprised at the strangeness of the deliverance, ashamed of its enmity against those who appear to be the favourites of Heaven, mortified at the disappointment, and compelled to acknowledge the justice of God's proceedings, having nothing to object against them. Those that domineered over God's poor, that frightened them, menaced them, and falsely accused them, will not have a word to sav against them when God appears for them. See IPs. Ixxvi. 8, 9. Isa. xxvi. 11. Mic. vii. 16.

17. Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth; therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: , 18. For he maketh sore, and bindeth up ; he woundeth, and his hands make whole. 19. He shall deliver thee in six troubles; yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. 20, In famine he shall redeem thee from death; and in war from the power of the sword. 21. Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue;

neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. 22. At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh : neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. 23. Foi thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field; and the beasts of the field sh;dl be at peace with thee. 24. And thou shnlt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace ; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shall not sin. 25. Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. 26. Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. 27. Lo this, we have searched it, so \iis; hear it, ancl know thou it for thy good.

Eliphaz, in this concluding paragraph of his discourse, gives Job (what he himself knew not how to take) a comfortable prospect of the issue of his afflictions, if he did but recover his temper, and accommodate himself to them.

Observe,

I. The seasonable word of caution and exhortation that he gives him; {v. 17.) " Desfiise not thou the chastening of the jilmighty. Call it a chastening, which comes from the father's love, and is designed for the child's good. Call it the chastening of the Almighty, with whom it is madness to contend, to whom it is wisdom and duty to submit, and who will be a God all-sufiicient" (for so the word signifies) " to all those that trust in him. Do not despise it;" it is a copious word in the original. 1. "Be not averse to it. Let grace conquer the antipathy which nature has to suffering, and reconcile thyself to the will of God in it." We need the rod. and we deserve it; and therefore we ought not to think it either strange or hard if we feel the smart of it. Let not the heart rise against a bitter pill or potion, when it is prescribed us for our good. 2. " Do not th'nk ill of it, do not put it from thee, (as that which is either hurtful, or, at least, not useful, which there is no occasion for, nor advantage by,) only because, for the present, it is not joyous, but grievous." \\'e must never scorn to stoop to Gcd, nor think it a thing below us to come under his discipline, but reckon, on the contrary, that God really magnifies man, when he thus visits and tries him, ch. vii. 17, 18. 3. " Do not overlook and disregard it, as if it were only a chance, and the production of second causes, but take great notice of it as tlie voice of God, and a messenger from Heaven." More is implied than is expressed: " Feverence the chastening of the Lord; have an humble, awful, regard to his correcting hand, and tremble when the lion roars, Amos iii. 8. Submit to the chastening, and study to answer the call, to answer the end of it, and then thou reverencest it." When God, by an affliction, draws upon us for some of the effects he has intrusted us with, we must honour his bill by accepting it, and subscribing it, resigning him his own when he calls for it.

II. The comfortable words of encouragement which he gives him, thus to accommodate himself to his condition, and (as he himself had expressed it) to receive evil from the hand of God, and nrt despise it as a gift not worth the accepting. If his affliction was thus borne,

1. The nature and property of it would be altered: though it looked like a man's misery, it would really be his bliss. Hafipy is the man whom God correcteth, if he make but a due improvement of the correction. A good man is happy, though he

JOB, V.

be afflicted; for, whatever he has lost, he has not lost his enjoyment of God, nor his title to heavenj nay, he is happy, because he is afflicted; correction is an evidence of his sonship, and a means of his sanctification; it mortifies his corruptions, weans his heart from the world, draws him nearer to God, brings him to his Bible, brings him to his knees, works him for, and so is working tor him, a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; Hafi-//(/ therefore is [he man luhom God correcteth. Jam. i.'l2.

2. The issue and consequence of it would be very good, V. 18. (1.) Though he makes sore the body with sore boils, the mind with sad thoughts, yet he binds up at the same time; as the skilful tender surgeon binds up the wounds he had occasion to make with his incision-knife. When God makes sores by the rebukes of his providence, he binds up by the consolations of his Spirit, which oftentimes abound, as most afflictions do abound, and balance them, to the unspeakable satisfaction of the patient sufferers. (2.) Though he wounds, yet his hands make whole in due time: as he supports his people, and makes them easy under their afflictions, so in due time he delivers' them, and makes a way for them to escape. All is well again; and he comforts tliem according to the time wherein he afflicted them. God's usual method is first to wound, and then to heal, first to convince, and then to comfort, first to humble, and then to exalt; and (as Mr. Caryl observes) he never makes a wound too great, too deep, for his own cure. Una eadevique manus vulnus ofiemque tulit — The hand that injiicts the wound, afifxlies the cure. God tears the wicked, and goes away, let them heal that will, if they can; (Hos. v. 14.) but the humble and penitent may say. He has torn, and he will heal us, Hos. vi. 1.

.This is general; but in the following verses he applies himself directly to Job, and gives him many precious promises of great and kind things which God would do for him, if he did but humble himself under'his hand. I'hough then they had no Bibles that we know of, yet Eliphaz had sufficient warrant to give Job these assurances, from the general discoveries God had made of his good will to his people. And though, in every thing which Job's friends said, they were not directed by the Spirit of God, (for they spake both of God and Job some things that were not right,) yet the general doctrines they laid down spake tlie pious sense of the patriarchal age; and as St Paul quoted, v. 13. for canonical scripture, and as the command, v. 17. is, no doubt, bindmg on us, so these promises here may be, and must be, received and applied as divine promises, and we may, through patience and comfort of this part of scrifiture, have hofie.

Let us therefore give diligence to make sure our interest in these promises, and then view the particulars of them, and take the comfort of them.

[1.] It is here promised, that as afflictions and troubles do recur, supfiorts and deliverances shall be graciously repeated, be it never so often. In six troubles, he shall be ready to delin'er thee; yea, and in sexien. This intimates, thiit, as long as we are here in this world, we must expect a succession of troubles, that the clouds will return after the rain; after six troubles mav come a seventh. After many, look for more; f)ut out of them all will God deliver those that are his. 2 Tim. iii. 11. Ps. xxxiv. 19. Former deliverances are earnests of, not, as among men, excuses from, further deliverances, Prov. xix. 19.

[2.] That, whatever troubles good men may be in, there shall no evil touch them, they shall do ?hem no real harm; the malignity of them, the sting, shall be taken out; they may hiss, they cannot "hurt, Ps, xci. 10. The evil one toucheth not

God's children, 1 John v. 18. Being kept from sin, they are kept from the evil of every trouble.

[3. ] That, when desolating judgments are abroad, they shall be taken under special protection, v, 20. Do many perish about them, for want of the neces-sarj" supports of hfe ? They shall be supplied. " In famine he shall redeem thee from deaih: whate\ er becomes of others, thou shalt be kept alive, Ps. xxxiii. 19. Verily thou shalt be fed, nay, e\ en m the days of famine thou shalt be satisfi^, Ps. xxxvii. 3, 19. In tin»e of war, when thousands fall on thy right and left hand, he shall redeem thee from the power of the sword. If God pleases, it shall not touch thee; or, if it wound thee, if it kill thee, it shall not hurt thee; it can byit kill the body, nor has it power to do that, unless it be given from above."

[4.] That whatever is maliciously said against the?n, it shall not affect them, to do them any hurt, V. 21. "Thou shalt not only be protected fron. the killing sword of war, but shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue, which, like a scourge, is vexing and painful, though not mortal." The l)est men, and the most inoffensive, cannot, even with their innocency, secure themselves from calumny, reproach, and false accusation. From these a man cannot hide himself, but God can hide him, so that the most malicious slanders shall be so little heeded by him, as not to disturb his peace; and so little heeded by others, as not to blemish his reputation: and the remainder of his wrath God can and does restrain, for it is owing to the hold he has of the consciences of bad men, that the scourge of the tongue is not the ruin of all the comforts of good men in this world.

[5.] That they shall have a holy security and serenity of mind, arising from their hope and confi dence in God, even in the worst of times. When dangers are most threatening, they shall be easy, believing themselves safe; and shall not be afraid of destiniction, no, not when they see it coming, {y. 21.) nor the beasts of the field, when they set upon them, nor of men as cruel as beasts; nay, at destruction and famine thou shalt laugh, {v. 22.) not so as to despise any of God's chastenings, or make a jest of his judgments, but so as to triumph in (iod, and his power and goodness, and therein to triumph over the world and all its grievances; to be not only easy, but cheerful and joyful, in tribulation. Blessed Paul laughed at destruction, when he said, O death, where is thy sting? When, in the name of all the saints, he defied all the calamities of this present time to separate from the love of God, concluding. In all these tHings we are more than conquerors, Rom. viii. 37, &c. See Isa. xxxvii. 22.

[6.] That, being at peace with God, there shall be a covenant of friendship between them and the whole creation', v. 23. '* When thou walkest thy grounds, thou shalt not need to fear stumbling, for thou shalt be at league with the stones of the field, not to dash thy foot against any of them; nor shalt thou be in danger from the beasts of the field, for they all shall be ^kI peace with thee;^ compa-e Hos. ii. 18, / will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field. This implies, that while man is at enmity with his Maker, the inferior creatures are at war with him; but Tranquillus Deus tran-quillat omnia — A recoriciled God reconciles all things. Our covenant with God is a covenant with all tVie creatures, that they shali do us no hurt, but be ready to serve us, and do us good.

[7.] That their houses and families shall be comfortable to them, V. 24. Peace and piety in the family will make it so. " Thou shalt know and be assured that thy tabernacle is, and shall be, in peace; thou may est be confident both of its j^resent and its future prosperity." That peace is thy ta

JOB, VI.

bernacle, so the word is. Peace is the house in which they dwell, who dwell in God, and are at home in him; " Thou shalt visit," that is, " inquire into, the affairs of thy habitation, and take a review of them, and shalt not sin." First, God will provide a settlement for his people, mean, perhaps, and moveable, a cottage, a tabernacle, but a fixed and quiet habitation. " Thou slmlt not sin," or wander, that is, as some understand it, " thou shalt not be a fugitive and a vagabond," (Cain's curse,) "but shalt dwell m the land, and verily, not uncertainly as vagrants, shalt thou be fed." Secondly, Their families shall be taken under the special protection of the Divine Providence, and shall prosper as far as is for their good. Thirdly, They shall be assured of peace, and of the continuance and entail of it; " 1 hou shalt know, to thine unspeakable satisfaction, that peace is sure to thee and tliine, having the word of God for it." Providence may change, but the promise cannot. Fourthly, They shall have wisdom to govern their families aright, to order their affairs with discretion, and to look well to the ways of their household, which is here called visiting their habitation; masters of families must not be strangers at home, but have a watchful eye over what they have, and what their servants do. Fifthly, Thev shall have grace to manage the concerns of their families after a godly sort, and not to sin in the management of them. They shall call their servants to account without passion, pride, covet-ousness, worldliness, or the like; they shall look into their affairs without discontent at what is, or distrust of what shall be. Family piety crowns family peace and prosperity. The greatest blessing, both in our employments, and in our enjoyments, is, to be kept from sin in them. When we are abroad, it is comfortable to hear that our tabernacle is in peace; and when we return home to visit our habitation, with satisfaction in our success, that we have not failed in our business, and with a good conscience, that we have not offended God.

[8.] That their posterity should be numerous and prosperous. Job had lost all his children; •' But," says Eliphaz, •* if thou return to God, he will again build up thy family, and thy seed shall be many, and as great as ever, and thine offspring increasing and flourishing as the grass of the earth," (v. 25.) '•and thou shalt know it." God has blessings in store for the seed of the faithful, which they shall have, if they do not stand in their own light, and forfeit them by their folly. It is a comfort to parents to see the prosperity, especially the spiritual prosperity, of their children; if they are truly good, they are truly great, how small a figure soever they make in the world.

[9.] That their death shall be seasonable, and they shall finish their course, at length, with Joy and honour, v. 26. It is a great mercy, First, To live to a full age, and not to have the number of our months cut off in the midsL If the providence of G id do not gi\'e us long life, if the grace of God give us to be satisfied with the time allotted us, we may be said to come to a full age. That man lives long enough that has done his work, and is fit for another world. Secondly, To be willing to die, to come cheerfully to the grave, and not to be forced thither, as he whose soul was required of him. Thirdly, To die seasonably, as the corn is cut and housed when it is full ripe; not till then, but then not suffered to stand a day longer, lest it shed. Our times are in God's hand; it is well they are so, for he will take care that those who are his die in the best time: however their death may seem to us untimely, it will be found not unseasonable.

In the last verse, he recommends those promises to Job, 1. As faithful sayings, which he might be confident of the truth of: " Lo, this ive have search-

ed, and so it is. We have indeed received thest-things by tradition from our fathers, but we h ,ve not taken them upon trust, we have carefully searched them, ha\e compared spiritual tilings with spiritual, have diligently studied them, ami been confirmed in our belief of them, from our own observation and experience; and we are all of a mind that so it is." Truth is a treasure that is well wortli digging for, diving for; and then we shall know both how to value it ourselves, and how to communicate it to others, when we have taken pains in searc hing for it. 2. As well worthy of all acceptation, which he might improve to his great advantage! " Hear it, and know thou it for thy good." It is not enough to hear and know the truth, but we must imjirove it, and be made wiser and better by it, recei\ e the impiessions of it, and submit to the commanding power of it. Know it for thyself, so the word is; with application to thyself, and thy own case; not only This is true, but This is true concerning me. That which we thus hear and know for ourselves, we hear and know for our good, as we are nourished by the meat which we digest. That is, indeed, a good sermon, which does us good.

CHAP. VI.

Eliphaz concluded his discourse with an air of assurance; very confident he was that what he had said was so plain and so pertinent, that nothing could be objected in answer to it. But though he that is first in his own cause, seems just, yet his neighbour comes and searches him. Job is not convinced by all he had said, but still justifies himself in his complaints, and condemns him for the weakness of his arguing. I. He shows that he had just cause to complain as he did of his troubles, and so it would appear to any impartial judge, v. 2. .7. II. He coiilinues his passionate wish, that he might speedily be cut offbv the stroke of death, and so be eased of all his miseries, V. 8. .13. HI. He reproves his friends for their uncharitable censures of him, and their unkind treatment, V. 14 . . 30. It must be owned that Job, in all this, spake much that was reasonable, but with a mixture of passion and human infirmity. And in this contest, as indeed in most contests, there was fault on both sides.

1. TJ UT Job answered and said, 2. Oii JLi that nfiy grief were thoroughly w eigh-ed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! 3. For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up. 4. For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. 5. Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder ? 6. Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there 0771/ taste in the white of an egg ? 7. The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.

Eliphaz, in the beginning of his discourse, had been very sharp upon Job, and yet it does not appear that Job gave him any interruption, but heard him patiently, till he had said all he had to say.-they that would make an impartial judgment of a discourse, must hear it out, and take it entire. But when he had concluded, he makes his reply, in which he speaks very feelingly.

I. He represents his calamity, in general, as much heavier than either he had expressed it, or they had apprehended it, v. 2, 3. He could not fully describe it, they would not fully apprehend it, or, at least, not own that they did; and therefore he

JOB, VI.

would gladly appeal to a third person, who had just weights and just balances with which to weigh his grief and calamity, and would do it with an impartial hand; he wished that they would set his grief in one scale, and all the expressions of it; his calamity in the other, and all the particulars of it; and (though he would not altogether justify himself in his grief, yet) they would find (as he says, ch. xxiii. 2.) that his stroke was heavier than his groaning; for, whatever his grief was, his calamity was heavier than the sand of the sea; it was complicated, it was aggravated, every grievance weighty, and all together numerous as the sand: Therefore (says he) my words are swallowed ufi; that is, '' Therefore you must excuse both the brokenness and the bitterness of my expressions; do not think it strange if my speech be not so fine and polite as that of an eloquent orator, or so grave and regular as that of a morose philosopher: no, in these circumstances I can pretend neither to the one nor to the other; my words are, as I am, quite swallowed ap."

Now, 1. He hereby complains of it as his un-happiness, that his friends undertook to administer spiritual physic to him, before they thoroughly understood his case, and knew the worst of it. It is seldom that those who are at ease themselves, rightly weigh the afflictions of the afflicted; every one feels most from his own burthen, few feel from otlier people's. 2. He excuses the jjassionate expressions he had used when he cursed his day. Though he could not himself justify all he had said, yet he thought his friends should not tlius violently condemn it, for really the case was extraordinary; and that n>ight be connived at in such a man of sorrows as he now was, which, in any common grief, would by no means be allowed of. 3. He bespeaks the ch iritable and compassionate sympathy of his friends with him, and hopes, by representing the greatness of his calamity, to bring them to a Ijetter temper toward him. To those that are pained, it is some ease to be pitied.

II. He complains of the trouble and terror of mind he was in, as the sorest part of his calamity, V. 4. Herein he was a type of Christ, who, in his suflFerings, complained most of the sufferings of his soul; A''ow is my soul troubled, John xii. 27. My wul is exceeding sorrowful, Matth. xxvi. 37, 38. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? Matth. xxvii. 46. Poor Job sadly complains here, 1. Of what he felt: The arrows of the Almighty arc within me. It was not so mucli the troubles themselves he was under that put him into tliis confusion, his poverty, disgrace,.and bodily pain; that which cut him to the heart, and put him into this agitation, was, to think that the Ciod he loved, and served, had brought all this upon him, and laid liim undei' these marks of his displeasure. Note, Trouble of mind is the sorest trouble: a wounded s/iirit who can bear? Whatever burthen of affliction, in body or estate, God is pleased to lay upon us, we may well afford to submit to it as long as he continues to us the use of our reason, and the peace of our consciences; but if, in either of these, we be disturbed, our case is sad indeed, and very pitiable. The way to prevent God's fiery darts of trouble, is, with the shield of faith, to quench Satan's fiery darts of temptation. Observe, He calls them the ay-rows of the Almighty; for it is an instance of the power of God abfive that of any man, that lie can with his arrows reach the soul. He that made it can make his sword to approach to it. The poison or heat of these arrows is said to drink uj) his spirit, because it disturbed his reason, shook his resohition, exhausted his vigour, and threatened his life; and therefore his passionate expressions, though they could not be [

justified, yet might be excused. 2. Of what he feared. He saw himself charged by the terrors of God, as by an army set in balde-array, and surrounded by them. God, by his terrors, fought against him: as he had no comfort when he retired inward into his own bosom, so he had none when he looked upward toward Heaven. He that used to be encouraged with the consolations of God, not only wanted those, but was amazed with the terrors of God.

III. He reflects upon his friends for their severe censures of his complaints, and their unskilful management of his case. 1. Their reproofs were causeless. He complained, it is true, now that he was in this affliction, but he never used to complain, as those do who are of a fretful unquiet spirit, when he was hi prosperity: he did not bray when he had grass, nor low over his fodder, v. 5. But now, that he was utterly deprived of all his comforts, he must be a stock or a stone, and not have the sense of an ox or a wild ass, if he did not give some vent to his grief. He was forced to eat unsavoury meats, and was so poor, that he had not a grain of salt, wherewith to relish them, nor to give a little taste to the white of an egg, which was now the choicest dish he had at his table, v. 6. Even that food which once he would have scorned to touch, now he was glad of, and it was his sorrowful meat, v. 7. Note, It is wisdom not to use ourselves or our children to be nice and dainty about meat and drink, because we know not how we or they may be reduced, nor how that which we now disdain may be made acceptable by necessity. 2. Their comforts were sapless and insipid; so some understand, v. 6, 7. He complains he had nothing now offered him for his relief, that was proper for him; no cordial, nothing to revive and cheer his spirits; what they had afforded, was in itself as tasteless as the white of an egg, and, when applied to him, as loathsome and bur-thensome as the most sorrowful meat. I am sorry he should say thus of what Eliphaz had excellently well said, ch. v. 8, &c. But pee\ ish spirits are too apt thus to abuse their comforters.

8. Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant yne the ihing that T long for; 9. Even that it would please God to destroy me ; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! 10. Then should 1 yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let h'uw not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. 11. What is my strength, thai I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life ? 12. Is my strength the strength of stones ? or is my flesh of brass ? 1.3. Is not my help in me ? and is wisdom driven quite fiom me ?'

Ungoverned passion often grows more violent when it meets with some rebuke and check: the troubled sea rages most when it dashes against a rock. Job had been courting death, as that which would be tlie h;.])py period of his miseries, ch. iii. For this, Elij)haz had gravely reproved him: but he, instead of unsaying it, says it here again with more vehemence than before; it is as ill said as almost anv thing we meet with in all his discourses, and is recorded for our admonition, not our imitation.

I. He is still most passionately desirous to die, as if it were not jiossiljle that he should ever see good davs again in this world, or that, by the exercise of

JOB, VI.

39

grace and devotion, he might make even tliese days of affliction ,y;o()d days: he could see no end of his trouble but deiitii, and had not p.^tience to wait the time appointed for tliat. He has a request to make, tliere is a thing lie longs for: {v. 8.) and what is that? One would think it should be, '/Viut it would fileane God to deliver me, and restore me to my prosperity again; no, That it would Jilease God to destroy me, v. 9. "As once he let loose his hand to make nie poor, and then to make me sick, let him loose it once more to put an end to my life. Let him give the fatal stroke; it shall be to me the coufi de ifruce — l/ie stroke of favour," as, in France, they call the last blow which despatches them that are broken on the wheel. There was a time when destruction from the Almighty ivas a terror to Job; (ch. xxxi. 23.) yet now he courts the destruction of the flesh, but in hopes that the spirit should be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Observe, Though Job was extremely desirous of death, and very angry at its delays, yet lie did not offer to destrciy himself, nor to take away his own life; only he begged that it would filease God to destroy him. Seneca's morals, which recommend self-murder as the lawful redress of insupportal)le grievances, were not then known, nor will ever be entertained by any that have the least regard to the law of God and nature. How uneasy soe\er the soul's confinement in the body may be, it must by no means break prison, but wait for a fair discharge.

II. He puts this desiix into a prayer, that God would grant him this request, that it would please God to do this for him. It was his sin, so passionately to desire the hastening of his own death, and offering up that desire to God made it no better; nay, what looked ill in his wish, looked worse in his prayer; for we ought not to ask any thing of God but wliat we can ask in faith, and we cannot ask any thing in faith, but what is agreeable to the will of God. Passionate prayers are the worst of passionate expressions; for we should lift up pure hands without wrath.

III. He promises himself effectual relief, and tlie redress of all his grievances, by the stroke of death; {v. 10.) " Then should I yet have con fort, wliich now I have not, nor ever expect till then." See, 1. The vanity of human life; so uncertain a good is it, that it often proves men's greatest burthen, and nothing is so desirable as to get clear of it. Let grace make us willing to part with it, whenever God calls; for it may so happen, that even sense may make us desirous to pai't with it before he calls. 2. The hope which the righteous have in their death. If Job had not had a good conscience, he could not have spoken with this assurance of comfort on the other side death, that circumstance which made all the difference between the rich man and Lazarus; Jfonv he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

IV. He challenges death to do its worst. If he coul-d not die without the dreadful prefaces of bitter pains and agonies, and strong convulsions; if he must be racked before he be executed, yet, in prospect of dying at last, he would make nothing of dying pangs. " I would harden myself in sorrow, would open my breast to receive deatli's darts, and not shrink from them; let him not spare; I desire no mitigation of that pain which will put a happy period to all my pains. Rather than not die, let me die so as to feel myself die." These are passionate words, which might better have been spared. We should soften ourselves in sorrow, that we may receive the good impressions of it, and, by the sadness of the countenance, our liearts, being made tender, may be made better; but, if we harden ourselves, we urovoke God to proceed in

his controversy;/or when he judgeth, he will overcome. It is great presnm])i;on to dare tlie Almighty, c nd to say. Let him not spare: foi-, ^dre we stronger than iie'^ 1 Cor. x. 22. We are much indebted to sparing mercy; it is bad indeed with us when we are weary of that. Let us rather say, with David, O spare me a little.

V. He grounds his comfoitupon the testimony of his cijuscience for him, that he had been faithful and firm to his profession of religion, and in some degrees useful and sei-\ iceable to the glory of God in his generation; I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. Observ e, 1. Jolj had the words of the Holy One committed to him. The people of G()d were, at tliat time, blessed with divine revelation. 2. It was his comfort, that he had not concealed them, had not recei\ed the grace of God therein in vain. (1.) He had not kept them from himself, but had given them full scope to operate upon him, and in every thing to guide and govern him. He had not stifled his convictions, imprisonea the truth in unrighteousness, nor done any thing to hinder the digestion of this spiritual food, and the operation of this spiritual physic. Let us never conceal God's word from ourselv es, but always receive it in the light of it. (2.) He had not kept them to himself, but had been ready, on all occasions, to communicate his knowledge for the good of others; was never ashamed or afraid to own the word of God to be his rule, nor remiss in his en-deaxours to bring others into an acquaintance with it. Note,- Those, and those only, may promise themseh es comfort in death, who are good, and do good, while they live.

VI. He justifies himself in this extreme desire of death, from the deplorable condition he was now in, V. 11, 12. Eliphaz, in the close of his discourse, had put him in hopes that he should yet see a good issue of his troubles; but poor Job puts these cordials away from him, refuses to be comforted, aljandons himself to despair, and very ingeniously, yet perversely, argues against the encouragements that were gi\ en him. Disconsolate spirits will reason strangely against themselves. In answer to the pleasing prospects Eliphaz had flattered him with, he here intimates, 1. That he had no reason to expect any such thing: " What is my strength, that I should hope? You see how I am weakened and brought low, how unable I am to grapple with my distempers; and therefore what re son have I to hope that I should outlive them, and see better days ? Is my strength the stre7igth of stones? Are my muscles brass, and sinews steel? No, they are not, and therefore I cannot hold out always in this pain and misery, but must needs sink under the load. Had I strength to grapple with my distemper, I might hope to look through it; but, alas! I have not;" the weakening of my strength in the way will certainly be the shortening of my days, Ps. cii. 23. Note, All things considered, we have no reason to count upon the long continuance of life in this world. What is our strength ? It is depending strength; we have no more strength than God gives us, for in him we live and mme: it is decaying strength; we are daily spending the stock, and by degrees it will be exhausted. It is dispro-portionable to the encounters we may meet with; what is our strength to be depended upon, when two or three days' sickness will make us weak as water? Instead of expecting a long life, we have reason to wonder that we have lived hitherto, and to feel that we are hastening off apace. 2. l^hat he had no reason to desire any such thing; " W/^at is my end, that I should desire to prolong my life? What comfort can I promise myself in life, comparable to the comfort I promise myself in death?'' Note, Those who, through grace, are ready for an

JOB, VI.

other world, cannot see much to invite their stay in this world, or to make them fond of it. That, if it be God's will, we may do him more service, and may get to be fitter and ripe f<^r heaven, is an end for which we may wish the prolonging of life, in subserviency to our chief end; but, otherwise, what can we propose to oui'selves in desiring to tarry here ? The longer life is, the more grievous will its burthens be, (Eccl. xii. 1.) and the longer life is, the less pleasant will be its delights, 2 Sam. xix. 34, 35. We have already seen the best of this world, but we are not sure that we have seen the worst of it.

VII. He obviates the suspicion of his being delirious; {v. 13.) Is not my help in me'/ that is, " Have I not the use of my reason, with which, I thank God, I can help myself, though you do not help me.'' Do you think wisdom is driven quite from me, and that I am gone distracted ? No, I am not mad, most noble Eliphaz, but sfieak the words of truth and soberness" Note, Those who have grace in them, who have the evidence of it, and have it in exei-cise, have wisdom in them, which will be their help in the worst of times. Sat lucis intus — They have light within.

14. To him that is afflicted pity should be showed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Ahiiighty. 15. My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away; 16. VVhich are blackish by reason of the ice, awe/wherein the snow is hid: 17. What time they wax warm they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. 18. The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish. 19. The troops of Tenia looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them. 20. They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed. 21. For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.

Eliphaz had been very severe in his censures of Job; and his companions, though as yet they had said little, yet had intimated their concurrence with him: their unkindness therein poor Job here complains of, as an aggravation of his calamity, and a further excuse of his desire to die; for what satisfaction could he ever expect in this world, when those that should be his comfortei-s, thus proved his tormentors.'

I. He shows what reason he had to expect kii-.d-ness from them. His expectation was grounded upon the common ])rinciples of humanity; {v. 14.) " To him that is afflicted, and that is wasting and melting under his affliction, pity should be showed from his friend; and he that does not show that pity, forsakes the fear of the jilmighty." Note, 1. Com])assion is a debt owing to those that are in affliction. The least which those that are at ease can do for those that are pained and in anguish, is, to pity them, to manifest tlie sincerity of a tender concern for them, and to sympathize with them; to take cognizance of their case, inquire into their grievances, hear their complaints, and mingle tears with theirs; to comfort them, and do all we can to help and relieve them: this well becomes the members of the same body, who should feel for the grievances of their fellow-members, not knowing how soon the same may be their own. 2. Inhumanity is impiety and ifreligion. He that

withholds compassion from his friend, forsakes .the fear of the Almighty. So the Chaldee. How dwells the love of God in that man ? 1 John iii. 17. Surely those have no fear of the rod of God upon themselves, who have no compassion for those that feel the smart of it. See Jam. i. 27. 3. Troubles are the trials of friendship. When a man is afflicted, he will see who are his friends indeed, and who are but pretenders; for a brother is bom for adversity, Prov. xvii. 17.—xviii. 24.

II. He shows how wretchedly he was disappointed in his expectations from them; (t^. 15.) " iVfv brethren, who should have helped me, have dealt deceitfully as a brook. " They came by appointment, with a great deal of ceremony, to mourn with him, and to comfort him; {ch. ii. 11.) and some extraordinary things were expected from such great men, such good men, such wise, learned, knowing men, and Job's particular friends; none questioned but that the drift of their discourses would be to comfort Job with the remembrance of his former piety, the assurance of God's favour to him, and the prospect of a glorious issue; but, instead of this, they most barbarously fall upon him with their reproaches and censures, condemn him as a hypocrite, insult over his calamities, and pour vinegar, instead of oil, into his wounds, and thus they dealt deceitfully with him. Note, 1. It is fraud and deceit not only to violate our engagements to our friends, but to frustrate their just expectations from us, especially the expectations we have raised. 2. It is our wisdom to cease from man; we cannot expect too little from the creature, nor too much from the Creator. It is no new thing even for brethren to deal deceitfully; (Jer. ix. 4, 5. Mic. vii. 5.) let us therefore put our confidence in the Rock of ages, not in broken reeds; in the Fountain of life, not in broken cisterns. God will outdo our hopes as much as men come short of them.

This disappointment which he met with, he here illustrates by the failing of biooks in summer.

(1.) The similitude is very elegant, v. 15--20. [1.] Their pretensions are fitly compared to the great show which the brooks make, when they ai-e swelled with the waters of a land-flood, by the melting of the ice and snow, which makes them blackish or muddy, t^. 16. [2.] His expectations from them, which their coming so solemnly to comfort him had raised, he compares to the expectation which the weary thirsty travellers have ot finding water in the summer there, where they have often seen it in great abundance in the winter, v. 19. The troops of Tema and Sheba, the caravans of the merchants of those countries, whose road lay through the deserts of Arabia, looked and waited for a supply of water from those broc ks: " Hard by here," says one, " A little further," says another, " when I last travelled this way, there was water enough, we shall have that to refresh us." Where we have met with relief and comfort, we are apt to expect it again; and yet it does not follow: for, [3.] The disappointment of his expectation is here compared to the confiisi<n which seizes the poor travellers, when they find heaps of sand where they expected floods of water. In the winter, when they were not thirsty, there was water en^uigh; every one will applaud and <.d mire those that are full and in prosperity: but, in the heat of summer, when they needed water, then it failed them, it was consumed, (t. 17.) it was turned aside, v. 18. When those who are rich and high, are sunk and impoverished, and stand in need of comfort, then those who before gathered about them, stand aloof from them, who before commended them, are forward to run them down: thus they who raise their expectations high from the creature, will find it fail them then when it

JOB, VI.

41

should help them; whereas they who make God their confidence have help in the lime of need, lico. \\. 16. They who make gold their hope, sooner or later will be ashamed of it, and of their confidence in it; (Ezek. vii. 19.) and the greater their confidence was, the greater their shame will be; They were confounded because they had hofitd, V. 20. We prepare confusion for ourselves by our vain hopes: the reeds break under us, because we lean upon them. If we build a house upon the stmd, we shall certainly be d iifounded, for it will fcill in the storm, and we must thank ourselves for being such fools to expect it would stand. We are not deceived unless we deceive ourselves.

(2.) The application is very close; {v. 21.) For novj ye arc nothing. They seemed to be somewhat, but in conference they added nothing to him. Allude to Gal. ii. 6. He was never the wiser, never the better, for the visit they made him. Note, Whatevei- complacency we may take, or whatever confidence we may put, in creatures, how great soever they may seem, and how dear soever they may be, to us, one time or other we shall say of them, JSToiv ye are nothing. When Job was in prosperity, his friends were something to him, he took complacency in them and their society; but *' A''oiv ye are nothing, now I can find no ccmfoit but in God." It were well for us, if we had always such convictions of the vanity of the creature, and its insufficiency to make us happy, as we have sometimes had, or shall ha\e, on a sick-bed, a death-bed, or in trouble of conscience; ^^ JVow ye are nothing. You are not what you have been, what you should be, what you pretend to be, what I thought you would have been; for you see my casting down, and are ; fraid. When you saw me in my elevation, you caressed me; but, now that you see me in my dejection, you are shy of me, are afraid rf showing yourselves kind, lest I should take boldness thence, to beg something of you, or to borrow;" (compare v. 22.) "you are afraid, lest, if you own me, you should be obliged to keep me." Perhaps they were afraid of catching his distemper, or of coming within smell of the noisome-ness of it. It is not good, either out of pride or niceness, for love of our purses, or of our bodies, to be shy of those in distress, and afraid of coming near them. Their case may soon be our own.

22. Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance ? 23. Or, Deliver me from the enemies' hand ? or. Redeem me from the hand of the mighty? 24. Teach me, and I will hold my tongue; and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. 25. How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove ? 26. Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, ivhich are as wind? 27. Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend. 28. Now, therefore, be content: look upon me: for it is evident unto you if I lie. 29. Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity ? yea, return again, my righteousness is in it. 30. Is there iniquity in my tongue? Cannot my taste discern perverse things?

Poor Job goes on here to upbraid his friends with their unkindness, and the hard usage they gave him. He here appeals to themselves concerning several things which tended both to justify him and

Vol. iii.-F

condemn them. If they would but think impartially, and speak as they thought, they could not but own,

I. That though he was necessitous, yet he was not craving, nor burthensome to his friends. Thc^se that are so, whose troubles serve them to beg by, are commonly less pitied than the silent poor. Job would be glad to see his friends, but he did not say, Bring unto me, {y. 22.) or, Deliver me, v. 23. He did not desire to put them to any expense; did not urge his friends, either, 1. To make a collection for him, to set him up again in the world, though he could plead that his losses came upon him by the hand of God, and not by any fault or folly of his own; that he was utterly ruined and impoverished; that he had lived in good condition, and that, when he had wherewithal, he was charitable, and ready to help those that were in distress; that his friends were rich, and able to help him; yet he did not say, Give me of your substance. Note, A good man, when troubled himself, is afraid of being troublesome to his friends. Or, 2. To raise the country for him, to help him to recover his cattle out of the hands of the Sabeans and Chaldeans, or to make reprisals upon them; " Did I send for you to deliver me out of the hand of the mighty? No, I ne\ er expected you sh'aild either expose yourselves to any danger, or put yourselves to any charge, upon my account; I wil'l rather sit down content under my affliction, and make the best of it, than spunge upon my friends." St. Paul worked with his hands, that he might not be burthen-some to any. Job's not asking their help, did not excuse them from offering it when he needed it, and it was in the power of their hands to give it; but it much aggravated their unkindness, when he desired no moi e from them than a good look, and a good word, and yet could not obtain them. It often happens that fn m man, even when we expect little, we have less, but from God, even when we expect much, we have more, Eph. iii. 20.

II. That though he differed in opinion from them, yet he was not ol:)stinate, but ready to yield to conviction, and to strike sail to truth, as soon as ever it was made to appear to him that he was in an error; {v. 24, 25.) "If, instead of invidious reflections and uncharitable insinuations, you will give me plain instructions and solid arguments, which shall carry their own evidence along with them, I am ready to acknowledge my eiTor, and own myself in a fault; Teach me, and I will hold my tongue, for I have often found, with pleasure and wondei-, how forcible right words are: but the method yf u take will never make proselytes; what doth your arguing reprove? Your hypothesis is false, your surmises are groundless, your management weak, and your application peevish and uncharitable." Note, 1. Fair reasoning has a commanding power, and it is a wonder if men are not conquered by it; but railing and foul language is impotent and foolish, and it is no wonder if meii are exasperated and hardened by it. 2. It is the undoubted character of every honest man, that he is truly desirous to have his mistakes rectified, and to be made to understand wherein he has erred* and that right words, when they appear to him to be so, though contrary to his former sentiments, are both forcible and acceptable.

III. That though he had been indeed in a f ult, yet they ought not to have given him such hard usage; (i'. 26, 27.) ^'Do you imagine, or contrive with a great deal of art," (for so the word signifies,) *Ho r(°/?roT'(f worfi^s, some passionate expressions of mine in this desperate condition, as if they were certain indications of reigning impiety and atheism? A little candour and charity would have served to excuse them, and to put a better con-

JOB, VII.

struction upon them. Shall a man's spiritual state be judged of by some rash and hasty words, which d burprising trouble extorts from him? Is it fair, Is it kind, Is it just, to criticise in such a case? Would you youi'sehes be served thus?" Two things aggravated their unkind treatment of him. 1. That they took ad\ antage of his weakness, and the helpless condition he was in; Ye overivhelm the fatherless, a proverbial expression, bespeaking tliat which is uiost barbarous and inhuman. " The fatherless c-iniiot secure themselves from insults; which im-L) Jidens men of base and sordid spirits to insult tiieni and trample upon them; and you do so by uic." Job, being a childless father, thought himself as much exposed to injury as a fatherless child, ^^Ps. cxxvii. 5.) and had reason to take it ill at tnose who, therefore, triumphed over him. Let in.-se, wno overwhelm and overpower them that upon auy account may be looked upon as fatherless, know that therein they not only put off the compassions of man, but fight against the compassions of God, wlio is, and will be, a Father of tae fatherless, and a Helper of the helpless. 2. That they made pretence of kindness; " You dig a flit for your friend; not only you are unkind to me, who am your friend, but, under colour of friendship, you insnare me." When they came to see and sit with him, he thought he might speak his mind freely to them, and that tlie more bitter his complaints to them were, the more they would ha\ e endeavoured to comfort him. This made him take a greater liberty than otherwise he would have done. David, though he smothered his resentments when the wicked were before him, it is likely, would have given vent to them, if none had been by but friends, Ps. xxxix. 1. But this freedom of speech, which their professions of concern for him made him use, had exposed him to their censures, and so they might be said to dig a pit for him. Tnus, when our hearts are hot within us, what is ill d' me we are apt to misrepresent, as if done designedly.

IV. T.iat though he had let fall some passionate expressions, yet, in tiie main, he was in the right, and th.a his afflictions, though very extraordinary, did not prove him to be a hypocrite, or a wicked man. His righteousness he holds fast, and will not let it go.

For the evincing of it, he here appeals,

1. To what they saw in him; {y. 28.) '^ Be content, and look ujion me; what do you see in me, that ijespeaks me either a mad man, or a wicked man? Nay, look in my face, and you may discern there the uulications of a patient and submissive spirit, for all this. Let the show of my countenance Witness for me, that th' ugh I have cursed my day, I do not curse my (iod." Or rather, "Look upon my ulcers and sore boils, and by them it will be eident to you that I do not lie; that is, "that I do not complain without cause. Let your own eyes convince you that my condition is very sad, and that I do not quarrel with God, by making it worse than it is."

2. To what they heard from him; (v. 30.) "You hear what I have to say; Is there iniquity in my longuv? That iniquity that you charge me with? Have I blasphemed God, or renounced him? Are not my present arguings right? Do not you perceive, bv what I say, that 1 can discern perverse things? 1 can discover your fallacies and mistakes, and if I were myself in an error, I could perceive it. Whatev er you think of me, I know what I say."

3. To their own second and sober thoughts; {v. 29.) " Return, I pray you, consider the thing over again, without prejudice and ])artiality, and let not tlie result be iniquity, let it not be an unrighteous sentence; and you will find my righteousness

is in it," that is, "I am in the right in this matter; and though I cannot keep my temper as I sliould, I keep my integrity, and have not said, or done, or suffered, any thing which will prove me other than an honest man." A just cause desires nothing more than a iust hearing, and, if need be, are-hearing.

CHAP. Nil.

Job, in this chapter, goes on to express the bitter sense he had of his calamities, and to justify himself in his desire of death. I. He complains to himself and liis friends of his troubles, and the constant agitation he was in, v. 1.. 6. 11. He turns to God, and expostulates with him, V. 7. to the end. In which, 1. He pleads the final period which death puts to our present slate, v. 7 .. 10. 2. He passionately complains of the mi-scrable condition he was now in, v. 11.. 16. 3. He wonders that God will thus contend with him, and begs for the pardon of his sins, and a speedy release out of his miseries, v. 17. . 21. It is hard to methodise the speeches of one who owned himself almost desperate, ch. vi. 26.

1. ¥S there not an appointed time to man upon earlh ? are not his clays also like the days of a hireling / 2. As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as a hireling looketh for the reheard of his work ; S. So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. 4. When I lie down, J say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone ? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day. 5. My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome. 6. My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.

Job is here excusing what he could not justify, even his inordinate desire of death. W^hy should he not wish for the period of life, which would be the period of his miseries? To enforce this reason, he argues,

I. From the general condition of man upon earth; {v. 1.) " He is of few days, and full of trouble. Every man must die shortly, and every man has some reason (more or less) to desire to die shortly; and, therefore, why should yru impute it to me as so heinous a crime, that / wish to die shortly?" Or thus; " Pray mistake not my desires of death, as if I thought the time appointed of God could be anticipated; no, I know very well that thaf' is fixed; only in such language as this, I take the liberty to express my present uneasiness. Is there not an afi-fiointed time {a warfare, so the word is) to man ufion earth? And are not his days here like the days of a hireling?" Observe,

1. Man's present place: he is upon earth, which God has given to the children of men, Ps. cxv. 16. This bespeaks man's meanness and inferiority: how much below the inhabitants of yonder elevated and refined regions is he situated! It also bespeaks God's mercy to him: he is yet u/ion the earth, not under it; nn earth, not in hell. Our time on earth is limited and short, according to the narrow bounds of this earth; but heaven cannot be measured, nor the days of hea\ en numbered.

2. His continuance in that place: is there not a time appointed for his abode here? Yes, certainly there is, and it is easy to say by whom the appointment is made, even by Him that made us and set us here. We are not to be on this earth alwavs, nor long, but for a certain time, which is detei-mined by Him in whose hand our times are. We are not to think that we are governed b)' the blind

JOB, VII.

43

fate of the Stoics, or by the blind fortune of the Epicureans, but by the wise, holy, and sovereign, counsel of God.

3. His condition during that continuance: man's life is a ivarfare, and as the days of a hireling. We are every owq of us to look upon ourselves in this world, (1.) As soldiers, exposed to hardship, and in tlie midst of enemies; we must ser\e and be under command; ;>nd, when our warfare is accomplished, we must be disbanded, dismissed with either shame or honoui-, according to what we hive tione in the body. (2.) As day-labourers, that have the work, of the day to do in its day, and must make up tlieir account at night.

II. From his own condition at this time. He had as much reason, he thought, to wish for death, as a poor servant or hireling, tuat is tired with his work, has to wish for the shadows of the evening, when he shall receive his penny, and go to rest, v. 2. The darkness of the night is as welcome to the labourer, as the light of the morning is to the watchman, Ps. cxxx. 6. The God of nature has provided for the repose of labourers, and no wonder that they desire it. The sleep of the labouring man is sweet, Eccl. v. 12. No pleasure more grateful, more relishing, to the luxurious, than rest to the labourers; nor can any rich man take so much satisfacrion in the return of his rent-days, as the hii-eling in his day's wages. The comparison is plain, the application is concise, and somewhat obscure; but we must supply a word or two, and then it is easy: exactness ot language is not to be expected from one in Job's condition. " As a servant earnestly desires the shadow, so, and for the same reason, I earnestly desire death, for I am made to possess," &c. Hear his complaint:

1. His days were useless, and had been so a great wliile; he was wholly taken off from business, and utterly unfit foi- it. Evei'y day was a burtlien to him, because he was in no capacity of doing good, or of spending it to any purpose. FJ I'iteepartem non attigit ullam — He cnikl not Jill uji his time nvith any thing that would turn to accojuit; this he calls/ios-sessing months of vanity, v. 3. It very much increases the affliction of sickness and age, to a good man, that he is thereby forced from his usefulness. He insists not so much upon it, that they are days in which he has no pleasure, as that they are days in which he does no good; on that account, they are months of vanity: but when we are disabled to work for God, if we will but sit still quietly for him, it is all one; we shall be accepted.

2. His nights were restless, v. 3, 4. The night relieves the toil and fatigue of the day, not only to the labourers, but to the sufferers: if a sick man can but get a little sleep in the night, it helps nature, and it is hoped that he will do well, John xi. 12. However, be the trouble what it will, sleep gives some intermission to the cares, and pains, and griefs, that afflict us: it is the parenthesis of our sorrows: but poor Job could not gain this relief. (1.) His nights were wearisome, and, instead of taking any rest, he did but tire himself more with tossing to and fro until morning. Those that are in great uneasiness, through pain of body, or anguish of mind, think, by changing sides, changing places, changing postures, to get some ease; but, while the cause is the same within, it is all to no purpose; it is-but a resemblance of a fretful discontented spirit, that is ever shifting, but never easy. This made him dread the night as much as the servant desires it, and, when he lay down, to say, IVhen will the night be gone? (2.) These wearisome nights were appointed to him; God, who determines the times before appointed, had allotted him such nights as t] ese. Whatever is, at any time, grievous to us, it is good to see it appointed for us, that we may ac-

quiesce in the event, not only as unavoidable, because appointed, but as, therefore, designed for some hoi)- end. When we have comfortable nights, we must see them also appointed to us, and be thankful for them; many better than we have wearisome nights.

3. His body was noisome, x'. 5. His sores bred worms, the scabs were like clods of dust, and his skin was broken; so evil was the disease which cleaved fast to him. See what vile bodies we have, and what little reason we have to pamper them, or be proud of them; they ha\e in themselves the principles of their own coriuption: as fond as we are of them now, the time may come, when we may loathe them, and long to get rid of them.

4. His life was hastening apace towards a period, V. 6. He thought he had no reason to expect a long life, f(;r he found himself declining fast; {xk 6.) My days are swfter than a weaver^s shuttle, that is, " My time is now but short, and there are but a few sands more in my glass, which will speedily run out." Natural motions are more swift near the centre; Job thought his days ran swiftly, because he thought he should soon be at his journey's end; he looked upon them as good as spent already, and he was therefore without hope of being restored to his former prosperity. It is applicable to maii's life in general; our days are like a weaver's shuttle, thrown from one side of the web to the other, in the twinkling of an eye, and then back again, to and fro, un'^il, at length, it is quite exhausted of the thread it carried; and then we cut off, like a weaver, our life, Isa. xxxviii. 12. Time hastens on apace, the motitn of it cannot be stopped, and, when it is past, it cannot be recalled. While we are living, we ; re sowing, (Gal. vi. 8.) so we are weaving; every day, like the shuttle, leaves a thread behind it; many weave the spider's web, which will fail them, ch. viii. 14. If we are weaving to ourselves holy garments and robes of righteousness, we shall ha\e the benefit of them when our work comes to be reviewed, and every man shall reap as he sowed, and wear as he wove.

7. O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good. 8. The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. 9. yis the cloud is consumed and va-nisheth away; so he that goeth down 1o the grave sliiill come up no more. 10. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more. 11. Tiierefore I v\'ill not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; 1 will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12. Ajji I a sea, or a whale, that thou set-test a watch over me? 13. When I say. My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; 14. Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions: 15. So that my soul choosedi strangling, and death rather than my life. 16. I loathe it: I would not live always: let me alone; for my days are vanity.

Job, observing perhaps that his friends, though they would not interrupt him in his discourse, yet began to grow weary, and not to heed much what he said, here turns to God, and speaks to him. If men will not hear us, God will; if men cannot help us, he can; for his arm is not shortened, neither is

JOB, VII.

/j/.9 ear heavy. Yet we must not go to school to J.-il) here, to"leam how to speak to God, for, it must he c;riitessed, there is a great mixture of passion and corruption in what he here says: but if God be not extreme to mark what his people say amiss, let ns also make the best of it. Job is here begging of God either to ease him or end him.

He here represents himself to God,

I. As a dying man, surely and speedily dying. It is good for us, when we are sick, to think and speak of death, for sickness is sent on puroose to put us in mind of it; and if we be duly mindful of it ourselves, we may, in faith, put God in mind of it, as Job does here; {v. 7.) 0 remember that my life is vjind. He recommends himself to God as an object of his pity and compassion, with this consideration, that he was a very weak, frail, creature, his abode in this world short and uncertain, his removal out of it sure and speedy, and his return to it again impossible, and never to be expected; that his life was wind, as the lives of all men are, noisy perhaps, and blustering, like the wind, but vain and empty, soon gone, and, when gone, past recall. God had compassion on Israel, remembering that they -were but flesh, a wind that fiasseth away, and cometh not again, Ps. Ixxviii. 38, 39. Observe,

1. The pious reflections Job makes upon his own life and death. Such plain truths as these concerning the shortness and vanity of life, the un-avoidableness and irrecoverableness of death, then do us good, when we think and speak of them with application to oursehes. Let us consider, then,

(1.) That we must shortly take our leave of all the things that are seen, that are temporal. The eye of the body must be closed, and shall no more see good, the good which most men set their hearts upon, for their cry is, Who will make us to see good? Ps. iv. 6. If we be such fools as to place our happiness in visible good things, what will become of us when they shall be for ever hid from our eyes, and we shall no more see good? Let us, therefore, live by that faith which is the substance and evidence of things not seen.

(2.) That we must then remove to an invisible world: the eye of him that hath here seen me, shall see me no more there. It is 'hStn; — aii unseen state, V. 8. Death removes our lovers and friends into darkness, (Ps. Ixxxviii. 18.) and will shortly remove us out of their sight; when we go hence we shall be seen no more, (Ps. xxxix. 13.) but go to converse with the things that are not seen, that are eternal.

(3.) That God can easily, and in a moment, put an end to our lives, and send us to another world; (t. 8.) "Thine eyes are u/ion me, and I am not: thou canst look me into eternity, frown me into the grave, when thou pleasest."

Shoiild'st thou, dUpleas'd, give me a frowning look, I sink, I (lie, as if witli lightning struck.

Sir R. Blackmorb.

He takes away our breath, and we die; nay, he but looks on the earth, and it trembles, Ps. civ. 29, 32.

(4.) That when we are once removed to another world, we must never return to this. There is constant passing from this world to the other, but Vestigia nulla retrorsum — There is no refia/ising. •• Therefore, Lord, show me kindness while I am here, for I shall return no more to receive kindness in this world." Or, "Therefore, Lord, kindly -/ase me bv death, for that will be a perpetual ease, . shall return no more to the calamities of this life." ♦\'hen we are dead, we are gone, to return no inore, [1.] From our house under ground, v. 9. He that goeth down to the grave, shall come ufi no

more, until the general resurrection, shall come up no more to his place in this world. Dying is work that is to be done but once, and therefoi-e it had need be well done: an error theie is pSret retrieve. This is illustrated by the blotting out and scattering of a cloud. It is consumed, and vanisheth awav, is resolved into air, and never knits again: other clouds arise, but the same cloud never returns: so a new generation of the children of men is raised up, but the former generation is quite consuuied, and vanishes away. When we see a cloud which looks great, as if it would eclipse the sun and drown the earth, of a sudden dispersed and disappearing, let us say, "Just such a thing is the life of man; it is a -vapour that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away." [2.] To return no more to our house above ground, v. 10. He shall return no more to his house, to the possession and enjoyment of it, to the business and delights of it: others will take possession, and keep it till they also res'gn to another generation. The rich man in hell des'red Lazarus might be sent to his house, knowing it was to no purpose to ask that he might have leave to go himself. Glorified saints shall return no more to the cares, and burthens, and sorrows, of their house; nor damned sinners to the gaieties and pleasures of their house. Their place shall no more know them, no more own them, hive no more acquaintance with them, nor be any more under their influence. It concerns us to secure a better place when we die, for this will no more own us.

2. The passionate inference he draws from it. From these premises he might have drawn a bet'.ei conclusion than this, {y. 11.) Therefore I will not refrain my mouth, I will speak, t will complain. lioly David, when he had been meditating on the frailty of human life, made a contrary use of it; (Ps. xxxix. 9.) / was dumb, and opened not my mouth: but Job, finding himself near expiring, hastens as much to make his complaint, as if he had been to make his last will and testament, rr as if he could not die in peace until he had given vent to his passion. When we have but a few breaths to draw, we should spend them in the holy, gracious, breathings of faith and prayer, not in the noisome, noxious, breathings of sin and corruptirn. Better die praying and praising, than die complaining and quarrelling.

II. As a distempered man, sorely and grievously distempered, both in body and mind. In this ]iart of his representation, he is verv peevish, as if God dealt hardly with him, and laid upon hint more than was meet. Am T a sea, or a whale? v. 12. "A raging sea, that must be kept within brunds, to check its proud waves, or an unruly whale, that must be restrained by force from devouring all the fishes of the sea? Am I so strong, that there needs so much ado to hold me? So boisterous, that i o less than all these mightv bonds of affliction will serve to tame me, and kcej) me within compass?" We are very apt, when we are in afflicti<'n, to complain of God and his providence, as if he laid more restraint upon us than there is occas'cn f' r; whereas we arc never in heaviness but when there is need, or beyond the just measure.

1. He complains that he could n^t rest in his bed, T'. 13, 14. There we promise rursehes snne repose, when we are fatigued with labotir, rain, f-r travel; My bed shall comfort me, and my couch shall ease my complaint; sleep will, for a tinie, gi^ e me some relief; it does so; it is appointed for that end; many a time it has eased us, and we ha\(: awaked refreshed, and with new vigour. \\'beii it is so, we have great reason to be thankful; but it was not so with poor Job; his bed, instead of com forting him, terrified him; and his couch, instead

JOB, VII.

45

of easing his complaint, added to it; for if he dropped asleep, he was disturbed with his frightful d I earns, and when those awaked him, still he was haunted with dreadful appaiitions. This was it, tliat made the night so unwelcome and wearisome to him as it was; {v. 4.) When shall I arisen Note, God can, when he pleases, meet us with terror tliere, where we promise ourselves ease and repose; nay, he can make us a terror to ourselves, and, as we have often contracted guilt, by the rovings of an unsanctified fancy, he can likewise, by the power of our own imagination, create as much grief, and so make that our punishment which has often been our sin. In Job's dreams, though they might jjartly arise from his distemper, (in fevers, or small-pox, when the body is all over sore, it is common for the sleep to be unquiet,) yet we ha\'e reas'm to think Satan had a hand in them; Satan, who delights to terrify those whom it is out of his reach to-destroy; but Job looked up to God, who permitted Satan to do this, ( Thou scarest me,) and mistook Satan's representations for the terrors of God setting themselves in array against him. We have reason to pray to God that our dreams may neither defile nor disquiet us, neither tempt us to sin, nor torment us with fear; that He who keeps Israel, and neither slumbers nor sleeps, may keep us when v^e slumber and sleep; that the Devil may not then do us a mischief, either as an insinuating serpent, oi- as a roaring lion; and to bless God if we lie down and our sleep is sweet, and we are not thus scared.

2. He covets to rest in his grave, that bed where there are no tossings to and fro, nor any frightful dreams, v. 15, 16. (1.) He was sick of life, and hated the thoughts of it; "I loathe it, I have had enough of it, I would not live alway: not only not live alway in this condition, in pain and misery, but not live alway in the most easy and prosperous condition, to be continually in danger of being thus reduced: my days are vanity at the best, empty of solid comfort, exposed to real griefs; and I would not be for ever tied to such uncertainty." Note, A good man would not (if he might) live always in this world, no, not though it smile upon him, because it is a world of sin and temptation, and he has a better world in prospect. (2.) He was fond of death, and pleased himself with the thoughts of it: his soul (his judgment, he thought, but really it was his passion) chose strangling and death rather; any death rather than such, a life as this. Doubtless, this was Job's infirmity; for though a good man would not wish to live alway in this world, and would choose strangling and death rather than sin, as the martyrs did, yet he will be content to live as long as pleases God, not choose them rather than life, because life is our opportunity of glorifying God, and getting ready for heaven.

17. What is man that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thy heart upon him? 18. And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment? 19. How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle ? 20. I have sinned; what shall T do unto thee, O thou Preserver of men ? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself? 21. And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity ? for now shall I sleep in the

dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

Job here reasons with God,

I. Concerning his dealings with man in general; {y. 17, 18.) What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? This may be looked upon either, 1. As a passionate reflection upon the proceedings of di-\ine justice; as if the great God did diminish and disparage himself, in contending with man. Great men think it below them to take cognizance of those who are much their inferiors, so far as to reprove and correct their follies and indecencies; why then does God magnify man, by visiting him, and trying him, and making so much ado about him.' Why will he thus pour all his foi'ces upon one that is such an unequal match for him? W by will he visit him with afflictions, which, like a quotidian ague, return as duly and constantly as the morning-light, and try, every moment, what he can bear.' We mistake God, and the nature of his providence, if we think it any lessening to him, to take notice of the meanest of his creatures. ()r, 2. As a pious admiration of the condescensions cf divine grace, like that, Ps. viii, 4.—cxliv. 3. He owns God's favour to man in general, even then when he complains of his own particular troubles. "What is man, miserable man, a poor, mean, weak creature, that Thou, the great and glorious God, shouldest deal with him as thou dost? What is man," (1.) "That thou shouldest put such honour upon him; shouldest magnify him, by taking him into covenant and communim with thyself?" (2.) "That thou shouldest concern thyself so much about him, shouldest set thy heart upon him, as dear to thee, and one thou hast a kindness for?" (3.) "That thou shouldest visit him with thy compassions every morning, as we daily visit a particular friend, or as the physician visits his patients every morning, to help them?" (4.) "That thou shouldest try him, shouldest feel his pulse, and observe his looks, every moment, as in care about him, and jealous over him?" That such a worm of the earth as man is, should be the darling and favourite of Heaven, is what we have reason for ever to admire.

II. Concerning his dealings with him in particular. Observe,

1. The complaint he makes of his afflictions, which he here aggravates, and (as we are all too apt to do) makes the worst of, in three expressions. (1.) That he was the butt to God's arrows; "Thou hast set me as a mark against thee" v. 20. "My case is singular, and none is shot at so as I am." (2.) That he was a burthen to himself, readv to sink under the load of his own life. How much delight soever we take in ourselves, God can, when he pleases, make us burthens to ourselves. What comfort can we take in ourseh es, if God appear against us as an Enemy, and we have not comfort in him? (3.) That he had no intermission of his griefs; {v. 19.) "How long will it be ere thou cause thy rod to defiart from me, or abate the rigour of the correction, at least, for so long as that I may swallow down my spittle?''^ It should seem, Job's distemper lay much in his throat, and almost choked him, so that he could not swallow his spittle. He complains, (c//. xxx. 18.) that it bound him about like the collar of his coat. "Lord," says he, "wilt not thou give me seme respite, some breathing time?" ch. ix. 18.

2. The concern he is in about his sins. The best men have sin to complain of, and the better they are, the more they will complain of it.

(i.) He ingenuously owns himself guilty before God; I have sinned. God had said of him, that he

JOB, VIII.

was a pprffct. and ati ufiri^ht man; yet he says of hioiselt", / /lave sinned. Those m:;y l^e upright who yet are not sinless; and those who are sincerely penitent are accepted, through a Mediator, as evangcUcally perfect. Job maintained, against his friends, that he was not a hypocrite, not a wicked man; and yet owns to his God, that he had sinned. If we ha\ e been kept from gross acts of sin, it does not, therefore, follow that we are innocent. The best must acknowledge, before God, tliat they have sinned. His calling God the Observer, or Preserver, of men, may be looked upon as designed for an aggravation of his sin; "Though God has had his eye upon me, his eye upon me for good, yet I have sinned against him." When we are in affliction, it is seasonable to confess sin, as the procuring cause of our affliction. Penitent confessions would drown and silence passionate complaints.

(2.) He seriously inquires how he might make his peace with God; "What shall I do unto thee, having done so much against thee?" Are we convinced that we have sinned, and are we brought to own it? We cannot but conclude that something must be done, to prevent the fatal consequences of it. The matter must not rest as it is, but some course must be taken, to undo what has been ill done. And, if we are truly sensible of the danger we have run ourselves into, we shall Ijc willing to do any thing; to take a pardon upon any terms; and therefore shall be inquisitive as to what ive shall do, {M\'\ vi. 6, 7. ) what we shall do to God, not to satisfy the demands of his justice, (that is done only by the Mediator,) but to qualify ourselves for the tokens of his favour, according to the tenor of the gospel covenant. In making this inquiry, it is good to eye God as the Preserver or Saviour of men, not the Destroyer. In our repentance, we must keep up good thoughts of God, as one that delights not in the ruin of his creatures, but would ratlier they should return and live. " Thou art the Saviour of men; be my Sa\iour, for I cast myself upon thy mercy."

(3.) He earnestly begs for the forgiveness of his sins, 7'. 21. The heat of his spirit, as, on the one hand, it m ule his complaints the more bitter, so, <^n the other hand, it made his pravers the more lively and importunate; as here, " JVhi/ dost thou not jiardnn my transgression? Art not thou a God of infin'te mcrcv, that art ready to forgive? Hast not thou wrought repentance in me? Why then dost thou not giye me the pardon of my sin, and make me to hear the voice of that joy and gladness?" Sui'clv he means more than barely the removin:^ of his outward trouble, and is herein earnest for the return of God's favour, which he compl lined of the want of, ch, vi. 4. "Lord, pardon my sins, and give me the comfort of that pardon, and then I can easily bear my afflictions," Matth. ix. 2. Isa. xxxiii. 24. When the mercy of God pardons the transgression that is committed by us, the grace of God takes away the iniquity that reigns in us. Wherever God removes the guilt of sin, he breaks the power of sin.

(4.) To (-nforce his prayer for ])ardon, he pleads the p'-ospect he had of clving quicklv; For now shall I sleep in the dust; death will lay us in the dust, will lay us to sleep there, and perhaps now in a little time. Job had been com])laining of restless nights, and that sleep departed from his eyes; (v. .'!, 4, lo, 14.) but those who cannot sleep in abed •)fdo\vn, will shortly sleep in a bed of dust, and not oe scared with dreams, nor tossed to and fro. "Thou shalt seek me in the morning, to show me I'avour, but / shall not be, it will be too late then. If my sins be not pardoned while I live, I am lost and undone for ever." Note, The consideration

I of this, that we. must shortly die, and perhaps may die suddenly, should make us all veiy solicit.u> to get our sins pardoned, and our iniquity taken <iway.

CHAP. vni.

Job's friends are like Job's messcnp-ers; those followed one another close with evil tidinL's, these with harsh i iii-sures: both, uHaw;ires, served Suian's desiirn; those lo drive him from his integrity, these to drive him (Voiti the comfort of it. Eliphaz did not reply lo nhm .loli li;id said in answer to him, but left it to Bildad, whom he knew to be of the same mind with himself in this aflair Those are not the wisest of llie company, but the ivi'.ik est rather, who covet to have all the talk. Lei others speak in their turn, and let the first keep silence, 1 Cor. xiv. 30,31. Eliphnz had undertaken to show, that, because Job was sorely afflicted, he was certainly a Avjcked man; Bildad is much of the same mind, and v.\\\ cor.-clude Job a wicked man, unless God do speedily appear for his relief. In this chapter, he endeavours to convince Job, I. That he had spoken too passionately, v. '2. II. That he and his children had suffered justly, v. 3, 4. III. That, if he were a true penitent, God would soon turn his captivity, v. 5..7. IV. That it was a usual thing for Providence to extinguish the joys and iiopes of wicked men, as his were extinguished; and therefore that they had reason to suspect him for a hypocrite, v. 8- .19. V. That they should be abundantly confirmed in iheir suspicion, unless God did speedily appear for his relief, V. 20. .22.

1. rr^BEN answered Bildad the Shuhite, JL and said, 2. How long wilt thou speak these things? and hoin long shall the words of thy month he like a strong wind ? 3. Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice? 4. If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression ; 5. If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty : 6. If thou jDert pure and upright; surely now he would awake foi" thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. 7. Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.

Here,

I. Bildad reproves Job for what he had said; {v. 2.) checks his passion, but perhaps, (as is too common,) with ijreater passion. We thought Job spake a great d«il of good sense, and much to the purpose, and that he had reason and right on his side; but Bildad, like an'eager angry dis])utiiit, turns it all off with this. How long wilt thou s/},ak these things? taking it for granted that Elip'.K.z h;id said enough to silence him, and that therefore all he said was impertinent. Thus (as Caryl observes) reproofs are often grounded upon mistakes. Men's meaning is not taken aright, and then they are gravely rebuked, as if they were evil-doers. Bildad compares Job's discourse to a strong iririd. Job had excused himself vvith this, that his s/wechea were but as wind, (ch. vi. 26.) and therefore they should not make such ado about them; "Yea, but" (says Bildad) "they are as a strong wind, bluster ing and threatening, boisterous and d uigernus, and therefore we are concerned to fence against them."

II. He justifies God in what he had done. This he had no occasion to do at this time, for Jol) did not condemn God, as he would have it thought he did: and this he might have done, without reOect ing upon Jol)'s children, as he does here. Could not he be an advocate for God, but he must be an accuser of his brethren?

JOB, Vlll.

1. He is right in general, that God doth not pervert judgment, nor ever go contrary to any settled I'lrle oi justice, v. 3. Far be it from him that he should, and from us that we should suspect him. He never oppresses the innocent, nor lays more load on the guilty than they deser\e. He is God, the Judge; and shall not the Judge of all the earth do i-ight? Gen. xviii. 25. If there should be unrighteousness with God, hoiv s/tall he judge the world? Run. iii. 5, 6. He is Almighty, Shaddai, AU-sut-tii.:ieut. Men pervert justice, sometimes, for fear if the power of others; but God is Almighty, and samds in awe of none. Men ha\ e respect to the f.iv(,ur of others; but God is all-sufficient, and cannot be benefited by the favour of any. It is man's weakness and impotency, that he often is unjust; it is God's omnipotence, that he cannot be so.

2 Yet he is not fair and candid in the application: he takes it for granted that Job's children (the death of wiiom was one of the greatest of his afflictions) had been guilty of some notorious wickedness, and tliat the unhappy circumstances of their death were sufficient evidence that they were sinners above all the children of the east, v. 4. Job readily owned that God did not pervei't judgment; and yet it did not therefore follow either that his children were c:ist-aways, or that they died for some great transgression. It is true that we and our children have sinned against God, and we ought to justify him in all he brings upon us and ours; but extraordinary afflictions are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins, but sometimes the trial of extraordinary graces; and, in our judgment of another's case, (unless the contrary appears,) we ought to take the more favourable side, as our Saviour directs, Luke xiii. 2, 4. Here Bildad missed it.

III. He puts Job in hope, that, if he were indeed upright, as he said he was, he should yet see a good issue of his present troubles; "Although thy children have sinned against him, and are cast away in their transgression, they have died in their own sin, yet, if thou be pure and upright thyself, and, as an evidence of that, wilt now seek unto God, and submit to him, all shall be well yet," v. 5. .7. This may be taken two ways: either,

1. As designed to pro\ e Job a hypocrite, and a wicked man, though not by the greatness, yet by the continuance, of his afflictions. "When thou wast impoverished, and thy children killed, if thou hadst been pure and upright, and appi'oved thyself so in the trial, God would, before now, have returned in mercy to thee, and comforted thee according to the time of thine affliction; but because he does not so, we have reason to conclude thou art not so pure and upright as thou pretendest to be. If thou hadst conducted thyself well under the former affliction, thou hadst not been struck with the latter." Herein Bildad was not in the right; for a good man may be afflicted for his ti'ial, not only ve'-y sorely, but \ ery long, and yet, if for life, it is, in comparison with eternity, but for a moment. But, since Bildad put it to this issue, God was pleased to join issue with him, and proved his ser\ant Job an honest man, by Bildad's own argument; for, soon after, he blessed his latter end more than his beginning. Or,

2. As designed to direct and encourage Job, that he might not thus run himself into despair, and give up all for gone; yet there might be hope, if he would take the right course. I am apt to think Bildad here intended to condemn Job, yet would be thought to counsel and comfort him. (1.) He gives him good counsel, vet perhaps not expecting lie would take it; the same that Eliphazhad gi\ en him, (ch. v. 8.) to seek unto God, and that betimes, that is, speedily and seriouslv, and not to i)e dilatory and trifling in his return and repentance. He advises

him not to compU.in, but to petition, and to make his supplication to the Almighty with liumility and faith; and to see that there was (what he feared had hitherto been wanting) sincerity in his heart, "Thou must be pure and upright;" and honestv in his house, " That must be the habitation of thy righteousness, and not filled with ill-gotten goods; else God will not hear thy prayers," Ps. Ixvi. 18. It is only the prayer of the upright that is the acceptable and prevailing prayer, Prov. xv. 8. (2.) He gives him good hopes that he should yet again see good days, secretly suspecting, howe\ er, that he was not qualified to see them. He assures him, That if he would be early in seeking God, God would awake for his relief, would I'emember him, and return to him, thovigh now he secnicd to forget him and forsake him;' That if his habitation were righteous it should be prosperous; for honesty is the best policy, and inward piety a sure friend to outward prosperity. When we return to God in a way of duty, we have reason to hope that he will return to us in a way of mercy. Let net Job object that he had so little left to begin the world with again, that it was impossible he should ever prosper as he had done; no, "Though thy beginning should be ever so small, a little meal in the Ijarrel, and a little oil in the cruse, God's blessing shall multiply that to a great increase." This is God's way of enriching the souls of his people with graces and comforts, not per saltum — as by a bomid, but per gradum — step by step. The beginning is small, but the progress is to perfection. Dawning light grows to noon-day; a grain cf mustard-seed to a great ti-ee. Let us not'therefore despise the day of small things, but hope for the day of great things. 8. For inquire, I pray thee, of" the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers ; 9. (For we arebut q/"yesteiday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth wre a shadow:) 10. Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart ? 11. Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water? 12. Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb. 13. So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish : 14. Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall he a spider's web. 15. He shall le^n upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure. 16. He is green before the sun, and his-branch shoot-eth forth in his garden. 17. Flis roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones. 18. If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saj/ing, 1 have not seen thee. 19. Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow. Bildad here discourses well of the sad catastrophe of hypocrites and evil-doers, and the fatal period of all their hopes and joys. He will not be so bold as to say, with Eliphaz, that none that were righteous were ever cut off thus; {ch. iv. 7.) yet he takes it for granted that God, in the coui-se of his providence, does ordinarily bring wicked men, who seemed pious, and were prosperous, to shame and ruin in this world; and that, by making their prosperity short, he discovers their piety to be counterfeit. ' Whether this will certainly prove that all

JOB, VIII.

who are thus i-uined must be concluded to have been hypocrites, he will m.t say, but ratuer suspects . nd thinks the applicution is easy.

I. He pro\ es tli.s truth, ot the certain destruction of all the hopes and joys oi hypocrites, by an appeal to antiquity, and the concurring sentiment and observation of all wise and goud men. It is an undoubted truth, if we take in the other world, that, if not in this life, yet in the life to come, hypocrites will be deprived of all their trusts and uU their triumphs. Whether Bildad so meant or no, we must so take it.

Let us observe the method of his proof, v. 8- '10.

1. He insists not on his own judgment, and that of his companions; iTe are but of yesterday, and know not/ling-, v. 9. He perceived that Job had no opinion of their abilities, but tliought they knew httle; '< We will own," says Bildad, "thatweknow nothing, are as ready to confess our ignorance as thou art to condemn it; for we are but as yesterday in comparison, and our days upon earth are short and transient, and hastening away as a shadow. And therefore," (1.) "We are not so near the fountain-head of divine revelation" (which then, for aught that appears, was conveyed by tradition) " as the former age was; and therefore we must inquire what they said, and recount what we have been told of their sentiments." Blessed be God, now that we have the word of God in writing, and are directed to search that, we need not inquire of the former age, nor prepare ourselves to the search of their fathers; for, though we ourselves are but of yesterday, the word of God in the scripture is as high us as them; (Rom. x. 8.) and it is the most sure word ui prophecy, to which we must take heed. If we study and keep God's precepts, we may by them understand more than the ancients, Ps. cx'ix. 99, 100. (2.) "We do not live so long as they of the former age did, to make observations upon the methods of Divine Providence, and therefore cannot be such competent judges as they, in a cause of this nature." Note, The shortness of our lives is a great hindrance to the improvement of our knowledge; and so is the frailty and weakness of our bodies. Fita brevis, ars longa — Life is short, the progress of art boundless.

2. He refers himself to the testimony of the ancients, and to the knowledge which Job himself had of their sentiments. "Do thou inquire of the former age, and let them tell thee, not only their own judgment in this matter, but the judgment also of their fathers; {v. 8.) they nvill teach thee, and inform thee, (y. 10.) that,' all along, in their time, the judgments of God followed wicked men. This they will utter of their hearts, that is, as that which they firmly believe themselves, which they are greatly affected with, and desirous to acquaint and affect others with." Note, (1.) For the right understanding of Div'ne Providence, and the unfolding of the difficulties of it, it will be of use to compare the observations and experiences of former ages with the events of our own day; and, in order thereunto, to consult history, especially the sacred history, which is the most ancient, infallibly true, and written designedly for our learning. (2.) They that would fetch knowledge from the former ages, must search diligently, prepare for the search, and take pains in the search. (3.) Those words are most likely to reach to the hearts of the learners, that come 'from the hearts of the teachers. They shall teach thee best, that utter words out of their heart, that speak by experience, and not by rote, of spiritual and divine things.

The learned Bishop Patrick suggests, that Bildad, being a Shuhite, descended from Shuah, one of Abraham's sons by Keturah, Gen. xxv. 2. In this appeal which he makes to history, he has a J-articular respect to the rewards which the bless-

ings of God secured to the posterity of faithful Abraham, who hitherto, and long after, continued in his religion; he refers also to the judicial extirpation of those eastern people, neighbi.urs to Job, (in whose country they were settled,) for their wickedness: whence he infers, that it is God's usual way to prosper the just, and mot out the w icked, though for a while they may flourish.

II. He illustrates this truth by some similitudes. 1. The hopes and joys of the hypocrites ;;re here compared to a rush or flag, t. 11.. 13. (1.) It grows up out of the mire and water. The hypocrite cannot gain his liope without some fa'sc rotten ground or other, out of which to raise it, and with which to support it and keep it alive, any more than the rush can grow without mire. He gn und» it on his worldly pn-sperity, the plausible profession he makes of religion, the good opinion of his neighbours, and his own good conceit of himself, which are no solid foundation on which to build his confidence. It is all but mire and water; -and the hope that grows out of it, is but rush and flag. (2.) It may look green and gay for a while, (the rush outgrows the grass,) but it is light, and hollow, and empty, and good for nothing. It is green for show, but of no use. (3.) It withers presently, before any other herb, v. 12. Even while it is in its greenness, it is dried away, and gone in a little time. Note, The best state of hypocrites and evil-doers borders upon, withering; even when it is green, it is going. The grass is cut down, and withers; (Ps. xc. 6.) but the rush is not cut down, and yet withers, withers afore it grows up.; (Ps. cxxix. 6.) as it hps no use, so it has no continuance. So are the paths of all that forget God; {y. 13.) they take the same way that the rush does, for the hypocrite's hopes shall perish. Note, [1.] Forgetfulness of God is at the bottom of men s hypocrisy, and of the vain hopes with which they natter and deceive themselves in their hypocrisy. Men would not be hypocrites, if they did not forget that the God with whom they have to do searches the heart, and requires truth there; that he is a Spirit, and has his eye on our spirits. Hypocrites could ha\ e no hope, if they did not forget that God is righteous, and will not be mocked with the torn and the lame. [2.] The hope of hypocrites is a great cheat upon themselves, and though it may flourish a while, it will certainly perish at last, and they with it.

2. They are here compared to a spider's web, or a spider's house, as it is in the margin; a cob-web, V. 14,15. The hope of the hypocrite, (1.) Is woven out of his own bowels; it is the creature of his own fancy, and arises merely from a conceit of his own merit and sufficiency. There is a great deal of difference between the work of the bee and that of the spider; a diligent Christian, like the laborious bee, fetches in all his comfort from the heavenly dews of God's word; but the hypocrite, like the subtle spider, weaves his out of a false hypothesis of his own, concerning God, as if he were, altogether such a one as himself. (2.) He is very fond of it, as the spider of her web; pleases himself with it, wraps himself in it, calls it his house, leans upoyi it, and holds it fast. It is said of the spider, that she fo/cei-hold with her hands, and is in ki?ig's pa faces, Prov XXX. 28. So does a carnal worldling hug liimself in the fulness and firmness of his outward prosperity; he prides himself in that house as his palace, and fortifies himself in it as his castle, and makes use of it as the spider of her web, to insnave those he has a mind to prey upon. So does a formal professor; he flatters himself in his own eyes, doubts not of his salvation, is secure of heavenrand cheats th* world with his vain confidences. (3.) It will easily and certainly be swept away, as the cob-web with the besom, when God shall come to purge his house.

JOB, IX.

49

The prosperity of worldly people will fail them, ■when they expect to find safety and happiness in it. 1'hey seek, to hold fast their estates, but God is plucking them out of their hands; and whose shall . those thi.igs be which they have provided? or what the better will they be for them? The confidences of hypocrites will fail them; I tell you, 1 know you not. Tiie house built on the sand will fall in the St) n», wlicn the builder most needs it, and had pr.jiii;.scd himself the benefit of it. When a wicked man dien, Iha exfiectation fierishes. The ground of his n pes will prove false; he will be disappointed of tiio tning he hoped for, and his foolish hope, with, which he buoyed himself up, will be turned into endless despair; and thus his hope will be cut off, h.s web, that refuge of lies, swept away, and he crushed in it.

3. They are here compared to a flourishing and well-rooted tree, which, though it do not wither of itself, yet will easily be cut down, and its place know it no more. The secure and prospeious sinner may think himself wronged when he is compared to a rush and a flag, he thinks he has a better root; "We will allow him his conceit," (says Bil-dad,) "and give him all the advantage he can desire, and yet bring him in suddenly cut off." He is here represented, as Nebuchadnezzar was in his own dream, (Dan. iv. 10.) by a great tree.

(1.) See this tree fair and flourishing, {y. 16.) like a. green bay-tree, (Ps. xxxvii. 35.) green before the sun, that keeps its greenness in defiance of the scorching sun-beams, and his branch shoots forth under the protection of his garden-wall, and with the benefit of his garden-soil: see it fixed, and taking deep root, never likely to be overthrown by stormy winds, for his roots are interwoven with the stones; (f. 17.) it grows infirm ground, not as the rush, in mire and water. Thus does a wicked man, when he prospers in the world, think himself secure; his wealth is a high wall in his own conceit.

(2.) See this tree felled and forgotten notwithstanding; destroyed from his place, {v. 18.) and so entirely extirpated, that there shall remain no sign or token where it grew; the very place shall say, / have not seen thee; and the standers by shall say the same, 1 sought him, but he could not be found, Ps. xxxvii. 36. He made a great show and a great noise for a time, but he is gone of a sudden, and neither root nor branch left him, Mai. i\. 1. This is the joy, that is, this is the end and conclusion, of the wicked mail's way, {v. 19.) this is that which all his joy comes to— 7'he way of the ungodly shall fxensh, Ps. i. 6. His hope, he thought, would, in the issue, be turned into joy, but this is the issue, this is the joy, The harvest shall be a heap, in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow, Isa. xvii. 11, This iS the best ot it; and what then is the worst of it? But shall he not leave a family behind him to enjoy what he has? No, out of the earth, (not out of his roots,) shall others grow, that are nothing akin to him, and shall fill up his place, and rule over that for which he laboured. Others, namely, of the same spirit and disposition, shall grow up in his place, and be as secure as ever he was, not warned by his fail. The way of wordlings is their folly, and yet there is a race of them that approve their sayings, Ps. xlix. 13.

20. Behold, God will not cast away a perfect 7?m7i, neither will he help the evildoers ; 21. Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing. 22. They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling-place of the wicked shall come to nought.

Vol. III.— G

Bildad here, in the close of his discourse, sums up what he had to say, in a few words, setting before Job life and death, the blessing and the curse; assuring him, that as he was, so he should fare, and therefore they might conclude, that as he fared, so he was.

1. On the other hand, if he were a perfect upright man, God would not cast him away, v. 20. Though now he seemed forsaken of God, he would yet return to him, and, bv degrees, would turri his mourning into dancing, (Ps. XXX. 11.) and comforts should flow in upon him so plentifully, that his mouth should he filled with laughing, v. 21. So affecting should the happy change be, Ps. cxxvi. 2. They that loved him, would rejoice with him; but they that hated him, and had triumphed in his fall, would be ashamed of their insolence, when they see him restored to his former prosperity. God ivill not cast away c« ujjri^/ij mo/i; he may be cast down for a time, but he shall not be cast away for ever; it is true, that, if not in this world, yet in another, the mouth of the righteous shall be filled with rejoicing. Though their sun should sit under a cloud, yet it shall rise again clear, ne\ er more to be clouded; though they go mourning to the grave, that shall not hinder their entrance into the joy of their Lord. It is true, that the enemies of'the saints will be clothed with shame, when they see them crowned with honour. But it does not theie tore follow, that, if Job were not perfectly restored to his former prosperity, he forfeited the character of a perfect man.

2. On the other hand, if he were a wicked man, and an evil doer, God would not help him, but leave him to perish in his present distresses; {v. 20.) and his dwelling-place should come to naught, 22. And here, also, it is true that God will not help the evil-doers; thev throw themselves cut of his protection, and forfeit his favour; he will jiot take the ungodly by the hand, so it is in the margin, will not have fellowship and communion with them; for what communion between light and darkness? He will not lend them his hand to pull them out of the miseries, the eternal miseries, into which they have plunged themselves; they will then stretch out their hand to him for help, but it is too late, he will not take them by the hand: Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed. It is true, that the dwelling-filace of the wicked, sooner or later, will come to naught. Those only who make God their dwelling-place, are safe forever, Ps. xc. 1.—xci. 1. They who make other things their i*efuge, will be disappointed. Sin brings ruin on persons and families. Yet to argue, (as Bildad, I doubt, slily does,) that because Job's family was sunk, and he himself, at present, seemed helpless, therefore he certainly was an ungodly wicked man, was neither just nor charitable, as long as there appeared no other evidence of his wickedness and ungodliness. Let us judge nothing before the time, but wail till the secrets of all hearts shall be made manifest; and the present difficulties of Providence be solved, to universal and everlasting satisfaction, when the mystery of God shall be finished.

CHAP. IX.

in this, and the following chapter, we have Job's answer to Bildad's discourse, %vherein he speaks honourably of God, humbly of himself, and feelingly of his troubles; but not one word by way of reflection upon his friends, or their unkindness to him, nor in direct reply to what Bildad had said. He wisely keeps to the merits of the cause, and makes no remarks upon the person that managed it, nor seeks occasion against him. In this chapter, we have, I. The doctrine of God's justice laid down, V. 2. II. The proof of it, from his wisdom, and power, and sovereign dominion, v. 3.. 13. III. The application of it, in which, K He condemns himself, as

>0

JOB, IX.

1.

not able to contend with God, either in law or battle, v. 14.. 21. 2. He maintains his point, that we cannot judge of men's character by their outward condition, v. 22. . 24. 3. He complains of the greatness of his troubles, the confusion he was in, and the loss he was at what to say or do, v. 26.. 35.

HEN Job answered and said, 2. I

know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? 3. If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand. 4. He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered ? 5. Which removeth the mountains, and they know not; which overturneth them in his anger; 6. Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble; 7. VVhich commandeth the sun, and it riseth not, and sealeth up the stars; 8. Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and tread-eth upon the waves of the sea; 9. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south; 10. Which doeth great things past finding out, yea, and wonders without number. 11. Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not; he passeth on also, but I perceive him not. 12. Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? Who will say unto him. What doest thou? 13, If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.

Bildad began with a rebuke to Job for talking so much, ch. viii. 2. Job makes no answer to that, though it had been easy enough to retort it upon himself; but what he next lays down as his principle, that God never perverts judgment, Job agrees with him in, / know it is so of a (ruth, v. 2. Note, VVe should be ready to own how far we agree with those with whom we dispute, and we should nut slight, much less resist, a truth, though produced by an adversary, and urged against us, but receive it in the light and love of it, though it ha\ e been misapplied. "Ids so of a truth, that wickedness brings men to ruin, and the godly are taken under God's special protection. These are truths which I subscribe to; but how can any man make good his part with God?" In his sight shall no Jiesh living be justified, Ps. cxliii. 2. How should man be just with God? Some understand this as a passionate complaint of Goti's strictness and severity, that he is a God whom there is no dealing with: and it cannot be denied that there are, in this cliapter, some peevish expressions, which seem to speak such language as that. But I take this rather as a pious confession of man's sinfulness, and his own in particular, that if God should deal with any of us according to the desert of our iniquities, we were certainly undone.

I. He lays this down for a truth, that man is an unequal match for his Maker, either in dispute or combat.

1. In dispute; (v. 3.) If he tvill contend with him, either at law or at an argument, he cannot answer him one of a thousand. (1.) God can ;isk a thousand puzzling questions, which those that quarrel with him, and arraign his proceedings, cannot give an answer to. When God spake to Job out of the whirlwind, he asked him a great many questions; Dost thou know this.* Camt thou do that?

To none of which Job could give an answer, ch. xxx\iii. and xxxix. God can easily niunlebt the folly of the greatest pretenders to wisdom. (2.) God can lay to our charge a thousand offences, can draw up against us a thousand articles of impeachment, and we cannot answei- him so as to acquit ourselves from the imputation of any of them, out must, by silence, give consent that they aie all true; we cannot set aside one as foreign, another as frivolous, and another as false; we cannot, as to one, deny the fact, and plead not guilty, and, as to another, deny the fault, confess, and justify; no, we are not able to answer him, but must lay our hand upot, our mouth, as Job did, {ch. xl. 4, 5.) and cr\, Guilty, Guilty.

2. In combat; {v. 4.) Who hath hardened himself against him, and hath firosfiered? Tlie answer is very easy; You cannot produce any instance, from the beginning of the world to this day, of any during sinner, who has hardened himself against God, has obstinately persisted in rebellion against him, wlio did not find God too hard for him, and pay dear for his folly. They have not prospered or had peace; they have had no comfort in it nor success. What did ever man get by trials of skill, or trials of titles, with his Maker? AH the opposition given to Gcd, is but setting briers and thorns before a consuming fire; so foolish, so fruitless, so destructive, is the attempt, Isa. xxvii. 4. 1 Cor. x. 22. Apostate angels hardened themselves against God, but did not prosper, 2 Pet. ii. 4. The dragon fights, but is cast out. Rev. xii. 8. Wricked men harden themselves against God, dispute his wisdom, disobey his laws, are impenitent for their sins, and incorrigible, under their afflictions; they reject the offers of his grace, and resist the strivings of his Spirit; they make nothing of his threatenings, and make head against his interest in the world; but have they prospered? Can they prosper? No, they are but treasuring ufi for themselves wrath agaijist the day of wrath. They that roll this stone, will find it return upon them.

II. He proves it by showing what a God he is, with whom we have to do: He is ivise in heart, and therefore we cannot answer him at law; he is mighty m strejigth, and therefore we cannot fight it out with him. It is the greatest madness that can be, to think to contend with a God of infinite wisdom and power, who knows every thing, and can do every thing; who can be neither outwitted nor overpowered. The Devil promised himself that Job, in the day of his affliction, would curse God, and speak ill of him, but, instead of tliat, he sets himself to honour God, and to speak highly of him. As much pained as he is, and as much taken up with his own miseries, when he has occasion to mention the wisdom and power of God, he forgets his complaints, dwells with delight, and expatiates with a flood of eloquence, upon that noble useful subject.

Evidences of the wisdom and power of God he fetches,

1. From the kingdom of nature, in which the God of nature acts with an uncontrollable power, and does what he pleases; for all the orders and all the powers of nature are derived from him, and depend upon him.

(1.) When he pleases, he alters the course of nature, and turns back its streams, v. 5"7. By the common law of nature, the mountains are settled, and are therefore called everlasting mountains; the earth is established, and cannot be removed, (Ps. xciii. 1.) and the pillars thereof are immoveably I fixed, the sun rises in its season, and the stars shcci j their influences on this lower world ; but, when ' God pleases, he can not only drive out of tlie com 1 nion track, but inveit the order, and change the

JOB, IX.

51

law, of nature. [1.] Nothing more firm than the mountains: when we speak, of removing mountains, •we mean that which is impossible; yet the divine power can make them change their seat; he removes them, and they know not; removes them whether they will or no; he can make them lower their heads; he can level them, and overturn them in his ajiger; he can spread the mountains as easily as the husbandman spreads the mole-hills, be they ever so high, and large, and rocky. Men have nmch ado to pass over them; but God, when he pleases, can make them pass away. He made Sinai shake, Ps. Ixviii. 8. The hills skijificd, Ps. cxiv. 4. The everlasting rnoioitains ivere scattered, Hab. iii. 6. [2.] Nothing more fixed than the earth on its axle-tree; yet God can, when he pleases, shake that out of its place, heave it oft" its centre, and make even its pillars t > tremble; what seemed to support it, will itself need support, when God gi\ es it a shock. See h((W much we are indebted to God's patience; (iud lias power enougli to shake the earth from ur.dei-that guilty race of mankind, which makes it groan under the burthen of sin, and so to shake the ivicked out of it; {ch. xxxviii. 13.) yet he continues the earth, and man upon it, and makes it not still, as once, to swallow up the rebels. [3.] Nothing more constant than the rising sun, it never misses its appointed time; yet God, when he pleases, can suspend it. He that at first commanded it to rise, can countermand it. Once the sun was bid to stand, iii'.d anotlier time to retreat, to show that it is still under the check of its great Creator. Thus great is (iod's power; and how great then is his goodness, which causes his sun to shine even upon the evil and unthankful, though he could withhold it! He that made the stars also, can, if lie pleases, seal tliem up, and hide them from our eyes. By earthquakes, and subterraneous fires, mountains have sometimes been removed, and the earth shaken: in very dark and cloudy days and nights, it seems to us as if the sun were forbidden to rise, and the stars were sealed up. Acts xxvii. 20. It is sufficient to say, that Job here speaks of what God can do; but if we must understand it of what he has done in fact, all these verses may perhaps be applied to Noah's flood, when the mountains of the eai'th were shaken, and the sun and stars were darkened. The world that now is, we believe to be reserved for that fire which will consume the mountains, and melt the earth with its fervent lieat, and which will turn the sun into darkness.

(2.) As long as he pleases, he preserves the settled course and order of nature; and this is a continued creation. He himself alone, by his own power, and without the assistance of any other, [1.] S/ireads out the heaven; {v. 8.) not only did spread them out at first, but still spreads them out, that is, keeps them spread out; for otherwise they would of themselves roll together like a scroll of parchment. [2. ] He (reads u/ion the roaves of the sea; that is, he suppresses them and keeps them under, that they return not to deluge the earth; (Ps. civ. 9.) which is gi\en as a reason why we should all fear God, and stand in awe of him, Jer. v. 22. He is mightier than the proud waves, Ps. xciii. 4.—Ixv. 7. [3.] He makes the constellations; three are named for all the rest, {v. 9.) Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and, in general, the chambers of the south: the stars of which these are composed, he madeat first, and put into tliat order, and he still makes them, preserves them in being, and guides their motions; he makes them to be what they are to man, and inclines the hearts of men to observe them, which the beasts are not capable of doing. Not only those stars which we see and give names to, but those also in the other hemisphere, about the antarctic pole, which never come in our sight, called here the chambers of the

south, are under the divine direction and dominion. How wise is he then, and how mighty!

2. Evidences are here fetched from the kingdom of Providence, that special Providence which is conversant about the affairs of the children of men. Consider what God does in the government of the world, and you will say. He is wise in heart, aJid mighty in strength,

(1.) He does many things and great, many and great to admiration, v. 10. Job here says the same that Eliphaz had said; {ch. v. 9.) and, in the original, in the very same words, not declining to speak after him, though now his antagonist. God is a great God, and doeth great things, a wonder-working God; his works of wonder are so many that we cannot number them, and so mysterious that we cannot find them out. O the depth of his counsels!

(2.) He acts invisibly and undiscerned, Tc. 11. He goes by me in his operations, and I see him not, I perceive him not; his way is in the sea, Ps. lxx\ ii. 19. The operations of second causes are commonly obvious to sense, but God doeth all about us, and yet we see him not. Acts xvii. 23. Our finite understandings cannot fathom his counsels, apprehend his motions, or comprehend the measures he takes. We are therefore incompetent judges of God's proceedings, because we know not what he doeth, or what he designeth. The arcana imfierii — secrets of government, are things above us, which therefore we must not pretend to expound, or comment upon.

(3.) He acts with an incontestable sovereignty, V. 12. He takes away our creature-comforts and confidences, when and as he pleases, takes away health, estate, relations, friends, takes away life itself; whatever goes, it is he that takes it; by what hand soever it is removed, his hand must be acknowledged in it; the Lord takes away, and who can hinder him? Whocan turn him away? Marg. Who shall make him. restore? So some. Who can dissuade him, or alter his counsels.-* Who can resist him, or oppose his operations? Who can control him, or call him to an account for it? What action can be brought against him? Or who will say unto him, JlTiat dost thou? Or, Why dost thou so? D m. iv. 35. God is not obliged to give us a reason of what he doeth. The meaning of his proceedings we know not now; it will be time enough to know hereafter, when it will appear that what seemed now to be done by prerogative, was done in infinite wisdom, and for the best.

(4.) He acts with an irresistible power, which no creature can resist, v. 13. If God will not withdraw his anger, (which he can do when he pleases, for he is Lord of his anger, lets it out, or calls it in, according to his will,) the firoud helpers do stoop under him; that is. He certainly breaks and crushes those that proudly help one another against him; proud men set themselves against God and his proceedings; in this opposition they join hand in hand. l^ie kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, to throw off his yoke, to run down his truths, and to persecute his people; Men of Israel, hel/i. Acts xxi. 28. Ps. Ixxxiii. 8. If one enemy of God's kingdom fall under his judgment, the rest come proudly to help that, and think to deliver that out of his hand: but in vain; unless he pleases to withdraw his anger, (which he often does, for it is the day of his patience,) the proud helpers stoop under him, and fall with those whom they designed to help. Who knows the power of God's anger? They who think they have strengtii enough to help others, will not be able to help themselves against it.

14. How much less shall I answer him, rntd choose out my words to reason with him? 15. Whom, though I were righteous, yet

JOB, IX.

would I not answer, hut I would make supplication to my Judge. 16. If I had called, and he had answered me: yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto ray voice. 17. For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause. 18. He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness. 19. If 7 speak of strength, \o,he is strong : and if of judgment, who shall set me a time fo plead? 20. Jf 1 justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse. 21. Though I ivere perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.

What Job had said of man's utter inability to contend with God, he here apjilies to himself, and, in effect, despairs of gaining his favour; which (some think) arises from the hard thoughts he had of God, as one who, having set himself against him, right or wrong, would be too hard for him. I rather think it arises from the sense he had of the imperfection of his own righteousness, and the dark and cloudy apprehensions which, at present, he had of God's displeasure against him.

I. He dares not dispute with God; (v. 14.) "If the firoud helfiers do stoop, under him, hoiv much less shall I, a poor weak creature, (so far from being a helper, that I am very helpless,) hoiv shall I answer him? What can I say against that wliit h God doeth? If I go about to reason with him, he will certainly be too hard for me." If th.e potter make ■the clay into a vessel of dishonour, or breik in pieces the vessel he has made, shall the clay or the broken vessel reason with him? So absurd is the man who replies against God, or thinks to talk it out with him. No, let all flesh be silent before him.

II. He dares not insist upon his own justification before God. Though he vindicated his own integrity to his friends, and would not yield thut he was a hypocrite and a wicked man, as they suggested, yet he would never plead it as his righteousness before God. I will never venture upon the covenant of innocency, nor think to come oflPby virtue of that

job knew so much of God, and knew so much of himself, that he durst not insist upon his own justification before God.

1. He knew so much of God, that he durst not stand a trial with him, t. 15. 19. He knew how to make his part good with his friends, and thought himself able to deal with them; but, though his cause had been better than it was, he knew it was to no purpose to debate it with God.

(1.) God knew him better than he knew himself; and therefore, {v. 15.) "Though I were righteous in my own apprehension, and my own heart did not condemn me, yet God is greater than my heart, and knows those secret faults and errors of mine which I donot, and cannot, understand, and is able to charge me with them, and therefore I will not answer." St. Paul speaks to the same purport; / know nothing by myself, am not conscious to myself of any reigning wickedness, and yet lam not hereby justified, 1 Cor. iv. 4. " I dare not put myself upon that issue, lest God charge that upon me which I did not discover in myself." .lob will therefore waive that plea, and make sufifilication to his Judge; that is, will cast himself upon God's mercy, and not think to come off bv his own merit.

(2.) He had no reason to think that there was anv thing in his prwc'-s to recommend them to the divine acceptance, or to fetch in an answer of peace;

no worth or worthiness at all, to which to ascribe their success; but it must be attributed purely to tlie grace and compassion of God, who answers befjre we call, and not because we call, and gives gracio.s answers to our prayers, but not jTo?- our prayers, v. 16. " If I had called, and he had answered, had given the thing I called to him for, yet, so weak and defective are my best prayers, that I would not believe he had therein hearkened to my voice; I covild not say that he had saved with his right /land, mid answered me," (Ps. Ix. 5.) " but that he did it purely for his own name's sake." BislK)p Patiick expounds it thus; "If I had made buppli Hiion, j.nd he had granted my desire, I wiiuld n(,t think n\y pr .ytr had done the business." JVot for your ■•^akes be it known to you.

(3.) His present miseries, which God had Ijn u;.>ht him into, notwithstanding his integrity, gave liun too sensible a conviction, that, in the ordLrini^- iii.d disposing of men's outward condition in th b world, God acts by sovereignty, and tliough he ucn cr doth wrong to any, yet he doth not e\ er give full u:^iit to all; that is, the best do not always fare best, in r the worst fare worst, in this life, because he le-serves the full and exact d'stribution of rewards ;ind punishments for the future state. Job was not c n-scious to himself of any extraordinary guilt, and \et fell under extraordinary afflictions, v. \7, 18. Every man must expect the wind to blow upon him, :i)id ruffle him, but Job was broken with a tempest; every man, in the midst of these tin rns and briers, must expect to be scratched, but Job was wounded, and his wounds multiplied. Every man must expect a cross daily, and to taste sometimes of the bitter cup; but poor Job's troubles c n.e so thick up' n him, that he had no breathing time, he was filled with bitterness; and he presumes to say that all this was without cause, without any great ])ro-vocation given. We have made the best of what Job said hitherto, though contrary to thp judgment of many good interpreters; but here, no doubt, he sfiake unadvisedly with his li/is; he i-eflected on God's goodness, in saying that he was not s\iffej-ed to take his breath, while yet he hid such good use of his reason and speech to be able to talk thus; and on his justice, in saying that it was without cause. Yet it is true, that, as, on the one hand, there are many who are chargeable with moie sin than the common infirmities of the human nature, and yet feel no more sorrow than that of the common calamities of human life; so, on the other hand, there are many who feel more than the common calamities of human life, and yet are conscious to themselves of no more than the common infiimities of human nature.

(4.) He was in no capacity at: 11 t" make his part good with God, v. 19. [1.] Not by force of arms; "I dare not enter the lists of the Almighty; for, if I speak of strength, and think to come off by that, lo, he is strong; stronger than I, and will rertninly overpower me." There is no disputing (said'one once to Csesar) with him that commands legions; much less with him that his legions of angels at command. Can thine heart endure, (thy courage and presence of mind,) or can thine hands be strong to defend thyself, in the days that I shall deal with thee? Ezek. xxii. 14. [2.] Not by force of anv>-ments: " I dare not try the merirs of the cause; if I speak of judgment, and insist upon my right, who will set me a time to plead? There i.s no higher power to which I may appeal, no superior court to appoint a hearing of the cause, for He is supreme, and from Him every man's judgment proceeds, which he must abide by."

2. He knew so much of himself, that he durst no' stand a trial, v. 20, 21. "If I go about to justify mvself, and to plead arigh*eousnc?s of my own, my

JOB, IX.

53

defence will be my offence; and mme own mouth «'/./(' coiiilf-ntn me, even when it goes about to acquit me." A good man, who knows the deceitful-ness of his own heart, and is jealous over it with a g'^d y je lio sy, and h.is often discovered that amiss tiierc, wiicli had long lain undiscovered, is suspicious of more evil in himself than he is really conscious of, and therefore will Ijy no means think, of justifying himself before God. If we say, "We liave no sin," we not only deceive oui'selves, but we aff out God, for we sin in sayingso, and give the lie to die scripture, which has concluded all under sin. "If I s.iy, I am perfect, I am sinless, God has nothing to lay to my charge, my very sayingso shall prove me perverse, proud, ignorant, and presump-tu us. Nay, though I were perfect, though God suould pronounce ine just, yet would I not know my soul; I would not be in care about the prolonging of my life, while it is loaded with all these miseries." Or, " Though I were free from gross sin, though my conscience should not charge me with any enormous crime, yet would I not believe my own heart so far as to insist upon my innocency, nor think my life worth striving for with God." In short, it is folly to contend with God, and our wisdom, as well as duty, to submit to him, and throw ourselves at his feet.

22. Tliis is one things therefore f said z7, He destroyetli the perfect and the wicked. 23. If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent. 24. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked : he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he ?

Here Job touches briefly upon the main point now in dispute between him and his friends. They maintained that those who are righteous and good always prosper m this world, and none but the wicked are in misery and distress; he asserted, on the contrary, that it is a common thing for the wicked to prosper, and the righteous to be greatly afflicted: this is the one thing, the chief thing, wherein he and his friends differed; and they had not proved their assertion; therefore he abides by his; " I said it, and say it again, that all things come alike to all."

Now it must be owned,

1. That there is very much truth in what Job here means; that temporal judgments, when they are, set abroad, fall both upon good and bad, and the destroying angel seldom distinguishes (though once he did) between the houses of the Israelites and the houses of the Egyptians.

In the judgment of Sodom, indeed, which is called the vengeance of eternal Jire, (Jude vii.) far be it from (iod to slay the righteous with the wicked, arid that the righteous should be as the wicked; (Gen. xviii. 25.) but in judgments merely temporal the riirhteous have their share, and sometimes the K''eatest sh ire. The sword devours one as well as anotlier, Jnsiah as well as Ahab. Thus God de-Kfrmis the perfect and the wicked, involves them both in the same common ruin; good and bad were sent together into Babylon, Jer. xxiv. 5, 9. If the scourge slay suddenly, and sweep down all before It, God will be well pleased to see how the same Ncouree, which is the perdition of the wicked, is the trial of the innocent, and of their faith, which will he found unto firaUte, and honour, and glory, 1 Pet. 1. 7. ^'s. Ixvi. 10.

Against the just tli' Almighty's arrows fly, For he delisihif! ihp innocehl to try : To show their constant and their God-iike mind, Not by afflictions broken, but refin'd.

Sir R. Blackuore

Let this reconcile God's children to their troubles; they are but trials, designed for their honour and benefit; and, if God be pleased with them, let not them be displeased; if he laugh at the trial of the innocent, knowing how glorious the issue of it will be, at destruction and famine let them also laugh, {ch. V. 22.) and triumph over them, saying, O death, where is thy sting!

On the other hand, the wicked are so far from being made the marks of God's judgments, that the earth is given into their hand, v. 24. They enjoy large possessions and great power, have what they will, and do what they will. Into the hand of (he wicked o)ie: in the original, it is singular; the Devil, that wicked one, is called the god of this world, and boasts that into his hands it is delivered, Luke iv. 6. Or, into the hand of a wicked man, meaning (as Bishop Patrick and the Assembly's Annotations conjecture) some noted tyrant then living in those parts, whose great wickedness and great prosperity were well known both to Job and his friends. The wicked have the earth given them, but the righteous have heaven given them; and which is better— heaven without earth, or earth without heaven? God, in his providence, advances wicked men, while he covers the faces of those who are fit to be judges, who are wise and good, and qualified for government, and buries them alive in obscurity; perhaps suffers them to be run down and condemned, and to have their faces covered as criminals, by those wicked ones into whose hand the earth is given. We daily see this is done; if it be not God that doeth it, where and who is he that doeth it? To whom can it be ascribed but to Him that rules in the kingdoms of men, and gives them to whom he will? Dan. iv. 32.

2. Yet it must be owned that there is too much passion in what Job here says. The manner of expression is peevish: when he meant that God afflicts, he ought not to have said. He destroys both the perfect and the wicked: when he meant that God pleases himself with the trial of the innocent, he ought not to ha\ e said. He laughs at it, for he doth not afflict willingly. When the spirit is heated, either with dispute or with discontent, we have need to set a watch before the door of our lips, that we may observe decorum in speaking of divine things.

25. Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good. 26. They are passed away as the swift ships; as the eagle that hasteth to the prey. 27. If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave ofif my heaviness, and comfort myself; 28. I am afraid of all my sorrows, 1 know that thou wilt not hold me innocent. 29. If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain? 30. If I wash myself with snow-water, and make my hands never so clean; 31. Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me. 32. For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. 33. Neither is there any days-man betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both. 34. Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me; 35. Then would I speak, and not fear him: but it is not so with me.

Job here grows more and more querulous, and

JOB, IX.

does not conclude this chapter with such awful expressions of God's wisdom and justice as he began with. They that indulge a complaining humour, know not to what indecencies, nay to what impieties, it will hurry them. The beginning of that strife with God is as the letting forth of water; therefore leave jt off, before it be meddled with. When we are in trouble, we are allowed to complain to God, as the Psalmist, often, but must by no means complain q/God, as Job here.

I. His complaint here of the passing away of the days of his prosperity is proper; {y. 25, 26.) "My days, that is, all my good days, are gone, never to return; gone of a sudden, gone ere I was aware: never did any courier that went express," (like Cushi and Ahimaaz,) "with good tidings, make such haste as all my comforts did from me; ne\er d'.d ship sail to its port, never did eagle fly upon his l)rey, with such incredible swiftness; nor does there 1 emain any traces of my prosperity, any more than there does of an eagle, in the air, or a ship in the sea," Prov. xxx. 19. See here, 1. How swift the motion of time is; it is always upon the wing, h; s-tening to its period; it stays for no man. What little need have we of pastimes, and what great need to redeem time, when time runs out, runs on so fast towards eternity, which comes as time goes! 2. How vain the enjoyments of time are, which we may be quite deprived of while yet time continues! Our day may be lou; er than the sun-shine of our prosperity; and when that is gone, it is as if it had not been. The remembrance of having done our duty will be pleasing afterward; so will not the remembrance of our having got a great deal of worldly wealth, when it is all lost and gone. They flee away, past recall; they see no good, andlea\e none behind them.

n. His complaint of his present uneasiness is excusable, V. '27, 28. 1. It should seem he did his endeavour to quiet and compose himself, as his friends advised him. Tliat was the good he would do: he would fain forget his complaints and praise God, would leave off his heaviness and comfort himself, that he might be fit for converse both with 'iod and man; but, 2. He found he could not do it; " I am afraid of all my sorrows; then when I strive most against my trouble, it prevails most over me, and proves too hard for me!" It is easier, in such a case, to know what we should do than to do it; to know what temper we should be in than to get into that temper, and keep in it. It is easy to preach patience to those that are in trouble, and to tell them they must forget their complaints, and comfort themselves; but it is not so soon done as said. Fear and sorrow are tyrannizing things, not easily brought into the subjection they ought to be kept in to religion and right reason.

III. But his complaint of God, as implacable and inexorable, was by no me;ins to be excused. It was the language of his corruption. He knew better things, and, at another time, would ha\ e been far from harbouring any such hard thoughts of God as now broke in upon his spirit, and broke out in these passionate complaints. Good men do not always speak like themselves; but God considers their frame, and the strength of their temptations; gives them leave afterward to imsay it by repentance, and will not lay it to their charge.

Job seems to speak here,

1. As if he despaired of obtaining from God any relief or redress of his grievances, though he should produce ever so good proofs of his integrity; "/ know thou ivilt not hold me innocent; my afflictions have continued so long upon me, and increased so fast, that I do not expect thou wilt ever clear up my innocency by delivering me out of them, and restoring me to a prosperous condition. Right or

wrong, I must be treated as a wicked man; my friends will continue to think so of me, and God will continue upon me the afflictions which give them occasion to think so; why then do I labour in \ ain to clear myself, and maintain my own integrity.''" V. 29. It is to no purpose to speak in a cause that is already pre-judgcd. With men it is often labour in \ ain for the most innocent to go about to clear themselves; they must be adjudged guilty, though the evidence be ever so plain for them: but it is not so in cur dealings with Gcd, who is the Patron cf oppressed innocency, and to whom it was never in vain to commit a rightecus cause.

Nay, he not only despairs of relief, but expects that his endeavour to clear himself would render him yet more obnoxious; {y. 30, 31.) " Jf I wash myself with snow-water, and make my integrity ever so evident, it will be all to no purpose, judgment must go against me, thou shalt plunge me in the ditch," (the pit of destruction, so some, or rather the filthy kennel, or sewer,) "which will make me so oftensi\e in the nostrils of all about me, that my own cli thes shall abhor me, and I-shall even loathe to touch myself." He saw his afflictions coming from God, those were the things that blackened him in the eye of his friends, and, upon that score, he complained of them, and of the continuance of them, as the ruin, not only of his comfoit, but of his reputation. Yet these words are capable of a good consti'uction. If we be ever so industrious to justify oui sel\ es before men, and to preserve cur credit with them, if we keep our hands ever so clean from the pollutions of gross sin, which fall under the eye of the world; yet God; who knows our hearts, can charge us with so much secret sin as will for ever take off" all our pretensions to purity and innocency, and make us see ourselves odious in the sight of the holy God. Paul, while a Pharisee, made his hands very clean; but when the c( m-mandment came, and discovered to him his heart-sins, made him know lust, that /ilunged him in the ditch.

2. As if he despaired to have so much as a fair hearing with God, and that were hard indeed.

(1.) Hecomplainsthat he wasnotupon even terms with God; (r. 32.) " He is not a man, as I am. I could venture to dispute with a man like myself, (the potsherds may stri\ e with the potsherds rf the earth,) but he is infinitely abo\e me, and thevef< re I dare not enter the lists with him, I shall certainly be cast off"if I contend with him." Note, [1.] God is not a man as we are. Of the greatest princes we may say, "They are men .is we are," but net of the great God. His thoughts and ways are infinitely above ours, and we must not measure l-.im by ourselves. Man is foolish and weak, frail and fickle, Ijut God is not. We are depending, (h'ing. creatures; he the independent and immortal Creator. [2.] The consideration of this should keep us \ ery low, and very silent, before God. Let us not make ourselves equal with God, 'but always eye him as infinitely above us.

(2.) That there was no arbitrator or umpire to adjust the differences between him and God, and to determine the controversy; (z'. 55.) A'either is there any daysman. This complaint that there was not, is, in effect, a wish that there were, and so the LXX read it; O that there were a mediator between us! Job would gladly refer the matter, but no creature was capable of being a referee, and therefore he must even refer it still to God himself, and resolve to acquiesce in his judgment. Our Lord Jesus is the blessed Daysman, who has mediated between Heaven and earth, has laid his hand upon us both; tn him the Father has committed all judg ment, and we must: but this nvtter was not then l.rought to so clear a light as it is now by the gi s-

JOB, X.

55

pel, which leaves no room for such a conij)laini ;»» tliih.

(3.) That the tevnjrs of God, uhich set themselves in array against him, put him into such confusion, that lie knew not h( w to address himself to God with the confident e with which he was ft)r-merly wont to approach hiiTi; {v. 34, 35.) "Beside the distance which I am kept at by his infinite transcendency, his present dealings with me are very discouraging. LcC him take his rod away frovi me:" he me.\ns not so much his outward afflictions, as the loud which lay upon his spirit from the apprehensions of (iod's wrath; tiuit was his fear which terrified liim: " Let that be lemovcd, let me recover the sight of his mercy, and not be amazed with the sight of nothing but his terrors, and then I would speak, and order my cause before him. But it is not so with me, the cloud does not at all scatter, the wrath of God still fastens upon me, and preys on my spirits, as much as ever; and what to do I kno,w not."

From all this let us take occasion, [1.] To stand in awe of God, and to fear the power of his wrath. If ^ood men hive been put into such consternation by it, nuhere shall the zingodly and the aimier afi-fieur? [2.] To pity th<jse that are wounded in spirit, and pray earnestly for them, because in that condition they know not how to pray for themselves. [3.] Carefully to keep up good thoughts of God in our minds, for hard thoughts of him are the inlets of much mischief. [4.] To bless God that we are not in such a disconsolate condition as poor Job was here in, but that we walk in the light of the Lord; let us rejoice therein, but rejoice with trejiibling.

CHAP. X.

Job owns here that he was full of confusion; (v. 15.) and as he was, so was his discourse: he knew not what to say, and' perhaps sometimes scarcely knew what he said. In this chapter, I. He complains of the hardships he was under; (v. 1 .. 7.) and then comforts himself with this, that he was in the hand of the God that made him, and pleads that, v. 8. . 13. II. He complains again of the severity of God's dealings with him, (v. 14. . 17.) and then comforts himself with this, that death would put an end to his troubles, v. 18 . . 22.

1.1%/rY soul is weary of my life : I will XTJL leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2. I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; show me wherefore thou contendest with me. 3. Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thy hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? 4. Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth? 5, Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's days? 6. That thou inquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin? 7. Thou knowest that I am not wicked ; and there is none that can deliver out of thy hand.

Here is,

I. A passionate resolution to persist in his complaint, V. 1. Being daunted vvith the dread of God's majesty, so that he could not plead his cause with him, he resolves to give himself some ease by giving vent to his resentments. He begins with vehement language, " Aly soul is weary of my life, weary of this body, and impatient to get clear of it, fallen out with life, and displeased at it, sick of it, and longing for death." Through the weakness of grace, he

Went contrary to the dictates even of nature itself \\'e slKHild act more like men, did we act more like sdin:s: faith and patience would keep us from being weary of our li\es, (and cruel to them, as some I'cad it,) even then when Providence has made them niost wearisome to us; for that is to be weary of (iod's correction. Job, being weary of his life, and having ease no other way, resolves to coir,-plain, resoh es to speak: he will not give vent to his soul by violent hands, but he will give vent to the bitterness of his soul by \iolent words. Losers think they may have leave to speak; and unbi idled passions, as well as unbridled appetites, are apt to think it an excuse for their excursions, that they cannot help it; but what have we wisdom and grace for, but to keep the mouth as with a bridle.^ Job's corruption speaks here, yet grace puts in a word: 1. He will complain, but he will leave his com-jjlaint upon himself: he would not impeach God, nor charge him with unrighteousness or unkindness; but, though he knew not particularly the ground ct God's controversy with him, and the cause of action, yet, in the general, he would suppc'se it to be in himself, and willingly bear all the blame. 2. He will speak, but it shall be the bitterness of his soul that he will express, not his settled judgment. If I speak amiss, it is not 1, but sin that dwells in me. not my soul, but its bitterness.

U. A humble petition to God. He will speak, but tlie first word shall be a prayer, and, as I am willing to understand it, it is a good prayer, v. 2. 1. That he might be delivered from the sting of his afflictions, which is sin; "Do not condemn me, do not separate me for ever from thee. Though I lie under the cross, let me not lie under the curse; though I smart by the rod of a Father, let me not be cut off by the sword of a Judge. Thou dost correct me, I will bear that as well as I can, but O do not condemn me!" It is the comfort of those who are in Christ Jesus, that, though they are in affliction, there is no condemnation to them, Rom. viii. 1. Nay, they are chastened of the Lord, that they may not be co7idemned with the world, 1 Cor. xi. 32. This, therefore, we should deprecate above any thing else, when we are in affliction; "However thou art pleased to deal with me. Lord, do not condemn me; my friends condemn me, but do not thou." 2. That he might be made acquainted with the true cause of his afflictions, and that is sin too; Lord, shovj me wherefore thou contendest with me. When God afflicts us, he contends with us; when he contends with us, there is always a reason. He is never angry without a cause, though we are, and it is desirable to know what the reason is, that we may repent of, nv rtify, and forsake, the sin for which God has a controversy with us: in inquiring it out, let conscience have leave to do its office, and to deal faithfully with us, as Gen. xlii. 21.

III. A peevish expostulation with God concerning his dealings with him. Now he speaks in the bitterness of his soul indeed, not without some ill-natured reflections upon the righteousness of his God.

1. He thinks it unbecoming the goodness of God, and the mercifulness of his nature, to deal so hardlv with his creature, as to lay upon him more than he can bear; (i-. 3.) Js it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress? No, certainly it is not; what he approves not in men, (Lam. iii, 34..36.) he will not do himself. '* Lord, in dealing with me, thou secm-est to oppress thy subject, to despise thy workmanship, and to countenance thine enemies. Now, Lprd, what is the meaning of this.'* Such is thy nature, that this cannot be a pleasure to thee; and such is thy name, that it cannot be an hrnour to thee; why then dealest thou thus with me? What *}r'Jlt is there in my blood?" Far be it from Job tc

JOB, X.

think that God did him wrong, but he is quite at a loss how to reconcile his providences with his justice, as good men have often been, and must wait until the day shall declare it. Let us, therefore, now hai'bour no hard thoughts of God, because we shall then see there was no cause for them.

2. He thinks it unbecoming the infinite knowledge of God to put a prisoner thus upon the rack, as it were, by torture, to extort a confession from him, V. 4«»6.

(1.) He is sure that God does not discover things, nor judge of them, as men do; he has not eyes of Jlesh, {-v. 4.) for he is a Spirit. Eyes of flesh cannot see in the dark, but darkness hides not from God. Eyes of flesh are but in one place at a time, and can see but a little way; but the eyes of the Lord are in every filace, and run to and fro through the whole earth. Many things are hid from eyes of flesh, the most curious and piercing; there is a fxath which even the vulture's eye hath not seen: but nothing is, or can be, hid from the eye of God, to which all things are naked and open. Eyes of flesh see the outward appearance only, and may be imposed upon, a decefitio visus — an illusion of the senses; but God sees every thing truly; his sight cannot be deceived, for he tries the heart, and is a Witness to the thoughts and intents of that. Eyes of flesh discover things gradually, and when we gain the sight of one thing, we lose the sight of another, but God sees every thing at one view. Eyes of flesh are soon tired, must be closed e\ ery night, that they may be refreshed, and will shortly be darkened by age, and shut up by death, but the Keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps, nor does his sight ever decay. God sees not as man sees; that is, he does not judge as man judges, at the best secundum allegata et probata — according to what .is alleged and proved, as the thing appears, rather than as it is, and too often according to the bias of the affections, passions, prejudices, and interest; but we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth, and that he knows truth, not by information, but by his own inspection. Men discover secret things by search, and examination of witnesses, comparing evidence and giving conjectures upon it, wheedling or forcing the parties concerned to confess. But God needs not any of these ways of discovery, he sees not as man sees.

(2.) He is sure that, as God is not short-sighted, like man, so he is not short-lived; (v. 5.) " jire thy days as the days of man, few and evil? Do they roil onin succession, or are they subject to change, like the days of man? No, by no means." Men grow wiser by experience, and more knowing by daily observation; with them, truth is the daughter oiF time, and therefore they must take time for their searches, and, if one experiment fail, must try another; but it is not so with God, to him nothing is past, nothing future, but every thing present. The days of time, by which the life of man is measured, are nothing to the years of eternity, in which the life of God is wrapt up.

(3.) He therefore thinks it strange that God should thus prolong his torture, and continue him under the confinement of this affliction, and neither bring him to a trial, nor grant him a release: as if he must take time to inquire after his iniquity, and use means to search after his sin, v. 6. Not as if .Tob thought that God did thus torment him, that he might find occasion against him; but his dealings with him had such an aspect, which was dishonourable to God, and would tempt men to think him a hard master. *• Now, Lord, if thou wilt not consult my comfort, consult thine own honour; do something for thy ^reat name, and do not disgrace the throne of thy'glory,'" Jer. xiv. 21. 3. He thinks it looked like an abuse of his omni-

potence, to keep a poor pi isoner in custody, whom he knew to be innocent, only because there was none that could deliver him out of his hand; {y. 7.) Thou knowest that I am not wicked. He had already owned himself a sinner, and guilty before God, but he here stands to it, that he was ni t wicked, not devoted to sin, not an enemy to God, not a dissembler in his religion, that fie had not wickedly departed from his God, Ps. xviii. 21. ''But there is none that can deliver out of thy hand, and therefore there is no remedy; I must be content to lie there, waiting thy time, and throwing myself on thy mercy, in submission to thy sovereign will." Here see, (1.) What ought to quiet us under our troubles; that it is to no purpose to contend with Omnipotence. (2.) What will abundantly comfort us, if we are able to appeal to God, as Job here, " Lord, thou knowest that I am not wicked. I cannot say that I am not wanting, or I am not weak; but, through grace, I can say, / am not wickrd: thou knowest I am not, for thou knowest I love thee."

8. Thy hands have made me, and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me. 9. Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again ? 10. Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? 11. Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. 12. Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. 13. And these things hast thou hid in thy heart: I know that this is with thee.

In these verses, we may observe,

1. How Job eyes God as his Creator and Preserver, and describes his dependence upon him as the Author and Upholder of his being. This is one of the first things we are all concerned to know and consider.

(1.) That God made us: he, and not our parents, who were only the instruments of his power and providence in our production. He made us, and not we ourselves. His hands have made and fashioned these bodies of ours, and e\ ery part of them; {v. 8.) and they are fearfully and wonderfully made. The soul also, which animates the body, is his gift. He takes notice of both here. [1.] The body is made as the clay, {jk 9.) cast into shape, into this shape, as the clay is formed into a vessel, according to the skill and will of the potter. We are earthen vessels: mean in our original, and soon broken in pieces, made as the clay; let not, therefore, the tlmig formed say unto him that formed it. Why hast thou made me thus? We must not be proud of our bodies, because the matter is from the earth, yet not dishonour our bodies, bec:iuse the mould and shape are from the Divine Wisdom. The formation of human bodies in the womb is described by an elegant similitude, (t'. 10.) Thou hast floured me out like milk, which is coagulated into cheese; and by an induction of some particulars, {v. 11.) Though we come into the world naked, yet the body is itself both clothed and armed; the skin and flesh are its cUnhing; the bones and sinews are its armour, not offensive, but defensive. The vital parts, the heart and lungs, are thus clothed, not to be seen; thus fenced, not to be hurt. The admirable structure of human bodies is an illustrious instance of the wisdom, power, and goodness, of the Creator. What pity is it that these

bodies should be instruments of unrighteousness, which are capable of being temples of the Holy Ghost! [2.] The soul is the life, the soul is the man, and this is the gift of God; Thou hast granted me life, breathed into me the breath of life, without which the body would be but a worthless carcase. God is the Father of spirits: he made us living souls, and endued us with the powers of reason; he gave us life and favour; and life is a favour, a great favour, more than meat, more than raiment; a distinguishing favour, a favour that puts us into a capacity of receiving other favour. Now Job was in a better mind tha;\ he was when he quarrelled with life as a burthen, and asked, Why died I not from the ivomb? Or, by life and favour may be meant life and all the comforts of life, referring to his former prosperity. Time was, when he walked in the light of the divine favour, and thought, as David, that through that favour his mountain stood strong.

(2.) That God maintains us: having lighted the lamp of life, he does not leave it to burn upon its own stock, but continually supplies it with fresh oil; " Thy visitation has preserved my sfiirit, kept me alive, protected me from the adversaries of life, the death we are in the midst of, and the dangers we are continually exposed to; and blessed me with all the necessary supports of life, and the daily supplies it needs and craves."

2. How he pleads this with God, and what use he makes of it. He reminds God of it; {v. 9.) lie-member, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me. What then?

(1.) "Thou hast made me, and therefore thou nast a perfect knowledge of me, (Ps. cxxxix. l.«13.) and needest not to examine me by scourging, nor to put me upon the rack for the discovering of what is within me."

(2.) " Thou hast made me, as the clay, by an act of sovereignty; and wilt thou, by a like act of sovereignty, unmake me again? If so, I must submit."

(3.) " Wilt thou destroy the work of thine own hands?" It is a plea the saints have often used in

f)rayer; IVe are the clay, and thou our potter, Isa. xiv. 8. Thy hands 'have made me and fashioned me, Ps. cxix. 73. So here. Thou madest me; and wilt thou destroy me? v. 8. Wilt thou bring me into dust again?" v. 9. "Wilt thou not pity me? Wilt thou not spare and help me, and stand by the work of thine own hands? Ps. cxxxviii. 8. Thou madest me, and knowest my strength; wilt thou then suffer me to be pressed above measure? Was I made to be made miserable? Was I preserved only to endure these calamities?" If we plead this with ourselves as an inducement to duty, "God made me and maintains me, and therefore I will serve him and submit to him," we may plead it with God as an argument for mercy. Thou hast made tne, new make me; / am thine, save me. Job knew not how to reconcile God's former favours and his present frowns, but concludes, (xi. 13.) " T/ese things hast thou hid i?i thine heart; both are according to the counsel of thine own will, and, therefore, undoubtedly consistent, howe\er they seem." When God thus strangely changes his way, though we cannot account for it, we are bound to believe there are good reasons for it hid in his heart, which will be manifested shortly. It is not with us, or in our leach, to assign the cause, but I know that this is with thee. Known unto God are all his works.

14. If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. 15. If I be wicked, wo unto me; and if I be righteous, ijet will I not lift up my head.

Vol. iii.-H

JOB, X. 57

I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction; 16. For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion; and again thou showest thyself marvellous upon nfie. 17. Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me. 18. Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me ! 19. 1 should have been as though I had not been ; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. 20. Are not my days few ? cease the?!, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, 21. Before I go iohence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; 22. A land of darkness, as darkness itself: and of the shadow of death, without any order, and lohe.re the light is as darkness.

Here we have,

I. Job's passionate complaints. On that harsh and unpleasant string he harps much, in which, thougli he cannot be justified, he may be excused. He complained not for nothing, as the murmuring Israelites, but had cause to complain. If we think it looks ill in him, let it be a warning to us to keep our temper better.

1. He complains of the strictness of God's judgment, and the rigour of his proceedings against him, and is ready to call it Summu?n Jus — Justice bordering on severity. (1.) That he took all ad vantages against him"; " If I sin, then thou markest me; {v. 14.) if I do but take one false step, misplace a word, or cast a look awry, I shall be sure to hear of it. Conscience, thy deputy, will be sure to upbraid me with it, and to tell me, that this gripe, this twitch of pain, is to punish me for that." It God should thus mark iniquities, we are undone; but he does not thus mark them; though we sin, God does not deal in extremity with us. (2.) That he prosecuted those advantages to the utmost; Thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. While his troubles continued, he could not take the comfort of his pardon, nor hear that \'oice of joy and gladness; so hard is it to see love in God's heart, when we see frowns in his face, and a rod in his hand. (3.) That, whatever was his character, h's case, at present, was very uncomfortable, v. 15. [1.] If he be wicked, he is certainly undone in the other world; If I be wicked, woe to me. Note, A sinful state is a woeful state. This we should each of us believe, as Job here, with application to ourselves; " If I be wicked, though prospei-ous, and living in pleasure, yet woe to me." Some especially have reason to dread double woes if they be wicked; "I that have knowledge, that have made a great profession of religion, that have been so often under strong convictions, and have made so many fair promises; I that was born of such good parents, blessed with a good education, that have lived in good f imilies, and long enjoyed the means of grace, If I be nvicked, woe, and a thousand woes, to me." [2.] If he be righteous, yet he dares not lift up his head; dares not answer as before, ch. ix. 15. He is so oppressed and overwhelmed with his troubles, that he cannot look u]i with any comfort or confidence. Without were fightings, within were fears; so that, between both, he was full of confusion: not only confusion of face, for the disgrace he was brought down to, and the censures of his friends.

OB, X.

but confusion of spirit; his mind was in a constant hurry, and he was almost distracted, Ps. Ixxxviii. 15.

2. He complains of the severity of the execution. God (he thought) did not only punish him for every failui'e, but punish him in a high degree, v. 16, 17. His affliction was, (1.) Grievous, very grievous, marvellous, exceeding marvellous. God hunted him as a lion, as a fierce lion hunts and inins down his prey. God was not only strange to him, but showed himself marvellous upon him, by bringing him into uncommon troubles, and so making him a prodigy, a wonder unto many. All wondered that God would inflict, and that Job could bear, so much. That which made his afflictions most grievous, was, that he felt God's indignation in them; that was it that made them taste so bitter, and lie so heavy. They were God's witnesses against him, tokens of his displeasure; this made the sores of his body wounds in his spirit. (2.) It was growing, still growing, worse and worse. This he insists much upon; when he hoped the tide would turn, and begin to ebb, still it flowed higher and higher. His affliction increased, and God's indignation in the iffliction; he found himself no way better; these witnesses were renewed against him, that, if one did not reach to convict him, another might. Changes and war were against him. If there was any change with him, it.was not for the better; still he was kept in a state of war. As long as we are here in this world, we must expect that the clouds will return after the rain, and perhaps the sorest and sharpest trials may be reserved for the Jast. God was at war with him, and it was a great change. He did not use to be so, which aggravated the trouble, and made it truly marvellous. God usually shows himself kind to his people; if at any time he shows himself otherwise, it is his strange work, his strange act, and he doth in it show himself marvellous.

3. He complains of his life, and that ever he was born to all this trouble and misery; {v. 18, 19.) " If this was designed for my lot, why was I brought out of the womb, and not smothered there, or stifled in the birth?" This was the language of his passion, and it was a relapse into the sin he fell into before. He had just now called life a favour, \y. 12.^ yet now he calls it a burthen, and quarrels with God for giving it, or rather laying it upon him. Mr. Caryl gives this a good turn in favour of Job. " We may charitably suppose," (says he,) '• that that which troubled Job was, that he was in a condition of life which (as he conceived) hindered the main end of ,,is life, which was the glorifying God. His harp was hung on the willow-trees, and he was quite out of tune for praising God. Nay, he feared lest his troubles should reflect dishonour upon God, and give occasion to his enemies to blaspheme; and, therefore, he wishes, O that I had given ufi the ghost! A godly man reckons that he lives to no purpose, if he do not live to the praise and glory of God." But, if that had been his meaning, it was grounded on a mistake, for we may glorify the Lord in the fires. But this use we may make of it, not to be over-fond of life, since the case has been such, sometimes, even with wise and good men, that they have complained of it. Why should we dread giving up the ghost, or covet to be seen of men, since the time may come, when we may be ready to wish we had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen us? Why should we inordinately lament the death of our children in their infancy, that arc as if they liad not been, and are carried from the womb to the grave, when pei haps we our-fet-lvps miv sometimes wish it h^d been our own lot?

II Jnl)'s humble requests. He prays,

J That God would see f-'s afflictio7i,{v. 15.) take

cognizance of his case, and take it into his compassionate consideration. Thus David prays, (Fs. xxv. 18.) Look upon mine afflictions and my /iai?i. Thus we should, hi our troubles, refer ourselves to God, and may comfort ourselves with this, that he knows our souls in adversity.

2. That God would grant him some ease. If he could not prevail for the removal of his troubles, yet might he not have some intermission? "Lord, let me not be always upon the rack, always in extremity; 0 let me alone, that I may take comfort a little! V. 20. Grant me some respite, some breathing time, some little enjoyment of myself." This he would reckon a great favour. Those that are not duly thankful for constant ease, should think how welcome one hour's ease would be, if they were in constant pain. Two things he pleads;

(1.) That life and its light were very short; "Are not my days few? v. 20. Yes, certainly, they are very tew; Lord, let them not be all miserable, all in the extremity of miseiy. I have but a little time to live, let me have some comfort of life while it does last." This plea fastens on the goodness of God's nature, the consideration of which is very comfortable to an afflicted spirit. And if we would use this as a plea with God for mercy, " Are not my days ftwf Lord, pity me;" we should use it as a plea with ourselves, to quicken us to duty. " Are not my days few? Then it concerns me to redeem time, to improve opportunities; what my hand finds to do, to do it with all my might, that I may be ready for the days of eternity, which shall be many."

(2.) That death and its darkness were very near, and would be very long; {v. 21, 22.) "Lord, give me some ease before I die," that is, "lest I die, of my pain." Thus David pleads, (Ps. xiii. 3.) " Lest I sleep, the sleep of death, and then it will be too late to expect relief; for. Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? (Ps. Ixxxviii. 10.) Let me have a little comfort before I die, that 1 may take leave of this world calmly, and not in such confusion as I am now in." Thus earnest should we be for grace, and thus should we plead; " Lord, renew me in the inward man; Lord, sanctify me before I die, for then it will never be done."

See how he speaks here of the state of the dead.

[1.] It is a fixed state, whence we shall not return ever again to live such a life as we now live, ch. vii. 10. At death, we must bid a final fareweK to this world. The body must then be laid where it will lie long, and the soul adjudged to that state in which it must be for ever. That had need be well done, which is to be done but once, and done for eternity.

[2.] It is a very melancholy state; so it appears to us. Holy souls, at death, remove to a land of light, where there is no death; but their bodies they leave to a land of darkness, and the shadow of death. He heaps up expressions here of the same import, to show that he has as dreadful apprehensions of death and the grave as other men naturally have, so that it was only the extreme misery he was in, that made him wish for it. Come and let us look a little into the grave, and we shall find. First, That there is no order there; it is without any order; perpetual night, and no succession of day. All there lie on the same level, and there is no distinction between prince and peasant, but the servant is there free from his master, ch. iii. 19. No order is observed in bringing people to the grave, not the eldest first, not the richest, not the poorest, and vet every one in his own order, the order appointed by the God of life. Secondly, That there is no light there. In the grave there 's thick darkness, darkness that cannot be felt indeed, yet cannot but be feaied by those that enjoy thi.

JOB, XI.

59

light of life. In the grave there is no knowledge, no comfort, no joy, no praising God, no working out our salvation, and therefore no light. Job was so nmcli ashamed that others should see his sores, and so much afraid to see them himself, that the darkness of the grave, which would hide them and huddle them up, would, upon that account, be welcome to him. Darkness comes upon us, and therefore let us walk and work while we have the light with us. The grave being a land of darkness, it is well we are carried thither with our eyes closed, and then it is all one. The grave is a land of darkness to man; our friends that are gone thither, we reckon remo\ed into darkness, Ps. Ixxxviii. 18. But that it is not so to God, will appear by this, that the dust of the bodies of the saints, though scattered, though mingled with other dust, will none of it be lost, for God's eye is upon every grain of it, and it shall be forthcoming in the great day.

CHAP. XI.

Poor Job's wounds were yet bleeding, his sore still runs and ceases not, but none of his friends bring him any oil, any balm; Zophar, the third, pours into them as much vinegar as the two former had done. I. He exhibits a very high charge against Job, as proud and false in justifying himself, v. 1 .. 4. II. He appeals to God for his conviction, and begs that God would take him to task, (v. 5.) and that Job might be made sensible, 1. Of God's unerring wisdom, and his inviolable justice, v. 6. 2. Of his unsearchable perfections, v. 7 .. 9. 3. Of his incontestable sovereignty, and uncontrollable power, v. 10. 4. Of the cognizance he takes of the children of men, v. 11, 12. III. He assures him, that, upon his repentance and reformatiouj (v. 13,14.) God would restore him to his former prosperity and safety; (v. 15.. 19.) but that if he were wicked, it was in vain to expect it, v. 20.

I. nnHEN answered Zophar the Naama-JL thite, and said, 2. Should not the multitude of words be answered ? and should a man full of talk be justified ? 3. Should thy lies make men h(Dld their peace ? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed ? 4. For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes. 5. But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; 6. And that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is ! Know, therefore, that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.

It is sad to see what intemperate passions even wise and good men are sometimes betrayed into by the heat of disputation; of which Zophar here is an instance. Eliphaz began with a very modest preface, ch. iv. 2. Bildad was a little more rough upon Job, ch. viii. 2. But Zophar falls upon him without mercy, and gives him very bad language; Should a man full of talk be justijied? And should thy lies make men hold their peace? Is this the way to comfort Job? No, nor to convince him neither. Does this become one that appears as an advocate for God and his justice? Tantcene animis ccelestibus ir£? — In heavenly breasts can such resentments dwell? They that engage in controversy will find it very hard to keep their temper. All the wisdom, ^ caution, and resolution, they have, will be little enough to prevent their breaking out into such indecencies as we here find Zophar guilty of.

1. He represents Job otherwise than what he was; (i'. 2, 3.) he would have him thought idle and impertinent in his discourse, and one that loved to hear himself talk; he gives him the lie, and calls him a mocker; and all this, that it might be looked upon

as a piece of justice to chastise him. Those that have a mind to fall out with their brethren, and to fall foul upon them, find it necessary to put the worst colours they can upon them and their performances, and, right or wrong, to make them odious. We have read and considered Job's discourses in the foregoing chapters, and have found them full of good sense, and much to the purpose; that his

Erinciples are right, his reasonings strong, many of is expressions weighty and very considerable, and that what there is in them of heat and passion, a little candour and charity will excuse and overlook; yet Zophar here invidiously represents him,

(1.) As a man that never considered what he said, but uttered what came uppermost, only to make a noise with the multitude of words, hoping by that means to carry his cause, and run down his reprovers. Should not the multitude of words be answered? Truly, sometimes it is no great matter whether it be or no; silence perhaps is the best confutation of impertinence, and puts the greatest contempt upon it; Answer not a fool according to his folly. But, if it be answered, let reason and grace have the answering of it, not pride and passion. Should a man full of talk (Marg. a man of lifis, that is, all tongue, vox et fireterea nihil — mere voice,) be justified? Should he be justified in his loquacity, as, in effect, he is, if he be not reproved for it? No, for in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin. Should he be justified by it? Shall many words pass for valid pleas? Shall he carry the day with the flourishes of language? No, he shall not be accepted with God, or any wise men, for his much speaking, Matth. vi. 7.

(2.) As a man that made no conscience of Avhat he said, a liar, and one that hoped, by the impudence of lies, to silence his adversaries; (Should thy lies make men hold their fieace?) a mocker, one that bantered all mankind, and knew how to put false colours upon any thing, and was net ashamed to impose upon every one that talked with him-JVhen thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? Is it not time to speak, to stem sucli a violent tide as this? Job was not mad, but spake the words of truth and soberness, and yet is thus misrepresented. Eliphaz and Bildad had answered him, and said what they could to make him ashamed; it was, therefore, no instance of Zophar's generosity, to set upon a man so violently, who was already thus harassed: here were three matched against one.

2. He charges .Tnb with saying that which he had not said; (v. 4.) Thou hast said. My dcctrine is fiure. And what if he had said so? It is true that Job was sound in the faith, and orthodox in his judgment, and spake better of God than his friends did. If he had expressed himself unwarily, yet it did not therefore follow but that his doctrine was true; but he charges him with saying, / am clean in thine eyes. Job had not said so: he had, indeed, said. Thou knowest that I am not wicked; {ch. x. 7.) but he had also said, / have sinned, and never pretended to a spotless perfection. He had, indeed, maintained that he was not a hypocrite, as they charged him; but to infer thence that he would not own himself a sinner, was an unfair insinuation. We pught to put the best construction on the words and actions of our brethren that they will bear; but contenders are tempted to put the worst.

3. He appeals to God, and wishes him to appear against Job. So very confident is he that Job is in the wrong, that nothing will serve him but that God must immediately appear to silence and condemn him. We are commonly ready with too much assurance to interest God in our quarrels, and to conclude that if he would but speak, he would take our part, and speak for us; as Zophar here.

JOB, XL

0 that God -would sjieak, for he would certainly ofitn hin lifis against thee; whereas, when God did 5-pe:ili, he opened his lip3 for Job against his three friends. We ought indeed to leave all controversies to be determined by the judgment of God, which we are sure is according to truth; but they are not always in the right, who are most forward to appeal to that judgment, and prejudge it against their antagonists.

Zophar despairs to convince Job himself, and therefore desires God would convince him of two things, which it is good for every one of us duly to consider, and under all our afflictions, cheerfully to confess.

(1.) The unsearchable depth of God's counsels. Zophar cannot pretend to do it, but he desires that God himself would show Job so much of the secrets of the divine wisdom, as might convince him that they are, at least, double to that which is, x;. 6. Note, [1.] There are secrets in the divine wisdom; arcana im/ierii — state secrets. God's way is in the sea; clouds and darkness are round about him; he has reasons of state which we cannot fathom, and must not pry into, [2.] What we know of God, is nothing to what we cannot know. What is hid, is more than double to what appears, Eph. iii. 9. [3. ] By employing ourselves in adoring the depth of those divine counsels of which we cannot find the bottom, we shall very much tranquillize our minds under the afflicting hand of God. [4. ] God knows a great deal more evil of us than we do of ourselves; so some understand it. When God gave David a sight and sense of sin, he sa.id that he had in the hidden fiart made him to know -wisdom, Ps. li. 6.

(2.) The unexceptionable justice of his proceedings; " Know, therefore, that how sore soever the correction is, that thou art under, God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserves:" or, as some read it, " He remits thee part of thine iniquity, and does not deal with thee according to the full demerit of it." Note, [1.] When the debt of duty is not paid, it is justice to insist upon the debt of punishment. [2.] Whatever punishment is inflicted upon us in this world, we must own that it is less than our iniqiiities deserve, and therefore, instead of complaining of our troubles, we must be thankful that we are out of hell, Lam. iii. 39. Ps. ciii. 10.

7. Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Ahiiighty unto perfection? 8. // is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? 9. The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. 10. If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him? 11. For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also: will he not then consider it? 12. For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt.

Zophar here speaks very good things concerning God and his greatness and glory, concerning man and his vanity and folly: these two compared together, and duly considered, will ha\ e a powerful influence upon our submission to all the dispensations of the Divine Providence.

I. See here what (iod is, and let him be adored.

1. He is an incomprehensible Being, infinite and Immense, whose nature and perfection, our finite understandings cannot possibly form any adequate conceptions of, and whose counsels and actings we cannot therefore, without the greatest presumption,

pass a judgment upon. We, that are so little acquainted with the divine nature, are incompetent judges of the Divine Providence; and, when we censure the dispensations of it, we talk of things that we do not understand. We camiot find rut God; how dare we then find fault with him? "Zxy-phar here shows,

(1.) That God's nature infinitely exceeds the capacities of our understandings; "Canst thou^nd out God: find him out to fierfectioyi'^ No, What canst thou do? What canst thou kno-iv? v. 7, 8. Thou, a poor, weak, short-sighted creature, a worm of the earth, that art but of yesterday? Thou, though ever so inquisitive after him, ever so desirous and industrious to find him out, yet darest thou attempt the search, or canst thou hope to speed in it?" We may by searching ^rzrf God, (Acts xvii. 27.) but we cannot find him out in any thing he is pleased to conceal; we may o/?prehend him, but cannot comprehend him; we may know that he is, but cannot know -what he is; the eye can see the ocean, but not see over it; we may, by a humble, diligent, and believing search, find out something of God, but cannot find him out to perfection; we may know, but cannot know fully, what God is, nor find out his work from the beginning to the end, Eccl. iii. 11. Note, God is unsearchable. The ages ot his eternity cannot be numbered, nor the spaces of his immensity measured: the depths of his wisdom cannot be fathomed, nor the reaches of his power bounded: the brightness of his glory can never be described, nor an inventory be made of the treasures of his goodness. This is a good reason why we should always speak of God with humility and caution, and never prescribe to him or quarrel with him; why we should be thankful for what he has revealed of himself, and long to be there where we shall see him as he is, 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 10.

(2.) That it infinitely exceeds the limits of the whole creation; It is higher than heaven, (so some read it,) deeper than hell, the great abyss, longer than the earth, and broader than the sea, manv parts of which are, to this day, undiscovered, an^ more were then. It is quite out of our reach to comprehend God's nature; such kno-wledge is too ivonderful for us, Ps. cxxxix. 6. We cannot fathom God's designs, nor find out the reasons of his proceedings; his judgments are a great deep. St. Paul attributes such immeasurable dimensions to the divine love, as Zophar here attributes to the divine wisdom, and yet recommends it to our acquaintance, fEph. iii. 18.) That ye may knoiv the breadth, and length, and defith, and height, of the love of Christ.

2. God is a sovereign Lord; {y. 10.) If he cut off by death, (Marg. If he make a change, for death is a change; if he make a change in nations, in families, in the postvire of our affairs,) if he shut up in prison, or in the net of affliction; (Ps. Ixvi. 11.) if he seize any creature as a hunter his prey, he will gather it, (so Bishop Patrick,) and who shall force him to restore? Or, if he gather together, as tares for the fire, or, if he gather to.himself man* s spirit and breath, {ch. xxxiv. 14.) then nvho can hinder him? Who can either arrest the sentence, or oppose the execution? Who can control his power, or arraign his wisdom and justice? If he that made all out of nothing, think fit to reduce all to nothing, or to their first chaos again; if he that separated between light and darkness, dry land and sea, at first, please to gather them together again; if he that made, unmakes, -ivho can turn him a-way, alter his mind, stay his hand, impede or impeach his proceedings?

3. God is a strict and just observer of the children of men; (v. 11.) He kno-ws vain men. We know little of nim, but he knows us perfectly; he

JOB, XL

61

sees wickedness also, not to approve it, (Hab. i. 13.) but to animadvert upon it. (1.) He observes vain men; (such all are, every man, at his best estate, is altogether vanity;) and he considers it in his dealings with them. He knows what the projects and hopes of vain men are, and can blast and defeat them, the workings of their foolish fancies; he sits in heaven, and laughs at them. He takes knowledge of the vanity of men, that is, their little sins, so some; their vain tlioughts and vain words, and unsteadiness in that which is good. (2.) He observes bad men; he sees gross wickedness also, though acted ever so secretly, and ever so artfully palliated and disguised. All the wickedness of the wicked is naked and open before the all-seeing eye of God; ivi/l he not then consider it? Yes, certainly he will, and will reckon for it, though for a time he seems to keep silence.

n. See here what man is; and let him be humbled; {v. 12.) God sees this concerning vain man, that he would be wise, would be thought so, though he is born like a ivild ass^s colt, so sottish and foolish, unteachable and untameable. See what man is: 1. He is a vain creature; empty; so the word is: God made him full, but he emptied himself, impoverished himself, and now he is raca, a creature that has nothing in him. 2. He is a foolish creature, become like the beasts that perish, (Ps. xlix. 20.—Ixxiii. 22.) an idiot, born like an ass, the most stupid animal, an ass's colt, not yet brought to any service. If ever he come to be good for any thing, it is owing to the grace of Christ, who once, in the day of his triumph, served himself of an ass's colt. 3. He is a wilful ungovernable creatuie. An ass's colt may be made good for something, but the wild ass's colt will never be reclaimed, nor regards the crying of the driver. See Job xxxix. 5. . 7. Man thinks himself as much at liberty, and his own master, as the wild ass's colt does, that is used to the wilderness, (Jer. ii. 24.) eager to gratify his own appetites and passions. 4. Yet he is a proud creature and self-conceited. He would be wise, would be thought so, values himself upon the honour of wisdom, though he will not submit himself to the laws of wisdom. He would be wise, that is, he reaches after forbidden wisdom, and, like his first parents, aiming to be wise above what is written, loses the tree of life for the tree of knowledge. Now, is such a creature as this fit to contend with God, or call him to an account? Did we but better know God and ourselves, we should better know how to conduct ourselves toward God.

13. If thou prepare thy heart, and stretch out thy hands toward hun; 14. If iniquity be in thy hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. 15. For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear: 16. Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away: 17. And thine age shall be clearer than the noon-day; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. 18. And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety. 19. Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid ; yea, many shall make suit unto thee, 20. But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.

Zophar, as the other two, here encourages Job to hope for better times, if he would but come to a better temper.

I. He gives him good counsel, {v. 13, 14.) as El phaz did, {ch. v. 8.) and Bildad, ch. viii. 5. He would have him repent, and return'to God. Observe the steps of that return;

1. He must look within, and get his mind changed, and the tree made good. He must prepare his heart; there the work of conversion and reformation must begin. The heart that wandered from God must be reduced; that was defiled with sin and put into disorder, must !)e cleansed and put in order again; that was wavering and unfixed, must be settled and established: so the word here signifies. The heart is then prepared to seek (iod, when it is determined and fully resolved to make a business of it, and to go through with it.

2. He must look up, and stretch out his hand toward God, that is, must stir up himself to take hold on God; must pray to him with earnestness and importunity, striving in prayer, and with expectation to receive mercy and grace from him. To give the hand to the Lord, signifies to yield ourselves to him and to covenant with him, 2 Chron. XXX. 8. This Job must do, and, for the doing of it, must prepare his heart. Job had prayed, but Zophar would have him to pray in a better manner, not as an appellant, but as a petitioner and humble supplicant.

3. He must amend what was amiss in his own conversation, else his prayers would be ineffectual; {v. 14.) If iniquity be in thy hand, that is, "If there be any sin, which thou dost yet live in the practice of, put it far away, forsake it with detestation and a holy indignation, steadfastly resolving not to return to it, nor ever to have any thing more to do with it, Ezek. xviii. 31. Hos. xiv. 9. Isa. XXX. 22. If any of the gains of iniquity, any goods gotten by fraud or oppression, be in thine hand, make restitution of it,^' (as Zaccheus, Luke xix. 8.) I* and shake thy hands from holding \t" Isa. xxxiii. 15. The guilt of sin is not removed, if the gain of sin be not restored.

4. He must do his utmost to reform his family too; *'Let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles; let not thy house haibour or shelter anv wicked persons, any wicked practices, or any wealth gotten by wickedness." He suspected that Job's great household had been ill governed, and that where there were manv, there were many wicked, and the ruin of his family was the punishment of the wickedness of it; and therefore, if he expected God should return to him, he must reform what was amiss there, and, though wickedness might come into his tabernacles, he must not suifer it to dwell there, Ps. ex. 3, &c.

II. He assures him of comfort if he took this counsel, v. 15, &c. If he would repent and reform, he should, without doubt, be easy and happy, and all would be well. Perhaps Zophar might insinuate, that, unless God did speedily make such a change as this in his condition, he and his fiiends would be confirmed in their opinion of him as a hypocrite and a dissembler with God: a great truth, however, is conveyed, That the work of righteousness will be fieace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever, Isa. xxxii. 17. Those that sincerely turn to God, may expect, 1. A holy confidence toward God; "Then shalt thou lift up thy face toward heaven without spot; thou mayest come boldly to the throne of grace," and not with that terror and amazement expressed, ch. ix. 34. If our hearts condemn us not for hypocrisy and impenitency, then have we confidence in our approaches to God and expectations from him, 1 John iii. 21. If we are looked uDon in the face

b2

JOB, XII.

rf ihe Anointed, our fares, that were dejected, maybe lifted uj;; t!iat were polluted, being washed with tile blood of Christ, may be lifted up without spot. We m ly draw near in full assurance of faith, when we are nfirinkl^d from an evil conscience, Heb. x. 22, Son»e understand this of the clearing up of his credit before men, Ps. xxxvii. 6. If we make our peace with God, we may with cheerfulness look ( ur friends in the face.

2. Aholycomposednessin themselves; Thoushalt be steadfast, and sfialt not fear, not be afraid of evil tidings, thy heart being fixed, Ps. cxii. 7. Job was now full of confusion, {c/i. x. 15.) while he looked upon God as his Enemy, and quarrelled with him; but Zophar assures him, that, if he would submit and humble himself, his mind would be stayed, and he would be freed from those frightful apprehensions he had of God, which put him into such an agitation. The less we are frightened, the more ■we are fixed; and, consequently, the more fit we are for our services and for our sufferings.

3. A comfortable reflection upon their past troubles; {v. 16.) '^^Thou shall forget thy misery; (as the mother forgets her travailing pains, for joy that the child is born;) thou shalt be perfectly freed from the impressions it makes upon thee, and thou shalt remember it as nvaters that pass away, or are poured out of a vessel, which leave no taste or tincture beliind them, as other liquors do. The wounds of thy present affliction shall be perfectly healed, not only without a remaining scar, but without a remaining pain." Job had endeavoured to forget his complaint, {ch. ix. 27.) but found he could not; his soul had still in remembrance the wormwood arid the gall: but here Zophar puts him in a way to forget it: let him by faith and prayer bring his griefs and cares to God, and leave them with him, and then he shall forget them. Where sin sits heavily, affliction sits lightly. If we duly remember our sins, we shall, in comparison with them, forget our misery; much more if we obtain the comfort of a sealed pardon and a sealed peace. He whose iniquity is forgiven shall not say, I am sick, but forget that, Isa. xxxiii. 24.

4. A comfortable prospect of their future peace. This Zophar here thinks to please Job with, in answer to the mmy despairing expressions he had used, as if it were to no purpose for him to hope ever to see good days again in this world; "Yea, but thou mavest," (says Zophar,) "and good nights too."

A blessed change he here puts him in hopes of.

(1.) That though now his light was eclipsed, it should shine out again, and brighter than ever, v. 17. That even his setting sun should out-shine his noon-day sun, and his evening be fair and clear as the morning, in respect both of honour and pleasure; that his light should shine out of obscurity; (Isa. Iviii. 10.) and the thick and dark cloud, from behind which his sun should break forth, would serve as a foil to its lustre. That it should shine even in old age', and those evil days should be good days to him. Note, They that truly turn to God then begin to shine forth; their path is as the shining light which increases, the period of their day ■will be the perfection of it, and their evening to this •world their morning to a better.

(2.) That though now he was in a continual fear and terror, he should live in a holy rest and security, and find himself continually safe and easy; (x'. 18.) Thou shalt be secure, because there is hope. Note, Those who have a good hope, through grace, in CTod, and of heaven, are certainly safe, j'.nd have reason to be secure, how difflrult soever the times are through which they pass in this world. He that walks uprightly may thus walk surely, because, though there j"-e trouble and danger, yet

there is hope that all will be well at last. Hope i? 071 anchor of the soul, Heb. \ i. 19. "■Thou shalt dig about thee," that is, " Thou shalt be as safe as an aimy in its intrenchments." They thac submi themselves to God's government shall be taken under his protection, and then they are s;ife bi.tli day and night. [1.] By day, when they employ themselves abroad; ''Thou shalt dig in safety, thou -and thy servants for thee, and not be again set upon by the plunderers, who fell upon thy ser, ants at plough," ch. i. 14. It is no part of the promised prosperity, that he should live in idleness, but that he should have a calling and follow it, and, when he was about the business of it, should be under the divine protection; Thou shalt dig and be safe, not rob and be safe; the way of duty is the way of safety. [2.] By night, when they repose themselves at home; Ihou shalt take thy rest (and the sleep of the labouring 7nan is sweet) in safety, notwithstanding the dangers of the darkness. The pillar of cloud by day shall be a pillar of fire by night; "Thou shalt lie down, {v. 19.) not forced to'wander where there is no place to lay thy head on, not forced to watch and sit up in expectation of assaults; but thou shalt go to bed at bed-time, and not only shall none hurt thee, but none shall make thee afraid, or so much as give thee an alarm." Note, It is a great mercy to have quiet nights and undisturbed sleeps; these say so that ai'e within the hearing of the noise of war. And the way to be quiet, is, to seek unto God, and keep ourselves in his love. Nothing needs make those afraid, who return to God as their rest, and take him for their habitation.

(3.) That though now he was slighted, yet he should be courted; " Many shall make suit to thee, and think it their interest to secure thy friendship." Suit is made to those that are eminently wise or reputed to be so, that are very rich, or in power. Zophar knew Job so well, that he foresaw, how low soever this present ebb was, if once the tide turned, it would flow as high as ever, and he would be again the darling of his country. They that rightly make suit to God, will probably see the day when others will make suit to them, as the foolish virgins to the wise, Give us of your oil.

Lastly, Zophar concludes with a brief account of the doom of wicked people; (r. 20.) But the eyes of the ivicked shall fail. It should seem, he suspected that Job would not take his counsel, and here tells him what would then come of it, setting death as well as life before him. See what will come of those who persist in their wickedness, and will not be reformed.

1. They shall not reach the good thev flatter themselves with the hopes of, in this world and in the other. Disappointments will be their doom, their shame, their endless torment. Their eyes shall fail with expecting that which will never come. When a wicked man dieth, his expectation perishes, Prov. xi. 7. Their hope shall be as a puff of breath, (Marg.) vanished and gone, past recall: or their hope will perish and expire as a man does when he gives up the ghost; it will fail them when they have most need of it, and when they expected the accomplishment of it; it will die away, and leave them in utter confusion.

2. They shall not avoid the evil which sometimes they frighten themselves with the apprehension of; they shall not escape the execution of the sentence past upon them; can neither out-brave it, noi outrun it. Those that will not fly to God, will find it in vain to think of flying/rom him.

CHAP. XIT.

In this and the two following chapters, we have Job's answer to Zophar's discourse. In which, as before, he fir^t reasons with his friends, (see ch. 13. 19.) and then turns

JOB xri.

63

to his God, and directs liis expostulations to him, from thence to the end of his discourse. In this chapter, he addresses himself to his friends, and, I. He condemns what they had said of him, and the judgment they had given of his character, v. 1, . 5. II. He contradicts and confronts what they had said of the destruction of wiclfed people in this world, showing- that tiiey often prosper, v. 6 .. II. in. He consents to what they had said of the wisdom, power, and sovereignty, of God, and the dominion of his providence over the children of men and all their affairs; ne confirms this, and enlarges upon it, v. 12 ..25.

1. 4 ND Job answered and said, 2. No /5l doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. 3. But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these ? 4. I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he an-swereth him : the just upright man is laugh-e,d to scorn. 5. He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.

The reproofs Job here gives to his friends, whether they were just or no, were very sharp, and may ser\ e for a rebuke to all that are proud and scornful, and an exposing of their folly.

I. He upbraids them with their conceitedness of themselves, and the good opinion they seemed to have'of their own wisdom in comparison with him; than which nothing is more weak and unbecoming, nor better deserves to be ridiculed, as it is here.

1. He represents them as claiming the monopoly of wisdom, v. 2. He speaks ironically, " JVo doubt, you are the peofile; you think yourselves fit to dictate and give law to all mankind, and your own judgment to be the standard by which every man's opinion must be measured and tried; as if nobody could discern between truth and falsehood, good and evil, but you only; and therefore every top-sail must lower to you, and, right or wrong, we must all say as you say, and you three must be the people, the majority, to have the casting vote." Note, It is a very foolish sinful thing for any to think themselves wiser than all mankind besides, or to speak and act confidently and imperiously, as if they thought so. Nay, he goes further; "You not only think there are none, but that there nvill be none, as wise as you, and therefore that wisdom must die with you, and all the world must be fools when you are gone, and in the dark when your sun is set." Note, It is folly for us to think that there will be any great irreparable loss of us when we are gone, or that we can be ill-spared, since God has the residue of the Spirit, and can raise up others more fit than we are, to do his work. When wise men and good men die, it is a comfort to think that wisdom and goodness shall not die with them. Some think Job here reflects upon Zophar's comparing him (as he thought) and others to the wild ass's colt, ch. xi. 12. " Yes," says he, " 've must be asses, you are the only men."

2. He does himself the justice to put in his claim as a sharer in the gifts of wisdom; {y. 3.) " But I have understanding, a heart, as well as you; nay, I fall not lower than you;" (as it is in the margin;) '• I am as well able to judge of the methods and meanings of the Divine Providence, and to construe the hard chapters of it, as you are." He says not this, to magnify himself; it was no great applause of himself to say, I have understanding as ivell as you; no, nor to sav, "I understand this matter as well as you;" for what reason had either he or they to be proud of understanding that which was obvious and level to the capacity of the meanest; " Yea, •who knows not such things as these? What things

you have said, that are true, are plain truths, and common themes, which there are many that can talk as excellently of as either you or I:" but he says it, to humble them, and check the value they had for themselves as doctors of the chair. Note, (1.) It may justly keep us from being proud of our knowledge, to consider how many there are that know as much as we do, and perhaps much more, and to better purpose. (2.) When we are tempted to be harsh in our censures of those we differ from and dispute with, we ought to consider that they also ha\e understandings as well as we, a capacity of judging, and a right of judging, for themselves; nay, perhaps they are not mferior to us, but iujjerior, arid it is possible that they may be in the right, and we in the wrong; and therefore we ought not to judge or despise them, (Rom. xiv. 3.) nor pretend to be masters, (Jam. iii. 1.) while all we are brethren, Matth. xxiii. 8. It is a very reasonable allowance to be made to all we converse with, all we contend with, that they are rational creatures as well as we. II. He complains of the great contempt with which they had treated him. Those that are haughty and think too well of themselves, are commonly scornful, and ready to trample upon all about them: Job found it so, at least he thought he did; {v. 4.) lam as one mocked. I cannot say there was cause for this charge; we will not think Job's friends designed him any abuse, nor aimed at any thing but to convince him, and so, in the right method, to comfort him; yet he cries out, I am as one mocked. Note, We are apt to call reproofs refiroaches, and to think ourselves mocked when we are but advised and admonished; this peevishness is our folly, and a great wrong to ourselves and to our friends. Yet we cannot but say there was a colour for this charge; they came to comfort him, but they vexed him; gave him counsels and encouragements, but with no great .opinion that either the one or the other would take effect; and therefore he thought they mocked him, and it added much to his grief. Nothing is more grievous to those that are fallen from the height of prosperity into the depth of adversity, than to be trodden on, and insulted o\er, when they are down; and on this head they are too apt to be suspicious. Observe, 1. WViat aggravated this grievance to him. Two things: (1.) That they were his neighbours, his friends, his com])anions, so the word signifies; and the scoflFs of such are often most spitefully given, and always most indignantly received; (Ps. Iv. 12, 13.) It was not an enemy that refiroached me; then I could have slighted it, and so borne it; but it was thou, a man mine equal. (2.) That they were professors of religion, such as called upon God, and said that he answered them; for some understand that of the persons mocking; "They are such as have a regard to Heaven, and an interest in Heaven, whose prayers I would therefore be glad of and thankful for, and whose good opinion I cannot but covet, and therefore whose censures are the more grievous." Note, It is sad that any who call upon (xod should mock their brethren; (Jam. iii. 9, 10.) audit cannot but lie heavily on a good man to be thought ill of by those whom he thinks well of; yet this is no new thing.

2. What supported him under it. (1.) That he had a God to go to, with whom he could lodge his appeal; for some understand those Avords of the person mocked, that he calls ufioyi God, and he answers hi?n; and so it agrees with ch. xvi. 20. Jlfy friends scorn me, but mine eyepoureth out tears to God. If our friends be deaf to our complaints, God is not; if they condemn us, God knows our integri ty; if they make the worst of us, he will make the best of us; if they give us cross answers, he will give us kind ones. (2.) That his case was not singular, but very common: The just upright nmn is

JOB, XII.

laughed to scorn; by many he is laughed at even for his justice and his uprightness, his honesty toward men, and his piety toward God; these are derided as foolish things, which silly people needlessly hamper themselves with: as if religion were a jest, and therefore to be made a jest of. By most he is laughed at for any little infirmity or weakness, notwithstanding his justice and uprightness, without any consideraticin had of that which is so much his lionour. Note, It was of old the lot of honest good people to be despised and derided; we are not therefore to think it strange, (1 Pet. iv. 12.) no nor to think it hard, if it be our lot; so persecuted they not only the prophets, but even the saints of the patriarchal age, Matth. v. 12. And can we expect to fare better than they?

3. What he suspected to be the true cause of it, and that was, in short, this; they were themselves rich and at ease, and therefore they despised him who was fallen into poverty. It is the way of the world, we see instances of it daily; they that prosper are praised, but of them that are going down it IS said, "Down with them." He that is ready to slifi with hiffeet, and fall into trouble, though he has formerly shone as alamj), is then looked upon as a lamp going out, like the snufF of a candle, which we throw to the ground, and tread upon, and is accordingly despised in the thought of him that is at ease, v. 5. Even the just upright man, that is in his generation as a burning and shining light, if he enter into ibmptation, (Ps. Ixxiii. 2.) or come under a cloud, is looked upon with contempt. See here, (1.) What is the common fault of those that live in prosperity ; being full and easy and merry themselves, thev look scornfully upon those that are in want, pain, and sorrow; they overlook them, take no notice of them, and study to forget them. SeePs. cxxiii. 4.) The chief butler drinks wine in bowls, but makes nothing of the afflictions of Joseph. Wealth without grace often makes men thus haughty, thus careless of their poor neighbours. (2.) What is the common fate of those that fall into adversity. Poverty serves to eclipse all their lustre; though they are lamps, yet, if taken out of golden candlesticks, and put, like Gideon's, into earthen pitchers, nobody values them as formerly, but they that live at ease despise them.

6. The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth ahundanthj. 7. But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: 8. Or speak to the earth, and It shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. 9. Who knoweth not in all these, that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this ? 10. In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. 11. Doth not the ear try words ? and the mouth taste his meat ?

Job's friends, all of them, went upon this principle, that wicked people cannot prosper long in this world, but some remarkable judgment or other will suddenly light on them: Zophar had concluded with it, that the eyes of the ivicked shall fail, ch. xi. 20. This principle Job here opposes, and maintains, that God, in disposing men's outward affairs, acts as a Sovereign, reserving the exact distribution of rewards and punishments for the future state.

I. He asserts it as an undoubted truth, that wicked people may, and often do, prosper long in this world, V. 6. Even great sinners may enjoy great

prosperity. Observe, 1. How he describes the sin ners; they are robbers, and such as provoke God, the worst kind of sinners, blasphemers and persecutors; perhaps he refers to the Sabeans and Chaldeans, who had robbed him, and had always lived by spoil and rapine, and yet tliey prospered; all the world saw they did, and there is no disputing against sense; one observation built upon matter of fact is worth twenty notions framed by an hypothesis. Or, more generally. All proud oppressors are robbers and pirates. It is supposed that what is injurious to men, is provoking to God, the Patron of right, and the Protector of mankind. It is not strange, if those that \ iolate the bonds of justice, break thr< ugh the obligations of all religion, bid defiance even to God himself, and make nothing of provoking him. 2. How he describes their prosperity: it is very great; for, (1.) Even their tabernacles prosper, these that live with them, and those that come after them, and descend from them. It seems as if a blessing were entailed upon their families; and that is preserved sometimes to succeeding generations, which was got by fraud. (2.) They are secure, and not only feel no hurt, but fear none, are under no apprehensions of danger, either from threatening providences, or an awakened conscience. But those that provoke God are never the more safe for their being secure. (3.) Into their hand God brings abundantly. They have more than heart could wish, Ps. Ixxiii. 7-They have, not for necessity only, but for delight; not for themselves only, but for others; not for the present only, but for hereafter; and this from the hand of Providence too. God brings plentifully to them; we cannot therefore judge of men's piety by their plenty, nor of what they have in their heart by what they have in their hand.

II. He app)eals even to the inferior creatures foi the proof of this—the beasts, and fowls, and trees, and even the earth itself; consult these, and they shall tell thee; {v. 7, 8.) many a good lesson we may learn from them; but what are they here to teach us.'

1. We may learn from them that the tabemacle& of robbers prosper; so some. For, (1.) Even among the brute creatures, the greater devour the lesser, and the stronger prey upon the weaker, and men are as the fishes of the sea, Hab. i. 14. If sin had not entered, we may suppose there had been no such disorder among the creatures, but the wolf and the lamb had lain down together. (2.) These creatures are serviceable to wicked men, and so they declare their prosperity. Ask the herds and the flocks, to whom they belong, and they will tell yon that such a robber, such an oppressor, is their owner: the fishes and fowls will tell you that they are served up to the tables, and feed the luxury, ol proud sinners: the earth brings forth her fruits to them, {ch. ix. 24.) and the whole creation groans under the burthen of their tyranny, Rom. viii. 20, 22. Note, All the creatures which wicked men abuse, by making them the food and fuel of theii lusts, will witness against them, another day. Jam. v. 3, 4.

2. We may from them leam the wisdom, power, and goodness, of God, and that sovereign domin'on of his, into which plain and self-evident truth all these difficult dispensations must be resolved. Zophar had made a vast mystery of it, ch. xi. 7, "So far from that," (says Job,) "that what we are concerned to know, we may learn even from the inferior creatures; for who knows not from all these? Any one may easily gather from the book of the creatures, that the hand of the Lord has wrought this," (_x>. 9.) that is, "that there is a wise providence which guides and governs all these things by rules which we are neither acquainted with, nor are competent judges of." Note. Fron.

JOB, XII.

fi5

God's sovereign dominion over the inferior creatures, we should learn to acquiesce in all his disposals of the affairs of the children of men, though xoiitrary to our measures.

III. He resolves all into the absolute propriety which God has in all the creatures; (v. 10.) In whose hand is (he soul of every living thing: All the creatures, and mankind particularly, derive their being from him, owe their being to him, depend upon him for the support of it, lie at his mercy, are under his direction and dominion, and '•ntirelv at his disposal, and at his summons must resign their lives. All souls are his; and may he not do what he will with his own? The name Jehovah is used here, {v. 9.) and it is the only time that we meet with it in all the discourses between Job and his friends; for God was, in that age, more known by the name of Shaddai, the Almighty.

Those words, {v. 11.) Doth not the ear try •words, as the mouth tastes meat? may be taken either as the conclusion to the foregoing discourse, or the preface to what follows. The mind of man has as good a faculty of discerning between ti'uth and error, when duly stated, as the palate has of discerning between what is sweet and what is bitter. He therefore demands from his friends a liberty to judge for himself of what they had said; and desires them to use the same liberty in judging of what he had said; nay, he seems to appeal to any man's impartial judgment in this controversy; let the ear try the words on both sides, and it would be found that he was in the right. Note, The ear must try words before it receives them so as to subscribe to them. As by the taste we judge what food is wholesome to the body, and what not, so by the spirit of discerning we must judge what doctrine is sound, and savoury, and wholesome, and what • not, 1 Cor. X. 15.—xi. 13.

12. With the ancw&nt is wisdom; and in length of days understanding. 13. With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding. 14. Behold, he breaketh down, and it caimot be built again; he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. 15. Behold, he with-holdeth the waters, and they dry up; also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. 16. With him is strength and wisdom : the deceived and the deceiver are his. 17. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. 18. He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. 19. He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. 20. He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. 21. He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty. 22. He discover-eth deep things out of darkness, and bring-eth out to light the shadow of death. 23. He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and strait-eneth them again. 24. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the ea.rth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. 25.

Vol. III.—I

They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

This is a noble discourse of Job's concerning the wisdom, power, and sovereignty, of God, in ordering and disposing of all the affairs of the children of men, according to the counsel of his own will, which none dares gainsay, or can resist. Take both him and them out of the controversy in which they were so waimly engaged, and they all spake admirably well;-but in that, we sometimes scarcely know what to make of them. It were well if wise and good men, that differ in their apprehensions about lesser things, would see it to be for their honour and comfort, and the edification of others, to dwell most upon those great things in which they are agreed. On this subject. Job speaks like himself; here are no passionate complaints, no peevish reflections, but every thing masculine and great.

I. He asserts the unsearchable wisdom, and irresistible power, of God. It is allowed that among men there is wisdom and understanding, v. 12. But it is to be found only with some few, with the ancient, and those who are blessed with length of days, who get it by long experience and constant experience; and, when they have got the wisdom, they have lost their strength, and are unable to execute the results of their wisdom: but now with God there are both wisdom and strength, wisdom to design the best, and strength to accomplish what is designed; he does not get counsel and understanding, as we do, by observation, but he has it essentially and eternally in himself, v. 13. What is the wisdom of ancient men compared with the wisdom of the Ancient of days! It is but little that we know, and less that we can do; but God can do every thing, and no thought can be withholden from fiim. Happy they who haN e this God for their God, for they have infinite wisdom and strength engaged for them! Foolish and fruitless are all the attempts of men against

i him, V. 14. He breaketh down, and it cannot be built again. Note, There is no contending with the Divine Providence, nor breaking the measures' of it. As he had said before; {ch. ix'. 12.) He takes away, and who can hinder him? So he says again, What (iod says, cannot be gainsayed, nor what he does, undone. There is no rebuilding what God will have to lie in ruins; witness the tower of Babel, which the undertakers could not go on with; and the desolations of Sodom and Gomorrah, which could ne\er be repaired. See Isa. xxv. 2. Ezek. xxvi. 15. Rev. xviii. 21. There is no releasing of those whom God has condemned to a perpetual imprisonment; if he shut up a man by sickness, reduce him to straits, and embarrass him in his affairs, there can be no opening. He shuts up in the grave, and none can break open those sealed doors; shuts up in hell, in chains of darkness, and none can pass that great gulf fixed.

II. He gives an instance, for the proof of it, in nature, v. 15. He has the command of the waters, binds them as in a garment, (Prov. xxx. 4.) holds them in the hollow of his hand; (Isa. xl. 12.) and he can punish the children of men either by the defect, or by the excess of them: as men break the laws of virtue by extremes on each hand, both defects and excesses, while virtue is in the mean, so God corrects them bv extremes, and denies them the mercy which is in the mean. 1. Great droughts are sometiires great judgments; he withholds the waters, and they dry ufi; if the heaven be as brass, the earth is as iron; if the rain be denied, fountains dr}^ up, and their streams are wanted, fields are parched, and their fruits are wanted, Amos iv. 7. 2. Great wet is sometimes a great judgment; he

JOB, Xll.

:aises the waters, and overturns the earth, the productions of it, the buildings upon it. A sweeping rain is said to leave no food, Prov. xxviii. 3. See how many ways God has of contending with a sinful people, and taking from them abused, forfeited, mercies; and how utterly unable we are to contend with him! If we might invert the order, this verse would fitly refer to Noah's flood, that ever-memorable instance of the divine power. God then, in wrath, sent the waters out, and they overturned the earth; but, in mercy, he withheld them, shut the windows of heaven, and the fountains of the great deep, and then, in a little time, they dried up.

III. He gives many instances of it in God's powerful management of the children of men, crossing their purposes, and serving his own by them and upon them, overruling all their counsels, overpowering all their attempts, and overcoming all their oppositions. What changes does God make with men, what turns does he give to them; how easily, how surprisingly! •

In general, {y. 16.) With him is strength and reason, so some translate it; strength and consistency with himself: it is an elegant word in the original. With him are the very quintessence and extract of wisdom. With him are power and all that is, so some read it. He is what he is himself, and by him, and in him, all things subsist. Having this strength and wisdom, he knows how to make use, not only of those who are wise and good, who willingly and designedly serve him, but even of those who are foolish and bad, who, one would think, could be made no way serviceable to the designs of his providence: the deceived and the deceiver are his; the simplest men that are deceived, are not below his notice, the subtlest men that deceive, cannot, with all their subtilty, escape his cognizance. The world is full of deceit, the one half of mankind cheats the other, and God suffers it, and from both will, at last, bring glory to himself. The deceivers make tools of the deceived, but the great God makes tools of them both, wherewith he works, and none can let him. He has wisdom and might enough to manage all the fools and knaves in the world, and knows how to serve his own purposes by them, notwithstanding the weakness of the one,' and the wickedness of the other. When Jacob by a fraud got the blessing, the design of God's grace was served; when Ahab was drawn by a false prophecy into an expedition that was his ruin, the design of God's justice was served; and in both the deceived and the deceiver were at his disposal. See Ezek. xiv. 9. God would not suffer the sin of the deceiver, nor the misery of the deceived, if he knew not how to set bounds to both, and bring glory to himself out of both. Hallelujah, the Lord God omnifiotent thus reigns; and it is well he does, for otherwise there is so little wisdom, and so little honesty, in the world, that it had all been in confusion and ruin long ago.

He next descends to the particular instances of the wisdom and power of God in the revolutions of states and kingdoms: for thence he fetches his proofs, rather than from the like operations of Providence concerning private persons and families; because the more high and public the station is, in which men are placed, the more the changes that befall them are taken notice of, and, consequently, the more illustriously does Providence shine forth in them. And it is easy to argue. If God can thus turn and toss the great pnes of the earth, like a ball in a large place, (as the projjhet speaks, Isa. xxii. 18.) much more the little ones; and with him, to whom states and kingdoms must submit, it is surely the greitest ma-ine'ss for us to contend. Some think that Job here refers to the extirpation of those

powerful nations, the Rephaim, the Zuzim, the Emim, and the Horites, (mentioned Gen. xi\ 5, 6. Deut. ii. 10. 20.) in which, perhaps, it was particularly noticed, how strangely they were infatuated and enfeebled; if so, it is designed to show, that, whenever the like is done in the affairs of nations, it is God that doeth it, and we must therein observe his so\ ereign dominion, even over those that think themselves most powerful, politic, and absolute. Compare this with that of Eliphaz, ch, v. 12, &c. Let us gather up the particular changes here specified, which God maltes upon peisons, either for the destruction of nations, and the planting of others in their room, or for the turning out of a particular government and ministry, and the elevation of another in its room, which may be a blessing to the kingdom; witness the glorious Revolution in our own land twenty years ago, in which we saw as happy an exposition as ever was given of this discourse of Job s.

1. Those that were wise, are sometimes strangely infatuated; and in that the hand of God must be acknowledged; [y. 17.) He leadeth counsellors away sfioiled, as trophies of his victory over them, spoiled of all the honour and wealth they have got by their policy, nay, spoiled of the wisdom itself for which they have been celebrated, and the success they promised themselves in their projects: his counsels stand, while all their devices are bn ught to nought, and their designs baffled, and so they are spoiled both of the satisfaction and the reputation of their wisdom. He maketh the judges fools: by a work on their minds he deprives them of theii qualifications for business, and so they become really fools; and by his disposal of their affairs he makes the issue and event of their projects to be quite contrary to what they themselves intended, and so he makes them look like fools. The counsel of Ahithophel, one in whom this scripture was remarkably fulfilled, became foolishness, and he, according to his name, the brother of a fool. See Isa. xix. 13, The firinces of Zoan are become fools, they have seduced Egyfit, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof Let not the wise man, therefore, glory in his wisdom, nor the ablest counsellors and judges be proud of their station, but humbly depend upon God for the continuance nf their abilities. Even the aged, who seem to hold their wisdom by prescription, and think they have got it by their own industry, and therefore have an indefeisible title to it, may yet be deprived of it, and often are, by the infirmities of age, which make them twice children; he taketh away the understanding of the aged, v. 20. The aged, who were most depended on for advice, fail those that depended on them. We read of an old and yet foolish king, Eccl. iv. 13.

2. Those that were high and in authority, arc strangely brought down, impoverished, and enslaved; and it is God that humbles them; (v. 18.) He looseth the bond of kings, and taketh from them the power wherewith they ruled their subjects, perhaps enslaved them, and ruled them with rigour,-stnps them of all the ensigns of their honour and authority, and all the supports of their tyranny; unbuckles their belts, so that the sword drops from their side, and then no marvel if the crown quickly drops from their heads; on which, immediately follows the girding of their loins with a girdle, a badge of servitude, for servants went with their loins girt. Thus he leads great princes away si^oiled of all their power and wealth, and that in which they pleased and prided themselves, v. 19. Note, Kings are not exempt from God's jurisdiction. To us thev are gods, but men to him, and subject to more than the common changes of human life.

3. Those that were strong, are strangelv weak-

JOB XIII.

67

ened; and it is God that weakens them, (v. 21.) and overthroivs the mighty, v. 19. Strong bodies are weakened by age and sickness, powerful armies moulder and come to nothing, and their strength will not secure them from a fatal overthrow. No force can stand before Omnipotence, no not that of Go iath.

4. Those that were famed for eloquence, and entrusted with public business, are strangely silenced, and h.ive nothing to say; {v. 20.) He removeth away the f/ieech of the trusty, so that they cannot speak as they intended, and as they used to do, with freedom and clearness, but blunder and falter, and make not.iing of it. Or, they cannot speak what they intended, but the contrary, as Balaam, who blessed those whom he was called to curse. Let not the ui-ator therefore be proud of his rhetoric, nor use it to any bad purposes, lest God take it away, whri made man's mouth.

5. Those th.it were honoured and admired, strangely fall into disgrace; (x". 21.) He fioureth contemfit iifion princes. He leaves them to themselves to do mean tilings, or alters the opinions of men concerning them. If princes themselves dishonour G k1, and despise him, if they do indignities to the people of God, and trample upon them, they shall be lightly esteemed, and God will pour contempt upon them. See Ps. cvii. 40. Commonly, none more abject in themseh es, nor more abused by others when they are down, than those who were haughty and insolent when they were in power.

6. That which was secret, and lay hid, is strangely brought to light, and laid open; {y. 22.) He discovers dec/i thing's out of darkness. Plots closely laid are discovered and defeated; wickedness closely committed, and artfully concealed, is discovered, and the guilty brought to condign punishment; secret treasons, (Eccl. x. 20.) secret murders, secret whoredoms. The cabinet-councils of princes are before God's eye, 2 Kings vi. 11.

7. Kingdoms have their ebbings and Rowings, their waxings and wanings; and both are from God; (f. 23.) He sometimes increases their numbers, and enlarges their bounds, so that they make a figure among the nations, and become formidable; but, after a while, by some undiscerned cause, perhaps, they are destroyed and straitened, made few and poor, cut short, and many of them cut off, and so they are rendered despicable among their neighbours; and they that were the head, become the tail, of the nations. See Ps. cvii. 38, 39.

8. They that were bold and courageous, and made nothing of dangers, are strangely cowed and dispirited; and this also is the Lord's doing; {v. 24.) He takcth 'away the heart of the chief of the peofile, that were their leaders and commanders, and were most famed for their martial fire and great achievements; when any thing was to be done, they were heartless, and ready to flee at the shaking of a leaf. Ps. Ixxvi. 5.

9. They that were driving on their projects with full speedi, are strangely bewildered and at a loss; they know not where they are, nor what they do,

' are unsteady in their counsels, and uncertain in their motions, off and on, this way and that way, wandering like men in a desert, {y. 24.) groping like men in the dark, and staggering like men in drink, v. 25. Isa. lix. 10. Note, God can soon non-plus the deepest politicians, and bring the greatest wits to their wit's end; to show that wherein they deal proudly, he is above them.

Thus are the revolutions of kingdoms wonderfully brought about by an overruling Providence. Heaven and earth are shaken, but the Lord sits King for ever, and with him we look for u kingdom that cannot be shaken.

CHAP. XIII.

Job here comes to make application of what he had said in the foregoing chapter; and now we have him not in so good a temper as he was in then; for, I. He is very bold with his friends, comparing himself with them, notwithstanding the mortifications he was under, y. 1,2. Condemning them for their falsehood, their iorwardness to judgCj their partiality and deceitfulness, under colour of pleading God's cause, (v. 4. . 8) and threatening them with the judgments of God for their so doing, (v. 9 . . 12.) desiring them to be silent, (v. 5, 13, 17.) Ard, turning from them to God, v. 3. II. He is very bold with his God. I. In some expressions, his faith is very bold, yet that is not more bold than welcome, v. 15, 16, 18. But, 2. In other expressions, his passion is rather too bold in expostulations with God concerning the deplorable condition he was in, (v. 14, 19, &c.) complaining of the confusion he was in, (v. 20 .. 22.) and the loss he was at to find out the sin that provoked God thus to afflict him; and, in short, of the rigour of God's proceedings against him, v. 23.. 28.

I. T O, mine eye hath seen all this., mine jLA ear hath heard and understood it. 2. What ye know, the same do I know also: 1 am not inferior unto you. 3. Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. 4. But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value. 3. Oh that you would altogether hold your peace ! and it should be your wisdom. 6. Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips. 7. Will you speak wickedly for God ? and talk deceitfully for him ? 8. Will ye accept his person ? will ye contend for God ? 9. Is it good thai he should search you put ? or, as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him ? 10. He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons. 11. Shall not his excellency make you afraid ? and his dread fall upon you? 12. Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.

Job here warmly expresses his resentments of the unkindness of his friends.

I. He comes up with them as Cne that understood the matter in dispute as well as they, and did not need to be taught by them, v. 1, 2. They compelled him, as the Corinthians did Paul, to commend himself and his own knowledge, yet not in a way of self-applause, but of self-justification. All he had said before, his eye had seen confirmed by many instances, and his ear had heard seconded by many authorities, and he well understood it, and what use to make of it. Happy they, who do not only see and hear, but understand, "the greatness, glory, and sovereignty, of God. This, he thought, would justify what he had said before, {ch. xii. 3.) which he repeats here; {v. 2.) ** JVhat ye know, the same do I know also, so that I need not come to you to be taught; lam not inferior unto you in wisdom." Note, Those who enter into disputation, enter into temptation to magnify themselves, and vilify their brethren, more than is fit, and therefore ought to watch and pray against the workings of pride. ,v,

n. He turns from them lb God; {v. 3.) Surely I would speak to the Abnighty; as if he had said. '* I can promise myself no satisfaction in talking to you; O that I might have liberty to reason with God! He would not be so hard upon me as ycu are,"* The prince himself will perhaps give au-

JOB, XIII.

dience to a poor petitioner with more mildness, patience, and condescension, than the servants will. Job would rather argue with God himself than with his friends. See here, 1. What confidence they have toward God, whose hearts coiyiemn them not of reigning hypocrisy: they can, with humble boldness, appear before him and appeal to him. 2. What comfort they have in God, whose neighbours unjustly condemn them: if they may not speak to them with any hopes of a fair hearing, yet they may speak to the Almighty, they have easy access to him, and shall find acceptance with him.

III. He condemns them for their unjust and uncharitable treatment of him, v. 4. 1. They falsely accused him, and that was unjust; Ye are forgers of lies. They framed a wrong hypothesis concerning the Divine Providence, and misrepresented it, as if it did never remarkably afflict any but wicked men in this world; and from thence they drew a false judgment concerning Job, that he was certainly a hypocrite. For this gross mistake, both in doctrine and application, he thinks an indictment of forgery lies against them. To speak lies is bad enough, though but at second hand, but to forge them with contrivance and deliberation is much worse: yet against this wrong neither innocency nor excellency will be a fence. 2. They basely deceived him, and that was unkind. They undertook his cure, and pretended to be his physicians, but they were all physicians of no value; "idol-physicians, who can do me no more good than an idol can." They were worthless physicians, who neither understood his case, nor knew how to prescribe to him; mere empirics, who pretended to great things, but in conference added nothing to him—^he was never the wiser for all they said. Thus, to broken hearts and wounded consciences, all creatures, without Christ, are physicians of no value, on which one may spend all, and be never the better, but rather grow worse, Mark v. 26.

IV. He begs they would be silent, and give him a patient hearing, v. 5, 6. 1. He thinks it would be a credit to themselves, if they would say no more, having said too much ah-eady; " Hold your fieace, and it shall be your ivisdom, for thereby )^ou will conceal your ignorance and ill-nature, which now appear in all you say." They pleaded that they could not forbear speaking; {ch. iv. 2.—xi. 2, 3.) but he tells them that they had more consulted their own reputation, if they had enjoined themselves silence. Better say nothing than nothing to the purpose, or that which tends to the dishonour of God, and the grief of our brethren. Even a fool, when he holds his fieace, is counted wise, because nothing appears to the contrary, Prov. xvii. 28. And as silence is an evidence of wisdom, so it IS a means of it, as it gives time to think and hear. 2. He thinks it would be a piece of justice to him, to hear what he had to say; Hear novj my reasoning. Perhaps, though they did not interrupt him in his discourse, yet they seemed careless, and did not much heed what he said; he therefore begs they would not only hear, but hearken. Note, We should be verv willing and glad to hear what those have to say for themselves, whom, upon any account, we are tempted to have hard thoughts of. Many a man, if he cculd but be fairly heard, would be fairly acquitted, even in the consciences of those that run him down.

V. He endeavours Jo convince them of the wrong they did to God's honour, while they pretended to ])lead for him, v. 7{Sl*- They valued themselves upon it, that they spaKe^for God, were advocates for him, and had undertaken to justify him and his proceedings against Job. And being (as they thought) of counsel for the Sovereign, they expected not only the ear of the court, and the last

word, but judgment on their side. But Job tells them plainly, 1. That God and his cause did not need such advocates; "Will you think to contend for God, as if his justice were clouded, and wanted to be cleared up, or as if he were at a loss what to say, and wanted you to speak for him? Will you, who are so weak and passionate, put in for the honour of pleading God's cause.""' Good work ought not to be put into bad hands. Will you accept hia fierson? If those who have not right on their side, carry their cause, it is by the partiality of the judge in favour of their persons; but God's cause is so just, that it needs no such methods for the support of it. He is a God, and can plead for liimseU"; (Judg. vi. 31.) and if you were for e\er silent, the heavens would declare his righteousness. 2. That God's cause suffered by such management. Under pretence (f justifying God in afflicting Job, they magisterially condemn him as a hypocrite and a bad man. "This" (says he) "is speaking wickedly," (for uncharitableness and censoriousness are wickedness, great wickedness; it is an offence to God to wrong our brethren,) " it is talking deceitfully, for you condemn one whom yet perhaps your own consciences, at the same time, cannot but acquit. Your principles are false, and your arguings fallacious; and will it excuse you, to say. It is for God?" No, for a good intention will not justify, much less will it sanctify, a bad word or action. God's truth needs not our lie, nor God's cause either our sinful policies or our sinful passions. The wrath of man works not the righteousness of God, nor may we do evil, that good may come, Rom. iii. 7, 8. "Pious frauds (as they call them) are impious cheats; and devciit persecutions horrid profanations of the name of God, as theirs who hated their brethren, and cast them out, saying. Let the Lord be glorified, Isa. Ixvi. 5. John xvi. 2.

VI. He endeavours to possess them with a feiir of God's judgment, and so to bring them to a better temper. Let them not think to impose upon God as they might upon a man like themseh es, nor expect to gain his countenance in their bad practices, by pretending a zeal for him ond his honour. " As one man mocks another by flattering him, do you think so to mock him and d'eceiv e him?" Assuredly, those who think to put a cheat upon God, will prove to have put a cheat upon themselves; Be not deceived, God is not mocked.

That they might not think thus to jest with God, and affront him, he would have them to consider both God and themselves, and then they would find themselves unable to enter into judgment with him.

1. I^et them consider what a God he is, into whose service they had thus thrust themselves, and to whom they really did so much disservice, and inquire whether they could give him a good account of what thev did.

Consider,' (1.) The strictness rf his scrutiny and inquiries concerning them; (f. 9.) ".Is it good that he should search yoti out? Can you bear to ha\ e the principles looked into, which you go upi n in your censures, and to have the bottom of the matter found out?" Note, It concerns us all seriously to consider whether it will be to our advantage or no, that God searches the heart. It is good to an upright man, who means honestly, that God should search him, therefore he prays'for it; Search me, O God, and know my heart. God's omniscience is a witness of his sincerity; but it is bad to him who looks one wav and rows another, that God should search him o'ut, and lay him open to his confusion,

(2.) The severity of his rebukes and displeasure against them; (r.'lO.) If ye do accept fierson.^, though but secretly and in heart, he will surebi vr prove you; he will be so far from being pleased with vo\ir censures of me, tho\igh under rnh ur of

JOB, XIII.

C9

vindicating him, that he will resent them as a great jjrovocation, hs any prince or great man would, if a base action were done under the sanction of his name, and under the colour of advancing his interest." N(,ite, What we do amiss, we shall certainly be reproved for, one way or other, one time or other, though it be done ever so secretly.

(3.) The ternn- of his majesty, which, if they would duly stand in awe of, they would not do that which would make them obnoxious to his wrath; {v. 11.) " Shall not /lis excellency make you afraid? You that ha\ e great knowledge of God, and profess religion and a fear t.f him, how dare you talk at this rate, and give yoursel.es so great a liberty of speech? Ought ye not to ivalk and talk in the fear of God? Nell. v. 9. Should not his dread fall ufion you, and give cheek to your passions?" Methinks, Job speaks this as one that did himself know the terror of the Lord, and lived in a holy fear of him, whate\'er his fi-iends suggested to the contraiy. Note, [1.] There is in (iod a dreadful excellency. He is the most excellent Being, has all excellencies in himself, and in each infinitely excels any creature. His excellencies in themselves are amiable and lovely. He is the most beautiful Being; but, considering man's distance from God by nature, and his detection and degeneracy by sin, his excellencies are dreadful. His power, holiness, justice, yea, and his goodness too, are dreadful excellencies. They shall fear the Lord and his goodness. [2.] A holy awe of this dreadful excellency should fall up^n us, and make us afraid. This would awaken impenitent sinners, and bring them to repentance, and would influence all to be careful to please him, and afraid of offending him.

2. Let them consider themselves, and what an unequal match they were for this great God; {x>. 12.) "Your remembrances (all that in you for which you hope to be remembered when you are gone) are like unto ashes, worthless and weak, and easily trampled on and blown away; your bodies are like bodies of clay, mouldering and coming to nothing; your memories, you think, will survive your bodies; but, alas! they are like ashes which will be shovelled up with your dust." Note, The consideration of our own meanness and mortality should make us afraid of offending God, and is a good reason why we should not despise and trample upon our brethren. ■* Bishop Patrick gives another sense of this verse: "Your remonstrances on God's behalf are no better than dust, and the arguments you accumulate, but like so many heaps of dirt."

13. Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will. 14, Wherefore do T take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand ? 15. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. 16. He also shall be my salvation: for a hypocrite shall not come before him. 17. Hear diligently my speech and my declaration with your ears. 18. Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified. 19. Who zs he ^Aa^ will plead with me ? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost. 20. Only do not two things unto me; then will I not hide myself from thee. 21. Withdraw thy hand far from me; and let not thy dread make me afraid: 22. Then call thou, and I

will answer; or let me speak, and answer thou me.

Job here takes hold, fast hold, of his integrity, as one that was resolved not to let it go, nor suffer it to be wrested from him: his firmness in this matter is commendable, and his warmness excusable.

I. He entreats his friends and all the company to let him alone, and not inteirupt him in what he was about to say, (t;. 13.) but diligently to hearken to it, V. 17. He would have his own protestation to be decisive, for none but God and himself knew his heart; " Be silent, therefore, and let me hear no more of you, but hearken diligently to what I say, and let my own oath for confirmation be an end of the strife."

II. He resolves to adhere to the testimony his own conscience gave of his integrity; and though his friends called it obstinacy, that should not shake his constancy; "I will speak in my own aefence, and let come on me what will, v. 13. Let my friends put what construction they pilease upon it, and think the worse of me for it, I hope God will not make my necessary defence to be my o/fence, as you do: he will justify me, (f. 18.) and then nothing can come amiss to me." Note, Those that are upright, and have the assurance of their uprightness, may cheerfully welcome every event. Come what will, bene firse/iaratum pectus — they are ready for it. He resolves {v. 15.) that he will maintain his own ways; he will never part with the satisfaction he had in having walked uprightly with Gcd; but, though he could not justify every word he had spoken, yet, in the general, his ways were good, and he would maintain it; and why should he not, since that was his great support under his present exercises, as it was Hezekiah's, A^ow, Lord, remember how I have walked before tfiee! Nav, he would n(t only not betray his own cause, oi- give it up, but he would openly avow his sincerity, fc t-, {v. 19.) "If I hold my tongue, and do not speak for myself, my silence now will for ever silence me, for I shall certainly give up the ghost," v. 19. " If I cannot be cleared, yet let me be eased by what I sav," as Elihu, ch. xxxii. 17, 20.

ill. He complains rf the extremity cf pain and misery he was in; {x>. 14.) Wherefore do J take my flesh in my teeth? That is, 1. "Why do I suffer such agonies? I cannot but wonder that God should lay so much upon me, when he knows I am not a wicked man." He was ready, not only to rend his clothes, but even to tear his flesh, through the greatness of his affliction, and saw himself at the brink of death, and his life in his hand, yet his friends could not charge him with any enormous crime, nor could he himself discover any; no marvel then that he was in such confusion. 2. "Why do I stifle and smother the protestations of my in-nocency?" When a man with great difficulty keeps in what he would say, he bites his lips: "Now," says he, " why may not I take liberty to speak, since I do but vex myself, add to my torment, and endanger my life, by refraining?" Note, It would vex the most patient man, when he has lost every thing else, to be denied the comfort (if he deserves it) of a good crnscience and a good name.

IV. He comforts himself in God, and still keeps hold of his confidenj[:e in him. Obserxe here,

1. What he dep|^nds u pj|^ God for: Justification and Salvation, the two S^H things we hope for through Christ. (1.) Jufl^Etion; {y. 18.) I have ordered my cause, a'nd,^^|Pthe whole matter, I know that I shall be iust'Jied. This he knew, because he knew that his Redeemer lived, ch. xix. 25. They whose hearts are upright with God, in walking not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, may be

JOB, XIII.

sure that through Christ there shall be no condemnation to them, but that, whoever lays any thing to their charge, they shall be justified. (2.) Salvation; {v. 16.) He also shall be my salvation. He means it not of temporal salvation, he had little expectation of that, but, concerning his eternal salvation, he was very confident that God would not only be his Saviour to make him happy, but his Salvation, in the vision and fruition of whom he should be happy. And the reason why he depended on God for salvation, is, Because a hypocrite shall not come before him. He knew himself not to be a hypocrite, and that none but hypocrites are rejected of God, and therefore concluded he should not be rejected. Sincerity is our evangelical perfection, nothing will ruin us but the want of that.

2. With what constancy he depends upon him; Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him, v. 15. This is a high expression of faith, and what we sliould all labour to come up to; to trust in God, though he slay us. That is, we must be well pleased with God as a Friend, e\ en then when he seems to come forth against us as an Enemy, ch. xxiii. 8--10. We must believe that all shall work for good to us, e\en then when all seems to make against us, Jer. xxiv. 5. We must proceed and persevere in the way of our duty, though it costs us uU that is dear to us in this world, even life itself, Heb. xi. 35. We must depend upon the peiform-aiice of the promise, when all the ways leading to it are shut up, Rom. i\. 18. We must rejoice in Ciod, when we have nothing else to rejoice in, and cleave to him, yea, though we cannot for the present find comfort in him. In a dying hour, we must derive from him li\ ing comforts; and this is to trust in him, though he slay us.

V. He wishes to argue the case even with God himself, if he might but have leave to settle the preliminaries of the treaty, v. 20«'22. He had desired {v. 3.) to reason with God, and is still of the same mind; he will not hide himself, that is, he will not decline the trial, nor dread the issue of it, but under two provisos, 1. That his body might not be tortured with this exquisite pain; *' Withdraw thine hand far from me; for, while I am in this extremity, I am fit for nothing. I can make a shift to talk with my friends, but I know not how to address myself to thee." When we are to converse with God, we have need to be composed, and as free as possible from every thing that may make us uneasy. 2. That his mind might not be terrified with the tremendous majesty of God; *'Let not thy dread make me afraid; either let the manifes-.ations of thy presence be familiar, or let me be enabled to bear them without disorder and disturbance." Moses himself trembled before God, so did Isaiah and Habakkuk; O God, thou art terrible even in thy holy places. "Lord," says Job, '• let me not be put into such a consternation of spirit, together Avith this bodily affliction, for then I must certainly drop the cause, and shall make nothing of it." See what a folly it is for men t(. put off their repentance and conversion to a sick-bed, and a death-bed! How can even a good man, much less a bad man, reason with God, so as to be justified before him, when he is upon the rack of pain, and under the terror of the arrests of death? At such a time, it is very bad to have rfhe great work to do, but very comfortable trf have it done, as it was to Job, who, if he migl^But havA a little breathing time, was ready eithe^H^ Td near God speaking to him by his won^^^K-eturn an answer; Call thou, and I will ans^^mr, (2.) To speak to him by prayer, and expect an answer; Let me speak, and answer thou me, v. 22. Compare this with ch. ix. 34, 35. where he speaks to the same purport. In short, the badness of his case was at present such

a damp upon him, as he could not get over; othei wise he was well assured of the goodness c;f hi^ cause, and doubted not but to have the comfort of it at last, when the present cloud was over. With such holy boldness may the upright come to the throne of grace, not doubting but to find mercy there.

23. How many are mine iniquities and sins ! make me to know my transgression and my sin. 24. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy ?

25. Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro ? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble ?

26. For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth. 27. Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet. 28. And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth-eaten.

Here,

I. Job inquires after his sins, and begs to have them discovered to him: he looks up to God, and asks him what was the number of them; How many are mine iniquities, and what the particulars (f them.'* Make me to know my transgressioyis, v. 23. His friends were ready enough to tell him how nu merous and how heinous they were, ch. xxii. 5. " But, Lord," says he, *• Let me know them from Thee, for thy judgment is according to truth, theirs is not." This may be taken, either, 1. As a passionate complaint of hard usage, that he was punished for his faults, and yet was not told what his faults were. Or, 2. As a prudent appeal to God from the censures of his friends; he desired that all his sins might be brought to light, as knowing they would then appear not so many, nor so mighty, as his friends suspected him to be guilty of. Or, 3. As a pious request, to the same purport with that which Elihu directed him to; ch. xxxiv. 32, 'J'hat which I see not, teach thou me. Note, A true jjeni-tent is willing to know the worst of himself; and we should all desire to know what our transgressions are, that we may be particular in the confessic n (^f them, and on our guard against them for the future.

II. He bitterly complains of God's withdrawings from him; {y. 24.) Wherefore hidest thcu thy face'^ This must be meant of something more than h'S outward afflictions; for the loss of estate, children, health, might well consist with God's lo\ e; when that was all, he blessed the name of the Lord; but his soul was also sore vexed, and that is it which he here laments. 1. That the favours of the Almighty were suspended; God hid his face as one strange to him, displeased with him, shy and" regardless of him. 2. That the terrors of the Almighty were inflicted and impressed upon him; God held him for his Enemy; shot his arrows at him, (ch. vi. 4.) and set him as a mark, ch. vii. 20. Note, The holy God sometimes denies his favours, and discovers his terrors, to the best and dearest of his saints and servants in this world. This case occurs, not only in the production, but sometimes in the progress, of the divine life; evidences fi^- heaven are eclipsed, sensible communions interrupted, dread of divine wrath impressed, and the returns of comfort, for the present, despaired of, Ps. Ixxvii. 7- -9.—Ixxxviii. 7,15,16. These are grievous burthens to a gracious soul, that values God's loving-kindness as better than life, Prov. XA'iii. 14. ./f wounded spvu

JOB. XIV.

71

w.nc can bear? Job, by asking here, Why hidest thou thy facc'^ teaches us, that when, at any time, we are uiidei' tiie sense of (rod's withdravvings, we are concerned to inquire into the leason of them; what is the sin for which he corrects us; and what the good he designs us. Job's sufferings weie typical of the sufferings of Christ, from whom not only men hid their faces, (Isa. liii. o.) but God hid his. Witness the darkness which surrounded him on the cross, when he cried out, My God, my God, •why hast thou forsaken me? If this were done to tliese green trees, what shall be done to the dry.-" They will for ever be forsaken.

III. He humbly pleads with God his own utter inability to stand before him: (xf. 25.) "'■Wilt thou break a leaf, fiursue the dry stubble? Lord, is it for thine honour to trample upon one that is down already? Or to crush one that neither has, nor pretends to, any power to resist thee?" Note, We ought to have such an apprehension of the goodness and compassion of God, as to believe that he will not break the bruised reed, Matth. xii. 20.

IV. He sadly complains of God's severe dealings with him: he owns it was for his sins that God thus contended with him, but thinks it hard,

1. That his former sins, long since committed, should now be remembered against him, and he should be reckoned with for the old scores; {tj. 26.) Thou ivritest bitter things against me. Afflictions are bitter things; writing of them denotes deliberation and determination, written as a warrant for execution; it denotes also the continuance of his affliction, for that which is written remains, and, ** Herein thou makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth," that is, " thou punishest me tor them, and thereby puttest me in mind of them, and obligest me to renew my repentance for them." Note, (].) God sometimes writes very bitter things against the best and dearest of his saints and servants, both in outward afflictions and inward disquiet; trouble in body and trouble in mind, that he may humble them and prove them, and do them good in their latter end. (2.) That the sins of youth are often the smart of age, both in respect of sorrow within, (Jer. xxxi. 18, 19.) and suffering without, ch. XX. 11. Time does not wear out the ^uilt of sin. (3.) That when God writes bitter things against us, his design therein is, to make us possess our iniquities, to bring forgotten sins to mind, and so to bring us to remorse for them, as to break us off from them. This is all the fruit, to take away our sin.

2. That his present mistakes and miscarriages should be so strictly taken notice of, and so severely animadverted upon; (t'. 27.) "Thou flattest my feet also in the stocks, not only to afflict me, and expose me to shame, not only to keep me from escaping the strokes of thy wrath, but that thou mayest critically remark all my motions, and look narrowly to all my paths, to correct me for every false step, nay, for but a look awry, or a word misapplied; nay, thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet, sc(>rest down every thing I do amiss, to reckon for it; or, no sooner have I ti-odden wrong, though ever so little, than immediately I smart for it; the punishment treads upon the very heels of the sin. Guilt, both of the oldest and of the freshest date, is put together, to make up the cause of my calamity." No^y, (1.) It was not true that God did thus seek advantages against him; he is not thus extreme to mark what we do amiss; if he were, there were no abiding for us, Ps. cxxx. 3. But he is so far from this, that he deals not with us according to the desert, no not of our manifest sins which are not found by secret search, Jer. ii. 34. This therefore was the language of Job's melancholy; his sober thoughts never represented God thus as a

i hard Master. (2.) But we should keep such a

I strict and jealous eye as this upon oursehesand

our cAvn steps, both for the discovery of sin j)ast,

and the prevention of it for the futui e. It is good

for us ;dl to ponder the path of our feet.

V. He finds himself wasting away apace under the heav}' hand of God, v. 28. He, that is, man, as a rotten thing, the principle of whose putrefaction is in itself, consumes, even like a moth-eaten garment, ^vhich becomes continually worse and worse. Or, He, that is, God, like rottenness, and like a moth, consumes me. Compare this with Hos. v. 12. / will be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness: and see Ps. xxxix. 11. Note, Man, at the best, wears fast; but, under God's rebukes especially, he is soon gone. While there is so little soundness in the soul, no marvel there is so little soundness in the flesh, Ps. xxxviii. 3.

CHAP. XIV.

Job had turned from speaking to his friends, finding: it to no purpose to reason with them, and here goes on to speak to God and himself. He had reminded his friends of their frailty and mortality; (ch. xiii. 12.) here he reminds himself of his own, and pleads it with God for some mitigation of his miseries. We have here an account, I. Of man's life, that it is, I. Short, v. 1. 2. Sorrowful, v. 2. 3. Sinful, V. 4. 4. Stinted, v. 5, 14. II. Of man's death, that it puts a final period to our present life, to which we shall not a^ain return,v. 7. . 12. That it hides us from the calamities of life; (v. 13.) destroys the hopes of life; (v. 18, 19.) sends us away from the business of life; (v. 20.) and keeps us in the dark concerning our relations in this life, how much soever we have formerly been in care about them, v. 21, 22. III. The use Job makes of all this. 1. He pleads it with God, who, he thought, was too strict and severe with him; (v. 16, 17.) begging that, in consideration of his frailty, he would not contend with him; (v. 3.) but grant him some respite, v. 6. 2. He engages himself to prepare for death, (v. 14.) and encourages himself to hope that it would be comfortable to him, v. 15. This chapter is proper for funeral solemnities; and serious meditations on it will help us both to get good by the death of others, and to get ready for our own.

1- T^MT^N that is born of a woman is of 1tJ_ few clays, and full of trouble. 2. He Cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down : he fleeth also as a shadow, and con-tinueth not. 3. And dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one, and bringest me into judgment with thee ? 4. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? not one.

5. Seeing liis days are determined, the number of his months are with thee ; thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass:

6. Turn from him that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day.

We are here led to think,

I. Of the original of human life; God is isdeed its great Original, for he breathed into man the breath of life, and in him we live; but we date it from our biith, and thence we must date both its frailty and its pollu tion. 1 Its frailty; Man, that is born of a ivomaii^j^tfgmdore of few days, v. 1. It may refer to ^'^^ J^^^B|h ^^'^ was called Eve, because she wa^^HBlTOie\)f all living-: of her, who, being decel^ByLthe tdtoter, was first in the transgression, we l||H|H||9»d consequently derive from her that^BBP|Fruptinn which'both, shorten our days, and sadcTen them. Or it may refer to every man's immediate mother. The woman is the weaker vessel, and we know that Partus se-quitur ventrem — The child takes after the mother.

JOB, XIV.

Lei not the strong man therefore glory in his strength, or in the strength of his father, but remember that he is born of a woman, and that, when God pleases, the mighty mtn become as women, Jer. li. 30. 2. Its pollution; {v, 4.) JVho can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? If man be born of a woman that is a sinner, how can it be otherwise than that he should be a sinner? See ch. xxv. 4, HoTV can he be clean that is born of a ivoman? Clean children cannot come from unclean parents, any more tlian pure streams from an impure spring, or grapes from thorns. Our habitual corruption is derived, with our nature, from our parents, and is therefore bred in the bone: our blood is not only attainted by a legal conviction, but tainted with an hereditary disease. Our Lord Jesus, being made sin for us, is said to be made of a woman. Gal. iv. 4.

IL Of the nature of human life; it is a flower, it is a shadow, i;. 2. The flower is fading, and all its beauty soon withers and is gone. The shadow is fleeting, and its very being will soon be lost and drowned in the shadows of the night: of neither do we make any account, in neither do we put any confidence.

in. Of the shortness and uncertainty of human life; man is of few days. Life is computed, not by months or years, but by days, for we cannot be sure of any day but that it may be our last. These days are few, fewer than we think of; few, at the most, in comparison with the days of the first patriarchs, much more, in comparison with the days of eternity; but much fewer to most, who come short of what we call the age of man. Man sometimes no sooner comes forth, than he is cut down, comes forth out of the womb, than he dies in the cradle, comes forth into the world and enters into the business of it, than he is hurried away as soon as he has laid his hand to the plough. If not cut down immediately, yet it flees as a shadow, and never continues in one stay, in one shape, but the fashion of it passes away: so does this world and our life in it, 1 Cor. vii. 31.

IV. Of the calamitous state of human life; man, as he is short-lived, so he is sad-li\ ed. Though he had but a few days to spend here, yet if he might rejoice in those few, it were well; (a short life and a merry, is the boast of some;) but it is not so; during these few days, he is full of trouble, not only troubled, but full of trouble, either toiling or fretting, grieving or fearing; no day passes without some vexation, some hurry, some disorder or other. They that are fond of the'world, shall have enough of it. He is satur tremore^ull of commotion. The fewness of his days creates him a continual trouble and uneasiness in expectation of the period of them, and he always hangs in doubt of his life. Yet since man's days are so full of trouble, it is well that tliey arc few, that the soul's imprisonment in the body, and banishment from the Lord, are not perpetu il, are not long. When we come to heaven, our davs will be many, and perfectly free from trouV)lc, and, in the mean time, faith, hope, and lovcHbalance the present grievances.

V. Of the sinfulness of human life, arising from the sinfulness of the human nature. So some understand that question; (y. 4.) Who can bring a clean thing out of an un clean? A clean performance from an unclean princJaMM|^|e, actual transgressions are the natural OTHJ!|SPMtl>itual corruption; which is therefore ('.'aitcn onginM?^\\, because it is the original of alljfur sins. 'Thrfholv Job here laments, as all that^re sanctpBWo, running up the streams to the fouXaiiMjsEff li. 5.) and some think he intends it as a plea witli God for compassion; "Lord, be not extreme to mark my sins of human frailty and infirmity, for thou knowest my weakness;'0 remember that I amjleah." The Chaldee

paraphrase has an observable reading of this verse-, Who can make a man clean, that is polluted with sin? Cannot one? that is, God. Or who but God, who is one, and will sfiare him? God, by his almighty grace, can change the skin of the Ethiopian, the skin of Job, though clothed with worms.

VI. Of the settled period of human life, v. 5. We are here assured, 1. That our life will come to an end; our days upon earth are not numberless, are not endless, no, they are numbered, and will soon be finished, Dan. v. 26. 2. That it is deter mined, in the counsel and decree of God, how long we shall live, and when we shall die. The number of our months is with God, at the disposal of his power which JTannot be controlled, and under the view of his omniscience which cannot be deceived. It is certain that God's providence has the ordering of the period of our lives, our times are in his hand, the powers of nature depend upon him, and act under him; in him we live and move, diseases are his servants, he kills and makes alive, nothing comes to pass by chance, no not the execution done by a bow drawn at a venture; it is therefore certain that God's prescience has determined it before, for known unto God are all his works. Whatever he does, he determined, yet with a regard partly to the settled course of nature, (the end and the means are determined together,) and to the settled rules of moral government, punishing evil, and rewarding good, in this life; we are no more governed by the Stoic's blind fate than by the Epicurean's blind fortune. 3. That the bounds God has fixed, we cannot pass, for his counsels are unalterable, his foresight being infallible.

These considerations Job here urges as reasons,

(1.) Why God should not be so strict in taking cognizance of him, and of his slips, and failings; {v. 3.) "Since I have such a corrupt nature within, and am liable to so much trouble, which is a constant temptation from without, dost thou open thine eyes and fasten them upon such a one, extremely to mark what I do amiss? ch. xiii. 27. And dost thou bring me, such a worthless worm as I am, into judgment with thee who art so quick-sighted to discover the least failing, so holy to hate it, so just to condemn it, and so mighty to punish it?" I'he consideration of our own inability to contend with (iod, of our own sinfulness and weakness, should engage us to pray. Lord, enter not into judgment with thy servant.

(2.) Whv he should not be so severe in his dealings with him; "Lord, I have but a little time to live, I must certainly and shortly go hence, and the few days I have to spend here are, at the best, full of trouble. O let me have a little respite, v. 6. Turn from afflicting a poor creature thus, and let him rest a while; allow him some breathing time, until he .thall accomplish, as a hireling, his day. It is appointed to me once to die, let that one day suffice me, and let me not thus be continually dying, dying a thousand deaths. Let it suffi.ce th it my life, at best, is as the day of a hireling, a day of toil and labour; I am content to accomplish that, and will make the best of the common hardships of human life, the burthen and heat of the day; but let me not feel those uncommon tortures, let not my life be as the dav of a malefactor, all exerution-dav." Thus may we find some relief under gi-eat troubles by recommending ourselves to the compassion of that God who knows our frame, will consider it, and our being out of frame too.

7. For there is hope of a tree, if it he cut down, that it will sprout a£:ain, and that the tender hranch thereof will not cease. 8 Though the root thereof wax old in the

JOB, XIV.

73

earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; 9. Yel through the scent of water It will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. 10. But man dieth, and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is hel 11. As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up; 12. So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. 1.3. Oh that thou wouldest h\d§ me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! 14. If a man die, shall Ue Wve again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. 15. Thou shalt call; and I will answer thee : thou wilt have a desire to the work of thy hands.

We have seen what Job has to say concerning life, let us now see what he h;!S to say concerning death, which his thoughts were veiy much conversant with, now that he was sick and sore. It is not unseasonable, when we are in health, to think of d) 'ng; but it is an inexcusable incogitancy, if, when we are already taken into the custody of death's messengers, we look upon it as a thing at a distance. Job had already showed that death will come, and that its hour is already fixed. Now here he shows,

1. That death is a removal for ever out of this world. This he had spoken of before, (cA. vii. 9, 10.) and now he mentions it again: for though it be a truth that needs not be proved, yet it needs to be much considered, that it may be duly jwproved.

1. A man cut down by death, will not revive again, as a tree cut down will. What hope there is of a tree, he shows very elegantly, v. 7"9. If the body of the tree be cut down, and only the stem or stump left in the ground, though it seem dead and dry, yet it will shoot out young boughs again, as if it were but newly planted. The moisture of the earth and the rain of heaven are, as it were, scented and perceived by tlie stump of a tree, and they have an influence upon it to revive it: but the dead bodv of a man would not perceive them, nor be in the least affected by them. In Nebuchadnezzar's dream, when his being deprived of the use of his reason was signified by the cutting down of a tree, his retnvn to it again was signified by the leaving of the stump in the earth, with a band of iron and brass, to be ivct with the dew of heaven. Dan. iv. 15. But man has no such prospect of a return to life. The vegetable life is a cheap and easy thing, the scent of water will recover it; the animal life, in some insects and fowls, is so, the heat of the sun retrieves it; but the rational soul, when once retired, is too great, too noble, a thing to be recalled by any of the powers of nature; it is out of the reach of sun or rain, and cannot be restored but by the immediate operations of Omnipotence itself; for, (t'. 10.) Man dieth and wasteth away; yea, man giveth ufi the ghont, and where is he? Two words are here used for man. Geber, a mighty man, though mighty, dies; yidam, a man of the earth, because earthy, gives up the ghost. Note, Man is a dying creature; he is here described by what occurs, (1.) Before death; he wastes away, he is continually wasting, dying daily, spending upon the quick stock of life; sickness and old age are wasting things to the flesh, the strength, the beauty. (2.) In death; he gives up the ghost, the soul leaves

Vol. Ill—K

the body, and returns to God who gave it, the Father of spirits. (3.) jlfter death; Where is he.' He is not where he was, his place knows him no more; but. Is he nowhere? So some read it. Yes, he is somewhere; and it is a very awful consideration to think where they are that have given up the ghost, and where we shall be, when we give it up, It is gone to the world of spirits, gone into eternity, gone to return no more to this world.

2. A man laid down in the gra\ e will not rise up again, v. 11, 12. Every night, we lie down to sleep, and in the morning, we awake and rise again; but, at death, we must lie down in the grave, not to awake or rise again to such a world, such a state, as we are now in, never to awake or arise until the heavens, the faithful measures of time, shall be no more, and, consequently, time itself shall come to an end, and be swallowed up in eteinity; so that the life of man may fitly be compared to the waters of a land-flood, which spread far and make a great show, but they are shallow, and, when they are cut off from the sea or river, the swelling and overflowing of which was the cause of them, they soon decay and dry up, and their place knows them no more. The waters of life are soon exhaled, and disappear; the body, like some of those waters, sinks and soaks into the earth, and is buried there; the soul, like others of them, is drawn upward, to mingle with the waters above the firmament. The learned Sir Richard Blackmore makes this also to be a dissimilitude; if the waters decay and be dried up in the summer, yet they will return again in the winter; but it is not so with the life of man. Take part of his paraphrase in his own words:

A flowing river, or a standing lake, May their dry banks and naked sliores forsake ; Their waters may exhale and upward move, Their channel leave to roll in clouds ;ibove ; But the reluming winter will restore What in the summer Ihey had lost bel'ore: But if, O man, thy vital stieanis desert Their purple channels, and defraud the heart, With frcBli recruits they ne'er will be supply'd, Nor feel their leaping life's returning tide.

11. That yet ther^ will be a return of man to life again in another world, at the end of time, when the heavens are no more. Then they shall awake, and be raised out of their sleep. The resurrection of the dead was, doubtless, an article of Job's creed, as appears, ch. xix. 26. and to that, it should seem, he has an eye here; where, in the belief of that, we have three things:

1. An humble petition for a hiding-place in the grave, i'. 13. It was not only in a passionate weariness of this life, that he wished to die, but in a pious assurance of a better life, to which, ''t length, he should arise. O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave! The grave is not only a resting-place, but a hiding-place, to the people of God. God has the key of the grave, to let in now, and to let out at the resurrection. He hides men in the grave, as we hide our treasure in a place of secrecy and safety; and he who hides will find, and nothing shall be lost. "O that thou wouldest hide me, not only from the storms and troubles of this life, but foPthe bliss and glory of a better life; let me lie in the grave, reserved for ipimortalitv, in secret from all the world, but not from thee, not from those eves which

saw my substance in the lowest fiar^ \5, 16. There 1 fiast. As long as' grave, so long the which they were b are under some of the

body is raised, it is wholly past; death, the last enemy, will then be totally destroyed. (2.) Until the set time comes for my being remembered, as Noah was remembered in the ark, (Gen. viii. 1.) where

rst curi'^usly wrought

•arth," Ps. cxxxix.

Utitil thy wrath be

he saints lie in the

tins of that wrath

n of, so long they

sin; but when the

God not only hid him from the destruction of the old world, but reserved him for the reparation ot a new world. The bodies of the saints shall not be forgotten in the gra\ e; there is a time appointed, a time set, for their being inquired after. We cannot be sure that we shall look through the darkness of our present troubles, and see good days after them in this world; but if we can but get well to the grave, we may with an eye of faith look through the darkness of that, as Job here, and see better days on the other side it, in a better world.

2. A holv resolution patiently to attend the will of God both in his death and in his resurrection; {v. 14.) If a man die, shall he live agaitJ all (he days of my afifiointed time will I wait until my change come. Job's friends proving miserable comforters, he set himself to be the more his own comforter; his case was now bad, but he pleases himself with the expectation of a change. I think it cannot be meant of his return to a prosperous condition in this world. His friends indeed flattered him with the hopes of that, but he himself all along despaired of it. Comforts founded upon uncertainties, at best, m\ist needs be uncertain comforts; and therefore, no doubt, it is something more sure than that which he here bears up himself with the expectation of. The change he waits for must, therefore, be understood, either, (1.) Of the change of the resurrection, when the vile body shall be changed, (Phil. iii. 21.) and a great and glorious change it will be; and tlien that question. If a man die, shall he live again? must be taken by way of admiration. "Strange! Shall these dry bones hve! If so, all the time appointed for the continuance of the separation between soul and body, my separate soul shall wait until that change comes, when it shall be united again to the body, and my flesh also shall rest in hofie," Ps. xvi. 9. Or, (2.) Of the chance at death. " If a man die, shall he live again? No, not such a life as he now lives; and therefore I will patiently wait until that change comes, which will put a period to my calamities, and not impatiently wish for the anticipation of it, as I have done." Observe here, [1.] That it is a serioMs thing to die, it is a work by itself. It is a cliange; there is a visible change'in the body, its appearance altered, its actions brought to an end, but a greater change with the soul, which quits the body, and removes to the world of spirits, finishes its state of probation, and enters upon that of retribution. This change will come, and it will be a final change, not like the transmutations of the elements, which return to their former state. No, we must die, not thus to live again. It is but once to die, and that had need be well done that is to be done but once. An error here is fatal, conclusive, and not again to be rectified. [2.] That therefore it is the duty of every one of us to wait for that change, and to continue waiting all the days of our appointed time. The time of life is an appointed time; that time is to be reckoned by days, and those days are to be spent in waiting for our change. That is. First, We must expect that it will come, and think much of it. Secondly, We must desire that it would come, as those "that long to be with Christ. Thirdly, We must be willing to tarry until it does come, as those that believe God's time to be the best. Fourthly, We must give dilig^|Mh^et ready against it comes, that it mayjAniyPsB^hange to us.

3. A joyful expa^Bon of blijp and satisfaction in this; (x>. 15.) Tli^HgJ0|B[^//, and I wi/l answer thee. NoN^^^^^^^PPR* such a cloud, that he could not, he a|HPi^»^swer; {ch. ix. 15, 35.

xiii. 22.) l)ut he comforted himself with this, that

there would come a time when God would call, and he should answer; then, that is, (1.) At the resurrection; "Thou shalt call me out of the grave, by

the voice of the archangel, and I will answer, and come at the call." The body is the work of God'n hands, and he will have a desire to that, having prepared a glory for it. Or, (2.) At death; " Thou shalt call my body to the grave, and my soul to thyself, and I will answer. Ready, Lord, ready, coming, coming; here I am." Gracious souls can cheerfully answer death's summons, and appear to his writ. Their spirits arc not forcibly required from them, (as Luke xii. 20.) but willingly resigned by them, and the earthly tabernacle not violently pulled down, but voluntarily laid down; with this assurance, "Thou wilt have a desire to the work of thy hands; thou hast mercy in store for me, not only as mad# by thy providence, but new-made by thy grace; otherwise he that made them will not save the?n. Note, Grace in the soul is the work of God's own hands, and theiefoie he will not forsake it in this world, (Ps. cxxxviii. 8.) but will have a desire to it, to perfect it in the other, and to crown it with endless glory.

16. For now thou numberest my steps, dost thou not watch over my sin? 17. My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity. 18. And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of'his place. 19. The waters wear the stones: thou washest -away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. 20. Thou prevailest for ever against him; and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. 21. His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them. 22. But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.

Job here returns to his complaints; and though he is not without hope of future bliss, he finds it very hard to get over his present grievances.

I. He complains of the particular hardships he apprehendfed himself under from the strictness of God's justice, v. 16, 17. Therefore he longed to go hence to that world where God's wrath will be past, because now he was under the continual tokens of it, as a child, under the severe discipline of the rod, longs to be of age. "When shall my change come? For now thou seemest to me to number my steps, and watch over my sin, and seal it up in a bag, as bills of indictment are kept safe, to be produced against the prisoner." See Deut. xxxii. 34. "Thou takest all advantages against me, old scores are called over, every infirmity is animadverted upon, and no sooner is a false step taken, than I am beaten for it." Now, 1, Job does right to the divine justice, in owning that he smarted for his sins and transgressions, that he had done enough to deserve all that was laid upon him; for there was sin in all his steps, and he was guilty of transgression enough to bring all this ruin upon him, if it were strictly inquired into: he is far from saving that he perishes being innocent. But, 2. He does wrong to the divine goodness, in suggesting that God was extreme tc mark what he did amiss, and made the worst of eveiT thing: he spake to this pui-port, ch. xiii. 27. It was unadvisedly said, and therefore we will not dwell too much upon it. God does indeed see all our sins, he sees sin in his own people, but he is not severe in reckoning with us, nor is the law ever stretched against us, but we are

JOB, XV

punished less than our iniquities deserve. God does indeed seal and sow up, against the day of wrath, the transgression of the impenitent, but the 'sins of his people he blots out as a cloud.

II. He complains of the wasting condition of mankind in general: we live in a dying world; who knows the fiower of God's anger, by ivhich we are consumed and troubled, and in which all our days are passed away? See Ps. xc. 7--9, 11. And who can bear up against his rebukes? Ps. xxxix. 11.

1. We see the decays of the earth itself. (1.) Of the strongest parts of it, v. 18. Nothing will last always, for we see even mountains moulder and come to nought, they wither and fall as a leaf, rocks wax old and pass away by the contintal beating of the sea against them. The waters wear the stones with constant dropping, 7ion vi, sed scs/ie cadendo — not by the violence, but by the consta?icy, with which they fall. On this earth every thing is the worse for the wearing; Temfias edax rerum — Time devours all things. It is not so with the heavenly bodies. (2.) Of the natural products of it: the things which grow out of the earth, and seem to be firmly rooted in it, are sometimes, by an excess of rain, washed away, v. 19. Some think he pleads this for relief: "Lord, my patience will not hold out always, even rocks and mountains will fail at last; therefore cease the controversy."

2. No marvel, then, if we see the decays of man upon the earth, for he is of the earth, earthy. Job begins to think his case is not singular, and therefore he ought to reconcile himself to the common lot. We perceive by many instances, (1.) How vain it is to expect much from the enjoyments of life; " Thou destroyest the hope of man," that is, " puttest an end to all the projects he had framed, and all the prospects of satisfaction he had flattered himself with." Death will be the destruction of all those hopes which are built upon worldly confidences, and confined to worldly comforts. Hope in Christ, and hope \\\ heaven, death will consummate, and not destroy.

(2.) How vain it is to struggle against the assaults of death; (x;. 20.) Thou prevailest for ever against him. Note, [1.] Man is an unequal match for God; whom God contends with, he will certainly prevail against, prevail for ever against, so that they shall never be able to make head again. [2. ] The stroke of death is irresistible; it is to no purpose to dispute its summons; God prevails against man, and he passes away, and, lo, he is not. Look upon a dying man, and see,

First, How his looks are altered. Thou changest his countenance, two ways. 1. By the disease of his body. When a man has been a few days sick, what a change is there in his countenance! How much more when he has been a few minutes dead! The countenance which was majestic and awful, becomes mean and despicable; that which was lovely and amiable, becomes ghastly and frightful: Bury my dead out of my sight. Where then is the admired beauty? Death changes the countenance, and then sends us away out of this world, gives us one dismission hence, never to return. 2. By the discomposure of his mind. Note, The approach of death will make the strongest and stoutest to change countenance; it will make the most merry smiling countenance to look grave and serious, and the most bold daring countenance to look pale and timorous.

Secondly, How little he is concerned in the affairs of his family, which once lay so near his heart. W'hen he is in the hands of the harbingers of death, suppose struck with a palsy or apoplexy, or deliiious '\n a fever, or in conflict with death, tell him then

76

he perceives it not, v. 21. He is going to that world where he will be a perfect stranger to all those thmgs which here filled and affected him. 1 he consideration of this should moderate our cares concerning our children and families. God will know what comes of them when we are gone, to him therefore let us commit them, with him let us leave them, and not burthen ourselves with needless, fruitless, cares concerning them.

Thirdly, How dreadful the agonies of death are; (x-. 22.) While his flesh is upon him, (so it may be read,) that is, the body he is so loath to lay down. It shall have pain; and while his soul is within him, that is, the spirit he is so loath to resign, it shall mourn. Note, Dying work is hard work; dyine pangs are, commonly, sore pangs. It is folly, there-tore, for men to defer their repentance to a deathbed, and to have that to dc, which is the one thin? needful, when they are really unfit to do any thingi but it IS true wisdom, by making our peace with God in Christ, and keeping a good conscience, to treasure up comforts which will support and relieve us against the pains and sorrows of a dying hour.

... V. »^ . ._. , ^,. ... ^v^.....vvv .. .u.i .^.^(.fcVll, VV^»» XXltll tllCIl

the most agreeable, news, or the most painful, concerning his children, it is all alike, he knows it not, I

CHAP. XV.

Perhaps Job was so clear, and so well satisfied, in the <rood-ness of his own cause, that he thought if he had norcon-vinced, yet he had, at least, silenced^ all his three friends • but, it seems, he had not; in this chapter, they be-rin a second attack upon him, each of them chargino-^'him alresh, with as much vehemence as before. It is n'atural to us to be fond of our own sentiments, and therefore to be firm to them, and with difficulty to be brouo-ht to recede from them. Eliphaz here keeps close to the princi-pies upon which he had condemned Job, and I He reproves him for justifying himself, and fathers on him many evil things which are unfairly inferred from thence V. 2. .13. II. He persuades him to humble himsell be' lore Uod, and to take shame to himself, v. 14 .. 16. Ill He reads him a long lecture concerning the woeful es^ tate ol wicked people, who harden their hearts ao-ainst C>od and the judoments which are prepared for them v 17 . ,35. A good use may be made both of his reproofs, u u ^ ^'"^ plain,) and of his doctrine, (for ii is sound,) though both the one and the other are misapplied to Job.

1. ^HEN answered Eliphaz the Tema-

X nite, and said, 2. Sliould a wise ♦ man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind ? 3. Should he reason with unprofitable talk ? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good ? 4. Yea, thou easiest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God. 5. For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. 6. Thine own mouth con demneth thee, and not I; yea, thine owu hps testify against thee. 7. Art thou the first man ihat was born ? or wast thou made before the hills ? 8. Hast thou heard the secret of God ? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? 9. What knowest thou, that we know not ? what understandest thou, which is not in us ? 10. With us are both the gray-headed and very aged men, much elder than tby father. 11. Are the consolations of GM small with thee ? is there any secret th!j% with jfiee ? 12. Why doth thy heart cany thee, away ? and what do thine eyes- wink at, 13. That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth ? 14. What

JOB, XV.

IS man, that he should be clean ? and he ivliicli is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? 15. Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight: 16. How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drink-eth iniquity like water ?

Eliphaz here falls very foul upon Job, because he contradicted what he and his colleagues had said, and did not acquiesce in it, and applaud it, as they expected. Proud people are apt thus to take it very much amiss, if they may not have leave to dictate and give law to all about them, and to censure those as ignorant and obstinate, and all that is naught, who cannot, in every thing, say as they say.

Several great crimes Eliphaz here charges Job with, only because he would not own himself a hvpocrite.

I. He charges him with folly and absurdity; (v. 2, 3.) That whereas he had been reputed a wise man, he had now quite forfeited his reputation; any one would say that his wisdom was departed from him, he talked so extravagantly, and so little to the purpose. Bildad began thus, {ch. viii. 2.) and Zo-phai-. ch. xi. 2, 3. It is common for angry disputants thus to represent one another's reasonings as impertinent and ridiculous, more than there is cause, forgetting the doom of him that calls his brother liaca, and Thou Fool. It is true, 1. That there is in the world a great deal of vain knowledge, science falsely so called, that is useless, and therefore worthless. 2. That this is the knowledge that puffs up, with which men swell in a fond conceit of their own accomplishments. 3. That whatever vain knowledge a man may have in his head, if he would be thought a wise man, he must not utter it, but let it die with himself, as it deserves. 4. Unprofitable talk is evil talk: we must give an account, m the great day, not only for -wicked words, but for idle words. Speeches, therefore, which do no good, which do no service either to God or our neighbour, or no justice to ourselves, which are no way to the use of edifying, were better unspoken. Those words which are as wind, light and empty, especially which are as the east wind, hurtful and pernicious, it will be wrong to fill either oursehes or others with, for they will pass very ill in the account. 5. Vain knowledge and unprofitable talk ought to be reproved and checked, especially in a wise man, whom it worst becomes, and who does most hurt by the bad example of it.

II. He charges him with impiety and irreligion; (v. 4.) " 77ioii easiest off fear," that is, "the fear of God, and that regard to him which thou shouldest have; and then thou restrainest prayer." See what religion is summed up in—fearing God, and praying to him; the former the most needful principle, the latter the most needful practice. Where no fear of God is, no good is to be expected; and those who live without prayer, certainly li\e without (iod in the world. Those who restrain prayer, prove that they cast off fear. Surely those ha\ e no reverence of Clod's majesty, no dread of his wrath, and are in no care about their souls and eternity, who make no applications to God for his grace. Those who are prayerless, are fearleaf 4p^ graceless. When the fear of God is cast o^^ll sin is let in, and a door open to all rnanner of wijofaneness. It is especially bad with tlilie who'^ave had some fear of God, but have now cast it off, have been frequent in prayer, but now restrain it. How are they fallen! How is their first love lost! It denotes a kind of force put upon thcmseh es. The fear of God would cleave to them, but they throw it off; prayer would

be uttered, but thev restrain it, and, in brth, baffle their convictions. Those who either omit prayer, or straiten and abridge themselves in it, quenching the spirit of adoption, and denynig themselves the' liberty they might take in the duty, restrain prayer: this is bad enough, but it is worse to restrain ethers from prayer, to prohibit and discourage prayer, as Darius, Dan. vi. 7.

Now Eliphaz charges this upon Job, either, 1. As that which was his own practice. He thought that Job talked of God with such liberty as if he had been his equal, and that he charged him sc vehemently with hai'd usage of him, and chullenged him so often to a fair trial, that he had quite thrown off all religious regard to him. This charge was utterly false, and yet wanted not some colour. We ought not only to take care that we keep up prayer and the fear of God, but that we never drop any unwary expressions, which may give occasion to those who seek occasion to question our sincerity and constancy in religion. Or, 2. As that which others would infer from the doctrine he maintained. " If this be true," (thinks Eliphaz,) "which Job says, that a man may be thus sorely afflicted, and yet be a good man, then farewell all religion, farewell prayer and the fear of God. If all things come alike to all, and the best men may have the worst treatment in this world, every one will be ready to say. It is vain to serve God; and ivhat pro-Jit is it to keep, his ordinances? (Mai. iii. 14.) Verily I have cleansed my hands in vain, (Ps. Ixxiii. 13, 14.) Who will be honest, if the tabernacles of robbers prosper? (ch. xii. 6.) If there be no forgiveness with God, {ch. vii. 21.) who will fear him? (Ps. cxxx. 4.) If he laugh at the trial of the innocent, {ch. ix. 23.) if he be so difficult of access, {ch. ix. 32.) who will pray to him?" Note, It is a piece of injustice, which even wise and good men are too often guilty of, in the heat of disputation, to charge upon their adversaries those consequences of their opinions, which are not fairly drawn from them, and which really they abhor. This is not doing as we would be done by.

Upon this strained inuendo Eliphaz grounds that high charge of impiety; {v. 5.) Thy mouth utters thine iniquity, teaches it, so the word is. "Thou teachest others to have the same hard thoughts of God and religion that thou thyself hast." It is bad to break even the least of the commandments, but worse to teach men so, Matth. v. 19. If we ever thought evil, let us lay our hand upon our mouth to suppress the evil thought, (Prov. xxx. 32.) and let us by no means utter it, that is putting an imprimatur to it, publishing it with allowance, to the dishonour of God, and the damage of others. Obser\ e. When men have cast off fear and prayer, theii mouths utter iniquity. They that cease to do good, socn learn to do evil. What can we expect but all manner of iniquity from those that arm nnt themselves witli the grace of God against it? But, thou choosest the tongue of the frq/?t/, that is, "Thru utterest thine iniquity with some show and pretence of piety, mixing some good words with the bad, as tradesmen do with their wares to help them off." The mouth of iniquity could not do so much mis chief as it does, without the tongue of the craft\ The sei-pent beguiled E\e through his subtilt ,• Rom. xvi. 18. The tongue of the crafty speaks with design and deliberation; and therefore the> that use it may be said to choose it, as that which will serve their purpose better than the tongue of the upright: but it will be found, at last, that ho nesty is the best policy.

Eliphaz, in his first discourse, had proceeded against Job upon mere surmise; (ch, iv, 6, 7.) but now he has got proof against him from his own discourses; {v. 6.) Thine own mouth condemns theCt

JOB, XV.

77

n7id not I. But he should have considered that he and his fellows had provoked him to say that which now they took advantage of; and that was not fair. Those are most eifectually condemned, tiiat are condemned by themselves, Tit. iii. 11. Luke xix. 22. Many a man needs no more to sink him, than for his own tongue to fall upon him.

in. He charges him with intolerable arrogancy ;ind self-conceitedness. It was a just, and reasonable, and modest, demand that Job had made; {ch. xii. 3.) AUonv that 1 have understaTiding as well as you: but see how they seek occasion against him; that is misconstrued, as if he pretended to be wiser than any man. Because he will not grant to them, tliey will have it thought that he claims to himself, the monopoly of wisdom, x'. 7* '9. As if he thought he had tlie advantage of all mankind, 1. In length of acquaintance with the world, which furnishes men with so much the more experience; "jirt thou the first man that was born, and, consequently, senior to us, and better able to give the sense of antiquity, and the judgment of the tirst and earliest, tiie wisest and purest, ages? Art thou prior to Adam?" (So it may be read.) " Did not he suffer for sin; and yet wilt not thou, who art so great a sufferer, own thyself a smner? JVast thou made before MeA/7/s, as Wisdom herself was? (Prov.viii. 23, occ.) Must God's counsels, which are as the great mountains, (Ps. xxxvi. 6.) and immoveable as the everlasting hills, be subject to thy notions, and bow to them? Dost thou know more of the world than any of us do? No, thou art but of yesterday, even as we are," ch. viii. 9. Or, 2. In intimacy of acquaintance with God; {v. 8.) "■Hast thou heard the secret of God? Dost thou pretend to be of the cabinet-council of Heaven, that thou canst gi\ e better reasons than others can for God's proceedings?" There are secret things of God, which belong not 11 us, and which, therefore, we must not pretend to account for: those are daringly presumptuous who do. He also represents him, (1.) As assuming to himself such knowledge as none else had; "Dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself, as if none were wise besides?" Job had said, {ch. xiii. 2.) What ye know, the same do I know also; and now they return upon him, according to the usage of eager disputants, who think they have a privilege to commend themselves; What knowest thou that we know not? How natural are such replies as these, in the heat of argument! But how simple do they look afterward, upon the review! (2.) As opposing the stream of antiquity, a venerable name, under the shade of which all contending parties strive to shelter themselves; " With us are the gray-headed, and very aged men, v. 10. We have the fathers on our side; all the ancient doctors of the church are of our opinion." A thing soon said, but not so soon proved; and, when proved, truth is not so soon discovered and proved by it, as most people imagine. David preferred right scripture-knowledge before that of antiquity; (Ps. cxix. 100.) / understand more than the ancients, because I keep, thy firecepts. Or perhaps one or more, if not all three, of these friends of Job, were elder than he, {ch. xxxii. 6.) and therefore they thought he was bound to acknowledge them to be in the right. This also serves contenders to make a noise with, to very little purpose. If they are elder than their adversaries, and can say they knew such a thing before they were born, it will serve to make them arrogant and overbearing; whereas the eldest are not always the wisest, ch. xxxii. 9.

IV. He charges him with a contempt of the counsels and comforts that were given him by his friends; {v. 11.) Are the consolations of God small with thee? 1. Eliphaz takes it ill that Job did not value the cctiforts, which he and his friends admi-

nisterea to him, more than it seems he did, and did not welcome every word they said as true and important. It is true, they had said some very good things, but, in their application to Job, thev were miserable comforters. Note, We are apt to think that gieat and considerable, which we oursehes say, when others perhaps, with good reason, think it small and trifling. Paul found that those who seemed to be somewhat, yet, in conference, added nothing to him. Gal. ii. 6. 2. He represents tliis as a slight put upon divine consolations in general, as if they were of small account with him, whereas really they were not: if he had not highly valued them, he could not have borne up as he did under his sufferings. Note, (1.) The consolations of God are not in themselves small. Divine comforts are great things, that is, the comfort which \% from God, especially the comfort which is in God. (2.) The consolations of God not being small in themselves, it is very bad if they be small with us. It is a great affront to God, and an evidence of a degenerate, atpraved, mind, to disesteem and undervalue spiritual delights, and despise the pleasant land. "What!" (says Eliphaz,) "is there any secret thing with thee? Hast thou some cordial to support thyself with, that is a Proprium, an Arcanum, that no body else can pretend to, or knows any thing of?" Or, " Is there some secret sin harboured and indulged in thy bosom, which hinders the operation of divine comforts?" None disesteem divine comforts but those that secretly affect the world and the flesh. i V. He charges him with opposition to God himself, and to reUgion; (x*. 12, 13.) " Why doth thine heart carry thee away into such indecent, irreligious, expressions?" Note, Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust. Jam. i. 14. If we fly off from God and our duty, or fly out into any thing amiss, it is our own heart that carries us away. If thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it. There is a violence, an ungovernable impetus, in the turnings of the soul; the corrupt heart carries men away, as it were, by force, against their convictions. "What is it that thine eyes wink -At} Why so careless and mindless of what is said to thee, hearing it as if thou wert half asleep? Why so scornful, disdaining what we sav, as if it were below thee to take notice of it? What have we said, that deserves to be thus slighted > Nay, that thou turnest thy spirit against God.?" It was bi'd that his heart was carried away from God, t)ut much worse that it was turned against God. But they that forsake God will soon break out in open enmity to him. But how did this appear? "Thou lettest such words go out of thy mouth, reflc'-.ting on God, and his justice and goodness." It is the character of the wicked, that they set their ?nouth against the heavens, (Ps. Ixxiii. 9.) which is a certain indication that the spirit is turned against God. He thought Job's spirit was soured against God, and so turned from what it had been, and exasperated at his dealings with him. Eliphaz wanted candour and charity, else he would not have put such a harsh construction upon the speeches of one that had such a settled reputation for piety, and was now in temptation. This was, in effect, to give the cause on Satan's side, and to own that Job had done as Satan said he would, had ciosed God to his face.

VI. He charges hinj with justifying himself to that degree as even to deny his sharein the common corruption and pollution of. the human nature, {v. 14.) What is man, that he should be clean? that is, that he should pretend to be so, or that an<5 should expect to find him so. What is he, that is born of a woman, a sinful woman, that he should be righteous? Note, 1. Righteousness is cleanness;

JOB, XV.

it makes us acceptable to God, and easy to ourselves, Ps. xviii. 24. 2. Man, in his fallen state, cannot pretend to be clean and righteous before God, either to acquit himself to God's justice, or recommend himself to his favour. 3. He is therefore to be adjudged unclean and unrighteous, because born of a woman, from whom he derives a corrupt nature, which is both his guilt and his pollution. With these plain truths Eliphaz thinks to convince Job, whereas he had just now said the same; (ch. xi\. 4.) Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? But does it therefore follow that Job is a hypocrite, and a wicked man, which is all that he denied.' By no means. Thougli man, as born of a woman, is not clean, yet, as born again of the Spirit, he is. Further to evince this, he here shows, (1.) That the brightest creatures aie imperfect and impure before God, v. 15. God places no confidence in saints and angels; he employs both, but trusts neither with his service, without giving them fresh supplies of strength and wisdom for it, as knowing they are not sufficient of themselves, neither more nor better than his grace makes them. He takes no complacency in the heavens themselves. How pure soever they seem to us, in his eye they have many a speck and many a flaw; The heavens are not clean in his sight. If the stars (says Mr. Caryl) have no light in the sight of the sun, what light has the sun in the sight of God? See Isa. xxiv. 23.

(2.) That man is much more so; {v. 16.) Hotv much more abominable and filthy is man.' If saints ai-e not to be trusted, much less sinners. If the hea\ens are not pure, which are as God made them, much less man, who is degenerated. Nay, he is abominable and filthy in the sight of God, and, if ever he repent, he is so in his own sight, and therefore he abhors himself. Sin is an odious thing, it makes men hateful. The body of sin is so, and is therefore called a dead body, a loathsome thing. Such is the filthiness of man, that he drinks iniquity (that abominable thing which the Lord hates) as greedily, and with as much pleasure, as a man drinks water when he is thirsty. It is his constant di-ink; it is natural to sinners to commit iniquity. It gratifies, but does not satisfy, the appetites of the old man. It is like water to a man in a dropsy. The more men sin, the more they would sin,

17. 1 will show thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare; 18. Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it: 19. Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them. 20. The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor. 21. A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. 22. He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword. 23. He wandereth abroad for bread, saying., Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready nt his hand. 24. Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. 25. For he strotrheth out his hand against God, and strengthcnoth himself against the Almighty. 26. He runneth upon him, even

on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers; 27. Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fal on his flanks. 28. And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, v\hich are ready to become heaps. 29. He shall not be rich, neither shall liis substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth. 30. He shall not depart out of darkness : the flame shall diy up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away. 31. Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity; for vanity shall be his recompense. 32. It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green. 33. He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive. 34. For the congregation of hypocrites shall he desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery. 35. They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.

Eliphaz, having reproved Job for his answers, here comes to maintain his own thesis, upon which he built his censure of Job. His opinion is. That those who are wicked are certainly miserable; whence he would infer, that those who are miserable are certainly wicked, and that therefore Job was so. Observe,

I. His solemn preface to this discourse, in which he bespeaks Job's attention, which he had little reason to expect, he having given so little heed to, and put so little value upon, what Job had said; {y. 17.) "I will show thee that which is worth hearing, and not reason, as thou dost, with unprofitable talk." Thus apt are men, when they condemn the reasonings of others, to commend their own. He promises to teach him, 1. From his own experience and observation; " That which I have myself seen in divers instances, I will declare." It ib of good use to take notice of the providences of God concerning the children of men, from which many a good lesson may be learned. What gord observations we have made, and ha\ e found benefit by ourselves, we should be ready to communicate for the benefit of others: and we may then speak boldly, when we declare what we have seen. 2. From the wisdom of the ancients, {y. 18.) ivhich wise men have told from their fathers. Note, The wisdom and learning of the modems are ^ ery much derived from that of the ancients. Good children will learn a good deal from their good parents: and what we have learned from our ancestors we must transmit to our posterity, and not hide from the generations to come. See Ps. Ixxviii. 3--6. If the thread of the knowledge of many ages be cutoff by the carelessness of one, and nothing be done to pre serve it pure and entire, all that succeed, fare the worse. The authorities Eliphaz vouched, were authorities indeed, men of rank and figure, (t. 19.) unto whom alone the earth was given, and therefore you mav svippose them fiivourites (>f Heaven, and best capable of making observations concerning the affairs of this earth. The dictates of wisdom come with advantage from those who are in places of dignity and power, as Solomon; yet there is a wisdom vjhich none of the firinces of this world knew, 1 Cor. ii. 7, 8. II. The discourse itself. He here aims to show

JOB, XV.

79

1. Th?.t those who are wise and good do ordinarily prosper in this world. This he only hints at, c 19. That those of whose mind he was, were such as had the earth given to them, and to them only; they enjoyed it entirely and peaceably, and no stranger passed among them, either to share with them, or to give disturbance to them. Job had said. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked, ch. ix. 24. "No," says Eliphaz, " it is given into the hands of the saints, and runs along with the faith committed unto them. And they are not robbed and plundered by strangers and enemies making inroads upon them, as thou art by the Sabean's and Chaldeans." But because many of God's people have remarkably prospered in this world, as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it does not therefore follow, that those who are crossed and impoverished, as Job, are not God's people.

2. That wicked people, and particularly oppressors, and tyrannizing rulers, are subject to continual terrors, live very uncomfortably, and perish very miserably. On this head he enlarges, showing that even they who impiously dare God's judgments, yet cannot but dread them, and will feel them at last. He speaks in the singular number, the wicked man, meaning, as some think, Nimrod, or perhaps Che-dorlaomer, or some such mighty hunter before the Lord. I fear he meant Job himself, whom he expressly charges both with the tyranny, and with the timorousness, here described, ch, xxii. 9, 10. Here he thinks the application easy, and that Job might, in this description, as in a glass, see his own face. Now,

(1.) Let us see how he describes the sinner who lives thus miserably. He does not begin with that, but brings it in as a reason of his doom, v. 25.•28. It is no ordinary sinner, but one of the first rate, an nfi/iressor, {v. 20.) a blasfihemer, and a fiersecutor, one that neither fears God, nor regards man.

[1.] He bids defiance to God, and to his authority and power, v. 25. Tell him of the divine law, and its obligations; he breaks those bonds asunder, and will not have, no not him that made him, to restrain him or rule over him. Tell him of the divine wrath, and its terrors; he bids the Almighty do his worst, he will have his will, he will have his way, in spite of him, and will not be controlled by law, or conscience, or the notices of a judgment to come. He stretches out his hand against God, in defiance of him, and of the power of his wrath. God is indeed out of his reach, but he stretches out his hand against him, to show, that, if it were in his power, he would ungod him.

This applies to the audacious impiety of some sinners, who are really haters of God, (Rom. i. 30.) and whose carnal mind is not only an enemy to him, but enmity itself, Rom. viii. 7. But, alas! the sinner's malice is as impotent as it is impudent; what can he do? He strengthens himself (he would be valiant, so some read it) against the Almighty; he thinks with his exorbitant despotic power to change times and laws, (Dan. vii. 25.) and, in spite of Providence, to carry the day for rapine and wrong, clear of the check of conscience. Note, It is the prodigious madness of presumptuous sinners, that they enter the lists with Omnipotence. Woe unto him that strives with hi<i IVTaker. That is generally taken for a further description of the sinner's daring presumption; (x'. 26.) He m.-is ufion him, upon God himself, in a direct opposition to him, to his precepts and providences, even upon his neck, as a desperate combatant, wher t*^ finds himself an unequal match for his adversary, flies in his face, though, at the same time, he tails on his sword's point, or the shai-p spike of his buckler. Sinners, in general, run from God; but the presumptuous sinner, who sins with a high hand, runs ufion him.

fights against him, and bids defiance to him; and it is easy to foretell what will be the issue.

[2.] He wraps himself up in security and sensuality; {v. 27.) He covers hi^ face with hi^ fatness. This signifies both the pampering of his fiesh with daily delicious fare, and the hardening of his heart thereby against the judgments of God. Note, The gratifying of the appetites of the body, feeding and feasting that to the full, often turns to the damage (f the soul and its interests. Why is God forgotten and slighted, but because the belly is made a god of, and happiness placed in the delights of sense? They that fill themselves with wine and strong drink, abandon all that is serious, and flatter themselves with hopes that to-morrow shall be as this day, Isa, Ivi. 12. Woe to them that are thus at ease in Zion, Amos vi. 1, 3, 4. Luke xii. 19. The fat that covers his fare, makes him look bold and haughty, and that which covers his flanks, makes him lie easy and soft, and feel little; but this will prove poor shelter against the darts of God's wrath.

[3.] He enriches himself with the spoils of all about him, v. 28. He dwellsin cities which he himself has made desolate by expelling the inhabitants out of them, that he might be placed alone in them, Isa. V. 8. Proud and cruel men take a strange pleasure in ruins, when they are of their own making; in destroying cities, (Ps. ix. 6.) and triumphing in the destruction, since they cannot make them their own, but by making them ready to become heaps, and frightening the inhabitants out of them. Note, Those that aim to engross the world to themselves, and grasp at all, lose the comfort of all, and make themselves miserable in the midst of all. How does this tj^rant gain his point, and make himself master of cities that have all the marks of antiquity upon them? We are told, (v. 35.) he does it by malice and falsehood, the two chief ingredients of his wickedness, who was a liar and a murderer from the beginning; they conceive mischief, and then they effect it by preparing deceit, pretending to protect those whom they design to subdue, and making leagues of peace, the more effectually to carry on the operations of war. From such wicked men God deliver all good men.

(2.) Let us see now what is the miserable condition of this wicked man, both in spiritual and temporal judgments.

[1.] His inward peace is continually disturbed. He seems to those about him to be easy, who, therefore, envy him, and wish themselves in his condition, but He who knows what is in men, tells usthat a wicked man has so little comfort and satisfaction in his own bi'east, that he is rather to be pitied than envied.

First, His own conscience accuses him, and, with the pangs and throes of that, he travaileth in fiain all his da^, x<. 20. He is continually uneasy at the thought of the cruelties he has been guilty of, and the blood in which he has imbued his hands; his sins stare him in the face at every turn. Diri con-scia facti mens habet attonitos — Conscious guilt astonishes and confounds.

Secondly, He is vexed at the uncertainty of the continuance of his wealth and power; the number of years is hidden to the opfiressor. He knows, whatever-he pretends, that it will not last always, and has reason to fear that it will not last long, and this he frets at.

Thirdly, He is under a certain fearfil expectation of judgment and fiery indignation, (Heb. x. 27.) which puts him into, and keeps him in, a continual terror and consternation, so that he dwells with Cain in the land of Nod, or commotion, (Gen. iv. 16.) and is made like Pashur, Magor-mis^abib — A terror round about, Jer. xx. 3, 4. A dreadful sound is in his ears, v. 21. He knows that both Heaven

JOB, XV.

and earth are i.^censed against him, that God is angry with him, and that all the world hates him; he has done nothing to make his peace with either, and therefore he thinks that every rne who meets him ivill i/ay him, (ien. i\. 14. Or, like u m;m ab-sronding for debt, wlio thinks every man a bailiff. Fear r;ime in, at first, with sin, (Gen. iii. 10.) and still attends it. Even in prosperity, he is apprehensive that the destroyer will come upon him, cither some destroying angel sent of God to avenge his quarrel, or snnne of his injured subjects who will be their own avengers. Those who are the terror of the mighty in the land of the living, usually go down slain to the pit, (Ezek. xxxii. 25.) the expectation of wliich makes them a terror to themselves. This is further set forth, v. 22. that he is, in his own apprehension, waited for of the sword; for he knows that he who killeth with the sword, must be killed with the sword. Rev. xiii. 10. A guilty conscience represents to the sinner a flammg sword turning everu way, (Gen. iii. 24.) and himself inevitably running on it. Again, {v. 23.) He knows that the day of darkness, (or the night of darkness rather) is ready at his hand, that it is ap-

Eointed to him, and cannot be put by, that it is astening on apace, and cannot be put oflT. This day of darkness is something beyond death; it is that day of the Lord which, to all wicked people, will be darkness and not light, and in which they will be doomed to utter, endless, darkness. Note, Some wicked people, though they seem secure, have already received the sentence of death, eternal death, withm themselves, and plainly see hell gaping for them. No marvel that it follows, {v. 24.) Trouble and anguish (that inward tribulation and anguish of soul spoken of, Rom. ii. 8, 9. which is the effect of God's indignation and wrath fastening upon the conscience) shall make him afraid of worse to come. What is the hell before him, if this be the hell with-mhim? And though he would fain shake off his feais, drink them away, and jest them away, it will not do; they shall firex>ail against him, and overpower him, as a king ready to the battle, with forces too strong to be resisted. He that would keep his peace, let him keep a good conscience. ,

Fourthly, If at any time he be in trouble, he despairs of getting out; (t'. 22.) He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, but he gives himself up for gone and lost in an endless night. Good men expect light at evening time, light out of darkness; but what reason have they to expect that they shall return out of the darkness of trouble, who would not return from the darkness of sin, but went on in it? Ps. Ixxxii. 5. It is the misery of damned sinners, that thev know they shall never return out of that utter darkness, nor pass the gulf there fixed.

Fifthly, He perplexes himself with continual care, especially if Prov'dence ever so Sttle frown upon him, t. 2". Such a dread he has of poverty, and svich a waste docs he discern upon his estate, that.he is already, in his own imagination, wandering abroad for bread, going ri-bei^ging for a meal's meat, and saying, JVhere is it? The rich man, in his abundance, cried out. What shall I do? Luke xii. 17. Perhaps he pretends fear of wanting, as an excuse of his covetous practices; jnstlv m;iy he be brought to tliis extremity at last We read of those who TOr7r full, but have hired out themselves for bread, (1 Snm. ii. 5.) which this sinner will not do; he cannot dig, he is too fat, {v. 27.) but to beg he may well be ashamed. See Ps. cix. 10. David never saw the righteous so far forsaken as to beg their bread, for, verilv, they shall be fed by the charitable, unasked, Ps. xxxvii. 3, 25. But the wicked want it, and cannot expect it should be readily sriven them. How should they find mercy, who never showed mercy.''

[2.] Hi J outward prosperity will so<ni ccme fi an end, and all his confidence, and all his comfoit, will come to an end with it. How can he j)ro^per, when God runs upon him? So some understand that, V. 26. Whom God runs ufion, he will cer tainly run down; for when he judges, he will o\ er-come. See how the judgments of God cross this worldly wicked man in all his cares, desires, and projects, and so complete his misery.

First, He is in care to get, but he shallnot be rich, V. 29. His own covetous mind keeps him from being truly rich. He is not rich, that has not enough; and he has not enough, that does not think he has. It is contentment only that is great gain. Provi dence remarkably keeps some from being rich, defeating their enterprises, breaking their measures, and keeping them always behind-hi'.nd. Many that get much by fraud and injustice, yet do not grow rich; it goes as it comes, it is got by one sin, and spent upon another.

Secondly, He is in care to keep what he has got, but in vain, his substance shall not continue; it will dwindle and come to nothing, God blasts it, and what came up in a night, fierish/s in a night. Health, gotten by vanity, will certainly be diminished. Some have themselves lived to see the ruin of those estates which have been raised by oppression; it goes, however, with a curse to those who succeed. De male quBesitis vix gaudet tertius heeres — Ill-gotten property will scarcely be enjoyed by the third generation. He purchases estates to him and his heirs for ever; but to what purpose? He shall not prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth; neither the credit nor the comfort of his riches shall be prolonged; and, when those are gone, where is the perfection of them? How indeed can we expect the perfection of any thing to be prolonged upon the earth, where every thing is transitory, and we soon see the end of all perfection?

Thirdly, He is in care to leave what he has got and kept, to his children after him; but in this he is crossed, the branches of his family shall perish, in whom he hoped to have lived and flourished, and to have had the reputation of making them all great men. They shall not be green, v. 32. The Jlamt shall dry them up, v. 30. He shall shake them off as blossoms that never knit, or as the unripe grape, V. 33. They shall die in the beginningof their days, and never come to maturity Many a man's fami-ly is ruined by his iniquity.

Fourthly, He is in care to enjoy it a great while himself; but in that also he is crossed. 1. He may perhaps be taken from it; {v. 30.) By the breath of God's mouth —(that is, by his wrath, which, like a stream of brimstone, kindles the fire that devours him, Isa. xxx. 33. Or, by his word; he spe:\ks, and it is done immediately)—shall he go away, and leave his wealth to others. This night, thy soul shali be required of thee; and so the wicked is driven away in his wickedness, the worldling in his world-liness. 2. It may perhaps be taken from him, and fly away like an eagle toward heaven: It shall be accomplished (or cut off) before his time, {v. 32.) that is. He shall survive his prosperity, and see himself stripped of it.

Fifthly, He is in care, when he is in trouble, how to get out of it; (not how to get good by it;) but in this also he is crossed; {v. 30.) He shall not depart out of darkness; when he begins to fall, like Hn-man, down with him. It was said of him, {v. 22.) He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness; he frightened himself with the perpetuity d his calamity, and God also shall choose his delusir-vs, and bring his fears upon him, (Isn. lx\i. 4.) as lu-did upon Israel, Numb. xiv. 28. God snys, Am.en, to his distrust and despair.

Sixthly, He is in care to secure his partners, anrl

hopes to secure himself by his partnership with them; but that is in vain too, x'. 34, 35. The congregation of them, the whole confederacy, they, and all their tabernacles, shall be desolate, and consumed with fire. Hypocrisy and bribery are here charged upon them; that is, deceitful dealing both with God and man: God affronted, under colour of religion, man wronged, under colour of justice. It :s impossible that these should end well. Though hand join in hand for the support of these pei-fidi-ous practices, yet shall not the wicked go unfiunished. (3.) Tlie use and application of all this. Will the pi-osperitv of presumptuous sinners end thus miserably? Then, {y. 31.) Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity. Let the mischiefs which befall others be our warnings, and let not us rest on that broken reed which always failed those who leaned on it. [1.] Those who trust to their sinful ways of getting wealth, trust in vanity, and vanity will be (heir recomfiense, for they shill not get what they expected. Their arts will deceive them, and perhaps ruin them in this world. [2.] Those who trust to their wealth when they have gotten it, especially to the wealth they have gotten dishonestly, trust in vanity, for it will yield them no satisfaction. The guilt that cleaves to it, will ruin the joy of it. They sow the wind, and will reap the whirlwind, and will own, at length, with the utmost confusion, that a deceived heart turned them aside, and that they cheated themselves with a lie in their right hand,

CHAP. XVI.

Thi.s chapter begins Job's reply to that discourse of Eliphaz which we had in the foregoin<r ehapterj it is but the second part of the same song of lamentation with which he had before bemoaned himself, and set to the same melancholy tune. I. He upbraids his friends with their unkind usage of him, v. 1 . . 6. II. He represents his own case as very deplorable upon all accounts, v. 6 . . 16. III. He still holds fast his integrity, concerning which he appeals to God's righteous judgment, from the unrighteous censures of his friends, v. 17.. 22.

1. rj^HEN Job answered and said, 2. I JL have heard many such things: miserable comforters cnr ye all. 3. Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth ihee that thou answerest? 4. I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my ^uPs stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you. 5. But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should assuage i/our grief.

Both Job and his friends took the same way that disputants commonly take, which is, to undervalue one another's sense, and wisdom, and management. The longer the saw. of contention is drawn, the hotter it grows; and the beginning of this sort of strife is as the letting forth of water, therefore leave it: off before it be meddled with. Eliphaz had represented Job's discourses as idle and unprofitable, and nothing to the purpose; and Job here gives his the same character. Those who are free in passing such censures, must expect to have them retoited; it is easy, it is endless: but Cut bono? — What good does it do? It will stir up men's passions, but will never convince their judgments, nor set truth in a clear light.

Job here reproves Eliphaz,

1 For needless repetitions; {v. 2.) "/ have heard many such things. You tell me nothing but what I knew before; nothing but what you yourselves ha\ e before said; you offer nothing new, it is

Vol. III. —L

JOB, XVI. 81

the same thing over and over again;" which Job thinks as great a trial of his patience as almost any of his troubles. The inculcating of the same thmgs thus by an adversary, is indeed provoking and nauseous, but by a teacher it is often necessary, and must not be grievous to the learner, to whom firece/it must be u/ion precept, and line upon line. Many things we have heard, which it is good for us to hear again, that we may understand and remember them belter, and be more affected with them, and influenced by them.

2. For unskilful applications. They came with a design to comfoi-t him, but they went about it very awkwardly, and, when they touched Job's case, quite mistook it; " Miserable comforters are ye all, who, instead of offering any thing to alleviate the affliction, add affliction to it, and make it yet more grievous." The patient's case is sad indeed, when his medicines are poisons, and his physicians his worst disease. What Job says here of his friends, is ti-ue of all creatures, in comparison with God, and, one time or other, we shall be made to see it and own it, that miserable comforters are they all. When we are under convictions of sin, terrors of conscience, and the arrests of death, it is only the blessed Spirit that can comfort effectually; all others, without him, do it miserably, and sing songs to a heavy heart, to no purpose.

3. For endless impertinence. Job wishes that vain words might have an end, x'. 3. If vain, it were well that they were never begun, and the sooner they are ended the better. Those who are so wise as to speak to the purpose, will be so wise as to know when they have said enough of a thing, and when it is time to break off.

4. For causeless obstinacy. JVhat emboldeneth thee, that thou answerest?' It is very rash and unjust confidence, with Eliphaz, to charge men with those crimes which we cannot prove upon them, to pass a judgment on men's spiritual state, upon the view of their outward condition, and to re-advance those objections which have been again and again answered.

5. For the violation of the sacred laws of friendship; doing by his brother as he would not have been done by, and as his brother would not have done by him. This is a cutting reproof, and very-affecting, V. 4, 5.

(1.) He desires his friends, in imagination, for a little while, to change conditions with him, to put their souls in his soul's stead; to suppose themselves in misery like him. and him at ease like them. This was no absurd or foreign supposition, but what might quickly become true in fact; so strange, so sudden, frequently, are the vicissitudes of human affairs, and such the turns of the wheel, that the spokes soon change places. Whatever our brethren's sorrows are, we ought by sympathv to make them our own, because we know not how "soon they may be so.

(2.) He represents the unkindness of their conduct toward him, by showing what he could do to them, if they were in his condition. I could speak as ye do. It is an easy thhig to trample upon those that are down, and to find faidt with what those say that are in extremity of pain and affliction. "1 could heap up words against you, as you do against me; and how would you like it? How would vou bear it.'" ^

(3.) He shows them what they should do, by telling them what, in that case, he would do; {v. 5.) " I would strengthen you, and say all I could to assuage your grief, but nothing to aggravate it." It is natural to sufferers to think what' they would do, if the tables were turned; but perhaps our hearts may deceive us; we know not what we should do. We find it easier to discern the reason

q^

JOB, XVI.

ableness and importance of a command, when we have occasion to claim the benefit of it, than when we have occasion to do the duty of it. See what is the duty we owe to our brethren in affliction. [1.] We should say and do all we can to strengthen them, suggesting to them such considerations as are proper to encourage their confidence in God, and to support their sinking spirits. Faith and patience are the strength of the afflicted; what helps these graces, confirms the feeble knees. [2.] To assuage their grief, the causes of their grief, if pos-siblej_pr, however, their resentment of those causes. Good words cost nothing; but they may be of good service to those that are in sorrow, not only as it is some comfort to them to see their friends concerned for them, but as they may be so reminded of that which, through the prevalency of grief, was forgotten. Though hard words (we say) break no bones, yet kind words may help to make broken bones rejoice; and those have the tojigue of the '.earned, that know how to speak a word in season to the weary.

6. Though I speak, my grief is not assuaged ; and though I forbear, what am I 3ased? 7. But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company. 8. And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face. 9. He teareth me in his wrath who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth hi? eyes upon me. 10. They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me. 11. God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked. 12. I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark. 13, His archers compass me round about; he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he pour-eth out my gall upon the ground. 14. He breaketli me with breach upon breach; he runneth upon me like a giant. 15. I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust. 16. My face is foul with weeping, and on mine eyelids is the shadow of death;

Job's complaint is here as bitter as any where in all his discourses, and he is at a stand whether to smother it or to give it vent. Sometimes the one, and sometimes the other, is a relief to the afflicted, according as the temper or the circumstances are; but Jol) found help by neither, v. 6. (1.) Sometimes giving vent to grief gives ease; but, " Though I sficafc," (says Job,) " nuj grief is not assuaged, my spirit is never the lighter for the pouring out of my complaint; nay, what I speak is so misconstrued as to be turned to the aggravation of my grief." (2.) At other times, kec])ing silence makes the trouble the easier and the sooner forgotten; but (says Job) though Tforbear, I am never the nearer; irhat am leased? If he complained, he was censured as passionate; if not, as sullen. If he main-

tained his integrity, that was his crime; if he made no answer to their accusations, his silence v^as taken for a confession of his guilt.

Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. O what reason ha\ e we to bless God, that we are not making such complaints! He complains,

1. That his family was scattered; {v. 7.) "He hath made me weary, weary of speaking, weary of forbearing, weary of my friends, weary of life itself; my journey through the world proves so very uncomfortable, that I am quite tired with it:" this made it as tiresome as any thing, that all his company was made desolate; his children and servants being killed, and the poor remains of his great household dispersed. The company of good peo pie, that used to meet at his house for religious worship, was now scattered, and he spent his sabbaths in silence and solitude. He had company indeed, but such as he would rather have been v» ith-out, for they seemed to triumph in his desolation. If lovers and friends are put far from us, we must see and own God's hand in it, making our company desolate.

2. That his body was worn away with diseases and pains, so that he was become a perfect skeleton, nothing but skin and bones, v. 8. His face was furrowed, not with age, but sickness; l^hou hast filled me with wrinkles. His flesh was wasted with the running of his sore boils, so that his leanness rose up in him, that is, his bones, that were not seen, stuck out, ch. xxxiii. 21. These are called witnesses against him, witnesses of God's displeasure against him, and such witnesses as his friends produced against him to prove him a wicked man. Or, "They are witnesses ^br me, that my complaint is not causeless," or, " witnesses to me, that I am a dying man, and must be gone shortly."

3. That his enemy was a terror to him, threatened him, frightened him, looked stern upon him, and gave all the indications of rage against him; (v. 9.) He tears me in his wrath. But who is this enemy? Either, (1.) Eli/ihaz; who showed himself very much exasperated against him, and perhaps, had expressed himself with such marks of indignation as are here mentioned: at least, what he said tore Job's good name, and thundered nothing but terror to him; his eyes were sharpened to spy out matter of reproach against Job, and very barbarously both he and the rest of them used him. Or, (2.) ISatan; he was his enemy, that hated him, and perhaps, by the divine permission, terrified him with appari-' tions, as (some think) he terrified our Saviour, which put him into his agonies in the garden; and thus he aimed to make him curse God. It is not improbable that this is the enemy he means. Or, (3.) God himself: if we understand it of him, tht expressions are indeed as rash as any he used. God hates none of his creatures; but Job's melancholy did thus represent to him the terrors of the Almighty: and nothing can be more grievous to a good man, than to apprehend God to. be his enemy. If the wrath of a king be as messengers of death, what is the wrath of the King of kings!

4. That all about him were abusive to him; {v. 10.) They came upon him with open mouth to devour him, as if they would swallow him alive, so terrible were their threats, and so scornful was their conduct to him. They offered him all the indignities they could invent, and even smote him on the cheek; and herein many were confederate, they gathered themselves together against him, ever the' abjects, Ps. xxxv. 15. Herein Job was a type of Christ, as many of the ancients make him: these very expressions are used in the predictions of his sufferings; (Ps. xxii. 13.) They gafied upon me with their mouths; and (Mic. v. 1.) Thry shall

JOB, XVI.

which was literally fulfilled, Matth. xxvi. 67. How were the\ increased that troubled him!

5. That God, instead of delivering him out of their hands, as he hoped, delivered him into their hands; {v. 11.) He hath turned me over into the hands of the %uicked. They could have had no power against him, if it had not been given them from above; he therefore looks beyond them to God, who gave them their commission, as David did when Shimei cursed him; but he thinks it strange, and almost thinks it hard, that those should have power against him, who were God's enemies as much as his. God sometimes makes use of wicked men as his sword to one another, (Ps. xvii. 13.) and his rod to his own children, Isa. x. 5. Herein also Job was a type of Christ, who was delivered into wicked hands, to be crucified and slain, by the determinate counsel and fore-knoiviedge of God, Acts ii. 23.

6. That God not only delivered him into the hands of the wicked, but took him into his own hands too, into which it is a fearful thing to fall; {v. 12.) " I was at ease, in the comfortable enjoyment of the gifts of God's bounty, not fretting and uneasy, as some are in the midst of their prosperity, who thereby pro\oke God to strip, them; yet he has broken me asunder, put me upon the rack of pain, and torn me limb from limb. God, in afflict-mg him, had seemed, (1.) As if he were furious: though fury is not in God, he thought it was, when he took him by the neck, (as a strong man in a passion would take a child,) and shook him to pieces, triumphing in the irresistible power he had to do what he would with him. (2.) As if he were partial; "He has distinguished me from the rest of mankind by this hard usage of me; he has set me up for his mark, the butt at which he is pleased to let fly all his arrows: at me they are directed, and they come not by chance; against me they are levelled, as if I were the greatest sinner of all the men of the east, or were singled out to be made an example." When God set him up for a mark, his archers presently compassed him round. God has archers at command, who will be sure to hit the mark that he sets up. Whoever are our enemies, we must look upon them as God's archers, and see him directing the arrow. It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good. (3.) As if he were cruel, and his wrath as relentless as his power was resistless. As if lie contrived to touch him in the ten-derest part, cleaving his reins asunder with acute pains, perhaps they were nephritic pains, those of the stone, which lie in the region of the kidneys. As if he had no mercy in reserve for him, he does not spare, nor abate any thing of the extremity. And, as if he aimed at nothing but his death, and his death in the midst of the most grievous tortures, he flours out my gall ufion the ground. As when men have taken a wild beast, and killed it, they open it, and pour out the gall Avith a loathing of it. He thought his blood was poured out, as if it were not only not precious, but nauseous. (4.) As if he were unreasonable and insatiable in his executions; (v. 14.) "He breaketh me with breach upon Oreach, follows me with one wound after another." So his troubles came at first; while one messenger of evil tidings was speaking, another came; and so it was still, new boils were rising every day, so that he had no prospect of the end of his troubles. Thus he thought that God ran upon him like a giant, whom he could not possibly stand before or confront; as the giants of old ran down all their poor neighbours, and were tno hard for them. Note, Even good men, when they are in great and extraordinary troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God.

7. That he had divested himself of all his honour.

and all his comfort, in compliance with the affiicl-ing providences that surrounded him. Some <,aii lessen their own troubles by concealing them, hoki-ing their heads as high, and putting as good a face upon them, as ever; but Job could not do so; he received the impressions of them, and, as one truly penitent, and truly patient, he humbled himseli under the mighty hand of God, v. 15, 16. (1.) He now laid aside all his ornaments and soft clothing, consulted not either his ease or finery in his dress, but sewed sackcloth upon his skin; that clothing lie thought good enough for such a defiled distempered body as he had. Silks upon sores, such sores, he thought, would be unsuitable, sackcloth would be more becoming. Those are fond indeed of gay clothing, that will not be weaned from it by sick-j ness and old age, and, as Job was, {y. 8.) bv ivrin-j kles and leanness. He not only fiut on sackcloth, but seived it on, as one that resolved to continue his humiliation as long as the affliction continued. (2.) He insisted not upon any points of honour, but humbled himself under humbling providences; he defiled his hor?i in the dust, and refused the respect that used to be paid to his dignity, power, and emi-nency. Note, When God brings down our condition, that should bring down our spirits. Better lay the horn in the dust, than lift it up in contradiction to the designs of Providence, and have it broken at last. Eliphaz had represented Job as high and haughty, and unhumbled under his affliction; "No," says Job, " I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me." (3.) He banished mirth as utterly unseasonable, and set himself to sow in tears; {v. 16.) *'My face is foul with weeping no constantly for my sins, f(.r God's displeasure against me, and for my friends' unkindness; this has brought a shadow of death upon my eye-lids." He had not only wept away all his beauty, but almost wept his eyes out. In this also, he was a type of Christ, who was a man of sorrows, and much in tears, and pronounced those blessed that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

17. Not for ani/ injustice in my hands: also my prayer is pure. 18. O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place. 19. Also now, behold, my witness is in lieaven, and my record is on high. 20. My friends scorn me; but mine eye poureth out fem^s unto God. 21. Oh that one might plead for a man with God, as a man plead-eth for his neighbour! 22. When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.

Job's condition was very deplorable; but had he nothing to support him, nothing to comfort him? Yes, and he here tells us what it was.

I. He had the testimony of his conscience for him, that he had walked uprightly, and had never allowed himself in any gross sin. None was ever more ready than he to acknowledge his sins of infirmity; but, upon search, he could not charge himself with any enormous crime, for which he should be made more miserable than other men, t. 17. He had kept a conscience void of ofl'ence, 1. Toward men. " J\''ot for any injustice in my hands, any wealth that 1 have unjustly got or kept." Eliphaz had represented him as a tyrant and an oppressor; "No," says he, "I never did any wrong to any man, but always despised the gain of oppression." 2. Toward God. Jllso my prayer is pure; but prayer cannot be pure, as long as there is injustice in our hands, Isa. i. 15. Eliphaz had charged him with hypocrisy in reli

JOB, XVII.

i,ion, but he specifies prayer, the great act of reli-i^ion, and professes that in that he was pure, though not from all infirmity, yet from reigning and allowed j guile: it was not like the prayers of the Pharisees, who looked no further than to be seen of men, and to serve a turn. I

This assertion of his own integrity he backs with I a solemn imprecation of shame and confusion to ' himself, if it were not true, v. 18. (1.) If there were any injustice in his hands, he wishes it might not be concealed, O earth, covernot thou my blood, that is, "the innocent blood of others, which 1 am suspected to have shed." Murder will out; and "Let it," says Job, " if I have ever been guilty of it," Gen. iv. 10, 11. The day is coming when the earth shall diacloae her blood; (Isa. xxvi. 21.) and a good man is fur from dreading that day. (2.) If there were any impurity in his prayers, he wishes they might not be accepted, Let my cry have no 1 filace. He was willing to be judged by that rule. If I regard iniquity in my heart, (iod will not hear i me, Ps. lx\i. 18. There is another probable sense I of these words, that he does hereby, as it were, lay j his death upon his friends, who broke his heart with their harsh censures, and charges the guilt of his blood upon them, begging of God to avenge it, and that the cry of his blood might have no place in which to lie hid, but might come up to heaven, and be heard by him that makes inquisition for blood.

II. He could appeal to God's omniscience concerning his integrity, v. 19. The witness in our own bosoms for us will stand us in little stead, if we have not a witness in heaven for us too, for God is greater than our hearts, and we are not to be our own judges; this, therefore, is Job's triumph. My Witness is in heaven. Note, It is an unspeakable comfort to a good man, when he lies under the censure of his brethren, that there is a God in heaven, who knows his integrity, and will clear it up sooner or later. See John v. 31, 37. This one Witness is instead of a thousand.

III. He had a God to go to, before whom he might unbosom himself, v. 20, 21. See here, 1. How the case stood between him and his friends; he knew not how to be free with them, nor could he expect either a fair hearing with them, or fair dealing from them; " My friends (so they call themselves) scorn me; they set themselves not only to resist me, but to expose me; they are of counsel against me, and use all their art and eloquence," (so the word signifies,) "to run me down." The scorns of friends are more cutting than those of enemies; but we must expect them, and provide accordingly. 2. How it stood between him and God. He doubted not but that, (1.) God did now take cognizance of his sorrows, il/me eye pours out tears to God. He had said, {v. 16.) that he wept much; here he tells us in what channel his tears ran, and which way they were directed: his sorrow was not that of the world, but he sorrowed after a godly sort, wept before the Lord, and offered to him the sacrifice of a broken heart. Note, Even tears, when sanctified to God, give ease to troubled spirits; and, if men slight our grief, this may comfort us, that God regards them. (2.) That he would in due time clear up his innocency; {v. 21.) 0 that one might plead for a man with God! If he could but now have the same freedom at God's bar, that men commonly have at the bar of the civil magistrate, he doubted not but to carry his cause, for the Judge himself was a witness to liis integrity. The language of this wish is, that (Isa. 1. 7, 8.) I knoiv that I shall not be ashamed, for he is near that justifies me. Some give a gospel-sense cf th;s verse, and the original will very well bear It: and he will plead (that is, there is one that will

plead)/o7- man with God, ex'en the Son of man, for fiiis friend, or neighbour. Those who pour out tear«i before God, though they cannot plead for themselves, by reason of their distance and defects, have a Friend to plead for them, even the Son of man, and on this we must bottom all our hopes of acceptance with (iod.

IV. He had a prospect of death, which would put a period to all his troubles: such confidence had he toward God, that he could take pleasure in thinking cf the approach of death, when he should be determined to his e\ erlasting state, as one that doubted not but it would be well with him then: Whe7i a few years are come, (the years ofnumbir whiih are determined and appointed to nie,) 'hen J shall go the way whence I shall not return. Note, 1. To die is to go the way whence we shall not re-turti; it is to go a journey, a long journey, a jiurney for good and all; to remove from this to tinother country, from the world of sense to the woild of spirits; it is a journey to our long home; there will be no coming back to our state in this world, nor any change of our state in the other world. 2. We must all of us, very certainly, and very shortly, go this journey; and it is comfortable to those who keep a good conscience, to think of it, for it is the crown of their integrity.

CHAP. XVII.

In this chapter, I. Job reflects upon the harsh censures which his friends had passed upon him, and, looking upon himself as a dying man, (v. 1.) he appeals to God, and begs of him speedily to appear for him, and right him, because they had wronged him, and he knew not how to right himself, y. 2.. 7. But he hopes, that, though it should be a surprise, it will be no stumbling-block, to good people, to see nim thus abused, v. 8, 9. II. He reflects upon the vain hopes they had fed him with, that he should yet see good days; shelving that his days were just at an end, and with his body all his hopes would be buried in the dust, v. 10.. 16. His friends becoming strange to him, which greatly grieved him, he makes death and the grave familiar to him, which yielded him some comfort.

l."M/rY breath is coirupt, my days are ItJ- extinct, the graves are ready for me. 2. Are there not mockers with me? and doth not mine eye continue in their provocation ? 3, Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me ? 4. For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them. 5. He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail. 6. He hath made me also a by-word of the people, and aforetime I was as a tabret. 7. Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow. 8. Upright men shall be astonished at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against ihe hypocrite. 9. The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.

Job's discourse 1 ere is somewhat broken and interrupted, and he passes suddenly from one thing to another, as is usual with men in trouble: but we may reduce what is said here to three heads.

I. The deplorable condition which poor Job was now in, which he describes, to aggravate the great

JOB, XVII.

85

unkindness of his friends to him, and to justify his own con)plaints. Let us see what his case was.

1. He was a dying man, v. 1. He had said, (cA. xvi. 22.) " When a feiv years are come, I shall go that long journey." But here he corrects himself, "Why do I talk of years to come.'' Alas! I am just setting out on that journey, am now ready to be of-fei-ed, and the time of my departure is at hand; my breath is already corrupt, or broken off, my spirits aj"e spent, I am a gone man." It is good for e\ery one <^f us thus to look upon ourselves as dying, and especially to think of it when we are sick. We are dying, that is, (1.) Our life is going, for the breath of life is going. It is continually going forth, it is in our nostrils, (Isa. ii. 22.) the door at which it entered; (Gen. ii. 7.) there it is upon the threshold, ready to depart. Perhaps, Job's distemper obstructed his breathing, and short breath will, after a while, be no breath. Let the jlnointed of (he Lord be the breach of our nostrils, and let us get spiritual life breathed into us, and that breath will never be corrupted. (2.) Our time is ending; My days are extinct, are put out, as a candle, which, from the first lighting, is continually wasting and burning down, and will by degrees burn out of itself, but may by a thousand accidents be extinguished. Such is life. It concerns us, therefore, Carefully to redeem the days of time, and to spend them in getting ready for the days of eternity, which will never be extinct. (3.) We are expected in our long home; The graves are ready for me. But would not one gra\ e serve? Yes, but he speaks of the sepulchres of his fathers, to which he must be gathered: "The graves where they are laid, are ready for me also," graves in consort, the congregation of the dead. Wherever we go, there is but a step between us and the gra\ e. Whatever is unready, that is ready; it is a bed soon made. If the graves be ready for us, it concerns us to be ready for the graves. The graves for me, so it runs; denoting not only his expectation of death, but his desire of it; "I have done with the world, and have nothing now to wish for but a grave."

2. He was a desfiised man; {v. 6.) " He," (that is, Eliphaz, so some, or rather God, whom he all along acknowledges to be the Author of his calamities) •' has made ?ne a by-word of the fieofile, the talk of the country, a laughing-stock to many, a gazing-stock to all; and aforetime, or, to men's faces, publicly, I was as a tabret, that whoever chose might play upon;" tlicy made ballads of him; his name became a proverb; it is so still, .//s poor as Job. He has now made me a by-word, a reproach of men, whereas, aforetime, in my prosperity, I was as a tabret, Deliciee humani generis — The darling of the human race, whom they were all pleased with. It is common for those who were honoured in their wealth, to be despised in their poverty.

3. He was a man of sorrows, v. 7. He wept so much, that he had almost lost his sight; Mine eye is dim by reason of sorrow, ch. xvi. 16. The sorrow of the world thus works darkness and death. He vexed so much, that he had fretted all the flesh away, and was become a perfect skeleton; nothing but skin and bones; *'jill my members are as a shadow. I am grown so poor and thin, that I am not to be called a man, but the shadow of a man."

II. The ill use which his friends made of his miseries; they trampled upon him, and insulted over him, and condemned him as a hypocrite, because he was thus grievously afflicted. Hard usage! Now observe,

1. How Job describes it, and what construction he puts upon their discourses with him. He looks upon himself as basely abused by them. (1.) They abused him with their foul censures, condemning hjm as ?. bad man, justly reduced thus, and exposed [

to contempt, v. 2. " They are mockers, who deride my calamities, and insult over me, because I am thus brought low. They are so with me, abusing me to my face, pretending friendship in their visit, but intending mischief. I cannot get clear of them; j they are continually tearing me, and thej^ will not " be wrought upon, either by reason or pity, to let fall the prosecution." (2.) They abused him too with their fail- promises, for in them they did but banter him. He reckons them {v. 5.) among those that speak flattery to their friends. They all ca.ne to mourn with him; Eliphaz began with a commendation of him, ch. iv. 3. They had all promised him that he would be happy, if he would take their advice. Now all this he looked upon as flattery, and as designed to vex him so much the more. All this he calls their firovocation, v. 2. They did what they could to provoke him, and then condemned him for his resentment of it; but he thinks himself excusable when his eye continued thus in their firovocation; it never ceased, and he could never look off it. Note, The unkindness of those that trample upon their friends in affliction, that banter and abuse them then, is enough to try, if not to tire, the patience even of Job himself.

2. How he condemns it. (1.) It was a sign that God had hid their heart from understanding, {v. 4.) and that in this matter they were infatuated, and their wonted wisdom was departed from them. Wisdom is a gift of God, which he grants to some, and withholds from others, grants at some times, and withholds at other times. Those that are void of compassion, are so far void of understanding. Where there is not the tenderness of a man, < ne may question whether there be the understanding of a man. (2.) It would be a lasting reproach and diminution to them; Therefore shalt thou not exalt them. Those are certainly kept back from lionr.ur, whose hearts are hid from understanding. \Mien God infatuates men, he will abase them. Surely they who discover st little acquaintance with the methods of Providence, shall not have the honour of deciding this controversy! That is reserved for a man of better sense, and better temper, such an one as Elihu afterward appeared to be. (3.) It would entail a curse upon their families. He that thus violates the sacred laws of friendship, forfeits the benefit of it, not only for himself, but for his posterity. " Even the eyes of his children shall fail, and when they look for succour and comfort from their own and'their father's friends, they shall look in vain, as I have done, and be as much disappointed Hs I am in you." Note, Those that wrong their neighbours, may, in the end, wrong their own children more than they are aware of.

3. How he appeals from them to God; {y. 3.) Lay down now, fiut me in a surety with thee, that is, "Let me be assured that God will take the hearing and determining of the cause into his own hands, and I desire no more. Let some one engage for God to bring on this .matter." Thus they whose heaits condemn them not, have confidence toward God, and can, with humble and believing boldness, beg of him to search and try them. Some make Job here to glance at the mediation of Christ, foi he speaks of a Surety with God, without whom he durst not appear before God, nor try his cause at his bar; for though his friends' accusations of him were utterly false, yet he could not justify himself before God but in a Mediator. Our English anno tations give this reading of the verse, " J/ifioint, I firay thee, my Surety with thee, namely, Christ, who is with thee in heaven, and has undertaken to be rny Surety: let him plead my cause, and stand up for me; and vjho is he then that will strike ufion mine hand!-'" that is, "Who dares then contend with me.'' Who shall lay any thi.ng to my charge.

djS

JOB, XVII.

if Christ be an advocate for me?" Rom. viii. 32, 33. Christ is the Surety of the better testament, (Heb. vii. 22.) a Surety of God's appointing; and if he undertake for us, we need not fear what can be done against us.

III. The good use which the righteous should make of Job's afflictions from God, from his enemies, and from his friends, v. 8, 9. Observe here, ^

1, How the saints are described. (1.) They are upright men, honest, and sincere, and that act from a steady principle, with a single eye. This was Job's own character; {c/i. i. 1.) and, probably, he speaks of such upright men especially as had been his intimates and associates. (2.) They are the ^ innocent; not perfectly so, but it is what they aim at, and press toward. Sincerity is evangelical inno-cency, and they that ai-e upright are said to be i?i-nocent from the great trayisgression, Ps. xix. 13. (3.) They are the righteous, who walk in the way of righteousness. (4.) They have clean hands, kept clean from the gross pollutions of sin, and, when spotied with infirmities, washed with iiino-cencii, Ps. xxvi. 6.

2.' How they should be affected with the account of Job's troubles. Great inquiry, no doubt, would be made concerning him, and every one would speak of him and his case; and what use will good people make of it?

(1.) It will amaze them; Ufiright men shall be astonished at this; they will wonder to hear that so good a man as Job should be so grievously afflicted in body, name, and estate; that God should lay his hand so heavy upon-him, and that his friends, who ought to have comforted him, should add to his grief; that such a remarkable saint should be such a remarkable sufferer, and so useful a man laid aside in the midst of his usefulness; what shall we say to these things? Upright men, though satisfied, in general, that God is wise and holy in all he does, yet cannot but be astonishefl at such dispensations of Providence; paradoxes which will not be unfolded till the mystery of God shall be finished.

(2.) It will animate them. Instead of being deterred from, and discouraged in, the service of God, by the hard usage which this faithful servant of God met with, they shall be so much the more imboldened to proceed and persevere in it. That which was St. Paul's care, (1 Thess. iii. 3.) was Job's, that no good man should be moved either from his holiness, or his comfort, by these afflictions, that none should, for the sake hereof, think the worse of the ways or work of God. And that which was St. Paul's comfort, was his too, that the brethren of the Lord would wax confident by his bonds, Philip i. 14. They would hereby be animated,

[1.] To oppose sin, and to confront the corrupt and pernicious inferences which evil men would draw from Job's sufferings, as, That God has forsaken the earth, That it is in vain to serve him; and the like; The innocent shall stir ufi himself against the hy/iocrife, will not bear to hear this, (Rev. ii. 2.) but will withstand him to his face; will stir up himself to search into the meaning of such providences, and study these hard chapters, that he may read them readily; will stir up himself to maintain religion's just, biit injured, cause against all its op-posers. Note, The boldness of the attacks which profane people make upon religion, should sharpen *he courage and resolution of its friends and advocates. It is time to stir, when proclamation is made ■.n the gate of the camp, Who is on the Lord's side? When vice is daring, it is no time for virtue, through fear, to hide itself.

[2.] To persevere in religion. The righteous, instead of drawing back, or so much as starting back, at this frightful spectacle, or standing still to

deliberate whether he should proceed or no, (allude to 2 Sam. ii. 23.) shall, with so much the more constancy and resolution, hold on his way, and press forward. Though, in me, he foresees that bonds and afflictions abide him, yet none of those things shall move him. Acts xx. 24. Those who keep their eye upon heaven as their end, will keep their feet in the paths of religion as their way, whatever difficulties and discouragements they meet with in it.

[3.] In order thereunto, to grow in grace. He will not only hold on his way notwithstanding, but will grow stronger and stronger, and, by the sight of other good men's trials, and the experience of his own, he will be made more vigorous and lively in his duty, more warm and affectionate, more resolute and undaunted: the worse others are, the better he will be; that which dismays others, im-boldens him. The blustering wind makes the traveller gather his cloak the closer about him, and gird it the faster. They that are truly wise and good, will be continually growing wiser and better. Proficiency in religion is a good sign of sincerity hi it.

10. But as for you all, do you'return, and come now : for 1 cannot find 07ie wise man among you. 11. My days are past, my pui-poses are broken off, eveji the thoughts of my heart. 12. They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness. 13. If I wait, the grave is my house: I have made my bed in the darkness. 14. 1 have said to corruption. Thou art my father: to the worm. Thou art my mother and my sister. 15. And where is now my hope ? as for my hope, who shall see it ? ^6. They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.

Job's friends had pretended to comfort him with the hopes of his return to a prosperous estate again; now he here shows,

I. That it was their folly to talk so; {v. 10.) " Return, and come now, be convinced that you are in an error, and let me persuade you to be of my mind; for / cannot find any wise man among you, that knows how to explain the difficulties oT God's pro\ idence, or how to apply the consolations of his promises." Those do not go wisely about the work of comforting the afflicted, who fetch their comforts from the possibility of their reco\ ery and enlargement in this world; though that is not to be despaired of, it is, at the best, uncertain, and if it should fail, as perhaps it may, the comfort built upon it will fail too. It is therefore our wisdom to comfort ourselves, and others, in distress, with that which will not fail, the promise of God, his love and grace, and a well-grounded hope of eternal life.

11. That it would be much more his folly to heed them; for,

1. All his measures were already broken, and he was full of confusion, T. 11, 12. He owns he had, in his prosperity, often pleased himself both with projects of what he should do, and prospects of what he should enjoy; but now that he looked upon his days as past", and drawing towards a period, all those purposes were broken off", and those expectations daslied. He had had thoughts about enlarging his border, incrensing his stock, and settling his children, and many pious thoughts, it i? likelv, of promoting religion in his cruntry, redressing grievances, reforming the profane, reliev-

JOB, XVllL

ing the poor, and raising funds, perhaps, for charitable uses; but all these thoughts of his heart were now at an end, and he would never have the satisfaction of seeing his designs effected. Note, The period of our days will be the period of all our contrivances and hopes for this world; but if with full purpose of heart we cleave to the Lord, death will not break off that purpose.

Job, being thus put upon new counsels, was under a constant uneasiness; {v. 12.) 7'Ae thoughts of his heart being broken, thejj changed the flight into day, and shortened the light. Some, in their vunity and riot, turn night into day and day into night; but Job did so, through trouble and anguish of spirit, which was a hindei'ance, (1.) To the repose of the night; keeping his eyes waking, so that tlie night was as wearisume to him as the day, and the tosses of the night tired him as much as the toils of the day. (2.) To the entertainments of the day. '' The light of the morning is welcome, but, by reason of this inward darkness, tlie comfort of it is soon gone, and the day is to me as dismal as the black and dark night," Deut. xxviii. 67. See what reason we have to be thankful for the health and ease which enable us to welcome both the shadows of the evening and the light of the morning.

2. All his expectations from this world would very shortly be buried in the grave with him; so that it was a jest for him to think of such mighty things as they had flattered him with the hopes of; {ch. V. 19.—viii. 21.—xi. 17.) "Alas, you do but make a fool of me."

(1.) He saw himself just dropping into the grave. A convenient house, an easy bed, and agreeable relations, are some of those things which we take satisfaction in in this world: Job expected not any of these above ground; all he felt, and all he had in view, was unpleasing and disagreeable, but under ground he expected them.

[1.] He counted upon no house but the grave; {y. 13.) " If I wait, if there be any place where 1 shall ever be easy again, it must be in the grave. I should deceive myself, if I should count upon any outlet from my trouble but what death will give me. Nothing is so sure as that." Note, In all our prosperity, it is good to keep death in prospect. Whatever we expect, let us be sure to expect that; for that may pre\ ent other things which we expect, but nothing will prevent that. But see how he endeavours not only to reconcile himself to the grave, but to recommend it to himself: "It is my house." The grave is a house; to the wicked it is a prison-house; {ch. xxiv. 19, 20.) to the godly it is Betha-bara, a fiassage-house in their way home. "It is my house, mine by descent, I am born to it; it is my father's house; mine by purchase, I have made myself obnoxious to it." We must every one of us shortly remove to this house, and it is our wisdom to provide accordingly; let us think of removing, and send before to our long home.

[2. ] He counted upon no quiet bed but in the darkness; "There," says he, "I have made my bed. It is made, for it is ready, and I am just going to it." The grave is a bed, for we shall rest in it the evening of our day on earth, and rise from it in the morning of our everlasting day, Isa. Ivii. 2. Let this make good people willing to die; it is but going to bed, they ai'e weary and sleepy, and it is time that they were in their beds; why should they not go willingly, when their Father calls? " Nay, / have made my bed, by preparation for it; have endeavoured to make it easy, by keeping conscience pure, by seeing Christ lymg in this bed, and so turning it into a bed of spices, and by looking bevond it to the resurrection."

[3.] He counted upon no agreeable relations but wiiai he had m the grave; (f. 14.) / have cried to

corruption, that is, to the grave, where the body will corrupt. Thou art my father, for our bodies were formed out of the earth, and to the worms there. Ye are my mother and my sister, to whom I am allied, for 7nan is a worm, and with whom I must be conversant, for the worms shall cover us, ch. xxi. 26. Job complained that his kindred were estranged from him, {ch. xix. 13, 14.) therefore here he claims acquaintance with other relations, that would cleave to him, when those disowned him. Note, First, We are all of us near akin to corruption and the worms. Secondly, It is, therefore, good to make ourselves familiar with them, by conversing much with them in our thoughts and meditations, which would very much help us above the inordinate lo\ e of life and fear of death.

(2.) He saw all his hopes from this world dropping into the grave with him; {y. 15, 16.) "Seeing 1 must shortly leave the world, where is now m.y hofie? How can I expect to prosper, who do not expect to live?" He is not hopeless, but his hope is not there where they would have it be. If in this life only he had ho/ie, he were of all men most miserable: " No, as for my hope, that hope which I comfort and support myself with, who shall see it? It is something out ot sight that I hope for, not things that are seen, that are temporal, but things not seen, that are eternal." What is his hope, he will tell us, ch, xix. 25. JVon est mortale quod o/tto, immortale fieto — J seek not for that which fierishes, but for that which abides for ever. " But as for the hopes you would buoy me up with, they shall go down with me to the bars of the pit; you are dying men, and cannot make good your promises, I am a dying man, and cannot enjoy the good you promise. Since, therefore, our rest will be together in the dust, let us all lay aside the thouglits of this world, and set our hearts upon another." We must shortly be in the dust, for dust we are, dust and ashes in the pit, under the bars of the pit, held fast t'nei-e, never to loose the bands of death till the general resurrection. But we shall rest there, we shall rest together there. Job and his friends could not agree now, but they will both be quiet in the grave; the dust of that will shortly stop their mouths, and put an end to the controversy. Let the foresight of this cool the heat of all contenders, and moderate the disputers of this world.

CHAP. XVIII.

In this chapter, Bildad makes a second assault upon Job. hi his first discourse (ch. viii.) he had given him encouragement to hope that all should yet be well with him. But here, there is not a word of that; he is grown more peevish, and is so far from being convinced by Job's reasonings, that he is but more exasperated. I. He sharply reproves Job, as haughty and passionate, and obstinate in his opinion, v. 1 . . 4. II. He enlarges upon ihe doctrine he had before maintained, concerning the misery of wicked people, and the ruin that attends them, V. 5. .21. In which he seems, all along, to have an eye to Job's complaints of the miserable condition he was in, that he was in the dark, bewildered, ensnared, terrified, and hastening out of the world. " This," says Bildad, " is the condition of a wicked man ; and, therefore, thou art one."

l.npHEN answered Bildad the Sluihite, JL and said, 2. How long loill it be ere you lYiake an end of words ? mark, and afterwards we will speak. 3. Wlierefoie are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight ? 4. He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee ? and shall the rock be removed out of his place ?

JOB, XVIII.

Bildad here shoots his arrows, even bitter words, against poor Job, little thinking, that, though he was a wise and good man, in this instance he was serving Satan's design, in adding to his affliction.

1. He charges him with idle, endless, talk, as Eliphaz had done; {cli. xv, 2, 3.) How long ivill it be ere ye make an end of words? v. 2. Here he reflects, not only upon Job himself, but either upon all the managers of the conference, (thinking, perhaps, that Eliphaz and Zophar did not speak so close to the purpose as they might have done,) or upon some that were present, who, possibly, took part with Job, and put in a word now and then in his favour, though it be not recorded. Bildad was weary of hearing others speak, and impatient till it came to his turn; which cannot be observed to any man's praise, for we ought to be swift to hear, and slow to speak. It is common for contenders to monopolize the reputation of wisdom, and then to insist upon it as their privilege to be dictators. How unbecoming that is in others, e\ ery one can see; but few that are guilty of it can see it in thenri-selves. Time was, when Job had the last word in all debates; {c/i. xxix. 22.) Jfter my words they sfiake not again. Then he was in power and prosperity; but now that he was impoverished and brouglit low, he could scarcely be allowed to speak at all, and every thing he said was as much vilihed as formerlv it had been magnified. Wisdom, therefore, (as the world goes) is good with an inheritance; (Eccl. vii. 11.) tor the floor man's wisdom is despised, and, because he is poor, his words are r.ot heard, Eccl. ix. 16.

2. With a regardlessness of what was said to him, intimated in that, Mark, and afterwards we will sfieak. And it is to no purpose to speak, though what is said be ever so much to the purpose, if those to whom it is spoken will not mark and obser\e it. Let the ear be ofiened to hear as the learned, and then the tongues of the learned will do good service, (Isa. 1. 4.) and not otherwise. It is an encouragement to those that speak of the things of God, to see the hearers attentive.

3. With a haughty contempt and disdain of his friends, and of that which they offered; (r. 3.) IVhcrrfore are we counted as beasts? This was invidious: Job had indeed called them mockers, had represented them both as unwise and as unkind, wanting both in the reason and tenderness of men, but he did not count them beasts; yet Bildad so represents it, (1.) Bee luse his high spirit resented what Job had said, as if it had been the greatest affront imagln ible. Proud men are apt to think themselves slighted more than really they are. (2.) Because his liot spiiit was willing to find a pretence to be hard upon Jol). Those that incline to be severe upon others, will have it thought that they have first been so upon them.

4. WiMi outrageous passion; He teareth himself in his ani^er, v. 4. Herein he seems to reflect upon what Job had said, {ch. xiii. 14.) Wherefore do J take mu,flesh in my teeth? " It is thine own fault," says Bildad; or he reflected upon what he said, {ch. xvi. 9.) where he seemed to charge it up'n God; or, as some think, upon Eliphaz; He teareth me in his wrath. "No," says Bildad, "thou alone shalt bear it." He teareth himself in his anger. Note, Anger is a sin tliat is its own punishment. Fretful, passionate, people tear and torment themselves. He tearrth his soul, so the word is; every sin wounds the soul, tears th it, wrongs that, (Prov. viii. 36.) unbridled passions particularly.

5. With a proud and arrogant expectation to give law even to Providence itself; "Shall the earth be fjrsaken for thee? Surely not; there is no reason

for that, that tlie course of nature should be changed, and the settled rules of government violated, to gra-

tify the humour of one man. Job, dos^ thou think the world cannot stand without thee; but that, if thou art ruined, all the world is ruined and forsaken with thee?" Some make it a reproof of Job's justification of himself, falsely insinuating, that either Job was a wicked man, or we must deny a Providence, and suppose that God has forsaken the earth, and the Rock of ages is removed. It is rather a just reproof of his passionate complaints; when we quarrel with the events of Providence, we forget, that, whatever befalls u|, it is, (1.) According to the eternal purpose and counsel of God. (2.) According to the written word. Thus it is written, that in the world we must have tribulation, that since we sin daily, we must expect to smart for it; and, (3.) According to the usual way and custom, the tracK. of Providence, nothing but what is common to men: and to expect that God's counsels should change, his method alter, and his word fail, to please us, is as absurd and unreasonable as to think that the earth should be forsaken for us, and the rock removed out of its place.

5. Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. 6. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him. 7. The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down. 8. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare. 9. The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him. 10. The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way.

The rest of Bildad's discourse is entirely taken up in an elegant description of the miserable condition of a wicked man, in which there is a great deal of certain truth, and which will be of excellent use, if duly considered, that a sinful condition is a sad condition, and that iniquity will be men's ruin, if they do not repent of it. But, 1. It is not true that all wicked people are visibly and openly made thus miserable in this world; nor, 2. 1 hat all who are brought into great distress and trouble in this world, are therefore to be deemed and adjudged wicked men, though no other proof njipears against them; and therefore, though Bildad thought the application of it to Job was easy, yet it was not safe nor just. In these verses we have,

(1.) The destruction of the wicked foreseen and foretold, underthe similitude of darkness; (t. 5, 6.) Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out. E' en his light, the best and brightest part of him, shall be put out; even that which he rejoiced in, shall fail him. Or, the yea may refer to Job's complaints of the great distress he was in, and the darkness he should shortly make his bed in. "Yea," says Bildad, "so it is, thou art clouded, and straitened, and made miserable, and no better could be expected; for the light of the wicked shall be put out, and therefore thine shall." Observe here, [1.] The wicked may have some light for a while, some pleasure, some joy, some hope, within, as well as wealth, and honour, and power, without. But his light is but a spark, {v. 5.) a little thing, and soon extinguished. It is but a candle, {v. 6.) wasting and burning down, and easily blown out. It is not the light of the Lord, (that is, sun-light,) but the light of his own fire, and sparks of his own kindling, Isa. 1. 11. [2.'] Light will certainly be put out at ! length, quite put out, so that not the least spark of

it shall remain, with which to kindle another tire. Even while he is in his tabernacle, while he is in the body, which is the tabernacle of the soul, (2 Cor. v. 1.) the light shall be dark, he shall have no true solid comfort, no joy that is satisfying, no hope that IS supporting; even the light that is in him is darkness; and how great is that darkness.' But, when he is put out of this tabernacle by death, his candle shall be fiut out with him. The period of his life will be the final period of all his days, and will turn all his hopes into endless despair. Jt'hen a wicked man dies, his exjiectation shall perish, Prov. xi. 7. He shall lie down in sorrow.

(2.) The preparatives for that destruction represented under the similitude of a beast or bird caught in a snare, or a malefactor arrested and taken into custody,, in oider to his punishment, v. 7• -lO.

[1.] Sitan is prep iiing for his destruction. He is the robber that shall firevail against him; {y. 9.) for as he was a murderer, so he was a robber, from the beginning. He, as the tempter, lays snares for sinners in the way, wherever they go, and he shall prevail. If he make them sinful like himself, he will make them miserable like himself. He hunts for the firecioiis life.

[2. ] He is himself preparing for his own destruction, by going on in sin, and so treasuring ufi wrath against the day of wrath. God gives him up, as he deserves and desires, to his own counsels, and then his own counsels cast him down, v. 7. His sinful projects and pursuits bring him into mischief. He IS cast into a net by his own feet, (i;. 8.) runs upon his own destruction, is snared in the work of hia own hands, (Ps. ix. 16.) his own tongue falls upon him, Ps. Ixiv. 8. In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare.

[3. ] God is preparing for his destruction. The sinner by his sin is preparing the fuel, and then God by his wrath is preparing the fire. See here, First, How the sinner is infatuated, to run himself into the snare; whom God will destroy, he infatuates. Secondly, How he is embarrassed; the steps of his strength, his mighty designs and efforts, shall be straitened, so that he shall not compass what he intended; and the more he strives to extricate himself, the more will he be entangled. Evil men wax worse and worse. Thirdly, How he is secured and kept from outrunning the judgments of God that are in pursuit of him; the gin shall take him by the heel. He can no more escape the divine wrath that is in pursuit of him, than a man, so held, can flee from the pursuer. God knows how to reserve the wicked for the day of judgment, 2 Pet. ii. 9.

11. Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet.

12, His strength shall be hunger-bitten, and destruction shall he ready at his side.

13, It shall devour the strength of his skin : even the first-born of death shall devour his strength. 14. His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle ; and it shall bring him to the king of terrors. 15, It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. 16. His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off, 17. His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street. 18. He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the vvoild. 19, He shall neither have son nor

Vol. III.— M

JOB, XVIIl. 89

nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. 20. They that conH; after him shall be astonished at his day, as tliey that went before were affrighted. 21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.

Bildad here describes the destruction itself which wicked people are reserved for in the other world, and which, in some degree, often seizes them in this world. Come, and see what a miserable condition the sinner is in, when his day comes to fall.

I. See him disheartened and weakened by continual terrors, arising from the sense of his own guilt and the dread of God's wrath; (f. 11, 12.) Terror .shall 7nake him afraid 07i every side: the terrors of his own conscience shall haunt him, so that he shall never be easy; wherever he goes, these shall follow him, which way soever he looks, these shall stare him in the face. It will make him tremble to see himself fought against by the whole creation, to see Heaven frowning on him, hell gaping for him, and earth sick of him. He that carries his own accuser, and his own tormentors, always in his bosom, cannot but be afraid on every side. This will drive him to his feet, like the malefactor, who, being conscious of his guilt, flees when none pursues, rxow xxviii. 1. But his feet will do him no service, they are fast in the snare, v. 9. The sinner may as soon overpower the divine omnipotence, as overrun the divine omniscience, Amos ix. 2, 3.

No marvel that the sinner is dispirited, and distracted with fear, for, 1. He sees his ruin approaching; destruction shall be ready at his side, to seize him whenever justice gives the word, so that he is brought into desolation in a moment, Ps. Ixxiii. 19. 2. He feels himself utterly unable to grapple with it, either to escape it, or to bear up under it. That which he relied upon as his strength, (his wealth, power, pomp, friends, and the hardiness of his own spirit,) shall fail him in the time of need, and be hungei--bitten, that is, it shall do him no more service than a famished man, pining away for hunger, would do in work or war. The case being thus with him, no marvel that he is a terror to himself. Note, The way of sin is a way of fear, and leads to everlasting confusion, of which the present teri'ors of an imjjure and unpacified conscience are earnests, as they were to Cain and Judas.

II. See him devoured and swallowed up by a miserable death; and miserable indeed a wicked man's death is, how secure and jovial soever his life was.

1. See him dying, arrested by the first bom of death, some disease, or some stroke that has in it a more than ordinary resemblance of death itself; so great a death, as it is called, (2 Cor. i. 10.) a messenger of death, that has in it an uncommon strength and terror: the harbingers of death rferour the strength of his skin, they bring rottenness into his bones, and consume them. His confidence shall then be rooted out of his tabernacle; {x>. 14.) that is, all that he trusts to, for his support, shall be taken from him, and he shall have nothing to rely upon, no not his own tabernacle. His own soul was his confidence, but that shall be rooted out of the tabernacle of the body, as a tree that cumbered the ground. Thy soul shall be required of thee.

2. See him dead, and see his case then with an eye of faith. (1.) He is then brought to the king of terrors. He was surrounded with terrors while he lived, (x'. 11.) and death was the king of all those terrors; they fought against the sinner in death's name, for it is by reason of death that sin-

JOB, XIX.

ners are, all their lifetime, subject to bondage, (Heb. ii. 15.) and, at length, they will be brought to that which they so long feared, as a captive to the conqueror. Death is terrible to nature; our Saviour himself prayed, Father, save me from this hour; but to the wicked it is, in a special manner, the king-of terrors, both as it is a period to that life in which they placed their happiness, and a passage to that life where they will find their endless misery. How happy then are the saints, and how much indebted to the Lord Jesus, by whom death is so far abolished, and the pi'operty of it altered, that this king of terrors is become a friend and servant! (2.) He is then driven from light into darkness; (y. 18.) from the light of this world, and his prosperous condition in it, into darkness, the darkness of the grave, the darkness of hell, into utter darkness, never to see light, (Ps. xlix. 19.) not the least gleam, nor any hopes of it. (3.) He is then chased out of the world, hurried and dragged away by the messengers of death, sore against his will; chased as Adam out of paradise, for the world is his paradise. It intimates that he would fain stay here, he is loath to depart, but go he must; all the world is weary of him, and therefore chases him out, as glad to be rid of him. This is death to a wicked man.

III. See his family sunk and cut off, v. 15. The wrath and curse of God light and lie, not only upon his head and heart, but upon his house too, to consume it, with the timber and atones thereof, Zech. v. 4. Death itself shall dwell in his tabernacle, and, having expelled him, shall take possession of his house, to the terror and destruction of all that he leaves behind; even the dwelling shall be ruined for the sake of its owner, brimstone shall be scattered ufion his habitation, rained upon it as upon Sodom, to the destruction of which this seems to have reference. Some think he here upbraids Job with the burning of his sheep and servants with fire from heaven. The reason is here given why his tabernacle is thus marked for ruin, because it is none of his; that is, it was unjustly got, and kept from the rightful owner, and therefore let him not pr;pect either the comfort or the continuance of it.

His children shall perish, either with him or after him, V. 16. So that his roots being in his own person dried up. beneath, above, his branch, every child of his family, shall be cut off. Thus the houses of Jeroboam, Baasha, and Ahab were cut off; none that descended from them were left alive. They who take root in the earth, may expect it will thus be dried up; but if we be rooted in Christ, even our leaf shall not wither, much less shall our branch be cut off. Those who consult the true honour of their family, and the welfare of its branches, will be afraid of withering it by sin. The extirpation of the sinner's family is mentioned again; (y. 19.) He shall neither have son nor nefihenv, child nor grandchild, to enjoy his estate, and bear up his name, nor shall there be any remaining in his dwelling akin to him. Sin entails a curse upon posterity, and the iniquity of the fathers is often visited upon the children. Herein, also, it is probable that Bildad reflects upon the death of Job's children and servants, as a further proof of his being a wicked man; whereas all that are written childless, are not thereby written graceless; there is a name better than that of sons and daughters.

IV. See his memory buried with him, or made odious; he shall either be forgotten or spoken of with dishonour; {v. 17.) His remembrance shall tierish from the earth; and if it perish from thence, it perishes wholly, for it was never written in heaven, as the names of the saints are, Luke x. 20. ^11 his honour shall he laid and lost in the dust, or stVmed with perpetual infamv, so that hesh '11 have no name in the street, departing without being de-

sired. Thus the judgments of God follow him, after death, in this world, as an indication of the misery his soul is in after death, and an earnest of that everlasting shame and contempt to which he shall rise in the great day. The memory of the just is blessed, but the name of the wicked shall rot, rrov. X. 7.

V. See a universal amazement at his fall, v, 20. They that see it are affrighted, so sudden is the change, so dreadful the execution, so threatening to all about him; and they that come after, and hear the report of it, are astonished at it; their ears are made to tingle, and their hearts to tremble, and they cry out, J^ord, how terrible art thou in thy judgments! A place or person, utterly ruined, is said to be made an astonishment, Deut. xxviii. 37. 2 Chron. vii. 21. Jer. xxv. 9, 18. Horrible sins bring strange punishments.

Lastly, See all this averred as the unanimous sense of the patriarchal age, grounded upon their knowledge?of God, and their many observations of his providence; {v. 21.) Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place, this the condition, of him that knows not God! See here what is the beginning, and what is the end, of the wickedness of this wicked world. 1. The beginning of it is ignorance of God, and it is a wilful ignorance, for there is that to be known of him which is sufficient to leave them for ever inexcusable. They know not God, and then they commit all sin; Pharaoh knows not the Lord, and therefore will net obey his voice. 2. The end of it, and that is utter destruction. Such, so miserable, are the dwellings of the wicked. Vengeance will be taken of those that know not God, 2 Thess. i. 8. For those whom he has not honour from, he will get him honour upon. Let us therefore stand in awe and not sin, for it will certainly be bitterness in the latter end.

CHAP. XIX. "

This chapter is Job's answer to Bildad's discourse in the foregoing chapter. Though his spirit was grieved and much heated, and Bildad was very peevish, 3 et he gave him leave to say all he designed to say, and did not break in upon him in the midst of his argument; but, when he had done, he gave him a fair answer; in which, I. He complains of unkind usage. And very unkindly he takes it, 1. That his comforters added to his alHiction, v. 2.. 7. 2. That his God was the Author of his affliction, v. 8.. 12. 3. That his relations and friends were strange to him, and shy of him, in his affliction, v. 13 .. 19. 4. That he had no compassion shown him in his affliction, V. 20.. 22. II. He comforts himself with the believing hopes of happiness in the other world, though he had so little comfort in this, making a very solemn confession of his faith, with a desire that it might be recorded as an evidence of his sincerity, v. 23 .. 27. HI. He concludes with a caution to his friends not to persist in their hard censures of him, v. 28, 29. If the remonstrance Job here makes of his grievances may serve sometimes to justify our complaints, yet his cheerful views of the future state, at the same time, may shame us Christians, and may serve to silence our complaints, or, at least, to balance them.

1. f I "^HEN Job answered and said, 2. JL How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words ? 3. These ten times have ye reproached me: you are not ashamed that you make yourselves strange to me. 4. And be it indeed that 1 have erred, mine error remaineth with myself. 5. If indeed ye will mn^mfy i/07irselves against me, and plead against me my reproach ; 6. Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net. 7. Behold, I cry out of wrong,

JOB, XIX.

but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.

Job's friends had passed a very severe censure upon him as a wicked man, because he was so gi'ie\oiisly afliicted; now here he tells them how ill he took it to be so censured. Bildad had twice begun with a How long; {ch. xviii. 2.) and therefore Job, being now to answer him particularly, be-guis with a Honv long too, v, 2. What is not liked, is commonly thought long; but Job had more reason to think tliem long who assaulted him, than they had to think him long, who only vindicated himself. Better cause may be shown for defending ourselves, if we have right on our side, than for offending our bretliren, though we have right on our side. Now observe here,

I. How he describes their unkindness to him, and what account he gives of it. 1. They vexed his soul, and that is more grievous than tlie vexation of the bones, Ps. \ i. 2, 3. They were his friends, they came to comfort him, pretended to counsel him for the best; but, with a great deal of gravity, and affectation of wisdom and piety, they set themselves to rob him of the only comfort he had now left him in a good God, a good conscience, and a good name; and this vexed him to the heart. 2. I'liey drake him in fiieces with words, and those were surely hard and very cruel words that would break a man to pieces: they grieved him, and so brake him; and therefore there will be a reckoning hereafter for all the hard speeches spoken against Christ and his people, Jude 15. 3. They reproached him, {v. 3.) gave him a bad character, and laid to his charge tilings that he knew not. To an ingenuous mind reproach is a cutting thing. 4. They made themselves strange to him, were shy of him, now that he was in his troubles; they did not know him, {ch. ii. 12.) were not free with him, as they used to be when he was in his prosperity. Those are governed by the spirit of the world, and not by any principles of true honour or love, who make themselves strange to their friends, or God's friends, when they are in trouble: a friend loves at all times. 5. They not only estranged themselves from him, but mag-nijied themselves against him; {y. 5.) not only looked shy of him, but looked big upon him, and insulted over him, magnifying themselves, to depress him. It is a mean thing, it is a base thing, thus to trample upon those that are down. 6. They fileaded against him his reproach, that is, they made use of his affliction as an argument against him to prove him a wicked man. They should have pleaded for him his integrity, and helped him to take the comfort of that under his affliction, and so have pleaded that against his reproach, as St. Paul; (2 Cor. i. 12.) but, instead of that, they pleaded his reproach against his integrity, which was not only unkind, but very unjust; for where shall we find an nonest man, if reproach may be admitted for a plea against him?

II. How he aggravates their unkindness. 1. They Had thus abused him often; {v. 3.) These ten times ye have reproached me, that is, very often, as Gen. xxxi. 7. Numb. xiv. 22. Five times they had spoken, and eveiy speech was a double reproach. He spake as if he had kept a particular account of their reproaches, and could tell just how many they were: it is but a peevish and unfriendly thing to do so, and looks like a design of retaliation and revenge: we better befriend our own peace by forgetting injuries and unkindnesses, than by remembering them and scoring them up. 2. They continued still to do it, and seemed resolved to persist in it; "How long will ye do it?" v. 2, 5. "I see you will magnify yourselves against me, notwithstanding all I have said in mine own justification." Those that speak

91

too much, seldom tnink they have said enough; and, when the mouth is opened in passion, the ear IS shut to reason. 3. Tliey were not ashamed of what they did, v. 3. They had reason to be ashamed of their hard-heaitedness, so ill becoming men, and their uncharitableness, so ill becoming good men, and their deceitfulness, so ill becoming friends; but were they ashamed? No, though they were told of it again and again, yet they could not blush.

III. How he answers their harsh censures, by showing them that what they condemned was capable of excuse, which they ought to have considered.

1. The errorsof his judgment were excusable; {v. 4.) "Beit indeed that I have erred, that I am in the wrong through ignorance or mistake," which may well be supposed concerning men, concerning good men; Humanum est 'errare — Error cleaves to humanity; and we must be willing to suppose it concerning ourseh es. It is folly to think ourselves infallible. " But be it so," said Job, '• mine error re-maineth with myself," that is, "1 speak according to the best of my judgment, with all sincerity, and not from a spirit of contradiction." Or, "If I be in an error, I keep it to myself, and do not impose it upon others as you do. I only prove myself and my own work by it, I meddle not with other people, either to teach them or to judge them." Men's errors are the more excusable, if they keep them to themselves, and do not disturb others with them. Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself. Some give this sense of these words; "If I be in an error, it is I that must smart for it; and therefore you need not concern yourselves; nay, it is I that do smart, and smart severely, for it; and therefore you need not add to my misery by your reproaches."

2. The breakings out of his passion, though net justifiable, yet were excusable, considering the vast-ness of his grief, and the extremity of his misery. "It you will go on to cavil at every complaining word I speak, will make the worst of it, and improve it against me, yet take the cause of the complaint along with you, and weigh that, before you pass a judgment upon the complaint, and turn it to my reproach: know then that God has overcome me." v. 6. Three things he would have them consider, (1.) That his trouble was very great. He was overthrown, and could not help himself, enclosed as in a net, and could not get out. (2.) That God was the Author of it, and that in it he fought against him: " It was his hand that overthrew me, it is in his net that I am enclosed; and therefore ycu need not appear against me thus; I have enough to do to grapple with God's displeasure, let me not have yours also. Let God's controversy with me be ended, before you begin yours." It is barbarous to persecute him whom God hath smitten, and to talk to the grief of one whom he hath wounded, Ps. Ixix. 26. (3.) That he could not obtain any hope of the redress of his grievances, v. 7. He complained of his pain, but got no ease; begged to know the cause of his afflictions, but could not discover it; appealed to God's tribunal for the clearing of his innocency, but could not obtain a hearing, much less a judgment, upon his appfeal; I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard. God, for a time, may seem to turn away his ear from his people, to be angry at their prayers, and overlook their appeals to him, and they must be excused if, in that case, they complain bitterly. Woe unto us if God be against us!

8. He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths. 9. He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head. 10. He hath destroyed me on every side, and 1 am gone: and mv hope hath he removed

JOB, XIX.

like a tree. 11. He hath also khidled his wrath against me, and lie counteth me unto him as one of his enemies. 12. His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tabernacle. 13. He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. 14. iVJy kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have foi gotten me. 15. They that dwell in my house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight. 16. I called my servant, and he gave me no answer: I entreated him with my mouth. 17. My breath is strange to my wife, though I enti-eated for the children's sake of mine own body. 18. Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me. 19. All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me. 20. My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. 21. Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me. 22. Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh ?

Bildad had very disingenuously perverted Job's complaints, by making them the description of the miserable condition of a wicked man; and yet lie repeats them here, to move their pity, and to work upon their good nature, if they had any left in them.

I. He complains of the tokens of God's displeasure which he was under, and which infused the wormwood and gall into the affliction and misery. How doleful are the accents of his complaints; {v. 11.) " He hath kindled his wrath against me, which flames and terrifies me, which burns and pains me." What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God? Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now. Enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. Job's present apprehension was, that God counted him as one of his enemies; and yet, at the same time, God lo\'ed him, and gloried in him, as his faithful friend. It is a gross mistake, but a very common one, to think that whom God afflicts, he treats as his enemies; whereas, on the contrary, as many as he loves, he rebukes arid chastens; it is the discipline of his sons.

Which way soever Job looked, he thought he saw the tokens of God's displeasure against him.

1. Did he look back upon his former prosperity? He saw God's hand putting an end to that; {v. 9.) " He has strifified me of my glory, my wealth, honour, power, and all the opportunity I had of doing good; my children were my glory, but I have lost them; and whatevernvas a crown to my head, he has taken it from me, and has laid all mine honour in the dust." See the vanity of worldly glory, it is what we may be soon stripped of; and whatever strips us, we must see and own God's hand in it, and comply with his design.

2. Did he look down upon his present troubles? He saw God giving them their commission, and their orders to attack him. They are his troops, that act by his direction, which encamfi against me, V. 12. It did not so much trouble him, that his miseries came upon him in troops, as that they

were Gcd's troops, m whom it seemed as if God fouglit against him, and intended liis dtst iictirn. (iod's troops encamfied rAiud hm tar.('v:uviv, .;S soldiers lay siege to a strong city, cutting i ff"all pn -visions from being brought into it, and battering it continually; thus was Job's tabernacle besieged Time was when God's hosts encamped round him for safety; Hast thou not made a hedge about him/ Now, on the contrary, they surrounded hin>, to his terror, and destroyed him on every side, v. 10.

3. Did he look forward for deliverance? He saw the hand of God cutting off all hopes of that; {v. 8.) *'//(? hath fenced ufi my way, that I cannot fiass; I have now no way left to help myself, either to extricate myself out of my tn ubles, or to ease myself under them. Would I make any motion, take any steps, toward deliverance? I find my way hedged ufi; I cannot do what I would; nay, if 1 would please myself with the prospect of a deli\ erance herei.fter, I cannot do it; it is not only out of my reacli, but out of my sight; God hath set darkness in my paths, and there is none to tell me how long," Ps. Ixxiv. 9. He concludes; {y. 10.) "I am gone, quite lest and undone for this world; my hofxe hath he removed like a tree, cut down, or plucked up by the roots, which will ne\ er grow again." Hope in this life is a perishing thing, but the hope of good men, when it is cut off from this world, is but removed like a tree, transplanted from this nursery to the garden of the Lord. We shall have no reason to complain, if God thus remove our hopes from the sand to the rock, from things temporal to things eternal.

II. He complains of the imkindness of his reh.-tions, and of all his old acquaintance. In this also he owns the hand of God; {v. 13.) He has put my brethren far from me, that is, " He has laid those afflictions upon me, which frighten them from me, and make them stand aloof from my sores." As it was their sin, God was not the Author of it; it s Satan that alienates men's minds from their brethren in affliction; but as it was Job's trouble, (lod ordered it for the completing of his trial. As we must eye the hand of God in all the injuries we recei\ e from our enemies, (the Lord bade Shimei curse Da\ id,) so also in all the slights and unkindnesses we receive from our friends, which will help us to bear them the more patiently. Every creature is that to us, (kind or unkind, comfortable or uncomfortable,) which God makes it to be: yet this does not excu^e Job's relations and friends from the guilt of horrid ingratitude and injustice to him, which he had reason to complain of; few could have borne it so well as he did. He takes notice of the unkindness,

1. Of his kindred and acquaintance, his neighbors, and such as he had formerly been familiar with, who were bound by all the laws of friendship and civility to concern themselves for him, to visit hint, and inquire after him, and to be ready to do liim alt the good offices that lay in their power; yet these were estranged from him, {v. 13.) they took no more care about him than if he had been a strangei whom they never knew. His kinsfolk, who chiim-ed relation to him when he was in ])rosperity, imw failed him; they came short of their former profts-sions of friendship to him, and his present exyiec-tations of kindness from them. Even his fimil'ar fi'iends, whom he was mindful of, had now f rgotten him, had forgotten both his former friendliness to them and his present miseries: they had heard of his troubles, and designed him a visit; but truly they forgot it, so little affected were they with it.

Nay, his inward friends, the men of his secret, whom he was most intimate with, and laid in his bosom, not only forgot him, but abhorred him, kept as far off him as they could, because he was poor, and could not entertain them as he used to do, ami because he was sore, and a loathsome spcctpclc

JOB, XIX.

93

I'hose whom he loved, and who therefore were worse tlian publicans if they did not love him now that he was in distress, not only turned from him, i)ut were turned against him, and did all they could to make him odious, so to justify themselves in being so strange to him, v. 19. So uncertain is the friendship of men; but, if God be our Friend, he will not fail us in a time of need. But let none that pretend either to humanity or Christianity, ever use their friends as Job's friends used him: adversity is the proof of friendship.

2. Of his domestics and family-relations. Sometimes, indeed, we find that, beyond our expectation, there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother; but, at least, the master of a family expects to be at-lended on, and taken care of, by those of his family, e\ en then when, through weakness of body or mind, he is become despicable to others. But poor Job was misused ijy his own family, and some of his worst foes were those of his own house. He mentions not his childi-en, they were all dead, and we may suppose that the unkindness of his surviving relations made him lament the death of his children so much the more: "If they had been alive," (would he think,) "I should have had comfort in them." As for those that were now about him,

(1.) His own servants slighted him: his maids did not attend him in his illness, but counted him for a stranger and an alien, v. 15. His other servants never heeded him; if he called to them they would not come at his call, but pretended that they did not hear him. It he asked them a question, they would not vouchsafe to give him an answer, v. 16. Job had been a good master to them, and did not desfiise their cause when they fileaded with him, (ch. xxxi. 13.) and yet they were rude to him now, and despised his cause when he pleaded with them. We must not think it strange if we receive evil at the hand of those from whom we have deserved well. Though he was now sickly, yet he was not cross with his servants, and imperious, as is too common, but he entreated his servants with his mouth, when he had authority to command: and yet they would not be civil to him, neither kind nor just. Note, Those that are sick and in sorrow are apt to take things ill, and be jealous of a slight, and to lay to heart the least unkindness done to them: when Job was in affliction, even his servants' neglect of him troubled him.

(2.) But, one would think, when all forsook him, the wife of his bosom should have been tender of him: no, because he would not curse God and die, as she persuaded him, his breath was strange to her too, she did not care for coming near him, nor took any notice of what he said, v. 17. Though he spake to her, not with the authority, but with the tenderness, of a husband, did not command, but entreated her by that conjugal love which their children were the pledges of, yet she regarded him not. Some read it, '• Though I lamented, or bemoaned myself, for the children," that is, " for the death of the children of my own body;" an affliction in which she was equally concerned with him. Now, it appeared, the Devil spared her to him, not only to be tiis tempter, but to be his tormentor. By what she said to him at first. Curse God and die, it appeared that she had little religion in her; and what can one expect that is kind and good from those that have not the fear of God before their eyes, and are not governed by conscience?

(3.) Even the little children who were born in his house, the children of his own servants, who were his servants by birth, despised him, and spake against him; (t'. 18.) though he arose in civility to speak friendly to them, or with authority to check them, they let him know, that they neither feared him, nor loved him.

III. He complams of the decay of his body; all the beauty and strength of that were gi nv. \\ hen those about him slighted him, if he had been in health, and at ease, he might have enjoyed himself. But he could take as little pleasure in himself as others took in him; {v. 20.) il/j/ bone cleaves now to my skin, as formerly it did to my flesh; this was it that filled him with wrinkles; {ch. xvi, 8.) he was a perfect skeleton, nothing but skin and bones. Nay, his skin too was almost gone, little remained unbroken but the skin of his teeth, his gums, and perhaps his lips, all the rest was fetched off by his sore boils. See what little reason we ha\ e to indulge the body, which, after all our care, may be thus consumed by the diseases which it has in itself the seeds of.

Lastly, Upon all these accounts, he recommends himself to the compassion of his friends, and justly blames their harshness with him. From tnis representation of his deplorable case, it was easy to infer,

1, That they ought to fiity him, v. 21. This he begs in the most moving, melting, language that could be, enough (one would think) to break a heart of stone: " Have fiity upon me, have pity upon me, 0 ye my friends; if ye will do nothing else for me, be sorry for me, and show some concern for me; have pity upon me, for the hand of God hath touched me; my case is sad indeed, for I am fallen into the hands of the living God, my spirit is touched with the sense of his wrath, a calamity of all other the most piteous." Note, It becomes friends to pity one another when they are in any trouble, and not to shut up the bowels of compassion.

2. That, however, they ought not to persecute him: if they would not ease his affliction by their pity, yet they must not be so barbarous as to add to it by their censures and reproaches; {v. 22.) ''Why do ye persecute me as God'^ Surely his rebukes are enough for one man to bear, you need not add your wormwood and gall to the cup of affliction he puts into my hand, it is bitter enough without that: Gcd has a sovereign power over me, and may do what he pleases with me; but do you think that you may do so too?" No, we must aim to be like the Most Holy and the Most Merciful, but not like the Most High and Most Mighty. God gives not account t f any of his matters, but we must. If they did delight in his calamity, let them be satisfied with his flesh, which was wasted and gone, but let them not, as if that were too little, wound his spirit, and ruin his good name. Great tenderness is owing to those that are in affliction, especially to those that are troubled in mind.

23. Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! 24. That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! 25. For I know that my Redeemer hveth, and that he shall stand at the latter dajj upon the earth: 26., And though, after my skin, irorms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 27. Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; tho?/gh my reins be consimied within me, 28. But ye should say, Why persecute we him ? seeing the root of the matter is found in me. 29. Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.

In all the conferences between Job and his fnends, we do not find any more weighty and considerable

JOB, XIX.

lines than these; would one have expected it? Here is much both of Christ and heaven in these verses: and he that said such things as these, declared plainly that he sought the better country; that is, the heavenly; as the patri trchs of that age did, Heb. xi. 14. We have here Job's creed, or confession of faith: his belief in God the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, and the principles of natural religion, he had often professed; but here we find him no stranger to revealed religion. Though the revelation of the Promised Seed, and the promised inheritance, was then discerned only like the dawning of the day, yet Job was taught of God to believe in a living Redeemer, and to look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come, for oif these, doubtless, he miast be understood to speak: these were the things he comforted himself with the expectation of, and not a deliverance from his trouble, or revival of his happiness, in this world, as some would understand him. For, beside that the expressions he here uses, of the Redeemer's standing at the latter day upon the earth, of his seeing God, and seeing him'for himself are wretchedly forced, if they be understood of any temporal deliverance, it is very plain that he had no expectation at all of his return to a prosperous condition in this world. He had just now said, that his way ivas fenced up, {y. 8.) and his hope removed like a tree, V. 10. IS ay, and after this, he expressed his despair of anv comfort in this life, ch. xxiii. 8, 9.—xxx. 23. So that we must necessarily understand him of the redemption of his soul froni the power of the grave, and his reception to glory, which is spoken of, Ps. xlix. 15. We have reason to think that Job was just now under an extraordinary impulse of the blessed Spirit, which raised him above himself, gave him light, and gave him utterance, even to his own surprise. And some observe, that, after this, we do not find in Job's discourses such passionate, peevish, unbecoming, complaints of God and his providence, as we have before met with: this hope quieted his spirit, stilled the storm, and, having here cast anchor within the veil, his mind was kept steady from this time forward. Let us observe,

I. To what intent Job makes this confession of his faith here; never did any thing come in more pertinently, or to better purpose. 1. Job was now accused, and this was his appeal. His friends reproached him as a hypocrite, and contemned him as a wicked man; but he appeals to his creed, to his faith, to his hope, and to his own conscience; which not onlv acquitted him from reigning sin, but comforted him with the expectation of a blessed resurrection: these are not the words of him that has a devil. He appeals to the coining of the Redeemer, from this wrangle at the bar to the judgment of the bench, even to Him to whom all judgment is committed, who, he knew, would right him. The consideration of God's day coming, will make it a. very imall thing with us to he judged of man's judgment, 1 Cor. iv. 3, 4. How easily may we bear the unjust calumnies and reproaches of men, while we expect the glorious appearance of our Redeemer, and his redeemed, at the last day; and that there will then be a resurrection of names as well as bodies! 2. Job was now afflicted, and this was his cordial; when he was pressed above measure, this kept him from fainting; he believed that he should see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living; not in this world, for that is the land of the dying.

IT. With what a solemn preface he-introduces it, V. 23, 24. He breaks off his complaints abrnptlv, Co triumph in his comforts; which he does, not only f->r his own satisfaction, but for the edification of others. Those now about him, he feared, would little rogird what he said, and so it proved; he therefore wished it might be recorded for the gene-

rations to come. 0 that my words were now written the words I am now about to say! As if he h:'.d said, "1 own I ha\ e spoken many un;idvised words, which I could wish might be fcrgotten, for they will neither do me credit, nor do others good. But I air now going to speak deliberately, and th.it whicli I desire may be pul)lished to all the world, and preserved for the generations to come, in perpetuam ret memoriam — for an abiding memorial, and tliere-fore that it may be written plain, drawn out in large and legible characters, so that he that runs may read it; and that it may not be left in loose papers, but put into a book; or, if that should perish, that it may be engraven like an inscription upon a monument, with an iron pen, in lead, or in the stone; let the engraver use all his art to make it a durable appeal to posterity." That which Job here somewhat passionately wished for, God graciously granted him; his words are written, they are printed in God's book; so that wherever that book is read, there shall this be told for a memorial concerning Job, He iielieved, therefore he spake.

III. What his confession itself is; what are the words which he would have to be written. We here have them written, v. 25- '27. Let us observe them.

1. He believes the glory of the Redeemer, and his own interest in him; (i'. 25.) / know that my Redeemer liveth; that he is in being, and is my Life, and that he shall stand at last, or stand the last, or at the latter day, upon (or above) the earth. He shall be raised up, or. He shall be (at the latter day, that is, in the fulness of time; the gospel-dav is called the last time, because that is the last dispensation) upon the earth: so it points at his incar nation; or. He shall be lifted up from the earth; (so it points at his crucifixion;) or, raised up out of the earth; so it is applicable to his resurrection; or, as we commonly understand it. At the end of time, he shall appear over the earth, for he shall come in the clouds, and every eye shall see liim, so close stall he come to this earth. He shall stand upon the dust, so the word is; upon all his enemies, which shall be put as dust under his feet; and he shall tread upon them and triumph over them.

Observe here, (1.) That there is a Redeemer provided for fallen man, and Jesus Christ is that Redeemer. The word is Goel, which is used for thf next of kin, to whom, by the law of Moses, the right of redeeming a mortgaged estate did belong. Lev. XXV. 25. Our heavenly inheritance was mortgaged by sin, we are ourselves utterly unable to redeem it,' Christ is near of kin to us, the next Kinsman that is able to redeem; he has paid our debt, satisfied God's justice for sin, and so has taken off the mortgage, and made a new settlement of the inheritance! Our persons also want a Redeemer, we are sold for sin, and sold under sin; our Lord Jesus has wrought out a redemption for us, and proclaims redemption to us, and so he is truly the Redeemer. (2.) He is a living Redeemer: as we are made by a living God, so we are saved by a living Redeemer, who is both almighty and eternal, and is therefore able to save to the uttermost. Of him ?> is witnessed that he liveth; Heb. vii. 8. Rev. i. 18 We are dying, but he liveth, and hath assured us, that because he lrx>es, we shall live also, John xiv. 19. (3.) There are those that, through grace, have at interest in this Redeemer, and can, upon gooc grounds, call him theirs. When Job had lost all hi? wealth, and all his friends, yet he was not separated from Christ, nor cut off from his relation to r.im. "Still he is my Redeemer." That next Kinsman adhered to him when all his other kindred forsook him, and he had the comfort of it. (4.) Our inte rest in the Redeemer is a thing that may be known, and, where it is known, it may be triumphed in, .i«

JOB, XTX.

95

sufficient to balance all our griefs; I know. Observe witli what an air of assurance he speaks it, as one confident of this very thing; / know that my Redeemer lives. His friends had often charged him with ignorance or vain knowledge; but lie knows enough, and knows to good purpose, who knows Christ to be his Redeemer. (5.) There will be a latter day, a last day, a day when time shall be no more, Rev. x. 6. That is a day we are concerned to think of every day. (6.) Our Redeemer will, at that day, stand upon the earth, or over the earth, to summon the dead out of their graves, and determine them to an unchangeable state, for to him all judgment is committed. He shall stand, at the last, on the dust to which this earth will be reduced by the conflagration.

2. He believes the happiness of the redeemed, and his own title to that happiness, that, at Christ's second coming, believers shall be raised up in glory, and so made pei-fectly blessed in the vision and fruition of God; and this he believes with application to himself.

(1.) He counts upon the corrupting of his body in the grave, and speaks of it with a holy carelessness andimconcernedness; Though, after my skin (which is already wasted and gone, none of it remaining but the skin of my teeth, v. 20.) they destroy (they that are appointed to destroy it, the gra\ e, and the worms in it, of whom he had spoken, ch. xvii. 14.) this body. The word body is added: "Though they destroy this, this skeleton, this shadow, (cA. xvii. 7.) this that I lay my hand upon," or (pointing perhaps to his weak and withered limbs) "this that you see, call it what you will, I expect that shortly it will be a feast for the worms." Christ's body saw not corruption, but ours must! And Job mentions this, that the glory of the resurrection he believed and hoped for might shine the more bright. Note, It is good for us often to think, not only of the approaching death of our bodies, but of their destruction and dissolution m the grave; yet let not that discourage our hope of their resurrection, for the same power that made man's body at first, out of common dust, can raise it out of its own dust This body, which we now take such care about, and make such provision for, will, in a little time, be destroyed; Even my reins (says Job) shall be consumed within me; {%'. 27. ) the innermost part of the body, which perhaps putrifies first.

(2.) He comforts himself with the hopes of happiness on the other side death and the grave; After I shall avjake, (so the margin reads it,) though this body be destroyed, yet out of myjtesh shall I see God.

[i.] Soul and body shall come together again. That body which must be destroyed in the grave, shall be raised again, a glorious body; Yet in my flesh I shall see God. The separate soul has eves wherewith to see God, eyes of the mind; but Job speaks of seeing him with eyes of flesh, in my flesh, with mine eyes; the same body that died shall rise again, a true body, but a glorified body, fit for the employments and entertainmentsof that world; and therefore a spiritual body, 1 Cor. xv. 44. Let us therefore glorify God with our bodies, because there is such a glory designed for them.

[2."] Job and God shall come together again; In my flesh shall I see God, that is, the glorified Redeemer, who is God. / shall see God in mv flesh, so some read it; the Son of God clothed with a bodv which will be visible even to eyes of flesh. Though the body, in the grave, seem despicable and mise-r ible, yet it shall be dignified and made happv in the vision of God. Job now complained that he could not get a sight of God, {ch. xxiii. 8, 9.) but hopes to see him shortly, never more to lose the siTht of him, and that sight of him will be the more welcome after the present darkness and distance.

Note, It is the blessedness of the blessed that they shall see God, shall see him as he is, see him face to face, and no longer through a glass darkly. See with what pleasure holy Job enlarges upon this; {y. 27.) "Tapiom I shall see for inyself" that is, "see and enjoy, .see to my own unspeakable comfort and satisfaction. I shall see him as mine, as mine with an appropriating sight," Rev. xxi. 3. God himself shall be with them, and be their God, they shall be like him, for they shall see him as he is, that is, seeing for themselves, 1 John iii. 2. Mine eyes shall behold him, and not anothei-. First, "He, and not another for him, shall be seen, not a type or figure of him, but he himself" Glorified saints are perfectly sure that they are not imposed upon, it is no decefitio visus — illusion of the senses. Secondly, "I, and not another for me, shall see him. Though my flesh and body be consumed, yet I shall not need a proxy, I shall see him with my own eyes-." This was what Job hoped for, and what he earnestly desired; which, some think, is the meaning of the last clause, Afy reins are sfient in my bosom, that is, " All my desires are summed up and concluded in this; this will crown and complete them all; let me have this, and I shall have nothing more to desire; it is enough, it is all." With this the prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.

IV. The application of this to his friends. His creed spake comfort to himself, but warning and terror to them that set themselves against him.

1. It was a word of caution to them, net to proceed and persist in their unkind usage of him, v. 28. He had repro\ed them for what they had said, and now tells them what they should say for the reducing of themselves and one another to a better temper. "Why persecute we him thus? Why do we grieve him and vex him, by censuring and condemning him, seeing the root of the matter, or the root of the word, is found in him?" Let this direct us, (1.) In our care concerning ourselves. We are all concerned to see to it, that the root of the matter be found in us. A living, quickening, commanding, principle of grace in the heart, is the root of the matter, as necessary to our religion as the root to the tree, to which it owes both its fixedness and its fruitfulness: love to God and our brethren, faith in Christ, hatred of sin— these are the root of the matter, other things are but leaves in comparison with this; serious godliness is the one thing needful. (2.) In our conduct toward our brethren. We are to believe that many have the root of the matter in them, who are not in every thing of our mind, who have their follies, and weaknesses, and mistakes: and, to conclude, it is at our peril if we persecute any such. Woe be to him that offends one of those little ones! God will resent and revenge it. Job and his friends differed in some notions concerning the methods of Pro\idence, but they agreed in the root of the matter, the belief of another world, and therefore should not persecute one another for these difl'erences.

2. It was a word of terror to them. Christ's second coming will be very dreadful to those that are found smiting their fellow serxmnts; (Matth. xxiv. 49.) and therefore, {v. 29.) ''Be ye afraid of the sword, the flaming sword of God's justice, which turns every way; fear lest you make yourselves obnoxious to it." Good men need to be frightened from sin by the terrors of the Almighty, particular-Iv from the sin of rashly judging their brethren, Matth. vii. 1. Jam. iii. 1. Those that arc peevish and passionate with their brethren, censorious of them, and malicious toward them, should know, not only that their wrath, whatever it pretends, works not the righteousness of God, but, (1.) Thev may expect to smart for it in this world; it bnn!*TS

JOB, XX.

the fiunUhments of the fi'ivord: wrath leads to such crimes as expose men to the sword of the magistrate; however, God often takes \engeHnce for it, and those that showed no mercy, shall find no mer-cv. (2.) If tliey repent not, that will be an earnest of worse. By these you may know there is a judgment, not only a present government, but a future judgment, in which hard speeches must be accounted for.

CHAP. XX.

One would have thought that such an excellent confession of faith as Job made in the close of the foregoing chapter, should have saiisfied his friends, or, at least, have mollified them ; but they do not seem to have taken any notice of it, and therefore Zophar here takes his turn, enters the lists with Joh, and attacks him with as much vehemence as before. 1. His preface is short, but hot, T. 2, 3. II. His discourse is lung, and all upon one subject, the very same that Bildad was large upon,(ch. xviii.) the certain misery of wicked people, and the ruin that awaits them. 1. He asserts in general, that the prosperity of a wicked person is short, and his ruin sure, v. 4.. 9. 2. He proves the misery of his condition by many instances—That he should have a diseased body, a troubled conscience, a ruined estate, a beggared family, an infamous name, and that he himself shall perish under the weight of divine wrath. All this is most curiously described here in lofty expressions and lively similitudes; and it often proves true in this world, and always in another, without repentance, v. 10. . 29. But the great mistake was, and (as Bishop Patrick expresses it) all the flaw in his discourse, (which was common to him with the rest,) that he imagined God never varied from this method, and therefore Job was, without doubt, a very bad man, though it did not appear he was, any other way than by his infelicity.

]. npHEN answered Zophar the Naama-jL thite, and said, 2. Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste. 3. I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer. 4. Know-est thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, 5. That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite kit for a moment? 6. Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds: 7. Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say. Where is he? 8. He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found; yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. 9. The eye also which saw him shall see him. no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.

Here,

I. Zophar begins very passionately, and seems to be in a great heat at what Job had said- Being resolved to condenm Job for a bad man, he was much disjjlcHsed that he talked so like a good man, und, as it should seem, brake in u])on him, and begin abruptly; {v. 2.) Therefore do my thoughts rau.se 77ie to answer. He takes no notice of what Job had said, to move their pity, or to evidence his nwn integrity, but fastens upon the reproof he gave them in the close of his discourse, counts that a re])roach, and thinks himself therefore obliged to answer, because Job had bidden thein be afraid of the sword, that he inight not seem to be frightened bv his menaces. The best counsel is too often ill taken from an antagonist, and therefore usually

may be well spared. Zophar seemed more in haste to speak than became a wise mm; but he excuses it with two things. 1. That Job had gi\en him a strong provocation; (t'. 3.) "I have heard the chick of my refiroach, and cannot bear to hear.it any longer." Job's friends, I doubt, had spirits too high to deal with a man in his low condition; and high spirits are impatient of contradiction, and think themselves affronted, if all about them do not S'V as they say: they cannot bear a check, but they call it the check of their refiroach, and then they are bound in honour to return it, if not to draw upon him that gave it. 2. That his own heart gave him a strong instigation. His thoughts caused him tc answer, {y. 2.) for out of the abundance of the hear' the mouth speaks; but he fathers it {v. 3.) upon the spirit of his understanding: that indeed should cause us to answer, we should rightly apprehend a thing, and duly consider it, before we speak to it; but whether it did so here or no, is a question: men often mistake the dictates of their passion for the dictates of their reason, and therefore think they do well to be angry.

II. Zophar proceeds very plainly to show the ruin and destruction of wicked people, insinuating that because Job was destroyed and ruined, he was certainly a wicked man, and a hypocrite.

Observe,

1. How this doctrine is introduced; (t;. 4.) where he appeals, (1.) To Job's own knowledge and conviction; "Knoivest thou not this? Canst thou be ignorant of a truth so plain.'' Or canst thou doubt of a truth which has been confirmed by the suffrage of all mankind?" Those know little, who do not know that the wages of sin is death. (2.) To the experience of all ages. It was known of old, since man was placed upon the earth, that is, ever since man was made, he has had this truth written in his heart, that the sin of sinners will be their ruin; and ever since there were instances of wickedness, (which there were soon after man was placed on the earth,) there were instances of the punishments of it, witness the exclusions of Adam and Cain. When sin entered into the world, death entered with it: all the world knows that evil pursues sinners, whom vengeance suffers not to live, (Acts xxviii. 4.) and subscribes to that, (Isa. iii. 11.) Woe to the wicked, it shall be ill with him, sooner or later.

2. How it is laid down; (t. 5.) The triumfihing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hyfiocrite out for a m.oment. Observe, (1.) He asserts the misery, not only of those who are openly wicked and profane, but of hypocrites, who secretly practise wickedness imder a show and profession of'religion, because such a wicked man he looked upon Job to be; and it is true that a form of godliness, if it be made use of for a cloak of maliciousness, does but make bad worse; dissembled piety is doul)1e iniquity, and the ruin that attends it will be accoi-d-ingly. The hottest place in hell will be the portion of hypocrites, as our Saviour intimates, Matth xxiv. 5\. (2.) He grants that wicked men may, for a time, prosper, may be secure and easv, imd very merry; you may see them in triumph and jny, triumphing and rejoicing in their wealth artd power, their gi'andeur and success, triumphing and rei"ic-ing over their poor honest neighl)ours whoni they vex and oppress: they feel no evil, they fear none. Job's friends were loath to own, at first, that wicked people might prosper at all, {ch. iv. 9.) until Job proved it plainly; (cA. ix. 24.—xii. 6.) and now Zophar yields it: but, (3.) He lays it down for a certain truth, that they will not prosper long. Their joy is but for a moment, and will quicklv end in endless sorrow; though he be c\cr so great, and rich, and jovial, he will be humbled, and mor tified, and made miserable.

JOB, XX.

97

3. How it is illustrated, v. 6, &c.

(1.) He supposes his prosperity to be very high, as hiijU as you can imagine, v. 6. It is not his wisdom and virtue, but his worldly wealth and greatness, tliat lie accounts his excellency, and values himself upon: we will suppose those to mount up to the heavens, and, since his spirit always rises with his condition, you may suppose that with it his head reaches to the clouds. He is every way advanced, the world has done the utmost it can for him, he looks down upon all about him with disdain, while they look up to him with admiration, envy, or fear; we will suppose him to bid fair for a universal monarchy. And though he cannot but have made himself many enemies before he arrived to this pitch of prosperity, yet he thinks himself as much out of the reach of tlieir darts as if he were in tie clouds.

(2.) He is confident that his ruin will, accordingly, be very great, and his fall the more dreadful for his having risen so high; He shall jierish for ever, V. 7. His pride and security were the certain presages of his misery. This will certainly be true of all impenitent sinners in the other world, they shall be undone, for e\ er undone; but Zophar means his ruin in this world: and indeed sometimes notorious sinners are remarkably cut off by present judgments, they have reason enough to fear what Zophar here threatens even the triumphant sinner with. [1.] A s/zame/u/destruction. He shall perish like his own dung or dunghill, so loathsome is he to God and all good men, and so willing will the world be to part with him, Ps. cxix. 119. Isa. Ixvi. 24. [2.] A sur/irising destruction. He will be brought into desolation in a moment, (Ps. Ixxiii. 19.) so that those about him, that saw him but just now, will ask, "iVhere is he? Could he that made so gieat a figure vanish and expire so suddenly?" [3.] A swift destruction, -v. 8. He shall fly away upon the wings of his own terrors, and be chased away by the just imprecations of all about him, who would gladly be rid of him. [4 ] An utter destruction. It will be total; he shall go away like a dream, or vision of the night, which was a mere phantasm, Jind, whate\er in it pleased the fancy, it is quite gone, and nothing of it remains, but what serves us to laugh at the folly of. It will be final, V. 9. The eye that saw him, and was ready to adore him, shall see him no more, and the place he filled shall no more behold him, having given him an eternal farewell when he went to his own place, as Judas, Acts i. 25.

10. His children shall seek to please the poor, and his liands shall restore their goods.

11. His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.

12. Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;

13. Thongh he spare it, and forsake it not, but keep it still within his mouth; 14. Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him. 15. He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly. 16. He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him. 17. He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter. 18. That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution he^ and ho

Vol. III.— N

shall not rejoice therein. 19. Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor, because he hath violently taken away a house which he builded not; 20. Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired. 21, There shall none of his meat be loft: therefore shall no man look for his goods. 22, In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall bo in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.

The instances here gi\ en nf the miserable condition of the wicked man in this world, are expressed with a great fulness and fluency of language, and the same thing returned to again, and repeated in other words. Let us therefore reduce the particulars to their proper heads; and observe,

I. What his wickedness is, for which he is pu nished.

1. The lusts of the flesh, here called the sins oj his youth; {v. 11.) for those are the sins which, at that age, people are most tempted to. The forbid ■ den pleasures of sense are said to be sivect in hit, tnouth; {v. 12.) he indulges himself in all the gru tifications of the carnal appetite, and takes an inordinate complacency in them, as yielding the mosl agreeable delights. That is the satisfaction which he hides under his tongue, and rolls there, as the most dainty delicate thing that can be: he keeps it still within his mouth; (v. 13.) let him have that, and he desires no more; he will never part with that for the spiritual and di\jne pleasures of religion, which he has no relish of, nor affection for. His keeping it still in his mouth, denotes both his obstinate persisting in his sin, (he sjjares it when he should kill and mortify it, and forsakes it not, but holds it fast, and goes on frowardly in it,) and also his re-acting of his sin, by revolving it, and remembering it with pleasure^ as that adulterous woman, (Ezek. xxiii. 19.) \sho muUiplied her ivhorcdoms by calling to remembrance the days of her yonth; so does this wicked man here. Or, his hiding it and keeping it under his tongue denotes his industrious concealment of his beloved lust: being a hypocrite, that he may save the credit of his profession, he has secret haunts of sin; but he who knows what is in the heart, knows what is under the tongue too, and will discover it shortly.

2. The love of the world and the wealth of it; that is it in which he places his happiness, and which therefore he sets his heart upon. See here, (1.) How greedy he is of it, x>. 15. He has swallowed down riches, as eagerly as ever a hungry man swallowed down meat; and is still crying, " Give, give." It is that which he desired; {v. 20.) it was, in his eye, the best gift, and that which he coveted earnestly. (2.) What pains he takes for it; it is that which he laboured for, {v. 18.) not by honest diligence in a lawful calling, but by an unwearied prosecution of all ways and methods, per fas, per nefas — right or ivrong, to be rich. We. must labour, not to be rich, (Prov. xxiii. 4.) but to be charitable, that toe may have to give, (Eph. i\-. 28.) not to spend. (3.) What great things he promises himself from it, intimated in the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter; {y. 17.) h's being disappointed of them supposes tliat he hfid flattered himself with the hopes of them: he expected rivers of sensual delights.

3. Violence, and oppression, and injustice, to his poor neighbours, xk 19. This was the sin of the giants of the old world, and a sin that, as much as any other, bnitgs God*s judgments upon nations and

JOB, XX.

f milies. It is charged upon this wicked man, (1.) That he has forsaken tlie poor, taken no care of them, showed no kindness to them, nor made any pro\ ision for them. At first, perhaps, for a pretence, he gave alms like the Pharisees, to gain a reputation; but, when he had served his turn with it, he left it oflF, and forsook the poor, whom before he seemed to be concerned for. Those who do good, but not from a good principle, though they may abound in it, will not abide in it. (2.) That he has oppressed them, crushed them, taken all advantages against them to do them a mischief: to enrich himself, he has made the poor poorer. (3.) Tlidt he has violently taken away their houses, which he liad no right to, as Ahab took Naboth's vineyard, not by secret fraud, by forgery, perjury, or some trick in law, but avowedly, and by open violence. 11. What his punishment is, for this wickedness.

1. He shall be disappointed in his expectations, and shall not find that satisfaction in his worldly wealth which he vainly promised himself; {v. 17.) He shall never see (he rivers, the Jloods, the brooks of honey and butter, with which he hoped to glut himself. The world is not that to those who love it, and court it, and admire it, which they fancy it will be. The enjoyment sinks far below the raised expectation.

2. He shall be diseased and distempered in his body; and how little comfort a man has in riches, if he has not health! Sickness and pain, especially if they be in extremity, imbitter all his enjoyments. This wicked man has all the delights of sense wound up to the height of pleasurableness; but what real happiness can he enjoy, when his bones are full of the sins of his youth, {v. 11.) that is, of the effects of those sins? By his drunkenness and gluttony, his uncleanness and wantonness, when he was young, he contracted those diseases which are painful to him long after, and, perhaps, make his life very miserable, and, as Solomon speaks, consume his flesh and his body, Prov. v. 11. Perhaps he was given to fight when he was young, and then made nothing of a cut or a bruise in a fray; but he feels it in his bones long after. But can he get no ease, m relief? No, he is likely to carry his pains and diseases with him to the grave, or rather, they are likely to carry him thitlier, and so the sins of his youth shall tie down with him in the dust: the very putrifying of his body in the grave is to him the effect of sin; (c//. xxiV. 19.) so that his iniquity is upon his bones there, Ezek. xxxii. 27. The sin of sinners fvillows them to the other side death;

3. He shall be disquieted and troubled in his mind; Surely he shall not f el (/uietness in hut belly, V. 20. He has not that ease in his own mind that pe-'ple think he has, but is in continual agitation. The ill-gotten wealth which he has swallowed down, makes him sick, and, like undigested meat, is always upbraiding him. Let none expect to enjoy that 'comfortably which they have gotten unjustly. The unquietness of his mind arises, (1.) From his conscience looking back, and filling him with the fear of the wrath of God against him, for his wickedness. Even that wickedness which was sweet in the commission, and was rolled under the tongue as a delicate morsel, becomes bitter in the reflection, and, when it is reviewed, fills him with horror and vexation. In his bowels, it is turned, {v. 14. ) like John's book; in his mouth as sweet as honey, but, when he had eaten it, his belly was bitter, Rev, x. 10. Such a thing is sin; it is turned into the gall of asi^s, than which notliing is more bitter, the poison of asps, (i'. 16.) than which nothing more fatal, aiTid so it will be to him; what he sucked so sweetly, awd with so mucli i)leasnre, will prove to him the p'lis'^iii of asps; so will all unlawful gains be. The t.w.iljy^ tongue will prove the >iper's tongue. All

the charming giaces that are thought to be in sin, when conscience is awakened, wi.l turn into sc many raging furies. (2.) From his cares looking forward, v. 22. In the fulness of his sufficiency, when he thinks himself most h^ppy, and most sure of the continuance of his h..ppiuess, he shall be in straits, that is, he shall think himself so, through the anxieties and perplexities of his own mind, as that rich man who, when his ground brought forth plentifully, cried out, what shall I do? Luke xii. 17. 4. He shall be dispossessed of his estate; that shall sink and dwindle away to nothing, so that he shall not rejoice therein, v,. 18. He shall not cnly never rejoice truly, but not long rejiice at all.

(1.) What he has unjustly swallowed, he shall be compelled to disgorge; {v. 15.) He swallowcc' down riches, and then thought himself sure of them, and that they were as much his own as the meat he has eaten, but he is deceived, he shall vomit them up again; his own conscience perhaps may make him so uneasy in tlie keeping of what ne has gotten, that, for the quiet of his own mind, he shall make restitution, and that not with the pleasure of a virtue, but the pain of a vomit, and with the utmost reluctancy. Or, if he do not himself refund what he has violently taken away, God shall, by his providence, force him to it, and bring it about, one way or other, that ill-gotten goods shall return to the right owners. God shall cast them out of his belly, while yet the love of the sin is not cast out of his heart. So loud shall the clamours of the poor, whom he has impoverished, be against him, that he shall be forced to send his children to them, to sooth them, and beg their pardon; {y. 10.) His children shall seek to please the fioor, while his own hands shall restore them their goods with shame, V. 18. That which he laboured for, by all the art? of oppression, shall he restore, and shall not sc swallow it down as to digest it; it shall not stay with him, but according to his sham'e shall the restitution be; having gotten a great deal unjustly, he shall restore a great deal, so that when every one has his own, he will have but a little left for himself. To be made to restore what was unjustly gotten, by the sanctifying grace of God, as Zaccheus was, is a great mercy; he voluntarily and cheerfully restored four-fold, and yet had a great deal left to give to the poor, Luke xix. 8. But to be forced to restore, as Judas was, merely by the horrors of a despairing conscience, has none of that benefit and comfort attending it, for he threw down the pieces of silver, and went and hanged himself

(2.) He shall be stripped of all he has, and become a beggar. He that spoiled others, shall himself be spoiled; (Isa. xxxiii. 1.) for every hayid of the wicked shall be upon him. The innocent, whom he has wronged, sit down by their loss, saying, as David, Wickedness proceedeth from thevjicked,but my hand shall not be upon him, 1 Sam. xxiv. 13. But though they have forgiven him, though they will make no reprisals, divine justice will, and often makes the wicked to avenge the 'quarrel of the righteous, ;ind squeezes and crushes one bad man bv the hand of another upon him. Thus when he is plucked on iill sides, he shall not save of that which he desired; (i'. 20.) not only he shall not save it all, but he shall save nothing of it. There shall none of his meat (which he coveted so much, and fed upon with so much pleasure) be left, t. 21. All his neighbours and relations shall look upon him to be in such bad circumstances, that, when he is dead, no man shall look for his goods, none of his k iidrcd shall expect to be a ])enny the l)etter for him, nor be willing to take out letters of administration for what he leaves behind him. In i'' this Zophar reflects upon Job, who had lost aV, a •'' was reduced to the last extremity.

JOB, XX.

99

23. Tf'icen ne is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating. '■24. He shall flee from the iron weapon, aiid the bow of steel shall strike hirii through.

25. It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him. 26. All darkness shall be hid in his secret places; a fire not blown out shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle. 27. Tiie heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him. 28. The increase of his house shall depart, and Ins goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath. 29. This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.

Zophar, ha\ing described the many embaiTass-ments and vexations which commonly attend the ■wicked practices of oppressors and cruel men, here comes to show their utter ruin at last.

1. Their ruin will take its rise from God's wrath and \engeance, f. 23. The hand of the wicked was upon him; {v. 22.) e\ ery hand of the wicked. His hand was against every one, and therefore e\ery man's hand will be against him—yet, in grappling with these, he might go near to make his part good; but his he irt cannot endure, nor his hands be strong, when God shall deal with him, (Ezek. xxii. 14.) when God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and rnin it upon him. Every word here speaks terror. It is not only the justice of God, that is engaged against him, but his wrath, the deep resentment of provocations gi> en to himself: it is the fury of his vjrath, incensed to the highest degree; it is cast upon him with force and fierceness; it is rained upon him in abundance; it comes on his head like the fire and brimstone upon Sodom, to which the psilmist also refers, (Ps. xi. 6.) On the ivicked God shall rain fire and brimstone. There is no fence against this, but in Christ, who is the only Covert from the storm and tempest, Isa. xxxii. 2. This wr ith shall be cast upon him, when he is about to fill his belly, just going to glut himself with what he has gotten, and promising himself abundant satisfaction in it. Then, when he is eating, shall tliis tempest surprise him, when he is secure and easy, and in apprehension of no danger; as the ruin of the old world and Sodom came, when they were jn the depth of their security, and the height of their sensuality, as Christ observes, Luke xvii.

26, Sec. Perhaps Zophar here reflects on the death of Job's children, when they were eating and drinking.

2. Their ruin will be inevitable, and there will be no possibility of escaping it; (i;. 24.) He shall flee from the iron weapon. Flight argues guilt: he will not humble himself under the judgments of God, nor seek means to make his peace with him; all his care is to escape the vengeance that pursues him, but in vain: if he escape the sword, yet the bow of steel shall strike him through. God has weapons of all sorts, he has both whet his sword, and bent his bow; (Ps. vii. 12, 13.) he can deal with his enemies cominns or eminus — at hand or afar off. He has a sword for those that think to fight it out with him by their strength, and a bow for those that think to avoid him bv their craft. See Isaiah x\iv. 17, 18. Jer. xlviii. 43, 44. He that is marked for ruin, though he may escape one judgment, will find another ready for him.

3. It will be a total, terrible, ruin. When thi-dart that has sti-uck him through, (for when Ci<.(i shoots, he is sure to hit his mark, when he strikes, he strikes home,) comes to be drawn out of his body, when the glittering sword, (the lightning, so the word is,) the flaming sword, the sword that is bathed in heaven, (Isa. xxxiv. 5.) when this comes out of his gall, O what terrors are upon him! How-strong are the convulsions, how violent are the d)'-ing agonies! How terrible are the arrests of deatli to a wicked man!

4. Sometimes it i,s a ruin that comes upon him insensibly, -v. 26. (1.) The darkness he is wrapped up in, is a hidden darkness: it is all darkness, utter darkness, without the least mixture of light, and it is hid in his secret place, whither he is retreated, and where he hopes to shelter himself; he never retires into his own conscience, but he finds himself in the dark, and utterly at a loss. (2.) The fire he is consumed by is a fire not blown, kindled without noise, a consumption which every body sees the effect of, but nobody sees the cause of; it is jjlain that the gourd is withered, but the worm at the root, that causes it to wither, is out of sight. He is wasted by a soft gentle fire; surely, but very slowly. When the fuel is very combustible, the fire needs no blowing, and that is his case; he is ripe for ruin; the firoud, and they that do wickedly, shall be stubble, Mai. iv. 1. An vniquenchable fire shall consume him, so some read it; and that is certainly true of hell-fire.

5. It is a ruin, not only to himself, but to his family; It shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle, for the curse shall reach him, and he shall be cut off perhaps by the same grievous disease; there is an entail of wrath upon the family, which will destroy both his heirs and his inheritance, v. 28. (1.) His posterity will be rooted out. The increase of his house shall depart; shall either be cut off" by untimely deaths, or forced to run their country. Numerous and growing families, if wicked and vile, are soon reduced, dispersed, and extirpated, by the judgments of God. (2.) His estate will be sunk. His goods shall flow away from his family as fast as ever they flowed in to it, when the day of God's wrath comes, for which, all the while his estate was in the getting by fraud and oppression, he was treasuring up wrath.

6. It is a ruin which will manifestly appear to be just and righteous, and what he has brought upon himself by his own wickedness; for, (x'. 27.) the heaven shall reveal his iniquity, that is, the God of heaven, who sees all the secret wickedness of the wicked, will, by some means or other, let all the world know what a base man he has been, that they may own the justice of God in all that is brought upon him. The earth also shall rise up against him, both to discover his wickedness, and to avenge it. The earth shall disclose her blood, Isa. xxvi. 21. The earth rises'vfi agai7ist him, (as the stomach rises against that which is loathsome,) and will no longer keep him: the Heaven reveals his iniquity, and therefore will not receive him: whither then must he go but to hell? If the God of heaven and earth be his enemy, neither heaven nor earth will show him any kindness, but all the hosts of both are, and will be, at war with him.

Lastly, Zophar concludes like an orator; {v. 29.) This is the portion of a wicked man from God; it is allotted him, it is designed him as his portion. He will ha\e it at last, as a child hr-.s his portion, and he will have it for a perpetuitv, it is what he must abide by: this is the heritage of his decree from God; it is the settled rule of his judgment, and fair warn ■ ing is given of it. O wicked man, thou shalt surelh die! Ezek. xxxiii. 8. Though impenitent sinners do not always fall under such temporal judgments

JOB, XXI.

is are here described, (therein Zophar was mistaken,) yet the wrath of God abides upon them, and they are made miserable by spiritual judgments, which are much worse, their consciences being either, on the one hand, a terror to them, and tlien they are in continual amazement, or, on the .ither hand, seared and silenced, and then they are gi\ en up to a reprobate sense, and bound over to eternal ruin. Never was any doctrine better explained, or worse applied, than this by Zophar, who intended by all this to prove Job a hypocrite. Let us receive the good explication, and make a better ff/iplication, for warning to ourselves, to stand in awe, and not to sin.

CHAP. XXI.

This is Job's reply lo Zophar's discourse; in which he complains less of his own miseries than he had done in his former discourses, (finding that his friends were not moved by his complaints, lo pity him in the least,) and comes closer to the general question that was in dispute betwixt him and them, AVhelher outward prosperity, and the continuance of it, were a mark of the true church, and the true members of it, so that the ruin of a man's prosperity is sufficient to prove him a hypocrite, though no other evidence appear against him: this they asserted, but Job denied. 1. His preface here is designed for the moving of their affections, that he might gain their attention, v. 1. .6. II. His discourse is designed for the convincing of their judgments, and the rectifying of their mistakes. He owns that God does sometimes hang up a wicked man as it were in chains, tji lerrorem — as a terror lo others, by some visible remarkable judgment in this life, but denies that he always does so ; nay, he maintains that commonly he does otherwise, suffering even the worst of sinners to live all their days in prosperity, and to go out of the world without any visible mark of his wrath upon them. I. He describes the great prosperity of wicked people, v. 7.. 13. 2. He shows their great impiety, in which they are hardened by their prosperity, v. 14.. 16. 3. He foretells their ruin, at length, but afler a long reprieve, v. 17. .21. 4. He observes a very great variety in the ways of God's providence toward men, ej-en toward bad men, v. 22., 26. 5.' He overthrows the ground of tFieir severe censures of him, by showing that destruction is reserved for the other world, and that the wicked often escape to the last in this world, v. 27. to the end. In this, Job was clearly in the right.

1. XIUT Job answered and said, 2. Hear

XJ diligently nfiy speech; and let this be your consolations. 3. Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, •nock on. 4. As for me, is my complaint to man ? and if it ivere so, why should not my spirit be troubled ? 5. Mark me, and be astonished, and lay 7/our haivl upon 7/our mouth. 6. Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh.

Job here recommends himself, both his case and his discourse, both what he suflFered, and what he said, to the compassionate consideration of his friends.

1. That which he entreats of them is very fair, that they would suffer him to speak, {v. 3.) and not break' in upon him, as Zophar had done, in the midst of his discourse. Losers, of all men, may have leave to speak; and if those that are accused and censured may not speak for themselves, they are wronged witiinut remedy, and have no way to come at tlieir right. He entreats that they would hear diligently his s])eech, {v. 2.) as those that were willing to understand h.m, and, if they were under a mistake, to have it rectified; and that they would rnaj-k him; {v. 5.) for we may as well not hear as 'jot heed and observe what we hear.

? That which he urges for this is very reason-

I able. (1.) They came to comfort him; "Nov.,"

[ says he, "/er t/iin be your c-jnuolations; (v. 2. , if

you ha\ e no other comforts to administer to i..t,

yet deny me not this; be so kind, so just, as to t,ive

me a patient hearing, and that shall pass for your

I consolations." Nay, they could not know how to

! comfort him, if they would not give him leave to

! open his case, and tell his own stt.ry. Or, " It will

be a consol iti.in to yourselves, in the reflection, to

have dealt tenderly with your afflicted friend, and

not harshly."

(2.) He would hear them speak, when it came to t'leir turn. " After I have spoken, yni may go on ■with what you have to say, nnd I will not hinder you, though you go on to mock me." Thobe that engage in comro\ ersy, must count upon ha\ ing hard words gi\en tliem, and res( Ive to bear it p.itienUy; for, generally, they that mock, will mock on, w!t,it-ever is said to them.

(3.) He hoped tocoinince them; " If you will but give me a fair hearing, mock on if you can, but I believe I shall say that which will change your note, and make you pity me, rather than mock nie."

(4.) They were not his judges; (t. 4.) "In my comfilaint to man? No, if it were, I see it would be to little purpose to complain. But my complaint is to God, and to him do I appeal. Let him be Judge between you and me! Before him we stand upon even terms, and therefore I have the privilege of being heard as well as you. If my complaint were to men, my spirit would be troubled, for they would not regard me, nor rightly understand me; but my complaint is to God, wlio will suffer me to speak, though you will not." It wtaild be sad iH (iod should deal as unkindly with us as our fiiendsl sometimes do.

(5.) There was that in his case, which was very surprising and astonishing, and therefore l)oth needed and deserved tlieir most serious consideration. It was not a common case, but a very extraordinary one.

[1.] He himself was amazed at it, at the troubles God had laid u])on him, and the censures of his friends concerning him; (7». 6.) " ]\'hen I remember th^Lt terrible day, in which I was on a sudden stripped of all my comforts, that day in which I was stricken with sore boils; when I remember all the hard speeches with which you ha^ c grieved me, I confess I am afraid, and trembling takes hold of my flesh, especially when I compare this with the prosperous condition of many wicked people, and the applauses of their neighbours, with which they pass through the world." Note, The providences of God, in the government of the world, are sometimes very astonishing, even to wise and good men, and bring them to their wit's end.

[2.] He would have them wonder at it; {v. 5.) "Mark me, and be astonished. Instead of expounding my troubles, you should awfully adore the \\n ■ searchable mysteries of Providence in afflicting on» thus, of whom you know no evil; you should t'ere fore lay your hand ufton your mouth; silently v/ait the issue, and judge nothing before the time." God's way is in the sea, and his jiath in the great waters. When we cannot account for what he d es, in suflTering the wicked to pros])er, and the gndly to be afflicted, nor fathom the deptli (^f those pro ceedings, it becomes us to sit down and adniirt them. U/iright men shall be astonished at this, ch. xvii. 8. Be you so.

7. \^^lercfore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in po\yer ? 8. Thoii seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their ey.'s. 0 Their honses are safe from fear, nc-itlur is

JOB, XXL

Ol

the rod of God upon them. 10. Their bull ^(^ndereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. 11. They send Ibrth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. 12. They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the or-^an 13. They spend their days in wealth, an.I in a moment go down to the grave. 14. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us ; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. 15. What ^5 the Almighty, that we s'lould serve him ? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? 16. Lo, their good is'not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

All Job's three friends, in their last discourses, had been very large in describing the miserable condition of a wicked nnan in this world; " It is true," says Job, " remarkable judgnrients are sometimes brought upon notorious sinners, but not always; for we have many instances of the great and lung prosperity of those that are openly and avowed: y wicked; though they are liardened in their wickedness by their prosperity, yet they are still buffered to prosper."

I. He here describes their prosperity, to the height, and breadth, and length, of it. '• If this be true, as you say, pray tell me wherefore do the wicked live?" V. 7. The matter of fact is taken for granted, for we see instances of it every day. 1. They live, and are not suddenly cut off by the strokes of divine vengeance. They yet speak, who have set their mouths against the heavens. Theyyetact, whohave stretched out their hands against God. Not only they live, that is, they are reprieved, but they live in pros-fin-inj. 1 Sam. xxv. 6. Nay, 2. They become old, they have the honour, satisfaction, and advantage, of living long, time enough to raise their families and estates. We read of a sinner a hundred years old, Isa. Ixv. 20. But this is not all. 3. They are m ghty in power, are preferred to places of authority and trust, and not only make a great figure, hut betr a great sway. Vivit imo, et in senatum -I'fnif — He not only lives, but walks into the senate-hodfte. Now wherefore is it so.'' Note, It is worth wh le to inquire into the reasons of the outward prosperity f'f wicked people. It is not because God has f rsaken the earth, because he does not see, or does iiot hate, or cannot punish, their wickedness; but it s because the measure of their iniquities is not full. This is the day of God's patience, and in some \v y or other he makes use of them, and their prosperity, to serve his own counsels, while it ripens ihrm for ruin; but the chief reason is, because he w 11 make it to appear there is another world, wivch is the world of retribution, and not this.

The prosperity of the wicked is here described t''^ he,

(1.) Complete and consummate. [1.] They are multiplied, and their family is built up, and thev have the satisfaction of seeing it; {y. 8.) Their seed ;> -stahlis/ied in their sight. This is put first, as that which gives both a pleasant enjoyment, andapleas-ina- pospect. [2.] They are easy and quiet, v. 9. ^Vheieas Zophar had spoken of their continual fritrhts and terrors. Job siys. Their houses are safe, both from danger and from the fear of it; (y. 9.) and so fir are they from the killing wounds of God's sword or arrows, that they do not feel the smart of so much as (he rod of God upon them. [3.] They are rich, and thrive in their estates; of this he gives only one instance, v. 10. Their cattle increase,

and they meet with no disappointment in them; not so much as a cow casts her calf, and then their much must needs grow more. This is promised, Exod. xxiii. 26. Deut. vii. 14. [4.] They are merry, and live a jovial life; {v. 11, 12.) They semi forth their little ones abroad among their neigh bours, like a flock, in great numbers, to sport them selves. They have their balls and music-meeting?, at which their children dance; and dancing is fitti. tt for children, who know not better how to sper.d their time, and whose innocency guards them against the mischiefs that commonly attend it. Though the parents are not so very youthful and frolicsome as to dance themselves, yet they t.;ke the timbrel and harp; they pipe, and their children dance after their pipe, and they know no gref to put their instruments out of tune, or to withhold their hearts from any joy. Some observe that th s is an instance of their vanity, as well as of their prosperity. Here is none of that care taken of the r children.'which Abraham took of his, to ^eacA them the way of the Lord, Gen. xviii. 19. Their children do not pray, or say their catechism, but dance, and sing, and rejoice at the sound of the orgur. Sensual pleasures are all the delights of carnal people; and as men are themselves, so they breed their children.

(2.) Continuing and constant; {v. 13.) They spend their days, all their days, in wealth, and never know what it is to want; in mirth, and neA er know what sadness means; and at last, without any previous alarms to frighten them, without any anguish, or agony, in a moment they go down to the grave, and there are no bands in their death. If there were not another life after this, it were most desirable to die by the quickest, shortest strt kes i f death. Since we must go down to the grave, it that were the furthest of our journey, we wi uhi wish to go down in a moment, to swallow the I);;-ter pill, and not chew it.

II. He shows how they abuse their prosperity, and are confirmed and hardened by it in their impiety, v. 14, 15. Their gold and silver serve to steel them, to make them more insolent, and mere impudent, in their wickedness. Now he mentions this, either, 1. To increase the difficulty. It is strange that any wicked people should prosper thus, but especially that those should prosper, who are arrived at such a pitch of wickedness as openly to bid defiance to God himself, and tell him to his face that they care not for him: nay, and that their prosperity should be continued, though they bear up themselves upon that, in their opposition to God; with that weapon they fight against him, and yet are not disarmed. Or, 2. To lessen the difficulty. God suffers them to prosper; but let us not wonder at it, for the prosperity of fools destroys them, by hardening them in sin, Prov. i. 32. Ps. Ixxiii. 7*'9. See how light these prospering sinners make rf God and religion, as if, because they have so much of this world, they had no need to look after another.

(1.) See how ill affected they are to God and religion; thev abandon them, and cast off the thoughts of them. [1-] They dread the presence of God, they say unto him, *' Depart from us, let us never be troubled with the apprehension of our being under God's eye, nor be restrained by the fear rf him." Or, They bid him depart, as one they do not need, nor have any occasion to make use rf. The world is the portion they have chosen, and take up with, and think themselves happy in; while they ha\e that, they can live without God. Justly will God say to them, Depart, (Matth. xxv. 41.) who have bid him depart; justly does he now take them at their word. [2.] Thev dread the knowledge of God, and of his will, and of their duty to

JOB, XXI.

him; We desire not the knowledge of thy ways. They that are resolved not to walk in God's ways, desire not to know them, because tlieir knowledge will be a continual reproach to their disobedience, John iii. 19.

(2.) See how they argue against God and religion; {y. 15.) What is the Almighty? Strange, that ever creatures should speak so insolently, that ever reasonable creatures should speak so absurdly and unreasonably. The two great bonds by which we are drawn and held to religion, are those of duty and interest; now they here endea\ our to break both these bonds asunder. [1.] They will not believe it is their duty to be religious. What is the 4lmighty, that we should serve him? Like Pharaoh, (Exod. V, 2.) Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice? Observe how slightly they speak of God; What is the Almighty? As if he were a mere name, a mere cypher, or one they have nothing to do with, and that has nothing to do with them. How hardly they speak of religion! They call it aservia-, and mean a hard service. Is it not enc.ugh, they think, t > keep up a fair correspondence with the Almighty, but they nmst serve him, which they look upon as u task and drudgery. Observe also how highly they speak of themselves; "jyiat we should serve hmi: we, who are rich and mighty in power, shall we be subject and accountable to himi* No, we are Lords," Jer. ii. .31. [2.] They will not believe it is tlieir interest to be religious; What projit shall we have if we pray unto him? All the world are for what thev can get, and therefore wisdom's merchandise is neglected, because they think there is nothing to be g it by it; It is vain to serve God, Mai. iii. 13, 14. Praying will not pay debts, nor portion children; nay, perhaps serious godliness may hinder a man's preferment, and expose him to losses; and what then^ Is nothing to be called gain but the wealth and honour of this world.!* If we obtain the favour of God, and spiritual and eternal blessings, we have no reason to complain of losing by our religion. But if we have not profit by prayer, it is our own fault, (Isa. Iviii. 3, 4.) it is because we ask amiss. Jam. iv. 3. Religion itself is not a vain thing; if it be so to us, we may thank ourselves for resting in the outside of it. Jam. i. 26.

III. He shows their folly herein, and utterly disclaims all concurrence with them; {v. 19.) Lo, their good is not in their hand, that is. They did not get it without God, and therefore they are very ungrateful to slight him thus: it was not their might, nor the power of their hand, that got them this wealth, and therefore they ought to remember God who gave it them. Nor can they keep it without God, and therefore they are very unwise to lose tlieir interest in him, and bid him to depart from them. Some give this sense of it; "Their good is in their barns and their bags, hoarded up there; it :S not in their hand, to do good to others with it; and then, what good does it do them?" "Therefore," says Job, ''the counsel of the wicked is far from me. Far l)e it from me tluit I should be of their mind, s ly as they s^y. do as they do, and take my measures from them. Their posterity approve their sayings, though their way be their follyi (Ps. xlix. 13.) but I know better things than to walk in their counsel."

17. How oft is llio candle of the wicked put out? and hovj oft cometli their destruction upon them? God distrihuteth sorrows In liis anger. 18. They are as stubhle before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away. 19. God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him.

and he shall know it. 20. His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. 21. For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst? 22. Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high. 23. One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and cjuiet: 24. His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow. 25. And anothei dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure. 26. TUey shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.

Job had largely desciibed the prosperity of wick, ed people; now, in these verses,

I. He opposes this to what his friends had main tained concerning their certain ruin in this life. "Tell me how often do you see the candle of the wicked put out. Do ycu not as often see it burn down to the socket, until it goes out of itself? v. 17. How often do you see their destruction con>e upon them, or God distributing sorrows in his anger among themi' Do you not as often see their mirth and prosperity continuing to the last?" Perhaps there are as many instances of notorious sinners ending their days in pomp, as ending them in misery; which observation is sufficient to invalidate their arguments against Job, and to show that no certain judgment can be made of men's character by their outward condition.

II. He reconciles this to the holiness and justice of God; though wicked people pr< sper thus all their days, yet we are not theref<n-e to think th.it God will let their wickedness always go unpunished. No,

1. Even while they prosper thus, they are as stubble and chaff before the stormy wind, v. 18. They are light and worthless, and of no account either with God, or with wise and good men. They are fitted to destruction, and continually lie exposed to it; and, in the height of tlieir pomp and power, there is but a step between them and ruin.

2. Though they spend all their days in wealth, God is laying up their iniquity for their children, {v. 19.) and he will visit it upon their postei-ity when they are gone. The oppressor lays up his goods for his children, to make them gentlemen, but God lays up his iniquity for them, to make them beggars: he keeps an exact account of the fathers' sins; seals them up among his trrasurrs, (Deut. xxxii. 34.) and will justly punish the children, while the riches, to which the curse cleaves, are found as assets in their hands.

3. Though they prosper in this woMd, yet they shall be reckoned with in another world. Ciod rewards him according to his deeds at last, {v. 19.) though tlie sentence passed against his evil works be not executed si)eedily. Perhaps he may not now be made to fear the wrath to come, but he may flatter himself with hopes that he shall have peace, tlwough he go on; but he shall be made to feel it ii. the day of the revelation of the riftliteous judgment of God. He shall know it; {v. 19.) His eyes shall see his destruction, which he would not be persn;idcd to believe. They will not see, but they shall see, Isa. xxvi. 11. The eyes that have been wilfully shut against tlie grace of Ciod, shall he o])ened to see his destruction. He shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty; that shall he the portion rf his cup. Compare Ps. xi. 6. with Rev. xi\'. 10. The misery

JOB, XXI.

103

of damned sinners is here set forth in a few words, but they are very terrible ones: they he under the wrath of an Almigh ly God, who, in their desti'uc-tion, both shows his wrath, and makes known his power.

If this will be his condition in the other world, what good will his prosperity in this world do him? (y. 21.) What pleasure has he in his house after him? Our Saviour has let us know how little pleasure the rich man in hell had in his house after him, when the remembrance of the good things he had received in his life-time, would not cool his tongue, but added much to his misery, as did also the sorrow he was in, lest his five brethren, whom he left in his house after him, should follow him to that place of torment, Luke xvi. 25--28. So little will the gain of the world profit him that has lost his soul.

Ili. He resolves this difference, which Providence makes between one wicked man and another, into the wisdom and sovereignty of (iod; {v. 22.) Shall any tiretend to teach God knowledge? Dare we arraign God's proceedings, or blame his conduct? Shall we take upon us to tell God how he should govern the world, what sinner he should spare, and what he should punish? He has both authority and ability to judge those that are high. Angels in heaven, princes and magistrates on earth, are accountable to God, and must receive their doom from him; he manages them, and makes what use he pleases of them: shall he then be accountable to us, or receive advice from us? He is the Judge of all the earth, and tlierefore, no doubt, he shall do right, (Gen. xviii. 25. Rom. iii. 6.) and those prf ceedings of his providence which seem to contradict one another, he can make, not only mutually to agree, but iointly to serve his own purposes.

The little difference there is between one wicked man's dying impenitent in peace and pomp, and another wicked man's dying so in pain and misery, when both will, at Jast, meet in hell, he illustrates by the little difference there is between one man's dying suddenly and another's dying slowly, when they will both meet shortly in the grave. So \ ast is the disproportion between time and eternity, that, if hell be the fot of every sinner at last, it makes little difference, if one goes singing thither, and another sighing. See,

1. How various the circumstances of people's dying are. There is one way into the world, we say, but many f^ut; yet, as some are born by quick and easy labour, others by that which is hard and lingering, so dying is to some much more terrible than to others; and, since the death of the body is the birth of the soul into another world, death-bed agonies may not unfitly be compared to child-bed tliroes. Observe the difference.

(1.) One dies suddenly, in his full strength, not weakened by age or sickness, {v. 23.) being wholly at ease and quiet, under no apprehension at all of the approach of death, nor in any fear of it; but, on the contrary, because his breasts are full of milk, and his bones moistened with marrow, {v. 24.) that is, he is healthful and vigorous, and of a good constitution, (like a milch-cow that is fat and in good liking,) he counts upon nothing but to live many years in mirth and pleasure. Thus fair does he bid For life, and yet he is cut off in a moment by the stroke of death. Note, It is a common thing for persons to be taken away by death when they are in tlieir full strength, in the highest degree of health, when they least expect death, and think themselves best armed against it, and are ready not only to set death at a distance, but to set it at defiance. Let us therefore never be secure; for we have known many well and dead in the same week, the same day, the same hour, nay, perhaps, the same minute, Let us therefore be always ready

(2.) Another dies slowly, and with a great deal of previous pain and misery, (t. 2j.) In the bitterness of his soul, such as poor Job was himself now in, and never eats with pleasure, has no appetite to his food, nor any relish of it, through sickness, or age, or sorrow ot' mind. What great reason ha\e those to be thankful, that are in health, and alvva\s eat with pleasure! And what little reason have they to complain, who sometimes do not eat thus when they hear of many that never do!

2. How undiscernible this difference is in the grave: as rich and poor, so healthful and unhealtli-ful, meet there; {v. 26.) 7'heij shall lie donvn ali^e in the dunt, and the worms shall cover them, and feed sweetly en them. Thus, if one wicked man die in a palace, and another in a dungeon, they will meet in the congregation of the dead and damned, and the worm that dies not, and the fire that is n(X quenched, will be the same to them, which makes those differences inconsiderable, and not wortli pei-plexing ourseh es about.

27. Behoid, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully iniagino against me. 28. For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling-places of the wicked? 29. Have ye not asked them that go by the way ? and do ye not know their tokens, 30. That the wicked is reserved to the day of de struction ? they shall be brought forth lo the day of wrath. 31. Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repa}-him what he hath done ? 32. Yet shall hv be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb. 33. The clods of the valK^}' shall be sweet unto him, and every nidn shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. 34. How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood ?

In these \ erses,

I. Job opposes the opinion of his friends, which he saw they still adhered to, That the wicked are sure to fall into such visible and remarkable ruin, as Job was now fallen into, and none but the wicked; upon which principle, they condemned Job as a wicked man. "I know your thoughts," says Job, {v. 27.) «' I know you will not agree with me; for your judgments are tinctured and biassed by your piques and prejudices against me, and the devices which you wningfuUy imagine against my comfort and honour: and how can such men be cf nvinced?"

Job's friends were ready to say, in answer to his discourse concerning the prosperity of the wicked, " Where is the house of the prince?\v. 28.) Where is Job's house, or the house of his eldest son, in which his children were feasting: inquire into the circumstances of Job's house and family, and then ask. Where are the dzvelling-filaces of the wickid? and compare them together, and you will soon see that Job's house is in the same predicament with the houses of tyrants and oppressors, and may therefore conclude that doubtless he was such a one."

II. He lays down his own judgment to the contrary, and, for proof of it, appeals to the sentiments and observations of all mankind. So confident is he that he is in the right, that he is willing to refer the cause to the next man that comes by; (v. 29.) " Have ye not asked them that go by the way —any

JOB, XXII.

indifferent pei*son, any that will answer jou? I say not, as Eliphaz, (cA. v. 1.) To which of the Saints —I ask, To which of the children of men, will you turn? Turn to which you will, you will find them all of my mind; that the punishment of sinners is designed more for the other world than for this, according to the prophecy of Enoch, the seventh from Adam, Jude 14. Do you not know the tokens of this truth, which all that have made any observations upon the providences of God concerning mankind in this world, can furnish you with?"

Now what is it that Job here asserts? Two things,

1. That impenitent sinners will certainly be punished in the other world, and, usually, their punishment is put off until then.

2. That therefore we are not to think it strange if they prosper greatly in this world, and fall under no visible token of God's wrath. Therefore they are spared now, because they are to be punished then; therefore the workers of iniquity flourish, that they may be destroyed for ever, Ps. xcii. 7. The sinner is here supposed,

(1.) To live in a great deal of power, so as to be not only the terror of the mighty in the land of the Irving, (Ezek. xxxii. 27.) but the terror of the wise and good too, whom he keeps in such awe, that none dares declare his way to his face, -v. 31. None will take the liberty to I'eprove him, to tell him of the wickedness ot his way, and what will be in the end thereof; so that he sins securely, and is not made to know either shame or fear. The prosperity of fools destroys them, by setting them (in their own conceit) above reproofs, by which they might be brought to that repentance which aloiie will prevent their ruin. Those are marked for destruction that are let alone in sin, Hos. iv. 17. And if none dares declare his way to his face, much less dare any repay him what he has done, and make him refund there where he has done wrong. He is one of those great flies which break through the cobwebs ot the law, that hold only the little ones: this imboldens sinners in their sinful ways, that they can brow-beat justice, and make it afraid to meddle with them. But there is a day coming when those shall be told of their faults, who now would not bear to hear of them; shall have their sins set in order before them, and their way declared to their face, to their everlasting confusion, who would not have it done here, to their conviction; when those who would not repay the wrongs thev had done, shall have them repaid to them.

('2.) To die, and be buried in a great deal of ])omp and magnificence, u. 52, 33. There is no remedy; he must die; that is the lot of all men; but every thing vou can think of shall be done to t ;ke off the reproach of death. [1.] He shall have a splendid funeral; a poor thing for any man to be proud of the prospect of; yet with some it passes for a mighty thhig: well, he shall be brought unto the grave in state, surrounded with all the honours of the Heralds' office, and all the respect his friends can then pay to his remains: the rich man died, and was burird, but no mention is made of the poor man's burial, Luke xvi. 22. [2.] He shall have a statelv monument erected over him, he shall remain in the tomb with a Hie jacet — Here lies, over him, and a large encomium. Perhaps it is meant of the embalming of his body, to preserve it, which was a piece of honour anciently done by the Egyptians to their great men. He shall watch in the tomb, so the word is, shall abide solitary and quiet there, as a watchman in his tower. [3.^ The clods of the vallei/ shall be sweet to him; there shall be as much doiie as can be with rich odours, to take tiff the noisomcness of the grave, as by lamps to set ttside the darkness of it, which perhaps was refer-

red to in the foregoing phrase of watching in the tomb: but it is all a jest; what is the light, or what the perfume, to a man that is dead? [4. J It shall be alleged, for the lessening of the disgrace of death, that it is the common lot; he has only yielded to fate, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. Note, Death is the way of all the earth: when we are to cross that darksome %al-ley, we must consider. First, That there are innumerable before us, it is a tracked road; which may help to take off the terror of it. To die is ire ad filures — to go to the great majority. Secondly, That every man shall draw after us: as there is a plain track before, so there is a long train behind; we are neither the first, nor the last, that pass through that dark entry. Every one must go in his own order, the order appointed of God.

Lastly, From all this Job infers the impertinency of their discourses, v. 34. 1. Their foundation is rotten, and they went upon a wrong hypothesis; "In your answers there remaineth falsehood; what you have said, stands not only unproved but dis proved, and lies under such an imputation of false hood as you cannot clear it from." 2. Their build--ing was therefore weak and tottering: "You com fort me in vain. All you have said, gives me no relief; you tell me that I shall prosper again, if I turn to God, but you go upon this presumption, that piety shall certainly be crowned with prosperity, which is false; and therefore how can your inference from it yield me any comfort''" Note, Where there is not truth, there is little comfort to be expected.

CHAP. XXII.

Eliphaz here leads on a third attack upon poor Job, in which Bildad followed him, but Zophar drew back, and quitted the field. It was one of the unhappinesses of Job, as it is of many an honest man, to be misunderstood by his friends. He had spoken of tWe prosperity of wicked men in this world as a mystery of Providence, but they took it for a reflection upon Providence, as countenancing their wickedness; and they reproached him accordintrly. In this chapter, I. Eliphaz checks him for his complain's of God, and of his dealings with him, as if he thousjht God had done him wron<r, v. 2.. 4. II. He charpes him with many hifjh crimes and misdemeanors, for which he supposes God was now punishinsr him. 1. Oppression and injustice, V. 5 .. 11. 2. Atheism and infidelity, v. 12.. 14. III. He compared his case to that of the old world, V. 15.. 20. IV. He gives him very pood counsel, assuring him thai, if he would take it, God would return in mercy to him, and he should return to his former prosperity, v. 21.. 30.

l.rr^HEN Eliphaz the Temanite an-

1 swered and said, 2. Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable vinto himself? 3. h it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him tliat thou makest thy ways perfect? 4. Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?

Eliphaz here insinuates that, because Job complained so much of his afHictions, he thought Ciod was unjust in afflicting him; but it was a strained innuendo. Job was far from thinking so. What Eliphaz says here, is therefore unjustly applied to Job, but in itself it is very true and good;

1. That when God does us good, it is not because he is indebted to us; if he were, there might be some colour to say, when he afflicts us, " He docs not deal fairly with us:" but whoever pretends that he has by any meritorious action made (Jod his Debtor, let him prove this debt, and he EJiall be

JOB, XXII.

105

sure not to lose it; (Rom. xi. 35.) pyTio has given Co him, and it shall be recomfiensed to him again? But Eliphaz here shows that the righteousness and perfection of the best man in the world are no real benefit or advantage to God, and therefore cannot be thought to merit any thing from him.

(1.) Man's piety is no profit to God, no gain, v. 1, 2. If we could by any thing merit from God, it would be by our piety, our being righteous, and making our way perfect. If that will not merit, surely nothing else will: if a man cannot make God his debtor by his godliness, and honesty, and obedience to his laws, much less can he by his wit, and learning, and worldly policy. Now E'.iphaz here isks, whether any man can possibly be profitable to God? It is certain that man cannot. By no means: he that is wise may be firojitable to himself. No>e, Our wisdom and piety are that by which we ourselves are, and are likely to be, great gainers. Wisdom is /irof table to direct, Eccl. x. 10. Godliness is profitable to all things, 1 Tim. iv. 8. If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself, Pro\. ix. 12. The gains of religion are infinitely greater than the losses of it, and so it will appear when they are balanced. But can a man be thus profitable to God? No, for such is the perfection of God, that he cannot receive any benefit or advantage by men; what can be added to that which is infinite? And such is the weakness and imperfection of man, that he cannot offer any benefit or advantage to God. Can the light of a candle be profitable to the sun, or the drop of the bucket to the ocean? He that is wise, is profitable to himself, for his own direction and defence, liis own credit and comfort; he can with his wisdom entertain himself, and enrich him-6elf; but can he so be profitable to God? No; God needs not us or our services. We are undone, for e\ er undone, without him; but he is happy, for ever h ippy, without us. Is it any gain to him, any real addition to his glory or wealth, if we make our way perfect? Suppose it were absolutely perfect, yet what is God the better? Much less when it is so far short of Iieing perfect.

(2.) It is no /ileasure to h.\m. God has indeed expressed himself in his word well pleased with the righteous; his countenance beholds them, and his delight is in them and their prayers; but all that adds nothing to the infinite satisfaction and complacency which the Eternal Mind has in itself God can enjoy himself without us, though we could have but little enjoyment nf ourselves without our friends. This magnifies his condescension, in that, though our services be no real profit or pleasure to him, vet he invites, encourages, and accepts, them. 2. That, when God restrains or rebukes us, it is not because he is in danger fronn us, or jealous of us; {v. 4.) " Will he refirove thee for fear of thee, and take thee down from thy prosperity, lest thou shouldest grow too great for him; as princes sometimes have thought it a piece of policy to curb the growing greatness of a subject, lest he should became formidable?" Satan indeed suggested to our first parents, that God forbade them the tree of knowledge, for fear of them, lest they should be as !c:nds, and so become rivals with him; but it was a base insinuation. God rebukes the good because he loves them, but he never rebukes the great because he fears them. He does not enter into judgment with men, that is, pick a quarrel with them, and seek occasi-^n against them, through fear they should eclipse his honour, or endanger his interest. Magistrates punish offenders for fear of them; Pharaoh oppressed Israel because he feared them; it was for fear that Herod slew the children of Bethlehem; that the Jews persecuted Christ and his apostles. But God does not, as they did, pervert justice for fear 'f any. See ch. xxxvi. 5««8.

Vol hi.—O

5. Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite? 6. For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. 7. Thou hast not given water to tlie weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. 8. But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it. 9. Thou hast sent widows away empty; and the arms of the fatherless have been broken: 10. Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear trou-bleth thee; 11. Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee. 12. Is not God in the height of heaven? and, behold, the height of the stars, how high they are! 13. And thou sayest. How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud? 14. Thickdouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.

Eliphaz and his companions had condemned Job, in general, as a wicked man and a hypocrite; but none of them had descended to particulars, nor drawn up any articles of impeachment against him, until Eliphaz did it here, where he positively and expressly charges him with many high crimes and misdemeanors, which if he had really been guilty of, they might well have justified themselves in their harsh censures of him. "Come," (says Eliphaz,) "we ha\e been too tender of Job, and afraid of grie\ ing him, which has but confirmed him in his self-justification; it is high time to deal plainly with him; we have condemned him by parables, but that does not answer the end; he is not prevailed with to condemn hiniself; we must therefore plainly tell him, ''Thou art the man, the tyrant, the oppressor, the atheist, we have been speaking of all this while. Is not thy wickedness great? Certainly it is, or else tliy troubles would not be so great. I appeal to thyself, and thy own conscience; are not thine iniquities infinite, both in number and heinousness?" Strictly taken, nothing is infinite but God: but he means' this, that his sins were more than could be counted; and more heinous than could be conceived. Sin, being committed against Infinite Majesty, has in it a kind of infinite malignity. But when Eliphaz charges Job thus high, and ventures to f'escend to particulars too, laying to his charge that which he knew not, we may take occasion hence, 1. To be angry at those who unjustly censure and condemn their brethren. For aught I know, Eliphaz, in accusing Job falsely, as he does here, was guilty of as great a sin, and as great a wrong to Job, as the Sabeans and Chaldeans that robbed him; for a man's good name is more precious and valuable than his wealth. It is against all the laws of justice, charity, and friendship, either to raise, or receive, calumnies, jealousies, and evil surmises, concerning others; and it is the more base and disingenuous, if we thus vex those that are in distress, and add to their affliction. Eliphaz could produce no instances of Job's guilt in any of the particulars that fol'ow here, biit seems resolved to calumniate boldly, and throw all the reproach he could on Job, not doubting but that some would clea\ e to him. 2. To pitv those who are thus censured and condemned. Innocency itself will be no security against a false and foul tongue. Job, whom God himself praised as the best man in the world.

JOB, XXII.

IS here represented by one of his friends, and him a wise and good man too, as one of the greatest villains in nature. Let us not think it strange, if at any time we be thus blackened, but learn how to pass hy evil report as well as good, and commit our (ause, as Job did, to him that judgeth righteously.

Let us see the particular articles of this charge.

L He charges him with oppression and injustice; that, when he was in prosperity, he not only did no good with his wealth and power, but did a great deal of hurt with it. This was utterly false, as appears by the account Job gives of himself, {ch. xxix, 12, 8cc.) and the character God gave of him, th. i. And yet,

1. Eliphaz branches out this charge into divers particulars, with as much assurance as if he could call witnesses to prove upon oath every article of it. He tells him, (1.) That he had been cruel and unmerciful to the poor. As a magistrate, he ought to have protected them, and seen them provided for; but Eliphaz suspects that he never did them any kindness, but all the mischief his power enabled him to do; that, for an inconsiderable debt, he demanded, and carried away by violence, a pawn of great value, even from his brother, whose honesty and sufficiency he could not but know; [y. 6.) Thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for naught; or, as the LXX read it. Thou hast taken thy brethren for pledges, and that for naught; imprisoned them, enslaved them, because they had nothing to pay; that he had taken the very clothes of his insolvent tenants and debtors, so that he had stripped them naked, and left them so: the law of. Moses forbade this; (Exod. xxii. 26. Deut. xxiv. 13.) that he had not been charitable to the poor, no not to poor travellers, and poor widows. "Thou hast not given so much as a cup of cold water, (which would have cost thee nothing,) to the weary to drink, when he begged for it, {v. 7.) and was ready to perish for want of it: nay, thou hast withholden bread from the hungry in their extremity, hast not only not given it, but hast forbidden the giving of it; which is withholding good from those to ivhom it is really due, Prov. iii. 27. Poof widows, who, while their husbands were living, troubled nobody, but now weie forced to seek relief, thou hast sent away empty from thy doors with a sad heart, v. 9. Those who came to thee for justice, thou didst send away unheard, unhelped; nay, though they came to thee full, thou didst squeeze them, and send them away empty; and, worst of all, the arms of tlie fatherless have been broken; those that could help themselves but little, thou hast (juite disabled to help themselves." This, which is the blackest part of the charge, is but insinuated; The arms of the fatherless have been broken: he does not say, " Thou hast broken them," but he would have it understood so: and, if they be broken, and those who have power do not relieve them, they are chargeable with it. " They have been broken by those under thee, and thou hast connived at it, which brings thee under the guilt." (2.) That he had been partial to the rich and great; {v. 8.) "M for the mighty man, if he was guilty of any crime, he was never questioned for it; he had the earth, he dwelt in it: if he brought an action ever so unjustly, or if an action were ever so justly brought against him, yet he was sure to carry his cause in thy courts. The poor were not fed at thv door, while the rich were feasting at thy table.'' Contrary to this is Christ's rule for hospitality; (Luke xiv. 12..U.) and Solomon s.iys. He that gives to the rich shall come to poverty.

2. He attributes all his present troubles to these supposed sins; (i'. 10, 11.) "Those th it are guilty of such pnictices as these, commonly tiring them iclvcs into just su£h a condition as thou art now in;

and therefore we conclude thou hast been thus guilty." (1.) "It is the manner of God to cross and embarrass such; and snares are, accordingly, round about thee, so that, which way soever thou steppest or lookest, thou findest thyself in distress; and others are as hard upon thee as thou hast been upon the poor." (2.) " Their own consciences ma) be expected to terrify and accuse them: no sin makes a louder cry there than unmercifulness: and, accordingly, suddenfear troubles thee; and, though thou wilt not own it, it is guilt of this kind that creates thee all this terjjor." Zophar had insinuated this, ch. XX. 19,20. (3.) "They are brought to their wits' end, so amazed and bewildered, th;it they know not what to do, and that also is thy case; for thou art in darkness, that thou canst not see wherefoie God contends with thee, nor what is the best course for thee to take; for abundance of -waters cover thee," that is, "thou art in a mist, in the midst of dark waters, in the thick clouds of the sky." Note, Those that have not showed mercy may justly be denied the comfortable hope that they shall find mercy; and then what can they expect but snares, and darkness, and continual fear?

n. He charges him with atheism, infidelity, and gross impiety; and thought this was at the bottom of his injustice and oppressiveness: he that did not fear God did not regard man. He would have it thought that Job was an Epicurean, who did indeed own the being of God, but denied his providence, and fancied that he confined himself to the entertainments of the upper world, and never concerned himself in the inhabitants and atfairs of this.

1. Eliphaz observes a good truth, which, he thought, if Job would duly consider, he would not be so passionate in his complaints, nor so bold in justifying himself; (v. 12.) Is not God in the height of heaven? Yes, no doubt he is: no heaven so high but God is there; and in the highest heavens, the heavens of the blessed, the residence of his glory, he is, in a special manner; there he is pleased to manifest himself in a way peculiar to the upper world, and thence he is pleased to manifest himself in a way suited to this lower world. There is his throne; there is his court: he is called the Heavens, Dan. iv. 26. Thus Eliphaz proves that a man cannot be profitable to God, {v. 2.) that he ought not to contend with God; (it is his folly if he does;) and that we ought always to address ourseh es to God with veiy great reverence; for when we behold the height of the stars, how high they are, we might, at the same time, also consider the transcendent majesty of God, who is above the stars, and how high he is.

2. He charges it upon Job, that he made a bad use of this doctrine, which he might have made so good a use of; {y. 13.) "Th\s'\s, holding the truth in unrighteousness, fighting against religion with its own weapons, and turning its own artillery upon itself: Thou art willing to own that God is in the height of heaven, but thence thou' inferrest, Hoio doth God know?" Bad men expel the fear of God out of their hearts, by banishing the eye of God out of the world; (Ezek. viii. 12.) and care n't what they do, if they can but persuade themselves that God does not know. Eliphaz suspects that Job had such a notion of God as this, that, because he is in the height of heaven, (1.) It is therefore impossible for him to see and hear what is done at so great a distance as this earth: especially since there is a dark cloud, (y. 13.) many thick clouds, (v. 14.) that come between him and us, and are a covering to him, so that he cannot see, much less can he judge of, the affairs of this lower world; as if God had eyes of flfsh, ch. X. 4. The interposing firmament is to him as transparent crvstal, Ezek. i. 22. Distance ot

I place createsnodifficultvtohim who is immense, anv

JOB, XXII.

10?

more t'jan distance of time to him who is eternal. Or, (2.) That it is therefore below him, and a diminution to his glory, to take cognizance of this inferior part of the creation: he walks in the circuit of heaven, and has enough to do, to enjoy himself and his own perfections and glory, in that bright and quiet world; why should he trouble himself about us? This is gross absurdity, as well as gross '.oipiety, which Eliphaz here fathers upon Job; for it supposes that the administration of government is a burthen and disparagement to the Supreme Governor; and the acts of justice and mercy were a toil to a mind infinitely wise, holy, and good. If the sun, a creature, and inanimate, can with his light and influence reach this earth, and every part of it, (Ps. xix. 6.) even from that vast height of the visible heavens in which he is, and in the circuit of which he walks, and through many a thick and dark cloud, shall we question it concerning the Creator?

15. Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden; 16. Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood; 17. Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Ahuighty do for them? 18. Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. 19. The righteous see z7, and are glad; and the innocent laugh them to scorn. 20. Whereas our substance is not cut down: but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.

Eliphaz, having endeavoured to convict Job, by setting his sins (as he thought) in order before him, here endeavours to awaken him to a sight and sense of his misery and danger, by reason of sin; and this he does, by comparing his case with that of the sinners of the old world; as if he had said, "Thy condition is bad now, but, unless thou repent, it will be worse, as theirs was; theirs ivho were overfloivn •with a Jloody as the old world, (z;. 16.) and theirs the remnant of whom the Jire consumed," {v. 20.) namely the Sodomites, who, in conip.irison of the old world, were but a remnant. And these two instances of the wrath of God against sin and sinners, ai'C more than once put together, for warning to a careless world: as by our Saviour, Luke xvii. 26, &c. and the apostle, 2 Pet. ii. 5, 6. Eliphaz would have Job to mark the old way which wicked men have trodden, {v. 15.) and see what came of it, what the end of their way was. Note, There is an old way which wicked men have trodden. Religion had but newly entered, when sin immediately followed it: but though it is an old way, a broad way, a tracked way, it is a dangerous way, and it leads to destruction; and it is good for us to mark it, that we may not dare to walk in it.

Eliphaz here puts Job in mind of it, perhaps in opposition to what he had said of the prosperity of the wicked; as if he had said, "Thou canst find out here and there a single instance, it may be, of a wicked man ending his days in peace; but what is that to those two great instances of the final perdition oi ungodly men—the drowning of the whole world, and the burning of Sodom?" Destructions by wholesale, in which he thinks Job may, as in a glass, see his own face.

Observe, 1. The ruin of those sinners; {v. 16.) They were cut down out of time; that is, they were cut off in the midst of their days, when, as man's time then went, many of them might, in the course of nature, have lived some hundreds of years longer,

which made their immature extirpation the more grievous. They were cut down out of time, to be hurried into eternity. And their foundation, the earth on which they built themselves, and all their hopes, was overflown with a food, the flood which was brought in ufion the world of the ungodly^ 2 Pet. ii. 5. Note, Those who build" upon the sand, choose a foundation which will be overflown, when the rains descend, and the floods come; (Matth. vii. 27.) and then their building must needs fall, and they perish in the ruins of it, and repent of their folly when it is too late,

2. The sin of those sinners, which brought that ruin; (v. 17.) They said unto God, Defiart from us. Job had spoken of some who said so, and yet prospered, ch. xxi. 14, But these did not; (says Eliphaz;) they found, to their costs, what it was to set God at defiance. Those who were resolved to lay the reins on the neck of their appetites and passions, began with this; they said unto God, Defiart; they abandoned all religion, hated the thoughts of it, and desired to live without God in the world; they shunned his word, and silenced conscience, his deputy! And what can the Almighty do for them? Some make this to denote the justness of their punishment. They said to God, Defiart from us; and then what could the Almighty do with them, but cut them of? Those who will not submit to God's golden sceptre, must expect to be broken to pieces with his iron rod. Others make it to denote the injustice of their sin; But, wAa; hath the Almighty done against them? What iniquity have they found in him? or. Wherein has he wearied them? Mic. vi, 3. Jer. ii. 5. Others make it to denote the reason of their sin; They say unto God, Defiart, asking what the Almighty can do to them? "What has he done to oblige us? What can he do, in a way of wrath, to make us miserable, or, in a way of favour, to make us happy?" As they argue, (Zeph. i, 12.) The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil. Eliphaz shows the absurdity of this in one word, and that is, calling God The Almighty; for, if he be so, what cannnt he do? But it is not strange if those cast off all .religion, who neither dread God's wrath, nor desire his favour,

3. The aggravation of this sin; Yet he had filled their houses with good things, v. 18, Both those of the old world, and those of Sodom, had great plenty of all the delights of sense; for they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, Isfc. (Luke xvii. 27.) so that they had no reason to ask what the Almighty could do for them? for they lived upon his bounty; no reason to bid him depart from them, who had been so kind to them. Many have their houses full of goods, but their hearts' empty of grace, and thereby are marked for ruin.

4. The protestation which Eliphaz makes against the principles and practices of those wicked people; But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. Job had said so, {ch. xxi. 16.) and Eliphaz will not be behind with him. If they cannot agree in their own principles concerning God, yet they agree in renouncing the principles of those that live without God in the world. Note, Those that differ from each other in some matters of religion, and are engaged in disputes about them, yet ought unanimously and vigorously to appear against atheism and irre-ligion, and to take great care that their disputes do not hinder either their vigour or unanimity, in that common cause of God, that righteous cause.

5. The pleasure and satisfaction which the righteous shall have in this. (1.) In seeing the wicked destroyed, v. 19. They shall see it, that is, observe it, and take notice of it; (Hos. xiv. 9.) and they shall be glad, not to see their fellow-creatures miserable, or any secular turn of their own served, 01' point gained, but to see God glorified, the word

JOB, XXII.

of (iod fulfilled, the power of oppressors broken, and thereby the oppressed relieved; to see sin s iH.i.ed, atheists and infidels confounded, und fair warning given to all others to shun such wicked courses. Nay, they shall laugh them to scorn, that is, they justly might do it; they shall do it, as God does it, in a holy manner, Ps. ii. 4. Prov. i. 26. They shall take occasion thence to expose the folly cf sinners, and show how ridiculous their principles are, though they call themselves wits. Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength, and see what comes of it, Ps. lii. 7. Some understand this of i-ighteous Noah and his family, who beheld the destruction of the old world, and rejoiced in it, as he had grieved for their impiety. Lot, who saw the ruin of Sodom, had the same reason to rdoice, 2 Pet. ii. 7, 8. (2.) In seeing themselves distinguished; {y. 20.) " Whereas our substance is not cut down, as theirs was, and as thine is, we continue to prosper, which is a sign that we are the favourites of Heaven, and in the right." The same rule that served him to condejnn Job by, served him to magnify himself and his companions by. His substance is cut down, therefore he is a wicked man; ours is not, therefore we are righteous. But it is a deceitful rule to judge by; for none knows love or hatred by all that is before him. If others be consumed, if the very remnant of them be consumed, and we be not, instead of censuring them, and lifting up ourselves, as Eliphaz does here, we ought to be thankful to God, and take it for a warning to ourselves to prepare for the like calamities.

21. Acquaint now thyself with liim, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. 22. Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy lieart. 23. U thoa return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. 24. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. 25. Yea', the Almighty shall be lliy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. 26. For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. 27. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. 28. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee; and the light shall shine upon thy ways. 29. When men are cast down, then thou shalt say. There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person. 30. He shall deliver the island of the innocent; and it is delivered by the pureness of thy hands.

Methinks I can almost, forgive Eliphaz his hard censures of Job, which we had in the beginning of the chapter, though they were very unjust and unkind, for this good counsel and encouragement which he gives him in these verses with which he closes his discourse, and than which nothing could be better said, or more to the purpose. Though he thought him a bad man, yet he saw reasons to have hope concerning him, that, for all this, he would be both pious and prosperous. But it is strange, that out of the same mouth, and almost in the same breath, both sweet waters and bitter should proceed. Good men, though they may perhaps be put into a heat,

yet sometimes will talk themselves into abetter temper, and, it may be, sooner than another could talk them into it.

Eliphaz had laid before Jub the miserable condition of a wicked man, that he might frighten him into repentance. Here, on the other hand, he shows him the happiness which those may be sure of, that do repent, that he might allure and encourage him to it. Ministers must try both ways in dealing with people, nmst speak to them from mount Sinai by the terrors ot the law, and from mount Zion by the comforts of the gospel, must set before them both life and death, good and evil, the blessing and the curse. Now here observe,

I. The good counsel which Eliphaz gives to Job; and good ci unsel it is to us all, though, as to Job, it was built upon a false supposition that he was a wicked man, and now a stranger and enemy to God.

1. Acquaint now thyself with God. Acquiesce in God; so some. It is our duty, at all times, especially when we are in affliction, to accommodate ourselves to, and quiet ourselves in, all the disposals of the Divine Providence. Join thyself to him; so some; Fall in with his interests, and act no longer in opposition to him. Our translators render it well; " Acquaint thyself with him; be not such a stranger to him as thou hast made thyself by casting off the fear of him, and restraining prayer before him." It is the duty and interest of every one of us, to acquaint ourselxes with God. We must get the knowledge of him, fix our affections on him, join ourselves to him in a covenant of friendship, and then set up, and keep up, a constant correspondence with him in the ways he has appointed. It is our honour, that we are made capable of this acquaintance; our misery, that by sin we have lost it; our privilege, that through Christ we are invited to return to it; and it will be our unspeakable happiness to contract and cultivate this acquaintance.

2. '^ Be at fieace; at peace with thyself, not fretful, uneasy, and in confusion; let not thy heart be troubled, but be quiet and calm, and well composed. Be at peace with thy God; be reconciled to him. Uo not carry on this unholy war. Thou complainest that God is thine Enemy; be thou his friend." It is the great concern of every one of us to make our peace with God, and it is necessary in order to our comfortable acquaintance with him ; for can two walk together, excejit they be agreed? Amos iii. 3. This we must do quickly; now, before it be too late. A^ree with thine adversary, while thou art in the way. This we are earnestly urged to do. Some read it, "Acquaint thyself, I pray thee, with him, and be at peace." God himself beseeches us, ministers in Christ's stead, pray us, to be reconciled. Can we gainsiy such entreaties?

3. Receive the law from his mouth; {y. 22.) " Having made thy peace with God, submit to his govem-ment, and resolve to be ruled by him, that thnu mayest keep thyself in his love." We receive our being and maintenance from God. From him we hope to receiN e our bliss, and from him we must receive law; Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Acts ix. 6. Which way soever we receive the intimations of his will, we must have our eye to him; whether he speaks by scripture, ministers, conscience, or providence, we must take the word as from his mouth, and bow our souls to it. Thoup-h, in Job's time, we do not know that there was any written word, yet there was a revelation of God s will to be received. Eliphaz looked upon Job as a wicked man; and was pressing him to repent and reform. Herein consists the conversion of a sinner —his receiving the law from God's mouth, and no longer from the world and the flesh. Eliphaz, being now in contest with Job, appeals to the word of God for the ending of the controversy; Receive that.

JOB, XXII.

109

and be determined by it. To the law and to the tes-limony.

4. Lay ufi his word in thine heart. It is not enough to receive it, but we must retain it, Prov. iii. 18. We must lay it up as a thing of great value, that it may be sate: and we must lay it up in our hearts, as a thing of great use, that it may be ready to us when there is occasion, and we may neither lose it wholly, nor be at a loss for it in a time of need.

5. Return to the Almighty; {v. 23.) "Do not only turn from sin, but turn to God and thy duty. Do not only turn toward the Almighty in some good inclinations and good beginnings, but return to him;

eturn home to him, quite to him, so as to reach to the Almighty, by a universal reformation, an effectual thorough change of thy heart and life, and a tirm resolution to cleave to him;" so Mr. Poole.

6. Put away iniquity far from thy tabernacle. This was the advice Zophar gave him; (cA. xi. 14.) " Let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacle. Put iniquity far off, the farther the better, not only from thy heart and hand, but from thy house. Thou must not only not be wicked thyself, but reprove and restrain sin in those that are under thy charge." Note, Family reformation is needful reformation; we and our house must serve the Lord.

II. The good encouragement which Eliphaz gives Job, that he should be very happy, if he would but take this good counsel. In general, " Thereby good shall come unto thee; {v. 21.) the good that is now departed from thee; all the good thy heart can desire, temporal, spiritual, eternal, good shall come to thee. God shall come to thee, into covenant and communion with thee; and he brings all good with him, all good in him. Thou art now ruined and brought down, but if thou return to God, thou shalt be built ufi again, and thy present ruins shall be repaired. Thy family shall be built up in children, thy estate in wealth, and thy soul in holiness and comfort."

The promises which Eliphaz here encourages Job with, are reducible to three heads;

1. That his esm?e should prosper, and temporal l)lessings should be bestowed abundantly upon him; for godliness has the promise of the life that now is. It is promised,

(1.) That he shall be very rich, {v. 24.) " Thou shalt lay ufi gold as dust, in such great abundance, and shalt have plenty of silver; {v. 25.) whereas now thou art poor and stripped of all." Job had been rich; Eliphaz suspected he got his riches by fraud and oppression, and therefore they were taken from him; but if he would return to God and duty, [1.] He should have more wealth than ever he had; lot only thousands of sheep and oxen, the wealth of farmers, but thousands of gold and silver, the wealth of princes, ch. iii. 15. Abundantly more riches, tnae riches, are to be got by the service of Ciod than by the service of the woi'ld. [2.] He should have it more sure to him; Thou shalt lay it iifi in good hands, and hold that which is got by thy piety, by a surer tenure than that which thou didst icet by thine iniquity." Thou shalt have silver of strength, (for so the word is,) which, being honestly got, will wear well; silver like steel. [3.] He should, by the grace of God, be kept from setting his heart so much upon it, as Eliphaz thought he had done. Then wealth is a blessing indeed, when we are not insnared with the love of it. Thou shalt lay ufi gold; but how? Not as thy treasure and portion, but as dust, and as the stones of the brooks. So little shalt thou value it or expect from it, that thou shalt lay it at thy feet, (Acts iv. 35.) not m thy bosom.

(2.) That yet he shall be very safe; whereas men's riches usually expose them to danger, and he liad owned that in his prosperity he was not in safe-

ty, {ch. iii. 26.) now he might be secure; for thr Almighty shall be thy Defender; nay, he shall be thy Defence, v. 25. He shall be thy gold; so it .s in the margin, and it is the same word that is used {v. 24.) for gold, but it signifies also a strong hold, because money is a defence, Eccl. vii. 12. Worldlings make gold their god, saints make God their gold; and they that are enriched with his favour and grace, may truly be said to have abundance of the best gold, and best laid up. We understand it, " He shall be thy Defence against the incursions of neighbouring spoilers: thy wealth shall not then lie exposed as it did to Sabeans and Chaldeans;" which, some think, is the meaning of that. Thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacle; taking it as a promise. "1 he iniquity or wrong designed against thee shall be put off, and shall not reach thee." Note, Those must needs be safe, that have Omnipotence itself for their defence, Ps. xci. l-«3.

2. That his sow/ should prosper, and he should be enriched with spiritual blessings, wkich are the best blessings.

(1.) That he should live a life of complacency in God; {v. 26.) ''For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty; and thus the Almighty comes to be thy gold, by thy delighting in him, as worldly people delight in their money. He shall be thy Wealth, thy Defence, thy Dignity; for he shall be thy Delight." The way to have our heart's desire, is to make God our heart's Delight, Ps. xxxvii. 4. If God give us himself to be our Joy, he will deny us nothing that is good for us. "Now, God is a Terror to thee, he is so, by thine own confession; {ch. vi. 4.—xvi. 9.—xix. 11.) but if thou wilt retum to him, then, not tUl then, he will be thy Delight; and it shall be as much a pleasure to thee to think of him, as ever it was a pain." No delight is comparable to the delight which gracious souls have in the Almighty; and those that acquaint themselves with him, and submit themselves entirely to him, shall find his favour to be, not only their strength, but their song.

(2.) That he should have a humble, holy, confidence toward God; such as they are said to have, whose hearts condemn them not; 1 John iii. 21. " Then shalt thou lift up thy face to God with boldness, and not be afraid, as thou now art, to draw near to him. Thy countenance is now fallen, and thou lookest dejected; but when thou hast made thy peace with God, thou shalt blush no more, tremble no more, and hang thy head no more, as thou dost now, but shalt cheerfully, and with a gracious assurance, show thyself to him, pray before him, and expect blessings from him."

(3.) That he should maintain a constant communion with God; "The correspondence, once settled, shall be kept up to thine unspeakable satisfaction. Letters shall be both statedly and occasionally interchanged between thee and Heaven," v. 27. [1.] " Thou shalt by prayer send letters to God; Thou shalt make thy prayer" (the word is. Thou shalt multiply thy prayers) "imto him, and he will not think thy letters troublesome, though many and long. The oftener we come to the throne of grace, the more welcome. Under all thy burthens, in all thy wants, cares, and fears, thou shalt send to heaven for guidance and strength, wisdom, comfort, and good success." [2.] " He shall, by his providence and grace, answer those letters, and give thee what thou askest of him, either in kind or kindness; he shall hear thee, and make it to appear he does so, by what he does for thee and in thee." [3.] " Then thou shalt by thy praises reply to the gracious answers which he sent thee: thou shalt pay thy vows, and that shall be acceptable to him, and fetch in further mercy." Note, When God performs that which in our distress we prayed foi-, wf

30B, XXIII.

mubt make conscience of performing that which we liien pronused, else we do not deal honestly. If we promised notiiing else, we promised to be thankful, and that is enough, for it includes all, Ps. cxvi. 14.

(4.) That he should have inward satisfaction in the management of all his outward affairs; {v. 28.) IViou s/ialt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee,^' that is, "Thou shalt frame all thy projects and purposes with so much wisdom and grace, and resignation to the will of God, that the issue of them shall be to thy heart's content, just as thou wouldest have it to be. Thou shalt commit thy works unto the Lord by faith and prayer, and then thy thoughts shall be established; thou shalt be easy and pleased, whatsoever occurs, Prov. xvi. 3. This the grace of God shall work in thee; nay, sometimes the providence of God shall give thee the very thing thou didst desire and pray for, and give it thee in thine own way, and manner, and time; be it unto thee, even as thou wilt," When, at any time, an affair succeeds Just according to the scheme we laid, and our measures are in nothing broken,, nor are we put upon new counsels, then we must ewn the performance of this promise, 7'hou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee. " Whereas now thou complainest of darkness round about thee, then the light shall shine on thy ways;" that is, '• God shall guide and direct thee, and then it will follow, of course, that he shall prosper and succeed thee in all thine undertakings. God's wisdom shall be thy guide, hisfa\our thy comfort, and th)- ways shall be so under both those lights, that thou shalt liave a comfortable enjoyment of what is present, and a comfortable prospect of what is future," Ps. xc. 17.

(5.) I'hat, e\ en in times of common calamity and danger, he should have abundance of joy and hope; (t. 29.) " When men are cast down round about thee, cast down in their affairs, cast down in their spirits, sinking, desponding, and ready to despair, then shalt thou say, There is lifting 2ifi. Thou shalt find that in thyself, which will not only bear thee u]) under thy ti"oul)les, and keep thee from fainting, !)ut lift thee up abox'e thy troubles, and enable thee to rejoice ^\ermore. When men's hearts fail them for /^nr, then shall Christ's disciples lift ufi their heads for joy, Luke xxi. 26..28. Thus are they made to ride ufion the high filaces of the earth; (Isa. Iviii. 14.) and that which will lift them up, is, the belief of this, that God will save the humble ]Hrson. Thcv that humble themselves shall be ex-i.ltecl, not only in honour, but in comfort.

3. That he should be a blessing to his country, rnid nn instrument of good to many; {v. 30.) God shall, in answer to thv prayers, deliver the island of the innoce?2t, and have a regard therein to the yiureness of thy hands, which is necessary to the acce])tableness of our prayers, 1 Tim. ii. 8. But, l)ccause we may suppose the innocent not to need deliverance, (it was guilty Sodom that wanted the benefit of Abraham's intercession,) I incline to the marginal reading. The innocent shall deliver the island, by their advice, (Eccl. ix. 14, 15.) and by iheir prayers, and their interest in hea\en. Acts xxvii. 24. Or, He shall deliver (hose that are not innocent, and they are delivered by the /iureness of thy hands; so it may be read, and most probably. Note, h good man is a public good. Sinners fare the better for saints, whether they are aware of it or no. If Eliphaz intended hereby, (as some think he did,) to insinuate that Job's prayers were not prevailing, nor his hands pure, (for then he would h-ive relieved others, much more himself,) he was .Tftcrward made to sec his error, when it api)earcd ui it .Tdb had a better interest in heaven than he nad; f(,r he and his three friends, whOj-in this mat-

ter, were not innocent, were deVnered by the fiure ness of Job's hands, ch. xlii. 8.

CHAP. XXIII.

This chapter begins Job's reply to Eliphaz; in this reply he lakes no notice of his friends; either because he saw it was to no purpose, or because he liked the ffood counsel Eliphaz jrave him in the close of his discourse so well, that he would make no answer to the peevish reflections he began with; but he appeals to God; begs to have his cause heard, and doubts not but to make it good, having the testimony of his own conscience concerning his integrity. Here seems to be a struggle between flesh and spirit, fear and faith, throughout this chapter. I. He complains of his calamitous condition, and especially of God's withdrawincrs from him, so that he could not get his appeal heard, (v. 2.. 5.) nor discern the meaning of God's dealings with him, (v. 8, 9.) nor gain any hope of relief, v. 13, 14. This made deep impressions of trouble and terror upon him, v. 15.. 17. But, H. In the midst of these complaints, he comforts himself with the assurance of God's clemency, (v. 6, 7.) and his own integrity, which God himself was a Witness to, v. 10 .. 12. Thus was the light of his day like that spoken of, (Zech. xiv. 6, 7.) neither perfectly clear nor perfectly dark, hut at evening time it tvas light

1. nr^HEN Job answered and said, 2. JL Even to-day is my complaint hitter: my stroke is lieavier than my groaning. 3. Oh that I knew where I miglit find him ! that I might come eveji to his seat! 4. I would order m?/ cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. 5. I would know the words ir/iich he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me. G. Will he plead against me with his great power? no; but he would put strength in me. 7. There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.

Job is confident that he has wrong done him by his friends, and therefore, ill as he is, he will not give up the cause, nor let them have the last word. Here,

I. He justifies his own resentments and representations of his trouble; (t. 2.) Even to-day, I own, my complaint is bitter; for the affliction, the cause of the complaint, is so. There are wormwood and gall in the affliction and misery, my soul has them still in remembrance, and is imbittered by them. Lam. iii. 19, 20. Even to-day is my complaint counted rebellion; so some read it; his friends construed the innocent expressions of his grief into reflections upon God and his providence, and called them rebellion. "But," says he, "I do not complain more than there is cause, for my stroke w heavier than my groaning. Even to-day, after all you have said to convince and comfort me, still the pains of my body, and the wounds of my spirit, are such, that I have reason enough for my complaints, if they were more bitter than they are." We wrong God, if our groaning be heavier than our stroke; like froward children, who, when they cry for nothing, have justly something given them to cry for; but we do not wrong ourselves, though our stroke he heavier than our groaning, for little said is soon amended.

II. He apperds from the censures of his friends to the just judgment of God; and this he thought was an evidence for him that he was not a hypocrite, for tluMi he durst not have made such an appeal as this. St. Paul comforts himself in this, that he that judged liim was the Lord, and therefore he valued not man's judgment, (1 Cor. iv. 3 /•- ". hut he was

JOB, XXI] 1.

Ill

willing to wait till the rippointed day of decision comes; whereas Job is impatient, and passionately wishes to have the judgment-day anticipated, and to have his cause tried quickly, as it were, by a special commission. The apostle found it necessary to press it much upon suffering Christians patiently topxpect the Judge's coming, James v. 7- -9.

1. He is so sure of the equity of God's tribunal, that he longs to appear before it; (v. 3.) Oh that I knew where I might find him! This may properly express the pious breathings of a soul convinced that it has, by sin, lost God, and is undone for ever if it recover not its interest in his favour. *' Oli that I knew how I might recover his favour! How I might come into covenant and communion with him!" Mic. vi. 6, 7. It is the cry of a poor deserted soul, " Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? Oh that I knew where I might find him! Oh that he who has laid open the way to him, would direct me into it, and lead me in it!" But Job here seems to speak it too boldly, that his friends wronged him, and he knew not which way to apply himself to God, to have justice done him, else he would go even to his seat, to demand it. A patient waiting for death and judgment is our wisdom and duty; and, if we duly consider things, that cannot be without a holy fear and trembling; but a passionate wishing for death or judgment, without any such fear and trembling, is our sin and folly, and ill becomes us. Do we know what death and judgment are, and are we so very ready for them, that we need not time to get readier? Woe to them that, thus in a heat, denire the day of the Lord, Amos v. 18.

2. He is so sure of the goodness of his own cause, that he longs to be opening it at God's bar, {v. 4.) " / would order 7ny cause before him, and set it in a true light; I would produce the evidences of my sincerity in a proper method, and would fill my mouth with arguments to prove it." We may apply this to the duty of prayer, in which we have boldness to enter into the holiest, and to come even to the footstool of the throne of grace. We have not only liberty of access, but liberty of speech. We have leave, (1.) To be particular in our requests, to order our cause before God, to speak the whole matter, to lay before him all our grievances, in what method we think most proper; we durst not be so free with earthly princes, as an humble holy soul may be with God. (2.) To be importunate in our requests. We are allowed, not only to pray, but to plead; not only to ask, but to argue; nay, to fill our mouths with arguments: not to move God, (he is perfectly apprized of the merits of the cause without our showing,) but to move ourselves, to excite our fervency, and encourage our faith, in prayer.

3. He is so sure of a sentence in favour of him, that he even longed to hear it; (x;. 5.) "/ would know the words which he would answer me," that is, "I would gladly hear what God will say to this matter in dispute between you and me; and will entirely acquiesce in his judgment." This becomes us, in all controversies; let the word of God determine them; let us know what he answers, and understand what he says. Job knew well enough what his friends would answer him; they would condemn him, and run him down; "But," (says he,) "/ would fain know what God would answer me; for I am sure his judgment is according to truth, which theirs is not. I cannot understand them, they talk so little to the purpose; but what he says I should understand, and therefore be fully satisfied in."

in. He comforts himself with the hope that God would deal favourably with him in this matter, v. f, 7. Note, It is of great use to us, in every thing wherein we have to do with God, to keep up good thoughts of him. He believes,

1. That God would not ovei-power him; that he would not deal with him either by absolute sovereignty, or in strict justice; not with a high hand, not with a strong hand: TVill he filead against me with his great flower? No, Job's friends pleaded against him with all the power they had; but will God do so.> No, his power is all just and holy, whatever men's is: against those that are obstinate in their unbelief and impenitency, God will filead with his great fiower, their desti'uction will come from the glory of his fiower; but with his own people, that love him and trust in him, he will deal in tender compassion.

2. That, on the contrary, he would empower him to plead his own cause before God; " He would fiut strength in me, to support me and bear me up, in maintaining mine integrity." Note, The same power that is engaged against proud sinners, is engaged for humble saints, who prevail with God by streng:th derived from him, as Jacob did, Hos. xii. 3. See Ps. Ixviii. 35.

3. That the issue would certainly be comfortable; (xK 7.) There, in the court of heaven, when the final sentence is to be given, the righteous might disfiute with him, and come off in his righteousness. Now, even the upright are often chastened of the Lord, and they cannot dispute against it; integrity itself is no fence either against calamity or calumny; but in that day, thev shall not be condemned with the world, though God may afflict by prerogative. Then you shall discern between the righteous and the wicked, Mai. iii. 18. So vast will be the difference between them in their everlasting state; whereas now we can scarcely distinguish tnem, so little is the difference between them as to their outward condition, for all things come alike to all. Then, when the final doom is given, " / shall be delivered for ever from my Judge," that is, " I shall be saved from the unjust censures of my friends, and from that divine sentence which is now so much a terror to me." Those that are delivered up to God as their Owner and Ruler shall be for ever delivered from him as their Judge and Avenger: and there is no flying from his justice, but by flying to his mercy.

8. Behold, T go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him : 9. On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him : he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him : 10. But he knoweth the way that I take: 7vhen he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. 11. My foot hath held his steps: his way have I kept, and not declined. 12. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips ; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my ne-cessRry food.

Here,

I. Job complains that he cannot understand the meaning of God's providences concerning him, but was quite at a loss about them; (v. 8, 9.) I go forward, but he is not there, &c. Eliphaz had bid him acquaint himself with God; " So I would, with all my heart," says Job, " if I knew how to get acquainted with him." He had himself a great dcsii e to appear before God, and get a hearing of his case, but the Judge was not to be found; look which way he would, he could see no sign of God's appearing for him to clear up his innocency. Job, no douln, believed that God is everywhere present; but three

JOB, XXIII.

things he seems to complain of here, 1. That he could not fix his thoughts, nor form any clear judgment of things in his own mind: his mind was so hurried and discomposed with his troubles, that he was like a man in a fright, or at his wit's end, who i"uns this way, and that way, but, being in confusion, brings nothing to a head. By reason of the disorder and tumult his spirit was in, he could not fasten upon that which he knew to be in God, and which, if he could but have mixed faith with it, and dwelt upon it in his thoughts, would have been a support to him. It is the common complaint of those who are sick or melancholy, that, when they would think of that which is good, they can make nothing of it. 2. That he could not find out the cause of his troubles, nor the sin which provoked God to contend with him: he took a view of his whole conversation, turned to every side of it, and could not f»erceive wherein he had sinned more than others, or which he should thus be punished more than others; nor could he discern what other end God should aim at in afflicting him thus. 3. That he could not foresee what would be in the end hereof, whether God would deliver him at all, nor, if he did, when, or which way; he saw not his signs, nor was there any to tell him how long; as the church complains, Ps. Ixxiv. 9. He was quite at a loss to know what God designed to do with him; and whatever conjecture he advanced, still something or other appeared against it.

II. He satisfies himself with this, that God himself was a Witness to his integrity, and therefore did not doubt but the issue would be good. After Job had almost lost himself in the labyrinth of the divine counsels, how contentedly does he sit down, at length, with this thought, "Though /know not the way that he takes, (for his way is in the sea, and his fiath in the great waters, his thoughts and ways are infinitely above ours, and it would be presumption in us to pretend to judge of them,) yet he knows the way that I take," v. 10. That is, 1. He is acquainted with it. His friends judged of that which they did not know, and therefore charged him with that which he was never guilty of; but God, who knows every step he had taken, would not do so, Ps. cxxxix. 3. Note, It is a great comfort to those who mean honestly, that God understands their meaning, though men do not, cannot, or will not. 2. He approves of it: " He knows that however I may sometimes have taken a false ste/i, yet I have still taken a good way; have chosen the way of truth, and therefore he knows it," that is, He accepts it, and is well pleased with it, as he is said to knoiv the way of the righteous, Ps. i. 6. This comforted the prophet; (Jer. xii. 3.) Thou hast tried my heart toward thee. From this Job infers. When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. They that keefi the way of the Lord, may comfort themselves, when they are in affliction, with these three things, (1.) That thcv are but tried; it is not intended for their hurt, but for their honour and benefit; it is the trial of their faith, 1 Pet. i. 7. (2.) That, when they are sufficiently tried, they shall come forth out of the furnace, and not be left to consume in it as dmss or reprobate silver. The trial will have an end; Ciod will ?iof contend for ever. (3.) That they shall come forth as gold, pure in itself, and precious to the refiner: they shall come forth as gold rt/iproved and improved; found to be good, and made to he better. Afflictions are to us, as we are; those that go gold into the furnace, will come out no worse.

Now that which encouraged Job to hope that his present troubles would thus end well, was, the testimony of his conscience for him, that he had lived a good life in the fear of God.

f 1.] That God's way was the way he walked in;

(v. 11.) "My foot hath held his ste/is," that is, "held to them, held close to them; the steps he takes. I have endeavoured to conform myself to his example." Good people are followers of God: or, " I have accommodated myself to his providence, and endeavoured to answer all the intentions of that; to follow Providence step, by step." Or, " His steps are the steps he has appointed me to take; the way of religion and serious godliness— that way I have kept, and have not declined from it; not only not turned back from it by a total apostasy, but not turned aside out of it by any wilful transgression." His holding God's steps, and keeping his way, intimate that the tempter had used all his arts by fraud and force to draw him aside; but, with care and resolution, he had, by the grace of God hitherto persevered, and those that will do so, must hold and keep, hold with resolution, and keep with watchfulness.

[2.] That God's word was the rule he walked by; (v. 12.) he governed himself by the commandment of God's li/is, and would not go back from that, but go forward according to it. Whatever difficulties we may meet with in the way of God's commandments, though they lead us through a wilderness, yet we must never think of going back, but must press on toward the mark; Job kept close to the law of God in his conversation, for both his judgment and his affection led him to it. / have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food; that is, He looked upon it as his necessary food; he could as well have lived without his daily bread as without the word of God. I have laid it u/i; so the word is, as those that lay up pro-^ ision for a siege, or as Joseph laid up com before the famine. Eliphaz had bid him lay u/i God's words in his heart, ch. xxii. 22. "I do," says he, " and always did, that I might not sin against him, and that, like the good householder, I might bring forth for the good of others." Note, The word of God is to our souls as our necessary food is to our bodies; it sustains the spiritual life, and strengthens us for the actions of life; it is that which we cannot subsist without, and which nothing else can make up the want of: and we ought therefore so to esteem it, to take pains for it, hunger after it, feed upon it with delight, and nourish our souls with it; and this will be our rejoicing in the day of evil, as it was Job's here.

13. But he is in one mind, and who car turn him ? and lohat his soul desireth, even that he doeth. 14, For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him. 15. Therefore am I troubled at his presence ; when I consider, I am afraid of him. 16. For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almiglity troubleth me: 17. Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.

Some make Job to complain here, that Gf d dealt unjustly and unfairly with him, in proceeding to punish him without the least relenting or relaxation, though he had such incontestable evidences to produce of his innocency. I am loath to think holy Job would charge the holy God with iniquity; but his complaint is indeed bitter and peevish, and he reasons himself into a sort of a patience per force, which he cannot do without reflecting upon God, ;■* dealing hardly with him: but he must bear it, because he cannot help it; the worst he says, is, that God deals unaccountably with him.

JOB, XXIV.

113

1. He lays clown good truths, which were capable 'if a good improvement, v. 13, 14.

(1.) That God's counsels are immutable; He is in one miyid, and who can turn him? He is one. So some i-ead it, or in one; he has no counsellors by whose intei'est he might be prevailed with to alter his purpose: he is one with himself, and never alters his mind, never alters his measures. Prayer has prevailed to change God's way and his providence, but never was his will or purpose changed; for known inito God are all his works.

(2.) That his power is irresistible; What his soul desires or designs, even that he does, and nothing can stand in his way, or put him upon new counsels. Men desire many things, which either they may not do, or cannot do, or dare not do; but God has an incontestable sovereignty; his will is so perfectly pure and right, that it is highly fit he should pursue all its determinations; and he has an uncontrollable power; none can stay his hand. Whatever the Lord fileased, that did he, (Ps. cxxxv. 6.) and always will, for it is always best.

(3.) That all he does, is according to the counsel of his will; {v. 14.) He fierforms the thing that is apfiointed for me; whatever happens to us, it is God that performs it; (Ps. Ivii. 2.) and an admirable performance the whole will appear to be, when the mystery of God shall be finislied. He performs all that, and that only, which was appointed, and in the appointed time and method; this may silence us, for what is appointed cannot be altered. But to consider, that, when God was appointing us to eternal life and glory as our end, he was appointing to this condition, this affliction, whatever it is, in our way, this may do more than silence us, it may satisfy us that it is all for the best; though what he does we know not now, we shall know hereafter.

(4.) That all he does, is according to the custom of his providence; Many such tilings are with him, that is, He does many things in the course of his providence, which we can gi\ e no account of, but must resolve into his absolute sovereignty. Whatever trouble we are in, others have been in the like; our case is not singular, the same afflictions are ac-comfilished in our brethren, 1 Pet. v. 9. Are we sick or sore, impoverished and stripped, children removed by death, or friends unkind? This is what God has afifiointed for us, and many such things are with him. Shall the earth be forsaken for us?

2. He makes but a bad use of these good truths; had he duly considered them, he might have said, " Therefore am I easy and pleased, and well reconciled to the way of my God concerning me; therefore will I rejoice, in hope that my troubles will issue well at last." But he said. Therefore am I troubled at his firesence, v. 15. Those are indeed of troubled spirits, who are troubled at the presence of God; as the psalmist, who remembered God, and was troubled, Ps. Ixxvii. 3. See what confusion poor Job was now in, for he contradicted himself: just now, he was troubled for God's absence; {v. 8, 9.) now he is troubled at his presence; When I consider, I am afraid of him. What he now felt, made him fear worse: there is indeed that which, if we consider it, will show that we have cause to be afraid of God—his infinite justice and purity, compared with our own sinfulness and vile-ness; but if, withal, we consider his grace in a Redeemer, and our compliance with that grace, the fears will vanish, and we shall see cause to hope in him.

See what impressions were made upon him by the wounds of his spirit. (1.) He was very fearful; (v, 16.) The Almighty troubled him, and so made his heart soft, that is, utterly unable to bear any thing, and afraid of every thing that stirred. There is a gracious softness, like that of Josiah, whose

Vol. III.— P

heart was tender, and trembled at the word of God; this is meant of a grievous softness, which apprehends every thing that is present to be pressing, and every thing future to be threatening. (2.) He was very fretful, peevish indeed, for he quarrels with God, V. 17. [1.] Because he did not die before his troubles, that he miglit never have seen them; f Because I was iiot cut off before the darkness;) and yet if in the height of his prosperity he had received a summons to the grave, he would have thought it h;ird. This may help to reconcile us to death whenever it comes, that we do not know what evil we may be taken away from. But when trouble is come, it is folly to wish we had not lived to see it, and it is better to make the best of it. [2. ] Because he was left to live so lung in his troubles, and the darkness was not covered from his face by his being hid in the grave. We should bear the darkness better than this if we would but remember, that to the upright there sometimes arises a marvellous light m the darkness; however, thei-e is reserved for them a more marvellous liglit after it.

CHAP. XXIV.

Job^ having, by his complaints in the foregoing chapter,

fiven vent to his passion, and thereby gained some ease, reaks them oft' abruptly, and noiv applies himself to a further discussion of the doctrinal controversy between him and his friends, concerning Ihe prosperity of wicked people. That many live al ease, who yet are ungodly and profane, and despise all the exercises of devotion, he had showed, ch. 21. Now here he goes further, and shows that many who are mischievous to mankind, and live in open defiance to all the laws of justice and common honesly, yet thrive and succeed in their unrighteous practices- and we do not see them reckoned with in this world. What he had said before, {ch. xii. 6.) Tlu tabernacles of robbers prosper, he here enlarges upon. He lays down his general proposition, (v. "l.) That the punishment of wicked people is not so visible and apparent as his friends supposed; and then proves it by an induction of particulars. I. Those that openly do wrong to their poor neighbours, are not reckoned with, nor the injured righted, (v. 2. .12.) though the former are very barbarous, v. 21, 22. II. Those that secretly practise mischief, often go undiscovered and unpunished, v. 13..17. III. That God punishes such by secret judgments, and reserves them for future judgments, v. 18. .20. and v, 23. .25. So that, upon the whole matter, we cannot say, thkt all who are in trouble are wicked; for it is certain, that all who are in prosperity are not righteous.

1 • "V^-^^^' ^^^'"S times are not hidden T T from the Ahnighty, do they that know liim not see his days ? 2. Some remove the land-marks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof^ 3. They drive away the ass of the fatherless ; they take the widow's ox for a pledge; 4. Thev turn the needy out of the wayT the poor oT the earth hide themselves together. 5. Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work, rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children. 6. They reap everij one his corn in the field, and they gather the vintage of the wicked ; 7. They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold; 8. They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for wantof a shelter; 9. They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor; \ 0. They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they

JOB, XXIV.

take away the sheaf/row the hungiy ; 11. Which make oil within their walls, and tread their wine-presses, and suffer thirst. 12. Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded ciieth out; yet God iayeth not folly to them.

Job's fi-iends had been very positive in it, that they should soon see the fall of wicked people, how much soever they might prosper for a while. By no means, says Job, though times are not hidden from the Almighty, yet they that ktiow him. do not firesently see hisday,v. 1. 1. He takes it for granted, that times are not hid from the Almighty: past times are not hid from his judgment, (Eccl. iii. 15.) present times are not hid from his providence, CMatth, X. 29.) future times are not hid from his prescience. Acts xv. 18. God governs the world, and therefore we may be sure he takes cognizance of it : bad times are not hid from him, though the bad men, that make the times bad, say one to another that he has/orsa^ew the earth, Ps. xciv. 6, 7. Every man's times are in his hand and under his eye, and therefore it is in his power to make the times of wicked men in this world miserable; he foresees the time of every man's death, and therefore, if wicked men die before they are nunished for their wickedness, we cannot say, "They escaped him by surprise;" he foresaw it, nay, he ordered it. Before Job will inquire into the reasons of the prosperity of wicked men, he asserts (iod's omniscience, as one prophet, in a like case, asserts his righteousness, (Jer. xii. 1.) another his holiness, (Hab. i. 13.) another his goodness to his own people, Ps. Ixxiii. 1. General truths must be held fast, though we may find it difficult to reconcile them to particular events. 2. He yet asserts, that they who Know him, that is, wise and good people who are acquainted with him, and with whom his secret is, do Jiot see his days, not the day of his judging for them; this was the thing he complained of in his own case, (ch. xxiii. 8.) That he could not see God appearing on his behalf to plead his cause; n^^r the day of his judging against open and notorious sinners, that is called his day, Ps. xxxvii, 13. We believe that day will come, but we do not see it, because it is future, and its presages secret. 3, Though this is a mystery of Providence, yet there is a reason for it, and we shall shortly know why the judgment is deferred; even the wisest, and those wlio know God best, do not yet see it. God will exercise their faith and patience, and excite their prayers for the coming of his kingdom, for which they are to c?-y dan and night to him, Luke xviii. 7. , FoV the proof of this, that wicked people prosper, he specifies two sorts of unrighteous ones, whom all the world saw thriving in their iniquity.

I. Tyrants, and those that do wrong under pretence • f 1 :w and authority. It is a melancholy sight, which has often been seen loider the sun, nvicked-ness in the filaci- of judgment, Eccl. iii. 16. The \mregarded tears of the o/i/iressed, while on the side of the ofifiressors there was poiver, Eccl. iv, 1. The violent fierverting of justice and judgment, Ecc'. V. 8.

1. They disseize their neighl^oui-s of their real estates, which came to them by descent from tlieir ancestors. They remove the land-marks, under pretence that they were mis])laced; {v. 2.) and so thev encroach upon their neighbours' rights, and think they efTectually secure that to their posterity, which they have got wrongfully, by making that to be an evidence for them, which should have been an evidence for the rightful owner. This was for-biddtrn by the law of Moses, (Ueut. kix. 14.) under

a curse, Deut. xxvii. 17. Forging cr destroying deeds is now a ci ime equivalent to this.

2. They dispo^'sesst!iem of tlieir personal estates, under colour of justice; they \ iolently take away flocks, pretending they are forfeited, and feed thereof; as the rich man took the poor man's ewe lamb, 2 Sam. xii. 4. If a poor fatherless child has but an ass of his own to get a little money with, they find some colour or other to take it away, because the owner is not able to contest with them. It is all one if a widow has but an ox for what little husbandry she has; under pretence of distraining for some small debt, or arrears of rent, this ox shall be taken for a pledge, though perhaps it is the widow's all. God has taken it among the titles of his honour to be a Father of the fatherless, and a Judge of the widows; and therefore those will not be reckoned his friends, that do not do their utmost to protect and help them; but those he will certainly reckon with as his enemies, that vex and oppress them.

3. They take all occasions to offer personal abuses to them, V. 4. They will mislead them if they can, when they meet them on the highway, so that the poor and needy are forced to hide themselves from them; having no other way to secure themselves from them. They love in their hearts to banter people, and to make fools of them, and do them a mischief if they can, especially to triumph over a poor person, whom they turn out of the way of getting relief, threaten to punish them as vagabonds, and so force them to abscond, and laugh at them when they have done.

Some understand those barbarous actions {v. 9, 10.) to be done by those oppressors that pretf:nd law for what they do. They pluck the fatherless from the breast; that is, having made poor infants fatherless, they make them motherless too; having taken away the father's life, they break the mother's heart, and so starve the children, and leave them to perish. Pharaoh and Herod plucked the childrenyrow the breast to the sword; and we read of children brought forth to the murderers, Hos. ix. 13. Those are inhuman murderers indeed that can with so much pleasure suck innocent blood. They take a pledge of the poor; nay, they take the poor themselves for a pledge, as some read it, and, probably, it was under this pretence that they plucked the fatherless from the breast, distraining them for sla\-es, as Neh. v. 5. Cruelty to the poor is great wickedness, and cries aloud for vengeance. Those who show no mercy to them that lie at their mercy, shall themselves have judgment without mercy.

Another instance of their barbarous treatment of those they have advantage against, is,that they take from them even their necessary food and raiment: they squeeze them so with their extortion, that they make them go naked without clothing, {v. 10.) and so catch their death. And, if a poor hvingry family has gleaned a sheaf of corn, to make a little cake oi, that they may eat it and die, even that they take away from them, being well please'd to see them perish for want, while they themselves are fed to the full.

4. They are very oppressive to the labourers they employ in their service; they not only give them no wages, though the labourer is worthy of his hire; (and this is a crying sin. Jam. v. 4.) but they will not so much as give them meat and drink: those that carry their sheaves are hungry; so some read it, (v. 10.) and it agrees with xk 11. that those who make oil within their walls, and with a great deal of toil labour at the wine-presses, yet suffer thirst, which was worse than muzzling the mouth of the ox that treads out the corn. Those masters forget that they have a M;ister in heaven, who will not allow the necessary suppoj-ts of life to their sei"vants and labourers, not caring whether they can live bv their labour or no.

JOB, XXIV.

5. It is not only among the poor countiy people, but in the cities also, that we see the tears of the oppressed, {v, 12.) meii groan from out of the city, where the rich merchants and traders are as cruel ■with their poor debtors, as the landlords in the country are with their poor tenants. In cities, such cruel actions as tliese are more obseived than in obscure corners of the country, and the wronged have easier access to justice to right themselves; and yet the oppressors there fear neither the restraints of the law, nor the just censures of their neighbours, but the oppressed groan and cry out like wounded men, and c.n no more ease and help themselves, for the oppressors are inexorable, and deaf to their groans.

II. He speaks of robbers, and those that do wrong by downright force, as tlie bands of the Sa-beans and Chaldeans, whii h had lately plundered him; he does not mention them particularly, lest he sh- uld seem partial to his own cause, and to judge of men (as we are apt to do) by what they are to us; but among the Arabians, the children of the east, (Job's country,) there were those that lived by spoil and rapine, making incursions upon their neighbours, and robbing travellers. See how they are described liere, and what mischief they do, v. 5'-8. 1. Their character is, that they are as wild asses in the desert, untamed, untractable, unreasonable, Ishmael's character; (Gen. xvi, 12.) fierce and furious, and under no restraint of law or government, Jer. ii. 23, 24. They choose the deserts for their dwelling, that they may be lawless and un-S'^ciable, and that they may have oppoitunity of doing the more mischief. The desert is indeed the fittest place for such wild people, ch. xxxix. 6. But no desert can set men out of the reach of God's eye and hand. 2. Their trade is to steal, and to make a prey of all about them. They have chosen it as their trade; it is their work, because there is more to be got by it, and it is got more easily than by an honest calling. They follow it as their trade, they follow it closely; they go forth to it as their work, as man goes forth to his labour, Ps. civ. 23. They are diligent, and take pains at it; they rise Detimes for a prey; if a traveller be out eai'ly, they will be out as soon to rob him; they live by it as a man lives by his trade; the wilderness (not the grounds there, but the roads there) yieldeth food for them mid for thtir children; they maintain themselves and their families by robbing on the highway, and bless themselves in it without any remorse of compassion or conscience, and with as much security asif it werehonestlv got; asEphraim, Hos. xii. 7, 8. 3. See the mischief they do to the country. They not only rob travellers, but they make incursions upon their neighbours, and reafi evfry one his corn in the field, {v. 6.) that is. They enter upon other people's ground, cut their corn, and carry it away as freely as if it were their own: even the wicked gather the vintage, and it is their wickedness; or, as we read it. They gather the vintage of the wicked; and so one wicked man is made a scourge to another. What the wicked got by extortion, (which is their way of stealing,) these robbers get from them in their way of stealing; thus oftentimes are the spoilers spoiled, Isa. xxxiii. 1. 4. The misery of those that fall into their hands; {v. 7, 8.) They cause the naked, whom they have stripped, not leaving them the clothes to their backs, to lodge, in the cold nights, without clothing, so th it the}' are wet with the showers of the mountains, and, for want of a better shelter, embrace the iock, and are glad of a cave or den in it to preserve them from the injuries of the weather. Eliphaz had charged Job with such inhumanity as this, concluding that Providence would not thus have stripped hhn if he had not first stripfied the naked o/

their clothing, ch. xxii. 6. Job here tells him, there were those that were really guilty of these crimes with which he was unjustly charged, and yet protr pered and had success in their villanies; tlie curst they laid themselves underworking in\isibly; and Job thinks it more just to argue, as he did, from an open notorious course of wickedness to a secret and future punishment, than to argue, as Elipliaz did, from nothing but present trouble, to a course cf past secret iniquity.

The impunity of these oppressors and spoilers is expressed in one word; {v. 12.) Yet God layeth not folly to them, that is, he does not immediately prosecute them with his judgments for these crimfcs, nor make them examples, and so evince their folly to all the world. He that gets riches, and not b'u right, at his end shall be a fool, Jer. xvii. ll. But while he prospers he passes for a wise man, and God lays not folly to him until he saith, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, Luke xii. 20.

13. They are of those that rebel against the hght; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof 14. The murderer, rising with the light, killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief 15. The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me; and disguiseth his face. 16. In the dark they dig through houses, ichich they had marked for themselves in the daytime : they know not the light. 17. For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them., they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

These verses describe another sort of sinners, who therefore go unpunished, because they go undiscovered. Ihty rebel against the light, v. 13. Some understand it figuratively: they sin against the light of nature, the light of God's law, and that of their own consciences; they profess to know God, but they rebel against the knowledge they have of him,.and will not be guided and governed, commanded and controlled, by it. Others understand it literally: they have the day-light, and choose the night as the most advantageous season for their wickedness. Sinful works are therefore called " works of darkness, because he that does evil, hates the light, (Johniii. 20.) knows not the watjs thereof, that is, keeps out of the way of it, or, if he happen to be seen, abides not where bethinks he is known.' So that he here describes the worst of sinners, 1. That sin wilfully, and against the convictions of their own consciences, whereby they add rebellion to their sin. 2. That sin delitierately, and with a great deal of plot and contrivance, using a thousand arts to conceal their villanies, fondly imagining, that, if they can but hide them from the eye of men, they are safe, but forgetting that there'is no darkness, or shadow of death, in which the workers of iniquity can hide themselves from God's eye, ch. xxxiv. 22.

He specifies three sorts of sinners, that shun the light.

(1.) Murderers, v. 14. They rise with the light, as soon as ever the day breaks, to kill the poor trn-\ellers that are up early, and abroad about their business, going to market with a little money or goods; and though it is so little, that they are really to be called poor and needy, who with much ado get a sorry livelihood bv their marketings, yet, t<i

JOB, XXIV.

{^et It, tha murderer will both take his neighbour's life and venture his own; will rather play at such small game than not play at all; nay, he kills for rdUing sake, thirsting more for blood than booty. See what care and pains wicked rrien take to compass their wicked designs, and let it shame us out of our negligence and slothfulness in doing good.

Ut jugiilent homines, sureunl de nocte latrones, Tuque ut te serves non expcrgisceiis?

Rogues iiiiihilyrise to murder men for pelf: Will you not rouse you to preserve yourself 7

(2.) Adulterers; the eyes that Are full ofadvlterij, (2 Pet. ii. 14.) the unclean and wanton eyes, wait for the twilight, v. 15. The eye of the adulteress did so, Prov. vii. 9. Adultery hides its head for shame: the sinners themselves, even the most impudent, do what they can to hide it: si non caste, tamen caute — if not chastely, yet cautiously, and after all the wretched endeavours of the factors fov hell to take away the reproach of it, it is and ever will be a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret, Eph. v. 12. It hides its head also for fear, knowing that yVo/o?/*;/ is the rage of a husband, who will not sfiare in the day of vengeance, Prov. vi. 34, 35. See what pains those take that make provision for the flesh to fulfil the lust of it; pains to compass, and then to conceal, that provision, which, after all, will be death and hell :it last! Less pains would serve to mortify and cmci-ij the flesh, and would be life and heaven at last. Let the sinner change his heart, and then he needs not disguise his face, but may lift it up without spot.

(3.) House-breakers, x'. 16. These mark houses in the day-time, mark the avenues of a house, and on which side they can most easily force their entrance, and then, in the night, dig through them, either to kill, or steal, or commit adultery. The night favours the assault, and makes the defence the more difficult; for the good man of the house knows not what hour the thief will come, and therefore is asleep, (Luke xii. 39.) and he and his lie exposed. For this reason, our law makes burglary, which is the J)reaking and entering of a dwelling-house in the night-time with a felonious intent, to be felony without benefit of clergy.

And lastly. Job obsen^es, (and perhaps observes it as part of the present, though secret, punishment of such sinners as these,) that they are in a continual terror for fear of being discovered; (7'. 17.) The morning is to them even as the shadow of death. The light of the day, which is weK.ome to honest people, is a terror to bad people. They curse the sun, not as the Moors, because it scorches them, but because it discovers them. If one know them, their consciences fly in their faces, and they are ready to l)ecome their own accusers; for they are m the terrors of the shadow of death. Shame came in with sin, and everlasting shame is at the end of it. See the misery of sinners, they are exposed to continual frights; and yet see their folly, they are afraid of coming under the eye of men, but have no dread of God's eye, which is always upon them: they are not afraid of doing that which yet they are so terribly afraid of being known to do.

18. He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth : he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards. 19. Drought and heat consume tlie snow-waters; so doth the 2;rave those, which have sinned. 20. The u omb shall forget him ; the v.'orm shall feed sweetly on him: he shall be no more remembered ; and wickedness shall be broken as 1 tree 21 He evil entreateth the barren

that beareth not, and doeth not good to the widow. 22. He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life. 23. Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways. 24. They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low ; they are taken out of the way as all other., and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. 2.5. And if it he not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?

Job here, in the conclusion of his discourse,

I. Gives some further instances of the wickedness of these cruel bloody men. 1. Some are pirates and robbers at sea. To this many learned interpreters apply those difficult expressions; {y. 18.) He is swift upon the waters. Privateers choose those ships that are the best sailers: in these swift ships, they cruise from one channel to another, to pick up prizes; and this brings them in so much wealth, that their/?or^/on is cursed in the earth, and they behold not the way of the vineyards, that is, as Bishop Patrick explains it. They despise the employment of those who till the ground, and plant vineyards, as poor and unprofitable. But others make this a further description of the conduct of those sinners that are afraid of the light: if they be discovered, they get away as fast as they can, and choose to look, not in the vineyards, for fear of being discovered, but in some cursed portion, a lonely desolate place, which nobody looks after. 2. Some are abusive to those that are in trouble, and add affliction to the afllicted. Barrenness was looked upon as a great reproach, and those that fall under that affliction they upbraid with it, as Penninah did Hannah, on purpose to vex them and make tliem to fret, which is a barbarous thing; this is evil entreating the barren that beareth not, {v. 21.) or those that are childless, and so want the arrows others have in their quiver, which enable them to deal with their enemy in the gate, Ps. cxxvii. 5. He takes that advantage against, and is oppressive to, them: as the fatherless, so the childless, are in some degree helpless. For the same reason, it is a cruel thing to hurt the widow, to whom he ought to do good; and not doing good, when it is in our power, is doing hurt. There are those who, by inuring themselves to cruelty, come, at last, to be so exceeding boisterous, that they arc the terror of the mighty in the land of the living, v. 22. He draws the mighty into a snare with his power; even the greatest are not able to stand before him when he is in his mad fits: he rises up in his passion, and lays about him with so much lury, that no man is sure of his life; nor can he at the same time be sure of his own, for his hand is against every man, and rvenj ma?i's hand against him. Gen. xvi. 12. One would wonder how any man can take pleasure in making all about him afraid of him, yet there are those that do.

II. He shows that these daring sinners prosper, and are at ease for a while, nay, and often end their days in peace, as Ishmael, who, though he was a man of such a character as is here given, yet both lived and died in the presence of all his brethren, as we are told. Gen. xvi. 12.—xxv. 18. Of these sinners here it is said, 1. That it is given them to be in safety, v. 23. They seem to be under the specia protection of the Divine Providence, and one would wonder how they escape with life through so many dangers as they run themselves into. 2. That thev rest upon this, that is, they rely upon this, as sufficient to wan ant all their violences: because sentence

JOB, XXV.

17

against their evil works is not executedsfieedily, they tliiiik. that there is no great e. il in them, and that God is not displeised with them, nor will ever call them to an account. Their prosperity is their security. 3. Tliat they are exalted for a while; they seem to be the favourites of Heaven, and value themselves as making the best figure on earth. They ave set up in honour, set up (as they think) out of the reach of danger, and lifted up in the pride of their own spirits. 4. That, at length, they are carried out of the world very silently and gently, and without any remarkable disgrace or terror. " They go down to the grave as easily as snow-water sinks into the dry ground, when it is melted by the sun." So Bishop Patrick explains,!'. 19. To the same purport he paraphrases v. 20, The womb shall forget him, Isfc. " God sets no such mark of his dis-])leasure upon him, but that his mother may soon forget him: the hand of justice does not hang him on a giljbet for the birds to feed on; but he is carried to his grave like other men, to Ije the sweet food of worms: there he lies quietly, and neither he nor his wickedness is any more remembeied than a tree which is broken to shivers." And, v. 24, They are taken out of the way as all other, that is, " They are shut up in their graves like all other men; nay, they die as easily (without those tedious ])ains which some endure) ;!S an ear of corn is cropped with your hand." Compare this with Solomon's observation; (Eccl. viii. 10.) I saw the wicked buried who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten.

ill. He foresees their fall, however, and that their death, though they die in ease and honour, will be their ruin. God's eyes are ufion their ways; (v. 23.) Though he keep silence, and seem to connive at them, yet he takes notice, and keeps-account, of all their wickedness, and will make it to appear shortly, that their most secret sins, which they thought no eye should see, {v. 15.) were under his eve, and will be called over again. Here is no mention of the punishment of these sinners in the other world, but it is intimated in the particular notice taken of the consequences of his death. 1. The consumption of the body in the grave, though common to all, yet to him is in the nature of a punishment for his sin. The grave shall consume those that have sinned; that land of darkness will be the lot of those that love darkness rather than light. The bodies they pampered shall be a feast for worms, which shall feed as sweetly on them as ever thev fed on the pleasures and gains of their sins. 2. Though they thought to make themselves a great name by their wealth, and power, and mighty achiev ements, yet their memorial is perished with them, Ps. ix. 6. He that made himself so much t liked of, when he is dead, shall be no more remembered with honour; his name shall rot, Prov. x. 7. They that durst not gi\e him his due character while he lived, shall not spare him when he is dead; so that the womb that bare him, his own mother, shall forget him, that is, shall avoid making mention of him, and shall think that the greatest kindness she can do him, since no good can be said of him. That honour which is got by sin will soon turn into shame. 3. The wickedness they thought to establish in their families, shall be broken as a tree; all their wicked projects shall be blasted, and all their wicked hopes dashed and buried with them. 4. Their pride shall be brought down, and laid in the dust; {v. 24.) and, in mercy to the world, they shall be taken out of the way, and all their power and prosperity shall be cut off; you may seek him, and he shall not be found. Job owns that wicked people will be miserable at last, miserable on the other side death, but utterly denies what his friends asserted, that they are, usually, miserable in this life.

Lastly, He concludes with a bold challenge lo ;ill that were present, to disprove what he had said, ir they could; {y. 25.) " If it be not so now, as I hav(;-declared, and if it do not thence follow that I am i:n -justly condemned and censured, let them that can, undertake to prove that my discourse is either,

1. False in itself, and then they prove me a liai-; <.r,

2. Foreign, and nothing to the purpose, and then they pro\ e my speech frivolous and nothing worth." That, indeed, which is false, is nothing worth; where there is not truth, how can there be goodness? But they that speak the words of truth and soberness, need not fear having what they say brought to the test, but can cheerfully submit it to a fair examination, as Job does here.

CHAR XXV.

Bildad here makes a very short reply to Job's last discourse, as one that began to be tired of the cause. He drops Ihe main question concerning the prosperity of wicked men, as being unable to answer the proofs Job had produced in the foregoing chapter: but, because he thought Job had made too bold with the Divine Majesty in his appeals to the divine tribunal, [ch. xxiii.) he, in a few words, shows the infinite distance there is between God and man, teaching us, I. To think highly and honourably of God, V. 2, 3, 3. II. To think meanly of ourselves;"(v. 4, 6.) which, however misapplied to Job, are two good lessons for us all to learn.

1. npHEN answered Bildad the Shuhitc, JL and said, 2. Dominion and fear arc witli him; he maketh peace in his high places. 3. Is there anj^ number of his armies ? and upon whom doth not his light arise ? 4. How then can man be justified with God ? oi how can he be clean that is born of a woman 1 5. Behold, even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars arc not pure in his sight: 6. How much less man, that is a worm, and the son of man, tohich is a worm ?

Bildad is to be commended here for two things: 1. For speaking no more on the subject about which Job and he differed. Perhaps he began to think Job was in the right, and then it was justice to say no more concerning it, as one that contended for truth, not for victory; and therefore, for the finding of truth, would be content to lose the victory: or if he still thought himself in the right, yet he knew when he had said enough, and would not wrangle endlessly for the last word. Perhaps, indeed, one reason why he and the rest of them let fall this debate, was because they perceixed that Job and they did not differ so much in opinion as they thought: they owned that wicked people might prosper a while, and Job owned that they would be destroyed at last; how little then was the difference! If disputants would understand one another better, perhaps they would find themselves nearer one another than they imagined. 2. For speaking so well on the matter about which Job and he were agreed. If we would al uet our hearts filled with awful thoughts of God, and humble thoughts of ourselves, we should not be so apt as we are to fall out about matters of doubtful disputation, which are trifling or intricate.

Two ways Bildad takes here to exalt God and abase man.

I. He shows how glorious God is, and thence infers how guilty and impure man is before him, V. 2"-4. Let us see then,

1. What great things are here said of God, designed to possess Job with a reverence of him, and to check his reflections upon him, and upon his dealings with him.

JOB, XXV.

(1.) God is the sovereign Lord of all, and with him is terrible majesty. Dominion and fear are ivilh him, v. 2. He that gave being, has an incontestable authority to give laws, and can enforce the laws he gives. He that made all, has a right to dispose of all according to his own will, with an absolute sovereignty. Whatever he will do, he does, and may do; and none can say unto him. What doest thou? or Why doest thou so? Dan. iv. 35. His luiving dominion (or being Dominus — Lord) bespeaks him both Owner and Ruler of all the creatures. They are all his, and they are all under his direction, and at his disposal. Hence it follows that he is to be feared, tluit is, reverenced and obeyed, and that he is feai-ed by all that know him; the se-r iphims cover their faces before him; it follows too, th.it, first or last, all will be made to fear him. Men's dominion is often despicable, often despised, but God is always terrible.

(2.) The glorious inhabitants of the upper world are all perfectly observ mt of him, and entirely acquiesce in his 'will. He maketh peace in his high fiiaces. He enjoys himself in a perfect tranquillity: the holy angels never quarrel with him, nor with one another, but entirely acquiesce in his will, and unanimously execute it, without murmuring or disputing: thus the will of God is done in heaven; and thus we pray it may be done by us and others on eai-th. The sun, moon, and stars, keep their courses, and never clash with one another: nay, even in this lower region, which is often disturbed with storms and tempests, yet, when God pleases, be commands peace, by making the storm a calm, Ps. cvii. 29.—Ixv. 7. ()bserve. The high places are his high places; for the heavens, even the heavens, are the Lord's in a peculiar manner: peace is God's work; where it is made, it is he that makes it, Isa. Ivii. 19. In heaven there is perfect peace; for there is perfect lioliness, and there is God, wlio is love.

(3.) He is a (iod of irresistible power; Is there any number of his arniies? v. 3. The greatness and power of princes is judged of by their armies. God is not only himself almighty, but he has numberless numbers of armies at his beck and disposal; standing armies that are never disbanded; regular troops, and well disciplined, that are never at a loss, that never mutiny; veteran troops, that have been long in his service; victorious troops, that never failed of success, nor were ever foiled. All the creatures are his hosts, angels especially. He is Lord of all. Lord of hosts. He has nimiberless armies, and yet makes peice; he could make war upon us, but is willing to be at peace with us; and evtn the heavenly hosts were sent to proclaim peace on earth and good will to'iVard men, Luke ii. 14.

(4.) His providence extends itself to all; Ufion whom does not his li{^ht arise? The light of the ?un is communicated to all parts of the world, and, take the year round, to all equally. See Ps. xix. 6. That is a faint resemblance of the univers.al cognizance and care God takes of the whole creation, Matth. V. 45. All are under the liu;ht of his knowledge, and ar&naked and open before him. All partake of thclip;ht of his goodness: it seems especially to be meant of that. He is good to all; the earth is full of his s;oodness. He is Dens Ofitimiis -God, the best of beings, as well as maximus — the greatest: he has power to destroy; but his pleasure is, to show merry. All the creatures live upon his bounty.

2. What low thinjjjs are here said of man, and very truly and iustly; {v. 4.) How then can man be justified with (iod? '^r how can he be clean? Man is not only mean, but vile, not only earthy, but filthv: he cannot be instificd, he cannot be clean, (1.) In comparison with God. Man's righteousness and holiness, at the best, are nothing to God's, Ps.

Ixxxix. 6. (2.) In debate with God. He that will quarrel with the word and providence of God, must unavoidably go by the worst. God will be justified, and then man will be condemned, Ps. li. 4. Rom. iii. 4. There is no error in God's judgment, and therefore there lies no exception against it, nor appeal from it. (3.) In the sight of God. If God is so great and glorious, how can man, who is guilty and impure, appear before him? Note, [1.] Man, by reason of his actual transgressions, is obnoxious to God's justice, and cannot in himself be justified before hirti: he can neither plead JVot guilty, nor plead any merit of his own to balance or extenuate his guilt. The scripture has concluded all under sin. [2.] Man, by reason of his original corruption, as he is born of a woman, is odious to God's holiness, and cannot be clean in his sight. God sees his impurity, and it is certain that by it he is rendered utterly unfit for communion and fellowship with God in grace here, and for the vision and fruition of him in glory hereafter. We have need, therefore, to be born again of water and of the Holy Ghost, and to be bathed again and again in the blood of Christ, that fountain opened.

II. He shows how dark and defective even the heavenly bodies are, in the sight of God, and in comparison with him; and thence infers how little, and mean, and worthless, man is.

1. The lights of heaven, though beauteous creatures, are before God as clods of earth; {v. 5. ) Behold even to (he moon, walking in brightness, and the stars, those glorious lamps of heaven, which the heathen were so charmed with the lustie of, that they worshipped them—yet, in God's sight, in comparison with him, they shine not, they are not pure; they have no glory, by reason of the glory which excelleth. As a candle, though it burn, yet does not shine when it is set in the clear light of the sun. The glory of God, shining in his providences, eclipses the glory of the brightest creatures; (Isa. xxiv. 23.) 7'he moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in mount Zion. The heavenly bodies are often clouded; we plainly see spots in the moon, and, with the help of glasses, may sometimes discern spots upon the sun too; but God sees spots in them, that we do not see. How durst Job then so confidently appeal to God, who would dis cover that amiss in him, which he was not aware ol in himseU?

2. The children of men, though noble creatures, are before God but as worms of the earth; (r. 6.) How much less does man shine in honour, how much less is he pure in righteousness, that is a worm, and the son of man, whoever he be, that is a worm! A vermin, so some; not only mean and despicable, but noxious and detestable. A mite, so others; the smallest animal, which cannot be discerned with the naked eye, but through a magnifying glass: such a thing is man. (1.) So mean, and little, and inconsiderable, in comparison with God, and with the holy angels: so worthless and despicable, having his original in corruption, and hastening to corruption. What little reason has man then to be proud, and what great reason to be humble! (2.) So weak and impotent, aixl so easily crushed, and therefore a very unequal match for Almighty God. Shall man be such a fool to contend with his Maker, who can tread him to pieces more easily than we can a worm? (3.) So sordid and filthy. Man is not pure, for he is a worm, hatched in putrefaction, and therefore odious to God. Let us therefore wonder a' God's condescension, in taking such worms as we are into covenant and communion with himself, especially at the condescension of the Son of God, in emptying himself so far as to say, I am a worm, and no man, Ps. xxii. 6,

JOB, XXVI.

I'if

CHAP. XXVI.

This is Job's short reply to Bildad's short discourse, in which he is so far from contradicting him, that he confirms what he had said, and outdoes him in magnifying God, and setting forth his power, to show what reason he had still to say as he did, (ch. xiii. 2.) What ye ktioio, the same do Iknoio also- I. He shows that Bildad's discourse was foreign to the matter he was discoursing of: though very true and good,yet not to the purpose, v. 2. .4. II. That it was needless to the person he was discoursing with; for he knew it, and believed it, and could speak of it as well as he, and better, and could add to the proofs which he had produced of God's power and greatness, which he does in the rest of his discourse, (v. 5. .13.) concluding, that, when they had both said what they could, all came short of the merit of the subject, and it was still far from being exhausted, v. 14.

1. XJ UT Job answered and said, 2. How 33 hast thou helped him that is without power ? how savest thou the aiTU that hath no strength ? 3. How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom ? and hojo hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is ? 4. To whom hast thou uttered words ? and whose spirit came from thee ?

One would not have thought that Job, now that he was in so much pain and misery, could have bantered his friend as he does here, and made himself merry with the impertinency of his discourse. Bil-dad thought that he had made a fine speech, that the matter was so weighty, and the language so fine, that he had gained the reputation both of an oracle and of an orator; but Job pee\ishly enough shows that his performance was not so valuable as he thought it, and ridicules him for it. He shows,

1. That there was no great matter to be found in it; (v. 3.) How hast thou filentifully declared the thing as it is? This is spoken ironically, upbraiding Bildad with the good conceit he himself had of what he had said. (1.) He thought he hod spoken very clearly, had declared the thing as it is. He was very fond (as we are all ;<pt to be) of his own notions, and thought they only were right, and true, and intelligible, and all other notions of the thing were false, mistaken, and confused; whereas, when we speak of the glory of God, we cannot declare tlie thing as it is; for we see it through a glass darkly, or but by reflection, and sh^ll not see him as he is, till we come to heaven. Here ive cannot order our speech i concerning him, ch. xxxvii. 19. (2.) He thought j he had sp ken ven' fully, though in few words, that he had plentifully decl ired it; and, alas! it was but poorly and scantily that he declared it, in comparison with the vast compass and copiousness oi the subject.

2. That there was no great use to be made of it; Cui bono — What good hast thou done by all that thou hast said.'' {v. 2. ) How hast thou, with all this mighty flourish, helfied him that is ivithout fiower? {v. 3.) Hotv hast thou, with thy grave dictates, counselled him that has no wisdom^ Job would convince him, (1.) That he had done God no service by it, nor made him in the least beholden to him. It is indeed our duty, and will be our honour, to speak on God's behalf; but we must not think that he needs our service, or is indebted to us for it,, nor will he accept it, if it come from a spirit of contention and contradiction, and not from a sincere regard to God's glory. (2. ■) That he had done his cause no service bv it. He thought his friends were mightily beholden to him, for helping them, at a dead lift, to make their part go^d against Job, when they were quite at a loss, and had no strength, no wisdom. Even weak disputants, when warm, are apt to think truth more

beholden to them than really it is. (3.) That he had done him no service by it. He pretended to convince, instruct, and comfort, Job; but, alas! what he had said was so little to the purpose, that it would not avail to rectify any mistakes, nor to assist him either in bearing his afflictions, or in getting good bv them; (t. 4.) " To whom hast thou uttered words? Was it to me that thou didst direct thy discourse.'' And dost thou take me for such a child as to need these instructions.'' Or dost thou think them proper for one in my condition.?" E\ery thing that is true and good is not suitable and seasonable. To one that was humbled, and broken, and grieved in spirit, as Job was, he ought to have preached of the grace and mercy of God, rather than of his greatness and majesty, to have laid before him the consolations, rather than the terrors, of the Almighty. Christ knows how to speak what is proper for the weary; (Isa. I. 4.) and his ministers should learn rightly to divide the word of truth, and not make those sad, whom God would not ha\e made sad; as Bildad did: and therefore Job asks him. Whose sfiirit came from thee? that is, "What troubled soul would ever be re\ ived and relieved, and brought to itself, by such discourses as these.'"' Thus are we often disappointed in our expectations from our friends who should comfort us, but the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, never mistakes in his operations, nor misses of his end.

5. Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof. 6. Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no coveting. 7. He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the cartii upon nothing. 8. He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them. 9. He holdeth back tlie face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it. 10. He hath compassed the watei-s with bounds, until the day and night come to an end. 11. The pillars of heaven tremble, and are astonished at his reproof. 12. He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. 13. By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath foniied the crooked serpent. 14. Lo, these are parts of his ways; but how little a portion is heard of him ? but the thunder of his power who can understand 1

The truth recei\ ed a great deal of light from the dispute between Job and his friends, concerning those points about which they differed; but now they are upon a subject in which they were all agreed, the infinite glory and power of God. How does truth triumph, and how bright does it shine, when there appears no other strife between the contenders, than which shall speak most highly and honourably of God, and be most large in showing forth his praise! It were well if all disputes about matters of religion might end thus, in glorifying God as Lord of all, and our Lord, with one mind and one mouth; (Rom. XV. 6.) for to that we have all attained, in that we are all agreed.

I. Many illustrious instances are here gi\ en of the wisdom and power of God, in the creation and preservation of the world.

1. If we look about us, to the earth and waters here below, we sh:\l see striking instances of omnipotence, which we may gather out of these verses.

JOB, XXVI.

(1.) He hangs the earth tifion notning, v. i. The vast terraqueous globe neither rests upon any pillars, nor hangs upon any axle-tree; and yet, by the almighty power of God, is fii'nily fixed in its place, poised with its own weight. The art of man could not hang a feather upon nothing, vet the Divine Wisdom hangs the whole earth so. It \s ponderibus librata suis — poised by its own "weight, so says the poet; it is upheld by the -word of God's power, so says the apostle. What is hung upon nothing may serve us to set our feet on, and bear the weight of our bodies, but it will never serve us to set our heai-ts on, nor bear the weight of our souls.

(2.) He sets bounds to the waters of the sea, and compasses them in, {v. 10.) that they may not return to cover the earth; and these bounds shall continue unmoved, unshaken, unworn, till the day and night come to an end, when time shall be no more. Herein appears the dominion which Providence has over the raging waters of the sea, and so it is an instance of his power, Jer. v. 22. We see too the care which Providence takes of the poor sinful inhabitants of the earth, who, though obnoxious to his justice, and lying at his mercy, are thus preserved from being o\'erwhelmed, as they were once, by the waters of a flood, and will continue to be so, because they are reserved unto fire.

(3.) Reforms dead things under the waters. Re-phaim, giants, are formed under the waters, that is, vast creatures, of prodigious bulk, as whales, giantlike creatures, among the innumerable inhabitants of the water. So Bishop Patrick.

(4.) By mightv storms and tempests he shakes the mountains, which are here called the pillars of heaven, (v. 11.) and even divides the sea, and smites through its proud waves, v. 12. At the presence of the Lord, the sea flies, and the mountains skip, Ps. cxiv. 3, 4. See' Hab. iii. 6, &c. A storm furrows the waters, and does, as it were, divide them; and then a calm smites through the waves, and lays them flat again. See Ps. Ixxxix. 9, 10. Those who think J(^b lived at, or after, the time of Moses, apply this to the dividing of the Red sea before the children of Israel, and the drowning of the Egyptians in it. By his understanding he smiteth through Rahab, so the word is, and Rahab is often put for Egypt; as Ps. Ixxxvii. 4. Isa. li. 9.

2. If we consider hell beneath, though it is out of our sight, yet we may conceive the instances of God's power there. By hell and destruction, {v. 6.) we may understand' the grave, and those who are buried in it, that they are under the eye of God, though laid out of our sight, which may strengthen our belief of the resurrection of the dead. God knows where to find, and whence to fetch, all the scattered atoms of the consumed body. We may also consider the grave as the place of the damned, where the separate souls of the wicked are in mi-serv and torment. That is hell and destruction, which are said to be before the Lord, (Prov. xy. 11.) and here to be naked before him, to which it is probable there is an allusion, (Rev. xiv. 10.) where sinners are said to be tormented in the presence of the holy angels, (who attended the Shechinah,) and in the presence of the Lamb. And this may give light to V. 5. which some ancient versions read thus; (and I think more agreeable to the signification of the word Repliaim;) Behold, the giants groan under the waters, and those that dwell with them; and then follows, Hell is naked before him, typified by the drowning nf the giants of the old world; so the learned Mr .Tnseph Mede understands it, and with it illustrates Pmv. xxi. 16. where hell is called the congregation of the dead; and it is the same woi-d which is here iised, and which he would there have rendered the congregation of the giants, in allusion to the drowning of the sinners of the old world.

And is there any thing in which the majesty ot God appears more dreadful than in the eternal ruin of the ungodly, and the groans of the inhabitants of the land of darkness? Those that will not with angel's fear and worship, shall for ever with devils fear and tremble, and God therein will be glorified,

3. If we look up to hea\ en above, we shall see instances of God's sovereignty and power.

(1.) He stretches out the north over the empty place, V. 7. So he did at first, then he stretched out the heavens like a curtain, (Ps. civ. 2.) and still continues to keep them stretched out, and will do so till the general conflagration, when they shall be rolled together as a scroll. Rev. vi. 14. He mentions the north, because his country (as ours) lay in the northern hemisphere; and the air is the empty place over which it is stretched out. See rs. Ixxxix. 12. What an empty place is this world, in comparison with the other:

(2.) He keeps the waters that are said to be above the firmament from pouring down upon the earth, as once they did; (t. 8.) He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, as if they were tied close in a bag, till there is occasion to use them; and, notwithstanding the vast weight of water so raised and laid up, yet the cloud is not rent under them, for then they would burst, and pour out as a spout; but they do, as it were, distil through the cloud, and so come drop by drop, in mercy to the earth, in small rain, or great rain, as he pleases.

(3.) He conceals the glory of the upper world, the dazzling lustre of which we poor mortals could not bear; (z^. 9.) He holds back the face of his throne, that light in which he dwells, ana spreads a cloud upon it, through which he judges, ch. xxii. 13. God will have us to live by faith, not by sense; for this is agreeable to a state of probation. It were not a fair trial, if the face of God's throne were as visible now, as it will be in the great day.

Lest his hi?li throne, above expression bright, With deadly glory should oppress our sight, To break the dazzling force, he draws a screen Of sable shades, and spreads his clouds between.

Sir R. Blackmore.

(4.) The bright ornaments of heaven are the work of his hands; (v. 13.) By his Spirit, the eternal Spirit that moved upon the face of the waters, the breath of his mouth, (Ps. xxxiii. 6.) he has garnished the heavens, not only made them, but beautified them; has curiouslv bespangled them with stars by night, and painted them with the light of the sun by day. God, having made man to look upward, {Os homini sublime dedit — To man he gave an erect countenance,') has therefore garnished the heavens, to invite him to look upward, that, by pleasing his eve with the dazzling light of the sun, and the sparkling light of the stars, their number, order, and various magnitudes, which, as so many golden studs, beautify the canopy drawn over our heads, he may be led to admire the gi-eat Creator, the Father and Fountain of lights, and to say, " If.the pavement be so richly inlaid, what must the palace be! If the visible heavens be so glorious, what are those that are out of sight!" From the beauteous garniture of the ante-chamber, we may infer the precious furniture of the presence-chamber. If stars be so bright, what are angels! What is meant here by the crooked serpent which his hands have formed is not certain. Some make it part of the garnishing of the heavens, the milky-way, say some; some particular constellation, so called, say others. It is the same word that is used for leviathan, (Isa. xxvii. 1.) and, probably, may be meant of the whale or crocodile, in which appears much of the power of the Creator; and why may not Job conclude with that inference, when God himselt does so? ch. xli.

JOB, xxvn.

131

II. He concludes, at last, with an awful et csetera;

tv. 14.) Lo, these are fiarts of his ways, the outgoings of his wisdom and power, the ways in which he walks, and by which he makes himself known to the children of men. Here, 1. He acknowledges, with adoration, the discoveries that were •Tiade of God. These things which he himself had said, and which Bildad had said, are his ways, and this is lieard of him; this is something of God. But, 2. He admires the depth of that which is undiscovered. This that we have said is but part of his ways, a small part. What we know of God, is nothing in comparison with what is in God, and what God is. After all the discoveries which Gc:d has made to us, and all the inquiries we have made after God, still we are much in the dark concerning him, and must conclude, Jm, these are but parts of his ways. Something we hear of him by his works and by his word; but, alas, how little a fiortion is heard of him.' heard Ai/ us, heard ^rom us! We know but in part, we prophesy but in part. When we ha\e said all we can concerning God, we must even do as St. Paul does; (Rom. xi. 33.) despairing CO find the bottom, we must sit down at the brink, and adore the depth; O the defith of the wisdom and knovjiedge of God! It is but a little portion that we hear and know of God in our present state. He is infinite and incomprehensible; our understandings and capacities are weak and shallow, and the full discoveries of the divine glory are reserved for the future state. Even the thunder of his power, that is, his powerful thunder, one of the lowest of his ways here in our own region, we cannot understand. See ch. xxxvii. 4, 5. Much less can we understand the utmost force and extent of his power, the terrible efforts and operations of it, and particularly the power of his anger, Ps. xc. 11. God is great, and we know him not.

CHAP. XXVII.

Job hud sometimes complained of his friends, that they ivere so eager in disputing-, that they would scarcely let him put in a word; Suffer me tliat I may speak, and Oil that you toould hold your peace! But now, it seems, they were out of breath, and left him room to say what he would: either they were themselves convinced that Job was in the rifrht, or they despaired of convincing- him that he was in the wrong; and therefore they threw away their weapons, and gave up the cause. Job was too hard for them, and forced them to quit the field; for <,'reat is the truth, and will prevail. What Job hud said (ch. xxvi.) was a sufficient answer to Bildad's discourse: and now Job paused a while to see whether Zophar would take his turn again; but he declining it. Job himself went on, and, without any interruption or vexation given him, said all he desired to say in this matter. I. He besxins with a solemn protestation of his intcfrritv, and of his resolution to hold it fast, v. 2.. 6. IL He expresses the dread he had of that hypocrisy which they charged him with, v. 7 .. 10. IH. He shows the miserable end of wicked people, notwithstanding their long prosperitv, and the curse that attends them, and is entailed upon their families, v. II.. 23.

1. "^/|"OREOVER, .Tol) continued his pa-!▼ J_ lablo, and said, 'i. As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, /r/?ohath vexed my soul; 3. All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, 4. My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. 5. God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. 6. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go : my heart shall not reproach vie so long as I live. Vol. hi. —Q,

Job's discourse here is called a parable, {ma-shal,) the title of Solomon's proverbs, because it was grave and weighty, and very instructive; and he spake as one having authority. It comes from a word that signifies to rule, or have dominion; and some think it intimates that Job now triumphed over his opponents, and spake as one that had baffled them. We say of an excellent preacher, that he knows how dominariin concionibus — to command, his hearers. Job did so here.

A long strife there had been between Job and his friends; they seemed disposed to have the matter compromised; and therefore, since an oath for confirmation is an end of strife, (Heb. vi. 16.) Job here backs all he had said, in maintenance of his own integrity, with a solemn oath, to silence contradic tion, and take the blame entirely upon himself, it he prevaricated. Observe,

1. The form of his oath; (r. 2.) As God Irvetky who hath taken away my judgment. Here, (1.) He speaks highly of God, in calling him the living God, (which means ever-living, the eternal God, that has life in himself,) and in appealing to him as the sole and sovereign Judge. We can swear by no greater, and it is an affront to him to swear by any other. (2.) Yet he speaks hardly of him, and unbecomingly, in saying that he had taken away his judgment, that is, refused to do him justice in this controversy, Mnd to appear in defence of him, and that, by continuing his troubles, on which his friends grounded their censures of him, he had taken from him the opportunity he hoped ere now to have had of clearing himself. Elihu reproved him for this word; {ch. xxxiv. 5.) for God is righteous in all his ways, and takes away no man's judg ment. But see how apt we are to despair of favour, if it be not showed us immediately; so poor spirited are ife, and so soon weary of waiting God's time. He also charges it upon God, that he had vexed his soul; had not only not appeared for him, but had appeared against him, and, by laying such grievous afflictions upon him, had quite imbittered his life to him, and ali the comforts of it. We, by our impatience, vex our own souls, and then complain of God that he has vexed them. Yet see Job's confidence in the goodness both of his cause and of his God; that, though God seemed to be angry with him, and to act against him, for the present, yet he could cheerfully commit his cause to him.

2. The matter of his oath, v. 3, 4. (1.) That he would not speak wickedness, nor utter deceit. That, in general, he would never allow himself in the way of lying; that, as in this debate he had all along spoken as he thought, so he would never wrong his conscience by speaking otherwise: he would never maintain any doctrine, nor assert any matter of fact, but what he iielieved to be true; nor would he deny the truth, how much soever it might make against him: and, whereas his friends charged him with being a hypocrite, he was ready to answer, upon oath, to all their interrogatories, if called to it. On the one hand, he would not, for all the world, deny the charge, if he knew himself guilty, but would declare the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and take to himself the shame of his hypocrisy: on the other hand, since he was conscious to himself of his integrity, and that he was not such a man as his friends i-epresented him, he would never betray his integrity, nor charge himself with that which he was innocent of; he would not be brought, no not by the rack of their unjust censures, falsely to accuse himself. If we must not bear false witness against our neighbour, then not against ourselves. (2.) That he would adhere to this resolu tion as long as he lived; (t^. 3.) All the while my breath is in me. Our resolutions against sin should be thus constant, resolutions for life: in things

JOB, XXVU.

doubtful and indifferent, it is not safe to be thus j)ereniptoiy; we know not what reason we may see to change our mind, God may reveal to us that which we now are not aware of; but in so plain a thing as this, we cannot be too positive, that we will never speak wickedness. Something of a reason for his resolution is here implied—that our breath will not be always in us; we must shortly breathe our last, and therefore, while our breath is in us, we must never breathe wickedness and deceit, nor allow ourselves to say or do any thing which will make against us, when our breath shall depart. The breath in us is called the s/iirit of God, because he breathed it into us; and that is another reason why we must not speak wickedness. It is Gud that gives us life and breath, and therefore, while we have breath, we must praise him.

3. The explication of his oath; {v. 5, 6.) "Gorf forbid that I should justify you in your uncharitable censures of me, by owning myself a hypocrite: no, uniU I die, I-will not remove my integrity from me; my righteousness J hold fast, and will riot let it go." (1.) He would always be tin honest man, would hold fast his integrity, and not curse God, as Satan, by his wife, urged him to do, ch. ii. 9. Job here thinks of dying, and of getting i-eady for death, and therefore resolves never to part with his religion, though he had lost all he had in tlie world. Note, The best preparative for death, is, perseverance to death in our integrity. "Until I die," that is, "though I die by this affliction, I will not thereby be put out of conceit with my God and niy religion. Though he slay me, yet will J trust in him." (2.) He would always stand to it, that he was an honest man; he would not remove, he would not part with, the conscience, and comfort, and credit, of his integrity; he was resolved to defend it to the last. "God knows, and my own heart knows, th it I always meant well, and did not allow myself in the omission of any known duty, or the commission of any known sin. This is my rejoicing, and no man shall rob me of it; I will never lie against my right." It has often been the lot of upright men to be censured and condemned as hypocrites; but it well becomes them to bear up boldly against such censures, and not to be discouraged by them, or think the worse of themselves for them; as the apostle, (Heb. xiii. 18.) We have a good conscience in all things, willing to live honestly.

Hie inurus ahoneus esto, nilconacire sibi.

Be this thv brazen bulwark ot'ilefence, Still to |ireserve thy consc-.ious innocence.

Job complained much of the reproaches of his friends; But (says he) my heart shall not re/iroach me; that is, "I will never give my heart cause to reproach me, but will keep a conscience void of oflFence: and, while I do so, I will not give my heart leave to reproach me." Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? Jt is God that justifies. To resolve that our hearts shall not reproach us, when we give them cause to do so, is to affront God, whose deputy conscience is, and to wrong ourselves; for it is'a good thing, when a man has sinned, to ha\ e a heart within him to smite him for it, 2 Sam. xxiv. 10. But to resolve that our hearts shall not reproach us, while we still hold fast our integrity, is to bafHe the designs of the evil spirit, (who tempts !!;ood Christians to question their adoption, If thou be the Son of God,) and to concur with the operations of the good Spirit, who witnesses to their adoption,

7. 1 iOt mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth np against me as the unrighteous. 8. For what is the hope of the hypo-

crite, though he hath ga«ned, when God taketh away his soul? 9. Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? 10. Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?

Job, having solemnly protested the satisfaction he had in his integrity, for the further clearing of himself, here expresses the dread he had of being found a hypocrite.

I. He tells us how he startled at the thought of it, for he looked upon the condition of a hypocrite and a wicked man, to be certainly the most miserable condition that any man could be in; {v. 7.) Let mine enemy be as the wicked; a pro\ erbial expression, like that, (Dan. iv. 19.) The dream be to them that hate thee. Job was so far from indulging himself in any wicked way, and flattering himself in it, that, if he might have lea\ e to wish the greatest evil he could think of to the worst enemy he had in the world, he would wish him the portion of a wicked man, knowing that worse lie could not wish him. Not that we may lawfully wish any man to be wicked, or that any man who is not wicked should be treated as wicked; but we should all choose to be in the condition of a beggar, an outlaw, a galley-slave, any thing, rather than in the condition of the wicked, though in ever so much pomp and outward prosperity.

II. He gives us the reasons of it.

1. Because the hypocrite's hopes will not be crowned; {v. 8.) For what is the hope of the hypocrite? Bildad had condemned it, {ch. viii. 13, 14.) and Zophar, {ch. xi. 20.) Job here concuis with them, and reads the death of the hypocrite's hope with as much assurance as they had done; and this fitly comes in as a reason why he would not remove his integrity, but still hold it fast. Note, The consideration of the miserable condition of wicked people, and especially hypocrites, should engage us to be upright, (for we are undone, for ever undone, if we be not,) and also to get the comfortable evidence of our uprightness; for how can we be easy, if the great concern lie at uncertainties? Job's friends would persuade him that all his hope was but the hope of the hypocrite; {ch. iv. 6.) "Nav," says he, " I would not, for all the world, be so foolish as to build upon such a rotten foundation; for what is the hope of the hypocrite?" See here, (1.) The hypocrite deceived. He has gained, and he has hope; this is his bright side; it is allowed that he has gained by his hypocrisy, has gained the praise and applause of men, and the wealth of this world-Jehu gained a kingdom by his hypocrisy, and the Pharisees many a widow's house. Upon this gain he builds his hope, such as it is; he hopes he is in good circumstances for another world, because he ifinds he is so for this, and he blesses himself in his own way. (2.) The hypocrite undeceived; he will at last see himself wretchedly cheated: for, [1.] God shall take away his soul, sorely against his will; (Luke xii. 20.) Thy soul shall be required of thee. God, as the Judge, takes it away to be tried and determined to its everlasting state. He shall then fall into the hands of the living God, to be dealt with immediately. [2.] What will his hope be then? It will be vanity and a lie; it will stand him in no stead. The wealth of this world, which he hoped in, he must leave behind him, Ps. xlix. 17. The happiness of the other world, which he hoped for, he will certainly miss of: he hoped to go to heaven, but he will be shamefully disappointed; he will plead his external profession, privileges, and performances, but all his jjleas will be overruled as frivolous; Depart from me, I know you not. So that, upon the whole, it is certain, a fornrial

JOB, XXVIl.

123

hypocrite, with all his gains, and all his hopes, will be miserable in a dying hour.

2. Because the hypocrite's prayer will not be he Td; (i'. 9.) IVill God hear his cry, ivhen trouble comes ufion him'^ No, he will not, it cannot be expected he should. If true repentance come upon him, God will hear his cry, and accept him; (Isa. i. 18.) but if he continue impenitent and unchanged, let him not think tofind favourwith God. Observe, (1.) Trouble ivill come ufion him, certainly it will. Troubles in the world often surprise tliose that are most secure of an uninterrupted j)rosperity. However, death will come, and trouble with it, when he must leave the world and all his delights in it. The judgment of the great day will come; fearfulness will surprise the hypocrites, Isa. xxxiii. 14. (2.) Tlien he will cry to God; will pray, and pray earnestly. Those who in prosperity slighted God, Cither prayed not at all, or were cold and careless in prayer, when trouble comes, will make their ap-p.ication to him, and cry as men in earnest. But, (3.) Will God hear him then? in the troubles of this life.'' God has told us that he will not hear the prayers of those who regard iniquity in their heails, (Ps.' Ixvi. 18.) and set up their idols there, (Ezek. xiv. 4.) nor of those who turn away their ear from hearing the law, Prov. xxviii. 9. Get you to the gods whom ye have served, Judg. x. 14. In the judgment to come, it is certain, God will not hear the cry of those who lived and died in their hypo-ci'isy. Their doleful lamentations will all be unpitied; I ivill laugh at your calainity. Their importunate petitions will all be thrown out, and their pleas rejected. Inflexible justice cannot be biassed, nor the M'veversible sentence revoked. See Matth. vii. 22, 23. Luke xiii. 26, and the case of the foolish virgins, Matth. XXV. 11.

3. Because the hypocrite's religion is neither corn-finable nor constant; (t'. 10.) Will he delight himself m thp Almighty? No, not at any time, (for his delight is in the profits of the world, and the pleasures of the flesh, more than in Gud,) especially not in the time of trouble. Will he always call ufion God? No, in prosperity he will not call upon God, but slight him; in adversity, he will not call upon God, but curse him; he is we;iry of his religion, when he gets nothing by it, or is in danger of losing. Note, (1.) Those are hypocrites, who, though they profess religion, neither take pleasure in it, nor persevere in it; who reckon their religion a task and a drudgery, a weariness, and snufF at it; who make use of it only to serve a turn, and lay it aside when the turn is ser\ed; who will call upon God while it is in fashion, or while the pang of devotion lasts, but leave it off when they fall into other company, or when the hot fit is over. (2.) The reason whv hypocrites do not persevere in religion, is, because they have no pleasure in it. They that do not delight themselves in the Almighty, will not always call upon him. The more comfort we find in our religion, the more closely we shall cleave to it. Those who have no delight in God, are easily inveigled by the pleasures of sense, and so drawn away from their religion; and they are easily run down bv the crosses of this life, and so driven away from their religion, and will not always call upon God.

11. I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal. 12. Belwld, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain? 13. This is the portion of a kicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty. 14. If his children be multiplied,

it is for the sword; and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. 15. Those that remain of him shall be buried in death; and his widows shall not weep. 16. Thougli he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay; 17. He may prepare z7, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. 18. He build-eth his house as a moth, and as a booth thai the keeper maketh. 19. The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered. he openeth his eyes, and he is not. 20. Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night. 21. The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth; and, as a storm, hurleth him out of his place. 22. For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand. 23. Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.

Job's friends had seen a great deal of the misery and destruction that attend wicked people, especially oppressors; and Job, while the heat of disputation lasted, had said as much, and with as much assurance, of their prosperity; but now, that the heat of the battle was nearly over, he was willing to own how far he agreed with them, and where the difference between his opinion and theirs lay. 1. He agreed with them, that wicked people are miserable people; that God will surely reckon with cruel oppressors, and, one time or othei-, one way or other, his justice will make reprisals upon them for all the affronts they have put upon God, and all the wrongs they have done to their neighbours. This truth is abmidantly confirmed by the entire concurrence even of these angry disputants in it. But, 2. In this they differed. They held that these deserved judgments are presently and visibly brought upon wicked oppressors; that they trax'ail with pain all their days; that in prosperity the destroyer comes upon them; that they shall not be rich, nor their branch green; and that their destruction shall be accom/ilinhed before their time; so Eliphaz; (ch. xv. 20, 21, 29, 32.) that the steps of their strength shall be straitened; that terrors shall make them afraid on every side; so Bildad; (ch. xviii. 7, 11.) that he himself shall vomit u/i his riches, and that in the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits; so Zophar, ch. xx. 15, 22. Now Job held that, in many cases, judgments do not fall upon them quickly, but are deferred for some time. That vengeance strikes slowly, he had already showed; (ch. xxi. and xxiv.) now he comes to show that it strikes surely and severely, and that reprieves are no pardons.

I. Job here undertakes to set this matter in a true light; (y. 11, 12.) / will teach you. We must not disdain to learn even from those who are sick and poor, yea, and peevish too, if they deliver what is true and good. Observe, 1. What he would teach them; "That which is with the Almighty," that is, "the counsels and purposes of God concerning wicked people, which are hid with him, and which you cannot hastily judge of; and the usual methods of his providence concerning them:" This, says Job, tvill I not conceal. What God has not concealed from us, we must not conceal from those we are concerned to teach. Things revealed belong to us and our children. 2. How he would teach them; By the hand of God, that is. by his strength and

JOB, XXVIl.

asb'stance. Those who undertake {.o teach others must look to the hand of God to direct then, to .ipc-n their ear, (Isa. 1. 4.) and to open their lips. I'a se whom God teaches with a strong hand, are best able to teach others, Isa. viii. 11. 3. What reason they had to learn those thin.e;s which he was about to teach them; {y. 12.) that it was confirmed by their own observation; You yourselves have si'/'n it; (but what we have heard, and seen, and known, we have need to be taught, that we may be perfect in our lesson;) and that it would set them to r!.',iits in their judgment concerning him; "Why then are ye thus altogether vain, to condemn me for a wicked man because I am afflicted?" Truth, r ghtly understood and applied, would cure us of that vanity of mind which arises from our mistakes. That particularly which he offers now to lay before them, is, the portion of a -wicked man with God, particularly of opfiressors, v. 13. Compare ch. XX. 29. Their portion in the world may be wealth and preferment, but their portion with God is nun and misery. They are above the control of any earthly power, it may be, but the Almighty can deal with them.

II. He does it, by showing that wicked people may, in some instances, prosper, but that ruin follows them in those very instances; and that is their portion, that is their heritage, that is it which they must abide by.

1. They may prosper in their children, but ruin attends them. His children perhaps are multifilied, {v. 14.) or magnijied, so some; they are very numerous, and are raised to honour and great estates. Worldly people are said to be full of children; (Ps. xvii. 14.) and, as it is in the margin there, their children are full. In them the parents hope to li\e, and in their preferment to be honoured. But the more children they leave, and the greater prosperity they leave them in, the more and the fairer marks do they leave for the arrows of God's judgments to be levelled at: his three sore judgments, sword, famine, and fiestilence, 2 Sam. xxiv. 13. (1.) Some of them shall c'.e by the sword, the sword of war, perhaps; they brought them up to live by their sword, as Esau; (Gen. xxvii. 40.) and these that do so, commonly die by the sword, first or last: or by the sword of justice for their crimes, or the sword of the murderer for their estates. (2.) Others of them shall die by famine; {v. 14.) His offsfiring shall not he >-alisfied with bread. He thought he had secured to tliem large estates, but it may happen that they may be reduced to poverty, so as not to have the necessary supports of life, at least not to live comfortably. They shall be so needy, that they shall not have a competency of necessary food,'and so greedy, or so discontented, that what they have they shall not be satisfied with, because not so much, or not so dainty, as what they liave been used to. Ye eat, but ye have not enough. Has. i- 6. (3.) Those that remain shall be buried in death, that is, shall die of the plague, which is called c/ca/'/i, (Rev.vi. 8.) and be buried privately and in haste, as soon as they are dead, without any soleni-nitv: buried with the burial of an ass; and even their widows shall not weefi; they shall not have wherewithal to put them in mourning. Or it denotes, that these wicked men, as they live undesired, so they die unlamented, and even their widows will think themselves happy that they are got rid of them.

2. They may prosper in their estates, but ruin attends them too, tj. 16-.18. (1.) We vnW sup-l)ose them to be rich in money and plate, in clothing and furniture; They heafi ufi silver, in abundance as the dust, and firefiare raiment as the clay; ♦.ney have heaps of clothes about them, as plentiful as heaps of clay: or it intimates that they have such abundance of clothes, that they are even a burthen

to them; they lade themselves with thick clay, Hab. ii. 6. See what is the care and business of worldly people—To heap up worldly wealth. Much would have more, until the silver is cankered, and the garments moth-eaten, Jam. v. 2, 3. But what comes of it.-* He shall never be the better for it himself; death will strip him, death will rob him, if he be not robbed and stripped sooner, Luke xii. 20. Nay, God will so order it, that the just shall wear his raiment, and the innocent shall divide his silver. [1.] They shall have it, and divide it among themselves; some way or other, Providence shall so order it, that good men shall come honestly by that wealth which the wicked man came dishonestly by. 7%e wealth of the sinner is laid ufi for the just, Prov. xiii. 22. God disposes of men's estates as he pleases, and often makes their wills, against their will. The just, whom he hated and persecuted, shall have rule over all his labour, and, in due time, recover with interest what was violently taken from him. The Egyptians' jewels were the Israelites' pay. Solomon observes, (Eccl. ii. 26.) that God makes the sinners drudges to the righteous; for to the sinner he gives travail to gather and heap, ufi, that he may give to him that is good before God. [2.] They shall do good with it; the innocent shall not hoard the silver, as he did that gathered it, but shall di\'ide it to the poor, shall

C've a fiortion to seven, and also to eight, which is ying up the best securities. Money is like manure, good for nothing if it be not spread. When God enriches good men, they must remember they are but stewards, and must give an account. What bad men bring a curse upon their families with the ill-getting of, good men bring a blessing upon their families with the well-using of. He that by unjust gain increaseth his substance, shall gather it for him that will fiity the fioor, Prov. xxviii. 8. (2.) We will suppose them to have built them strong and stately houses; but they are like the house which the moth makes for herself in an old garment, out of which she will soon be shaken, v. 18. He is very secure in it, as a moth, and has no apprehension of danger; but it will prove of as short continuance as a booth which the keeper makes, which will quickly be taken down and gone, and his place shall know him no more.

3. Destruction attends their persons, though they lived long in health, and at ease; {y. 19.) The rich man shall lie down to sleep, to repose himself in the abundance of his wealth. Soul, take thine ease; shall lie down in it as his strong city, and seem to others to be very happy and very easy; but he shall not be gathered, that is, he shall not have his mind composed, and settled, and gathered in, to enjoy his wealth. He does not sleep so contentedly as people think he does. He lies down, but his abundance will not suffer him to slecfi, at least not so sweetly as the labouring mail, Eccl. v. 12. He lies down, but he is full of tossings to and fro till the dawning of the day, and then he opens his eyes, and he is not; he sees himself, and all he has, hastening awnv, as it were, in the twinkling of an eye. His cares increase his fears, and both together make him uneasy; so that, when we attend him to his bed, we do not find him happy there. But, in the close, we are called to attend his exit, and see how miserable he is in death, and after death.

(1.) He is miserable in death. It is to him the king of terrors, v. 20, 21. When some mortal disease seizes him, what a fright is he in! Terrors take hold on him, as waters, as if he were surrounded by the flowing tides. He trembles to think of leaving this world, and much more of removing to another. This mingles sorrow and wrath with his sickness, as Solomon observes, Eccl. v. 17. These terrors put him either, [1.] Into a silent and sullen

JOB, xxvrii.

125

despair; and then the tempest of God's wrath, the tempest of death, may be said to steal him away in tht night, when no one is aware, or takes any notice of it. Or, [2.] Into an open and clamorous despair; and then he is said to be carried away, and hurled out of his place, as with a storm, and with an east wind, violent, and noisy, and very dreadful. Death, to a godly man, is like a fair gale of wind, to con\ ey him to the heavenly country, but, to a wicked man, it is Hke an east wind, a storm, a tempest, that hurries him away, in confusion and amazement, to destruction.

(2.) He is miserable a/?i?r death. [1.] His soul falls under the just indignation of God; and the terror of that puts him into such amazement at the approach of death; (r. 22.) For God shall cast xifion him, and not sjiare. While he lived, he had the benefit of sparing mercy; but now the day of (iod's patience is over, and he will not spare, but j)our out upon him the full vials of his wrath. What God casts down upon a man, there is no flying from, nor bearing up under. We read of his casting down great stones from heaven upon the Canaanites, (Josh. X. 11.) which made terrible execution among them; but what was that to his casting down his anger in its full weight upon the sinner's conscience, like the talent of lead? Zech. v. 7, 8. The damned sinner, seeing the wrath of God break in upon him, would fain flee out of his hand; but he cannot; the gates of hell are locked and barfed, and the great gulf fixed, and it will be in vain to call for the shelter of rocks and mountains. Those who will not be persuaded now to fly to the arms of divine grace, which are stretched out to receive them, will not be able to flee from the arms of divine wrath, which will shortly be stretched out to destroy them. [2.] His memory falls under the just indignation ojall mankind; {y. 23.) Men shall clap, their hands at him, that is, they shall rejoice in the judgments of God, by which he is cut off, and be well pleased in his fall. When the wicked fierish, there is shouting, Prov. xi. 10. Wlien God buries him, men shall hiss him out of his place, and leave on his name perpetual marks of infamy. In the same place where he has been caressed and cried up, lie shall be laughed at, (Ps. lii. 6.) and his ashes shall be trampled on.

CHAP. XXVIII.

The strain of this chapter is very unlike the rest of this book. Job forgets his sores, and all his sorrows, and talks like a philosopher, or a virtuoso. Here is a great deal both of natural philosophy and moral in this discourse; but the question is, How does it come here? Doubtless, it was not merely for an amusement, or diversion from the controversy; though, if it had been only so, perhaps it had not been much amiss. When disputes grow hot, better lose the question than lose our temper. But this is pertinent, and to the business in band. Job and his friends had been discoursing about tne dispensations of Providence toward the wicked and the righteous. Job had showed that some wicked men live and die in prosperity, while others are presently and C'penly arrested by the judgments of God. But, if any ask the reason why some are punished in this world, and not others, they must be told it is a question that cannot be resolved. The knowledge of the reasons of state, in • iod's government of the world, is kept from us, and we must neither pretend to it, nor reach after it. Zophar had wished that God would show Job the secrets of wisdom, ch. xi. 6. No, says Job, secret things belong not to us, but things revealed, Deut. xxis. 29. And here he shows, I. Concerning worldly wealth, how industriously that is sought for, and pursued, by the children of men, what pains they take, what contrivances they have, and what hazards they run, to get it, v. 1 .. 11. II. Concerning wisdom, v. 12. In general, the price of it is very great; it is of inestimable value, v. 15.. 19. The place of it is very secret, v. 14, 20, 22. In particular, there is a wisdom which is hid in God, (v. 23. .27.) and 'here is a wisdom which is revealed to the children of

men, v. 28. Our inquiries into the former must be checked, into the latter must be quickened, for that is it which is our concern.

1. CI URELY there is a vein for the sil-1^ ver, and a place for gold ivhere they fine it. 2. Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone. 3. He setteth an end to darkness, and search-eth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. 4. The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men. 5. As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; and under it is turned up as it were fire. 6. The stones of it are the place of sapphires; and it hath dust of gold. 7. There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen: 8. The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. 9. He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturn-eth the mountains by the roots. 10. He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing. 11. He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thin^ that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

Here Job shows, 1. What a great way the wit of man may go, in diving into the depths of nature, and seizing the riches of it; what a great deal of knowledge and wealth men may, by their ingenious and industrious searches, make themselves masters of. But does it therefore follow that men may, by their wit,comprehend the I'easons why some wicked people prosper, and others are punished, why some good people prosper, and others are afflicted? No, by no means. The caverns of the earth may be discovered, but not the counsels of heaven. 2. What a great deal of care and pains worldly men take to get riches. He had observed concerning the wicked man, {ch. xxvii. 16.) that he heaped ufi silver as the dust; now here he shows whence that silver came, and how it was come by, which he is so fond of, to show what little reason wicked rich men have to be proud of their wealth and pomp. Observe here,

I. The wealth of this world is hid in the earth. Thence the silver and the gold, which afterward they refine, are fetched, v. 1. There it lay mixed with a great deal of dirt and dross, like a worthless thing, of no more account than common earth; and abundance of it will so lie neglected, till the earth and all the works therein shall be burned up. Holy Mr. Herbert, in his poem called Avarice, takes notice of Inis, to shame men out of the love of money

Money, thou bane of bliss, thou source of woe, Whence com'st thou, that thou an so fresh and fine?

t know thy pareotapio is base and low ; Man found thee poor and dirty in a mine.

Surely thou did'st so little contribute To this creat kingdom which thou now hast got.

That he was fain, when thou wast destitute. To dig thee out of thy dark cave and grot.

Man calleth thee his wealth; who made thee rich, And while he digs out thee, falls in the ditch.

Iron and brass, less costly, but more ser\ iceable, metals, are taken out of the earth, (t. 2.) and are

JOB, xxvm.

there found in great abundance, which abates their price indeed, but is a gre.it kindness to man, who could much better be without gold than without iron. Nay, one of the earth comes bread, that is, l)read-corn, the necessary support of life, v. 5. Thence man's maintenance is fetched, to remind him of his own original; he is of the earth, and is hastening to the eartli. Under it is turned ufi as it were Jire; precious stones, that sparkle as fire; brimstone, that IS apt to take fire; coal, that is proper to feed fire. As we have our food, so we have our fuel, cut out of the e.irth. There the sapphires and other i^ems are, and thence gold-dust is digged up, v. 6. The wisdom of the Creatoi- has placed these things, 1. Out of our sight, to teach us not to set our eyes ui)on them, Prov. xxiii. 5. 2. Under our feet, to teach us not to lav them in our bosoms, nor to set our hearts upon them, l)ut to trample upon them, with a holy contempt. See how full the earth is of God's riches, (Ps. civ. 24.) and infer thence, not only how great a God he is, whose the earth is, and the fulness thereof, (Ps. xxiv. 1.) but how full heaven must needs be of God's riches, which is the city of the great King, in comparison with which this earth is a poor countrv.

II. The wealth that is hid in the earth cannot be come at but with a great deal of difficulty. It is hard to be found out; there is but here and there a vein for the silver, V. 1. The precious stones, though bright tliemselves, yet, because buried in obscurity and out of sight, are called stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. Men may search long before they light on them; when found out, they are hard to be fetched out; men's wits must be set on work to contrive ways and means to get this hid treasure into their hands; they must, with their lamps, set an end to darkness; and if one expedient miscarry, one method fail, they must try another, till they have searched out all perfection, and turned every stone to effect it, v. 3. They must grapple with subtei'-raneous waters, {v. 4, 10, 11.) and force their way througli rocks which are, as it were, the roots of the mountains, v, 9. Now Ciod has made the getting of gold and silver, and precious stones, so difficult, (1.) For the exciting and engaging of industry. Dii la-boribus ovinia vendmit — JMbour is the price which the i^ods affix to all things. If valuable things were too easilv come bv, men would never learn to lake pains. But the difficulty of gaining the riches of this earth, may suggest to us what violence the kingdom of heaven suffers. (2.) For the checking and restraining of pomp and luxury. What is for necessity is had with a little labour from the surface of the earth; but what is for ornament must be dug with a great deal of pains out of the bowels of it. To be fed is chea]), but to be fine is chargeable.

III. Though the suljterraneous wealth is thus hard to come by, yet men will have it. He that loves silver, is not satisfied with silver, and yet is not satisfied without it; but they that have much must needs have more. See here, 1. What inventions men have to get this wealth. They search out all fierfecticn, v. 3. They have arts and engines to dry up the waters, and carry them off, when they break in upon them in their mines, and threaten to dix)wn the work, v. 4. They have pumps, and pipes, and canals, to clear their way, and, obstacles being removed, they tread the fiath which no fowl Icnoweth, (r. 7, 8.) unseen by the vulture's eye, which is piercing and quick-sighted, and untrodden by the lion's whelps, whicli traverse all the paths of the wilderness. 2. Wliat pains men take, and what vast charge they are at, to get Miis wealth. They work their way througii the rorks, and undermine the mountains, V. 10. 3. Whit hazards thev run. They that dig in tlie mines have tlieir lives in their hands; for they are obliged to bind the floods from overflow-

ing, {v. 11.) and are continually in danger of bemg suffocated by damps, or cruslied or buiicd alive by the fall of the earth upon them. See how foolish man adds to his own burthen; lie is sentenced to eat bread in the sweat of his face. But as if th.tt were not enough, he will get gold and sih er at the peril of his life; thougli the more is gotten, tlie less valuable it is; fur, in Solomon's time, silver was as stones. But, 4. Ot)ser\ e what it is tliat carries men through all this toil and peril. Their eye sees every ftrecious thing, v. 10. Silver and gold are precious things with them; and they have them in their eye in all their pursuits; they fancy they see them glittering Ijefore their faces, and, in the prospect of laying hold on them, they make nothing of all these difficulties; for they make something of it at last; that which is hid bringeth he forth to light,v. 11. What was hid under ground, is laid upon the iiank; the metal that was hid in the ore, is refined from its dross, and brought forth pure out of the furnace; and then he thinks his pains well bestowed. Go to the miners, then, thou sluggard in religion, consider their ways, and be wise. Let their courage, diligence, and constancy in seeking the wealth that perisheth, shame us out of slothfulness and faintheartedness in laboring for the true riches. How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! How much easier and safer! Yet gold is sought for, but grace neglected. Will the hopes oi firecious things out of the earth, (so they call them, though really they are paltry and perishing,) be such a spur to industry, and shall not the certain prospect of truly precious things in heaven be much more so?

12. But wlieieshall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? 13. Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. 14. The depth saith, ///> not in me: and the sea saith, // is not with me. 1 5. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silvei be weighed for the price thereof. 16. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapjihire. 17. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it s/in// vol i«/b/'jewels of fine gold. 18, No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. 19. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

Job, having spoken of the wealth of the world, which men put such a value upon, and take so much pains for, here comes to speak of another more valuable jewel, and that \s,wisdom and understanding, the knowing and enjoying of God and ourselves. They that found out all those ways and means to enrich themselves, thought themselves very wise; but Job will not own that to be wisdom: he supposes them to gain their point, and to bring to light what they sought for, (x;. 11.) and yet asks. Where is wis-dotn? For it is not here; this their way is their folly. We must therefore seek it somewhere else, and it will be found nowhere but in the principles and practices of religion. There is more tnie knowledge, satisfaction, and happiness, in sound divinity, which shows us the way to the joys of heaven, than in natural philosophy, or mathematics, which help us to find a way into the bowels of the earth.

Two things cannot be found out concerning this wisdom.

1. The price of it, for that is inestimable; its

JOB, XXVIII.

191

worth is infinitely more than all the riches in this world. Man knows not the price thereof, [y. 13.) that is, 1. Few put a due value upon it. Men know not the woith of it, its innate excellency, their need of it, and of what unspeakable advantage it will be to them; and therefore, though they ha\e many a price in their hand to get this wisdom, yet they have 710 heart to it, Prov. xvii. 16. The cock in the fable knew not the value of the precious stone he found in the dunghill, and therefore would rather ha\ e lighted on a barley-corn. Men know not the worth of grace, and therefore will take no pains to get it. 2. None can possibly give a valuable consideration for it, with all the wealth this world can furnish them with. This Job is large upon, (x*. 15,&c.) where he makes an inventory of the Bona notabilia ^The most valuable treasures of this world: gold is five times mentioned, sil\ er comes in also, and then divers precious stones, the onyx and sapphire, pearls and rubies, and the topaz of Ethiopia; these are the things that are highest prized in the world's markets: but if a man would give, not only these, heaps of these, but all the substance of his house, all he is worth in the world, for wisdom, it would utterly be contemned: these may give a man some advantage in seeking wisdom, as they did to Solomon, but there is no purchasing wisdom with these. It IS a gift of the Holy Ghost, which cannot be bought ivith money, Acts viii. 20. As it does not run in the blood, and thus come to us by descent, so it cannot be got for money, nor does it come to us by purchase. Spiritual gifts are conferred without money and without price, because no money can be a price for them. Wisdom is likewise a more valuable gift to him that has it, makes him richer and happier, than gold or precious stones. It is better to get wisdom than gold. Gold is another's, wisdom our own; gold is for the body and time, wisdom is for the soul and eternity. Let that which is most precious in God's account, be so in ours. See Prov. iii. 14, &c.

II. The place of it, for that is undiscoverable. Where shall wisdom be found? v. 12. He asks this,

1. As one that truly desired to find it. This is a question we should all put; while the most of men are asking, "Where shall money be found?" we should ask, Where may wisdom be found? that we may seek it and find it; not vain philosophy, or carnal policy, but true religion; for that is the only true wisdom, that is it which best improves our faculties, and best secures our spiritual and eternal welfare. This is that which we should cry after, and dig for, Prov, ii. 3, 4.

2. As one that utterly despaired of finding it any where but in God, and any way but by di\ ine revelation. It is not found in this land of the living, v. 13. We cannot attain to a right understanding of God and his will, of ourselves, and our duty, and interest, by reading any books or men, but by reading God's book and the men of God. Such is the degeneracy of human nature, that there is no true wisdom to be found with any but those who are born again, and who, through grace, partake of the divine nature. As for others, even the most mge-nious and industrious, they can tell us no tidings of this lost wisdom. (1.) Ask the miners, and by them the depth will say, It is not in me, v. 14. Those who dig into the bowels of the earth, to rifle the treasures there, cannot in these dark recesses find this rare jewel, nor with all their art make themselves masters of it. (2.) Ask the mariners, and by them the sea will say. It is not in me. It can never be got either by trading on the waters, or diving into them; can never he sucked from the abundance of the seas, or the treasures hid in the sand. Where there is a ve'n for the silver, there is no vein for wisdom, none for grace. Men can more easily break through the difficulties they meet with in getting worldly wealth,

than through those they meet with in getting heavenly wisdom; and they will take more pains to learn how to live in this world, than how to live forever in a better world. So blind and foolish is man become, that it is in vain to ask him. Where is the place of wisdom, and which is the road thai leads to it?

20. Whence then cometh wisdom? and where w the-place of understanding? 21. Seeing it is hid from the eyes of- all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. 22. Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. 23. God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. 24. For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and s^eth under the whole heaven ; 25. To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. 26. When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder; 27. Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. 28. And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lo rd, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

The question which he had asked, {v. 12.) he asks again here; for it is too worthy, too weighty, to be let fall, until we speed in the inquiry. Concerning this, we must seek till we find, till we get some satisfactory account of it. By a diligent prosecution of this inquiry, he brings it,'at length, to this issue; that there is a twofold wisdom; one hid in God, which is secret, and belongs not to us; the other made known by him, and revealed to man, which belongs to us and to our children.

I. The knowledge of God's secret will, the will of his providence, is out of our reach, and what God has reserved to himself: it belongs to the Lord our God. To know the particulars of what God will do hereafter, and the reasons of what he is doing now, is the knowledge he first speaks of.

1. This knowledge is hid from us: it is high, we cannot attain unto it; (v. 21, 22.) It is hid from the eyes of all lix'ing, even of philosophers, politicians, and saints; it is kept close from the fowls of the air; though they fly high and in the open firmament of heaven, though they seem somewhat nearer that upper world where the source of this wisdom is, though their eyes behold afar off, (cA. xxxix. 29.) yet they cannot penetrate into the counsels of God. No; man is wiser than the fowls of heaven, and yet comes short of this wisdom. Even those who, in their speculations, soar highest, and think themselves, like the fowls of the air, above the heads of other people, yet cannot pretend to this knowledge. Job and his friends had been arguing about the methods and reasons of the dispensations of Providence in the government of the world: "What fools are we" (says Job) " to fight in the dark thus; to dispute about that which we do not understand!" The line and plummet of human reason can never fathom the abyss of the divine counsels. Who can undertake to give the rationale of Providence, or account for the maxims, measure, and methods, of God's government, those arcana imperii — the cabinet counsels of divine wisdom? Let us then be content not to know the future events of Providence, until time discover them, (Acts i. 7.) and not to know the secret reasons of Providence, until eternity discover them. God is now a God that hideth himself; (Isa. xlv. 15.) clouds and darkness are round about hiin. Though

JOB, xxvin.

this wisdom be hid from all living, yet destruction and death say, We have heard the fame of it; though they cannot give an account of it themselves, (for there is no wisdom, nor device, nor knonvledge at allin the grave, much lessthis,)yet there is a world on the other side death and the grave, on which those dark regions border, and to which we must pass through them, and there we shall see clearly Avhat we are now in the dark about. " Have a little patience," says death to the inquisitive soul, " I will letch thee shortly to a place wliere even this wisdom will be found." When the mystery of God shall be finished, it will be laid open, and we shall know as we are known; when the veil of flesh is rent, and the interposing clouds are scattei'ed, we shall know what God does, though we know not now, John xiii. 7.

2. This knowledge is hid in God, as the apostle speaks, (Eph. iii. 9.) Known unto God are all his •works, thf ugh they are not known to us, Acts xv. 18. There are good reasons for what he does, though we cannot assign them; {v. 23.) God understands the way thereof. Men sometimes do they know not what, but God never does. Men do what they did not design to do; new occurrences put them upon new counsels, and oblige them to take new measures: but God does all according to the purpose which he purposed in himself, and which he never alters. Men sometimes do that which they cannot give a good reason for, but in every will of God there is a counsel: he knows both what he does, and why he does it; the whole series of events, and the order and place of every occurrence. This knowledge he has in perfection, but keeps to himself

Two reasons are here given why God must needs understand his own way, and he only;

(1.) Because all events are now directed by an all-seeing and almighty Providence, v. 24, 25. He that governs the world, is [1.] Omniscient: /or Ae looks to the ends of the earth, both in place and time; distant ages, distant regions, are under his view. We do not understand our own way, much less can we understand God's way, because we are shortsighted; how little do we know of what is doing in the world, much less of what will be done! But the eyes of the Lord are in every place; nay, they run to and fro through the earth: nothing is, or can be, hid from him; and tlierefore the reasons why some wicked people prosper remarkably, and others are remarkablv punished in this world, which are secret to us, are known to him. One day's events, and one man's aflFairs, have such a reference to, and such a dependence upon, another's, that He only, to whom all events and all affairs are naked and open, and who sees the whole at one entire and certain view, is a competent Judge of every part. [2.] He is omnipotent; he can do every thing, and is \'ery exact in all he does. For proof of this, he mentions the winds and waters, v. 25. What is lighter than the wind? Yet God liath ways of poising it; he knows how to make the ivcight for the winds, which he brings out of his treasuries, (Ps. cxxxv. 7.) keeping a very particular account of what he draws out, as men do of what they pay out of their treasuries, not at random, as men bring out of their tr;ish. Nothing sensible is to us more unaccountable than the wind; we hear the sound of it, yet cannot tell whence it comes, or whither it goes: but God gives it out by weight, wisely ordering both from what point it shall blow, and with what strength. The waters of the sea, and the rain waters, he both weighs and measures; allotting the proportion of every tide and every shower. A great and constant communication there is between clouds and seas, the waters above the firmament and those under it; vapours go up, rains come down, air is condensed into water.

water rarified into air: but the gi-eat God keeps an exact account of all the stock with which this trade is carried on for the public benefit, and sees that none of it be lost. Now if, in these things. Providence be so exact, how much more in dispensing fiowns and favours, rewards and punishments, to the children of men, according to the i-ules of equity!

(2.) Because all events were, from eternity, designed and determined by an infallible prescience, and immutable decree, v. 26, 27. When he settled the course of nature, he foreordained all the operations of his government.

[1.] He settled the course of nature; for this, he mentions a decree for the rain, and a way for the thunder and lightning: the general manner and method, and the particular uses and tendencies, of these strange performances, b<~th their causes and their effects, were appointed by the divine purpose; hence he is said to fire/iare lightnings for the rain, Ps. cxxxv. 7. Jer. x. 13.

[2.] When he did that, he laid all the measures of his providence, and drew an exact scheme of the whole work from first to last: then, from eternity, did he see in himself, and declare to himself, the plan of his proceedings; then he prepared it, fixed it, and established it, set every thing in readiness for all his works; so that, when any thing was to be done, nothing was to seek, nor could any thing \m-foreseen occur, to put it either out of its method, or out of its time, for all was ordered as exactly as if he had studied it, and searched it out; so that, what ever he does, nothing can be put to it, or *aken from it, and therefore shall be for ener, Eccl. iii. 14. Some make Job to speak of wisdom here as a person, and translate it. Then he saw her, and showed her, ijfc. and then it is parallel with that of Solomon, concerning the essential Wisdom of the Father, the eternal Word, Prov. viii. 22, &c. Before the earth was, then was I by him, John i. 1, 2.

n. The knowledge of God's revealed will, the will of his precept, and this is within our reach; it is level to our capacity, and will do us good; {x>. 28.) Unto man he said. Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. Let it not be said, that, when God concealed his counsels from man, and forbade him that tree of knowledge, it was because he grudged him any thing that would contribute to his real bliss and satisfaction; no, he let him know as much as he was concerned to know in order to his duty and happiness: he shall be intrusted with as much of his sovereign mind as was needful and fit for a subject, but he must not think himself fit to be a privy-coun sellor. He said toj^dam, so some, to the first man, in the day in which he was created; he toid him plainly, it was not for him to amuse himself with over-curious searches into the mysteries of creation, nor to pretend to solve all the phenomena of nature; he would find it neither possible nor profitable to do so. No less wisdom (says Archbishop Tillotson) than that which made the world, can thoroutrhlv understand the philosophy of it. But let him look upon this as his wisdom, To fear the I^ord nnd to depart from evil; let him learn that, and he is learned enough, let this knowledge serve his turn. When God forbade man the tree of knowledge, he allowed him the tree of life, and this is that tvfc. Prov. iii. 18. We cannot attain t'ue wisdom hut hv divine revelation; The Lord giveth wisdom, Pro\. ii. 6. Now the matter of that, is not the secrets of nature or providence, but the rules of our own practice: unto man he said not, " Go up to heaven, to fetch happiness thence;" or, "Go down to the deep, to draw it up thence." No, the word is nigh fhre; (Deut. XXX. 14.) He hath showed thee, 0 wan, not what is great, but what is good, not whit the Lord thy God designs to do with thee, but what he requires of thee, Mic. vi. 8. Unto you. Omen, I cull.

JOB, XXIX.

I2»

Prov. viii. 4. Lord, what is man that he should be tliiis minded, thus visited! Behold, mark, take notice, of this; he that has ears, let him hear what the God of heaven says to the children of men; The fear of the Lord, that is the -wisdom. Here is, 1. The descnption of true religion, pure religion, and undefiled; it is to fear the Lord, and de/iart from evil, which agrees with God's character of Job, ch. i. 1. The fear of the Lord is the spring and summary of all religion. There is a slavish fear of God, springing {mm hard thoughts of him, which is contrary to religion, Matth. xxv. 24. There is a selfish fear of God, springing from dreadful thoughts of him, which may be a good step toward religion. Acts ix. 5. But there is a filial fear of God, springing from great and high thoughts of him, which is the life and soul of all religion. And wherever this reigns in the heart, it will appear by a constant care to depart from evil, Prov. xvi. 6. This is essential to religion; we must first cease to do evil, or we shall never learn to do well. Virtus est vitium fugere — E'en in our flight from vice some virtue lies. 2. The commendation of religion; it is wisdom and understanding: to be truly religious, is to be truly wise: as the wisdom of God appears in the institution of it, so the wisdom of man appears in the practice and observance of it; it is understanding, for it is the best knowledge of truth; it is wisdom, for it is the best conduct of our affairs: nothing more surely guides our way, and gains our end, than being religious.

CHAP. XXIX.

.\fter that excellent discourse concerninor wisdom in the foregoing chapter, Job sat down and paused a while, not because ne had talked himself out of breath, but because he would not, without the leave of the company, engross the talk to himself, but would give room for his friends, if they pleased, to make their remarks on what he had said; but they had nothing to say, and therefore, after he had recollected himself a littlcj he went on with his discourse concerning his own affairs, in this and the two following chapters; in which, I. He describes the height of the prosperity /roDi which he was fallen. And, II. The depth of the adversity into which he was fallen; and this he does, to move the pity of his friends, and to juslifv, or, at least, excuse, his own complaints. But then, III. To obviate his friends' censures of him, he makes a very ample and particular protestation of his own integrity notwithstanding. In this chapter, he looks back to the days of his prosperity, and shows, I. What comfort and satisfaction he had in his house and family, v. I ..6. 2. What a great deal of honour and power he had in his country, and what respect was paid him by all sorts of people, v. 7.. 10. 3. What abundance of good he did in his place, as a magistrate, v. 11.. 17. 4. What a just prospect he had of the continuance of his comfort at home, (v. 18.. 20.) and of his interest abroad, v. 21. .25. All this he enlarges upon, to aggravate his present calamities; like J^aomi, I ivejit out full, but am brought home again empty.

MOREOVER, Job continued his parable, and said, 2. Oh that I were as in months past, as in tlie days ivheji God preserved me ; 3. When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness ; 4. As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God mns upon my tabernacle ; 5. When the Almighty urns yet with me, lohen my children ii:ere about me; 6. When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poui'ed me out rivers of oil;

Losers miy have leave to speak, and there is nothing thev speak of more feelingly than of the com-

Vol.111.— R

forts they are stripped of. Their former prosperity is one of the most pleasing subjects of their thoughts and talk. It was so to Job here, who begins with a wish, {v. 2.) Oh that I were as in months past! So he brings in this account of his prosperity. His wish is, 1. " Oh that I were in as good a state as 1 was then; that I had as much wealth, honour, and pleasure, as I had then!" This he wishes, from a concern he had, not so much for his ease, as for his reputation, and the glory of his God, which, he thought, was eclipsed by his present sufferings. " Oh that I might be restored to my prosperity, and then the censures and reproaches of my friends would be effectually silenced, even upon their own principles, and for ever rolled away !^' If this be our end in desiring life, health, and prosperity, that God may be glorified, and the credit of our holy profession rescued, preserved, and advanced, the desire is not only natural, but spiritual. 2. "Oh that I were in as good a frame of spirit, as I was then!" That which Job complained most of now, was a load upon his spirits, through God's withdrawing from him; and therefore he wishes he had now his spirit as much ei\larged and encouraged in the service of God, as he had then, and that he hart as much freedom and fellowship with him, as "he then thought himself happy in. This was ni the days of his youth, {v. 4.) when he was in the prime of "his time for the enjoyment of those things, and could relish them with the highest gust. Note, Those that prosper in the days of their youth, know not what black and cloudy days they are yet reser\'ed for.

Two things made the months pass pleasant to Job;

I. That he had comfort in his God. This was the chief thing he rejoiced in, in his prosperity, as the spring of it and the sweetness of it; that he had the favour of God, and the tokens of that favour. He did not attribute his prosperity to a happy turn of fortune, or to his own might, or to the power of his own hand, but makes the same acknowledgment that David does; (Ps. xxx. 7.) Thou, by thy favour, hast made my mountain stand strong. A gracious soul delights in God's smiles, not in the smiles of this world.

Four things were then very pleasant to holy Job:

1. The confidence he had in the divine pi-otec-tion. They were the days when God preserved me, V. 2. Even then he saw himself exposed, and did not make his wealth his strong city, nor trusted in the abundance of his riches, but the name of the Lord was his strong to-wer, and in that only he thought himself safe, and to that he ascribed it that he was then safe, and his comforts were preserved to him. The Devil saw a hedge about him of God's making, (cA. i. 10.) and Job saw it himself, and owned it was God^s visitation that preserved hit spirit, ch. x. 12. Those only whom God protects are safe, and may be secure; and therefore those who have ever so much of this world, must not think themselves safe, unless God preserve them.

2. The complacency he had in the divine favour; (t*. 3.) God's candle shined upon his head, that is, God lifted up the light of his countenance upon him, gave him the assui^ances and sweet relishes of his love. The best of the communications of the divine favour to the saints in this world, is but the candle-light, compared with what is reserved for them in the future state. But such abundant satisfaction did Job take in the di\ine favour, that, by the light of thit, he walked through darkness; th .t guided him in his doubts, comfortetl him in his griefs, bare him up under his burthens, and helped him through all his difficulties. Those that have the brightest sun-shine of outward prosperity, must yet expect some moments of darkness: they are

JOB, XXIX.

sometimes crossed, sometimes at a loss, sometimes melancholy; but those that are interested in the favour of 'God, and know how to \alue it, can, by the light of that, walk cheerfully and comfortably through all the darkness of this vale of tears. That puts gladness into the heart, enough to balance all •■he grievances of this present time.

3. The communion he had with the divine word; (x;. 4.) The secret of God was ujion my tabernacle. that is, When God" conversed freely with him, as one bosom friend with another. He knew God's mind, and was not in the dark about it, as, of late, he had been. The secret of the Lord is said to be •with them that fear him, for he shows them that in his covenant, which others see not, Ps. xxv. 14. God communicates his favour and grace to his people, and receives the returns of their devotion in a -way seci-et to the world. Some read it, iVhen the society of God was in my tabernacle; which Rabbi Solomon understands of an assembly of God's people, that used to meet at Job's house for reli- j gious worship, in which he presided; this he took a ■ great deal of pleasure in, and the scattering of it j was a trouble to him. Or, it may be understood of I the angels of God pitching their tents about his ha- j bitation. i

4. The assurance he had of the divine presence; ' {v. 5.) The Jlmighty was yet with me. Now, he ] thought God was departed from him, but, in those i days, he was with liim, and that was all in all to him. I God's presence with a man in his house, though it be ! but a cottage, makes it both a castle and a palace. '

II. That he had comfort in his famil)', every thing j was agreeable there: he had both mouths for his ; meat, and meat for his mouths; the want of either is a great affliction. 1. He had a numerous offspring : to enjoy his estate; My children were abortt me. He had many children, enough to compass him round, and they'were observant of him, and obsequious to i him; they were about him, to know what he would have, and wherein they might serve him. It is a comfort to tender parents to see their children about them; Job speaks \ ery feelinglv of tliis comfort, now that he was deprived of it. He thought it an instance of God's being with him, that his children were about him; and yet we reckon wrong, if, when we have lost our children, we cannot comfort ourselves with this, that we have not lost our (xod. 2. He had a plentiful estate for the support of this numerous family, v. 6. His dairy abounded to that degree, that'he might, if he pleased, wash his ste/is with butter; and his oli\e-yards were so fruitful, beyond expectation, that it seemed as if the rock poured him out rivers of oil. He reckons his wealth, not by his siher and go'ld, which were for hoarding, but by his butter and oil, which were for use; for what is an estate good for, unless we take the good of it ourselves, and do good with it to others?

7. When T went out to the gate, through the city, when I prepared my seat in tlie street; 8. The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up. 9. The princes refrained talking, and laid flirir hand on their mouth. 10. The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. 11. When the ear heard inr, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw viP., it gave witness to me: 12. Because T delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and /im that had none to help him. l.'i. The blessing of liim that was ready to perish came

upon )ne: and T caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. 14. 1 put on righteousness, and it clothed me : my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. 15. J was eyes to the blind, and feet/ms I to the lame. 16. \ was a father to the poor: and the cause ivhich i knew not 1 searched out. 17. And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.

We have here Job in a post of honour and power; though he had comfort enough in his own house, yet he did not confine himself to that; we are not bom for ourselves, but for the public. When any business was to be done in the gate, the place of judgment. Job went out to it through the city, {v. 7. ) not in an affectation of pomj), but in an affection to justice. Observe, Judgment was administered in the gate, in the street, in the places of concourse, to which every man might have a free access; that every one who would might be a witness to all that was said and done; and that, when judgment war. given against the guilty, others might hear and fear.

Job being a prince, a judge, a magistrate, a man in authority, among the children of the east, we are here told,

I. What respect was paid him by all sorts of people, not only for the dignity of his place, but for his personal merit, his eminent prudence, integrity, and good management. 1. The people honoured him, and stood in awe of him, v. 8. The gravity and majesty of his looks and mien, and his known strictness in animad\erting upon every thing that was evil and indecent, commanded all about him into due decorum. The young men, who could not keep their countenances, or, it may be, were conscious to themselves of something amiss, hid themselves, and got out of his way; and the aged, though they kept their ground, yet would not keep their seats, they arose and stood up to do obeisance to him; they who expected honour from others, ga\e honour to him. Virtue and piety challenge respect from all, and usually have it; but they that not only are good, but do good, are worthy of double honour. Modesty becomes those that are young and in subjection, as much as majesty becomes those that are aged and in power. Honour and fear are due to magistrates, and must be rendered to them, Rom. xiii. 7. But if a great and good man was thus re\ erenced, how is the great and good God to be feared! 2. The princes and nobles paid great deference to him, V. 9, 10. Some think that these were inferior magistrates under him, and that the respect they paid him was due to his place, as their sovereign and supreme; it should rather seem that they were his equals in place, and joined in commission with him, and that the peculiar honour they gave him was gained by his extraordinary abilities and services. It was agi'eed, that he excelled them all in quickness of apprehension, soundness of judgment, closeness of application, clearness and copiousness of expression; and therefore he was, among his fellows, an oi'acle of law, and counsel, and justice, and what he said all attended to, and acquiesced in. When he came into court, especially when he stood up to speak to any business, the princes refrained talking, the nobles held their peace, that they might tlie more diligently hearken to what he said, and might be sure to take his menning. They that had been forward to speak their own thoughts, loved to hear themselves talk, and cared not much what any body else said, when it came to Job's turn to speak, were as desii'ous lo know his thoughts, as ever they had been to vent their own. They that suspected their own judgment were satisfied in his, and admired

JOB, XXIX.

13]

with what dexterity he split the hair, and untied the knots which puzzled them, and whicli they knew not wiiat to make of. When the princes and nobles wrangled among themselves, all agreed to refer the matters in dispute to Job, and to abide by his judgment Happy the men that are blessed with such eminent gifts as these; they have great opportunities of honouring God, and doing good, but have great need to watcli against pride: happy the people that are Ijlessed with such eminent men; it is a token for good to them.

II. What good he did in his place. He was very serviceable to liis country with the power he had; and here we shall see what it was which Job valued himself by in the day of his prosperity. It is natural to men, to have some value for themselves, and we may judge something of our own character, by observing what that is upon which we \alue ourselves. Job valued liimself, not by the honour of his family, the great estate he had, his large income, his full table, the many servants he had at his command, the ensigns of his dignity, his equipage and retinue, the splendid entenainments lie gave, and the court that was made to him, but by his usefulness. Goodness is God's glory, and it will be ours; if we be merciful as frod is, we are perfect as he is.

1. He valued himself by the interest he had in the esteem, affections, and prayers, of sober people; not by the studied panegyrics of the wits and poets, but the natural praises of all about h.im. All that heard what he said, and saw what he did, how he laid out himself for the public good with all the authority and tender affection of a father to his country, blessed him, and gave witness to him, t'. 11. Many a good word they said of him, mid many a good prayer they put up for him: he did not tliink it an honour to make eN erv body fear him, {Odcrint dum mftuant — Let them hate, firovided they also fear,) nor to be nrbitrarv, and to have his own will and way, not caring what people said of him; but, like \Tordecai, to be accefited of the multitude of his brethren. Est. x. 3. He did not so much \'alue the applauses of those at a distance, as the attestations of those that were the witnesses of his conduct, that constantly attended him, saw him, and heard him, and could speak of their own knowledge; especially theirs who had themselves been the better for him, and could sneak bv their own experience; such Avas tlie blessing of him who wns ready to perish, {xk 13.) and who l>v JobV means was rescued from perishing. Let great men, and meyi of estates, thus do good, and thev shall have praise of the same; and let those who have good done them, look upon it as a just debt thev owe to their protectors and benefactors, to bless them and give witness to them; to use their interest on earth for their honour, and in heaven for their comfort, to praise them, and pray for them. Those are ungrateful indeed, who grudge these small returns.

2. He valued himself by the care he took of those that were least able to help themselves, the poor and the needv, the widows and the fatherless, the blind and lame, who could not be supposed either to merit his favour, or ever to be in a capacity to recompense it. (1.) If the poor were injured or oppressed, thev might cry to Job, and, if he found the allegations of their petitions true, they had not only his ear and his bowels, but his hand too; he deliv-ered the poor that cried, (t'. 12.) and would not suffer them to be trampled upon and i-un down. Nay, (t'. 16.) he was a father to the fioor, not only a judge to protect them, and to see that they were not Avronged, but a father to provide for them, and to see that they did not want, to counsel and direct them, and to appear and act for them upon all occasions. It is no disparagement to the son of a prince to be a father to the poor, (2.) The fatherless, that had

none to help them, found Job ready to help them, and, if they were in straits, to deliver them. He helped them to make the best of what little they had, helped them to pay what they owed, and to get in what was owing to them, helped them out into the world, helped them into business, helped them to it, and helped them in it; thus should tht fatherless be helped. (3.) Those that were ready to perish he saved from perishing, relieving tliern that were hungry and ready to perish for want, taking care of them that were sick, that were outcasts, that were falsely accused, or in danger of being turned out of their estates unjustly, or, upon any other account, were ready to perish: the ex tremity of the peril, as it quickened Job to appear the more vigorously for them, so it made his seasonable kindness the more affecting and the more obliging, and brought their blessings the more abundantly upon him. (4.) The widows that were sighing for grief, and trembling for fear, he made to sins; for joy; so carefully did he protect them, and prr-vide for them, and so heartily did he espouse their interest; it is a pleasure to a good man, and should be so to a great man, to give those occasion to rejoice, that are most acquainted with grief. (5.) Those that were upon any account ,at a loss. Job gave suital)le and seasonable relief to; (z\ 15.) I was eyes to the blind, counselling and advising those for the best, that knew not what to do; and feet to the lame; assisting those with money and friends, that knew what they should do, but knew not how to compass it. Those we best help, whom we help out in that very thing wherein they are defective, and most need help. We may come to be blind or lame ourselves, and therefore should pity and succour tliose that are so, Isa. xxxv. 3, 4. Heb. xii. 13. 3. He valued himself by the conscience he made of justice and equity in all his proceedings: his friends had unjustly censured him as an oppressor; "So far from that," (says he,) " that I always made it my business to maintain and support right." (1.) He devoted himself to the administration of justice; {v. 14.) I put on righteousness, and it clothed me, that is. He had an habitual disposition to execute justice, and put on a fixed resolution to do it. It was the girdle of his loins, Isa. xi. 5. It kept him tight and steady in all his motions; he always appeared in it, as in his clothing, and never without it. Righteousness will clothe them that put it on; it will keep them warm, and be comfortable to them; it will keep them safe, and fence them against the injuries of the season; it will adorn them, and recommend them to the favour both of God and man. (2.) He took pleasure in it, and, as I may say, a holy* pride: he looked upon it as his greatest glory to do justice to all, and injury to none. Illy Judgment was a robe and a diadem. Perhaps he did not himself wear a robe and a diadem, he was very indifferent to those ensigns of honour; they were most fond of them who had least intrinsic worth to recommend them; but the settled principles of justice, by which he was governed and did govern, were to him instead of all those ornaments. If a magistrate do the duty of his place, that is an honour to him far beyond his gold or purple, and should be, accordingly, his delight; and truly, if he do not make conscience of his duty, and, in some measure, answer the end of his elevation, his robe and diadem, his goAvn and cap, his sword and mace, are but a reproach, like the pui-ple robe and crown of thorns with which the Jews studied to ridicule our Sa^•iour: for as clothes on a dead man will ne\er make him warm, so robes on a bad man will never make liiin honourable. (3.) He took pains in the business rf

♦ We 1)0^ Icavp to |irolest against associatine with rriJe anv cpitli-'' that implies it to bo in any case allowable. Sec (lisbonie's !-'ermoHt and Mrs. Move's Strictures, vol. I. chap. 11.—Eu.

JOB, XXIX.

his place; (v. 16.) The cause which I knew not I urarched out. He diligently inquired into the mat-tffs of fact, patiently and impartially heard both sides, set e\ery thing in its time light, and cleared it from false colours; he laid all circumstances together, that he might find out the tmth, and the merits of every cause, and then, and. not till then, gave judgment upon it; he never answered a matter before he heard it, nor did he judge a man to be righteous, however he seemed, for his hem^ Jirst in /lis own cause, Prov. xviii. 17.

4. He valued himself by the check he gave to the violence of proud and evil men; {v. 17.) / brake the Jaws of the wicked; he does not say that he brake their hecks; he did not take away their li\ es, but he brake their jaws; he took away their power of doing mischief, he humbled them, mortified thenri, and curbed their insolence, and so plucked the spoil out of their teeth; delivered tlie persons and estates of honest men from being made a prey of by them; when they had got the spoil between their teeth, and were greedily swallowing it down, he bravely rescued it, as David did the lamb out of the mouth of the lion, not fearing, though they roared and raged like a lion disap])ointed of his prey, (iood magistrates must thus be a terror and restraint to evil-doers, and a protection to tlie innocent, and, in order to this, they have need to arm themselves with zeal and resolution, and an undaunted courage: a judge upon the bench has as much need to be bold and brave, as a commander in the field.

18. Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply mij days as the sand. 19. My root nms spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. 20. My glory ivas fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand. 21. Unto me meji gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel. 22. After my words they spake not again; and my speech diopped upon them. 23. And they waited for me as for the rain ; and they opened their mouth wide js for the latter rain. 24. Tf I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down. 25. I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.

That which crowned Job's prosperity, was, the pleasing prospect he had of the continuance of it; though he knew, in general, that he was liable to trouble, and therefore was not secure; (ch. iii. 26.) / was not in safety, neither had I rest, yet he had no particular occasion for fear, but as much reason as ever any man had to count upon the lengthening out of his tranquillity.

1 See here what his thoughts were in his prosperity; {v. 18.) Then I said, I shall die in my nest. Having made himself a warm and easy nest, he hoped nothing would disturb him in it, nor move him out of it, till death removed him. He knew lie had never stolen any coal from the altar, which might fire his nest: he saw no storm arising to shake down his nest, and therefore concluded. To-morrow ahall he as this iayi as David; (Ps. xxx. 6.) My mountain stands strong, and shall not be moved. Observe, ' In the midst of his prosperity, he thought of dyiiig, and the thought was not uneasy to him. He knew that though his nest was high, it did not set 1 im out of the reach of the darts of death. 2. Yet li2 flattered himself with vain hopes, (1.) That he

should live long, should multifily his daya as the sand. He means as the sand on the sea-shore; whereas we should rather reckon our days by the sand in the hour-glass, which will be run out in a little time. See how apt even good people are to think of death as a thing at a distance, and. to put far from them that evil day, which will really be to them a good d.y. (2.) That he should die in the same prosperous state in which he had lived. If such an expectation as this arise from a li\ ely faith in the providence and promise of God, it is well, !)ut if fiom a conceit of our own wisdom, and the stabil ty of these earthly things, it is ill-grcunded, and turns into sin. We hope Job's confidence was like David's; (Ps. xxvii. 1.) Whom shall I fear? not like the rich fool's, (Luke xii. 19.) Soul, take thine ease. II. See what was the ground of these thoughts. 1. If he looked at home, he found he had a good foundation. His stock was all his own, and none of all his neighbours had a demand upon him. He found no bodily distemper growing upon him, his estate did not lie under any incumbrance, nor was he sensible of any worm at the root of it. He was getting forward in his affairs, and not going behindhand; he lost no reputation, but gained rather; he knew no rival that threatened either to eclipse his honour, or abridge his power: see how he descril)es this, V. 19, 20. He was like a tree whose root is not only spread out, whicli fixes it and keeps it firm, so that it is in nndangerof being overturned, but spread out by the waters, which feed it, and make it fruitful and flourishing, so that it is in no danger of withering. And as he thought himself blessed with the fatness of the earth, so also with the kind influences of Hea\ en too; for the dew lay all night upon his branch. Providence favoured him, and made all his enjoyments comfortable, and all his enterprises successful. Let none think to support their pn s-perity with what they draw from this earth, without that blessing which is derived from above. God's favour being continued to Job, in the virtue (^f that, his glory was still fresh in him: those about h m had still something new to say in his praise, and needed not to repeat the old stories: and it is c^nly by constant goodness that men's glory is thus preserved fresh, and kept from withering and growing stale. His bow also was renewed in his hand, that is, his power to protect himself, and annoy those that assailed him, still increased, so that he thought he had as little reason as any man to fear the insults of the Sabeans and Chaldeans.

2. If he looked abroad, he found he had a good interest and well confirmed. As he had no reason to dread the power of his enemies, so neither had he any reason to distrust the fidelity of his friends: to the last moment of his prosperity they continued their respects to him, and their dependence on him. What had he to fear, who so gave counsel, as, in effect, to give law to all his neighbours? Nothing surely cotild be done against him, when really nothing was done without him.

(1.) He was the oracle of his country. He was consulted as an oracle, and his dictates were acquiesced in as oracles, v. 2l. When others could not be heard, all men gave ear to him, and kept silence at his counsel, knowing that, as nothing could he said against it, so nothing needed to be added to it. And therefore, after his words they spake not again, V. 22. Why should men meddle with a subject that has already been exhausted.>

(2.) He was the rfar/w.e of his country. All about him were well-pleased with every thing he said and did, as David's people were with him, 2 Sam. iii. "6. He had the hearts and affections of all his neighbours, all his servants, tenants, subjects; nevei- was man so much admired,nor so well beloved. [ 1. ] They

JOB, XXX.

138

were thought happy to whom he spake, and they thought themselves so: never were the dews of heaven so acceptable to the parched ground, as his wise discourses were to them that attended on them, especially to whom they were particularly accommodated and directed. His speech dropped upon them, and they waited for it as for the rain; {v. 22, 23.) wondering at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, catching at them, laying hold on them, and treasuring them up as apophthegms. His servants, that stood continually before him to hear his wisdom, would not have envied Solomon's. Those are wise, or are likely to be so, that know how to value wise discourse, that wish for it, and wait for it, and drink it in as the earth does the rain that comes often upon it, Heb. vi. 7. And those who have such an interest as Job had in the esteem of others, whose ifise dtjcit — bare assertion goes so far, as they have a great opportunity of doing good, so they must take great care lest they do hurt, for a bad word out of their m<iuths is very infectious. [2.] Much more happy were they thought on whom he smiled, and they thought themselves so, 'v. 24. " If I laughed on them, designing thereby to show myself pleased in them, or pleasant with them, it was such a favour, that they believed it not for joy, or because it was so rare a thing to see this grave man smile. Many seek the ruler's favour; Job was a ruler whose favour was courted, and valued at a high rate. He to whom a great prince gave a kiss, was envied by another to whom he only gave a golden cup. Familiarity often breeds contempt, but if Job at any time saw fit, for his own diversion, to make himself free with those about him, yet it did not in the least diminish the veneration they had for him: the light of his countenance they cast not down. So wisely did he dispense his f vours, as not to make them cheap, and so wisely did they receive them, as not to make themselves unworthy of them another time.

(3.) He was the sovereign of his country, v. 25. He chose out their way, sat at the helm, and steered for them, all referring themselves to his conduct, and submitting themselves to his command. To this perhaps, in many countries, monarchy owed its rise; such a man as Job, that so far excelled all his neighbours in wisdom and integrity, could not but sit chief, and the fool will, of course, be servant to the wise in heart: and if the wisdom did but for a while run in the blood, the honour and power would certainh' attend ii, and so by degrees become hereditary. Two things recommended Job to the sovereignty. [1.] That he had the authority of a commander, or general; he dwelt as a king m the army, giving orders which were not to be disputed. Every one that has the spirit of wisdom, has not the spirit of go\ ernment, but Job had both, and, when there was occasion, could assume state, as the king in the army does, and s:iy. Go, Come, and, Do this, M<itth. viii. 9. [2. ] That yet he had the tenderness of a comforter. He was as ready to succour those in distress, as if it had been his office to comfort the mourners. Eliphaz himself owned he liad been \ery good in that respect; {ch. iv. 3.) Thou hast strengthened the •weak hands. And this he now reflected upon with pleasure, when he was himself a mourner; but we find it easier to comfort others with the comforts wherewith we ourselves have been formerly comforted, than to com-fort ourselves with those comforts wherewith we have formerly comforted others.

I know not but we may look upon Job as a type and figure of Christ, in his power and prosperity i our Lord Jesus is such a King as Job was; the poor man's King, who loves righteousness and hates iniquity, and upon whom the blessing of a world ready tQ perish eomesj see Ps, Ixxij, 2, &c, To him

therefore let us give ear, and let him sit chief in our hearts.

CHAP. XXX.

Il is amelancholy But jiow, which this chapter begins with. Adversity is here described as much to the life as prosperity was there, and the height of that did but increase the depth of this. God sets the one over-against the other, and so did Job, that his afflictions might appear the more grievous, and, consequently, his case the more pitiable. I. He had lived in great honour, but now he had fallen into disgrace, and was as much vilified, even by the meanest, as ever he had been niapnified by the greatest; this he insists much on, v. I.. 14. II. He had had much inward comfort and delight, but now he was a terror and burthen to himself, (v. 15, 16.) and overwhelmed with sorrow, v. 28. .31. 111. He had long enjoyed a good stale of health, but now he was sick and in pain, V. 17 . .19, 29, 30. IV. Time was, when the secret of God was with him, but now his communication with Heaven was cut oft", v. 20,. 22. V. He had promised himself a long life, but now he saw death at the door, V. 23. One thing he mentions which aggravated his affliction, that it surprised him when he looked for peace. But two things gave him some relief; 1. That his troubles would not follow him to the grave, v. 24. 2. That his conscience witnessed for him, that, in his prosperity, he had sympathized with those that were in misery, v. 25.

I. 13 UT now the?/ that are younger than 33 1 have nie in derision, whose fathers

I would have disdained to have set with tlie dogs of my flock. 2. Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands projit me, in whom old age was perished? 3. For want and famine the?/ were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste: 4. Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper-rootsyb?' their meat. 5. They were driven forth from among vic7i (they cried after them as after a thief,) C\ To dwell in the cliffs of the valleys, hi caves of the earth, and in the rocks. 7. Among the bushes they brayed ; under the nettles they were gathered together. 8. Thei/ icere children of fools, yeu, children of base men; they were viler than the earth. 9. And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword. 10. They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.

II. Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me. 1€. Vt^ow my n^i hand rise the youth; the}' push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction. 13. They mar my path, they set fonvard my calamity, they have no helper. 14. They came upon me as a wide breaking-in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves vpon me.

Here Job makes a very large and sad complaint of the great disgrace he was fallen into, from the height of honour and reputation, which- was exceedingly grievous and cutting to such an ingenuous spirit as Job's was. Two things he insists upon as very aggravating.

I. The meanness of the persons that affronted him, As it added much to his honour, in the day of his prosperity, that princes and nobles showed him respect, and paid a deference to him, so it added no less to his disgrace in his adversity, that he was spurned by the footmen, attd trampled upon by those

JOB, XXX.

that were not only every way his inferiors, but were the meanest and most contemptible of all mankind. None can be represented as more base than they are here represented, whoinsultedJob,upon all acconnts,

1. They were young, younger than he; (f. 1.) the youth, (j>. 12.) who ought to have behaved themselves respectfully toward him, for his age and gravity. Even the children, in their play, played upon him, as the children of Beth-el upon the prophet. Go u/2, thou bald-head. Children soon learn to be scornful, when they see their parents so.

2. They were of a mean extraction; their fathers were so very despicable, that such a man as Job would have disdained to take them into the lowest service about his house, as that nf tending his sheep, and attending the shepherds with the d'gs of his flock, V. 1. They were so shabby, that they were nnt fit to be seen among his servants, so silly, th it they were not fit to be employed, and so f ilse, that they were not fit to be trusted in the me incst post. .T )b here speaks of what he might have duie, not of what he did: he was not of such a spirit as to set an^' of the children of men with the dogs of his flock; he knew the dignity of human nature better than to do so.

3. They and their families were the unpvofitahle burthens of the earth, and good for nothing; Job IiiiTiself, with all his prudence and patience, could m ^ke nothing of them, x>. 2. The young were not fit fnr labour, they were so lazy, and went about their work so awkwardly; Whereto mi^ht the strength of their hands projit me? The old were not to be advised with in the smallest matters; for in them was old age indeed, but their old age was perished, they were twice chiVdren.

4. They were extremely poor; (t. 3.) they were ready to starve, for they would not dig, and to beg they were ashamed. Had they been brought to necessity by the providence of God, their neighbours would have sought them out as proper objects of charity, and would have reheved them; but, being brought into straits by their own slnthfulness and wastefulness, nobody was forward to relieve them; hence they were forced to flee into the deserts both tor shelter and sustenance,and were put to sorry shifts indeed, when they cut up mallows by the bushes, and were glad to eat them, for want of food that was fit for them, i>. 4. See what hunger will bring men to : one half of the world does mt know how the other half lives; yet those that have abundance ought to think sometimes of those whose fare is very coarse, and who are brought to a short allowance of that too; but we must own the righteousness of God, •,md not think it strange, if slothfulness clothe men Afith rags, and the idle soul be made to suffer hunger. This beggarly world is full of the Devil's poor.

5. Thev were very scandalous wicked people, not only the burthens, but the plagues, of the places where thev lived, the scum of the country; they tvere driven forth from among men, t. 5. They v/ere such lying.thieving, lurking, mischievous, people, th?t, ihf best service die magistrates could do, was, to rid the country of them, while the verv mob cried after them, as after a thief, Jway ivith such

fellows from the earth, it is not fit they should lix>e. They were lazy and would not work, and therefore they were exclaimed against as thieves, and justly, for they that do not earn their own bread by honest labour, do, in effect, steal the bread out of other people's mouths; an idle fellow is a public nuisance; b it it is better to drive such inton work-house, than, as here, into a wilderness, which will punish them indeed, but never reform them. They were forred to d veil in caves of the earth, and they brayed like asses among the bushes, v. 6, 7. See what is the lot of those that have the crv of the countrv, the crv of their own conscience, against them; they cannot

but be in a continual terror and confusion; they groan among the trees, (so Broughton,) and smart among the nettles; they are stung and scratched there, where they hoped to be sheltered and protected. See what miseries wicked people bring themselves to in this world; yet this is nothing tc what is in reserve for them in the other world.

6. They were all that is base, v. 8. They had nothing at all in them to recommend them to any man's esteem: they were a vile kind; yea, a kind without fame; people that nobody could give a good word to, nor had a good wish for; they were banished from the earth, as being viler than the earth. One would not think it possible that ever the human nature should sink so low, and degenerate so far, as it did in these people. When we thank God that we are men, we have reason to thank him that we are not such men. But such as these were abusive to Job, (1.) In revenge; because, when he was in prosperity and power, like a good magistrate, he put the laws in execution, which were in force against vagabonds, and rogues, and sturdy beggars, which these base people now remembered against him. (2.) In triumph over him,because they thought he was now become like one of them, Isa. xiv. 10,11. The abjects, men of mean spirits, insult over the miserable, Ps. xxxv. 15.

II. The greatness of the affronts that were given him: it cannot be imagined how abusive they were.

1. They made ballads on him, with which they made themselves and their companions merry; (i'. 9.) I am their song, and their by-nvord. Those have a \ ery base spirit, that turn the calamities of their honest neighbours into a jest, and can sport themseh es with their griefs.

2. They shunned him as a loathsome spectacle, abhorred him, fled far from him, {%'. 10.) as an ugly monster, or as one infected; they that were themselves driven out from among men, would have driven him out. For,

3. They expressed the greatest sconi and indignation against him. They spit in his face, or were ready to do so; they tripped up his heels, pushed away his feet, {v. 12.) kicked him, either in wrath, because they hated him, or in sport, to make themselves merry with him, as they did with their cm-panions at foot-ball. The best of saints have s'~me-times received the worst of injuries and indignities, from a spiteful, scornful, wicked, world, and must not think it strange; our Master himself was thus abused.

4. They were very malicious ag.unst him, and not only made a jest of him, but made a prey of him; not only affronted him, but set themselves to do him all the real mischief they could devise. They raise up. against me the ivays of their destruction; or, as some read it. They cast upon me the cause of their woe; that is, " They lay the blame of their being driven out, upon me;" and it is common for criminals to hate the judges and laws by which they are punished. But, under this pretence, (1.) They accused him falsely, and misrepresented his former conversation, which is here called marring his path. They reflected upon him as a tyrant and an oppressor, because he had done justice upon them; and perhaps Job's friends grounded their uncharitable censures of him (r//. xxii. 6, See.) upon the unjust and unreasonable clamours of these sorrv people; and it was an instance of their great weakness and inconsideration; for who can be innocent, if the arcus>ti"ns of such persons may be heeded? (2.) Thev not only triumphed in his ca-lamitv, hut set it forward, and did all they could to add to his miseries, and make them more grievous to him. It is a great sin to forward the calamity of anv, especiallv of cood people: in this they have no helper, nobody to set them on, or to countenance

. OB, XXX.

135

them in it; nobody to bear them out, or to protect them, but they do it of their own accord; they ai-e fools in other things, but wise enough to do mischief, and need no help in inventing that. Some read it thus, They hold my heaviness a firqfil, though they be never the better. Wicked people, though they get nothing by the calamities of others, yet rejoice in them.

5. They that did him all this mischief, were numerous, unanimous, and violent; {v. 14.) They came ufion me as a wide breaking in of waters, when the dam is broken; or, "They came as soldiers into a broad breach which they have made in the wall of a besieged city, pouring in upon me with the utmost fury;" and in this they took a pride and a pleasure; they rolled themselves in the des ilation, as a man rolls himself in a soft and easy bed; and they rolled themselves upon him with all the weight of their malice.

Lastly, All this contempt put upon him, was caused by the troubles he was in; {v. 11.) "Because he has loosed my cord; has taken away the honour and power with whicli I was girded, {ch. xii. 18.) has scattered whit I had got together, and untwisted all my affairs, because he has afflicted me, therefore they have let loose the bridle before Wf," that is, "have given themselves a liberty to say and do what they please against me." They that by Providence are stripped of their honour, may expect to be loaded with contempt by inconsiderate ill-natured people. *' Because he hatli loosed /its-cord," (the original has that reading also,) that is, " because he has taken off his bridle of restraint from off their malice, they cast away the bridle from me," tluit is, " they make no account of my authority, nor stand in any awe of me." It is owing to the hold God has of the consciences even of bad men, and the restraints he lays upon them, that we are not continually thus insulted and abused; and if at any time we meet with such ill treatment, we must acknowledge the hand of God in taking off those restraints; as David did, when Shimei cursed him; So let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden him.

Now in all this, (1.) We may see the uncertainty of worldly honour, and particularly of popular applause; how suddenly a man may fall from the height of dignity into the depth of disgrace. What little cause therefore have men to be ambitious or proud of th it which may be so easily lost, and what little confidence is to be put in it! They that, to-day, cry, Hosannah, may, to-morrow, cry, Crucfy. But there is an honour which comes from God, which, if we secure, we shall find it not thus changeable and loseable. (2.) We may see that it has often been the lot of very wise and good men, to be trampled upon and abused. And, (3.) That those who look only at the things that are seen, despise those whom the world frowns upon, though they are ever so much the favouintes of Heaven. Nothing is more grievous in poverty than that it renders men contemptible: Turba Remi sequitur fortunam, ut semper odit damnatos — The Eoman fiopulace, faithful to the turns of fortune, still fiersecutes thf fallen. (4.) We may see in Job a type of Christ, who was thus made a reproach of ?nen, and despised of the people, (Ps. xxii. 6. Isa. liii. 3.) and who hid not his face from shame, and spitting, but bore it better than Job did.

15. Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind ; and my welfare passeth away as a cloud. 16. And now mv soul is poured out upon me: the days of affliction have taken hold upon me. 17, My bones are pierced in me in the night-

season ; and my sinews take no rest. 18. By the great force of my disease is my garment changed : it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat. 19. He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become hke dust and ashes. 20. I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou re-regardest me not. 21. Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest. thyself against me. 22. Thou liltest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it., and dissolvest my substance. 23. For 1 know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living. 24. Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction. 25, Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was no^ my soul grieved for the poor? 26. When I looked for good, then evil came unto me; and when I waited for light, there came darkness. 27. My bowels boiled, and rested not; the days of at¥iiction prevented me. 28. I went mourning without the sun : I stood up, and I cried in the congregation. 29. I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. 30. My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burnt with heat. 31. My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.

In this second part of Job's complaint, which is very bitter, and has a great many sorrowful accents in it, we may observe a great deal that he complains of, and some little that he comforts himself with.

I. Here is much that he complains of.

1. In general, it was a day of great affliction and son-ow. (1.) Affliction seized him, and surprised him. \V seized \\\m; {v. 16.) The days of affliction have taken hold upon me; have caught me, so some; they have arrested me, as the bailiff arrests the debt(^r, and by violence secures him. When trouble comes with commission, it will take fast hold, and not lose its hold. It surprised him; {v. 27.) "TIse days of affliction prevented me," that is, "they came upon me without giving me any previous warning; I did not expect them, nor made any provision for such an evil day." Observe, He reckons his iiffliction by days, which will soon be numbered and finished, and are nothing to the ages of eternity, 2 Cor. iv. 17. (2.) He was in great sorrow by reason of it. His bowels boiled.with grief, and rested not, v. 17. The sense of his ca-lamiiies was continually preying upon his spirits, without any intermission: he went mourning from day to day, always sighing, always weeping; and such a cloud was constantly upon his mind, that he went, in effect, without the sun, v. 28. He had nothing that he could take any comfort in; he abandoned himself to pei-petual sorrow, as one that, like Jacob, resolved to go to the grave mourning: he walked out of the sun, (so some,) in dark shady places, as melancholy people use to do. If he went into the congregation, to join with them in solemn worshi]); instead of standing up calmly to desire theii- pravers, he stood up and cried aloud, through pain of body, or anguish of mind, like one half distracted. If he appeared in public, to receive visits, when the fit came upon him, he could not contain

JOB, XXX.

himself, nor preserve due decorum, but stood up, and shrieked aloud. Thus he was a brother to dragons and owls, {v. 29.) both in choosing solitude and retirement, as they do, (Isa. xxxiv. 13.) and in making a fearful hideous noise, as they do; his inconsiderate complaints were fitly compared to their inarticulate ones.

2. The terror and trouble that seized his soul, were the sorest part of his calamity, v. 15, 16. (1.) If he looked forward, he saw every thing frightful before him: if he endeavoured to shake off his terrors, they turned furiously upon him: if he endeavoured to escape from them, they pursued his soul as swiftly and violently as the wind. He complained, at first, of the terrors of God sttting themselves in array against him, ch. vi. 4. And still, which way soever he looked, they turned upon hin>; which way soever he fled, they pursued him. My soul. —Heb. My firincifial one. My princess; for the soul is the principal part of the man; it is our glory; it is every way more excellent than the body, and therefore that which pursues the soul, and threatens that, should be most dreaded. (2.) If he looked back, he saw all the good he had formerly enjoyed removed from him, and nothing left him but the bitter remembrance of it; My welfare fiasseth away, as suddenly, swiftly, and irrecoverably, as a cloud. (3.) If he looked within, he found his spirit quite sunk, and unable to bear his infirmity, not only wounded, hnt fioured out upon him, v. 16. He was not only weak as water, but, in his own appie-hension, lost as water spilt upon the ground. Compare Ps. xxii. 14, My heart is melted like wax.

3. His bodily diseases were \ ery grievous; for, (1.) He was full of pain, piercing pain, pain that went to the bo; e, to all his bones, x<. 17. It was a sword in his bones, which pierced him in the night season, when he sliould have been refreshed with sleep; his nerves were affected with strong convulsions, his sinews took no rest. By reason of his pain, he could take no rest, but sleep departed from his eyes. His bones were burnt with heat; {v. 30.) He was in a constant fever, which dred up the radical moisture, and even consumed the marrow in his bones. See how frail our Ijodies are, which carry in themselves the seedsof our own disease and death. (2.) He was full of sores. Some, that are pained in their bones, yet sleep in a whole skin, but Satan's commission against Job extending both to his bone and to his flesh, he spared neither. His skin was black upon him, v. 30. The blood settled, and the sores suppurated, which made his skin look blick. Even his garment had its colour changed with the continual running of his boils, and the soft clothing he used to wear was now grown so stiff, that all his garments were like his collar, v. 18. It wotdd be nnisome to describe what a condition poor Job was in, for want of clean linen and good attendance, and what filthy rags all his clothes were. Some think, that, among other diseases. Job was ill of a quinsy, or swelling in his throat, and that thnt was it which bound him about like a stiff collar.

Thus was he cast into the inire, (i'. 19.) comf\ar-ed to mire, so some: his body looked more like a heap of dirt tlian any thing else. Let none be proud nf tlieir cldtliing, nor proud of their cleanness; they know not but some disease or other may change their garmeiits, and e\ en throw them into the mire. and mike them noisome b-^Hh to themseUcs and others; instrad of sweet smell, there shall be a stench, Isa. iii. 24. We are but dust and ashes at the best, and our bodies vile bodies; but we are apt to forget it, till God, by some sore disease, makes us sensibly to feel and own what we are; "lam become already like that dust and ashes into which I must shortly be resolved: wherever I gn, I carry my grave about with me."

4. That which afflicted him most of all, was, mat Gi d seemed to be his Enemy, and to fight against him. It was he that cast him into the mire, {v. 19.) and seemed to trample on him when he had him there. This cut him to the heart more than any thing else. (1.) That God did not appear for him. He addressed himself to him, but gamed no grant; appealed to him, but gained no sentence; he was very importunate in his applications, but in vain; {v. 20.) ''Icry unto thee, as one in earnest, I stand up and cry, as one waiting for an answer, but thou hearest not, thou regardest not, for any thing I can perceive." If our most fervent prayers bring not in speedy and sensible returns, we must not think it strange. Though the seed of Jacob did never seek in vain, yet they have often thought that they did, and that God has not only been deaf, but angry, at the prayers of his people, Ps. Ixxx. 4. (2.) That God did appear against him. We have here one of the worst words that ever Job spake; {y, 21.) Thou art become cruel to me; far be it from the God of mercy and grace, that he should be cruel to any; his compassions fail not; but especially that he should be so to his own children: Job was unjust and ungrateful, when he said so of him, but harbouring hard thoughts of God was the sin which did, at this time, most easily beset him. Here, [1.] He thought God fought against him, and stirred up his whole strength to ruin him; With thy strong hand thou opposest thyself, or art an Adversary against me. He had better thoughts of God, {ch. xxiii. 6.) when he concluded he would not plead against him with his great power. God has an absolute sovereignty, and an irresistible strength, but he ne\ er uses either the one or the other for the crushing or oppressing of any. [2.] He thought he insulted over him; {v. 22.) Thou liftest me up to the wind, as a feather or the chaff which the wind plays with; so unequal a match did Job think himself for Onmipotence, and so unable was he to help himself, when he was made to ride, not in triumph, but in terror, upon the wings of the wind, and the judgments of God did e\ en dissolve his substance, ; s a cloud is dissolved and dispersed by the wind. Man's substance, take him in his best estate, is nothing before the power of God, it is soon dissolved.

5. He expected no other now, than that God, by these troubles, would shortly make an end of h'lm. "If I be made to ride upon the wind, I can count upon no other tlian to break my neck shortly; and he speaks as if God had no other design upon him than th;it, in all his dealings with him; '^ I know that thou wilt bring me, with so much the more terror, to death, though I might have been brought thither without all this ado, for it is the house appointed for all lii'ing," v. 23. The grave is a house, a narrow, dark, cold, ill-furnished, house, but it will be our residence, where we shall rest and be safe; it is our long home, our own home, U-r it is our mother's lap, and in it we are gathered to our fathers. It is a house appointed for us, by him that has appointed us the bounds of all our habitations. It is appointed for all living. It is the common receptacle, where rich and poor meet, it is appointed for the general rendezvous; we must all be brought thither shortly; it is God that l)rings ns, for the keys of death and the grave are in his hand, and we may all know that, sooner or later, he will bring us thither; it would he well for us, if we would duly consider it. The lix'ing know that they shall die; let us, each of us, know it with application.

6. There were two things that aggravated his trouble, and made it the less tolerable. (1.) That it was a verv great disappointment to his expectation; {v. 26.) "When I looked for good, for more good, or, at least, for the continuance of what I had, then evil came:" such uncertain things are all our

JOB, XXXI.

137

worldly enjoyments, and such a folly is it to feed ourselves with great expectations from them. They that wait for light from the sparks of their creature-comforts, will be wretchedly disappointed, and will make their bed in the darkness. (2.) That it was a very great change in his condition; (r. 31.) " My harp is not only laid oy, and hung upon the willow-trees, but it is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that iveefi." Job, in his prosperity, had taken the timbrel and harp, and rejoiced at the sound of the organ, ch. xxi. 12. Notwithstanding his gravity and grace, he had found time to be cheerful; but now his tune was altered. Let those, therefore, that rejoice, be as though they rejoiced not, for they know not how soon their laughter will be turned into mourning, and their joy into heaviness. Thus we see how much Job complains of: but,

II. Heie is something, in the midst of all, with which he comforts himself, and it is but a little. 1. He foresees, with comfort, that death will be the period of his calamities; {v. 24.) Though God now, with a strong hand, ofxposed himself against him, yet, says he, he will not stretch out his hand to the grave. The hand of God's wrath would bring him to death, but would not follow him beyond death; his soul would be safe and happy in the world of spirits, his body safe and easy in the dust. Though men cry in his destruction; though, when they are dying, there is a great deal of agony and outcry, many a sigh, and groan, and complaint, yet in the grave they feel nothing, they fear nothing, but all is quiet there. " Though in hell, which is called destruction, they cry, yet not in the grave; and I being delivered from the second death, the first to me will be an effectual relief." Therefore he wished he might be hid in the grave, ch. xiv. 13. 2. He reflects with comfort upon the concern he always had f ^r the calamities of others, when he was himself at ease; (v. 25.) Did not I ivee/i for him that was in trouble'^ Some think he herein complains of God, thinking it very hard, that he, who had showed mercy to others, should not himself find mercy. I would rather take it as a quieting consideration to himself; his conscience witnessed for him, that he had always sympathized with persons in misery, and done what he could to help them, and therefore had reason to expect that, at length, both God and his friends would pity him. They who mourn with them th;it mourn, will bear their own sorrows the better, when it comes to their turn to drink of the bitter cup. Did not 7ny soul burn for the floor? So some read it, comparing it with that of St. Paul, (2 Cor. xi. 29.) IVho is offended, and I burn not? As they who have been unmerciful and hard-hearted to others, may expect to hear of it from their own consciences, when they are themselves in trouble, so they who have considered the poor and succoured them, shall ha\ e the remembrance of that to make their bed easy in their sickness, Ps. xli. 1,3.

CHAP. XXXI.

Job had often protested his integrity in general, here he does it in particular instances; not in a way of commendation, (for he does not here proclaim his good deeds,) but in his own just and necessary vindication, to clear himself from those crimes with which his friends had falsely charged him, which is a debt every man owes to his own reputation. Job's friends had been particular in their articles of impeachment against him, and therefore he is so in his protestation, which seems to refer especially to what Eliphaz had accused him of, ch. xxii. 6, &c. They had produced no witnesses against him, -either could they prove the things whereof they now accused him, and therefore he may well be admitted to purge himself upon oath, which he does very solemnly, and with many awful imprecations of God's wrath, if he were guilty of those crimes; this protestation confirms

Vol. III.—S

God's character of him, that there was none like him in the earth; perhaps some of his accusers durst not have joined with him; for he not only acquits himself from those gross sins which lie open to the eye of the world, but from many secret sins, which, though he had been guilty of them, nobody could have charged him with, because he will prove himself no hypocrite. Nor does he only maintain the cleanness of His practices, but shows also that in them he went upon good principles; that the reason of his eschewing evil, was, because he feared God, and his piety was at the bottom of his justice and charity; and this crowns the proof of his sincerity. The sins from which he here acquits himself, are, 1. Wantonness and uncleanness of heart, v. 1..4. 2. Fraud and injustice in commerce, v. 4. -8. 3. Adultery, v. 9 ..12. 4. Haughtiness and severity toward his servants, v. 13..15. 6. Unmer-cifulness to the poor, the widows, and the fatherless, v. 16..23. 6. Confidence in his worldly wealth, v. 24, 25. 7. Idolatry, v. 26. .28. 8. Revenge, v. 29 .. 31. 9. Neglect of poor strangers, v. 32. 10. Hypocrisy in conceal-mg his own sins, and cowardice in conniving at the sins of others, v. 33, 34. II. Oppression, and the violent invasion of other people's rights, v. 38.. 40. And, toward the close, he appeals to God's judgment concerning his integrity, v. 35..37. Now, in all this, we may see, (I.) The sense of the patriarchal age concerning p;ood ^nd evil, and what was so long ago condemned as sinful, that is, both hateful and hurtful. (2.) A noble pattern of piety and virtue proposed to us for our imitation, which, if our consciences can witness for us that we conform to it, will be our rejoicing, as it was Job's, in the day of evil.

1. T MADE a covenant with mine eyes ; JL why then should I think upon a maid ?

2. For what portion of God is there from above ? and ivhot inheritance of tlie Almighty from on high ? 3. /s not destruction to the wicked ? and a strange pmiishment to the workers of iniquity ? 4. Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps ? 5. [f 1 have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit; 6. Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity. 7. If my step hath turned out of the way, and my heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to my hands; 8. Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.

The lusts of the flesh, and the love of the world, are the two fatal rocks on which multitudes split; against these Job protests he was always careful to stand upon his guard.

I. Against the lusts of the flesh. He not only kept himself clear from adultery, from defiling his neighbours' wives, {v. 9.) but from all lewdness with .any women whatsoever. He kept no concubine, but was inviolably faithful to the marriage-bed, though his wife was none of the wisest, best, or kindest. From the beginning it was so, that a man should have but one wife, and cleave to her only; and Job kept close to that institution, and abhorred the thought of transgressing it; for, though his greatness might tempt him to it, his goodness kept him from it. Job was now in pain and sickness of body, and under that aflfliction it is in a particular manner comfortable, if our conscience can witness for us, that we have been careful to preserve our bodies in chastity, and to possess those vessels in sanctification and honour, pure from the lusts of uncleanness. Now observe here,

1. What the resolutions were, which, in this matter, he kept to; (t-. 1.) I made a covenant with fnine eyes, that is, " I watched against the occasions of the sin; why then should I think upon a ?naid?" that is, " By that means, through the grace of God, I kept myself from the very first step to-

JOB, XXXI.

wards it," So far was he from wanton dalliances, or any act of lasciviousness, that, (1.) He would not so much as admit a wanton look. He made a covenant with his eyes, made this bargain with them, that he would allow them the pleasure of beholding the light of the sun, and the glory of God shining in the visible creation, provided they would never fasten upon any object that might occasion any im-pute imaginations, much less any impure desires, ill his mind; and, under this penalty, that if they did, they must smart for it in penitential tears. Note, Those that would keep their heai'ts pure, must guard their eyes, which are both the outlets and inlets of uncleanness. Hence we read of wanton eyes, (Isa. iii. 16.) and eyes full of adultery, 2 Pet. i'. 14. The first sin began in the eye, Gen. iii. 6. What we must not meddle with, we must not lust liter; and what we must not lust after, we must not look at; not the forbidden wealth, (Prov. xxiii. 5.) not the forbidden wine, (Prov. xxiii. 31.) not the forbidden woman, Matth. v. 28. (2.) He would not so much as allow a wanton thought; " Why then should I think ufion a maid, with any unchaste fancy or desire toward her?" Shame and sense of honour might i-estrain him from soliciting the chastity of a beautiful virgin, but only grace and the fear of God would restrain him from so much as thinking of it. Those are not chaste, that are not so in spirit as well as body, 1 Cor. vii. 34. See how Christ's exposition of the seventh commandment agrees with the ancient sense of it, and how much better Job understood it than the Pharisees, though they sat in Moses's chair.

2. Wh:it the reasons were, which, in this matter, he was governed by. It was not for fear of reproach pmnng men, though that is to be considered, (Prov. vi. 33.) but for fear of the wrath and curse of God. He knew very well,

(1.) That uncleanness is a sin that forfeits all good, and shuts us out from the hope of it; {y. 2.) W^hat fiortion of God is there from above? What blessing can such impure sinners expect from the pure and holy God, or what token of his favour.'' What inheritance of the Almighty can they look for from on high? There is no portion, no inheritance, no true happiness, for a soul, but what is in God, in t!ie Almighty, and what comes from above, from on high. Those that wallow in uncleanness, render themselves utterly unfit for communion with God, either in grace here, or in glory hereafter, and become allied to unclean spirits, which are for ever separated from him; and then what portion, what inheritance, can they have with God? Noun-clean thing shall enter into the New Jerusalem, that holy city.

(2.) It is a sin that incurs divine vengeance, v. 3. It will certainly be the sinner's ruin, if it be not repented of in time. Is not destruction a swift and sure destruction to those wicked people, and a strange punishment to the workers of this iniquity? Fools make a mock at this sin, make a jest of it, it is with them a peccadillo, a trick of youth; but they deceive themselves with vain words, for, because of these things, how light soever they make of tliem, the wrath of God, the insupportable wrath of the eternal God, comes ufion the children of disobedience, Eph. v. 6. There are some sinners whom God sometimes goes out of the common road of providence to meet with; such are these. The destruction of Sodom is a strange punishment. Is there not alienation (so some read it) to the workers of iniquity? This is the siTifulness of the sin, that it alienates the m'nd from God; (Eph. iv. 18,19.) and this is the pvmishment of the sinners, that they shall be cternallv set at a distance from him. Rev. xxii. 15.

(3.) It cannot be hid from the all-seeing God. A wanton thought cannot be so close, nor a wanton

look so quick, as to escape his cognizance, much less any act of uncleanness so secretly done, as to be out of his sight. If Job was at any time tempted to this sin, he restrained himself from it, and all approaches to it, with this pertinent thought, {v. 4.) Doth not he see my ways? as Joseph did, (Gen. xxxix. 9.) How can I do it, and sin against God? Two things Job had an eye to. [1.] God's omniscience. It is a great truth, that God's eyes are u/ion all the ways of men; (Prov, v. 20, 21.) but Job here mentions it with application to himself and his own actions; Doth not he see my ways? O God, thou hast search ed me arid known me. God sees what rule we walk by, what company we walk with, what end we walk toward, and therefore what ways we walk in. [2.] His observance. " He not only sees, but takes notice; he counts all my steps, all my false steps in the way of duty, all my by-steps mto the way of sin." He not only sees our ways in general, but takes cognizance of our particular steps in these ways, every action, every motion. He keeps count of all, because he will call us to account, will bring every work into judgment. God takes a more exact notice of us than we do of ourselves; for who ever counted his own steps? Yet God counts them; let us therefore walk circumspectly.

II. He stood upon his guard against the love of the world, and carefully avoided all sinful indi-i-ect means of getting wealth. He dreaded all forbidden profit as much as all forbidden pleasure. Let us see,

1. What his protestation is: in general, that he had been honest and just in all his dealings, and never, to his knowledge, did any body any wrong. (1.) He never walked with vanity, that is, he never durst tell a lie, to get a good bargain. It was never his way to banter, or equivocate, or make many words, in his dealings. Some men's constant walk is a constant cheat. They either make what they have more than it is, that they may be trusted; or less than it is, that nothing may be expected from them. But Job was a different man. His wealth was not gotten by vanity, though now diminished, Prov. xiii. 11. (2.) He never hasted to deceit. Those that deceive, must be quick and sharp, but Job's quickness and sharpness were never turned that way. He never made haste to be rich by deceit, but always acted cautiously, lest, through in-consideration, he should do an unjust thing. Note, What we have in the world, may be either used with comfort, or lost with comfort, if it was honestly got. (3.) His steps never turned out of the way, the way of justice and fair dealing; from that he never deviated, v. 7. He not only took care not to walk in a constant course and way of deceit, but he did not so much as take one step out of the way of honesty. In every particular action and affair, we must closely tie ourselves up to the rules of righteousness. (4.) His heart aid not walk after his eyes, that is, he did not covet what he saw, that was another's, nor wish it his own." Covetousness is called the lust of the eye, 1 John ii. 16. Achan saw, and then took, the accursed thing. That heart must needs wander, that walks after the eyes; for then it looks no further than the things that are seen; whereas it ought to be in heaven, whither the eyes cannot reach: it should follow the dictates of religion and right reason: if it follow the eye, it will be misled to that for which God will bring men into judgment, Eccl. xi. 9. (5.) That no blot had cleavea to his hands, that is, he was not chargeable with getting any thing dishonestly, or keeping that which was another's, whenever it appeared to be so. Injustice is a blot, a blot to the estate, a blot to the owner; it spoils the beauty of both, and therefore is to be dreaded. Those that deal iinicli m the world may perhaps have a blot come upon their hands.

JOB, XXXT.

139

but they must wash it off again by repentance and restitution, and not let it cleave to theirhands. See Isa. xxxiii. 15.

2. How he ratifies his protestation. So confident is he of his own honesty, that, (1.) He is willing to have his goods searched; {y. 6.) Let me be weighed in an even balance, that is, "Let what I have got be inquired into, and it will be found to weigh well;" a sign that it was not gotten by vanity, for then Tekel had been written on it—weighed in the balance, and found too light. An honest man is so far from dreading a trial, that he desires it rather, being well assured that God knows his integrity, and will approve it, and that the trial of it will be to his praise and honour. (2.) He is willing to forfeit the whole cargo, if there were found any prohibited, contraband, goods, any thing but what he came honestly by; \v. 8.) " Let me sow, and let another eat," which was already agreed to be the doom of oppressors; {ch. V. 5.) "and let my offspring, all the trees that I have planted, be rooted out." This intimates, that he believed the sin did deserve this punishment, that, usually, it is thus punished; but that, though now his estate was ruined, (and at such a time, if ever, his conscience would have brought his sin to his mind,) yet he knew himself innocent, and would venture all the poor remains of his estate upon the issue of the trial.

9. If my heart have been deceived by a woman; or if I have laid wait at my neighbour's door; 10. Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her. 11. For this is a heinous crime ; yea, it is an iniquity to he punished hy the judges.

12. For it is a fire ^^a^consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.

13. tf I did despise the cause of my manservant, or of my maid-servant, when they contended with me ; 14. What then shall I do when God riseth up ? and, when he visit-eth, what shall I answer him ? 15. Did not he that made me in the womb make him ? md did not one fashion us in the womb ?

Two more instances we have here of Job's integ-'itv.

I. That he had a very great abhorrence of the iin of adultery. As he did not wrong his own mar-•iage-bed, by keeping a concubine, (he did not so Tiuch as think upon a maid, v. 1.) so he was careful 4ot to offer any injury to his neighbour's marriage-•jed.

Let us see here,

1. How clear he was from this sin, v. 9. (1.) He did not so much as covet his neighbour's wife, for even his heart was not deceived by a woman. The beauty of another man's wife did not kindle in him any unchaste desires, nor was he ever moved by the allurements of an adulterous woman, such as is described, Prov. vii. 6, &c. See the original of all the defilements of this life; they come from a deceived heart. Every sin is deceitful, and none more so than the sin of uncleanness. (2.) He never compassed or imagined any unchaste design. He never laid wait at his neighbour's door, to get an opportunity to debiuch his wife in his absence, when the good man was not at home, Prov. vii. 19. See ch. xxiv. 15.

2. What a dread he had of this sin, and what frightful apprehensi'ins he hul concerning the ma-lignitv of it—That it was a heinous crime, (v. 11.) ('ue of the greatest vilest sins a man can be smilty

of, highly provoking to God, and destructive to the prosperity of the soul. With respect to the mis-chievousness of it, and the punishment it deserved, he owns that, if he were guilty of that heinous crime, (1.) Hisfamily might justly be made infamous in the highest degree; {v. 10.) Let my wife grind to another. Let her be a slave, so some; aharlot, so others. God often punishes the sins of one with the sin of another, the adultery of the husband with the adultery of the wife, as in David's case, (2 Sam. xii. 11.) which does not in the least excuse the ti-eachery of the adulterous wife; but, how unrighteous soever she is, God is righteous. See Hos. iv. 13, Your spouses shall commit adultery. Note, Those who are not just and faithful to their relations, must not think it strange, if their relations be unjust and unfaithful to them. (2.) He himself might justly be made a public example; L'or it is an iniquity to be punished hy the judges; yea, though they who are guilty f f it are themselves judges, as Job was. Note, Adultery is a crime which the civil magistrate ought to take cognizance of, and punish: so it was adjudged even in the patriarchal age, before the law of Moses made it capital. It is an evil work, to which the sword of justice ought to be a terror. (3.) It might justly become the ruin of his estate; nay, he knew it would be so; {y. 12.) It is afire. Lust is afire in the soul: they that indulge it, are said to burn. It consumes all that is good there, (the convictions, the comforts,) and lays the conscience waste. It kindles the fire of God's wrath, which, if not extinguished by the blood of Christ, will bum to the lowest hell. It will consume even to that eternal destruction. It consumes the body, (Prov. v. 11.) it consumes the substance, it roots out all the increase. Burning lusts bring burning judgments. Perhaps it alludes to the burning of Sodom, which was intended for an example to those who should afterward, in like manner, live ungodly.

II. That he had a very great tenderness for his servants, and ruled them with a gentle hand. He had a great household, and he managed it well. By this he evidenced his sincerity, that he h:\d grace to govern his passion as well as his appetite; and he that in these two things has the rule of his own spirit, is better than the mighty, Prov. xvi. 32. Here observe,

1, What were Job's condescensions to his servants; {xK 13.) He did not despise the cause of his man-servant, no, nor of his maid-servant, when they contended with him; that is, if they contradicted him in any thing, he was willing to hear their reasons. If they h d offended him, or were accused to him, he would patiently hear what they had to say for themselves, in their own vindication or excuse. Nay, if they complained of any hardship he put upon them, he did not brow-beat them, and bid them hold their tongues, but gave them leave to tell their story, and redressed their grievances as far as it appeared they had right on their side. He was tender of them, not only when they served him and pleased him, but even when they contended with him. Herein, he was a gi-eat example to masters, to give unto their servants that which is just and equal; nay, to do the same things to them, that they expect from them, (Col. iv. 1. Eph. vi. 9.) and not to rule them with rigour, and carry it with a high hand. Many of Job's servants were slain in his service, {ch. i. 15 . . 17.) the rest were unkind and un-dutiful to him, and despised his cause, though he never despised theirs; (ch. xix. 15, 16.) but he nad this conifirt, that in his prosperity he had behaved well toward them. Note, When relations are eithet removed from us, or embittered to us, the testimony of our consciences, that we have done our duty to them, will be a great support and comfort to us.

JOB, XXXI.

to treat his servants thus kindly; he had, herein, an eye"to God, both as his Judge, and their Maker.

(l") As his Judge; he considered, "If I shouUl be imperious and severe with my servants, what then s/iall l do when God riseth ufi?" He considered that he had a Master in heaven, to whonti he was accountable, who will rise up, and will visit; and we are concerned to consider nvhat we shall do i?i (he day of his visitation, (Isa. x. 3.) and, considering that we are undone, if God should then be strait and severe with us, we ought to be very mild and gent e towards all with whom we have to do. Consider what would become of us, if God should be extreme to mark what we do amiss, should take all advantages against us, and insist upon all his just demands from us; if he should visit every offence, and take e\ ery forfeiture; if he should always chide, and keep his anger for ever. And let not us be rigorous with our inferiors. Consider what will become of us, if we be cruel and unmerciful to our brethren. The cries of the injured will be heard, the sins of the injurious will be punished, they that showed no mercy, shall find none; and what shall we do then?

(2.) As his and his servants' Creator; {v. 15.) when he was tempted to be harsh with his servants, to deny them right, and turn a deaf ear to their reasonings, this thought came very seasonably into his mind, " Did not he that made me in the womb, make him? I am a creature as well as he, and my being is derived and depending as well as his. He partakes of the same nature that I do, and is the work of the same hand; have we not all one Father?" Note, Whatever difference there is among men in their outward condition, in their capacity of mind, or strength of body, or place in the world, he that made the one, made the other also; which is a good 1 e.ison why we should not mock at men's natural infirmities, nor trample upon those that are any way fur inferiors, but, in every thing, do as we would be done by. It is a rule of justice, Parium par sit ratio — Let equals be equallu estimated and treated; and therefore since there is so great a parity among men, they being all made of tiie same mould, by the sinie power, for the same end, notwithstanding the disparity of our outward condition, we are bound so far to set ourselves upon the le\ el with those we deal with, as to do to them, in all respects, as we would they should do to us.

16. If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; 17. Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; 18. (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as iDlth a father, and I have guided her from my mother^s womb ;) 19. If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; 20. If his loins have not blessed me, and if\\Q were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; 21. If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate; 22. Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder-blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone. 23. For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.

Eliphaz had particularly charged Job with un-mercifulness to the poor; {ch. xxii. 6, &c.) Thou iiast ivithholden bread from the hunt^ry, stripped

the naked of their clothing, and sent ividow» away eniptu. One would think he could not have been so \ ery pcsilive and express in his charge, unless thtve had been some truth in it, some ground for it; and )'et it appears, by Job's protestation, that it was utterly false and groundless, he was never guilty ot any such thing. See here,

1. The testimony which Job's conscience gave in, concerning his constant behaviour toward the poor. He is most large upon this head, because in this matter he was most particularly accused. He solemnly protests,

1. That he had never been wanting to do good to them, as there was occasion, to the utmost of his ability. He was always compassionate to the poor, and careful of them, especially the widows and fatherless, that were destitute of help. (1.) He was always ready to grant their desires, and answer their expectations, v. 16. If a poor person begged a kindness of him, he was-ready to gratify him; if he could but perceive, by the widow's mournful craving look, that she expected an alms from him, though she had not confidence enough to ask it, he had compassion enough to gi\e it, and never caused the eyes of the widow to fail. (2.) He put a respect upon the poor, and did them honour; for he took the fatherless children to eat with him at his own table, they should fare as he fared, and be familiar with him, and he would show himself pleased with their company, as if they had been his own, v. 17. As it is one of the greatest grievances of poverty, that it exposes to contempt, so it is none of the least supports to the poor, to be respected. (3.) He was very tender of them, and had a fatherly concern for them, v. 18. He was a father to the fatherless, took care of orphans, brought them up with him under his own eye, and cave them, not only maintenance, but education. He was a guide to the widow, who had lost the guide of her youth; he advised her in her affairs, took cognizance of them, and undertook the management of them. Those that need not our alms, may yet ha\ e occasion for our counsel, and it may be a real kindness to them. This Job says he did from his youth, from his mother's womb] that is, he had something of tenderness and compassion woven in his nature; he began betimes to do good, ever since he could remember; he had always some poor widow or fatherless child under his care. His parents taught him betimes to pity and relieve the poor, and brought up orphans with him. (4.) He provided food convenient for them; they ate of the same morsels that he did, (v. 17.) not after him, of the crumbs that fell from his table, but with him, of the best dish upon his table. They that have abundance, must not eat their morsels alone, as if they had none but themselves to take care of, nor indulge their appetite with a dainty bit by themselves, but take others to share with them, as David took Mephibosheth. (5.) He took particular care to clothe them that were without covering, which would be more expensive to him than feeding them, {v. 19.) Poor people may ])erish for want of clothing, as well as for want of food, for want of clothing to lie in by night, (r to go abroad in by day. If Job knew of any that were in this distress, he was forward to reliev e them, and, instead of giving rich and gaudy liveries to his servants, while the poor were turned off with rags that were ready to be thrown to the dunghill, he had goc d, warm, strong clothes, made on purpose fur them, of the fleece of his sheep, {v. 20.) so that their loins, whenever they girt those garments about them, blessed him; they commended his charity, blessed God for him, ana prayed God to bless him. Job's sheep were burned with fire from heaven, but this was nis comfort, that, when he had them, he f ame J honestly by them, and used them charitably f^d

JOB, XXXI.

141

the poor with their flesh, and clothed them with their wool.

2. That he had never been accessary to the wronging of any that were poor. It might be said, pei-haps, that he was kind here and there to a poor or-l)han that was a favourite, but to others he was oppressive. No, he was tender of all, and injurious to none. He never so much as lifted ufi fm hand against the fatherless, {xi. 21.) never threatened or fiightened them, or offered to strike them; never used his power to crush tliem that stood in liis way, or squeeze what he could out of them; though he saw his helfi in the gate, that is, though he had interest enough both in the people and in the judges, both to enable him to do it, and to bear hun out when he had done it. Those that have it in their power to do a wrong thing, and go through with it, and a prospect of getting by it, and yet do justly, and love mercy, and are firm to both, may afterward reflect upon it with much comfort, as Job does here.

II. The imprecation wherewith he confirms this protestation; {y. 22.) " If I have been oppressive to the poor, let mine arm fall from my nhoulder-blade, and mine arm. be broken from the bone," that is, "Let the flesh rot off from the bone, and one bone be disjointed and broken oflp from another." Had he not been perfectly clear in this matter, he durst not thus have challenged the divine vengeance. And he intimates, that it is a righteous thing with God to break the arm that is lifted up against the fatherless, as he withered Jeroboam's arm that was stretched out against a prophet.

III. The principles by which Job was restrained from all uncharitableness and unmercifulness. He durst not abuse the poor; for though, with his help in the gate, he could overpower them, yet he could not make his part good against that God who is the Patron of oppressed poverty, and will not let oppressors go unpunished; xu 23. '^ Destruction from God was a terror to me, whenever I was tempted to this sin, and by reason of his highness I could not endure the thought of making him my Enemy." He stood in awe, 1. Of the majesty of God, as a God above him. He thought ot his highness, the infinite distance between him and God, which possessed him with such a reverence of him, as made him very circumspect in his whole conversation. They who oppress the poor, and pervert judgment and justice, forget that he who is higher than the highest regardeth, and there be a higher than they, who is able to deal with them; (Eccl. v. 8.) but Job considered this. 2. Of the wrath of God, as a God that would certainly be against him, if he should wrong the poor. Destruction from God, because it would be a certain and an utter ruin to him, if he were guilty of this sin, was a constant terror to him, to restrain him from it. Note, Good men, even the best, have need to restrain themselves from sin with the fear of destruction from God, and all little enough. This should especially restrain us from all acts of injustice and oppression—tlmt God himself is the Avenger thereof. Even then when salvation from God is a comfort to us, yet destruction from God should be a terror to us. Adam, in inno-cency, was awed with a threatening.

24. If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence ; 25. If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much; 26. If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness,

27. And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:

28. This also were an iniquity to be punish-

ed by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above. 29. If J rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him; 30. (Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin, by wishing a curse to his soul;) 31. If the men of my tabernacle said not. Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied. 32. (The stranger did not lodge in the street: b?ft I opened my doors to the traveller;)

Four articles more of Job's protestation we have in these \ erses, which, as all the rest, not only assure us what he was and did, but teach us what we should be and do.

I. He protests that he never set his heart upon the wealth of this world, nor took the things of it for his portion and happiness. He had gold, he had fine gold, his wealth was great, and he had gotten much. Our wealth is either advantageous or pernicious to us, according as we stand affected to it. If we make it our rest and our ruler, it will be our ruin; if we make it our servant and an instrument of righteousness, it will be a blessing to us. Job here tells how he stood affected to his worldly wealth, 1. He put no great confidence in it; he did not make gold his hope, v. 24. They are very unwise that do, and enemies to themselves, who depend upon it as sufficient to make them happy, who think themselves safe and honourable, and sure ot comfort, in having abundance of this world's goods. Some make it their hope and confidence for another world, as if it were a certain token of God's favours and those who have so much sense as not to think so, yet promise themselves that it will be a portion for them in this life, whereas the things themselves are uncertain, and our satisfaction in them much more so. It is hard to have riches, and not to trust in riches; and that is it which makes it so difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God, Matth. xix. 23. Mark x. 24. 2. He took no great complacency in it; {v. 25.) If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and boasted that my hand had gotten much. He took no pride in his wealth, as if it added any thing to his real excellency, nor did he think that his might and the power of his hand got it him, Deut. viii. 17. He took no pleasure in it, in comparison with the spiritual things which were the delight of his soul. His joy did not terminate in the gift, but passed through it to the Giver. When he was in the midst of his abundance, he ne-\er said. Soul, take thine ease in these things, eat, drink, and be merry, nor blessed himself in his riches. He did not inordinately rejoice in his wealth; and that helped him to bear the loss of it so patiently as he did. The way to wee/i as though we we/it not, is, to rejoice as though we rejoiced not. The less pleasure the enjoyment is, the less pain the disappointment will be.

II. He protests that he never gave the worship and glory to the creature, which are due to God only; he was never guilty of idolatry, v. 26.-28. We do not find that Job's friends charged him with this. But there were those, it seems, at that time, who were so sottish as to worship the sun and moon, else Job would not have mentioned it. Idolatry is. one of the old ways which wicked men have trodden, and the most ancient idolatry was, the worshipping of the sun and moon, to which the temptation was most strong, as appears, (Deut. iv. 19.) where Moses speaks of the danger which the people were in of being driven to worship them. But, :is yet, it was practised secretly, and durst not appear in open view, as, afterward, the most abominable idolatries did. Observe,

JOB, XXXJ.

I. How far Job kept from this sin. He not only never bowed the knee to Baal, (which, some think, was designed to represent the sun,) never fell down, and worshipped the sun, but he kept his eye, his heart, and his lips, clean from this sin. (1.) He never so much as beheld the sun or the moon in their pomp and lustre, with any other admiration of them, than what led him to give all the glory of their brightness and usefulness to their Creator. Against spiritual as well as corporal adultery he made a covenant with his eyes; and this was his covenant, that, whenever he looked at the lights of heaven, he should liy faith look through them, and beyond them, to the Father of lights. (2.) He kept his heart with all diligence, that that should not be secretly enticed to think that there is a divine glory in their brightness, or a divine power in their influence, and that therefore divine honours are to be paid to them. Here is the source of idolatry; it begins in the heart; every man is tempted to that, as to other sins, when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. (3.) He did not so much as put a compliment upon these pretended deities, did not perform the least and lowest act of adoration. His mouth did not kiss his hand, which, it is likely, was a ceremony then commonly used, even by some that yet would not be thought idolaters. It is a long-established piece of civil respect among ourselves, in making a bow, to kiss the hand; a form, it seems, which was anciently used in giving divine honours to the sun and moon; they could not reach to kiss them as the men that sacrificed, kissed the calves; (Hos. xiii. 2. 1 Kings xix. 18.) but, to show their good will, they kissed their hand, reverencing those as their masters, which God has made servants to this lower world, to hold the candle for us: Job never did it.

2. How ill Job thought of this sin, v. 28. (1.) He looked upon it as an aflFront to the civil magistrate; It vjere an iniquity to be fiunished by the judge, as a

fiublic nuisance, and hurtful to kings and provinces, dolatry debauches men's minds, corrupts their manners, takes ofF the true sense of religion, which is the great bond of societies, and provokes God to gfve men up to a jjf^probate sense, and to send judgments upon a nation; and therefore the conservators of the public peace are concerned to- restrain it by punishing it. (2.) He looked upon it as a much greater affront to the God of heaven, and no less than high treason against his crown and dignity; For I should have denied the God that is above, denied his being as God, and his sovereignty as God above. Idolatry is, in effect, atheism; hence the Gentiles are said to be without God (atheists) in the world. Note, We should I)e afraid of every thing that does but implicitly deny the God above, his providence, or any of his perfections.

III. He protests that he was so far from doing or designing mischief to any, that he neither desired nnr delighted in the hurt of the worst enemy he had. The forgiving of those that do us evil, it seems, was Old Testament duty. The Pharisees made the law conceiTiing it of no effect, by teaching. Thou shalt 'ove thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy, Matth. v. 43. Observe here,

1. Job was far from revenge. He did not only not return the injuries that were done him, not only no*- destroy those who hated him; but, (1.) He did not so mucli as rejoice when any mischief befell them, T'. 29. Many who would not wilfully hurt those who stand in tlieir light, or have done them a diskindncss, yet are secretly pleased, and laugh in their sleeve, (as we say,) when hurt is done them: but Job was not of that spirit. Though Job was a very good man, yet, it seems, there were those that hated him, but evil found them. He saw their destruction, and was far from rejoicing in it, for that

would justly have brought the destruction upon him, as it is intimated, Prov. xxiv. 17, 18. (2.) He did not so much as wish in his own mind that evil might befall them, v. 30. He never ivished a curse lo his soul; (curses to the soul are the worst of curses;) ne\ er desired his death; he knevv that, if he did, it would turn into sin to him. He was careful not to offend with his tongue, (Ps. xxxix. 1.) he would not suffer his mouth to sin, and therefore durst not imprecate any evil, no not to his worst enemy. If others bear malice to us, that will not justify us in bearing malice to them.

2. He was violently urged to revenge, and yet he kept himself thus clear from it; {v. 31.) The men of his tabernacle, his domestics, his servants, and those about him, were so enraged at Job's enemy who hated him, that they could have eaten him, if Job would but have set them, on, or given them leave. " 0 that we had of hisfiesh! Our master is satisfied to forgive him, but we cannot be so satisfied." See how much beloved Job was by his family, how heartily they espoused his cause, and what enemies they were to his enemies; but see what a strict hand Job kept upon his passions, that he would not avenge himself, though he had those about him that blew the coals of his resentment. Note, (1.) A good man commonly does not himself lay to heart the affronts that are done him so much as his friends do for him. (2.) Great men have commonly those about them that stir them up to revenge. David had so, 1 Sam. xxiv. 4.—xxvi. 8. 2 Sam. xvi. 9. But if they keep their temper, notwithstanding the spiteful insinuations of those about them, afterward it shall be no grief of heart to them, but shall turn very much to their praise.

IV. He protests that he had never been unkind or inhospitable to strangers; {v. 32.) The stranger lodged not in the street, as angels might lately have done in the streets of Sodom, if Lot alone had not entertained them. Perhaps, by that instance, Job was taught (as we are, Heb. xiii. 2.) not to be forgetful to entert'ain strangers. He that is at home, must consider those that are from home, and put his soul into their soul's stead, and then do as he would be done by. Hospitality is a Christian duty, 1 Pet. iv. 9. Job, in his prosperity, was noted for good house-keeping: He operjed his door to the road; so it may be read; he kept the street door open, that he might see who passed by, and he invited them in, as Abraham, Gen. xviii. 1.

33. If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom; 34. (Did I fear a great multitude, or did tlie contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door? 35. Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book : 36. Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me. 37. I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would J go near unto him.) 38. If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain ; 39. If 1 have eaten the fruits thcioof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life; 40. Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.

JOB, XXXI.

143

We have here Job's protestatioa against three more sins, together with his general appeal to God's bar, and his petition for a hearing there, which, it is likely, was intended to conclude his discourse, (and therefore we will consider it last,) but that another particular sin occurred, from which he thought it requisite to acquit himself. He clears himself from the charge,

I. Of dissimulation and hypocrisy, which was the general crime his friends accused him of—That, under the cloak of a profession of religion, he had kept up secret haunts of sin, and that really he was as Dad as other people, but had the art ot concealing it. Zophar insinuated (c/j. xx. 12.^ that he hid his iniquity under his tongue. "No, ' says Job, "I never did, {y. 33.) / never covered 7ny transgression as Adam, never palliated a sin with fri\olous excuses, nor made fig-leaves the shelter of my shame, nor ever hid my iniquity in my bosom, as a fondling, a darling, that I could by no. means part with, or as stolen goods which I dreaded the discovery of." It is n;itural to us to cover our sins ; we have it from our first parents ; we are loath to confess our faults, willing to extenuate them, and make the best of ourselves, to devolve the blame upon others, as Adam on his wife, not without a tacit rejection upon God himself. But he that thus covers his sins shall not firosfier, Prov. xxviii. 13. Job, in this protestation, intimates two things, which were certain evidences of his integrity, 1. That he was not guilty of any great transgression or iniquity, inconsistent with sincerity, which he had now industriously concealed. In this protestation, he had dealt fairly, and, while he denies some sins, was not conscious to himself that he allowed himself any. 2. That what transgression and iniquity he had been guilty of, f Who is there that lives, and sins not?J he had always been ready to own it, and, as soon as ever he perceived he had said or done amiss, he was ready to unsay it, and undo it, as far as he could, by repentance, confessing it both to God and man, and forsaking it: this is doing honestly.

II. From the charge of cowardice and base fear. Hi.5 courage in that which is good, he produces as as evidence of his sincerity in it; (v. 34.) Did I fear a great multitude, that I kept silerice? No, all that knew Job, knew him to be a man of undaunted resolution in a good cause, that boldly appeared, spake, and acted, in defence of religion and justice, arid did not fear the face of man, nor was e\er threatened or brow-beaten out of his duty, but set his face as a flint. Observe, 1. What great conscience Job had made of his duty as a magistrate, or a man of reputation, in the place where he lived. He did not, he durst not, keep silence, when he had a call to speak in an honest cause, or keep within doors, when he had a call to go abroad to do good. The case may be such, that it may be our sin to be silent and retired; as when we are called to reprove 5in, and bear our testimony against it, to vindicate the truths and ways of God, to do right to those who are injured or oppressed, or any way to serve the public, or do honour to our religion. 2. What little account Job made of the discouragements he met with in the way of his duty. He valued not the rlamours of the mob, feared not a great multitude, nor did he value the menaces of the mighty; the contempt of families never terrified him. He was not deterred by the number or quality, the scorns .")r insults, of the injurious, from doing justice to the injured; no, he scorned to be swayecl and biassed oy any such considerations, nor ever suffered a righteous cause to be run down by a high hand. He feared the great God, not the great multitude, and his curse, not the contempt of families.

III. From the charge of oppression and violence.

and doing wrong to his poor neighbours. And here observe,

1. What his protestation is—That the estate he had, he both got and used honestly, so that his land could not cry out against him, nor the furrows thereof comfilain, {y. 38.) as they do against those who get the possession of them t>y fraud and extortion, Hab. ii. 9"11. The whole creation is said to groan under the sin of man; but that which is unjustly gained and held cries out against a man, and accuses him, condemns him, and demands justice against him for the injury. Rather than his oppression shall g ) unpunished, the very ground and the furrows of it shall witness against him, and be "his prosecutors. Two things he could say safely concerning his estate, (1.) That h&never ate the fruits of it without money, v. 39. What he purchased, he paid for, as Abraham for the land he bought, (Gen. xxiii. 16 ) and David, 2 Sam. xxiv. 24. The labourers that he employed had their wages duly paid them, and if he made use of the fruits of those lands that he let out, he paid his tenants for them, or allowed it in their rent. (2.) That he never caused the owners thereof to lose their life, never got an estate, as Ahab got Naboth's vineyard, killing the heir and seizing the inheritance; never starved those that held lands of him, nor killed them with hard bargains and hard usage. No tenant, no workman, no servant, he had, could complain of him.

2. How he confirms his protestation; he does it, as often before, with a suitable imprecation; {v. 40.) "If I have got my estate unjustly, let thistles grow instead of wheat; the worst of weeds instead of the best of grains." When men get estates unjustly, they are justly deprived of the comfort of them, and disappointed in their expectations fronr them, they sow their land, but they sow not that body that shall be; God will give it a body; it was sown wheat, but shall come up thistles. What men do not come honestly by, will never do them any good.

Job, toward the close of his protestation, appeals to the judgment-seat of God concerning the truth of it; {v. 35-.37.) Oh that he would hear me, even that the Almighty vjould answer me! This was what he often desired, and often complained that he could not obtain; and now, that he had drawn up his own defence so particularly, he leaves it upon record, in expectation of a hearing, files it, as it were, till his cause be called.

(1.) A trial is moved for, and the motion earnestly pressed; " Oh that one, any one, would hear me; my cause is so good, and my evidence so clear, that I am willing to refer it to any indifferent person whatsoever; but my desire is, that the Almighty himself would determine it." An upright heart does not dread a scrutiny: he that means'honestly, wishes he had a window in his breast, that all men might see the intents of his heart. But an upright heart does particularly desire to be determined in every thing by the judgment of God, which, we are sure, is according to truth. It was holy David's prayer. Search me, 0 God, and know my heart; and it was blessed Paul's comfort. Be that'judgeth me, is the Lord.

(2.) The prosecutor is called, the plaintiff summoned, and ordered to bring in his information, to say what he has to say against the prisoner, for he stands upon his deliverance; " Oh that mine adversary had written a book —That my friends, who charge me with hypocrisy, Avould draw up their charge in writing, that it might be reduced to a certainty, and that we might the better join issue upon it." Job would be very glad to see the libel, to have a copy of his indictnient; he would not hide it under his arm, but take it upon his shoulder, to be seen and read of all men, nay, he would bind i'

JOB, XXXll.

as a crown to him, would be pleased with it, and look upon it as his ornament; tor, [1.] If it discovered to him any sin he had been guilty of, which he did not yet see, he should be glad to know it, that he might repent of it, and get it pardoned. A good man is willing to know the worst of himself, and will be thankful to those that will faithfully tell him of his faults. [2.] If it charged hini with what was false, he doubted not but to disprove the allegations, that his innocency would be cleared up as the light, and he should con>e off with so much the more honour. But, [3.] He did believe that, when his adversaries came to a nsider the matter so closely as they must do, if they put the charge in writing, the accusations would be trivial and minute, and every one that saw them would say, "If this was all they had to say against him, it was a shame they had given him so much trouble."

(3.) The defendant is ready to make his appearance, and to give his accusers all the fair pluy they can desire.

He will declare unto them the number of his stefis, V. 37. He will let them into the history of his own life, will show them all the stages and scenes of it; he will give them a narrative of his conversation, what would make against him as well as what would make for him, and let them make what use they pleased of it: and so confident he is of his integrity, that, as a prince to be crowned, rather than as a prisoner to be tried, he would go near to him, both to his accuser to hear his charge, and to his judge to hear his doom. Thus the testimony of his conscience was his rejoicing.

Hie miinis aheiieus esto, nil conscire sibi. Be this ihy brazen bulwark of defence, Still to preserve thy conscious innocence.

Those that have kept their hands without spot from the world, as Job' did, may lift up their faces without spot unto God, and may comfort themselves with the prospect of his judgment, when they lie under the unjust censures of men. If our hearts condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

Thus the words of Job are ended; that is, he has now said all he would say, in answer to his friends: he afterward said something in a way of self-reproach and condemnation; {ch. xl. 4, 5.—xlii. 2, occ.) but here ends what he had to say in a way of self-defence and vindication. If tliis suffice not, he will say no more, he knows when he has said enough, and will submit himself to the judgment of the bench. Some think the manner of expression intimates that he concluded with an air of assurance and triumph. He now keeps the field, and doubts not but to win the field. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies.

CHAP. XXXII.

The stage is clear, for Job and his three friends are set dowHj and neither he nor they have any thing- more to say; it is therefore very seasonable for a moderator to • interpose, and Elihu is the man. In this chapter, we have, I. Some account of him, his parentage, his presence at this dispute, and his sentiments concerning it, V. I.. 5. II. The apology he made for his bold undertaking to speak to a question which had been so larcrely and leartiedlv argued by his seniors. He pleads, 1. That though he h:id not the experience of an old man, yet he had the understanding of a man, v. 6 . . 10. 2. That he had patiently heard all they had to say, v. 11 . . 13. 3. That he had somethintr new to offer, v. 14. . 17. 4. That his mind was full of this matter, and it would be a refreshment to him to give it vent, v. 18 .. 20. 5. That he was resolved to speak impartially, v. 21, 22. And he did speak so well to this matter, that Job made no reply to him, and God gave him no rebuke, when he checked both Job himself and his other three friends.

•s

O these three men ceased to answer Job, be( ause he was righteous in his

own eyes. 2. Then was kindled th«^ w ratli of EHhu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram; against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God. 3. Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because the} had found no answer, and i/et had condemned Job. 4. Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they tveie elder than he. 5. When Elihu saw that there icas no answer in the mouth oUhese three men, then his wrath was kindled.

Usually young men are the disputants, and old men the moderators: but here, when old men were the disputants, as a rebuke to them for their unbecoming heat, a young man is raised up to be the moderator. Divers of Job's friends were present, that came to visit him, and to recei\ e instruction. Now here we have,

I. The reason why his three friends were now silent; they ceased to answer him, and let him have his saying, because he was righteous in his own eyes, because, they alleged, it was to no purpose to argue with a man that was so opinionative, v. 1. Those that are self-conceited are indeed hard to be wrought upon; there is more hope of a fool (a fool of God's making) than of them who are fools of their own making, Prov. xxvi. 12. But they did not judge fairly concerning Job: he was really righteous before God, and not righteous only in his own eyes; so that it was only to save their own credit, that they made this the reason of their silence, as peevish disputants commonly do, when they find themselves run a-ground, and are not willing to own themselves unable to make their part good.

II. The reasons why Elihu, the fourth, now spake. His name Elihu signifies My God is he: they had all tried in vain to convince Job, but My God is he that can and will do it, and did it at last: he only can open the understanding. He is said to be a Buzite, from Buz, Nahor's second son, (Gen. xxii. 21.) and of the kindred of Ram, that is, jiram; so some; (Gen. xxii. 21.) whence the Syrians or Aramites descended and were denominated. Of the kindred of Abram; so the Chaldee paraphrase; supposing him to be the first called Ham, High, then Abram, a high father, and lastly, Abraham, The high father of a multitude. Elihu was not so well known as the rest, and therefore is more particularly described thus.

1. Ehhu spake because he was angr\', and thought he had good cause to be so. When he had made his remarks upon the dispute, he did not go away and calumniate the disputants, striking them secretly with a malicious censorious tongue, but what he had to say, he would say before-their faces, that they might vindicate themselves, if they could.

(1.) He was angry at Job, because he thought he did not speak so reverently of God as he ought to have done; and that was tori tnie, {v. 2.) He jusfi fied himself more than God, that is, took more rare and pains to clear himself from the imputation of unrighteousness in being thus afflicted, than to clear God from the imputation of unrighteousness in af flicting him, as if he were more concerned for his own honour than for God's; whereas he should, in the first place, have justified God, and cleared his j glory, and then he might well enough have left his j own reputation to shift for itself. Note, A gracious j heart is jealous for the honour of God, and cannot I bat >:e angry, when that is neglected or postponed, : or any injur)' done it. Nor is it any breach of the

JOB. XXXIl.

145

law of meekness, to be angry at our friends when they are offensive to God; Get thee behind me, Satan, says Christ to Simon. Elihu owned Job to be a good man, and yet would not say as he said, when he thought he said amiss: it is too great a compliment to our friends, not to tell them of their faults.

(2.) He was angry at his friends, because he thought they had not been so candid to Job as they ought to have been; {v. 3.) They had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. They had adjudged him to be a hypocrite, a wicked man, and would not recede from that sentence concerning him; and yet they could not prove him so, nor dis-pi'ove the evidences he produced of his integrity. They could not make good the premises, and yet held fast the conclusion. They had no reply to make to his ai'guments, and yet they would not yield? but, right or wrong, would run him down; this was not fair. Seldom is a quarrel begun, and more seldom is a quarrel carried on to the length that this was, in which there is not a fault on botli sides. Elihu, as became a moderator, took part with neither, but was equally displeased with the mistakes and mismanagement of both. Those that in good earnest seek for truth, must thus be impartial in their judgments concerning the contenders, and not reject what is true and good on either side, for the sake of what is amiss, nor approve or defend what is amiss, for the sake of what is true and good, but must learn to separate between the precious and the vile.

2. Elihu spake because he thought that it was time to speak, and that now, at length, it was come to his turn, v. 4, 5. (1.) He had waited on Job's speeches, had patiently heard him out, until the words of Job were ended. (2.) He had waited on his friends' silence; so that, as he would not interrupt him, so he would not prevent them; not because they were wiser than he, but because they were elder than he, and therefore it was expected by the company thut they should speak first; and Elihu was very modest, and would by no means offer to abridge them of their privilege. Some certain rules of precedency must be observed, for the keeping of order: though inward real honour will attend true wisdom and worth, yet, because every man will think himself, or his friend, the wisest and worthiest, tliis consideration can afford no certain rule for the outward ceremonial honour, which therefore must attend seniority either of age or office; and this respect the seniors may the better require, because they paid it when they were juniors, and the juniors may the better pay, because they shall ha\ e it when they come to be seniors.

6. And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old ; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not show you mine opinion. 7. I said. Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. 8. But there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 9. Great men are not always wise; neither do the aged understand judgment. 10. Therefore I said. Hearken to me ; I also will show mine opinion. 11. Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst you searched out what to say. . 12. Yea, I attended unto you; and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words: 13, Lest ye should say,

Vol. hi.—T

We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man. 14. Now, he hath not directed his words against me ; neither will I answer him with your speeches.

Elihu here appears to be,

I. A man of great modesty and humility: though a young man, and a man of abilities, yet not pert, and confident, and assuming; his face shone, and, like Moses, he did not know it, which made it shine so much the brighter. Let it be observed by all, especially by young people, as worthy their imitation, 1. What a diffidence he had of himself, and of his own judgment; {v. 6.) "/ am young, and therefore I was afraid, and durst not show you mine ofiinion, for fear I should either prove mistaken, or do that which was unbecoming me." He was so observant of all that passed, and applied his mind so closely to what he heard, that he had formed in himself a judgment of it; he neither neglected it as foreign, nor declined it as intricate: but, how clear soever the matter was to himself, he was afraid to deliver himself upon it, because he differed in his sentiments from those that were elder than he. Note, It becomes us to be suspicious of our own judgment in matters of doubtful disputation, to be swift to hear the sentiments of others, and slow to speak our own, especially when we go contrary to the judgment of those whom, upon the score of theii learning and piety, we justly have a veneration for. 2. What a deference he paid to his seniors, and what great expectations he had from them; {y. 7.) I said. Days should sfieak. Note, Age and experience give a man great advantage in judging of things, both as they furnish a man with so much the more matter for his thoughts to work upon, and as they ripen and improve the faculties he is to work with; which is a good reason why old people should take pains both to learn themselves, and to teach others, (else the advantages of their age are a reproach to them,) and why young people should attend on their instructions: it is good lodging with an old discifile. Acts xxi. 16. Tit. ii. 4.

Elihu's modesty appeared in the patient attention he gave to what his seniors said, v. 11, 12. He waited for their words, as one that expected much from them, agreeably to the opinion he had of these grave men. He gave ear to their reasons, that he might take their meaning, and fully understand what was the drift of their discourse, and what the force of their arguments; he attended to them with diligence and care; and this, (1.) Though they were slow, and took up a deal of time in searching out what to say: though they were often to seek for matter and words, paused and hesitated, and were unready at their work, yet he overlooked that, and gave ear to their reasons, which, if really convincing, he would not think the less so for the disad\antages of the delivery of them. (2.) Though they trifled and made nothing of it, though none of them answered Job's words, nor said what was proper to convince him, yet h& attended to them, in hopes they would bring it to some head at last. We must often be willing to hear what we do not like, else we cannot prove all things. His patient attendance on their discourses he pleads, [1.] As that which entitled him to a liberty of speech in his turn, and empowered him to require their attention. Hanc vejiiam fietimusque damusque vicissim — This liberty we mutually allow ana ask. They that have heard may speak, and they that have learned may teach. [2.] As that which enabled him to pass a judgment upon what they had said: he had observed what they aimed at, and therefore knew what to say to it. L^et us be thoroughly apprized of the &eutiment& of our brethren, before we cen-

JOB, xxxn.

sure them; for he that answers a matter before he hears it, or when he has heard it only by halves, it is folly and shame to him, and bespeaks him both impertinent and imperious.

II. He appears to have been a man of great sense and courage, and one that knew as well when and how to speak, as when and how to keep silence. Though he had so much respect to his friends, as not to interrupt them with his speaking, yet he had so much regard to truth and justice, (his better friends,) as not to betray them by his silence. He boldly pleads,

1. That man is a rational creature, and therefore that every man has for himself a judgment of discretion, and ought to be allowed a liberty of speech in his turn. He means the same that Job did, {ch. xii. 3.) But I have understanding as well as you, when he says, (u. 8.) But there is a spirit in man; only he expresses it a little more modestly, that one man has understanding as well as another, and no man can pretend to have the monopoly of reason, or to engross all the trade of it. Had he meant, / have revelation as well as you, (as some understand it,) he must have proved it; but if he meant only, I have reason as well as you, they cannot deny it, for it is every man's honour, and it is no presumption to claim it, nor could they gainsay his inference from it; (i'. 10.) Therefore hearken to me. Learn here, (1.) That the soul is a spirit, neither material itself, nor dependant upon matter, but capable of conversing with things spiritual, which are not the objects of sense. (2.) It is an understanding spirit. It is able to discover and receive truth, to discourse and reason upon it, and to direct and rule accordingly. (3.) This understanding spirit is in every man; it is the light that lighteth every m;m, John i. 9. (4.) It is the inspiration of the Almighty, that gives us this understanding spirit; for he is the Father of spirits, and Fountain of understanding. See Gen. ii. 7, Eccl. xii. 7. Zecli. xii. 1.

2. That those who are advanced above others in grandeur and gravity, do not always proportionably go beyond them in knowledge and wisdom; {v. 9.) Great men are not always wise: it is pity but they were, for then they would never do Imit with their greatness, and would do so much the more good with their wisdom. Men should be prefei'red for tlieir wisdojB, and those that are in honour and power, have most need of wisdom, and have the greatest opportunity of improving in it; and yet it does not follow that great men are always wise, and therefore it is folly to subscribe to the dictates of any with an implicit faith. The aged do not always understand judgment, even they may be mistaken, ;(nd therefore must not expect to bring every thought into obedience to them; nay, therefore they iuust not take it as an affront to be contradicted, but rather take it as a kindness to be instructed, by their juniors: Therefore I said, Hearken tome,v. 10. VVe must be willing to hear reason from those that are every way inferior to us, and to yield to it. He that has a good eye can see further up'in level giound, than he that is purblind can from the top of the highest mountain. Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king. Reel. iv. 13.

3. That it was requisite for something to be said, for the setting of this controversy in a true light, which, by all that had hitherto been said, was but rendered more intricate and perplexed; {v. 13.) "I must speak, lest you should say. We have found out wisdom, lest you should think your argument against Job conclusive and irrefragable, and that Job cannot t)c convinced and humbled by any other argument than this of yours, that God casteth him down, and not man, that it appears by hie extraordinary afflictions, that God is his Enemy, and therefore he is .'.frtoinly a wicked man; I must ehow you that this

is a false hypothesis, and that Job may be convinced without maintaining it," Or, "Lest you should think you ha\ e found out the wisest way, to rcas^^jn no more with him, but leave it to God to thrust him down." It is time to speak, when we hear errois advanced and disputed for, especially under pretence of supporting the cause ot God with them. It is time to speak, when God'sjudgments are vouched for the patronizing of men's pride and passion, and their unjust, uncharitable, censures of their brethren; then we must speak on God's behalf.

4. That he had something new to offer, and would endeavour to manage the dispute in a better manner than it had hitherto been managed, x'. 14. He thinks he may expect a favourable hearing; for, (1.) He will not reply to Job's protestations of his integrity, but allows the truth of them, and theyefoi'e does not interpose as his enemy; " He hath not directed his words against me: I have nothing to say against the main of his discourse, nor do I differ from his principles. I have only a gentle reproof to gi\ e him for his passionate expressions." (2.) He will not repeat their arguments, nor go upon their principles; *• JVeither will I answer him with your speeches: not with the same matter; should I only say what has been said, I might justly be silenced as impertinent: nor in the same manner; I will not be guilty of that peevishness toward him myself, which I dislike in you." The controversy that has already been fully handled, a wise man will let alone, unless he can amend and improve what has been done: why should he actum agere — do that which has been done already?

15. They were amazed; they answered no more; they left off speaking, 16. When J had waited, (for the)*- spake not, but stood still, ajicl answered no more,) 17. 1 said, I will answer also my part; I also will show mine opinion. 18. For I am full of matter; the spirit within me constraineth me. 19. Behold, my belly is as wine ivhich hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles. 20. I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips, and answer. 21. Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person ; neither let me give flattering titles unto man. 22. For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my Maker would soon take me away.

Three things here apologize for Elihu's interposing as he does in this controversy, which had already been canvassed by such acute and learned disputants.

1. That the stage was clear, and he did not break in upon any of the managers on either side; (v. 15.) They were amazed, v. 16. They stood still, ana answered no more. They not only-left off speaking themselves, but they stood still, to hear if any of the company would speak their minds, so that (as we say) he had room and fair play given him. They seemed not fully satisfied themselves with what they had said, else they would have adjourned the court, and not have stood still, expecting what might furtlier be offered. And therefore I said, {v. 17. ) " / will answer also my part. I cannot pretend to give a definitive sentence; no, the judgment is the Lord's, and bv him it must be determined who is in the right, and who is in the wrong; but, since you have each of von showed your opinion, I also will show mine, and let it take its fate with the rest." When what is offered, even by the meanest, is offered thus modestly, it is pity but it should be fairly heard and considered.

147

I see no inconvenience in supposing that Elihu here discovers himself to be the penman of this book; and that he here writes as an historian, relating tlie mitter of fact, that, after he had bespoken their attention in the foregoing verses, they were amazed, they left off whispering among themselves, did not gainsay the liberty of speech he desired, but stood still to hear what he would say, being much surprised at the admirable mixture of boldness and modesty that appeared in his preface.

2. That he was uneasy, and even in pain, to be delivered of his thoughts u[)on this matter. They must give him leave to speak, for he cannot forbear; while he is ?nusini^-, the Jire burns, (Ps. xxxix. 3.) shut ufi in his bones, as the prophet speaks, Jer. xx. 9. He longed to deliver his mind concerning Job's case, T. 18--20. If any of the disputants would have hit that wliich he thouglit was the right joint, he would contentedly have been silent; but, when he thought they all missed it, he was eager to be trying his hand at it. He pleads, (1.) That he had a great deal to say; "I am full of matter; having made my remarks upon all that has hitherto been said." When aged men are drawn dry, and ha\e spent their stock, in discoursing of the Di\ine Providence, God can raise up others, even young men, and fill them with matter, for the edifying of his church, for it is a subject that can ne\ er be exhausted, though they that speak to it may. (2.) That he was imder a necessity of saying it. "1 he Spirit within me not only instructs me what to say, but puts me on to say it; so that if I have not vent, (such a ferment are my thoughts in,) I shall burst like bottles of new wine, when it is working," v. 19. See what a j^reat grief it is to a good minister to be silenced, and thrust into a corner; he is full of matter, full of Christ, full of heaven, and would speak of these things for the good of others, but he may not. (3.) That it would be an ease and satisfaction to himself, to delixerhis mind; {v. 20.) I will sfieak, that I may be refreshed^ not only that I may be eased of the pain of stifling it, but that I may have the pleasure of endeavouring, according to my place and Capacity, to do good. It is a great refreshment to a good man, to have liberty to speak for the glory of God and the edification of others.

3. That he was resolved to speak, with all possible freedom and sincerity, what he thought was true, not what he thought would please; {y. 21, 22.) "Let me not accefit any mati's person, as partial judges do, that aim to enrich themselves, not to do justice; I am resolved to flatter no man." He would not speak otherwise than he thought, either, (1.) In compassion to Job, because he was poor and in affliction; would not make his case better than he really took it to be, for fear of increasing his grief; " But, let him bear it as he can, he shall be told the truth." Those that are in affliction must not be flattered, but dealt faithfully with: when trouble IS upon any, it is foolish pity to suffer sin upon them too, (Lev. xix. 17.) for that is the worst addition that can be to their trouble. Thou shalt not countenance, any more than discountenance, a floor man in his cause, (Exod. xxiii. 3.) nor regard a sad look any more than a big look, so as, for the sake of it, to

fiervert justice, for that is accepting persons. Or,(2.) n compliment to Job's friends, because they wei'e in prosperity and reputation. " Let him not expect that I shall say as they have said, any further than I am convinced that they have said right, nor ap-

?laud their dictates for the sake of their dignities." To, though Elihu is a young man, and upon his preferment, he will not (hssemfile truth, to court the favour of great men: it is a good resolution he has taken up, *' T know not to give flattering titles to men; I never used myself to that language;" and it is a good reason he gives for that resolutiian; " In so

doing my Maker would soon take me away." It is good to keep ourselves in awe with a holy fear < f God's judgments: he that made us will take us away in his wrath, if we do not conduct ourselves as wv should. He hates all dissimulation and flatteiy, and will soon fiut lying lifis to silence, and cut off flattering tips, Ps. xii. 3. The more closely we eve the majesty of God, as our Maker, and the move we dread his wrath and justice, the less danger shall we be in of a sinful fearing, or flattering, of men.

CHAP. XXXIII.

Pompous prefaces, like the teeming mountain, often introduce poor performances: but Elihu's discourse here does not disappoint the expectations which his preface had raised: it is substantial, and lively, and very much to the purpose. He had, in the foregoing chapter, said what he had to say to Job's three friends; and now he comes up close to Job liimself, and directs his speech to him. 1. He bespeaks Job's favourable acceptance of what he should say, and desires he would take him for that person wliom he had so often wished for, that would plead with him, and receive his plea on God's behalf, v. 1. .7. II. He does, in God's name, brin^ an action ag-ainst him, foi words, which he had spoken m the heat of disputation, reflecting upon God as dealing hardly with him, v. 8.. 11 ni. He endeavours to convince him of his fault and foil} herein, by showing him, I. God's sovereign dominion over man, v. 12, 13. 2. The care God takes of man, and the various ways and means he uses to do his soul good, which we have reason to think he designs, when he lays bodily afflictions upon him, v. 14. (1.) Job had sometimes complained of unquiet dreams, ch. vii. 14. "God," says Elihu, " sometimes speaks conviction and instruction to men by such dreams," v. 15.. 18. (2.) Job had especially complained of his sicknesses and pains; and as to these, he shows largely, that they were so far from being tokens of God's wrath, as Job took them, or evidences of Job's hypocrisy, as his friends took them, that they were really wise and gracious methods, which divine grace look for the increase of his acquaintance with God, to work patience, experience, and hope, v. 19 . . 30. And, lastly, he concludes with a request to Job, either to answer him, or give him leave to go on, v. 31. .33.

1. X|7HEREFORE, Job, I pray thee, y T hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words. 2. Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue hath spoken in my mouth. 3. My words shall be q/'the uprightness of my heart; and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly. 4. The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. 5. If thou canst answer me, set thy words in order before me, stand up ; 6. Behold, I am according to thy wish in God's stead; I also am formed oiit of the clay. 7. Behold, my teiTor shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee.

Several arguments Elihu here uses, to persuade Job to give him a patient hearing, to believe that he designed him a good office, and to take it kindly, and be willing to receive the instructions he was now about to give him. Let Job consider,

1. That Elihu does not join with his three friends against him: he has, in the foregoing chapter, declared his dislike of their proceedings, disclaimed their hypothesis, and quite set aside the method they took of healing Job. " Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my s/iiech, v. 1. They all spake in the same strain; but I am trying a new way, therefore hearken to all my words, and not to some of them only;" for we cannot judge of a discourse unless we # take it entire, and hearken to it all.

2. That he intended to make a solemn busines:

JOB, XXXIIl.

of it, not to put in a word by the by, or give a short repartee, to show his wit; after a long silence, he Djiened his mouth, {v. 2.) with deliberation and design; upon mature consideration, he had already begun to speak, and was prepared to go on, if Job would encourage him by his attention.

3. That he was resolved to speak as he thought, and not otherwise; (x'. 3.) " My words shall be of the ufirightness of my heart, the genuine product of my convictions and sentiments." There was reason t) suspect that Job's three friends did not think, in their consciences, that Job was so bad ;i man as they had, in their discourses, mei'ely for the support of their hypothesis, represented him to be; and that was not fair. It is a base thing to condenm tliose with our tongues, to ser\ e a turn, whom, at the same time, we cannot but in ( ur consciences think well of: Elihu is an honest man, and scorns to do so.

4. That what he said should he easy, and not dark and hard to be understood; My li/is shall titter knowledge clearly. Job shall readily take his meaning, and perceive what he aims at. Those that speak of the things of God, should carefully avoid all obscurity and perplexedness, both of notion ;,nd expression, and speak as plainly and clearly as they can; for by that it will appear that they do themselves understand what they speak of, tliat they mean honestly, and design the edification of those they speak to.

5. That he would, in his discourse, make the best use he could of the reason and understanding God had given him, that life, that rational soul which he received from the S/iirit of God and the breath of the Almighty, V. 4. He owns himself unfit to enter into the lists with his seniors, yet he desires they will not despise his youth, for that he is God's workmanship ;is well as they, nade by the same hand, endued with the same noble powers and faculties, and designed for the same great end; and therefore why may not the God that made him, mnke use of him as an instrument of good to Jobi* With this consideration also we should quicken ourselves (and perhaps Elihu made that use of it) to do good in our places, according to our capacity; God has made us, and given us life, and therefore we should study to use our life to some good purpose, to spend it in glorifying God, and serving our generation according to liis will, that we may answer the end of our creation, and it may not be said that we were made in vain.

6. That he would be very willing to hear what Job could object against what he had to say; (x>. 5.) " If thou canst, answer me. If thou hast so much strength and spirit left thee, and art not quite spent with the distemper, set thy words in order, and they shall have their due consideration." Those that can sfieak reason, will hear reason.

7. That he had often wished for one that would appear for God, with whom he might freely expostulate, and to whom, as arbitrator, he might refer the matter, and such a one Elihu would be; {v. 6.) I am, according to thy wish, in God's stead. How pathetically had Job wished, {ch. xvi. SI.) Oh that one might plead for a man with God! and (ch. xxiii. 3.) Oh that I knew where I might find hiin! Onlv he would make it his bargain, that his dread should not make him afraid, ch. xiii. 21. "Now," says Elihu, " look upon me, this once, tis in God's stead; I will undertake to plead iiis cause with thee, and to show thee wherein thou hast alTnnted him, and what he has against thee; and what appeals or complaints thou hast to make to God, make them to me."

8. That he was not an unequal match for him; " / also am formed out of the day. I also, as well as the first man, (Gen. ii. 7.) I also as well as thou." Job had urged this with Gorl, as a reason why he ■should not bear hard upon him; {ch. x. 9.) Ee-iicmber that thou hast made me a/i the clay; "I,"

says Elihu, '• a.m formed out of the clay, as well as thou;" formed of the same clay, so some read it. It is good for us all to consider that we are formed out of the clay; and well for us it is, that those who are to us in God's stead, are so; that he speaks to us by men like ourselves, according to Israel's wish, upon a full trial, Deut. v, 24. God has wisely deposited the treasure in earthen vessels like ourselves, 2 Cor. iv. 7.^

Lastly, That be would ha\e no reason to be frightened at the ass ailt he made upon him; (x'. 7.) "Aly terror shall not make thee afraid," (1.) "As thy friends have dcMie with their arguings; I will not re-])roach thee as they have done, nor draw up such a heavy cliargeagainstthee. Nor, "(2.) "As God would do, if he should appear to reason with thee. I stand upon tlie same level with thee, and am made of the same mould, and therefore cannot impress that terror upon thee, which thou mayest justly dread from the appearance of the Divine Majesty." If we would rightly convince men, it must be by reason, not by terror; by fair arguing, not by a hea\ y hand.

8, Surely thou hast spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the voice of Mj/ words, sayings 9.1 am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me. 10. Behold,he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy ; 11. He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths. 12. Behold, m this thou ail not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man. 13. Why dost thou strive against him ? for he giveth not account of an}^ of his matters.

In these verses,

I. Elihu particularly charges Job with some indecent expressions that had dropped from him, reflecting upon the justice and goodness of God in his dealings with him. He does not ground the charge upon report, but was himself an ear-witness of what he here reproves him for; (f. 8.) " Thou hast spoken it in my hearing, and in the hearing of all this company." He had it not at second-hand; if so, he would have hoped it had not been so bad as it was represented. He did not hear it from Job in private conversation, then he would not have been so ill-bred as to repeat it thus publicly; but Job had said it openly, and therefore it was fit he should be openly reproved for it. Them that sin before all, rebuke before all. When we hear any thing said, that tends to God's dishonour, we ought publicly to bear our testimony against it. What is said amiss in our hearing, we are concerned to reprove; for ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, to confront the accuser.

1. Job had represented himself as innocent; (^f. 9.) Thou hast said, I a7n clean without transgression; Job had not said this totidem. verbis — in so mam/ words; nay, he had owned himself to have sinned, and to be impure before God; but he had indeed said, Thou knowest that I am not wicked: My righteousness I hold fast, and the like, on which Elihu might ground this charge. It was true, that Job was a perfect and an upright man, and not such a one as his friends had represented him; but he ought not to have insisted so much upon it, as if God had therefore done him wrong in afflicting him. Yet, it should seem, Elihu did not deal fairly in charging Job with saying that he was clean and innocent from all transgression, when he only plead ed, that he was upright and innocent from the great transgression. But those tha'' speak passionately

JOB, XXXIIl.

14:

and unwarily, must thank themselves if they be misunderstood J they should have taken more care.

2. He had i*epresented God as severe in marking what he did amiss, and taking all advantages against him, (x>. 10, 11.) as if he sought opportunity to pick quarrels with him. He Jindeth occasions against me; which supposes seeking them; to this purport Job had spoken; (cA. xiv. 16, 17.) Dost thou not watch over my sin? He counteth me for his enemy. So he had expressly said, {ch. xiii. 24.—xix. 11.) " He fiutteth my feet in the stocks; that, as I cannot contend with him, so I may not be able to flee from him." This he had said, ch, xiii. 27.; where also we meet with these words, Thou lookest narrowly unto all my fiaths.

II. He endeavours to convince him that he had spoken amiss in speaking thus, and that he ought to humble himself before God for it, and by repentance to unsay it; (f. 12.) Behold, in this thou art not just. Here thou art not in the right, so some read it See the difference between the charge which Elihu exhibited against Job, and that which was preferred against him by his other friends; they would not own that he was just at all, but Elihu only says, "In this, in saying this, thou art not just" 1. "Thou dost not deal justly with God." To be just, is to render to all their due; now we do not render God his due, nor are we just to him, if we do not acknowledge his equity and kindness in all the dispensations of his providence towards us; that he is righteous in all his ways, and that, however it be, yet he is good. 2. " Thou dost not speak the language of a righteous man; I do not deny but thou art such a one, but in this thou dost not make it to appear." Many that are just, yet, in some particular instances, do not speak and act like themselves; and as, on the one hand, we nmst not fail to tell even a good man wherein he mistakes and does amiss, nor flatter him in his errors and passions, for m that we are not kind; so, on the other hand, we must not draw men's characters, nor pass a judgment on them, from one instance, or some few misplaced words, for in that we are not just In many things ive all offend, and therefore must be candid in our censures.

Two things Elihu proposes to Job's consideration, to convince him that he had said amiss.

(1.) That God is infinitely above us, and therefore it is madness to contend with him; for if he plead against us with his great power, we cannot stand before him. / toill answer thee, says Elihu, in one word, which carries its own evidence along with it. That God is greater than man; no doubt he is infinitely greater. Between God and man there is no proportion. Job had himself said a great deal, and admirably well, concerning the greatness of God, his irresistible power and incontestible sovereignty, his terrible majesty and unsearchable mmensity. "Now," said Elihu, " do but consider what thou thyself hast said concerning the greatness of God, and apply it to thyself; if he is greater than man, he is greater than thou, and thou wilt see reason enough to repent of these ill-natured, ill-favoured, reflections upon him, and to blush at thy folly, and tremble to think of thine own presumption." Note, There is enough in this one plain unquestionable truth, That God is greater than man, if duly .mproA ed, for ever to put to silence and to shame all our complaints of his providence, and our exceptions against his dealings with us. He is not only more wise and powerful than we are, and therefore it is to no purpose to contend with him, who will be too hard for us, but more holy, just, and good, for these are the transcendent glories and excellencies of the divine nature; in these, God is ETi eater than man, and therefore it is absurd and

unreasonable to find fault with him, for he is cer tainly in the right.

(2.) That God is not accountable to us; {v. 13.) Why dost thou strive against him? Those that complain of God, strive against him, implead him, impeach him, bring an action against him. And why do they do so? For what cause? To what purpose? Note, It is an unreasonable thing for us, weak, foolish, sinful creatures, to strive with a (iod of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness. Woe to the clay that strives with the Potter; for he gives no account of any of his matters. He is under no obligation to show us a reason for what he does; neither to tell us what he designs to do, in what method, at what time, by what instruments; nor to tell us why he deals thus with us. He is not bound either to justify his own proceedings, or to satisfy our demands and inquiries; his judgments will certainly justify themselves; if we do not satisfy ourselves in them', it is our own fault. It is therefore daring impiety for us to arraign God at our bar, or challenge him to show cause for what he doeth, to say unto him, JVhat doest thou? or, Why doest thou so? He gives not account of all his matters; so some read it. He reveals as much as it is fit for us to know, as follows here, v. 14. But still there are secret things, which belong not to us, which it is not for us to pry into.

14. For God speaketh once, yea, twice yet man perceiveth it not. 15. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep fall-eth upon men, in skimberings upon the bed, 16. Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, 17. That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. 18. He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.

Job had complained, that God kept him wholly in the dark concerning the meaning of his dealings with him; and therefore concluded he dealt with him as his enemy. " No," says Elihu, " he speaks to you, but you do not perceive him; so that the fault is yours, not his; he is designing your real good, even in those dispensations which you put this harsh construction upon. Observe in general, v. 14.

1. What a friend God is to our welfare: He sfieak-eth to us once, yea, twice. It is a token of his favour, that, notwithstanding the distance and quarrel between us and him, yet he is pleased to spesUc to us. It is an evidence of his gracious design, that he is pleased to speak to us of our own concerns, to show us what is our duty, what our interest, what he requires of us, and what we may expect from him; to tell us of our faults, and warn us of our danger; to show us the way, and to lead us in it. This he does once, yea, twice, that is, again and again; when one warning is neglected, he gives another, not willing that any should perish. Precefit must be upon precefit, and line upon line; it is so, that sinners may be left inexcusable.

2. What enemies we are to our own welfare; Man perceives it not, that is, he does not heed it or regard it; he does not discern or understand it; is not aware that it is the voice of God, nor does he receive the things revealed, for they are foolishness to him; he stops his ear, stands in his own light, rejects the counsel of God against himself, and so is never the wiser, no not for the dictates of wisdom itself.

God speaks to us by conscience, by providences, and by ministers; of all which Elihu here discourses at large, to show Job that God was both telling him his mind, and doing him a kindness, even now that

JOB, XXXIII.

he seemed to keep him in the dark, and so treat him as a stranger, and to keep him in distress, and so treat him as an enemy. There was not then, that we know of, any divine revehition in writing, and tlierefore that is not here mentioned among the v/ays by which God speaks to men, though now it is the principal way. In these verses, he shows liow God teaches and admonishes the children of men by their own consciences. Observe,

' I. Tlie proper season mid opportunity for these admonitions; {v. 15.) In a dream, inslutnberings upon the bed, when men are retired from the world, and the business and conversation of it; it is a good time for them to retire into their own hearts, and commune with them, when they are upon their beds, solitary and still, Ps. iv. 4. It is the time God takes for dealing personally with men. 1. When he sent angels, extraordinary messengers, on his errands, he commonly chose that time for the delivery ol them; when, by deep sleep falling on men, the bodily senses were all locked up, and the mind more fi-ee to receive the imniediate communications ot divine light. Thus he made his mind known to the prophets by visions and dreams; (Numb. xii. 6.) llms he warned Abimelech, (Gen. xx. 3.) Laban, (Gen. xxxi. 24.) Joseph, Matth. i. 20. Thus he made known to Pharaoh, and Nebuchadnezzar, things that should come to pass hereafter. When he stirred up conscience, that ordinary deputy of his, in the soul, to do its office, he took that opportunity, either when deep sleep fell on men, for though dreams mostly come from fancy, some may come from conscience: or, in slumberings, when men are between sleeping and waking, reflecting at night upon the business ot the foregoing day, or projecting in the morning the business of the ensuing day, then is a projier time for their hearts to re-pi-oacli them for what they have done ill, and to admonish them what they should do. See Isa. xxx. 21.

II. The power and force with which those admonitions come, V. 16. W'hen God designs men's good, by the convictions and dictates of their own consciences, 1. He gives them admission, and makes them to be heeded; Then he opens the ears of men, which were before shut against the voice of this charmer, Ps. Iviii. 5. He opens the heart, as he opened Lvdia's, and so opens tlie ears. He takes away that which stopped the ear, so that the conviction finds, or forces, its way; nay, he works in the soul a submission to the regimen of conscience, and a compliance with its rules, for that follows upon God's opening the ear; (Isa. 1. 5.) God has opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious. 2. He gives them a settlement, and makes them to abide; He sealeth their instruction, tliat is, the instruction that is designed for them, and is suited to them; this he makes their souls to receive the deepand lasting impression of, as the wax of the seal. W'hen the heart is delivered into divine instructions, as into a mould, then the work is done.

III. The end and design of these admonitions that are sent.

1. To keep men from sin, and particuhirly the sin of pride; {v. 17.) That he may ivithdraro man from his /lurfiose, that is, from his evil purposes; may change the temper of his mind, and the course of his life, his disposition and inclination, or prevent 'some particular sin he is in danger of falling into: that he mav withdraw man from his work; may make him leave off man's work, wliich is working f jr the world and the flesh, and may set him to work the work of Ciod. Manv a man has l)cen stopped in the full ca'ecr of a sinful ])ursuit l)y the sea-s enable checks of his own conscience, saying, Do not this abominable thintr nrhich the Lord hates. P.Tticularly, God does, by th s me.us, hiJe pride

from man, that is, hide those things from him which are the matter of his pride, and take his mind off from dwelling upon them, by setting before him what reason he has to be humble. That he may take away pride from man, so some read it; that he may pluck up that root of bitterness which is the cause of so much sin. All those whom God has mercy in store for he will humble, and hide pride from. Pride makes people eager and resolute in the prosecution of their purposes; they will have their way, therefore God withdraws them from their purposes, by mortifying their pride.

2. To keep men from ruin, v. 18. While sinners are pursuing their evil purposes and indulging their pride, their souls are hastening apace to the pit, to the sword, to destruction, both in this world and that to come: but when God, by the admonitions of conscience, withdraws them from sin, he thereby keeps back their souls from the pit, from the bot tomless pit, and saves them from perishing by the sword of di\ ine vengeance, so iniquity shall not be their ruin. That which turns men from sin, saves them from hell, saves a soul from death, James v. 20. See what a mercy it is to be under the restraints of an awakened conscience; faithful are the wounds, and kind are the bonds, of that friend, for the soul is kept from perishing eternally.

19. He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the muhitude of his bones with strong pain : 20. So that his hfe abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat. 21. His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out. 22. His soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers. 23. If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto man his uprightness; 24. Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom. 25. His flesh shall be fresher than a child's: he shall return to the days of iii* youth : 26. He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him ; and he shall see his face \\'ith joy : for he will render unto man his righteousness. 27. He looketh upon men ; and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that 2vhich was right, and it profited me not; 28. He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.

God has spoken once to sinners by their own con sciences, to keej) them from the paths of the ie-stroyer, but they perceive it not; they are not aware that the checks their own hearts give them, in a sinful way, are from God, but they are imputed to melancholy, or the pieciseness of their education; and therefore (iod speaks twice; he speaks a second time, and tries another way to convince and reclaim sinners, that is, by providences, afflictive and merciful, (in which he speaks twice,) and by the sea sonablc instructions of good ministers setting in with them. Job complained much of his diseases, and judged bv them that God was angry with him; his triends did so too: but Elilni shows they were all mistaken, f(;r (iod often afflicts the botly in love, and with gr cious designs of good to the soul, as appears in the issue which here • t is brought to. This pait of Elihu's discourse will be of great use to ua

JOB, XXXIII.

161

for the due improvement of sickness, in and by which God speaks to men. Here is,

I. The patient described in liis exti-emity. See what work sickness makes, (x'. 19, &c.) when God sends it with commission; Do this, and itdoeth it.

1. The sick man is full of pain all over him: {y. 19.) He is chastened with pain u/ion his bed, such pain as confines him to his bed; or, so extreme the pain is, that he can get no ease, no, not on his bed where he would repose himself. Pain and sickness will turn a bed of down into abed of thorns, on which he that used to sleep now tosses to and fro till the dawning of the day. The case, as here put, is very bad; pain is more hardly borne than sickness, and with that the patient here is chastened; not a dull heavy pain, but strong and acute; and, frequently, the stronijer the patient, the stronger the pain, for the moi'e sanguine the complexion is, the more violent, commonly, the disease is. It is not the smarting of the flesh that is complained of, but tlie aching of the bones. It is an inward rooted pain; and not only the bones of one limb, but the multitude of the bones, are thus chastened See what frail, what vile, bodies we have, which, though receiving no external hurt, may be thus pained from causes within themselves: see what work sin makes, what mischief it does. Pain is the fruit of sin; yet, by the grace of God, the pain of the body is often made a means of good to the soul.

2. He has quite lost his appetite, the common effect of sickness; {v 20,) His life abhorreth bread, the most necessary food, and dainty meat, which he most delighted in, and formerly relished with a great deal of pleasure. 'I'liis is a good reason why we should not be desirous of dainties, because they are deceitful meat, Prov. xxiii. 3. We may be soon made as sick of them as we are now fond of them; and those who live in luxury when they are well, if ever they come, by reason of sickness, to loathe dainty meat, may, with grief and shame, read their sin in their punisJiment. Let us not inordinately love the *aste of meat, for the time may come when we may even loathe the sight of meat, Ps. cvii. 18.

3. He is become a perfect skeleton, nothing but skin and bones, v. 21. By sickness, perhaps a few days' sickness, his flesh, which was fat, and fair, is consumed away, that it cannot be seen: it is strangely wasted and gone, and his bones, which were buried in flesh, now stick out; you may count his ribs, may tell all his bones. The soul that is well-nourished with the bread of life, sickness will not make lean, but it soon makes a change in the body.

He who, bRToie, hud such ii bi^auteous air, And, pamper'd with his ease, seem'd pluinp and fair, Doth all his friends (amazing change!) surprise, With pale lean cheeks, and ghastly hollow eyes; His bones, a horrid eight, start through his skin, Wliich lay before, in flesh and fat, unseen. « Sir R. Blackmork.

4. He is given up for gone, and his life despaired of; {y. 22.) His soul draws near to the grave, that is, he has all the symptoms of death upon him, and,

■ in the apprehension of all about him, as well as in his own, he is a dying man. The pangs of death, here called the destroyers, are just ready to seize him; they compass him about, Ps. cxvi. 3. Perhaps it intimates the very dreadful apprehensions which those have of death as a destroying thing, when it stares them in the face, who, when it was at a distance, made light of it. All agree, when it comes to the point, whatever they thought of it before, that it is a serious thing to die.

II. The pro\ ision made for his instruction, in order to a sanctified use of his affliction, that, when God in that way speaks to man, he may be heard and understood, and not speak in vain, v. 23. He is happy, if there be a messenger with him to attend him in his sickness, to con\ince, counsel and

comfort, him, an interpreter to expound the provi dence, and give him to understand the meaning of it, a man of wisdom that knows the voice of the rod and its interpretation; for, when God speaks by afflictions, we are, frequently, so unversed in the language, tliat we ha\ e need of an interpreter; and it is well if we have such a one. The advice and help of a good minister are as needful and seasonable, and should be as acceptable, in sickness, as of a good ph}sician, especially if he be well-skilled in the art of explaining and improving providences; he is then one of a thousand, and to be \ alued accordingly; his business, at such a time, is, to show unto man his ufirightvess, that is, God's uprightness, that in faithfulness he afflicts him, and does him no wrong; which it is necessary to be convinced of, in order to our making a due impi'ovement of the affliction: or rather, it may mean man's uprightness, or rectitude: 1. The uprightness that is. If it appear that the sick person is truly pious, the in-teipreter will not do as Job's friends had done, make it his business to prove him a hypocrite, because he is afflicted; but, on the contrary, will show him his uprightness, notwithstanding his afflictions, that he may take the comfort of it, and be easy, whatever the event is. 2. The uprightness, the reformation, that should be, in order to life and peace. When men are made to see the way of uprightness to be the only way, and a sure way, to salvation, and to choose it, and walk in it accordingly, the work is done.

in. God's gracious acceptance of him, upon his repentance, v. 24. W^hen he sees that the sick person is indeed convinced that sincere repentance, and that uprightness, which is gospel-perfection, are his interest as well as duty, then He that waits to be gracious, and shows mercy, upon the first indication of true repentance, is gracious unto him, and takes him into his favour and thoughts for good. Wherever God finds a gracious heart, he will be found a gracious God: and, 1. He will give a gracious order for his discharge. He says. Deliver him, that is. Let him be delivered/ro;«§-om^'- down to the pit, from that death which is the wages of sin. When afflictions have done their work, they shall be removed. When we return to God in a way of duty, he will return to us in a way of mercy. Those shall be delivered from going down to the pit, who receive God's messengers, and rightly understand his intei-preters, so as to subscribe to his uprightness. 2. He will give a gracious reason for this order, I have found a ransom, or propitiation; Jesus Christ is that Ransom, so Elihu calls him, as Job had called him his Redeemer, for he is both the Purchaser and the Price, the Priest and the Sacrifice; so high w:>.s the value put upon souls, that nothing less would redeem them, and so great the injury done by sin, that nothing less would atone for it, than the blood of the Son of God, who gave his life a ransom for many. This is a ransom of God's finding, a contrivance of Infinite Wisdom; we could never ha\ e found it ourselves, and the angels tliemselves could never have found it; it is the wisdom of God in a mystery, tlie hidden wisdom; and such an invention as is, and will be, the ever lasting wonder of those principalities and powers that desire to look into it. Obser\ e how God glories in the invention here, %uj>\>n, 'ivpKx —" I have found, I have found, the Ransom, I, even I, am he that has done it."

IV. The recovery of the sick man, hereupon. Take away the cause, and the effect will cease. When the patient becomes a penitent, see what a blessed change follows.

1. His body recovers its health, v. 25. This :s not alwavs the consequence of a sick man's repentance and return to God, but sometimes it is; and

JOB, XXXlll.

recovery from sickness is then a mercy indeed, wiien it arises from the remission of sin; then it is in love to the soul, that the body is delivered from 'he pit of corruption, when (Jod cas/s our .sins be-lind hia back, Isa. xxxviii. 17. Thut is the method of a blessed recovery; Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee; and then. Rise, take up thy bed, and ivalk, Matth. ix. 2, 6. So here, interest him in the Ransom, and then hisjiesh shall be fresher than a child's, and there shall be no remains of his distemper, but he shall return to the days of his youth, to the beauty and strength which he had then; when the distemper that oppressed nature is removed, how strangely does nature help itself, in which the power and goodness of the God of nature must be thankfully acknowledged! By such merciful providences as these, which afflictions give occasion for, God speaketh once, yea twice, to the children of men, letting them know (if they would but perceive it) their dependence upon him, and his tender compassion of them.

2. His soul recovers in peace, v, 26. (1.) The patient, being a penitent, is a supplicant, and has learned to pray; he knows God will be sought unto for his favours, and therefore he shall pray unto God, pray for pardon, pray for health. Is any afflicted, any sick? Let him pray. When he finds himself recovering, he shall not then think that prayer is no longer necessary, for we need the grace of God as much for the sanctifying of a mercy as for the sanctifying of an affliction. (2.) His prayers are accepted, God will be favourable to him, and be well-pleased with him, his anger shall be turned away from him, and the light of God's countenance shall shine upon his soul; and then it follows, (3.) That he has the comfort of communion with God; lie shall now see the f;ice of Ciod, wliich before was hid from him, and he shall see it with joy, for what sight can be more reviving? See Gen. xxxiii. 10, As though I had seen the face of God. All true penitents rejoice more in the returns of God's favour, than in any instance whatsoever of prosperity or pleasure, Ps. iv. 6, 7. (4.) He has a blessed ti-an-quillity of mind, arising from the sense of his justification before God, who will render unto this man his righteousness. He shall receive the atonement, that is, the comfort of it, Rom. v. 11. Righteousness shall be imputed to him, and peace, thereupr n, spoken, the joy and gladness of which he shall then be made to hear, though he could not hear it in the day of his affliction. God will now deal with him as a righteous man, with whom it shall be well. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, even righteousness, Ps. xxiv. 5. God shall give him grace to go and s'n no more. Perhaps this may be-speik the reformation of his life after his recovery. As he shall pray unto God, whom before he had slighted, so he shall render to man his righteousness, whom before he had wronged, shall make restitution, and for the future do justly.

V. The general rule which God will go by in deal.ng with the children of men, inferred from this instance, v. 27, 28. As sick people, upon tlieir submission, are I'ecovered, so all others that truly repent of their sins, shall find mercy with God. Sec here, 1. What sin is, and what reason we have not to sin. Would we know the n iturc of sin, and the malignity of it? Itis the perverting of that which is right; it is a most unjust, unreasonable, thing, it is the rebellion of the creature against the Creitor, the usurped dominion of the flesh over the spirit, and a contradiction to the eternal rules and reasons of good and evil. It hprrverting the right ways of the Lord; (Acts xiii. 10.) and therefore the ways of sin are railed crooked ways, Ps. cxxv. 5. Would we know what is to be got by sin? It prqpteth us not. The works of darkness are unfruitful works; when

profit and loss come to be balanced, all the gams of sin, put them all together, will come far short of countervailing the damage. All true penitents are ready to own this; and it is a mortifying consideration, (Rom. vi. 21.) What fruit had ye then in^^se things ivliereof ye are now ashamed.^ 2. See what repentance is, and what reason we have to repent. Would we approve ourselves tnie penitents? We must then, with a broken and contrite heart, confess our sins to God, 1 John i. 9. We must confess the fact of sin, (I have sinned,) and not deny the charge, or stand upon our own justification: we must confess the fault of sin, the iniquity, the dishonesty of it; I have perverted that which was right: we must confess the folly of sin; "So foolish nave I been and ignorant, for it profited me not; and therefore what have I to do any more with it?" Is there not good reason why we should make such a penitent confession as this? For, (1.) God expects it. He looks upon men, when they have sinned, to see what they will do next, whether they will go on in it, or whether they will bethink themselves, and return. He hearkens and hears whether any say, What have I done? Jer. viii. 6. He looks upon sinners with an eye of compassion, desiring to hear this from them, for he has no pleasure in their ruin. He looks upon them, and, as soon as he perceives these workings of repentance in them, he encourages them, and is ready to accept them, (Ps. xxxii. 5, 6.) as the father went forth to meet the returning prodigal. (2^ It will turn to our unspeakable advantage. The promise is general; If any humble themselves thus, whoever they are, [1.] They shall not come into condemnation, but be saved from the wrath to come; He shall deliver his soul from going into the pit, the pit of hell; iniquity shall not be his ruin. [2.] They shall be happy in everlasting life and joy; his life shall see the light, that is, all good, in the vision and fi uition of God. To obtain this bliss, if the prophet had bid us do some great thhig, would we not have done it? How much more, when he only says unto us, Wash and be clean; Confess and be pardoned, Repent and be saved?

29. Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, 30. To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living. 31. Mark well, O Job ; hearken unto me : hold thy peace, and I will speak. 32. If thou hast any thing to say, answer me: speak; for I desire to justify thee. 33. If not, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I shall teach thee wisdom.

We have here the conclusion of this first part of Elihu's discourse, in which,

1. He briefly sums up what he had said, showing that God's great and gracious design, in all the dispensations fif his providence toward the children of men, is, to save them from being for ever miserable, and bring them to be for ever happy; v. 29, 30. All these things God is working with the children of men; he deals with them by conscience, by providences, l)y ministers, by mercies, by afflictions; he makes them sick, :md makes them well again; all these are his operations; he has set the one over against the other, (Eccl. vii. 14.) but his hand is in all; if is he that pei'forms all things for us. All providences are to be looked upon as God's workings with man, his strivings with him. He uses a variety of methods to do men good; if one affliction do not do the work, he will try another; if neither do, he will try a mercy; and he will send a messenger to interpret both. He often works such things as these, twice, thrice; so it is in the original, referring to

JOB, XXXIV.

153

I'. 14, He sfieaks once, yea twice; if that prevail not, he works twice, yea thrice; he changes his method, ( We have fiified, ive have mourned, J returns again to the same method, repeats the same applications. Why does he take all this pains witl\ man? it is to bring back his soul from the pit, v. 30. If God did not take more care of us than we do of ourselves, we were miserable; we would destroy ourselves, but he would have us saved, and devises means, by his grace, to undo that by which we were undoing ourselves. The former method, by dream and vision, was, to keefi back the soul from the pit, {y. 18.) that is, to prevent sin, that we might not fall into it. This, by sickness and the word, is, to bring back the soul, to reco\ er those that ha\ e fallen into sin, that they may not lie still and perish in it. With respect to all that by rejientance are brought back from the pit, it is, that they may be enlightened with the light of the living, that they may have present comfort and everlasting happiness. Whom God saves from sin and hell, which are darkness, he will bring to heaven, the inheritance of the saints in light; and this he aims at, in all his institutions, and all his dispensations. Lord, 'iVhat is man, that thou shouldest thus visii him.' This should engage us to comjjly with God's designs, to work with liim for our own good, and not to counter-work him. This will render those that perish for ever inexcusable, that so much was done to save them, and they would not be healed.

2. He bespeaks Job's acceptance of what he had offered, and begs of him to rnark it "U'cll, v. 31. What is intended for our good, challenges our regard. If Job will observe what is said, (1.) He is welcome to make what objections he can against it; (t'. 32.) " If thou hast any thing to say for thyself i.i thine own vindication, answer me; though I am fresh, and thou art spent, I will not run thee down with words; S/ieak, for I desire to justify thee, and am not as thy other friends, that desired to condemn thee." Elihu contends for truth, not, as they did, fir victory. Note, those we repro\e, we should desire to justify, and be glad to see them clear themselves from the imputations they lie under, and therefore give them all possible advantage and encouragement to do it. (2.) If he has nothing to say against what is said, Elihu lets him know that he has so.nething more to say, which he desires him patiently to attend to; (r. 33^ Hold thy peace, and I will teach thee wisdom. Those that would both show wisdom and learn wisdom, must hearken : Jid keep s'lenc*, be swift to hear and slow to speak. J -.b was wise and good; bu.t those that are so, may yet be wiser and better, and mnst therefore set themselves to improve by the means of wisdom and grace.

CHAP. XXXIV.

Elihu, it is likely, paused a while, to see if Job had any thinff to say atrainst his discourse in the foregoing; chapter; out he sittinfr silent, and, it is likely, intimatinpr his desfre that he would %o on, he here proceeds. And, I. He bespeaks not only the audience, but the assistance, of the company, v.'2. .4. II. He charsres Job with some more indecent expressions that had dropped from him, V. 5..9. in. He undertakes to convince him that he had spoken amiss, bv showinr v* rv fully, 1. God's in-contestible justice, v". 10.. 12, 17, \9','2.^. 2. His sovereign dominion, v. 13.. 16. 3. His almighty power, V. 20, 24. 4. His omniscience, v. 21, 22, 25. 6. His severity against sinners, v. 26 .. 28. 6. His over-ruling providence, v. 29, 30 IV. He teaches him what he should say, v. 31,32. And then, lastly, he leaves the matter to Job's o\s\\ conscience, and concludes with a sharp reproof of him, for his peevishness and discontent, V. 33..37. All this Job not onlv bore patiently, but took kindly, because he saw that Elihu meant well; and, whereas his other friends had accused him of that from which his own conscience acquitted him, Elihu charged

Vol. III. —U

I him with that only for which, it is probable, hi? own heart, now upon the reflection, began to smite him.

! 1. "I^URTHERMORE, Elihu answered j Jl and said, 2. Hear my words, O ye j wise men; and give ear unto me, ye that j have knowledge: 3. For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat. 4. Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good. 5. For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment. 6. Should I lie against my right ? my wound is incurable without transgression. 7. What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water ; 8. Which goeth in company with the woijkers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men ] 9. For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.

Here,

I. Elihu humbly addresses himself to the auditors, and endeavours, like an orator, to gain their good will, and their favourable attention. 1. He chIIs them wise men, and men that had knowledge, V. 2. It is cf^mfortable dealing with such as understand sense; I speak as to wise men, who can judge what I say, 1 Cor. x. 15. Elihu differed in opinion from them, ;md yet he calls them wise and knowing men. Peevish disputants think all fools that are not of their mind; but it is justice to those who are wise to acknowledge it, though our sentiments do not agree with theirs. 2. He appeals to their judgment, and therefore submits to their trial, v. 3. The ear of the judicious tries words, whether what is said be true or false, right or wrong, and he that speaks must stand the test of the intelligent. As we must pro\ e all things we hear, so we must be willing that what we speak should be proved. 3. He takes them into partnership with him in the examination and discussion of this matter, V. 4. He does not pretend to be sole dictator, nor undertake to say what is just and good, and what is not, but he is willing to join witli them in searching it out. and desires a consultation; "Let us agree to lay aside all animosities and feuds, all prejudices and affectation of contradiction, and all stiffness in adhering to the opinion we have once espoused, and let us choose to ourselves judgment; let us fix rieht principles on which to proceed, and then take right methods for finding out truth; and let us know among ourselves, by comparing notes, and communicating our reasons, what is good and what is otherwise." Note, We are then likely to discern whrt is right, when we agree to assist one another in searchmg it out.

II. He warmly accuses Job for some passionate words whi^h he had spoken, that reflected on the divine gnvernment, appealing to the house, whether he ought not to be called to the bar, and checked for til em.

1. He recites the words which Job had spoken, as near as lie can remember. (1.) He had insisted ii]3on his own innocency; Jol) hath said, I atn righ-tt'OHN, (v. 5.) and, when urged to confess his guilt, has stiffly maintained his plea of A'ot guilty. Should T lir a^-ainst my right? v. 6. Job had spoken to this purport; (r//. xxvii. 6.) Jlfy righteousness J hold fist. (2.) He had charged God with injustice in his dedings with him, that he had wronged him in' afflicting him, and hid not righted him; God had taken ccway my judgment; so Job had said, ch.

JOB, XXXIV.

xxvii. 2. (3.) He had despaired of relief, and concluded that God could not, or would not, help him; J\Jy ivoujid is incurable, and likely to be mortal, and yet without transgression; not for any injtistice in my hand, ch. xvi. 16, 17. (4.) He had, in effect, s lid, that there is nothing to be got in the service of God, and that no man will be the better, at last, for his religion; (t'. 9.) i/e Aa^/i scW that which gives occasion to suspect that he thinks, It firo/iteth a man nothin;^, that he shall delight himself with God. It is granted that there is a pi-esent pleasure in religion; for what is it but to delight ourselves with God, in communion with him, in concurrence with liim, in walking with him as Enoch did; tliis is a true notion of religion, and bespeaks its ways to be ])leas mtness. Yet the advanta^s-e of it is denied, as if it were vai?i to serve God, Mai. iii. 14. This Elihu gathers as Job's opinion, by an innuendo from what he said; {ch. ix. 22.) Ne destroys the perfect and the ivicked, which has a truth in it, (for all things erne alike to all,) but it was ill-exj*ress-ed, and gave too much occasion for this imputation, and therefore Job sat down silent under it, and attemjited not his own vindication; whence Mr. Car\l well observes. That good men sometimes S])eak worse than they mean; and that a good man will rather bear more blame than he deserves, than stand to excuse himself when he has deserved any blame.

2. He charges Job very high upon it. In general, What man is like Job? (y. 7.) "Did you ever know such a man as Job, or ever hear a man talk at such an extravagant rate?" He represents him, (1.) As sitting in the seat of the scornful; " He drinketh ufi scorning like ivater," that is, " he takes a great deal of liberty to reproach both God and his friends, takes a pleasure in it, and is very liberal in his reflections." Or, " He is very greedy in receiving and hearkening to the scorns and contempts which others cast upon their brethren, is well pleased with them, and extols them." Or, as s^me explain it, '• By these foolish expressions of his he makes himself the object of scorn, lays himself \ery open to reproach, and gives occasion to others to laugh at him; while his religion suffers by it, and the reputation of that is wounded through his side." We have need to pray that God will never leave us to ourselves, to say or do any thing which may make us a refiroach to the foolish, Ps. xxxix. 8. (2.) As walking in the course of the ungodly, and standing in the way of sinners; He goes in company with the workers of iniquity; {y. 8.) not that in his conversation he did associate with them, but, in his opinion he did favour and countenance them, and strengthen their hands. If (as i follows, T'. 9. for the proof of this) it profits a man nothing to delight himself in God, why should he not lav the reins on the neck of his lusts, and herd himself with the workers of iniquity? He that savs, I have cleansed my hands in vain, does not only offerid against the generation of God's children, (Ps. Ixxiii. 13, 14.) but gratifies his enemies, and says as they say.

10. Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understandins : Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Al-)ni2;ht.v, that he should coinviii miquity- 1 \. For tlie work of a man shall he render unto him, and cnuse every man to find arrordine; to his ways. l?. Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Mmisihty pervert iude;m'^nt. 13. Wh^ hath jiveu iiim

a charge over the earth

who hath dis-

posed the w^hole world ? 14. If he set his heart upon man, if he gather uDto himself his spirit and his breath; 15. All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.

The scope of Elihu's discourse is to reconcile Job to his afflictions, and to pacify his spirit under them In order to this, he had showed, in the foregoing chapter, that God meant him no hurt in afflicting him, but intended it for his spiritual benefit. In this chapter, he shows that he did him no wrong in afflicting him, nor punished him more than he deserved. If the former could not prevail to satisfy him, yet this ought to silence him. In these verses, he directs his discourse to all the company; " Hearken to 7ne, ye men of understanding, {y. 10.) and show yourselves to be intelligent, by assenting to this which I say." And this is that which he says, That the righteous God never did, nor ever will, do any wrong to any of his creatures, but his ways are equal, ours are unequal.

The truth here maintained respects the justice and equity of all God's proceedings. Now observe in these verses,

I. How plainly this truth is laid down, both negatively and positively. 1. He does wrong to none; God cannot do wickedness, nor the jilmighty com mit iniquity, v. 10. It is inconsistent with the perfection of his nature, and so it is also with the purity of his will; (v. 12.) God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty peri'ert judgment. He neither can, nor will, do a wrong thing, nor deal hardly with any man. He will never inflict the evil of punishment, but where he finds the evil (f sin, nor in any undue proportion, for that would be to commit iniquity and do wickedly. If appeals be made to him, or he be to give a definitix e senter.' e, he will have an eye to the merits of the cause, and not respect the person, for that were to pervt rt judgment. He will never either do any man wrong, or deny any man right, but the heavens will shortlu declare his righteousness. Because he is God, and therefore is infinitely perfect and holy, he can neither do wrong himself, nor countenance it inotheis, any more than he can either die, or lie, or deny himself Though he be Almighty, yet he never uses his power, as mighty men often do, for the support of injustice. He is Shaddai, God all-sufficient, and therefore he cannot be ternpted with ei'?/, (James i. 13.) to do an unrighteous thing. 2. He ministers justice to all; {v. 11.) The vjork of a man shall he render unto him. Good works shall lie rewarded, and evil works either punished or satisfied for; so that, sooner or later, in this world or in that to come, he will cause every man to find according to his ways. This is the standing rule of distributive justice, to give to every man according to his work; Say to the righteous, it shall be well with them; Woe to the wicked, it shall be ill with him. If services persevered in now go unrewarded, and sins persisted in now go unpunished, yet there is a day coming, when God will fully render to every nian according to his works, with interest for the delay.

II. How warmly it is asserted; 1. With an assurance of the truth of it; Yea, surely, v. 12. It is a truth which none can deny or call in question, it is what we may take for granted, and are all agreed in. That God will not do wickedly. 2. With an ab-lioi-rence of the very thought of the contrary; {v. 10.) Far he it from God, that he should do wickedness, and from us, that we should imagi= e such a thing, that we should entertain the least suspicion of" t, or say any thing that looks like charging him With it.

JOB, XXXIV.

165

III. How evidently it is proved by two arguments.

1. His independent absolute sovereignty and dominion; {v. 13.) iV/w has given him a cftarge over the earth, and deputed him to manage tlie affairs of men upon the earth? Or, Who besides has dis-prsed the whole world of mankind? He has the sole administration of tlie kingdoms of men, and has it of himself, nor is he intrusted with it by, or for, any other. (1.) It is certain that the government is his, and he does according to his will in all the hosts both of heaven and earth; and therefore he is not to be charged with injustice; for shall not the Fudge of all the earth do right? Gen. xviii. 25. How shall God either rule or judge the world, if there be, or could be, any unrighteonsness with him? Rom. iii. 5, 6. He that is entitled to such unlimited power must certainly have in himself unspotted purity. This is also a good reason why we should acquiesce in all God's dealings with us. Shall not he, that disposes of the whole world, dispose of us and our concerns? (2.) It is as certain that he does not derive his power from any; nor is it a dispensation that is committed to him, but his power is original, and, like his being, of himself; and therefore, if he were not perfectly just, all the world and the affairs of it would soon be in the utmost confusion. The highest powers on earth huve a God abo\ e them, to wliom they are accountable, because it is not far from them to do iniquity. But therefore (iod has none above him, because it is not possible that he should do any thing (such is the perfection of his nature) that should need to be controlled. And if he be an absolute Sovereign, we are bound to submit to him, for there is no higher power to which we mav appeal, so that the \irtue is a necessity.

2. His irresistible power; {v. 14.) If he set his heart upon man, to contend with him, much more if (as some read it) he set his heart against man, to ruin him, if he should deal with man either by siimma fiotestas — mere sovereignty, or bv summa jus — strict justice, there were no standing before him; man's spirit and breath would soon begone, and all flesh would fterish together, v. 15. Many men's honesty is owing purely to their impotencv; they do not do wrong, because they cjmnot support it i when it is done, or it is not in their power to do it. ' But (iod is able to crush any man easily and suddenly, and yet does not by arliitrary power crnsh any man, which therefore must be attributed to the infinite perfection of his nature, and that is immutable. See here, (1.) What G-id can do with us; he can soon bring us t^^ dust; there needs not anv positive act of his omnipotence to do it, if he do but withdraw that concurrence of his providence, bv which we live, if he gather unto himself that breath which was from his hand at first, and is still in his hand, we expire immediately, like an animal in an air-pump, when the air is exhausted. (2.) What he may do with us, without doing us anv wrong; he may recall the being he gave, of which we are but tenants at will, and which also we have forfeited; and therefore, as long as that is continued of his mere favour, we have no reason to crv out of wrong, whatever other comforts are removed.

16. If now thou hast understanding, hear this; hearken to the voice of my words: 17. Shall even he that hateth ri^ht govern ? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just? \o. Is it fit to say to a king. Thou art wicked ? and to princes, Ye are ungodly ? 19. Horn much /rss to him that ac-cepteth not the persons of princes, nor re-gartleth the rich more than the poor? for

they all are the work of Jiis hands. 20. In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand. 21. For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all liis goings. 22. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. 23. For he will not lay upon man more than rights that he should enter into judgment with God. 24. He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead. 25 Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed. 26. He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others;

27. Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways:

28. So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted. 29. When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble ? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him ? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only : 30. That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.

Elihu here applies himself more directly to Job. He had spoken to the rest, {v. 10.) as men of understanding; now, speaking to Job, he puts an if upon his understanding; // thou hast understanding, hear this, and observe it, v. 16.

I. Hear this. That God is not to be quarrelled with for any thing that he does. It is daring pre-sumptic n to arraign and condemn God's proceedings, as Job had done by his discontents. It was, 1. As absurd as it would be to advance one to power, that is a professed enemy to justice; Shall even he that hates right, govern? v. 17. The righteous Lord so loves righteousness, that, in comparison with him, even Job himself, thougli a perfect and upright mm, might l)e said to hate right; and sliall he govern? Sliall he pretend to direct God, or correct what he does? Shall such unrighteous creatures as we are, give law to the righteous God? Or, must he take his measures from us? When we consider the corruption of our nature, and the contrariety there is in us to the eternal rule of equity, we cannot but see it an impudent, impious, thing for us to prescribe to God. 2. It was as absurd as it would be to call a most righteous innocent person to the bar, and to give judgment against him, though it appeared ever so plain, upon the trial, that he was most just. Wilt thou condemn him that is righteous in all his ways, and cannot but be so? 3. It is more absurd and unbecoming than it would be to say to a sovereign prince. Thou art wicked, and to judges upon the bench. Ye are unirodly, v. 18. This wotdd be looked upon as an insufferable affront to majesty and to magistracy; no king, no prince, would bear it. In favour of government, we presume it is a right sentence that is passed, unless the contrary be very .evident; but, whatever we think, it is not fit to tell a king to his face that he is wicked. Nathan reproved Divid bv a parable. But, whatever a high priest or a prophet might do, it is not for an ordinary subject to make so bold with the powers

JOB, XXXIV.

ihat are. How absurd is it then to say so to God! To impute iniquity to hini, wlio, havini^ no respect cf persons, is in no temptation *o do an unjust thing! V. 19, He regardeih not the rich more than the floor, and therefore it is fit he should rule, and it is not fit we should find fault with him. Note, Rich and poor stand upon the same level before God. A great man shall fare never the better, nor find any favour, for his wealth and greatness; nor shall a poor man fare "ever the worse for his poverty, nor >.n honest cause be starved. Job, now that he was poor, should have as much favour with God, and be as much regarded by him, as when he was rich; for they all are the work of his hands. Their persons are so; the poor are made by the same hand, and of the same mould, as the rich. Their conditions are so; the poor were made poor by the Divine Providence, as well as the rich made rich; and therefore the poor shall fare never the worse for that which is their lot, not their fault.

II. Hear this, That God is to be acknowledged and submitted to in all that he does. Divers considerations Elihu here suggests to Job, to beget in him great and high thoughts of God, and so to persuade him to submit, and proceed no further in his quarrel with him.

1. God is almighty, and able to deal with the strongest of men when he enters into judgment with them; {v. 20.) even the people, the body of a nation, though ever so numerous, shall be troubled, unhinged, and put into disorder, when God pleases; even the mighty man, the prince, though ever so honourable, ever so formidable among men, shall, if God speak the word, be taken away out of h s throne, nay, out of the land of the living; they shall die, they shall pass away. What cannot He do, that has all the powers of death at his command.'' Observe the suddenness of this destruction; In a moment shall they die. It is not a work of time, with God, to bring down his proud enemies, but, when he pleases, it is soon done; nor is he bound to give them warning, no, not an hour's warning; This night thy soul shall be required. Oliserve tlie season of it; They shall be troubled at midnight, when thev are secure and careless, and unable to help themselves; as the Egyptian.s, wlien their firstborn were slain. This is the immediate work of God: they are taken away, without liand, insensibly, by secret judgments. God can himself humble the greatest tvrant, without the assistance or agency of any man. Whatever hand he sometimes uses in the accomplishing of his purposes, he needs none, but can do it without hand. Nor is it one single mighty man only that he can thus overpower, but even hosts of them; {x>. 24.) He shall break in fiieces lyiighty ?nen without number; for no combined power can stand it out against Omnipotence. Yet, when God destroys tyranny, he does not design anarchy; if those are brought down that ruled ill, it does not therefore fallow that people must have no rulers; for, when he breaks mighty men, he sets others in their stead, that will rule better; or, if they do not, he overturns them also in the night, or in a night, so that they are destroyed, v. '25. Witness Relshazzar. Or, if he designs them space to repent, he does not presently destroy them, nut he strikes them as ivicked men, v. 26. Some humbling, mortifying, judgments are brought upon *.hem; these wicked rulers are stricken as other ivicked men; as surely, as sorely, stricken in their bodies, estates, or families, and this, for warning to their neighbours; the stroke is given in terrorem — as an alarm to others, and therefore is given in the open sight of others, that they also may see, and fear, and tremble, before the justice of God. If kings stand not before him, how shall we stand!

^ God is omniscient, and can discover that

which is most secret. As the strongest cannot oppose nis arm, so the most subtle cannot escape his eye; and therefore, if some are punished, either more or less than we think they should be, instead of quarrelling with God, it becomes us to ascribe it to some secret cause known to God, only. For, (1.) Every thing is open before him; (f. 21.) His eyes are ufion the ways of man: not only they are within reach of his eye, so that he can see them, but his eye is upon them, so that he actually observes and inspects them; he sees us all, and sees all our goings; go whither we will, we are under his eye; all our actions, good and evil, are regarded and recorded, and reserved to be brought into judgment when the books shall be opened. (2.) Nothing is or can be concealed from him; [y. 22.) There is no darkness nor shadow of death, so close, so thick, so s'llitary, so remote from light or sight, as that in it the workers of iniquity may hide themselves from the discovering eye, and avenging hand, of the righteous God. Observe here, [1.] The workers of iniquity would hide themselves, if they could, fiom the eye of the world for shame, and from the eye of God for fear, as Adam among the trees of the garden; the day is coming when mighty men, and chief captains, will call to the rocks and mountains to hide them. [2.] They would gladly be hid even by the shadow ot death, be hid in the gra\ e, and die for ever there, rather than appear liefore the judgment-seat of Christ. (3.) It is in vain to think of flying from God's justice, or ab-j scouding, when his wrath is in pursuit of us. The workers of iniquity may find ways and means to hide themselves from men, but not from God; He knows their works, {v. 25.) both what they do, and what they design.

3. God is righteous, and, in all his proceedings, goes according to the rules of equity. Even then when he is overturning mighty men, and breaking them in pieces, yet he will not lay ufion man more than right, V. 23. Ashe will not punish the innocent, so he will not exact of those that are guilty more than their iniquities deserve; of the proportion between the sin and the punishment Infinite Wisdom shall be the Judge. He will not give any man cause t 1 c(>m])lain that he deals hardly with him, nor shall any man enter into judgment with God, or bring an action against him. If he do, God will be justified when he speaks, and clear when he judges. Therefore Job was very much to be blamed for his complaints of God, and is here well advised to let fall his action, for he would certainly be cast, or nonsuited. It is ?iot for man ever to purpose to enter into judgment with the Omnipotent; so some read the whole verse. Job had often wished to plead his cause before God. Elihu asks, " To what purpose!* The judgment already given concerning thee will certainly, be affirmed; no errors can be f nnul in it, nor any exceptions taken to it, but, after all, it must rest as'it is." All is well that God does, and will be found so.

To prove, that, when God destroys the mighty men, and strikes them as wicked men, he does not lay tipon them more than right, he shows what their wickedness was; (71. 27, 28.) and let any compare that with their punishment, and then judge whether they did not deserve it. In short, these unjust judges, whom God will justly judge, neither feared God, nor regarded man, Luke xviii. 2. (1.) They were rebels to God; they turned back from him, cast off the fear of him, and abandoned the very thoughts of him, for they would not consider any of his ways, took no heed either to his precepts or to his providences, but lived without God in the world. This is at the bottom of all the wickedness of the wicked, they turn back from God; and it is because they do not consider, not because they can-

JOB, XXXIV.

157

not; they will not From inconsideration comes impiety, and thence all immorality. (2.) They were tyrants to all mankind, x*. 28. They will not call upon God for themselves; but they cause the cry of the floor to come to him, and that cry is against them. They are injurious and oppressive to the poor, wrong them, crush them, impoverish them yet more, and add affliction to the afflicted, who cry unto God, make their complaint to him, and he hears them, and pleads their cause. Their d^se is bad who have the prayers and tears of the poor against them; for the cry of the oppressed will, sooner or later, draw down vengeance on the heads of the oppressors, and no one can say that this is more than right, Exod. xxii. 23.

4. God has an uncontrollable dominion in all the affairs of the children of men, and so guides and governs whatever concerns both communities and

Earticular persons, that, as what he designs cannot e defeated, so what he does cannot be changed, v. 29. Observe, (1.) The frowns of all the world cannot trouble those whom God quiets with his smiles. When he gi\ es quietness, who can then make trouble? This is a challenge to all the powers of hell and earth, to disquiet those to whom God speaks peace, and for whom he creates it. If God give outward peace to a nation, he can secure what he gives, and disable the enemies of it to give it any disturbance. If God give inward peace to a man only, the quietness and ev'erlasting assurance which are the effect of righteoasness, neither the accusations of Satan, nor the afflictions of this present time, no, nor the arrests of death itself, can give trouble. What can make them uneasy, whose souls dwell at ease in God? See Phil. iv. 7. (2.) The smiles of all the world cannot quiet those whom God troubles with his frowns: for if he, in displeasure, hide his face, and withhold the comfort of his favour, who then can behold him? that is, Who can behold a displeased God, so as to bear up under his wrath, or turn it away? Who can make him show his face when he resolves to hide it, or see through the clouds and darkness which are round about him? Or, Who can behold a disquieted sinner, so as to give him effectual relief? Who can stand a friend to him to whom God is an Enemv? None can relieve the distresses of the outward condition, without God; If the Lord do not help, thee, whence shall I? 2 Kings vi. 27. Nor can any relieve the distresses of the mind against God and his terrors. If he impress the sense of his wrath upon a guilty conscience, all the comforts the creature can administer are ineffectual: jis vinegar upon nitre, so are songs to a heavy heart. The ir-resistibleness of God's operations must be acknowledged in his dealings, both with communities and with particular persons: what he does cannot be controlled, whether it be done against a nation in its public capacity, or against a man only in his private affairs. The same Providence that governs mighty kingdoms, presides in the concerns of the meanest individual. And neither the strength of a whole nation can resist his power, nor the smallness of a single person evade his cognizance; but what he does shall be done effectually and victoriously.

5. God is wise, and careful of the public welfare, and therefore provides that the hyfiocrite reign not, lest the fieofile be ensnared, v. 50. See here, (1.) The pride of hypocrites; they aim to reign; the praise of men, and power in the world, are their reward, what they aim at. (2.) The policy of tyrants; when they aim to set up themselves, they sometimes ma.ke use of religion as a cloak and cover for their ambition, and by their hypocrisy come to the throne. (3.) The danger the people are in, when hypocrites reign; they are likely to be ensnared in sin, or trouble, or both. Power in the

hands of dissemblers, is often destructivfe to tne rights and liberties of a people, which they are more easily wheedled out of, than forced out of. Much mischief has been done likewise to the power of godliness, under the pretence of a form of godliness. (4.) The care which Divine Providence takes of the people, to prevent this danger, that the hyfiocrite reign not; either that he do not reign at all, or that he do not reign long. If God has mercy in store for a people, he will either prevent the rise, or hasten the ruin, of hypocritical rulers.

31. Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement^ I will not offend any more: 32. That ivhich 1 see not, teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, 1 will do no more. 33. Shoiild it he according to thy mind ? he will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest. 34. Let men of understanding tell me, and let a wise man hearken unto me. 35. Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom. 36. My de-sii'B zs, that Job may be tried unto the end, because of his answers for wicked men. 37. For he addeth rebelhon unto his sin; he clappeth his hands among us, and multi-plieth his words against God.

In these verses,

I. Elihu instructs Job what he should say under his affliction, v. 31, 32. Having reproved him for his peevish passionate words, here he puts bettei words into his mouth. When we reprove for what is amiss, we must direct to what is good; to the re-fir oofs of instruction, Prov. vi. 23. He does not impose it upon Job to use these words, but recommends it to him, as that which was meet to be said. In general, he would have him repent of his misconduct, and indecent expressions, under his affliction. Job's other friends would have had him own himself a wicked man, and by overdoing they undid. Elihi; will oblige him only to own that he had, in the management of this controversy, sfioken unadvisedly with his lifis. Let us remember this, in giving reproofs, and not make the matter worse than it is; for the , stretching of the crime may defeat the prosecution. Elihu drives the right naU, and speeds accordingly. He directs Job,

1. To humble himself before God for his sins, and to accept the punishment of them; " I have borne chastisement. What I suffer comes justly upon me, and therefore I will bear it, and not only justify God in it, but acknowledge his goodness." Many are chastised, that do not bear chastisement, do not bear it well, and so, in effect, do not bear it at all. Penitents, if sincere, will take all well that God does, and will bear chastisement as a medicinal operation intended for good.

2. To pray to God to discover his sins to him; (■y. 32.) ^^ That which I see not, teach thou me. Lord, upon the review, I find much amiss m me, and much done amiss by me, but I have reason to fear there is much more that I am not aware of; greater abominations, which, through ignorance, mistake, and partiality to myself, I do not yet see; Lord, give me to see it, awaken my conscience to do its office faithfully." A good man is willing to know the worst of himself, and particularly, under affliction, desires to be told wherefore God contends with him, and what God designs in correcting him.

JOB, XXXV.

f?. To promise reformation; {v. 31.) / will not offend any more. " If I have done iniquity, (or, Seeing I have,) I wUl ao so no more; whatever thou shalt discover to me to have been amiss, by thy grace I will amend it for the future." This impUes a confession that we have offended, true remorse and godly sorrow for the offence, and a humble compliance with God's design in afflicting us, which is to part between us and our sins. The penitent here completes his repentance; for it is not enough to be sorry for our sins, but we must go and sin no more, and, as here, bind ourselves witli the bond of ;i fixed resolution never more to return to folly. This is meet to be said in a steadfast purpose, and meet to be said to God in a solemn promise and vow.

II. He reasons with him concerning his discontent and uneasiness under his affliction, v. 33. We are ready to think every thing that concerns us should be just as we would have it; but Elihu here shows, 1. That it is absurd and unreasonable to expect it; •' Should it be according to thy mind? No, what reason for thati*" Elihu here speaks with a great deference to the divine will and wisdom, and a satisfaction therein. It is highly fit that every thing should be according to God's mind. Elihu speaks also with a just disdain of the pretensions of those that are proud, and would be their own carvers; Should it be according to thy mind? Should we always have the good we have a mind to enjoy? We should then wrongfully encroach upon otli'ers, and foolishly ensnare ourselves. Must we never be afflicted, because we have no mind to it? Is it fit that sinners should feel no smart, that scholars should be under.no discipline? Or, if we must be afflicted, is it fit that we should choose what rod we will be beaten with? No, it is fit that every thing should be according to God's mind, and not ours, for he is the Creator, and we are creatures; he is infinitely wise and knowing, we are foolish and short-sighted; he is in one mind, we are in many. 2. That it is in vain, and to no purpose, to expect it; "He will recomfienae it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose. God will take his own way, fulfil his own counsel, and recompense according to the sentence of his own justice, whether thou art pleased or displeased; he will neither ask thy leave, nor ask thy advice, but, what he pleases, that will he do; it is therefore thy wisdom to be easy, and make a virtue of necessity; make the best of that which is, because it is out of thy power to make it otherwise. If thou pretend to choose and refuse," that is, "to prescribe to God, and except against what he does, so will not I, I will ficquiesce in all he does; and therefore speak what thou knowest, say what thou wilt do, whether thou wilt oppose or submit. The matter lies plain before thee; be at a point; thou art in God's hand, not in mine."

III. He appeals to all intelligent, indifferent, per-.sons, whether there was not a great deal of sin and folly in that which Job said. 1. He would have the matter thoroughly examined, and brought to an issue; {v. 36.) •' Afy desire is that Job may be tried unto the end. If any will undertake to justify what he has said, let them do it; if not, let us all agree to bear our testimony against it." Many understand it of his trial by afflictions; "Let his troubles be continued till he be thoroughly humbled, and his proud spirit brought down, till he be made to see iiis error, and to retract what he has so presumptuously said against (iod and his providence. Let the trial be continued till the end be obtained." 2. He appeals botli to Ciod and man, and desires the judgment of both upon it. (1.) Some rend v. 36. as an appe d to God, O my lather, let Job be tried. Si the marg'n of our Hiblcs, for the sime word sig-i.ifies my desire, and my father; p.nd some suppose

' that he lifted up his eyes, when he said this, meaning, " O my Father which art in hraven, let Job be tried till he be subdued." When we are praying for the benefit of afflictions either to ourselves or others, we must eye God as a Father, because they are fatherly corrections, and a part of our filial education, Heb. xii. 7. (2.) He.appeals to the bystanders; {v. 34.) " Let men of understanding tell me, whether they can put any more, favourable construction upon Job's words than I ha\ e put, and whether he h;td not spoken very ill, and ought not to cry Peccavi — I have done wrong." In what Job had said, he thought it appeared, [1.] That he did not rightly understand himself, but had talked fool-r ishly, V. 35. He cannot say that Job is without knowledge and wisdom; but, in this matter, he has spoken without knowledge, and, whatever his heart is, his words are without prudence. What he said to his wife, may be retorted upon himself, (He sfieaka as one of the foolish men sfieak,) and frr the same reason. Shall we not receive evil as well as good, at God's hand? ch. ii. 10. Sometimes we need and deserve those reproofs ourselves, which we have given to others. Those that reproach God's wisdom, really reproach their own. [2.] That he has not a due regard to God, but had talked wickedly. If what he has said be tried to the end, that is, if one put it to the utmost stretch, and make the worst of it, it will be found. First, That he has taken part with God's enemies. His anwers have been for wicked men, that is, what he had said, tends to strengthen the hands, and harden the hearts, of wicked people in their wickedness, he having carried the matter of their prosperity much further than he needed. Let wicked men. Tike Baal, plead for themselves, if they will, but far be it from us that we should answer for them, or say any thing in favour of them. Secondly, That he has insulted God's friends, and hectored over them; '« He clafi-fieth his hands among us; and if he be not thoroughly tried and humbled, will grow yet more insolent and imperious, as if he had gotten the day, and silenced us all." To speak ill is bad enough, but to clap our hands, and triumph in it when we have done, as if error and passion had won the victory, is much worse. Thirdly, That he has spoken against God himself, and, by standing to what he had said, added rebellion to his sin. To speak, though but one word, against God, by whom we speak, and for whom we ought to speak, is a great sin; what is it then to multiply words against him, as if we would out-talk him? What is it to repeat them, instead of unsaying them? Those that have sinned, and, when they are called to repent, thus go on frowardly, add rebellion to thei; sin, and make it exceeding sinful. Errare possum, hsereti-cus esse nolo —/ may fall into error, but I will not filunge into heresy.

CHAP. XXXV.

Job beinp still silent, Elihu follows his blow., and here, a third time, undertakes to show him that he had spoken amiss,and ought to recant. Three improper say inps hchere charges him with, and returns answer to them distinctly. I. He had represented religion as an indifferent, unprofitable thing, which God enjoins for his own .sake, not for ours; Elihti evinces the contrary, v. 1 . . 8. II. He had complained of God as deaf to the cries of the oppressed, against w^hich imputation Elihu here justifies God, v. 9.. 13. III. He had despaired of the return of God's favour to him, because it was so long deferred, but Elihu shows him the true cause of the delay, v. 14 .. 16.

l.TT^LITTU spake moreover, and said,

IlA 2. Thinkest thon this to be riijlit, that

thou saidst, .My riirliteoiisness is more ihan

God's ? 3. For thou saidst, AVhat advanlai;e

JOB, XXXV.

15d

will It be unto thee ? and., What profit shall f have, if I be cleansed from my sin ? 4. I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee. 5. Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds, ivhich are higher than thou. 6. If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him ? or (f thy transgressions be multiplied, w hat doest thou unto hijn ? 7. If thou be righteous, what givest thou him ? or w^hat receiveth he of thine hand ? 8. Thy wickedness maij hurt a man as thou art, and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.

We have here,

I. The bad words which Elihu charges upon Job, t,'. 2, 3. To evince the badness of them, he appeals to himself, and his own sober thoughts, in the reflection, r/imkest thou t/iis to be right? This intimates, 1. Elihu's confidence that the reproof he now gave was just, for he could refer the judgment of it even to Job himself They that have truth and equity on their side, sooner or later will have e\ery man's conscience on their side. 2. His good opinion of Job, that he thought better than he spake, and th.it, yet, though he had spoken amiss, when he perceived his mistake, he would not stand to it. When we have siid, in our haste, that which was not right, it becomes us to own that our second thoughts con\'ince us that it was wrong.

Two things Elihu here reproves Job for;

(1.) YoY justifying himself more than God, which was the thing that first provoked him; {ch. xxxii. 2.) "Thou hast, in effect, said, My righteousness is more than God's," that is, "I have done more for God than e\ er he did for me; so that, when the accounts are balanced, he will be brought in Debtor to me. As if Job thought his services had been paid less than they deserved, and his sins punished more than they deserved; which is a most unjust and wicked thought for any man to harbour, and especially to utter. When Job insisted so much upon his own integritv, and the severity of God's dealings with him, he did, in effect, say. My righteousness is more than God's; whereas, though we be ever so good, and our afflictions ever so great, we are chargeable with unrighteousness, and Ciod is not.

(2.) For disowning the benefits and advantages of religion, beciuse he suffers these things; JThat profit shall I have if I be cleansed from mxi sin? V. 3. This is gathered from ch. ix. 30, 31, Though I make ?tiy hands ever so clean, what the nearer am I? Thou shall filunge me m the ditch. And ch. x. 15, If I be wicked, woe to me; but if I be righteous, it is all one. Tlie psalmist, when lie compared his own afflictions with the prosperity of the wicked, was tempted to say. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, Ps. Ixxiii. 13. And if Job said so, lie did, in effect, say. ATy righteousness is more than God's; (v. 2.) for if he got nothing by his religion, God was more beholden to him than he was to God. But thou;j;h there might be some colour for it, vet it WHS not fair to charge these words upon Job, when he himself had made them the wicked words of. y)rospering sinnc'-s, (ch. xxi. 15.) Tl'hat /irofit shall ive have, if ive pray to him? and liad immediatclv disclaimed them, (t'. 16.) 77;e counsel '.f the wicked is far from me. It is not a fair way of disputing, to charge men with those consequences of their cpinions, which they expressly renounce.

II. The good answer which Elihu gives to this; (f. 4.) "I will undertake to answer thee, and thy companions with thee," that is, "all those that ap-

prove thy sayings, and are ready to justify thee in them; and all others that say as thou savest: I ha\e that to offer which will silence them all." To do this, he has recourse to his old maxim; {ch. xxxiii. 12.) That God is greater than ?nan. That is a truth, which, if dulv improved, will serve manv good pui-poses, and this' particularly, to prove thit God is Debtor to no man. The greatest of men mav be a debtor to the meanest, but such is the infinite'dis-proportion between God and man, that the great God cannot possibly receive anv benefit by man, and tlierefore cannot be supposed to lie' under any obligation to man; for if he be obliged by his pui-pose and promise, it is only to himself. That is a challenge wliich no man can take up, (Rom. xi. 35.) JVho hath first gix'en to God, let him prove it, and it shall be recompensed to him again. \W\\ should we demand it, as a just debt, to gain by our i-eligion, (as Job seemed to do,) when the God we servedres not gain by it.-*

1. Elihu needs not prove that God is above man; it is agreed by all; but he endeavours to affect J^-b and us with it, by an ocular demonstration of the height of the hea'vens and the clouds, v. 5. Thev are far abo\ e us, and God is far above them; how much then is he set out of the reach either of our sirs or of our services! Look unto the heavens, and behold the clouds. God made man erect, Ccclum-que tueri jussit — Jnd bade him look up to heaven. Idolaters looked up,and worshipped the hosts of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars; but we must look up to heaven, and w- rship the Lord of those hosts. They are higher than we, but God is infinitely above them'. His glory is above the heavens, (Ps. viii. 1.) and the knowledge of him higher than heaven, ch. xi. 8.

2. But hence he infers that God is not affected, either ( ne way or other, by any thing that we do.

(1.) He ow'ns that men may be either bettered or damaged by what we do; {v. 8.) Thy wickedness, perhaps, m^iy hurt a man as thou an, may occasion him trouble in his outward concerns. A wicked man may wound, or rob, or slander, his neighbour, or may draw him into sin, and so prejudice his soul. Thy righteousness, thy justice, thy charity, thy wisdom, thy piety, may, perhaps, propt the son of man; our goodness extends to the saints that are in the earth, Ps. xvi. 3. To men like ourselves, we are in a capacity either of doing injury, or of showing kindness. And in both these the sovereign Lord and Judge of all will interest himself, will reward those that do good, and punish those that do hurt, to their fellow-creatures and fellow-subjects; but,

(2.) He utterly denies that God can really be either prejudiced, or ad\antaged, by what any, even the greatest of all the men of the "East, do, or can do.

[1.] The sins of the worst sinners are no damage to him; {v. 6.) "If thou sinnest wilfully, and of malice prepense, against him, with a high hand, nay, if thy transgressions be multiplied, and the acts of sin be e\er so often repeated, yet what doest thou against him?" This is a challenge to the carnal mind, and defies the most daring sinner to do his worst. It speaks much for the greatness and glory of God, that it is not in the power of his worst enemies to do him any real prejudice. Sin is said to be against God, because so the sinner intends it, and so he takes it, and it is an injury to his honour; yet it cannot do ajiy thing against him. The malice of sinners is impotent malice: it cannot destroy his being or perfections, cannot dethrone him from his power and dominion, cannot diminish his wealth and possessions, cannot disturb his peace and repose, cannot defeat his counsels and designs, (lor can it derogate from his essential glorv. Job th ?refore erred in saying, IVhatprofit is it'thaf Iai.t cleansed from my sin? God was no Gainer bv hi j refrr-mation; who then would gain, if he himself/lid nof

JOB, XXXV.

[2.] The services of the best saints are no profit to him; (v. 7.) If thou be righteous^ what givest thou him? He needs not our service; or, if he did want to have the work done, he has better hands than ours at command. Our religion brings no accession at all to his felicity. He is so far from being beholden to us, that we are beholden to him for milking us righteous, and accepting our righteousness; and therefore we can demand nothing from him, nor have any reason to complain if we have not wtiat we expect, but to be thankful that we have better than we deserve.

9. By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry ; they cr>' out by reason of the arm of the mighty: 10. But none saith, Where is God my Maker, who giveth songs in the night; 11. Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven ? 12. There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men. 13. Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it.

Elihu here returns answer to another word that Job had said, which, he thought, reflected much upon the j\istice and goodness of God, and therefore ought not to pass without a remark. Observe,

i. What it was that Job complained of; it was this. That God did not regard the cries of the oppressed against their oppressors; {v. 9.) By reason of the multitude ofo/ipressions, the many hardships which proud tyrants put upon poor people, and the barbarous usage they give them, they make the ofi-firessed to cry; but it is to no purpose, God does not appear to right them. They cry out, they cry on, by reason of the arm of the mighty, which lies heavy upon"them. This seems to lefer to those words of Job, {ch. xxiv. 12.) Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out against the oppressors, yet God lays not folly to them, does not reckon with them for it. This is a thing that Job knows not what to make of, nor how to reconcile to the justice of God and his government. Is there a righteous God, and can it be (hat he should so slowly hear, so slowly see?

II. How Elihu solves the difficulty: If the cries of the oppressed be not heard, the fault is not in God, he is ready to hear and help them, but the fault is in themselves; they ask and have not, but it is because they ask amiss, James iv. 3. They cry out, by reason of the arm of the inighty, but it is a complaining cry, a wailing cry, not a penitent praying cry, the cry of nature and passion, not of grace. See Hos. \ii. 14. They have not cried unto me with their heart when they howled ufion their beds. How then can we expect that they should be answered and relieved?

1. They do not inquire after God, nor seek to ac-qu lint themselves with him, under their affliction; {v. 10.) Bw none saith, JVhere w God my Maker? Afflictions are sent to d-rcct and quicken us to inquire early offer Gr,fl^ Ps. Ixxviii. 34. But manv, that groan under s''eat oppressions, ne\er mind God, nor take notice of his hand in their troubles; if thev did, they would bear their troubles more patiently, and be more benefited by them. Of the many that are afflicted and oppressed, few get the good they might get by their affliction. It should drive them to God, but how seldom is this the case! It is lamentable to see so little religion among the poor and miserable pnrt of mankind. Every one complains of his troubles; but none saith. Where is

God my Maker? that is, None repent of their sins, none return to him that smites them, none seek the face and favour of God, and that comfort in him which would balance their outward afflictions. They are wholly taken up with the wretchedness of their condition, as if that would excuse them in li\ ing without God in the world, which should engage them to clea\ e the more closely to him. Observe, (1.) God is our Makei-, the Author of cur being, and, under that noti(n, it concerns us to regard and remember him, Eccl. xii. 1. God my Makers, in the plural number; which some think is, if not an indication, yet an intimation, of the Trinity of persons in the unity of the Godhead; Let us make man. (2.) It is c'ur duty therefon to inquire after him. Where is he, that we may pjiy our homage to him, may own our dependence upon him, and obligations to him? \Miere is he, that we may apply ourselves to him for maintenance and protection, may receive law from him, and may seek our happiness in his favour, from whose power we received our being? (3.) It is to be lamented, that he is so little inquired after by the children of men. All are asking. Where is mirth? Where is wealth? Where is a good bargain? But none ask, Where is God my Maker?

2. They do not take notice of the mercies they enjoy in and under their afflictions, nor are thankful for them, and therefore cannot expect that God should deliver them out of their afflictions. (1.) He provides for our inward comfort and joy under our outward troubles, and we ought to make use of that, and wait his time for the removal of our troubles. He gives songs in the night, that is, when our condition is ever so dark, and sad, and melancholy, there is that in Grd, in his providence and promise, which is sufficient, not only to support us, but to fill us with joy and consolation, and enable us, in every thing, to give thanks, and even to rejoice in tribulation. When we only pore upon the afflictions we are under, and neglect the consolations of God which are treasured up for us, it is just with God to reject our prayers. (2.) He preserves to us the use of our reason and understanding; {v. 11.) who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, that is, who has endued us with more noble powers and faculties than they are endued with, and has made us capable of more excellent pleasures and employments here and for ever. Now this comes inhere, [1.] As that which furnishes us with matter for thanksgiving, even under the hea\ iest burthen of affliction. Whatever we are deprived of, we havfe our immortal souls, those jewels, more worth than all the world, continued to us; even those that kill the body, cannot hurt them. And if our affliction prevail not to disturb the exercise of their faculties, but we enjoy the use of our reason, and the peace of our consciences, we have much reason to be thankful, how pressing soever our calamities otherwise are. [2.] As a reason why we should, under our afflictions, inquire after God our Maker, and seek unto him. This is the greatest excellency of reason, that it makes us capable of religion, and it is in that especially that we arc taught more than the beasts and the fowls. Thev have wonderful instincts and sagHcitics in seeking out their food, their physic, their shelter; but ncne of them are capable of inquiring, Where is God my Maker? Something like logic, and philosophy, and politics, has been observed among the brute-creatures, but never any thing of divinity or religion; these are peculiar to man. If, therefore, the oppressed only cry by reason of the arm of the mighty, and do not look up to God, thev do no more thaii the brutes, (who complain wi.cn they are hurt*) and they forget that mstruction and wisdom by which they are advanced so far above them. Grd

JOB, XXXVI.

161

relieves the brute-creatures, because they cry to liim according to the best of their capacity, Ps. civ. 21. ch. xxxviii. 41. But what reason have men , to expect relief, who are capable of inquiring after God as their Maker, and yet cry to him no otherwise than as brutes do?

3. They ai-e proud and unhumbled under their afflictions, which were sent to mortify them, and to hide pride from them; {v. 12.) There they cry, there they lie exclaiming against their oppressors, and filling the ears of all about them with their complaints, not sparing to reflect upon God himself and his providence; but none give answer. God does not work deliverance for them, and perhaps men do not much regard them; and why so? It is because of the firide of evil men; they are evil men; they regard iniquity in their hearts, and therefore God will not hear their prayers, Ps. Ixvi. 18. ■ Isa. i. 15. God hears not such sinners. They have, it may be, brought themselves into trouble by their own wickedness, they are the Devil's poor; and then who can pity them? Yet this is not all; they are proud still, therefore they do not seek unto God; (Ps. X. 4.) or if they do cry unto him, therefore he does not give answer, for he hears only the desire of the humble, (Ps. x. 17.) and delivers those by his providence, whom he has first, by his grace, prepared and made fit for deliverance; and that we are not, if, under humbling afflictions, our hearts remain unhumbled, and pride unmortified. The case

. is plain then. If we cry to God for the removal of the oppression and affliction we are under, and it is not removed, the reason is, not because the Lord's hand is shortened, or his ear heavy, but because the affliction has not done its work; we are not sviffi-ciently humbled, and therefore must thank ourselves that it is continued.

4. They are not sincere and upright, and inward with God, in their supplications to. him, and therefore he does not hear and answer them; (t^. 13.) God will not hear vanity, that is, the hypocritical

f)rayer, which is a vain prayer, coming out of eigned lips. It is a vanity to think that God should hear it, who searches the heart, and requires truth in the inward part.

14. Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judigment is before him ; therefore trust thou in him. 15. But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger ; yet he kno weth it not in great extremity: 16, Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain : he multipUeth words without knowledge.

Here is,

I. Another improper word, for which Elihu reproves Job; {v. 14.) Thou sayest thou shalt not see him; that is, (1.) "Thou complainest that thou dost not understand the meaning of his severe dealings with thee, nor discern the drift and design of them,"ch. xxiii. 8, 9. And, (2.) "Thou despair-est of seeing his gracious returns to thee, of seeing better days again, and art ready to give up all for gone;" as Hezekiah, (Isa. xxxviii. 11.) I shall not see the Lord. As, when we are in prosperity, we are ready to think our mountain will never be brought low; so, when we are in adversity, we are ready to think our valley will never he filled, but, in both, to conclude that to-morrow must be as this day, which is as absurd as to think that the weather, when it is either fair or foul, will be always so, that the flowing tide will always flow, or the ebbing tide will aKvays ebb.

II. The answer which Elihu gives to this despairing word that Job had said, which is this,

Vol. III.—X

(1.) That, when he looked up to God, he had no

just reason to speak thus despairingly; Judgment is before him, that is, " He knows what he has to do, and will do all in infinite wisdom and justice; he has the entire plan and model of providence before him, and knows what he will do, which we do not, and therefore we understand not what he does. There is a day of judgment before him, when all the seeming disorders of Providence will be set to rights, and the dark chapters of it will be expounded. Then thou shalt see the full meaning of these dark events, and the final period of these dismal events; then thou shalt see his face with joy; therefore trust in him, depend upon him, wait for him, and believe that the issue will be good at last." When we consider that God is infinitely wise, and righteous, and faithful, and that he is a God of judgment, (Isa. xxx. 18.) we shall see no reason to despair of relief from him, but all the reason in the world to hope in him, that it will come in due time, in the best time.

(2.) That, if he had not yet seen an end of his troubles, the reason was, Because he did not thus trust in God, and wait for him; {y. 15.) ''Because it is not so; because thou dost not thus trust in him, therefore the affliction which came at first from love, has now displeasure mixed with it. Now God has \ isited thee in his anger, taking it very ill that thou canst not find in thy heart to tnist him, but harbourest such hard misgiving thoughts of him." If there be any mixtures of divine wrath in our afflictions, we may thank ourselves, it is because we do not behave aright under them; we quarrel with God, are fretful and impatient, and distrustful of the Divine Providence. This was Job's case; The foolishness of 7nan perverts his way, and then his heart frets against the Lord; (Prov. xix. 3.) yet Elihu thinks that Job, being in great extremity, did not know and consider that as he should, that it was his own fault that he was not yet delivered.

He concludes, therefore, that Job ofienshis mouth in vain, (v. 16.) in complaining of his grievances, and crying for redress, or in justifying himself, and clearing up his own innocency; it'is all in vain, because he does not 'trust in God and wait for him, and had not a due regard to him in his afflictions. He had said a great deal, had multiplied words, but all without knowledge; all to no purpose, because he did not encourage himself in God, and humble himself before him. It is in vain for us either to appeal to God, or to acquit ourselves, if we do not study to answer the end for which affliction is sent; and in vain to pray for relief, if we do not trust in God: let not that man who distrusts God, thinlc that he shall receive any thing froiri him, James i. 7. Or this may refer to all that Job had said. Having showed the absurdity of some passages in his discourse, he concludes that there were many other passages which were, in like manner, the fruits of his ignorance and mistake^ He did not, as his other friends, condemn him for a hypocrite, but charges him only with Moses's sin, speaking unadvisedly with his lifis, when his spirit was provoked. When at any time we do so, (and who is there that offends not in word?) it is a mercy to be told of it, and we must take it patiently and kindly, as Job did; not repeating^ but recanting^ what we have said amiss.

CHAP. XXXVI.

Elihu, havirif? larg-elv reproved Job for some of his unadvised speeches, which Job had nothinffto say in (he vindication' of, here comes more c'enerallv to set him to rights in his notions of God's dealings with him. His other friends had stood to it, that, because he was a wicked man, therefore his afflictions were so great and so long. But Elihu only maintained that the affliction was sent for his trial, iin^ that, therefore, it was length

\G'2

JOB, XXXVl.

ened out, because Job was not, as \et, thoroughly humbled under it, nor had duly accommodated himself to it. He urges many reasons, taken from the wisdom and righteousness of God, his care of his people, and especially his greatness and almighty power, with which, in this and the following chapter, he persuades him to submit to the hand of God. Here we have, I. His preface, V. 2. .4. n. The account he gives of the method of God's providences toward the children of men, according as they conduct themselves, V. 6. .16. HI. The fair warning and good counsel he gives to Job thereupon, v. 16. .21. IV. His demonstration of God's sovereignty and omnipotence, which he gives instances of, in the operations of common providence, and which is a reason why we should all submit to him in his dealings with us, v. 22. .33. This he prosecutes, and enlarges upon, in the following chapter.

1. X^ LIHU also proceeded, and said, 2. JCi Suffer me a little, and I will show thee that / have yet to speak on God's behalf. 3. I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. 4. For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee.

Once more Elihu begs the patience of the auditory, and Job's particularly, for he has not said all that he has to say, but he will not detain them long. Stand about me a little; so some read it, v. 2. " Let me have your attendance, your attention, a while longer, and I will speak but this once, as plainly and as much to the purpose as I can." To gain this, he pleads,

1. That he had a good cause, a noble and fruitful subject; / have yet to speak on God's behalf. He spake as an advocate for God, and thei efore might justly expect the ear of the court. Some, indeed, pretend to speak on God's behalf, who really speak for themselves; but those who sincerely appear in the cause of God, and speak in behalf of his honour, his truths, his ways, his people, sliall be sure neither to want instructions, fJt shall be given them in that same hour what they shall sfieak,) nor to lose their cause, or their fee. Nor need they fear lest they should exhaust their subject. They that ha\ e spoken ever so much, may yet find more to be spoken on God's behalf.

2. That he had s< mething to offer that was un-ronimon, and out of the road of vulgar chservatinn; / ivill fetch my knowledge from afar, {v. ?■> ) that is, •' We will have recourse to our first jn-inciples, and the highest notions we can make use of to serve any purpose." It is worth while to go far for this knowledge of God, to dig for it, to travel for it; it will recompense our pains, and, though far-fetched, is not dear-bought,

3. That his design was undeniably honest; for all he aimed at was, to ascribe righteousness to his Maker; to m lintain and clear this truth, that God is righteous in all his ways. In speaking ©/"God, and speaking for him, it is' good to remember that he is our Maker, to call him so, and therefore to be ready to do him, and the interests of his kingd m, the best service we can. If he lie our Maker, wc liave our all from him, must use our all for him, and be very zealous for his honour.

4. That his management should be very just and lair; {v. 4.) " Afy -words shall not be false, neither disagreeable to the thing itself, nor to my own thoughts and apprehensions. It is truth tliat I am contending for, and that for truth's sake, with all possible sincerity and plainness." He will make use of plain and solid arguments, and not the subtle-tics and niceties of the schools. " He who is perfect or u])right in knowledge, is now reasoning with thee; and, thcreffire, let him not only have a fair hearing, but let wliat he says betaken in good j)art, as meant well." The perfection of our knowledge.

i m this world, is, to be honest and sincere in search ing out truth, in applying it to ourselves, and in making use of what we know for the good of others.

b. Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any : he is mighty in strength and wisdom. 6. He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but givelh right to the poor. 7. He withdraweth not his eyes from ihe righteous: but with kings are they on th'^ throne ; yea, he doth establish them for ever and they are exalted. 8. x\nd if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction ; 9. Then he showeth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded. 10. He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return fiom iniquity. 11. If they obey and serve him^ they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures: 12. But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge. 13. But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath ; they cry not when he bind-eth them: 14. They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.

Elihu, being to speak on God's behalf, and par-ticulaily to ascribe righteousness to his Maker, here shows, that the disposals of Divine Providence are all, not only according to the eternal counsels of his will, but according to the eternal rules of equity. God acts as a righteous Governor. For,

I. He does not think it below him to take notice of the meanest of his subjects, nor does poverty or obscurity set any at a distance from his favour. If men are mighty, they are apt to look with a haughty-disdain upon those that are not of distinction, and make no figure; but God is mighty, infinitely so, and yet he despises not any, v. 5. He humbles himself, to take cognizance of the affairs of the meanest, to do them justice, and to show them kind ness. Job thought himself and his cause slighted, because God did not immediately appear for him. " No," says Elihu, God des/iises not any; which is a good reason whv we should honour all men. He is mighty in strength and wisdom, and yet does not look with contempt upon those that have but a little strength and wisdom, if they but mean honestly. Nay, therefore, he despises not any, because his wisdom and strength are incontestably infinite, and therefore the condescensions of his grace can be no diminution to him. They that are wise and good, will not look upon any with scorn and disdain.

II. He gives nn countenance to the greatest, if they be bad; {v. 6.) Ht firescmes not the life of the wicked. Though their life may be prolonged, yet-not under any special care of the Divine Providence, but onlv Its common protection. Job had said that the wicked live, become old, and are mighty in power, ch. xxi. 7. " No," says Elihu, «' he seldom suffers wicked men to become old. He preserves not their life so long as they expected, nor with that comfort and satisfaction which are indeed our life; and their preservation is but a reser\ ation for the dav of wrath," Rom. ii. 5.

ill. He is always ready to right those that are any way injure^l, and to plead their causes; (r. 6.) He gives right to the floor, avenges their quarrel upon their persecutors, and forces them to make restitution of what they have robbed them of. If men will not right the injured poor, God will.

JOB, XXXVl.

16.^>

TV. He takes a particular care for the protection of his goud suojects, v. 7. He not only looks on them, but he never looks off them. He withdraws not iiis eyes from the righteous. Though they may seem sometimes neglected and forgotten, and that befalls them which looks like an oversight of Pro\i-dence, yet the tender careful eye of their Heavenly Father never withdraws from them. If our eye be ever toward God in duty, his eye will be ever upon us in mercy, and, when we are at the lowest, will not overlook us.

1. Sometimes he prefers good people to places of trust and honour; (i;. 7.) IVit/i kings are they on the throne, and every sheaf is nuide to bow to theirs. When )-ighteous persons are advanced to places of honour and power, it is in mercy totliem; for God's grace in them will both arm them against the temptations that attend preferment, and enable them to improve the opportunity it gives tliem of d ling good. It is also in meicy to those over wliom they are set; IVhen the righteous bear rule, the city rejoices. If the righteous be advanced, they are established. They that in honour keep a goud conscience, stand upon sure ground; and high places are not such slippery ground, to them as they are to others. But, because it is not often that we see good men made great men in this world, this may be supposed to refer to the honoui- to which the righteous shall rise when their Redeemer shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; for then only they shall be exalted for ever, and established for ever, then shall they all shine forth as the sun, and be made kings and priests to our God.

2. If, at any time, lie bring them inti affliction, it is for the good of their souls, v. 8- • 10. Some good people are preferred to honour and power, l)ut ethers are in trouble. Now observe, (1.) The distress supposed, (t. 8.) If they be bound in fetters, laid in prison, as Joseph was, or holden in the cords of any other affliction, confined by pain and sickness, hampered by poverty, bound in their counsels, and, notwithstanding all their struggles, held long in this distress. This was Job's case; he was caught, and kept fast, in the cords of angui><h, as some read it. But observe, (2.) Tiie design God has, in bringing his people into such distresses as these; it is for the benefit of their souls; the consideration of which sliould reconcile us to affliction, and make us think ■weil of it. Three things God intends, when he afflicts us, [1.] To discover past sins to us, and to bring them to our remembrance; (f. 9.) Then he shows them that amiss in them, which, before, they did not see. He disco\ ers to them the fact of sin, he shows them their nvork. Sin \?, our own work; if there be any good in us, it is God^s work; and we are concerned to see what work we have made by sin. He discovers the fault of sin, shows them their transgressions of the law of God, and, withal, the sinfulness of sin, that they have exceeded, and have been beyond measure sinful. True penitents lay a load upon themselves, do not extenuate, but aggravate, their sins, and own that they have exceeded in them. Affliction sometimes answers to the sin; it serves however to awaken the conscience, and puts men upon considering. [2.] To dispose our hearts to receive present instructions; then he ofiens their ear to discipline, v. 10. Whom God chastens, he teaches; (Ps. xciv. 12.) and the affliction makes people willing to learn, softens the wax, that it may receive the impression of the seal; yet it does not do it of itself, but the grace of God, working with and by it: it is he that opens the ear, that opens the heart, who has the key of David. [3.] To deter and draw us off from iniquity for the future. This is the errand on which the affliction is sent; it is a command to return from iniquity, to have no more to do with sin, to turn from it with

an aversion to it, and a resolution never to return to it any more, Hos. xiv. 8.

3. If the affliction do its work, and accomplish that for which it is sent, he will comfort them again, according to the time that he has afflicted them; {v. 11.) If they obey and serx>e him, if they comply with his design, and serve his purpose, in these dispensations, if, when the affliction is removed, they continue in the same good mind that they were in, when they wei-e under the smart c f it, aii<! perform the \ows they made then, if they live in obedience to God's commands, particularlv these which relate to his service and worship, and, in all instances, make conscience of their duty to him, then they shall spend their days in prosperitv again, and their years in true pleasures. Piety is the only sure way to prosperity and pleasure; this is a certain truth, and yet few will believe it. If we faithfully serve God, (1.) We have the promise of outward prosperitv, the promise of the life that now is, and the comforts of it, as far as is for God's glory and our good; and who would desire them any further? (2.) We have the possession of inward pleasures, the comfort of communion with God, and a good conscience, and that great peace which they have that love God's law. If we rejoice not in the Lord always, and in h; pe of eternal life, it is our own fault; and what better pleasures can we spend our years in.'*

4. If the affliction do not do its work, let them expect the furnace to be heated seven times hotter, till they are consumed; {v. 12.) If they obey not, if they are not bettered by their afflictions, are not reclaimed and reformed, they shall perish by the sword of God's wr;ith. Those whom his rod does not cure, his sword will kill; and the consuming fire will prevail, if the refining fire do not; for when God judges, he will overcome. If Ahaz, in his distress, trespass yet more against the Lord, this is that king Ahaz that is marked for ruin, 2 Chron. xxviii. 22. Jer. vi. 29, 30. God would have instructed them by their afflictions, but they received not instruction, would not take the hints that were given them; and therefore they shall die without knowledge, ere they are aware, without any further previous notices given them; or, they shall die because they are without knowledge, notwithstanding the means of knowledge which they were blessed with. They that die without knowledge, die without grace, and are undone for ever.

Lastly, He brings ruin upon hypocrites, the secret enemies of his kingdom, such as he described, V. 12. who, thougli they were numbered among the righteous whom he had spoken of before, yet did not obey him, but, being children of disobedience and darkness, become children of wrath and perdition; these are the hypocrites in heart, who heap ufi wrath, (v. 13.) See the nature of hypocrisy; it lies in the heart, that is, for the world and the Aesh, when the outside seems to be for God and religion. Many that are saints in show, and saints in word, are hypocrites in heart. That spring is corrupt, and there is an evil treasure there. See the mis-chievousness of it; hypocrites heap up wrath. They are doing that every day which is provoking to God, and will be reckoned with for it altogether in the great day. They treasure up wrath against the day of wrath, Rom. ii. 5. Their sins are laid up in store with God among hid treasures. Dent, xxxii. 34. Compare Jam. v. 3. As what goes up a vapour, comes down a shower, so what goes up sin, if not repented of, will come down wrath. They think they are heaping up wealth, heapin,cf. up merits, but, when the treasures are opened, tt will prove they were heaping up wrath.

Observe, 1. What thev do to heap up wi'atr what is it that is so provoking? It is this. They C7y not when he binds them; that is. When they ar<^

JOB, XXXVI.

iii affliction, bound with the cords of trouble, their hearts are hardened, they are stubborn and unhum-bled, and will not cry to God, nor make their application to him. They are stupid and senseless, as stocks and stones, despising the chastening of the Lord. 2. What are the effects of that wrath? (v. 14.) They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean. This is the portion of hypocrites, whom Christ denounced many woes against. If they continue impenitent, (1.) They shall die a sudden death; die in youth, when death is most a surprise; and death (that is, the consequences of it) is always such to hypocrites; as they that die in youth die when they hoped to live, so hypocrites, at death, go to hell, when they hoped to go to heaven. When a wicked man dies, his exfiectations shall fierish. (2.) They shall die the second death; their life, after death, (for so it comes in here,) is among the unclean; among the fornicators, so some; among the worst and vilest of sinners, notwithstanding their specious and plausible profession. It is among the Sodomites, so the margin; those filthy wretches, who, going after strange Jiesh, are set forth for an cxanifile, suffering the vengeance of eternal Jire, Jude 7. The souls of the wicked live after death, but they live among the unclean, the unclean spirits, the Devil and his angels, for ever separated from the New Jerusalem, which no unclean thing shall enter.

15. He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression:

16. Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitne«s; and that which should be set on thy table should he full of fatness.

17. But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked : judgment and justice take hold njt thee. 18. Because there is wrath, beware lost he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. 19. Will he esteem thy riches? 7?o, not gold, nor all the forces of strength. 20. Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their fjlace. 21. Take heed, regard not iniquity: far this hast tiiou chosen rather than affliction. 22. Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him? 23. Who hath enjoined him his way? or who can say. Thou hast wrought iniquity?

Elihu here comes more closely to Job; and, I. He tells him what God would have done for him, before this, if he had been duly humbled under his affliction; " We all know how ready God is to deliver the floor in his affliction; {v. 15.) he always was so; the poor in spirit, those that are of a broken and contrite heart, he looks upon with tenderness, and, when they are in affliction, is ready to help them. He opens their ears, and makes them to hear joy and gladness, even in their oppressions: while he does not yet deliver them, he speaks to them good words and comfortable words, for the encouragement of their faith and patience, the silencing of their fears, and the balancing of their griefs; and even so {v. 16.) would he have done to thee, if thou hatlst submitted to his providence, and conducted thyself well; he would have delivered and comforted thee, and we should have had none of these complaints. If thou hadst accommodated thyself to the will of God, thy liberty ;ind plenty would have been restored to thee with advantage." 1. "Thr«i hadst bfcn enlarged, and

not confined thus, by thy sickness and disgrace; he would have removed thee into a broad place, where is no straitness, and thou shouldest no longer have been cramped thus, and have had all thy measures broken." 2. " Thou hadst been enriched, and not in this pool- condition; thou shouldest have had thy table richly spread, not only with food convenient, but with the finest of the wheat," Tsee Deut. xxxii. 14.) " and the fattest of the flesh. Note, it ought to sdence us under our afflictions, to consider that, if we were better, it would be every way better with us: if we had answered the ends of an afflic^ tioii, the affliction wmild be removed; and deliverance would come, if we were ready for it. God would have done well for us, if we had conducted ourselves well, Ps. Ixxxi. 13, 14. Isa. xlviii. 18.

II. He charges him with standing in his own light, and makes him the cause of the continuance of his own trouble; {v. 17.) " But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked," that is, " W hatev er thou art really, in this thing thou hast conducted thyself like a wicked man, hast spoken and done like them; thou hast gratified them and served their cause; and therefore]\xA%meT\t and justice take hold on thee as a wicked man, because thou goest in company with them, actest as if thou wert in their interest, aiding and abetting. Thou hast maintained the cause of the wicked; and such as a man's cause is, such will the judgment of God be upon him." So Bishop Patrick. It is dangerous being on the wrong side: accessaries to treason will be dealt with as principals.

III. He cautions him not to persist in his fro-wardness; several good cautions he gives him to this purport.

1. Let him not make light of divine vengeance, nor be secure, as if he were in no danger of it; {v. 18.) " Because there is wrath," (that is,) ♦' because God is a righteous Governor, who resents all the aff"ronts given to his go\ ernmcnt, because he has revealed his wrath from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, and because thou hast reason to fear that thou art under God's displeasure, therefore beware lest he take thee aw?v suddenly with his stroke, and be so wise as to make thy peace with him quickly, and get his anger turned away from thee." A warning to this purport Job had given his friends; {ch. xix. 29.) Be ye afraid of the sword, for wrath brings the punishment of the sword. Thus contenders are apt, with too much boldness, to bind one another over to the judgment of God, and threaten one another with his wrath: but he that keeps a good conscience, needs not fear the impotent menaces of proud men. This was a friendly caution to Job, and necessary. Even good men have need to be kept to their duty by the fear of God's wrath. " Thou art a wise and good man, but beware lest he take thee away, for the wisest and best have enough in them to deserve his stroke."

2. Let him not promise himself that, if God's wrath should kindle against him, he Could find out ways to escape the strokes of it. (1.) There is no escaping by money; no purchasing a pardon with silver or gold, and such coriniptible things. " Even a great ransom cannot deliver thee, when God enters into judgment with thee; his justice cannot be bribed, nor any of the ministers of his justice. Will he esteem thy riches, and take from them a commutation of the punishment? JVb, not gold, v. 19. If thou hadst as much wealth as ever thou hadst, that would not ease thee, would not secure thee from the etrokcs of God's wrath, in the day of the revelation of which, rit'hes profit not," Prov. xi. 4. See Ps. xlix. 7, 8. (2.) No escaping by rescue. " If all the forces of strength were at thy command, if thou couldst muster ever so many servants and vjissals to

JOB, XXXVI.

165

appear for thee to force thee out of the hands of divine vengeance, it were all in vain, God would not regard it, there is none that can deliver out of his hand." (3.) No escaping by absconding, v. 20. " Desire not the night, which often favours the retreat of a conquered army, and covers it: think not that thou canst so escape the righteous judgment of God, for the darkness hideth not from him," Ps. cxxxix. 11, 12. See ch. xxxiv. 22. Think not, because in the night people retire to their place, go up to their beds, and it is easy then to escape being discovered by them, that God also ascends to his place, and cannot see thee: no, he neither slxivibers nor sleefis; his eyes are open upon the children of men, not only in all places, but at all times: no rocks or mountains can shelter us from his eye. Some understand it of the night of death; that is the night by which men are cut off ft'om their place, and Job had earnestly breathed for that night, as the hireling desires the evening, ch. vii. 2. "But do not do so," says Elihu, "for thou knowest not what the night of death is." Those that passionately wish for death, in hopes to make that their shelter from God's wrath, may perhaps be mistaken. There are those whom wrath pursues into that night.

3. Let him not continue his unjust quarrel with God and his providence, which hitherto he had persisted in, when he should ha\e submitted to the affliction; {v. 21.) " Take heed, look well to thine own spirit, and regard not iniquity, return not to it;" so some; "for it is at thy peril if thou do." Let us never dare to think a favourable thought of sin, never indulge it, nor allow ourselves in it. Elihu thinks Job had need of this caution, he having chosen iniquity rather than affliction, that is, having chosen rather to gratify his own pride and humour m contending with God, than to mortify it by a submission to him, and accepting the punishment. We may take it more generally, and observe, that thev who choose iniquity rather than affliction, make a very foolish choice; they that ease their cares by sinful pleasures, increase their wealth by sinful pursuits, escape their troubles by sinful projects, and evade sufferings for righteousness' sake by sinful compliances against their consciences, these make a choice they will repent of, for there is more evil in the least sin than in the greatest affliction. It is an evil, it is only evil.

4. Let him not dare to prescribe to God, nor give him his measures; {v. 22, 23.) "Behold, God exalteth by his power-''' that is, " He does, may, and can, set up and pull down whom he pleases, and therefore it is not for thee and me to contend with him." The more we magnify God, the more do we humble and abase ourseh es. Now consider,

(1.) That God is an absolute Sovereign; He exalts by his 01Vn /loiver, and not by strength derived from any other: he exalts whom he pleases, exalts those that were afflicted and cast down, by the strength and power which he gives his people. And therefore who has enjoined him his way? Who presides above him in his way? Is there any superior from whom he has his commission, and to whom he is accountable? No, he himself is supreme and independent. Who puts him in mind of his way? (so some,) Does the Eternal Mind need a remembrancer? No, his own way, as well as ours, is ever before him; he has not received orders or instructions from anv, (Isa. xl. 13, 14.) nor is he accountable toanv: he enjoins to all the creatvu'es their way; let not us then enjoin him his, but leave it to him to govern the world, who is fit to do it.

(2.) That he is an incomparable Teacher; JVho teaches like him? It is absurd for us to teach him who is himself the Fountain of light, truth, know-'.edge, and instruction: he that teaches man know-edge, and so as none else can, shall not he know?

Ps. xciv. 9,10. Shall we light a candle to the sun? Observe, when Elihu would give glory to God as a Ruler, he praises him as a Teacher, for rulers must teach; God does so, he binds with the cords of h man. In this, as in other things, he is unequalled. None so fit to direct his own actions as he himself is: he knows what he has to do, and how to do it for the best, and needs no information or advice. Solomon himself had a privy-council to advise him, but the King of kings has none. Nor is any so fit to direct our actions as he is: none teaches with such authority and convincing evidence, with such condescension and compassion, nor with such power and efficacy, as God does. He teaches by the Bible, and that is the best book, teaches by his Son, and he is the best Master.

(3.) That he is unexceptionably just in all liis proceedings; Who can say. Thou hast wrought iniquity? Not, Who dares say it? (many do iniquity, and persons tell them of it, at their peril;) but. Who can say it? Who had any cause to say it? Who can say it, and prove it? It is a maxim undoubtedly true, without limitation, that the Xing of kings can do no wrong.

24. Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold. 25. Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off. 26. Behold, God is great, and we know him not; neither can the number of his years be searched out. 27. For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof, 28. Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly. 29. Also can anj/ understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noi?p of his tabernacle 1 30, Behold, he spreadet'n his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea. 31. For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance. 32. With clouds he covereth the light; and com-mandeth it not to shine, by the cloiid that Cometh betwixt. 33. The noise thereof showeth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour.

Elihu is here endeavoring to possess Job with great and high thoughts of God, and so to persuade him into a cheerful submission to his providence.

I. He represents the work of God, in general, as illustrious and conspicuous, v. 24. His whole work is so, God does nothing mean: this is a good reason why we should acquiesce in all the operations of his providence concerning us in particular: his visible works, those ci nature, and which concern the world in general, are such as we admire and commend, and in which we observe the Creator's wisdom, power, and goodness; shall we then find fault with his dispensations concerning us, and the counsels of his will concerning our affairs? We are here called to consider the work of God, Eccl. vii. 13. I. It is plain before our eyes, nothing more obvious, it is what men behold: every man that has but half an eye may see it, may behold it afar off. Look which way we will, we see the productions of God's wisdom and power; we see that done, and that doing, concerning which we cannot but say. This is theiwrk of God; the finger of God; it is the Lord's doing. Every man may see, afar off, the heaven and all its lights, the earth and all its fruits, to be the work of Omnipotence: much more when we be hold them nigh at hand. Look at the minutest

JOB, XXXVI

works of nature through a microscope; do they not appear curious? The eternal power and godhead of the Creator are clearly seen and understood by the things that are made, Rom. i. 20. E\ ery man, even those that have not the benefit of divine revelation, may see this, for there is no sfieech or language where the -voice of these natural constant preachers is not heard, Ps. xix. 3. 2. It ought to be marvellous in our eyes. The beauty and excellency of the work of God, and the agreement of all the parts of it, are what we must remember to magnify and highly to extol: not only justify it as right and good, and what cannot be blamed, but magnify it as wise and glorious, and such as no creature could contrive or produce. Man may see his works, and is capable of discerning his hand in them, (which the beasts are not,) and therefore ought to praise them, and give him the glory of them.

II. He represents God, the Author of them, as infinite and unsearchable, v. 26. The streams of being, power, and jjerfection, should lead us to tlie Fountain. God is great, infinitely so: great in power, for he is omnipotent and independent; great in wealth, for he is self-sufficient, and all-sufficient; great in himself, great in all his woi-ks; great, and therefore greatly to be praised; great, and therefore we know him not; we know that he is, but not what heis; we know what he is not, but not what he is. We know in part, but not in perfection. This conies in here as a reason why we must not arr lign liis proceedings, nor find fault with what he does, because it is speaking evil of the things that we understand not, and answering a matter before we hear it. We know not the duration of his existence, for it is infinite; the number of his years cannot possibly be .searched out, for he is eternal, there is no number of tlieni: he is a Being without beginning, succession, or period, who ever was, and ever will be, and ever the same, the great / j^M. This is a good reason whv we should not prescribe to him, or quarrel with him, because, as he is, such are his operations, quite out of our reach.

III. He gives some instances of God's wisdom, power, and sovereign dominion, in the works of nature, and the dispensations of common providence; beginning, in this chapter, with the clouds, and the rain that descends from them. We need not l)e critical in examining either the phrase, or the philosophy, of this noble discourse. The general scope of it is, to show, (1.) That God is infinitely great, and the Lord of ull, the first Cause and su-Jjreme Director of all the creatures, and has all flower in heaven and earth, and whom therefore we ought, with all humility and reverence, to adore, to speak well of, and to give honour to. (2.) That it is presumption for us to prescribe to him the rules and methods of his special providence toward the children of men, or to expect from him an arcount of them, when the operations even of common pro-\idences, about the meteors, are so various, and so mvsterious and unaccountable.

Elihu, to affect Job with God's sublimity and sovereignty, had directed him {ch. xxxv. 5.) to look unto the clouds: in these verses, he shows us what we may observe in the clouds we see, wliich will lead us to consider the glorious perfections of their Creator. Consider the clouds,

1. As springs to this lower world; the source and treasure of its moisture, and the great bank through which it circulates, a necessary provision, the stagnation of which would l)e as hurtful to this lower world as of the blood to the body of man. It is worth wliile to observe, in this common occurrence, (1.) Thit the clouds above distil upon tlie earth below: if the heavens become brass, the earth becomes iron; therefore thus the promise of plenty runs, / wil. hear the heavens, and they shall hear the

earth. This intimates to us, that every good gift is from abo\ e, from him who is both Father of lights, and Father of the rain, and it instructs us to direct our prayers to him, and to look up. (2.^ That thev are here said to distil ufion man; (v. 28.) for though indeed he caused it to rain in the wilderness, where no man is, {ch. xxxviii. 26. Ps. civ. 11.) yet special respect is had to man herein, to whom the inferior creatures are all made ser\ iceable, and from whom the actual return of the tributes of praise is required. Among men, he caused his rain to fall u/ion the Just, and upon the unjust, Matth. v. 45. (3.) They are said to distil the water in small drofis; not in spouts, as when the windows of heaven were opened. Gen. vii. 11. God waters the earth with that with which he once drowned it, only dispensing it in another manner, to let us know how much we lie at his mercy, and how kind he is, in gi\ ing rain by di-o])s, that the benefit of it may be the further and the more equally diffiised, as by an artificial water-pot. (4.) Though, sometimes, the rain comes in very small drops, yet, at other times, it pours down in great rain, and this difference between one shower and another must be resolved into the Di\ ine Providence which orders it so. (5.) Though it comes down in drops, yet it distils upon man abundantly, {v. 28.) and therefore is called the river of God which is full of water, Ps. Ixv. 9. (6.) The clouds pour down according to the vapour that they draw up, v. 27. So just the heavens are to the earth, but the earth is not so in the return it makes. (7.) The produce of the clouds is, sometimes, a great terror, and, at other times, a great favour, to the earth, v. 31. When he pleases, by them he Judges the people he is angry with. Storms, and tempests, and excessive rains, destroying the fruits of the earth, and causing inundations, come from the clouds; but, on the other hand, from them, usually, he gives meat in abundance, they drop fatness upon the pastures that are clothed with flocks, and the valleys that are covered with com, Ps. Ixv. Il-^IS. Lastly, Notice is sometimes given of the approach of rain, v. 33. The noise thereof, among other things, shows concerning it. Hence we read (1 Kings xviii. 41.) of the sound of abundance oj' rain, or, as it is in the margin, a sound of a noise of rain, before it ciame, and a welcome harbinger it was then. As the noise, so the face of the skv, shows concerning it, Luke xii. 56. The cattle also, by a strange instinct, are apprehensive of a change jn the weather nigh at hand, and seek for shelter, shaming man, who will not foresee the evil, and hide himself.

2. As shadows to the upper world; (t. 29.)C'an any understajid the spreading of the clouds'/ Thev are spread over the earth as a curtain or canopy; how they come to be so, how stretched out, and how jioised, as they are, we cannot understand, though we daily see they are so. Shall we then pretend to understand the reasons and methods of God's judicial proceedings with the children of .men, whose characters and cases are so various, when we cannot account for the spreading of the clouds, which cover the light? v. 32. It is a cloud coming betwixt, V. 32. ch. xxvi. 9. And this we are sensible of, that, by the interposition of the clouds between us and the sun, we are, (1.) Sometimes favoured; for they serve ;is an umbrella to shelter us from the v*olent heat of the sun. which otherwise would beat upon us. A cloud of dew in the heat of haTi<est, is spoken of as a vei'v great refreshment, Isa. xviii. 4. (2.) Sometimes we are by them frowned upon; for they darken the earth at noon-day, and eclipse th" light of tlie sun. Sin is compared to a cloud, (Isa. xliv. 22.) because it comes between us and the light of Gnrl's cf-unlenanre, nnd obstructs the shining of it. But thcugh the clouds darken the

JOB, XXX Vll.

167

sun for a time, and pour down rain, yet, {Post nubi-la Phabus — The sun shines forth after the rain,) after he has wearied the cloud, he afireads his light ufion it, V. 30. There is a clear shining- after rain; (2 Sam. xxiii. 4.) the sun-beams are darted forth, and reach to cover even the bottom of the sea, thence to exhale a fresh supply "f vapours, and so raise recruits for the clouds. In all this we must remember to magnify the work of God.

CHAR XXXVII.

Elihu here goes on to extol the wonderful power of God in the meteors, and all the chanires of the weather: if, in those chansjes, we submit to the will of God, lake the weather as it is, and make the best of it, why should we not do so in other changes of our condition? Here he observes the hand of God, 1. In the thunder and lifrhtninsr, T. 1..5. II. In the frost and snow, the rains and wind, ▼. 6. .13. III. He applies it to Job, and challenges him to solve the phenomena of these works of nature, thai, confessing his ignorance in them, he might own himself an incompetent judge in the proceedings of Divine Providence, V. 14. .22. And then, IV. Concludes with his principle which he undertook to make out. That God is great, and greatly to be feared, v. 23, 24.

1. AT this also my heart trembleth, and xjL is moved out of his place. 2. Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth. 3. He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightninig unto the ends of the earth. 4. After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard. 5. God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.

Thunder and lightning, which usually go together, are sensible indications of the glory and majesty, the power and terror, of Almighty God, one to the ear, and the other to the eye; in these, God leaves not himself without witness of his greatness, as, in the rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, he leaves not himself without witness of K\s goodne.ss, (Acts xiv. 17.) even to the most stupid and unthinking. Though there are natural causes and useful effects of them, which the philosophers undertake to account for, yet they seem chiefly designed by the Creator to startle and awaken the slumbering; world of mankind to the consideration of a God above them. The eye and the ear are the two learning senses; and therefore, though such a circumstance is possible, they say it was never known in fact, that any one was born both blind and deaf By the word of God divine instructions are convev-ed to the mind through the ear, by his works, through the eye; but because those ordinarv sights and sounds do not duly affect men, God is plensed sometimes to astonish men by the eye, with his lightnings, and by the ear, with his thunder. It is very probable that at this time, when Elihu was sneaking, it thundered and lightened, for he speaks of it as present: and God being about to speak, (ch. xxxviii. 1.) these were, as afterward on mount Sinai, the proper prefaces to command attention and awe. Observe here,

1. How Elihu was himself aff^ected, and desired to affect Job, with the appearances of God's glory in the thunder and lightning; (v. 1,2.) "For my part," (says Elihu,) " mv heart trembles at it; though I ha\ e often heard it, often seen it, vet it is still terrible to me, and makes every joint of me tremble, and my heart beat as if it would move out of its place." Thunder and lightning have been

dreadful to the wicked; the emperor Caligula would run into a coiner, or under a bed, for fear of them: those who are very much astonished, we say, are tfiunder-struck. Even good people think thunder and lightning \ery awful: that which makes them the more terrible, is, the hurt often done by lightning, many having been killed by it: Sodom and Gomorrah were laid in ruins by it: it is a sensible indication of what God could do to this sinful world, and what he ^vill do, at last, by the fire to which it is resei-\ ed. Our hearts, like Elihu's, should tremble at it for fear of God's judgments, Ps. cxix. 120. He also calls upon Job to attend to it; {v. 2.) Hear attentively the noise of hii voice. Perhaps, as yet, it thundered at a distance, and could not be heard without listening: or rather, though the thunder itself will be heard, and, whatever we are doing, we cannot help attending to it, vet, to apprehend and understand the instinictions God thereby gives us, we have need to hear with great attention and application of mind. Thunder is called the voice of the Lord, (Ps. xxix. 3, &c.) because, by it, God speaks to the children of men, to fear before him, and it sliould put us in mind of that mighty word by which the world was at first made, which is called thunder; (Ps. civ. 7.) Jt the voice of thy thunder, they hasted away, namely, the waters, when God said. Let them be gathered into one place. They that are themselves affected with God's greatness should labour to aflect others.

2. How he describes them. (1.) Their original; not their second causes, but the first. God directs the thunder, and the lightning is his, v. 3. Their production and motion are not from chance, but from the counsel of God, and under the direction and dominion of his providence, though, to us, they seem accidental and ungovernable. (2.) Their extent. The claps of thunder roll under the whole heaven, and are heard far and near; so are the lightnings darted to the ends of the earth, they come out of the one part under heaven, and shine to the other, Luke xvii. 24. Though the same lightning ancl thunder do not reach to all places, yet they reach to \ery distant places in a moment, and there is no place but, some time or other, has these alarms from heaven. (3.) Their order. The lightning is first directed, and after it a voice roars, V. 4. The flash of fire, and the noise it makes in a watery cloud, are really at the same time; but, because the motion of light is much quicker than that of sounds, we see the lightning some time before we hear the thunder, as we see the firing of a great gun at a distance before we hear the report of it. The thunder is here called the x'oice of God's excellency, because by it he proclaims his transcendant power and greatness. Hr sends forth his voice, and that a mighty voice, Ps. Ixviii. 33. (4.) Their \iolence. JFle will not stay them, that is, he does not need to check them, or hold tlien) back, lest they should grow unruly, and out of his power to restrain them, but lets them take their course, says to them. Go, and they go; Comr, and they come. Do this, and they do it. He will not stay the rains and showers that usually follow upon the thunder, which he had spoken of; {ch. xxxvi. 27, 29.) so some; but will pour them out upon the earth, when his voice is heard. Thunder-showers are sweeping rains, and for them he makes the lightning, Vs. cxxxv. 7. (5.) The inference he draws from all this; {v. 5.) Does God thunder thus mar\ ellously with his voice? We must then conclude that his other works are great, and such as we cannot comprehend: from this one instance we may argue to all, that, in the dispensations of his providence, there is that which is too great, too strong, for us to oppose or strive against, and too high, too deep, for us to arraign or quarrel with.

JOB, XXXVIl.

6. For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; Ukevvise to the small rain, and to the ti;reat rain of his strength. 7. He seal-eth up the hand of every man, that all men may know his work. 8. Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places. 9. Out of the south cometh the whirlwind; and cold out of the north. 10. By the breath of God frost is given; and the breadth of the waters is straitened. 11. Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud ; he scat-tereth his bright cloud, 12. And it is turned round about by his counsels; that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth. 13. He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy.

The changes and extremities of the weather, wet or dry, hot or cold, are the subject of a great deal of our common talk and observation; but how seldom do we think and speak of these things, as Elihu does here, with an awful regard to God the Director of them, who shows his power, and serves the purposes of his providence, by them? We must tiike notice of the glory of God, not only in the thunder and lightning, but in the more common revolutions of the weather, which are not so terri-ole, and which make less noise. As,

I. In tlie snow and rain, v. 6. Thunder and lightning happen usually in tlie summer, but here he t'lkes notice of the winter weather; then he saith to the snoiv. Be thou on the earth; he commissions it, he commands it, he appoints it, where it shall light, and how long it shall lie. He speaks, and it is done, as in the creation of the world. Let there be light: so in the works of common providence, Snow, be thou on the earth. Saying and doing are not two things with God, though they are with us. When he speaks the word, the small rain distils, and the great rain pours down as he pleases. The winter rain, so the LXX; for, in these countries, when the winter was past, the rain was over and gone. Cant. ii. 11. The distinction in the Hebrew between the small rain and the great rain, is this, that the former is called a shower of rain, the latter of rains, many showers in one; but all are the showers of his strength: the power of God is to be observed as much in the small rain that soaks into the earth, as in the great rain that batters on the house-top, and washes away all before it. Note, The providence of God is to be acknowledged both by husbandmen in the fields, and travellers upon the road, in every shower of rain, whether it does them a kindness or a diskindness. It is sin and folly to contend with God's providence in the weather; if he send the snow or rain, can we hinder them? Or shall we be angry at them? It is as absurd to quarrel with any other disposal of Providence concerning ourselves or ours.

The effect of the extremity of the winter weather, is, that it obliges both men and beasts to retire, making it uncomfortable and unsafe for them to go abroad. (1.) Men retire to their houses from their labours in the field, and keep within doors; (v. 7.) He seals ufi the hand of every man. In frost and snow, husbandmen cannot follow their busmess, nor some tradesmen, nor travellers, when the weather is extreme: the plough is laid by, the shipping laid up, nothing is to be done, nothing to be got, that men, being taken off from their own ■work mav know his work, and contemplate that,

and give him the glory of that; and, by the consideration of that work of his in the weather which seals up their hands, be led to celebrate his other great and marvellous works. Note, When we are, upon any account, disabled to follow our worldly business, and taken off from it, we should spend our time rather in the exercises of piety and devotion, (in acquainting ourselves with the works of God, and praising him in them,) than in foolish idle sports and recreations. When our hands are sealed up, our hearts should be thus opened, and the less we have at any time to do in the world, the more we should do for God and our souls. When we are confined to our houses, we should thereby be driven to our Bibles and our knees. (2.) The beasts also retire to their dens, and remam in their close places, V. 8. It is meant of the wild beasts, which, being wild, must seek a shelter for themselves, to which, by instinct, they are directed, while the tame beasts, which are serviceable to man, are housed and protected by his care, as Exod. ix. 2C. The ass has no den but his master's crib, and thither he goes, not only to be safe and warm, but to be fed. Nature directs all creatures to shelter themselves from a storm; and shall man only be unprovided with an ark?

2. In the winds, which blow from different quarters, and produce different effects, v. 9. Out of the hidden filace (so it may be read) cornea the whirlwind; it turns round, and so it is hard to say from which point it comes, but it comes from the secret chamber, as the word signifies, which I am not so willing to understand of the south, because he says here, {v. 17.) that the wind out of the south is so far from being a whirlwind, that it is a warming, quieting, wind. But, at this time, perhaps, Elihu saw a whirlwind-cloud coming out of the south and making toward them, out of which the Lord spake soon after, ch. xxxviii. 1. Or, if turbulent winds, which bring showers, come out of tiie south, cold and drying blasts come out of the north to scatter the vapours, and clear the air of them.

3. In the frost, v. 10. See the cause of it; it is given bv the breath of God, that is, by the woi-d of

1 his power, and the command of his will; or, as ' some understiind it, by the wind, whicJi is the breath of God, as the thunder is his voice; it is caused by the cold freezing wind out of the north. See the effect of it; 7'Ae breadth of the waters is straitened; that is, the waters that had spread themselves, and flowed with liberty, are congealed, benumbed, arrested, bound up in crystal fetters. This is such an instance of the power of God, as, if it were not common, would be next to a miracle.

4. In the clouds; the womb where all these watery meteors are conceived, of which he had spoken, ch. xxxvi. 28. Three sorts of clouds he here speaks of;

(1.) Close, black, thick, clouds, pregnant with showers; these with -w■Ater'mg he wearies; (v. 11.) they spend themselves, and are exhausted by the raiii into which thev melt and are dissolved, pouring out water till they are weary, and can pour out no more. See what pains, as I may say, the creatures, even those above us, take to serve man; the clouds water the earth till they are weary; thev spend, and are spent, for our benefit; which shames and condemns us for the little good we do in our places, though it would be to our own advantage; for he that tvatereth shall be watered al»o himself.

(2.) Bright, thin, clouds, clouds without water; these he scatiereth, thev are dispersed of themselves, and not dissolved into rain, but what becomes of them we know not. The bright cloud, in the evening, when the sky is red, is scattered, and proves an earnest of a fair day, Matth. xvi. 2.

JOB, XXXVII.

(3.) Flying clouds, which do not dissolve, as the thick cloud, into a close rain, but are carried upon the wings of the wind from place to place, dropping showers as they go; these are said to be turned round about by his counsels, v. 12. The common people say that the rain is determined by tlie planets, which is as bad divinity as it is philosophy, tor it is guided and governed by the counsel ..f God, which extends itself even to those things that seem most casual aud minute, that they may do whatsoever he comma7ids them; for the stormy winds, and the clouds that are driven by them, fulhl his word; and, by this means, he causes it to rain ufion one city, and not ufion another, Amos iv. 7, 8. Thus his will is done upon the face of the world in the earth, that is, among the children of men, to whom God has an eye in all these things, of whom it is said, that he made them to dwell on the face of all the earth. Acts xvii. 26. The inferior creatures, being incapable of doing moral actions, are incapable of receiving rewards and punishments: but, among the children of men, God causes the rain to come, either for the correction of his land, or for a mercy to it, -v. 13. [1.] Rain sometimes turns into a judgment; it is a scourge to a sinful land: as once it was for the destruction of the whole world, so it is now often for the correction or discipline of some parts of it, by hindering seedness and harvest, raising the waters, and damaging the fruits. Some liave said that our nation has received much more prejudice by the excess of rain than by the want of it. [2.] At other times, it is a blessing: it is for his land, that that may be made fruitful, and, beside that which is just necessary, he gives for mercy, to fatten it, and make it more fruitful. See what a necessary dependence we ha\e upon God, when the veiy same thing, according to the proportion in which it is given, may be either a great judgment, or a gre.it mercy, and without God we cannot have e'ther a shower or a fair gleam.

14. Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still and consider the wondrous works of God. 15. Dost thou know when God disposed them, and caused the light of his cloud to shine? 16. Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge ? 17. How thy garments are warm, when he quieteth the earth by the south icind ? 18. Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking-glass ? 19. Teach us what we shall say unto him: for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness. 20. Shall it be told him that I speak ? If a man speak, surely he shall he swallowed up.

Elihu here applies himself closely to Job, desiring him t!) ai)i)ly what lie had hitherto said, to himself. He begs he would hearken to this discourse, (f. 14.) that he would pause a while; Stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God. What we hear, is not hkely to profit us, unless we consider it, 'uid we are not likely to consider things fully, unless we stand still, and compose ourseh es to the consideration of tliem. The works of God, being wondrous, both deserve, and need, our consideration, and the due consideration of them will help to reconcile us to all his providences. Elihu, for the humbling of Job, shows him, I. That he had no insight into natural causes, could neither see the springs of them, nor foresee

Vol. III.— Y

169

the effects of them; (v. 15..17.) Dost thou know the wondrous works of hiin which is/ierfect in know ledge'/ We are here taught,

1. The perfection of God's knowledge: it is one of the most glorious perfections of God, that he is perfect in knowledge; he is omniscient. His knowledge is intuitix e; he sees, and does not know by report: it is intimate and entire; he knows things truly, and not by their colours, thoroughly, and not by piece-meal. To his knowledge there is nothing distant, but all near; nothing future, but all present; nothing hid, but all open. We ought to acknowledge this in all his wondrous works, and it is sufficient to salisfy us, in those wondi-ous works which we know not the meaning of, that they are the works of one that knows what he does.

2. The imperfection of our knowledge. The greatest philosophers are much in the dark concerning the powers and works of nature. We are a paradox to ourselves, and every thing about us is a mysteiy. The gravitation of bodies, and the cohesion of the parts, are most certain, and yet unaccountable. It is good for us to be made sensible of our own ignorance; some have confessed it, and those that would not have wished to expose it: but we must all infer from it what incompetent judges we are of the divine politics, who understand so lit tie even of the divine mechanics. (1.) We know-not wliat orders God has given concerning the clouds, nor what orders he will give, v. 15. That all is done by determination and with design, we are sure; but what is determined, and what designed, and when the plan was laid, we know not. God often causes the light of his cloud to shine; in the rainbow, so stnie; in the lightning, so others; but did we foresee, or could we foretell, when he would do it.^ If we foresee the change of weather a few hours before, by vulgar obsei-vation, or when second causes ha\ e begun to work by the weatherglass, yet how little do these show us of the purposes of God by these changes! (2.) We know not how the clouds are poised in the air, the balancing of tliem, which is one of the wondrous works of Gud. They are so balanced, so spread, that they never rob us of the benefit of the sun; even the cloudy day is day: so balanced, that they do not fall at once, or burst into cataracts or waterspouts: the rainbow is an intimation of God's favour in balancing the clouds, so as to keep them from drowning the world. Nay, so are they balanced, that they impartially distribute their showers on the earth, so that, one time or other, every place has its share. (3.) We know not how the comfortable change comes, when the winter is past, v. 17, [1.] How the weather becomes warm, after it has been cold. We know how our garment came to be warm upon us, that is, liow we come to be warm in our clothes, by reason of the warmth of the air we breatlie in. Without God's blessing, we should clothe us, yet not be warm, Hag. i. 6. But when he so orders it, the clothes are warm upon us, which, in the extremity of cold weather, would not serve to keep us warm.' [2.] How it becomes calm, after it has been stormy; he quiets the earth by the south-wind, when the spring comes. As he has a blustering, freezing, north-wind, so he has a thawing, composing, south-wind; the Spirit is compared to both, because he both convinces and comforts. Cant. iv. 16.

II. That he had no share at all in the first making of the world; {v. 18.) " Hast thou with him spread out the sky? Thou canst not pretend to have stretched it out without him, no nor to have stretched it out in conjunction with him, for he was far from needing any help, either in contriving or in working." The creation of the vast expanse of the visible heavens, (Gen. i, 6--8.) which we see in

JOB, XXXVU.

being to this day, is a glorious instance of the divine power, considering, 1. That, though it is fluid, yet it is firm. It is strong, and has its name from its stability. It still is what it was, and suffers no decay, nor shall the ordinances of hea\ en be altered, till the lease expires with time. 2. That, though it is large, it is bright and most curiously fine; it is a molten ioo/cing-fflass, smooth and polished, and without the least flaw or crack. In this, as in a looking-glass, we may behold the glory of God, and the wisdom of his hamiy-work, Ps. xix. 1. When we look up to hea\en al)ove, we should remember it is a mirror or looking-glass, not to show us our own faces, but to be a feint representation (jf the purity, dignity, and brightness of the upper world, and its glorious inhabitants.

III. That neither he nor they were ab.e to speak of the glory of God, in any proportion to the merit of the subject, v. 19, 20. 1. He challenges Job to be their director, if he diirst undertake it. He speaks it ironically, " Teach us, if thou canst, what we shall say unto him. Thou hast a mind to reason with God, and wouldcst have us to contend with him on thv behalf; teach us, then, what we shall say; canst'thou see further into this abyss than we can? If thou canst, favour us with the discoveries, furnish us with instructions." 2. He owns his.own insufficiency, both in speaking to God, and in speaking of him; "JVe cannot order our s/ieech by reason of darkness. Note, The best of men are much in the dark concerning the glorious perfections of the divine nature, and the administrations of the divine government. They that through grace know much of God, know little, nothing, in comparison with what is to be known, and what will be known, when that whicli is perfect is come, and the \q.\\ shall be rent. When we would speak of God, we sjjeak confusedly and with great uncertainty, and are soon at a loss, and run a-ground, not for want of matter, but for want of words. As we must always begin with fear and trembling, lest we speak amiss, (De Deo etiam vera dicere fiericulosumest — Even ivhile affirming what is true concerning God, •we incur risk, J so we must conclude with shame and blushing, tor ha\ ing spoken no better. Elihu himself had, for his part, spoken well on God's behalf, and yet is far trom expecting a fee, or thinking that God was beholden to him for it, or that he was fit to be standing counsel for him, that (1.) He is even ashamed of what he has said; not ot the cause, but of his own management of it. Shall it be told him that I s/ieak? Shall it be reported to him as a meritorious piece of service, worthy his notice? By no means, let it never lie spoken of, for he fears that the subject has suffered by his undertaking it, as a fine face is wronged by a bad painter, and his performance is so far from meriting thanks, that it needs pardon. When we ha\ e done all we can for God, we must acknowledge that we are unprofitable servants, and have nothing at all to boast of. He is afraid of saying any more. If a ?nan s/teak, if he undertake to plead, for God, much more, if he offers to jjlead against him, surely he shall be swallowed u/i. If he speak presumi)tuously, (Jod's wrath shall soon consume him; but if ever so well, he will soon lose himself in the mystery, and be overi)owered by the divine lustre. Astonishment will strike him blind and dumb.

21. And now men see not the bright hght which is in the clouds; but the wind pass-elh and cleanseth them. 22. Fair weather Cometh out of the north: with God is terrible majesty. 2.3. Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in

power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict. 24. Men dc therefore fear him: he respecteth not any that are wise of heart.

Elihu here concludes his discourse with some short, but great, sayings concerning the glory of God, as that which he was himself possessed, and desired to possess others, with a holy awe of. He speaks concisely, and in haste, because, it should seem, he perceived that God was about to take the work into his own hands.

1. He observes, that God, who has said that he will dwell in the thick darkness, and 7nake that his /lavilion, (2 Chron. vi. 1. Ps. x\iii. 11. )is in that awful cliariot advancing toward them, as if he were preparing his throne for judgment, surrounded with clouds and darkness, Ps. xcvii. 2'«9. He saw the cloud, with a whirlwind in the bosom of it, coming out of the south; but now it hung so thick, so black, uvcr their heads, that they could none of them see the bright light, which just before was in the clouds. The light of the sun was now eclipsed; this reminded him of the darkness, by reason of which he could not speak, {v. 19.) and made him afr.ild to go on, V. 20. Thus the disciples /t-nr«/ whe?i they entered into a cloud, Luke ix. 34. Yet he looks to the north, and sees it clear that way, which gives him hope that the clouds are not gathering for a deluge; they are covered, but not surrounded, with them. He expects that the wind will puss, (so it may be read,) and cleanse them; such a wind as p issed over the eaith, to clear it from the waters of Noah's flood; (Gen. viii. 1.) in token of the return of God's favour; and then fair weather wili come out of the north, (v. 22.) and all will be well. God will not always frown, nor contend for ever.

2. He hastens to conclude, now that God is ab( ut to speak; and therefore delivers much in a few words, as the sum of all that he had been discoursing of, which, if duly considered, would n< l only clench the nail he had been driving, but make way for what God would say.

(1.) That with God is terrible majesty. He is a God of glory, and such transcendent perfection as cannot but strike an awe upon all his attendants, and a terror upon all his adversaries. With (iod is terrible firaise; so some; for he is fearful in/iraisea, Exod. XV. 11.

(2.) That when we speak touching the Almighty, we must own that we cannot find him out; our finite understandings cannot comprehend his infinite perfections. Can we put the sea into an egg-shell? We cannot trace the steps he takes in his providence. His way is in the sea.

(3.) That he is excellent in /tower. It is the excellency of his power, that he can do whatever he pleases, in heaven and earth. The universal extent and irresistible force of his power, are the excellency of it; no creature has an arm like him, so long, so sti-ong.

(4.) That iie is no less excellent in wisdom and righteousness; in judgment and filenty of justice; else there would be little excellency in his power. We may be sure that he who can do every thing, will do every thing for the best, for he is infinitely wise; and will not in any thing do wrong, for he is infinitely just. When he executes judgments upon sinners, yet there is plenty of justice in it, and he inflicts not more than they deserve.

(5.) That he will not afflict, that is, he will not afflict willingly; it is no pleasure to him to grieve the children of men, much less his own children. He never afflicts but when there is cause, and when there is need, and he does not overburthen us with afflictii>n, but considers our frame. Sorr.e reail it

JOB, XXXVIIL

171

thus: " The Almighty, whom we cannot find out, is great in power, but he will not afflict in judgment, and with him is plenty of justice, nor is he extreme to mark what we do amiss."

(6.) He values not the censures of those that are wise in their own conceit; He resfiecteth them not, V. 24. He will not alter his counsels to oblige them, nor can those that prescribe to him prevail with him to do as they would have him do. He regards the prayer of the humble, but not the policies of the crafty. No, the foolishness of God is wiser than men, 1 Cor. i. 25,

Lastly, From all this it is easy to infer, that, since God is great, he is greatly to be feared; nay, because he is gracious, and will not afflict, men do therefore fear him, for there is forgiveness with him, that he may be feared, Ps. cxxx. 4. It is the duty and interest of all men to fear God. Men shall fear him; so some. Sooner or later, they shall fear him. They that will not fear the Lord and his goodness, shall for ever tremble under the pourings out of the vials of his wrath.

CHAP. XXXVIIL

In most disputes, the strife is, who shall have the last word. Job's friends had, in this controversy, tamely yielded it to Job, and then he to Elihu. But, after all the wranglings of the counsel at bar, the Jud^e upon the bench must have the last word; so God had here, and so he will have in every controversy, for every man's judsj-ment proceeds from him, and by his definitive sentence every man must stand or fall, and every cause be won or lost. Job had often appealed to God, and had talked boldly how he would order his cause before him, and as aprince ivould he go near unto him; but when God took the throne, Job had nothing to say in his own defence, but was silent before him. It is not so easy a matter as some think it, to contest with the Almighty. Job's friends had sometimes appealed to God too; Oh that God would speak! ch. xi. 5. And now, at length, God does speak, when Job^ by Elihu's clear and close arguings, was mollified a little, and mortified, and so prepared to hear what God had to say. It is the office of ministers to prepare the way of the Lord. That which the great God designs in this discourse, is, to humble Job, and bring him to repent of, and to recant, his passionate, indecent, expressions concerning God's providential dealings with him; and this he does by calling upon Job to compare God's eternity with his own time, God's omniscience with his own ignorance, and God's omnipotence with his own impotency. I. He begins with an awakening challenge and demand in general, v. 2, 3. II. He proceeds in divers particular instances and proofs of Job's utter inability to contend with God, because of his ignorance and weakness; for, 1. He knew nothing of the founding of the earth, v. 4. .7. 2. Nothingofthe limiting of the sea, V. 8.. 11. 3. Nothingofthe morning-light, v. 12..15. 4. Nothing of the dark recesses of the »ea and earth, v. 16. -21. 5. Nothing of the springs in the clouds, (v. 22 . . 27.) nor the secret counsels by which they are directed. 6. He could do nothing toward the production of the rain, or frost, or lightning; (v. 28 .. 30, 84, 35, 37, 38.) nothing toward the directing of the stars and their influences; (v. 31.. 33.) nothing toward the making of his own soul, v. 36. And, lastly, he could not provide for the lions and the ravens, v. 39.. 41. If, in these ordinary works of nature. Job v as puzzled, how durst he pretend to dive into the counsels of God's government, and to judge of them? In this, (as Bishop Patrick observes,)God takes up the argument begun by Elihu, (who came nearest to the truth,) and prosecutes it in inimitable words, excelling his, and all other men's, in the loftiness of the style, as much as thunder does a whisper.

l.rr^HEN the Lord answered Job out JL of the whirlwind, and said, 2. Who ts tliis that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge ? 3. Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

Let us obser\ e here,

1. Who speaks; The Lord Jehovah, not a created angel, but the Eternal Word himself, the second person in the blessed Trinity, for it is he by whom the worlds were made, and that was no other than the Son of God. The same speaks here that afterward spake from mount Sinai. Here he begins with the creation of the world, there with the redemption of Israel out of Egypt, and from both is inferred the necessity of our subjection to him. Elihu had said, God speaks to men, and they do not per ceive it; {ch. xxxiii. 14.) but this they could not but perceive, and yet we have a more sure nvord of prophecy, 2 Pet. i. 19.

2. When he spake; Then: when they had all had their saying, and yet had not gained their point, then it was time for God to interpose, whose judgment is according to truth. Wnen we know not who is in the right, and perhaps are doubtful whether we ourselves are, this may satisfy us, That God will determine shortly in the valley of decision, Joel iii. 14. Job had silenced his three friends, and yet could not convince them of his integrity in the main; Elihu had silenced Job, and yet could not bring him to acknowledge his mismanagement of this dispute; but now God comes, and does both; convinces Job, first, of his unadvised speaking, and makes him cry, Peccavi —/ hax'e done wrong; and, having humbled him, he puts honour upon him, by convincing his three friends that they had done him wrong. These two things God will, sooner or later, do fir his people; he will show them their faults, that they may be themselves ashamed of them, and he will show others their righteousness, and bring it forth as the light, that they may be ashamed of their unjust censures of them.

3. How he spake; Out of the whirlivind, the rolling and involving cloud, which Elihu took notice of, ch. xxxvii. 1, 2, 9. A whirlwind prefaced Ezekiel's vision, (Ezek. i. 4.) and Elijah's, 1 Kings xix. 11. God is said to have his ivay in the ivhirl-wind, (Nah. i. 3.) and, to show thiit even the stormy wind fulfils his word, here it was made the vehicle of it. This shows what a mighty voice God's is, that it was not lost, but perfectly audible, even in the noise of a whirlwind. Thus God designed to startle Job, and to command his attention. Sometimes God answers his own people in terrible corrections, as out of the whirlwind, but always in righteousness.

4. To whom he spake; He answered Jbi, directed his speech to him, to convince him of what was amiss, before he cleared him from the unjust aspersions cast upon him. It is God only that can effectually convince of sin; and those shall so be humbled, whom he designs to exalt. Those that desire to hear from God, as Job did, shall certainly hear from him at length.

5. What he said; We may conjecture that Elihu, or some other of the auditory, wrote down verbatim what was delivered out of the whirlwind, for we find, (Rev. x. 4.) that, when the thunders uttered their voices, John was prepared to write. Or, if it was not written then, yet, the penman of the book being inspired by the Holy Ghost, we are sure that we have here a very true and exact report of what was said; The Spirit (says Christ) shall bring to your remembrance, as he did here, ivhat I have said to you.

The preface is very searching.

(1.) God charges him with ignorance and presumption in what he had said; (v. 2.) "Who is this that talks at this rate? Is it Job^* What, a man? That weak, foolish, despicable creature—shall he pretend to prescribe to me what I must do, or to quarrel with me for what I have done? Is it Job^ What! my servant Job, a perfect and an upright

JOB, XXXVIII.

man? Can he so far forget himself, and act unlike himself? Who, where, is he that darkens counnel thus bywords without knowledge? Let him show his f:ce if he dare, and stand to what he has said." Note, Darkening the counsels of God's wisdom with our folly, is a great affront and provocation to God. Concerning God's counsels, we must own that we are without knowledge. They are a deep which we cannot fathom; we are quite out of our element, out of our aim, when we pretend to account for them. Yet we are too apt to talk of them as if we understood them, with a great deal of niceness and boldness: but, alas! we do but darken them, instead of explaining them; we confound and perplex ourselves and one another, when we dispute of the order of God's decrees, and the designs, and reasons, and methods, of his operations of providence and grace. A humble faith and sincere obedience shall see further and better into the secret of the Lord, than all the philosophy of their schools, and the searches of science so called. This first word which God spake is the more observable, because Job, in his repentance, fastens upon it as tliat which succeeded to humble him, ch. xlii. 3. This he repeated and echoed to, as the arrow that stuck fast in him; "I am the fool that have darkened counsel." There was some colour to have turned it upon Elihu, as if God meant him, for he spake last, and w :s speaking when the whirlwind begin; but Job applied it to himself, as it becomes us to do, when faithful reproofs are given, and not (as most do) to billet them upon other people.

(2.) He challenges him to give such proofs of his knowledge as would ser\ e to justify his inquiries into the divine counsels; {v. 3.) "Gird up. now thy loins like a stout jnan; prepare thyself for the encounter; I will demand of thee, will put some questions to thee; and answer me,,if thou canst, before I answer thine." Tiiose tliat go about to call God to an account, must expect to be catechised and called to an account themselves, that they may l)e made sensible of theii- ignorance and arrogance. God here p\its Job in mind of \vh it he had said, (ch. xiii. 22.) Cull thou, and I will ansirer: "Now make thy words good."

4. Where wast thou when T laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understandinii;. 5. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it.^ G. Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened.? or who laid the corner-stone thereof, 7. When the morninjs-stars sans; tOijether, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8. Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it Drake forth an if it had issued out of th(^ wonih? 9. When \ mad(> the cloud t!ie o;arment thereof, and thick darkness a swad-dhni^-hand for it, 10. .\nd brake up for it my decr(>ed 7>/r/rp, and set bars and doors, 11. And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy jiroud waves be stayed?

F"r the humbling of Job, (iod here shows him his ignorance, even cfincerning the earth and the sea. Thovigh so near, though so bulky, yet he could give no account of their origination; much ^ss of heaven above or hell beneath, which are at such a distance, or of the several parts of matter which are so minute, and then, least of all, of the divine counsels.

L Concerning the founding of the earth. If he have such a mighty insight, as he pretends to have, into the counsels of God, let him give some account of the earth he goes upon, which is given to the children of men.

1. Let him tell where he was when this lower world was made, and whether he was advising or assisting in that wonderful work; {v. 4.) '^ Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Thy pretensions are high; canst thou pretend to this? Wast thou present when the world was made?" See here, (1.) The greatness and glory of God; / laid the foundations of the earth. This pro\ es him to be the only living and true God, and a God of power, (Isa. xl. 21. Jer. x. 11, 12.) and encourages us to trust in him at all times, Isa. li. 13, 16. (2.) The meanness and contemptibleness of man; "JVhere wast thou then? Thou that hast made such a figure among the children of the east, and settest up for an oracle, and a judge of the divine counsels, where wast thou when the foundations of the earth were laid?" So far were we from having any hand in the creation of the world, which might entitle us to a dominion in it, or so much as being witnesses of it, by which we might have gained an insight into it, that we were not then in being. The first man was not, much less were we. It is the honour of Christ that he was present when this was done; (Prov. viii. 22, &c. John i. 1, 2.) but we are of yesterday, and know nothing. Let us not, therefore, find fault with the works of God, nor prescribe to him. He did not consult us in making the world, and yet it is well made; why should we expect, then, that he should take his measures fi-om us in governing it?

2. Let him describe how this world was made, and give a particular account of the manner in which this strong and stately edifice was formed and erected; "Declare, if thou hast so much understanding as thou fanciest thyself to have, what were the advances of that work?" Those that pretend to ]ia\ e understanding above others, ought to give proof of it; show me thy faith by thy works, tliy knowledge by thy words. Let Job declare, if he can,

(1.) How the world came to be so finely framed, with so much exactness, and such an admirable symmetry and proportion of all the parts of it; (v. 5.) "Stand forth, and tell who laid the measures thereof, and stretched out the line ufion it. Wast tliou the aixhitectthat formed the model, and then drew the dimensions by rule according to it? The vast bulk of the earth is moulded as regularly as if it hid been done by line and measure; but who can descri!)e how it was cast into this figure? Who can determine its circumference and di mieter, and all the lines that are drawn on the ten-estrial globe? It is to this day a dispute whether the earth stands still or turns round;* how then can we determine bv wh it me isures it was first formed?

(2.) How it came to be so firmly fixed. Though it is hung upon nothing, yet it is established, that it c uinnt be mo\ ed; but who can tell upon what the fnundations of it are fastened, that it may not sink with its own weight, or who laid the corner- st(Mie tlicrcof, that the parts of it may not fall asunder? T'. 6. ]rhat God docs, it shall be for ever; (Reel. iii. 14.) and therefore, as we cannot find fault with (rod's work, so we need not l)e in fear concerning it; it will last, and answer the end, the works of his providence, as well as the work of creation; the measures of neither can ever be broken; and the work of redemption is no less firm, of which Christ himself is both the Foundation and the Cornerstone. The church stands as fast as the eaith.

* Such a dlspule, in the prpsont duy, scarcely exi8's,even among; the vulgar.— Ed.

JOB, XXXVIII.

173

3. Let him repeat, if he can, the songs of praise which were sung; at thut solemnity; {v. 7.) ii)/ie?i the moi'iiini^-iitars sang together, the blessed angels, (the First-lSorn of the Father of light,) who, in the morning of time, shone bright as the morning-star, going immediately before the light which God commanded to shine ont of darkness upon the seeds of this lower wi:rld, the earth, which was without ibim and void. Tliey were the sons of God, who shouted for joy, when they saw the foundations of the earth Liid, because, though it was not made foi-them, but for the children of men, and though it would increase tlieir work, and service, yet they knew tliat tlie Eternal Wisdom and Word, whoin they were to worship, (Hcb. i. 6.) \\on\d rejoice in the habitable fiarts of the earth, and that nmch of his deli^-ht would be in the sons of men, Prov. viii. 31. The angels are called the sons of God, because they l)ear much of his image, are with him in his house above, and serve him as a son does his father. Now observe here, (1.) The glory of God, as the Creator of the world, is to I)e celebrated with joy and triumpli by all his reasonable creatures; for tiiey are qualihed and appointed to be tlie collectors of his praises from the inferior creatures, who can praise him merely as objects that exemplify his workmansliip. (2.) The work of angels is to praise God; the more we abound in holy, humble, thankful, joyful praise, the more we do the will of Gnd as they do it; and whereas we are so barren and defective in praising God, it is a comfort to think that they are doing it in a better manner. (3.) They were unanimous in singing God's praises: they sang together with one accord, and there was no jar in their harmony. The sweetest concerts are in praising God. (4.) They all did it, even tliose who afterward fell, and left their first estate; even those who have praised God may, by the de-ceicful power of sin, be brought to blaspheme him, and yet God will be etei-nally jjraised.

II. Concerning the limiting of the sea to the place appointed for it, v. 8, &c. This refers to the third day's work, when God said, (Gen. i. 9.) I.tt the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one jilace, and it ivas so.

1. Out of the great deep or chaos, in which eaith and water were intermixed, in obedience to the divine command, the waters brea/c forth like a child out of the teeming womb, v. 8. Then the waters that had covered tlie deep, and stood al)ove the mountains, retired with precipitation; at God's rebuke they fled, Ps. civ. 6, 7.

2. This new-born babe is clothed and swaddled, V. 9. The cloud is made the garment thereof, with which it is covered, and thick darkness (that is, shares vastly remote and distant from one another, and quite in the dark one to another) is a swaddling-band for it. See with what ease the great God manages the raging sea; notwithstanding the violence of its tides, and the strength of its billows, he manages it as the nui-se does the child in swaddling-clothes. It is not said. He made rocks and 7noun-tains its swaddling-bands, but clouds and darkness; .something that we are not aware of, and would think least likely for such a purpose.

3. There is a cradle, too, provided for this babe; I hrake ufi for it my decreed filace, V. 10. Valleys were sunk fnr it in the earth, capacious enough to receive it, and there it is laid to sleep; if it be sometimes tossed with winds, that (as Hishop Patrick observes) is but the rocking of the cradle, which makes it sleep the ftstei". As for the sea, so for every one of us, there is a decreed place; for he that determined the times before appointed, determined also the bounds of our habitation.

4 This babe being made unruly and dangerous by tne sin of man, which was the original of all un-

quietness and danger in this lower world, there is also a prison pro\ ided for it; bars and doors ere set, V. 10. And it is said to it, by way of check to its insolence. Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further. The sea is God's, for he made it, he restrains it; he sa)s to it. Here shall thy proud waves be stayed, V. 11. This may be considered as an act of God's power over the sea; though it is so vast a body, aTid though its motion is sometimes extremely violent, yet God has it under check; its waves rise no higher, its tides roll no further, than God permits; and it is mentioned as a reason why we should stand in awe of (iod, (Jer. v. 22.) and yet why we should encourage ourselves in him j for he that stops the noise of the sea, even the noise of her waves, can, when he pleases, still the tumult of the people, Ps. Ixv. 7. It is also to be looked upon as an act of (iod's mercy to the world of mankind, and an instance of his patience toward that provoking race; though he could easily co\ er the earth again with the waters of the sea, (and, methinks, every flowing tide twice a-day threatens us, and shows what the sea could do, and would do, if (iod would give it leave,) yet he restrains them, being not willing that any should perish, and having reserved the world that now is, unto fire, 2 Pet. iii. 7.

12. Hast tliou commanded the morning since tiiy days; and cansed the day-spring to know liis place ; 13. That it miglit take iiold of the ends of the eartli, that the wicked miglit be shaken ont of it.^ 14. It is tnrned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. 15. And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall he broken. IG. Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth? 17. Have the gates of death b6;en opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death? 18. Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare, if thou knowest it all. 19. Where is the way when', light dwelleth? and r/5 y?>/-darkness, where h the place thereof, 20. T'iiat thou shouklest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof? 21. Knowest thou zV, because thou wast then born? or because t.he number of thy days is great? 22. Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow, or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, 23. Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war? 24. By what way is the liglit parted, nihich scattereth the east wind upon the earth?

The Loi'd here proceeds to ask Job many confounding questions, to con\ince him of his igniranre, and so to shame him for his folly in prescribing to God. If we will but try ourselves with such inter-rogatoi'ies as these, we shall soon be brought to own that what we know is nothing in comparison with what we know not.

Job is here challenged to give an account of six things.

I. Of the spi'ings of the morning, the day-spring from on high, r. 12'-15. As there is no visible being of which we may be more firmly assured that

JOB, XXXVIii.

it is, so there is none which we are more puzzled in describing, nor more doubtful in determining what it is, than the light. We welcome the morning, and are glad of the day-spring; but, 1. It is not commanded since our days, but what it is, it was long before we were bmi, so tliai it was iicitlier made by us, nor designed piimarily for us, but we tike it as we find it, and as the many generations had it that went before us. Tlie day-spring knew its place befoi'e we knew ours, for we are but of yesterday. 2. It was not we, it was not any man, that commanded the morning-light at first, or appointed the place of its springing up and shining forth, or the time of it. The constant and regular succession of day and night, was no contrivance of ours, it is the glory of God that it shows, and his handy-work, not ours, Ps. xix. 1, 2. 3. It is quite out of our power to alter this course; ^'Hast thou countermanded the moi-ning since thy days? Hast thou at any time raised the morning light sooner than its appointed time, to serve thy purpose, when thou hast waited for the morning; or ordered the day-spring for thy convenience to any other place than its own? No, never. Why then wilt thou pretend to direct the divine counsels, or expert to ]i ive the metliods of Piovidence altered in favour of thee?" We may as soon break the covenant of the day and of the night, as any part of God's coven tnt with his peoplt-, and particularly that, I will chasten them with the rod of men. 4. It is God th tt has appointed the day-spring to visit tlie earth, and diffuses the morning-light through the air, which receives it as readily as the clay does the seal, {v. 14.) immediately admitting the impressions ' f it, so as of a sudden to be all o. er enlightened bv it, as the seal stamps its image on the wax; and they stand as a garment, or as if they were clothed with a garment. The earth p'lts on anew face every morning, and dresses itself as we do, puts on light as a garment, and is then to be seen. 5. This is m ide a terror to p. il-dners. Nothing is more comfortable to mankind thm the light of the morning; it is pleasant to the eyes, it is serviceable to life and the business of it, and the fa\ our of it is universallv extended, for it takes hold of the ends of the earth; and we should dwel', in our hvmns to the light, on its advantages to the earth; butCrod here observes howunwehome it is t) those tliat do evil, and therefore hate the light. God makes the light a minister of liis justice, as well as of his mercv; it is designed to shake the wicked out of the earth, and for tliat purpose it takes hold of the ends of it, as we take hold of the ends of a g.irment to shake the dust and moths out of it. Job had observed what a terror the morning-light is to criminals, because it discovers them, {ch. xxiv. 13, &c.) and G'ld here seconds the observation, and asks him, whether the world was indebted to him for that kindness? No, the great Judge of the world sends fortli the beams of the morning-light, as his messengers to detect criminals, that they may not only be defeated in their purposes, and put to shame, but that thev mav be brought to condign punishment, {v. 15.) that their light may be with-holdcn from them, that is, that they may lose their comfort, their confidence, their liberties, their lives, and th-it their higli arm, which they have lifted up against God and man, may be broken, and they deprived ot their power to do mischief Whether what is Vicre said of the morning-light, was designed to represent, as in a figure, the light of the gospel of Christ, and to give a tvpe of it, I will not say; but I am sure it may serve to put us in mind of the encomiums given to the gospel just at the rising of its niornin!;-star, bv Zecharias, (Luke i. 7<S.) Rv the tender nvrcy of our God, the dav-sfiring from on high has visited us, to gix'c light to them that sit

in darkness, whose hearts are turned to it as clay to the seal, 2 Cor. iv. 6. The virgin Mary too, (Luke i. 51.) shows that God, in his gospel, has showed strength with his arm, scattered the proud, and put down the mighty, by that light which he designed to shake the wicked, to shake wickedness itself ou* of the earth, and break its high arm.

II. Of the springs of the sea; {v. 16.) "Hast thou entered into them, or hast thou walked in the search of the depth? Knowest thou what lies in the bottom of the sea, the treasures there hid in the sands? Or canst thou give an account of the rise and (riginal of the waters of the sea.^ Vapours are c(mtinuallv exhaled out of the sea. Dost thou know how the recruits are raised, by which it is continually supplied? Rivers are constantlv poured into the .sea Dost thou know how they are continually discharged, so as not to overflow'the earth? Art thou acquainted with the secret subterraneous passages by which the waters circulate?" God's wav, in the government of the world, is said to be in the sea, and in the great waters, (Ps. Ixxvii. 19.) intimating that it is hid from us, and not to be pried into bv us.

III. Of the gates of death; Have those been ofien to thee? V. 16. Death is a grand secret. 1. We know not beforeh md when and how, and by what means, weor others shall be brought to death; by what road we must go the way whence we shall not return; what dise ise or what disaster will be the door to let us into the house appointed for all living; Man knows not his time. 2. We cannot describe what death is, how t'.e knot is untied between body and soul, nor how the spirit of a mayi goes upward, (Eccl. iii. 21.) to be we know not what, and live we know not how, as Mr. Norris expresses it; with what dreadful curiosity (says he) does the soul launch out into the vast ocean of eternity, and resign to an untried abvss! Let us make it sure that the gates of heaven shall be opened to us on the other side death, and then we need not fear the opening of the gates of death, though it is a way we are to go but once. 3. We have r.o correspondence at all with separate souls, nor any acquaintance with their state. It is an unknown, undiscovered, region to which they are removed, we can neither hear from them, nor send to them. While we are here in a world of sense, Ave speak of the world of spirits, as blind men do of colours, and when we remove thither, shall be amazed to find how much we are mistaken.

IV. Of the In-eadth of the earth; {v. 18.) Hast thou perceived that? The knowledge of this might seem most level to him, and within his reach; yet he is challenged to declare this, if he can. We have our residence on the earth, Ciod has given it to the children of men; but who ever surveyed it, or could give an account of the number of its acres? It is but a point to the universe; yet, small as it is, we cannot be exact in declaring the dimensions of it. Job had never sailed round the world, nor any before him; so little did men know the breadth of the earth, that it was but a few ages ago that the v;ist continent of America was discovered, which had, time out of mind, lain hid. The divine perfec tion is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea; it is therefore presumption for us, who perceive not the breadth of the earth, to dive into the depth of God's counsels.

V. Of the place and way of light nnd darsknes. Of the dav-spring\\Q\\'M\ spoken before, {v. 12.) and he returns to speak of it again; (i'. 19.) JVhere if the way where light dv.'ells? And again, {v. 24.) By what wail is the light parted? He cliallenges him to df «CT-ibe,

1. How the light and darkness were at first made; when God, in the betrinnine, first spread darkness upon the ficerf the deep, and afterw -rd commanded the light to shine out if darkness, by that mights

JOB, XXXVIIl.

word, Let there be light, was Job a witness to the order, to the operation? can he tell where the fountains of light and darkness are, and where those mighty princes keep their courts distinct, while in one world they rule alternately? Though we long ever so much either for the shining forth of the morning, or the shadows of the evening, we know not whither to send, or go, to fetch them, nor can tell the fiaths to the house thereof, v. 20. We were not then born, nor is the number of our days so great, that we can describe the birth of that firstborn of the visible creation, v. 21. Shall we then undertake to discourse of God's counsels, which were from eternity, or to find out the paths to the house thereof, to solicit for the alteration of them? God glories in it, that he forms the light and creates the darkness; and, if we must take those as we find them, take those as they come, and quarrel with neither, but make the best of both, then we must, in like manner, accommodate ourselves to the peace and the evil which God likewise created, Isa. xlv. 7.

2. How they still keep their turns interchangeably. It is God that makes the outgoings of the morning and of the evening to rejoice; (Ps. Ixv. 8.) foi- it is his order, and no order of ours, that is executed by the outgoings of the morning-light, and the darkness of the night. We cannot so much as tell whence they come, or whither they go, {v. 24.) By ivhat way is the light parted in the morning, when, in an instant, it shoots itself into all parts of the air above the horizon, as if the moi ning-light fiew upon the wings of an east-wind, so swiftly, so strongly, as it carried, scattering the darkness of the night, as the east-wind does the clouds? Hence we read of the wings of the morning, (Ps. cxxxix. 9.) on which the light is conveyed to the uttermost fiarts of the sea, and scattered like an east-wind ■ifion the earth. It is a marvellous change, that passes over us every morning by the return of the light, and every evening by the return of the darkness; but we expect them, and so they are no surprise or uneasiness to us. If we would, in like manner, count upon changes in our outward condition, we should neither in the biightest noon count upon perpetual day, nor in the darkest midnight despair of the return of the morning. God has set the one over against the other, like the day and night; and so must we, Eccl. vii. 14.

VI. Of the treasures of the snow and hail; {v. 22, 23.) " Hast thou entered into those, and taken a view of them?" In the clouds the snow and hail are generated, and thence they come in such abundance, that one would think there were treasures of them laid up in store there, whereas indeed they are produced extempore, as I may say, and pro re nata — on the occasion. Sometimes they come so opportunely, to serve the purposes of Providence, in God's fighting for his people, and against his and their enemies, that one would think they were laid up as magazines, or stores of arms, ammunition, and provisions, against the time of trouble, the day of battle and war; when God will either contend with the world in general, as in the deluge, when the windows of heaven were opened, and the waters fetched out of these treasures to drown a wicked world, that waged war with Heaven, or with some particular persons or parties, as when God out of these treasuies fetched great hail-stones where-witli to fight against the Canaanites, Josh. x. 11. See what folly it is to strive against God, who is thus prepared for battle and war, and how much it is our interest to make our peace with him, and to keep ourselves in his love! God can fight as efFec-lually with snow and hail, if he pleases, as with thunder and lighcning, or the sword of an angel.

25. Who hath divided a water-course for

175

the overflowing of waters ; or a way for the hghtning of timnder; 26. To cause it to rain on the earth, ichere no man is ; nn the wilderness, wherein there is no man; 27. To satisfy the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the hud of the tender herb to sprine; forth.? 28. Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew ? 29. Out of whose womb came the ice ? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it ? 30. The waters are hid as trith a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. 31. Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion ? 32. Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season*? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons ? 33. Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven ? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth ? 34. Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee ? 35. Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee. Here we are ? 36. Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts ? or who hath given understanding to the heart ? 37. Who can number the clouds in wisdom ? or who can stay the bottles of heaven, 38. When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together ? 39. Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion ? or fill the appetite of the young lions, 40. W^hen they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait ? 41. Who provideth for the raven his food I when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.

Hitherto, God had put such questions to Job, as were proper to convince him of his ignorance and short-sightedness. Now, he comes, in the same manner, to show his impotency and weakness. As it is but little that he knows, and therefore he ought not to arraign the divine counsels, so it is but little that he can do, and therefore he ought not to oppose the proceedings of Providence. Let him consider what great things God does, and try whether he can do the like, or whether he thinks himself an equal match for him.

I. God has thunder, and lightning, and rain, and frost, at command, but Job has not, and therefore let him not dare to compare with God, or to contest with him. Nothing is more uncertain than what weather it shall be, nor more out of our reach to appoint; it shall be what weather pleases God, not what pleases us, unless, as becomes us, whatever pleases God, pleases us. Concerning this, observe here,

1. How great God is. (1.) He has a sovereign dominion over the waters, has appointed them their course, even then when they seem to overflow, and to be from under his check, -v. 25. He has divided a water-course, directs the rain where to fall, even when the shower is most violent, with as much certainty as if it were conveyed by canals or conduit-pipes. Thus the hearts of kings are said to be in God's hand; and, as the rains, those rivers of God, he turns them whithersoever he will. Every drop goes as it is directed. God has sworn, that tlie wa-

JOB, XXXVIII.

terii ofJSfoah shall no more return to cover the earth; and we see that he is able to make good what he has jn-omised, for he has the rain in a water-course. (2.) He lius dominion over the lightning and the thunder, which go not at random, but in the way that lie directs them. They are mentioned here, because \\e. firepares the lightiiini^s for therabi, Ps. cxxxv. 7. Let not those that tear God, be afraid of the lightning or the thunder, for tliey are not blind bullets, but go the way that God iiimself directs them, who means no huit to them. (3.) In direciing the course of the rain, he does not neglect the wilderness, the desert land, (r. 26, 27.) ivhere no man is: [1.] No man to be employed in taking care of the productions. God's providence reaches further than man's industry; if he had not more kindness for many of the inferior creatures than man has, it would go ill with them. God can make the earth fruitful, w.thout any art or i)ains of ours; (Gen. ii. 5, 6.) when ihere was not a man to till the ground, yet there wint up a mist, and watered it. but we cannot make it fruitful without God, it is he that gives the increase. [2.] Where there is no man to be provided for, or to take the benefit of the fruits that are produced. Though God does with very peculiar favour visit and regard man, yet he does not o\ erlook the inferior creatures, but causes the dud of the tender herb to spring forth for food for all flesh, as well as for he service of man. Even the wild asses shall have their thirst quenched, Ps. civ. 11. God has enough for all, and wonderfully provides even for those creatures that man neither has service from, nor makes provision for. (4.) He is, in a sense, the Father of the rain, v. 28. It has no other father. He produces it by his power, he governs and directs it, and makes what use he pleases of it. Even the small drops of the dew he distils upon the earth, as the God of nature, and, as the God of grace, rains righteousness upon us, and is himself as the dew unto Israel; see Hos. xiv. 5, 6. Mic. v. 7. (5.) The ice and the frost, by which the waters are congealed, and the earth incrustated, are produced by his providence, V. 29, 30. These are very common things, which lessens the strangeness of them. But, considering what a change is made by them in a very little time, how the waters are hid as with a stone, as with a grave-stone, laid upon them; (so thick, so strong, is the ice that covers them, and the face even of the deep is sometimes frozen;) we may well ask, "Out of whose womb came the ice ? What created power could produce such a wonderful work?" No power but that of the Creator himself. Frost and snow come from him, and therefore should lead our thoughts and meditations to him who doeth such great things, past finding out. And we shall the more easily bear the inconveniencies of winter weather, if we learn to make this good use of it.

2. Observe, How weak man is; can he do such flings ^;s these? Could .lob? No, v. 34, 35. (1.) He cannot command one shower of rain for the relief of himself or his friends; " Cansf thou lift u/i thy voice to the clouds, those bottles of hea\ en, that ahundarice rf waters may rover thee, to water thv fields when tluv are dry and parched?" If we lift up our voice to G^xl, to/iray for rain, wem lyhave it; (Zech. X. 1.) but if we lift up our voice to the clouds, to demand it, they will soon tell us they are not at our beck, and we shall go without it, Jer. xiv. 22. The heavens will not hear the earth, unless God heir them, Hos. ii. 21. See what poor, indigent, depending, cretitures we are; we cannot do without rain, nor can we have it when we will. (2.) He cannot commission one flash of lightning, if he had a mind to make use of it for the terror of his enemies; (v. 15.) *' Canst thou send lightnings, that they may

go on thine errand, and do the execution thou wish est for? Will thev come at thy call, and say unto thee. Here we are?" No, the ministers of God's wrath will not be ministers of ours. Why shr.uld they, since the ivrath of ma7i works not the righle-ousness of God y See Luke ix. 55.

II. God has the stars of heaven under his ccim-mand and cognizance; we have not. Our meditations are now to rise higher, far abo\ e the ch uds, to the glorious lights above. He mentions, not the planets, which move in lower orbs, but the fixed stars, which are nuich higher. It is supposed tliat they have an influence upon this eartli, notwithstanding their vast distance; not upon the minds of men, or the events of providence, (men's fate is not determined by their stars,) but upon the ordinary course of n iture; they are set for signs and seas: ns, for days and years, Cien. i. 14. And if the stars have such a dominion over this earth, {v. 33.) though they ha\ e their place in the heavens, and are but mere matter, much more has He who is their Maker, and ours, and who is an Eternal Mind. Now see how weak we are, 1. W^e cannot alter the influences of the stars, (t-. 31.) not theirs that are instrumental to produce the pleasures of the spring; Canst thoti bind the niveet influences of Pleiades.^-—the seven stars, that constellation which lies in so small a compass, (none in less,) and yet sheds very benign influences upon the eaith. Nor can we alter theirs that introduce the rigour of the winter; Canst thou loose the bands of Orion? —thi'.t magnificent constellation which makes so great a figure, (none greater,) and dispenses rough and un-pleasing influences, which we cannot control or repel. Both summer and winter will have their course; God can change them when he pleases, can make the spring cold, and so bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, and the winter warm, and so loose the bands of Orion; but we cannot. 2. It is not in our power to order the motions of the stars, nor are we entrusted with the conduct of them. God, who ca//s the stars by their names, (Ps. cxlvii. 4.) calls them forth in their respective seasons, appoints them the time of their rising and setting; but this is not in our province, we cannot bring forth Mazzaroth —the stars in the southern signs, nor guide Arcturus —those in the northern, v. 32. (iod can bring forth the stars to battle, (as he did when in their courses they fought against Sisera,) and guide them in the attacks they are ordered to make; but man cannot do so. 3. We are not only unconcerned in the government of the stars, (the goveiT,-ment they are under, and the government they are intrusted with, for they both rule and are ruled,) but utterly unacquainted with it; we knovj not the ordinances of heaven, v. 33. So far are we from being able to change them, that we can give no account of them: they are a secret to us. Shall we then pretend to know God's counsels, and the reasons of them? If it were left to us to set the dr-minion of the stars upon the earth, we should soon lie at a loss. Shall we then teach God how to govern the world?

III. God is the Author and Gi\ er, the Father and Fountain, of all wisdom and understanding, v. 36. The souls of men are nobler and more excellent beings than the stars of heaven themselves, and shine brighter. The powers and faculties of reason with which man is endued, and the w( nderful pet-f )rmances of thought, brings him into some alliance to the blessed angels; and whence comes this light, but from the Father of lights? Who else has j)ut wisdom into the inward parts of man, and given understanding to the heartr 1. The rational soul itself, and its capacities, come from him as the Ci<(! of nature, for he forms the spirit of man within him. We did not make our own souls, nor can we dc-

JOB, XXXIX.

177

scribe how they act, or how they are united to our bodies. He only, that made them, knows them, and knows how to manage them. He fashioneth men's hearts alike in some things, and yet unlike in others. 2. True wisdom, with its furniture and improvement, comes from him as the God of grace, and the Father of eveiy good and perfect gift. Shall we pretend to be wiser than God, who have all our wisdom from him? Nay, shall we pretend to be wise above our sphere, and beyond the limits which he that gave us our understanding sets to it? He designed we should with it serve God, and do our duty, but never intended we should with it set up for directors of the stars or the lightning.

IV. God has the clouds under his cognizance and government, but so have not we, v. 37. Can any man, with all his wisdom, undertake to number the clouds? or (as it may be read) to declare and describe the nature of them? Though they are near Uo, in our own atmosphere, yet we know little more of them than of the stars which are at so great a distance. And when the clouds have poured down rain in abundance, so that the dust grows i/ito solid mire, and the clods cleave fast together, {v. 38.) •cvho can stay the bottles of heaven ? Who can stop them, that it may not always rain? The power and goodness of God are herein to be acknowledged, that he gives the eai'th rain enough, but does not surfeit it; softens it, but does not drown it; makes it fit for the plough, but not unfit for the seed. As we cannot command a shower of rain, so we cannot command a fair day, without God; so necessary, so constant, is our dependence upon him.

V. God provides food for the inferior creatures, and it is by his providence, not by any care or pains of ours, that they are fed. The following chapter is wholly taken up with the instances of God's power and goodness about animals; and therefore some transfer to it the three last verses of this chapter, which speak of the provision made,

1. For the lions; {v. 39, 40.) "Thou dost not pretend that the clouds and stars have any dependence upon thee, for they are above thee; but, on the earth, thou thinkest thyself paramount, let us try that then; JVilt thou hunt the ftrey for the lion? Thou valuest thyself upon thy possessions of cattle which thou wast once owner of, the oxen, and asses, and camels, that were fed at thy crib. But wilt thou undertake the maintenance of the lions, and the young lions, when they couch in their dens, waiting for a prey? No, thou needest not do it, they can shift for themselves without thee: thou canst not do it, for thou hast not wherewithal to satisfy them: thou darest not do it; shouldest thou come to feed them, they would be upon thee. But I do it." See the all-sufficiency of the Divine Providence: it has wherewithal to satisfy the desire of every living thing, even the most ravenous. See the bounty of the Divine Providence, that, wherever it has given life, will give livelihood, even to those creatures that are not only not serviceable, but dangerous, to man. And see its sovereignty, that it suffers some creatures to be killed for the support of other creatures: the harmless sheep are torn to pieces, to fill the appetite of the young lions, who yet sometimes are made to lack and suffer hunger, to punish them for their cruelty, while those that fear God want no good thing.

2. For the young ravens, v. 41. As ravenous beasts, so ravenous birds, are fed by the Divine Providence. Who but God provides for the raven his food? Man does not, he takes care only of those creatures that are, or may be, useful to him. But God has a regard to all the works of his hands» even the meanest and least valuable. The ravens,, young ones, are in a special manner necessitous^ and God supplies them, Ps. cxlvii. 9. God's feecUn^the

Vol. III.— Z

fowls, especially these fowls, (Matth. vi. 26.) is an encouragement to us to trust him for our daily bread. See here, (1.) What distress the young ravens are often in; they wander for lack of meat. The old ones, they say, neglect them, and do not provide for them as other birds do for their young: and indeed those that are ravenous to others, are commonly barbarous to their own, and unnatural. (2.) What they are supposed to do in that distress; they cry, for they are noisy, clamorous, creatures, and this is interpreted a crying to God. It being the distress of nature, it is looked upon as directed to the God of nature. The putting of so favourable a construction as this upon the cries of the young ravens, may encourage us in our prayers, though we can but cry, Abba, Father. (3.) What God does for them; some way or other, he provides for them, so that they grow up, and come to maturity. And he that takes this care of the young ravens, certainly will not be wanting to his people, or theirs. This being but one instance of many of the divine compassion, may give us occasion to think how much good our God does, every day, beyond what we aie aware of.

CHAP. XXXIX.

God proceeds here to show Job what little reason he had to charge him with unkindness, who was so compassionate to the inferior creatures, and took such a tender care of them; or to boast of himself, and his own good deeds before tiod, which were nothing to the divine mercies. He shows him also what great reason he had to be humble, who knew so little of the nature of the creatures about him, and had so little influence upon them, and to submit to that God on whom they all depend. He discourses particularly, I. Concerning the wild goats and the hinds, V. 1.. 4. II. Concerning the wild ass, v. 5. .8. III. Concerning the unicorn, v. 9.. 12. IV. Concerning the peacock, v. 13. V. Concerning the ostrich, v. 13. • 18. VI. Concerning the horse, v. 19..25. VII. Concerninc the ha^Tk and tlie eagle, v. 26. .30.

1. Tr NOWEST thou the time when the _Ol. wild goats of the rock bring forth '

or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve ?

2. Canst thou number the months that they fulfil; or knowest thou the time when they bring forth ? 3. They bow themselves, they bring forth their young oiies, they cast out their sorrows. 4. Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them. 5. Who hath sent out the wild ass free ? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass ? 6. Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings. 7. He scorneth the multitude of the city» neither regardeth he the crying of the driver^ 8. The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing. 9. Will the unicorn be wilBng to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? 10. Canst thou bind the unicorn with hts band in the furrow ? or will he harrow the vallies after thee ? 11. Witt thott trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him ? 12. Wilt thou belie\-e him, that he wil!l bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy bam ?

God here slwws Job what little acquaintance he had with theentamed creatures that i-un wild in the

JOB, XXXIX.

deserts, and live at large, but are the care of the-Divine Providence. As,

I. The ivild goats and the hinds. That which is taken notice ot' concerning them, is, the bringing forth, and bringing up, of their young ones. For as es ery individual is fed, so every species of animals is preserved, by the care of the Divine Providence, and, for auglit we know, none extinct to this di y. Observe here,

1. Concerning the production of their young. (1.) Man is wholly ignorant of the time when they bring forth, V. 1, 2. Shall we pretend to tell what is in the womb of Providence, or what a day will bring forth, •who know not the time of the pregnancy of a hind or a wild goat.-* (2.) Though they bring forth their young with a gi-eat deal of difficulty and sorrow, and have no assistance from man, yet, by the good providence of God, their young ones are safely produced, and their sorrows cast out and forgotten, i>. 3. Some think it is intimated, (Ps. xxix. 9.) that God by thunder helps the hinds in cal\ ing. Let it be observed, for the comfort of women in labour, that God helps even the hinds to bring forth their young; and shall he not much more succour them, and save them in child-bearing, who are his children in covenant with himi*

2. Concerning the growth of their young; {y. 4.) They are in good liking; though they are brought forth in sorrow, after their dams have suckled them a while, they shift for themselves in the corn-fields, and are no more burthensome to them, which is an example to children, when they are grown up, not to be always hanging upon their parents, and craving from them, but to put forth themselves to get their own livelihood, and to requite their parents.

II. The wild ass; a creature we frequently read of in scripture; some say, untameable. Man is said to be boi-n as the wild ass's colt, so hard to be governed. Three things Providence has allotted to the wild ass. 1. An unbounded liberty; {v. 5.) JV/w, but God, has sent out the wild ass free ^ He has given a disposition to it, and therefore a dispensation for it. The tame ass is bound to labour, the wild ass has no bonds on him. Note, Freedom from service, and liberty to range at pleasure, are but the privileges of a wild ass. It is a pity that any of the children of men should covet it, or value themselves on it. It is better to labour and be good for something, than ramble and be good for nothing. But if, among men. Providence sets some at liberty, and suffers them to live at e.ise, while others are doomed to servitude, we must not mar\el at the matter, it is so am<ing the brute-creatures. 2. An unenclosed lodging; {v. 6.) whose house Ihavemade the wildernese, wl\ere he has room enough to traverse his ways, and snuff up the wind at his pleasure, as the wild ass is said to do, (Jer, ii. 24.) as if he were to live upon the air, for it is the barren land that is his dwelling. Observe, The tame ass, that labours, and is serviceable to man, has his master's crib to go to, both for shelter and food, and lives in a fruitful land: but the wild ass, that will have his libertv, must have it in a barren land. He that will not labour, let him not eat. He that will, shall eat the labour of his hands, and have also to gi\ e to him that needs. Jacob, the shepherd, has good red pottage to spare, when Esau, a sportsman, was ready to perish for hunger. A further description of the liberty and livelihood of the wild ass we ha\ e, V. 7, 8. (1.) He has no owner, nor will he be in subjection: he scorns the multitude of the city. If thev attempt to take him, and, in order to that, surround him with a multitude, he will soon get clear of them, and the crying of the driver is nothing to him. He laughs at those that live in the tumult and bustle of cities, (so Bishop Patrick,) thinking himself happier in the wilderness; and opinion is the

' rate of things. (2.) Having no owner, he has no ' feeder, nor is any provision made for him, but he must shift f ;r himself; the range of the mountains is his pasture, and a bare pasture it is; there he searches here and there after a green thing, as he can find it and pick it up; whereas the labouring asses have green things in plenty, without their searching for them. Froni the untameableness of this and other creatures, we may infer how unfit we are to give law t > Providence, who cannot give law even to a wild ass's colt.

III. The unicorn; Rhem; a strong creature, (Numb. xcii. 22.) a stately proud creature, Ps. Ixiii. 10. He is able to serve, but not willing; and God here challenges Job to force him to it. Job expected every thing should be just as he would have it. "Since thou dost pretend" (^says God) " to bring every thing beneath thy sway, begin with the unicorn, and try thy skill upon him. Now that thine oxen and asses are all gone, try whether he will be willing to serve thee in their stead, {y. 9.) and whether he will take up with the provision thou usest to make for them. Will he abide by thy crib ? No," 1. " Thou canst not tame him, nor biyid him with his band, nor set him to draw the harrow," {v. 10.) There are creatures that are willing to serve man, and seem to take a pleasure in it, and to have a love for their masters; but there are such as \yill never be brought to it; and it is the effect of sin: m ,n is revolted from his subjection to his Maker, and is therefore justly punished with the revolt of the inferior creatures from their subjection to him; and yet, as an instance of God's good-will to man, there are some that are still serviceable to him. Though the wild bull (which some think is meant here Ijy the unicorn) will not serve man, nor submit to his band in the furrows, yet there are tame bullocks that will, and other animals that are not frrx natures — of a wild nature, in whom man may have a property, for whom he provides, and to whose service he is entitled. Lord, what is man, that thou art thus mindful of him ? 2. ''Thou darest not trust him; though his strength is great, yet thou wilt not leave thy labour to him, as thou dost with thine asses or oxen, whom a little child may lead or drive, leaving to them all the pains. Thou wilt rever depend upon the wild bull, as likely to come to thy harvest-work, much less to go through it, to bring home thy seed, arid gather it into thy barn," v. 11, 12. And, because he will not serve about the corn, he is not fed so well as the tame ox, whose mouth was not to be muzzled in treading out the corn; but therefore he will not draw the plough, because he that made him never designed him for it. A disposition to labour is as much the gift of God as an ability for it; and it is a great mercy, if, where God gives strength for ser-N ice, he gives a heart; it is what we should pray for, and reason ourselves into, which the brutes cannot do; for, as among beasts, so among men, those may justly be reckoned wild and abandoned to the deserts, who have no mind either to take pains, or to do good,

13. Gavest thon the goodly wings unto the peacocks ? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? 14. Which Icaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in tlie dust, 15. And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. 16. She is hardened against iier young ones, as .though tlicy were, not hers: her labour is in vain without fear; 17. Because God hath deprived her of wisdom.

JOB, XXXIX.

179

neithor hath he imparted to her understand-mg. 18. What time she hfteth up herself on high, slie scorneth the horse and his rider.

The ostrich is a wonderful animal, a very large bird, but it never flies. Sonne have called it a winged camel. God here gives an account of it, and observes,

I. Something that it has in common with the peacock, that is, beautiful feathers; {v. 13.) Gavest thou firoud wings unto the jifacocks? So some read it. Fine feathers make proud birds. The peacock is an emblem of pride; when he struts, and shows his fine feathers, Solomon, in all his glory, is not ar-r.iyed like him. The ostrich too has goodly feathers, and yet is a foolish bird; for wisdom does not always go along with beauty and gaiety. Other birds do not envy the peacock or the ostrich their gaudy colours, nor complain for want of tl'iem; why then should we repine, if we see others wear better clothes than we can afford to wear? God gives his gifts variously, and those gifts are not always the mt^st valua!)le, that make the finest show. Who would not rather have the voice of the nightingale, than the tail of the peacock, the eye of the eagle, and her soaring wing, and the natural afifection of the stork, than the beautiful wings and feathers of the ostrich, which can never rise above the earth, and is without natural affection?

II. Something that is peculiar to itself, 1. Carelessness of her young. It is well that this is peculiar to herself, for it is a very bad charactei-. Observe, (1.) How she exposes her eggs; she does not retire to some ]^ri\ate place, and make a nest there, as the sparr'nvs and swallows do, (Ps. Ixxxiv. 3.) and liicre lay eggs and her yoimg. M')st birds, as well as other animals, are strangely guided Ijy natural instinct in providing for the pre-serxation of their young. But the ostrich is a monster in nature, for she di-ops her eggs any where upon the ground, and takes no care to hatch them. If the sand and the sun will hatch them, well and good, they may for her, for she will not warm them, w 14. Nay, she takes no care to preser\e them; the foot of the traveller may crush them, and the wild beast break them, t. 15. But how then are any young ones brought forth, and whence is it that the species is not perished? We must suppose, either that (iod, by a special providence, with the heat of the sun and the sand (so some think) hatches the neglected eggs of the ostrich, as he feeds the neglected voung ones of the raven; or tliat, though the ostrich often leaves her eggs thus, vet not alwayn. (2.) The reason why she does thus expose her eggs; it is, [1.] For want of natural affection; {xK 16.) ^he is hardened against her young ones. To he hardened against any is unamiable, e\en in a brute creature, much more in a rational creature that boasts of humanity; especially to be hardened against young ones, that cannot help them-sebes, and therefore merit compassion, that give no provocation, and therefore merit no hard usage: but it is worst of all for her to be hardened against her own young ones, as though they were not hei's, whereas, really, they are parts of herself. Her labour in laying her eggs, is in \ain, and all lost, because she has not that fear and tender concern for them, that she should have. Those are most likely to lose their labour, that are least in fear of losing it. [2.] For want of wisdom; (t. 17.) God has deprived her of vjisdom. This intimates, that the art which other animals have to nourish and preserve their young, is God's gift, and that, where it is not, God denies it, that, by the folly of the ostrich, as well as by the wisdom of the ant, we may leam to be wise; for. First, As careless as the osti'ich is of

j her eggs, many people are of their own souls; the. I make no provision for them, no proper nest ■•. which they may be safe, they leave them cxi)osccl to Satan and his temptations; a certain e\ idence that they are deprived of wisdom. Secondli/, Sn careless are many parents of their children; sxinic, of their bodies, not providing for their own house, their own bowels, and therefore worse than infidels, and as bad as the ostrich; but many more are thus careless of their children's souls, take no care of their education, send them abroad into the world untaught, unarmed, forgetting what corruption there is in the world through lust, which will certainly crush them. Thus their labour in rearing them comes to be in vain; it were better for their country that they had never been born. 'J'hirdly, So careless are too many ministers of their people, with whom they should reside; but they leave them in the earth, and forget how busy Satan is to sow tares while men sleep. They o\ erlook those whom thev should oversee, and are really hardened against them.

2. Care of herself. She leaves her eggs in danger, but, if she herself be in danger, no creature shall strive better to get out of the way of it than the ostrich, v. 18. Then she lifts up her wings on high, (the strength of which then stands her in better stead than their beauty,) and, with the help of them, runs so fast, that a horseman, at full speed, cannot overtake her; She scorneth the horse and his rider. Those that are least under the law of natural affection, often contend most for the law of self-preservation. Let not the rider be proud of the swiftness of his horse, when such an animal as the ostrich shall out-run him.

19. Hast thou given the liorse strength.? Iiast thou clothed his neck with thunder?

20. Canst tliou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is tenible.

21. He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in /lis strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. 22. He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword. 2.3. The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield. '24. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage; neither believeth he that // is the sound of the trumpet. 25. He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha! and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

God, having displayed his own power in those creatures that are strong, and despise man, here shows it in one scarcely inferior to any of them in strength, and yet \ ery tame, and serviceable to man, and that is, the horse; especially, the horse that is fireftared against the day of battle, and is serviceable to man at a time when he has more than ordinary occasion for his service. It seems there was, in Job's country, a noble generous breed of horses. Job, it is probable, kept many, though they are not mentioned among his possessions; cattle for use in husbandry being there valued more than those for state and war, which alone horses were then reserved for; and they were not then put to such mean services as with us they are commonly put to. Concerning the great horee, that stately beast, it is here obsemed,

1. That he has a great deal of strength and spirit^ (x'. 19.) Nast thou given the horse strength? He uses his strength for man, but has it not from him: God gave it him, who is the Fountain of all the powers of nature, and yet he himself delights n(^i

J 80

JOB, XXXIX.

in (he strength of the horse, (Ps. cxlvii. 10.) but has told I's that a horse is a vain thing for safety, Ps. xxxiii. 17. For running, drawing, and carrying, no creature that is ordinarily in the service of man, has so much strength as the horse has, nor is of so stout and bold a spirit; not to be made afraid as a grasshopper, but daring and forward to face danger. It is a mercy to man to have such a servant, which, though very strong, submits to the management of a child, and rebels not against his owner: but let not the strength of a horse be trusted to, Hos. xiv. 3. Ps. XX. 7. Isa. xxxi. 1, 3.

2. That his neck and nostrils look great; his neck is clothed with a large flowing mane, which makes him formidable, and is an ornament to him. The glory of his nostrils, when he snorts, flings up his head, and throws foam about, is terrible. Perhaps there might be, atthat time, and in that country', a more stately breed of horses than any we have now.

3. That he is very fierce and furious in battle, and charges with an undaunted courage, though he pushes on in imminent danger of his life. (1.) See how frolicksome he is; (x-. 21.) He paws in the valley, scarcely knowing what ground he stands upon. He is proud of his strength, and he has much more reason to be so as using his strength in the service of man, and under his direction, than the wild ass that uses it in contempt of man, and in a revolt from him, v. 8. (2.) See how forward he is to engage; he goes on to meet the armed men, animated, not by the goodness of the cause, or the prospect of honour, but only by the sound of the trumpet, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting of the soldiers, which are as bellows to the fire of his innate courage, and make him spring forward with the utmost eagerness, as if he cried, Ha, ha, V. 25. How wonderfully are the bnite-creatures fitted for, and inclined to, the services for which they w^re designed. (3.) See how fearless he is, how he despises death, and the most threatening dangers; (v. 22.) He mocks at fear, and makes a Jest of it; slash at him with a sword, rattle the quiver, brandish the spear, to drive him back, he will not retreat, but press forward, and even inspires courage into his rider. (4.) See how furious he is; he curvets and prances, and runs on with so much violence and heat against the enemy, that one would think he even sivallowed the ground nvith fierceness end rage, v. 24. High mettle is the praise of a horse rather than of a man, whom fierceness and ra^e ill become. This description of the war-horse will help to explain that character which is given of l)resumptuous sinners; (Jer. viii. 6.) Everyone tum-efh to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle. When a man's heart is fully set in him to do evil, and he is carried on in a wicked way by the violence of inordinate appetites and passions, there is no making him afraid of the wrath of God, and the fatal consequences ! sin. Let his own conscience set before him the curse of the law, the death, that is, the wages, of sin, and all the terrors of the Almighty, in battle-array; he mocks at this fear, and is not aflFrighted, neither turns he back from the flaming sword of the cherubim. Let ministers lift up their voice like a trumpet, to proclaim the wrath of God against him, he believes not that it is the sound of the trumfiet, nor that God and his heralds are in earnest with him; but what will be in the end hereof it is easy to foresee.

26. Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wiii^s toward the south? 27. Doth the eae;le mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? 28. She dwel-'eth and abidoth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. 29. From

thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behokl afar off. 30. Her young ones also suck up blood : and where the slain are, there is she.

The birds of the air are proofs of the wonderful power ;;nd providence of God, as well as the beasts of the earth; God here specifies two stately ones.

1. The hanvk, a noble bird, of great strength and sagacity, and yet a bird of prey, v. 26. This bird is here taken notice of for her flight, which is swift and strong, and especially for the course she steers toward the south, wliither she follows the sun in winter, out of the colder countries in the north, especially when she is to cast her plumes, and renew them. This is her wisdom, and it was God that gave her this wisdom, not man. Perhaps the extraordinary wisdom of the hawk's flight after her prey, was not used then for men's diversion and recreation, as it has been since. It is pity that the reclaimed hawk, which is taught to fly at man's command, and to make him sport, should at any time be abused to the dishonour of God, since it is from God that she receives that wisdom which makes her flight entertaining and serviceable.

2. The eagle, a royal bird, and yet a bird of prey too, the permission of which, nay, the giving of power to which, may help to reconcile us to the prosperity of oppressors among men. The eagle is here taken notice of, (1.) For the height of her flight; no bird soars so high, has so strong a wing, nor can so well bear the light of the sun; **Doth she mount at thy command? (v.-27.) Is it by any strength she has from thee; or dost thou direct her flight? No, it is by the natural power and instinct God has given her, that she will soar out of thy sight, much more out of thy call." (2.) For the strength of her nest; her house is her castle and strong hold; she makes it on high and on the rock, the crag of the rock, {y. 28.) which sets her and her young out of the reach of danger. Secure sinners think themselves as safe in their sins as the eagle in her nest on high, in the clefts of the rock; (Jer. xlix. 16.) But I will bring thee down from thence, aafth the Lord. The higher bad men sit above the resentments of the earth, the nearer they ought to think themselves to the vengeance of Heaven. (3.) For her quicksightedness; (v. 29.) Her eyes behold afar off, not upward, but downward, in quest of her prey. In this, she is an emblem of a hypocrite, who, while in the profession of religion, he seems to rise toward heaven, keeps his eye and heart upon the prey on earth, some temporal advantage, some widow's house or other, that he hopes to de^ on?-, under pretence of devotion. (4.) For the way she has of maintainingherself and her young; she preys upon living animals, which she seizes and tears to pieces, and then carries to her young ones, who are taught to suck ufi blood; they do it by instinct, and know no better; but for men that have reason and conscience, to thirst after blood, is what could scarcely be believed, if there had not been, in every age, wretched instances of it. She also pTeys upon the dead bodies of men; where the slain are, there is she. These birds of prey (in another sense than the hor«e, v. 25.) smell the battle afar off. Therefore, when a great slaughter is to be made among the enemies of the church, the fowls are invited to the su/i/ier of the great God, to eat the flesh of kings and cafitains. Rev. xix. 17, 18. Our Jiaviour refers to this instinct of the eagle, (Matth. xxiv. 28.) Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be

gathered together. Every creature will make toward that which is its proper food; for he that provides them their food, has implanted in them that inclination. These, and many such instances of natural power and sagacity in the inferior crca-

JOB, XL.

181

tures, which we cannot account for, oblige us to confess our own weakness and ignorance, and to give glory to God as the Fountain of all being, power, wisdom, and perfection.

CHAP. XL.

Many humbling confounding questions God had put to Job, in the foregoing chapter; now, in this chapter, I. He demands an answer to Ihem, v. 1, 2. II. Job submits in a humble silence, v. 3..5. III. God proceeds to reason with him, for his conviction of the infinite distance and disproportion between him and God, and that he was by no means an equal match for him. He challenges him. (v. 6, 7.) to vie with him, if he durst, for justice, (v. 8.) power, (v. 9.) majesty, (v. 10.) and dominion over the proud; (v. 11..14.) and he gives an instance of his power in one particular animal, here called Behemoth, v. 15..24.

1. "m/rOREOVER, the Lord answered ItJL Job, and said, 2. Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it. 3. Then Job answered the Lord, and said, 4. Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. 5. Once have I spoken, but I will not answer; yea, twice ; but I will proceed no further.

Here is,

I. A humbling challenge which God gave to Job. After he had heaped up many hard questions upon him, to show him, by his manifest ignorance in the works of nature, what an incompetent judge he was of the methods and designs of Providence, he clenches the nail with one demand more, which stands by itself here as the application of the whole. It should seem, God paused a while, as Elihu had done, to give Job time to say what he had to say, or to think of what God had said; but Job was in such confusion, that he remained silent, and therefore God here put him upon replying, v. 1, 2. This is not said to be spoken out of the ivhirltvind, as before; and therefore some think God said it in a still small voice, which wrought more upon Job than the whirlwind did, as upon Elijah, 1 Kmgs xix. 12, 13. My doctrine nhall drop as the rain, and then it does wonders. Though Job had not spoken any thing, yet God is said to answer him; for he knows men's thoughts, and can return a suitable answer to their silence. Here,

1. God puts a convincing question to him; «' Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty, instruct him'/ Shall he pretend to dictate to God's wisdom, or prescribe to his will? Shall God receive instruction from every peevish complainer, and change the measures he has taken, to please him?" It is a question with disdain; Shall any teach God know-Irdge ? ch. xxi. 22. It is intimated, that those who quarrel with God, do, in effect, go about to teach h'm how to mend his work. For if we contend with men like ourselves, as not having done well, we ought to instruct them how to do better; but is it .1 thing to be suffered, that any man should teach his M iker? He that contends with God, is justly looked upon as his enemy; and shall he pretend so far to have prevailed in the contest, as to prescribe tn him? We are ignorant and short-sighted, but before him all things are naked and open; we are foolish, but his wisdom is infinite; we are depending creatures, but he is the Sovereign Creator; and shall we pretend to instruct him? Some read it, Is it any wisdom to contend with the jil-mighty? The answer is easy; No, it is the greatest folly in the world. Is it wisdom to contend with him whom it will certainly be our ruin to oppose, and unspeakably our interest to submit to? 2. He demands a speedy reply to it; " He that

refiroaches God, let him answer this question to his own conscience, and answer it thus. Far be it from 7ne to contend with the Almighty, or to instruct hirt;. Let him answer all those questions which I have put, if he can. Let him answer for liis presumption and insolence, answer it at God's bar, to his confusion." Those have high thoughts of themselves, and mean thoughts of God, who reprove any thing he says or does.

II. Job's humble submission thereupon. Now Job came to himself, and began to melt into godly sorrow; when his friends reasoned with him, he did not yield; but the voice of the Lord is powerful. When the Spirit of truth is come, he shall convince. They had condemned him for a wicked man, Elihu himself had been very sharp upon him, {ch. xxxiv. 7, 8, 37.) but God had not given him such hard words. We may sometimes have reason to expect better treatment from God, and a more candid con-stiniction of what we do, than we meet with from our friends. This the good man is here overcome by, and yields himself a conquered captive to the grace of God. 1. He owns himself an offender, and has nothing to say in his own justification, (t'. 4.) "Behold, lamvile; not only mean and con-tem.ptible, but vile and abominable, in my own eyes." He is now sensible that he has sinned, and therefore calls himself vile. Sin debases us, and penitents abase themselves, reproach themselves, are ashamed, yea, even confounded. " I have acted undutifully to my Father, ungratefully to my Benefactor, unwisely for myself; and therefore I am vile." Job now vilifies himself as much as ever he had justified and magnified himself: repentance changes men's opinion of themselves. Job had been too bold in demanding a conference with Gi d, and thought he could nriake his part good with him; but now he is convinced of his error, and owns himself utterly unable to stand before God, or to produce any thing worth his notice, the veriest dunghill worm that ever crawled upon God's ground. While his friends talked with him, he answered them, for he thought himself as good as they; but when God talked with him, he had nothing to say; for, in comparison with him, he sees himself nothing, less than nothing, worse than nothing, vanity and vile-ness itself; and, therefore. What shall I answer thee? God demanded an answer, v. 2. Here he gives the reason of his silence; it was not because he was sullen, but because he was convinced he had been in the wrong. Those that are truly sensible of their own sinfulness and vileness, dare not justify themselves before God, but are ashamed that ever they entertained such a thought, and, in token of their shame, lay their hand upon their mouth.

2. He promises not to offend any more as he had done; for Elihu had told him this was meet to be said unto God. When we have spoken amiss, we must repent of it, and not repeat nor stand to it. He enjoins himself silence; {v. 4.) " I will lay my hand upon my mouth, will keep that as with a bridle, to suppress all passionate thoughts which may arise in my mind, and keep them from breaking out in intemperate speeches." It is bad to think amiss, but it is much worse to speak amiss, for that is an allowance of the evil thought, and gives it an imprimatur — a sanction; it is publishing the seditious libel; and, therefore, if thou hast thought evil, lay thy hand upon thy mouth, and let it go no further, (Prov. XXX. 32.) and that will be an evident c for thee, that that which thou thoughtest, thou al-lowest not. Job had suffered his evil thoughts to vent themselves; " Once have I spoken amiss, yea twice," that is, "divers times, in one discourse and in another; but I have done, I will not answer, 1 will not stand to what I have said, nor say it again, I will proceed no further." Observe here what

JOB, XL.

true repentance is. (1.) It is to rectify our errors, and the false principles we went upon, in doing as we did. Wriat we have long, and often, and vigorously, maintained, we must retract, once, yea twice, as soon as we are convinced that it is a mistake, not adhere to it any longer, but take shanie to ourselves for holding it so long. (2.) It is to return from every by-path, and to proceed Jiot one step further in it; " I will not add," so the word is; " I wiii never indulge my passion so much again, nor give myself such a liberty of speech, will never say as I have said, nor do as I have done." Till it comes to this, we come short of repentance. Further observe. Those who dispute with God, will be silenced at last. Job had been very bold and forward in demanding a conference with God, and talked very boldly, how plain he would make liis case, and how sure he was that he should be justified; as a firince he would go near unto him, {c/i. xxxi. 37.) lie would come even to his seat; {ch. xxhi. 3.) but he has soon enough of it, he lets fall his plea, and will not answer; " Lord, the wisdom ar.d right are all on thy side, and I ha\ e done foolishly and wickedly in questioning it."

6. Then answered the Lord unto Job out of tlie vvhirhvmd, and said, 7. Gird up thy loins now hke a man : I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. 8. W ilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? 9. Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? 10. Deck thyself now icitk majesty and excellency ; and array thyself with glory and beauty. 11. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath; and behold every one that is proud, and abase him. 12. Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. 13. Hide them in the dust together, ajid bind their faces in secret. 14. Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.

Job was greatly humbled for what God had already said, but not sufficiently; brought low, but not low enough; and therefore Ciod here proceeds to reason with him, in the same manner and to the same purport as before; v. 6. Observe, 1. Those who dulv receive what ihey have heard from God, and profit by it, shall hear more from him. 2. Those who are tinily convinced of sin, and penitent foi- it, yet have need to be more thoroughly convinced, and to be made more deeply penitent. Those who are under convictions, who have their sins set in order before their eyes, and their hearts broken for them, must learn f' om this instance not to catch at comfort too soon; it will he everlasting when it comes, and therefore it is necessary that we be prepared for it by deep humiliation, that the wound be searched to the bottom, and not skinned over, and that we do not make more haste out of our convictions than good speed. When our hearts begin to melt and relent within us, let those considerations be dwelt upon and pursued, which will help to make a thorough effectual thnw of it.

God begins with a chnllensre, (t". 7.) as before; {ch. xxxviii. 3.) " Gird jtp tint loins now like a tnan; if thou hast the courage and confidence thou hast pretended to, show it now; but thou wilt soon be ■nade to se<" and own thyself no match for me."

This is that which every proud heart must be brought to at last, either by its repentance, or by ita ruin; and thus low must every mountain and hill be, sooner or later, biought. We must acknowledge, I. That we cannot vie with God for justice; that the Lord is righteous and holy in his dealings with us, but that we are unrighteous and unholy in our conduct toward him; we have a great deal to blame ourselves for, but nothing to blsime him for; {v. 8.) " IVilt thou disannul my judgment? Wilt thou take exceptions to wh.it I say and do, and bring a writ of error, to reverse the judgment I have given as erroneous and unjust?" Many of Job's complaints had too much of a tendency this way; I cry out of wrong, says he, but I am not heard; but such language as this is by no means to be suffered. God's judgment cannot, must not, be disannulled, for we are sure it is according to truth, and therefore it is a great piece of impudence and iniquity in us to call it in question. " Wilt thou," says God, '^condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? Must my honour suffer for the support of thy reputation? Must I be charged as deahng unjustly with thee, because thou canst not otherwise clear thyself from the censures thou liest under?" Our duty is to condemn ourselves, that God may be righteous. David is therefore ready to own the evil he has dene in God's sight, that God may be justified, when he s/ieaks, and clear when he judges, Ps. li. 4. See Neh. ix. 33. Dan. ix. 7 But those are very ])roud, and very ignorant both of God and themselves, who, to clear themselves, will condemn God; and the day is coming, when, if the mist; ke be not rectified in time by repentance, the etern 1 judgment will be both the confutation of the plea, and the confusion of the prisoner; for the heavens shall declare God's righteousness, and all the world shall become guilty before him.

II. That we cannot vie with God for power; and therefore, as it is great impiety, so it is gieat impudence, to contest with him, and we go as much against our interest, as we do against reason and right; (y. 9.) *' Hast thou an arm like God, equal to his in length and strength? Or canst thou thunder with a voice like him, as he did, {ch. xxxvii. .1, 2.) or does now, out of the whirlwind?" To convince Job that he was not so able as he thrught himself, to contest with God, he shows him, 1. Thnt he could never fight it out with him, nor carry liis cause by force of arms. Sometimes, among n.en, controversies have been decided by battle, and tlic victorious champion is adjudged to ha\ e the rght on his side; but if it be put upon that issue between God and man, man would certainly go by the worse, for all the force he could raise against the Almighty, would be but like briers and thorns before a consuming fire, Isa. xxvii. 4. "Hast thou, a poor weak worm of the earth, an arm comp;'ra-ble to his, who upholds all things?" The power of creatures, even of angels themsehes, is derived from God, limited by him, and dependent on him; but the power of God is original, independent, and unlimited. He can do every thing without us, we can do nothing without him, and therefore we have not an arm like God. 2. That he could never talk it out with him, nor carry his cause by noise and big words, which sometimes among men go a great way toward the gaining of a point; " Canst thou thunder with a voice like him? No, his voice will soon drown thine, and one of his thunders will overpower aftd overrule all thy whispers." Man cannot speak so convincingly, so powerfully, nor with such a commanding conquering force, as God can, who speaks, and it's done. His creating voice is ciUed his thunder; (Ps. civ. 7.) so is that voice of his, with which he teirifies and discomfits his enemies; (1 Sim. ii. 10.) Out of heaven ahall ht

JOB, XL.

183

thunder ufion them. The wrath of a king may sometimes be like the roaring of a lion, but can never pretend to imitate God's thunder.

III. That we cannot vie with God for beauty and majesty; {v, 10.) " If thou wilt enter into a comparison with him, and appear more amiable, put on thy best attire; Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency. Appear in ali the martial, in all the royal pomp thou hast, make the best of every thing that will set thee off, array thyself with glory and beauty, such as may awe thine enemies, and charm thy friends; but what is it all to the divine majesty and beauty i" No more than the light of a glow-worm to that of the sun, when he goes fortli in his strength." God decks himself witli sucli majesty and glory as are the terror of devils, and all the powers of darkness, and make them tremble; he arrays himself with such glory and beauty, as are the wonder of angels, and all the saints in light, and make them rejoice. David could dwell all his days in God's house, to behold the beauty of tlie Lord. But, in comparison with this, what is all the majesty and excellency by which princes think to make themselves feared, and all the glory and beauty by which lovers think to make themselves beloved? If Job think, in contending with God, to carry the day by looking great, and making a figure, he is quite mistaken; J'he sun shall be ashamed, and the moon confounded, when God shines forth.

IV. That we cannot vie with God fur dominion over the proud, v. 11--14. Here the cause is put upon this short issue; if Job can humble and abase Droud tyrants and oppressors as easily and effectually as God can, it shall be acknowledged that he has some colour to compare with God. Observe here,

1. The justice Job is here challenged to do, and that is, to bring the proud low, with a look; if Job will pretend to be a rival with God, especially if he pretend to be a judge of his actions, he must be able to do this.

(1.) It is here supposed that God can do it, and will do it, himself, else he would not have put it thus upon Job. By this, God proves himself to be God, that he resisted the proud, sat Judge upon them, and is able to bring them to ruin. Observe here, [1.] That proud people are wicked people, and pride is at the bottom of a great deal of wickedness that is in this world, both toward God and man. [2.] Proud people will certainly be abased and brought low, for pride goes before destruction. If they bend not, they will break; if they humble not themselves by true repentance, God will humble them, to their everlasting confusion. The wicked will be trodden down iii their place, that is. Wherever they are found, though they pretend to have a place of their own, and to have taken root in it, yet even there they shall be trodden down, and all the wealth, and power, and interest, which their place entitles them to, will not be their security. [3. ] The wrath of God, scattered among the proud, will humble them, and break them, and bring them down. If he casts abroad the rage of his wrath, as he will do at the great day, and sometimes does in this life, the stoutest heart cannot hold out against him; who knows the power of his anger? [4. ] God can, and does, easily abase proud tyrants; he can look upon them, and bring them low, can overwhelm them with shame, and fear, and utter ruin, by one angry look, as he can, by a gracious look, revive the hearts of the contrite ones. [5.-] He can, and will, at last, doit effectually, {y. 13.) not only bring them ! to the dust, from which they might hope to arise, 1 but hide them in the dust, like the proud Egyptian whom Moses slew, and hid in the sand, (Exod. ii. j 12.) that is, They shall be brought not only to death, but to the grave, that pit out of which there |

is no return. They were proud of the figure they made, but they shall be buried in oblivion, and be no more remembered than those that are hid in the dust; out of sight, and out of mind. They were linked in leagues and confederacies to do mischief, and are now bound in bundles; they are hid together, not tlieir rest, but their shame together is in the dust, ch. xvii. 16. Nay, they are treated as malefactors, who, when condemned, had their faces co\ ered, as Haman's was; he binds their faces in secret; they are treated as dead.men; Lazarus, in the grave, had his face bound about. So complete will the victory be that God will gain, at last, over proud sinners that set themselves in opposition to him. Now by this he proves himself to be God. Doeshethushate proud men? Thenheisholy. Will he thus punish them? Then he is the just Judge of the wcrld. Can he thus humble them? Then he is the Lord Almighty. When he had abased proud Pharaoh, and hid him in the sand of the Red-sea, Jethro inferred, that doubtless the Lord is greater than all gods, for wherein the firoud enemies of his Israel dealt proudly, he was above them, he was too hard for them, Exod. xviii. 11. See Rev. xix. 1, 2.

(2.) It is here proposed to Job to do it. He had Been passionately quarpelling with God and his pro-\ idence, casting abroad the rage of his wrath toward heaven, as if he thought thereby to bring God himself to his mind; "Come," says God, "try thy hand first upon proud men, and thou wilt soon see how little they value the rage of thy wrath; and shall /then regard it, or be moved by it?" Job had complained of the prosperity and power of tyrants and oppressors, and was ready to charge God with mal-administration for suffering it; but he ought not to find fault, except he could mend. If God, and he only, has power enough to humble and bring down proud men, no doubt he has wisdom enough to know when and how to do it, and it is not for us to prescribe to him, or to teach him how to govern the world; unless we had an arm like God, we must not think to take his work out of his hands.

2. The justice which is here promised, shall be done him, if he can perform such mighty works as these; {y. 14.) " Then will I also confess unto thee, that thy right hand is sufficient to save thee, though, after all, it would be too weak to contend with me." It is the innate pride and ambition of man, that he would be his own saviour, would have his own hands sufficient for him, and be independent; but it is presumption to pretend to it; our own hands cannot save us by recommending us to God's grace, much less by rescuing us from his justice; unless we could by our own power humble our enemies, we cannot pretend by our own power to save ourselves; but if we could, Grd himself would confess it. He never did, nor ever will, defraud any man of his just praise, nor deny him the honour'he has merited. But since we cannot do this, we must confess unto him, th;;t our own hands cannot save us, and therefoie into his hand we must commit ourselves.

15. Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee ; he eateth j2;rass as an ox. 16. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. 17. He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. 1 8. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. 19. He is the chief of the ways of God : he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.. , 20. Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play

JOB, XL.

21. He lietli under tlie shady trees, in the (•overt of the reed, and fens. 22. The shady trees cover him with their shadow ; the willows of the brook compass him about. 23. Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth. 24. He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.

God, for the farther proving of his own power, and disproving of Job's pretensions, concludes his discourse with the description of two \ ast animals, far exceeding man in bulk and strength; one he c&W^behemoth, the other, leviathan. In these verses, we have the former described. " Behold now behemoth, and consider whether thou art able to contend with him who made that beast, and gave him all the power he has, and whether it is not thy wisdom rather to submit to him, and make thy peace with him."

Behemoth signifies beasts in general, but must here be meant of some one particular species. Some understand it of the bull; others of an amphibiouf animal, well-known (they say) in Egypt, called the rirver-horse, (Hififiofiotamus,) living among the fish in the river Nile, but coming out to feed upon the earth. But I confess I see no reason to depart from the ancient and most generally received opinion, tliat it is the elephant that is here described, which is a very strong stately creatuie, of very large stature above any other, and of wonderful sagacity, and of so great a reputation in the animal-kingdom, that, among so many four-footed beasts as we have had the natural history of, {ch. xxx\iii. and xxxix.) we can scarcely suppose this should be omitted.

Observe,

1. The description here gi\ en of the behemoth. 1. His body is very strong, and well-built; His strength is in his loins, v. 16. His bones, compared with those of other creatui-es, are like bars of iron, V. 18. His back-bone is so strong, that, though his tail be not large, yet he moves it like a cedar, with a commanding force, v. 17. Some understand it of the trunk of the elephant, for tlie word signifies any extreme part, and in that there is indeed a wonderful strength; so strong is the elephant in his back and loins, and the sinews of his thighs, that he will carry a large wooden tower, and a great number of fighting men in it. No animal whatsoever comes near the elephant for strength of body, which is the main thing insisted on in this description.

2. He feeds on the productions of the earth, and docs not prey upon other animals, he eats grass as an ox, {v. 15.) the mountains bring forth food, (v. 20.) and the beasts of the field do not tremble before him, nor flee from him, as from a lion, but they play alxiut him, knowing they are in no danger from him. This may give us occasion, (1.) To acknowledge the gooilness of God, in ordering it so, that a creature of such bulk, which requires so much food, should not feed upon flesh, (for then multitudes must die, to keep him alive,) but should be content with the grass of the field, to prevent such destruction of lives as otherwise must have ensued. (2.) To commend living lipon herbs and fruits, without flesh, according to the original appointment of man's fxid, Gen. i. 29. Even the strength of an elephant, as of a horse and an ox, may be supported without flesh; and why not that of a man? Though, therefore, we use the liberty God ha^allowed us, yet br not among riotous eaters of flesh, Pvcn-. xxiii. 20. (3.) To command a quiet and peaceable life. Who would not rather, like the elephant, have his neighbours easy and pleasant

about him, than, like the lion, have them a'l afraid of him.''

3. He lodges under the shady trees, (t». 21.) which cover him with their shadow, (v. 22.) where he has a free and open air to breathe m, while lions, which live by prey, when they would repose themselves, are obliged to retire into a close and dark den, to live therein, and to abide in the covert of that, ch. xxxviii. 40. They who are a terror to others, cannot but be sometimes a terror to themselves too; but they will be easy, who will let others be easy about them; and the reed and fens, and the willows of the brook, though a very weak and slender fortification, yet are sufficient for the defence and security ot those who therefore dread no harm, because they design none.

4. That he is a very great and greedy drinker, not of wine and strong drink, (to be greedy of that is peculiar to man, who by his drunkenness makes a beast of himself,) but of fair water. (1.) His size is prodigious, and therefore he must have supply accordingly, v. 23. He drjnks so much, that one would think he could drink up a river, if you would give him time, and not hasten him. Or, when he drinks, he hasteth not, as those do that drink in fear; he is confident of his own strength and safety, and therefore makes no haste when he drinks, no more haste than good speed. (2.) His eye anticipates more than he can take; for, when he is very thirsty, having been long kept without water, he trusts that he can drink up. Jordan in his mouth, and even takes it with his eyes, v. 24. As a covetous man causes his eyes tony upon the wealth of this world, which he is greedy of, so this great beast is said to snatch, or draw up, even a river with his eyes. (3.) His nose has in it strength enough for b th; for when he goes greedily to drink with it, he pierces through snares or nets, which perhaps are laid in the waters to catch fish. He makes nothing of the difficulties that lie in his way, so great is his strength, and so eager his appetite.

n. The use that is to be made of this description. We have taken a view of this mountain of a beast, this overgrown animal, which is here set before us, not merely as a show, (as sometimes it is in our country,) to satisfy our curiosity and to amuse us, but as an argument with us to humble ourselves before the great God; for,

1. He made this vast animal, which is so fearfully and wonderfully made; it is the work of his hands, the contrivance of his wisdom, the production of his power; it is behemoth which I made, XI. 15. Whatever strength this, or any other crea ture, has, it is derived from God, who therefore must be acknowledged to have all power originally and infinitely in himself, and such an arm as it is not for us to contest with. This beast is here called the chief, in its kind, of the ways of God; {v. 19.) an eminent instance of the Creator's power and wisdom. They that will peruse the accounts given by historians of the elephant, will find that his capacities approach nearer to those of reason, than the capacities of any other brute-creature whatsoever, and therefore he is fitly called the chief of the ways of God, in the inferior part of the creation no creature below man being preferable to him.

2. He made him with man, as he made other four-footed beasts; on the same day with man, (Gen. i. 25, 26.) whereas the fish and fowl were made the day before; he made him, to live and move on the same earth, in the same element, and therefore man and beast are said to be jointly preserved by Divine Providence, as fellow-commoners; (Ps. xxxvi. 6.) "It is behemoth which I made with thee; I made that beast as well as thee, and he doei not quarrel with me; why then dost thou? Whv shouldest thou demand peculiar favours, because 1

JOB, XLl.

185

m.ide thee, {ch. x. 9.) when I made the behemoth likewise with thee? I made thee as well as that beast, and therefore can as easily manage thee at pleasure a3 that beast, and will do it, whether thou refuse or whether thou choose. I made him with thee, that thou mayest look upon him, and receive instruction." We need not go far for proofs and instances of God's almighty power and sovereign dominion; they are near us, they are with us, they are under our eye, wherever we are.

3. He that made him, can make his sword to afi-firoach to him, {y. 19.) that is. The same hand that made him, notwithstanding his great bulk and strength, can unmake him again at pleasure, and kill an elephant as easily as a worm or a fly, without any difficulty, and without the imputation either of waste or wrong. God, that gave to all the creatures their being, may take away the being he gave; for may he not do what he will with his own? And he can do it; he that has power to create with a word, no doubt, has power to destroy with a word, and can as easily speak the creature into nothing, as, at first, he spake it out of nothing. The behemoth perhaps is here intended (as well as the leviathan afterward) to represent those proud tyrants and oppressors, whom God had just now challenged Job to abase and bring down. They think themselves as well fortified against the judgments of God, as the elephant with his bones of brass and iron; but he that made the soul of man knows all the avenues to it, and can make the sword of justice, his wrath, to approach to it, and touch it in the most tender and sensible part. He that framed the engine, and put the parts of it together, knows how to take it in pieces. Woe to him therefore that strives with his Maker, for he that made, has therefore power to make him miserable, and will not make him happy, unless he will be ruled by him.

CHAP. XLL

The description here wiven of the leviathan, a very large, strong, formidable, fish, or water-animal, is designed yet further to convince Job of his own impolency, and of God's omnipotence, that he might be humbled for his folly in making so bold with him as he had done. I. To convince Job of his own weakness, he is here challenged to subdue and lame this leviathan, if he could, and make himself master of him, (v. 2 .9.) which because he cannot do, he mustuOwn himself utterly unable to stand before the great (^d, v. 10. II. Toconvince Job of God's power and terrible majesty, divers particular instances are here given of the strength and terror of the leviathan, which is no more than what God has given him, nor more than he has under his check, v. 11, 12. The face of the leviathan is here described to be terrible; (v. 13, 14.) his scales close, (v. 15.. 17.) his breath and neesings sparkling, (v. 18. . 21.) his flesh firm, (v. 22.. 24.) his strength and spirit, when he is attacked, insuperable, (v. 25.. 30.) his motions turbulent, and disturbing to the waters; (v. 31, 32.) so that, upon the whole, he is a very terrible creature, and man is no match for him, V. 33, 34.

1. ^ ANST thou draw out leviathan with \J a hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? 2. Canst thou put a hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn? 3. Will he make many supplications unto thee ? will he speak soft utords unto thee? 4. Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever? 5. Wilt thou play with him as loith a bird? wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? 6. Shall thy companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants? 7. Canst thoii fill Vol. III.—2 A

his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish-spears? 8. Lay thy hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. 9. Behold, the hope of him is in vain : shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? 10. None is so fierce that dare stir him up; who then is able to stand before me ?

Whether this leviathan be a ivhale or a crocodile, is a great dispute among the learned, which I will not undertake to determine; some of the particulars agree more easily to the one, others to the other; both are very strong and fierce, and the power of the Creator appears in them. The ingenious Sir Richard Blackmore, though he admits the more received opinion concerning the behemoth, that that must be meant of the elefihant, yet agrees with the learned Bochart's notion of the leviathan, that it is the crocodile which was so well known ir the river of Egypt. I confess that that which in dines me rather to understand it of the whale, is, not only because it is much larger, and a nobler animal, but because, in the history of the Creation, there is such an express notice taken of it, as is not of any other species of animals whatsoever; (Gen. i. 21.) God created great whales; by which it appears, not only that whales were well known in those parts, in Moses's time, who lived a little after Job, but that the creation of whales was generally looked upon as a n>ost illustrious proof of the eternal power and godhead of the Creator; and we may conjecture that this was the reason (for otherwise it seems unaccountable) wliy Moses there so particularly mentions the creation of the whales, because God had so lately, in this discourse with Job, more largely insisted upon the bulk and strength of that creature than of any other, as the proof of his power; and the leviathan is here spoken of as an inhabitant of the sea, (v. 31.) which the crocodile is not; and (Ps. civ. 25, 26.) There, in the great and wide sea, is that leviathan.

Here, in these \ erses,

1. He shows how unable Job was to master the leviathan. (1.) That he could not catch him, as a little fish, with angling, 7^ 1, 2. He had no bait wherewith to deceive him, no hook wherewith to catch him, no fish-line wherewith to draw him out of the water, nor a thorn to run through his gills, on wMch to carry him home. (2. ) That he could not make him his prisoner, nor force him to cry for quarter, or surrender himself at discretion, v. 3, 4. " He knows his own strength too well to make many supplications to tliee, and to make a covenant with thee to be thy servant, on condition thou wilt save his life." (3.) Tliat he could not entice him into a cage, and keep him there as a bird for the children to play with, v. 5. There are creatures so little, so weak, as to be easily restrained thus, and triumphed over; but the leviathan is none of those, he is made to be the terror, not the sport and diversion, of mankind. (4.) That he could not have him served up to his table; he and his companions could not make a banquet of him; his flesh is too strong to be fit for food, and if it were not, he is not easily caught. (5.) That they could not enrich themselves with the spoil of him; Shall they part him among the merchants, the bones to one, the oil to another? If they can catch him, they will; but it is probable that the art of fishing for whales was not br'ught to perfection then, as it has been since. (6.) That they could not destroy him, could not Jill his head with fish-sfiears, v. 7. He kept out of the rearh of their instruments of slaughter, or, if they touclied him, they could not touch him to the quick. (7.") That it was to no purpose to attempt it; Tht

JOB, XLl.

Iiofie q/"taking him is in vain, v. 9. If men go about to seize him, so formidable is he, that the very sight of him will appal them, and make a stout man ready to faint away; S/ia/l not one be cast down even at the sight of him? And will not that deter the pursuers from their attempt? Job is bid, at his peril, to lay his hand upon him, [v. 8.) "Touch him if thou dare, remember the battle, how unable thou art to encountei' such a force, and what is therefore likely to be the issue of the battle, and do no more, but desist from the attempt." It is good to remember the battle before we engage in a war, and put off the harness in time, if we foresee it will be to no purpose to gird it on. Job is hereby admonished nut to proceed in his contro\ersy with God, but to make his peace with him, remembering wiiat the battle will certainly end in, if he come to an engagement. See Isa. xxvii. 4, 5.

2. Thence he infers how unable he was to contend with the Almighty. JVone is so fierce, none so fool-hardy, as to stir up the leviathayi, {x>. 10.) it being known that he will certainly be too hard for tliem; and ivho then is able to stand before God, either to impeach and arraign his proceeding, or to out-face the power of his wrath? If the inferior creatures that are put under the feet of man, and over whom he has dominion, keep us in awe thus, how terrible must the majesty oi our great Lord be, who has a sovereign dominion o\er us, and against whom man has been so long in rebellion! Who can stand before him when once he is angry?

11. Who hath prevented me, that 1 sliould repay himl whatsoever is under the whole lieaven is mine. 12. I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion. 13. Who can discover the face of his garment ? or who can come to him with his double bridle ? 14. Who can open the doors of his face ? his teeth are terrible round about. 15. His scales are his pride, shut up together as ivith a close seal. 16. One is so near to another, that no air can come between them. 17. They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered. 18. By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. 19. Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. 20. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething-pot or caldron. 21. His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth. 22. In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him. 23. The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved. 24. His heart is as firm as a stone ; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone. 25. When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves. 26. The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold ; the spear, the dart, nor the haljergeon. 27. He esteemeth iron -as slraw, and brass as rotten wood. 20. The arrow cannot make him flee : sling stones are turned with him into stubble.

29. Darts are counted as stubble: he laugh eth at the shaking of a spear. 30. Sharp stones f/7-e under him : he spreadeth shaij) • pointed things upon the mire. 31. He mak eth the deep to boil like a pot: he maketli the sea like a pot of ointment. 32. He maketh a path to shine after him : mic would think the deep to be hoary. 33. Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. 34. He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

God, having in the foregoing ^ erses showed Jcb how unable he was to deal with the leviathan, here sets forth his own power in that massy mighty creature. Here is,

I. (iod's sovereign dominion and independency laid down, v. 11. 1. That he is indebted to none of his creatures. If any pretend he is indebted to them, let them make their demand and prove their debt, and they shall recei\ e it in full, and not by composition; " Jt'ho has prevented me?" that is, •'Who has laid any obligations upon me, by any service they have done me? Who can pretend to be before-hand with me? If any were, I would n( t long be behind-hand with them, I would soon repay them." The apostle quotes this, for the silencing of all flesh in God's presence; (Rom. xi. 35.) JVho hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed to him again? As (iod does not inflict upon us the evils we have deserved, so he does bestow upon us the favours we have not deserved. 2. That he is the rightful Lord and Owner of all the creatures; "Whatsoever is under the whole heavens, animate or inanimate, is mine, (and particularly this leviathan,) at my command and disposal; wh;.t I have an incontestable property in, and dominion over." All is his, we are his, all we have and do, and therefore we cannot make God our Debtor; but of thine own. Lord, have ive given thee. All is his, and therefore, if he were indebted to any, he has wherewithal to repay them; the debt is in gO( d hands. All is his, and therefore he needs not our services, nor can he be benefitted by them. Jf I were hungry I would not tell the^Jbr the world is mine, and the fulness thereof, Ps. ^ 12.

II. The proof and illustration of it, from the wonderful structure of the leviathan, v. 12. The parts of his body, the power he exerts, especially when he is set upon, and the comely proportion of the whole of him, are what God will not conceal, and therefore what we must observe and acknowledge the power of God in. Though he is a creature of monstrous bulk, yet there is in him a comely proportion. In our eye, beauty lies in little, finest sua gratia parvis — Little things have a gracefulness all their own, J because we ourselves are little; but, in God's eye, even the lex'iathan is comely; and if he pronounce even the whale, even the crocodile, so, it is not for us to say of any of the works of his hands, that they are ugly or ill-favoured; it is enough to say so, as we have cause, of cur own works, (iod here goes about to give us an anatomical view (as it were) of the leviathan; for his works appear most beautiful and excellent, and his wisdom and power appear most in them, when they are taken in pieces, and viewed in their several parts and proportions.

1. The leviathan, e\ en prirna facie — at first sight, ap])ears formidable and inaccessible, v. 13, 14. Who dares come so near him, while he is alive, as to discover or take a distinct view of the face of the garment, the skin with which he is clothed as with a garment; so near him, as to bridle him like a horse.

JOB, XLl.

187

and so lead him away; so near him, as to be within | reach of his jaws, which are like a double bridle? \ Who will venture to look into his mouth, as we do j into a horse's mouth? He that olie?is the doors of \ his face, will see his teeth terrible round about, I strong and shai-p, and fitted to devour; it would make a man tremble to think of having a leg or an [ arm between them. 1

2. His scales are his beauty and strength, and | therefore his firide, v. 15'-17. The crocodile is in- , deed remarkable for his scales; if we understand it i of the whale, we must understand by these shields, j (for so the word is,) the several coats of his skin; or there might be whales in that country with scales. | That which is remarkable concerning the scales, is, i that they stick so close together, by wliich he is not i only kept warm, for no air can pierce him, but kept j safe, for no sword can pierce him, through those scales. Fishes, tliat live in the water, are fortified accordingly by the wisdom of Providence, which gives clothes as it gives cold.

3. He scatters terror with his very breath and looks; if he sneeze or spout by water, it is like a light shilling, either with the froth, or the light of the sun shining through it, v. 18. The eyes of the whale are reported to shine in the night-time, like a flame, or, as here, like the eye-lids of the morning; the same they say of the crocodile. The breath of this creature is so hot and fiery, from the great natural heat within, that burning lamps and sparks of fire, smoke and a flame, are said to go out of his mouth, even such as one would think sufficient to set coals on fire, v. 19- '21. Probably, these hyperbolical expressions ai'e used concerning the leviathan, to intimate the power and terror of the wrath of God, for that is it which all this is designed to convince us of; fire out of his mouth devours, Ps. xviii. 7, 8. The breath of the Almighty, like a stream of brimstone, kindles 'I'ophet, and will for ever keep it burning, Isa. xxx. 33. The wickedt one shall be consumed with the breath of his mouth, 2 Thess. ii. 8.

4. He is of invincible strength and most terrible fierceness, so that he frightens all that come in liis way, but is not himself frightened by any. Take a view of his neck, and there remains strength, x'. 22. His head and his body are well-set together; sorrow rejoices, or rides in triumfih, before him, for he makes terrible work wherever he comes. Or, Those storms which are the sori'ow of others, are his joy; what is tossing to others, is d incing to him. His flesh is well-knit, r>. 23. The flakes of it are joined so closely together, and are so firm, that it is hard to pierce it; he is as if he were all bone; his Jiesh is of brass, which Job had complained his was not, ch. vi. 12. His heart is as firm as a stone, v. 24. He has spirit equal to his bodily strength, and, though he is bulky, he is sprightly, and not unwieldy; as his flesh and skin cannot be pierced, so his courage cannot be daunted; but, on the contrary, he daunts all he meets, and puts them into a consternation; (t'. 25.) IVhen he raises u/7 himself Vike a moving mountain in the great waters, even the mighty are afraid lest he overturn tlieir ships, or do them some other mischief: by reason of the breakings he makes in the water, which threaten death, they fiurify themselves, confess their sins, betake themselves to their pravers, and get ready fr death. We read {ch. iii. 8.) of those wlio, when they raise up a leviathan, are in such a fright, that they curse the day. It was a fear which, it seems, used to drive some to their curses, and others to their prayers; for as now, so then thei-e were seafaring men of different characters, and on whom the terrors of the sea have contrary effects; but all agree there is a great fright among them when the levia-ihan raises up himself.

5. All the instruments of slaughter that are used against him, do him no hurt, and therefore are no terror to him, v. 26- -29. The sword and the spear, which wound nigh at hand, are nothing to him, the darts, arrows, and sling-stones, which wound at a distance, do him no damage; nature has so well armed him against them all. The defensive weapons which men use when they engage with the leviathan, as the habergeon, or breast-plate, often serve men no more than their offensive weapons; iron and brass are to him as straw and rotten wood, and he laughs at them. It is the picture of a hardhearted sinner, that despises the terrors of the Almighty, and laughs at all the threatenings of his word. The leviathan so little dreads the weapons that are used against him, that, to show how hardy lie is, he chooses to lie on the sharp stones, the sharp pointed things, {y. 30.) and lies as easy there, as if he lay on the soft mire. Those that would endure hardness, must inure themselves to it.

6. His \ery motion in the water troubles it, and puts it into a ferment, v. 31, 32. When he rolls and tosses, and makes a stir in the water, or is in pursuit of his prey, he makes the deep to boil like a }iot, he raises a great froth and foam upon the water, such as is upon a boiling pot, especially a pot of boiling ointment; and he makes a path to shine after hi?n, which even a ship in the midst of the sea does not, Prov. xxx. 19. One may trace the leviathan under water by the bubbles on the surface; and yet who can take that advantage against him in pursuing him.'' Men track hares in the snow and kill tliem, but he that tracks the leviathan dares not come near him.

Lastly, Having given this particular account of his parts, and his power, and his comely firofiortion, he concludes with four things in general concerning this animal, v. 33, 34. (1.) That he is a none such among the inferior creatures; Upoji earth there is not his like, no creature in this world is comparable to him for strength and terror; or, the earth is here distinguished from the sea; His dominion is 7iot ufion the earth, so some, but in the waters; none of all the sa^age creatures upon earth come near him for bulk and strength, and it is well for man that he is confined to the waters, and there has a watch set upon him, {ch. vii. 12.) by the Di vine Providence, for if such a terrible creature were allowed to roam and ravage upon this earth, it would be an unsafe and uncomfortable habitation for the children of men, for whom it is intended. (2.) That he is more bold and daring than any other creature whatsoe\ er; He is made without fear: the creatures are as they are made; the leviathan has courage in his constitution, nothing can frighten him; other ci'eatures, quite contrary, seem as much designed for flying as this for fighting; among men, some are in their natural temper bold, others are timorous. (3.) That he is himself \ ery proud; though lodged in the deep, yet he beholds all high things; the rolling waves, the impending rocks, the hovering clouds, and tlie ships under sail with top and top-gallant, this mighty animal beholds with contempt, for he does not think thev either lessen him or threaten him. Thrse that are great, are apt to be scornful. (4.) That he is a king over all the children of firide, that is. He is the proudest of all proud ones. He has more to he proud of (so Mr. Caryl expounds it) than the proudest people in the world have; and so it is a mortification to the haughtiness and lofty looks < f men. Whatever bodily accomplishments men are proud of, and puffed up with, the leviathan excels them, and is a king over them. Some read it, so ;is to understand it of God; He that beholds all high things, even hr.. i^ King over all the children of pride; he can tiime the behemoth, {ch. xl. 19.) and the leviatt.un, big

JOB, XLII.

as they are, and stout-hearted as they are. This discourse, concerning those two animals, was brought in to prove that it is God only who can look ufion proud men and abase them, bring them loiv and tread them down, and hide them in the dust; {ch. xl. 11 "IS.) and so it concludes with a Quod erat demonstrandum — Which was to be demonstrated; there is one that beholds all high things, and, wherein men deal proudly, is above them; he is King over all the children offiride, whether bi-utal or rational, and can make them all either bend, or break, before him; (Isa. ii. 11.) The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and thus the Lord alone shall be exalted.

CHAP. XLII.

Solomon says, Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof, Eccl. vii. 8. It was so here in the story of Job; at evenini,'--time it was light. Three things we have met with in Ihis book, which, I confess, have troubled me much; but we find all the three grievances redressed, thoroughly redressed, in this chapter, every thing set to rights. I. It has been a great trouble to us, to see such a holy man as Job was, so fretful and peevish, and uneasy to himself, and especially to hear him quarrel with God, and speak indecently to him; but, though he thus fall, he is not utterly cast down, for here he recovers his temper, comes to himself, and to his right mind again, by repentance, is sorry for what he has said amiss, unsays it, and humbles himself before God, v. 1.. 6. II. It has been likewise a great trouble to us, to see Job and his friends so much at variance, not only differing in their opinions, but giving one another a great many hard words, and passing severe censures one upon another, though the^ were all very wise and good men; but here we have this grievance redressed liKewise, the differences between them happily adjusted, the quarrel taken up, all the peevish reflections they had cast upon one another forgiven and forgotten, and all joining in sacrifices and prayers, mutually accepted of God, V. 7 . . 9. III. It has troubled us, to see a man of such eminent piety and usefulness as Job was, so grievously afflicted, so pained, so sick, so poor, so reproached, so slighted, and made the very centre of all the calamities of human life; but here we have this grievance redressed too; Job healed of all his ailments, more honoured and beloved than ever, enriched with an estate double to what he had before, surrounded with all the comforts of life, and as great an instance of prosperity as ever he had been of affliction and patience, V. 10.. 17. All this is written for our learning, that we, under these and the like discouragements that we meet with, through patience and comfort of this scripture, may have hope.

1. ri^HEN Job answered the Lord, and X. said, 2. I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. 3. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge ? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. 4. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: 1 will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. 5. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee: 6. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

The words of Job justifying himself, were ended, ch. xxxi. 40. After that,' he said no more to that purport: the words of Job judging and condemning himself, began, ch. xl. 4, 5. Here he goes on with words to the same purport; though his patience had not its perfect work, his repentance for his impatience had. He is here thoroughly humbled for his folly and unadvised speaking, and it was for-

given him. Good men will see and own their faults at lust, though it may be some difficulty to bring them to it. Then when God had said all that to him concerning his own greatness and power appearing in the creatures, then Job answered the Lord, ly. 1.) not by way of contradiction, he had promised not so to answer again, (cA. xl. 5.) but by way of submission; and thus we must all answer the calls of God.

I. He subscribes to the truth of God's unlimited power, knowledge, and dominion, to prove which was the scope of God's discourse out of the whirl-wind,!). 2. Corrupt passions and practices arise either from some corrupt principles, or from the neglect and disbelief of the principles of truth; and therefore true repentance begins in the acknowledgment of the truth, 2 Tim. ii. 25. Job here owns his judg-nrient convinced of the greatness, glorj-, and perfection, of God, from which would ifollow the conviction of his conscience concerning his own folly, in speaking irreverently to him. 1. He owns that God can do every thing. What can be too hard for him that made behemoth and leviathan, and manages both as he pleases? He knew this before and had himself discoursed very well upon the subject, but now he knew it with application; God had sfioken it once, and then he heard it twice, that flower belongs to God; and therefore it is the greatest madness and presumption imaginable to contend with him. •' Thou canst do every thing, and therefore canst raise me out of this low condition, which I have so often foolishly despaired of as impossible; I now believe thou art able to do this." 2. That no thought can be withholden from him, that is, (1.) There is no thought of ours that he can be hindered from the knowledge of. Not a fretful, discontented, unbelieving, thought is in our minds at any time, but God is a Witness to it: it is in vain to contest with him, for we cannot hide our counsels and projects from him; and if he discover them, he can defeat them. (2.) There is no thought of his that he can be hindered from the execution of; Whatever the Lord pleased, that did he. Job had said this passionately, complaining of it; {ch. xxiii. 13.) What his soul desireth, that he doeth; now he says, with pleasure and satisfaction, tliat God^s counsels shall stand. If God's thoughts concerning us be thoughts of good, to give us an unexpected end, he cannot be withheld from accomplishing his gracious purposes, whatever difficulties may seem to lie in the way.

n. He owns himself to be guilty of that which God had charged him with in the beginning of his discourse; {v. 3.) ♦' Lord, the first word thou siiidst, was, Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? There needed no more; that word convinced me; I own, / am the man that has been so foolish. That word reached my conscience, and set my sin in order before me; it is too plain to be denied, too bad to be excused; I have hid counsel without knowledge; I have ignorantly overlooked the counsels and designs of God in afflicting me, and tlierefore have quarrelled with God, and insisted too much upon my own justification; Therefore I uttered that I understood not," that is, '* I have passed a judgment upon the dispensations of Prnvj-dence, though I was utterly a stranger to the reasons of them." Here, 1. He owns himself ignorant of the divine counsels; and so we are all. God's judgments are a great deep, which we cannot fathom, much less find out the springs of. We see what God does, but we neither know why he does it, what he is driving at, nor what he will bring it to; these are things too wonderful for us, out of our sight to discover, out of our reach to alter, and out of our jurisdiction to judge of; they are things which we know not, it is quite above our re-

JOB, XLJI.

189

pacity to pass a verdict upon theni: the reason why we quarrel with Providence is, because we do not understand it; and we must be content to be in the dark about it, until the mystery of God shall be finished. 2. He owns himself imprudent and presumptuous, in undertaking to discourse of that which he did not understand, and to arraign that whii'h he could not judge of. He that ansivereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame to him. We wrong ourselves, as well as the cause which we undertake to determine, while we are no competent judges of it.

III. He will not answer, but he will make sufifili-cation lo his Jtidge, as he had said; (c/;. ix. 15.) " Hear, I beseech thee, and I ivitl sfieak, {y. 4.) not speak either as plaintiff or defendant, (c/i. xiii. 22.) but as a humble petitioner; not as one that will undertake to teach and prescribe, but as one that desires to learn, and is willing to be prescribed to. Lord, put no more hard questions to me, for I am not able to answer thee one of a thousand of those which thou hast put; but give me leave to ask instruction from thee, and do not deny it me, do not upbraid me with my folly and self-sufficiency," Jam. i. 5. Now he is brought to the prayer Elihu taught him. That which I see not, teach thou me.

IV. He puts himself into the posture of a penitent, and therein goes upon a right principle. In true repentance there must be not only conviction of sin, but contrition and godly sorrow for it, sorrowing according to God, 2 Cor. vii. 9. Such was Job's sorrow for his sins.

1. Job had an eye to God in his repentance, thought highly of him, and went upon that as the principle of it; (v. 5.) " I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear many a time from my teachers, when I was young; from my friends, now of late; I have known something of thy greatness, and power, and sovereign dominion; and yet was not brought, by what I heard, to submit myself to thee as I ought; the notions I had of these things, served me only to talk of, and had not a due influence upon my mind: but now thou hast by immediate revelation discovered thyself to me in thy glorious majesty; now mine eyes see thee, now I feel the power of those truths which before I had only the notion of, and therefore now I repent, and unsay what I have foolishly said." Note, (1.) It is a great mercy to have a good education, and to know the things of God by tlie insti-uctions of his word and ministers; faith comes by hearing, and then it is most likely to come, when we hear attentively, and with the hearing of the ear. (2.) When the understanding is enlightened by the Spirit of grace, our knowledge of divine things as far exceeds what we had before, as that by ocular demonstration exceeds that by report and common fame. By the teachings of men God reveals his Son to us; but by the teachings of his Spirit he reveals his Son in us, (Gal. i. 16.) and so changes us into the same image, 2 Cor. iii. 18. (3.) God is pleased sometimes to manifest himself most fully to his people by the rebukes of his word and providence; " Now that I have been afflicted, now that I have been told of my faults, now mine eye sees thee. The rod and reproof give wisdom. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest ani teach est."

2. Jo!) had an eye to himself in his repentance, thought liardly of himself, and thereby expressed his sorrow for his sins; {v. 6.) Jl'herefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Observe, (1.) It concerns us to be deeply humbled for the sins we are convinced of, and not to rest in a slight superficial displeasure against oursel\ cs for them. Even good people, that ha\ e no gross enormities to repent of, must be greatly afflicted in soul for the workings and breakings out of pride, passion, pee-

vishness, and discontent, and all their hasty unadvised speeches; for these we must be pricked to the heart, and be in bitterness. Till the enemv be effectually humbled, the peace will be insecure. (2.) Outward expressions of godly sorrow well become penitents; Job repented in dust and ashes. These, without an inward change, do but mock God; but where they come from sincere contritirn of soul, the sinner by them gives glory to God, takes shame to himself, and may be instrument;-,! to bring others to repentance. Job's afflictions had brought him to the ashes, {ch. ii. 8.) he sat down among the ashes; but now his sins brought him thither. True penitents mourn for their sins as heartily as ever they did for any outward afflictions; and are in bitterness, as fur an only son or a firstborn, for they are brought to see more e\ilsin their sins than in their troubles. (3.) Self-loathing is evermore the companion of true repentance; (Ezek. vi. 9.) They shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed. We must not only be angry at ourseh es for the wrong and damage we have by sin done to our own souls, but must abhor ourselves, as having by sin made ourselves odious to the pure and holy God, wlio cannot endure to loi k upon iniquity. If sin be truly an abomination to us, sin in ourselves will especially be so; the nearer it is to us, the more loathsome it will be. (4.) Tlie more we see of the glory and majesty of God, and the more we see of the -vileness and odiousness of sin, and of ourselves because of sin, the more we shall abase and abhor ourselves for it. *' Now mine eyes see what a God he is, whom I have offended, the brightness of that majesty which by wilful sin I have spit in the face of, the tenderness of that mercy which I ha\ e spumed at the bowels of; now I see what a just and holy God he is, whose wrath I have incurred; wherefore I abhor myself. Woe is me, for I am undone," Isa. vi. 5. God had challenged Job to look upon proud men and abase them; "I cannot," says Job, "pretend to it; I have enough to do to get my own proud heart humbled, to abase that and bring that low." Let us leave it to God to go\ em the world, and make it our care, in the strength of his grace, to govern ourselves and our own hearts well.

7. And it was so, that, after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Ehphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends : for ye have not spoken of me the thiri^ that is right, as my servant Job hath. 8. Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept; lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thin^ irhich'is right, like my servant Job. 9, So Eliphaz the Temanite, and Pildad the Shuhite. anrj Zophar the Naamathite, went, and did according as the Lord commanded them : the Lord also accepted Job.

Job, in his discourses, had complained very mucli of the censures of his friends, and their hard usa;;*.' of him, find had appealed to God as Judge betweei him and them, and thought it hard, that judgment was not immediately given upon the appeal. While God was catechising Job out of the whirhvin '. o\<^-

JOB, XLIl.

■would have thought that he only was in the wrong, and that tlie cause would certainly go against him; but here, to our great surprise, we find it quite otherwise, and the definitive sentence given in Job's favour. Wherefore judge nothing before the time. Those who are truly righteous before God, may have their righteousness clouded and eclipsed by great and uncommon afflictions, by the severe censures of men, by their own frailties and foolish passions, by the shaip reproofs of the word and conscience, and the deep humiliation of their own spirits under the sense of God's terrors; and yet, in due time, these clouds shall all blow over, and God will bring forth their righteousness as the light, and their judgment as the noon-day, Ps. xxxvii. 6. He cleared Job's righteousness here, because he, like an honest man, held it fast, and would not let it go. We ha\e here,

I. Judgment given against Job's three fiiends, upon the controversy between them and Job. Elihu is not censured here, for he distinguished himself from the rest in the management of the dispute, and acted, not as a party, but as a moderator; and moderation will have its praise with God, whether it have with men or no. In the judgment here gi\ en, Job is magnified, and his three friends mortified. While we were examining the discourses on both sides, we could not discern, and therefore durst not determine, who was in the right; something of truth we thought they both had on their side, but we could not cleave the hair between them; nor would we, for all the world, have been to give the decisive sentence upon the case, lest we should have determined wrong: but it is well that the judgment is the Lord's, and we are sure that his judgment is according to truth; to it we will refer ourselves, and by it we will abide.

Now, in the judgment here given,

1. Job is greatly magnified, and comes off with honour. He was but one against three, a beggar against three princes, and yet, having God on his side, he needed not fear the result, though thousands set themselves against him. Observe here,

(1.) When God appeared for him; After the Lord had afioken these words unto Job, v. 7. After he had convinced and humbled him, and brought him to repentance, for what he had said amiss, then he owned him in what he had said well, comforted him, and put honour upon him; not till then, fir we are not ready for God's approbation till we judge and condemn ourselves; but then he thus pleaded his cause, for he that has tora, will heal us, he that has smitten, will bind us. The Comforter shall convince, John xvi. 8. See in what method we are to expect divine acceptance; we must first be lium-bled under divine rebukes. After God, by speaking these words, had caused grief, he returned and had compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies; for he will not contend for ever, but will de-})ate in measure, and stay his rough wind in the day of his east wind. Now that Job had humbled himself, God exalted him. True penitents shall find favour with God, and what they have said and done amiss, shall no more be mentioned against them. Then God is well-pleased with us, when we are brought to abhor ourselves.

(2.) How he appeared for him. It is taken for gi'anted that all his offences are forgiven, for if he be dignified, as we find he is here, no doubt he is justified. Job had sometimes intimated with great assurance, that God would clear him at last, and he was not made ashamed of the hope.

[1.] God calls him again and again his servant Job; four times in two verses, and he seems to take u ])le sure in calling him so, as before his troubles, ("'?. i. 8.) " Hast thou considered my servant Job ? r loiigh he is noor and despised, he is my servant,

and as dear to me as when he was in prosperity; though he has his faults, and has appeared to be a man subject to like passions as others; though he has contended with me, has gone about to disannul my judgment, and has darkened counsel by words without knowledge; yet he sees his error, and retracts it, and therefore he is my servant Job still." If we still hold fast the integrity and fidelity of servants to God, as Job did, though we may for a time be deprived of the credit and comfort of the relation, we shall be restored to it at last, as he was. The Devil had undertasen to prove Job a hypocrite, and his three friends had condemned him as a wicked man; but God will confess those whom he accef5ts, and will not suffer them to be run down by tlie malice of liell or earth. If God says. Well done, good and faithful serx<ant, it is of little consequence who says otherwise.

[2.] He owns that he had spoken of him the thing that ivas right, beyond what his antagonists had done; he had gi\en a miich better account of the Divine Providence, than they had done. They had wronged God, by making pnsperity a mark of the true church, and affliction a certain indication of God's wrath; but Job had done him right, by main taining that God's love and hatred are to be judger* of by what is in men, not by what is before them, Eccl. ix. 1. Observe, First, Those do the mos. justice to God and his pro\ idence, who have an eve to the rewaids and punishments of another world more than to those of this, and with the prospect of those soh e the difficulties of the present administration. Job had referred things to the future judgment, and the future state, more than his friends had done, and therefore he spake of God that which was right, better than his friends had done. Secondly, Though Job had spoken some things aniiss, even concerning God, whom he made too bold with, yet he is commended for what he spake that was right. We must not only not reject that which is true and good, but must not deny it its due praise, though there appear in it a mixture of human frailty and infirmity. Thirdly, Job was in the right, and his friends in the wrong, and yet he was in pain, and they at ease; a plain evidence that we cannot judge of men and their sentiments by looking in their faces or purses; He only can do it infallibly, who sees men's hearts.

[3.] He will pass his word for Job, that, notwithstanding all the wrong his friends had done him, he is so good a man, and of such a humble tender forgiving spirit, that he will very readily pray for them, and use his interest in heaven on tlieir behalf. " My servant Job will pray for you, I know he will. I have pardoned him, and he has the comfort of it, and therefore he will pardon you."

[4. ] He appoints him to be the priest of this congregation, and promises to accept him and his mediation for his friends. "Take your sacrifices to my servant Job, for him will I accept." Those whom God washes from their sins, he maizes to himself kings and priests. True penit.ents shall not only find favour as petitioners for themselves, but be accepted as intercessors for others also. It was a great honour that God hereby put upon Job, in appointing him to offer sacrifice for his friends, as fiirmerlv he used to do for his own children, ch. i. 5. And a happy presage it was of his restorati' n to his prosperity again, and indeed a good step towards it, that he was thus restored to the priesthood. Thus he became a type of Christ, through whom alone we and our spiritual sacrifices are ac cefitable to God; see 1 Pet. ii. 5. " Go to my ser vant Job, to my servant Jesus," (from whom for a time he hid his face,) *' put your sacrifices into his liand, make use of him as vour Advocate, for him will I accept, but, out of him, you must expect to

JOB, XLJl.

191

be dealt with according to your folly." And as Jotj' prayed and offered sacrifice f(jr those that had j grieved and wounded lus spirit, so Ch.ist prayed <irid died for his persecutors, and ever lives, making intercession for the transgressors.

2. Job's friends aie greatly mortified. They were good men and belonged to God, and therefore he would not let them lie still in their mistake any more than Job, but, having humbled him by a discourse out of the whirlwind, he takes another course to humble them. Job, who was dearest to him, was first chidden, but the rest in their turn. When they heard Job talked to, it is probable they flattered themselves with a cfuiceit that they were in the right, and Job in all the fault, but God soon took them to task, and made them know the contrary. In most disputes and controversies, there is something amiss on both sides, either in the merits of the cause, or in the management, or in both; and it is fit thnt both sides shoA.ild be told of it, and made to see their errors. God addresses this to EHphaz, not only as the senior, but as the ringleader in the attack made upon Job. Now,

(1.) God tells them plainly, they had not sfioken of him the thing that was right, like Job, that is, they had censured and condemned Job, upon a false hypothesis, had represented God fighting against Jc-H as an Enemy, when really he was only trying Iv.m as a Friend; and this was not right. Those do not say well of God, who represent his fatherly chastisements of his own children as judicial punishments, and who cut them off from his favour up( n the account of them. Note, It is a dangerous thing to judge uncharitably of the spiritual and eternal state of others, for, in so doing, we may perhaps condemn those whom God has accepted, which is a great provocation to him, it is offending his little ones; and he takes himself to be wronged in all the wrongs that are done to them.

(2.) He assures them he was angry with them; My wrath is kindled against thee and thy two friends. God is very angry with those who despise and reproach their brethren, who insult over them, and judge hardly of them, either for their calamities, or for their infirmities. I'hough they were wise and good men, yet, when they spake amiss, God was angry with them, and let them know it.

(3.) He requires from them a sacrifice, to make atonement for what they had said amiss: they must bring each of them se\ en bullocks, and each of them seven rams, to be offered up to God for a burnt-offering; for it should seem, that, before the law of Moses, all sacrifices, even those of atonement, were wholly burnt, and therefor^were so called. They thought they had spoken wonderfully well, and that God was beholden to them for pleading his cause, and owed them a good reward Tr it; but they are told, that, on the contrary, he is displeased with them, requires from them a sacrifice, and threatens, that, otherwise, he will deal with them after their folly. God is often angry at that in us, which we are ourselves proud of, and sees much amiss in that which we think was done well.

(4.) He orders them to go to Job, and beg of him to offer their sacrifices, and pray for them, othei-v^ise they should not be accepted. By this, God designedj [1.] To humble them and lay them low. They thought that they only were the favourites of Heaven, and that Job had no interest there; but God gives them to understand that he had a better interest there than they had, and stood fairer fnr God's acceptance than they did. The day may come, when those who despise and censure God's people will court their favour, and be jnade to know that God has loved them, Rev. iii. 9. The foolish virgins will beg oil of the wise. [2.] To oblige them to make their peace with Job, as the condi-

tion of their making their peace witn God. If thy brother has aught against thee, (as Job had a great deal against them,) first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come a7i4 off, r thy gift. Satisfaction must first be made for wrong done, according as the nature of the thing requires, befoie we can hope to (obtain from God the forgiveness ( f sin. See how thoroughly God espoused the cause of his seivant Job, and engaged in it; God will not be reconciled to those that have offended him, till tliey have first begged his pardon, for, it is to be observed. Job and his friends had differed in their opinion about many things, and been too keen in their reflections one upon another, but now they were to be made friends; in order to that, they are nit to argue the matter o\ er again, and try to give it a new turn, (that might be endless,) hut they must agree in a saci-ifice and a prayer, and that must reconcile them: they must unite in affection and devotion, when they could not concur in the same sentiments. Those who differ in judgment ab( ut lesser things, yet are one in Christ the great Sacrifice, and meet at the same throne of grace, and therefore ought to lo\ e and bear with one another. Once more, observe. When God was angry with Job's friends, he did himself put them in a way to make their peace with him. Our quarrels with God always begin on our part, but the reconciliation begins on his. ''

II. The acquiescence of Job's friends in this ♦ judgment given, v. 9. They were good men, and, as soon as they understood what the mind of the Lord was, they did as he commanded them, and that speedily and without gainsaying, though it was against flesh and blood to court him thus whom they had condemned. Note, Those who would be reconciled to God, must carefully use the prescribed means and methods of reconciliation. Peace with God is to be had only in his own way, and upon his own terms, and they will never seem hard to those who know how to value the privilege, but they will be glad of it upon any terms, though ever so humbling. Job's friends had all joined in accusing Job, and now they join in begging his pardon; those that have sinned together, should repent together. They that appeal to (iod, as both Job and his friends had (ften dene, nmst resolve to stand by his award, whether pleasing or unpleasing to their own mind. And they that conscientiously observe God's commands, need not doubt of his favour; The Lord also accepted Job, and his friends, in answer to his prayer. It is not said. He accepted them, (though that is implied,) but, He accepted Job, for them; so he has made us accepted in the Beloved, Eph. i. 6. Matth. iii. 17. Job did not insult over his friends, upon the testimony God had given concerning him, ;:nd the sul)mission they wej-e obliged to make to him; but, (iod being graciously reconciled to him, he was easily reconciled to them, and then God accepted him. This is what we should aim at in all our prayers and services, to be accepted of the Lord; this must be the top of our ambition, not to have praise of men, but to please God.

10. And the Lord turned the captivity of .Tob, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11. Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house; and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one

an ear-ring of gold. 12. So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: tor he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. 13. He had also seven sons, and three daughters. 14. And he called the name of the first Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia ; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch. 15. And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father ^ave them inheritance among their brethren. 16. After this lived Job a hundred and lorty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations. 17. So Job died, being old and full of days.

Ye have heard of the fiatience of Job, (.says the apostle, Jam. v. 11.) and have seen the end of the Lord, that is, what end the Lord, at length, put to his troubles. In the beginning of this book, we had Job's patience under his troubles, for an example; * here, in the close, for our encouragement to follow that example, we have the happy issue of his troubles, and the prosperous condition to which he was restored after them, which confirms us in counting them happy which endure. Perhaps, too, the extraordinary prosperity which Job was crowned with after his afflictions, was intended to be to us Christians a type and figure of the glory and happiness of heaven, which the afflictions of this present time are working for us, and in which they will issue at last; this will be more than double to all the delights and satisfactions we now enjoy, as Job's after-prosperity was to his former, though then he was the greatest of all the men of the east. He that rightly endures temptation, when he is tried, shall receive a crown of life, (Jam. i. 12.) as Job, when he was tried, received all the wealth, and honour, and comfort, which here we have an account of.

I. God returned in ways of mercy to him; and his thoughts concerning him were thoughts of good, and not of evil, to give the exfiected (nay the unex-fiected) end, Jer. xxix. 11. His troubles began in Satan's malice, which God restrained; his restoration began in God's mercy, which Satan could not oppose! Job's sorest complaint, and indeed the sorrowful accent of all his complaints, on which he laid the greatest emphasis, was, that God appeared against him: but now God plainly appeared for him, and watched over him to build and to filant, like as he had (at least, in his apprehension) watched over him to filuck up and to throw down, Jer._ xxxi. 28. This put a new face upon his aflFairs immediately, and every thing now looked as pleasing and {)romising, as, before, it had looked gloomy and frightful. 1. God turned his cafitivity, that is, he redressed his grievances, and took away all the causes of his romplnnts; he loosed him from the bond with which yatan had now, for a great while, bound him, and delivered him out of those cruel hands into which he had delivered him. We may suppose that now all his bodily pains and distempers were healed, so suddenly, and so thoroughly, that the cure was next to miraculous; His flesh became fresher than a child's, and he returned to the days of his youth; what was more, he felt a very great alteration in his mind; it was calm and easy, and the tumult was all over, his disquieting thoughts were all vanished, his fears silenced, and the conso-

n^

Jations of God were now as much the delight of his soul, as his terrors had been its burthen. The tide thus turned, and his troubles began to ebb as fi.st as they had flowed, just then ni^/ien he was firaying for his friends, praying over his sacrifice which he offered for them. Mercy did not return, when he was disputing with his friends, no, not though he had right on his side, but when lie was praying f« r them; for God is better served and pleased with our warm devotions than with our warm disputations. When Job completed his repentance by this instance of \\\?, forgiving men their trespasses, then God completed his remission by turning his captivity. Note, We are'really doing our business, when we are praying for our friends, if we pray in a right manner, for in those prayers there is not only faith, but love. Christ has taught us \.o pray with, and for, others, in teaching us to say, Our Father; and in seeking mercy for others, we may find mercy ourselves. Our Lord Jesus has his exaltation and dominion there, where he ever lives making intercession. Some, by the turning of Job's captivity, understand the restitution which the Sabeans and Chaldeans made of the cattle which they had taken from him, God wonderfully inclining them to do it; and with these he began the world again. Probably, it was so; those spoilers had swallowed down hia riches, but they were forced to vomit them up again, ch. XX, 15. But I rather understand this more generally of the turn now given. 2. God doubled his possessions; Also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. It is probable that he did at first, by some way or other, intimate to him, that it was his gracious purpose, by degrees, in due time, to bring him to such a height of prosperity, that he should have twice as much as ever he had, for the encouraging of his hope and the quickening of his industry, and that it might appear that this wonderful increase was a special token of God's favour. And it may be considered as intended, (1.) To balance his losses: he suffered for the gloiy of God, and therefore God made it up to him with advantage, and allowed him more than interest upon interest. God will take care that none shall lose by him. (2.) To recompense his patience and his confidence in God, which (notwithstanding the Avork-ings of corruption) he did not cast away, but still held fast, and that is it which has a great recompense of reward, Heb. x. 35. Job's friends had often put their severe censure of Job upon this issue. If thou wert pure and upright, surely now he would awake for thee, ch. viii. 6. But he does not awake for thee, therefore thou art not upright; "Well," says God, "though your argument be not conclusive, I will, even by that, demonstrate the integrity of my servant Job; his latter end shall greatly increase, and by that it shall appear, since you will have it so, that it was not for any injustice in his hands, that he suffered the loss of all things." Now it appeared that Job had reason to bless God for taking away, (as he did, ch. i. 21.) since it made so good a return.

II. His old acquaintance, neighbours, and relations, were very kind to him, x'. 11. They had been estranged from him, and it was not the least of the grievances of his afflicted state; he bitterly complained of their unkindness, ch. xix. 13, 5cc But now they visited him, with all possible expressions of affection and respect. 1. They put honour upon him, in coming to dine with him as formerly, (but we may suppose) privately bringing their entertainment along with them, so that he had the reputation of feasting them without the expense. 2. They sympathized with him, and showed a '( n-der concern for him, such as becomes !)rcthr(i\ They bemoaned him, when they talked ovi-r the calamities of his afflicted state; and comforted him.

JOB, XLII.

193

when they took n«<tice of God's gracious returns to him. They wept for his griefs, and rejoiced in his joys, and proved not such misei'able comforters as his three friends, that, at first, were so forward and officious to attend him. These were not such great men, nor such learned and eloquent men as those, but they proved much more skilful and kind in comforting Job. God sometimes chooses the foolish and weak things of the world, as for conviction, so for comfort. 3. They made a collection among them for the repair of his losses, and the setting of him up again: they did not think it enough to say, Be warmed, Be filled, but gave him such things as would be of use to him, Jam. ii. 16. Every one gave him a piece of money, some more, it is likely, and some less, according to their ability, and every one an ear-ring of gold, (an ornament much used by the children of the east,) which would be as good as money to him; this was a superfluity which they could well spare, and the rule is. That our abundance must be a supply to our brethren's necessity. But why did Job's relations now, at length, show this kindness to him? (1.) God put it in their hearts to do so; and every creature is that to us that he makes it to be. Job had acknowledged God in their estrangement from him, for which he now rewarded him in turning them to him again. (2.) Perhaps some of them withdrew from him because they thought him a hypocrite, but, now that his integrity was made manifest, they returned to him, and to communion with him again. When God was friendly to him, they were all willing to be friendly too, Ps. cxix. 74, 79. Others of them, it may be, withdrew, because he was poor, and sore, and a rueful spectacle, but now that he began to recover, they were willing to renew their acquaintance with him. Swallow-friends, that are gone in winter, will return in the spring, though their friendship is of little value. (3.) Perhaps the rebuke which God had given to Eliphaz and the other two, for their unkindness to Job, awakened the rest of his friends to return to their duty. Reproofs to others we should thus take as admonitions and instructions to us. 4. Job prayed for his friends, and then they flocked about him, overcome by his kindness, and every one desiring an interest in his prayers.. The more we pray for our fiiends and relations, the moie comfort we may expect in them.

III. His estate strangely increased, by the blessing of God upon the little that his friends gave him. He thankfully received their courtesy, and did not think it below him to have his estate repaired by contributions; he did not, on the one hand, urge his . /friends to raise money for him, he acquits himself ^ from that, {ch. vi. 22!) Did I say. Bring iinto me or give me a reward of your substance'/ Yet what they brought, he thankfully accepted, and did not upbraid them with their former unkindnesses, nor ask them why they did not do this sooner; he was neither so covetous and griping as to ask their charity, nor so proud and ill-natured as to refuse it, when they offered it; and being in so good a temper, God gave him that which was far better than their money and ear-rings, and that was, his blessing, V. 12. The Lord comforted him now, according to the days wherein he had afflicted him, and blessed his latter end more than his beginning. Oh-. sei've, 1. The blessing of the Lord makes rich; it is "he that gives us power to get wealth, and gives success in honest endeavours. Those therefore that would thrive, must have an eye to God's blessing, and never go out of it, no, not into the warm sun; and those that have thriven, must not sacrifice to their own net, but acknowledge their obligations to God for his blessing. 2. That blessing can make

Vol. III.—2 B

very rich, and sometimes make good people so. Those that are become rich by getting, think they can easily make themselves very rich by saving; but as those that have little, must depend upon God to make it much, so those that have much, must depend upon (iod to make it more and to double it, else ye have sown much, and bring in little. Hag. i. 6. 3. The last days of a good man sometimes prove his best days, his last works his best works, his last comforts his best comforts; for his path, like that of the morning-light, shines more and more to the perfect day. Of a wicked man it is said. His last state is worse than his first, (Luke xi. 26.) but of the upright man. His end is peace; and sometimes the nearer it is, the clearer are the views of it. In respect of outward prosperity, God is pleased sometimes to make the latter end of a good man's life more comfortable than the former part of it has been, and strangely to outdo the expectations of his afflicted people, who thought they should never have li\ ed to see better davs, that we may not despair even in the depths of adversity; we know not what good times we may yet be reserved for in our latter end. JVon si male nunc, et olim sic erit — It may be well with us, though now it is otherwise. Job, in his affliction, had wished to be as in months past, iis rich as he had been before, and quite despaired of that; but God is often better to us than our own fears, nay, than our own wishes, for Job's possessions were doubled to him; the number of his cattle, his sheep and camels, his oxen and she-asses, is just double here to what it was, ch. i. 3., This is a remarkable instance of the extent of the Divine Providence to things that seem minute, as this, of the exact number of a man's cattle; as also of the harmony of Providence, and the reference of one event to another; for known unto God are all his works, from the beginning to the end. Job's other possessions, no doubt, were increased in proportion to his cattle, lands, money, and servants, &c. So that if before he was the greatest of all the men of the east, what was he now?

IV. His family was built up again, and he had great comfoj-t in his children, v. 13*-IS. The last of his afflictions that are recorded, (ch. i.) and the most grievous, was, the death of all his children at once: his friends upbraided him with it, (ch. viii, 4.) but God repaired even that breach in process of time, either by the same wife, or, she being dead, by another. 1. The number of his children was tlie same as before, sexien sons and three daughters. Some gi\e this reason why they were not doubled as his cattle were, because his children that were dead, were not lost, but gone before to a better world; and therefore if he have but the same number of them, they may be reckoned doubled, for he has two fleeces of children, (as I may say,) Mahanaim —7 too hosts, one in heaven, the other on earth, and in both he is rich. 2. The names of his daughters are here registered, (v. 14.) because, in the significations of them, they seemed designed to perpetuate the remembrance of God's great goodness to him in the surprisingchangeof his condition; he called the first Jemima, The day, (whence perhaps Diana had her name,) because of the shining forth of his prosperity after a dark night of affliction. The next Kezia, a spice of a very fragrant smell, because (says Bishop Patrick) God had healed his ulcers. The third Kerev-happuch, that is. Plenty restored, or j1 horn of paint; because (says he) God had wiped away the tears which fnuled his face, ch. xvi. 16. Concerning these daughters we are here told, v. 15. (1.) That God adorned them with great beauty, no women so fair as the daughters of Job. In the Old Testament we often find women praised for their beauty, as Sarah, Rebekah,

JOB, XLIl.

and many others; but we never find any women m the New Testament, whose beauty is in the least t^en notice of, no not the Virgin Mary herself, because the beauty of holiness is that which is bi-ought to a much clearer light by the gospel. (2.) That their father (God enabling him to do it) supplied them with great fortunes. He ^ave them inheritance among their brethren, and did not turn them off with small portions, as most did. It is probable that they had some extraordinary personal merit, which Job had an eye to in the extraordinary favour he showed them. Perhaps they excelled their brethren in wisdom and piety; and therefore, that they might continue in his family, to be a stay and blessing; to it, he made them co-heirs with their brethren. Y. His life was long. What age he was, when his troubles came, we are no where told; but here we are told he lived 140 years; whence some conjecture that he was 70 when he was in his troubles,

and that so his age was doubled, as his other f>os-sessions.

1. He lived to have much of the comfort of this life, for he saw his posterity to the fourth generation, V. 16. Though his children were not doubled to him, yet, in his children's children, (and those are the crown of old men,) they were more than doubled. As God appointed to Adam another seed instead of that which was slain, (Gen. iv. 25.) so he did to Job with advantage. God has ways to repair the losses, and balance the griefs, of those who are written childless, as Job was, when he had buried all his children.

2. He lived till he was satisfied, for he died full of days, satisfied with living in this world, and willing to leave it; not peevishly so, as in the days of his affliction, but piously so, and thus, as Eliphaz had encouraged him to hope, he came to hia grave like a shock of com in his season.

AN

EXPOSITION,

WITH

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS,

OF THE BOOK OF

PSALMS.

We have now before us one of the choicest and most excellent parts of all the Old Testament; nay, so much is there in it of CHRIST and his gospel, as well as of G(.)D and his law, that it has been called the abstract, or summary, of both Testaments. The History of Israel, which we were long upon, led us to camps and council-boards, and there entertained and instructed us in the knowledge of GOD. The book of Job brought us into the schools, and treated us with profitable disputations concerning GOD and his providence; but this book brings us into the sanctuary, draws us off from converse with men, with the politicians, philosophers, or disputers, of this world, and directs us into communion with (iOD, by solacing and reposing our souls in him, lifting up, and letting out, our hearts toward him. Thus may we be in the mount with GOD; and we understand not ourselves, if we say not, // is good to be here.

Let us consider,

I. The title of this book. It is called, 1. The Psalms; under that title it is referred to, Luke xxiv. 44. The Hebrew calls it Tehillim, which properly signifies Psalms of firaise; because many of them are SU( h: but Psalms is a more general word, meaning all metrical compositions fitted to be sung, which may as well be historical, doctrinal, or supplicatory, as laudatory. Though expi-ess and to excite all the other affections, as well as this of joy. The priests had a mournful muse as well as joyful ones; and the divine institution of singing yjsalms is tlivis largely displayed; for we ai'e directed, not only to praise GOD, but to teach and admonish oursel\ es and one another in fisalms, and hymns, and spiritual song^s. Col. iii. 16. 2. It is called the Book of Psalms; so it is quoted by St. Peter, Acts i. 20. It is a collection of psalms, of all the psalms that were divinely inspired, which, though composed at several times and upon several occasions, are here put together without any reference to, or dependence upon, one another; thus they were preserved from being scatteied and lost, and laid in so much greater readiness for the ser\ ice of the church. See what a good Master we serve, and what pleasantness there is in wisdom's ways, when we are not only commanded to sing at our work, and have cause enough given us to do so, but have words also put in our mouths, and songs prepared to our hands.

II. The Author of this book. It is, no doubt, derived originally from the Blessed Spirit. They are spiritual songs, words which the Holy Ghost taught. The penman of most of them was David, the son of Jesse, who is therefore called the sweet Psalmist of Israel, 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. Some that have not his name in their titles, yet are expressly ascribed to him elsewhere; as Ps. ii. (Acts iv. 25.) and Ps. xcvi. cv. (1 Chron. xvi.) One psalm is expressly said to be the firayer of Moses; (Ps. xc.) and that some of the psalms were penned by Asaph, is intimated, 2 Chron. xxix. 30. where they are said to firaise the Lord in the words of David, and Asafih, who is there called a seer or fxrofihet. Some of the psalms seem to have been penned long after; as Ps. cxxxvii. at the time of the captivity in Babylon; but the far greater part of them were certainly penned by David himself, whose genius lay toward poetry and music, and who was raised up, qualified, and animated, for the establishing of the ordinance of singing psalms in the church of GOD, as Moses and Aaron were, in their day, for the settling of the ordinances of sacrifice; theirs is superseded, but his remains, and will to the end of time, when it shall be swallowed up in the songs of eternity. Herein David was a type of CHRIST, who descended from him, not from Moses, because he came to take away sacrifice, (the family of Moses was soon lost and extinct,) but to establish and perpetuate joy and praise; for of the family of Da\id in CHRIST there shall tie no end.

III. The scope of it. It is manifestly intended, 1. To assist the exercises of natura. religion, and to kindle in the souls of men those devout affections which we owe to GOD as our Creator, Owner, Ruler, and Benefactor. The book of Job helps to prove our first principles of the divine perfections and providence; but this helps to improve them in prayers and praises, and professions of desire toward him, dependence on him, and an entire devotedness and resignation to him. Other parts of scripture show tnat CiOD is infinitely above man, and his sovereign LORD; but this shows us that he may, notwithstanding, be conversed with by us sinful worms of the earth; and there are ways in which, if it be not our own fault, we may keep up communion with him in all the various conditions of human life. 2. To

advance the excellencies of revealed religion, and, in the most pleasing powerful manner, to recommend it to the woild. There is indeed little or nothing, in all the book of Psalms, of the ceremonial law. Though sacrifice and offering were yet to continue many ages, yet they are here represented as things which GOD did not desire, (Ps. xl. 6.—li. 16.) as things comparatively little, and which, in time, were to vanish away. But the word and law of GOD, those parts of it which are moral, and of peroetual obligation, are here, all along, magnified and made honourable, no where more. And CHRIST, the Crown and Centre of revealed religion, the Foundation, Comer, and Top-stone, of that blessed building, is here clearly spoken of in type and prophecy; both his sufferings and the glory that should follow, and the kingdom that he should set up in the world, which GOD's covenant with David, concerning his kingdom, was to have its accomplishment in. What a high value does this book put upon the word of GOD, his statutes and judgments, his covenant, and the great and precious promises of it; and how does it recommend them to us as our guide and stay, and our heritage for ever!

JV. The use of it. All scripture, being given by inspiration of GOD, is profitable to convey divine light into our understandings; but this book is of singular use witli that to convey divine life and power, and a holy warmth, into our affections. There is no one book of scripture that is more helpful to the devotions of the saints than this, and it has been so in all ages of the church, ever since it was written, and the several parts of it delivered to the chief musician, for the service of the church. 1. It is of use to be sung. Further than David's psalms we may go, but we ?ieed not, for hymns and spiritual songs. What the rules of the Hebrew metre were, even the learned are not certain. But these psalms ought to be rendered according to the metre of every language, at least, so as that they may be sung for the edification of the church. And methinks it is a great comfort to us, when we are singing David's psalms, that we are offering the very same praises to GOD, that were offered him in the days of David and the other godly kings of Judah. So rich, so well made, are these divine poems, that they can never be exhausted, can never be worn thread-bare. 2. It is of use to be read and opened by the ministers of CHRIST, as containing great and excellent truths, and i-ules concerning good and evil. Our Lord JESUS expounded the psalms to his disciples, the gospel psalms, and opened their understandings (for he had the key of David) to understand them, Luke xxiv. 44. 3. It is of use to be read and meditated upon by all good people. It is a full fountain, out of which we may all be drawing water with joy. The rsalmist's experiences are of great use for our direction, caution, and encouragement. In telling us, as he often does, what passed between God and his soul, he lets us know what we may expect from GOD, and what he will expect, and require, and graciously accept, from us. David was a man after GOD's own heart, and therefore those who find themselves in some measure according to his heart, have reason to hope that they are renewed by the grace of GOD, after the image of GOD, and may have much comfort in the testimony of their consciences for them, that they can heartily say jimen to David's prayers and praises. 4. Even the Psalmist's expressions too are of great use; and by them tlie Spirit helps our praying infirmities, because we know not what to pray for as we ought. In all our approaches to GOD, as well as in our first returns to GOD, we are directed to take ivith us words, (Hos. xiv. 2.) these words, words which the Holy Ghost teaches. If we make David's psalms familiar to us, as we ought to do, whatever errand we have at the throne of grace, by way of confession, petition, or thanksgi\ing, we may from thence be assisted in the delivery of it; whatever devout affection is working in us, holy desire or hope, sorrow or joy, we may there find apt words wherewith to clothe it; sound speech which cannot be condemned. It will be good to collect the most proper and lively expressions of devotion, which we find here, and to methodize them, and reduce them to the several heads of prayer, thut they may be tlie more ready to us. Or, we may take sometimes one choice psalm, and sometimes another, and pray it over, that is, enlarge upon each verse in our own thoughts, and offer up our meditations to God, as they arise from the expressions we find there. The learned Dr. Hammond, in his preface to the paraphrase on the Psalms, (sect. 29.) says, "That going over a few psalms with these interpunctions of mental devotion, suggested, animated, and maintained, by the native life and vigour which is in the psalms, is much to be preferred before the saying over of the whole Psalter; since nothing is more fit to be a\ erted in religious offices, than their degenerating into heartless, dispirited, recitations." If, as St. Austin advises, we form our spirit by the affection of the psalm, we may then be sure of acceptance with GOD, in using the language of it. Nor is it only our devotion, and the affections of our mind, that the book of Psalms assists, teaching us how to offer praise so as to glorify GOD, but it is also a directory to the actions of our lives, and teaches us how to ordfr our conversation aright, so as that, in the end, nve inay see the salvation of GOD, Ps. L 23. The Psalms were thus serviceable to the Old Testament Church, but to us Christians thev may be of more use than they could be to them who lived before the coming of CHRIST; for, as Moses's sacrifices, so David's songs, are expounded and made more intelligible by the gospel of CHRIST, which lets us within the veil; so that, if to David's prayers and praises we add St. Paul's prayers in his Epistles, and the new songs in the Revelation, we shall be thoroughly furnished for this good work; for the scripture, perfected, makes the man of GOD perfect.

As to the division of this book, we need not be solicitous; there is no connexion (or very seldom) between one psalm and another, nor any reason discernible for the placing of them m the order wherein w« here find them; but it seems to he ancient, for that which is now the second psalm, was so in the Apostles' time, Acts xiii. 33. The vulgar Latin joins the ix. and x. together; all popish authors quote by that, so that thenceforward, throughout the book, their number is one short of ours; our xi. is their x.; our cxix. their cxviii. But then they divide the cxlvii. into two, and so make up the number ol cl. Some have endeavoured tq reduce the psalms to proper heads, according to the matter of them, but there is often such a variety of matter in one and the same psalm, that it cannot be done with any certainty; but the seven penitential psalms have been in aparticularmanner singled out by the devotions of many. They are reckoned to be the vi, xxxii, xxxviii, li, cii, cxxx, and cxliii. The psalms were divided into five books,each concluding with Jmen, Jmen, or Hallelujah; the first ending with Ps.xli, the second with Ps. Ixxii, the third with Ps. Ixxxix, the fourth with Ps. cvi, the fifth with Ps. cl. Others divide them into three fifties; others into sixty parts, two for every day of the month, one for the morning, the other for the evening. Let good Christians divide them for themselves, so as may best increase their acquaintance with them, that they may have them at hand upon all occasions, and may sing them in the spirit and with the understanding.

PSALMS, I.

197

PSALM L

This is a psalm of instruction concerning good and evil, setting before us life and death, the blessing and the curse, that we may take the right way which leads to happiness, and avoid that which will certainly end in our misery and ruin. The diiferent character and condition of godly people and wicked people, those that serve God and those that serve him not, is here plainly stated in a few words; so that every man, if he will be faithful to himself, may here see his own face, and then read his own doom. That division of the children of men into saints and sinners, righteous and unrighteous, the children of God and the children of the wicked one, as it is ancient, ever since the struggle began between sin and grace, the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, so it is lasting, and will survive all other divisions and subdivisions "of men into high and low, rich and poor, bond and free; for by this, men's everlasting state will be determined, and the distinction will last as long as heaven and hell. This psalm shows us, I. The holiness and happiness of a godly man, v. 1 • -3. II. The sinfulness and miseryofawickedman, V. 4, 5. III. The ground and reason of both, V. 6. Whoever collected the psalms of David, (probably it was Ezra,) with good reason put this psalm first, as a preface to the rest, because it is absolutely necessary, to the acceptance of our devotions, that we be righteous before God, (for it is only the prayer of the upright that is his delight,) and, therefore, that we be right in our notions of blessedness, and in our choice of the way that leads to it. Those are not fit to put up good prayers, who do not walk in good ways.

1.

LESSED is the man that walketh

x3 not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful: 2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord ; and in liis law doth he meditate day and night. 3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth fortli his fruit in his season: his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The psalmist begins with the character and condition of a godly man, that those may first take the comfort of that, to whom it belongs. Here is,

I. A description given of the godly man's spirit and wav, by which we are to try ourselves. The Lord knows them that are his by name, but we must know them by their character; for that is agreeable to a state of probation, that we may study to answer to the character, which is indeed both the command of the law, which we are bound in duty to obey, and the condition of the promise, which we are bound in interest to fulfil. The character of a good man is here given by the rules he chooses to walk by, and to take .his measures from. What we take at our setting out, and at every turn, for the guide of our conversation, whether the course of this world, or the word of God,_ is of material consequence. An error in the choice of our standard and leader, is original and fatal; but if we be right here, we are in a fair way to do well.

1. A godly man, that he may avoid the evil, utterly renounces the conduct of evil-doers, and will nnt be led by them; (f. 1.) He walks not in the coimftelof the ungodly, &c. This part of his character is put first, because those that will keep the commandments of their God, must say to evildoers, Depart from us; (cxix. 115.) aiid departing from evil, is that in which wisdom begins. (1.) He sees evil-doers round about him, the world is full of them, they walk on every side; they are here described by three characters, ungodly, sinners, and scornful. See by what steps men arrive at the height of impiety: .N'emo refiente Jit turfmsiinus — JSTone reach the height of vice at once. They are un-

godly first, casting oif the fear of God, and living in the neglect of their duty to him: but they rest not there; when the services of religion are laid aside, they come to be sinners, they break out into open rebellion against God, and engage in the service of sin and Satan; omissions make way for commissions; and by these the heart is so hardened, that, at length, they come to be scorners, they openly defy all that is sacred, scoff at religion, and make a jest of sin. Thus is the way of iniquity down hill; the bad grow worse, sinners themselves become tempters to others, and advocates for Baal. The word which we translate ungodly, signifies such as are unsettled, aim at no certain end, and walk by no certain rule, but are at the command of every lust, and at the beck of every temptation. The word for sinners, signifies such as' are determined for the practice of sin, and set it up as their trade. The scornful, are those that set their mouths agai?ist the heavens. These the good man sees with a sad heart, they are a constant vexation to his righteous soul. But, (2.) He shuns them, wherever he sees them. He does not do as they do; and, that he may not, he does not converse familiarly with them. [1.] He does not nvalk in the counsel of the ungodly; he is not present at their councils, nor does he advise with them; though they are ever so witty, and subtle, and learned, it they are ungodly, they shall not be the men of his counsel; he does not consent to them, nor say as they say; (Luke xxiii. 51.) he does not take his measures from their principles, nor act according to the advice which they give and take. The ungodly are forward to give their advice against religion, and it is managed so artfully, that we have reason to think ourselves happy, if we escape being tainted and ensnared by it. [2.] He stands not in the way of sinners; he avoids doing as they do; their way shall not be his way, he will not come into it, much less will he continue in it, as the sinner does, who sets himself in a way that is not good, xxxvi. 4. He avoids (as much as may be) being where they are: that he may not imitate them, he will not associate with them, nor ^oose them for his companions. He does not st#ld in their way, to be picked up by them, (Prov. vii. 8.) but keeps as far from them as from a place or person infected with the plague, for fear of the contagion, Prov. iv. 14, 15. He that would be kept from harm, must keep out of harm's way. [3.] Ue sits not in the seat of the scornful; he does not repose himself with those that sit down secure in their wickedness, and please themselves with the seared-ness of their own consciences; he does not associate with those that sit in close cabal, to find out ways and means for the suppoit and advancement of the Devil's kingdom, or that sit in open judgment, magisterially to condemn the generation of the righteous. The seat of the drunkards, is the seat of the scornful, Ixix. 12. Happy is the man that never sits in it, Hos. vii. 5.

2. A godly man, that he may do that which is good and cleave to it, submits to the direction of the word of God, and makes that familjar to him, v. 2. This is that which keeps him out of the way of the ungodly, and fortifies him against their temptations; By the words of thy lips t have kept me from the path of the deceiver, xvii. 4. We need not court the fellowship of sinners, either for pleasure or for improvement, while we have fellowship with the word of God, and with God himself in and by his word; When thou wakest, it shall talk with 'thee, Prov. vi. 22. We may judge of our spiritual state by asking, "What is the law of God to us? _What account do we make of it? What place has it in us?" See here, (1.) The entire affection which a good man has for the law of God; his delight is in it. He delights in it, though it be a law. a yoke, because it

PSALMS, 1.

IS the law of God, which is holy, just, and good, which he freely consents to, and so delights in, after the inner man, Rom. vii. 16, 22. All who are well pleased that there is a God, must be well pleased that there is a Bible, a revelation of God, of his will, and the only way to happiness in him. (2.) The iiidmate acquaintance which a good man keeps up with the word of God; in that law doth he meditate day and night; by this it appears that his delight is in it, for what we love, we love to think of, cxix. 97. To meditate on God's word, is to discourse with ourselves concerning the great things contained in it, with a close application of mind, a fixedness of thought, till we be suitably affected with those things, and experience the favour and power of them in our hearts. This we must do, day and night; we must have a constant habitual regard to the word of God, as the rule of our actions and the spring of our comforts, and we must have it in our thoughts, accordingly, upon every occasion that occurs, whether night or day. No time is amiss for meditating on the word of God, nor any time unseasonable for those visits. We must not only set ourselves to meditate on God's word, morning and e\ ening, at the entrance of the day and of the night; but these thoughts should be interwoven with the business and converse of every day, and with the repose and slumbers of every night; When J awake, I am still with thee.

II. An assurance given of the godly man's happiness, witli which we should encourage ourselves to answer the character of such.

1. In general, he is blessed, v. 1. God blesses him, and that blessing will make him happy. Blessednesses are to him; blessings of all kinds, of the upper and nether springs, enough to make him completely happy; none of the ingredients of happiness shall be wanting to him. When he undertakes to describe a blessed man, he describes a good man; for, after all, those only are happy, truly happy, that aie holy, truly holy; and we are mo^e concerned to know the way to blessedness, than to know wherein blessedness will consist. Nay, goodness and holiness are not only the way to happiness, (Rev.xxii. 14.) but happiness itself; supposing there was not another life after this, yet that man is a happy man, that keeps in the way of his duty.

2. His blessedness is here illustrated by a similitude; (x;. 3.) He shall be like a tree, fruitful and flourishing. This is the effect, (1.) Of his pious practice: he meditates in the law of God, turns that in succum et sanguinem — into juice and blood, and that makes him like a tree. The more we converse with the word of (iod, the better furnished we are for every good word and work. Or, (2.) Of the promised blessing; he is blessed of the Lord, and therefore he shall be like a tree. The divine blessing produces real effects. It is the happiness of a godly man, [1.] That he is planted by the grace of God ; these trees were by nature wild olives, and will continue so till they are grafted anew, and so planted by a power from above. Never any good tree grew of itself, it is the planting of the Lord, and therefore he must in it be glorified; (Isa. Ixi. 3.) The trees of the Lord are full of sa/i. [2. ] That he is placed by the means of grace; here called the rix>ers of water, those rivers which make glad the city of our God; (xlvi. 4.) from these a good man receives supplies of strength and \igour, but in secret, un-discerned ways. [3.] That his practices shall be fruit, aljounding to a good account, Phil. iv. 17. To those whom (iod first blessed, he said, Be fruitful; (Gen. i. 22.) and still, the comfort and honour of fruitfulness are a recompense for the labour of it. It is expected from, those who enjoy the mercies of grace, that, both \n the temper of their minds, and in the tenor of their lives, they comply with the intentions of that grace, and then they bring forth

fruit. And, be it observed to the praise of the great Dresser of the vineyard, they bring forth their tiniit, (that which is required of them,) in due season, when it is most beautiful and most useful; improving every opportunity of doing ^ood, and doing it in its proper time. [4.] That his profession shall be preserved from blemish and decay; His leaf shall not wither. Even the leaf of those who bring foi-th only the lea\ es of profession, without any good fi-uit, will wither, and they shall be as nmch'ashrmcd rf their profession as ever they were proud of it; but if the word of God rule in the heart, that will keep the profession green, both to our comfort and to cur credit; the laurels, thus won, shall never wither. [5.] That prosperity shall attend him, wherever he goes, soul-prosperity. Whatever he does, in conformity to the law, it shall prosper and succeed, to his mind, or above his hope.

In singing these verses, being duly affected with the malignant and dangerous nature of sin, and transcendent excellencies of the divine law, and the power and efficacy of God's grace, from which our fruit is found, we must teach and admonish our selves, and one another, to watch against sin and all approaches toward it, to converse much with the word of God, and abound in the fruit of righteousness: and, in praying over them, we must seek to God for his grace both to fortify us against every evil word and work, and to furnish us for every good word and work.

4. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. *

Here is,

1. The description of the ungodly given, v. 4. (1.) In general; they are the reverse of the righteous, both in character and condition; they are not so. The LXX emphatically repeat this, not so the ungodly, they are not so; they are led by the counsel of the wicked, in the way of sinners, to the seat of the scornful; they have no delight in the law of God, nor ever think of it; they bring forth no fniit, but grapes of Sodom; they cumber the ground. (2.) In particular; whereas the righteous are like useful, fruitful, trees, they are like the chaff which the wind drives away, the very lightest of the chaff, the dust which the owner of the floor desires to have driven away, as not capable of being put to any use. Would you value them? Would you weigh them? They are like chaff, of no worth at all in God's account, how highly soever they may value themselves. Would you know the temper of their minds? They are light and vain, they have no substance in them, no solidity; they arc easily driven to and fro by every wind and temptation, and have no steadfastness. "Would you know their end? The wrath of God will drive them away in their wickedness, as the wind does the chaff, which is never gathered, or looked after more. The chaff niav be for a while, among the wheat; but He is coming, whose fan is in his hand, and who will thoroughly purge his floor. They that bv their own sin and folly make themselves as chaff, will be found so, before the whirlwind and fire of divine wrath, (xxxv. 5.) so unable to stand before it, or to escape it, Isa. xvii. 13.

2. The doom of the ungodly read, ik 5. (1.) They will be cast, upon their trial, as traitors convicted; they shall not stand in the Jiidgtnent; they shall be found guilty, shall hang down the head with shame

PSALMS, 11.

1U9

s.nd confusion, and all their pleas and excuses will be overruled as frivolous. 1 here is a judgment to come, in which e\ ery man's present character and work, though ever so artfully concealed and disguised, shall be truly and perfectly discovered, and appear in their own colours, and every man's future state will be, by an irreversible sentence, determined for eternity. The ungodly must appear in that judgment, to receive according to the things done in the body; they may hope to come off, nay, to come off with honour, but their hope will deceive them; they shall not stand in the judgment; so plain will the evidence be against them, and so just and impartial will the judgment be upon it. (2.) They will be for ever shut out from the society of the blessed; they shall not stand in the congregation of the righteous; in the judgment, so some, in that court wherein the saints, as assessors with Christ, shall judge the world, those holy myriads with which he shall come to execute judgment ufion all, Jude 14. 1 Cor. vi. 2. Or, in heaveri; there will be seen, shortly, a general assembly of the church of the Jirst-born, a congregation of the righteous, of all the saints, and none but saints, and saints made perfect, such a congregation of them as ne\er was in this world, 2 Thess. ii. 1. The wicked shall not have a place in the congregation. Into the new Jerusalem none unclean or unsanctified shall enter; they shall see the righteous enter into the kingdom, and themselves, to their everlasting vexation, thrust out, Luke xiii. 27. The wicked and profane, in this world, ridiculed the righteous and their congregation, despised them, and cared not for their company; justly, therefore, will thev be for ever separated from them. Hypocrites, in this world, under the disguise of a plausible profession, may thrust themselves into the congregation of the righteous, and remain undisturbed and undiscov ered tl\ere; but Christ cannot be imposed upon, though his ministers may; the day is coming when he will separate between the sheep and the goats, the tares and the nvheat; see Matth. xiii. 41, 49. That great day, so the Chaldee here calls it, will be a day of discovery, a day of distinction, and a day of final division. Then you shall return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, which here it is sometimes hard to do, Mai. iii. 18.

3. The reason rendered of t\\\s different state of the godly and wicked, v. 6. (1.) God must have all the glory of the prosperity and happiness of the righteous. They are blessed, because the Lord knows their way; he chose them into it, inclined them to choose it, leads and guides them in it, and orders all their steps. (2.) Sinners must bear all the blame of their own destruction. Therefore the ungodly perish, because the very way in which they have chosen and resolved to walk, leads directly to destruction; it naturally tends toward ruin, and therefore must necessarily end in it. Or, we may take it thus, The Lord approves of, and is well pleased with, the way of the righteous, and there-fire, under the influence of his gracious smiles, it shall prosper, and end well; but he is angry at the way of the wicked, all they do is offensive to him, and therefore it shall perish, and they in it. It is certain that every man's judgment proceeds from the Lord, and it is well or ill with us, and is likely to be so to all eternity, according as we are, cr are not, accepted of God. Let this supprrt the drooping spirits of the righteous, that the Lord knows their way, knows their hearts, (Jer. xii. 3.) knows^ their secret devotions, (Matth. vi. 6.) knows their character, how much soever it is blackened and blemished by the reproaches of men, and will shortly mike them and their way manifest before the world, to their immortal joy and honour. Let this cast a damp upon the security and jollity of sin-

ners, tliat their way, though pleasant now, wiH perish at last.

In singing these verses, and praying over them, let us possess ourselves with a holy dread of the wicked man's portion, and deprecate it with a firm and lively expectation of the judgment to come, and stir up ourselves to prepare for it, and with a holy care, to approve ourselves to God in every thing, entreating his favour with our whole hearts.

PSALM II.

As the foregfoing psalm was moral, and showed us our duty, so this is evangelical, and shows us our Saviour. Under the type of David's kingdom, which was of divine appointment, met with much opposition, but prevailed at last, the kingdom of the Messiah, the Son of David, is prophesied of, which is the primary intention and scope of the psalm; and I think there is less in it of the type, and more of the anti-type, than in any of the gospel-psalms, for there is nothing in it but what is applicable to Christ, but some things that are not at all applicable to David; (v. 6, 7.) Thou art my Son, (v. 8.) / will give thee the uttermost parts of the earth, and, (v. 12.) Kisa the Son. It is interpreted of Christ, Jicts iv. 27.—xiii. 33. Heb, i. 6. The Holy Ghost here foretells, I. The opposition that should be ariven to the kingdom of the Messiah, v. 1..3.

II. The baffling and chastising of that opposition, v. 4, 5.

III. The setting up of the kingdom of Christ, notwithstanding that opposition, v. 6. IV. The confirmation and establishment of it, v. 7. V. A promise of the enlargement and success of it, v. 8, 9. VI. A call and exhortation to kings and princes, to yield themselves the willing subjects of this kingdom, v. 10. .12. Or thus; We have here, 1. Threatenings denounced against the adversaries of Christ's kingdom, v. 1..6. 2. Promises made to Christ himself the Head of this kingdom, v. 7-. .9. 3. Counsel given to all, to espouse the interests of this king> dom, v. 10. .12. This psalm, as the former, is very fitly prefixed to this book of devotions, because, as it is necessary to our acceptance with God, that we should be subject to the precepts of his law, so it is likewise, that we should be subject to the grace of his gospel, and come to him in the name of a Mediator.

1. ^V)t^HY do the heathen rage, and the T T people imagine a vain tiling ? 2. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his Anointed, saying, 3. Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : the Lord shall have them in derision. 3. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 6. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

We have here a very great struggle about the kingdom of Christ, hell and heaven contesting it; the seat of the war is this earth, where Satan has long had an usurped kingdom, and exercised dominion to that degree, that he has been called The prince of the power of the very air we breathe in, and The god of the world we live in. He knows very well that, as the Messiah's kingdom rises and g^ts ground, his falls and loses ground; and therefore, though it will be set up certainly, it shall not be set up tamely. Observe here,

I. The mighty opposition that would be given to the Messiah and his kingdom, to his holy religion and all the interests of it, v. 1..3. One would have expected that so great a blessing to this world, should have been universally welcomed and embraced, and that eveiy sheaf should immediately have bowed to that of the Messiah, and all the crowns and sceptres on earth should have been laid at his feet; but it proves quite contrary. Never were the notionsof any sect of philosophers, though

PSALMS, U.

ever so absurd, nor the powers of any pniice or state, though ever so tyrannical, opposed with so much violence as the doctrine and government of Christ. A sign that it was from heaven, for the opposition was plainly from hell originally.

1. We are here told who would appear as adversaries to Christ, and the Devil's instruments in this opposition to his kingdom. Princes and people, court and country, have sometimes separate interests, but here they are united against Christ; not the mighty only, but the mob, the heathen, the/ieo-/ile, numbers of them, communities of them; though usually fond of liberty, yet they were averse to the liberty Christ came to procure and proclaim. Not the mob only, but the mighty, (among whom one might have expected more sense and consideration,) appear violent against Christ; though his kingdom is not of this world, nor intended to weaken their interests, but very Ukely, if they pleased, to strengthen them, yet the kings of the earth and rulers are up in arms immediately. See the effects of the old enmity in the seed of the serpent against the seed of the woman, and how general and malignant the corruption of mankind is. See how formidable the enemies of the church ai-^ they are numerous, they are potent. The unbelieving Jews* are here called heathen, so wretchedly were they degenerated from the faith and holiness of their ancestors; they stirred up the heathen, the Gentiles, to persecute the christians. As the Philistines and their lords, Saul and his courtiers, the disaffected party and their ringleaders, opposed David's coming to the crown; so Herod and Pilate, the Gentiles and the Jews, did their utmost against Christ and his interest in men. Acts iv. 27.

2. Who it is that they quarrel with, and muster up all their forces against; it is against the Lord, and against his Anointed, against all religion in general, and the christian religion in particular. It is certain that all who are enemies to Christ, whatever they pretend, are enemies to God himself; they have hated both me and my Father, John xv. 24. The great Author of our holy religion is here called the Lord's Anointed, or Messiah, or Christ, in allusion to the anointing of David to be king: he is both authorized and qualified to be the church's Head and King, is duly invested in the office, and every way fitted for it; yet there are those that are against him; nay, therefore they are against him, because they are impatient of God's authority, envious at Chi'ist's advancement, and ha\ e a rooted enmity to the Spirit of holiness.

3. The opposition they give, is here described; (I.) It is a most spiteful and malicious opposition. They rage and fret, they gnash their teeth, for vexation at the setting up of Christ's kingdom; it creates them the utmost uneasiness, and fills them with indignation, so that they have no enjoyment of themselves; see Luke xiii. 14. John xi. 47. Acts v. 17, 33.—xix. 28. Idolaters raged at the discovery of their folly, the chief priests and Pharisees at the eclipsing of their glory and tlie shaking of their usurped dominion. They that did evil, raged at the light. (2.) It is a del'i!)erate and politic opposition. Thcv imagine, or meditate; they contnv'e means to sup])ress the rising interests of Cl\rist's kingdom, and are very confident of the success of their contrivances; thev promise themselves that they shall i-un down religion, and carry the day. (3.) It is a resolute and obstinate opposition. They set themselves, set their faces as a flint, and their hearts as an adamant, in defiance of reason and conscience, and all the terrors of the Lord; they are proud and daring, like the Babel-builders, and will persist in their resolution come what will. (4.) It

* By the henlhen, it is more probable, we are to understand the Oentiles, exclusively.— Ed.

is a combined and confederate opposition. They take counsel together, to assist and animate one an other in this opposition; they carry their resolutions, nemine contradicente — unanimously, that they wih push on the unholy war against the Mes.siah with the utmost vigour: and, thereupon, councils are called, cabals are formed, and all their wits ai e at work, to find out ways and means for the preventing of the establishment of Christ's kingdom, Ixxxiii. 5

4. We are here told wliat it is they are exasperated at, and what they aim at in this opposition; (f. 3.) Let us break their bands asunder. They will not be under any government; they are children of Belial, that cannot endure the yoke, at least, the yoke of the Lord and his Anointed. They will be content to entertain such notions of the kingdom of God and the Messiah, as will serve them to dispute of, and to support their own dominion with: if the Lord and his Anointed will make them rich and great in the world, they will bid them welcome, but if they will restrain their corrupt appetites and passions, regulate and reform their hearts and lives, and bring them under the government of a pure and heavenly religion, truly then they ivill not have this man to reign over them, Luke xix. 14. Christ has bands and cords for us; they that will be saved by him, must be ruled by him; but they are cords of a man, agreeable to right reason, and bands of love, conducive to our true interest: and yet against those the quarrel is. Why do men oppose religion, but because they are impatient of its restraints and obligations.'' They would break asunder the bands of conscience they are under, and the cords of God's commandments by which they are called to tie themselves out from all sin, and to tie themselves up to all duty; they will not receive, but cast them away as far from them as they can.

5. They are here reasoned with concerning it, v. 1, Why do they do this? (1.) They can show no good cause for opposing so just, holy, and gracious, a government, which will not interfere with the secular powers, nor introduce any dangerous principles hurtful to kings or princes; but, on the contrary, if universally received, would bring a heaven upon earth. (2.) They can hope for no good success in opposing so powerful a kingdom, with which they are utterly unable to contend. It is a vain thing; when they have done their worst, Christ will have a church in the world, and that church shall be glorious and triumphant; it is built ufion a rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The moon walks in brightness, though the dogs bark at it.

II. The mighty conquest gained over all this threatening opposition. If heaven and earth be the combatants, it is easy to foretell which will be the conqueror. They that make this mighty struggle, are the people of the earth, and the kings of the earth, who, being of the earth, are earthy; but He whom they contest with, is one that sits in the heavens, v. 4. He is in the heaven, a place of such a vast prospect, that he can oversee them all, and all their projects; and such is his power, that he can overcome them all, and all their attempts: he sits there, as one easy and at rest, out of the reach of all their impotent menaces and attempts. There he sits as Judge in all the affairs of the cliildrcn cf men, perfectly secure of the full accomplishment of all his own purposes and designs, in spite of all opposition, xxix. 10. The perfect repose of the Eternal Mind may be our comfort under all the dis-quietments of our mind. We are tossed on earth, and in the sea, but he sits in the heavens, where he has prepared his throne for judgment; and therefore,

1. The attempts of Christ's enemies are eas\'y ridiculed; God laughs at them as a company of

PSALMS, II.

201

fools. He has them, and all their attempts, in derision, and therefore the virgin, the daughter of Zion, has des/iised them, Isa. xxxvii, 22. Sinners' follies are the just sport of God's infinite wisdom and power; and those attempts of the kingdom of Satan, which in our eyes are formidable, in his are despicable. Sometimes God is said to awake, and QTise, and stir u/i himself, for the vanquishing of his enemies; here he is said to sit still, and do it; for the utmost operations of God's omnipotence create no difficulty at all, nor the least distui'bance to his eternal rest.

2. They are justly/lunished, V. 5. Though God despises them as impotent, yet he does not therefore wink at them, but is justly displeased with them as impudent and impious, and will make the most daring sinners to know that he is so, and to tremble before him. (1.) Their sin is a provocation to him; he is wroth, he is sorely displeased. We cannot expect that God should be reconciled to us, or well pleased in us, but in and through the Anointed; and therefore, if we affront and reject him, we sin against the remedy, and forfeit the benefit of his interposition between us and God. (2.) His anger will be a vexation to them; if he but speak to them in his wrath, even the breath of his mouth will be their confusion, slaughter and consumption, Isa. xi. 4. 2 Thess. ii. 8. He speaks, and it is done; he speaks in wrath, and sinners are undone: as a word made us, so a word can unmake us again; Who knows the fiower of his anger? The enemies rage, but cannot vex God. God sits still, and yet vexes them, puts them into a consternation, (as the word is,) and brings them to their wit's end: his setting up this kingdom of his Son, in spite of them, is the gre itest vexation to them that can be. They were vexations to Christ's good subjects; but the day is coming, when vexation shall be recompensed to them,

3. They are certainly defeated, and all their counsels turned headlong; {v. 6.) Yet have I set my king u/ion my holy hill of Zion. David was advanced to the throne, and became master of the strong hold of Zion, notwithstanding the disturbance given him by the malecontents in his kingdom, and pai'ticularly the affronts he received from the garrison of Zion, who taunted him with their blind and their lame, their maimed soldiers, 2 Sam. V. 6. The Lord Jesus is exalted to the right hand of the Father, has all power both in heaven and in earth, and is Head over all things to the church, notwithstanding the restless endeavours of his enemies to hinder his advancement. (1.) Jesus Christ is a King, Jind is invested by him who is the Fountain of power, with the dignity and authority of a sovereign Prince, in the kingdom both of providence and grace. (2.) God is pleased to call him his King, because he is appointed by him, and intnisted for him with the sole administration of government and judgment. He is his King, for he is dear to the Father, and one in whom he is well-pleased. (3.) Christ took not this honour to himself, but was called to it, and he that called him, owns him; I have set him; his commandment, his commission, he received frr m the Father. (4.) Being called to this honour, he was confirmed in it; high places (we say) are slippery places, but Christ, being raised, is fixed; " F have set him, I have settled him." (5.) He is set upon Zion, the hill of God's holiness, a type of the gospel-church, for on that the temple was built, for the sake of which the whole mount was called holy. Christ's throne is set up in his church, that is, in the hearts of all believers, and in the societies they form. The evangelical law of Christ is said to^o/or/A/row Zion, (Isa. ii. 3. Mic. .v. 2.) and therefore that is spoken of as the head- I quarters of this General, the royal seat of this I

Vol. III.—2 C

Prmce, in whom the children of men shall be joyful. We are to sing these verses with a holy exultation, triumphing over all the enemies ot Christ's kingdom, (not doubting but they will all of them be quickly made his footstool,) and triumphing in Jesus Christ as the great Trustee of power; and we are to pray, in firm belief of the assurance here given; "Father in heaven, Thy kingdom come; let thy Son's kingdom come."

7. I will declare the decree: the Lorij hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

We have heard what the kings of the earth have to say against Christ's kingdom, and have heard it gainsaid by him that sits in heaven; let us now hear what the Messiah himself has to say for his kingdom, to-make good his claims; it is what all the powers on earth cannot gainsay.

I. The kingdom of the Messiah is founded upon a decree, an eternal decree, of God the Father. It was not a sudden resolve, it was not the trial of an experiment, but the result of the counsels of the divine wisdom, and the determinations of the divine will, before all worlds, neither of whicli can be altered. The precept or statute, so some read it; the covenant or compact, so others; the federal transactions between the Father and the Son concerning man's redemption, represented by the covenant of royalty made with Da\ id and his seed, Ixxxix. 3. This our Lord Jesus often referred himself to, as that which, all along in his undertaking, he governed himself by; This is the will of him that sent me, John vi. 40. This commandment have I received of my Father, John x. 18.—xiv. 31.

II. There is a declaration of that decree, as fai as is necessary for the satisfaction of all those whc are called and commanded to yield themselves subjects to this King, and to leave them inexcusable, who will not have him to reign over them. The decree was secret, it was what the Father said to the Son, when he possessed him in the beginning of his way, before his works of old; but it is declared by a faithful Witness, who had lain in the bosom of the Father from eternity, and came into the world as the Prophet of the church, to declare him, John i. 18. The Fountain of all being is, without doubt, the Fountain of all power; and it is by, fi-om, and under, him-, that the Messiah claims a right to rule, from what Jehovah said to him, by whose word all things were made, and are governed. Christ here makes out a twofold title to his kingdom.

1. A title by inheritance; {v. 7.) Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. This scripture the apostle quotes, (Heb. i. 5.) to prove, not only that Christ has a more excellent name than the angels, but that he obtained it by inheritance, v. 4. He is the Son of God, not by adoption, but his begotten Son, the only begotten of the Father, John i. 14. And the Father owns him, and will have this declared to the world, as the reason whv he is constituted King upon the holy hill of Zion; he is therefore unquestionably entitled to, and perfcctl\ qualified for, that great trust. He is the Son of God, and therefore of the same nature with the Father, has in him all the fulness of the Godhead, infinite wisdom, power, and holiness. The supreme government of the church is too high an honour.

-202

PSALMS, 11.

iiid too hard an undertaking, for any mere creature; none can be fit for it but him who is one nvith the Father, and was from eternity by him, as one^ brought ufi nvith him, thoroughly apprized of all his' counsels, Prov. \ iii. 30. He is the bon of God, and therefore dear to him, his beloved Son, in whom he is well-pleased; and upon this account we are to recei\ e him as a King; for because the Father lov-eth the Son, he hath gri>en all things into his hand, John iii. 35.—v. 20. Being a Son, he is Heir of all things, and the Father having made the worlds by him, it is easy to infer thence, that by him also he governs them; for he is the eternal Wisdom and the eternal Word. If God hath said unto him, " Thou art my Son," it becomes each of us to say to him, " Thou art my Lord, my Sovereign." Further, to satisfy us that his kingdom is well-grounded upon his sonship, we are here told what his sonship is grounded on; This day have I begotten thee; which refers both to his eternal generation itself, for it is quoted, (Heb. i. 5.) to prove that he IS the Brightness of his Father's glory, and the exfiress Image of his person, {v. 3.) and to the evidence and dernonstration given of it by his resurrection from the dead, for to that also it is expressly applied by the apostle; (Acts xiii. 33.) He hath rained ufi Jesus again, as it is "written. Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. It was by the resurrection from the dead, that sign of the prophet Jon;is, which was to be the most convincing of all, that he was declared to be the Son of God with flower, Rom. i. 4. Christ is said to be the Jirst-begotten and first-born from the dead. Rev. i. 5. Cil. i. 18. Immediately after his resurrection, he ertered upon the administration of his mediatorial kingdom; it was then that he said. All fiower is given unto me, and to that especially he had an eye when he taught his disciples to pray, Thy kingdom come.

2. A title by agreement, v. 8, 9. The agreement is, in short, this; The Son must undertake the office of an intercessor, and, upon that condition, he shall have the honour and power of a universal Monarch; see Isa. liii. 12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, because he made intercession for the transgressors : he shall be a Priest upon his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both, Zech. vi. 13.

(1.) The Son must ask. This supposes his putting liimself voluntarily into a state ot inferiority to tiie Father, by taking upon him the human nature; f)r, ;is God, he was equal in power and glory with the Father, and had nothing to ask. It supposes the making of a satisfaction, by the virtue of which, the intercession must be made, and the paying of a jtrice, on which this large demand was to be grounded; see John xvii. 4, 5. The Son, in asking the heathen for his inheritance, aims, not only at his own honour, but at their happiness in him; so that he intercedes for them, ever lives to do so, and is therefore able to save to the uttermost.

(2.) The^Father will grant more than to the half of the kingdom, even to the kingdom itself. It is here promised him, [1.] That his government shall be universal; he sliall have the heathen for his inheritance; not the Jews only, to whose nation the church liad been long confined, but the Cientiles also; those in the uttermost p;irts of the earth, (as this nation of ours,) shall be his possession, and he shall have m>\ltitudes of willing loyal subjects among them. Baptized christians are the possession ol the Lord Jesus; they are to him for a name and a p'.aise, Ciod the Father gives them to him, when by his Spirit and grace he works upon tiiem to submit their necks to the yoke of the Lord Jesus. This is, in part, fulfilled ; a great part of the Gentile world received the gospel, when it was first

preached, and Christ's throne was set up there ♦where Satan's seat had long been. But it is to be yet further accomplished, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Christ, Rev. xi. 15. Who shall live when God doeth this! [2.] That"it shall be victorious; Thou shalt break them, those of them that oppose thy kingdom, with a rod of iron, v. 9. This was, in part, fulfilled, when the nation of the Jews, those that persisted in unbelief and enmity to Christ's gospel, were destroyed by the Roman power, which was represented, (Dan. ii. 40.) by feet of iron, as here by a rod of iron. It had a further accomplishment in the destruction of the Pagan powers, when the christian religion came to be established; but it will not be completely fulfilled, till all opposing rule, principality and power, shall be finally put down, 1 Cor. xv. 24. See ex. 5, 6. Observe, How powerful Christ is, and how weak the enemies of his kingdom are before him; he has a rod of iron wherewith to crush them that will not submit to his golden sceptre; they are but like a potter's vessel ^ before him, suddenly, easily, and irreparably, dashed in pieces by him; see Rev. ii. 27. "Thou shalt do it; thou shalt have leave to do it" Nations shall be ruined, rather than the gospel-church shall not be built and established; I have loved thee^ therefore will I give men for thee, Isa. xliii, 4. "Thou shalt have power io doit; none shall be able to stand before thee, thou shalt do it effectually." They that will not bow, shall break.

In singing this, and praying it over, we must give glory to Christ as the eternal Son of God, and our rightful Lord, and must take comfort from this promise, and plead it with God, that the kingdom of Christ shall be enlarged and established, and shall triumph over all opposition.

10. Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings ; be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 1 L Sei-ve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembhng. 12. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish frojti the way, when his wrath is kindled but a httle. Blessed «re all they that put their trust in him.

We have here the practical application of this gospel doctrine, concerning the kingdom of the Messiah, by way of exhortation to the kings and judges of the earth. They hear that it is in vain to oppose Christ's government; let them therefore be so wise for themselves, as to submit to it. He that has power to destroy them, shows that he has no pleasure in their destruction, for he puts them into a way to make themselves happy, v. 10. Those that would be wise, must be instructed; and those are truly wise, that receive insti-uction from the word of God. Kings and judges stand upon a level with common persons before God; and it is as necessary for them to be religious as for any others. They that give law and judgment to others, must receive it from Christ; and it will be their wisdom. What is said to them, is said to all, and is required of every one of us; only it is directed to kings and judges, because of the influence which their example will have upon their inferiors, and because they were men of rank and power, that opposed the setting up of Christ's kingdom, xk 2. We are exhorted,

I. To reverence God, and to stand in awe of him, V. 11. This is the great duty of natural religion. God is great, and infinitely above us, just and holy, and pro\ oked against us, and therefore wc ought to fear him and tremble before him; yet he is our Lord and Master, and we are bound to sen'e him, our Friend and Benefactor, and we have reason to rejoice in him; and these are verv well consistent

PSALMS, 111.

203

with each other, for, 1. We must serve God in all ordinances of worship, and all instances of a godly conversation, but with a holy fear, a jealousy over ourselves, and a reverence of him. Even kings themselves, whom others serve and fear, must serve and fear God; there is the same infinite distance between them and God, that there is between the meanest of their subjects and him. 2. We must rejoice in God; in subordination to him, we may reioice in other things, but still with a holy trembling, as those that know what a glorious and jealous God he is, whose eye is always upon us; our salvation must be wrought out wuhj'ear and trembling, Phil. ii. 12. We ought to rejoice in the setting up of the kingdom of Christ, but rejoice with trembling, with a holy awe of him, a holy fear for ourselves, lest we come short, and a tender concern for the many precious souls to whom his gospel and kingdom are a savour of death unto death. Whatever we rej ice in, in this world, it nmst always be with trembling, lest we grow vain in (jur joy, and be puffed up with the things we rejoice in, and because of the uncertainty of them, and the damp which by a thousand accidents may suon be cast upon our joy. To rejoice with trembliuif, is to rejoice as though we rejoice not, 1 Cor. vii. 30.

II. To welcome Jesus Christ,and to submit to him, ■V. 12. This is the great duty of the clinstian religion; it is that which is required of all, even kings and judges, and it is our wisdom and interest to do it. Observe here,

1. The command given for this purpose; Kiss the Son. Christ is called the Son, because so he was declared, {v. 7. ) Thou art my Son. He is the Son of God by eternal generation, and, upon that account, he is to be adored by us. He is the So?i of man, the Mediator, (John v. 27.) and, upon that account, to be received and submitted to; he is called the Son, to include both, as God is often called emphatically the Father, because he is the Fatlier of our Lord Jesus Ciirist, and in him our Father, and we must have an eye to him under both considerations. Our duty to Christ is here expressed figuratively. Kiss the Son: not with a betraying kiss, as Judas kissed him, and as all hypocrites, who pretend to honour him, but really aftVont him; but with a believing kiss. (1.) Withakissof agreement and reconciliation; Kiss, and be friends, as Jacob and Esau; let the quarrel between us and God terminate, let the acts of hostility cease, and let us be at peace with God in Christ, who is our Peace. (2.) With a kiss of adoration and religious worship; they that worshipped idols, kissed them, 1 Kings xix. 18. Hos. xiii. 2. Let us study how to do honour to the Lord Jesus, and to give unto him the glory due unto his name. He is thy Lord, and worshi/i thou him, xlv. 11. We mw?,x. worshiji the Lamb, as well as him that sits on the throne. Rev. v. 9''IS. (3.) With a kiss of affection and sincere love; " Kiss the Son; enter into a covenant of friendship with him, and let him be very dear and precious to you; love him above all, love him in sincerity, love him much, as she did, to whom much was forgiven, and, in token of it, kissed his feet," Luke vii. 38. (4.) With a kiss of allegiance and loyalty, as Samuel kissed Saul, 1 Sam. x. 1. "Swear fealty and homage to him, submit to his government, take his yoke upon you, and give up yourselves to be governed by his laws, disposed of by his providence, and entirely devoted to -his interest."

2. The reasons to enforce this command; they are taken from our own interest, which God, in his gospel, shows a concern for. Consider,

(1.) The certain ruin we run upon, if W€ refuse and rdect Christ; " Kiss the Son; for it is at your peril if you do not." [1.] " It will be a great pro-\ocation to him; do it, lest he be angru." The

Father is angry already, the Son is the Mediator that undertakes to make peace; if we slight him. the Lather's wrath abides u/ion us, (Johniii. 36.) and not only so, but there is an addition of the Son's wrath too, to whom nothing is mi re displeasing than to haxe the offers of his grace slighted, and the designs of it frustrated. The Son can be angry, though a Lamb; he is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and the wrath of this King, this King of kings, will be as the roaring of a lion, and will drive even mighty men and chief captains to seek in \ ain for shelter in rocks and mountains, Re\. vi. 16. If the Son be angry, who shall intercede for us? There remains no more sacrifice, no other name, by which we can be saved. Unbelief is a sin against the remedy. [2.] It will be utter destruction to yourselves; lest ye fierish from the way, or iri the way, so some. " /« the way of your sins, 2Lr\dfrom the way of your vain hopes; lest your way perish," (as i. 6.) "lest you prove to ha\ e missed the way to happiness. Christ is the way; take heed lest ye be cut off" from him as your way to God." It intimates that they were, or, at least, thought themselves, in the way; but, by neglecting Chnst, they perished from it, which aggravates their ruin, that they go to hell from the way to heaven; are not far from the kingdom of God, and yet ne\ er arri\ e there.

(2.) The happiness we are sure of, if we yield ourselves to Christ. When his wrath is kindled, though but a little, the least spark of that fire is enough to make the proudest sinner miserable, if it fasten upon his conscience; for it will burn to the lowest hell: one would think it should therefore follow, "When his wrath is kindled, woe be to those that despise him;" but the Psalmist startles at the thought, and blesses those that escape such a doom. They that trust in him, and so kiss him, are truly happy; but they will especially appear to be so, when the wrath of Christ is kindled against others. Blessed will they be in the day of wrath, who, by trusting in Christ, have made him their Refuge and Patron; when the hearts of others fail them for fe;ii-, they shall lift up their heads with joy; and then those who now despise Christ and his followers, will be forced to say to their own greater confusion, " Now we see that blessed are all they, and they only, that trust in him."

In singing this, and praying it over, we should have our hearts not only filled with a holy awe of God, but Iwrne uji with a cheerful confidence in Christ, in whose mediation we may comfort and encourage ourselves and one another; We are the circumcision, that rejoice in Christ Jesus.

PSALM in.

As the foregoing psalm, in the type of David in preferment, showed us the royal dignity of the Redeemer; so this, by the example of David in distress, shows us the peace and holy security of the redeemed : how safe they really are, and think themselves to he, under the divine protection. David,being now driven out from his palace,from the royal city, from the holy city, by his rebellious son Absalom, I. Complains to God of bis enemies, v. 1, 2. II. Confides in God, and encourages himself in him as his God, notwithstanding, v. 3. III. Recollects the satisfaction he had in the gracious answers God gave to his prayers, and his experience of his goodness to him, v. 4, 5. IV. Triumphs over his fears, (v. 6.) and over his enemies, whom he prays against, v. 7. V. Gives God the glory, and takes to himself the comfort, of the divine blessing and salvation which are sure to all the people of God, v. 8. Those speak best of the truths of God, who speak experi-mentally ; so David here speaks of the power and goodness of God, and of the safety and tranquillity of the godly.

A P^alm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

1. ~|~ ORD, how are tliey increased tlmt trouble me? many are tliey tbat vis<i

PSALMS, 111.

Hi J against me 2. Many there he which say of my soul, There is no help for liim in God. Selah. 3. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me ; my glory, and the lifler up of my head.

The title of this psalm and many others, is as a key hung ready at the door, to open it, and let us into the entertainments of it; when we know upon what occasion a psalm was penned, we know the oetter how to expound it. This was composed, or, at least, the substance of it was meditated and digested in David's thoughts, and offered up to God, when he fled from Absalom his son, who formed a conspiracy against him, to take away, not his crown only, but his life; we have tlie story, 2 Sam. XV. 8cc. 1. David was now in great grief; wlien, in his flight, he went up the mount of olives, he wept greatly, with his head covered, and marching bare-K)0t; yet then he composed this comfortable psalm. He wept and prayed, wept and sung, wept and believed; this was sowing in tears. Is any afflicted ? Let him pray; nay, let him sing psalms, let him sing this psalm. Is any afflicted with un-dutiful disobedient children? David was; and yet that did not hinder his joy in God, nor put him out of tune for holy songs. 2. He was now in great I danger, the plot against him was laid deep, the party that sought his ruin was very formidable, and his own son at the head of them, so that his affairs seemed to be at the last extremity; yet then he kept hold of his interest in God, and improved that. Perils and frights should drive us to God, not drive us from him. 3. He had now a great deal of provocation given him by those from wliom he had reason to expect better things; from his son, wliom he had been indulgent of; from his subjects, whom he had been so great a blessing to; this he could not but resent, and it was enough to break in upon any man's temper; yet he was so far from any indecent expressions of passion and indignation, that he had calmness enough for those acts of devotion, which require tlie greatest fixedness and freedom of thought. The sedateness of his mind was evinced by the Spirit's coming upon him; for the Spirit chooses to move upon the still waters. Let no unkindness, no not or a child or a friend, ever be laid so much to heart as to disfit us for communion with God. 4. He was now suffering for his sin in the matter of Uriah; this was the evil which, for that sin, God threatened to raise ufi against him out of his own house; (2 Sam. xii. 11.) which, no doubt, he observed, and took occasion thence to renew his repentance for it. Yet he did not therefore cast away his confidence in the divine power and goodness, nor despair of succour. Even our sorrow for sin must not hinder either our joy in God, or our hope in God. 5. He seemed cowardly in fleeing from Absalom, and quitting his royal city, before he had had one struggle for it; and yet, by this psalm, it appears that he was full of true courage arising from his faith in God. True christian fortitude consists more in a gracious security and serenity of mind, in patient bearing, and patient waiting, than in daring enterprises with sword in hand.

In these three verses, he applies himself to God. Whither else should we go but to him, when any thing gi'ieves us or frightens us? David was now at a distance from his own closet, and from the courts of God's house, where he used to pray; and yet he could find a way ojien hea\en-w;ird. Wherever we are, we may have access to God, and may draw nigh to him, whithersoever we are driven. David, in his flight, attends his God,

I. \A'ith a representation of his distress, v. i, 2. He looks round, and takes, as it were, a view of his

enemies'camp, or receives information of their de signs against him, which he brings to God, not to his own council-board. Two things he complains of, concerning his enemies.

1. That they were very many; Lord, hoiv are they increased! Beyond what they were at first, and beyond whatever he thought they would have been. Absalom's faction, like a snow-ball, strangely gathered m its motion. He speaks of it as one amazed; and well he miglit, that a people he had so many ways obliged, should almost generally rebel against him, and choose for their head such a foolish and giddy young man as Absalom was. How slippery and deceitful are the many! And how little fidelity and constancy is to be found among men! David had had the hearts of his subjects, as much as ever any king had, and yet now, of a sudden, he had l< st them. As people must not trust too much to princes, (cxlvi. 3.) so princes must not build too much upon their interest in the people. Christ, the Son of David, had many enemies, when a great multitude came to seize him, when the crowd cried. Crucify him. Crucify him. How were they then increased, that troubled him! Even good people must not think it strange, if the stream be against them, and the powers that threaten them, glow more and more formidable.

2. That they were very malicious; they rose up against him, they aimed to trouble him; but that was not all, they said of his soul. There is no helfi for him in God. That is, (1.) they put a spiteful and invidious construction upon his troubles, as Job's friends did upon his; concluding that, because his servants and subjects forsook him thus, and did not help him, God had deserted him, and abandoned his cause, and he was therefore to be looked on, or rather to be looked off, as a hypocrite, and a wicked man. (2.) They blasphemously reflected upon God as unable to relieve him; " His danger is so great, that God himself cannot help him." It i? strange, that so great unbelief should be found in any, especially in many, in Israel, as to think any party of men too strong for Omnipotence to deal with. (3.) They endeavoured to shake his confidence in God, and drive him to despair of relief from him. '* They have said it to my soul;" so it may be read; compare xi. 1.—xlii. 10. This grieved him worst of all, that they had so bad an opinion of him, as to think it possible to take him off from that foundation. The mere temptation was a buffeting to him, a thorn in his Jlesh, nay, a sivord in his bones. Note, A child of God startles at the very thought of despairing of help in God; you cannot vex him with any thing so much, as if you offer to persuade him. There is no helfi for him in God. David comes to God, and tells him what his enemies said of him, as Hezekiah spread Rabslia-keh's blasphemous letter before the Lord. " They say. There is no helfi for me in thee; but, Lord, if it be so, I am undone. They say to my soul. There is no salvation" (for so the word is)" "ybr Aim in God; but. Lord, do thou say unto my soul, I am thy salvation, (xxxv. 3.) and that shall satisfy n^e, and, in due time, silence them." To this complaint he adds Selah, which occurs aboul 70 times in the book of psalms. Some refer it to the music with which, in David's time, the psalms were sung; others to the sense, and that it is a note commanding a solemn pause. Selah, Mark- that, or, " Stofi there, and consider a little." As here, they say, There is no helfi for him in God, Selah. "Take time for such a thought as this. Get thee behind me, Satan; The Lord rebuke thee! Away with such a vile suggestion!"

II. With a profession of his dependence upon God, V. 3. An active believer, the moie he is beaten off from God, either by the rebukes of Pro-

PSALMS, HI.

205

vidence, or the reproaches of enemies, the faster hold he will take of him, and the closer will he (leave to him; so David here, when hi^ enemies said, There is no help for him in God, cries out with so much the more assurance, " But thou, 0 Lord, art a shield for me; let them say what they will, I am sure thou wilt never desert me, and I am resolved, I will never distrust thee." See what God is to his people, what he will bef, what they have found him, what David found in him. 1. Safety. " Thou art a Shield for me, a Shield about me," so some, "to secure me on all sides, since my enemies surrounded me." Not only ?ny Shield, (Gen. XV. 1.) which denotes an interest in the divine protection; but a shield for me, which denotes the present benefit and advantage of that protection. 2. Honour; Thou art my Glory. Those whom God owns for his, are not only safe and easy, but really look great, and have true honour put upon them, far above that which the great ones of the earth are proud of. David was now in disgrace, the crown was fallen from his head; but he will not think the worse of himself, while he has God for his Glory, Isa. Ix. 19. " Thou art my Glory; thy glory I reckon mine;" (so some;) "this is what I aim at, and am ambitious of, whatever my lot is, and whatever becomes of my honour—that I may be to my God for a name and a praise." 3. Joy and deliverance; " Thou art the lifter u/i of my head; thou wilt lift up my head out of my troubles, and restore me to my dignity again, in due time; however, thou wilt lift up my head under my troubles, so that I shall not droop nor be discouraged, nor shall my spirits fail." If, in the worst of times, God's people can lift up their heads with joy, knowing that all shall work for good to theni, they will own it is God that is the Lifter up of their head, that gives them both cause to rejoice, and hearts to rejoice.

In singing this, and praying it over, we should possess ourselves with an apprehension of the danger we are in from the multitude and malice of our spiritual enemies, who seek the ruin of our souls by driving us from God, and we should concern ourselves in the distresses and dangers of the church of God, which is every where spoken against, every where fought against; but, in reference to both, we should encourage ourselves in our God who owns and protects, and will, in due time, crown his own interest both in the world, and in the hearts of his people.

4. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. 5. I laid me down and slept-, I awaked: for the Lord sustained me. 6. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. 7. Arise, O Lord : save me, O my God; for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon f he cheek-bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. 8. Salvation helongeth unto the Lord : thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.

David, having stirred up himself by the irritations of his enemies to take hold on God as his God, and so gained comfort, in looking upward, when, if he looked round about him, nothing appeared but what was discouraging, here looks back with pleasing reflections upon the benefit he had derived from trusting in God, and looks forward with pleasing expectations of a very bright and happy issue to which the dark clispens.ition he was now under would shortly be brought.

I. See with what comfort he looks back upon the cornmunion he had had with God, and the communications of his favour to him, either in some former troubles he had been in, and, through God's goodness, got through, or, in this, hitherto. David had been exercised with many diflRculties, often oppressed and brought very low; but still he had found God all-sufficient.

He now remembered, with pleasure,

1. That his troubles had always brought him to his knees, and that, in all his difficulties and dangers, he had been enabled to acknowledge God, and ti> lift up his heart to him, and his voice too; (this will be a comfortable reflection, when we are in trouble;) / cried unto God with my voice. Care and grief do us good and no hurt, when they set us a praying, and engage us, not only to speak to God, but to cry to him, as those that are in earnest. And though God understands the language of the heart, when the voice is not heard, (1 Sam. i. 13.) and values not the hypocritical prayers of those who cause their voice to be heard on high, (Isa. Iviii. 4.) vojc- et firseterea nihil — mere sound, yet when the earnestness of the voice comes from the fervency of the heart, it shall be taken notice of, in the account, that we cried unto God with our voice.

2. That he had always found God ready to answer his prayers; He heard me out of his holy hill, from heaven, the high and holy place; from the ark on mount Zion, whence he used to give answers to those that sought to him. David had ordered Zadok to carry back the ark into the city, when he was flying from Absalom, (2 Sam. xv. 25.) knowing that God was not tied, no, not to the ark of his presence, and that, notwithstanding the distance of place, he could by faith receive answers of peace from the holy hill; nothing can fix a gulf between the communications of God's grace towards us, and the operations of his grace in us; between his favour and our faith. The ark of the covenant was in mount Zion, and all the answers to our prayers come from the promises of that ruvenant; Christ was set King upon the holy hill oj Zion; (ii. 6.) and it is through him whom the Father hears always, that our prayers are heard.

3. That he had always been very safe, and \ ery easy, under the divine protection; (v. 5.) " I laid me down and slept, composed and cjuiet; and awaked refreshed, for the Lord sustained me;" (1.) This is appFicable to the common mercies rf every night, which we ought to give thanks for alone, and with our families, every morning. Many have not where to lay their head, (but wander in deserts,) or, if they have, dare not lie down, for fear of the enemy; but we have laid us down in peace. Many lie down, and cannot sleep, but are full of tossings to and fro till the dawnings of the day, through pain of body, or anguish of mind, or the continual alarms of fear in the night; but we lie down, and sleep in safety, though incapable of doing any thing then for our own preservation. Many lie down, and sleep, and never wake again, they sleep the sleep of death, as the first-born of the Egyptians; but we lie down, and sleep, and awake again to the light and comfort of another day; and whence is it, but because the Lord has sustained us with sleep as with food? We have been safe under his protection, and easy in the arms of his good providence. (2.) It seems here to be meant of the wonderful quietness and calmness of David's spirit, in the midst of his dangers. Having by prayer committed himself and his cause to God, and being sure of his protection, his heart was fixed, and he Was easy. The undutifulness of his son, the disloyalty of his subjects, the treachery of many of his friends, the hazard of his person, the fatigues of his march, and the uncertainty of the event, never de-

-20B

PSALMS, IV.

prived him of an hour's sleep, nor gave any disturbance to his repose; for tlie Lord, by his grace and the consolations of his Spirit, powerfully sustained him, and made him easy. It is a great mercy, when we are in trouble, to have our minds stayed upon God, so as never either to eat or sleep with trembling and astonishment. (3.) Some of the ancients apply it to the resurrection of Christ; in his sufferings, he offered up strong cries, and was heard; and therefore, though he laid him down, and slept the sleep of death, yet he awaked the third day, for the Lord sustained him, that he should not see corruption.

4. That God had often broken the power, and restrained the malice, of his enemies; had smitten them ufion the cheek-bone, {v. 7.) had silenced them and spoiled their speaking, blemished them and put them to shame, smitten them on the cheek reproachfully; had disabled them to do the mischief they intended; for he had broken their teeth. Saul and the Philistines, who were sometimes ready to swallow him up, could not effect what they designed. The teetli that are gnashed or sliarpened against God's people, shall be broken. When, at any time, tlie power of the church's enemies seems threatening, it is good to remember how often God has broken it; and we are sure that his arm is not shortened. He can stop their mouths, and tie their hands.

II. See with what confidence he looks forward to the dangers he had yet in prospect. Having put himself under God's protection, and often found the benefit of it,

1. His fears were all stilled and silenced, v. 6. With what a holy bravery does he bid defiance to the impotent menaces and attempts of his enemies! •♦ / ivill not be afraid of ten thousands of fieofile, that either in a fi)reign invasion, or an intestine rebellion, set themselves, encamp, against me round about." No man seemed less safe; (his enemies are numerous, ten thousands; they are spiteful and resolute "They have set themselves against me; nay, they have prevailed far, and seem to have gained their point; for they are against me round about on every side, thousands against one;") and yet no man was more secure; •' I will not be afraid, for all this; they cannot hurt me, and therefore they shall not frighten me; whatever prudent methods I take for my own preservation, I will not disquiet myself, distrust niv God, nor doubt of a good issue at last." When £)avid, in his fiight from Absalom, bade Zadok carry back the ark, he spake doubtfully of the issue of his present troubles, and concluded, like an humble penitent, Here I am, let him do to me what seemeth him good, 2 Sam. xv. 26. But now, like a strong believer, he si)eaks confidently, and has no fear concerning the event. Note, A cheerful resignation to God is the way to obtain a cheerful satisfaction and confidence in Ciod.

2. His prayers were quickened and encouraged, V. 7. He believed God was his Saviour, and yet prays; nay, he therefore prays, jirise, O Lord, save me, O my God. Promises of salvation do not supersede, but engage, our petitions for it. He will for this be inquired of.

3. His faith became tririmphant. He began the psalm with complaints of the strength and malice of his enemies; but concludes it with exultation in the power and grace of his God, and now sees more with him than against him, v. 8. Two great truths l>e here builds his confidence upon, and fetches comfort from. (1.) Th-Ai salvafion bdongeth unto the Lord; he has power to save, be the danger ever SI great; it is his prerogative to save, when al' other helps and succours fail; it is his pleasure, it is his property, it is his promise to those that arc his, wh'ise salvation is not of themselves, but of the

Lord. Therefore all that have the Lord for their God, according to the tenor of the new covenant, are surefof salvation; for he that is their God, is the God of salvation. (2.) That his blessing is upon his people; he not only has power to save them, but he has assured them of his kind and gracious intentions toward them. He has, in his word, pronounced a blessing upon his people; and we are bound to believe that that blessmg does accordingly rest upon them, though there are not the visible effects of it. Hence we may conclude, that God's people, though they may lie under the reproaches and censures of men, are surely blessed of him, who blesses indeed, and therefore can command a blessing.

In singing this, and praying it over, we must own the satisf.ction we have had in depending upon God, and committing ourselves to him, and encourage ourselves, and one another, to continue still hoping, and quietly waiting for, the salvation of the Lord.

PSALM IV.

David was a preacher, a royal preacher, as well as Solo* men; many of his psalms are doctrinal and practical as well as devotional; the greatest part of this psalm is so, in which Wisdom cries to men, to tht sons of men, (as Prov. viii. 4, 5.) to receive instruction. The title does not tell us, as that of the former did, that it was penned on any particular occasion, nor are we to think that all the psalms were occasional, though some were; but that many of them were designed, in general, for the instruction of the people of God, who attended in the courts of his house, the assisting of their devotions, and the directing of their conversations: such a one I take this psalm to be. Let us not make the prophecy of scripture to be of more private interpretation than needs must, 2Pet. i. 20. Here, I. David begins with a short prayer; (v. l.J and that prayer preaches. II. He directs his speech to the children of men, and, 1. In God's name, reproves them for the dishonour they do to God, and the damage they do to their own souls, v. 2. 2. He sets before tnem the happiness of godly people, for their encouragement to be religious, v. 3. 3. He calls upon them to consider their ways, v. 4. III. He exhorts them to serve God, and trust to him, t. 5. IV. He crives an ac count of his own experiences of the grace of God work ing in him, 1. Enabling him to choose God's favour for his felicity, v. 6. 2. Filling his heart with joy therein, v. 7. 3. Quieting his spirit in the assurance of the divine protection he was under, night and day, v. 8.

To the chief musician on A'eginoth. A psalm oj David.

1. inrEAR me when I call, O God of my Jn righteousness: thou hast enlarged me inhen I ?tas in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 2. O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame ? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing ? Selah. 3. But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him. 4. Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. 5. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness; and put your trust in the Lord.

The title of the psalm acquaints us, that David, having penned it by divine inspiratior for the use of the cnurch, delivered it to tne chief musician, or master of the sonir, who (according to the divine appointment of psalmody made in his time, which he was chiefly instrumental in the establishment of) presided in that service. We have a particulat

PSALMS, IV.

207

account of the constitution, the modelling of the several classes of singers, each with a chief, and the share each bore in the work, 1 Chron. xxv. Some firo/ihesied according' to the order of the king, V. 2. Others firofihesied with the harfi, to give thanks, and to firaise the Lord, v. 3. Of others, it is said, that they were to lift u/i the horn, v. 5. But of them all, that they v/eve for song in the house of the Lord, {v. 6.) and were instructed in the songs of the Lord, v. 7. This psalm was committed to one of the chiefs, to be sung on JVeginoth — Stiinged 'instruments, (Hub. iii. 19.) which were played on with the hand; with music of that kind the choristers were to sing this psalm: and it should seem /hat then they only sung, not the people; bat the New Testament appoints all Christians to sing, (Eph. V. 19. Col. iii. 16.) from whom it is expected that they do it decently, not artfully; and therefore there is not now so much occasion for musical instruments as there was then; the melody is to be made in the heart. In these verses,

I. David addresses himsetf to God, xi. 1. Whether the sons of men, to whom he is about to speak, will hear, or whether they will forbear, he hopes and prays that God will give him a gracious audience, and an answer of peace; "Hear me when I call, and accept my adorations, grant my petitions, ftnd judge upon my appeals; have mercy ufion me, and hear me.'" All the notice God is pleased to take of our prayers, and all the returns he is pleased to make to them, must be ascribed, not to our merit, but purely to his mercy. " Hear me for thy mercy-sake," is our best plea. Two things David here pleads further, 1. " Thou art the God of my righteousness; not only a righteous God thyself, but the Author of my righteous dispositions, who hast by thy grace wrought that good that is in me, hast made me a righteous man; therefore Aear me, and so attest thine own work in me; thou art also the Patron of my righteous cause, the Protector of my wronged innocency, to whom I commit my way, and whom I trust to bring forth my righteousness as the light." When men condemn us unjustly, this is our comfort. It is God that justifies; he is the God of a believer's righteousness. 2. "Thou hast formerly enlarged me when I was in distress, enlarged my heart in holy joy and comfort under my distresses, enlarged my condition by bringing me out of my distresses; therefore now. Lord, have mercy ufion me, and hear me." The experience we ha\ e had of God's goodness to us in enlarging us when we have been in distress, is not only a great encouragement to our faith and hope for the future, but a good plea with God in prayer; " Thou hast; wilt thou not? For thou art God, and changest not; thy work is perfect."

II. He addresses himself to the children of men, for the conviction and conversion of those that are yet strangers to God, and that will not have the Messiah, the Son of David, to reign over them.

1. He endeavours to convince them of the folly of their impiety; (x». 2.) "0 ye sons of men," (of great men, so some; men of high degree, understanding it of th"^ partisans of Saul or Absalom,) "how long will you oppose me and my government, and continue disaffected to it, under the influence of the false and groundless suggestions of those that wish evil to me?" Or, it may be taken more generally; God, by the psalmist, here reasons with sinners to bring them to repentance. "You that go on in the neglect of God and his worship, and in contempt of the kingdom of Christ and his government, consider what you do;" (1.) "You debase yourselves, for you are sons of men;" (the word signifies man as a noble creature;) "consider the dignity of your nature, and the excellency of

those powers of reason with which you are endued, and do not act thus irrationally, and unbecoming yourselves." Let the sons of men consider and show themselves men. (2.) " You dishonour your Maker, and turn his glory into shame." They may well be taken as God's own words, charging sinners with the wrong they do him in his honour: or, if Da\ id's words, glory may be understood ot God, whom he called his Glory, iii. 3. Idolaters are charged with changing the glory of God into shame, Rom. i. 23. All wilful sinners do so by disobeying the commands of his law, despising the offers of his grace, and giving that affection and service to the creature, which are due to God only. Those that profane God's holy name, that ridicule his word and ordinances, and, while they profess to know him, in works deny him, do what in them lies to turn his glory into shame. (3.) "You put a cheat upon yourselves, you love vanity, and seek after leasing, or lying, or that which is a lie. You are yourselves vain and lying, and you love to be so." Or, "You set your hearts upon that which will prove, at last, but vanity and a lie:" they that love the world, and seek the things that are beneath, love vanity, and seek lies; as they also do that please themselves with the delights of sense, and pqrtion themselves with the wealth of this world; for these will deceive them, and so ruin them. "How long will you do this? Will you never be wise for yourselves, never consider your duty and interest? When shall it once be?" Jer, xiii. 27. The God of heaven thinks the time long that sinners persist in dishonouring him, and in deceiving and ruining themselves.

2. He shows them the peculiar favour which God has for good people, the special protection they are under, and the singular privileges to which they are entitled, v. 3. This comes in here, (1.) As a reason why they should not oppose or persecute him that is godly, or think to run him down. It is at their peril, if they offend one of these little ones, whom God has set afiart for himself Matth. xviii. 6. God reckons that those who touch them touch the apple of his eye; and he will make their persecutors to know it sooner or later. They have an interest in heaven, God will hear them, and therefore let none dare to do them any injury, for God will hear their cry, and plead their cause, Exod. xxii. 23. It is generally supposed that David speaks of his own' designation to the throne; he is the godly €x\an, whom the Lord haa set afiart for that honour, and who does not usurp it, or assume it to himself; "The opposition, therefore, you give to him and to his advancement, is very criminal, for therein you fight against God, and it will be vain and ineffectual." God has, in like manner, set apart the Lord Jesus for himself, that Merciful One; and those that attempt to hinder his advancement will certainly be baffled, for the Father hears him always. Or, (2.) As a reason why they should themselves be good, and walk no longer in the counsel of the ungodly; " You have hitherto sought vanity; be truly religious, and yoi will be truly happy, here and for ever; for," [1.^ "God will secure to himself h\s interest in you." The Lord has set afiart him that is godly, "every particular godly man, for himself, in his etema. choice, in his effectual calling, in the special disposals of his providence, and operations of his grace; they are purified unto him a peculiar people. Godly men are God's separated, sealed, ones; he knows them that are his, has set his image and superscription upon them; he distinguishes them witli uncommon favours; They shall be mine, saith the Lord, in that day when I make up my jewels. Know this; let godly people know it, and let them ne% er alienate themselves from him to whom they

PSALMS, IV.

are thus appropriated; let wicked people know it, and take heed how they hurt those whom God protects. [2.] "God will secure to you an interest in himself;" this David speaks with application; The Lord ivill hear nuhen I call unto him. We should think ourselves happy, if we had the ear of an earthly prince; and is it not worth while, upon any terms, especially such easy ones, to gain the ear of the King of kings? Let us know this, and forsake lying vanities for our own mercies.

3. He warns them against sin, and exhorts them both to frighten and to reason themselves out of it; {y. 4.) "Stand in awe and sin not;" (Be angry and sin not, so the LXX, and some think the apostle takes that exhortation from him, Eph. iv. 26.) "commune with your own hearts. Be converted; and, in order thereunto, consider and fear." Note, (1.) We must not sin, nor miss our way, and so miss our aim. (2.) One good remedy against sin is to stand in awe. "Be moved," so some, in opposition to carelessness and carnal security. "Always keep up a holy reverence of the glory and majesty ot God, and a holy dread of his wrath and curse, and dare not to provoke him." (3.) One good means of preventing sin, and preserving a holy awe, is, to be frequent and serious in communing with our own hearts; "Talk with your hearts; you have a great deal to say to them, they may be spoken with at any time, let it not be unsaid. " A thinking man is in a fair way to be a wise and a good man. "Commune with your hearts; examine them by serious self-reflection, that you may acquaint yourselves with them, and amend what is amiss in them; employ them in solemn pious meditations, let your thoughts fasten upon that which is good, and keep close to it. Consider your ways, and observe the directions here given, in order to the doing of this work well and to good purpose." [1.] "Choose a solitary time; do it when you lie awake upon your beds. Before you turn you, to go to sleep at night," (as some of the heathen moralists have directed,) "examine your consciences with respect to what you have done that day, particularly what you have done amiss, that yoii may repent of it. 'When you awake in the night, m'editate upon God, and the things that belong to your peace." David himself practised what he here counsels others to do; (Ixiii. 6.) Ire-member thee on my bed; upon a sick-bed particularly we should consider our ways, and commune with our own hearts about them. [2.] " Compose yourselves into a serious frame; Be still, \yhen you have asked conscience a question, be silent, and wait for an answer; even in unquiet times, keep vour spirits calm and quiet."

4. He counsels them to make conscience of their duty; {-u. 5.) Offer to God the sacrifice of righteousness. We must not <'nly cease to do evil, but learn to do well. They that were disaffected to David and his government, would soon come to a better temper, and return to their allegiance, if they would but worship God aright: and those that know the concerns that lie between them and God, will be glad of the Mediator, the Son of David. It is required here from every one of us, (1.) That we serve him; " Offer sacrifices to him, your own selves first, and your best sacrifices." But they must be sacrifices of righteousness, good works; all the fruits oi the reigning love of God and our neighbour, and all the instances of a religious conversation, which are better than all burnt-offerings and sacrifices. " Let all your devotions come from an \ipright heart; let all your alms be sacrifices of righteousness." The sacrifices of the unrighteous, God will not accept, they are an abomination, Isa. i. 11, &c. (2.) That wc confide in him. "First make conscience of offering the sacrifices of righ-

teousness, and then you are welcome to put your tiiist in the Lord. Serve God without any diflfi dence of him, or any fear of losing by him. Honour him, by trusting in him only, and not in your wealth, or in an arm of flesh; trust in his providence, and lean not to your own understanding; trust in his grace, and go not about to establish your own righteousness or sufficiency."

In singing these verses, we must preach to ourselves the doctrine of the provoking nature of sin, the lying vanity of the world, and the unspeakable happiness of God's people; and we must press upon ourselves the duties of tearing God, conversing with our own hearts, and offering spiritual sacrifices; in praying over these \ erses, we must beg of God grace thus to think, and thus to do.

6. There be many that say, Who will show us any good ? Lord, hft thou up the hght of thy countenance upon us. 7. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their com and their wine increased. 8. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou. Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

We have here,

I. The foolish wish of worldly people; There be many that say. Who will show us any good? Who will make us to see good? What good they meant, is intimated, v. 7. It was the increase of their corn and wine; all they desired was plenty of the wealth of this world, that they might enjoy abundance of the delights of sense. Thus far they are right, that they are desirous of good, and solicitous about it; but there are these things amiss in this wish, 1. They inquire, in general, "Who will make us happy?" but do not apply themselves to God, who alone can; and so they expose themselves to be ill-advised, and show they would rather be beholden to any than to God, for they would willingly live without' him. 2. They inquire for good that may be seen, seeming good, sensible good; and they show no concern for the good things that are out of sight, and are the objects of faith only. The source of idolatry was a desire of gods that they might see, therefore they worshipped the sun; but, as we must be taught to worship an unseen God, so to seek an unseen good, 2 Cor. iv. 18. We look, with an eye of faith, further than we can see with an eye of sense. 3. They inquire for any good, not for the chief good; all they want is outward good, present good, partial good, good meat, good drink, a good trade, and a good estate; and what are all these worth, without a good God, and a good heart? Any good will serve the turn of most men, but a gracious soul will not be put off so. This way, this wish, of carnal worldlings is their folly, and yet mariy there /if that join in it; their doom will be accordingly; "Son, remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things, the penny thou didst agree for."

II. The wise choice which godly people make. David, and the pious few that adhered to him, dissented from that wish, and joined in this prayer. Lord, lift thou u/i the light of thy countenance u/ion us. 1. He disagrees from the vote of the many; God had set him apart for himself by distinguishing favours, and therefore he sets himscii apart by a distinguishing character. " They are for any good, for worldly good, but so am not I; I will not say as they say; any good will not serve my turn; the wealth of the world will never make a portion for my soul, and therefore I cannot take up with it." 2. He and his friends agree in their

PSALMS, V.

209

choice of God's favour as their felicity, that is it wliijh, in their account, is better than Ufe and all t!ie comforts of life.

(1.) That is it which they most earnestly desire and seek after; this is the breathing of their souls, *'Lord, lift thou ufi the light of t/ty countenance uhon us; most are for other things, but we are for this." Good people, as they are distinguished by the^r practices, so they are by their prayers, nrit the length and language of them, but the faith and fervency of them; they whom God has set apart, have a prayer by themselves, which, though others mciy speak the words of it, they only offer up in sincerity; and this is a prayer which they all say .4men to; "Lord, let us have thy favour, and let us know that we have it, and we desire no more; that is enough to make us happy. I^ord, be at peace with us, accept of us, manifest thyself to us, let us be satisfied of thy loving-kindness, and we will be satisfied with it." Observe, Though David speaks of himself only, in the 7th and 8th verses, he speaks, in this prayer, for otliers also, "upon us," as Christ taught us to pray, "Oz^r Father." All the saints come to the throne of grace on the same en-and, and in this they are one, they all desire God's favour as their chief good. We should beg it for others as well as f(}r ourselves, for in God's favour there is enough for us all, and we shall have never the less for others sharing in what we have.

(2.) That is it in which, above any thing, thev rejoice; {v. 7.) "Thou hast hereby often fiut glad-ne-^s into my heart; not only supported and refreshed me, but filled me with joy unspeakable; and therefore that is it which I will still pu' sue, which I will seek after all the days of my life." When God puts grace in the heart, he puts gladness in the heart; nor is any joy comparable to that which gracious souls ha\e in the communications of the divine favom*, no, not the joy of harvest, of a plentiful harvest, when the corn and wine increase. This is gladness in the heart, inward, solid, substantial, joy. The mirth of worldly people is but a flash, a shadow; even in laughter their heart is sorrowful, Prov. xiv. 13. " Thou \\?i?,\. given gladness in my heart; so the word is. True joy is God's gift, not as the world giveth, John xiv. 27. The saints have no reason to envy carnal worldlings their mirth and joy, but should pity them rather, for they may know better, and will not.

(3.) That is it which they entirely confide in, and in that confidence they are always easy, v. 8. He had laid him down, and slept, (iii. 5.) so he will still; *' 1 will lay me down (ha\ ing the assurance of thy favour) in peace, and with as much pleasure as those whose corn and wine increase, and who lie down as Boaz did in his threshing-floor, at the end of the heap of corn, to sleep there when his heart was merry; (Ruth iii. 7.) for thou only makest me to dwell in safety. Though I am alone, yet I am not alone, for God is with me; though I have no guards to attend me, the Lord alone is suflicient to protect me; he can do it himself when all other dc- ' fences fail." If he have the light of God's countenance, [1.] He can enjoy himself. His soul returns to God, and reposes itself in him as its Rest, ! and so he lays him clown, and sleeps in peace. He ! has what he would have, and is sure that nothing i can come amiss to him. (2.) He fears no distur-^ bance from his enemies, sleeps quiet, and is very secure, because God himself has undertaken to keep him safe. When he comes to sleep the sleep of death, and to lie down in the grave, to make his bed m the darkness, he will then, with good old Simeon, depart in peace, (Luke ii. 29.) being assured that God will receive his soul, to be safe with himself, and that his body also shall be made to dwell in

Vol. III.—2D

safety in the grave. (3.) He commits all his affairs to God, and contentedly leaves the issue of them with him. It is said of the husbandman, that, having cast his seed into the ground, he sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed springs and grozvs tip, he knows not how, Mark iv. 26, 27. So a good man, liaving, by faith and prayer, cast his care upon God, sleeps and rests night and day, ; nd is very easy, leaving it to his God to perform all things fcr him, and prepared to welcome his holy will.

In singing these \erses, and praying over them, let us, with a holy contempt of the wealth and pleasure of this world, as insufficient to make us happy, earnestly seek the favour of God, and pleasingly solace ourselves in that favour; and, with a holy indifferency about the issue of all our worldly concerns, let us commit ourselves and all our affairs to the conduct and custody of the Divine Providence, and be satisfied that all shall be made to work for good to us, if we keep ourselves in the love of God.

PSALM V.

This psalm is a prayer, a solemn address to God, at a time when the psalmist was brought into distress by the malice of his enemies; many such times passed over David, nay, there was scarcely any time of his life to which this psalm may not be accommodated; for in Ihts he was a type of Christ, that he was continually beset with enemies; and his powerful and prevalent appeals to God, when he was so beset, pointed at Christ's dependence on his Father, and triumphs over the powers of darkness, in the midst of his suffering's. In this psahn, I. David settles a correspondence between his soul and God, promising: to pray, and promising- himself that God would certainly hear him, V. 1. .3. II. He gives to God the glory, and takes to himself the comfort, of God's holiness, v. 4.. 6. III. He declares his resolution to keep close to the public worship of God, v. 7. IV. He prayed, I. For himself, that God would guide him, v. 8. 2. Against his enemies, that God would destroy them, v. 9, 10. 3. For all the people of God, that God would give them joy, and keep them safe, V. 11, 12. And this is all of great use to direct us in prayer.

To the chief musician upon JVehiloth. A psalm of David.

1. £^ IVE ear to my words, O Lord ; con-\-f sider my meditation. 2. Hearker. unto the voice of my cry, my King, and mj God: for unto thee will I pray. 3. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord ; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. 4. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness 5 neither shall evil dwell with thee. 5. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. 6. Thoii shalt destroy them that speak leasing : the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitfiil man.

The title of this psalm has nothing in it peculiar, but that it is said to be upon JVehiloth, a word no where else used. It is conjectured, (and it is but a conjecture,) that it signifies wind instruments, with which this psalm was sung, as A'eginofh was sup posed to signify the s/n'«§-erf-instraments. In these verses, David had an eye to God, I. As a prayer-hearing God; such he has always been, ever since men began to call upon tlie name of the Lord, and yet is still as ready to hear prayer as ever. Observe how David here styles him, C Lord; (t. 1, 3.) Jehovah, a self-existent, self-s-jf ficient, Being, whom we are bound to adore, and, "my King and ?ny God, {v. 2.) whom 1 have avouched for my God, to whom I ha^ e sworn alle-

PSALMS, V.

giance, and under whose protection I have put myself as my King." We believe tliat the God we pray to is a Kmg and a God, King of kings, and God of gods; but that is not enough, the must commanding encouraging principle of prayer, and tlie most powerful prevailing plea in prayer, is, to look upon him as our King and our God, whom we lie under peculiar obligations to, and whom we have peculiar expectations from. Now observe,

1. What David here prays for, which may encourage our faith and hopes, in all our addresses to God. If we pray fervently, and in faith, we have reason to hope, (1.) That God will take cognizance of our case, the representation we make of it, and the requests we make upon it; for so he prays here; Give ear to my ivord&, 0 Lord. Ihough God is in heaven, he has an ear open to his people's prayers, and it is not heavy, that he cannot hear. Men, perhaps, will not, or cannot, hear us; our enemies are so haughty, that they will not, our friends at such a distance, that they cannot; but God, though high, though in heaven, can, and will. (2.) That he will take it into his wise and compassionate consideration, and will not slight it, or turn it off with a cursory answer; for so he prays. Consider my meditation. David's prayers were not his words only, but his meditations; as meditation is the best preparative for prayer, so prayer is the best issue of meditation. Meditation and'prayer should go together, xix. 14. It is when we thus consider our prayers, and then only, that we may expect that God will consider them, and take that to liis heart which comes from ours. (3.) That he will, in due time, return a gracious answer of peace: for so he prays, {v. 2.) Hearken to the voice of my cry. His prayer was a cry, it was the voice of his cry, which denotes fer\ ency of affection, and importunity of expression; such effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man avail much, and do wonders.

2. What David here promises, as the condition on his part to be performed, fulfilled, and kept, that he might obtain this gracious acceptance; this may guide and govern us in our addresses to God, that we may present them aright, for we ask, and ha\ e not, if we ask amiss.

Four things David here promises, and so must we.

(1.) That he will pray, that he will make conscience of it, and make a business of it; ujito thee ■will I(iray. "Others live without prayer, but I will pray." Kings on their own thrones (so David was) must be beggars at God's throne. " Others pray to strange gods, and expect relief from them, but to thee, to thee only, will I pray." The assurances God has given us of his readiness to hear prayer, should confirm our resolution to li\ p and die praying.

(2.) That he will pray m the morning; his praying voice shall be heard then, and then shall his pravcr be directed, that shall be the date of his letters' to heaven; " Morning, and evening, and at noon, will I pray, nay, seven times a day, will I praise thee;" but certainly, morning-prayer is especially our duty; we are the fittest for prayer, when we are in the most fresh, and lively, and composed, frame, got clear of the slumbers ot the night, revived by them, and not yet filled with the business of the day. We have then most need of prayer, considering the dangers and temptations of the day to which we are exposed, and against which we are concerned, by faith and prayer, to fetch in fresh supplies of grace.

(3.) That he will have his eye single, and his heart intent, in the duty; I ivill direct vnj prayer, as a marksman directs his arrow to the white; with such a fixedness and steadiness of mind should we address ourselves to God. Or, as we direct a letter t'.> a friend at such a place, so must we direct our

prayers to God as our Father in heaven; and let us always send them by the Lord Jesus, the great Mediator, and then they will be sure not to miscarry. All our prayers must be directed to G(jd; his honour and glory must be aimed at as our highest end, ir all our prayers; let our first petition be. Hallowed Glorified, be thy name; and then we may be sure of the same gracious answer to it that was given to Christ himself, I have glorified it, and I will glorify it yet again.

(4.) That he will patiently wait for an answer of pe.ice; " I will look up; will look after my prayers, and hear what God the Lord will ajieak, (Ixxxv. 8. Hab. ii. 1.) that, if he grant what I asked, I may be thankful, if he deny, 1 may be patient, if he defer, I may continue to pray and wait, and may not faint." We must look ufi, or look out, as he that has shot an arrow looks to see how near it has come to the mark. We lose much of the comfort of our prayers, for want of observing the returns of them. Thus praying, thus waiting, as the lame man looked steadfastly on Peter and John, (Acts iii. 4.) we may expect that God will give earto our words, and consider them, and to him we may refer ourselves, as David here, who does not pray, " Lord, do this, or the other, forme;" but, " Hearken to me, consider my case, and do in it as seemeth good unto thee."

II. As a sin-hating God, v. 4»»6. David takes notice of this, 1. As a warning to himself, and all other praying people, to remember that, as the God with whom we have to do is gracious and merciful, so he is pure and holy; though he is ready to hear prayer, yet, if we regard iniquity in our heart, he will not hear our prayers, Ixvi. 18. 2. As an encouragement to his prayers against his enemies; they were wicked men, and therefore enemies to God, and such as he had no pleasure in. See here,

(1.) The holiness of God's nature; when he says. Thou art not a God that has pleasure in wickedness, he means, " Thou art a God that hates it, as directly contrary to thine infinite purity and rectitude, and holy will." Though the workers of iniquity prosper, let none thence infer, that God has pleasure in wickedness, no not in that by which men pretend to honour him, as those do that hate their brethren, and cast them out, and say. Let the Lord be glorified. God has no pleasure in wickedness, though covered with a cloak of religion. Let those, therefore, who delight in sin, know that God has no delight in them; nor let any say, when he is tempted, / am tempted of God, for God is not the Author of sin, neither shall evil dwell with him; it shall not always be countenanced, and suffered to ])rosper. Dr. Hammond thinks this refers to that law of Moses, which would not permit strangers, who persisted in their idolatry, to dwell in the land of Israel.

(2.) The justice of his government; The foolish shall not stand in his sight, shall not be smiled upon by him, nor admitted to attend upon him, nor shall they be acquitted in the judgment of the great day. The workers of iniquity are very .foolish. Sin is folly, and sinners are the greatest of all fools; not f()ols of God's making, those are to be pitied, he hates nothing that he has made, but fools of their own making, and those he hates. Wicked people hate God, justly therefore are they hated of him, and it will be their endless misery and ruin. " Those whom thou hatest, thou shalt destroy; particularly two sorts of sinners, who are here marked for destruction. [1.] Those that arc fools, that speak leasing or lying, and that are deceitful. There is a particular emphasis laid on these sin ners, (Rev. xxi. 8.) Jill liars, and (ch. xxii. 15.) ll'hosoever loves and makes a lie; nothing is more contrary than this, and therefore nothing move hate ful, to the God of tmth. [2.] Those that are cruel;

PSALMS, V.

211

Thtm •wilt abhor the bloody man; for inhumanity is no less contrary, no less hateful, to the God of mercy, whom mercy pleases. liiars and murderers are in a particular manner said to resemble the Devilj and to be his children, and therefore it may well be expected that- God should abhor them. These were the characters of David's enemies; and such as these are still the enemies of Christ and his church, men perfectly lost to all virtue and honour; the worse they are, the surer we may be of their ruin in due time.

In si; ging these verses, and praying them over, we must engage and stir up ourselves to the duty of prayer, and encourage ourselves in it, because we shall not seek the Lord in vain; and must express our detestation of sin, and our awful expectation of tliat day of Christ's appearing, which will be the day of the perdition of ungodly men.

7. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy; and in thy fear will I woiship toward thy holy temple. 8. Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness, because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. 9. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth ; their inward part is very wickedness; their thioat is an open sepulchre , they flatter with their tongue. 10. Destroy thou them, O God ; let them fall by their own counsels: cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions ; for they have rebelled against thee. 11 But let all those that put their trust in tliee rejoice : let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. 12. For thou, LoRo, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as loith a shield.

In these verses, D n id gives three characters; of himself, of his enemies, and of all the people of God; and subjoins a prayer to each of them.

I. He gives an account of himself, and prays for himself, v. 7, 8. 1. He is steadfastly resolved to keep close to God and to his worship. Sinners go away from God, and so make themselves odious to his holiness, and obnoxious to his justice; " But ns for me, that shall not keep me from thee." God's holiness and justice are so far from being a terror to the upright in heart, to drive them from God, that they are rather by them invited to cleave to him. David resolves, (1.) To worship God, to pay his homage to him, and give unto God the glory due unto his name. (2.) To worship him publicly; " I will come into thy house, the courts of thy house, to •worship there with other thy faithful worshippers." David was much in secret worship, prayed often alone, {v. 2, 3.) and yet was very constant and devout in his attendance on the sanctuary. The duties of the closet are designed to prepare us for, not excuse us from, public ordinances. (3.) To worship him reverently, and with a due sense of . the infinite distance there is between God and man; ** In thy fear will I worshifi, with a holy awe of God upon my spirit," Heb. xii. 28. God is greatly to be feared by all his worshippers. (4.) To take his encouragement, in worship, from God himself only. [1.] From his infinite mercy: it is in the multitude of God's mercy, (the inexhaustible treasures of mercy that are in God, and the innumerable proofs and instances of it which we receive from

him,) that David confides, and not In any merit < i righteousness of his own, in his approaches to God. The mercy of God should ever be the foundation both of our hopes, and of our joy, in every thing wherein we have to do with him. [2.] From the instituted medium of worship, which was then the temple, here called the temple of hui holiness, as a type of Christ, the great and only Mediator, who sanctifies the service, as the temple sanctified the gold, and to whom we must liave an eye in all our devotions, as they then had to the temple. 2. He earnestly prays that God, by his grace, would guide and preserve him always in the way of his duty; {v. 8.) Lead me in thy righteousness, because of mine enemies, Hebr. " because of those which obseTi'e me, which watch for my halting, and seek occasion against me." See here, (1.) The good use whirh David made of the malice of his enemies against him; the more curious they were in spying faults in him, that they might have whereof to accuse him, the more cautious he was to avoid sin and all appearances of it, and the more solicitous to be always found in the good way of God and duty. Thus, by wisdom and grace, good may come out of evil. (2.) The right course which David took for the baffling of those who sought occasion against him: he committed himself to a divine guidance, begged of (iod, both by his pro\ idence and by his grace, to direct him in the right way, and keep him from turning aside out of it, at any time, in any instance whatsoever, that the most critical and captious of his enemies, like Daniel's, might find no occasion against him. The way of our duty is here called God's way and his righteousness, because he prescribes to us by his just and holy laws, which if we sincerely set before us as our rule, Ave may in faith beg of CTod to direct us in all particular cases. How this priiyer of David's was answered to him, see 1 Sam. xviii. 14, 15.

II. He gi\ es an account of his enemies, and prays against them, v. 9, 10. 1. If his account of them l^e true, as, no doubt, it is, they have a very bad character; and if they had not been bad men indeed, they could not have been enemies to a man after God's own heart. He had spoken {y. 6.) of God's hating the bloody and deceitful man; "Now, Lord," says he, "that is the character of my enemies: they are deceitful, there is no trusting them, for there is no ^jithfulne.ss in their mouth." They thought it was no sin to tell a deliberate lie, if it might but blemish David, and make him odious; "■ Lord, lead me," says he, {v. 8.) "for such as these, are the men I have to do with, against whose shmders innocency itself is no security. Do thev speak fair.^ Do they talk of peace and friendship? They flatter with their tongues; it is designed to cover their malice, and to gain their point the more securely. Whatever they pretend of religion or friendship, two sacred things, they are true to neither, their inward part is wickedness itself, it is very wickedness. They are likewise bloody, for their throat is an ofien sefiulchre, cruel as the grave, gaping to devour and to swallow up; insatiable as the grave, which never says, " It is enough,'" Prov. XXX. 15, 16. This is quoted, (Rom. iii. 13.) to show the general corruption of mankind, for they are all naturally prone to malice. Tit. iii. 3. The grave is opened for them all, and yet they are as open graves to one another. 2. If his prayer against them be heard, as, no doubt, it is, they are in a bad condition. As men are, and do, so they must expect to fare. He prays to God to destroy them, according to what he had said, {v. 6.) '"Thou shalt destroy men of this character." So let them fall; and sinners would soon throw themselves into ruin, if they were let alone. The psalmist prays that God would cast them out of his protection and

PSALMS, VL

t ivour, out of the heritage of the Loiu, out of the luiid of the living; and woe to those whom God CHSts out. They have by their sins deserved destruction; there is enough to justify God in their utter rejection; " Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions by which they have filled up the measure of their iniquity, and are become ripe for ruin." Persecuting God's servants, fills the measure as soon as any thing, 1 Thess. ii. 15, 16. Nay, they may be easily made to fall by their own counsels; that which they do, to secure themselves, and do mischief to others, by the over-ruling jirovi-dence of God, may be made the means of their destruction, vii. 15.—ix. 15. He pleads, " '/'hey have rebelled against thee: had they been only mine enemies, I could safely have forgiven them; but they are rebels against God, hs crown and dignity; they oppose his government, and will not repent, to give him glory, and theref re I plainly foresee their iniin." His prayer for their destruction comes not |t from a spirit of revenge, tint from a spirit of pro- j phecy, by which he foretold. That all who rebel against God will certainly be destroyed by their own counsels. Tf it be a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble his people, as we are told it is, (2 Thess. i. 6.) we pi'ay it may be done, whenever we pray, Father, thy will be done.

HI. He gives an account of the people of God, and prays ftr them, concluding with an assurance of their bliss, which he doubted not of his own interest in. Observe,

1. The description he gives of God's people. They are the righteous; (t. 12.) for they put their trust in God, are well assured of his power and all-sufficiency, venture their all upon his promise, and are confident of his protection in the way of their duty; and they love his name, are well-pleased with all that by which God has made himself known, and take delight in their acquaintance with him. This is true and pure religion, to live a life of complacency in God, and dependence on him.

2. His prayer for them; " Let them rejoice; let them have cause to rejoice, and hearts to rejoice; fill them with joy, with great joy and unspeakable; let them shout for joy, with constant joy and perpetual, let them ever shout for joy, with holy joy, and that which terminates in God; let them be joyful in thee, in thy favour, in thy salvation; not in any creature. Let them rejoice because thou cover-est them, or overshadowest them, dwellest among them." Perhaps it is an allusion to the pillar of cloud and fire, which was to Israel a visible token of God's special presence with them, and the special protection they were under. Let us learn of David to pray, not for ourselves only, but for others; for all good people, for all that trust in God, and love his name, though not in every thing of our mind, or in our interest. Let all that are entitled to God's promises, have a share in our prayers; prace be with all that love Christ in sincerity. This IS to concur with God.

3. His comfort concerning them, v. 12. Therefore he takes them into his prayers, because they are God's peculiar people; therefore he doubts not l)ut his prayers shall be heard, and they shall always rejoice; for, (1.) They are happy in the assurance of God's blessing; Thou, Lord, ivilt bless the righteous; wilt command a blessing upon them. Thou hast in thy word pronounced them blessed, and therefore wilt make them truly so. Those whom thou biessest, then are blessed indeed." (2.) "Thcv are safe under the pa-otertion of thy favour; with that thou wilt crown him," so some read it; " it is liis honour, it will be to him a diadem of beauty, and make him truly great: with that thou wilt compass liim, wilt surround him on every side as with a

shield." A shield, in war, guards only one side but tae favour of God is to the saints a defence on every side; like the hedge about Job, round about, so that, while they keep themselves under the divine protection, they are entirely safe, and ought to be entirely satisfied.

In singing these verses, and praying them over, we nuist l)y faith p\it ourselves under God's guidance and care, and then please ourselves with his mercy and gr.ice, and witi\ the prospect of God's triiniiphs, at hist, over all his enemies, and his people's ir.umphs in him and in his salvation.

PSALM VI.

David was a weeping prophet as well as Jeremiah, and this psulm is one of his lamentations: either it was penned in a time, or, at least, calculated for a time, of great trouble, both outward and inward. Is any afflicted? Is any sick? Let him sin<r this psalm. The method of this psalm is very observable, and what we shall often meet with. He begins with doleful complaints, but ends with joyful praises ; like Hannah, who went to prayer with a sorrowful spirit, but, when she had prayed, went her way, and her countenance was no more sad. Three things the psalmist is here complaining of; I. Sickness of body. II. Trouble of mind, arising from the sense of sin, the meritorious cause of pain and sickness. III. The insults of his enemies, upon occasion of both. Now here, 1. He pours out his complaints before God, deprecates his wrath, and begs earnestly for the return of his favour, v. 1. . 7. 2. He assures himself of an answer of peace, shortly, to his full satisfaction, t. 8. . 10. This psalm is like the book of Job.

To the chief musician on JVeginoth upon Sheminith. A psalm of David.

LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. 2. Have mercy upon me, O Lord ; for I am weak : O Loud, heal me; for my bones are vexed. 3. My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long ? 4. Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: O save me for thy mercies' sake. 5. F'or in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks? 6. f am weary with my gioaning ; all the night make I my bed to swim: I water my couch with my tears. 7. Mine eye is consumed because of gi ief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.

These verses speak the langtiage of a heart truly humbled under humbling providences, of a broken and contrite spirit under great afflictions, sent on purpose to awaken conscience, and mortify corruption. Those heap up wrath, who cry not when God binds them; but those are getting ready for mercy, who, under God's rebukes, sow in tears, as David does here.

Let us observe here,

L The representation he makes to God of his grievances; he pours out his complaint before him: whither else should a child go with his complaints, but to his father.'' 1. He complains of bodily pain and sickness; {v. 2.) My bones are vejred: his bones and his flesh, like Job's, were touched. Though David was a king, yet he was sick and pained; his imperial crown would not keep his head from aching. Great men are men, and subject to the common calamities of human life. Though David was a stout man, a man of war from his youth, yet that will not secure him from distempers, which will soon make even the strong men to bow themselves. Though David was a good man, yet neither will his goodness keep him in health; Lord, behold, he ivhor

PSALMS, VI.

21J

fkou lovest is sick. Let this help to reconcile us to pain and sickness, that it has been the lot of some of the best saints, and that we are directed and encouraged, by their example, to show before God our trouble in that case, who is for the body, and t^kes cognizance of its ailments. 2. He complains of inward trouble; My soul is also sore veoced; and that is much more grievous than the vexation of tiie bones. The s/iirit of a man will sustain his infirmity, if that be in good plight; but, if that be wounded, the grievance is intolerable. Da\ id's sickness brought his sin to his remembrance, and he looked upon it as a token of God's displeasure against him; that was the vexation of his soul, that made him cry, / am iveak, heal me. Ic is a sad thing for a man to have his bones and his soul vexed at the same time; but this has been sometimes the lot of God's own people; nay, and this completed this complicated trouble, that it was continued upon them a great while, which is here intimated in that expostulation, (i^. 3.) Thou, O Lord, how long? To the living God we must, at such a time, apply ourselves, who is the only Physician both of body and mind, and not to the Assyrians, not to the god of Ekron.

II. The impression which his troubles made upon him. They lay very heavy; he groaned till he was weary, wept till he made his bed toswim, and watered his couch; {v. 6.) wept till he had almost wept his eyes out; (v. 7.) Mine eye is consuined because of grief David had more courage and consideration than to mourn thus for any outward affliction; but, when sin sat heavy upon his conscience, and he was made to possess his iniquities, when his soul was wounded with the sense of God s wrath, and his withdrawings from him, then he takes on thus, and mourns in secret, and even his soul refuses to be comforted. This not only kept his eyes waking, but kept his eyes weeping. Note 1. It has often been the lot of the best men to be men of sorrows; our Lord Jesus himself was so: our way lies through a vale of tears, and we must accommodate ourselves to the temper of the climate. 2. It well becomes the greatest spirits to be tender and to relent, under the tokens of God's displeasure. David, who could face Goliath himself, and many another threatening enemy, with an undaunted bravery, yet melts into tears at the remembrance of sin, and under the apprehensions of divine wrath; and it is no diminution at all to his character. 3. True penitents weep in their retirements. The Pharisees disguised their faces, that they might appear unto men to mourn; but David mourns in the night upon the bed where he lay, communing with his own heart, and no eye was a witness to his grief, but the eye of Him who is all eye. Peter went out, covered his face, and wept. 4. Sorrow for sin ought to be great sorrow; so David's was; he wept so bitterly, so abundantly, that he watered his couch. 5. The triumphs of wicked men, in the sorrows of the saints, add very much to their grief David's eye waxed old, because of his enemies, who rejoiced in his afflictions, and put bad constructions upon his tears. In this great sorrow, David was a type of Christ, who often wept, and who cried out. My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, Heb. v. 7.

III. The petitions which he offers up to God, in this sorrowful and distressed state. 1. That which he dreads as the greatest evil, is, the anger of God. This was the wormwood and the gall in the affliction and the misery; it was the infusion of this that made it indeed a bitter cup; and therefore he prays, {v. 1.) O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, though I have deserved it, neither chasten me in thy hot diifileasure. He does not pray, " Lord, rebuke me not; Lord, chasten me not; for, as many as God .oves, he rebukes and chastens, as a father the son

in whom he delights. He can bear the rebuke and chastening well enough, if God, at the same time, lift up the light of his countenance upon him, and by his Spirit make him to hear the joy and gl;td-ness of his loving-kindness; the affliction of his body will be tolerable, if he have but comfort in his soul. No malter though sickness make his bones ache, if God's wrath do not make his heart ache; therefore his prayer is, " Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath; let me not lie under the impressions ( f that, for that will sink me." Herein David was a type of Christ, whose sorest complaint, in his sufferings, was, of the trouble of his soul, and of tlie suspension of his Father's smiles. He never so much as whispered a complaint of the rage cf his enemies, "Why do they crucify me?" or the un-kindness of his friends, " Why do they desert me?" But he cried with a loud voice. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Let us thus deprecate the wrath of God more than any outward trouble whatsoever, and always take heed of treasuring up wrath against a day of affliction. 2. That which he desires as the greatest good, and which would be to him the restoration of all good, is, the favour and grace of God. He prays, (1.) That God would pity him, and look upon him with compassion; he thinks himself \ery miserable, and misery is the proper object of mercy. Hen(^ he prays, " Have mercy upon me, O Lord; in wrath, remember mercy, and deal not with me m strict justice." (2.) That God would pardon his sins; for that is the proper act of mercy, and is ofien chiefly intended in that petition, Have mercy ufiori me. (3.) That God would put forth his power for his relief: Lord, heal me, {v. 2.) Save me, {y. 4.) speak the wrni, and I shall be whole, and all will be well." (4.) That he would be at peace with him; " Return, 0 Lord, receive me into thy favour again, and be reconciled to me. Thou hast seemed to depart from me, and neglect me, nay, to set thyself at a distance, as one angry; but now, Lord, return, and show thyself nigh to me." (5.) That he would especially preserve the inward man, and the interests of that, whatever becomes of the body; " O Lord, deliver my soul from sinning, from sinking, from perishing for ever." It is an unspeakable privilege, that we have a God to go to in our afflictions, and it is our duty to go to him, and thus to wrestle with him, and we shall not seek in vain.

IV. The pleas with which he enforces his petitions; not to move God, (he knows our cause, and the true merits of it, better than«we can state it,) but to move himself. 1. He pleads his own miserv, and that his misery had continued long; "I am weak, I am troubled, sore troubled; O Lord, how long shall I be so?" 2 He pleads God's mercy; thence we take some of our best encouragements In prayer; Save me, for thy mercies* sake. 3. He pleads God's glory; {v. 5.) ' For in death there is no remembrance of thee. Lord, if thou deliver me and comfort me, I will not only give thee thanks for my deliverance, and stir up'others to join with me in these thanksgivings, but I will spend the new life thou sh dt intrust me with, in thy service, and to thy glory; and, all the remainder of mv days, I will preserve a grateful remembrance of thy favours to me, and be quickened thereby in all instances of service to thee: but if I die, I shall be cut short of that opportunity of honouring thee, and doing good to others; for in the grave, who will give thee thanks?" Not but that separate souls live and act, and the souls of the faithful joyfullv remember God, and give thanks to him. But, (1.) In the second death, (which, perhaps, David, being now troubled in soul under the wrath of God, had some dreadful apprehensions of,) there is no pleasing remembrance of God; devils and damned spiritj-

PSALMS, VII.

blaspheme him, and do not praise him. "Lord, let me not lie always under this wrath, for that is Sheol, it is Hell itself, and lays me under an everlasting disability to praise thee." They that sincerely seek. God's glory, and desire and delight to praise him, may pray, in faith, "Lord, send me not to that dreadful place, where there is no devout remembrance of thee, nor any thanks given to thee." (2.) Even the death of the body puts an end to our opportunity and capacity of glorifying God in this world, and serving the mterests of his kinc;dom among men, by opposing the powers of darkness, and bringing many on this earth to know God, and devote themselves to him. Some have maintained, that the joys of the saints in heaven aie more desirable, infinitely more so, than the comforts of saints on earth; yet the services of saints on earth, especially such eminent ones as David was, are more laudable, and redound more to the glory of the divine grace, than the services of the saints in heaven, who are not employed in maintaining the var against sin and Satan, nor in edifying the body of Christ. Courtiers in the royal presence are niost happy, but soldiers in the field are more useful; and therefore we may, with good reason, pray, that, if it be the will of God, and he has any further work for us or our friends to do in this world, he will yet spare us, or them, t* serve him. To depart and be with Christ, is most happy for the saints themselves; but for them to abide in the flesh, is more profitable for the church. This, David had an eye to, when he pleaded this, In the grave, who shall give thee (hanks? xxx. 9.—Ixxxviii. 10.—cxv. 17. Isa. xxxviii. 18. And this, Christ had an eye to, when he said, / firay not that thou shouldest take them out of the ivorld.

We should sing these verses with a deep sense of ttie terrors of God's wrath, which we should there-f')i-e dread and deprecate above anything; and with thankfulness, if this be not our condition, and compassion to those who are thus afflicted: if we be thus troubled, let it comfoi t us, tliat our case is not without precedent, nor, if we humble ourselves and pray, as David did, shall it be long without redress.

8. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquiLy : for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. 9. The L'mid hath heard my supplication; the Lor d will receive my prayer. 10. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore-vexed: let them retnrn and be ashamed suddenly.

Whit a sudden change is here for the better! He that was groaning, and weeping, and giving up all for gone, (i^. 6, 7.) here looks, ar.d speaks, \ ery pleasantly. Having made his requests known to God, and lodged his case with him, he is very confident the issue will be good, and his sorrow turned into jpy.

1. He distinguishes himself from the wicked and ungodly, and fortifies himself against tlieir insults; {v. 8.) Defiart from me, all ye workers ofinic/uUit. When he was in the depth of his distress, (1.) He WHS afraid that God's wrath against him would gi\ e hi n his portion with the workers of iniquity; but now that this cloud of melancholv was blown o\ er, he is assured that his soid shall not lie gathered with sinners, for thev are not his people: he l)egan to suspect himself to be one of them, because of the heavy pressures of God's wrath ui)nii him; but now that all his fears are silenced, he bids them depart, Wiowing that his lot is amnng the chosen. (2.) The workers of iniquity had te ised lum, and taunted liim, and asked him, "Where was thy God?" triumphing in his despondency and despair; but now

he had wherewith to answer them that reproached him, for God was about to return in mercy to him, had now comforted his spirit, and would shortly complete his deliverance. (3.) Perhaps they had tempted him to do as they did, to quit his religion, and betake hiniself for ease to the pleasures of sin. But now, "Depart from me, I will never lend an ear to your counsel; you would have had me to curse God and die, but I will bless him and live." This good use we should make of God's mercies to us, we should thereby have our resolution strengthened never to have any thing more to do with sin and sinners. David was a king, and he takes this occasion to renew his purpose of using his power for the suppression of sin, and the reformation ot manneis, Ixxv. 4.—ci. 3. When God has done great things for us, that should put us upon study ing wliat we shall do for him. Our Lord Jesii? seems to borrow these words from the mouth of his father Da\ id, when, having all judgment committed to him, he shall say. Depart from me, all ye "workers of iniquity, (Luke xiii. 27.) and so teaches us to say now, cxix. 115.

2. He assures himself that God was, and would be, propitious to him, notwithstanding the present intimations of wrath which he was under. (1.) He is confident of a gracious answer to this prayer which he is now making. While he is yet speaking, he is aware that God hears, (as Isa. Ixv. 24. Dan. ix. 20.) and therefore speaks of it as a thing done, and repeats it with an air of triumph, "The Lord hath heard," and again, "The Lord hath heard." By the workings of God's grace upon his heart, he knew his prayer was graciously accepted, and therefore did not doubt but it would, in due time, be eflFectually answered. His tears had a voice, a loud voice, in the ears of the God of mercy; 1'he Lord has heard the voice of my weeping; silent tears are not speechless ones: his prayers were cries to God; *'The Lord has heard the voice of my supplication, has put his Fiat — Let it he doiie, to my petitions, and so it will appear shoi-tlv." (2.) Thence he infers the like favourable audience of all his other prayers; " He has heai'd the voice of my supplication, and therefore he will receive mv prayer; for he gives, and does not upbraid with former grants."

3. He either prays for the conversif n, or predicts the destruction, of his enemies and persecutors, v. 10. (1.) It may veiy well l)e taken as a prayer for their conversion; "Let them all be ashamed of the opposition they ha\e given me, and the censures they have passed upon me. Let them be (as all tj'ue penitents are) vexed at themselves for their own folly; let them return to a better tamper and disposition of mind, and let them be ashamed of what thev have done against me, and take shame to themselves." (2.) If they be not conxerted, it is a prediction of their confusion and ruin. They shall be ashamed and sore-vexed, (so it may be read,) and that justly; they rejoiced that David was vexerl, (v. 2, 3.) and therefore,'as usually, it returns upon themselves, they also shall be sore-vexed. Thev that will not gi\ e glory to God, shall have their faces filled with everlasting shame.

In singing this, and praying over it, we must give glory to Grd, as a CJofl leady to hear prayer, must own his goodness to us in hearing our prayers, and must encourage ourselves to wait upon him, and to trust in him, in the greatest straits and difficulties.

PSALM VIL

It appears br the title, that this psalm was penned with rnforenre to the malicious imputations ihaf David was iinjustlv laid under h\- some of his enemies. Reing thus wronted. 1. H" applies hMHTlf to Ood for favour, v. I, 2. il. He appeals lo God concerning his innocency as

PSALMS, VII.

SI 5

to those things whereof he was accused, v. 3. .5. III.

He prays to God to plead his cause, and judge ibr him against his persecutors, v. 6. .9. IV. He expresses liis confidence in God, that he would do so, and would return the mischief upon the head of those that designed it against him, v. 10.. 16. V. He promises to give God the glory of his deliverance, v. 17. In this, David was a type of Christ, who was himself, and slill is, in his members, thus injured, but will certainly be righted at last.

S/iiggaion of David, which he sang unto the Lord, concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite.

LOilD my God, in ihee do I put my trust: save mc from all them that persecute me, and deliver me; 2. Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rendmg it in pieces, while there is none to deliver. 3. O Lord my God, if i have done this, if there be iniquity in my hands; 4. If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy;) 5. Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take itj yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah. 6. Arise, O Lord, in thine anger; hft U}j thyself, because of the rage of mine enemies; and awake for me ^o the judgment that thou hast commanded. 7. So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about: for their sakes, therefore, return thou on high. 8. The Lord shall judge tlie people: judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me. 9. O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.

Shiggaion is a song or fisalm; the word is used so only here and Hab. iii. 1. A wandering song, so sonr.v: the matter and composition of the several parts being different, but artificiHlly put together. A charming song, soothers; very delightful. David not only penned it, but sang it himself in a devout religious manner unto the Lord, concerning the words or affairs of Cush the Benjamite, that is, of Saul himself, whose barbarous usage of David bespoke him rather a Cushite, or Ethiopian, than a true-born Israelite. Or, more likely, it was some kinsman of Saul, named Cush, who was an inveterate enemy to David, misrepresented him to Saul as a traitor, and (which was unnecessary) exasperated Saul against him; one of those children of men, children of Belial indeed, whom David complains of, (1 Snm. xxvi. 19.) that made mischief between liim and Saul. Da\ id, thus basely abused, has recourse to the Lord: the injuries men do us, should drive us to God, for to him we may commit our cause. Nay, he sings to the Lord, his spirit was not ruffled by it, nor cast down, but so composed and cheerful, that he was still in tune for sacred songs, and it did not occasion one jarring string in his harp.'i.. Thus let the injuries we receive from

/men, instead of provoking our passions, kindle and excite our devotions. In these verses,

' I. He puts himself under God's protection, and fi'.es to him for succour and shelter; (t». 1.) "Lord, 9a ve me, and deliver me from the power and malice of all them that persecute me, tliat they may not have their will against me." He pleads, 1. His

relation to God. "Thou art my God, and, there fere, whither else should I go but to thee? Thou art my Ciod, and therefore my Shield; (Gen. xv. 1.) my God, and therefore I am one of thy servants, who may expect to be protected." 2. His confidence in God; "Lord, save me, fori depend upon thee; in thee do I put my trust, and not in any arm of flesh." Men of honour will not fail those that repose a trust in them, especially if they themselves have encouraged them to do so: whicli is our case. 3. The i-age and malice of his enemies, and the imminent danger lie was in of being swallowed up by them; "Lord, save me, or I am gone; he will tear my soul like a lion tearing his prey;" with so mucii pride, and pleasure, and power, so easily, so cruelly. St. Paul compares Nero to a lion, (2 Tim. iv. 17.) as David here compares Saul. 4. The failure of all other helpers; "Lord, be thou pleased to deliver me, for otherwise there is none to deliver," x>. 2. It is the glory of God to help the helpless.

II. He makes a solemn protestation of his inno-cenoy, as to those things whereof he was accused, and by a dreadful imprecation appeals to God, the Searcher of hearts, concerning it, v. 3' -5. Observe, in general, 1. When we are falsely accused by men, it is a great comfort, if our own consciences acquit us.

Hicmurus aheneus esto.

Nil conscire sibi. •

Be this thy brazen bulwark of defence, Still to iirescrve thy conscious innocence.

Happy indeed, when not only they cannot prove their calumnies, (Acts xxiv. 13.) but when our hearts can disprove them, to our own satisfaction. 2. God is the Patron of wronged innocency. David had no court on earth to appeal to; his prince, who should have righted him, was his sworn enemy; but he had the court of heaven to fly to, and a righteous Judge there, whom he could call his God. And here see,

(1.) What the indictment is, which he pleads not guilty to. He was charged with a traitorous design against Sml's crown and life, that he compassed and imagined to depose and murder him, and, in order to that, levied war against him. This he utterly denies: he never did this, there was no iniquity of this kind in his hand, (v. 3.) he abhorred the thought of it. He never rewarded evil to Saul, when he was at peace with him, nor to any other, V. 4. Nay, as some think it should be rendered, he never rendered evil for evil, never did them mischief that had injured him.

(2.) What evidence he produces of his innocency: it is hard to prove a negative, and yet this was a negative whicli David could produce very good proof of; (f. 4.) I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy. By this it appeared, beyond contradiction, that David had no design against Saul's life—that, once and again. Providence so ordered it, that Saul lay at his mercy, and there were those about him, tliat would soon have dispatched him, but David generously and conscientiously prevented it, when he cut off his skirt, (1 Sam. xxiv. 4.) and afterward, when he took away his sfiear, (1 Sam. xxvi. 12.) to attest for him what he could have done. Saul himself owned both these to be undeniable proofs of David's integrity and good affection to him. If we render good for evil, and deny ourselves the gratifications of our passion, it may turn to us for a testimony, more than we think of, another day.

(3.) What doom he would submit to, if he were guilty; {v. 5.) Let the enemy persecute mij soul to the death; and my good name when I am gone, let him lay my honour in the dust. This intimates, [1.] That, if he had been indeed injurious to others.

PSALMS, VIT.

he had reason to expect that they would repay him in the s.ime coin. He that has his hand against every man, must count upon it that every man's hand will be agninst him. [2.] That, in that case, he could not with any confidence go to God, and beg of him to deliver him, or plead his cause. It is a presumptuous, dangerous, thing for any that are guilty, and suffer justly, to appeal to God, as if they were innocent, and suffered wrongfully; such must humble themselves, and accept the punishment of their iniquity, and not expect that the righteous God will patronise their unrighteousness. [3.] That he was abundantly satisfied in himself, concerning his innocency; it is natural to us to wish well to ourselves; and therefore, a curse to ourselves, if we swear falsely, has been thought as awful a form of swearing as any other. With such an oath, or imprecation, David here ratifies the protestation of his innocency, which yet will not justify us in doing the like for every light and trivial cause; for the occasion here was important.

III.. Having this testimony of his conscience con-ceiTiing his innocency, he humbly prays to God to appear for him against his persecutors, and backs every petition with a proper plea, as one that knew how to order his cause before God.

1. He prays that God would manifest his wrath against his enemies, and pleads their wrath against him; '• Lord, they are unjustly angry at me, be thou justly angry with them, and let them know that thou art so, v. 6. In thine anger lift up thyself to the seat of judgment, and make thy power and justice conspicuous, because of the rage, the furies, the outrages, (the word is plural,) of mine enemies." Those need not fear men's wrath against tliem, who have God's wrath for them. Who knows the flower of his anger?

2. He prays that God would plead his cause; Awake for me to judgment; let my cause have a hearing to the judgment which thou hast commanded. That speaks, (1.) The divine power; as he blesses effectually, and is therefore said to command the blessing, so he judges effectually, and is therefore said to command the judgment, which is such as none can countermand; for it certainly carries execution along with it. (2.) The divine purpose and promise; " It is the judgment which thou hast determined to pass upon all the enemies of thy people. Thou hast commanded the princes and judges of the earth to right the injured, and vindicate the oppressed; Lord, awaken thyself to that judgment." He that loves righteousness, and requires it in others, will, no doubt, execute it himself. Though he seem to connive at wrong, as one asleep, he will awake in due time, (Ixxviii. 65.) and will make it to appear that the delays were no neglects. He prays, {v. 7. ) " Return thou on high, maintain thine own authority, resume thy roval throne of which they ha\e despised the sovereignty, and the judgment-seat of which they have despised the sentence. Return on high, visibly, and in the sight of all, that it may be universally acknowledged that Heaven itself owns and pleads David's cause." Some make this to point at the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, who, when he returned tohe.aven, (returned on high in his exalted state,) had all judgment committed to him. Or, it may refer to his second coming, when he shall return on high to this world, to execute judgment upon all. This return his injured people wait for, ancl pray for, and to it they appeal from the unjust censures of men. He prays again, (7;. 8.) "Judge me, judge for me, give sentence on mv side."

To enforce this suit, [ 1. ] He pleads that his cause was now brought into tne proper court; The Lord shall judge the fieofile, v, 8. It is his place; it is his promise. God is the judge; " Therefore, Lord,

judge me." He is the Judge of all the earth, tind therefore, no doubt, he shall do right, and all will be obliged to acquiesce in his judgment. [2.] He insists upon his integrity as to all the matters m \ ariance between him and Saul, and desires only to be judged, in tliis matter, according to his righteousness, and the sincerity of his heart in all ihe steps he had taken toward his preferment. [3.] He foretells that it would be much for the glory of God, and the edification and comfort of his people, if God would appear for him; " So shall the congregation of the fieofile compass thee about; therefore do it for their sakes, that they may attend thee with their praises and services in the courts of thine house." First, They will do it of their own accord. God's appearing on David's behalf, and fulfilling his promise to him, would be such an instance of his righteousness, goodness, and faithfulness, as would greatly enlarge ihe hearts of all his faithful worshippers, and fill their mouths with praise. David was the darling pi his country, especially of all the good people in it; and therefore when they saw him in a fair way to the throne, they would gi-eatly rejoice, and give thanks to God; crowds of them would attend his footstool with their praises for such a blessing to their land. Secondly, If David come into power, as Ciod had promised him, he will take care to bring people to church, by his influence upon them, and the ark shall not be neglected, as it was in the days of Saul, 1 Cliron. xiii. 3.

3. He prays, in general, for the conversion of sinners, and the establishment of saints; {y. 9.) " 0 let the wickedness, not only of my wicked ene mics, but of all the wicked, come to an end; but establish the just. " Here are two things which every one of us must desire, and may hope for. (1.) The period of sin; that it may be brought to an end in ourselves and others. When corruption is mortified, when every wicked way and thought are forsaken, and the stream which ran violently toward the world and the flesh, is driven back, and runs toward God and heaven, then the wickedness of the wicked coines to an end. When there is a general reformation of manners, when atheists and profane are convinced and con\ erted, when a stop is put to the spreading of the infection of sin, so that evil men proceed no further, their folly being made manifest; when the wicked designs of the cliurch's enemies are baffled, and their power broken, and the man of sin is destroyed; then the wickedness of the wicked comes to an end. And this is tliat which all that love God, and, for his sake, hate evil, desire and pray for. (2.) The perpetuity of righteousness; out establish the just. As we pray tliat the bad maybe made good, so we pray that the good may be made better, that they may not be seduced by the wiles of the wicked, nor shocked by their malice; that they may be confirmed in their choice of the ways of God, and in their resolution to perscxere therein; may be firm to the interests of God and religion, and zealous in their endeavours to bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end. His plea to enf rce this petition is, For the righteous God trieth the hearts and the reins; and therefore he knows the secret wickedness of the wicked, and knows how to bring it to an end: and the secret sincerity of the just he is witness to, and has secret ways of establishing. _, /■ As far as we have the testimony of an unbiassed "^ 'conscience for us, that in any instance we are wronged and injuriously reflected on, we may, in singing these \ erses, lodge our appeal with the righteous God, and be assured that lie will own our righteous cause, and will nne day, in the last day at furthest, bring forth our integrity as the light.^^^-^

10. My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart. 11. God judgeth the

PSALMS, ViL

St?

righteous, and God is angiy loitli the ivicked everyday. 12. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. 13. He hatli also prepared for him the instruments of death ; he ordaineth Iiis arrows against tlie persecutors. 14. Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood. 15. He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch ic/iich he made. 16. His mischief shah *eturn upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate. 17. I will praise the LvjiiJ) according to his righteousness; and will sing praise to the name of the'LoRD most high.

David, having lodged his appeal with God by prayer and a solemn profession of his integrity, in the former part of the psalm, in this latter part does, as it were, take out judgment upon the appeal, l)y faith in the word of God, and the assurance it gi\ es of the happiness and safety of the righteous, and the certain destruction of wicked people that continue impenitent.

I. David is confident that he shall find God his powerful Protector and Saviour, and the Patron of nis oppressed innocency; {v. 10.) '' Afy defence is of God. Not only, God is my Defender, and I shall find him so, but I look f jr defence and safety in no other; my hope for shelter in a time of danger is placed in God alone; if I have defence, it must be of God." My shield is ufion God, so some read it; tiiere is that in God which gives an assurance of protection to all that are his. His name is a strong tower, Piov. xviii. 10. Two things David builds this confidence upon. 1. The particular f.i\our God has for all that are sincere; He saves the ufi-right in heart, saves them with an everlasting salvation, and therefore w'lW fireserve them to his heavenly kingdom; he saves them out of their present troubles, as far as is good for them; their integrity and uprightness will preserve them. The upright in heart are safe, and ought to think themselves so, under the di\iiie protection. 2. The general respect he has for justice and equity; Godjudgeth the righte us; he owns every righteous cause, and will maintain it in every righteous man, and will protect him. God is a righteous Judge, so some read it, who not only doeth righteousness himself, but will take care that righteousness be done by the children of men, and will avenge and punish all unrighteousness.

II. He is no less confident of the destruction of all his wicked persecutors, even as many of them as would not refient, to give glory to God. He reads their doom here, for then' good, if possible, that they might cease from their enmity; or, however, for his own comfort, that he might not be afraid of them, nor aggrieved at their prosperity and success for a time. He goes into tlie sanctuary of God, and there undei-st mds, 1. That they are children of wrath; they are not to be en\ied, for God is angry with them, is a?igry with the wicked ez'ery day. They are every day doing that which is provoking to him, and he resents it, and treasures it up against the day of wrath. As his mercies are new every morning toward his people, so his anger is new every morning against the wicked, upon the fresh occasions given for it by their renewed transgressions. God is angry with the wicked, even in the merriest and most prosperous of their days, even in

Vol. III.—2 E

the days of their devotion: for if they be suffered to prosper, it is in wrath; if they pray, their \ ei-y prayers are an abomination. The wrath (.f God abides upon them, (John iii. 36.) and continual additions are made to it. 2. That they are children of death, as all the children of wrath are; sons of perdition, marked out for ruin. See their destruction:

(1.) God will destroy them; the destruction they are resers ed for is, destruction from the Almighty, which ought to be a terror to e\ ery one of us, for it comes from iha'wrath of God, v. 13, 14. It is here intimated, [1.] That the destruction of sinners may be prevented by their conversion, for it is threatened, with that proviso; If he turn not from his evil way, if he do not let fall his enmity against the people of God, then let him expect it will be his ruin; but if he turn, it is implied that his sins shall be pardoned, and all shall be well. Thus even the threatenings of wrath are introduced with a gracious implication of mercy, enough to justify God for ever in the destruction of them that perish; they might have turned and lived, but they chose rather to go on and die, and their blood is therefore upon their own heads. [2.] That if it be not thus prevented by the conversion of the sinner, it will be prepared for him by the justice of God. In gene ral, {v, 13.) He has fire flared for him the instru ments of death, of all that death which is the wages of sin. If God will slay, he will not want instru ments of death for any creature; even the least and weakest may be made so when he pleases. First, Here is a variety of instruments, all which breathe threatenings and slaughter. Here is a sword which wounds and kills at hand, a bt)w and arrows which wound and kill at a dist:mce, those who think to get out of the reach of God's vindictive justice. If the sinner Jiiis from the iron weafion, yet the bow of steel shall strike him through. Job xx. 24. Secondly, These instruments of death are all said to be made ready; God has them not to seek, but always at \\7mA; judg7nents are firepared for scorners; To-fihet in firefiarid of old. Thirdly, While God is preparing his instruments of death, he gives the sinners timely warning of their danger, and space to repent and prevent it. He is slow to punish, and long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish. Fourthly, The longer the destruction is delayed to give time for repentance, the sorer will it be, and the heavier will it fall, and lie for evei, if that time be not so improved, while God is waiting; the sword is in the whetting, and the bow in the drawing. Fifthly, The destruction of impenitent sinners, though it come slowly, yet comes surely; for it is ordained, they are of old ordained to it. Sixthly, Of all sinners, persecutors ai e set up as the fairest marks of divine wrath; against them, more than any other, God has ordained his arrows. They set God at defiance, but cannot set themselves out of the reach of his judgments.

(? ) They will destroy thetnselves, v. 14.. 16. The sinner is here described as taking a great deal of pains to ruin himself, more pains to damn his soul than, if directed aright, would save it. [1.] It is described by the pains of a labouring woman that brings forth a false conception, x'. 14. The sinner's head with its politics conceives mischief, contrives it with a great deal of art, 1 lys the plot deep, and keeps it close; the sinner's heart with its passions travails with iniquity, and is in pain to be delivered of the malicious projects it is hatching against the people of God. But what does it come to when it comes to the biith.> It is falsehood, it is a cheat upon himself, it is a lie in his right hand; he cannot compass what he intended; nor, if he gain his point, will he gain the satisfaction he promised himself; he brn :<s iorthwind, (Isa. xx\i.l8.)stubble, (Isa. xxxii. 11.)

PSALMS, VIll.

deatf,, (James i. 15.) that is, falsehood. [2.] By the pains of a labouring man, that works hard to dig a pit, and then falls into it, and perishes in it. Mrst, This is true, in a sense, of all sinners; they prepare destruction for themselves, by preparing themselves for destruction; loading themselves with guilt, and submitting themselves to their corruptions. Secondly, It is often remarkably true of those wiio contrive mischief against the people of God, or against their neighbours; by the righteous hand of God it is made to return upon their own heads; V, luit they designed for the shame and destruction of others proves to be their own confusion.

Ciuui;], Xecis ar'itic. s iirte \ eriii' su;'i.

There in not ajuster law than. That the author of a murderoun contrivance should fierish by it. Son^e apply it to Saul, who fell upon his sword.

In singi."g this psalm, we must do as David here does; {y. 17.) (iraise the Lord according to hii-righteousness; give him the glory of that gracious protection under which he takes his afflicted peo-pie, and of that just vengeance with which he will pursue them that aiHict them; thus we must sing to the praise of the Lord most high, who, when his enemies deal proudly, shows that he is above them.

PSALM VIII.

This psalm is a solemn meditation on, and adoration of, the (.'lory and frreatness of God, of which we are all concerned to think highly and honourably. It begins and ends with the same acknowledgment of the transcepdent excellency of God's name. It is proposed for proof, [v. 1.) That God's name is excellent in all the earth! And then it is rept;atcd, as proved, (with a quod erat demon-, strandum — ivhich icas to be demonstrated,) in the last verse. For the proof of God's g'lory, he gives instances of his goodness to man; for God's goodness is his glory. God is to be glorified, I. For making known himself and his great name to us, v. 1. II. For making use of the weakest of the children of men, by them to serve his own purposes, v. 2. III. For making even the heavenly bodies useful to man, v. 3, 4. IV. For making him to have dominion over the creatures in this lower world, and thereby placing him but little lower than the angels, V. 5. .8. This psalm is, in the New Testament, applied to Christ, and the work of our redemption which he wrought out; the honour given by the children of men to him. (v. 2. Matt. xxi. 16.) and the honour put upon the children of men by him, both in his humiliation, when he was made little lower than the angels, and in his exaltation, when he was crowned with glory and honour, v. 5, 6. Heb. ii. 6. .8. 1 Cor. xv. 27. When we are observing the glory of God in the kingdom of nature and Providence, we should be led by that, and through that, to the contemplation of his glory in the kingdom of grace.

To the chief musician ufion Gittith. A psalm of David,

1. 1^ LORD our Lord, how excellent is \y thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. 2. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength, because of thine enemies ; that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

The psalmist here sets himself to give to God the glory due to his name. Dr. Hammond grounds a conjecture u])on the title of this psalm, concerning the occasion of penning it. It is said to be upon Gittith, which is generally taken for the tune, or musical instrument, with which this psalm was to be sung; but he renders it upon the Gittite, that i«, Goliath the Git tile, whom he vanquished and slew; (1 Sam. xvii.) that enemy was stilled by him who was, in comparison, but a babe and a suckling. The conjecture would be probable enough, but that

we find two other psalms with the same title, IxxxL

and Ixxxiv.

Two things David here admires,

I. How plainly God displays hi; glory himself, V. 1. He addresses himself to God with all humi lity and reverence, as the Lord, and his people's Lord; O Lord, our Lord. If we believe that God is the Lord, we must avouch and acknowledge him to be ours. He is ours, for he made us, protects us, and takes special care of us. He must be ours, foi we are bound to obey him, and submit to him; we must own the relation, not only when we come to pray to God, as a plea with him to show us mercy, but when we come to praise him, as an argument with ourselves to give him glory: and we shall never think we can do that with affection enough, if we consider,

1. How bright God's glory shines even in this lower world; How excellent is his name in all the earth! The works of creation and Providence evince and proclaim to all the world, that there is an infinite Being, the Fountain of all being, power, and perfection, the sovereign Ruler, powerful Protector, and bountiful Benefactor, of all the creatures. How-great, how illustrious, how magnificent, is his name in all the earth! The light of it shines in men's faces every where; (Rom. i. 20.) if they shut their eyes against it, that is their fault. There is no speech or language, but the \oice of God's name either is heard in it, or may be. But this looks further, to the gospel of Christ, by which the name of God, as it is notified by divine revelation, which, before, was great in Israel only, came to be so in all the earth, the utmost ends of which have thus been made to see God's great salvation, Mark xvi. 15, 16.

2. How much brighter it shines in the upper world; Thou hast set thy glory above the heavens. (1.) God is infinitely more glorious and excellent than the noblest of creatures, and those that shine brightest. ^2.) Whereas we on this earth only hear God's excellent name, and praise that, the angels and blessed spirits above see his glory, and praise that, and yet he is exalted far above even their blessing and praise. (3.) In the exaltation of the Lord Jesus to the right hand of God, who is the Brightness of his Father's glory, and the express Image of his person, God set his glory above the heavens, far above all principalities and powers.

II. How powerfully he discovers it by the weak est of his creatures; (x*. 2.) Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength, or perfected praise, the praise of thy strength, Matth. xxi. 16. This bespeaks the glory of God, 1. In the kingdom of nature. The care God takes of little children, (when they first come into the world, the most helpless of all animals,) the special protection they are under, and the provision nature has made for them, ought to be acknowledged by eveiy one of us, to the glory of God, as a great instance of his power and goodness; and the more sensibly, because we have all had the benefit of it, for to this we owe it, that we died not from the womb,thtit the knees then prevented us, and the breasts, that we should suck. " This is such an instance of thy goodness, as may for ev er put to silence the enemies of thy glory, who say, There is no God." 2. In the kingdom of Providence; in the government of this lower world he makes use of the children of men, some that know him, and others that do not, (Isa. xlv. 4.) and these such as have been babes and sucklings; nay, sometimes he is pleased to serve his own purposes by the ministry of such as are still, in wisdom and strength, little better than babes and sucklings. X In the kingdom of grace, the kingdom of the Messiah. It is here foretold, that, by the apostles, whr were looked upon Ijut as babes, unlearned and igno rant men, (Acts iv. 13.) mean and despicable, and

PSALMS, Vlll.

219

by the foolishness of their fireaching, the De\ il's kingdom should be thrown down, as Jeraho's walls were by the sound of rams'-horns. The g )spel is called the arm of the Lord, and tlie rod of his strength; this was ordained to work wonders, not out of the mouth of philosophers or orators, politicians or statesmen, but of a company of poor fishermen, who lay under the greatest external disadvantages; yea, we hear children crying, Hosanna to the Son of David, when the chief priests and Pharisees owned him not, but despised and rejected him; to that therefore our Saviour applies this, (Matth. xxi. 16.) and by it stilled the enemy, sometimes the grace of God ap])ears wonderfully in young children, and he teaches tliem knowledge, and makes them to understand doctrine, who are but newly weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts, Isa. xxviii. 9. Sometimes the power of God brings to pass great things in his church by very weak and unlikely instruments; and confounds the noble, wise and mighty, by the base, and weak, and foolish, things of the world, that no flesh might glory in his presence, but the excellency of the power might the more evidently appear to be of God, and not of man, 1 Cor. i. 27, 28. This he does, because of his enemies, because they are insolent and haughty, that he may still them, may put them to silence, and put them to shame, and so be justly avenged on the avengers; see Acts iv. 14. —vi. 10. The Devil is the great enemy and avenger, and by the preaching of the gospel he was, in a great measure, stilled, his oracles were silenced, the advocates of his cause were confounded, and unclean spirits themselves not suffered to speak.

In singing this, let us give God the glory of his great name, and of the great things he has done by the power of his gospel, in the chariot of which the exalted Redeemer rides forth, conquering and to conquer, and ougiit to be attended, not only with our praises, but with our best wishes. Praise is perfected, God is in the highest degree glorified, when strength is ordained out of the mouth of babes and sucklings.

3. When J consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers; the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained ; 4. What is man, that thou art mindful of him ? and the son of man, that thou visitest him ? 5. For thou hast made him a httle lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands: thou hast put all things under his feet: 7. All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field ; 8. The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, mid 7vhatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. 9. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth !

Da^•id here goes on to magnify the honour of God, by recounting the honours he has put upon man, especially the man Christ Jesus. The condescensions of the divine grace call for our praises as much as the elevations of the divine glory; how God has condescended in favour to man, the psalmist here observes with wonder and thankfulness, and recommends it to our thoughts. See here,

I. What it is that leads him to admire the con-f'escending favour of God to man; it is his consideration of the lustre and influence of the heavenly bodies, which are within the view of sense; {v. 3.) / consider thy heavens, and there, particularly, the moon and the stars. But why does he not take no-

tice of the sun, which much excels them all? Probably because it was in a night-walk, by moonlight, that he entertained and instructed himself with this meditation, when the sun was not within view, but only the moon and the stars, which, though they are not altogether so serviceable to man as the sun is, yet are no less demonsti'ations of the wisdom, power, and goodness, of the Creator. Observe, 1. It is our duty to consider the heavens. We see them, we cannot but see them; by this, among other things, man is distinguished from the beasts, that, while they are so framed as to look downward to the eartlr, man is made erect to look upward toward heaven; Os homini sublime dedit, celumque tueri iussit-'—To man he gave an erect countenance, and bade him gaze on the heavens, that thus he may be directed to set his affections on things above; for what we see has not its due influence upon us, unless we consider it. 2. We must always consider the heavens as God's heavens; not only as all the world is his, even the earth and the fulness thereof, but in a more peculiar manner; The heavens, even the heavens, are the Lord''s, (cxv.l6.) they are the place of the residence of his giory, and we are taught to call him Our Father in heaven. 3. They are therefore his, because tliey are the work of his fingers; he made them, he made them easily; the stretching out of the heavens needed not any outstretched arm, it was done with a word; he made them with very great curiosity and fineness, like a nice piece of work which the artist makes with his fingers. 4. Even the lesser lights, the moon and stars, show the glory and power of the Father of lights, and furnish us with matter for praise. 5. The heavenly bodies are not only the creatures of the divine power, but subject to the divine government; God not only made them, but ordained them; and the ordinances of heaven can never be altered. But how does this come in here, to magnify God's favour to man? (1.) When we consider how the glory of God shines in the upper world, we may well wonder that he should take cogn-zance of such a mean creature as man; that he who resides in that bright and blessed part of the creation, and governs it, should humble himself to behold the things done upon this earth; see cxiii. 5, 6. (2.) When we consider of what great use the heavens are to men on earth, and how the lights of heaven are divided unto all nations, (Deut. iv. 19. Gen. i. 15.) we may well say, "Lord, what is man, that thou shouldest settle the ordinances of heaven, with an eye to him and to his benefit, and that his comfort and convenience should be so much consulted in the making of the lights of heaven, and directing their motions!"

II. How he expresses this admiration; (x». 4.) " Lord, what is man! {£nosh, sinful, weak, miserable, man, a creature so forgetful of thee, and his duty to thee,) that thou art thus mindful of him; that thou takest cognizance of him, and of his actions and affairs; that, in the making of the world, thou hadst a respect to him! What is the son of man, that thott visitest him; that thou not only f'eedest him and clothest him, protectest him and providest for him, in common with other creatures, but visitest him, as one friend visits another, art pleased to converse with him, and concern thyself for him! What is man, (so mean a creature,) that he should be thus honoured, (so sinful a creature,) that he should be thus countenanced and favoured!" Now this refers,

1. To mankind in general. Though man is a worm, and the son of man is a worm, (Job xxv. 6.) yet God puts a respect upon him, and shows him abundance of kindness; man is, above all the crea tures in this lower world, the favourite and darling of Providence. For,

(1.) He is of a very honourable rank of beings

PSALMS, IX.

We may be sure he takes place of all the inhabitants of this lower world, for he is made but a little lower than the angels, {v. 5.) lower indeed, because by his body he is allied to the earth, and to the beasts that perish, and yet by his soul, which is spiritual and immoi'tal, he is s > near akin to the holy angels, that he may be truly said to be but a Utile lower than they, and is in order next to them. He is but for a little while lower than the angels, while his great soul is cooped up in a house of clay, but the children of the resurrection shall be \<rdyyi>.i,i — angels' fieers, (Luke xx. 36.) and no longer lower than they.

(2.) He is endued with noble faculties and capacities; Thou hast crowned him with glory and honour; he that gave him his being has distinguished him, and quidificd him for a dominion over the inferior creatui-es; for, ha\ ing made him wiser than the beasts of the earth, and the fowls of heaven, (Job XXXV. 11.) he has made him fit to rule them, and it is fit that they should be ruled by him. Man's reason is his crown of glory; let him not profane that crown by disturbing the use of it, nor forfeit that crown by acting contrary to its dictates.

(3.) He is invested with a sovereign dominion over the inferior ci'eatures, under God, and is constituted their lord. He that made them, and knows them, and whose own they are, hi)s made man to have dominion over them, v. 6. His charter, by which he holds this royalty, bears equal date with his creation, (Gea. i. 28.) and was renewed after the flood. Gen. IX. 2. God has put all things under man's feet, that he might serve himself, not only of tlie labour, but of the productions and lives, of the inferior creat\n-es; they are all delivered into his hand, nay, they are all fiut under his feet. He specifies some of the inferior animals; {v. 7, 8.) not only sheep and oxen, which man takes care of and provides for, but the beasts of tlie fitld, as well as those of the flood, ye I, and those creatures which are most at a distance from man, as the fowl of the air, yea, and the fish of the sea, which live in another element, and pass unseen through the paths of the seas. Man his arts to take these; though many of them are much stronger, and many of them are much swifter, than he, yet, one way or other, he is too hard for them, Jam. iii. 7. Every kind of beasts, and birds, and things in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed; he has likewise liberty to use them as he has occasion; Hise, Peter, kill and eat, Acts x. 13. Every time we partake of fish or of fowl, we realize this dominion which man has over the works of God's hands; and it is a reasrm for our subjection to God, our chief Lord, and to his dominion over us.

2. But this refers, in a particular manner, to Jesus Christ; of him we are taught to expound it, (Heb. ii. 6'.8.) where the apostle, to prove the sovereign dominion of Christ, both in heaven and in earth, shows that he is that man, that son of man, here spoken of, whom God has crowned with glory and honour, and made to have dominion over the works of his hands. And it is certain that the greatest favour that ever was showed to the human race, and the greatest honour that ever was put upon the human nature, were exemplified in the incarnation and exaltation of the Lord Jesus; these far exceed the favours and honours done us by creation and providence, though they also are great, and far more than we deserve.

We have reason humbly to value ourselves by it, and thankfullv to admire the grace of God in it,

(1.) That Jesus Christ assumed the nature of man, and in th<at nature humbled himself. He l^e-came the Son of man, a partaker of flesh and blood; being so, God visited him; which some apply to his sufferings for us, for it is siid, (Heb. ii. 9.) JFor the Buffering of death, a visitation in wrath, he was

crowned with glory and honour. God \ isited him; having laid upon him the iniquity rf us all, he reckoned with him for it, visited him with a rod and with stripes, that we by them might be healed. He was,/or a little while, (so the apostle interprets it,) made lower than the angels, when he took upon him the form of a servant, and made himself of no reputation.

(2.) That, in that nature, he is exalted to be Lord of all. God the Father exalted him, because he had humbled himself; crowned him with glory and honour, the glory which he had with him before the worlds were; set him at his own right hand; constituted him not only the Head of the church, but Head over all things to the church; and gave all things into his hand, intrusted him with the administration < f the kingdom of providence, in conjunction with, and subserviency to, the kingdom of grace. All the creatures are put under his feet; and, even in the days of his flesh, he gave some specimens of his power over them, as when he commanded the winds and the seas, and appi-inted a fish to pay liis tribute.

With good reason, therefore, does the psalmist conclude as he began, Lord, how excellent is thy name in alt the earth, which has been honoured with the presence of the Redeemer, and is still enlight ened by his gospel, and governed by his wisdom and power! In singing this, and praying it over, though we must not forget to acknowledge, with suitable affections, God's common favours to mankind, particularly in the serviceablenessof the inferior creatures to us, yet we must especially set ourselves to give glory to our Lord Jesus, by confessing that he is Lord, submitting to him as our Lord, and waiting till we see all things put under him, and all his enemies made his footstool.

PSALM IX.

In this psalm, I. David praises God for pleadingr his cause, and givin<^ him victory over his enemies and the enemies of his countrv, (v. 1.. 6.) and calls upon others to join with him in his songs of praise, v. 11,12. II. He prays to God, that he mipht have still further occasion to praise him, for his own deliverances, and the confusion of his enemies, v. 13, 14, 19, 20. III. He triumphs in the assurance he had of God's judginpr the world, (v. 7, 6.) pro-tectinpf his oppressed people, (v. 9, 10, 18.) and bringing his and their implacable enemies to ruin, v. 15.. 17. This is very applicable to the kingdom of the Messiah, the enemies of which have been, in part, destroyed already, and shall be yet more and more, till they all be made his footstool; which we are to assure ourselves of, that God may have the glory, and we may take the comfort.

To the chief musician upon Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

1 TT WILL praise /Apc,0 Lord, with my jL whole heart, I will show forth all thy marvellous works. 2. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou Most High. 3. When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence. 4. For thou hast maintained my right and my cause, thou sattest in the throne judging right. 5. Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name, for ever and ever. 6. O thou enemy! destructions are come to a perpetual end ; and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them. 7. But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment; 8. And he sht^U judge the

PSAI.MS, IX.

221

world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. 9. The Loud also will be a refuge lor the oppressed, a reluge in times of trouble. 10. And the}' that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Loud, hast not forsaken tlicm that seek thee.

The title of this psalm gives a very uncertain sound concernin,^ the occasion of penning it. It is upon Muth-lubbeti, which some make to refer to the deatii of Goliath, others of Nabal, others of Absalom; but I incline to think it signifies only some tune, or musical instrument, to which this psalm Was intended to be sung; and that the enemies he is here triumphing in tlie defeat of, are the Philistines, and the other neighbouring nations that opposed his settlement in the throne; whom he contested with, and subdued, in the l)eginning of his reign, 2 Sam. v. 8.

In these verses,

I. Da\ id excites and engages himself to praise God for his mercies, and the great things he had of late done for him and his government, v. 1, 2. Note, 1. God expects suitable returns of praise from those for whom he has done mar\ ellous works. 2. If we would praise God acceptably, we must praise him in sincerity, with our hearts, and not only with our lips, and be lively and fervent in the duty, with our whole heart. 3. When we give thanks for some one particular mercy, we should take occasion thence to remember former mercies, and so to show forth all his marvellous works. 4. Holy joy is the life of thankful praise, as thankful praise is the language of holy joy; / ivill be glad and rejoice in thee. 5. W'hate\ er occurs to make us glad; our joy must pass through it, and terminate in God only; Twill be glad a?id rejoice in thee, n( t in the gift so much as in the Giver. 6. Joy and praise are ptoperly expressed by singing psalms.

7. When God has showed himself to be above the proud enemies of the church, we must take occasion thence to give glory to him as the Most Higli.

8. The triumphs of the Redeemer ought to be the triumphs of the redeemed; see Rev. xii. 10.—xix. 5.—XV. 3, 4.

II. He acknowledges the almighty power of God, as that which the strongest and stoutest of his enemies were no way able to contest with, or stand before, v. 3. But, 1. They are forced to turn back; their policy and their courage fail them, so that they cannot, they dare not, push forward in their enterprises, but retire with precipitation. 2. When once they turn back, they fall and perish; even their retreat will be their ruin, and they will save themselves no more by flying than by lighting. If Haman begin to fall before Mor-decai, he is a lost man, and shall prevail no more; see Esth. vi. 13. 3. The presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power, are sufficient for the destruction of his and his people's enemies. That is easily done, which a man does with his very presence; with tliat, God confounds his enemies, such a presence has he. This was fulfilled, when our Lord Jesus, with one word, / am he, made his enemies to foil back at his firesencc; (John xviii. 6.) he could, at the same time, have made them perish. 4. When the enemies of God's church are put to confusion, we must ascribe it to the power, not of instruments, but of his presence, and give him all the glory.

III. He gives to God the glory of his righteousness, in his appearing on his behalf; {v. A.) " Thou hast maintained my right and my cause, my righteous cause; when that came on, thou safest in the •hrone, judging right. Obsei"ve, 1. God sits in the

throne of judgment; to him it belongs to decide con tio\crsies, to determine appeals, to right the in jured, and to punish the hijurious; for he has said, Vengeance is mine. 2. We are sure that the judgment of God is according to tinith, and that with him tliere is no unrighteousness. Far be it from God, that he should per\ en justice. If there seems to us to be some irregularity in the present decisions of Providence, yet these, instead of shaking rur belief of God's justice, may ser\ e to strengthen our belief of the judgment to come, which will set all to rights. 3. Whoever disown and desert a just and injured cause, we may be sure that the righteous God will maintain it, and plead it with jealousy, and will never suffer it to be run down.

IV. He records, with joy, the triumphs of the God of heaven over ail the powers of hell, and attends those triumphs with his praises, v. 5. By three steps the power and justice of God had proceeded against the heathen, and wicked people, who were enemies to the king Gf d had lately set up upon his holy hill of Zion. 1. He had checked them; " Thou hast rebuked the heathen; hast given them real proofs of thy displeasure against them.' This he did, before he destroyed them, that they might have taken warning by the rebukes of Providence, and so have prevented their own destruction. (2.) He had cut them off; Thou hast destroyea the ivicked. The wicked are marked for destruction, and some are made monuments of God's vindictive justice, and destructive power, in this world. (3.) He has buried them in oblivion and perpetual infamy; had put out their name for ever, that they should never be remembered with any respect.

V. He exults over the enemy whom Gc d thus appears against; (x-. 6.) Thou hast destroyed cities. Either, "Thou, O enemy, hast destroyed our cities, at least, in intention and imagination;" or, " Thou, O God, hast destroyed their cities by the desolation brought upon their country." It ni:iy be taken either way; for the nsalmist will have the enemy to know. 1. That their destruction is just; and that God was but reckoning with them for all the mischief which they had done, ;ind designed, against liis people. The malicious and vexatious neighbours of Israel, as the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, and Syrians, hadniadc incursions upon them, (when there was no king in Israel to fight their battles,) and destroyed their, cities and done what they could to make their memorial perish with them; but now the wheel was turned upon them, their destructions of Israel were come to a perpetual end, they shall now cease to spoil, and must themselves be spoiled, Isa. xxxiii. 1. 2. That it is total and final, such a destruction as should make a perpetual end of them, so that the very memorial of their cities should perish with them. So devouring a thing is time, and, much more, such desolations do the righteous judgments of God make upon sinners, that great and populous cities have been reduced to such ruins, that their very memorial is perished, and those who have sought them could not find where they stood; but we look for a city that has stronger foundations.

VI. He comforts himself, and others, in God, and pleases himself with the thoughts of him.

1. With the thoughts of his eternity. On this earth we see nothing durable, even strong cities are buried in rubbish, and forgotten; Aw^ the Lord shall endure for ever, v. 7. There is no chanee of his being; his felicity, power, and perfection, iire out of the reach of all the combined forces of hell p.nd earth; they may put an end to cur liberties, cur privileges, our lives, but our God is still the same, and sits even upon the floods, unshaken, undisturbed, xxix. 10.—xciii. 2.

PSALMS, IX.

Kot nvent and judgment; He has (ircpared Ins ihrone, has fixed it by liis infinite wisdom, has fixed it by his immutable counsel. It is the great support and comfort of good people, when the power of the church's enemies is threatening, and the posture of its affairs melancholy and perplexed, that God now rules the world, and will shortly judge the world.

3. With the thoughts of his justice and righteousness in all the administrations of his government. He does ail, every day, he will do all, at the last day, according to the eternal, unalterable, rules of equity ; {v. 8.) He shall judge the world, all persons and all contro\'ersies, shall minister judgment to the people, shall determine their lot both in this and in the future state, in righteousness and in uprightness, so that there shall not be the least colour or exception against it.

4. With the thoughts of that peculiar favour which God bears to his own people, and the special protection which he takes them under. The Lord, who endures for ever, is their everlasting Strength and Piotectinn; he that judges the world, will be sure to judge for them, when at any time they are injured or distressed; (i>. 9.) He will be a refugefoi-the ofifiressed; a high place, a strong place, fi r the oppressed, in time of trouble. It is the lot of God's people to be oppressed in this world, and to have troublous times appointed to them; perhaps God may not immediately appear for them as their Deliverer and Avenger; but, in the midst of their distresses, they may by faith fly to him as their Refuge, and may depend upon his power and promise for their safety, so that no real hurt shall be done them.

5. With the thoughts of that sweet satisfaction and repose of mind which they have, that make God their Refuge; {v. 10.) " They that know thy name, will jnit their trust in thee, as I have done; ' (for the grace of (iod is the same in all the saints,) "and then they will find, as I have found, that thou dost not forsake them that seek thee;" for the favour of God is the same towards all the saints. Note, (1.) The better God is known, the more he is trusted. Those who know him to be a God of infinite wisdom, will trust him further than they can see him\ (Job xxxv. 14.) those who know him to be a God of almighty power, will trust liim when creature-confidences fail, and they h;ive nothing else to trust to, (2 Chron. xx. 12.) and those who know him to be a God of infinite grace and goodness, will trust him, though he slay them; Job xiii. 15. Those who know him to be a God of inviolable truth and faitlifulness, will rejoice in his word of promise, and rest upon that, though the performance be deferred, and intermediate providences seem to contradict it. Those who know him to be the Father of spirits, and an everlasting Father, will trust him with tlieir souls as their main care, and trust in liim at all times, even to the end. (2.) The moie (iod is trusted, the more he is sought unto. If we trust God, we shall seek him by faithful and fer\ ent prayer, and by a constant care to apjprove ourselves to him in the whole course of our conversation. (3.) God never did, nor ever will, disown or desert any that duly seek to him, and trust in him. Though he afflict them, he does not leave them comfortless; though he seem to forsake them for a while, yet he will gather them with everlasting mercies.

11. Sine; praises to the Lord, which dweileth in Zion : declare among the people his doings. 12. When he maketh in-'inisition for blood, he reniemhereth them : he forgetteth not the cry of the humble. 13. Rave mercy upon me, O Lord ; con-

sidei- my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death : 14. That I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion : 1 will rejoice in thy salvation. 15. The heathen arc sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken. 16. The Lord is known hy the judgment irhich heexecuteth : the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah. 17. The wicked shall be turned into hell,r/7/rf all the nations that forget God. 18. For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever. 19. Arise, O Lord ; let not man prevail; let the heathen be judged in thy sight. 20. Put them in fear, O Lord ; that the nations may know themselves to be hit men. Selah.

In these verses,

I. David, having praised God himself, calls upon and in\ites others to praise him likewise, v. 11. Those who believe God is greatly to be praised, not only desire to do that work better themselves, but desire that others also may join with them in it, and would gladly be instrumental to bring them to it; Sing praises to the Lord which dwelleth in Zion. As the special residence of his glory is in heaven, so the special residence of his grace is in his church, of which Zion was a type: there he meets his people with his promises and graces, and there he expects they should meet him with their .praises and services. In all our praises, we should have an e}e to God as dwelling in Zion, in a sj)ecial manner present in the assemblies of his people, as their Protector and Patron. He resolved himself to show forth God's marvellous works, (t. 1.) and here he calls upon others to declare among the people his doings: he commands his own subjects to do it, for the honour of God, of their country, and of their holy religion; he courts his neighbours to do it; to sing praises, not, as hitherto, to their false gods, but to Jehovah who dwelleth in Zion, to the God of Israel, and to own among the heathen, that the Lord has done great things for his people Israel, cxxvi. 3, 4. Let them particularly take notice of the justice of God in avenging the blood of his peo pie Israel on the Philistines, and their other wicked neighbours, who had, in making war upon them, used them barbarously, and given them no quarter, x>. 12. When God comes to make inquisition for blood by his judgments on earth, before he comes to do it by the judgment of the great d;:y, he remembers them, remembers eveiy drop of tlie innocent blood which they have shed, atid will return it sevenfold upon the head of the blood-thirsty; he will give them blood to drink, for they are worthy. This assurance he might well build upon that word, (Dent, xxxii. 43.) He will avenge the blood of his serjiants. Note, There is a day coming, when God will make inquisition for blood, when he will discover what has been shed secretly, and avenge what has been shed unjustly; see Isa. xxvi. 21. Jer. li. 35. In that day, it will appear how precious the lilood of (iod's people is to him, (Ixxii. 14.) when it must .11 be accounted for. It will then a])])ear tliat he has not forg( tten the cry of the himible, neither the cry of their blood, nor the ciy of their ])r:iycrs, Init that both are sealed up anv ng hxa tieasu cs.

PSALMS, X.

223

II. David, ha\ing praised God for former mercies and deliverances, earnestly prays that God would still appear for him; fir he sees not yet all things put under him. He prays, 1. That God would be compassionate to him; (t^. 13.) "Have mercy ufion me, who, having misery only, and no merit, to speak for me, must depend upt-n mere mercy for relief." 2. That he would be concerned for him; he is not particular in his lequest, lest he should seem to prescribe to God; but refers himself to the wisdom and will of God, in this modest request; "Loid, consider my trouble, and do for me as thou thinkest fit." He pleads, (1.) The malice of his enemies, the trouljle which he suffered nf them that hated him; and hatred is a cruel passion. (2.)'The experience he had had of divine succours, and tlie expectatinn he now had of the continuance of them, as the necessity of his case required; " 0 thou that liftest me up, that canst do it, that hast done it, that wilt do it, whose prerogati\ e it is to lift up thy people from the gates of death." We are never brought so low, so near to death, but God can raise us up. If he has saved us from spiritual and eternal death, we may thence take encouragement to hope, that in all our distresses he will be a very pleasant help to us. (3.) His sincere purpose to praise God, when his victories should be completed; {v. 14.) "Lord, sa\e me; not that I may have the comfort and credit of it, but that thou mayest have the glory, that I may show forth all thy firaise, and that publicly, in the ^ates of the daughter of Zion;" there God was said to dwell, (v. 11.) and there David would attend him, with joy in God's salvation, typical of the great salvation which wa's to be wrought out by the S( n of David.

III. David by faith foresees and foretells the certain ruin of all wicked people, both in this world and in that to come. 1. In this world, x'. 15, 16. God executes judgment upon them, when the measure of their iniquities is full, and does it so, as, ^1.) To put shame upon them, and make their fall mglorious; for they sink into the pit which they themselves digged, (vii. 15.) they are taken in the net which tliey themselves laid for the insnaring of God's people, and they are snared in the work of their own hands. In all the struggles David had with the Philistines, they were the aggressors, 2 Sam. V. 17, 22. And other nations were subdued by those wars in which they embroiled themselves. The overruling providence of God frequently so orders it, that their persecutors and oppressors are brought to ruin by those very projects which they mtended to be destructive to the people of God. Drunkards kill themselves; prodigals beggar themselves; the contentious bring mischief upon themselves; and thus men's sins may be read in their punishment, and it becomes visible to all, that the destnicticn of sinners is not only meritoriously, but efficiently, of themselves, which will fill them with the utmost confusion. (2.) So as to get honour to himself; The Lord is known, he makes himself known, by these judgments, which he executes. It is known that there is a God who judges in the earth; that he is a righteous God, and one that hates sin, and will punish it. In these judgments, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. The psalmist, therefore, adds here, a note extraordinary, commanding special regard, Higgaion; it is a thing to be carefully observed and meditated upon. What we see of present judgments, and what we believe of the judgment to come, ought to be the subject of our frequent and serious meditations. 2. In the other world; (7'. 17.) The wicked •shall be turned into hell, as captives into the prison-house, even all the nations that forget God. Note, (1.) Forgetfulness of God is the cause of all the

wickedness of the wicked. (2.) There are nations of those that forget Ciod, multitudes that live without God in the world, many great and many mighty nations, that never regard him, nor desire the knowledge of his ways. (3.) Hell will, at last, be the portion of such, a state of everlasting misery and torment; Sheol, a pit of destruction, in which they and all their comforts will be for ever lost and buried. Though there be nations of them, yet they shall be turned into hell, like sheep into the slaughter-house; (xlix. 14.) and their being so numerous, will neither be any security or ease to them, nor any loss to God, or the least impeachment of his goodness.

IV. David encourages the people of (jod to wait for his salvation, though it should be long deferred, V. 18. The needy may think themselves, and others may think them, forgotten for a while, and their expectation of help from God may seem to have perished, and to have been for ever frustrated; but he that believes does not make haste; the vision is foi- an appointed time, and at the end it shall speak: we may build upon it as undcubtedly true, that God's people, God's elect, shall not always be forgotten, nor shall they be disappointed of their hopes from the promise. God will not f nly remember them, at last, but will make it appear that he never did forget them; it is impossible he should, though a woman may forget her sucking child.

V. He concludes with prayer, that God would humble the pride, break the power, and blast the projects, of all the wicked enemies of his church; "Jlrise, O Lord, {v. 19.) stir up thyself, exert thy power, take thy seat, and deal with all these proud and daring enemies of thy name, and cause, and people." 1. "Lord, restrain them, and set bounds to their malice. Let not man firevail, consult thine own honour, and let not weak and mortal men prevail against the kingdom and interest of the almighty and immortal God. Shall mortal man be too hard for God, too strong for his Maker?" 2. "Lord, reckon with them, let the heathen be judged in thy sight, let them be plainly called to an account for all the dishonour done to thee, and the mischief done to thy people." Impenitent sinners will be punished in God's sight; and, when their day of grace is over, the bowels even of infinite mercy will not relent toward them, Rev. xiv. 10. 3. Put them in fear, O Lord; {v. 20.) strike a terror upon them, make them afraid with thy judgments. God knows how to make the sti'ongest and stoutest of men to tremble, and to flee when none pursues; and thereby he makes them know and own that they are but men; they are but weak men, unable to stand before the holy God; sinful men, the guilt of whose consciences makes them subject to alarms. Note, It is a verv desirable thine, much for the glory^ of God, and the peace and welfare of the universe, that men should know, and consider, themselves to be but men, depending creatures, nuitable, mortal, and accountable.

In singing this, we must give to God the glory of his justice, in pleading his people's cause against his and their enemies, and encourage ourselves to wait for the year of the redeemed and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion, even the final destruction of all anti-christian powers and factions, to which many of the ancients apply this psalm.

PSALM X.

The Septuao^int translation joins this psalm with the ninth, and makes them but one; but the Hebrew makes it a distinct psalm; the scope and style are certainly different. In this psalm, I. David complains of the wickedness of the wicked, describes the dreadful pitch of impiety, at which they were arrived, (to (hpcreat dishonour of God, and the prejudice of his church and

PSALMS, X.

people,! an'1 notices the delay of God's appearing affuiiisl them, v. 1..11. II. He pr;ijs lo God to appear against ihem for the relief of his people, and comforts hl.Tiftelf with the hopes that he would do so in due time, V. I.!..18.

1. IIlI/^H Y standest thou afar off, O Lord ? ? T why hidest ihou thyself in times of trouble? 2. The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. 3. For the wicked boastcth of his hearfs desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth. 4. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God ; God is not in all his thoughts. 5. His ways are always grievous ; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. 6. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for / shall never he in adversity. 7. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud; under his tongue is mischief and vanity. 8. He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages; in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. 9. He lieth in wait secretly, as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.

10. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.

11. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face ; he will never see it.

David, in these verses, discovers,

I. A veiy great affection to God and his favour; for, in the time of trouble, that which he complains of most feelingly, is, (iod's withdrawing his gracious presence; {v. 1.) "Why standest thou afar off, as one unconcerned in the indignities done to thy name, and the injuries done to thy people?" Note, God's withdrawings are very grievous to his people at any time, but especially m times of trouble. Outward deliverance is afar off, and is hidden from us, and then we think God is afar off, and we therefore want inw<u'd comfort; but that is our own fault, it is because we judge by outward appearance, we stand afar off from God by our unbelief, and then we complain that God stands afar off from us.

II. A very great indignation against sin, the sins that made the time perilous, 2 Tim. iii. 1. He beholds the transgressors, and is grieved, is amazed, and l)rings to his heavenly Father their evil report: not in a way of vain-glory, boasting before God that he was not as these /lublicans, (Luke xviii. 11.) mu'h less venting any pei'sonal resentments, piques, or passions, of liis own; but as one that laid to heart that which is offensive to God, and all good men, :uid earnestly desired a reformation of manners. Passionate and satirical invectives against bad men do more hurt than good; if we will speak of their badness, let it be to God in prayer, for he alone can make them better.

This long representation of the wickedness of the wicked, is here summed up in the first words of it, {v. 2.) The wicked in his firide doth fiersecute the floor; where two things are laid to their charge,

pnde and persecution; the former the cause of the latter. Proud men will have all about them to be of their mind, of their religion, to say as they say, to submit to their dominion, and acquiesce in their dictates; and those that either eclipse them, or will not yield to them, thev malign, and hate with an inveterate hatred. Tyranny, both in state and church, owes its original to pride. The psalmist, having begun this description, presently inserts a short prayer, a prayer in a parenthesis, which is an advantage, and no prejudice to the sense; Let them be taken, as proud people often are, 7>/ the devices that they have imagined, v. 2. Let their counsels be turned headlong, and let them fall headlong by them.

These two heads of the charge are here enlarged upon.

1. They are proud, very proud, and extremely conceited of themselves; justly, therefore, did he wonder that God did not speedily appear against them, for he hates pride, and resists the proud.

(1.) The sinner proudly glories in his power and success. He boasts of his heart's desire, boasts that he can do what he pleases, (as if God himself could not control him,) and that he has all he wished for, and has carried his point. Ephraim said, I am become rich, I have found me out substance, Hos. xii. 8. "Now, Lord, is it for thy gloiy to suffer a sinful man thus to pretend to the sovereignty and felicity of a God?"

(2.) He proudly contradicts the judgment of God, which, we are sure, is according to truth; for he blesses the covetous, whom the Lord abhors. See how God and men differ in their sentiments of persons; God abhors covetous worldlings, who make money their god, and idolize it; he looks upon them as his enemies, and will have no communion with them; The friendship of the ivorld is enmity to God. But proud persecutors bless them, and approve their sayings, xlix. 13. They applaud them as wise, whom God pronounces foolish; (Luke xii. 20.) they justify them as innocent, whom God condemns as deeply guilty before him; and they admire them as happy in having their portion in this life, whom God declares, upon that account, truly miserable; Thou, in thy life-time, receivedst thy good things.

(3.) He proudly casts off the thoughts of God, and all dependence upon him, and devotion to him; (xK 4.) the wicked, through the firide of his countenance, that pride of his heart which appears in his very countenance, (Prov. vi. 17.) ivill not seek after God; nor entertam the thoughts nf him; God is not in all his thoughts, not in any of them, jlll his thoughts are, that there is no God. See here, [1.] The nature of impiety and irreligion; it is, not seeking after God, and not having him in our thoughts. No inquiry is made after him, (Job XXXV. 10. Jer. ii. 6.) there is no desire toward him, no communion with him, and a secret wish to have no dependence upon him, and not to be beholden to him. Wicked people will not seek after God, that is, will not call upon him; thev live without praver, and that is living without God. They have many thoughts, many projects and devices, but no eve to God in any of them, no s\il)mission to his will, nor aim at his glory. [2.] The cause of this impiety and irreligion; and tiiat is pride. Men will not seek after God, l)ecause they think thev have no need of him, their own hands are suflicient for them; they think it a thing below them to be religious, because religious people are few, and mean, and despised, and the restraints of religion will be a disparagement to them.

(4.) He proudly makes light of God's commandments and judgments; (t. 5.) His ways are alwnya grievous; he is very daring and resolute in his sin-

ful ourses, he will have his way, though ever so tiresome to himself, and vexatious to others; he travails with pain in his wicked courses, and yet his pride makes him wilful and obstinate in them. God's judgments (what he commands, and what he threatens for the breach of his commands) are far above out of his sight; he is not sensible of'^his duty by the law of God, nor of his danger by the wrath and curse of God. Tell him of God's authority over him, he turns it off with this, that he never saw God, and therefore does not know that there IS a God; he is in the height of heaven, and Qu3e sii/ira nos nihil ad nos — IVe have nothing to do with things above us. Tell him of God's judgments, which will be executed upon those that go on still in their trespasses, and he will not be convinced

that there is any reality in them; they are far

iks thev

ftre mere bugbears

above out of his sight, and therefore he thinks they

(5.) He proudly despises all his enemies, and looks upon them with the utmost disdain; he puffs at them whom God is preparing to be a scourge and ruin to him, as if he could baffle them all, and was able to make his part good with them. But as it is impolitic to despise an enemy, so it is impious to despise any instrument of God's wrath.

(6.) He proudly sets trouble at defiance, and is confident of the continuance of his own prosperity; (v. 6.) He hath said in his heart, and pleased himself with the thought, / shall not be moved; my goods are laid up for many years, and I shall never be in adversity: like Babylon, that said, I shall be a lady for ever, Isa. xlvii. 7. Rev. xviii. 7. Those are nearest ruin, who thus set it furthest from them.

2. They are persecutors, cruel persecutors: for the gratifying of their pride and covetousness, and, in opposition to God and religion, they are very oppressive to all within their reach. Observe, concerning these persecutors:

(1.) That they are very bitter and malicious; {v. 7.) His mouth is full of cursing. Those he cannot do a real mischief to, yet he will spit his venom at, and breathe out the slaughter which he cannot execute. Thus have God's faithful worshippers been anathematized, and cursed, with bell, book, and candle. Where there is a heart full of malice, there is commonly a mouth full of curses.

(2.) That they are very false and treacherous. There is mischief designed, but it is hid under the tongue, not to be discerned, for his mouth is full of deceit and vanity; he has learned of the Devil to deceive, and so to destroy; with this his hatred is covered, Prov. xxvi. 26. He cares not what lies he tells, nor what oaths he breaks, nor what arts of dissimulation he uses to compass his ends.

(3.) That they are very cunning and crafty in carrying on their designs. They have ways and means to concert what they intend, that they may the more effectually accomplish it. Like Esau, that cunning hunter, he sits in the lurking places, in the secret places, and his eyes are privily set to do mischief; {v. 8.) not because he is ashamed of what he does, (if he blushed, there were some hopes he would repent,) nor because he is afraid of the wrath of God, for he imagines God will never call him to an account, (r. 11.) but because he is afraid, lest the discovery of his designs should^ be the breaking of them. Perhaps it refers particularly to robbers and highwaymen, who lie in wait for honest travellers, to make a prey of them and what they have.

(4.) That they are very cruel and barbarous. Their malice is against the innocent, who never provoked them; against the poor, who cannot resist them; and over whom it will be no gloir *o triumph.

Vol III—2 F

PSALMS, X. 225

Those are perfectly lost to all honesty and honour, against whose mischievous designs neither innocence nor poverty will be any man's security. Those that have power, ought to protect the innocent, and provide for the poor; yet he will be the destroyer of those whose guardian he ought to be. And' what do they aim at? It is to catch the poor, and draw them into their net, get them into their power, not to strip them only, but to murder them; they hunt for the precious life. They are God's poor people that they are persecuting, against whom they bear a mortal hatred, for his sake wliose they are, and whose image they bear, and therefore they lie in wait to murder them: he lies in wait as a lion that thirsts after blood, and feeds with pleasure upon the prey. The Devil, whose agent he is. is compared to a roaring lion, that seeks not what, but whom, he may devour.

(5.) That they are base and hypocritical; {v. 10.) He crouches, and humbles himself, as beasts of prey do, that they may get their prey within their reach. This intimates, that the sordid spirits of persecutors and oppressors will stoop to any thing, though ever so mean, for the compassing of their wicked designs; Avitness the scandalous practices of Saul, when he hunted David. It intimates likewise, that they cover their malicious designs with the pretence of meekness and humility, and kindness to those they design the greatest niischief to; they seem to humble themselves, as if to take cognizance of the poor, and concern themselves in their concernments, when it is in order to make them fall, to make a prey of them.

(6.) That they are very impious and atheistical, V. 11. They could not thus break through all the laws of justice and goodness toward man, if they had not first shaken off all sense of religion, and risen up in rebellion against the light of its most sacred and self-evident principles; He hath said in his heart, God has forgotten. When his own conscience rebuked him for his wickedness, and threatened him with the consequences of it, and asked, how he would answer it to the righteous Judge of heaven and earth, he turned it off with this, God has forsaken the earth, Ezek. viii. 12.—ix. 9. This is a blasphemous reproach, [1.] Upon God's omniscience and providence, as if he could not, or did not, see what men do in this lower world. [2.] Upon his holiness and the rectitude of his nature, as if, though he did see, yet he did not dislike, but was willing to connive at, the most unnatural and inhuman villanies. [3.] Upon his justice and the equity of his government, as if, though he did see and dislike the wickedness of the wicked, yet he would never reckon with them, nor punish them for it, either because he could not, or durst not, or was not inclined to it. Let those that suffer by proud oppressors, hope that God will, in due time, appear for them; for those that are abusive to them, are abusive to God Almighty too.

In singing this, and praying it over, we should have our hearts much affected with a holy indignation at the wickedness of the oppressors, a tender compassion for the oppressed, and a pious zeal for the glory and honour of God, with a firm belief that he will, in due time, right the injured, and reckon with the injurious.

12. Arise, O Lord ; O God, lift up thy hand : forget not the humble. 13. Wherefore doth tlie wicked contemn God ? he hath said in his heart. Thou wilt not require it. 14. Thou hast seen it; for thou behold est mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself untn

PSALMS, X.

Uiee; thou art the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break thou the arnn of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness tiU thou find none. 16. The Lord 25 King for ever and ever : the heathen are perished out of his land. 17. Lord, thou hast heajd the desire of the humble : thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear; 18. To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

David here, uj)on the foregoing repi-esentation of the inhumanity and impiety of the oppressors, grounds an address to God: Wherein observe,

I. What he prays for; 1. That God would himself appear; (f. 12.) "Arise, 0 Lord; O God, lift up. thine hand, manifest thy presence and providence in the affairs of this lower world. Arise, 0 Lord, to the confusion of those who say that thou hidest thy face. Manifest thy power, exert it for the maintainingof thine own cause, lift up thine hand to give a fatal blow to these oppressors; let thine everlasting arm be made bare. 2. That he would appear for his people; '* Forget not the humble, the afflicted, that are poor, that are made poorer, and are poor in spirit. Their oppressors, in their presumption, say that thou hast forgotten them; and they, in their despair, are ready to say tlie same; Lord, make it to appear that they are both mistaken." 3. That he would appear against their persecutors, -v. 15. (1.) That he would disable them to do any further miscliief; Break thou the arm of the wicked, take away his power, that the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared. Job Xxjtiv. 30. We read of oppressors whose dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged, (Dan. vii. 12.) that they might have time to repent. (2.) That he would deal with them for the mischief they had done; "Seek out his wickedness; let that be all brought to light, which he thought should for ever lie undiscovered; let that be all bn ught to account, which he thought should for ever go unpunished; bring it out till thou find none, till none of his evil deeds remain vmreckoned for, none of his evil designs undefeated, and none of his partisans indestroved.

II. What he pleads, for the encouraging of his jwn faith in these petitions.

1. He pleads the great affronts which these proud oppressors put upon God himself; "Lord, it is thine own cause that we beg thou wouldest appear in, the enemies have made it so, and therefore it is not for thv glory to let them go unpunished;" {v. 13.) Wherefore do the wicked contemn God? He does so; for he says, " Thou wilt not require it; thou wilt never call us to an account for what we do;" than which they could not put a greater indignity upon the righteous God. The psalmist here speaks with astonishment, (1.) At the wickedness of the wicked; " Why do they speak-so impiously, why so absurdly >" It is a great trouble to good men, to think what contempt is cast upon the holy (iod by the sin of sinners, upon his precepts, his promises, his threatenings, his favours, his judgments; all are despised and made light of. Wherefore do the wicked thus contemn God? It is because they do not know him. (2.) At the patience and forb'ear-ance of God toward them; " Why are they suffered thus to contemn God? WMiy does he not immediately vindicate himself, and take vengeance on them?" It is because the day of reckoning is yet to come, when the measure of their iniquity is full.

2. He pleads the notice God took of the impiety

■■—O" o ■ —

3. He pleads the dependence which the oppress-had upon him; " 7 he poor cominits himself untn

and iniquity of these oppressors; {v. 14.) " Do the persecutors encourage themselves with a groundless fancy, that thou wilt never see it? Let the persecuted encourage themsch es with a well-grounded faith, not only that thou hast seen it, but that thou dost behold it, even all the mischief that is done by the hands, and all the spite and malice that lurk in the hearts, of these oppressors; it is all known to thee, and observed by thee; nay, not only thou hast seen it, and dost behold it, but thou wilt requite it, wilt recompense it into their bosoms, by thy just and avenging hand."

3. " ed

thee, each of them does so, I among tlie rest.'They rely on thee, as their Patron and Protector, they refer themselves to thee as their Judge, in whose determination they acquiesce, and at whose disposal they are willing to be. They leave thetnselves with thee," (so some read it,) " not/prescribing, but subscribing, to thy wisdom and will. They thus give thee honour, as much as their oppressors dishonour thee. They are thy willing subjects, and put themselves under thy protection; therefore protect them."

4. He pleads the relation in which God is pleased to stand to us. (1.) As a great God, he is King for ever and ever, v. 16. And it is the office of a king to administer justice for the restraint and terror of evil-doers, and the protection and praise of them that do well. To whom should the injured subjects appeal, but to the sovereign? Help, my Lord, O King; Avenge me of mine adversaj-y. "Lord, let all that pay homage and tribute to thee as their King, have the benefit of thy government, and find thee their Refuge. Thou art an everlasting Kmg, which no earthly prince is, and therefore canst and wilt, by an eternal judgment, dispense rewxirds and punishments in an everlasting state, when time shall be no more; and to that judgment the poor refer themselves." (2.) As a good God; he is the Helper of the fatherless, (x". 14.) of those who have no one else to help them, and have many to injure them. He has appointed kings to defend the poor and fatherless, (Ixxxii. 3.) and therefore much more will he do it himself; for he has taken it among the titles of his honour, to be a Father to the fatherless, (Ixviii. 5.) a Helper of the helpless.

5. He pleads the experience which God's church and people had had of God's readiness to appear for them. (1.) He had dispersed and extirpated their enemies; (y. 16.) The heathen are perished out of his land; the remainders of the Canaanites, the seven devoted nations, which have long been as thorns in the eyes, and goads in the sides, of Israel, are now, at length, utterly rooted out; and that is an encouragement to us to hope that God will, in like manner, break the arm of the oppressive Israelites, that were, in some respects, worse than heathens. (2.) He had heard and answered their prayers; {v. 17.) "Lord, thou hast many a time heard the desire of the humble, and never saidst to a distressed supplicant, Seek, in vaiji. Why may not we hope for the continuance and repetition of the wonders, the favours, which our fathers told us of?

6. He pleads their expectations from God, pursu ant to their experience of him, " Thou hast heard, therefore thou wilt cause thine ear to hear, as vi. 9. Thou art the same, and thy power, and promise, and relation, to thy people the same; and the work and workings of grace are the same in them; why therefore may we not hope that he who has been, will still be, will ever be, a God hearing prayer?" But observe, (1.) In what method God hears prayer. He first prepares the heart of his people, and then gives them an answer of peace; nor ma\

PSALMS, XL

227

■we expect his gracious answer, but in this way; so that God's working ufion us, is the best earnest of his working for us. He prepares the heart for prayer, by kindling holy desires, and strengthening our most holy fdith, fixing the thoughts, and raising the affections, and then he graciously accepts the prayer; he prepares the heart for the mercy itself that is wantuig and prayed for; makes us fit to receive it, and use it well, and then gives it unto us. The preparation of the heart is from the Lord, and we must seek unto hini for it, (Prov. xvi. 1.) and take that as a leading favour. (2.) What he -will do, in answer to prayer, v. 18. [1.] He will plead the cause of the persecuted; will judge the fatherless and oppressed, will judge for them, clear up their innocency, restore their comforts, and recompense them for all the loss and damage they ha\e sustained. [2.] He will put an end to the fury of the persecutors. Hitherto they shall come, but no further; here shall the proud waves of their malice be stayed; an effectual course shall be taken that the mcni of the earth may no more op/iress. See how light the psalmist now makes of the power of that proud persecutor, whom he had been describing in this psalm, and how slightly he speaks of him, now that he had been considering God's sovereignty. First, He is but a man of the earth, a man out q/the earth, so the word is; sprung out of the earth, and therefore mean, and weak, and hastening to the earth again. Why then should we be afraid of the fury of the oppressor, when he is but man that shall die, a son of man that shall be as ffrass? Isa. li. 12. He that protects us, is the Lord of heaven; he that persecutes us, but a man of the earth. Secondly, God has him in a chain, and can easily restrain the remainder of his wrath, so that he cannot do what he would. When God speaks the word, Satan shall by his instruments no more deceive, (Rev. xx. 3.) no more oppress.

In singing these verses, we must commit religion's just, but injured, cause to God, as those that are heartily concerned for its honour and interests, believing that he will, in due time, plead it with jealousy.

PSALM XL

In this psalm we have David's struggle with, and triumph over, a strong temptation to distrust God, and betake himself to indirect means for his own safety in a time of danger. It is supposed to have been penned when he began to feel the resentments of Saul's envy, and had had the javelin thrown at him once and again. He was then advised to run his country; " No," says he, " I trust in God, and therefore will keep my ground." Observe, I. How he represents the temptation, and perhaps parleys witli it, v. 1. .3. H. How he answers it, and puts it to silence, with the consideration of God's dominion and providence, (v. 4) his favour to the righteous, and the wrath which the wicked are reserved for, v. 3.. 7. In time of public fears, when the insults of the church's enemies are daring and tlireatening, it will be profitable to meditate on this psalm.

To the chief musician, ji psalm of David.

1. ~i^N the Lo RD ptit I my trust: how say JL ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain ? 2. For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. 3. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Here is,

1. David's fixed resolution to make God his confidence; In the Lord put I my trust, v. 1. Those that truly fear God, and serve him, are welcome to

put their trust in him, and shall not be made ashamed of their doing so. And it is the character of the saints, who have taken God for their God, that they make him their Hope: even when they have other things to stay themselves upon, yet they do not, they dare not, stay upon them, but on God only; gold is not their hope, nor horses and chariots their confidence, but God only: and therefore, when second causes frown, yet their hopes do not fail them, because the First Cause is still the same, is ever so. Tlie psalmist, before he gives an account of the temptation he was in to distrust God recoi-ds his resolution to trust in him, as that whicl he was resolved to li\ e and die by.

2. His resentment of a temptation to the contrary; " Hoiv say ye to my soul, which has thus returned to God as its Rest, and reposes in him, Flee as a bird to your mountain'/ to be safe there out of the reach of the fowler." This may be taken, either,

(1.) As the serious advice of his timorous friends, so many underst'-^nd it, and with great probability. Some, that were hearty well-wishers to David, when they saw how much Saul was exasperated against him, and how maliciously he sought his life, pressed him by all means to flee for the same tc some place of shelter, and not to depend too much upon the anointing he had received, which, they thought, was more likely to occasion the loss of his head than to save it. That which grieved him in this motion, was, not that to flee now would savoui of cowardice, and ill become a soldier, but that it would savour of tmbelief, and would ill become a saint, who had so often said, Iti the Lord put I my trust. Taking it thus, the two following verses contain the reason with which these faint-hearted friends of David backed this advice. They would have him flee, [1.] Because he could not be safe where he was; (y. 2.) "Observe," say theyi"how the wicked bend their bow; Saul and his instruments aim at thy life, and the uprightness of thine heart will not be thy security." See what an enmity there is in the wicked against the upright, in the seed of the serpent against the seed of the woman; what pains they take, what preparations they make, to do them a mischief; they privily shoot at them, or in darkness, that they may not see the evil designed, to avoid it, nor others, to prevent it; no, nor (iod himself, to punish it [2.] Because he could be no longer useful where he was; "For," say they, "if the foundations be destroyed," (as they were by Saul's mal-administration,) "if the civil state and government be unhinged and all out of course," (Ixxv. iii.—Ixxxii. 5.) "what canst thou do with thy righteousness to redress the grievances? Alas, it is to no purpose to attempt the saving of a kingdom so wretchedly shattered; whatever the righteous can do, signifies nothing." Abi in cellam, et die. Miserere mei, Domine — Away to thy cell, arid there cry. Pity me, O Lord. Many are hindered from doing the service they might do to the public, in difficult times, by a despair of success.

(2.) It may be taken as a taunt wherewith his enemies bantered him, upbraiding him with the professions he used to make of confidence in God, and scornfully bidding him try what stead that would stand him in now. " You say, God is your Mountain; flee to him now, and see what the better you will be." Thus they endeavoured to shame the counsel of the poor, saying. There is no help for them in God, xiv. 6.—iii. 2. The confidence and comfort which the saints have in God, when all the hopes and joys in the creature fail them, are a riddle to a carnal world, and are ridiculed accordingly.

Taking it thus, the two following verses are Da vid's answer to this sarcasm. In which, [1.] Hk

PSALMS, XI.

complains of the malice of those who did thus abuse him; (v. 2.) T/iey bend their bonv, and make readij their arrows; and we are told, (Ixiv. 3.) what they are, even bitter words, such words as these, by which they endeavour to discourage hope in God, which David felt as a sword in his bones. [2.] He resists the temptation with a gracious abhorrence, V. 3. He looks upon this suggestion as striking at the foundations which every Israelite Ijuilds upon; '♦ If you destroy the foundations, if you take good people off from their hope in God, if" you can persuade them that their religion is a cheat and a jest, and can banter them out of tliat, you ruin them, and break their heaits indeed, and make them of all men the most miserable." The principles of religion are the foundations on wliich the faith and hope of the righteous are built. These we ai-e concerned, in interest, as well as duty, to hold fast against all temptations to infidelity; for if these be destroyed, if we let tiiese go, JVhot can the righteous do? Good people would be undone, if they had not a God to go to, a God to trust to, and a future bliss to hope for.

4. The Lord is in his holy temple, tiie Lord's throne is in heaven : his eyes behold, his eyelids tiy, the children of men. 5. The Lord trieth the righteous : but the wicked, and him that loveth violence, his soul hateth. 6. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. 7. For the righteous Lord ioveUi righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

The shaking of a tree (they say) makes it take the deeper and faster root. The attempt of David's enemies to discourage his confidence in God, engages him to cleave so much the closer to his first principles, and to review them, which he here does, abundantly to his own satisfaction, and the silencing of all temptations to infidelity. That which was shocking to his faith, and has been so to the faith of many, was, the prosperity of wicked people in their wicked ways, and the straits and distresses which the best men are sometimes reduced to; hence such an evil thought as this, was apt to arise, Surely it is -vain to serve God, and we may call the proud happy; but, in order to stifle and shame all such thoughts, we are here called to consider,

1. That there is a God, a God in heaven; The Lord is in his holy temfile above; there he is out of our sight, but we are not out of his. Let not the enemies of the saints insult oyer them, as if they were at a loss, and at their wit's end: no, they have a God, and they know wh?re to find him, and how to direct their prayer unto him, as their Father in heaven. Or, He is in his holy temple, that is, in his church; he is a God in covenant and communion with his people, through a Mediator, of whom the temple was a type. We need not say, "Who shall go up to heaven, to fetch us thence a (iod to trust to?" No, the Word is nigh us, and God in the Word; his Spirit is in his saints, those living temples, and the Lord is that Spirit.

2. That this God governs the world; the Lord has not only his residence, but his throne, in heaven, and he has set the dominion thereof in the earth; (Job xxxviii. 33.) for, having firefiared hii throne in the heavens, his kingdom ruleth over all, ciii. 19. Hence the heavens are said to rule, Dan. iv. 26. Let us by faith see God on his throne, on his thi*one of glor)% infinitely transcending the splendour and

majesty of eaithly princes; on his throne of government, giving law, giving motion, and giving aim, to all the creatures; on his throne of judgment, rendering to every man according to his works; and on his throne of grace, to which his people may come boldly for mercy and grace; we shall then see no reason to !)e discouraged by the pride and power of o])pressors, or any of the afflictions that attend the rigliteous.

3. That this God perfectly knows every man's true character; His eyes behold, his eye-lids try, the children of men; he not only sees them, but he sees through them; not only knows all they say and do, but knows wliat they think, what they design, and how they really stand affected, whatever they pretend. We may kno'.y what men see7n to be, but he knows what thev ore, as the refiner knows what tlie value of the gtold is, when he has tried it. God is Slid to try ivith his eyes, and his eye-lids, because he knows men, not as earthly princes knrw men, by report and repiTsentation, l)ut by his own strict inspection, which cannot err, or be imposed upon. This may comfort us when we are deceived in men, even in men that we think we have tried, that (iod's judgment of men, we are sure, is according to truth.

4. That, if he afflict good people, it is for their trial, and therefore for their good, v. 5. The Lord tries all the children of men, that he may do them justice; but he tries the righteous, that he may do them good in their latter end. Dent. viii. 16. Let not that therefore shake our foundations, or discourage our hope and trust in God.

5. That, however persecutors and oppressors may prosper and prevail a while, they now lie under, and will for ever perish under, the wrath of God.

(1.) He is a holy God, and therefore hates them, and cannot endure to look upon them; The Kvickrd, and him that loveth violence, his soul hateth; fcr nothing is more contrary to the rectitude and goodness of his natu7-e. Their prosperity is so far from being an evidence of God's love, that their abuse of it does certainly make them the objects of his hatred. He that hates nothing that he has made, vet hates those who have thus ill-made themselves. D?-. Hammond offers another reading of this verse; The Lord trieth the righteous and thcivicked; (distinguishes infallibly between them, which i.s more than we can do;) and he that loveth violence hateth his own soul, that is, persecutors bring certain ruin upon themselves, (Prov. viii. 36.) as follows here.

(2.) He is a righteous Judge, and therefore he will punish them, v. 6. Their punishment will be, [1.] Inevitable; Ufion the wicked he shall ram snares. Here is a double metaphor, to denote the unavoidableness of the punishment of wicked men. It shall be rained upon them from heaven, (Job XX. 23.) against which there is no fence, and from which there is no escape; see Josh. x. 11. 1 Sam. ii. 10. It shall surprise them, as a sudden shower sometimes surprises the traveller in a summer's day. It shall be as snares upon them, to hold them fast, and keep them prisoners, till the day of reckoning comes. [2.] Very terrible; it is.y?re and brimstone, and a horrible tempest, which plainly alludes to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and very fitly, for that destruction was intended for a figure of the vengeance of eternal Jire, Jude 7. The fire of God's wrath, "fastening upon the brimstone of their own guilt, will bum certamly and furiously, will bum to the lowest hell, and to the utmost line of eternity. What a horrible tempest are the wicked hurried away in, at death! what a lake of fire and brimstone must they make their bed in for ever, in the congregation of the dead and damned! That is it that is here meant*

PS.\LMS, Xll.

V29

that is it that shall be the portion of their cup, the heritage appointed them by the Almighty, and allotted to them. Job xx. 29. Tliis is the cup of trembUng, which shall be put into their hands, which they must drink the dregs of, Ixxv. 8. Every man has the portion of his cup assigned him. They who choose the Lord for the Portion of their cup, shall have what they choose, and be for ever happy in their choice, (xvi. 5.) but they who reject his grace, shall be made to drink the cup of his fury, Jer. xxv. 15. Isa. li. 17. Hub. ii. 16.

6. That, though honest good people may be run down, and trampled upon, yet God does and will own theiij, and favour them, and smile upun them, and that is the reason why God will severely reckon with persecutors and oppressors, because those whom they oppress and persecute are dear to him; so that, whosoever toucheth them, touchetk the apfile of his eye, v. 7. (1.) He loves them, and the work of his own grace in them. He is himself a righteous God, and therefore loves righteousness wherever he finds it, and pleads the cause of the righteous that are injured and oppressed; he delights to execute judgment for them, ciii. 6. We must herein be followers of God, must love righteousness as he does, that we may keep ourseh es always in his love. (2.) He looks graciously upon them; IIis countenance doth behold the ufiright; he is not only at peace with them, but well-pleased in them, and he comforts them, and puts gladness into their hearts, by letting them know that he is so. He, like a tender Father, looks upon them with pleasure, and they, like dutiful children, are pleased and abundantly satisfied with his smiles. They walk in the light of the Lord.

In singing this psalm, we must encourage and engage ourselves to trust in God at all times, must depend upon him to. protect our innocence, and make us happy, must dread his frowns as worse than death, and desire his favour as better than life.

PSALM XII.

It is supposed that David penned this psalm, in Saul's reign, when there was a general decay of honesty and piety both in court and country, which he here complains of to God, and very feelingly, for he himself suffered by the treachery of his false friends, and the insolence of his sworn enemies. I. He begs help of God, because there were none among men whom he durst trust, V. 1,2. II. He foretells the destruction of his proud and threatening enemies, v. 3, 4. III. He assures himself and others, that, how ill soever things went now, (v. 8.) God would preserve and secure to himself his own people, (v. 5, 7.) and would certainly make good his promises to them, v. 6. Whether this psalm was penned in Saul's reign or no, it is certainly calculated for a bad reign; and perhaps David, in spirit, foresaw that some of his successors would bring things to as bad a pass as is here described, and treasured up this psalm for the use of the church then- 0 tempora, 0 mores! — Ok the times and the manners!

To the chief musician ufion Sheminith. A psalm of David,

ELP, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from iimoiig the children of men. 2. They speak \ anity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips, and with a double heart, do they speak. 3. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things; 4. Who have said. With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us ? 5. For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the

needy, now will 1 arise, saith the Lord ; 1 will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. 6. The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times, 7. Thou shall keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. 8. The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

This psalm furnishes us with good thoughts for bad times, in which, though the prudent will keep silent, (Amosv. 13.) because a man may be made an offender for a word, yet a man may comfort himself, in such a day, with such suitable meditations and prayers as are here got ready to our hand.

L Let us see here, what it is that makes the times bad, and when they may be said to be so. Ask the children of this world, what it is, in their account, that makes the times bad; they will tell you. Scarcity of money, decay of trade, and the desolations of war, make the times bad; but the scripture lays the badness of the times upon causes of another nature; (2 Tim. iii. 1.) Perilous times shall come, for iniquity shall abound; and that is the thing David here complains of.

1. When there is a general decay of piety and honesty among men, the times are then truly bad; {y. 1.) When the godly man ceases, and the faithful fail. Observe how these two characters are here put together, the godly and the faithful. As there is no true policy, so there is no true piety, without honesty. Godly men are faithful men, fast men, so they have sometimes been called; their word is as confirming as their oath, as binding as their bond; they make conscience of being true both to God and man. They are here said to cease and fail, either by death, or by desertion, or by both. Those that were godly and faithful were taken away, and those that were left were sadly degenerated, and were not what they had, been; so that there were few or no good people, that were Israelites indeed, to be met with. Perhaps he means, that there were no godly faithful men among Saul's courtiers; if he means there were few or none in Israel, we hope he was under the same mistake that Elijah was, who thought he only was left alone, when God had 7000 who kept their integrity; (Rom. xi. 3.) or he means that there were few in comparison; there was a general decay of religion and virtue: the times are bad, very bad, when it is so; not a man to be found, that executes judgment, Jer. v. 1.

2. When dissimulation and flattery have corrupted and debauched all conversation, then the times are verv bad; {v. 2.) when men are generally so profligate, 'that they make no conscience of a lie, are so spiteful as to design against their neighbours the worst of mischiefs, and yet so base as to cover the design with the most specious and plausible pretences, and professions of friendship. Thus they speak vanity, (falsehood and a lie,) every one to his neighbour; with flattering lips and a double heart they will kiss and kill, (as Joab did Abner and Amasa in David's own time,) smile in your face, and cut your throat. This is the Devil's image complete,' a complication of malice and falsehood. The times are bad indeed, when there is no such thing as sincerity to be met with; when an honest man knows not whom to believe, nor whom to trust, nor dares put confidence in a friend, in a guide, Mic. vii. 5, 6. Jer. ix. 4, 5. Woe to those who help to make the times thus perilous.

3. When the enemies of God, and religion, and religious people, are impudent and daring, and threaten to mn down all that is just and sacred,

PSALMS, Xll.

then the times are very bad; when proud sinners ai-e arrived at such a pitch of impiety as to say, "With our tongue will we prevail against the cause of virtue, our lips are our own, and we may say what we will; who is lord over us, either to restrain us, or to call us to an account?" v. 4. This bespeaks, (1.) A proud conceit of themselves, and confidence in themselves, as if the point were indeed gained by eating forbidden fruit, and thev were as god? independent and self-sufficient; in/allible in their knowledge of good and evil, and therefore fit to be oracles; irresistible in their power, and therefore fit to be lawgivers, that could prevail with their tongues, and, like God himself, speak and secure its being done. (2.) An insolent contempt of God's dominion, as if he had no propriety in them; Our lifis are our oivn —an unjust pretension, for who ■nade man's mouth, in whose hand is his breath, and whose is the air he breathes in. Their language would intimate that he has no authority either to command them, or to judge them; IV/io is lord over us^ Like Pharaoh, Exod. v. 2. This is as absurd and uni-easonable as the former, for He in whom we live, and move, and have our being, must needs be, by an indisputable title. Lord over us.

4. When the poor and needy are oppressed, and abused, and puffed at, then the times are very bad: this is implied, (v. 5.) where God himself takes notice of the oppression of the poor, and the sigliing nf the needy; they are oppressed because they are poor, have all manner of wrong done them, merely because they are not in a capacity to right themselves. Being thus oppressed, they dare not speak for themselves, lest their defence should be made their q/'fence; but they sigh, secretly, bemoaning their calamities, and pouring out their souls in sighs before God. If their oppressors be spoken to on their behalf, tliey puff at them, make light of their own sin, and the misery of the poor, and lay neither to heart; see x. 5.

5. When wickedness abounds, and goes barefaced, under the protection and countenance of those in authority, then the times are very bad, v. 7. When the vilest men are exalted to places of trust and power, who, instead of putting the laws in execution against vice and injustice, and punishing the wicked according to their merits, ]:)atronise and protect them, give them countenance, and support their reputation, by their own example; then the wicked walk on every side, they swarm in all places, and go up and down seeking to deceive, debauch, and destroy, others: they are neither afraid nor ashamed to discover themselves; they declare their sin as Sodom, and there is none to check or control them. Bad men are base men, the vilest of men, and they are so, though thev are ever so highly exalted in this world. Antiochus the illustrious, the scripture calls a vile perfion, Dan. xi. 21. But it is bad with a kingdom, when such are preferred; no marvel if wickedness then grows impudent and insolent. When the wicked bear rule, the fieofdr mourn.

IL Let us now see what good things we are here furnished with for such bad times; and what times we may yet be reserved for, we cannot tell.

When times are thus bad, it is comfortable to think,

1. That we have a God to go to, from whom we may ask and expert the redress of all our grievances. This he begins with; (t. 1.) "Helfi, Lord, for the irodtij man ceaseth. All otlier helps and helpers fail; even the godly and faithful, who should lend a helping hand to support the dving cause of religion, they are gone, and therefore whither shall we seek but to thee'" Note, When godlv faithful people cease and fail, it is time to cry, Hel/i, Lord! The •\l>niinding of inif)uitv threatens a deluge. "Help, Lord, help the virtuous; few seek to hold fast their

integrity, and to stand in the gap; help to save thine own interest in the world from sinking. // is time for thee, Lord, to work: "

2. That God will certainly reckon with false and proud men, and will punish and restrain their insolence. They are above the control of men, and set them at defiance. Men cannot discover the falsehood of flatterers, nor humble the haughtiness of those that speak proud things; but the righteous God will cut off all flattering lips, that gi\ e the traitor's kiss, and speak words softer than u'\\, when war is in the heart; he will pluck out the tongue that s/ieafcsproud things against God and religion, v. 3. Some translate it as a prayer, "May God cut off those false and spiteful lips;" Let lymg lifis be fiut to silence.

3. Tiiat God will, in due time, work deliverance for his oppressed people, and shelter them from the malicious designs of their persecutors; (v. 5.) J\^ow will I arise, saith the Lord. This promise of God, which David here delivered by the spirit of prophecy, is an answer to that petition which he put up to God by the spirit of prayer, " Help, Lord," says he; "I will," says God: "here I am, with seasonable and effectual help. (1.) It is seasonable, in the fittest time. [1.] When the oppressors are in the height of their pride and insolence, when they say, fVho is lord over us? then is God's time to let them know, to their cost, that he is above them. [2.] When the oppressed are in the depth of their distress and despondency; when they are sighing like Israel in Egypt, by reason of the cruel bondage, then is God's time to appear for them, as for Israel, when they were most dejected, and Pharaoh was most elevated; JS/'ow will J arise. Note, There is a time fixed for the rescue of oppressed innocencv; that time will come, and we may be sure it is of all others the fittest time, cii. 13. It is effectual; J will set him in safety, or in salvation; not only protect him, but restore him to his former prosperity, will bring him out into a wealthy filacc; (Ixvi. 12.) so that, upon the whole, he shall lose nothing by his sufferings.

4. That, though men are false, God is faithful; though they are not to be trusted, fi( d is. They speak vanity and flattery, but the words of the Lord are pure words, {v. 6.) not only all true, but all pure, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, or a crucible. It denotes, (1.) The sincerity of God's word; every thing is really as it is thei-e represented, and not otherwise; it does not jest with us, nor impose upon us, nor has it any other design toward us than our own good. (2.) The preciousness of God's word; it is of great intrinsic value, like silver refined to the highest degree; it has nothing in it to depreciate it. (3.) The many proofs that have been given of its power and truth; it has been often tried, all the saints in all ages have trusted it, and so, tried it and it never deceived them, or frustrated their expectations; but they have all set to tlieir seal that (iod's word is true, with an Exfierto crede — Trust one that has made trial) thev have found it so. Probably, this refers especially to tlicte promises of succouring and relieving the poor and oppressed. Their friends put them in hopes that they will do something for them, and yet prove a broken reed; but the words of God are what we may rely upon; the less confidence is to l)e put in men's words, let us with the more assurance trust in God's word.

5. That God must secure his chosen remnant to himself, how bad soever the times are; {v. 7. ) Thoi4. slialt firfserve them from this generation for ever. Tliis intimates, that, as long as the world stands, there will be a genei ation of proud and wicked men in it, more or less, who will threaten by their wretched arts to ruin religion, by wearing out the

PSALiMS, XII].

231

saints of the most High, Dan. vii. 25. But let God alone to maintain his own interest, and to preser\e nis own people. He will keep them from this generation, (1.) From being debauched by them and drawn away from God, from mingling with them and learning their works; in tinies oi general apostasy, the Lord knows them that are his, and they shall be enabled to keep their integrity. (2.) From being destroyed and rooted out by them; the church is built upon a rock, and so well fortified, that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. In the worst of times, God has his remnant, and in every age will reserve to himself a holy seed, and preserve that to his heavenly kingdom.

In singing this psalm, and praying it over, we must bewail the general corruption of manners, thank God that things are not worse than they ai-e, but pray and hope that they will be better in God's due time.

PSALM XIII.

This psalm is the deserted soul's case and cure. Whether it was penned upon any particular occasion, does not appear, but, in general, I. David sadly complains that God had long withdrawn from him, and delayed to relieve him, V. 1, 2. II. He earnestly prays to God to consider his case, and comfort him, v. 3, 4. III. He assures himself of an answer of peace, and therefore concludes the Dsalm with joy and triumph, because he concludes his deliverance to be as good as wrought, v. 5, 6.

To the chief jnusician. A fisalm of David.

"OW long wilt thou forget me, O Lord ? for ever ? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me ? 2. How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily ? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me ? 3. Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep o/" death ; 4, Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; cmd those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. 5. But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice hi thy salvation. 6. I will sing inito the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

David, in affliction, is here pouring out his soul before God; his address is short, but the method is very observable, and of use for direction and encouragement.

I. His troubles extort complaints; {z>. 1, 2.) and the afflicted have liberty to pour out (heir comfilaint before the Lord, cii. title. It is some ease to a troubled spirit, to give vent to its griefs, especially to give vent to them at the throne of grace, where we are sure to find one who is afflicted in the afflictions of his people, and is troubled with the feeling of their infirmities; thither we have boldness of access by faith, and there we have freedom of speech, ^appxtr/*. Observe here,

1. What David complains of.

(1.) God's unkindness; so he construed it, and it was his infirmity. He thought (iod had forgotten him, had forgotten his promises to him, his covenant with him, his former loving-kindness which he had showed him, aiid which he took to be an earnest of further mercy; had forgotten that there was such a man in the world, who needed and expected relief and succour from him. Thus Zion said, My God has forgotten me; (Isa. xlix. 14.) Israel said, My way is hid from the Lord, Isa. xl. 27. Not that any good man can doubt the omniscience, goodness, and

faithfulness, of God; but it is a peevish expression of prevailing fear, which yet, when it arises from a high esteem and earnest desire of God's favour, though it be indecent and culpable, shall be passed by and pardoned, for the second thought will retract it, and repent of it. God hid his face from him, so that he wanted that inward comfort in God which he used to have, and herein was a type of Christ upon the cross, crying out. My God, ivhy hast thou forsaken we? God sometimes hides his face from his own children, and lea\ es them in the dark concerning their interest in him: and this they lay to heart more than any outward trouble whatsoever.

(2.) His own uneasiness. [1.] He was racked with care that filled his head; I take counsel in my sovl; " I am at a loss, and am ino/is consilii — have no friend to advise -with, that I can put any confidence in, and therefore am myself continually projecting what .to do to help myself; but none of my projects are likely to take effect, so that I am at my wit's end, and in a continual agitation." Anxious cares are heavy burthens with which good people often load themselves more than they need. [2.] He was overwhelmed with sorrow that filled his heart; I have sorrow in my heart daily. He had a constant disposition to sorrow, and it preyed upon his spirits; not only in the night, when he was silent find solitary, but by day too, when lighter griefs are diverted and dissipated by conversation and business; nay, every day brought with it fresh occasions of grief;' the clouds returned after the rain. The bread of sorrows is sometimes the saint's daily bread; our Master himself was a Man of sorrows.

(3.) His enemies' insolence, which added to his grief. Saul, his great enemy, and others under him, were exalted over him, triumphed in his distress, pleased themselves with his grief, and promised themselves a complete victory over him. This he com])lained of as reflecting dishonour upon God, and his power and promise.

2. How he expostulates with God hereupon; "How long shall it be thus?" And, "Shall it be thus for ever?" Long afflictions try our patience, and often tire it. It is a common temptation, when trouble lasts long, to think it will last always; de-spondencv then turns into despair, and those that have long been without joy, begin, at last, to be without hope; "Lord, tell'me how long thou wilt hide thv face, and assure me that it shall not be for ever, but that thou wilt return, at length, in mercy to me, and then I shall the more easily bear my present troubles."

n. His complaints stir up his prayers, v. 3, 4. We should never allow ourselves to make any complaints but what are fit to be offered up to God, and what drive us to our knees. Observe here,

1. What his petitions are; Consider my case, hear my complaints, and lighten mine eyes. (1.) " Strengthen my faith;" for faith is the eye of the soul, with which it sees above, and sees through, the things of sense. " Lord, enable me to look beyond niv present troubles, and to foresee a happy issue of them." (2.) "Guide my way, enable me to look about me, that I mav avoid the snares which are laid for me." (3.1 "Refresh my soul with the joy of thy salvation." That which revives the drooping spirits, is said to enlighten the eyrs, 1 Sam. xiv. 27. Ezra ix. 8. "Lord, scatter the cloud of melancholv which darkens mv eyes, and let my countenance be made pleasant."

2. \AMiat his pleas are. He mentions his relation to God and interest in him; O Lord my God; and insists upon the greatness of the peril, which called for speedv relief and succour. If his eyes were not lightened quicklv, (1.) He concludes that he must perish; "I shall sleep the sleep of death, I cannot live under the weight of all this care and

-i32

PSALMS, XIV.

grief." Nothing is more killing to a soul than the want of God's favour, nothing more reviving than the return of it. (2.) That then his enemies would triumph; ^^I.est mine enemy say. So would I have it; lest Saul, lest Satan, be gratified in my fall." It would gratify the pride of his enemy; he will say, '♦I have prevailed, I have gotten the day, and been too hard tor him and his God;" it would gratify the malice of his enemies; They will rejoice when I am moved. And will it be for God's honour to suffer them thus to trample upon all that is sacred both in heaven and earth?

III. His prayers are soon turned into praises; (r. 5, 6.) But my heart shall rejoice, and I will sinff to the Lord. What a surprising change is here in a few lines! In the beginning of the psalm, we have him drooping, trembling, and ready to sink into melancholy and despair; but, in the close of it, rejoicing in God, and elevated and enlarged in his praises. See the power of faith, the power of prayer, and how good it is to draw near to God. If we bring our cares and griefs to the throne of grace, and leave them there, we may go away like Hannah, andour countenance will be no moresad, iSam. i. 18. And here observe the method of his comfort.

1. God's mercy is the support of his faith. "My case is bad enough, and I am ready to think it deplorable, till I consider the infinite goodness of God; finding I have that to trust to, I am comforted, though I have no merit of my own. In former distresses, / have trusted in the mercy of God, and I never found that it failed me; his mercy has in due time relieved me, and my confidence in it has in the mean time supported me. Even in the depth of this distress, when God hid his face from me, when without were fightings, and within were fears, yet / trusted in the mercy of God; and that was as an anchor in a storm, by the help of which, though I was tossed, I was not overset." And still / do trust in thy mercy; so some read it. "I refer myself to that, with an assurance that it will do well for me at last." This he pleads with God, knowing what pleasure he takes in those that hope in his mercy, cxlvii. 11.

2. His faith in God's mercy filled his heart with joy in his salvation; for joy and peace come by believing, Rom. XV. 13. Believing, yerejoice, 1 Pet. i. 8. Having put his trust in the mercy of God, he is fully assured uf solvation, and that his heart, which was now daily grieving, should rejoice in that salvation. Though weeping endure long, joy will return.

3. His joy in God's salvation would fill his mouth with songs of firaise; {v. 6.) "7 will sing unto the Lord, sing in remembrance of what he has done formerly; though I should never recover the peace I have had, I will die blessing God that ever 1 had it; he has dealt bountifully with me formerly, and he shall have the glory of that, however he is pleased to deal with me now. I will sing in hope of what he will do for me at last; being confident that all will end well, will end everlastingly well. But he speaks of it as a thing past; He has dealt bountifully with me; because by faith he had received the earnest of tlie salvation, and he was confident of it as if it had been done already.

In singing this psalm, and praying it over, if we have not the same complaints to make that David had, we must thank God that we have not, dread and deprecate his withdrawings, sympathize with those that are troubled in mind, and encourage ourselves in our most holy faitli and joy.

PSALM XIV.

It does not appear upon what occasion this psalm was penned, nor whether u'on any parliciilar occasion. Some say, David pei)n<>d it when Saul persecuted him; others, when Absalom rebelled against him. But they are mere

conjectures, which have not certainty enough to war rant us to expound the psalm by them. The apostle, in quoting part of this psalm, {Rom. iii. 10, &c.) to prove that Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, (v. 9.) and that all the world is guilty before God, (v. 19.) leads us to understand it, in general, as a description of the depravity of the human nature, the sinfulness of the sin we are conceived and born in, and the deplorable corruption of a great part of mankind, even of the world that lies in wickedness, 1 John V. 19. But as in those psalms which are designed to discover our remedy in Christ, there is commonly an allusion to David himself, yea, and some passages that are to be understood primarily of him, as in ii, XVI, xxii, and others; so in this psalm, which is designed to discover our wound by sin, there is an allusion to David's enemies and persecutors, and the other oppressors of good men at that time, to whom some passages have an immediate reference. In all the psalms from the 3d to this, (except the 8th,) David had been complaining of those that hated and persecuted him, insulted him and abused him; now here he traces all those bitter streams to the fountain, the general corruption of nature, and sees that not his enemies only, but all the children of men, were thus corrupted. Here is, I. A charge exhibited against a wicked world, v. 1. II. The proof of the charge, v. 2, 3. III. A serious expostulation with sinners, especially with persecutors, upon it, t. 4.. 6. IV. A believing prayer for the salvation of Israel, and a joyful expectation of it, V. 7.

To the chief musician. Afisalm of David.

1. nr^HE fool hath said in his heart, There JL is no God. They are corrupt; they have done abominable works; there is none that doeth good. 2. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

If we apply our hearts, as Solomon did, (Eccl. vii. 25.) to search out the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness, these verses will assist us In the search, and will show us that sin is exceeding sinful. Sin is the disease of mankind, and it appears here to be malignant and epidemical.

1. See how malignant it is, {v. 1.) in two things, (1.) The contempt it puts upon the honour of God; for there is something of practical atheism at the bottom of all sin; The fool hath said in his hearty There is no God. We are sometimes tempted to think, "Surely there never was so much atheism and profaneness as there is in our days;" but we see the former days were no better; even in David's time there were those who had arrived at such a height of impiety, as to deny the very being of a God, and the first and self-evident principles of religion. Observe, [1.] The sinner here described; he is one that saith in his heart. There is no God; he is an atheist. There is no Elohim, no Judge or Governor of the world, no Providence presiding over the affairs of men. They cannot doubt of the being of God, but will questioti his dominion. He says'this in his heart; it is not his judgment, but his imagination. He cannot satisfy himself that there is none, but he wishes there were none, and pleases himself with the fancy, that it is possible there may be none; he cannot be sure there is one, and therefore he is willing to think there is none. He dares not speak it out, lest he be confuted, and so unde ceived, but he whispers it secretly in his heart, for the silencing of the clamours of his conscience, and the imboldening of himself in his evil ways. [2.] The character of this sinner; he is a fool, he is simple and unwise; and this is an evidence of it: he is wicked and profane; and this is the cause of it. Note, Atheistical thoughts are very foolish wicked thoughts, and they are at the bottom of a great deal

PSALMS, XIV. f

233

of the wickedness that is in this world. The word ot God is a discerner of these thoughts, and puts a just brand on him that harbours them. JVabal is his name, and folly is with him; for he thinks against the clearest light, against his own knowledge and convictions, and the common sentiments of all the wise and sober part of mankind. No man will say, Thej-e is no God, till he is so hardened in sin, that it is become his interest that there should be none to call him to an account.

(2.) The disgrace and debasement it puts upon the nature of man. Sinners are corrupt, quite degenerated from what man was in his innocent estate; They are become filthy, {y. 3.) putrid. All their faculties are so disordered, that they are become odious to their Maker, and utterly incapable of answering the ends of their creation. They are corrupt indeed; for, [1.] They do no good, but are the unprofitable burthens of the earth; they do God no service, bring him no honour, nor do themselves any real kindness. [2. ] They do a great deal of hurt; they have done abominable works, for such all sinful works are; sin is an abomination to God, it is that abominable thing which he hates, (Jer. xliv. 4.) and, sooner or later, it will be so to the sinner, it will he found to be hateful, (xxxvi. 2.) an abomination of desolation, making desolate, Matth. xxiv. 15. This follows upon their saying, There is no God: for they that firofess they know God, but in works deny him, are abominable, and to every good work refirobate. Tit. i. 16.

2. See how epidemical this disease is; it has infected the whole race of mankind. To prove this, God himself is here brought in for a "Witness, and he is an Eye-Witness, x\ 2, 3. Observe, (1.) His inquiry; The Lord looked down from heaven, a place of prospect, which commands this lower world; thence, with an all-seeing eye, he took a view of all the children of men, and the question was. Whether there were any among them that did understand themseh-es aright, their duty and interests, and did seek God, and set him before them. He that made this search was not only one that could find out a good man, if he was to be found, though over so obscure; but one that would be glad to find out one, and would be sure to take notice of him, as of Noah in the old world. (2.) The result of this inquiry, v. 3. Upon search, upon his search, it appeared, 7yiey are all gone aside, the ajjostasy is universal, there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Till the free and mighty grace of God has wrought a change, whatever good is in any of the children of men, or is done by them, it is not of themselves, it is God's work in them. When God had made the world, he looked \ipon his own work, and all was very good; (Gen. i. 31.) but, some time after, he looked upon man's work, and, beliold, all was very bad, (Gen. vi. 5.) every operation of the thought of man's heart was evil, only evil, and that continually. They are gone aside from the right way of their duty, the way that leads to happiness, and are turned into the paths of the destroyer. In singing this, let us lament the corruption of our own nature, and see what need we ha\ e of the grace of God; and since that which is born of the flesh is flesh, let us not marvel that we are told we must be born again.

4. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord. 5. There were they in great fear : for God is m the generation of the righteous. 6. Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor; because the Loan is his refuge. 7. Oh that

Vol. III.—2G

the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When the Lord bringeth back the captivity ofj his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

In these verses, the psalmist endeavours,

1. To convince sinners of the evil and danger of the way they are in, how secure soever they are in that way. Three things he shows them, which, it may be, they are not very willing to see, their wickedness, their folly, and their danger, while they are apt to believe themselves very wise, and good, and safe. See here, (1.) Their wickedness; this is described in four instances. [1.] They are themselves workers of iniquity; they design it, they practise it, and take as much pleasure in it as ever any man did in his business. [2.] They eat ufi God's iieojile with as much greediness as they eat bread; such an innate and inveterate enmity they have to them, and so heartily do they desire their ruin, because they really hate God, whose people they are. It is meat and drink to persecutors, to be doing mischief; it is as agreeable to them as theii necessary food. They eat up God's people easily, daily, securely, without either check of conscience when they do it, or remorse of conscience when they have done it; as Joseph's brethren cast him into a flit, and then sat down to eat bread. Gen. xxxvii. 24, 25. See Mic. iii. 2, 3. [3.] They call not ufion the Lord. Note, Those that care not for God's people, for God's poor, care not for God himself, but live in contempt of him. The reason why people run into all manner of wickedness, even the worst, is, because they do not call upon God for his grace. What good can be expected from those that live without prayer? [4.] T\-\eY shaine the counsel of the poor, and upbraid them with making God their Refuge, as David's enemies upbraided, him, xi. 1. Note, Those are very wicked indeed, and have a great deal to answer for, who not only shake off" religion, and live without it themselves, but say and do what they can to put others out of conceit with it, that are well-inclined; with the duties of it, as if they were mean, melancholy, and unprofitable; and with tlie privileges of it, as if they were insufficient to make a man safe and happy. Those that banter religion and religious people, will find, to their cost, it is ill jesting with edged-tools, and dangerous persecuting those that make God their Refuge. Be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong. He shows them, (2.) Their folly; They have no knowledge; this is ob\ ious, for if they had any knowledge of God, if they did rightly under-* stand themselves, and would but consider things as men, they would not be so abusive and barbarous as they are to the people of God. (3.) Their danger; {v. 5.) There were they in great fear; there, where they ate up God's people, their own consciences condemned what they did, and filled them with secret terrors: they sweetly sucked the blood of the saints, but in their bowels it is turned, and become the gall of asps. Many instances there have been of proud and cruel persecutors, who have been made like Pashur, Magor-missabibs — Terrors to themselves, and all about them. They that will not fear God, perhaps may be made to fear at the shaking of a leaf.

2. He endeavours to comfort the people of God, (1.) With what they have; they have God's presence; {v. 5.) He is in the generation of the righteous; they have his protection; (v. 6.) 'The Lord is their Fefuge. This is as much their security, as it is the terror of their enemies, who may jeer them for their c^nfidtnce in God, but cannn't jeer them out of it. In the judgment-day, it will add to the terror and crnfusion of sinners,'to see God own tlie

iSALMS, XV

generation of the righteous, which they have hated and bantered. (2.) With what they hope for; and that is the salvation of Israel, v. 7. When David was driven out by Absalom and his rebellious accomplices, he comforted himself with an assurance, that God would in due time turii again his cafitivity, to the joy of all his good subjects. But surely this pleasing prospect looks farther. He had, in the beginning of the psalm, lamented the general corruption of mankind; and, in the melancholy view of that, wishes for the salvation, which, in the fulness of time, was to come out of Zion, salvation from sin, that great salvation which should be wrought out by the Redeemer, who was expected to come to Zion; to turn away ungodliness from Jacob, Rom. xi. 26. The worid is bad; Oh that the Messiah would come and change its character! There is a universal corrujnion; Oh for the times of reformation! These will be as joyfid times as these are melancholy ones. Then shall God turn again the cafitivity of his fieople; for the Redeemer shall ascend ii/i on high, and lead cafitivity captive, and Jacob shall then rejoice. The triumphs of Zion's King will be the joys of Zion's children. The second coming of Christ, finally to extinguish the dominion of sin and Satan, will be the completing of this salvation, which is the hope, and will be the jo\, of every Israelite indeed; with the assurance of'^that, we should, in singing this, comfort ourselves, and one another, with reference to the present sins of sinners, and sufferings of saints.

PSALM XV.

The scope of this short but excellent psalm, is, to show us the way to heaven, and to convince us, that, if we would be happy, we must be holy and honest. Christ, who is himself the Way, and in whom we must walk as our Way, has also showed us the same way that is here prescribed, (Mattk. xix. 17.) If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments, (n this psalm, I. By the question, (v. 1.) we are directed and excited to inquire the way. n. By the answer to that question, in the rest of the psalm, we are directed where to walk, v. 2 .. 5. III. By the assurance given in the close of the psalm, of the safety and happiness of those who answer these characters, we are encouraged to walk in that way, v. 5. .4 psalm of David.

1 T" ORD, who shall abide in thy taber-JLi nacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2. He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. 3. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. 4. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned ; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to \is own hurt, and changeth not. 5. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

Here is,

I. A very serious and weighty question concerning the characters of a citizen of Zion; {v. 1.) " Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Let me .know who Hh;dl go to heaven." Not, who by name (in tliis way, the Lord only knows them that are his) but who by description; *'What kind of people are they whom thou wilt own, and crown with distinguishing and everlasting favours?" This supposes tliai it is a great privilege to be a citizen of Zion, an uns])eakable honour and advantage; that all are not thus privileged, but a remnant only; and that men are not entitled to this privilege by their

i

birth and blood; all shall not abide in God's tabernacle, that have Abraham to their father, but, according as men's hearts and lives are, accordingly will their lot be. It concerns us all to put this question to ourselves. Lord, what shall I be, and do, that I may abide in thy tabernacle? Luke xviii. 18. Acts XVI. 30.

1. Observe whom this inquiry is addressed to; to God himself. Note, Those that would find the way to heaven, must look up to God, must take direction from his word, and beg direction from his Spirit. It is fit he himself should give laws to his servants, and appoint the conditions of his favours, and tell who are his, and who not.

2. How it is expressed in Old Testament language. (1.) By the tabernacle we may understand the church militant, typified by Moses's tabernacle, fitted to a wilderness-state, mean and moveable. There God manifests himself, and there he meets his people, as of old in the tabernacle of the testimony, the tabernacle of meeting. Who shall dwell in this tabernacle.'' Who shall be accounted a true living member of God's church, admitted among the spiritual priests to lodge in the courts of this tabernacle.'' We are concerned to inquire this, because n)any pretend to a place in this tabernacle, who really have no part nor lot in the matter. (2.) By the holy hill we may understand the church triumphant, alluding to mount Zion, on which the temple was to be built by Solomon. It is the happiness of glorified saints, that they dwell in that holy hill; they are at home there, they shall be for ever there. It concerns us to know who shall dwell there, that we make it sure to ourselves, that we shall have a place among them, and may then take the comfort of it, and rejoice in prospect of that holy hill.

II. A very plain and particular answer to this question. Those that desire to know their duty, with a resolution to do it, will find the scripture a very faithful director, and conscience a faithful monitor. Let us see then the particular character of a citizen of Zion.

1. He is one that is sincere and entire in his religion; He walketh uprightly, according to the condition of the covenant, (Gen. xvii. 1.) " Walk before me, and be thou perfect," (it is the same word that is here used,) "and then thou shalt find me a God all-sufficient." He is really what he professes to be, is sound at heart, and can approve himself to God, in his integrity, in all he does; his conversation is uniform, and he is of a piece with himself, and endeavours to stand complete in all the will of God. His eye perhaps is weak, but it is single; he has his spots indeed, but he does not paint; an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile, John i. 47. 2 Cor. i. 12. I know no religion but sinceiity.

2. He is one that is conscientiously honest and just in all his dealings, faithful and fair to all with whom he has to do. He worketh righteousness; he walks in all the ordinances and commandments of the Lord, and takes care to give all their due; is just both to fidd and man; and, in speaking to both, he speaks that which is the truth in his heart; his prayers, professions, and promises, to God, come not out of feigned lips, nor dares he tell a lie, or so much as equivocate, in his converse or commerce with men. He walks by the rules of righteousness and truth, and scorns and abhors the gains of injustice and fraud; he reckons that that cannot be a good bargain, nor a saving one, which is made with a lie, and that he who wrongs his neighbour, though ever so plausibly, will prove, in the end, to have done the greatest injury to himself.

3. He is one that contrives to do all the good he can to his neighbours; but is very careful to do hurt to no man, and is, in a particular manner, tender of his

PSALMS, XVI.

235

neighbour's reputation, v. 3. He does no evil at all to his neighbour, willingly or designedly, nothing to offend or grie\e his spirit, nothing to prejudice the health or ease of his body, nothing to injure liini in his estate or secular interests, in his family or relations; but walks by that golden rule of equity, To do as he would be done by. He is especially careful not to injure his neighbour in his good name, though many, who would not otherwise wrong their neighbours, make nothing of that; if any man, in this matter, bridles not his tongue, his religion is vain. He knows the worth of a good name, and therefore he backbites not, defames no man, speaks evil of no man, makes not others' faults the subject of his common talk, much less of his sport and ridicule, nor speaks of them with pleasure, nor at all but for edification; he makes the best of every body, and the worst of nobody. He does not take up a reproach, he neither raises it, nor receives it; he gives no credit nor oountenance to a calumny, but frowns upon a backbiting tongue, and so silences it, Prov. XXV., 23. If an ill-natured character of his neighbour be given him, or an ill-natured story be told him, he; will disprove it, if he can; if not, it shall die with him, and go no further. His charity will cover a multitude of sins.

4. He is one that values men by their virtue and piety, and not by the figure they make in the world, V. 5. (1.) He thinks the better of no man's wickedness, for his pomp and grandeur; In his eyes, a vile fierson is contemned. vV^icked people are vile people, worthless and good for nothing; so the word signifies. As dross, as chaff, and as salt that has lost its savour, they are \ile in their choices, (Jer. ii. 13.) in their practices, Isa. xxxii. 6. For this, wise and good men contemn them, not denying them civil honour and respect as men, as men in authority and power perhaps, (1 Pet. ii. 17. Rom. xiii. 7.) but, in their judgment of them, agreeing with the word of God. They are so far from envying them, that they pity them, despising their gains, (Isa. xxxiii. 15.) as turning to no account; their dainties, (cxli. 4.) their pleasures, (Heb. xi. 24, 25.) as sapless and insipid. They despise their society; (cxix. cxv. 2 Kings iii. 14.) they despise their taunts and threats, and are not moved by them, nor disturbed at them; they despise the feeble efforts of their impotent malice, (ii. 1, 4.) and will shortly triumph in their fall, Iii. 6, 7. God despises them, and they are of his mind. (2.) He thinks the worse of no man's piety, for his poverty and meanness, but he knows them that fear the Lord. He reckons that serious piety, wherever it is found, puts an honour upon a man, and makes his face to shine, more than wealth, or wit, or a great name among men, does, or can. He honours such, he esteems them very highly in love, desires their friendship and conversation, and an interest in their prayers, is glad of an opportunity to show them respect, or do them a good office, pleads their cause, and speaks of them with veneration, rejoices when they prosper, grieves when they are removed, and their memory, when they are gone, is precious with him. By this, we may judge of ourselves in some measure, What rules do we go by in judging of others .■*

5. He IS ono that always prefers a good conscience before any secular interest or advantage whatsoever; for if he has promised,-upon oath, to do any thing, though afterward it appear much to his damage and prejudice in his worldly estate, yet he adheres to it, and changes not, v. 4. See how weak-sighted and short-sighted even wise and good men may be; they may swear to their own hurt, which they were not aware of when they took the oath: but see how strong the obligation of an oath is, that a man must rather suffer loss to himself and

his family, than wrong his neighbour by breaking his oath. An oath is a sacred thing, which we must not think to play fast and loose with.

6. He is one that will not increase his estate by any unjust practices, v. 5. (1.) Not by extortion; Heputteth not out his money to usury, that he may live at ease upon the labours of others, while he is in a capacity for improving it by his own industry. Not that it is any breach of the law of justice oi charity, for the lender to share in the profit which the borrower makes of his money, any more than for the owner of the land tc demand rent from the occupant, money being, by art and labour, as improvable as land. But a citizen of Zion will freely lend to the poor, according to his ability, and not be rigorous and severe in recovering his right from those that are reduced by Providence. (2.) Not by bribery; He will not take a reward against the innocent; if he be any way employed in the administration of public justice, he will not, for any gain, or hope of it, to himself, do any thing to the prejudice of a righteous cause.

III. The psalm concludes with a ratification of this character of the citizen of Zion; He is like Zion-hill itself, which cannot be moved, but abides for ever, cxxv. 1. Every true living member of the church, like the church itself, is built upon a Rock, which the gates of hell cannot prevail against. He that doeth these things, shall never be irioved; shall not be moved for ever, so the word is. The grace of God shall always be sufficient for him, to preserve him safe and blameless to the heavenly kingdom; temptations shall not overcome him, troubles shall not overwhelm him, nothing shall rob him of his present peace, or his future bliss.

In singing this psalm, we must teach and admonish ourselves, and one another, to answer the characters here given of the citizen of Zion, that we may never be moved from God's tabernacle on earth, and may arrive, at last, at that holy hill, where we shall be for ever out of the reach of temptation and danger.

PSALM XVI.

This psalm has something of David in it, but much more of Christ. It begins with such expressions of devotion as may be applied to Christ; but concludes with such confidence of a resurrection, (and so timely a one as to prevent corruption,) as must be applied to Christ, to him only, and cannot be understood of David, as both St. Peter and St. Paul have observed, Jlcls ii. 24.—xiii. 36. For David died, and was buried, and saw corruption. I. David speaks of himself as a member of Christ, and so he speaks the language of all good Christians, professing his confidence m God; (v. 1.) his consent to him; (v. 2.) his affection to the people of God; (v. 3.) his adherence to the true worship of God; (v. 4.) and his entire complacency and satisfaction in God, and the interest he had in him, v. 5. .7. II. He speaks of himself as a type of Christ, and so he speaks the language of Christ himself, to whom all the rest of the psalm is expressly, and at large, applied, Jlcts ii. 25, &c. David speaks concerning him, (not concerning himself,) I foresaw the Lord always before my face, ^-c. And this he spake, being a prophet, v. 30, 31. He spake, 1. Of the special presence of God with the Redeemer, in his services and sufferings, v. 8. 2. Of the prospect which the Redeemer had of his own resurrection, and the glorv that should follow, which carried him cheerfully through his undertaking, v. 9. .11.

Michtam of David.

1. "PRESERVE me, O God \ for in thee. JL do I put my trust. 2. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendelh not to thee ; 3. But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. 4. Their sorrows shall be mul-

PS.ILMS, XVI.

tiplied that hasten afteT another god : their drink-offenags of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. 5. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup : thou maintainest my lot. 6. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places : yea, J have a goodly heritage. 7. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel; my reins also instruct me in the night-seasons.

This psalm is entitled Michtam, which some translate a golden psalm, a very precious one, more to be valued by us than gold, yea than much fine gold; because it speaks so plainly of Christ and his resurrection, v/ho is the true Treasure hid in the field of the Old Testament.

I. David here flies to God's protection with a cheerful believing confidence in it; {v. 1.) ^'Preserve me, O God, from the deaths, and especially from the sins, to which I am continually exposed; for in thee, and in thee only, do I put my trust." Those tliat by faith commit themselves to the divine caie, and submit themselves to the divine guidance, have reason to hope for the benefit of both. This is applicable to Christ, who prayed. Father, save me from this hour, and trusted in God that he would deliver him.

II. He recognizes his solemn dedication of himself to God, as his God; {v. 2.) " O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord, and therefore thou maypst ventui'e to trust him." Note, 1. It is the duty and interest of every one of us to acknowledge the Lord for our Lord, to subject ourselves to him, and then to stay ourselves upon him. jidonai signifies My Stayer, the Strengtli of my heart. 2. This must be done with our souls. "O my soul, thou hast said it." Covenanting witli God must be heart-work; all that is within us must be employed therein, and engaged thereby. X Those who have avouched the Lord for their Lord, should be often putting themselves in mind of what they have done. '* Hast thou said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord? Sav 't again then, stand to it, abide by it, and never un^-'.y it. Hast thou said it? Take the comfort of it, and live up to it. He is thy Lord, and worship thou him, and let thine eye be ever toward him."

III. He devotes himself to the honour of God, in the service of the saints; {v. 2, 3.) My goodness extends not to thee, but to the saints. Observe, 1. Those that have taken the Lord for their Lord, must, like him, be good, and do good; we do not expect happiness without goodness. 2. Whatever good there is in us, or is done by us, we must humbly acknowledge that it extends not to God; so that we cannot pretend to merit any thing by it. God has no need of our services, he is not benefitted by them, nor can they add any thing to his infinite perfection and blessedness. The wisest, and best, and most useful men in the world, cannot be profitable to God, Job xxii. 2.—xxxv. 7. God is infinitely above us, and happy without us, and whatever good we do, it is all from him; so that we are indebted to hini, not he. to us: David owns it, (1 Chron. xxix. 14.) Of thine own have we given thee. 3. If God be ours, "we must, for his sake, extend our goodness to those that are his, to the saints in the earth; for what is done to them, he is pleased to take as done to himself, having constituted them his receivers. Note, (1.) There are saints in the earth; and saints on earth we must all be, or we shall never be saints in heaven. Tluse that are renewed by the grace of God, and devoted to the

glory of God, are saints on earth. (2.) The samts in the earth are excellent ones, great, mighty, magnificent, ones, and yet some of them so poor in the world, that they needed to have David's goodness extended to them. God makes them excellent by the grace he gives them. The righteous ia more excellent than his neighbour, and then he accounts them excellent; they are precious in his sight and honourable, they are his jewels, his peculiar treasure. Their God is their Glory, and a Diadem of beauty to them. (3.) All that have taken the Lord for their God, delight in his saints as excellent ones, because they bear his image, and because he loves them. David, though a king, was a comjianion of all that feared God, (cxix. 63.) even the meanest, which was a sign that his delight was in them. (4.) It is not enough for us to delight in the saints, but, as there is occasion, our goodness must extend to them; we must be ready to show them the kindness they need, distribute to their necessities, and abound in the labour of love to them. This is applicable to Christ. The salvation he wrought out for us was no gain to God, for our ruin would have been no loss to him; but the goodness and benefit of it extend to us men, in whom he delighted, Prov. viii. 31. For their sakea, says he, / sanctify myself, John xvii. 19. Christ delights even in the saints on earth, notwithstanding their weaknesses and manifold infirmities, which is a good reason why we should.

IV. He disclaims the worship of all false gods, and all communion with their worshippers, v. 4. Where, 1. He reads the doom of idolaters, who hasten after another god, being mad upon their idols, and pursuing them as eagerly as if they were afraid they would escape from them; their sorrows shall be multiplied, both by the judgments they bring upon themselves from the true God whom the)?'forsake, and by the disappointment they will meet with in the false gods they embrace. They that multiply gods, multiply griefs, to themselves, for whoe\ er thinks one God too little, will find two too many, and yet hundreds not enough. 2. He declares his resolution to have no fellowship with them, nor with their unfruitful works of darkness; '• 7'heir drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, not only because the gods they are offered to, are a lie, but because the offerings themselves are barbarous. " At God's altar, because the blood made atonement, the drinking of it was most strictly prohibited, and the drink-offerings were of wine; but the Devil prescribed to his worshippers to drink of the blood of the sacrifices, to teach them cruelty. '* I will have nothing to do" (says David) " with those bloody deities, nor so much as take their names into my lips with any delight in them, or respect to them." Thus must we hate idols and idolatry with a perfect hatred. Some make this also applicable to Christ and his undertaking, showing the nature of the sacrifice he offered: it was not tVie blood of bulls and goats, which was offered according to the law, (that wfts never named nor did he ever make anv mention of it,) but his own blood; showing also the multiplied sorrows of the unbelieving' Jews, who hastened after another king, Cxsar, and are still hastening after another Messiah, whom they in vain look for.

V. He repeats the solemn choice he had made of Ciod for his Portion and Happiness, (y. 5.) takes to himself the comfort of the choice, {v. 6.) and gives God the glory of it, v. 7. This is very much the language of a devout and pious soul in its gracious exercises.

1. Choosing the Lord for its Portion and Happi ness. " Most men take the world for their chieJ good, and place their felicity in the enjoyments c* It J but this I say, The Lord'is the Portion of mine

PSALMS, XVI.

237

inheritance, and of my cufi; the Portion I make choice of, and will gladly take up with, how poor soever my condition is in this world. Let me have the love and favour of God, and be accepted of him; let me ha', e the comfort of communion with God, and satisfaction in the communications of his graces and comforts; let me have an interest in his promises, and a title by promise to everlasting life and happiness in the future state; and I have enough, I need no more, I desire no more, to complete my felicity." Would we do well and wisely for ourselves, we must take God, in Christ, to be, (1.) The Portion of our inheritance in the other world; heaven is an inheritance, God himself is the Inheritance of the saints there, whose e\ erlasting bliss is to enjoy him. We must take that for our inheritance, our home, our rest, our lasting, everlasting, good, and look upon this world to be no more ouis, than the country through which our road lies, when we are in a journey. (2.) The Portion of our cup in this world, with which we are nourished and refreshed, and kept from fainting. Those have not God for ■ theirs, who do not reckon his comforts the most reviving cordials, acquaint themselves with them, and make use of them as sufficient to balance all the grievances of this present time, and to sweeten the most bitter cup of affliction.

2. Confiding in him for the securing of this portion; *'Thou maintainest my lot. Thou that hast by promise made over thyself to me, to be mine, wilt graciously make good what thou hast promised, and never leave me to myself to forfeit this happiness, nor leave it in the power of mine enemies to rob me of it. Nothing shall pluck me out of thine hands, nor separate me fmm thy love, and the sure Tiercies of David." The saints and their bliss are kept by the power of God.

3. Rejoicing in this portion, and taking a complacency in it; {x>. 6.) The lines are fallen to me in fileasant places; those have reason to say so, that have God for their Portion, they have a worthy Portion, a goodly Heritage. What can they have better? What can they desire more? Return unto thy Rest, O my soul, and look no further. Note, Gracious persons, though they still covet more of God, never covet more than God; but, being satisfied q/'his loving-kindness, are abundantly satisfied •with it, and envy not any their carnal mirth, and sensual pleasures and delights, but account themselves truly happy in what they have, and doubt not but to be completely happy in what they hope for. Those whose lot is cast, as David's was, in a land of light, in a valley of vision, where God is known and worshipped, have, upon that account, reason to say. The lines are fallen to me in fileasant tilaces; much more those who have not only the means, but the end, not only Immanuel's land, but Immanuel's love.

4. Giving thanks to God for it, and for grace to make this wise and happy choice; {y. 7.) "/ ivill bless the Lord ivho has given me counsel, this counsel, to take him for my Portion and Happiness." So ignorant and foolish are we, that, if we be left to ourselves, our hearts will follow our eyes, and we shall choose our own delusions, and forsake our own mercies for lying vanities; and therefore, if we have indeed taken God for our Portion, and preferred spiritual and eternal blessings before those that are sensible and temporal, we must thankfully acknowledge the power and goodness of divine grace, directing and enabling us to make that choice. If we have the pleasure of it, let God have the praises of it.

5. Making a good use of it. God having given him counsel by his word and Spirit, his own reins also (his own thoughts) instructed him in the night-season; when he was silent and solitar}\ and retired

from the world, then his own conscience (which is called therems,) (Jer. xvii. 10.) not only reflected with comfort upon the choice he had made, but instructed or admonished him concerning the duties arising out of this choice, catechized him, and engaged and quickened him to live as one that had God for his Portion, by faith to li\ e upon him and to him. Those who have God for their Portion, and who will be faithful to him, must give their own consciences leave to deal thus faithfully and plainly with them.

All this may be applied to Christ, who made the Lord his Portion, and was pleased with that Portion, made his Father's glory his highest end, and made it his meat and drink to seek that, and to do his will, and delighted to prosecute "his undertaking, pursuant to his Father s counsel, depending upon him to maintain his lot, and to carry him through his undertaking. We may also apply it to ourselves, in singing it, renewing our choice of God as ours, with a holy complacency and satisfaction.

8. I have set the Lord always before me : because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9. Therefore my heart is glad, and my gloiy rejoiceth ; my flesh also shall rest in hope : 10. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption. 11. Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

All these verses are quoted by St. Peter in his first sermon, after the pouring out of the Spirit rn the day of Pentecost; (Acts ii. 25.'28.) and he tells us expressly, that David in them speaks concerning Christ, and particularly of his resurrection. Something we may allow here of the workings of David's own pious and devout affections toward Ciod, depending upon his grace to perfect every thing that concerned him, and looking for the blessed hope, and a happy state, on the other side death, in the enjoyment of God; but in these holy elevations toward God and heaven he was carried by the spirit of prophecy, quite beyond the consideration of himself and his own case, to foretell the glory of the Messiah, in such expressions as were peculiar to that, and could not be understood of himself. The New Testament furnishes us with a key to let us into the mystery of these lines.

I. These verses must certajnly be applied to Christ; of him speaks the prophet this, as did many of the Old Testament prophets, who testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should folloiv, (1 Pet. i. 11.) and that is the subject of this prophecy here. It is foretold (as he himself showed concerning this, no doubt, among other prophecies in this psalm, Luke xxiv. 44, 46.) that Christ should suffer, and rise from the dead, 1 Cor. XV. 3, 4.

1. That he should suffer and die. This is implied here, when he says, {v. 8.) / shall not be moved; he supposed that he should be struck at, and have a dreadful shock given him, as he had in his agony, when his soul was exceeding sorrowful, and he prayed that the cup might pass from him. When he says, ^^My flesh shall rest," it is implied, that he must put off the body, and therefore must go through the pains of death. It is likewise plainly intimated, that his soul must go into a state of separation from the body, and that his body, so deserted, would be in imminent danger of seeing corruption; that he should not only die, but be

PSALMS, XVII.

buried, and abide for some time under the power of death.

2. That he should be wondei-fuUy borne up by the divine power, in suffering and dying. (1.) That he should not be moved, not driven off, from his undertaking, nor sink under the weight of it; that he should not fail, nor be discouraged, (Isa. xlii. 4.) but should proceed and persevere in it, till he could say, It is finished. Though the service was hard, and the encounter hot, and he trod the wine-press alone, yet be was not moved, did not give up the cause, but set his face as a flint, Isa. 1. 7« -9. Here am I, let these go their -way. Nay, (2.) That his heart should rejoice, and his glory be glad; that he should go on with his undertaking, not only resolutely, but cheerfully, and with unspeakable plea -sure and satisfaction; witness that saying, (John xvii. 11.) J^oiu lam no more in the world, but I come to thee; and that, (John xviii. 11.) The cufi that my Father has given me, shall I not drink it? and many the like. By his glory is meant his tongue, as appears. Acts ii. 26. For our tongue is our glory, and never more so, than when it is employed in glorifying God.

Now there were three things which bore him up, and carried him on thus cheerfully. [1.] The respect he had to his Father's will and glory in what he did; I have set the Lord always before me. He still had an eye to his Father's commandment, (John X. 18.—xiv. 31.) the will of him that sent him. He aimed at his Father's honour, and the restoring of the interests of his kingdom among men, and this kept him from being moved by the difficulties he met with; for he always did those things that pleased his Father. [2.] The assurance he had of his Father's presence with him in his sufferings; He is at my right hand; a present Help to me, nigh at hand in the time of need. He is near that justifieth me; (Isa. 1. 8.) he is at my right hand, to direct and strengthen it, and hold it up, Ixxxix. 21. When he was in his agony, an angel was sent from heaven, to strengthen him, Luke xxii. 43. To this the victories and triumphs of the cross were all owing; it was the Lord at his right hand, tliat struck through kings, ex. 5. Isa. xlii. 1, 2. [3.] The prospect he had of a glorious issue of his sufferings. It was/or the joy set before him, that he endured the cross, Heb. xii. 2. " He rested in hope, and that made his rest glorious, Isa. xi. 10. He knew he should be justified in tlie Spirit by his resurrection, and itraightwav glorified. See John xiii. 31, 32.

3. That he should be brought through his sufferings, and brought from under the power of death by a glorious resurrection. (1.) That his soul should not be left in hell, his human spirit should oot be long left, as other men's spirits are, in a <tate of separation from the body, but should, in a little time, return and be re-united to it, never to part again. (2.) That, being God's Holy One in a peculiar mnnner, sanctified to the work of redemption, and perfectly free from sin, he should not see corruption, nor feel it. This implies, that he should not only be raised from the grave, but raised so soon, that his dead body should not so much as begin to corrvipt, which, in the course of nature, it would have done, if it had not been raised the third day. We, who have so much corruption in our souls, must expect that our bodies also will corrupt; (Job xxiv. 19.) but that Holy One of God, who knew no sin, saw no corruption. Under the law, it was strictly ordered, that those parts of the sacrifices, which were not burnt upon the altar, should by no means be kept till the third day, lest they should putrifv, (Lev. vii. 15, 18.) which perhaps pointed at Christ's rising the third day, that he might not .-.ee corruption—neither was a bone of him broken. 4. That he should be abundantly recompensed

for his sufferings, with the joy set before him, v. 11. He was well-assured, (1.) That he should n-^t miss of his glory; "Thou wilt show me the path of life, and lead me to that life tlirough this darksome valley." In confidence of this, when he gave up the ghost, he said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit; and, a little before. Father, glorify me with thine own self. (2.) That he should be re ceived into the presence of God, to sit at his right hand. His being admitted into God's presence, would be the acceptance of his service; and his being set at his right hand, the recompense of it. (3.) Thus, as a reward for the sorrows he underwent for our redemption, he should have a fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore; not only the glory he had with God, as God, before all worlds, but the joy and pleasure of a Mediator, in seeing his seed, and the success and prosperity of his under taking, Isa. liii. 10, 11.

II. Christ being the Head of the body, the churcii, these verses may, for the most part, be applied to all good Christians, who are guided and animated by the Spirit of Christ; and, in singing them, when we have first given glory to Christ, in whom, to our everlasting comfort, they have had their accomplishment, we may then encourage and edify ourselves and one another with them, and may hence learn,

1. That it is our wisdom and duty to set the Lord always before us, and to see him continually at our right hand, wherever we are, to eye him as our Chief Good and Highest End, our Owner, Ruler, and Judge, our gracious Benefactor, our sure Guide and strict Obser\er; and, while we do thus,, we shall not be moved either from our duty or from our comfort. Blessed Paul set the Lord before him, when, though bonds and afflictions did abide him, he could bravely say, A^'one of these things move me. Acts xx. 24.

2. That, if our eyes be ever toward God, our hearts and tongues may ever rejoice in him; it is our own fault if they do not. If the heart rejoice in God, out of the abundance of that let the mouth speak, to his glory, and the edification of others.

3. That dying Christians, as well as a dying Christ, may cheerfully put off the body, in a be-lie\ing expectation of a joyful resurrection; My fiesh also shall rest in hope. Our bodies have little rest in this world, but in the grave they shall rest as in their beds, Isa. Ivii. 2. We have little to hope for from this life, but we shall rest in hope of a better life; we may put off the bodv in that hope. Death destroys the hope of man, (Job xiv. 19.) but not the hope of a good Christian, Prov. xiv. 32. He has hope in his death, living hopes in dying moments, hopes that the body shall not be left for ever in the grave, but, though it sees corruption for a time, it shall, at the end of the time, be raised to immortality; Christ's resurrection is an earnest of ours, if we be his.

4. That those who live piously, with God in their eye, may die comfortably, with heaven in their eye. In this world, sorrow is our lot, but in heaven there is joy; all our joys here are empty and defective, but in heaven there is a fulness of joy; our pleasures here are transient and momentary, and such is the nature of them, that it is not fit they should last long; but those at God's right hand are pleasures for evermore; for they are the pleasures of immortal souls, in the immediate vision and fruition of an eternal God.

PSALM XVII.

David, bninp in prreat distress and dan<rer by the malice of his enemies, does, in this psalm, by prayer address himself to God, his tried Refufire, and seeks shcllcr in him I. He appeals to God concerning his integrity, v. 1 ..4

PSALMS, XVII.

239

II. He prays to God sliU to be upheld in his integrity, and preserved from the malice of his enemies, v. 6..8, 13. III. He gives a character of his enemies, using that as a plea with God for his preservation, v. 9. .12, 14. IV. He comforts himself with the hopes of his future happiness, v. 15. Some make him, in this, a type of Christ, who was perfectly innocent, and yet was hated and persecuted; but, like David, committed himself and his cause to him that judgeth righteously.

A Prayer of David.

1. "JTEAR the right, O Lord, attend un-Xl to my cry; give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips. 2. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal. 3. Thou hast proved my heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, a7id shalt find nothing: I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. 4. Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy hps I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. 5. Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. 6. I have called upon thee; for thou wilt hear me, O God : incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. 7. Show thy marvellous loving-kindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.

This psalm is a prayer. As there is a time to weep, and a time to rejoice, so there is a time for praise, and a time for prayer. Da\id was now persecuted, probably, by Saul, who hunted him like a partridge on the mountains; without were fightings, within were fears, and both urged him as a supplicant to the throne of mercy.

He addresses himself to God in these verses, both by way of appeal, {Hear the right, O Lord; let my righteous cause have a hearing before thy tribunal, and give judgment upon it,) and, by way of petition, Give ear unto my firayer, (f. 1.) and again, {y. 6.) Incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech; not that God needs to be thus pressed w^ith our importunity, but he gives us leave thus to express our earnest desire of his gracious answers to our prayers. These things he pleads with God, for audience, 1. That he was sincere, and did not dissemble with God in his prayer; it goeth not ont of feigned lifis. He meant as he spake, and the feelings of his mind agreed with the expressions of his mouth. Feigned prayers are fruitless; but if our hearts lead our prayers, God will meet them with his favour. 2. That he had been used to pray at other times, and it was not his distress and danger that now first brought him to his duty; "Ihave called upon thee formerly, {v. 6.) therefore, Lord, hear me now." It will be a great comfort to us, if trouble, when it comes, finds the wheels of praver a-going, for then may we come with the more boldness to the throne of grace. Tradesmen are willing to oblige those that have been long their customers. 3. That he was encouraged by his faith to expect God would take notice of his prayer; "I know thou wilt hear me, and therefore, O God, incline thine ear to me." Our believing dependence upon God is a good plea to enforce our desires toward him. Let us now see, I. What his appeal is; and there observe,

1. What the court is, to the cognizance and determination of which he makes his appeal; it is the court of heaven. " Lord, do thou hear the right, for Saul is so passionate, so prejudiced, he will not hear it. Lord, let 7ny sentence come forth from thy presence, v. 2. Men sentence me to be pursued and cUt off as an evil-doer. Lord, I appeal from them to thee." This he did in a public remonstrance before Saul's face, (1 Sam. xxiv. 12.) The Lord judge between me and thee; and he repeats it here m his private devotions. Note, (1.) The equity and extent of God's government and judgment are a very great support to injured innocency. If we are blackened, and abused, and misrepresented, by unrighteous men, it is our comfort that we have a righteous God to go to, who will take our part, who is the Patron of the oppressed, whose judgment is according to truth, by the discoveries of which, every person and every cause will appear in a true light, stript of all false colours, and by the decisions of which, all unrighteous dooms will be reversed, and to every man will be rendered according to his work. (2.) Sincerity dreads no scrutiny, no not that of God himself, according to the tenor of the covenant of grace. Let thine eyes behold the things that are equal. God's omniscience is as much the joy of the upright, as it is the terror of the hypocrites; and is particularly comfortable to those who are falsely accused, and in any wise have wrong done them.

2. What the evidence is, by which he hopes to make good his appeal; it is the trial God had made of him, {v. 3.) Thou hast proved mine heart. God's sentence is therefore right, because he always proceeds upon his knowledge, which is more certain and infallible than that which men attain to by the closest views and the strictest searches. He knew God had tried him, (1.) By his own conscience, which is God's deputy in the soul. The sfiirit of a man is the candle of the Lord, with this God had searched him, and visited him in the night, when he communed ivith his onvn heart upon his bed. He had submitted to the search, and had seriously reviewed the actions of his life, to discover what was amiss, but could find nothing of that which his enemies charged him with. (2.) By providence. God had tried him by the fair opportunity he had, once and again, to kill Saul; he had tried him by the malice of Saul, the treachery of his friends, and the many provocations that were given him; so that, if he had been the man he was represented to be, it would have appeared; but, upon all these trials, there was nothing found against him, no proof at all of the things whereof thev accused him.

God tried his heart, and could witness to the integrity of that; but, for the further proof of his integrity, he himself takes notice of two things, concerning which his conscience bare him record. [1.] That lie had fixed a resolution against all sins of the tongue; "I am purposed and fully determined, in the strength of God's grace, that mv mouth shall not transgress." He docs not say, "1 hope that it will not," or, "I wish that it may not," but, "I am fully purposed that it shall not:" with this bridle he kept his mouth, xxxix. 1. Note, Constant resolution and wjitchfulness against sins of the tongue, will be a good evidence of our integrity; If any offend not in word, the same is a perfect man,'iixm.m. 2. He does not say, "My mouth never shall transgress," (for in many things we all offend,) but, "I am purposed that it shall not;" and he that searches the heart, knows whether the purpose be sincere. [2.] That he had been as careful to refrain from sinful actions, as from sinful words; (f. 4.) "Concernine: the common works of men, the actions and affairs of hu-

PSALMS, XVII.

man life, I have, by the direction of thy word, kefit me from the paths of the dentroyer." Some understand it particularly, that he had not been himself a destroyer of baul, when it lay in his power, nor had he permitted others to be so, but said to Abishai, Destroy him 7iot, 1 Sam. xxvi._9. But it may be taken more generally; he kept himself from all evil works, and endeavoured, according to the duty of his place, to keej) others from them too. Note, Fimt, '1 lie ways of sin are paths of the destroyer, of the De\il, whose name is Jbaddo7i and JpoUyon, a destroyer, who luins souls by decoying them into the paths of sin. Secondly, It concerns us all to keep out of the paths of the destroyer, for if we walk in those ways that lead to destruction, we must thank ourselves if destruction and misery be our portion at last. Thirdly, It is by the word of God, as our guide and rule, that we must keep out of the paths of the destroyer, by observing its directions and admonitions, cxix. 9. Fourthly, If we carefully avoid all the paths of sin, it will be verv comfortable in the reflection, when we are in trouble. If we keefi ourselves, that the wicked one touch us not with his temptations, (1 John V. 18.) we may hope he shall not be able to touch us with his terrors.

II. What his petition is; it is, in short, this. That he might experience the good work of God in him, as an evidence of, and qualification for, the good will of God toward him: this is grace and peace from God the Father.

1. He prays for the work of God's grace in him; (v. 5.) " Hold up. my goings in thy paths. Lord, I have, by thy grace, kept me from the paths of the destroyer; by the same grace, let me be kept in thy paths; let me not only be restrained from doing that which is evil, but quickened to abound always in that which is good. Let my goings be held in thy paths, that I may not turn back from them, nor turn aside out of them; let them be held up in thy paths, that I may not stumble, and fall into sin, that I may not trifle, and neglect my duty. Lord, as thou hast kept me hitherto, so keep me still." Those that are, through grace, going in God's paths, have need to pray, and do pray, that their goings may be held up in those paths; for we stand no longer than he is pleased to hold us, we go no further than he is pleased to lead us, bear us up, and carry us. David had been kept in the way of his duty hitherto, and yet he does not think that that would be his security for the future, and therefore prays, " Lord, still'hold me up." Those that would proceed and persevere in the way of God, must, by faith and prayer, fetch in daily fresh supplies of grace and strength from him. David was sensible that his way was slippery, that he himself was weak, and not so well fixed and furnished as he should be; that there were those who watched for his halting, and would improve the least slip against him, and therefore he prays, "Lord, hold me up, that mv foot slip not; that I may never say or do any tJliing that looks either dishonest, or distrustful of thee, and thv providence, and promise."

2. He prays' for the tokens of God's favour to \nm,v.7. Observe here, (1.) How he eyes God, as the Protector and Saviour of his people, so he calls him, and thence he takes his encouragement in prayer; 0 thou that savest by thy right hand (by thine own power, and needest not the agency of any other) them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them. It is the character of God's people, that they trust in him; he is pleased to make them confidants, for his secret is with the righteous; and they make him their Trust, for to him they commit themselves. Those that trust in God, have many enemies, many that rise up against them, and seek their ruin; but they have one

Friend that is able to deal with them all, and it he be for them, no matter who is against them. He "pckons it his honour to be their Saviour. His almighty power is engaged for them, and they have all found him ready to save them. The margin reads it, O thou that savest them ivhich trust in thee, from those that rue up against thy right hand. Those that are enemies to the saints, are rebels against God and his right hand, and therefore, no doubt, he will, in due time, appear against them. (2.) What he expects and desires from Ciod; Show thy marvellous loving-kindness. The word signifies, [1.] Distinguishing favours. " Set apart thy loving-kindnesses for me, put me not oft' with common mercies, but be gracious to me, as thou usest to do to those who love thy name." [2.] Wonderful favours. "O make thy loving-kindnt^ss admirable; Lord, testify thy favour to me in such a way, tliat I and others may wonder at it." God's loving-kindness is marvellous, for the freeness and fulness of it; in some instances, it appears, in a special manner, marvellous, (cxviii. 23.) and it will certainly appear so in the salvation of the saints, when Christ shall come to be glorified in the saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.

8. Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me under the shadow of thy wings, 9. From the wicked that oppress xne.,from my deadly enemies ivho compass me about. 10. They are enclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly. 11. They have now compassed us in our steps; they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth ; 12. Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places. 1.3. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down : deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword : 14. From men ichich are thy hand, O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes. 15. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

We may observe, in these verses,

I. What David prays for. Being compassed about with enemies that sought his life, he prays to God to preserve him safe, through all their attempts against him, to the crown to which he was anointed. This prayer is both a prediction of the preservation of Christ, through all the hardships and difficulties of his humiliation, to the glories and joys of his exalted state, and a pattern to Christians to commit the keeping of their souls to God, trusting him to preserve them to his heavenly kingdom. He prays,

1. That he himself might be protected; {v. 8.) " Keep me safe, hide me close, wnere I may not be found, where I may not be come at. Deliver my soul, not only my mortal life from death, but my immortal spirit from sin." Those who put themselves under God's protection, may in faith implore the benefit of it. He prays that God would keep him, (1.) With as much care as a man keeps the apple of his eye with, which nature has wonderfully-fenced, and teaches us to guard. If we keep God s

PSALMS, XVII.

241

law as the afifile of our eye, (Prov. vii. 2.) we may expect that God will so keep us; for it is said concerning his people, that whoso touches them, touches the apfiie of his eye, Zech. ii. 8. (2.) With as much tenderness as the hen gathers her young ones under her wings with; Christ uses the similitude, Matth. xxiii. 37. " Hide me under the shadow of thy wings, where I may be both safe and warm." Or, perhaps, it rather alludes to the wings of the cherubim shadowing the mercy-seat; " Let me be taken under the protection of that glorious grace which is peculiar to God's Israel." What Da\ id here prays for, was performed to the Son of David our Lord Jesus, of whom it is said, (Isa. xlix. 2.) that God hid him in the shadow of his hand, hid him as a fiolished shaft in his quiver, David further prays, "Lord, keep me from the wicked, from men of the world." [1.] "From being, and doing, like them, from walking in their counsel, and standing in their way, and eating of their dainties." [2.] " From being destroyed and run down by them. Let them not have their will against me, let them not triumph over me."

2. That all the designs of his enemies, to bring him either into sin or into trouble, might be defeated; {v. 13.) '* Arise, O Lord, appear for me, disappoint him, and cast him down in his own eyes by the disappointment." While Saul persecuted David, how often did he miss his prey, then when he thought he had him sure! And how were Christ's enemies disappointed by his resurrection, who thought they had gained their point when they had put him to death!

II. What he pleads, for the encouraging of his own faith in these petitions, and his hope of speeding. He pleads,

1. The malice and wickedness of his enemies; "They are such as are not fit to be countenanced, such as, if I be not delivered from them by the special care of God himself, will be my ruin. Lord, see what wicked men they are that oppress me, and waste me, and run me down." (1.) "They are very spiteful and malicious; they are my deadly enemies, that thirst after my blood, my hearths blood; enemies against the soul, so the word is. David's enemies did what they could to drive him to sin, and drive him awav from Gnd, they bade him go serve other gods; (1 Sam. xxvi. 19.) and therefore he had reason to pray against them. Note, Those are our worst enemies, and we ought so to account them, that are enemies to our souls. (2.) "They are very secure and sensual, insolent and haughty, v. 10. They are inclosed in their own fat, wrap themselves, hug themsel\es, in their own honour, and power, and plenty, and then make light of God, and set his judgments at defiance, Ixxiii. 7. Job xv. 27. They wallow in pleasure, and promise themselves that to-morrow shall be as this day. And therefore with their mouth they speak proudly, glorifying in themselves, blaspheming God, trampling upon his people, and insulting them." See Rev. xiii. 5, 6. " Lord, are not such men as these fit to be mortified and humbled, and made to know themselves? Will it not be for thy glory to look ufion these firoud men and abase them?" (3.) " They are restless and unwearied in their attempts against me; they comfiass me about, V. 9. They have now in a manner gained their point, they have surrounded us, they have compassed us in our steps, they track us wherever we go, follow us as close as the hound does the hare, and take all advantages against us, being both too many, and too quick, for us. And yet they pretend to look another way, and set their eyes bowing down to the earth, as if they were meditating, retired into themselves, and thinking of something else;" or, (as some think,) "They are watchful

Vol. III.—2 H

and intent upon it, to do us a mischief; they are down-looked, and never slip an opportunity ol compassing their design." (4.) The ring leader of them, (that was Saul,) is in a special manner bloody and barbarous, politic, and projecting, {v. 12.) like a lion that lives by prey, and is therefore greedy of it. It is as much the meat and drink of a wicked man to do mischief, as it is of a good man to do good. He is like a young lion lurking in secret places, disguising his cruel desigjis. This is fitly applied to Saul, who sought David on the rocks of the wild goats, (1 Sam. xxiv. 2.) and in the wilderness ofZifih, {ch. xxvi. 2.) where lions used to lurk for their prey.

2. The power God had over them, to control and restrain them. He pleads, (1.) "Lord, they are thy sword; and will any father suflFer his sword to be drawn against his own children?" As this is a reason why we should patiently bear the injuries of men, that they are but the instruments of the trouble, (it comes originally from God, to whose will we are bound to submit,) so it is an encouragement to us to hope both that their wrath shall praise him, and that the remainder thereof he will re strain, that they are God's sword, which he can manage as he pleases, which cannot move without him, and which he will sheathe when he has done his work with it. (2.) "They are thy hand, by which thou dost chastise thy people, and make them feel thy displeasure." He therefore expects deliverance 'from God's hand, because from God's hand the trouble came. Una eademque manus vulnus ofiemque tulit — The same hand wounds and heals. There is no flying from God's hand, but bv flying to it. It is very comfortable, when we are in fear of the power of man, to see it dependent upon, and in subjection to, the power of God; see Isa x 6, 7, 15.

3. Their outward prosperity; (t. 14.) "Lord, appear against them, for, (1.) "They are entirely devoted to the world, and care not 'for thee ani thy favour. They are men of the world, actuated by the spirit of the world, walking according to the course of this world, in love with the wealth and pleasure of this world, eager in the pursuits of it, making them their business, and at ease in the enjoyments of it, making them their bliss. They have their portion in this life; they look upon the good things of this world as the best things, and sufficient to make them happy, and they choose them accord-mgly, place their felicity in them, and aim at them as their chief good; they rest satisfied with them, their souls take ease in them, and they look no further, nor are in any care to provide for another life. These things are their consolation, (Luke vi. 24.) their good things, (Luke xvi. 25.) their reward, (Matth. XX. 13.) "Now, Lord, shall men of this character be supported and countenanced against those who honour thee by preferring thy favour before all the wealth in this world, and taking thee for their portion?" xvi. 5. (2.) They have abundance of the world, [1.] They have enlarged appetites, and a great deal wherewith to satisfy them; their bellies thou f.llest with hid treasures. The things of this world are called treasures, because they are so accounted; otherwise, to a soul, and in comparison with eternal blessings, they are but trash. They are hid in the several parts of the creation, and hid in the sovereign disposals of Providence. They are God's hid treasures, for the earth is his, and the fulness thereof, though the men of the world think it is their own, and forget God's property in it. They that fare deliciously every day, have their bellies filled nvith these hid treasures; and they will but fll the helly, (ICor. vi. 13.) they will not fill the soul, they are not bread for that, nor can they satisfy, Isa. Iv. 2,

PSALMS, xvm.

'i hey are husks, and ashes, and wind; and yet most men, having no care for their souls, but all for their bellies, take up with them, [2.] They have numerous famines, and a great deal to lea\ e to them. They are full of children, and yet their pasture is not o\erstocked; they have enough fur them all, and leave the rent of their substance to their babes, to their grand-children; and this is their heaven, it is their bliss, it is their all. " Lord," s;dd David, "deliver me from them; let me not have my portion with them. Deliver me from their designs against me; for, they ha\ ing so much wealth and

Eower, I am not able to deal with them unless the lOrd be on my side."

4. He pleads his own dependence upon God as his Portion and Happiness. " They have their portion in this life, but as for me, {v. 15.) I am none of them, I have but little of the world; JStec habeo, nee careo, nee euro — I neither have, nor need, nor care for. It is the vision and fruition of God that I place my liappiness in, that is it I hope for, and comfort myselt with the hopes of, and thereby distinguish myself from those who have their portion in this life." Beholding God's face with satisfaction, may be considered, (1.) As our duty and comfort in this world. We must, in righteousness, clothed with Christ's righteousness, having a good heart and a good life, by faith behold God's race, and set him always before us; entertain ourselves from day to day with the contemplation of the beauty of the Lord; and, when we awake every morning, we must be satisfied with his likeness set before us in his word, and with his likeness stamped upon us by his renewing grace. Our experience of God's favour to us, and our conformity to him, should yield us more satisfaction than they have whose belly is filled with the delights of sense. (2.) As our recompense and happiness in the other world; with the prospect of that he concluded the foregoing psalm, and so this. That happiness is prepared and designed only for the righteous that are justified and sanctified: they shall be put in possession of it when they awalce, when the soul awakes, at death, out of its slumber in the body, and when the body awakes, at the resurrection, out of its slumber in the grave. That blessedness will consist in three things, [l.] The immediate vision (f God and his glory; I shall behold thy face; not, as in this world, through a glass darkly; the knowledge of God will there be perfected and the enlarged intellect filled with it. [2.] The participation of his likeness; our holiness will there be perfect. This results from the former; (1 John iii. 2.) When he shall afifiear, we shall therefore be like him, for ive shall see him as he is. [3.] A complete and hill satisfaction resulting from all this; I shall be satisfied, abundantly satisfied with it. There is no satisfaction for a soul but in God, and in his face and likeness, his good will towards us, and his good work in us; and even that satisfaction will not be perfect till we come to heaven.

PSALM XVIIL

Ttiis psalm we met with before in the history of David's life, 2 Sam. xxii. That was the first edition of it, here we have it revived, altered a little, and fitted for the service of the church. It is David's thanksoivin<T for the many deliverances God had wroufiht for him; tnese he desired always to preserve fresh in his own memory, and to diffuse and entail the knowledf^e of them. It is an admirable composition. The poetry is very fine, the images bold, the expressions lofty, and every word proper and sifrnificant; hut the piety far exceeds the poetry. Holy faith, and love, and joy, and praise, and hope, are here lively, active, and upon the wing. I. He triumphs in (iod, v. 1..3. n. He magnifies the deliverances (Jod had wrought for him, V. 4. .19. UV. He takes the comfort of his integrity, whicli Uod hud thereby cleared up,

V. 20. . 58. IV. He gives to God the glory of all his achievements, v. 29..42. V. He encourages himself with the expectation of what God would further do for him and his, v. 43.. 60.

To the chief musician. A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who sfiake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered nimfrom the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: ana he said,

l.X WILL love thee, O Lord, my JL strength. 2. Tlie Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 3. I will call upon the Lord, loho is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. 4. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. 5. The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me. 6. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God : he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. 7. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. 8. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured : coals were kindled by it. 9. He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. 10. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. 11. He made darkness his secret place: his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 12. At the brightness that tvas before him his thick clouds passed; hail-s/owes and coals of fire, 13. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice ; hoW-stones and coals of fire. 14. Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. 15. Then the channels of watery were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. 16. He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters 17. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. 18. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay. 19. He brought me forth also into a large place: he deli vered me, because he delighted in me.

The title gives us the occasion of penning this psalm; we had it before, (2 Sam. xxii. 1.) only here we are told, that the psalm was delivered To the chief musician, or precentor, in the temple-songs. Note, The private compositions of good men, designed by them for their own use, may be service-

PSALMS, XVIIl.

243

able to the public, that others may not only borrow light from their candle, but heat from their fire. Examples sometimes teach better than rules. And David is here called the servant of the Lord, as Moses was, not only as every good man is God's servant, but because, with his sceptre, with his sword, and with his pen, he greatly promoted the interests of God's kingdom in Israel. It was more his honour, that he was a servant of the Lord, than that he was king of a great kingdom; and so he himself accounted it, (cxvi. 16.) O Lord, truly I am thy servant. In these verses,

I. He triumphs in God and his relation to him. The first words of the psalm, / will love thee, O Lord, my iitrength, are heie prefixed as the scope and contents of the whole. Love to God is the first and great commandment of the law, because it is the principle of all our acceptalile praise and obedience; and this use we should make of all the mercies God bestows upon us, our hearts should thereby be enlarged in love to him. This he requires, and will accept; and we are very ungrateful if we grudge him so poor a return. An interest in the person loved, is the lover's delight; this string, therefore, he touches, and on this he harps with much pleasure; {v. 2.) "The Lord, Jehovah, is my God;" and then, " He is my Rock, my Fortress, all that I need, and can desire in my present distress." For there is that in God, which is suited to all the exigencies and occasions of his people that trust in him. " He is my Rock, and Strength, and Fortress;" that is, (1.) "I have found him so in the greatest dangers and difficulties." (2.) "I have chosen him to be so, disclaiming all others, and depending upon him alone to protect me." Those that truly love God, may thus triumph in him as theirs, and may with confidence call upon him, 1'. 3. This further use we should make of our deliverances, we must not only love God the better, but love prayer the better; call upon him as long as •we live, especinlly in time of trouble, with an assurance, that so we shall be saved; for thus it is written. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the iMrd shall be saved. Acts ii. 21.

II. He sets himself to magnify the deliverances God had wrought for him, that he might be the more affected in his returns of praise. It is good For us to obserse all the circumstances of a mercy, which magnify the power of God and his goodness to us in it.

1. The more imminent and threatening the danger was, out of which we were delivered, the ^eater is tlie mercy of the deliverance. David •low remembered how the forces of his enemies poured in upon him, which he ckWs the floods of Belial, shoals of the children of Belial, likely to overpower him with numbers; they surrounded him, compassed him about; they surprised him, and by that means were very near seizing him, their snares prevented him; and when without were fightings, within were fears and sorrows, v, 4, 5. His spirit was overwhelmed, and he looked upon himself as a lost man; see cxvi. 3.

2. The more earnest we have been with God for deliverance, and the more direct answer it is to our

Erayers, the more we are obliged to be thankful, lavid's deliverances were so, v. 6. David was found a praying man, and God was found a praying-hearing God. If we pray as he did, we shall speed as he did. Though distress drives us to prayer, God will not therefore be deaf to us; nay, being a God of pity, he will be the more ready to succour us.

3. The more wonderful God's appearances are in any deliverance, the greater it is: such were the deliverance wrought for David, in which God's manifestation of his presence and glorious attributes

is most magnificently described, v. 7, &c. Little appeared of man, but much of God, in these deliverances. (1.) He appeared a God of almighty power; for he made the earth shake and tremble, and moved even the foundations of the hills, {v. 7.) as of old at mount Sinai. When the men of the earth were struck with fear, then the earth might be said to tremble; when the great men of the earth were put into confusion, then the hills moved. (2.) He showed his anger and displeasure against the enemies and persecutors of his people. He was wroth, V. 7. His wrath smoked, it buined, it was fire, it was devouring fire, {v. 8.) and coals were kindled by it. Those that by their own sins make themselves as coals, that is, fuel to this fire, will be consumed by it. He that ordains his arrows against the persecutors, sends them forth when he pleases, and they are sure to hit the mark, and do execution; for those arrows are lightnings, v. 14. (3.) He showed his readiness to plead his people's cause, and work deliverance for them; for he rode upon a cherub, and did fly, for the maintaining of right and the relieving of his distressed servants, v. 10. No opposition, no obstruction, can be given to him, who rides upon the wings of the wind, who rides on the heavens, for the help of his people, and, in his excellency, on the skies. (4.) He showed his condescension, in taking cognizance" of David's case; he bowed the heavejis and came down; {y. 9.) did not send an angel, but came himself, as one afflicted in the afflictions of his people. (5.) He wrapped himself in darkness, and yet commanded light to shine out of darkness for his people, Isa. xlv. 15. He is a God that hidcth himself; for he made darkness his pavilion, v. 11. His glory is invisible, his counsels are unsearchable, and his proceedings unaccountable, and so, as to us, clouds and darkness are round about him; we know not the way that he takes, even when he is coming towards us in ways of mercy; but when his designs are secret, they are kind; for though he hide himself, he is the God of Israel, the Saviour. And, at his brightness, the thick clouds pass; {v. 12.) comfort returns, the face of affliirs is changed, and that which was gloomy and threatening becomes serene and pleasant.

4. The greater the difficulties are that lie in the way of deliverance, the more glorious the deliverance is. For the rescuing of David, the waters were to be divided till the very channels were seen; the earth was to be cloven till the very foundations of it were discovered, v. 15. There were waters deep and many, waters out of which he was to be drawn, (x-. 16.) as Moses, who had his name from being drawn out of the water literally, as David was figuratively. His enemies were strong, and they hated him; had he been left to himself, they had been too strong for him, v. 17. And they were too quick for him; ior i\\e.y prevented him in the day of his calamity, v. 18. But, in the midst of his troubles, the Lord was his Stay, so that he did not sink. Note, God Avill not only deliver his people out of their troubles in due time, but he will sustain them and bear them up under their troubles, in the mean time.

5. That which especially magnified the deliverance, was, that his comfort was the fruit of it, and God's favour was the root and fountain of it. (1.) It was an introduction to his preferment, v. 19. " He brought me forth also out of my straits into a large place, where I had room, not only to turn, but to thrive, in." (2.) It was a token of God's favour to him, and that made it doubly sweet; ^' He delivered me, because he delighted in me, not for my merit, but for his own grace and good-will." Compare this with 2 Sam. xv. 26. If he thus say, I have no delight in thee, here I am. We owe our salvation, that great deliverance, to the delight G

PSALMS, xviri.

had in the Son of David, in whom he has declared himself to be well-pleased.

In singing this, we must triumph in God, and trust in him: and we may apply it to Christ tlie Son of David; the sorrows of death surrounded him, in his distress he prayed, (Heb. v. 7.) God made the earth to shake and tremble, and the rocks to cleave, and brought him out, in his resurrection, into a large place, because he delighted in him and in his undertaking.

20. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. 21. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 22. For all his judgments ivere before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. 23. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. 24. Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. 25. With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright; 26. With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt show thyself froward. 27. For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. 28. For thou wilt hght my candle; the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

Here,

1. David reflects, with comfort, upon his own integrity, and rejoices in the testimony of his conscience, that he had had his conversation in godly sincerity, and not with fleshly wisdom, 2 Cor. i. 12. His deliverances were an evidence of this, and this was the great comfort of his deliverances. His enemies had misrepresented him, and perhaps, when his troubles continued long, he began to suspect himself; but, when God visibly took his part, he had both the credit and the comfort of his righteousness. (1.) His deliverances cleared his inno-cency before men, and acquitted him from those crimes which he was falsely accused of. This he calls rewarding him according to his righteousness, {v. 20, 24.) determining the controversy between him and his enemies, according to the justice of his cause, and the cleanness of his hands, from that sedition, treason, and rebellion, with which he was charged. He had often appealed to God concerning his innocency; and now God had given judgment upon the appeal, (as he always will,) according to equity. (2.) They confirmed the testimony of his own conscience for him, which he here reviews with a great deal of pleasure, v. 21- -23. His own heart knows, and is ready to attest it, [1.] That he had kept firm to his duty, and had not departed, not wickedly, not wilfully departed, from his God. They that forsake the ways of the Lord do, in effect, depart from their God, and it is a wicked thing to do so. But though we are conscious to ourselves of many a stumble, and many a false step caken, yet, if we recover ourselves Ijy repentance, and go on in the way of our duty, it shall not be construed into a departure, for it is not a wicked departure, from our God. [2.] That he had kept his eye upon the rule of God's commands; (t. 22.) ''^11 his judgments were before me; and I had a

respect to them all, despised none as little, disliked none as hard; but made it my care and business to conform to them all. His statutes I did not put away from me, out of my sight, out of my mind, but kept my eye always upon them, and did not as ' those who, because they would quit the ways of the Lord, desire not the knowledge of those ways." [3.] That he had kept himself from his iniquity, and thereby had approved himself upright before God. Constant care to abstain from that sin, whatever it be, which most easily besets us, and to mortify the habit of it, will be a good evidence for us, that we are upright before God. As David's deliverances cleared his integrity, so did the exaltation of Christ clear his, and for ever roll away the reproach tliat was cast upon him; and theie-fore he is said to be justijied in the Sfiirit, 1 Tim. iii. 16.

2. He takes occasion thence to lay down the rules of God's government and judgment, that we may know not only what God expects from us, but what we may expect from him, v. "25, 26. (1.) Those that show mercy to others, (even they need mercy, and cannot depend upon the merit, no not of their works of mere),) shall find mercy with God, Matth. v. 7. (2.) Those that are faithful to their covenants with God, and the relations wherein they stand to him, shall find him all that to them which he hns promised to be. Wherever God finds an upright man, he will be found an upright God. (3.) Those that serve God with a pure conscience, shall find that the words of the Lord are pure words, very sure to be depended on, and a ery sweet to be delighted in. (4.) Those that resist God, and walk contrary to him, shall find that he will resist them, and walk contrary to them, Lev. xxvi. 21, 24.

3. Hence he speaks comfort to the humble; " Thou wilt save the afflicted people, that are wronged and bear it patiently:" but he speaks terror to the proud; "Thou wilt bring down high looks, that aim high, and expect great things for themselves, and look with scorn and disdain tipon the poor and pious:" and he speaks encouragement to himself; ** Thou wilt light my candle; thou wilt revive and comfort my sori'owful spirit, and not leave me melancholy; thou wilt recover me out of my troubles, and restore me to peace and prosperity; thou wilt make my honour bright, which is now eclipsed; thou wilt guide my way, and make it plain before me, that I may avoid the snares laid for me; thou wilt light my candle to work by, arid give me an opportunity of serving thee, and the interests of thy kingdom among men."

Let those that walk in darkness, and labour under many discouragements, in singing these verses, encourage themselves, that God himself will be a Light to them.

29. For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. 30. As for God, his way is perfect : the word of the Lord is tried; he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. 3L For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God ? 32. It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketli my way perfect. 33. He maketh my feet like hinds' feet^ and setteth me upon my high places. 34. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. 35. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand

PSALMS, XVIII.

*j!45

hath holden me up, and thy gentleness Jiath made me great. 36. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. 37. I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed. 38, I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet. 39. For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. 40. Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me. 41. They cried, but there nms none to save them: even unto the Lord, but he answered them not. 42. Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets. 43. Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people ; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people ivhoni I have not known shall serve me. 44. As soon as they heai- of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. 45. The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places. 46. The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. 47. It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. 48. He delivereth me from mine enemies; yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. 49. Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name. 50. Great deliverance givetli he to his king; and showeth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.

In these verses,

I. David looks back, with thankfulness, upon the great things which God had done for him; he had not only wrought deliverance for him, but had given him victory and success, and made him triumph over those who thought to have triumphed over him. When we set ourselves to praise God for one mercy, we must be led by that to observe the many more with which we have been compassed about, and followed, all our days. Many things had contributed to David's advancement, and he owns the hand of God in them all, to teach us to do likewise, in reviewing the several steps by which we have risen to our prosperity, 1. God had given him all his skill and understanding in military affairs, which he was not bred up to, nor designed for; his genius leading him more to music and poetry, and a contemplative life; He teaches my hands to war, v. 34. 2. God' had given him bodily strength to go through the business and fatigue of war; God girded him ivith strength, {y. 32, 39.) to that degree, that he could break even a bow of steel, v. 34. What service God designs men for, he will be sure to fit them for. 3. God had likewise given him great swiftness, not to flee from the enemies, but to fly upon them; {y. 33.)

He makes my feet like hinds'feet, v. 36. "Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; but" (whereas those that take large steps, are apt to tread awry) "my feet did not slip." He was so swift that he pursued his enemies and overtook them, v. 37. 4. God had made him very bold and daring in his enterprises, and given him spirit proportionable to his strength. If a troop stood in his way, he made nothing of running through them; if a wall, he made nothing of leaping over it; {y. 29.) if ram parts and bulwarks, he soon mounted them; and, by divine assistance, set his feet upon the high places of the enemy, v. 33. 5. God had protected him, and kept him safe, in the midst of the greatest perils; many a time he put his life in his hand, and yet it was wonderfully preserved; "Thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation, {v. 35.) and that has compassed me on every side: by that I have been delivered from the strivings of the people who aimed at my destruction, {y. 43.) particularly from the violent man," (y. 48.) Saul, who more than once threw a javelin at him. 6. God had prospered and succeeded him in his designs; he it was that made his way perfect, {v. 32.) and it was his right hand, that held him up, v. 35. 7. God had given him victory o\ er his enemies, the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, and all that fought against Israel: those especially he means, yet not excluding the house of Saul, which opposed his coming to the crown, and the partisans of Absalom and Sheba, who would have deposed him. He enlarges much upon the goodness of God to him in defeating his enemies, attributing his victories, not to his own sword or bow, or the valour of his mighty men, but to the favour of God; I pursued them, {v. 37.) I wounded them, {v. 38.) for thou hast girded me with strength, {v. 39.) else I could not have done it. All the praise is ascribed to God; Thou hast subdued thnn under me, v. 39. Thou hast given me their necks, {v. 40.) not only to trample upon them, (as Josh. x. 24.) but to cut them off. Even those who hated David whom God loved, and were enemies to the Israel of God, in their distress, cried unto the Lord, but in vain, he answered them not. How could they expect he should, when it was he whom they fought against? And when he disowned them, (as he will all those that act against his people,) no other succours could stand them in stead; There was none to save them, v. 41. Those whom God has abandoned are easily vanquished; Then did I beat them small as the dust, v. 42. But those whose cause is just he avenges, {y. 47.) and those whom he favours will certainly be lifted ufi above those that rise ufi against them, v. 48. 8. God had raised him to the throne, and not only delivered him and kept him alive, but dignified him and made him great; {v. 35.) Thy gentleness has increased me: thy discipline and instructio7i; so some. The good lessons David learned in his affliction prepared him for the dignity and power that were intended him; and the lessening of him helped very much to greaten him. God made him not only a great conqueror, but a great ruler; Thou hast made me the head of the heathen; {v. 43.) all the neighbouring nations were tributaries to him. See 2 Sam. viii. 6, 11. In all this, David was a type of Christ, whom the Father brought safely through his conflicts with the powers of darkness, and made victorious over them, and gave to be Head over all things to his church, which is his body.

II. David looks up, with humble and reverent adorations of the divine glory and perfection; when God had, by his providence, magnified him, he endeavours, with his praises, to magnify God, to bless him and exalt him, v. 46. He gives honour to him, 1. As a living God; 77ie Lord liveth, v. 4^.

'24G

PSALMS, XIX.

We had our lives at first from, and we owe the continuance of them to, that God who has Ufe in himself, and is therefore fitly called the living God. The gods of the heathen were dead gods; the best friends we have among men are dying friends; but God lives, lives for ever, and will not fail those that trust in him, but, because he lives, they shall li\ e also; for he is their Life. 2. As a finishing God; As for God, he is not only perfect himself, but his way is fierfect, v. 30. He is known by his name Jehovah, (Exod. vi. 3.) a God performing and perfecting what he begins, in providence as well as creation. Gen. ii. 1. If it was God that made David's way perfect, {v. 32.) much more is his own so. There is no flaw in God's works, nor any fault to be found with what he does, Eccl. iii. 14. And what he undertakes he will go through with, whatever difficulties lie in the way; what God begins to build, he is able to finish. 3. As a faithful God; The word of the Lord is tried. "I have tried it," Tsays David,) "and it has not failed me." All the saints, in all ages, have tried it, and it never failed any that trusted in it. It is tried as silver is tried, refined from all such mixture and alloy as lessen the value of men's words. David, in God's providences concerning him, takes notice of the performance of his promises to him, which, as it puts sweetness into the providence, so it puts honour upon the promise. 4. As the Protector and Defender of his people. David had fovmd him so to him; *'He is the God of my salvation, {v. 46.) by whose power and grace I am, and hope to be, saved; but not of mine only; he is a Buckler to all those that trust in him; (y. 30.) he shelters and protects them all, is both able and ready to do so." 5. As a non-such in all this; (v. 31.) There is a God, and who is God, save Jehovah.'' That God is a Rock, for the support and shelter of his faithful worshippers; and who is a Rock, save our God."* Thus he not only gives glory to God, but encourages his own faith in him. Note, (1.) Whoever pretend to be deities, it is certain that there is no God, save the Lord; all others are counterfeits, Isa. xliv. 8. Jer. x. 10. (2.) Whoever pretend to be our felicities, there is no Rock, save our God; none that we can depend upon to make us happy.

III. David looks forward, with a believing hope that God would still do him good. He promises himself, 1. That his enemies should be completely subdued, and that those of them that yet remained should be made his footstool. That his government should be extensive, so that even a people whom he had not known should serve him, v. 43. That his conquests, and, consequently, his acquests, should be easy; jis soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me, v. 44. And that his enemies should be convinced that it was to no purpose to oppose him; even those that are retired to their fastnesses shall not trust to them, but be afraid out of their close places, having seen so much of David's wisdom, courage, and success. Thus the Son of David, though he sees not yet all things put under him, yet knows he shall reign till all opposing rule, pnncipality, and power, shall be quite put down. 2. That his seed should be for ever continued in the Messiah, who, he foresaw, should come from his loins, v. 50. He shows mercy to his anointed, his Messiah, to Da\ id himself, the anointed of the God of Jacob in the type, and to his seed for evermore. He saith not unto seeds, as of many, but to his Seed, as of one, that is Christ, Gal. iii. 16. It is he only that shall reign for ever, and of the increase of whose government and peace there shall be no end Christ is called David, Hos. iii. 5. God has called hi.m hui King, ii. 6. Great deliverance God does give, and will give, to him, and

to his church and people, here called his seed fot evermore.

In singing these verses, we must give God the glory of the victories of Christ and his church hitherto, and of all the deli\ erances and advancements of the gospel-kingdom; and encourage our selves and one another with an assurance, that the church militant will be shortly triumphant, will be eternally so.

PSALM XIX.

There are two excellent books which the great God has published for the instruction and edification of the children of men; this psalm treats of them both, and recommends them both to our diligent study. I. The book of the creatures, in which we may easily read the power and Godhead of the Creator, v. 1. .6. II. The book of the scriptures, which makes known to us the will of God conccrnin? our duty. He shows the excellency and usefulness of that book, (v. ?• .11.) and then teaches us how to improve it, v. 12. .14.

To the chief musician. A fisalm of David.

1. rr^HE heavens declare the glory of JL God: and the firmament shovveth his handy-work, 2. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. 3. There is no speech nor language li'here their voice is not heard. 4. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun ; 5. Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. 6. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

From the things that are seen every day by all the world, the psalmist, in these verses, leads us tc the consideration of the invisible things of God, whose being appears incontestably evident, and whose glory shines transcendently bright, in the visible heavens, the structure and beauty of them, and the order and influence of the heavenly bodies. This instance of the divine power serves not only to show the folly of atheists, who see there is a heaven, and yet say, " There is no God;" who see the effect, and yet say, " There is no cause;" but to show the folly of idolaters also, and the vanity of their imagination, who, though the heavens declare the glory of God, yet gave that glory to the lights of heaven, which those very lights directed them to give to God only, the Father of lights. Now observe here,

I. What that is which the creatures notify to us: they are many ways useful and serviceable to us, but in nothing so much as in this, that they declare the glory of God, by showing his handy-works, V. 1. They plainly speak themselves to be God's handy-works; for they could not exist from eternity, all succession and motion must have had a beginning; they could not make themselves, that is a contradiction; they could not be produced by a casual hit of atoms, that is an absurdity, fit rather to be bantered than reasoned with: therefore they must have a Creator, who can be no other than an Eternal Mind, infinitely wise, powerful, and good. Thus it a])])ears they are God's works, the work of his Jivgcrs, (viii. 3.) and therefore they declare his glorv. From the excellenrv of the work, we may easily infer the infinite perfection of its great Author. From the brightness of the heavens, we mav collect that the Creatrr is Light; their vastness of

PSALMS, XIX.

247

extent bespeaks his immensity; tneir height his transcendency and sovereignty; their influence upon this earth, his dominion and providence, and universal beneficence: and all declare his ahnighty power, by which they were at first made, and continue to this day, according to the ordinances that were then settled.

II. What are some of those things which notify this?

1. The heavens and the firmament: the vast expanse of air and ether, and the spheres of the planets, and fixed stars. Man has this advantage above the beasts, in the structure of his body, that, whereas they are made to look downward, as their spirits must go, he is made erect, to look upward, because upward his spirit must shortly go, and his thoughts should now rise.

2. The constant and regular succession of day and night; {z>. 2.) Day unto day, and night unto night, speak the glory of that God who first divided between the light and the darkness, and has, from the beginning to this day, preserved that established order without variation, according to God's covenant with Noah, (Gen. viii. 22.) that, while the earth remains, day and night shall not cease; to which covenant of providence, the covenant of grace is compared for its stability, Jer. xxxiii. 20.— xxxi. 35. The counterchanging of day and n'ght, ill so exact a method, is a great instance of the power of God, and calls us to observe, that, as in the kingdom of nature, so in that of providence, he forms (he light, and creates the darkness, (Isa. xlv. 7.) and sets the one over-against the other. It is likewise an instance of his goodness to man; for he makes the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice, Ixv. 8. He riot only glorifies himself,~but gratifies us, by this constant revolution; for, as the light of the morning befriends the business of the day, so the shadows of the evening befriend the repose of the night; every day and every night speak the goodness of God, and when they have finished their testimony, leave it to the next day, to the next night, to say the same.

3. The light and influence of the sun, do, in a special manner, declare the glory of God; for, of all the heavenly bodies, that is the most conspicuous in itself, and most useful to this lower world, which would be all dungeon, and all desert, without it. It is not an improbable conjecture, that David penned this psalm when he had the rising sun in view, and from the brightness of it took occasion to declare the glory of God. Concerning the sun, observe here, (1.) The place appointed him: in the heavens God has set a tabernacle for the sun. The heavenly bodies are called hosts of heaven, and therefore are fitly said to dwell in tents, as soldiers in their encampments: the sun is said to have a tabernacle set him, not only because he is in continual motion, and never has a fixed residence, but because the mansion he has will, at the end of time, be taken down like a tent, when the heavens shall be rolled together like a scroll, and the sun shall be turned into darkness. (2.) The course assigned him: that glorious creature was not made to be idle, but his going forth (at least, as it appears to our eye) is from one point of the heavens, and his circuit thence to the opposite point, and thence (to complete his diurnal revolution) to the same point again; and this with Ruch steadiness and constancy, that we can certainly foretell the hour and the minute at which the sun will rise at such a place, any day to come. (3.) The brightness wherein he appears: he is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, richly dressed tip and adorned, as fine as hands can make him, looking pleasantly himself, and making all about dim pleasant; for the friend of the bridegrooin re-joicea greatly to hear (he bridegroom's voice, John

iii. 29. (4.) The cheerfulness wherewith he makes his tour: though it seems a \ast round which he has to walk, and he has not a moment's rest, yet, in obedience to the law of his creation, and for the ser vice of man, he not only does it, but does it with a great deal of pleasure, and rejoices as a strong man to run a race. With such satisfaction did Christ, the Sun of righteousness, finish the work that was given him to do. (5.) His universal influence on this earth: there is n .thing hid from the heat thereof, no not metals in the bowels of the earth, which the sun has an influence upon.

III. To whom this declaration is made of the glory of CTod; it is made to all parts of the world; (f. 3, 4.) There is no sfietch nor language, (no nation, for the nations were divided after their tongues, (ien. x. 31, 32.) where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone through all the earth, (the equinoctial line suppose,) and with it, their words to the end of the world, proclaiming the eternal power of the God of nature, v. 4. The apostle uses this as a reason why the Jews should not be angry with him and others for preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, because God had already madehim-self known to the Gentile world by the works of creation, and left not himself without witness among them, (Rom. x. 18.) so that they were without excuse, if they were idolaters, Rom. i. 20, 21. And those were without blame, who, by preaching the gospel t^o them, endeavoured to turn them from their idolatry. If God used these means to prevent their apostasy, and they proved ineffectual, the apostles did well to use other means to recover them from it. They have no speech or language, (so some read it,) and yet their voice is heard. All people may hear these natural immortal preachers speak to them, in their own tongue, the wonderful works of God.

In singing these verses, we must give God the glory of all the comfort and benefit we have by the lights of heaven, still looking above and beyond them to the Sun of righteousness.

7. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple : 8. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord z's pure, enlightening the eyes: 9. The fear of the Lord zs clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true awe? righteous altogether. 10. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold ; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. 12. Who can understand his errors ? cleanse thou me from secret faults. 13. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be hmocent from the great transgression. 14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

God's glory, that is, his goodness to man, appears much in the works of creation, but much more in and by divine revelation. The holy scripture, as it is a rule both of our duty to God arid of our expec-

PSALMS, XIX.

tation from him, is of much greater use and benefit to us than day or night, than the air we breathe in, or the light of the sun. The discoveries made of God by his works might have served, if man had retained his integrityj but, to recover him out of his fallen state, another course must be taken; that must be done by the word of God. And here,

I. The psalmist gives an account of the excellent properties and uses of the word of God, in six sentences, (v. 7««9.) in each of which the name Je-hovah is repeated; and no vain repetition, for the law has its authority and all its excellency from the Law-Maker. Here are six several titles of the word of God, to take in the whole of divine revelation,

Srecepts, and promises, and especially the gospel, [ere are several good properties of it, which prove its divine original, which recommend it to our affection, and which extol it above all other laws whatsoever; and here are several good effects of the law upon the minds of men, which show what it is designed for, what use we are to make of it, and how wonderful the efficacy of divine grace is, going along with it, and working by it.

1. The law of the Lord is fierfect; it is perfectly free from all corruption, perfectly filled with all good, and perfectly fitted for the end for which it is designed; it will make the man of God perfect, 2 Tim. iii. 17. Nothing is to be added to it, or taken from it. It is of use to convert the soul, to bring us back to ourselves, to our God, to our duty; for it shows us our sinfulness and misery in our departures from God, and the indispensable necessity of our return to him.

2. The testimony of the Lord (which witnesses for him to us) is sure, incontestably and in\ iolably sure, what we may give credit to, may rely upon, and m ly be confident it will not deceive us. It is a sure discovery of divine truth, a sure direction in the way of duty. It is a sure fountain of living comforts, and a sure foundation of lasting hopes. It is of use to make us wise, wise to salvation, 2 Tim. iii. 15. It will give us an insight into things divine, and a foresight of things to come. It will emjjloy us in the best work, and secure to us our true interests. It will make even the simple, poor contrivers as thev may be for the present world, wise for their souls and eternity. Those that are humbly simple, sensible of their own folly, and willing to be taught, those shall be made wise by the word of God, XXV. 9.

3. The statutes of the Lord (enacted by his au-thoritv, and binding on all wherever they comd) are right, exactly agreeing with the eternal rules and principles of good and evil, that is, with the right reason of man, and the right counsels of (iod. .\11 God's precepts, concerning all things, are right, (cxix. 128.) just as they should be; and they will set us to rights, if we receive them, and submit to them; and, because they are right, they rejoice the heart. The law, as we see it in the hands of Christ, gives cause foi jf^y; and, when it is written in our hearts, it lays a foundation for lasting joy, by restor-mg us to our right mind.

4. The commandment of the Lord is fiure; it is clear without darkness, it is clean, without dross and defilement. It is itself purified from all alloy, and is purifving to those that receive and embrace it. It is the ordinary means which the Spirit uses in enlightening the eyes; it brings us to a sight and sense of our sin and misery, and directs us in the way of duty.

5. The fear of the Lord (true religion and godliness, prescribed in the word, reigning in the heart, and practised in the life) is clean, clean itself, and will m ike us clean; (.Inlm xv. 3.) it will cleanse our way, cxix. 9. .\nd it endureth for ever; it is of perpetual obligation, and can never be repealed;

the ceremonial law is long since done away, but the law concerning the fear of God is ever the same. Time will not alter the nature of moral good and evil.

6. The judgments of the Lord (all his precepts, which are framed in infinite wisdom) are true; they are grounded upon the most sacred and unquestionable truths; they are righteous, all consonant to natural equity; and they are so altogether, there is no unrighteousness in any of them, but they are all of a piece.

II. He expresses the great value he had for the word of God, and the great advantage he had, and hoped to have, from it, v. 10, 11.

1. See how highly he prized the commandments of God; it is the character of all good people, that they prefer their religion and the word of God, (1.) Far before all the wealth of the world; it is more desirable than _§-o/c?, thdin fine gold, than much fine gold. Gold is of the earth, earthly; but grace is the image of the heavenly. Gold is only for the body, and the concerns of time; but grace is for the soul, and the concerns of eternity. (2.) Far before all the pleasures and delights of sense. The word of God, received by faith, is sweet to the soul, sweeter than honey and the honey-comb. The pleasures of sense are the delight of brutes, and therefore debase the great soul of man; the pleasures of rel^ion are the delight of angels, and exalt the soul. The pleasures of sense are deceitful, will soon surfeit, and yet never satisfy; but those of religion are substantial and satisfying, and there is no danger of exceeding in them.

2. See what use he made of the precepts of God's word; By them is thy servant warned. The word of God is a word of warning to the children of men; it warns us of the duty we are to do, the dangers we are to avoid, and the deluge we are to prepare for, Ezek. iii. 17.—xxxiii. 7. It warns the wicked not to go on in his wicked way, and warns the righteous not to turn from his good way. All that are indeed God's servants take this warning.

3. See what advantage he promised himself by his obedience to God's precepts; In keefiing of them, there is great reward. Those who make conscience of their duty, will not only be no losers by it, but unspeakable gainers. There is a reward, not only after keeping, but in keeping, God's commandments; a present great reward of obedience in obedience. Religion is health and honour, it is peace and pleasure; it will make our comforts sweet, and our crosses easy, life truly valuable, and death itself truly desirable.

III. He draws some good inferences from this pious meditation upon the excellency of the word of God. Such thoughts as these should excite in us devout affections, and then they are to good purpose.

1. He takes occasion hence to make a penitent reflection upon his sins; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. " Is the commandment thus holy, just, and good? Then who can understand his errors? I cannot, whoever can." From the rectitude of the divine law he learns to call his sins his errors; if the commandment be true and righteous, every transgression of the commandment is an error, as grounded upon a mistake; everj'^ wicked practice takes rise from some corrupt principle; it is a deviation from the rule we are to work by, the way we are to walk in. From the extent, and strictness, and spiritual nature, of the divine law, he learns that his sins are so many, that he cannot understand the number of them, and so exceeding sinful, that he cannot understand the heinousness and malignity of them. We are guilty of many sins, which, through our carelessness and ])artiality to ourselves, we are not aware of: many we have been guilty of, which

PSALMS, XX.

24U

we have forgotten; so that when we have been ever so particular in the confession of sin, we must conclude with an et ceetera — and such like: for God knows a great deal more evil of us, than we do of ourselves. In many things we all offend, and who can tell how often he offends? It is well that we are under grace, and not under the law, else we were undone.

2. He takes occasion hence to pray against sin; all the discoveries of sin made us by the law, should drive us to the throne of grace, there to pray, as David does here,

(1.) For mercy to pardon; finding himself unable to specify all the particulars of his transgressions, he cries out. Lord, demise me from my secret faults; not secret to Ciod, so none are, nor only such as are secret to the world, but such as were hid from his own observation of himself. The best of men have reason to suspect themselves guilty of many secret faults, and to pray to God to cleanse them from that guilt, and not to lay it to their charge; for even our sins of infirmity and inadvertency, and our secret sins, would be our ruin, if God should deal with us according to the desert of them. Even secret faults are defiling, and render us unfit for communion with God; but when they are pardoned, we are cleansed from them, 1 John, i. 7.

(2.) For grace to help in time of need; having prayed that his sins of infirmity might be pardoned, he prays that presumptuous sins might be prevented, -v. 13. All that truly repent of their sins, and have them pardoned, ai'e in care not to relapse into sin, nor to return again to folly, as appears by their prayers, which concur with David's here. Where observe, [1.] His petition; "Keep me from ever being guilty of a wilful presumptuous sin." We ought to pray that we may be kept from sins of infirmity, but especially from presumptuous sins, which most offend God, and wound conscience, which wither our comforts, and shock our hopes. " However, let none such have dominion over me, let me not be at the command of any such sin, nor be enslaved by it." [2.] His plea; " So shall I be upright; I shall appear upright; I shall preserve the evidence and comfort of my uprightness; and I nhall be innocent from, the great transgression;'' so he calls a presumptuous sin, because no sacrifice was accepted for it. Numb. xv. 28-'30. Note, First, Presumptuous sins are very heinous and dangerous: those that sin against the habitual convictions and actual admonitions of their own consciences, in contempt and defiance of the law and its sanctions, that sin with a high hand, sin presumptuously, and it is a great transgression. Secondly, Even good men ought to be jealous of themselves, and afraid of sinning presumptuously, yea, though through the grace of God they have hitherto been kept from them. Let none be high-minded, but fear. Thirdly, Being so much exposed, we have great need to pray to God, when we are pushing forward toward a presumptuous sin, to keep us back from it, either by his providence preventing the temptation, or by his grace giving us victory over it.

3. He takes occasion humbly to beg the divine acceptance of those his pious thoughts and affections, x>. 14. Observe the connexion of this with what goes before. He prays to God to keep him from sin, and then begs he would accept his performances; for if we favour our sins, we cannot expect God should favour us or our se7~vices, Ixvi. 18. Observe, (1.) What his services were; the words of his mouth, arid the meditations of his heart, his holy affections offered up to God. The pious meditations of the heart must not be smothered, but expressed in the words of our mouth, for God's glory, and the edification of others; and the words of our

Vol. hi.— 2 I

mouth in prayer and praise must not be formal, but arising fn-m the meditation of the heart, xlv. 1, (2.) What was his care concerning these services; that they might be acceptable with God—else what do they avail us? Gracious souls must have all they aim at, if they be accepted of God, for that is their bliss. (3.) What encouragement he had to hope for this; because God was his Strength and his Redeemer. If we seek assistance from God as our Strength in our religious duties, we may hope to find acceptance with God of our duties; for by his strength we have power with him.

In singing this, we should get our hearts much affected with the excellency of the word of God, anddeli^ered into it; we should be much affected with the e\il of sin, the danger we are in o/it, and tlie danger we are in by it, and we should fetch in help from heaven against it.

PSALM XX.

It is the will of God that prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings, should be made, in a special manner, for kings, and all in authority. This psalm is a prayer, and tne next a thanksg-iving-, for the king. David was a martial prince, much in war. Either this psalm was penned upon occasion of some particular expedition of his, or, in general, as a form to be used in the daily service of the church for him. In this psalm, we may observe, I. What it is they beg of God for the king, v. 1. .4. II. With what assurance thev'beg it. The people triumph; (v. 5.) The prince; (v. '6.) Both together; (v. 7, 8.) and so he concludes with a prayer to God for audience, v. 9. In this, David may well be looked upon as a type of Christ, to whose kingdom, and its interests among men, the church was, in every age, a hearty well-%visher.

7b the chief musician. A fisalm of David,

1. rjlHE Lord hear thee in the day of JL. trouble ; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee. 2. Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion. 3. Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt-sacrifice. Selah. 4. Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel. 5. We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up oz/r banners: the Lord fulfil all thy petitions.

This prayer for David is entitled, a psalm of David; nor was it any absurdity at all for him, who was divinely inspired, to draw up a directory, or form of prayer, to be used in the congregation for himself, and those in authority under him; nay, it is \ ery proper for those who desire the prayers of their friends, to tell them particularly what they would have to be asked of God for them. Note, Even great and good men, and those that know well how to pray for themselves, must not despise, but earnestly desire, the prayers of others for them, even those that are their inferiors in all respects. Paul often begged of his friends to pray for him. Magistrates, and those in power, ought to esteem praying people, and encourage them to reckon them their strength, (Zech. xii. 5, 10.) and to do what they can for them, that they may have an interest in their prayers, and may do nothing to forfeit it. Now observe here,

I. What it is that they are taught to ask of God for the king.

1. That God would answer his prayers; The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble, {v. 1.) and the Lord fulfil all thy petitions, v. 5. Note, (1.) Even tlie greatest of men may be much in trouble. It was often a day of trouble with David himself,

PSALMS, XX.

of disappointment and distress, of treading down, and of perplexity. Neither the crown on his head, nor tlie grace in his heart, would exempt him from trouble. (2.) Even the greatest of men must be much in prayer. David, though a mm of business, a man of war, was constant to his devotions; tiiough he had proj)hets, and priests, and many good people, among his subjects, to pray for him, he did not think, that excusetl him fn>m praying for liimself. Let none expect benefit by the prayers of the church, or of their ministers, or friends for them, who are capable of praying f ;r themselves, and yet neglect it. Tlie prayers of others for us must be desired, not to supersede, buttosecond,our own fur ourselves. Happy the people that ha\e praying princes, to wliose prayers they may thus say, Amen.

2. That God would protect his person, and preserve his life, in the perils of war; " I'he name of the God of Jacob defend thee, and set thee out of the reach of thine enemies." (1.) "Let God by his providence keep thee safe, even the (iod who preserved Jacob in the days of his trouble." Da\ id had mighty men for his guards, but he commits himself, and his people commit him, to the care of the almighty God. (2.) "Let God by his grace keep thee easy from the fear of evil;" (Prov. xviii. 10.) 7'//f na77ie of the Lord is a strong tower, into which the righteous run by faith, and are safe; let David be enabled to shelter himself in that strong tower, as he has done many a time.

3. That God would enable him to go on in his undertakings for the public good; that, in the day of battle, he would send him help, out of the sanctuary, and strength out of Zion, not from common providence, but from the ark of the covenant, and the peculiar favour God bears to his chosen people Israel. That he would help him, in performance of the promises, and in answer to the prayers, made in the sanctuary. Mercies out of the sanctuary are the sweetest mercies, such as are the tokens of God's peculiar love; the blessing of God, even our own God. Strength out of Zion is spiritual strength, strength in the soul, in the inward man, and that is it we should most desire, both for ourselves and others, in services and sufferings.

4. That God would testify his gracious acceptance of the sacrifices he offered with his prayers, according to the law of that time, before he went lut on this dangerous expedition; The Lord remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt-sacrijices, [y, 3.) or turn them to ashes; that is, " The Lord give thee the victory and success which thou didst by prayer with sacrifices ask of him, and thereby give as full proof of his acceptance of the sacrifice, as ever he did by kindling it with fire from hea\en." By this we may now know that God accepts our spiritual sacrifices, if by his Spirit he kindles in our Bouls a holy fire of pious and divine affection, and with that makes our hearts burn within us.

5. That God would crown all his enterprises and noble designs for the public welfare with the desired success; {x\ 4.) The Lord grant thee according to thine own heart. This they might in faith pray for, because they knew David was a man after God's own heart, and would design nothing but what was pleasing to him. Those who make it their business to glorify God, may expect that God will, one way or other, gratify them; and they who walk in his counsel may promise themselves that he will fulfil their's; Thou shall devise a thing, and it shall be established inito thee.

II. What confidence they had of an answer of Deace to these petitions for themselves and their cjood king; {v. 5.) " Jl'e will rejoice in thy salva-'ion. We, that are subjects, will rejoice in the preservation and prnsjjerity of our prince;" or ra-:her, " In thy salvation, O God, in thy power and

promise to save, will we rejoice, that is it which we depend upon now, and which, in the issue, we shall ha\e occasion greatly to rejoice in." Those that have their eye still upon the salvation of the Lord, shall ha\ e their hearts filled with the joy of that salvation; In the name of our God will we set up. our banners. 1. " We will wage war in his nauie, we will see that our cause be good, and make his glory our end in every expedition; we will ask counsel at his moutli, and take him along with us; we will follow his direction, implore his aid, and depend up-n it, and rtfei- the issue to him." David went against tjoliath in the name of the Lord of hosts, 1 Sam. xvii. 45. (2.) "We will celebrate our victi-ries in his name. When we lift up our banners in triumph, and set up our trophies, it shall be in the name of our God; he shall have all the glory of our success, and no instrument shall have any part of the honour that is due to him."

in singing this, we oui^ht to offer up to God our hearty good wishes to tlie good government we are under, and to the pn spenty (>f it. But we may look further; these prayers for Da\ id are prophecies concerning Christ the Son of David, and in him they were abundantly answered; he undertook th€ work of our redemption, and made war u])on the powers of darkness; in the day of trouble, when his soul was exceeding sorrowful, the Lord heard him in that he feared; (Heb. v. 7.) sent him help oiit of the sanctuary, sent an angel from heaven to strengthen him, took cognizance of his offering, when he made his soul an offering for sin, and accepted his burnt-sacrifice, turned it to ashes; the fire that should have fastened upon the sinner, fastening upon the sacrifice, with which God was well-pleased. And he granted him according to his own heart, made him to see of the travail of his soul, to his satisfaction, prospered his good pleasure in his hand, fulfilled all his petitions for himself and us; for, him the Father heareth always, and his intercession is ever prevailing.

6. Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed: he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. 7. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord om- God. 8. They are brought down and fallen; but we are risen, and stand upright. 9. Save, Lord : let the King hear us when we call.

Here is,

I. Holy David himself triumphing in the interest he had in the prayers of good people; {v. 6.) " A'cw know I (I, that pen the psalm, know it) that the Lord saveth his anointed, because he hath stirred up the hearts of the seed of Jacob to pray for him.'' Note, It bodes well to any prince and people, and may justly be taken as a happy presage, when God pours upon them a spirit of prayer. If he see us seeking him, he will be found of us; if he cause us to hope in his word, he will establish his word to us. Now that so many, who have an interest in hea\ en, are praying for him, he doubts not but that God will hear him, and grant him an answer of peace; which will, 1. Take its rise from above; he will hear him from his holy heaven, of which the sanctuary was a type, (Heb. ix. 23.) from the throne he hath prepared in heaven, of which the mercy-se;it was a type. 2. It shall take its effect here below. He will hear him with the saving strength of his right hand; he will give a real answer to his prayers, and the prayers of his friend' for him, not by letter, or by word of mouth, but, which is much better, by his right hand, bv the

PSALMS, XXI.

S.M

saving strength of his right hand. He will make it to appear that he hears him, by what he does for him.

II. His people triumphing in CJod and their relation to him, and his revelation of himself to them, hy which they distinguish themselves from those that Hve without God in the world. 1. See the difference between worldly people and godly people, in their, confidences, v. 7. The children of this world trust in second causes, and think all is well, if those do but smile upon them; they trust in chariots and in horses, and the more of them they can bring into the field, the more sure they are of success in their wars; probably, David has here an eye to the Syrians, Avhose forces consisted much of chariots and horsemen, as we find in the history of Dwid's victories o\ er them, 2 Sam. viii. 4.—x. 18. " But," say the Israelites, " we neither have chariots and horses to trust to, nor do we want them, nor, if we had them, would we build our hopes of success upon that; l)ut we will remember, and rely upon, the name of the Lord our God, upon the relation we stand in to him as the Lord our God, and the knowledge we have of him by his name," that is, all that wliereby he makes himself known; this we will remember, and upon every remembrance of it will be encouraged. Note, Those who make God and his name their praise, may make God and his name their trust. 2. See the difference in the issue of their confidences, and by that we are to judge of the wisdom of the choice; things are as they prove; see who will be ashamed of their confidence, and who not, v. 8. "They that trust in their chariots and horses, are brought down and fallen, and their chariots and horses were so far from saving them, that they helped to sink them, and made them the easier and the richer prey to the conqueror, 2 Sam. viii. 4. But we that trust in the name of the Lord our God, not only stand upright, and keep our ground, but are risen, and have got ground against the enemy, and have triumphed over them." Note, A believing obedient trust in God, and his name, is the surest way both to preferment and to establishment, to rise and to stand upright, and this will stand us in stead, when creature-confidences fail those that depend upon them.

III. They conclude their prayer for the king with a Hosanna, " Save now, ive beseech thee, O Lord!" V. 9. As we read this \ erse, it may be taken as a prayer that God would not only bless the king, •'Save, Lord, give him success;" but that he would make him a blessing to them, "Let the king hear us, when we call to him for justice and mercy." Those that would have good of their magistrates, must thus pray for them, for they, as all other creatures, are that to us, (and no more,) that God makes them to be. Or, it may refer to the Messiah, that King, that King of kings; let him hear us when we call; let him come to us, according to the promise, in the time appointed; let him, as the great Master of requests, receive all our petitions, and present them to his Father. But many interpreters give another reading of this verse, by altering the pause. Lord, save the king, and hear us when ive call; and so it is a summary of the whole psalm, and is taken into our English Liturgy. 0 Lord, save the king,and mercifully hear us, ivhen ive call ufion thee.

In singing these verses, we should encourage ourselves to trust in God, and stir up ourselves to pray earnestly, as we are in duty bound, for those in authority over us, that, under them, we may lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty.

PSALM XXI.

\s the foregoing psalm was a prayer for the king, that God would protect and prosper him; so this is a thanksgiving

for the success God had blessed him with. Those whom we have prayed for, we ouijhlto i;ive thanks for, and particularly for kin<is, in whose prosperity we share. They are here taught, 1. To con<;ratulale him on his victories, and the honour he had achieved, v. 1. .6. II. To confide in the power of God for the compleline of the ruin of the enemies of his kinadom, v. 7--13. In this, there is an eye to the Messiah, the Prince, and the Glory of his kingdom; for to him divers passages in this psalm are more applicable than to David himself.

To the chief musician. A Jisalm of David.

1. rff^HE king shall joy in thy strength, Ji_ O Lord ; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! 2. Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not vvithhol-dentherequestof hislips. Selah. 3. For thou preventest him w^ith the blessings of goodness : thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head. 4. He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever. 5. His glory is great in thy salvation : honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him. 6. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.

David here speaks for himself in the first place, professing that his joy was in God's strength, and in his salvation, and not in the strength or success ^ f his armies. He also directs his subjects herein to rejoice ^vith him, and to give God all the gloi-y cf the victories he had obtained; and all, with an e) e to Christ, of whose triumphs over the powers of darkness David's victories were but shadows.

1. They here congratulate the king on his joys, and concur with him in thcm;(7^. 1.) "The king rejoices, he uses to rejoice in thy strength, and so do we; what pleases the king, pleases us,"2 Sam. iii. 36. Happy the people, the character of whose king it is, that he makes God's strength his confidence, and God's salvation his joy; that is pleased with all the advancements of God's kingdom, and trusts God to bear him out in all he does for the service of it. Our Lord Jesus, in his great undertaking, relied upon help from Heaven, and pleased himself with the prospect of that great salvation which he was thereby to work out.

2. They give God all the praise of those things, which were the matter of their king's rejoicing.

■ (1.) That God had heard his pi-ayers; {v. 2.) Thou hast given him his heart's desire, (and there is no prayer accepted, but what is the heart's desire,) the very thing they begged of God for him, xx. 4. Note, God's gracious returns of prayer do, in a special manner, require our humble returns of praise. When God gives to Christ the heathen for his inheritance, gives him to see his seed, and accepts his intercession for all believers, he gives him his heart's desire.

(2.) That God had surprised him with favours, and much outdone his expectations; (v. 3.) Thou fireventest him with the blessings of goodness. All our blessings are blessings of goodness, and are owing, not at all to any merit of ours, but purely, and only, to God's goodness. But the psalmist here reckons it, in a special manner, obliging, that these blessings were given in a preventing way; this fixed his eye, enlarged his soul, and endeared his God, as one expresses it. When God's blessings come sooner, and prove richer, than we imagine, when they are given before we prayed for them, before we were ready for them, nay, when we feared the contrary; then it may he truly said, that he prevented us with them. Nothing, indeed, prevented

PSALMS, XXI.

Christ, but to mankind never was any fav our more preventing than our redemption by Christ, and all the blessed fruits of his mediation.

(3.) That God had advanced him to the highest honour, and the most extensive power; " Thou hast set a crown of pure gold upon his head, and kept it tliere, when his enemies attempted to throw it off." Note, Crowns are at God's disposal; no head wears them but God sets them there; whether in judgment to his land, or for mercy, the event will show. On the head of Christ God never set a crown of gold, but of thorns first, and then of glory.

(4.) Tliat God had assured him of the perpetuity of his kingdom, and therein had done more tor him than he was able eitlier to ask oi- think; {y. 4.) "When he went forth upon a perilous expedition, he asked his life of thee, which he then put into liis hand, and thou not only gavest him that, but withal gavest him length of days for ever and ever; didst not only prolong his life far beyond his expectation, but didst assure him of a blessed immortality in a future state, and of the continuance of his kingdom in the Messiah that should come of his loins." See how God's grants often exceed our petitions and hopes, and infer thence, how rich he is in mercy to those that call upon him. See also, and rejoice in, the length of the days of Christ's kingdom. He was dead indeed, that we might live through him; but he is alive, and lives for evermore, and of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end; and because he thus lives, we shall thus live also.

(5.) That God had advanced him to the highest honour and dignity; {v. 5.) " His glory is great, far transcending that of all the neighbouring princes, in the salvation thou hast wrought for him and by him." The glory which every good man is ambitious of, is, to see the salvation of the Lord; honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him, as a burthen which he must bear, as a charge whicli he must account for. Jesus Christ receroerfyro/w God the Father honour and glory, (2 Pet. i. 17.) the glory which he had with him before the worlds were, John xvii. 5. And on him is laid the charge of universal government, and to him all power in heaven and earth is committed.

(6.) That God had given him the satisfaction of being the channel of all bliss to mankind; {v. 6.) " Thou hast set him to be blessings for ever," (so the margin reads it,) "thou hast made him to be a universal, everlasting, blessing to the world, in whom the families of the earth are, and shall be, blessed; and so thou hast made him exceeding glad with the countenance thou hast given to his undertaking, and to him in the prosecution of it." See how the spirit of prophecy gradually rises here to that whicli is peculiar to Christ, for none besides is blessed for ever, much less a blessing for ever to that eminency that the expression denotes: and of him it is said, that God made him full of joy with his countenance.

In singing this, we should rejoice in his joy, and triumph in his exaltation.

7. For the king trusteth in the Lord ; and, through the mercy of the Most High, he shall not be moved. 8. Thy hand shall find out all thine enemies; thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. 9. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. 10. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. 11. For the v inl ended

evil against thee; they imagined a miscJiie-vous device, ivliich they are not able to perform : 12. Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them. 13. Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

The psalmist, having taught his people to look back with joy and praise on what God had doi e for him and them, here teaches them to look forward with faith, and hope, and prayer, upon what God would further do for them; The king rejoices in God, (v. 1.) and therefore we will be thankful; the king trusteth in God, {v. 7.) therefore will we be encouraged. The joy and confidence of Christ our King, is the ground of all our joy and confidence.

1. They are confident of the stability of David's kingdom; Through the jnercy of the 'Most High, and not through his own merit or strength, he shall not be moved. His prosperous state shall not be disturbed, his faith and hope in God, who is the Stay of his spirit, shall not be shaken. The mercy of the Most High, the divine goodness, power antl dominion, is enough to secure our happiness, and therefore our trust in that mercy should be enough to silence all our fears. God being at Christ's right hand in his sufferings, (xvi. 8.) and he being at God's right hand in his glory, we may be sure he shall not, he cannot, be moved, but continues ever.

2. They are confident of the destruction of all the impenitent, implacable, enemies of David's kingdom. The success with which God had blessed David's arms hitherto, was an earnest of the rest wliich God would give him from all his enemies round about; and a type of the total overthrow of all Christ's enemies, that would not have him to reign over them. Observe, (1.) The description of his enemies. They are such as hate him, v. 8. They liated David, because God had set him apart for himself; hated Christ, because they hated the light; but both were hated without any just cause, and in both God was hated, John xv. 23, 25. (2.) The de signs of his enemies; {v. 11.) They intended evil against thee, and imagined a mischievous dexnce; they pretended to fight against David only, but their enmity was against God liimself. They that aimed to un-king David, aimed, in effect, to un-God Jehovah. What is devised and designed against religion, and against the instruments God raises up to support and advance it, is \ ery evil and mischievous, and God takes it as devised and designed against himst-lf, and will so reckon for it. (3.) The disappointment of them; "They devise wliat thev are 7iot able to fierform," v. 11. Their malice is inripo-tent, and they imagine a vain thing, ii. 1. (4.) The discovery of them; {v. 8.) " 7hy hand shall find them out, though ever so artfully disguised by the pretences and professions of fi-iendship; though mingled with the faithful subjects of this kingdom, and hardly to be distinguished from them; though flying from justice, and absconding in their close places; yet thy hand shall find them out wherever they arc." There is no escaping God's avenging eye, no going out of the reach of his hand; rocks and mountains will be no better shelter at last, than fig-leaves were at first. (5.) The destruction of them; it will be an utter destruction, (Luke xix. 27.) they shall be swallowed up and devoured, v. 9. Hell, the pojtion of all Christ's enemies, is the complete misery both of body and soul. Their fruit and their seed shalt be destroyed, v. 10. The enemies of God's kingdom, in every age, shall fall under the same doom, and the whole generation of them will

PSALMS, XXII.

253

at last be rooted out, and all opposing rule, principality, and power, shall be put down. The arrows of God's wrath shall confound them and put them to flight, being levelled at the face of them, {v. 12.) That will be the lot of daring enemies that face God. The tire of God's wrath will consume them; (v. 9.) they shall not only be cast into a furnace of fire, (Matth. xiii. 42.) but he shall make them themselves as a fiery oven or furnace; they shall be their own tormentors, the reflections and terrors of their own consciences will be their hell. I'hose that might have iuid Christ to rule and save them, but rejected him and fought against him, shall find that even the leiiiembrance of that will be enough to make them, to eternity, a fiery oven to themselves: it is the worm that dies not.

3. In this confidence, they beg of God that he would still appear for his anointed, {v. 13.) that he would act for him in his own strength, by the immediate operations of his power as Lord of hosts, and Father of spirits, making little use of means and instruments. And, (1.) Hereby he could exalt himself, and glorify his own name. " We have but little strength, and are not so active for thee as we should be, which is our shame; Lord, take the work into thine own hands, do it without us, and it will be thy glory." (2.) Hereupon they would exalt him; "So will we sing, and praise thy power, the more triumphantly." The less God has of our service when a deliverance is in the working, the more he must have of our praises when it is wrought without us.

PSALM XXII.

The Spirit of Christ, which was in the prophets, testifies in this psalm, as clearly and fully as any where else in all the Old Testament, the sufferlns^s of Christ, and the glory that should follow; (1 Pet. i. 11.) of him, no doubt, David here speaks, and not of himself, or any other man. Much of it is expressly applied to Christ in the New Testament, all of it may be applied to him, and some of it must be understood of him only. The providences of God concerning David were so very extraordinary, that we may suppose there were some wise and good men, who then could not but look upon him as a figure of him that was to come. But the composition of his psalms especially, in which he found himself wonderfully carried out by the spirit of prophecy, far beyond his own thought and intention, was (we may suppose) an abundant satisfaction to himself, that he was not only a father of the Messiah, but a figure of him. In this psalm, he speaks, I. Of the humiliation of Christ; (v. I. .21.) where David, as a type of Christ, complains of the very calamitous condition he was in, upon many accounts. 1. He complains, and mixes comforts with his complaints; complains, v. 1,2. but comforts himself, v. 3. .5. complains again, v. 6. .8. but comforts himself again, v. 9,10. 2. He complains, and mixes prayers with his complaints; complains of the power and rage of his enemies; (v. 12, 13, 16, 18.) of his own bodily weakness and decay, v. 14, 15, 17. But prays that God Would not be far from him, v. 11, 19. That he would save and deliver him, V. 19..21. H. Of the exaltation of Christ, that his undertaking should be for the glory of God, (v. 22.. 25.) for the salvation and joy of his people, (V. 26. . 29.) and for the perpetuating of his own kingdom, V. 30, 31. In singing this psalm, we must keep our thoughts fixed upon Christ, and be so affected with his sufferings, as to experience the fellowship of them, and so affected with his grace, as to experience the power and influence of it.

To the chief musician ufion Aijeleth Shahar. A fisalm of David.

1. 1\/rY God, my God, why hast thou for-JLt X. saken me ? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring ? 2. O my God, I cry in the day-time, out thou hearest not; and in the night-season, and am not silent. 3. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

4. Our fathers trusted in thee : they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. 5.1'iiey ciietl unto thee, and were delivered ; they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. 6. But 1 am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. 7. All they that see me laugh me to scorn : they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8. He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. 9. But thou aii he that took me out of the womb; thou didst make me hope ivhen I was upon my mother's breasts. 10. I was cast upon thee from the womb; thou art my God from my mother's belly.

Some think they find Christ in the title of the psilm upon Jijeh'th Shahar — The hind of the morning; Christ is as the swift hind upon the mountains of spices, (Cant. viii. 14.) as the loving hind and the pleasant roe, to all believers; (Prov. v. 19.) he giveth goodly words likeNaphtali, who is compared to a hi7id lei loose, Gen. xlix. 21. He is the Hind of the morning, marked out by the counsels of God from eternity, to be run down by those dogs that compassed him, v. 16. But others think it denotes only the tune to which the Psalm was set.

In these verses, we have,

L A sad complaint of God's withdrawings, v. 1, 2. This may be iipplied to David, or any other child of God, in the want of the tokens of his favour, pressed with the burthen of his displeasure, roaring under it, as one overwhelmed with grief and terror, crying earnestly for relief, and, in this case, apprehending himself forsaken of God, unhelped, unheard, yet calling him, again and again, " My God," and continuing to cry day and night to him, and earnestly desiring his gracious returns. Note, 1. Spiritual desertions are the saints' sorest afilic-tions; when their evidences are clouded, divine consolations suspended, their communion with God interrupted, and the terrors of God_ set in array against them, how sad are their spirits, and how-sapless all their comforts! 2. Even their complaint of these burthens is a good sign of spiritual life, and spiritual senses exercised. To cry out, " My God, why am I sick.'' why am I poor?" would give cause to suspect discontent and worldliness. But, IVhy hast thou forsaken me? is the language of a heart binding up its happiness in God's favour. 3. When we are lamenting God's withdrawings, yet still we must call him our God, and continue to call upon him as ours. When we want the faith of assur-ance, we must live by a faith of adherence; "However it be, yet God is good, and he is mine; though he slay me, yet will I trust in him; though he do not answer me immediately, I will continue praying and waiting; though he be silent, I will not be silent."

But it must be applied to Christ; for, in the first words of this complaint, he poured out his soul before God when he was upon the cross; (Matth. xxvii. 46.) probably he proceeded to the following words, and, some think, repeated the whole psalm, if not aloud, (because they cavilled at the first words,) yet to himself. Note, (1.) Christ, in his sufferings, cried earnestly to his Fathei-, for his favour and presence with him; he cried in the day-time upon the cross, and in the night-season when he was in his agony in the garden; he offered up strong crying and tears to him that was able to save him, and with some fear too, Heb. v. 7. (2.) Yet God forsook him, was far from helping him, and did not hear him, and this was it which he complains of

PSALMS, XXII.

more than all his sufferings. God delivered him into the hands of his enemies; it was by his determinate counsel that he was ciucified and slain, and he did not give insensible comforts; but Christ having made liimself sin for us, in conformity thereunto, the Father laid him under the piesent impressions of his wrath and displeasure against sin. ll pleased the Lord to bruise him, and fiut him to grief, Isa. liii. 10. But e\'en then he kept fast hold of his relation to his Father as his God, by whom he was now employed, whom he was now serving, and with • whom he should shortly be glorified.

II. Encouragement taken, in reference hereunto,!'. 3--5. Though God did not hear him, did not help him, yet, 1. He will think well of God; ''But thou art holy, not unjust, untrue, or unkind, in any of thy dispensations; though thou dost not immediately come in to the relief of thine afflicted people, yet thou lovest thenn, art true to thy covenant with them, and dost not countenance the iniquity of their persecutors, Hab.i. 13. And asthouartinfinitely pure and upright thyself, so thou delightest in the services of thine upright people; Thou inhabitest the praises of Israel, thou art pleased to manifest thy glory, and grace,and special presence with thy people, in the sanctuary where they attend thee with their praises; there thou art always ready to receive their homage, and of the t.ibernacle of meeting hast said. This is ?ny rest for ever." This bespeaks God's wonderful condescension to his faithful worshippers—that, though he is attended with the praises of angels, yet he is pleased to inhabit the praises of Israel. And it may comfort us in all our complaints—that, though God seem, for a while, to turn a deaf ear to them, yet he is so pleased with his people's praises, that he will, in due time, give them cause to change their note; Hofie in God, for I shall yet praise him. Our Lord Jesus, in his sufferings, had an eye to the holiness of God, to preserve and advance the honour of that, and of his grace in inhabiting the praises of Israel, notwithstanding the iniquities of their holy Jhings. 2. He will take- comfort from the experiences which the saints in former ages had of the benefit of faith and prayer; (^v. 4, 5.) " Our fathers trusted in thee, cried unto thee, and thou didst deliver them; therefore thou wilt, in due time, deliver me, for never any that hopied in thee were made ashamed of their hope; never any that sought thee, sought thee in vain. And thou art still the same in thyself, and the same to thy people, that ever thou wast. They were our fathers, and thy people are beloved for the fathers' sake," Rom. xi. 28. The entail of the covenant is designed for the support of the seed of the faithful. He that was our fathers' God must be ours, and therefore will be ours. Our Lord Jesus, in his sufferings, supported himself with this—that all the fathers who were tvpes of him in his sufferings, Noah, Joseph, David, Jonah, and others, were, in due time, delivered, and were types of his exaltation too; therefore he knew he also should not be confounded, Isa. 1. 7.

III. The complaint renewed of another grievance, and that is, the contempt and reproach of men. This complaint is by no means so bitter as that before of God's withdrawings; but as that touches a gracious soul, so this a generous soul, in a very tender part, V. 6. .8. Our fathers were honoured, the ])atriarchs in their day, first or last, appeared great m the eye of the world, Abraham, Moses, David; but Christ is a worm, and no m;in. It was great condescension that he became man, a step downward, that is, and will be, the wonder of angels; yet, as if it were too much, too great, to be a man, he iiecomes a worm, and no man. He was^r/am— a mean ma?i, and F.rioih — a man of sorrows, but lo, Tsh — not a considerable man; for he took upon him the form of-a servant, and his visage was marred

more than any man's, Isa. lii. 14. Man, at the best, is a worm; but he became a worm, and no man. If he had riot made himself a worm, he could not have been trampled upon as he was. The word signifies such a worm as was used in dying scarlet or purple; whence some make it as an allusion to his bloody sufferings. See what abuses were put upon him; 1. He was reproached as a bad man, as a blasphemer, a sabbath-breaker, a wine-bibber, a false prophet, an enemy to Csesar, a confederate with the prince of the devils. 2. He was despised of the people, as a mean contemptible man, not worth taking notice of; his country in no repute, his relations poor mechanics, his followers none of the rulers, or the Pharisees, but the mob. 3. He was ridiculed as a foolish man, and one that not only deceived others, but himself too. They that saw him hanging on the cross laughed him to scorn. So far were they from pitying him, or concerning themselves for him, that they added to his afflictions, with all the gestures and expressions of insolence, upbraiding him with his fall; they make mouths at him, make merry over him, and make a jest of his sufferings; they shoot out the lip, they shake their head, saying. This was he that said he trusted God would deliver him; now let him deliver him. David was sometimes taunted for his confidence in God; but in the sufferings of Christ this was literally and exactly fulfilled; those \'ery gestures were used by those that reviled him; (Matth. xxvii. 39.) they wagged their heads, nay, and so far did their malice make them forget themselves, that they used the very words, {v. 43.) He trusted in God, let him deliver him. Our Lord Jesus, having undertaken to satisfy for the dishonour we had done to God by our sins, did it by submitting to the lowest possible instance of ignominy and disgrace.

IV. Encouragement taken as to this also; {y. 9, 10.) Men despise me; but thou art he that took me out of the womb. David and other good men have often, for direction to us, encouraged themselves with this, that God was not only the God of their fathers, as before, {v. 4.) but the God of their infancy, who began by times to take care of them, as soon as they had a being, and therefore they hope, will never cast them off. He that did so well for us in that helpless, useless, state, will not leave us, when he has reared us and nursed us up into some capacity of ser\ ing him. See the early instances of God's providential care for us, 1. In the birth; He took us also out of the womb, else we had died there, or been stifled in the birth. Every man's particular time begins with this pregnant proof of God's providence, as time, in general, began with the creation, that pregnant proof of his being. 2. At the breast; •* The7i didst thou make me hope;" that is, "thou didst that for me, in providing sustenance for me, and protecting me from the dangers to which I was exposed, which encourages me to hope in thee all my days." The blessings of the breasts, as they crown the blessings of the womb, so they are earnests of the blessings of our whole lives; surely he that fed us then, will never starve us. Job iii. 12. 3. In our early dedication to him; I was cast upon thee from the womb. Which perhaps refers to his circumcision on the eighth day; he was then by his parents committed and given up to God as his God in covenant; for circumcision was a seal of the covenant; and this encouraged him to trust in God. Those have reason to think themselves safe, who were so soon, so so-Icinnly, gathered under the wings of the divine majesty. 4. In the experience we have had of God's goodness to us all along ever since, drawn out m a cdnstant, (uiintcrrupted, series of proscrxations and sup])lies; 77/0?/ art my God; providing for me, and watching over me for good, from my mother's belhj

PSALMS, XXII.

256

from my coming into the world, unto this day. And it, as soon as we became capable of exercising i"ea-son, we put our confidence in God, and committed ourselves and our way to him, we need nut doubt but he will always remember the kindness of our youth, and the love of our esfiousals, Jer. ii. 2. This is applicable to our Lord Jesus, over whose incarnation and birth the Divine Providence watched with a peculiar care, when he was born in a stable, laid in a manger, and immediately exposed to the malice of Herod, and forced to flee into Egypt; when he was a child, God loved him, and called him thence, (Hos. xi. 1.) and the remembrance of this comforted him in his sufferings; men reproached him, and discouraged his confidence in God; but God had honoured him, and encouraged his confidence in him.

11. Be not far from me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help, 12. Many bulls have compassed me : strong bi/lls of Ba-shan have beset me round. 13. They gaped upon me icith their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. 14.1 am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. 15. My strength is dried up like a potsherd ; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. 16. For dogs have compassed me; the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me : they pierced my hands and my feet. 17. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. 18. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. 19. But be not thou far from me, O Lord; O my strength, haste thee to help me. 20. Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. 21. Save me from the lion''s mouth : for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

In these verses, we have Christ suffering, and Christ praying: by which we are directed to look for crosses, and to look up to God under them.

I. Here is Christ suffering: David indeed was often in trouble, and beset with enemies; but many of the particulars here specified are such as were never true of David, and therefore must be appropriated to Christ in the depths of his humiliation.

1. He is here deserted by his friends; trouble and distress are near, and there is none to help, none to uphold, V. 11. He trod the wine-press alone; for all his disciples forsook him, and fled. It is God's honour to help, when all other helps and succours fail.

2. He is here insulted and surrounded by his enemies, such as were of a higher rank, who, for their strength and furv, are compared to bulls, strong hulls of Bashan,' (v. 12.) fat and fed to the full, haughty and sour; such were the chief priests and elders that persecuted Christ; and others of a lower rank, who are compared to dogs, (71. 16.) filthy and greedy, and unwearied in runnine: him down. There is an assemblv of the wicked p'lrtting against him; (i'. 16.) for the chief priests s it in council, to consult of ways and means to take Christ. These enemies were numerous and unanimous; "Many, and those of difT-^^rent and clashing interests among themselves, as Herod and Pilate, have agreed to compass me. They have carried their plot far, and seem to have gained their point, for they have

beset me round, v. 12. They have enclosfCi^ me, v. 16. They are formidable, and threatening: {v. 13.) 7'hci/ ga/ied upon me loit'i iheir mouths, to show me that they would swallow me up; and this, with as much strength and fierceness as a roaring ravening lion leaps upon his prey."

3. He is here crucified; the very manner of his death is described, though never in use among the Jews; They pierced fiiy hands and my feet, {v. 16.) which were nailed to the accursed tree, and the whole body left so to hang, the effect of which must needs be the most exquisite pain and torture. There is no one passage, in all the Old Testament, svhich the Jews ha\ e so industriously corrupted as this, because it is such an eminent prediction of the death of Christ, and was so exactly fulfilled.

4. He is here dying, (i». 14, 15.) dying in pain and anguish, because he was to satisfy for sin, which brought in pain, and for which we must otherwise ha\ e lain in everlasting anguish. Here is, (1.) The dissolution of the whole frame of his body; lam floured out like water, weak as water, and yielding to the power of death, emptying himself of all the supports of his human nature. (2.) The dislocation of his bones; care was taken that not one of them should be broken, (John xix. 36.) but they were all out of joint by the violent stretching of his body upon the cross as upon a rack. Or it may denote the fear that seized him in his agony in the garden, when he began to be sore amazed; the effect of wliich perhaps was, (as sometimes it has been of gieat fear, Dan. v. 6.) that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. His bones were put out of joint, that he might put the wliole creation into joint again, which sin had put out of jnint, and might make our broken bones to rejoice. (3.) The coUiquation of his spirits; My heart is like wasc, melted to receive the impressions of God's wrath against the sins he undertook to satisfy for; melting away like the vitals of a dying man; as this satisfied for the hardness of our hearts, so the consideration of it should help to soften them. When Job speaks of his inward trouble, he says. The Almighty makes my heart soft; (Jobxxiii. 16.) and see Ps. Ixviii. 2. (4.) The failing of his natural force; My strength is dried vp; so that he became parched and brittle like a potsherd, the radical moisture being wasted Ijy the fire of divine wrath preying upm his spirits. Who then can stand before God's anger? or who knows the power of it? If this were done in the green tree, what shall be do7ie in the dry? (5.) The clamminess of his mouth, a usual symptom of approaching death; iVfz/ tongue cleaveth to viy jaws; this was fulfilled both in his thirst upon the cross, (John xix. 28.) and in his silence under his sufferings; for, as a sheep before the shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth, nor objected against any thing done to him. (6.) His giving up the ghost; " Thou hast brought me to the dust of death; I am just ready to drop into the grave;" for nothing less would satisfy divine justice. The life of the sinner was forfeited, and therefore the life of the S icrifice must be the ransom for it. The sentence of death passed upon Adam was thus expressed: Unto dimt thou shall return. And therefore Christ, having an eye to that sentence in his ciiedience to death, here uses a like expression; Thou hast brought me to the dust of death.

He was stripy:cd; the shame of nakedness was the 1 inimediate consequence of sin; and tlierefore our Lord Jesus was stripped of his clothes when he was crucified, that he might clothe us with the robe of his righteousness, and that the shame of our nakedness might not appear. Now here we are told, (1.) How his body looked when it was thus stripped; I may tell all my bones, v. 17. His blessed body was lean and emaciated with labour, grief, and

PSALMS, XXII.

fasting, during the whole course of his ministry, which made him look as if lie was near 50 years old, when he was yet but 33; as we find, John viii. 57. His wrinkles now witnessed for him that he was far from being wh;it he was called, a gluttonous man and a ivine-bibber. Or, his bones might be numbered, because his body was distended upon the cross, which made it easy to count his ribs. They lookandstare ufton me; i.'e. my bones do, being distorted, and having no flesh to cover tliem, as Job savs; \ch. xvi. 8.) My leanness, rmng^ ufi in ?7ie, be'areth witness to my face. Or, "The stunders by, the passers bv, are amazed to see niy bones start out thus; lind, instead of pitying nie, are pleased even with such a rueful spectacle." (2.) What they did with his clothes, which they took from him; {y. 18.) T/iey fiart my garments among them, to every soldier a part, and ufion my vesture, the seamless coat, do they cast lots. This very circumstance was exactly fulfilled, John xix. 23, 24. And though it was no great instance of Christ's suffering, yet it is a great instance of the fulfilling of the scripture in him. Thus it was written, and therefore thus it behoved Christ to suffer. Let this, therefore, confirm our faith in him as the true Messiah, and inflame our love to him as the best of friends, who loved us, and suffered all this for us.

II. Here is Christ praying, and with that supporting himself under the burthen of his suffermgs; Christ, in his agony, prayed, prayed earnestly, prayed that the cup might pass from him; when the prince of this world witli his terrors set upon him, gajied ufion him as a roaring lion, he fell upon the ground, and prayed. And of that David's praying here was a type. He calls God his Strength, V. 19. When we cannot rejoice in God as our Song, yet let us stay ourselves upon him as our Strength; and take the comfort of spiritual supports, when we cannot come at spiritual delights. He prays, 1. That God would be with him, and not set himself at a distance from him; Be not thou Jar from me, {v. 11.) and again, v. 19. "Whoever stands aloof from my sore. Lord, do not thou." The nearness of trouble should quicken us to draw near to God, and then we may hope that he will draw near to us. 2. That he would help him, and make haste to help him; help him to bear up under his troubles, that he might not fail nor be discouraged, that he might neither shrink from his undertaking, nor sink under it. And the Father heard him in that he feared, (Heb. v. 7.) and enabled him to go through with his work. 3. That he would deliver him, and save him, v. 20, 21. (1.) Observe what the jewel is which he is in care for, "The safety of my soul, mv darling, let that be redeemed from the power of the grave, (xlix. 15.) Father, into thy hands I commit that, to be conveyed sate to paradise." The psalmist here calls his soul his darling, his only one, so the word is; ''My soul is my only one. I ha\ e but one soul to take care of, and therefore the greater is my shame if I neglect it; and the greater will the loss be if I let it perish. Being my only one, it ought to be my darling, for the eternal welfare of which I ought to be deeply concerned. I do not use my soul as my darling, unless I take care to preserve it from every thing that would hurt it, and to provide all necessaries for it, and be entirely tender of its welfare." (2.) Observe what the danger is from which he prays to be delivered, from the sword, the flaming sword of divine wrath, which turns every way. This he dreaded more than any thing. Gen. iii. 24. God's anger was the wormwood and the gall in the bitter cup that was put into his hands; "O deliver my soul from that. Lord, though I lose my life, let me not lose thy love. Save me from the power of the dog, and fi*om the lion's mouth." This seems to

be meant of Satan, that old enemy who bruised the heel of the seed of the woman, the prince of this world, with whom he was to engage in close com- ' bat, and whom he saw coming, John xiv. 30. "Lord, save me from being overpowered by his terrors." He pleads, "Thou hast formerly Accra me from the horns of the unicorn," that is, "saved me from him, in answer to my prayer." Tliis may refer to the victory Christ had obtained ovtr S;:tan and his temptations, (Matth. i\.) when the Devil left him fur a season, (Luke iv. 13.) but now le-turned in another manner to attack him with his terrors. "Lord, thou gavest me the victcry then, give it me now, that I may spoil principalities and powers, and cast out the firince of this ivorld." Has God delivered ua fro7n the horns of the unicoi~n, that we be not tossed? Let that encourage us to hope that we shall be delivered from the lion's mouth, that we be not ti)rn. He that has deliveied, doth, and will. This prayer of Christ, no doubt, was answered, for the Father heai-d him always. And though he did not deliver him from-death, yet he suffered him not to see corruption, but, the third day, raised him out of the dust o{ death, which was a greater instance of God's favour to him than if he had helped him down from the cross; for that would have hindered his undertaking, whereas his resurrection ciowned it.

In singing this, we should meditate on the sufferings and resurrection of Christ, till we experience in our own souls the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering.

22. I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. 23. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him: all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. 24. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. 25. My praise shall be. of thee in the great congregation : I will pay my vows before them that fear him. 26. The meek shall eat and be satisfied; they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. 27. All the ends of the world shall remember, and turn unto the Loim ; and all the kindred of the nations shall worship before thee. 28. For the kingdom m the Lord's ; and he is the governor among the nations. 29. All they that be fat upor, earth shall eat and worship : all tliey that go down to the dust shall bow b(>fore liim and none can keep alive his own soul. 3( A seed shall serve him; it shall be account ed to the Lord for a generation. 3L They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

The same that began the psalm complaining, who was no other than Christ in his humiliation, ends it here triumphing, and it can be no other than Christ in his exaltation. And as the first words of the complaint were used by Christ himself upon the cross, so the first words of the triumph are expressly applied to him, (Heb. ii. 12.) and are made his I own words; / ivill declare thy name unto my brf-

FSALJVJS, XXII.

thrcn, in the midst of the church will I sing firaise -unto thee. The certain prospect which Christ iuid of the joy set before him, not only gave him a satisfactory answer to his prayers, but turned his complaints, into praises; he saw of the travail of his soul, and was well satisfied: witness that triumphant •word wherewith he breathed his last; It isjinifihed.

Five things are here spoken of, the view of which were the satisfaction and triumph ot Christ in his sufferings.

I. That lie should have a church in the world, and that those that were given him from eternity should, in the fulness of time, be gathered in to him. This is implied here; that he should see his seed, Is.1. liii. 10. It pleased him to think, li. That by the declaring of God's name, by the preaching of the everlasting gospel in its plainness and purity, many should be effectucdly called to him, and to God by him. And, for this end, ministers should be employed to publish this doctrine to the world, who should be so much his messengers and his voice, that their doing it should be accounted his doing it; their word is his, and by them he declares God's name. 2. That those who are thus called in. should be brought into a very near and dear relation to him as his brethren; for he is not only not ashamed, but greatly well pleased, to call them so; not the believing Jews only, his countrymen, but those of the Gentiles also, who became fellow-heirs, and of the same body, Heb. ii. 11. Christ is our elder Brother, who takes care of us, and makes provision for us, and expects that our desire should be toward him, and that we should be willing that he should rule over us. 3. That these his brethren should be incorporated into a congregation, a great congregation; such is the universal church,the whole family that is named from him, into which all the children of God that were scattered abroad, are collected, andin which they fire united; (John xi.52. Eph. i. 10.) and that they should also be incorporated into lesser societies, members of that great body, many religious assemblies for di\ ine worship, on which the face of Christianity should appear, and in which the interests of it should be supported and advanced. 4. That these should be accounted the seed of Jacob and Israel, v. 23. That on them, though Gentiles, the blessing of Abraham might come, (Gal. iii. 14.) and to them might pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenant, and the service of God, as much as ever it did to Israel according to thejlesh, Rom. ix. 4. Heb. viii. 10. The gospel-church is called the Israel of God, Gal. vi. 16.

II. That God should be greatly honoured and glorified in him by that church. His Father's glory was that which he had in his eye throughout his whole undertaking, (John xvii. 4.) particularly in his sufferings, which he entered upon with this solemn request. Father, glorify thy name, John xii. 27, 28. He foresees with pleasure,

1. That God would be glorified by the church that should be gathered to him; and that for this end they should be called and gathered in, that they might be unto God/or a name and a praise. Christ by his ministers will declare God's name to his brethren, as God's mouth to them, and then by them, as the mouth of the congregation to God, will God's name be praised. All that fear the Lord, will praise him, {y. 23.) even every Israelite indeed, see cxviii. 2-'4.—cxxxv. 19, 20. The business of Christians, particularly in their solemn religious assembhes, is, to praise and glorify God, with a holy awe and reverence of his majesty; and therefore they that are here called upon to pi'aise God, are called upon to fear him.

2. That God would be glorified in the Redeemer and in his undertaking. Therefore Christ is said to firaise God in the church, not only because he is

Vol. hi— 2 K

257

the Master of the assemblies in which God is praised, and the Mediator of all the praises that are oifered up to God, but because he is the Matter of the churcli's praise. See Eph. iii. 21. All our praises must centi-e in the work of redemption, and a great deal of reason we liave to be thankful, (1.) Tiiat Jesus Christ was owned by his Father in his undertaking, notwithstanding the apprehension he was sometimes under that his Father had forsaken him; {y. 24.) For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted One, that is, of the suffering Redeemer; but has graciously accepted it as a full satisfaction for sin, and a \aluable consideration on which to ground the grant of eternal life to all believers. Though it was offered for us poor sinners, he did not despise or abhor it for our sakes, nor did he turn his face from him that offered it, as Saul was angry with his own son, because he interceded for David, whom he looked upon as his enemy. But when he cried unto him, when his l)lood cried for peace and pardon for us, he heard I him. This, as it is the matter of our rejoicing, [ ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving. Those who have thought their prayers slighted and unheard, if they continue to pray and wait, will find they have not sought in vain. (2.) That he himself will go on with his undertaking, and complete it. Christ says, I will pay my vows, v. 25. Having engaged to bring many sons to glory, he will perform his engagement to the utmost, and will lose none.

III. That all humble gracious souls should have a full satisfaction and happiness in him, v. 26. It comforted the Lord Jesus in his sufferings, that in and through him all true believers should have everlasting consolation. 1. The poor in spirit shall be rich in blessings, spiritual blessings; the hungry shall be filled with good things. Christ's sacrificebeing accepted, the saints shall feast upon the sacrifice, as, under the law, upon the peace-offerings, and so partake of the altar; The tneek shall eat and be satisfied; eat of the bread of life, feed with an appetite upon the doctrine of Clirist's mediation, which is meat and drink to the soul that knows its own nature and case. They that hunger and thirst after righteousness in Christ, shall have all they can desire to satisfy them and make them easy, and shall not labour, as they have done, for that which satisfies not. 2. They that are much in praying, shall be much in thanksgi\ing; They shall firaise the Lord, that seek him, because through Christ they are sure of finding him; in the hopes of which they ha\e reason to praise him, even while they are seeking him; and the more earnest they are in seeking him, the more will their hearts be enlarged in his praises when they have found him. 3. The souls that are devoted to him shall be for ever happy with him; " Your heart shall live for ever. Yours that are meek, that are satisfied in Christ, that continue to seek God; whatever becomes of your bodies, your hearts shall live for ever; the graces and comforts you have shall be perfected in everlasting life. Christ has said. Because I live, ye shall live also; (John xiv. 19.) and, therefore, that life shall be as sure, and as long, as his."

IV. That the church of Christ, and with it the kingdom of God among men, should extend itself to all corners of the earth, and should take in all sorts of people.

1. That it should reach far, v. 27, 28. That, whereas the Jews had long been the only professing people of God, now, all the ends of the world should come into the church, and, the partition-wall being taking down, the Gentiles should be taken in. It is here prophesied, (1.) That they should be converted, they shall remember, and turn

PSALMS, XXIII.

to the Lord. Note, Serious reflection is the first step, and a good step it is, toward true conversion. We must consider, and turn. The prodigal came first to himself, and then to his fathe)-. (2.) That then they should be admitted into communion with God, and with the assemblies that serve him; They shall ivorshi/i brfore thee, for in evei-y filace incense shall be offered to God, Mai. i. 11. Isa. Ixvi. 23. Those that turn to God will make conscience of worshipping before him. And good reason there is why all the kindreds of the nations should do homage to (iod, for, (x'. 28.) The kingdom is the Lord's; his, and his only, is the universal monarchy. [1.] The kingdom of nature is the Lord Jehovah's, and his providence rules among the nations, and upon that account we are bound to worship him. So that the design of the Christian religion is to revive natural religion, and its principles and laws. Christ died to bring us to God, the God that made us, from whom we had revolted, and to reduce us to our native allegiance. [2.] The kingdom of grace is the Lord Christ's, and he, as Mediator, is appointed Governor among the nations; Head over all things to his church. Let every tongue thei'e-fore confess that he is Lord.

2. That it should include many of different ranks, V. 29. High and low, rich and poor, bond and free, meet in Christ. (1.) Christ shall have the homage of many of the great ones, they that be fat upon the earth, that live in pomp and power, they shall eat and worship; even they that fare deliciously, when they have eaten and are full, shall bless the Lord their God for their plenty and prosperity. (2.) The poor also shall receive his gospel. Those that go down to the dust, that sit in the dust, (cxiii. 7.) that can scarcely keep life and soul together, they shall bow before the Lord Jesus, who reckons it his honour to be the poor man's King, (Ixxii. 12.) and whose pi-otection does, in a special manner, draw their allegiance. Or this may be understood, in general, of dying men, whether poor or rich. See then what is our condition—we are going down to the dust to which we are sentenced, and where shortly we must make our bed. Nor can we keep alive our own souls; we cannot secure our own natural life long, nor can we be the authors of our own spiritual and eternal life. It is therefore our great interest, as well as duty, to bow before the Lord Jesus, to give up ourselves to him to be his subjects and worshippers; for this is the only way, and it is a sure way, to secure our happiness when we go down to the dust. Seeing we cannot keep alive our own souls, it is our wisdom, by an obedient Tiith, to commit our souls to Jesus Christ, who is able to save them, and keep them alive, for ever.

V. That the church of Christ, and with it the kingdom of God among men, shall continue to the end, through all the ages of time. Mankind is kejjt up in a succession of generations; so that there is always a generation passing away, and a generation coming up. Now, as Christ shall have honour from that which is passing away and leaving the world, {v. 29. they that go down to the dust shall bow before him, and it is good to die bowing before Christ; blessed are the dead who thus die in the Lord,) so he shall have honour from that which is rising up, and setting out, in the world, v. 30. Observe,

1. Their application to Christ; A seed shall serve him, shall keep up the solemn worship of him, and profess and practise obedience to him as their Master ^nd Lord. Note, God will have a church in the world, to the end of time; and, in order to that, there shall be a succession of professing Cliristians and gospel ministers, from generation to generation. J seed shall serve him; there shall be a remnant, more or less, to whom shall pertain the service of God, and to whom God will give gfacc to serve

him: perhaps not the seed of the same persons, for gr.ice does not run in a blood; he does not say their sttd, but a seed; perhaps but few, yet enough to pieserve the entail.

2. Chi ist's acknowledgment of them; Th'ey shah be acconntid to him for u generation; he will be the same to them that he was to those who went before thcn»; his kindness to his friends shall not die wita them, but shall be drawn out to their heirs and successors, and instead of the fathers shall be the children, whom all shall acknowledge to be a seed that the Lord hath blessed, Isa. Ixi. 9.—Ixv. 23. The generation of the righteous, God will graciously own as his treasure, his children.

3. Their agency for him; {v. 31.) They shall come, sluiU rise up in their day, not only to keep up the \ irtue of the generation that is past, and to do the work of their own generation, but to serve the honour of Christ, and the welfare of souls, in the generations to come; they shall transmit to them the gospel of Christ (that sacred deposit) pure and entire, e\ en to a people that shall be born hereafter; to them they shall declare two things, (1.) That there is an everlasting righteousness, which Jesus Christ has brought in. This righteousness of his, and not any of our own, they shall declare to be the foundation of all our hopes, and the fountain of all our joys. See Rom. i. 16, 17. (2.) That the work of our redemption, by Christ, is the Lord's own doing, (cxviii. 23.) and no contrivance of our's. We must declare to our children, that God has done this; it is his wisdom in a mystery, it is his arm revealed.

In singing this, we must triumph in the name of Christ, as above every name; must give him honour ourselves; rejoice in the honours others do him, and in the assurance we have that there shall be a people praising him on earth, when we are praising him in heaven.

PSALM XXIIL

Many of David's psalms are full of complaints, but this is full of comforts, and the expressions of delight in God's great goodness, and dependence upon him. It is a psalm which has been sung by good Christians, and will be while the world stands, with a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction. I. The psalmist here claims relation to God as his Shepherd, v, 1. II. He recounts his experience of the kind things God had done for him as his Shepherd, v. 2, 3, 5. III. Hence he infers, That he should want no good; (v. 1.) That he needed to fear no evil; (v. 4) That God would never leave or forsake him in a way of mercy; and therefore he resolves never to leave or forsake God in away of duty, v. 6. In this, he has certainly an eye, not only to the blessings of God's providence, which made his outward condition prosperous, but to the communications of God's grace, received by a lively faith, and returned in a warm devotion, which filled his soul with joy unspeakable. And as in the foregoing psalm he represented Christ dying for his sheep, so here he represents Christians receiving the benefit of all the care and tenderness of that great and good Shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

l.rr^HE Lord is my shepherd; I shall JL not want. 2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil,

PSALMS, XXIIl.

259

my cup runneth over. 6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and X will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

From three \ ery comfortable premises, David, in this psalm, draws three very comfortable conclusions, and teaches us to do so too. We are sa\ed by hope, and therefore that hope will not make us ashamed, because it is well-grounded. It is the duty of Christians to encourage themselves in the Lord their God; and we are here directed to take that encouragement both from the relation wherein he stands to us, and from the experience we ha\e had of his goodness, according to that relation.

I. From God's being his Shepherd, he infers that he shall not want any thing that is good for him, v.

I. See here,

1. The great care that God takes of belie\ers; he is their Shepherd, and they may call him so. Time was, when David was himself a shepherd; he was taken from following the ewes great with young, (Ixxviii. 70, 71.) and so he knew by experience the cares and tender affections of a good shepherd, toward his flock. He remembered what need they had of a shepherd, and what a kindness it was. to them to have one that was skilful and faithful; he once ventured his life to rescue a lamb. By this therefore he illustrates God's care of his people; and to this our Saviour seems to refer, when he says, I am the Shepherd of the sheep; the good Shepherd, John x.

II. He that is the Shepherd of Israel, of the whole church in general, (Ixxx. 1.) is the Shepherd of every particular believer; the meanest is not below his cognizance, Isa. xl. 11. He takes them into his fold, and then takes care of them, protects them, and provides for them, Avith more care and constancy than a shepherd can, that makes it his business to keep the flock. If God be as a Shepherd to us, we must be as sheep, inofl^ensive, meek, and quiet, silent before the shearers, nay, and before the butcher too, useful and sociable; we must know the Shepherd's voice, and follow him.

2. The great confidence which believers have in God; "If the Lord is my Shepherd, my Feeder, I mav conclude I shall not want any thing that is really necessary and good for me." If David penned this psalm before his coming to the crown, though destined to it, he had as much reason to fear wanting as any man. Once he sent his men a-begging for him to Nabal, and another time went himself a-begging to Ahinielech; and yet, when he considers that God is his Shepherd, he can boldly say, I shall not ivant. Let not those fear starving that are at God's finding, and have him for their Feeder. More is implied than is expressed; not only, I shall not want, but, "I shall be supplied with whatever I need; and if I have not every thing I desire, I may conclude it is either not fit for me, or not good for me, or I shall have it in due time."

II. From his performing the office of a good Shepherd to him, he infers that he needs not fear any evil in the greatest dangers and difficulties he could be in, v. 2- -4. He experiences the benefit of God's presence with him, and care of him now, and therefore expects the benefit of them when he most needs it. See here,

1. The comforts of a living saint: God is his Shepherd, and his God; all-sufficient to all intents and purposes; David found him so, and so have we. See the happiness of the saints, as the sheep of God's pasture.

(1.) They are well-pleased, well-laid; He mak-eth me to lie down in green pastures. We have the supports and comforts of this life from God's good hand^ our dailv bread from him as our Father.

The greatest abundance is but a dry pasture to a wicked man, who relishes that only in it which pleases the senses; but to a godly man, who tastes the goodness of God in all his enjoyments, and by faith relishes that, though he has but little of the world, it is a green pasture, xxxvii. 16. Prov. xv. 16, 17. God's ordinances are the green pastures in which food is provided for all believers; the word of life is the nourishment of the new man. It is milk for babes, pasture for the sheep, never barren, never eaten bare, never parched, but always a green pasture for faith to feed in. God makes hi« saints to lie down; he gives them quiet and contentment in their own minds, whatever their lot is; their souls dwell at ease in him, and that makes every pasture green. Are we blessed with the green pastures of the ordinances? Let us not think it enough to pass through them, but let us lie down in them, abide in them: this is my rest for ever. It is by a constancy of the means of grace that the soul is fed.

(2.) They are well-guided, well-led; the Shepherd of Israel guides Joseph like a flock; and every believer is under the same guidance. He leadeth me beside the still waters. Those that feed on God's goodness must follow his direction; he leads them by his providence, by his word, by his Spirit; disposes their affairs for the best, according to his counsel; disposes their affections and actions according to his command; directs their eye, their way, and their heart, into his love. The still waters, by which he leads them, yield them, not only a pleasant prospect, but many a cooling draught, many a reviving cordial, when they are thit-sty and weary. God provides for his people, not only food and rest, but refreshment also and pleasure. The consolations of God, the joys of the Holy Ghost, are these still waters by which the saints are led; streams which flow from the fountain of living waters, and make glad the city of our God. God leads his peo])le, not to the standing waters which corrupt and gather filth, nor to the troubled sea, nor to the rapid rolling floods, but to the silent purling waters; for the still, but running, waters, agree best with those spirits that flow out toward God, and yet do it silently. The divine guidance they are under is stripped of its metaphor, (v. 3.) He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness, in the way of my dutv; in that he instructs me by his word, and directs me by conscience and providence. These are the paths in which all the saints desire to be led and kept, and never to turn aside out of them. And those only are led by the still waters of comfort that walk in the paths of righteousness. The way of duty is the truly pleasant way. It is the work of righteousness that is peace. In these paths we cannot walk, unless God both lead us into them, and lead us in them.

(3.) They are well-helped when any thing ails them; He restoreth my soul, [1.] "He reduces me when I wander." No creature will lose itself sooner than a sheep, so apt it is to go astray, and then so un;ipt to find the way back. The best saints are sensible of their proneness to go astray like lost sheep; (cxix. 176.) they miss their way, and turn aside into by-piths; but when God shows them their error, gives them repentance, and brings them back to their duty again, he restores the soul; and if he did not do so, they woidd wander endlessly, and be undone. When, after one sin, David's heart smote him, and, after another, Nathan was sent to tell him. Thou art the man, God restored his soul. Though God may suffer his people to fall into sin, he will not suffer them to lie still in it. [2.] "He recovers me when I am sick, and revives me when I am faint, and so restores the soul which was ready to depart." He is the Lord our God that heals us, Exod. XV. 26. Many a time we had fainted, un-

PSALMS, XXIII.

less we had believed; and It was the good Shepherd that kept us from fainting.

2. See here the courage of a dying saint; {v. 4.) " Having liad such experience of God's goiulness to me all my days, in six troubles and in seven, 1 will never distrust him, no, not in the last extremity; the rather, because all he has done f n- me hitherto, was not for any merit or desert of mine, but purely for his name's sake, in pursumce of his word, in performance of his promise, and for the glory of his own attributes, and relations to his people. That name therefore shall still be my strong tower, and shall assure me, that he who has led me, and fed me, all my life long, will not leave me at last."

Here is, (l.)Imminentdangersupposed; "T/ioug/i I walk through the -valley of the ahadoiv of death, though I am m peril of death, though in the niidst of dangers, deep as a valley, dark as a shadow, ;ind dreadful as death itself," or rather, "though I am under the arrests of death, have received the sentence of death within myself, and ha\e all the reason in the world to look upon myself as a dying m;m, yet I am easy." Those that are sick, those tliat are old, have reason to look upon themselves as in the valley of the shadow of death. Here is one word indeed which sounds terrible; it is death, which we must all count upon; there is no discharge in that war. But, even in the supposition nf the distress, there are four words which lessen the terror. It is death indeed that is before us; but, [1.] It is but the shadow of death, there is no substantial e\'il in it; the shadow of a seipent will not sting, nor the shadow of a sword kill. [2.] It is the valley of the shadow, deep indeed, and dark, and dirty; but the valleys are fruitful, and so is death itself fruitful of comforts to God's people. [3.] It is but a ivalk in this valley, a gentle pleasant walk: the wicked are chased out of the world, and their souls are required; but the saints take a walk to another world as cheerfully as they take their leave of this. [4.] It is a walk through it; they shall not be lost in this valley, but get safe to the mountain of spices on the other side of it.

(2.) This danger made light of, and triumphed over, upon good grounds. Death is a king of terrors, but not to the sheep of Christ; they tremble at it no more than 'sheep do that are appointed for the slaughter. "Even in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, none of these things move me." Note, A child of Ciod may meet the messengers of death, and receive its summons with a holy security and serenity of mind. The sucking child may play upon the hole of this asp; and the weaned child, that, through grace, is weaned from this world, mav put his hand upon this cockatrice's den, bidding a holy defiance to death, as Paul, O death, where is thy stingY And there is ground enough for this confidence, [1.] Because there is no evil in it to a child of God; death cannot separate us from the love of God, and therefore it can do us no real harm; it kills the body, but cannot touch the soul. Why should it be dreadful, when there is nothing in it hurtful? [2.] Because the saints have God's gracious pi-esence with them in their dying moments; he is then at their right hand, and therefore why should they be moved? I'he good Shepherd will not only conduct, but convoy, his shee]) through this valley, where they are in dangler of being set upon by the beasts of prey, the evenmg-wolves: he will not only convoy them, but comfort, them then when they need most comfort. His presence shall comfort them; Thou art with me. His Word and Spirit shall comfort them; his rod and staff, alluding to the shepherd's crook, or the rod under which the sheep passed when thev were counted, (Lev. xxvii. 32.) or the staff with which the shepherds drove away the dogs that

would scatter or worry the sheep. It is a comfort to the siiints, wlien tliey come to die, that God t.^kes cogniz loce of them; (he knowS them that are his;) that l:e will rebuke the enemy; that he will guide them with his rod, and sustain them with his staff. The gcsi)el is called the rod of Christ's strength; (ex. 2.) and there is enough in that to comfort the saints when they come to die, and underneath them are tlie everlasting arms.

111. From the g(.cd gifts of God's bounty to him now, he infers the c(instancy and perpetuity of his mercy, v. 5, 6. W'here we may observe,

1. How highly he magnifies God's giaciousvouch-safementsto him; {v. 5.) " IViou /ire/iarest a table biforc me; thou hast provided for me all things pertaining both to life and godliness, all things requisite both fur body and soul, for time and eternity;" such a bountiful Benefactor is God to all his people; and it becomes them abvmdantly to utter his great goodness, as David here, who acknowledges, (1.) That he had food convenient; a table spread, acun filled, meat for his hunger, drink for his thirst. (2.) That he had it carefully and readily pro\ ided for him; his table was not spread with any thing that came next to hand; but prepared, and prepared before him. (3.) That he was not stinted, was not straitened, but had abundance; " iV/t/ cufi runs over; enough for myself, and my friends too." (4.) That he had not only for necessitv, but for ornament and delight; Thou anointest my head with oil. Samuel anointed him king, which was a certain pledge of further favour; but this is rather an instance of the plenty with which God had blessed him, or an allusion to ttie extraordinary entertainment of special fnends, whose heads they anointed with oil, Luke vii. 46. Nay, some think, he still looks upon himself as a sheep, but such a one as the poor man's ewe-lamb, (2 Sam. xii. 3.) that did eat cf his own meat, and drink of his own cup, and lay in his bosom; not only thus nobly, but thus tenderly, are the children of God looked after. Plentiful provision is made for their bodies, for their souls; for the life that now is, and for that which is to come. If Providence do not bestow upon us thus plentifully for our natural life, it is our own fault if it he not made up to us in spiritual blessings.

2. How confidently he counts upon the continuance of God's favours; {y. 6.) he had said, (7'. 1.) / shall not want; but now he speaks more positively, more comjirehensively; Surely c;oodne.'is and mercy shall follow me all the days of my Ufe. His hope rises, and his faith is strengthened, bv being exercised. Observe, (1.) What he promises himself—goodness and mercy, all the streams of it, flowing from the fountain; pardoning mercy, protec*^-ing mercy, sustaining, supplying, mcrcv. (2.) The manner of thecon\ eyance of it; It shall/b//ow me, as the water out of the rock followed the camp of Israel through the wilderness; it shall follow into all places and all conditions, shall be always ready. (3.) The continuance of it; It shall follow me all my life long, even to the last; for whom God loves, he loves to the end. (4.) The constancy of it; ..dll the days of my ife, as duly as the day comes; it shall be new every morning, (Lam. iii. 22, 23.) like the manna that was given to the Israehtes daily. (5.) The certainty of it; ."?z/rf/i/it shall. It is as sure as the promise of the God of truth cnn make it; and we know whom we have believed. (6.) Here is a prospect of the perfection of bliss in the future state. 00 some take the latter clause; " Goodness and mercy having followed me all the days of my life on this earth, when that is ended, I shall remove to a better world, to dwell in the house of the Lord for ever, in our Father's house above, where there are many mansions. JVith what I have, I am fileased much; with what J hofie for.

PSALMS, XXIV.

261

more." All this, and heaven too! Then we serve a good Master.

3. How resolutely he determines to cleave to God and to his duty. We read the last clause as Da\ id's covenant with God; " / ivill diveII in the house of the Lord for ever, (as long as I live,) and I will praise him while I liave any being." We must dwell in his house as servants, that desired to ha\e their ears bored to his door-post, to seive him for ever. If God's goodness to us be like the morning-light, which shines more and more to the perfect day; let not ours to him be like the morning-cloud, and the early dew that passeth away. Those that would be satisfied with the fatness of God's house, nmst keep close to the duties of it.

PSALM XXIV.

This psalm is concerning the kingdom of Jesus Christ; I. His providential kingdom, hy which he rules the world, v. I, 2. II. The kingdom of his grace, by which he rules in his church. 1. Concerning the subjects of that kingdom; their character, (v. 4, G.) their charter, v. 5. 2. Concerning the King of that kingdom; and a summons to all to give him admission, v. 7. . 10. It is supposed that the psalm was penned upon occasion of David's bringing up the ark to the place prepared for it; and that the intention of it, was, to lead the people above the pomp of external ceremonies to a holy life and faith in Christ, of whom the ark was a type.

A fisalm of David.

1. np<HE earth is the Lord's, and the ful-JL ness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein; 2. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

Here is, I. God's absolute propriety in this part of the creation, where our lot is cast, -v. 1. We are not to think that the heavens, even the heavens only, are the Lord's, and the numerous and bright inhabitants of the upper world, and that this earth, being so small and inconsiderable a part of the creation, and at such a distance from the royal palace above, is neglected, and that he claims no interest in it. No, even the earth is his, and this lower world; and though he has prepared the throne of his glory in the heavens, yet his kingdom rules over all, and even the worms of this earth are not below his cognizance, nor from under his dominion.

(1.) When God gave the earth to the children of men, he still reserved to himself the property, and only let it out to them as tenants, or usufructuaries; The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the mines that are lodged in the bowels of it, even the richest; the fruits it produces; all the beasts of the forest, and the cattle upon a thousand hills; our lands and houses, and all the improvements that are made of this earth by the skill and industry of man, are all his. These indeed, in the kingdom of grace, ai-e justly looked upon as emptiness; for they are vanity of vanities, nothing to a soul; but, in the kingdom of providence, they are fulness. The earth is full of God's riches, so is the great and wide sea also. All the parts and regions of the earth are the Lord's, all under his eye, all in his hand; so that, wherever a child of God goes, he may comfort himself with this, that he does not go off his Father's ground. That which falls to our share of the earth and its productions, is but lent to us, it is the Lord's; what is our own against all the world, is not so against his claims. That which is most remote from us, as that which passes through the paths of the sea, or is hid in the bottom of it, is the Lord's and he knows where to find it.

(2.) The habitable part of this earth (Prov. viii. 31.) is his in a special manner; the world, and they that dwell therein. We ourselves are not our own,

our bodies, our souls, are not. All souls are mine, says God; for he is the Former of our bodies, and the Father of our spirits. Our tongues are not oui own, they are to be at his service. Even those ol the children of men are his, that know him not, nor own their relation to him. Now this comes in here, to show that though God is graciously pleased to accept the devotions and services of his peculiar chosen people, {v. 5' -5. ) it is not because he needs them, or can be benefited by them, for the earth is his, and all in it, Exod. xix. 5. Ps. 1. 12. It is likewise to be applied to the dominion Christ has, as Mediator, over the utmost parts of the earth, which are given him for his possession: the Father loveth the Son, and hath given ill things into his hand, power over all flesh. The apostle quotes this scriptui'C twice together in his discourse about things offered to idols, 1 Cor. x. 26, 28. If it be sold in the shambles, eat it, and ask no questions, for the earth is the Lord's, it is Gcd's good creature, and you have a right to it; but if one tell you it was offered to an idol, forbear, for the earth is the Lord's, and there is enough besides. This is a good reason why we should be content with our allotment in this world, and not envy others their's; the earth it the Lord's, and may he not do what he will with his own, and give to some more of it, to others less, us it pleases him.''

II. The ground of this propriety; the earth is his by an indisputable title,/c/rAe hath founded it ufion the seas, and established it upon the floods, v. 2. It is his; for, (1.) He made it, formed it, founded it, and fitted it for the use of man. The matter is his, for he made it out of nothing; the form is his, for he made it according to the eternal counsels and ideas of his own mind. He made it himself, he made it for himself; so that he is sole, entire, and absolute. Owner, and none can let us a title to any part, but by, from, and under, him; see Ixxxix. 11, 12. (2.) He made it so as no one else could; it iS the creature of Omnipotence, for it is founded upon the seas, upon the floods; a weak and unstable foundation (one would think) to build the earth upon, and yet, if Almighty power pleases, it shall serve to bear tlie weight of this earth. The waters which at first covered the earth, and rendered it unfit to be a habitation for man, were ordered under it, that the dry land might appear, and so they are as a foundation to it; see civ. 8, 9. (3.) He continues it, he has established it, fixed it, so that, though one generation passes, and another comes, the earth abides, Eccl. i. 4. And his pro\idence is a continued creation, cxix. 90. The founding of the earth upon the floods, should remind us how slippery and uncertain all earthly things are; their foundation is not only sand, but water; it is therefore our folly to build upon them.

3. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord ? and who shall stand in his holy place ? 4. He that hath clean hands, and a pure lieart ; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 5. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

From this world, and the fulness thereof, the psalmist's meditations rise, of a sudden, to the great things of another world, the foundation of which is not on the seas, nor on the floods. The things of this world God has given to the children of men, and we are much indebted to his provi

PSALMS, XXIV.

dence for them; but they will not make a portion for us. And therefore,

I. Here is an inquiry after better things, v. 3. This earth is God's footstool; but, if we had ever so much of it, we must be here but awhile, must shortly go hence, and Who then shall ascerid into the hill of the Lord'/ Who shall go to heaven hereafter, and, as an earnest of that, shall have communion with God in holy ordinances now? A soul that knows and considers its own nature, original, and immortality, when it has viewed the earth and the fulness thereof, will sit down unsatisfied; there is not found among all the creatures a help meet for man, and therefore it will think of ascending toward (iod, toward heaven; will ask, "What shall I do to rise to that high pi ice, that hill, where the Lord dwells, and manifests himself, th.it I may be acquainted with him; and to abide in that happy, holy, place, where he meets his people, and makes them holy and happy? What shall I do that I may be of those whom God owns for his peculiar people, and who are his in another manner than the earth is his and its fulness?" This question is much the same with that, xv. 1. The hill of Zion, on which the temple was built, typified the church, both visible and invisible. When the people attended the ark to its holy place, David puts them in mind, that these were but patterns of heavenly things, and therefore that by them they should be led to consider the heavenly things themselves.

II. An answer to this inquiry; in which we have,

1. The properties of God's peculiar people, who shall have communion with him in grace and glory.

(1.) They are such as keep themselves from all the gross acts of sin. They have clean hands; not spotted with the pollutions of the world and the flesh. None that were ceremonially unclean might enter into the mountain of the temple, which signified that cleanness of conversation which is required in all those that have fellowship witli God. The hands, lifted up in prayer, must be pure hands, no blot of unjust gain cleaving to them, nor any thing else that defiles the man, and is offensive to the holy God.

(2.) They are such as make conscience of being really, that is, of being inwardly, as good as they seem to be outwardly; they have pure hearts. We make nothing of our religion, if we do not make heart-work of it. It is not enough that our hands be clean before men, but we must also wash our hearts from wickedness, and not allow ourselves in any secret heart-impurities, which are open before the eye of God. Yet in vain do those pretend to have pure and good hearts, whose hands are defiled with the acts of sin. This is a pure heart, which is sincere and without guile in covenanting with God, which is carefully guarded, that the wicked one, the unclean spirit, touch it not, which is purified by faith, and conformed to the image and will of God; see Matth. v. 8.

(3.) They are such as do not set their affections upon the things of this world; as do not lift up their souls unto vanity, whose hearts are not carried out inordinately toward the wealth of the world, the praise of men, or the delights of sense; who do not choose these things for their portion, nor reach forth after them, because they believe them to be vanity, uncertain and unsatisfying.

(4.) They are such as deal honestly both with God and man. In their covenant with God, and their contracts with men, they have not sworn deceitfully, nor broken their promises, violated their engagements, or taken any false oath. Those that have no regard to the obligations of truth, or the honour of God's name, are unfit for a place in God's holy hill. I

(5.) They are a praying people; {v. 6 ^ Thv « the generation of them that seek him. In every age there is a remnant of such as these, men of this character, who are accounted to the Lord for a ge Iteration, xxii. 30. And they are such as setk God, that seek thy face, O Jacob. [1.] They join themselves to God, to seek him; not only in earnest ])rayer, but in serious endeavours to obtain his fa\ouf, and keep themselves in his love; who, having made it the top of their happiness, make it the top cf their ambition, to be accepted of him, and thei'efore take care and pains to approve them-sel es to him. It is to the hill of the Lord that we must ascend, and, the way being up-hill, we have need to put forth ourselves to the utmost, as those that seek diligently. [2.] They join them-sehes to the people of God, to seek God with them; being brought into communion with God, they come into the communion of saints; conforming to the patterns of the saints that are gong before, so some understand this; they seek God's face, as Jacob, (so some,) who was therefore sumamed Israel, because he wrestled with God and prevailed, sought him and found him; and, associating with the saints of their own day, they shall court the favour of God's church, (Rev. iii. 9.) shall be glad of an acquaintance with God's people, (Zech. viii. 23.) shall incorporate themselves with them, and, when they subscribe with their hands to the Lord, shall call themselves by the name of Jacob, Isa. xliv. 5. As soon as ever Paul was converted, he joined himself to the disciples. Acts, ix. 26. They shall seek God's face in Jacob, (so sonse,) in the assemblies of his people; Thy face, O God of Jacob; so our margin supplies it, and makes it easy. As all believers are the spiritual seed of Abraham, so all that strive in prayer are the spiritual seed of Jacob, to whom God never said. Seek ye me in vain.

2. The privileges of God's peculiar people, v. 5. They shall be made truly and for ever happy. (1.) They shall be blessed: they shall receive the blessing from the Lord, all the fruits and gifts of God's favour, according to his promise; and those whom God blesses are blessed indeed, for it is his prerogative to command the blessing. (2.) They shall be justified, and sanctified. These are the spiritual iblessings in heavenly things, which they shall receive, even righteousness, the very thing they hunger and thirst after, Matth. v. 6. Righteousness is blessedness, and it is from (iod only that we must expect it, for we have no righteousness of our own. They shall recei^ e the reward of their righteousness, (so some,) the croitm of righteousness which the righteous Judge shall give, 2 Tim. iv. 8. (3.) They shall be saved; for God himself will be the God of their salvation. Note,' Where God gives righteousness, he certainly designs salvation. Those that are made meet for heaven, shall be brought safe to heaven, and then they will find what they have been seeking, to their endless satisfaction.

7. Lift up your heads, O ye £;ates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlastinj2; doors; anc the King of glory shall come in. 8. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lokd mighty in battle. 9. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift thp.m up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 10. Who is this King of glory? The IjORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

Wh it is spoken once, is spoken a second time, in these verses; such repetitions are usual in songs,

PSALMS, XXV.

and have much beauty in them. Here is, 1. Entrance once and again demanded for the King of glory; the doors and gates are to be thrown open^ thrown wide open, to gi\e hiai admission, for behold, he stands at the door, and knocks, ready to come in. 2. Inquiry once and again made concerning this mighty Prince, in whose name entrance is demanded; JV/io is this King of glory? As, when any knock at our door, it is common to ask. Who is there '/ 3. Satisfaction once and again given concerning the royal Person that makes tlie demand; It is the Lord, strong and >nighlt/, the Lord, mighty in buttle, the Lord of hosts, v.'8, 10. Now,

(1.) This splendid entry here described, it is probable, refers to the solemn bringing in of tlie ark into the tent David pitched for it, or the temple Solomon built for it; for when David prepared materials for the building of it, it was proper for him to prepare a psalm for the dedication of it. The porters are called upon to opei) the doors, and they are called ex>erlasting doors', because much more durable than the door of the tabernacle, which was but a curtain. They are taught to ask, IVho is this King of glory? And they that bear the ark are taught to answer, in the language before us, and very fitly, because the ark was a symbol or token of God's presence. Josh. iii. 11. Or, it may be taken as a poetical figure designed to represent the subject more affectingly. God, in his word and ordinances, is thus to be welcomed by us. [1.] With great readiness; the door and gates must be thrown open to him. Let the word of the Lord come into the innermost and uppermost place in our souls; and, if we had 600 necks, we should bow them all to the authority of it. [2.] With all reverence, remembering how great a God he is, with whom we have to do, in all our approaches to him.

(2.) Doubtless, it points at Christ, of whom the ark, with the mercy-seat, was a type.

[1.] We may apply it to the ascension of Christ into heaven, and the welcome given to him there. When he had finished his work on earth, he ascended in the clouds of heaven, Dan. vii. 13, 14. The gates of heaven must then be opened to him, those doors that may be truly called everlasting, which had been shut against us, to keep the way of the tree of life, Gen. iii. 24. Our Redeemer found them shut, but, having by his blood made atonement for sin, and gained a title to enter into the holyfilace, (Heb. ix. 12.) as one having authority, he demanded entrance, not for himself only, l)ut for "us; for, as the Forerunner, he is for us entered, ttnd has opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. The keys not only of hell and death, but of heaven and life, must be put into his hand. His approach being \ery magnificent, the angels are brought in asking, iVho is this King of glory? For angels keep the gates of the New Jerusalem, Rev. xxi. 12. When the First-begotten was brought into the upper world, the angels were to worship liim; (Heb. i. 6.) and, accordingly, they here ask, with wonder, " Who is he? This that cometh with dyed garments from Bozrah? (Isa. Ixiii. l-.S.) for he appears in that word as a Lamb that had been slain." It is answered, that he is strong and mighty, mighty in battle to save his people, and subdue his and their enemies.

[2.] We may apply it to Christ's entrance into the souls of men by his word and Spirit, that they may be his temples. Christ's presence in them is like that of the ark in the temple, it sanctifies them. Behold, he stands at the door and knocks, Rev. iii. 20. It is required, that the gates and doors of the heart be opened to him; not only as admission is given to a guest, but as possession is

263

' delivered to the rightful owner, after the title has been contested. This is the gospel call and demand; that we let Jesus Christ, the King of glory, come into our souls, and welcome him with hosan-nas. Blessed is he that cometh. That we may do this aright, we are concerned to ask. Who this King of glory is? To acquaint ourselves with him whom we are to believe in, and to love above all. And the answer is ready; He is Jehovah, and will l)e Jehovah our righteojxsness, an all-sufficient Sa-\ iour to us, if we give him entrance and entertainment. He is strong and mighty, and the Lord of hosts; and therefore it is at our peril if we deny him entrance; for he is able to avenge the affront: he can force his way, and can break those in pieces, with his iron rod, that will not submit to his golden sceptre.

Ill singing this, let our hearts cheeifully answer to this call, as it is in the first words of the next psalm. Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up. my soul.

PSALM XXV.

This psalm is full of devout affection to God; the out-goings of holy de.sires toward his favour and (rrace, and the lively actings of faith in his promises. We may learn out of it, I. What it is to pray, v. 1, 15. 11. What we must pray for; the pardon of sin; (v. 6, 7, 18.) direction in the way of duty; (v. 4, 5.) the favour of God; (v. 16.) deliverance out of our troubles; (v. 17, 18.) preservation from our enemies; (v. 20, 21.) and the salvation of the church of God, v. 22. III. What we may plead in prayer; our confidence in God; (v. 2, 3, 5, 20, 21.) our distress, and the malice of our enemies; (v. 17, 19.) our sincerity, v. 21. IV. What precious promises we have to encourage us in praver; of guidance and instruction, (v. 8, 9, 12.) the benefit of the covenant; (v. 10.) and the pleasure of communion with God, v. 13, 14. It is easy to apply the several passages of this psalm to ourselves in the singing of it; for we have often troubles, and always sins, to complain of, at the throne of grace.

A fisalm of David.

1. TTNTO thee, O Lord, do I lift up my U soul. 2. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed; let not mine enemies triumph over me. 3. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. 4. Show me thy ways, O Lord ; teach me thy paths. 5. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation : on thee do I wait all the day. 6. Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies, and thy loving;-kindness: for they have been ever of old. 7. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me, for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.

Here wc have David's professions of desire toward God, and dependence on him. He often begins his psalms with such professions; not to move God, but to move himself, and to engage himself to answer those professions.

1. He profcsse.'i his desire towards God; Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up. my soul, v. 1. In the foregoing psalm, {v. 4.) it was made the character of a good man, that he has not lift up his soul to vanity; and a call was given to the everlasting gates to lift up their heads for the King of glory to come in, v. 1. To which character, to which call, David here answers, "Lord, I lift up my soul, not to vanity, but to thee." Note, In worshipping God, we must lift up our souls to him.

PSALMS, XX V^

Prayer is the ascent of tlie soul to God; God must be eyed, and the soul employed. Sumum C'rda — U/i ivith your hearts, was anciently used as a call to devotion. With a holy contempt of the world and the things of it, by a fixed thought and active faith, we must set God before us, and let out our desires toward him as the Fountain of our happiness.

2. He professes his dependence upon God, and begs for the benefit and comfort of that dependence; [v. 2.) 0 my God, I trust in thee. His conscience witnessed for him, that he had no confidence in himself or in any creature, and that he had no diffidence of God, or of his power or promise. He pleases himself with this profession or faith in God. Having put his trust in God, he is easy, is well-Sitisfied, and quiet from the fear of e\il: and he pleads it with God, whose honour it is to help those that honour him by trusting in him. What men put a confidence in, is either their joy or their shame, according as it proves. Now David here, under the direction of taith, prays earnestly, (1.) That shame might not be his lot; "Let me not be ashamed of my confidence in thee; let me not be shaken from it by any prevailing fears, and let me not be, in the issue, disappointed of what I depend upon thee for; but, Lord, kee/i what I have committed unto thee." Note, If we make our confidence in God our stay, it shall not be our shame; and if we triumph in him, our enemies shall not triumph over us, as they would, if we should now sink under our fears, or should, in the issue, come short of our hopes. (2.) That it might not be the lot of any that tiusted in God. All the saints have obtained a like precious faith; and therefore, doubtless, it will be alike successful in the issue. Thus the communion of saints is kept up, even by their praying one f)r another. True saints will make supplication for all saints. It is certain that none who, by a believing attendance, wait on God, and, by a believing hope, wait for him, shall lie made ashamed of it. (3.) That it might be the lot ( f the transgressors; Let them be ashamed, that transgress ivithout cause, or vainly, as the word is. [1. ] Upon no provocation; they revolt from God and their duty, from David and his government, (so some,) without any occasion given them, not being able to pretend any iniquity they have found in God, or that in any thing he has wearied them. The weaker tlie temptation is, by which men are drawn to sin, the stronger the corruption is, by which they are driven to it. Those are the worst transgressors that sin for sinning's-sake. [2.] To no purpose. They know their attempts against God are fruitless; they imagine a vain thing, and therefore they will soon be ashamed of them.

3. He begs direction from God in the way of his dutv, V. 4, 5. Once again, he here prays to God to teach him. He was a knowing man himself, but the most intelligent, the most observant, both need and desire to be taught of God; from him we must be ever learning. Observe, (1.) What he desired to learn; "Teach me, not fine words or fine notions, but thy ways, thy paths, thy truth. The ways in which thou walkest toward me, which are all 'mercy and truth, {v. 10.) and the ways in which thou wouldest have me to walk toward thee." Those are best taught who imderstand their duty, and know the good things they should do, Eccl. ii. 3. The fiaths of the Lord, and his truth, are the same; divine laws are all founded upon divine truths. The way of God's precepts is the way of truth, cxix. 30. Christ is both the Way arid the Truth, and tiierefore we must learn Christ. (2.) What he desires of God, in order to this. [1.] That he wnuld cnligluen his understanding concerning liis duty; "Show me thy way, and so teach me." In doubtful cases, we should

pray earnestly, that God would make it plain to us what he would have us to do. [2. ] That he would incline his will to it, and strengthen him in it; "Lead me, and so teach me." Not only as we lead one that is dim-sighted, to keep him from missing his way, but as we lead one that is sick, and feeble, and faint, to help him forwai-d in the way, and to keep him from fainting and falling. We go no further in the way to heaven, than God is pleased to lead us, and to hold us up. (3.) What he pleads, [1.] His great expectation from God; 'J'hou art the God of my salvation. Note, Those that choose the salvation of God as their end, and make him the God of their salvation, may come boldly to him for direction in the way that leads to that end. If God save us, he will teach us, and lead us. He that gives salvation, will give instruction. [2.] His constant attendance on God; On thee do I wait all the day. Whence should a servant expect dii'ection what to do, but from his own master, on wh^i he waits all the day.'' If we sincerely desire to know our duty, with a resolution" to do it, we need not question but that God will direct us in it.

4. He appeals to God's infinite mercy, and casts himself upon that, not pretending to any merit of his own; {v. 6.) "Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies, and, for the sake of those mercies, lead me, and teach me; for they ha\ e been ever of old;" (1.) "Thou always wast a merciful God; it is thy name, it is thy nature and property to show mercy. (2.) "Thy counsels and designs of mer'cy were from everlasting; the vessels of mercy were, before all worlds, ordained to glory." (3.) "The instances of thy mercy to the church in genei'al, and to me in pai'ticular, were early and ancient, and constant hitherto; they began of old, and never ceased. Thou hast taught me from my youth up, teach me now."

5. He is in a special manner eai-nest for the pardon of his sins; (r. 7.) "O remember riot the sins of my youth. Lord, remember thy mer-cres, (i^. 6.) which speak for me, and not my sins, which speak against me." Here is, (1.) An implicit confession of sin; he specifies particularly the sins of his youth. Note, Our youthful faults and follies should be matter of our I'epentance and humiliation long after, because time does not wear out the guilt of sin. Old people should mourn for the sinful mirth, and be in pain for the Sinful pleasures, of their youth. He aggravates his sins, calling them his trarisgressions; and tlie more holy, just, and good, the law is, which sin is the ti'ansgression of, the mor-e exceeding sinful it ought to ;ippenr to us. (2.) An express petition for mercy; [1.] That he might be acquitted from guilt; "J\'cine?nber not the sins of iny youth; r'cmembcr tlicm not against me, lay them not to my charge, enter not into judgment with me for them." When God pardons sin, he is said to remernber it no more, which denotes a plenary r*emission, he forgives, and f rgcts. [2.] That he might be accepted in fiiHl's sight; "Remember thou me; think on me fcr irooil, and come in seasonably for my succour." ' We need desire no more to 'make us happv, than for God to r-e member us with favour. His plea is, "accor-ding to thy mercy, and for thy goodness-sake." Note, It is God's goodness, and not oui's; his merry, ana not our own mei'it, that must be our plea for the pai'don of sin, and all the good we stand in need of.

This plea we must always rely upon, as those that are sensible of our poverty and unworthincss, and as those that are satisfied of the riches of God's mer'cy and grace.

8. Cood and upright is the Lord : therefore will he teach sinners in the way. 9.

PSALMS, XXV.

265

The meek will he guide in judgment, and I he meek will he teach his way. 10. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. 11. For thy name's sake, O LoRf;, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great. 12. What man is he that feareth the LiORD? liim shall he teach in the way that he shall choose: 13. His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth. 14. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.

God's promises are here mixed with David's prayers. Many petitions there weie in the former part of the psalm, and many in the latter; and here, in the middle of the psalm, he meditates upon the promises, and by a lively faith sucks, and is satisfied, from these breasts of consolation; for the promises of God are not only the best foundation of prayer, telling us what to pray for, and encouraging our faith and hope in prayer; but they are a present answer to prayer. Let the prayer be made according to the promise, and then the promise may be read as a return to the prayer; and we are to believe the prayer is heard, because the promise will be performed. But, in the midst of the promises, we find one petition wliich seems to come in somewhat abruptly, and should have followed upon T'. 7. It is that, (i'. 11.) Pardon mine iniquity. But prayers for the pardon of sin are ne\ er impertinent; we mingle sin with all our actions, and therefore should mingle such prayers with all our devotions. He enforces this petition with a double plea. The former is very natural; " Por tliy name^s sake, fiardon mine iniquity, because thou hast proclaimed thy name gracious and merciful, pardoning iniquity, for thy glory-sake, for thy promise-sake, for thine own sake," Isa. xliii. 25. But the latter is very surprising; "Pardon ?nine iniquity, for it is great; and the greater it is, the more will divine mercy be magnified in the forgiveness of it." It is the glory of a great God to forgive great sins, to forgive iniquity, transgression, and sin, Exod. xxxiv. 7. "It is great, and therefore I am undone, for ever undone, if mfinite mercy do not interpose for the pardon of it. It is great; I see it to be so. ' The more we see of the heinousness of our sins, the better qualified we are to find mercy with God. When we confess sin, we must aggravate it.

Let us now take a \iew of the great and precious promises which we have in these verses, and observe,

I. To whom these promises belong, and who may expect the benefit of them. We are all sinners; and can we hope for any advantage by them? Yes, (v. 8.) He will teach sinners, though they be sinners; for Christ came into the world to save sinners, and, in order to th it, to teach sinners, to call sinners to repentance.

These promises are sure to those who, though they have been sinners, have gone astray, yet now keep God's word. To such, 1. As keep his covenant, and his testimonies, {v. 10.) as take his precepts for their rule, and his promises for their portion; as, having taken God to be to them a God, , live upon that, and, having given up themselves to i be to him a people, live up to that. Though, | through the infirmity of the flesh, they sometimes ! break the command, yet, by a sincere repentance, I when at any time thev do amiss, and a constant ad-herance by faith to God as their God, they keep the tovenant, and do not break that. 2. To such as I

Vol. hi.— 2 h

fear him, {v. 12.) and again, {v. 14.) as stand in .awe of his majesty, and worship him with reve-i-ence, submit to his autliority, and obey him with cheerfulness, dread his wrath, and are afraid of offending him.

II. Upon what these promises are grounded, and what encouragement we have to build upon them. Here are too things which ratify and confirm all the promises.

1. The perfections of God's nature. We value the promise by the character of him that makes it; we may therefore depend upon God's promises, for good and upright is the Loid, and therefore he will be as good as his word. He is so kind that he cannot deceive us, so true that he cannot break his promise. Faithful is he who hath firornised, who also will do it. He was good in making the promise, and therefore will be upright in performing it.

2. The agreeableness of till he says and does, with the perfections of his nature; (v. 10.) ^11 the paths of the Lord; that is, all his promises, and all his providences, are mercy and truth; they are, like himself, good and upright. All God's dealings with his people are according to the mercy of his purposes, and the truth of his promises; all he does comes from love, covenant-love; and they may see in it his mercy displayed, and his word fulfi^lled. What a rich satisfaction may this be to good people, that, whatever afflictions they are exercised with. All the fiaihs of the Lord are mercy and truth, and so it will appear when they come to their journey's end.

III. What these promises are,

1. ThatCiod will insti-uct and direct them in the way of their duty. This is most insisted upon, because it is an answer to David's prayers; {y. 4, 5.) Show me thy ways, and lead me. We should fix our thoughts, and act our faith, most on those promises which suit our present case. (1.) He will teach sinners in the way, because they are sinners, and therefore need teaching; when they see themselves sinners, and desire teaching,then he will teach them the way of reconciliation to God, the way to a well-grounded peace of conscience, and the way to eternal life. He does, by his gospel,make known this way to all, and, by his Spirit, open the understanding, and guide penitent sinners that inquire after it. Tlie Devil leads men blindfold to hell, but God enlightens men's eyes, sets things before them in a true light, ; nd so leads them to heaven. (2.) The meek will he guide, the meek will he teach, those that arc humble and low in their own eyes, that are distrustful of themseU'es, desirous to be taught, and h'Miestly resolved to follow the divine guidance; Sfieak, Lord, for thy seri^ant hears. These he will guide in judgment, that is, by the rule of the written word; he will guide them in that whicli is practical, which relates to sin and duty; so that they may keep conscience \oid of offence; and he will doit judiciously, (so some,) that is, he will suit his conduct to their case; he will teach sinners with wisdom, tenderness, and compassion, and as they are able to bear. He will teach them his way. All good people make God's way their way, and desire to be taught that; and those that do so shall be taught and led in that Avay. (3.) Him that feareth the Lord, he will teach in the way that he shall choose; either in the way that God shall choose, or that the good man sliall choose. It comes all to one, for he that fears the Lord chooses the things that please him. If we choose the right way, he that directed our choice will direct our steps, and will lead us in it. If we choose wisely, God will give us grace to walk wisely.

2. That God will make them easy; (y. 13.) His soul shall dwell at ease, shall lodge in goodness, marg. With respect to those that devote them-

PSALMS, XXV.

selves to the fear of God, and give up themselves to be taught of God, it is their own fault, if they be not easy. The soul that is sanctified by the grace of God, and, much more, that is comforted by the peace of God, dwells at ease. Even when the body IS sick, and lies in pain, yet the soul may dwell at ease in God, may return to him, and repose in him, as its rest. Many things occur to make us uneasy, but there is enough in the covenant of grace to balance them all, and to make us easy.

3. That he will give to them and their's as much of this world as is good for them; His sted shall inherit the earth. Next to our care concerning our souls, is our care concerning our seed, and Gcd has a blessing in store for the generation of the upright. They that fear God shall inherit the earth, shall have a competency in it, and the comfort of it; and their children shall fare the better for then- prayers, when they are gone.

4. That God will admit them into the secret of communion with himself; {y. 14.) The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. They understand his word, for if any man do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, John vii. 17. They that receive the truth in the love of it, and experience the power of it, best understand the mystery of it. They know the meaning of his providence, and what (iod is doing with them, better than others. Shall I hide from Abraham the things that I do? Gen. xviii. 17. Recalls them not sf ?--vants, but friends, as he called Abraham. They know by experience the blessings of the covenant, and the pleasure of that fellowship which gracious souls have with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. This honour have all his saints.

15. Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord ; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

16. Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and aflflicted.

17. The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses. 18. Look upon mine affliction, and my pain: and forgive all my sins. 19. Consider mine enemies ; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred. 20. O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee. 21. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee. 22. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

David, encouraged by the promises he had been meditating upon, here renews his addresses to God, and concludes the psalm, as he began, with the professions of dependence upon God and desire toward him.

I. He lays open before God the calamitous condition he was in. His feet were in the net, held fast and entangled, so that he could not extricate himself out of his difficulties, v. 15. He was desolate and afflicted, -v. 16. It is common for those that are afflicted to be desolate; their friends desert them then, and they are themselves disposed to sit alone, and keep silence. Lam. iii. 28. David calls himself desolate and solitary, because he depended not upon his servants and soldiers, but relied as entirely upon Ciod as if he had no prospect at all of help and succour from any creature. Being in distress, in many distresses, the troubles of his heart were enlarged; {v. 17.) he grew more and more melancholy, and troubled in mind. Sense of sin afflicted him more than any thing else: that was it that broke and wounded his spirit, and made his out-

ward troubles lie heavy upon him. He was in affliction and pain, v. 18. His enemies, that persecuted him, were many and malicious, they hated him; and very barbarous, it was with a cruel hatred that they hated him, v. 19. Such were Christ's enemies, and the persecutors of his church.

n. He expressed the dependence he had upon God in these distresses; {v. 15.) Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord. Idolaters were for gods tha* they could see with their bodily eyes, and they had their eyes ever toward their idols, Isa. xvii. 7, 8. But it is an eye of faith that we must have towar'l God, who is a Spirit, Zech. ix. 1. Our meditation of him must be sweet, and we must always set him before us: in all our ways, we must acknowledge him, and do all to his glory. Thus we must live a life of communion with God, not only in ordinances, but in pro\idences, not only in the acts of devotion, but in the whole course of our conversation. D'^^id had the comfort of this, in his affliction; for, because his eyes were ever toward the Lord, he doubted not but he would pluck his feet out of the net; that he would deli\ er him from tlie corruptions of his own heart, (so some,) from the designs of his enemies against him, so others. Those that have their eye ever toward God, shall not have their feet long in the net. He repeats his profession of dependence upon God; {v. 20.) Let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee; and of expectation from hii i, I wait on thee, v. 21. It is good thus to hope, ai d quietly to wait, for the salvation of the Lord.

III. He prays earnestly to God for relief ai d succour.

1. For himself; see how he begs, (1.) For the remission of sin; {y. 18.) Forgive all 7ny sins. Those were his heaviest burthens, and which brought upon him all his other burthens. He had begged {v. 7.) for the pardon of the sins of his youth, and (v. 11.) for the pardon of some one particular iniquity that was remarkably great, which, some think, was his sin in the matter of Uriah. But here he prays. Lord, forgive all, take away all iniquity. It is observable, that, as to his affliction, he asks for no more than God's regard to it; "Look u/ion my affliction and my pain, and do with it as thou pleasest." But, as to his sin, he asks for no less than a pardon, Forgive all my sins. When at any time we are in trouble, we should be more concerned about our sins, to get them pardoned, than about our afflictions, to get them removed. Yet he prays, (2.) For the redress of his grievances. His mind was troubled for God's withdrawings from him, and under the sense he had of his displeasure against him for his sin; and therefore he prays, {v. 16.) Turn thee unto me. And if God turn to us, no matter who turns from us. His condition was troubled, and, in reference to that, he prays, " 0 bring thou me out of my distresses. I see no way of deliverance open; but thou canst either find one, or make one." His enemies were spiteful' and, in reference to that, he prays, "O keep my soul from falling into their hands, or else deliver me out of their hands."

Four things he mentions by way of plea, to enforce these petitions; and refers himself and them to God's consideration. [1.] He pleads God's mercy; Have mercy upon me. Men of the greatest merits were undone, if they had not to do with a God of infinite mercies. [2.] He pleads his own misery, the distress he was in, his affliction and pain, especially the troubles of his heart; all which made him the proper object of divine mercy. [3.] He pleads the miquity ot his enemies; " Lord, consider them, how cruel they are, and deliver me out of their hands." [4.] He pleads his own integrity, V. 21. Though he had owned himself guilty before God and had confessed his sins agamst him; yet,

PSALMb, XXV1.

267

as to his enemies, he had the testimony of his conscience, that he had done them no wrong; which was his comfort, when they hated him with cruel hatred; and he prays that this might preser^ e him. This intimates that he did not expect to be safe, anv longer than he continued in his integrity and uprightness; and that, while he did continue in it, he did not doubt of being safe. Sincerity will be our best security in the woi-st of times. Integrity and uprightness Will be a man's preservation more than the wealth and honour of the world can be; this will preserve us to the heavenly kingdom. We should tlierefore pray to God to preserve us in our integrity, and then be assured that that will pie-serve us.

2. For the church of God; (t. 22.) Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. David was now in trouble himself, but he thinks it not strange, smce trouble is the lot of all God's Israel. Why should any one member fare better than the whole body.'' David's troubles were enlarged, and very earnest he was with God to deliver him; yet he forgets not the distresses of God's church; jfor when we have ever so much business of our own at the throne of grace, we must still remember to pray for the public. Good men have little comfort m their own safety, while the church is in distress and danger. This prayer is a prophecy, that God would, at length, give David rest, and therewith give Israel rest from all their enemies rovmd about. It is a prophecy of the sending of the Messiah in due time to redeem Israel from his iniquities, (cxxx. 8.) and so to redeem them from their troul)les. It refers also to the happiness of the future state. In heaven, and in heaven only, will God's Israel be perfectly redeemed from all troubles.

PSALM XXVI.

Holy David is, in this psalm, puttintr himself upon a solemn trial, not by God and his couiilry, but by God and his own conscience ; to both nhich he appeals touching his integrity, (v. J, 2.) for the proof of which, he alleges, I. His constant regard to God and his grace, v. 3. II. His rooted antipathy to sin and sinners, v. 4, 5. III. His sincere affection to the ordinances of God, and his care about them, v. 6.. 8. Haviiitr thus proved his integrity, 1. He deprecates the doom of the wicked, v. 9, 10. 2. He casts himself upon the mercy and yrace of God ; with a resolution to hold fast his integrity, and his hope in God, V. 11, 12. [n singing this psalm, we must teach and admonish ourselves, and one another, what we must be, and do, that we may have the favour of God, and comfort in our own consciences ; and comfort ourselves with it, as David does, if we can say, that in any measure we have, through grace, answered to these characters. The learned Amyraldus, in his argument of this psalm, suggests, that David is here, by the spirit of prophecy, carried out to speak of himself as a type of Christ, of whom what he here says of his spotless innocence, was fully and eminently true, and of him only, and to dim we may apply it in singing this psalm. We are com-ilete in him.

ji psalm of David.

1 "TUDGE me, O Lord ; for I have walk-•J ed in mine integrity: I have trusted al .0 in the Lord ; therefore I shall not slide. 2. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me ; try my reins and my heart. 3. For thy loving-kindness is before mine eyes; and I have walked in thy truth. 4. 1 have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. 5. I have hated the congregation of evil-doers ; and will not set with the wicked.

It is probable that David penned this psalm when he was pei-secuted by Saul and his party, who, to give some colour to tlien- unjust rage, represented him as a \ ery bad man, and falsely accused him of many high crimes and misdemeanors, dressed him up in the skins of wild beasts, that they might ba.t him. Innocency itself is no fence to the name, though it is to the bosom, against the daits of calumny. Herein he was a type of Christ, who was made a reproach of men, and foretold to his followers, that they also must have all manner of evil said against them falsely. Now see what David does in this case,

I. He appeals to God's righteous sentence; (^.l.) ^^ Judge me, O God; be thou Judge between me and my accusers, between the persecutor and the poor prisoner; bring me off with honour, and put them to shame that falsely accuse me." Saul, who was himself supreme judge in Israel, was his adversary, so that, in a controversy with him, he could appeal to no other than to God himself. As to his oft'ences against God, he prays. Lord, enter not into Judg-ment with me; (cxliii. 2.) Remember 7iot my transgressions; (xxv. 7.) there he appeals to God s mercy; but as to his offences against Saul, he appeals to God's justice, and begs of him to judge for him, as, xliii. 1. Or thus; he cannot justify himself against the charge of sin, he ovvns his iniquity is great, and he is undone if God, in his infinite mercy, do not forgive him; but he can justify himself against the charge of hypocrisy, and has reason to hope, that, according to the tenor cf the covenant of grace, he is one of those that may expect to find favour with God. Thus holy Job often owns he has sinned, and yet he holds fast his integrity. Note, It is a comfort to those who are falsely accused, that there is a righteous God, who, sooner or later, will clear up their innocency, and a comfort to all who are sincere in religion, that God himself is a Witness to their sincerity.

II. He submits to his unerring search; {-v. 2.) £a:-amiyie me, O Lord, and prove me, as gold is proved, whether it be standard. God knows every man's true character, for he knows the thoughts and intents of the heart, and sees through every disguise. David prays. Lord, examine me; which intimates that he was well pleased that God did know him, and truly desirous that he would discover him to himself, and discover him to all the world. So sincere was he in his devotion to his God,and his loyalty to his prince, (in both which he was suspected to be a pretender,) that he wished he had a window in his bosom, that whoever would, might look into his heart.

III. He solemnly protests his sincerity; {ik 1.) '• i have walked in mine integrity; my conversation has agreed with my profession, and one part of it has been of a piece with another." It is in vain to boast of our integrity, unless we can make it out, that, by the grace of God, we have walked in our integrity, and that our conversation in the world has been in simplicity and godly sincerity.

He produces here several proofs of his integrity, which encouraged him to trust in the Lord as his righteous Judge, who would patronise and plead his righteous cause, with an assurance that he should come off with reputation, ( Therefore I shall not slide,) and that they should not prevail, who con suited to cast him down from his excellency, to shake his faith, blemish his name, and prevent his coming to the crown, Ixii. 4. They that are sincere in religion may trust in God, that they shall not slide, that they shall not apostatize from their religion.

1. He had a constant regard to God and to his grace, v. 3. (1.) He aimed at God's favour as his end, and chief good; Thy loving-kindness is before

PSALMS, XXVI.

mine eyes. This will be a good evidence of our sincerity, if what we do in religion, we do from a principle of lo\ e to God, and good thoughts of him as the best of beings, and the best of friends and benefactors, and from a grateful sense of God's goodness to us in particular, which we have had experience of all our days. If we set God's loving-kindness before us as our pattern, to which we endeavour to conform ourselves, hcm^foUoivers of him that is good in his goodness; (1 Pet. iii. 13.) if we set it before us as our great engagement and encouragement to our duty, and are afraid of doing anv thing to forfeit God's'fav our, and in care by all means to keep ourselves in his love; this will not only be a good evidence of our integrity, but will have a gaxat influence upon our perseverance in it, (2.) He governed liimself by the word of God as his rule. "I have walked in'thy truth, according to thy law, for thy law is truth." Note, Those only may expect the benefit of God's loving-kindness, that live up to his truths, and his laws that are grounded upon them. Some understand itof hiscon-iforming himself to God's example in truth and faithfulness, as well as in goodness and loving-kindness. Those certainly walk well, that are followers of God as dear children.

2. He had no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, nor with the workers of those works, V. 4; 5. By this it appeared he was truly loyal to his prince, that he never associated with those that were disaffected to his government, with any of those sons of Belial that despised him, 1 Sam. x.'27. He was in none of their cabals, nor joined with them in any of their intrigues; he cursed not the king, no not in his heart. And this also was an evidence of his faithfulness to his God, that he never associated with those who, he had any reason to think, were disaffected to religion, or were open enemies, or false friends, to its interests. Note, Great care to avoid bad company, is both a good e\ idence cf our integrity, and a good means to preser\ e us in it. Now observe here, (1.) That this part (f his protestation looks both backward upon the care he had hitherto taken in this matter, and forward upon the care he would still take. " I have not sat with them, and I ivill not go in with tliem." Note, Our good practices hitherto, are then evidences of our integrity, when they are accompanied with resolutions, in God's strength, to persevere in them to the end, and not to draw back; and our good resolutions for the future we may then take the comfort of, when they are the cfmtinuation of our good practices hitherto. (2.) That David shunned the company, not only of wicked persons, but of vain persons, that were wholly addicted to mirth and gaiety, and had nothing solid or serious in them. The company of such may perhaps l)e the more pernicious of the two to a Rood man, l)eca\ise he will not be so ready to stand upon his guard against the contagion of vanity, as against that of downi-ight wickedness. (3.) That the company of dissemblers is as dangerous company as any other, and as much to be shunned, in prudence as well as piety. Evildoers pretend friendship to those whom they would decoy into their snares, but they dissemble; nvhen they speak fair, believe them not. (4.) Though sometimes he could not avoid being in the company of bad people, yet he would not go in with them, he would not choose such for his companions, nor seek an opportunity of acquaintance and converse with them; he might fall in with them, but he would not, by appointment and assignation, go in with them: or, if he happened to be with them, he would not Bit with them, he would not continue with theni; he would be in their company no longer than his business made it necessary: he would not concur with them, not say as they said, ncr do as they did,

as they that sit in the seat of the scornful, i. 1. He would not sit in counsel with them, upon ways and means to do mischief, nor sit in judgment with them, to condemn the generation of the righteous. (5.) VVe must not only in our practice avoid bad company, but in our principles and affections we must have an aversion to it. David here says, not only "I have shunned it," but "I have hated it,", cxxxix. 21. (6.) The congregation of evil diers, the club, the confederacy of them, is in a special manner hateful to good people. I have hated ecc/e-siam malignantiuni — the church of the maligna):!; so the \ ulgar Latin reads it. As good men, in concert, make o; e another better, and are enabled to do so much the more good, so bad men, in combination, make one another worse, and do so nmch the more mischief. In all this, David was a type of Christ, who, though he recei^ ed sinners, and ate with theai, to instruct them and do them good, yet, otherwise, was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, particularly from the Pharisees, those dissemblers; thus too David was an example to Christians, when they join themselves to Christ, to save themselves from this untoward generation. Acts ii. 40.

6. I will wash my hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Lord : 7. That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. 8. Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth. 9. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men ; 10. In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes. 11. But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. 12. My foot standeth in an even place: in the congi'egations will I bless the Lord.

In these verses,

I. David ])ro<luces a further evidence of his inte-gritv, which was the sincere affection he had to the ordinances of God, and the constant care he took abmit them, and the pleasure he took in them. Hypocrites and dissemblers may indeed be found attending on God's ordinances, as the proud Pharisee went up to the temple to pray with the penitent publican; but it is a good sign of sincerity, if we attend upon them, as David here tells ns he did, V. 6.-8.

1. He was very careful and conscientious in his preparation for holy ordinances. I ivill wash mine hands in innocency. He not only refrained from the society of siimcrs, but kept himself clean from the pollutions of sin, and this with an eye to the ])lace he had among those that compassed G( d's altar. "I will wash, and so will I compass the altar, knowing that otherwise I shall not be welcome." This is; like that, (1 Cor. xi. 28.) Let a ?nan examine himself, and sc let him eat; sx) prepared. This denotes, (1.) Habitual preparation; "/ will wash my hands in innocency, I will carefully watch against all sin, and keep my conscience pure from those dead works which defile it, and forbid my drawing nigh to God." See xxiv. 3, 4 (2.) Actual preparation; it alludes to the ceremony of the priests' washing, when they went m to minister, Exod. xxx. 20, 21. Though David was no priest, yet, as e\ ery worshipper ought, he would look to the substance of that which the priests were enjoined the sliadow of. In our preparations for

PSALMS, XXVI.

269

solemn ordinances, we must not only be able to clear ourselves irom the charge of reigning infidelity and hypocrisy, and to protest our innocency of that, (which was signified l)y nvashing the hmids, Deut. xxi. 6.) but we must take piins to cleanse ourselves from the spots of remaining iniquity, by renewing our repentance, and making a fresh application of the blood of Christ to our consciences, for the purifying and pacifying of them. He that is washed, that is, in a justified state, has need thus to wash hia ftet, (John xiii. 10.) to wash his hands, to wash them in innocency; he that is penitent, is fiene iynwcens — almost innocent; and he tliat is ])ardoned, is so far innocent, that his sins shall not be mentioned against him.

2. He was very diligent and serious in his attendance upon them; / ivill com/iass thine altar; alluding to the custom of the priests, who, while the sacrifice was in offering, walked round the altar, and, probably, the offerers likewise did so at some distance, denoting a diligent regard to what was done, and a dutiful attendance in the service. " / will comfiass it; I will be among the crowds that do compass it, among the thickest of them." David, a man of honour, a man of business, a man of war, thought it not below him to attend with the multitude on God's altars, and could find time for that attendance. Note, (1.) All God's people will be sure to wait on God's altar, in obedience to his commands, and in pursuance of his favour. Christ is our Altar, not as the altar in the Jewish church, which was fed bv them, but an altar that we eat of, and live u/ion, Heb. xiii. 10. (2.) It is a pleasant sight to see God's altar compassed, and to see ourselves among them that compass it.

3. In all his attendance on God's ordinances, he aimed at the glory of God, and was much in the thankful praise and adoration of him. He had an eye to the place of worship, as the place where God's honour dwelt, (r. 8.) and therefore made it his business there to honour God, and to give him .he glory due to his name; to publish with the voice of thanksgiving all God's wondrous works. God's gracious works, which call for our thanksgiving, are all wondrous works, which call for our admiration. We ought to publish them, and tell of them, for his glory, and the excitement of others to praise him; and we ought to do it with the voice of thanksgiving, as those that are sensible of our obligations, by all ways possible, to acknowledge with gratitude the favours we have received from God.

4. He did this with delig;lit, and from a principle of true affection to God and his institutions. Touching this, he appeals to God, " Lord thou knowest how dearly I have loved the habitation of thy house, {v. 8.) the tabernacle where thou art pleased to manifest thy residence among thy people, and receive their homage, the place where thine honour dwells." David v/as sometimes forced by persecution into the countries of idolaters, and was hindered from attending God's altars, which perhaps his persecutors, that laid him under that restraint, did themselves upbraid him with as his crime. See 1 Sam. XX. 27. " But, Lord," says he, "though I cannot come to the habitation of thine house, I love it, my heart is there, and it is my greatest trouble that I am not there." Note, AH that truly lo\{e God, truly love the ordinances of God, and therefore love them, because in them he manifests his honour, and they have an opportunity of honouring him. Our Lord Jesus loved his Father's honour, and made it his business to glorify him; he loved the habitation of his house, his church among men, loved it, and gave himself for it, that he might build and consecrate it. Those who love communion with God, and delight in approaching to him, find it to r>e a constant pleasure, a comfortable evidence of

their integrity, and a comfort vble earnest of then-endless felicity.

II. David, having given proofs of his integrity, earnestly prays, with a humble confidence toward God, (such as they have whose hearts condemn them not,) that he might not fall under the doom of the wicked; {y. 9, 10.) Gather not my soul with sinners. Here, 1. David describes these sinners, whom he looked uj)on to be in a miserable condition, so miserable, that he could not wish the worst enemy he had in the world to be in a worse. "They are bloody men, that iliii-st after blood, and lie under a great deal of the guilt of blood. They do mischief, and mischief is always in their hands. Though they get by their wickedness, (for their right hand is full of bribes whicli they ha\e taken to pervert justice,) yet that will make their case never the better; for what is a man profited, if he gain the world, and lose his soul?'" 2. He dreads ha\ ing his lot with them; he never loved them, nor associated with thcni, in this world, and therefore could in faith pray that he might not have his lot with them in the other world. Our souls must shortly be gathered, to return to God that gave them, and will call for them again. See Job xxxiv. 14. It concerns us to consider whether our souls will then be gathered with saints or with sinners; whether bound in the bundle of life with the Lord for ever, as the souls of the faithful are, (1 Sam. xxv. 29.) or bound in the bundle of tares for the fire, Matth. xiii. 30. Death gathers us to our people, to those that are our people while we live, whom we choose to associate with, and with whom we cast in our lot, to those death will gather us, and with them we must take our lot, to eternity. Balaam desired to die the death of the righteous. David dreaded dying the death of the wicked; so that both sides are of that mind, which if we be of, and will live up to it, we are happy for ever. Those that will not be companions with sinners in their mirth, nor eat of their dainties, may in faith pray not to be companions with them in their misery, nor to drink of their cup, their cup of trembling.

III. David, with a holy humble confidence, commits himself to the grace of God, v. 11, 12. 1. He promises that by the grace of God he would persevere in his duty: " j^s for me, whatever others do, I will walk in mine integrity." Note, When the testimony of our consciences for us, that we have walked in our integrity, is comfortable to us, that should confirm our resolutions to continue therein. 2._ He prays for tlie divine grace, both to enable him to do so, and to give him the comfort of it; "Redeem me out of the hands of my enemies, and be merciful to me, living and dying." Be we ever so confident of our integrity, yet still we must rely upon God's mercy, and the'great redemption Christ has wrought out, and pray for the benefit of them. 3. He pleases himself with his steadiness; " My foot stands in an even place, where I shall not stumble, and whence I shall not fall." This he speaks, as one that found his resolutions fixed for God and godliness, not to be shaken by the temptations of the world; and his comforts'firm in God and his grace, not to be disturbed by the crosses and troubles of the world. 4. He promises himself that he should yet have occasion to praise the Xord; that he should be furnished with matter for praise, that he should have a heart for praises; and that thovlgh he was now perhaps banished from public ordinances, yet he should again have an opportunity of blessing God in the congregation of his people. Those that hate the congregation of evildoers shall be joined to the congregation of the righteous, and join with them in praising God; and it is pleasant doing that in good company; the more the better, it is the more like heaven.

PSALMS, XXVIL

PSALM XXVII.

Some think David penned this psalm, before his coming to the throne, when he was in the midst of his troubles, and, perhaps, upon occasion of the death of his parents; but the Jews think he penned it, when he was old, upon occasion of the wonderful deliverance he had from the sword of the giant, when Abishai succoured him, (2 Sam. xxi. 16,17.) and his people, thereupon, resolved he should never venture his life again in battle, lest he should quench the light of Israel." Perhaps it was not penned upon any particular occasion; but it is very expressive of the pious and devout affections with which gracious souls are carried out toward God at all times, especially in times of (rouble. Here is, I. The couraffe and holy bravery of his faith, v. I. .3. 11. The complacency he took in communion with God, and the benefit he experienced by it, v. 4.. 6. III. His desire toward God, and his favour and grace, v. 7 .. 9, 11, 12. IV. His expectations from God, and the encouragement he gives to others to hope in him, v. 10, 13,14. And let our hearts be thus affected in singing this psalm.

A fisalm of David.

1. rTlHE Lord is my light and my salva-1 tion; whom shall I fear ? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid ? 2. When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. .3. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; tliough war should rise against me, in this loill I be contident. 4. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. 5. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me: he shall set me up upon a rock. 6. And now shall my head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me : therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, 1 will sing praises unto the Lord.

We may observe here,

I. With what a lively faith David triumphs in God, glories in his holy name, and in the interest he had in him. 1. The Lord is my light, David's subjects called him the light of Israel, 2 Sam. xxi. 17. And he was indeed a burning and a shining Light: but he owns that he shone, as the moon does, with a borrowed light; what light God darted upon him, reflected upon them; The Lord is my Light. God is a Light to his people, to show them the way when they are in doubt, to comfort and rejoice their liearts when they are in sorrow. It is in his light that thev now walk on in their way, and in his light they hope to see light for ever. 2. "He is my Salvation, in whom I am safe, and by whom I shall be saved." 3. "He is the Strength of my life; not only the Protector of my exposed life, who keeps me from being slain, but the Strength of my frail, weak, life, who keeps me from fainting, sinking, and dying away." God, who is a believer's Light, is the Strength of his life; not only by whom, but in whom, he lives and moves. In God therefore let us strengthen ourselves.

II. With what an undaunted courage he triumphs over his enemies; no fortitude like that of faith. If (xod be for him, who can be against him? Whom

shall I fcar'^ Of whom shall I he afraid? If Omnipotence be his guard, he has no cause to fear; if he knows it to be so, he has no dUfiosiiion to fear. If God be his Light, he fears no shades; if God be his Salvation, he fears no colours. He triumphs over his enemies that were already routed, v. 2. His enemies came upon him, to eat up his flesh; aiming at no less, and assured of that; but tliey fell; not, " He smote them, and they fell," but, "They stumbled and fell;" they were so confounded and weakened, that they could not go on with their enterprise. Thus they that came to take Christ, with a word's speaking, were made to stagger, and fall to the ground, John xviii. 6. The ruin of some of the enemies of God's people is an earnest of the complete conquest of them all. And therefore, these being fallen, he is fearless of the rest; " Though they be numerous, a host of them; though the} be daring, and their attempts threatening; though they encamp against me, an army against one man; though they wage war upon me, yet my heart shall not fear. Hosts cannot hurt us, if the Lord of hosts protect us: nay, in this assurance tliat God is for me, / will be confident." Two things he will be confident of; 1. That he shall be safe; " if (iod is my Salvation, in the time of trouble he shall hide me; he shall set me out of danger and above the fear of it." God will not only find out a shelter for his people in distress, as he did, (Jer. xxxvi. 26.) but he will himself be their Hiding-Place, Ps. xxxii. 7. His providence shall, it may be, keep them safe; however, his grace shall make them easy. His name is the strong tower into which by faith they run, Prov. xviii. 10. " He shall hide me, not in the strong holds of En-gedi, (1 Sam. xxiii. 29.) but in the secret of his tabernacle." The gracious presence of God, his power, his promise, his readiness to hear prayer, the witness of his Spirit in the hearts of his people; these are the secret of his tabernacle, and in these the saints find cause for that holy security and serenity of mind in which they dwell at ease. This se's them upon a rock which will not sink under them, but on which they find firm footing for their hopes; nay, it sets them up upon a rock on high, where the raging, threatening, billows of a stormy sea cannot touch them; it is a rock that is A/^Aer than we, Ixi. 2. 2. That he shall be victorious, {v. 6.) '^ A''o'iv shall my head be lifted ufi above mine enemies; not only so as that they cannot reach it with their darts, but so as that I shall be exaltec^ to bear rule over them." David here, by faith in the promise of God, triumphs before the victoiy, and is as sure, not only of the laurel, but of the crown, as if it were already upon his head.

III. With what a gracious earnestness he prays for a constant communion with God in holy ordinances, V. 4. It greatly encouraged his confidence in God, that he was conscious to himself of an entire affection to God and to his ordinances, and that he was in his element, when in the way of his dutr, and in the way of increasing his acquaintance with him. If our hearts can witness for us, that we delight in God above any creature, that may en courage lis to depend upon him; for it is a sign we are of those whom he protects as his own. Or it may be taken thus. He desired to dwell in the house of the Lord, that there he might be safe from the enemies that surrounded him. Finding himself surrounded by threatening hosts, he does not say, " One thing have I desired, in order to my safety, that I may have my army augmented to such a number," or that I may be master of such a city or such a castle; but "that I-^ay dnvell in the house of the Lord, and then I am well."

Observe, 1. What it is he desires; to dwell in the

house of the Lord. In the courts of God's house

■' t

PSALMS. XXVIl.

271

the priests had their lodgings, and David wished he had been one of them. Disdainfully as some look upon God's ministers, one of the greatest and best of kings that ever was, would gladly have taken his lot, have taken his lodging, among them. Or rather, he desires that he might duly and constantly attend on the public service of God, with other faithful Israelites, according as the duty of every day required. Therefore he longed to see an end of the wasrs in which he was now engaged; not that he might live at ease in his own palace, but that he might have leisure and liberty for that constant attendance in (iod's courts. Thus Hezekiah, a genuine son of David, wished for the recoveiy of his health, not that he might go up to the thrones of judgment, but that he might .§"0 ufi to the house of the Lord, Isa. xxxviii. 22. Note, All God's children desire to dwell in God's house; where should they dwell else? Not to sojourn there as a wavfaring man, that turns aside to tarry but for a night; or to dwell there for a time only, as the servant that abides not in the house for ever; but to dwell there all the days of their life; for there the son a!)ides ever. Do we hope that the praising of God will be the blessedness of our eternity? Surely then we ought to make it the business of our time.

2. How earnestly he covets this; "This is the one thing I have desired of the Lord, and which I will seek after." If he were to ask but one thing of God, this should be it; for this he had at heart more than any thing. He desired it as a good thing; he desired it of the Lord as his gift, and a token of his favour. And, having fixed his desire upon this as the one thing needful, he sought after it; he continued to pray for it, and contrived his affairs so as that he might have this liberty and opportunity. Note, They that truly desire communion with God, will set themselves with all diligence to seek after it, Prov. xviii. 1.

3. What he had in his eye in it; he would dwell in God's house, not for the plenty of good entertainment that was there, in the feasts upon the sacrifices, nor for the music and good singing that were there, but to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temfile. He desired to attend in God's courts, (1.) That he might have the pleasure of meditating upon God. He knew something of the beauty of the Lord, the infinite and transcendent amiableness of the Divine Being, and his ]ierfec-tions; his holiness is his beauty; (ex. 3.) his goodness is his beauty, Zech. ix. 17. The harmonv of all his attributes is the beauty of his nature. Witli an eye of faith and holy love, we with pleasure behold this beauty, and observe more and more in it, that is amiable, that is admirable. When, with fixedness of thought, and a holy flame of devout affections, we contemplate God's glorious excellencies, and entertain ourselves with the tokens of his peculiar favour to us, this is that view of the beautv of the Lord which David here covets; and it is to be had in his ordinances, for there he manifests himself. (2.) That he might have the satisfaction of being instructed in his duty; for concernina: tliis he would inquire in (Hod's temfile; Lord, irhat ".vilt thou have me to do? For the sake of these two things, he desired that one thing, to direll in the house of the L^ord, all the day- of his life; for blessed are they that do so, they will be still praising him, (Ixxxiv. 4.) both in speaking to him, and in hearing from him. Marv's sitting at Christ's feet to hear his word, Christ calls the one thing needful, and the good part.

4. What advantage he promised himself, could he but have a place in God's house; (1.) There he should be quiet and easy; their troubles would not find him, for he should be hid in secret; there troubles would not reach him, for he should be set on

high, V. 5. Joash, one of David's seed, was hid in the house of the Lord six years, and there, not only preserved from the sword, but reserved to the crown, 2 Kings, xi. 3. The temple was thought a safe place for Nehemiah to abscond in, Neh. vi. 10, But the safety of believers is not in the walls of the temple, but in the God of the temple, and their comfort in communion with him. (2.) There he should be pleasant and cheerful; there he would offer sacrifice of joy, v. 6. For God's work is its own wages; there he would sing, yea he would sing firaises to the Lord. Note, Whatever is the mat ter of our joy, ought to be the matter of our praise. And when we attend upon God in holy ordinances, we ought to be much in joy and praises. It is for the glory of our God, that we should sing in his ways: and whenever God lifts us up above our enemies, we ought to exalt him in our praise. Thanks be to God, who always causeth us to triumph^ 2 Cor. ii. 14.

7. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 8. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee. Thy face. Lord, will I seek. 9. Hide not thy faceyar from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help ; leave me not, nei ther forsake me, O God of my salvation

10. When my father and my mother for sake me, then tlic Lord will take me up.

11. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. 12. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. 13. I hod fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thy heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

David, in these verses, expresses,

I. His desire toward God, in many petitions. If he cannot now go up to the house of the Lord; yet, wherever he is, he can find a way to the throne of grace by prayer.

1. He humbly bespeaks, because he firmly believes he shall have, a gracious audience; " Jlear, O I^ord, when I cry, not only with my heart, but, as one in earnest, with my voice too." He bespeaks also an answer of peace, which he expects, not from his own merit, but God's goodness; Have mercy iipon me, and answer me, v. 7. If we pray and believe, God will graciously hear and answer.

2. He takes hold of the kind invitation God had given him to this duty, v. 8. It is presumption for us to come into the presence of the King of kings, uncalled, nor can we draw near with any assurance, unless he hold forth to us the golden scefitre. David -therefore, going to pray, fastens, in his thoughts, upon the call God had given him to the throne of his grace, and reverently touches, as it were, the top of the golden sceptre which was thereby held out to him. My heart said unto thee, (so it begins in the original,) or of thee, Seek ye my face; he first revolved that, and preached that over again to himself; (and that is the best preaching, it is hearing twice what God speaks once;) thou saidst, (so it may be supplied,) Seek ye my face; and then he

PSALMS, XXVI r.

returns what he had so meditated upon, in this pious resolution, Thy face. Lord, will I srtk. Ob-sei*ve here, (1.) The true nature of rei.gious worship, it is seeking the face of God; this it is in God's precept. Seek ye my face. He would have us seek, him for himself, and make his favour oar chief good; and this it is in the sainl's purpose and desire, ^'Thy face. Lord, will I seek; and notli;ng less will I lake up with." The opening of his hand will satisfy the desire of other living things; (cxlv. 16.) but it is only the sliining of his face, iluit will satisfy the desire of a living soul, iv. 6, 7. (2.) 'l"he kind invitation of a gracious (iod to this duty; Thou saidst, Seek ye my face; it is not only a permission, but a precept; and his commanding us to seek, implies a promise of finding; for he is too kind to say. Seek ye me, in vain. God calls us to seek his face, in our conversion to him and in our converse with him. He calls us, by the whispers of his Spirit to and with our spirits, to seek his face; he calls us, by his word, by the stated returns of opportunities for his worship, and by special ])rovidences, merciful and afflictive. When we are foolishly making our court to lying vanities, God is, in love to us, calling us in him to seek our own mercies. (3.) The ready compliance of a gracious soul with this invitation; the call is- immediately returned; My heart answered. Thy face. Lord, will I seek. The call was general, "Seek ye my face;" but, like David, we must apply it to ourselves, " /will seek it." The word does us no good, when we transfer it to others, and do not ourselves accept the exhortation. The call was. Seek ye my face; the answer is express. Thy face. Lord, will I seek; like that, (Jer. iii. 22.) Behold, we come unto thee. A gracious heart readily echoes to the call of a gracious God, being made willing in the day of his power.

3. He is very particular in his requests.

(1.) For the favour of God, that he might not be shut out from that; (i'. 9.) " Thy face. Lord, will I seek, in obedience to thy command; therefore hide not thy face from me; let me never want the reviving sense of thy favour; love me, and let me know that thou lovest me; fnit not thy servant away in anger. " He owns he had deserved God's displeasure, but begs that, however God might correct him, he would not cast him away from his presence; for what is hell, but that?

(2.) For the continuance of his presence with him; " Thou hast been my Help formerly, and thou art the God of my salvation; and therefore whither shall I go but to thee? Oh leave me not, neither forsake me; withdraw not the operations of thy power from me, for then I am helpless; withdraw not the tokens of thy good-will to me, for then I am comfortless."

(3.) For the benefit of a divine guidance; {v. 11.) " Teach me thy way, O Lord; give me to understand the meaning of thy providences toward me, and make them plain to me. And give me to know my duty in every doubtful case, that I may not mistake it, but may walk rightly, and that I may not do it with hesitation, but may walk surely." It is not policy, but plainness, that is, downright honesty, that will direct us into, and keep us in, the way of our duty. He begs to be guided in a plain path, because of his ene?ni."s; or, as the margin reads it, his observers. His enemies watched for his halting, that they might find occasion against him. Saul eyed David, 1 Sam. xviii. 9. This quickened him to pray, " Lord, lead me in a plain path, that they may have nothing ill, or nothing that looks ill, to lay to my charge."

(4.) For the benefit of a divine protection; {y. 12.) *'Deliver me not over to the will of mine enemies. Lord, let them not gain their point, for it aims at my life, and no less, and in such a way as that I have no fence against them, but thy power over their con-

sciences; lor false witnesses are risen ufi against me, that aim further than to take away my reputation or estate, for they breathe out cruelty, it is the blocd, precious blood, they thirst after." Herein, Da\id was a type of Christ; for false witnesses rose up against him, and such as breathed out ciuelty; but tliough he was delivered into their wicked hands, he was not delivered over to their will, for they could not prevent his exaltation.

II. He expresses his dependence upon God.

1. That he would help and succour him when all other helps and succours failed him; (i-. 10.) " H'hen my father and my 7nother forsake me, the nearest and dearest friends I have in the world, from whom I may expect most relief, and with most reason, when they either die, or are at a distance from me, or are disabled to help me in the time of need, or are unkind to me or unmindful of me, and will not help me when I am as helpless as ever poor orphan was, that was left fatherless and motherless, then I know the Lord will take me ufi, as a poor wandering sheep is taken up, and saved fronri perishing." His time to help those that trust in him, is, when all other helpers fail, when it is most for his honour and their comfort; with him the fatherless find mercy. This promise has often been fulfilled in the letter of it. Forsaken oi-phans have been taken under the especial care of the Divine Providence, which has raised up relief and friends for them, in a way that one would not have expected. God is a surer and better Friend than our earthly parents are, or can be.

2. That in due time he should see the displays of his goodness, v. 13. He believed he should see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living; if he had not done so, he should have fainted under his afflictions. Even the best saints are subject to faint, when their troubles become grievous and tedious; their spiiits are overwhelmed, and their flesh and heart fail; but then faith is a sovereign cordial, it keeps them from desponding under their burthen, and from despairing of relief, keeps them hoping, and praying, and waiting, and keeps up in them good thoughts of God, and the comfortable enjoyment of themselves. But what was it, the belief of which kept Da\id from fainting?— That he should see the goodness of the Lord, which now seemed at a distance. They that walk by faith in the goodness of the Lord, shall in due time walk in the sight of that goodness. This he hopes to see in the land of the living, that is, (1.) In this world, that he should outlive his troubles, and not perish under them. It is his comfort, not so much that he shall see the land of the living, as that he shall see the goodness of God in it; for that is the comfort of all creature-comforts to a gracious soul. (2.) In the land of Canaan, and in Jerusalem, where the lively oracles were; in comparison with the heathen that were dead in sin, the land of Israel might fitly be called the land of the living; there God was known, and there David hoped to see his goodness; see 2 Sam. XV. 25, 26. Or, (3.) In heaven. It is that land alone that may truly be called the larid of the living, where there is no more death; thiseai-tji is the land of the dying. There is nothing like the believing hope of eternal life, the foresights of that glory, and foretastes of those pleasures, to keep us from fainting under all the calamities of this present time.

3. That in the mean time he should be strengthened to bear up under his burthens; {v. 14.) whether he says it to himself, or to his friends, it comes all to one, this is that which encourages him. He shall strengthen thy heart, shall sustain the spirit, and then the spirit shall sustain the infirmity. In that strength, (1.) Keep close to God and to your duty. Wait on the Lord by faith, and prayer, and a humble resignation to his will, wait, I say, on .he

PSALMS, XXVIII

273

Lord; whatever you do, grow not remiss in your attendance upon God. (2.) Keep up your spirits in the midst of the greatest dangers and difficulties. Be of good courage; let your hearts be fixed, trusting m God, and your minds stayed upon him, and then let none of these things move you. They that wait upon the Lord have reason to be of good courage.

PSALM XXVIII.

The former part of this psalm is the prayer of a saint militant, and now in distress, (v. 1 .. 3.) to which is added the doom of God's implacable enemies, v. 4, 5. The latter part of the psalm is the thanksgiving of a saint triumphant, and delivered out of his distresses, (v. 6 ..8.) to which is added a prophetical prayer for all God's faithful loyal subjects, v. 9. So that it is hard to say which of these two conditions David was in, when he penned it. Some think he was now in trouble seeking God, but, at the same time, preparing to praise him for his deliverance, and by faith giving him thanks for it, before it was wrought. Others think he was now in triumph, but remembered, and recorded for his own and others' benefit, the prayers he made when he was in affliction, that the mercy might relish the better, when it appeared to be an answer to them.

ji fisalm of David. 1. XTNTO thee will I cry, O Lord, my \j rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, 1 become like them that go down into the pit. 2. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle. 3. Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity; which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischiel* is in their hearts. 4. Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give tliem after the work of their hands; render to them their desert. 5. Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.

In these verses, David is very earnest in prayer.

I. He prays that God would graciously hear and answer him, now that, in his disti'ess, he called upon him, v. 1, 2. Observe his faith in prayer; O Lord, my Rock; denoting his belief of God's power,. "He is a Rock;" and his dependence upon that

Sower, " He is my Rock, on whom I build my ope." Observe his fervency in prayer; " To thee will I cry, as one in earnest, being ready to sink, unless thou come in with seasonable succour." And observe how solicitous he is to obtain an answer; "Be not silent to me, as one angry at my prayers; (Ixxx. 4.) Lord, speak to me, answer me nvith good words, and comfortable words; (Zech. i. 13.) though the thing I pray for be not given me, yet let God speak to me joy and gladness, and make me to hear it. Lord, speak for me, in answer to my prayers; plead my cause, command deliverances for me, and thus hear and answer the voice of my supplications."

Two things he pleads; 1. The sad despair he should be in, if God slighted him; "If thou be silent to me, and I have not the tokens of thy favour, I am like them that go down into the pit—I am a dead man, lost and undone; if God be not my Friend, appear not to me, and appear not for me, my hope and my help are perished." Nothing can be so cutting, so killing, to a gracious soul, as the want of Vol. hi— 2M

God's fa\ our, and the sense of his displeasure. I shall be like them that go down to hell; (so some understand it;) for what is the misery of the damned, but this, that God is for ever silent to them, and deaf to tlieir cry? Those are in some measure qualified for God's favour, and may expect it, who are thus possessed with a dread of his wrath, and to whom his frowns are worse than death. 2. The good hopes he had, that God would favour him; / lift ufi my hands towards thy holy oracle; which denotes, not only an earnest desire, but an earnest expectation, thence to receix e an answer of peace. The most holy place witliin the vail, is here, as elsewhere, called the oracle; there the ark and the mercy-seat were, there God was said to dwell between the cherubims, and-thence he spake to his people. Numb. vii. 89. That was a type of Christ, and it is to him that we must lift up our eyes and hands, for through him all good comes from God to us. It was also a figure of heaven; (Heb. ix. 24.) and from God, as our Father in heaven, we are taught to expect an answer to our prayers. The scriptures are called the oracles of God, and to them we must have an eye, in our prayers and expectations. There is the word on which (iod hath caused and encouraged us to hope.

II. He deprecates the doom of wicked people, as before; (xxvi. 9.) "Gather riot my soul with sinners. Lord, I attend thy holy oracle, draw me not away from that, with the wicked, and wi'h the workers of iniquity;" {v. 3.) 1. "Save me from being entangled in the snares they have laid forme; they flatter and cajole me, and speak peace to me, but they have a design upon me, for mischief is in their heart, they aim to disturb me, nay, to destroy me. Lord, suffer me not to l^e drawn away and ruined by their cursed plots; for they have, can have, no power, no success, against me, except it be given them from above." 2. "Save me from being infected with their sins, and from doing as they do. Let me not be drawn away by their fallacious arguments, or their allurements, from thy holy oracle, (where I desire to dwell all the days of my life,) to practise any wicked works;" see cxli. 4. " Lord, never leave me to myself, to use such arts of deceit and treachery for my safety, as they use for my ruin. Let no event of providence be an invincible temptation to me, to draw me either hito the imitation, or into the interest, of wicked peoi)le." Good men dread the way of sinners; the best are sensible of the danger they are in of being drawn aside into it; and therefore we should all pray earnestly to God for his grace to keep us in our integrity. 3. "Save me from being involved in their doom; let not me be led forth with the workers of iniquity, for I am none of them that speak peace, while war is in their hearts." Note, Those that are careful not to partake with sinners in their sins, have reason to hope that they shall not partake with them in their plagues. Rev. xviii. 4.

III. He imprecates the just judgments of God upon the workers of iniquity; {v. 4.) Gij^e them according to their deeds. This is not the language of passion or revenge, nor is it inconsistent with the duty of praying for our enemies. But, 1. Thus he would show how far he was from complying with the workers of iniquity, and with what good reason he had begged not to be drawn away with them, because he was convinced that they could not be made more miserable than to be dealt with according to their deeds. 2. Thus he would express his zeal for the honour of God's justice in governing the world; " Lord, they think all well that they do, and justify,' themselves in their wicked practices; Lord, gh'i^ them after the work of their hands, and so undeceive those about them, who think there is no harm in what they do, because it goes unpunished," xciv

PSALMS, XXVIII.

1, 2. 3. This prayer is a prophecy, that God will, sooner or later, render to all impenitent sinners according to their deserts. If what has been done amiss be not undone by repentance, there will certainly come a reckoning day, when (iod will render to every man who persists in his evil deeds, according to tiiem. It is a prophecy particulaily of the destruction of destroyers; " They sfieak ptace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts; Lord, give them according to their deeds, let the spoilers be spoiled, and let them be treaclierously dealt with, who have thus dealt treacherously;" see Isu. xxxiii. 1. Rev. xviii. 6.—xiii. 10. Obsei've, He foretells that God will reward them, not only according to their deeds, but according to the wickedness of their endeavours; for sinners shall be reckoned with, not only for the mischief they have done, but for the mischief they would have done, which they designed, and did what they could to effect. And if God go by this rule, in dealing with the wicked, surely he will do so, in dealing with the righteous, and will reward them, not only for the good they have done, but for the good they have endeavoured to do, though they could not compass it.

IV. He foretells their destruction, for their contempt of God and his hand; {v. 5.) " Because they regard not the works of the Lardy and the operations of his hands, by which he manifests himself and speaks to the children of men; he shall destroy them in this world and in the other, and not build them up." Note, A stupid regardlessness of the works of God is the cause of the sin of sinners, and so becomes the cause of their ruin. Why do men question the being or attributes of God, but because they do not duly regard his handy-works, which declare his glory, and in which the invisible things of him are clearly seen? Why do men forget God, and live without him, nay, affront God, and live in rebellion against him, but because they consider not the instances of that wrath of his which is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men? Why do the enemies of God's people hate and persecute them, and devise mischief against them, but because they regard not the works God has wrought for his church, by which he has made it appear how dear it is to him.' See Isa. v. 12.

In singmg this, we must arm ourselves against all temptations to join with the workers of iniquity, and animate ourselves against all the troubles we may be threatened with by the workers of iniquity.

6. Blessed he the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my suppUcations. 7. The Lord is my strength and my shield: my heart trusted in him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth, and with my song will I praise him. 8. The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed. 9. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.

In these verses,

I. Da\ id gives God thanks for the answer given to his prayers, as affectionately as, a few verses before, he had begged it, v. 6. Blessed be the Lord. How soon are the saints' sorrow turned into songs, and their prayers into praises! It was in faith that David prayed, {y, 2.) Hear the voice of my supfili-cations; and by the same faith he gives thanks, (v. 6.) that God had heard the voice of his su/ifilica-tions. Note, 1. They that pray in faith may rejoice in hope. " He hath heard me, (graciously accepted me,) and I am as sure of a real answer as if I had it already." 2.' What we win by prayer, we must

wear with praise; has God heard our supplications.' Let us then bless his name.

II. He encourages himself to hope in God for the perfecting of every thing that concemed him; having given to God the glory of his grace, (v. 6.) he is humbly bold to take the comfort of it, v. 7, This is the method of attaining peace; let it begin with praise that it is attainable. Let us first bless God, and then bless oursehes. Observe, 1. His dependence upon God; "The Lord is my Strength, to support me, and carry me on, through all my services and sufferings. He is my Shield, to protect me from all the malici'us designs of my enemies against me. I have chosen him to be so, I have always found him so, and I expect he will still be so." 2. His experience of the benefit of that dependence; "My heart trusted in him, and in his power and promise; and it has not been in vain to do so, for I am helped, I have been often helped; not only God has given to me, in his due time, the help I trusted to him for, but my very trust in him has helped me, in the mean time, and kept me from fainting," xxvii. 13. The very actings of faith are present aids to a drooping spirit, and often help it at a dead lift. 3. His improvement of this experience. He had the pleasure of it; therefore my heart greatly rejoices. The joy of a believer is seated in the heart, while, in the laughter of the fool, the heart is sorrowful. It is great joy, joy unspeakable, and full of glory. The heart that truly believes shall in due time greatly rejoice; it is joy and peace in believing that we are to expect. God shall ha\e the praise of it; when my heart greatly rejoices, with my song will'I praise him. Thus must we express our gratitude, it is the least we can do; and others will hereby be invited and encouraged to trust in him too.

III. He pleases himself with the interest which all good people, through Christ, have in God; (v. 8.) " The Lora is their Strength; not mine only, but the Strength of every believer." Note, The saints rejoice in their friends' comforts as well as their own; for as we have not the less benefit from the light of the sun, so neither from the light of God's countenance, for others' sharing therein; for we are sure there is enough for all, and enough for each. This is our communion with all saints, that God is their Strength and ours; Christ their Lord and ours, 1 Cor. i. 2. He is their Strength, the Strength of all Israel, because he is the saving Strength of his anointed, that is, 1. Of David in the type. God, in strengthening him that was their king, and fought their battles, strengthened the whole kingdom. He calls himself God's anointed, because it was the unction he had received, that exposed him to the envy of his enemies, and therefore entitled him to the divine protection. 2. Of Christ, his Anointed, his Messiah, in the anti-type. God was his saving Strength, qualified him for his undertaking, and carried him through it; see Ixxxix. 21. Isa. xlix. 5.—1. 7, 9. And so he becomes their Strength, the Strength of all the saints; he strengthened him that is the church's Head, and from him diffuses strength to all the members; has commanded his strength, and so strengthens what he has wrought for us, Ixviii. 28.—Ixxx. 17, 18.

IV. He concludes with a short, but comprehensive, prayer for the church of God, v. 9. He prays for Israel, not as his people, "save my people, and bless mine inheritance,' though they were so, but, "thine." God's interest in them, lay nearer his heart than his own; JVe are thy fieofile, is a good plea, Isa. Ixiv. 9.—Ixiii. 19. I am thine, save me, God's people are his inheritance, dear to him, and precious in his eyes; what little glory he has from this world, he has from them. The Lord's portion is his people. That which he begs of God for them,

PSALMS, XXIX.

275

is, 1. That he would save them from their enemies, and the dangers tliey were exjjosed to. 2. That he would bless them with all good, flowing from his favour, in performance of liis pnjmise, and amounting to a happiness for them. 3. That he would feed them; bless them with plenty, and especially the plenty of his ordinances, which are food to the soul. Rule them ; so the margin. " Direct their counsels and actions aright, and overrule their affairs for good. Feed them and rule them ; set pastors, set rulers, over them, that shall do their office with ■wisdom and understanding." 4. That he would lift them up for ever; lift them up out of their troubles and distresses; and do this, not only for those of that age, but for his people in every age to come, even to the end. " Lift them up into thy glorious kingdom, lift them up as high as heaven." There, and there only, will the saints be lifted up for ever, never more to sink, or be depressed. Observe, Those, and those only, whom God feeds and rules, who are "willing to be taught, and guided, and governed, Iw him, shall be saved, and blessed, and lifted up for ever.

PSALM XXIX.

It is the probable conjecture of some very g^ood interpreters, that David penned this psalm upon occasion, and just at the time, of a great storm of thunder, lightning, and rain; as the eighth psalm was his meditation in a moonshine night, and the nineteenth in a sun-shine morning. It is good to take occasion, from the sensible operations of God's power in the kingdom of nature, to give glory to him. So composed was David, and so cheerful, even in a dreadful tempest, when others trembled, that then he penned this psalm; for though the earth be removed, yet will toe not fear. I. He calls upon the great ones of the world to give glory to God, v. 1, 2. II. To convince them of the greatness of that God whom they were to adore, he takes notice of his power ajid terror in the thunder, and lightning, and thunder-showers; (v. 3. .9.) his sovereign dominion over the world; (v. 10.) and his special favour to his church, v. 11. Great and high thoughts of God should fill us, in singing this psalm.

^ fisalm of David.

1. ^~^IVE unto the Lord, O ye mighty, Ijr give unto the Lord glory and strength. 2. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: worship the Lord hi the beauty of holiness. 3. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth; the Lord is upon many waters. 4. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 5. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. 6. He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. 7. The voice of the Lord divid-eth the flames of fire. 8. The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. 9. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. 10. The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever. .11. The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.

In this psalm, we have,

I. A demand of the homage of the great men of the earth to be paid to the great God. Every clap

of thunder David interpreted as a call to himself, and other pwinces, to give glory to the great God. Observe, 1. Who they are, that are called to this duty; " 0 ye mighty, {v, 1.) ye sons of the mighty, who have power, and on whom that power is devolved by succession and inheritance, who have royal blood running in your veins." It is much for the honour of the great God, that the great men of this world should pay their homage to him; and they are bound to do it, not only because, high as they are, he is infinitely above them, and therefore they must vail to him, but because they have their power from him, and are to use it for him, and this tribute of acknowledgement they owe to him for it. 2. How often this call is repeated; Give unto the Lord, and again, and a third time. Give unto the Lord. This intimates, that the mighty men are backward to this duty, and are with difficulty persuaded to it; but that it is of great consequence to the interests of God's kingdom among men, that princes should heartily espouse them. Jerusalem nourishes, when the kings of the earth bring their glory and honour into it. Rev. xxi. 24. 3. What they are called to; to give unto the Lord: not as if he needed any thing, or could be benefited by any gifts of ours, or as if we had any thing to give him that is not his own already; IVho hath first given to him? But the recognition of his glory, and of his dominion over us, he is pleased to interpret as a gift to him; " Give unto the Lord your ownselves, in the first place, and then your services; give unto the Lord glory and strength, acknowledge his glory and strength, and give praise to him as a God of infinite majesty, and irresistible power; and what glory and strength he has, by his providence, intrusted you with, offer it to him, to be used for his honour in his service. Give him your crowns, let them belaid at his feet; give him your sceptres, your swords, your keys; put all into his hand, that you, in the use of them, may be to him for a name and a praise." Princes value themselves by their glory and strength; these they must ascribe to God, owning him to be infinitely more glorious and powerful tlian they.

This demand of homage from the mighty, may be looked upon as directed either to the grandees of David's own kingdom, the peers of the realm, the princes of the tribes, (and it is to excite them to a more diligent and constant attendance at God's altars, in which he had observed them very remiss,) or to the neighbouring kings, whom he by his sword had made tributaries to Israel, and now would persuade to become tributaries to the God of Israel. Crowned heads must bow before the King of kings. What is here said to the mighty, is said to all, IVorshifi God; it is the sum and substance of the everlasting gospel. Rev. xiv. 6, 7. Now we have here, (1.) The nature of religious worship; it is giving to the Lord the glory due to his name, v. 1. God's name is that whereby he has made himself known. There is a glory due to his name; it is impossible that we should give him all the glory due to his name; when we have said and done our best for the honour of God's name, still we come infinitely short of the merit of the subject; but, when we answer that revelation which he has made of himself with suitable affections and adorations, then we give him some of that glory which is due to his name. If we would, in hearing and praying, and other acts of devotion, receive grace from God, we must make it our business to give glory to God. (2.) The rule of the performance of religious exercises; Worshi/i the Lord in the beauty of holiness; which denotes, [1.] The Object of our worship; the glorious Majesty of God is called the beauty of holiness, 2 Chro'n. xx. 21. In the worship of God, we must have an eye to his beauty, and adore him,

PSALMS, XXIX.

not only as infinitely awful, and therefore to be feared above all, but as infinitely amiable, and therefore to be loved and delighted in above all; especially we must have an eye to the beauty of iiis holiness; this the angels fasten upon in their praises. Rev. iv. 8. Or, [2.] The place of worship. The sanctuary then was the beauty ofholmess, xlviii. ], 2. Jer. xvii. 12. The beauty of the sanctuary was, the exact agreement of the worship there performed, with the divine appointment—the pattern in the mount. Now, under the gospel, solemn assemblies of Christians (which purity is the beauty of) are the places where God is to be worshipped. Or, [3. ] The manner of worship.' We must be holy in all our religious performances, devoted to God, and to his will and gloiy. There is a beauty in holiness, and it is that which puts an acceptable beauty upon all the acts of worship.

II. Good reason given for this demand. We shall see ourselves bound to give gloiy to God, if we consider, 1. His sufficiency in himself, intimated in his name Jehovah, I am that lam; which is repeated here no less than eighteen times in this short psalm, twice in every veise but three, and once in two of those three; I do not recollect that there is the like in all the book of psalms. Let the mighty ones of the earth know him by th'is name, and give him the glory due to it. 2. His sovereignty over all things. Let those that rule over men, know there is a God that rules over them, that rules over all. The psalmist here sets forth God's dominion.

(1.) In the kingdom of nature. In the wonderful effects of natural causes, and the operations of the powers of nature, we ought to take notice of God's glory and strength, which we are called upon to ascribe to him; in the thunder, and lightning, and rain, we may see,

[1.] His glory. It is the God of glory that thunders, V. 3. It is God that thunders, it is the noise of his voice, (Job xxxvii. 2.) and it speaks him a God of glory; so awful is the sound of the thunder, and so brignt the flash of its companion, the lightning; to the hearing and to the sight nothing is move affecting than these, as if by those two learning senses God would give such proofs of his glory to the minds of men, as should leave the mnst stupid inexcusable. Some observe, that there were then some particular reasons why thunder should be called the voice of the Lord; not only because it comes from above, is not under the direction or foresight of any man, speaks loud, and reaches far, but because God often spake in thunder, particularly at mount Sinai, and by thunder discomfited the enemies of Israel. To speak it the voice of the God of glor)% it is here said to be u/ion the waters, upon many waters; {y. 3.) it reaches over the vast ocean, the waters under the firmament; it rattles among the thick clouds, the waters above the firmament. Every one that hears the thunder, (his ears being made to tingle with it,) will own that the voice of the Lord is full of majesty, (xxix. 4.) enough to make the highest humble—for none can thunder with a voice like him, and the proudest tremble— for if his voice be so terrible, what is his arm? Every time we hear it thunder, let our hearts be thereby filled with great, and high, and honourable, thoughts of (iod, in the holy adorings and admirings of whom tlie power of godliness does so much consist. 0 Lord our God, thou art very ereat!

[2.] His power; {v. 4.) The voice of the Lord is fiowerful, as appears by the effects of it; for it works wonders; they that write natural histories relate the prodigious effects of tliunder and liglit-ning, even out of the ordinary course of natural causes, which must be resolved into the omnipotence of the God of nature. First, Trees have been rent and split by thunderbolts; {v. 5, 6.) Th'e voice of

the Lord, in the thunder, often brake the cedars, even those of Lebanon, the strongest, the stateliest. Some undei stand it of the violent winds which sliook tlie cedars, and sometimes tore off their aspiring tops. Earthquakes also shook the ground itself, on which the trees grew, and made Lebanon and Sirion to dance; the wilderness of Kadesh also was in like manner shaken, {y. 8.) the trees by winds, the ground by earthquakes, and both by thunders, of which I incline rather to understand it. The learned Dr. Hammond understands it of the consternation and conquest of the neighbouring kingdoms that warred witli Israel, and opposed David; as the Syrians, whose country lay near the forest of Lebanon, the Amorites that bordered on mount Hermon, and the Moabites and Ammonites that lay about the wilderness of Kadesh. Secondly, Fires have been kindled by lightnings, and houses and churches thereby consumed; hence we read of hot thunderbolts; (ixxviii. 48.) accordingly, the voice of the Lord, in the thunder, is here said to divide the Jiames of fire, {y. 7.) to scatter them upon the earth, as (iod sees fit to direct them, and do execution by them. Thirdly, The terror of thunder makes the hinds to calve sooner, and some think more easily, than otherwise they would. The hind is a timorous creature, and much affected with the noise of thunder; and no marvel, when sometimes proud and stoufmen have been made to tremble at it. The emperor Caligula would hide himself under his bed when it thundered. Horace the poet owns that he was reclaimed fiom atheism by the terror of thunder and lightning, which he describes somewhat like this here, lib. 1. ode 34. The thunder is said here to discover the forest, that is, it so terrifies the wild beasts of the forest, that they quit the dens and thickets in which they hid themselves, and so are discovered. Or it throws down the trees, and so discovers the ground that was sh.ided by them. Whenever it thunders, let us think of this psalm; and whenever we sing th's psalm, let us think of the dreadful thunder-claps we ha\ e scjme-times heard, and thus bring God's word and his works together, that by both we may be directed and quickened to give unto him the glory due unto his name; and let us bless him that tliere is another voice of his beside this di'eadful one, by which God now speaks to us, even the still small voice of his gospel, the terror of which shall net make us afraid. (2.) In the kingdom of Providence, v. 10. God is to be praised as the Governor of the world of mankind. He sits ufion thefiood, he sits King for ever. He not only sits at rest in the enjoyment of himself, but he sits as King in the throne which he has prepared in the heavens, (ciii. 19.) where he takes cognizance of, and gives orders about, all the affiiirs of the children of men, and does all accoi-d-ing to his will, according to the counsel of his will. Observe, [1.] The power of his kingdom; He sits upon the flood. As he has founded the earth, so he has founded his own throne, upon the floods, xxiv. 2. The ebbings and flowings of this lower world, and the tosses and revolutions of. the affairs in it, give not the least shake to the repose or to the counsels of the Eternal Mind. The opposition of his enemies is compared to the floods, (xciii. 3, 4.) but the Lord sits upon it; he crushes it, conquers it, and completes his own purposes, in despite of all the devices that are in men s hearts. The word here translated thefiood, is never used but conceni-ing Noah's flood, and therefore some think that is it which is here spoken of. God did sit upon that flood, as a Judge executing the sentence of his justice upon the world of the ungodly, that was swept away by it. And he still sits upon the flood, i-c-straining the waters of Noah, that thev turn tiot again to cover the earth, according to his promise

PSALiMS, XXX.

277

never to destroy the earth any more by ajiood^ Gen. ix. 11. Isa. liv. 9. [2.] The perpetuity of his kingdom; He sits King for ever; no period can, or shall, be put to his government. The administration of his kingdom is consonant to his counsels from eternity, and pursuant to his designs for eternity.

(3.) In the king-dam of grace; here his glory shines brightest, [1.] In the adoration he receives from the subjects of that kingdom, v. 9. hi his tem-/z/e, where his people attend his discoveries of himself and his mind, and attend him with their praises, there does every ones/ieak of his glory; in the world, every man sees it, or, at least, 7nay behold it afar off'; (Job xxxvi. 25.) but it is only in the temple, in the church, that it is spoken of to his honour. ^1/ his works do firaise him, they minister matter for praise; but his saints only do bless him, and speak of his glory in his works, cxlv. 10. [2.] In the favours he bestows upon the subjects ot that kingdom, V. 11. First, He will enable them for his service; He luillgive strength to hisfieofile, to fortify them against every evil work, and to furnish them for every good work; out of weakness they shall be made strong; nay, he will perfect strength in weakness. Secondly, He will encourage them in his service; He will bless his fieofile ivith peace. Peace is a blessing of inestimable value, which God designs for all his people. The work of righteousness is peace: great peace have they that love thy law; but much more the ci'own of righteousness: the end of the righteous is peace, it is endless peace. When the thunder of God's wrath shall make sinners tremble, the saints shall lift up their heads with joy.

PSALM XXX.

This is a psalm of thanksgiving for the great deliverances which God had wrought for David, penned upon occasion of the dedicating of his house of cedar, and sung in that pious solemnity, though there is not any thing in it that has particular reference to that occasion. Some collect, from divers passages in the psalm itself, that it was penned upon his recovery from a dangerous fit of sickness, which might happen to be about the time of the dedication of his house. I. He here praises God for the deliverances he had wrought for him, v. 1.. 3. II. He calls upon others to praise him too, and encourages them to trust in him, v. 4, 5. III. He blames himself for his former security, V. 6, 7. IV. He recollects the prayers and complaints he had made in his distress, v. 8. . 10. With them he stirs up himself to be very thankful to God for the present comfortable change, v. 11, 12. In singing this psalm, we ought to remember with thankfulness any hke dehverances wrought for us, for which we must stir up ourselves to praise him, and by which we must be engaged to depend upon him.

^ psalm and song, at the dedication of the house of David.

I. T" WILL extol thee, O Lord ; for thou JL hast Ufted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. 2. O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 3. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave : thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. 4. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. 5. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life : weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

It was the laudable practice of the pious Jews, and, though not expressly appointed, yet allowed and accepted, when they had built a new house, to

dedicate it to God, Deut. xx. 5. David did so, when his house was built, and he took possession of it; (2 Sam. v. 11.) for royal palaces do as much need God's protection, and are as much bound to be at his service, as ordinary houses. Note, The houses we dwell in should, at our first entrance upon them, be dedicated to God, as little sanctuaries. We must solemnly commit ourselves, our families, and all our family affairs, to God's guidance and care; must pray for his presence and blessing, must devote ourselves, and all our's, to his gloiy, and ' must resolve both that we will put away iniquity far ! from our tat)ernacles, and that we and our houses will ser\ e the Lord, both in the duties of family worship, and in all instances of gospel obedience. Some conjecture that this psalm was sung at the re- " dedication of David's house, after he had been driven out of it by Absalom, who had defiled it with his incest, and that it is a thanksgiving for the crushing of that dangerous rebellion.

In these verses,

I. David does himself give God thanks for the great deliverances he had wrought for him; {y. 1.) " I will extol thee, O Lord; I will exalt thy name, will praise thee as One high and lifted up. I will do what I can to advance the interests of thy kingdom among men. I will extol thee, for thou hast lifted me up, not only up out of the pit in which I was sinking, but up to the throne of Israel." He raiseth up the poor out of the dust. In consideration of the great things God has done to exalt us, both b^ his providence and by his grace, we are bound, in gratitude, to do all v e can to extol his name, though the most we can do is but little.

Three things magnify David's deliverance:

1. That it was the defeat of his enemies. They were not suffered to triumph o\ er him, as they would have done, (though it is a barbarous thing,) if he had died of this sickness, or perished in this distress: see xli. 11.

2. That it was an answer to his prayers; (r. 2.) I cried unto thee. All the expressions of the sense we have of our troubles should be directed to God, and every cry be a cry to him; giving way, in this manner, to our grief, will ease a burthencd spirit. " I cried to thee, and thou hast not only heard me, but healed me, healed the distempered body, healed the disturbed and disquieted mind, healed the disordered, distracted, affairs of the kingdom." It is what Ciod glories in, lam the Lord that healeth thee, (Exod. xv. 26.) and we must give him the gloiy of it.

3. That it was the saving of his life; for he was brought to the last extremity, dropping into the grave, Kud ready to go down into the pit, and yet rescued, and kept alive, v. 3. The more imminent our dangers have been, the more eminent our deliverances have been, the more comfortable are they to ourselves, and the more illustrious proofs of the power and goodness of God. A life from the dead ought to be spent in extolling the God of our hfe.

II. He calls upon others to join with him in praise, not only for the particular favours God had bestowed upon him, but for the general tokens of his goodwill to all his saints; {v. 4.) Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his. All that are truly saints, he owns for his; there is a remnant of such in this world, and from them it is expected that they sing unto him; for they are created, and sanctified, made, and made saints, that they be to him for a name and a praise. His saints in heaven sing to him; why should not those on earth be doing the same work, as well as they can, in concert with them.'*

1. They believe him to be a God of unspotted purity; and therefore let tnem sing to him; "Let them girve thanks at the remembrance of his holiness;

PSALMS, XXX.

let them praise his holy name, for holiness is his memorial throughout all generations." God is a holy God; his holiness is his glory; that is the attribute which the holy angels, in their praises, fasten most upon, Isa. vi. 3. Rev. iv. 8. We ought to be much in the mention and remembrance of God's holiness; and holy souls can give thanks at the mention of God's holiness. It is matter of joy to the saints, that God is a holy God; for then they hope he will make them holy, more holy. None of all God's perfections carries in it more terror to the wicked, or more comfort to the godly, than his holiness. It is a good sign that we are in some measure partakers of his holiness, if we can heartily rejoice and give thanks at the remembrance of it.

2. They have experienced him to be a God gracious and merciful; and therefore let tliem sing to him.

(1.) We have found his frowns very short; though we have deserved they should have been everlasting, and that he should have been angry with us, till he had consumed us, and should never have been reconciled, yet /lis anger endurtth but for a moment, v. 5. When we offend him, he is angry; but, as he is slow to anger, and not soon provoked, so, when he is angry, upon our repentance and humiliation, his anger is soon turned away, and he is willing to be at peace with us. If he hide his face from his own children, and suspend the wonted tokens of his favour, it is but in a little wrath, and for a small moment; but he will gather them with everlasting kindness, Isa. liv. 7, 8. If weeping endure for a night, and it be a wearisome night, yet, as sure as the light of the morning returns after the darkness of the night, so sure will joy and comfort return in a short time, in due time, to the people of God; for the covenant of grace is as firm as tlie covenant of the day. This word has often been fulfilled to us in the letter; weeping has endured for a night, but the grief has been soon over, and the grievance gone. Observe, As long as God's anger continues, so long the saints' weeping continues; but if that be but for a moment, the affliction is but for a moment, and when the light of God's countenance is restored, the affliction is easily pronounced light and momentary.

(2.) We have found his smiles very sweet; In his favour is life, all good. The return of his favour to an afflicted soul, is as life from the dead; nothing can be more reviving. Our happiness is bound up in God's favour; if we have that, we have enough, whatever else we want. It is the life of the soul, it is spiritual life, the earnest of life eternal.

6. And in my prosperity I said, I sliall never be moved. 7. Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strons;: thou didst hide tliy face, mid I was troubled. 8. I cried to thee, O Lord ; and unto tlie Lord I made supphcation. 9. What profit w there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? 10. Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper. 11. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 12. To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, 1 will give thanks unto thee for ever.

We have, in these verses, an account of three

several states that Uavid was in successively, and of the workings of his heart toward God in each of those estates—what he said and did, and how his heart stood aifected; in the first of which we may see what we are too apt to be, and in the other twi what we should be.

I. He had long enjoyed prosperity, and then he grew secure, and over-confident of the continuance of it; {v. 6, 7.) "/n my firosfierity, when I was in health of body, and God had given me rest from all mine enemies, I said I shall never be moved; I never thought either of having my body distempered, or my government disturbed, nor had any apprehensions of danger upon any account." Such complete \ ictories had he obtained over those that opposed him, and such a confirmed interest had he in the hearts of his people, such a firmness of mind, and such a strong constitution of body, that he thought his prosperity fixed like a mountain; yet this he ascribes, not to his own wisdom or fortitude, but to the divine goodness; Thou, through thy favour, hast made my mountain to stand strong, v. 7. He does not look upon it as his heaven, (as worldly people do, who make their prosperity their felicity,) only liis mountain; it is earth still, only raised a little higher than the common level; this he thought, by the favour of God, would be perpetuated to him; imagining, perhaps, that, having had so many troubles in the beginning of his days, he had had his whole share, and should have none in his latter end; or that God, who had given him such tokens of his favour, would never frown upon him. Note, 1. We are very apt to dream, when things are well with us, that they will always be so, and never otherwise; To-morrow shall be as this day. As if we should think, when the weather is once fair, that it will be ever fair; whereas nothing is more certain than that it will change. 2. When we see ourselves deceived in our expectations, it becomes us to reflect, with shame, upon our security, as our folly, as David does here, that we may be wiser another time, and may rejoice in our prosperity as though we rejoiced not, because the fashion of it passes away.

II. On a sudden, he fell into trouble, and then he prayed to God, and pleaded earnestly for relief and succour. 1. His mountain was shaken, and he with it; it proved, when he grew secure, that he was least safe; " Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled, in mind, body, or estate." In every change of his condition, he still kejJt his eye upon (iod, and as he ascribed his prosperity to Cjod's favour, so, in his adversity, he observed the hiding of God's face to be the cause of it. If God hide his face, a good man is ceitainly troubled, though no other calamity befall him; when the sun sets, night certainly follows, and the moon and all the stars cannot make day. 2. When his mountain was shaken, he lifted up his eyes above the hills. Prayer is a salve for every sore; he made use of it accordingly. Is any afflicted? is any troubled? let him firay. Though God hid his face from him, yet he prayed. If God, in wisdom and justice, turn from us, yet it will be in us the greatest folly and injustice imaginable, if we turn from him. No, let us learn to pray in the dark; {v. 8.) I cried to thee, O Lord. It seems, God's withdrawings made his prayers the more vehement. Wc are here told, for it seems he kept account of it, (1.) What he pleaded; {v. 9.) That Ciod would be no gainer by his death; What profit is there in my blood? implying, that he would willingly die, if he could thereby do any leal service to God, or his country, (Phil, ii. 17.) but he saw not what good could be done by his dying in the bed of sickness, as might be, if he had died in the bed of honour. " Lord," says he, " wilt thou sell one of thine ov^n fieofile for nought.

PSAf.MS, XXXI.

279

and not increase thy wealth by the firice?" xliv. 12. Nay, that, in his honour, God would seem to be a Loser by his death; Shall the dust firaise thee'/ The sanctified spirit, which returns to God, shall praise him, shall be still praising him; but the dust, wliich returns to the earth, shall not praise him, nor declare his truth. The services of God's house can-pot be performed by the dust; it cannot praise h;m; there is none of that device or working in the grave, for it is the land c.f silence. The promises of God's covenant cannot be performed to the dust. "Lord," says David, '• if I die now, what will become of the promise made to me? Who shall declare the truth of that?" The best pleas in prayer are those that are taken from God's honour; and then we ask aright for life, when we have that in view, that we may live and praise him. (2.) What he prayed for; {v. 10.) he prayed for mercy to pardon; (Have mercy ufion me;) and for grace to help in time of need; Lord, be thou my Helfier. On these two errands we also may come boldly to the throne of grace, Heb. iv. 16.

ni. In due time, God delivered him out of his troubles, and restored him to his former prosperity. His prayers were answered, and his mourning was turned into dancing, v. 11. God's anger now endured but for a moment, and David's weeping but for a night. The sackcloth with which, in a humble compliance with the Divine Providence, he had clad himself, was loosed; his griefs were balanced; his fears were silenced; his comforts returned; and he was girded with gladness: joy was made his ornament, was made his strength, and seemed to cleave to him, as the girdle cleaves to the loins of a man. As David's plunge into trouble from the height of prosperity, and then when he least expected it, teaches us to rejoice as though we rejoiced not, because we know not how near trouble may be; so his sudden return to a prosperous condition teaches us to weep as though we wept not, because we know not how soon the storm may become a calm, and the formidable blast may become a favourable gale.

But what temper of mind was he in, upon this happy change of the face of his affairs? What doer he say now? He tells us, v. 12. 1. His complaints were turned into praises. He looked upon it that God girded him with gladness, to the end that he might be the sweet fisalmist of Israel; (2 Sam. xxiii. 1.) that his glory might sing praise to God, that is, his tongue; for our tongue is our glory, and never more so than when it is employed in praising God; or his soul; for that is our glory above the beasts, that must be employed in blessing the Lord, and with that we must make melody to him, in singing psalms. They that are kept from being silent in the pit, must not be silent in the land of the living, but fervent, and constant, and public, in praising God. 2. These praises were likely to be everlasting; / will give thanks unto thee for ever. This bespeaks a gracious resolution that he would persevere to the end in praising God, and a gracious nope that he should never want fresh matter for praise, and that he should shortly be there where this would be the everlasting work. Blessed are they that dwell in God's house, they will be still praising him. Thus must we learn to accommodate ourselves to the various providences of God that concern us; to want and to abound, to sing of mercy and judgment, and to singunto God for both.

PSALM XXXI.

It is probable that David penned this psalm when he was persecuted by Saul; some passag'es in it agree particularly to the narrow escape he had at Keilah, (1 Sam. xxiii. 13.) then in the wilderness of Maon, when Saul marched on one side of the hill, and he on the other, and, soon after, in the cave in the wilderness of En-gedi; but

that it was penned upon any of those occasions we are not t(<ld. It is a mixture of prayers and praises, and professions of confidence in God, all which do well topellier, and are helpful to one another. I. David pro-fesseth liis cheerful confidence in God, and, in that confidence, prays for deliverance out of his present troubles, v. I .. 8. II. He complains of the verj deplorable condition he was in, and, in the sense of his calamities, still prays that God would graciously appear for him against his persecutors, V. 9. . 18. III. He concludes the psalm with praise and triumph, giving glory to God, and encouraging himself and others to trust in him, v. 19.. 24.

To the chief Tnusician. A Psalm of David-

1. XN thee, O Lord, do 1 put. my trust

JL let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. 2. Bow down thine car to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for a house of defence to save me. 3. For thou art my rock and my fortress: therefore, for thy name's sake, lead me and guide me. 4. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me; for thou art my strength. 5. Into thy hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LoHD God of truth. 6. 1 have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the Lord. 7. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities ; 8. And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room.

Faith and prayer must go together. He that believes, let him pray; / believe, therefore have I sfioken: and he that prays, let him believe, for the prayer of faith is the pre\ ailing prayer. We have both here.

L David, in distress, is very earnest with God in prayer, for succour and relief. This eases a bur-thened spirit, fetches in promised mercies, and wonderfully supports and comforts the soul, in the expectation of them. He prays, 1. That God would deliver him, {v. 1.) that his life might be preserved from the malice of his enemies, and that an end might be put to their persecutions of him. That God, not only in mercy, but in righteousness, would deliver him, as a righteous Judge betwixt him and his unrighteous persecutors; that he would bow down his ear to his petitions, to his appeals, and deliver him, v. 2. It is condescension in God to take cognizance of the case of the greatest and best of men; he humbles himself to do it. The psalmist prays also that he would deliver him speedily, lest, if the deliverance were long deferred, his faith should fail. 2. That if he did not immediately deliver him out of his troubles, yet he would protect and shelter him in his troubles; "Be thou my strong Rock, immovable, impregnable, as a fastness framed by nature, and my House of defence, a fortress framed by art, and all to save me." Thus may we pray that God's providence would secure to us our lives and comforts, and that by his grace we may be enabled to think ourselves safe in him,Prov. xviii.lO. 3. That, his case having much in it of difficulty, both in respect of duty, and in respect of providence, he might be under the divine guidance; "Lord, lead me and guide me; (v. 3.) so order my steps, so order my spirit, that I may never do any thing unlawful and unjustifiable, against my conscience; or unwise and indiscreet, against my interest." Thev that resolve to follow God's direction, may in faith pray for it. 4. That,

PSALMS, xxxr.

his enemies being ver}' crafty, as well as ver\" spiteful, God would frustrate and baffle their designs against him; (t;. 4.) "Pull me out of the net that they have laid firivily for me, and keep me fi-oni the sin, the trouble, the death, they aim to entrap me in."

II. In this prayer, he gives glory to God, by a repeated profession of his confidence in him, and dependence on him. This encouraged his prayers, and qualified him for the merries he prayed for; {v. 1.) " hi thee, O Lord, do I fiut my trust, and not in myself, or any sufficiency of my own, or in any creature; let me never be ashamed, let me not be disappointed of uny of that good which thou hast promised me, and wliich therefore I have promised myself in thee.

1. He had chosen God for his Protector, and God had, by his promise, undertaken to be so; (i'. 3.) " Thou art my Rock and my Fortress, by thy covenant with me, and my believing consent to that covenant; therefore be my strong Rock," v. 2. They that have in sincerity avouched the Lord for their's, may expect the benefit of his being so; for God's relations to us carry with them both name and thing. Thou art my Strength, v. 4. If God be our Strength, we may hope that he will both put his strength in us, and put forth his strength for us.

2. He gave up his soul in a special manner to him; (v. 5.) Into thine hands I commit my spirit. (1.) If David here looks upon himself as a dying man, by these words he resigns his departing soiil to God, who gave it, and to whom, at death, the spirit returns. " Men can but kill the body, but I trust in God to redeem my soul from the fiower of the grave," xlix. 15. "He is willing to die, if God will have it so; but let my so\i\fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are great. With these words, our Lord Jesus yielded up the ghost upon the cross, and made his soul an offering, a free-will offering, for sin, voluntarily laying down his life a ransom. By Stephen's example we are taught, in our dying m'oments, to eye Christ at God's right hand, and to commit our spirits to him; Lord Jesus, recrive mi/ afiirit. But, (2.) David is here to be looked upon as a man in distress and trouble. And, [1.] His great care is about his soul, his spirit, his better part. Note, Our outward afflictions should increase our concern for our souls. Many think that while they are preplexed about their worldly aff.iirs, and Providence multiplies their care about them, they may be excused if they neglect their souls; whereas the greater hazard our lives and secular interests lie at, the more we are concerned to look to our souls, that, though the outward man perish, the inward man may suffer no damage, (2 Cor. iv. 16.) and that we may keep possession of our souls, when we can keep possession of nothing else, Luke xxi. 19. [2.] He thinks the best he can do for his soul is, to commit it into the hand of God, and lodge that great trust with him. He had prayed, (t. 4.) to be plucked out of the net of outward trouble, but, as not insisting upon that, God's will ije done, he immediately lets fall that petition, and commits the spirit, the inward man, into God's hand; "Lord, however it goes with me, as to my bodv, let it go well with my soul." Note, It is the wisdom and duty of every one of us, solemnly to cnmmit our spirits into the hands of God, to be sanctified I)v his grace, devoted to his honour, emploved in his'service, and fitted for his kingdom. That which encourages us to commit our spirits into the hand of God, is, that he has not onlv created, but redeemed them; the particular redemptions of the Old Testament church, and the Old Testament saints, were typical of our redemption by Jesus Christ, (Jen. xlviii. 16. The redempti-m rf the soul is so precious, that it must have ceased for ever, if Christ had

not undertaken it; but, by redeeming our souls, he has not only acquired an additional right and title to them, which obliges us to commit them to him as his own, but has showed the extraordinary kindness and concern he has for them, which encourages us to commit them to him, to be preserved to his heavenly kingdom; (2 Tim. i. 12.) "Thou hast redeemed me, 0 Lord God of truth; redeemed me according to a promise which thou wilt be true to."

III. He disclaimed all confederacy with those that made an arm of flesh their confidence; (v, 6."* I have hated them that regard lying vanities; idolaters, (so some,) who expect aid from false gods, which are vanity and a lie; astrologers, and those that give heed to them, so others. David abhorred the use of enchantments and divinations; he consulted not, nor ever took notice of, the flight of birds or entrails of beasts, good omens or bad omens; they are lying vanities, and he not only did not regard them himself, but hated the wickedness of those that did; he trusted in God only, and not in any creature; his interest in the court and country, his retreats or strongholds, even Goliath's sword itself—these were lying vanities, which he could not depend upon, but trusted in the Lord only. See xl. 4. Jer. xvii. 5.

IV. He comforted himself with his hope in God, and made himself, not only easy, but cheerful, with it, v. 7. Having relied on God's mercy, he will be glad and rejoice in it; and those know not how to value their hope in God, who cannot find joy enough in that hope to balance their grievances, and silence their giiefs.

V. He encouraged himself in this'hope, with the experiences he had had, of late, and formerly, of God's goodness to him, which he ;iientions to the glory of God; he that has delivered, doth, and wilL 1. God had taken notice of his afflictions, and all the circumstances of them; *' Thou hast considerea ?ny trouble, with wisdom to suit relief to it, with condescension and compassion regarding the low estate of thy servant." 2. He had observed the temper of his spirit, and the workings of his heart under his afflictions; " Thou hast knovjn my soul in adversities, with a tender concern and care for it." God's eye is upon our souls, when we are in trouble, to see whether they be humbled for sin, submissive to the will of God, and bettered by th^ affliction. If the soul, when cast down under affliction, has been lifted up to him in true devotion, he knows it. 3. He had rescued him out of the hands of Saul, when he had him safe enough in Keilah; (1 Sam. xxiii. 7.) " Thou hast not shut me ufi into the hand of the enemy, but set me at liberty, in a large room, where I may shift for my own safety." V. is. Christ's using these words, (r. 5.) upon the cross, may warrant us to apply all this to Christ, who trusted in his Father, and was supported and deli\ ered by him, and (because he humbled himself) highly exalted, which it is proper to think of, when we sing these verses, as also therein to acknowledge the experience we have had of God's gracious presence with us in our troubles, and to encourage ourselves to trust in him for the future,

9. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; mine eye is consumed with ^rief, ?/eff, my soul and my belly. 10. For my life is spent witii jirief, and my years uitii sighinij: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed. 11. I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neigh-

PSALMS, XXXI.

281

hours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me. 12. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am Uke a broken vessel. 13. For I have heard the slander of many : fear ivas on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life. 14. But I trusted in thee, O Lo rd : I said. Thou art my God. 15. My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. 16. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake.

17. Let me not be ashamed, O Lord ; for [ have called upon thee : let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.

18. Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

in the foregoing verses, David had appealed to God's righteousness, and pleaded his relation to him, and dependence on him; here he appeals to his mercy, and pleads the greatness of his own misery, whicli made his case the proper object of that mercv. Observe,

I. The complaint he makes of his trouble and distress; (v. 9.) "Have mercy ufion me, 0 Lord, for I am in trouble, and need thy mercy." The remembrance he makes of his condition is not much unlike some even of Job's complaints.

1. His troubles had fixed a \ ery deep impression upon his mind, and made him a man of sorrows. So great was his grief, that his very soul was consumed with it, and his life spent with it, and he was continually sighing, x'. 9, 10. Herein he was a type of Christ, who was intimately acquainted with grief, and often in tears. We may guess by David's complexion, which was ruddy and sanguine, by his genius for music, and by his daring enterprises in his early days, that his natural disposition was both cheerful and firm, that he was apt to be cheerfvd, and not to lay trouble to his heart; vet here we see what he is brought to: he" has almost wept out his eyes, and sighed away his breath. Let those that are airy and gay take heed of running into extremes, and never set sorrow at deiiance; God can find out ways to make them melancholy, if they will not otherwise learn to be serious.

2. His body was affected with the sorrows cf his mind; {v. 10.) My strength fails, ?7iy doTies are consumed, and all beraitse of mine inic/uity. As to Saul, and the quarrel he had with him, he could confidently insist upon his righteousness; but as it was an affliction God laid upon him, he owns he had deserved it, and freely confesses his iniquity to have been the procuring cause of all his trouble; and the sense of sin touched him to the quick, and wasted him more than all his calamities.

3. His friends were unkind, and became shy of him; he was a fear to /lis acquaintance, when they saw him, thev /led from liim, v. 11. They durst not harbour him, nor give him any assistance, nor show him any countenance, not so much as to be seen in his companv, for fear of being brought into trouble by it, now that Saul had proclaimed him a traitor, and out-lawed him. Thev saw how dear Abimelech the priest had paid for aiding and abetting him, though ignorantly; and therefore, though they could not but own he had a great deril of wrong done him, yet thev had not thecourasre to appeaV

Vol. III.—2 N

for him. He was forgotten by them, as a dead man out of mind, {v. 12.) and looked upon with contempt as a broken vessel. They that showed him all possible respect, when he was in honour at court, now that he- was fallen into disgrace, though unjustly, were strange to him. Such swallow-friends the world is full of, that are gone in winter. Let those that fall on the losing side, not think it strange, if they be thus deserted, but make sure a Friend in heaven, that will not fail them, and make use of him.

4. His enemies were unjust in their censures of him; they would not have persecuted him as they did, if they had not first represented him as a bad man; he was a refiroach among all his enemies, but especially among his neighbours, v. 11. Those that had been the witnesses of his integrity, and could not but be convinced in their consciences that he was an honest man, were the most forward to represent him quite otherwise, that they might curry favour with Saul. Thus he had the slander of many; every one had a stone to throw at him, because fear was on every side; they durst not do otherwise, for he that would not join with his neighbours to abuse David, was looked upon as disaffected to Saul. Thus the best of men haVe been ranked with the worst characters by those that resolved to give them the worst treatment.

5. His life was aimed at, and he went in continual peril of it. That fear was on every side, and he knew that, whatever counsel his enemies took against him, the design was not to take away his liberty, but to take away his life, {v. 13.) a life so valuable, so useful, to the good services cf which all Israel owed so much, and which was never forfeited. Thus, in all the plots of the Pharisees and Herodians against Christ, still the design was to take away his life; such are the enmity and cruelty of the serpent's seed. ''

n. His confidence in God, in the midst of these troubles; every thing looked black and dismal round about him, and threatened to drive him to despair; "But I trusted in thee, 0 Lord, {v. 14.) and that kept me from sinking." His enemies robbed him of his reputation among men, but they could not rob him of his comfort in God, because thev could not drive him from his confidence in God. Two things he comforted himself with in his straits, and he went to God, and pleaded them with him; 1. "Thou art my God; I have chosen thee for mine, and thou hast promised to be mine;" and if he be ours, and we can by f lith call him so, it is enough, when we can call nothing else curs. "Thr-u art my God; and therefore to. whom shall I go for relief, but to thee?" Thev need not be straitened in their prayers, who can plead this; for if God undertake to be our God, he will do that for us, which will answer the compass and vast extent of that engagement. 2. My times are in thy hand. Join this with the former, and it makes the comfort complete. If God have our times in his hand, he can help us; and if he be our God, he nvill help us; and then what can discourage us? It is a great support to those who have God for their God, that their times are in hra hand; and he will be sure to order and dispose of them for the best to all those who commit their spirits also into his hand, to suit them to their times, as David here, v. 5. The time of life is in God's hands, to lengthen or shorten, imbitter or sweeten, as he pleases, according to the counsel of his will. Our times, all events that concern us, and the timing of them, these are at God's disposal; they are not in our own hands, for the wav of man is not in himself, not in cur friends' hands, nor in our ene mies'hands, but in Grd's; ei'cry man's judgment proceedeth from him. David does not, in hisprayers, /prescribe to Gcd, but iz^^scribe to him; "X.ord, my

PSALMS. XXXI.

times are in thy hand, and I am well pleased that they are so, they could not be in a better hand; thy will be done."

III. His petitions to God; in this faith and confidence,

1. He prays that God would deliver him out of the hand of his enemies, (f. 15.) and save him; (x'. 16.) and this, for his mercies' sake, and not for any merit of his own. Our ofifiortujiities are in God's hand, (so some read it,) and therefore lie knows how to choose the best and fittest time for our deliverance, and we must be willing to wait that time. When David had Saul at his mercy in the cave, those about him said, " This is the time in which God will deliver thee," 1 Sam. xxiv. 4. "No," says David, " the time is not come for my deliverance, till it can be wrought without sin; and I will wait for that time; for it is God's time, and that is the best time."

2. That God would give him the comfort of his favour in the mean time; (x'. 16.) *' Make thy face to shine ufion thy servant; let me have the comfortable tokens and evidences of thy favour to me, and that shall put gladness in my heart in the midst of all my griefs."

3. That his prayers to God might be answered, and his hopes in God accomplished; (x;. 17.) ^'Let me not be ashamed of my hopes and prayers, for I have called ufion thee, who never saidst to thy people, Seek in vain, and hope in vain."

4. That shame and silence might be the portion of wicked people, and parti^^ularly of his enemies. They were confident of their success against David, and that they should run him down, and ruin him. "Lord," says he, "let them be made ashamed of that confidence by the disappointment of their expectations. " As those that opposed the building of the wall about Jerusalem, when it was finished, were much cast down in their own eyes, Neh. vi. 16. Let them be silent in the grave. Note, Death will silence the rage and clamour of cruel persecutors, whom reason would not silence. In the grave, the wicked cease from troubling. Particularly, he prays for, that is, he prophesies, the silencing of those that reproach and calumniate the people of God; (x'. 18.) Let lying lips be fiut to silence, that speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. This is a very good prayer, (1.) Which we have often occasion to put up to God; for they that set their mouth against the heavens, commonly revile the heirs of heaven. Religion, and the strict and serious professors of it, are every where spoken against, [1.] With a great deal of malice; they speak.gTTexfOws things, on purpose to vex them, and hoping, with what they say, to do them a real mischief. They speak hard things, (so the word is,) which bear hard upon them, and by which they hope to fasten indelible characters of infamy upon them. [2.] With a great deal of falsehood; they are lying lips, taught by the father of lies, and serving his interest. [3.] With a great deal of scorn and disdain; they speak proudly and contemptuously, as if the righteous, whom God has honoured, were the most despicable people in tlie world, and not worthy to be set with the dogs of their flock. One would think they thought it no sin to tell a deliberate lie, if it may but serve to expose a good man either to hatred or contempt. Hear, 0 our (rod,forivearedesfmed. (2.) We may pray it in faith: for these lying lips shall be put to silence.

,,God has manv ways of doing it. Sometimes he convinces the consciences of those that reproach his people, and turns their hearts; s">metimes by his providence he visibly confutes their calumnies, and brings forth the righteousness of his people as the light. However, there is a day coming, when God will convince ungodly sinners of the falsehood of

all the hard speeches they have spoken against his people, and will execute judgment upon them, Jude 14, 15. Then shall this prayer be fully answered, and to that day we should have an eye in the singing of it; engaging ourselves likewise, by well-doing, if possible, to silence the ignorance oj foolish men, 1 Pet. ii. 15.

19. Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee • ivhich thou hast wrought for them that trust in tliee before the sons of men! 20. Thou shall hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man ; thou shall keep thera secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. 21. JBlessed he the Lord; for he hath showed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city. 22. For I said in my hastts I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications, when I cried unto thee. 23. O love the Lord, all ye his saints:/or the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. 24. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your hear^., all ye that hope in the Lord.

We have three things in these verses:

I. The believing acknowledgement which David

makes of God's goodness to his people in general,

x;. 19, 20.

1. God is good to ^11, but he is, in a special manner, good to Israel. His goodness to them is wonderful, and will be, to eternity, matter of admiration; Oh how great is thy goodness,' How profound are the counsels of it; how rich are the treasures of it; how free and extensive are the communications of it! Those very persons whom men load with slanders, God loads with benefits and honours. Those who are interested in this goodness, are described to be such as fear God, and trust in him, as stand in awe of his greatness, and rely on his grace. This goodness is said to be laid up for them, and wrought for them. (1.) There is goodness laid up for them in the other world, an inheritance reserved in heaven; (1 Pet. i. 4.) and there is a goodness wrought for them in this world, goodness wrought in them. There is enough in God's goodness, both for the portion and inheritance of all his children, when they come to their full age, and for their maintenance and education, during their minority. There is enough in bank, and enough in hand. (2.) This goodness is laid up in his promise for all that fear God, to whom assurance is given that they shall want no good thing. But it is wrought, in the actual performance of the promise, for those that trust in him—that by faith take hold of the promise, put it in suit, and draw out to themselves the benefit and comfort of it. If what is laid up for us in the treasures of the everlasting covenant, be not wrought for us, it is our own fault; because we do not believe. But those that trust in God, as they have the comfort of his goodness in their own bosoms, so they have the credit of it, (and the credit of an estate goes far with some^) it is wrought for them before the sons of men; God's goodness to them puts an honour upon them, and rolls away their reproach; for all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed, Isa. Ixi." 9.

2. God preserves man and beast; but he is, in aspe cial manner, the Protector of his own people; (r. 20.*

PSALMS, XXXIl.

Thou shall hide them. As his goodness is hid and reserved for them, so they are hid and preserved for it. The saints are God's hidden ones. See here, (1.) The danger they are in, which arises from the pride of man, and from the strife of tongues; proud men insult over them, and would trample on them, and tread them down; contentious men pick quarrels with them, and, when tongues are at strife, good people often go by the worst. The pride of men endangers their liberty; the strife of tongues, in

gerverse disputings, endangei-s truth. But, (2.) ee the defence they are under; Thou shall hide them in the secret of thy fireaence; in a fiavilion. God's providence sliall keep them safe from the malice of their enemies. He has many ways of sheltering them; when Baruch and Jeremiah were sought for, the Lord hid them, Jer. xxxvi. 26. God's grace shall keep them safe from the evil of the judgments that are abroad; to tliem they have no sting; they shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger, for there is no anger at them. His comforts shall keep them easy and cheerful; his sanctuary, where they have communion with him, shelters them from the fiery darts of terror and temptation; and the mansions in his house above, shall be shortly, shall be eternally, their hiding place from all danger and fear.

II. The thankful returns which David makes for God's goodness to him in particular, (x-. 21, 22.) Having admired God's goodness to all the saints, he here owns how good he had found him.

1. Without were fightings; but God had wonderfully preserved his liJFe; " He has showed me his marvellous loving kindness, he has given me an instance of his care of me, and favour to me, beyond what I could have expected." God's loving-kindness to his people, all things considered, is wonderful; but some" instances of it, even in this world, are, in a special manner, marvellous in their eyes; as this here, when God preserved David from the sword of Saul, in caves and woods, as safe as if it nad been in a strong city. In Keilah, that strong city, God showed him great mercy, both in making mm an instrument to rescue the mhabitants out of the hands of the Philistines, and then in rescuing him from the same men, who would have ungratefully delivered him up into the hand of Saul, 1 Sam. xxiii 5, 12. This was marvellous loving kindness mde< d, upon which he writes, with wonder and thankfulness. Blessed be the Lord. Special preservations call for particular thanksgivings.

2. Within were fears; but God was better to him than his fears, v. 22. He here keeps an account, (1.) Of his own folly, in distrusting God, which he acknowledges to his shame; though he had express

gromises to build upon, and great experience of rod's care concerning him, in many straits, yet he had entertained this hard and jealous thought of God, and could not forbear telling it him to his face, "/ am cut off" from before thine eyes; thou hast quite forsaken me, and I must not expect to be looked upon or regarded by thee any more. / shall one day perish by the hand of Saul, and so be cut off before thine eyes, be ruined while thou lookest on," 1 Sam. xxvii. 1. This he said, in his Jlig-ht, (so some read it,) which denotes the distress of his affairs. Saul was just at his back, and ready to seize him, which made the temptation strong; in my haste, (so we read it,) which denotes the disturbance and discomposure of his mind, which made the temptation surprising, so that it found him-off his guard. Note, It is a common thing to speak amiss, when we speak in haste, and without consideration; but what we speak amiss in haste, we must repent of at leisure, particularly that which we have spoken distrustfully of God. (2.) Of God's wonderful goodness to him notwithstanding; though his faith failed.

283

God's promise did not; Thou heardesl the voice of my su/i/ilkation, for all this. He mentions his own unbehet as a f il to God's fidelity, serving to make his lovmg kmdness the more marvellous, the more illustrious. When we have thus distrusted God, he might justly ha\ e taken us at our word, and brought our fears upon us, as he did on Israel, Num. x'w. 28. Isa. Ixvi. 4. But he has pitied and pardoned us, and our unbelief has not made his promise and grace of none effect; for he knows our frame.

III. The exhortation and encouragement which he, hereupon, gi\ es to all the saints, v. 23, 24.

1. He would have them set their love on God; (v. 23.) O love the Lord, all ye his saints. Those that have their own hearts full of love to God, cannot but desire that others also may be in love with him; for in his favour there is no need to fear a rival. It is the character of the saints, that they do love God; and yet they must be still called upon to love him, to love him more, and love him better, and give proofs of their love. We must love him, not only for his goodness, because he preserves the faithful, but for his justice, because he plentifully rewards the proud doer, (who would ruin those whoni he preserves,) according to theirpride. Some take It in a good sense; he plentifully rewards the magnificent (or excellent) doer, that is daringly good, whose heart, like Jehoshaphat's, is lifted up in the ways of the Lord. He rewards him that does well, but plentifully rewards him that does excellently well.

2. He would have them set their hofie in God; (i^. 24.) " Be of good courage; have a good heart on It, whatever difficulties or dangers you may meet with, the God you trust in shall by that trust strengthen your heart." They that hope in God have reason to be of good courage, and let their heai ts be strong, for, as nothing truly e^ il can befall them, so nothing truly good foi- them shall be wanting to them.

In singing this, we should animate ourselves, and one another, to proceed and persevere in our Christian course, whatever threatens us, and whoever frowns upon us.

PSALM XXXIL

This psalm, though it speaks not of Christ, as many of the psalms hitherto we have met with have done, has yet a f^reat deal of g-ospel in it. The apostle tells us, that David, in this psahii, describes the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputes righteoiisiiess xoithmit works, Rom. iv. 6. We have here a summary, I. Of gospel-grace in the pardon of sin; (v. 1, 2.) in divine protection; (v. 7.) and divine guidance, v. 8. II. Of gospel-duty. To confess sin; (v. 3.. 5.) to pray; (v. 6.) to govern ourselves well; (v. 9, 10.) and to rejoice in God, v. 11. The way to obtain these privileges, is, to make conscience of these duties, which we ought to think of; of the former for our comfort, of the latter for our quickening, when we sing this psalm. Grotius thinks it was designed to bt sung on the day of atonement.

j1 fisalm of David, Maschil.

l-T^LESSED is he M'^05e transgression _lJ is forgiven, ivhose sin is covered. 2. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. 3. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old: through my roaring all the day long. 4. (For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me) my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. 5. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess mv transgressions unto the Lord;

PSALMS, XXXII.

and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. 6. For tliis shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time v.hen thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.

This psalm is entitled Maschil, which some take .•■G be only the name of the tune to which it was set, and w;is to be sung. But others think it is significant; our margin reads it, A psalm of David giving instruction; and there is nothing in which we have more need of instruction than in the nature of true blessedness, wherein it consists, and the way that leads to it—what we must do, that we may be happy. There are divers things in which these verses instruct us. In general, we are here taught, that our happiness consists in the favour and grace of God, and not in the wealth of this world; in spiritual blessings, and not the good things of this world. When David says, (i. 1.) Blessed is (he man that ivalks not i?i the counsel of the ungodly, and, (cxix. 1.) Blessed are the undejiled in the way; the meaning is, "This is the character of the blessed man; and he that has not this character, cannot expect to be happy;" but when it is here said. Blessed is the man whose iniquity is forgiven, the meaning is, " This is the ground of his blessedness; this is that fundamental privilege from Avhich all the other ingredients of his blessedness flow."

In particular, we are here instructed,

I. Concerning the nature of the pardon of sin; this is that which we all need, and are undone without; we are therefore concerned to be very solicitous and inquisitive about it. 1. It is the forgiving of transgression. Sin is the transgj'ession of the law; upon our repentance, the transgression is forgiven; the obligation to punishment, which we lay under, by vi'tue of the sentence ( f the law, is vacated and cancelled; it is lifted off, (so some read it,) that by the pardon of it we may be eased of a burthen, a heavy burthen, like a load on the back, that makes us stoop, or a load on the stomach, that makes us sick, or a load on the spirits, that makes us sink. The remission of sins gives rest and relief to those that were weary and heavy-laden. Matth. xi. 28. 2. It is the covering of sin, as nakedness is covered, that it may not appear to our shame, Rev. iii. 18. One of the" first symptoms of guilt in our first parents, was, blushing at their own nakedness. Sin makes us loathsome in the sight of God, and utterly unfit for communion with him, and when conscience is awakened, it makes us loathsome to ourselves too; but when it is pardoned, it is covered with the robe of Christ's righteousness, like the coats of skins wherewith God clothed Adam and Eve, (an emblem of the remission of sins,) so that God is no longer displeased with us, but perfectly reconciled. They are not covered from us; no, Aly sin is ever before me, nor covered from God's omniscience, but from his vindictive justice: when he pardons sin, he remembers it no more, he casts it behind his back, it shall be sought for, and not found. The sinner, being thus reconciled to God, begins to be reconciled to himself. 3. It is the not imputing of iniquity, not laying it to the sinner's charge, not proceeding against him for it, according to the strictness of the law, not dealing with him as he deserves. The righteousness of Christ being imputed to us, and we being made the righteousness of God in him, our iniquity is not imputed, God having laid upon him the iniquity of us all, and made him sin for us. Observe, Not to impute iniquity, is God's act, for he is the Judge. It is God that justifies.

JI. Concerning the character of those whose sins

are pardoned, in whose sfiirit there is no guile; he does not say, "There is no guilt," (for who is there that lives, and sins uoX.f) hut no guile; that does not dissemble with God, in his professions of repentance and faith, and in his prayers for peace or pardon; but, in all these, is sinceie, and means as he says; that does not repent, with a purpose to sin again, and then sin, with a pui-pose to repent again, as a learned interpreter glosses upon it. Those that design honestly, that are really what they pnifess to be, those are the Israelites mdeed, in whom is no guile.

III. Concerning the happiness of a justified state; Blessednesses are to the man whose iniquity is forgiven, all manner of blessings, sufficient to make liim completely blessed. That is taken away which incui-ied the curse, and obstructed the blessing; and then God will pour out blessings, till there be no room to receive them. The forgiveness of sin, is that article of the co\ enant, which is the reason and ground of all the rest; For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, Heb. viii. 12.

IV. Concerning the uncomfortable condition of an unhumbled sinner, that sees his guilt, but is not yet brought to make a penitent confession of it. This David describes very pathetically, from his own sad experience; (■?'. 3, 4.) While I kept silence, my bones waxed old. Those may be said to keep silence, who stifle their convictions, who, when they cannot but see the evil of sin, and their danger by reason of it, ease themselves by not thinking of it, and diverting their minds to something else; as Cain to the building of a city; who cry not when God binds them; who will not un burtlicn their consciences by a penitent confession, nor seek for peace, as they ought, by faithful and fer\ent prayer; and who choose rather to pine away in tlieir iniquities, than to take the method wh;ch God has appointed of finding rest for their souls; let such expect that their smothered convictions will be a fire in their bones, and the wounds of sin, not opened, will fester, and grow intolerably painful. If conscience be seared, the case is so much the more dangerous; but if it be startled and awake, it will be heard. The hand of divine wrath will be felt lying heavy vipon the soul, and the anguish cf the spiiit will afltect the body; to that degree David experienced it, so that when he was young, his bones waxed old; and even his silence made him roar all the day long, as if he had been under some grievous pain and distemper of body; when really the cause of all his uneasiness, was, the struggle he felt in his own bosom between his convictions and his corruptions. Note, He that covers his sin shall not prosfier; some inward trouble is required in repentance, but there is much worse in impenitency.

V. Concerning the true and only way to peace of conscience. We are here taught to confess our sins, that they may be forgiven; to declare them, that we may be justified. This course David took; I acknowledged my sin unto thee and no longer hid mine iniquity, v. 5. Note, Those thaf would have the comfoit of the pardon of their sins, must take shame to themselves by a penitent confession of them. We must confess the fact of sin, and be particular in it; Thus, and thus have I done; confess the fault of sin, aggravate it, and lay a load upon ourselves for it; I have done very wickedly; confess the justice of the punishment we have been under for it; I'he Lord is just in all that is brought upon us; and that we deserve much worse; / am no more worthy to be called thy son. We must confess sin with shame and holy blushing, with fear and holv trembling.

VI. Concerning God's readiness to pardon sin to those who truly repent of it; "I said, I will confess;

PSALMS, XXXTI.

285

I sincerely resolved upon it, hesitated no longer, but came to a point, that I would make a free and ingenuous confession of my sins; and immediately thou forgavesC the inic/uity of my sin, and ga.est me the comfort of the pardon in mine own conscience; immediately I found rest to my soul." Note, God is more ready to pardon sin, upon our repentance, than we are to repent, in oider to the obtaining of pardon. It was with much ado, that David was here brought to confess his sins; he was pat to the rack before he was brought to it; \^v. 3, 4.) he held out long, and would not surrender till it came to the last extremity; but when he did offer to surrender, see how quickly how easily, he obtained good terms; I did but say, I will conjcsn, and thou forgavest." Thus the father of the prodigal saw his returning son tuhen he ivas yet afar off, and ran to meet him with the kiss that sealed his pardon. What an encouragement is this to poor penitents; and what an assurance does it give us, that, if ive confess our sins, we shall find God, not only faithful and just, but gracious and kind, to forgive us our sins.'

. VII. Concerning the good use that we are to make of the experience David had had of Ciod's readiness to forgive his sins; (x". 6.) J^'or this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee.' Note, 1. All godly people are praying people. As soon as ever Paul was converted. Behold, he firays. Acts ix. 11. You may as soon find a living man without breath, as a living Christian without prayer. 2. The instructions given us concerning the happiness of those whose sins are pardoned, and the easiness of obtaining the pardon, should engage and encourage us to pray, and particularly to pray, God be merciful to us sinners. For this, shall every one that is well-inclined, be earnest with God in prayer, and come boldly to the throne of grace, with hopes to obtain inercy, Heb. iv. 16. 3. Those that would speed in prayer, must seek the Lord in a time ivhcji he will be found. When, by his providence, he calls them to seek him, and by his Spirit he stirs them up to seek him, they must go speedily to seek the Lord, (Zech. viii. 21.") and lose no time, lest death cut them off, and then it will be too late to seek him, Isa. Iv. 6. Behold now is the accepted time, 2 Cor. vi. 2. 4. Those that are sincere and abundant in prayer, will find the benefit of it, when they are in trouble; Surely in the floods of great waters, which are very threatening, they shall not come nigh them, to terrify them, or create them any uneasiness, much less shall they overwhelm them. Those that have God nigh unto them in all that which they call upon him for, as all upright, penitent, praying, people have, are so guarded, so advanced, that no waters, no not great waters, no not floods of them, can come nigh them, to hurt them. As the temptations of the wicked one touch them not, (1 John v. 18.) so neither do the troubles of this evil world; these fiery darts, of both kinds, drop short of them.

7, Thou art my hiding-place ; thou shalt presei-ve me from trouble ; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. 8. l will instruct thee, and teach th(^e in the way which thou shalt go : I will guide thee with mine eye. 9. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, loliich have no understanding ; whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. 10. Many sorrows shall he to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about. 11.

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous : and shout for joy, all yt that are upright in heart.

David is here improving the experience he had had of the comfort of pardoning mercy.

I. He speaks to God, and professes his confidence in him, and expectation from him; {v. 7.) having tasted the sweetness of divine grace to a penitent sinner, he cannot doubt of the ccntinuance of that grace to a praying saint, and that in that grace he should find both safety and joy. 1. Safety; "■Thou art my Hiding-Place; when by faith I have recourse to thee, I see all the reason in the world to be easy, and to think myself out of the reach of any real evil. Thou shalt preserve me from trouble, from the sting of it, and from the strokes of it, as far as is good for me. 'JVwu shalt preserx'C me from such trouble as I was in, while I kept silence," v. 3. When God has pardoned our sins, if he leave us to ourselves, we shall soon run as far in debt again as ever, and plunge ourselves again into the same gulf; and therefore, wnen we have received the comfort of our remission, we must fly to the grace of God, to be preserved from returning to folly again, and having our hearts again hardened through the de-ceitfulness of sin. God keeps his people from trouble, by keeping them from sin. 2. Joy; "Thou shalt not only deliver me, but compass me about with songs of deliverance; which way soever I look, I shall see occasion to rejoice, and to praise God; and my friends also shall compass me about in the great congregation, to join with me in songs of prciise: they shall join their songs of deliverance with mine; as every one that is godly shall pray with me, so they shall give thanks with me."

II. He turns his speech to the children of men; being himself converted, he does what he can to strengthen his brethren, (Luke xxii. 32. v. 8.) I will instruct thee, whoever thou art that desirest instruction, and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. Thus, in another of his penitential psalms, he resolves that, when (icd had restored to him the joy of his salvation, he would teach transgressors his ways, and do what he could to convert sinnere to God, as well as to comfort those that were converted, li. 12, 13. When Solomon became a penitent, he immediately became a preacher, Eccl. i. 1. Those are best able to teach others the grace of God, who have themselves had the experience of it: and those who are themselves taught of God, ought to tell others what he has done for their souls, (Ixvi. 16.) and so teach them. I will guide thee with mine eye. Some apply it to God's conduct and direction. He teaches us by his word, and guides us with his eye, by the secret intimations of his will in the hints and turns of Providence, which he enables his people to understand and take direction from; as a master makes a ser\ ant know his mind by a wink of his eye. When Christ turned and looked upon Peter, he guided him with his eye. But it is rather to be taken as David's promise to those who sat under his instruction, his own children and family especially; '^ I will counsel thee, mine eyes shall be upon thee," (so the margin reads it,) "I will give thee the best counsel I can, and then observe whether thou takest it or no." Those that are taught in the word, should be under the constant inspection of those that teach them; spiritual guides must be overseers.

In this application of the foregoing doctrine concerning the blessedness of those whose sins are par doned, here is a word to sinners, and a word to saints; and this is rightly dividing the word of truth, and giving to each their portion.

1. Here is a word of caution tc sinners, and a

PSALMS, XXXIII.

good reason given for it. (1.) The caution is, not to be unruly and ungovernable; {v. 9. ) Be ye not as the horse, or the mule, which have no understa?id-mg. When the psalmist would reproach himself for the sins he repented of, he compared himself to a beast before God; so foolish have I been and ig-7iorant, (ixxiii. 22.) and therefore warns others not to be so. It is our honour and happiness, that we have understanding, that we are capable of being governed by reason, and of reasoning with ourselves. Let us therefore use the faculties we have, and act rationally. The horse and mule must be managed with bit and bridle, lest they come near us, to do us a mischief, or (as some read it) that they may come near to us, to ^o us service, that they may obey us, Jam. iii. 3. Let us not be like them; let us not be hurried by appetite and passion, at any time, to go contrary to the dictates of right reason, and to our true interest. If sinners would be governed and determined by these, they would soon become saints, and would not go a step further in their sinful courses; where there is renewing grace, there is no need of the bit and bridge of restraining grace. (2.) The reason for this caution, is, because the way of sin which we would persuade you to- forsake, will certainly end in sorrow; {v. 10.) Many sorrows shall be to the wicked, which will not only spoil their vain and carnal mirth, and put an end to it, but will make them pay dear for it. Sin will have sorrow, if not repented of, everlasting sorrow. It was part of the sentence, / will greatly multifily thy sorrows. " Be wise for yourselves, tlierefore, and turn from your wickedness, that you may prevent those sorrows, those many sorrows."

2. Here is a word of comfort to saints, and a good reason given for that too. (1.) They are assured that if they will but trust in the Lord, and keep c ose to him, mercy shall compass them about on every side, {v. 10.) so that they shall not depart from God, for that mercy shall keep them in, nor shall any real evil break in upon them, for that mercy shall keep it out. (2.) 'they are theiefore commanded to be glad in the Lord, and to rejoice in him, to that degree, as even to shout for joy, v. 11. liet them be so transported with this holy joy, as not to be able to contain themselves: and let them affect others with it, that they also may see that a life of communion with God is the most pleasant and comfortable life we can live, in this world. This is that present bliss which the upright in heart, and they only, are entitled to, and qualified for.

PSALM xxxin.

This is a psalm of praise; it is probable that David was the penman of it, but we are not told so, because God would have us look above the penmen of sacred writ, to that blessed Spirit that moved and guided them. The psalmist, in this psalm, I. Calls upon the righteous to praise God, v. 1 . . 3. II. Furnishes us with matter for praise. We must praise God, 1. For his justice, goodness, and truth, appearing in his word, and in all his works, V. 4, 6. 2. For liis power appearing in the work of creation, v. 6. .9. 3. For the sovereignty of his providence in the government of the world, (v. 10, 11.) and again, v. 13. . 17. 4. For the peculiar favour which he bears to his own chosen people, which encourages them to trust in him, (v. 12.) and again, v. 18 .. 22. We need not be at a loss for proper thoughts in singing this psalm, which so naturally speaks the pious aft'eclions of a devout soul toward God.

REJOICE in tlie Lord, O ye righteous ; for praise is comely for the upright. 2. Praise tlie Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery, and an instrument of ten strings. 3. Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud

noise: 4. For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth

5. He loveth righteousness and judgment. the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord

6. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made: and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. 7. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap: he layeth up the depth in store-houses. 8. liet all the earth fear the Lord ; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him: 9. For he spake, and it was done ; he commanded, and it stood fast. 10. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. 11. The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

Four things the psalmist expresses in these verses.

I. The gjeat desire he had that God might be praised: he did not think he did it so well himself, but that he wished others also might be employed in this work; the more the better in this concert, it is the more like heaven. 1. Holy joy is the heart and soul of praise, and that is here pressed upon all good people; {v. 1.) Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous, so the foregoing psalm concluded, and so this begins; for all our religious exercises should both begin and end with a holy complacency and triumph in God as the best of beings, and best of friends. 2. Thankful praise is the breath and language of holy joy; and that also is here required of us; (x". 2.) " Praise the Lord; speak well of him, and give him the glory due to his name." 3. Religious songs are the proper expressions of thankful praise; those are here required; {y. 3.) " Sing unto him a new song, the best you have, not that which, by frequent use, is worn thread-bare; but that which, being new, is most likely to move the affections; a new song for new mercies, and upon every new occasion, for those compassions which are new every morning." Music was then used, by the appointment of David, with the temple songs, that they might be the better sung: and this also is here called for; (v. 2.) Sing unto him with the psaltery. Here is, (1.) A good rule for this duty; "Do it skilfullv, and with a loud noise; let it have the best both of head and heart; let it be done intelligently, and with a clear head; affectionately, and with a warm heart." (2.) A good reason for this duty; for praise is comely for the upright. It is well-pleasing to God; the garments of praise add much to the comeliness which God puts upon his people; and it is an excellent ornament to our profession; it becomes the upright, whom God has put so much honour upon, to give honour to him. The upright praise God in a comely manner, for they praise him with their hearts, that is praising him with their glory. Whereas the praises of hypocrites are awkward and uncomely, like a parable in the mouth of fools, Prov. xxvi. 7.

II. The high thoughts he had of God, and of his infinite perfections, v. 4, 5. God makes himself known to us, 1. In his word; here put for all divine re\elation, all that which God, at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake to the children of men; and that is all right, there is nothing amiss in it: his commands exactly agree with the i-ules of cquitv and the eternal reasons of good and evil. His promises all are wise and good, and inviolably sure, and there is no iniquity in his threatenings, but

PSALMS, XXXIIl.

287

even those are designed for our good, by deterring us from evil. God's word is right, and therefore all our deviations from it are wrong, and we are then in the right when we agree with it. 2. In his works, and those are all done in truth, all according to his counsels, which are called the scriptures of truth, Dan. x. 21. The copy in all God's works agrees exactly with the great original, the plan laid in the Eternal Mind, and varies not in the least jot. God has made it to appear in his works, (1.) That he is a God of inflexible justice. He loveth righteousness and judgment. There is nothing but righteousness in the sentence he paj=ses, and judgment in the execution of it. He never did or can do wrong to any of his creatures, but is always ready to right those that are wronged, and does it with'delight. He takes pleasure in those that are righteous. He is himself the righteous Lord, and therefore loveth righteousness. (2.) That he is a God of inexhaustible bounty; the earth is full of his goodness, that is, of the proofs and instances of it. The benign influences which the earth receives from above, and the fruits it is thereby enabled to produce; the provision that is made both for man and beast, and the common blessings with which all the nations of the earth are blessed, plainly speak that the earth is full of his goodness; the darkest, the coldest, the hottest, and the most dry and desert part of it not excepted: what pity is it that this earth, which is so full of God's goodness, should be so empty of liis praises; and that, of the multitudes that live upon his bounty, there are so few that live to his glory!

III. The conviction he was under of the almighty power of God, evidenced in the creation of the ■world. We believe in God, and therefore we praise him as the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, sO we are here taught to praise him.

Observe, 1. How God made the world, and brought all things into being. (1.) How easily: All things were made by the word of the Lord, and by the breath of his mouth; Christ is the Word, the Spirit is the Breath, so that God the Father made the world, as he rules it, and redeems it, by his Son and Spirit. He spake, and he commanded, {v. 9.) and that was enough, there needed no more. With men, saying and doing are two things, but it is not so with God; by the Word and Spirit of God, as the world was made, so was man, that little world: God said, "Let us make man," and he breathed into him the breath of life. By the Word and Spirit the church is built, that new world, and grace wrought in the soul, that new man, that new creation. What cannot that Power do, which, with a word, made a world? (2.) How effectually it was done; and it stood fast. What God does, he does to purpose; he does it, and it stands fast, v. 9. Whatsoever Ood doeth, it shall be for ever, Eccl. iii. 14. It is by virtue of that command to st;ind fast, that they continue to this day according to God's ordinance, cxix. 91.

2. What he made: He made all things, but no-t'ce is here taken, (1.) Of the heavens, and the host of them, V. 6. The visible heavens, and the sun, moon, and stars, their hosts; the highest heavens, and the angels their hosts. (2.) Of the waters, and the treasures of them, v. 7. The earth was at first covered with the water, and, being heavier, must of course subside and sink under it; but to show, from the very first, that the God of nature is not tied to the ordinary method of nature, and the usual operations of his powers, with a word's speaking, he gathered the waters together on a /;pfl/2,^that^the dry land might appear, yet left them not to continue on a heap, but laid up. the depth in storehouses; not only in the flats where the seas make

their beds, and in which they are locked up by the sand on the shore as in store-houses, but in secret subterraneous caverns, where they are hid from the eyes of all living, but were reserved as in a storehouse for that day when those fountains of the great deep were to be broken up; and they are still laid up there in store, for what use the great Master of the house knows best.

3. What use is to be made of this, v. 8. Let all the earth fear the Lord, and stand in awe of him, that is, let all the children of men worship him, and give glory to him, xcv. 5, 6. The everlasting gospel gives this as the reason why we must worship God, because he made the heaven and the earth, and the sea, Rev. xiv. 6, 7. Let us all fear him, that is, dread his wrath, and displeasure, and be afraid of having him our enemy, and standing it out against him. Let us not dare to offend him, who, having this power, no doubt, has all power in his hand. It is dangerous being at war with him, who has the host of heaven for his armies, and the depths of the sea for his magazines, and therefore it is wisdom to desire conditions of peace, see Jer. V. 22.

IV. The satisfaction he had in God's sovereignty and dominion, v. 10, 11. He overrules all the counsels of men, and makes them, contrary to their intention, serviceable to his counsels. Come and see, with an eye of faith, God in the throne, 1. Frustrating the devices of his enemies. Ht bring-eth the counsel of the heathen to nought, so that what they imagine against him and his kingdom proves a vain thing; (ii. 1.) the counsel of Ahitho-phel is turned into foolishness. Haman's plot baffled; though the design be laid never so deep, and the hopes raised upon it never so high, yet, if God says it shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass, it is all to no purpose. 2. Fulfilling his own decrees; The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever. It is immutable in itself,/or he is in one mind, and who can turn him ? The execution of it may be opposed, but cannot in the least be obstructed by any created power. Through all the revolutions of time God never changed his measures, but in every event, e\en that which to us is most surprising, the eternal counsel of God is fulfilled; nor can any thing prevent its being accomplished in its times. With what pleasure to ourselves may we, in singing this, give praise to God! How easy may this thought make us at all times, that God go\ erns the world, that he did it in infinite wisdom before we were born, and will do it when we are silent in the dust.

12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. 13. The liORn looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 14. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. 15. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. 16. There is no king saved by the multitude of a host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. 17. A horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. 18. Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; 1 Q^To.deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. 20. Our soul waiteth for the Lord • he is our help and

PSALMS, XXXlll.

our shield. 21. For our heart shall rejoice in him; because we have trusted in his holy name. 22. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

We are here taught to give to God tlie glory, I. Of his common providence towards all the children of naen. Though he has endued man with understanding and freedom <'f will, yet he reserves to himself tlie go\ ernnieut of him, and even of those very faculties by whicli he is qualified to govern himself.

1. The children of men are all under his eye, even their hearts are so; and all the motions and operations of their souls, which none know buttUey themselves, he knows better than they themselves, V. 13, 14. Though the residence of God's glory is in the highest heavens, yet thence he not only has a prospect of all the earth, but a particular inspection of all the inhabitants of the earth. He not only beholds them, but he looks upon them, he looks naiTowly upon them, (so the word here used is sometimes rendered,) so narrowly, that not the least thought can escape his observation. Atheists think, that, because he dwells above in heaven, he cannot, or will not, take notice of what is done here in this lower world; but fromHhence, high as it is, he sees us all, and all persons and things are naked and open before him.

2. Their hearts, as well as their times, are all in his hand; He fashions their hearts. He made them at first, formed the spirit of each man within him, then when he brought him into being. Hence he is called the Father of Spirits: and this is a good argument to prove that he perfectly knows them; the artist that made the clock can account for the motions of every wheel. David uses this argument, with application to himself, cxxxix. 1, 14. He still moulds the hearts of men, turns them as the rivers of water, which way soever he pleases, to serve his own purposes, darkens or enlightens men's understandings, stiffens or bows their wills, according as he is pleased to make use of them. He that fashions men's hearts fashions them alike; it is in hearts as in faces, though there is a great difference, and such a variety, as that no two faces are exactly of the same features, nor any two hearts exactly of the same temper, yet there is such a similitude, that, in some things, all faces and all hearts agree, as in water face aiistvers to face, Prov. xxvii. 19. He fashions them together; (so some read it;) as the wheels of a watch, though ot different shapes, sizes, and motions, are yet all put together, to serve one and the same purpose, so the hearts of men and their dispositions, however varying from each other, and seeming to contradict one another, are yet all overruled, to serve the divine purpose, which is one.

3. They, and all they do, are subject to his judgment; for he considers all their works, not only knows them, but weighs them, that he may render to every man according to his works, in the day, in the world, of retribution, in the judgment, and to eternity.

4. All the powers of the creature have a dependence upon him, and are of no account, of no avail at all, without him, d. 16, 17. It is much for the honour of God, that not only no force can prevail in opposition to him, but that no force can act but in dependence on him, and by a power derived from him.

(1.) The strength of a king is nothing without God; no-king is sacred by his royal prerogatives, or the authority with which he is invested; for the powers that are of that kind are ordained of God, and are what he makes them, and no more. David was a king, and a man of war from his youth, and

yet acknowledged God only to be his Protector and Saviour.

(2.) The strength of an army is nothing without God. The multitude of a host cannot secure those under whose command they act, unless God make them a security to them. A great army cannot be sure of victt.ry; for, when God pleases, one shall chase a thousand.

(3.) The strength of a giant is nothing without God; a mighty m .n, such as Goliath was, is net delivered by liis much strength, when his day comes to fall; neither the firmness or activity of his body, nor the stcutuess or resolution of his mind, will stand him in any stead, any further than God is pleased to give him success. Let not the strong man then glory in his strength, but let us all strengthen ourseh es in the Lord our God, go forth, and go on, in his strength.

(4.) The strength of a horse is nothing without God; {y. 17.) A horse is a vain thing for safety. In war, horses were then so highly accounted of, and so much depended on, that God forbade the kings of Israel to multiply horses, (Deut. xvii. 16.) lest they should be tempted to trust to them, and their confidence should thereby be taken off from God. David houghed the horses of the Syrii^ns; (2 Sam. viii. 4.) here he houghs all tlie horses in the world, by pronouncing 'a horse a vain thing for safety in the day of battle. If the war-horse be unruly, and ill-managed, he may hurry his rider into danger, instead of carrying him out of danger. If he be killed under him, he may be his death, instead of saving his life. It is therefore our interest to make sure God's favour towards us, and then we may be sure of his power engaged for us, and need not fear whatever is against us.

II. We are to give God the glory of his special grace. In the midst of his acknoAvledgments of God's providence, he pronounces those blessed that have Jehovah for their God, who governs the world, and has wherewithal to help them in every time of need, while they were miserable who had this and the other Baal for their God, which was so far from being able to hear and help them, that it was itself senseless and lielpless; (p. 12.) Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, even Israel, who had the knowledge of the true God, and were taken into covenant with him, and all others who own God for theirs, and are owned by him; for they also, whatever nation they are of, are of the spiritual seed of Abraham. 1. It is their wisdom, that they take the Lord for their God, that they direct their homage and adoration there where it is due, and where the payment of it will not be in vain. 2. It is their happiness, that they are the people whom God has chosen for his own inheritance, whom he is pleased with, and honoured in, and whom he protects and takes care of, whom he cultivates and improves as a man does his inheritance, Deut. xxxii. 9. Now let us observe here, to the honour of divine grace,

(1.) The regard which God has to his people, v. 18,19. God beholds all the sons of men with an eye of observation, but his eye of favour and complacency is upon them that fear him; he looks upon them with delight, as the father on his children, as the bridegroom on his spouse, Isa. Ixii. 5. While those that depend on arms and annies, on chariots and horses, perish in the disappointment of their expectations, God's people, under his protection, are safe, for he shall deliver their soul from death, when there seems to be but a step between them and it; if he do not deliver the body from temporal death, yet he will deliver the soul from spiritual and eternal death; their souls, whatever happens, shall live and praise him, either in this world, or in a better. From his bounty they shall be supplied with all necessaries—^he shall keep them alive in

PSALMS, xxxn

289

famine; when others die for want, they shall live, which makes it a distinguishing mercy. When visible means fail, God will find out some way or other to supply them. He does not say that he will give them abundance, (they have no i-eason either to desire it,, or to expect it,) but he will keep them alive, they shall not starve; and when destroying judgments are abroad, it ought to be reckoned a great favour, for it is a very striking one, and lays us under peculiar obligations, to have our lives gi\en us for a pi-ey. They that have the Lord for their God, shall find him their Help and their Shield, V. 20. In their difficulties he will assist them, they shall be helped over them, helped through them; in their dangers he will secure them, so that they shall not receive any real damage.

(2.) The regard which God's people have to him, and which we all ought to have, in consideration of this.

[1.] We must wait for God; we must attend the motions of his providence, and accommodate ourselves to them, and patiently expect the issue of them. Our souls must wait for him; (v. 20.) we must not only in word and tongue profess a believing regard to God, but it must be inward and sincere, a secret and silent attendance on him.

[2.] We must rely on God; hope in his mercy, in the goodness of his nature, though we have not an express promise to depend upon. They that fear God and his wrath must ho])e in God and his mercy; for there is no flying from God, but by flying to him. These pious dispositions will not only consist together, but befriend each other; a holy fear of God, and yet at the same time a hope in his mercy. This is (rusting in his holy name, (j). 21.) in all that whereby he has made known himself to us, for our encouragement to serve him.

[3.] We must rejoice in God, v. 21. Those do MOt truly rest in God, or do not know the unspeakable advantage they ha\e by so doing, who do not rejoice in him at all times; because they that hope m God hope for an eternal fulness of joy in his presence.

[4.] We must seek to him for that mercy which we hope in, v. 22. Our expectations from God are lot to supersede, but to quicken and encourage, our Applications to him; he will l)e sought unto for that .vhich he has promised, and therefore the psalm concludes with a short, but comprehensive, prayer, " Let thy ?nercy, 0 Lord, be upon us; let us always have the comfort and benefit of it, not according as we merit from thee, but according as we hope in thee, according to the promise which thou hast in thy word given to us, and according to the faith which tSo\^ hast by thy Spirit and grace wrought in us." if, in singing these verses, we put forth a depeiid .r ^e upon God, and let out our desires to'va'd". o'.f, we make melody with our hearts to the l.or'3.

PSALM XXXIV.

This psalm was penned upon a particular occasion, as ap-, pears by the title, and yet there is little in it peculiar to " that occasion, but that which is greneral, both by way of ' thanksgiving to God, and instruction to us. I. He praises God for the experience which he and others had had of his goodness, v. 1. .6. II. He encourages all good people to trust in God, and to seek to him, V. 7. . 10. HI. He gives good counsel to us all, as unto children, to take heed of sin, and to make conscience of our duty both to God and man, v. 11. . 14. lY. To enforce this good counsel, he shows God's favour to the righteous, and his displeasure against the wicked, in which he sets before us good and evil, the blessing and the curse, v. 15.. 22. So that, in singing this psalm,we are both to give glory to God, and to teach and admonish ourselves and one another.

Vol. III.—2 O

A psalm of David, ivhen he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he dejiarled.

WILL bless the Lord at all times:

his praise 8hall continually he in my mouth. 2. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord : the humble shall hear therenj\ and be glad. 3. O magnify the Lord vvilii me, and let us exalt his name together. 4. 1 sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5. They looked unto him, and were lightened; and their faces were not ashamed. 6. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. 8. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 9. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. 10. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not w^ant any good thing.

The title of this psalm tells us both who penned it, and upon what occasion it was penned. David, being foi-oed, by the i"ige of Saul, to leave his country, souglit for shelter ;is near as he could, in the land of the Philistints; there it was soon discovered who lie was, and he was brought before the king, who, in the narrative, is called Achish, his proper name, here, Abimelech, histitle; and, lest he should be treated as a spy, or one that came thither upon design, he feigned himself to be a madman, (such there have been in every age, that even by idiots men miglit be taught to give God thanks for the use of their reason,) that Achish might dismiss him as a contemptible man, rather than take cognizance of him as a dangerous man. And it had the effect he desired; by this stratagem he escaped the hand that otherwise would have handled him roughly. Now, 1. We cannot justify David in this dissimulation. It ill became an honest man to feign himself to be what he was not, and a man of honour to feign himself to be a fool and a madman. If, in sport, we mimic those who have not so good an understanding as we think we have, we forget that God might have made their case ours. 2. Yet we cannot but wonder at the composure of his spirit, and how far he was from any change of that, when he changed his behaviour. Even when he was in that fright, or rather in that danger only, his heart was so fixed, trusting in God, that even then he penned this excellent psalm, which has as much in it of the marks of a calm sedate spirit as any psalm in all the book; and there is something curious too in the composition, for it is what is called an alphabetical psalm, that is, a psalm in which every verse begins with each letter in its order, as it stands in the Hebrew alphabet. Happy they who can thus keep their temper, and keep their graces in exercise, even when they are tempted to change their behaviour.

In this former part of the psalm,

I. David engages and excites himself to praise God. Though it was his fault that he changed his behaviour, yet it was God's mercy that he escaped, and the mercy was so much the greater, in that God did not deal with him according to the desert of his dissimulation, and we must in every tning give thanks. He resolves, 1. That he will praise

PSALMS, XXXIV.

God constantly; / will bles.o the Lord at w'/. tiniff:, \\ upon all occasions. He resolves t > keej) up st.ited j times for this duty; to biy hold on all oi)ponuiiit es for it, and to renew his praises upon every fresh occurrence that furnished him with matter. If we hope to spend our eternity in praising God, it is fit that we should spend as much as may be of our time in this work. 2. That he will praise him openly; Kis firaise shall continually be in my mouth. Thus he would show how forward he was to own his obligations to the mercy of God, and how desirous to make others also sensil>le f.f theirs. 3. That he will praise him heartily; "My soul shall make her boast in the Lord, in my rel iti n to him, my interest in him, and expectations from him." It is not vain glory to glory in the Lord.

II. He calls upon others to join with him herein. He expects they will; {v. 2) " the humble shall hear thereof, both of my deli\ erance and of my thankfulness, and be glad that a good man has so much favour showed him, and a good God so much honour done him." Those have most comfort in God's mercies, both to others and to themselves, that are humble, and have the least confidence in their own merit and sufficiency. It pleased David to think that God's favours to him would rejoice the heart of every Israelite.

Three things he would have us all to concur with him in.

1. In great and high thoughts of God, which we should express in magnifying him, and exalting his name, v. 3. We cannot make God greater or higher than he is; but, if we adore him as infinitely great, and higher than the highest, he is pleased to reckon this magnifying and exalting him. This we must do together. God's praises sound best in concert, for so we praise him as the angels do in heaven. They that share in God's fa\our, as all the saints do, should concur in his praises; and we should be as desirous of the assistance of our friends in returning thanks for mercies, as in praying for them. We have reason to join in thanksgiving to God, (1.) For his readiness to hear prayer, which all the saints have had the comfort of, for he never said to any of them, Seek ye me, in vain. [1.] David, for his part, will give it under his hand, that he has found him a prayer-hearing God; {v. 4.) ''Isought the Lord in my distress, entreated his favour, begged his help, and he heard me, answered my request immediately, and delivered me from all my fears, both from the death I feared, and from the disquietude and disturbance produced by my fear of it." The former he does by his providence working for us, the latter by his grace working in us, to silence our fears, and still'the tumult of the spirits; this lattei-is the greater mercy of the two, because the thing we fear is our trouble only: but our unbelieving distrusted fear of it is our sin; nay, it is often more our torment too than the thing itself would be, which perhaps would only touch the bone and the flesh, while the fear would prey upon the spirits, and put us out of the possession of our own soul. David's prayers helped to silence his fears; having sought the Lord, and left his case with him, he could with great composure wait the event. "But David was a great and eminent man, we may not expect to be favoured as he was; have any others ever experienced the like benefit by prayer?" Yes, [2.] Many beside him have looked unto God by faith and pr lycr, and have been lightened by it, v. 5. It has wonderfully revived and comforted them; witness Hannah, who, when she had prayed, went her tvav, (ind did eat, and her countenance ivas no mor-e sad. When we look to the world, we are darkened, we are pei-plexcd, and at a loss; but when we look to God, from him we have the light both of

direction and joy, and our way in nade both plain and pleasant. Tlicse here spoken of, that looked unto God, had their expectations raised, and the event did not frustrate them, their faces were not ashamed of their confidence. But, perhaps, these also were persons of great eminency, like David himself, and, upnn that account, were highly favoured; or their numbers made them considerable; nay, [3.] This jjoor man cried, a single person, mean and inconsiderable, whom no man looked upon with any respect, or looked after with any concern; yet he was as welcome to the throne of grace as David, or any of his worthies; the Lord heard him, took cognizance of his case and of his prayers, and saved him out of all his troubles, v. 6. God will regard the /irayer of the destitute, cii. 17. See Isa. Ivii. 15.

(2.) For the ministration of the good angels about us; {v. 7.) I'he aiigel of the Lord, a guard of angels, (so some,) but as unanimous in their service as it they were but one, or a guardian angel, encamps round about them that fear God, as the life-guard about the prince, and delivers them. God makes use of the attendance of the good spirits; for the protection of his people from the malice and power of evil spirits; and ].\\e holy angels do us more good offices, every day, than we are aware of. Though in dignity and in capacity of nature they are very much superior to us, though they retain their primitive rectitude, which we have lost, though they have constant employment in the upper world, the employment of praising God, and are entitled to a constant rest and bliss there, yet, in obedience to their Maker, and in love to those that bear his image, they condescend to minister to the saints, and stand up for them against the powers of darkness; they not only visit tiiem, but encamp round about them, acting for their good as really, though not as sensibly, as for Jacob's, (Gen. xxxii. 1.) and Elisha's, 2 Kings, vL 17. All the glory be to the God of the angels.

2. He would have us to join with him in kind and good thoughts of God; {v. 8.) O taste, and see, that the Lord is good. The goodness of God includes both the beauty and amiableness of his being, and the bounty and beneficence of his providence and grace; and, accordingly, (1.) We must taste that he is a bountiful Benefactor, relish the goodness of God in all his gifts to us, and reckon that tlie savour and sweetness of them. Let God's goodness be rolled under the tongue as a sweet morsel. (2.) We must see that he is a beautiful Being, and delight in the contemplation of his infinite perfections. By taste and sight we both make discoveries, and take complacency; taste, and see, God's goodness; take notice of it, and take the comfort of it, 1 Pet. ii. 3. He is good, for he makes all those truly blessed that trust in him; let us, therefore, be so'convinced of his goodness, as thereby to be encouraged in the worst of times to trust in him.

3. He would have us join with him in a resolution to seek God and serve him, and"continue in his fear; (v. 9.) O fear the Lord, ye his saints; when we taste and see that he is good, we must not forget that he is great, and greatly to be feared; nay, even his goodness is the proper object of a filial reverence and awe, 7'hey shall fear the Lord and his goodness, Hos. iii. 5. ' Fear the Lord; worship him, and make conscience of your duty to him in everv thing; not fear him and shun him, but fear him and seek him, {v. 10.) as a people seek unto their God; apply yourselves to him, and portion vourselves in him. To encourage us to fear God and seek him, it is here promised that those that do so, even in this wanting world, shall ivant no good thintf. Heb. They shall not ivant all good

PSALMS, XXX1\

291

thbig't; they shall so have of all good things, that they shall have no reason to complain of the want of any. As to the things of the other world, they shall have grace sufficient for the support of the spiritual life, 2 Cor. xii. 9. Ps. Ixxxiv. 11. And as to this life, they shall have what is necessary to the support of it from the hand of God; as a Father, he will feed them with food convenient; what further comforts they desire, they shall have, as far as Infinite Wisdom sees good, and what they want m one thing shall be made up in another. What God denies them, he will give them grace to be content without, and then they do not want it, Deut. iii. 26. Paul had all, and abounded, because he was content, Phil. iv. 11, 18. Those that live by faith in God's all-sufficiency, want nothing; for in him they have enough. The young lions often lack, and'suffer hunger; and they that live upon common providence, as the lions do, shall want that satisfaction which they have that live by faith in the promise. They that trust to tliemselves, and think their own hajMls sufficient for them, shall want, for bread is not^lways to the wise; but \'erily they shall be fed that trust in God, and desire to be at his finding. They that are ra\enous, and prey upon all about them, shall want, but t/ie meek shall inherit the earth; they shall not want, who with quietness work, and mind their own business; plain-hearted Jacob has pottage enough, when Esau, the cunning hunter, is ready to perish for hunger.

11. Come, ye children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?

13. Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. 14. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. 15. The ej^es of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. 16. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. 18. The Loi<D is nigh unto them thai are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. 19. Many air the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. 20. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. 21. Evil shall slay the wicked; and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. 22. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants; and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

David, in this latter part of the psalm, undertakes to teach children; though a man of war, and anointed to be king, he did not think it below him; though now he had his head so full of cai-es, and his hands of business, yet he could find heart and time to give good counsel to young people, from his own experience. It does not appear that he had now any children of his own, at least, any that were grown up to a capacitv of being tauglit; but, by divine inspiration, he instructs the cliildren of his people. Those that were in years would not be taught bv him, though he had offisred them his

service; (xxxii. 8.) but he has hopes that the tender branches will be more easily bent, and that children and young people will l)e more tractable; and therefore he calls together a congregation of them; {v. 11.) "Come, ye children, that are now in your learning age, and are now to lay up a stock of knowledge which you must live upon all your days; ye children, that are foolish and ignorant, and need to be taught." Perhaps he intends especially those children whose parents neglected to instruct and catechise them; and it is as great a piece of charity to put those children to school whose parents are not in a capacity to teach them, as to feed those children whose parents have not bread for them. Observe, 1. What he expects from them; ^'Hearken unto me, leave your play, lay by your toys, and hear what I have to say to you; not only give me the hearing, but observe and obey me." 2. What he undertakes to teach them— The fear of the Lord, inclusive of all the duties of religion. David was a famous musician, a statesman, a soldier; but he does not say to the children, "I will teach you to play on the harp, or to handle the sword or spear, or to draw the bow; or, I will teach you the maxims of state-policy;" but, I will teach you the fear of the Lord, which is better than all the arts and sciences, better than all burnt-offerings and sacrifices. That is it which we should be solicitous both to learn ourselves, and to teach our children.

I. He supposes that we all aim to be happy; {y. 12.) What man is he that desireth life? that is, (as it follows,) not only to see many days, but to see good comfortable days; no?i est vivere, sed valere, vita —/; is not our being, but our well-being, that is entitled to the name of life. It is asked, "Who wishes to live a long and pleasant life?" And it is easily answered, H7joc?oesno/.? Surely this must look further than time and this present world; for man's life on earth, at best, consists but of few days, and those full of trouble. What man is he that would be eternally happy; that would see many days, as many as the days of heaven; that would see'good in that world where all bliss is in perfection, without the least alloy; who would see that good before him now, by faith and hope, and enjoy it shortly? Who would? Alas, very few have that in their thoughts; most ask, Tt^ho will show us any good? But few ask. What shall we do to inherit eternal life? This question implies that there are some such.

II. He prescribes the true and only way to happiness, both in this world and that to come, i;. 13, 14. Would we pass comfortably through the world, and out of the world, our constant care must be to keep a good conscience; and, in order to that, 1. W^e must learn to bridle our tongues, and I)e careful what we say; that we never speak amiss, to God's dishonour, or our neighbour's pre-judice; Kie/i thy tongue fro?n evil speaking, lying and slandering. So great a way does this go in religion, that, if any offend not in word, the same is a /lerfct nian; and so little a way does religion go without this, that it is said, respecting him who bridles not his tongue, His religion is vain. 2. We nuist be upright and sincere in every thing we say, and not double-tongued; our words must be the indications of our minds; our lips must be kept from si)eaking guile either to God or man. 3. We must leave all our sins, and resolve we will have no more to do with them. We must depart from evil, from evil works and evil workers; from the sins others commit, and which we have formerly allowed ourselves in. 4. It is not enough not to do hurt in the woild, but we must study to be useful, and live to srme purpose. We must not only depart from evil, but we must do good; good for

PSALMS, XXXIV.

ourselves, especially for our own souls, employing them well, furnishing them with a good treasure, and fitting them for another world; and, as we have ability and opportunity, we must do good to others also. 5. Because nothing is more contrary to that love which never fails, which is the summary both of law and gospel, both of grace and glory, than strife and contention, which bring confusion and every evil work; we must seek peace and pursue it; we must show a peaceable disposition, study the things that make for peace, do nothing to break the peace, and to make mischief. If peace seem to flee from us, we must pursue it; follow jieace nvith all men, spare no pains, no expense, to preserve and recover peace, be willing to deny ourselves a great deal, both in honour and interest, for peace-sake. Tliese excellent directions in the way to life and good, are transcribed into the New Testament, and made part of our gospel-duty, 1 Pet. iii. 10, 11. And perhaps David, in warning us that we speak no guile, reflects upon his own sm, in changing his behaviour. Tliey that truly repent of what they ha\e done amiss, will warn others to take heed of doing likewise.

III. He enforces these directions by settmg before us the happiness of the godly in the love and favour of God, and the miserable state of the wicked under his displeasure. Here are life and death, good and evil, the blessing and the curse, plair.iy stated before us, that we may choose life, and live. See Isa. iii. 10, 11.

1. Woe to the wicked, it shall be ill with them, however they may bless themselves in their own way.

(1.) God is against them, and then they cannot but be miserable; sad is the case of that man who, by his sin, has made his Maker his Enemy, his Destroyer. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, v. 16. Sometimes God is said to turn his face from them, (Jer. xviii. 17.) because they have forsaken him; here he is said to ,se; Aw face against them, because they have fought against him; and, most certainly, God is able to out-f<ice the mftst proud and daring sinners, and can frown them into hell.

(2.) Ruin is before them; tliis will f)llo\v, of course, if God be against them, for he is able both to kill, and to cast into hell. [1.] The land of the living shall be no place for them or theirs. When God sets his face against them, he shall not only cut them off, but cut off the remembrance of them; when they are alive, shall bury them in obscurity, when they are dead, shall bury them in oblivion. He shall root out their posterity, by whom they would be remembered; he shall pour disgrace upon their achievements, which they gloried in, and for which they thought they should have been remembered. It is ceitain that there is lio lasting honour but that which comes from God. [2.] There shall be a sting in their death; Evil shall flat/ the wicked, v. 21. Their death shall be miserable; so it will certainly be, though .they die in a bed of down, or in the bed of honour. Death, to them, has a curse in it, and is the king of terrors; to them it is evil, only evil. It is very well observed by Dr. Hammond, that the evil here, which slays the wicked, is the same word, in the singular number, that is used, {v. 19.) for the afflictions of the righteous, to intimate tliat godly people have many troubles; and yet they do them no hurt, but are made to work for good to them, for God will r'flliver them out of them all: whereas, wicked people have fev/cr troubles; fewer evils befall them, perhaps but one, and yet that one may prove their utter ruin. One trouble, with a curse in it, kills and slays, and does execution; but many, with a blessing in them, are harmless, nav, gainful.

' [3.] Desolatici. wiii be their everlasting portion; they tluit are wicked themselves, often hate the righteous, name and thing, have an implacablp enmity to them and their righteousness; but thev shall be desolate, shall be condemned as guilty, and laid waste for ever, shall be for ever forsaken and abandoned of Gnd, and all good angels, and men; and those that are so are desolate indeed.

2. Yet, say to the righteous, it shall be well with them; all gond people are under God's special favour and protection. We are here assured of that, under a great /ariety of instances and expressions.

(1.) God takes special notice of good people, and takes notice who have their eyes ever to him, and who make conscience of their duty to him; The eyes of the Lord are ufion the righteous, {y. 15.) to direct and guide them, to protect and keep them. Parents that are \ery fond of a child, will not let it be nut of their sight; none of God's children are ever from under his eye, but on them he looks with a singular compl^ency, as well as with a watchful and tender concern.

(2.) They are sure of an answer of peace to their prayers. All God's people are a praying people, and they cry in prayer, which denotes great importunity; but is it to any purpose? Yes, [1.] God takes notice of what we say; {v. 17.) They crz/, and the Lord hears them, and hears them so as to make it appear he has a regard to them. His ears are ofien to their prayers, to receive them all, and to receive them readily and Avith delight. Thougi> he has been a God hearing prayer, ever since men began to call upon the name of the Lord, yet his ear is not heavy. There is no rhetoric, nothing charming, in a cry, yet God's ears are open to it, as the tender mother's to the cry of her sucking child, which another would take no notice of; The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, v. 17. This intimates that it is the constant pvaitice of good people, when they are in distress, to cry unto God, and it is their constant comfort that God hea!s them. [2.] He not only takes notice of what we say, but is ready to hear us for our relief; {v. 18.) He is nigh to them that an' of a broken heart, and saves them. Note, First, It is the character of the righteous, whose prayers God will hear, that they are of a broken heart and a contrite spirit, that is, humbled for sin, and emptied of self; thev are low in their own eyes, and have no confidence in their own merit and snfficiencv, but in God only. Secondly, Those who are so have God nigh unto them, to comfort and support them, that the spirit may not be broken, more than is meet, lest it should fail before him. See Isa. Ivii. 15. Though God is high, and dwells on high, yet he is near to those, who, being of a contrite spirit, know how to value his favour, and will save them from sinking under their burthens; he is near them to good purpose.

(3.) They are taken under the special protection of the divine government; (t. 20.) He keefieth all his bones; not only his soul, but his body; not only his body in general, but every^ bone in it, not one of them is broken. He that has a broken heart, shall not have a broken bone; for David himself had found, that, when he had a contrite heart, the broken bones were made to rejoice, li. 8, 17. One would not expect to meet witifi any thing of Christ here, and yet this scripture is said to be fulfilled in him, (John xix. 36.) when the soldiers brake the legs of the two thieves that were crucified with him, but did not break his, they being under the protection of this promise, as well as of the type, even the paschal-lamb, a bone of him shall not br broken; the promises being made good to Christ, through him, are sure to all the seed. It does not

PSALMS, XXXV.

293

follow but that a good ir.in n.ay have a broken bone; but, by the watchful 'providence of God concerning him, it is often w-onderfully prevented, and the preservation of his bones is the effect of this promise; if he have a broken bone, sooner <ir later it shall be made whole, at furthest at the resurrection, when that which is sown in weakness, shall be raised in power.

(4.) They are, and shall be, delivered out of their troubles. [1.] It is supposed that they have their share of crosses in this world, perliaps a gi-eater share than others. In the w(<rld they must have tribulation, that they may be conformed both ro the will of God, and to the example of Christ; (■y. 19.) Many are the afflictions of the righteous, witness David and liis afflictions, cxxxii. 1. There are those that hate them, (t'. 21.) and they are continually aiming to do them a mischief; tlieir God loves them, and therefore corrects them, so that, between the mercy of Hea\ en, and the malice of hell, the afflictions of the righteous must needs be many, [2.] God has engaged for their deliverance and salvation; He delivers them out of their troubles; {v. 17, 19.) he saves them, {v. 18.) so that, though they may fall into trouble, it shall not be their ruin. This promise of their deliverance is explained, v. 22. Whatever troubles befall them, Mrst, They shall not hurt their better part 7'he Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants from the power of the grave, (xlix. 15.) and from the sting of every affliction. He keeps them from sinning in their troubles, which is the only thing that would do them a mischief, and keeps them from despair, and from being put out of the possession of their own souls. Secondly, They shall not hinder their everlasting bliss; 7ione of them that trust in him shall be desolate; they shall not be comfortless, for they shall not be cut off from their communion with God. No man is desolate, but he whom God has forsaken, nor is any man undone till he is in hell. Those that are God's faithful servants, that make it their care to please him, and their business to honour him, and, in doing so, trust him to protect and reward them, and, with good thoughts of him, refer themselves to him, have reason to be easy, whatever befalls them, for they are safe, and shall be happy.

In singing these verses, let us be confirmed in the choice we have made of the ways of God; let us be quickened in his service, and greatlv encouraged by the assurances he has given of the particular care he takes of all those that faithfully adhere to him.

PSALM XXXV,

David, in this psalm, appeals to the righteous Judge of heaven and earth, against his enemies, that hated and persecuted him. It is supposed that Saul and his party are the persons he means, for with them he had the greatest struggles. I. He complains to God of the injuries they did him; they strove with him, fought against him, (v. 1.) persecuted him, (v. 3.) sought his ruin, (v. 4, 7.) accused him falselv, (v. 11.) abused him tasely, (v. 15, 16.) and all his friends, (v. 20.) and tri-.imphed over him, v. 21, 25, 26. 11. He pleads his own innocency, that he never gave them any provocation, (v. 7, 19.) but, on the contrary, had studied to oblige them, i 12.. 14. ni. He prays to God to protect and deliver mm; and appear for him; (v. 1,2.) to comfort him; (v. d.) to be nigh to him, and rescue him; (v. 17, 22.) to plead his cause; (v. 23j 24.) to defeat all the designs of his enemies agamsthim; (v. 3,-i.)-to disappoint their expectations of his fall; (v. 19, 25, 26.) and, lastly, to countenance all his friends, and encourage them, v. 27. n'. He prophesies the destruction of his persecutors, v. 4.-6, 8. V. He promises himself that he shall yet see better days; (v. 9, 10.) and promises God that he will then attend him with his praises, v. 18, 28. In sinsring this psalm, and praying over it, we must take heed of ap-j. lying it to any Utile peevish quarrels and enmities of our

own, and of expressing by it any uncharitable revengefu resentments of injuries done to us; for Christ has taught us lo forgive our enemies, and noi to pray against them, but to pray lor them, as he did; but, 1. We may comfort ourselves with the testimony of our consciences, concerning our innocency, with reference to those that are any way injurious to us, and with hopes that God will, in his own way, and time, right us, and, in the mean time, support us. 2. We ought to apply it to the public enemies of Christ, and his kingdom, "typified by David and his kingdom, to resent the indignities done to Christ's honour, to pray to God to plead the just and injured cause of Christianity and serious godliness, and to believe that God will, in due time, glorify his own name in the ruin of all the irreconcilable enemies of his church, that will not repent, to give him glory.

A Psalm of David.

LEAD my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. 2. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help. 3. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me : say unto my soul, I am. thy salvation. 4. Let theni be conibunded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt. 5. Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the Lord chase them. 6. Let their way be dark and slippery ; and let the angel of the Lord persecute them. 7. For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul. 8 Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall. 9. And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord : it shall rejoice in his salvation. 10. All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, which deliver-est the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?

In these verses, we have,

I. David's representation of his case to God, set-tin.g foith the restless rage and malice of his persecutors; he was God's servant, expressly appointed by him to be what he was, followed his guidance, and aimed at his glory in the way of duty, had lived (as St. Paul speaks) in all good consciejice before God unto this day; and yet there were those that strove with him, that did their utmost to oppose his advancement, and made all the interest they could against him; they fought against him, (v.'l.) not only undermined him closely and secretly, but openly avowed their opposition to him, and set themselves to do him all the mischief they could. They persecuted him with an unwearied enmity, sought after his soul, {v. 4.) tliat is, his life, no less would satisfy tlieir bloody minds; they aimed to disquiet his spirit, and put that into disorder; nor was it a sudden passion against him that they harboured, but inveterate malice; they devised his hurt, laid their heads together, and set their wits on work, not only to do him a mischief, but to find out ways and means to ruin him. They treated him, who was the greatest blessing of his countr)', as if he had been the curse and plague of it; they

PSALMS, XXXV.

hunted him as a dangerous beast of prey, they digged a pit for him, and laid a net in it, that they might have him at their mercy, v. 7. They took a great deal of pains in persecuting him, for they digged a pit, (vii. 15.) and very close and crafty they were in carrying on their designs; the old serpent taught them subtlety, they hid their net from David and his friends; but in vain, for they could not hide it from God. And, lastly, he found himself an unequal match for them. His enemy, especially Saul, was too strong for him, (f. 10.) for he had the ar-mv at his command, and assumed to himself the sole power of making laws and giving judgment, attainted and condemned whom he pleased, carried not a sceptre, but a javelin, in his hand, to cast at any man that stood in his way; such was the manner of the king, and all about him were compelled to do as he bade them, right or wrong. The king's word is a law, and every thing must be carried with a high hand; he has fields, and vineyards, and pi-e-ferments, at his disposal, 1 Sam. xxii. 7. But David IS poor and needy, has nothing to make friends with, and therefore h;is none to take his part, but men (as we say) of broken fortunes; (1 Sam. xxii. 2.) and therefore no mar\el that Saul spoiled him of what little he had got, and the interest he had made. If the kings of the earth set themselves against the Lord and his Anointed, who can contend with them.'' Note, It is no new thing for ihe most righteous men, and the most righteous cause, to meet with many mighty and malicious enemies: Christ himself is striven with, and fought against, and war made upon the holy seed; and we are not to marvel at the matter, t is a fruit of the old enmity in the seed of the serpent, against the seed of the woman,

II. His appeal to God concerning his integrity, and the justice of his cause. If a fellow-subject had wronged him, he might have appealed to his prince, as St. Paul did to Cxsar; but when his prince wronged him, he appealed to his God, who is Prince and Judge of the kings of the earth; Plead my cause, O Lord, V. 1. Note, A righteous cause may, with the greatest satisfaction imaginable, be laid before a righteous God, and referred to him to give judgment upon it; for he perfectly knows the merits of it, holds the balance exactly even, and with him there is no respect of persons. God knew that they were, without cause, his enemies, and that they had, without cause, digged pits for him, v. 7. Note, It will be a comfort to us, when men do us wrong, if our consciences can witness for us, that we have never done them any. It was so to St. Paul; (Acts XXV. 10.) 7'o the Jews have I done no wrong. We are apt to justify our uneasiness at the injuries men do us by this, That we never gave them any cause lO use us so; whereas this should, more than any thing, make us easy, for then we may the more confidently expect that God will plead our cause.

III. His prayer to God to manifest himself both for him, and to him, in this trial. 1. For him; he prays that God would fight against his enemies, so as to disable them to hurt him, and defeat tlieir designs against him; {v. 1.) that he wo\ild take hold of shield and buckler, for the Lord is a Man of w;ir, (Exod. XV. 3.) and that he would stand up for his help, (f. 2.) for he had few that would stand up for him, and if he had ever so many, they would stand him in no stead without (iod: he prays that Ciod would stop their way, that they might not overtake him when he fled from them: this prayer we may put up against our jicrsecutors, that God wruld restrain them, and stop their way. 2. 7'ohim; "Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation; let me have inward comfort under all these outward troubles, to support my soul which they strike at. Let Ciod be my salvation, not only my Saviour out of my present troubles, but my everlasting Bliss; let me

have that sah ation not only which he is the Author of, but which consists in his favour. And let me know it; let me have the comfortable assurance of it in my own breast." If God, by his Spirit, witness to our spirits, that he is our salvation, we have enough, we need desire no more, to make us happy; and this is a powerful support when men persecute us. If God be our Friend, no matter who is our enemy.

IV. His prospect of the destruction of his enemies, which he prays for, not in malice or revenge; we find how patiently he bore Shimei's curses, Sf let him curse, for the Lord has bidden him; and we cannot suppose that he, that was so meek in his conversation, ' hould give vent to any intemperate heat or passion in his devtition; but, by the spirit of prophecy, he foretells the just judgments of God, that would come upon them for their great wickedness, their malice, cruelty, and perfidiousness, and especially their enmity to the counsels of God, the interests of religion, and that reformation which they knew D ivid, if ever he had power in his hand, would be an instrument of. They seemed to be hardened in their sins, and to be of the number of those who have sinned unto death, and are not to be prayed for, Jer. vii. 16.—xi. 14.—xiv. 11. 1 John \-. 16. As for Saul himself, David, it is probable, knew that God had rejected him, and had forbidden Samuel to mourn for him, 1 Sam. xvi. 1. And these predictions look further, and read the doom of the enemies of Christ and his kingdom, as appears by comparing Rom. xi. 9, 10.

He here prays, 1. Against his many enemies; (v. 4--6.) Let them be confounded, isfc. Or, as Dr. Hammond reads it, Theii shall be confounded, they shall be turned back. This may be taken as a prayer for their repentance, for all penitents are put to shamefor their sins, and turned back from them; or, if they were not brought to repentance, that they might be defeated and disappointed in their designs against him, and so put to shame. But though they should, in some degree, prevail, yet lie foresees that it would be to their own ruin at last; they shall be as chaff before the wind, so unable will wicked men be to stand before the judgments of God, and so certainly will they be driven away by them, i. 4. Their wny shall be dark and sli/i-pery, darkness and sli/ifierirwss; (so the margin reads it;) the way of sinners is so, for they w;ilk in darkness, and in continual danger of falling into sin, into hell; and it will prove so at last, for their foot shall slide in due time, Deut. xxxii. 35. But this is not the worst of it; even chaff before the wind, may perhaps be stopped, and find a place of rest, and though the way be dark and slipjiery, it is possible that a man may keep his footing; but it is here foretold that the angel of the Lord shall chase them, (v. 5.) so that they shall find no rest; shall persecute them, {v. 6.) so that they cannot possibly escape the pit of destruction. As God's angels encamp about them that fear him, so they encamp against them that fight against him. They are the ministers of his justice, as well as of his mercy. Those that make God their Enemy make all the holy angels their enemies 2. He prays against his one mighty enemy; (v. S.) Let destruction come ufion him. It is probable that he means Saul, who laid snares for him, and aimed at his destruction. David vowed that his hand should not be upon him, he would not bejudge in his own cause; but, at the same time, he foretold that the Lord would smite him, (1 Sun. xxvi. 10.) and here, that the net he had l.id should catch himself, and into that very destruction he should fall; which was remarkably fulfilled in the ruin of Saul, for he had laid a plot to make David fall hu the hand of the Philistines, (1 Sam. xviii. 25.) that was the net which he hid

PSALMS, XXXVl.

^9^

tor him, under pretence of doing him honour, and m that very net was he himself taken, for he fell by the hand of the Philistines, when his<lay came to fall.

V. His prospect of his own deliverance, which, having committed his cause to God, he did not doubt of, V. 9, 10. 1. He hoped that he should have the comfort < f it; " My soul shall be joyful, not in mine own ease and safety, but in the Lord, :md in his favour, in his promise, and in his sah a-tion, according to the promise." Joy in (iod, and in his salvation, is the only true solid sutihf) ing joy. They whose souls are sorrowful in the L nd, who sow m tears, and sorrow after a godly soi-t, need not fjuestion but that in due time their souls shall be joyful in the Lord, for gladness is sown for them, and they shall at last enter into the joy of their Lord. 2. He promised that then God sliould have the glory of it; {y. 10.) All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee? (1.) He will praise God with the whole man, with all that is within him, and with all the strength and vigour of his soul, intimated by his bones, which are within the body, and are the strength of it. (2.) He will praise him as one of peerless and unparalleled perfection; we cannot express how great and good God is, and therefore must praise him by acknowledging him to be a none-sucli; Lord, who is like unto thee? No such Patron of oppressed innocency, no such Punisher of triumphant tyranny. The formation of our bones so wonderfully, so curiously, (Eccl. xi. 5. Ps. cxxxix. 16.) the serviceableness of our bones, and the preservation of them, and especially the life which, at the resurrection, shall be breathed upon the dry bones, and make them flourish as an lierli, oblige every bone in our bodies, if it could speak, to say. Lord, who is like unto thee? and willingly to undergo any services or sufferings for him.

11. False witnesses did rise uj3 : they laid lo my charge things that I knew not. 12. They rewarded me evil for good, to the spoiling of my soul. 13. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing ;/v75 sackcloth : I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned unto mine own bosom.

14. I behaved myself as though he hnd been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mournethybr his mother.

15. But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together; yea., the ab-jects gathered tliemselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear we, and ceased not. 16. With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.

Two very wicked things David here lays to the ch-rge of his enemies, to make good his appeal to God against them; perjury and ingratitude.

\. Perjury, v. 11. When Saul would have David attainted of treason, in order to his being outlawed, perhaps he did it with the formalities ^f a legal prosecution, produced witnesses which s .< jre some treasonable words or oVert-acts against him, and he being not present to clear himself, (or if he had it had been all one,) Said adjudged him a traitor; this he complains of here as the highest piece of injustice imaginable; False witnesses did rise up, who would swear any thing; they laid to my charge things that I knew not, nor ever thought of. See how much the honours, estates, liberties, and lives, even of the best men, lie at the mercy of the worst.

against whose false oaths innocency i'lselt is no fence; and what reason we have to acknowledge, with thankfulness, the hold God has of the consciences even of bad men, to which it is owing, that there is not more m.schiefdone that way than is. This instance of tlie wrong done to David was typical, and had its accomplishment in the Son of Da\ id against vvhom false witnesses did arise, Matth. xxvi 60. If we be at any time charged with what we are innocent of, let us not think it strange, as though some new thing happened to us; so persecuted they the prophets, even the great Prophet.

II. Ingratitude. Call a man ungrateful, and you can call him no worse; this was the character of Da. id's enemies; {v. 12.) They rewarded me evil for good. A great deal of good service he had done to his king, witness his harp, witness Goliath's sword, witness the foreskins of the Philistines; and yet his king \owed his death, and he can no longer dwell in his country. This is to the spoiling of his soul; this base unkind usage robs him of his comfort, and cuts him to the heart, more than any thing else.

Nay, he had not only deserved well ot the public, but ot those particular persons that were now most bitter against him. Probably, it was then well known whom he meant, it may be Saul himself for one, whom he was sent for to attend upon, when he was melancholy and ill, and to whom he was ser-\ iceable to dri\e away the evil spirit, not with his harp, but with his prayers; to others of the courtiers, it is likely, he had showed his respect, while he lived at court, who now were, of all others, most abusive to him. Herein he was a type of Christ, to whom ti'is wicked world was very ungrateful; (John x. .32.) Many good works have I showed yo2i from ?ny Lather; for which of those do you stone me? David iiere shows,

1. H iw tenderly, and with what a cordial affection, lie h id carried it toward them in their afflictions; {y. 13, 14.) They were sick. Note, Even tlie palaces and courts of princes are not exempt from the jurisdiction of death, and the visitation of sickness. Now, when these people were sick, (1.) David mourned for them, and sympathized with them in their grief. They were not related to him, he was under no obligations to them, he would lose nothing by their death, but perhaps be a gainer by it; and yet he behaved himself as though they had been his nearest relations, purely from a principle of compassion and humanity. David was a man of war, and of a bo'd stout spirit, and yet was thus susceptible of the impressions of sympathy, forgot the bravery •'-i the hero, and seemed wholly made up of love and pity; it was a rare composition of hardiness and tenderness, courage and ^ impassion, in the same Ijreast. Obser\ e, He took on as for a brother or mother, which intimates that it is our duty, and well becomes us, to lay to heart the sickness, and sorrow, and death, of our near relations. Those that do not, are justly stigmatized as without natural affection. (2.) He prayed for them; he discovered not only the tender affection of a man, but the pious affection of a saint. He was concerned for their precious souls,, and sinre he could not otherwise be helpful to them, he helped them with his prayers to God for mercy and grace; and the prayers of one who had so great an interest in heaven, were of more value than per-h; ps they knew and considered. With his prayer:^ he joined humiliation and self-affliction; both in his diet, he f:,sted, at least, from pleasant bread, and in his dress, he clothed himself with sackcloth, thus expressing his grief, not only for their affliction, but for their sin; for this was the guise and practice of a penitent. We ought to mourn for the sins of those that do not mourn for themselves. His fasting also put an edge upon his praying, and was an expr?ssion of the fervour of it; h^ was so intent in

'296

PSALMS, XXXV.

uis devotions, that he had no appetite to meat, nor Avould allow himself time for eating; " My firayer retxirned into mine otvn bosom; I had the comfort of having done my duty, and of ha\ ing approved myself a loving neighbour, though I could not thereby win upon them, nor make them my friends." We shall not lose by the good offices we. have done to any, how ungrateful soever they are, for our rejoicing will be this, the testimo7iy of our conscience. 2. How basely and insolently, and with what a brutish enmity.and worse than brutish, they had carried it towai-d him; {v. 15, 16.) In mine adversity, they rejoiced. When he fell under the frowns of Saul, was banished the court, and persecuted as a criminal, they were pleased, were glad at his calamities, and got together in their drunken clubs, to make themselves and one another merry with the disgrace of this great favourite. Well might he call them abjects, for nothing could be more vile and sordid, than to triumph in the fall of a man of such unstained honour, and consummate virtue. But this was not all; (1.) They tore him, rent his good name without mercy, said all the ill they could of him, and fastened upon him all the reproach their cursed wit and malice could reach to. (2.) They gnashed ufion him ivith their teeth; they never spoke of him but with the greatest indignation imaginable, as those that would have eaten him up, if they could. David was the fool in the play, and his disappointment all the table-talk of the hypocritical mockers at feasts, it was the song of the drunkards, the comedians, who may fitly be called hypocritical mockers, (for what does a liypocrite signify, but a stage-player?) and whose comedies, it is likely, were acted at feasts and balls, chose David for their subject, bantered and abused him, while the auditory, in token of their agreement with the plot, hummed, and'gnashed u/ion him ivith their teeth; such has often been the hard fate of the best of men. The apostles were made a spectacle to the world. David was looked upon with ill-will, for no other reason, than because he was caressed by the people. It is a vexation of spirit which attends even a right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour, Eccl. iv. 4. And who can stand before envy? Prov. xxvii. 4.

17. Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions. 18. I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people. 19. Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause. 20. For (hey speak not peace; but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land. 21. Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said. Aha, aha! our eye hath seen it. 22. This thou hast seen, O Lord ; keep not silence : O Lord, be not far from me. 23. Stir up thyself, and awake tomyjudgment,cw;i tmto my cause, my God and my Lord. 24. Judge me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteousness ; and let them not rejoice over me. 25. Let them not say in their hearts. Ah, so would we have it: let them not say. We have swallowed him up. 26. Let them be ashamed, and brought to confusion toge-

ther, that rejoice at my hurt: let Ihem be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me. 27. Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favoui- n^ righteous cause ; yea, let them say continually. Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. 28. And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise, all the day long.

In these verses, as before,

1. David describes the great injustice, malice, and insolence, of his persecutors, pleading this with God, as a reason why he should protect him from them, and appear against them. 1. They were very unrighteous, they were his enemies wrongfully, for he never gave them any provocation; t/iey hated him without a cause; nay, for that for which they ought rather to have loved and honoured him. This is quoted with application to Christ, and is said to be fulfilled in him; (John xv. 25.) They hated me ivithout a cause. 2. They were very rude; they could not find in their hearts to show him common civility; they spake not peace; if they met him, they had not the good manners to give him the time of the day; like Joseph's brethren, that could not sfieak peaceably to him. Gen. xxxvii. 4. 3. They were very proud and scornful; {v. 21.) They ofien ed their mouth wide against me; they shouted and huzzaed when they saw his fall; they bawled after him, when he was forced to quit the court, "Aha, aha, this is the day we longed to see." 4. They were very barbarous and base, for they trampled upon him when he was down, rejoiced at his hurt, and magnified themselves againsf him, v. 26. Tur-ba Remi seqidtur fortunam, ut semfier, et odit dam-?iatos — The Roman crowd, varying their ofiinions with event turn offorturie, are sure to execrate the fallen. Thus, when the Son of David was run upon by the rulers, the people cried, Crucify him, crucify him. 5. They set themselves against all the sober good people that adhered to David; (f. 20.) I'hey devised deceitful matters, to trepan and i-uin them that are quiet in the land. Note, (1.) It is the character of the godly in the land, that tliev are the quiet in the land; that they live in all dutiful subjection to government and governors, in tlie Lord, and endeavour, as much as in them lies, to live peaceably with all men, however ,hey have been misrepresented as enemies to Cxsar, and hurtful to kings and provinces am for fieace, cxx. 7. (2.) Though the people or God are, and study to be, a quiet people, yet it has been the common practice of their enemies to devise deceitful matters against them. All the hellish arts of malice and falsehood are made use of to render them odious or despicable, their words and actions misconstrued, even that which they abhor fathered upon them, laws made to ensnare them, (Dan. vi. 4, &c.) and all to ruin them and root them out. They that hated David, thought scorn, like Haman, to lay hands on him alone, but contrived to invoh e all the religious people of the land in the same ruin with him.

2. He appeals to God against them, tlie Hod (0 whom vengeance belongs; appeals to his knowledge; (v. 22.) This thou hast see?!. Thev had falsely accused liim, but (lad, who knows all things, knew that he did not falsely accuse them, nor make them woi-se than really they were. They carried on their plots against him with a great degree of secrecy; {v. 15.) "Iknew it not, till long after, when they themselves gloried in it; but thine eye was upon them in their close cabals, and thou art a Witness

PSALMS, XXXVI.

297

of all they have said and done against me and thy people." He appeals to God's justice; Aivake to my judgment, even to my cause, and let it have a hearing at thy bar; {v. 23.) ^^ Judge me, O Lord my God; pass sentence upon this appeal, according to the righteousness of thy nature and government." See this explained by Solomon; (1 Kings viii. 31, 32.) When thou art appealed to, hear in heaven, and Judge, by condem?iing the wicked, and justifying the righteous.

III. He prays earnestly to God, to appear graciously for him'and his friends, against his and their enemies, that by his providence the struggle might issue to the honour and comfort of Da\ id, and to the conviction and confusion of his persecutors.

1. He prays that God would act tor him, and not stand by as a spectator; {v. 17.) ''Lord, how long wilt thou look on? How long wilt thou connive at the wickedness of the wicked? Rescue my soul from the destructions they are plotting against it; rescue my darling, my only one from the lions. My soul is my only one, and therefore the greater is the shame if I neglect it, and the greater the loss if I lose it; it is my only one, and therefore ought to be my darling, ought to be carefully protected and provided for. It is my soul that is in danger. Lord, rescue it; it does, in a peculiar manner, belong to the Father of spirits, therefore claim thine own; it is thine, save it! Lord, keefi not silence, as if thou didst consent to what is done against me! Lord, be not far from me, {v. 22.) as if I were a stranger that thou art not concerned for; let not me be beheld afar off, as the proud are."

2. He prays that his enemies might not have cause to rejoice; (v. 19.) Let them not rejoice over me; and again; [y. 24.) not so much because it would be a mortification to him to be trampled upon by the abjects, but because it would turn to the dishonour of God, and the reproach of his confidence in God; it would harden tlie hearts of his enemies in their wickedness, and confirm them in their enmity to him, and would be a great discouragement to all the pious Jews tliat were friends to his righteous cause. He prays that lie might never be in sucli imminent danger, that they should say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it, (v. 25.) much more that he might not be i-educed to such extremity, that they should say, JTe have swallowed him ufi; for then they will reflect upon God himself. But, on the contrary, that they might be ashamed and brought to. confusion together, [y. 26.) as before, {y. 4.) he desires his innocency might be so cleared, that they might be ashamed of the calumnies with which they haS^ loaded him, that his interest might be so confirmed, that they might be ashamed of their designs against him, and their ex-

Cectations of his ruin, that they might either be rought to that shame which would be a step toward their reformation, or that that might be their portion, whicli would be their everlasting misery.

3. He prays that his friends might ha\ e cause to rejoice, and give glory to (xod; [xk 27.) notwithstanding the arts that were used to blacken David, and make him odious, and to frighten people from owning him, there were some that favoured his righteous cause, that knew he was wronged, and bore a good affection to him; and he prays for them; (1.) That they might rejoice with him in his joys. It is a great pleasure to all that are good, to see an honest man, and an honest cause, prevail and prosper; and those that heartily espouse the interests of God's people, and are willing to take their lot with them, even when thev are run down, and trampled upon, shall, in due time, shout for joy and be glad, for the righteous cause will, at length, be a victorious cause. (2.) That thev might join with him in his praises, let them say continuallv, The Lord be

Vol. III.—2 P

magnified, by us and others, who hath fileasure in the fir OSjierity of his servant. Note, [1.] The great God has pleasure in the prosperity of good people, not only of his family, the church in general, but of every particular servant in his family; he has pleasure in the prosperity both of their temporal and of their spiritual affairs, and delights not in their griefs; for he does not afflict willingly; and we ought therefore to have pleasure in their prosperity, and not to envy it. [2.] When God, in his providence, shows his good-will to the prosperity of liis servants, and the pleasure he takes in it, wc ought to acknowledge it, with thankfulness, to his praise, and to say, The Lord be magnified.

Lastly, The mercy he hoped to win by prayer, he promises to wear with praise; " / will give thee thanks, as the Author of my deliverance; {y. 18.) and my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness, the justice of thy judgments, and the equity of all thy dispensations;" and this, 1. Publicly, as one that took a pleasure in owning his obligations to his God; so far was he from being ashamed of them, he will do it in the great congregation, and among much people, that God might be honoured, and many edified. 2. Constantly; he will speak God's praise every day, (so it may be read,) and all the day long, for it is a subject that will never be exhausted, no not by the endless praises of saints and angels.

PSALM XXXVI.

It is uncertain when, and upon what occasion, David penned this psalm, probably when he was struck at, either by Saul, or by Absalom; for in it he complains of the malice of his enemies against him, but triumphs in the goodness of God to him. We are here led to consider, and it will do us good to consider seriously, I. The sinfulness of sin, and how mischievous it is, v. 1..4. II. The goodness of God, and how gracious he is, 1. To all his creatures in general, v. 5, 6. 2. To his own people in a special manner, v. 7. . 9. By this, the psalmist is encouraged to pray for all the saints, (v. 10.) for himself in particular, and his own preservation, (v. 11.) and to triumph in the certain fall of his enemies, v. 12. If, in singing this psalm, our hearts be duly affected with the haired of sin, and satisfaction in God's loving kindness, we sing it with grace and understanding.

To the chief musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.

1. ^|"^HE transgression of the wicked saith A within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes. 2. For he flatter-eth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hatefiil. 3. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, a7id to do good. 4. He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth iiimself in a way that is not good; he ab-horreth not evil.

David, in the title of this psalm, is styled the servant of the Lord; why in this, and not in any other, except in xviii, title, no reason can be given; but so he was, not only as every good man is God's ser vant, but as a king, as a prophet, as one employed in serving the interests of God's kingdom among men, more immediately, and more eminently, than any other in his day. He glories in it, cxvi." 16. It is no disparagement, but an honour, to the greatest of men, to be the servants of the great God; it is the highest preferment a man is capable of in this world.

Da\ id, in these verses, describes the wickedness of the wicked, whether he means his persecutors in particular )r all notorious gross sinners, in gene-

PSALMS, xxxvr.

ral, is not certain. But we have here sin in its causes, and sin in its colours, in its root, and in its branches.

I. Here is the root of bitterness, from which all the wickedness of the wicked comes. It takes rise,

1. From their contempt of God, and the want of a due regard to him; {v. 1.) "The transgression of the ivicked, (as it is described afterward, v. 3, 4.) saith within my heart, makes me to conclude within myself, that there is no fear of God before his eyes, for if there were, he w(juld not talk and act so extravagantly as he does; he would not, lie dui-st not, break the laws of God, and \iolate his covenants with him, if he had any awe of his m ijesty, or dread of his wrath." Fitly therefore is it brought into the form of indictments by our law, that the criminal, not having the fear of God before his eyes, did so and so. The wicked did not openly renounce the fear of God, but their transgression whispered it secretly into the minds of all those that knew any thing of the nature of piety and impiety. David concluding, concerning those who lived at large, that they lived without God in the world.

2. From tlieir conceit of themselves, and a cheat they wilfully put upon their own souls; {v. 2.) He flattereth himself in his own eyes; Avhile he goes on in sin, he thinks he does wisely and well for himself, and either does not see, or will not own, the evil and danger of his wicked practices; he calls evil good, and good evil: his licentiousness he pretends to be but his just liberty; his fraud passes for his prudence and policy: and his persecuting the people of God, he suggests to himself, is a piece of necessary justice. If his own conscience threaten him for what he docs, he says, God will not recjuire it, I shall have fieace though I go on. Note, Sinners are self-destroyers, by being self-flatterers; Satan could not deceive them, if they did not deceive themselves. But will the cheat last always? No, the day is coming, when the sinner will be undeceived, when his iniquity shall be found to be hateful. Iniquity is a hateful thing; it is that abominable t}iing which tlie Lord hates, and which his pure and jealous eye cannot endure to look upon. It is hurtful to the sinner himself, and therefore ought to be hateful; but it is not so; he rolls it under his tongue as a sweet morsel, because of the secular profit, and sensual pleasure, which may attend it; yet the meat in his bowels will be turned, it will be the gall of as/is; (Job xx. 13, 14.) when their consciences are convinced, and sin appears in its true colours, and makes them a terror to themselves, when the cup of treml)ling is put into their hands, and they are made to drink the dregs of it, then their iniquity will be found hateful, and their self-flattery their unspeakable folly, and an aggravation of their condenmation.

II. Here are the cursed branches which spring from this root of bitterness. The sinner defies God, and even defies himself, and then what can be expected, but that he should go all to naught? These two were the first inlets of sin. Men do not fear God, and therefore they flatter themselves; and then,

1. They make no conscience of what they say, true or false, right or wrong; (t'. 3.) The words of his mouth are init/uity and deceit; contrived to do wrong, and yet to cover it with specious and plausi-i)le pretences. It is no marvel, if those that deceive themselves contrive how to deceive all mankind; for wliom will tliey be true to tliat are false to their own souls?

2. What little good there has been in them is gone; the sparks of virttie extinguished, their convictions baffled, their good beginnings come to nothing; they have left off to be wise, and to do fjood. Thev seemed lo have been under the direc-

tion of wisdom, and the government of religion, but they have broken these bonds in sunder; they have shaken off their religion, and therewith their wisdom. Note, They that leave off to do good, leave off to be wise.

3. Having left off to do good, they contrive to do hurt, and to be \ exatious to those about them that are good, and do good; {v. 4.) He devises mischief u/ion his bed. Note, (1.) Omissions make way for commissions; when men leave off doing good, leave off prajing, leave off their attendance on God's ordinances, and their duty to him, the Devil easily makes them his agents, his instruments to di"aw those that will be drawn, into sin, and with respect to those that will not, to draw them into trouble. Those that leave off to do good, begin to do evil; the Devil, Ijeing an apostate from his innocency, soon became a tempter to E\ e, and a persecutor of righteous Abel. (2.) It is bad to do mischief, but it is worse tode\ise it, to do it deliberately and with resolution, to set the wits a-work to contrive to do it most effectually, to do it with plot and management; with the subtlety, as well as the malice, ot the old serpent; to devise it ujjon the bed, where we should i)e meditating ujjon God and his word, Mic. ii. 1. This argues the sinner's heart fully set in him to do evil.

4. Having entered into the way of sin, that way that is not good, that has good neither in it, nor at the end of it, they persist, and resolve to persevere, in that way. He sets himself to execute the mischief he has devised, and nothing shall be withhold-en from him, which he has purposed to do, tliough it be ever so contrary both to his duty and to his true interest. If sinners did not steel their hearts, and brazen their faces, with obstinacy and impudence, they could not go on in their evil ways, in such a direct opposition to all that is just and good

5. Doing evil themselves, they have no dislike at all of it in others. He abhors not evil, but, on the contrary, takes pleasure in it, and is glad to sec others as bad as himself. Or, this may bespeak his impenitency in sin. They that have done evil, if God give them repentance, abhor the evil they ha\e done, and themselves because of it; it is bitter in the reflection, however sweet it was in the commission; but these hardened sinners have such seared stupified consciences, that they never reflect upon their sins afterward with any regret or remorse, but stand to what they have done, as if they could justify it before God himself.

Some think that David, in all this, particularly means Saul, who had cast off the fear of God, and left off all goodness; who pretended kindness to him, when he gave him his daughter to wife, but, at the same time, was devising mischief against him. But we are under no necessity of limiting ourselves so in the exposition of it; there are too many among us to whom the description agrees, which is to be greatly lamented.

5. Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and thy faithfuhiess reacheth unto the clouds. 6. Thy righteousness is Hke the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast. 7. How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God ! therefore the children of men put their trust und(>r the shadow of thv wings. 8. They sliall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house ; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasure's. 9. For with thee /5 the foun tain of life : in thy light shall we see ligii<

PSALMS, XXXVI.

299

10.0 continue thy loving-kindness unto them that know thee: and thy righteousness to the upright in heart. 11. Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me. 12. There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.

David, having looked round with grief upon the wickedness of the wicked, here looks up with comfort upon the goodness of (iod; a subject as delightful as the former was distateful, and very proper to be set in the balance against it. Observe,

I. His meditations upon the grace of God. He sees the world polluted, himself endangered, and God dishonoured, by the transgressions of the wicked; but, of a sudden, he turns his eye, and heart, and speech to God; Howevtr it bt, yet thou art good. He here acknowledges,

1. The transcendent perfections of the Divine Nature. Among men, we have often reason to complain. There is no truth or mercy, (Hos. iv. 1.) no judgment nor justice, Isa. v. 7. But all these may be found in God, without the least alloy. Whatever is missing, or amiss, in the world, we are sure there is nothing missing, nothing amiss, in him that governs it.

(1.) He is a God of inexhaustible goodness; Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens. If men shut up the bowels of their compassions, yet, with God, at the throne of his grace, we shall find mercy. When men are de\ ising mischief against us, God's thoughts concerning us, if we cleave closely to him, are .thoughts of good. On earth, we meet with little content, but a great deal of disquiet and disappointment; but in the heavens, where the mercy of God reigns in perfection, and to eternity, there is all satisfaction; there, therefore, if we would be easy, let us have our conversation, and there let us long to be. How bad soever the world is, let us never think the worse of God, or of his government; but, from the abundance of wickedness that is among men, let us take occasion, instead of reflecting upon God's purity, as if he countenanced sin, to admire his patience, that he bears so much with those that so impudently provoke him; nay, and causes his sun to shine, and his rain to fall, upon them. If God's mercy were not in the heavens, infinitely above the mercies of any creature, he would, long ere this, have drowned the world again. See Isa. Iv. 8, 9. Hos. xi. 9.

(2.) He is a God of inviolable truth; Thy faithfulness reaches unto the clouds. Though God suffers wicked people to do a great deal of mischief, yet he is, and will be, faithful to his threatenings against sin, and there will come a day when he will reckon with them; he is faithful also to his covenant with his people, which cannot be broken, not one jot or tittle of the promises of it defeated by all the malice of earth and hell. This is matter of great comfort to all good people, that, though men are false, God is faithful; men speak vanity, but the words of the Lord are pure words. God's faithfulness reaches so high, that it does not change with the weather, as men's does, for it reaches to the skies, so it should be read, (as some think,) above the clouds, and all the changes of the lower region.

(3.) He is a God of incontestable justice and equity; 7^hy righteousness is like the great mountains, so immoveable and inflexible itself, and so conspicuous and evident to all the world; for no h'uth is more certain or more plain than this. That the Lord is righteous in all his ways, and that he never did, nor ever will, do any wrong to any of his creatures. Even when clouds and darkness are

round about him, yet judgment and justice are the inhabitants of his throne, xcvii. 2.

(4.) He is a God of unsearchable wisdom and design; " Thy judgments are a great deefi, not to be fathomed with the line and plummet of any finite understanding." As his power is sovereign, which he owes not any account of to us, so his method is singular and mysterious, which cannot be accounted for by us; His way is in the sea, and his path in the great waters. We know that he does all wisely and well, but what he does we know not now, it is time enough to know hereafter.

2. The extensive care and beneficence of the Divine Providence; "Thou firesen>est man and beast, not only protectest them from mischief, but sup-pliest them with that which is needful for the support of life." The beasts, though not capable of knowing and praising God, are yet graciously provided for; their eyes wait on him, and he gives them their meat in due season. Let us not wonder that God gives food to bad men, for he feeds the brute-creatures; and let us not fear but that he will provide well for good men; he that feeds the young lions will not starve his own children.

3. The peculiar favour of (iod to the saints. Observe, (1.) Their character; {v. 7.) they are such as are allured, by the excellency of God's lovingly indness, to put their trust under the shado7v of his wings. [1.] God's loving-kindness is precious to them; they relish it, they taste a transcendent sweetness in it, they admire God's beauty and benignity above any thing in this world, nothing so amiable, so desirable. Those know not God, that do net admire his loving-kindness; and those know not themselves that do not eai-nestly covet it. [2.] They therefore repose an entire confidence in him; they have recourse to him, put themselves under his protection, and then think themselves safe, and find themselves easy, as the chickens under the wings of the hen, Matth. xxiii. 37. It was the character of proselytes, that they came to trust under the wings of the God of Israel; (Ruth ii. 12.) and what more proper to gather proselytes than the excellency of his loving-kindness? What more powerful to engage our complacency to him and on him? Those that are thus drawn by love, will cleave to him. (2.) Their privilege; happy, thrice happy, the people whose God is the Lord, for in him they have, or may have, or shall have, a complete h^piness.

[1.] Their desires shall be answered; (v. 8.) They shall be abundantly satkjied with the fatness of thy house; their wants supplied, their cravings gratified, and their capacities filled; in God all-sufficient they shall have enough, all that which an enlightened, enlarged, soul can desire or receive. The gains of the world and the delights of sense will surfeit, but never satisfy, Isa. Iv. 2. But the communications of divine favoui and grace will satisfy, but never surfeit. A gracious soul, though still desiring more o/God, never desires more than God. The gifts of Providence so far satisfy them that are content with such things as they have; I have all, and abound, Phil. iv. 18. The benefit of holy ordinances is the fatness of God's house, sweet to a sanctified soul, and strengthening to the spiritual and divine life, with this they are abundantly satisfied; they desire nothing more, in this world, than to live a life of communion with God, and W have the comfort of the promises. But the full, the abundant, satisfaction is reserved for the future state, the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Every \ essel will be full there.

[2.] Their joys shall be constant; Thou shall make them drink of the river of thy pleasureb. There are pleasures that are truly divine; "They are thy pleastires; not only which come from thee

PSALMS, XXXVIJ.

as the Giver of them, but which terminate in thee as the Matter and Centre of them." Being purely spiritual, they are of the same nature with those of the glorious inhabitants of the upper world, and bear some analogy even to the delights of the Eternal Mind. There is a river of these pleasures, always full, always fresh, always flowing. There is enough for all, enough for each; see xlvi. 4. The pleasures of sense are putrid puddle-water, those of faith are pure and pleasant, clear as crystal, Rev. xxii. 1. God has not only pro\ ided this river of pleasures for his people, but he makes them to drink of it; works in them a gracious appetite to tliese pleasures, and by his Spirit fills their souls with joy and peace in believing. In heaven, they shall be for ever drinking of those pleasures that are at God's right hand, satiated with a fulness of joy, xvi. 11.

[3.] Life and light shall be their everlasting bliss and portion, v. 9. Having God himself for their felicity, First, In him they have a fountain of life, from which those rivers of pleasure flow, i>. 8. The God of nature is the Fountain of natural life; in him we li\ e, and move, and have our being; the God of grace is the Fountain of spiritual life. All the strengtli and comfort of a sanctified soul, all its gracious principles, powers, and performances, are from God; he is the Spring and Author of all its sensations of di\ ine things, and all its motions toward them: he quickens whom he will; and whosoever will, may come, and take from him of the waters of life freely. He is the Fountain of eternal life; the liappinessof glorified saints consists in the vision and fruition of him, and in the immediate communications of his love, without interruption or fear of cessation. Secondly, In him they have light in perfection, wisdom, knowledge, and joy; all included in this light; In thy light ii'e shall see light, that is, 1. " In the knowledge of thee in grace, and the vision of thee in glory, we shall have that which will abundantly suit and satisfy our understandings." That divine light which shines in the scripture, and especially in the face of Christ, the Light of the world, has all truth in it. When we come to see God face to face, within the veil, we shall see light in perfection, we shall know enough tlien, 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 1 John iii. 2. 2. "In communion with thee now; by the communications of thy grace to us, and the return of our devout afftctions to thee, and in the fi-uition of thee shortly in heaven, we shall have a complete felicity and satisfaction. In thy favour we have all the good we can desire." This is a dark world, we see little comfort in it; but in the heavenly light there is tnie light, and no false light, light that is lasting, and never wastes. In this world, we see God, and emoy him l)y creatures and means; but in heaven, God hinisrlf shall be ivith us, (Re\-. xxi. 3.) and we shall see and enjoy h-m immediately.

II. We have here David's prayers, intercessions, and holy triumphs, grounded upon these meditations. 1. He intercedes for all saints, begging that they may always experience the benefit and comfort of God's favour and grace, v. \0. (1.) The pers'^nshe prays for are those that know God, that are acquainted with him, acknowledge him, and avouch him for theirs: the upright in heart, that arc sincere in their profession of religion, and faithful both to God and man: those that are not upright with (iod, do not know him as they should. (2.) The blessing he begs for them, is, God's loving-kindness, that is, the tokens of his favour toward them; and his righteousness, that is, the workings of his grace in them; or his loving-kindness and righteousness are his goodness, according to promise; they are mercy and truth. (3.) The manner in which he desires this blessing may be conveyed; Oh continue it, draw it

out, as the mother draws out her breasts to the child, and then the child draws out the milk from the breasts. Let it be drawn out to a length equal to the line of eternity itself; the happiness of the saints in heaven will be in perfection, and yet in continual progression, as some think; for the fountain there will be always full, and the streams always flowing. In these is continuance, Isa. Ixiv. 5.

2. He prays for himself, that he might be preserved in his integrity and comfort; {y. 11.) "Zc; not the foot of Jiride come against me, to trip up my heels, or trample upon me; and let not the hand of the wicked, wliich is stretched out against me, prevail to remo\ e me, either from my purity and integrity, by any temptation, or from my peace and comfort, by any trouble." Let not those who fight against God, triumph over those who desire to cleave to him. They that have experienced the pleasure of communion with God, cannot but desire that nothing may ever remove them from him.

3. He rejoices in hope of the downfall of his enemies, in due time; (t'. 12.) "There where they thought to have gained the point against me, they are themselves fallen; taken in that snare which they laid for me." Theie, in the other woild, (so some,) there where the saints stand in the judgment, and have a place in God's house, the workers of iniquity are cast in the judgment, are cast down into hell, into the bottomless pit, out of which they shall, assuredly, never be able to rise, from under the insupportable weight of God's wrath and curse. It is true, we are not to rejoice, when any particular enemy of ours falls; but the final overthrow of all the workers of iniquity, will be the everlasting triumph of glorified saints.

PSALM XXXVIL

This psalm is a sermon, and an excellent useful sermon it is; calculated not (as most of the psalms) for our devotion, butfor our conversion; thereisnothinff init of prayer or praise, butitisall instruction; ilis Maschil — a teaching psalm; it is an exposition of some of the hardest chapters in the book of Providence, the advancement of the wicked, and the disgrace of the righteous, a solution of the difRculties that arise thereupon, and an exhortation to conduct ourselves as becomes us, under such dark dispensations. The work of the prophets, (and David was one,) was to explain the law. Now the law of Moses had pronnsed temporal blessings to the obedient, and denounced temporal miseries against the disobedient, which principally referred to the body of the people, the nation as a nation; for, when they came to be applied to particular persons, many instances occurred of sinners in prosperity, and saints in adversity; to reconcile those instances with the word that God had spoken, is the scope of the prophet in this psalm. In which, 1. He forbids us to fret at the prosperity of the wicked, in their wicked ways, v. 1, 7,8. II. He gives very good reasons why we should not fret at it. 1. Because of the scandalous character of the wicked, (v. 12, 14,21,32.) notwithstanding their prosperity; and the honourable character of the righteous, v. 21, 26, 30, 31. 2. Because of the destruction and ruin which the wicked are nigh to, (v. 2, 9, 10, 20, 35, 36, 38.) and the salvation and protection which the righteous are sure of. from all the malicious designs of the wicked, v. 13, 15, l'7, 28, 83, 39, 40. 3. Because of the particular mercy God has in store for ajl good people, and the favour he shows them, v. II, 16, 18,19, 22. .25, 28^ 29, 37. III. He prescribes very good remedies against this sin of envying the prosperity of the wicked, and great encouragement to use those remedies, v. 3. .6, 27, 34. In singing this psalm, we must teach and admonish one another rightly to understand the providence of God, and to accommodate ourselves to it; at all times care fully to do our duty, and then patiently to leave the event with God, and to believe that, how black soever things may look for the present, it shall be well with them that fear God, that fear before him.

A psalm of David.

1. XT^RET not thyself because of evii-

X. doers, neither be thou envious against

the workers of iniquity: 2. For they shall

PSALMS, XXXVIl.

301

^oon be cut down like the grass, and vvither as the green herb. 3. Trust in the Lord, and do good : so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4. Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart. 5. Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass : 6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day.

The instructions here given are very ])lain; much need not be said for the exposition of them, but there is a deal to be done for the reducing of them to practice, and there they will look best.

I. We are here cautioned against discontent at the prosperity and success of evil-doers; {v. 1, 2.) Fret not thyself, neither be thou envious. We may suppose, that David speaks this to himself first, and preaches it to his own he irt, (in his communing with that upon his bed,) for the suppressing of those corrupt passions which he found working there, and then leaves it in writing, for instiuction to others that might be in the like temptation. That is preached best, and with most probability of success, to others, which is fii-st preached to ourselves. Now, 1. When we look abroad, we see the world full of evil-doers, and workers of iniquity, that flourish and prosper, that have what they will, and do what they will, that live in ease and pomp themselves, and have power in their hands to do mischief to those about them. So it was in David's time; and thei-efore, if it is so still, let us not marvel at the matter, as though it were some new or strange thing. 2. When we look within, we find ourselves tempted" to fret at this, and to be envious against these scandals and burthens, these blemishes and common nuisances of this earth. We are apt to fret at God, as if he were unkind to the world, and unkind to his church, in permitting such men to live, and prosper, and prevail, as they do. We are apt to fret ourselves with vexation at their success in their evil projects; we are apt to envy them the liberty they take in getting wealth, and perhaps by unlawful means, and in the indulgence of their lusts, and to wish that we could shake off the restraints of conscience, and do so too. We are tempted to think them the only happy people, and to incline to imitate them, and to join ourselves with them, that we may share in their gains, and eat of their dainties: and this is that which we are warned against; Fret not thyself, neither he thou envious. Fretful-ness and envy are sins that are their own punishments, they are the uneasiness of the spirit, and the rottenness of the bones; it is therefore in kindness to ourselves that we are warned against them. Yet that is not all, for, 3. When we look forward with an eye of faith, we shall see no reason to envy wicked people their prosperity, for their ruin is at the door, and they are ripening apace for it, v. 2. They flourish, but as the grass, and as the green herb, which nobody envies or frets at. The flourishing of a godly man is like that of a fruitful tree, (i. 3.) but that of the wicked man, like grass and herbs, which are very short-lived. (1.) They will soon wither of themselves. Outward prosperity is a fading thin?;, and so is the life itself, to which it is confined. (2.) They will sooner be cut down by the judgments of God. Their triumphing is short, but their weeping and wailing will be everlasting.

II. We are here counselled to live a life of confidence and complacency in God, and thnt will keep us from fretting at the prosperity of e\ il-doers; if

we do well for our own souls, we shali see little reason to envy those that do so ill for theirs.

Here are three excellent precepts, which we are to be ruled by, and, to enforce them, three precious promises, which we may rely upon.

1. We must make God our Hope in the way of duty, and tlien we shall have a comfortable subsistence in this world, v. 3. (1.) It is required that we trust in the Lord, and do good, that we confide in God, and conform to him. The life of religion lies much in a believing reliance r.n God, his favour, his providence, his promise, his grace, and a diligent care to serve him and our generation, according to his will. We must not think to trust in God, and then li\e as we list; no, it is not trusting God, but tempting him, if we do not make conscience of 'uir duty to him; nor must we think to do good, and then to trust to ourselves, and our own righteousness and strength; no, we must both trust in the Lord, and do good. And then, (2.) It is promised that we shall be provided for in this world; So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. He does not say, "So shalt thou get preferment, dwell in a palace, and be feasted." This is not necessary; a man's life consists not in the abundance of these things; but, "Thou shalt have a place to live in, and that in the land, in Canaan, the vallev of vision, and thou shalt have food convenient for thee." This is more than we deserve, it is as much as a good man will indent fnr, (Gen. xxviii. 20.) and it is enough for one that is going to heaven. Thou shalt have a settlement, a quiet settlement, and a maintenance, a comfortable maintenance; Verihi thou shalt be fed, (so some read it,) thou shalt be fed by faith, as the just are said to live by faith, and it is good living, good feeding, upon the promises. *^ Verily thou shalt be fed, as Elijah in the famine, with what is needful for thee." God himself is a Shepherd, a Feeder, to all those that trust in him, xxiii. 1.

2. We must make God our heart's delight, and then we shall have our heart's desire; {v. 4.) we must not only depend upon God, but solace ourselves in him. We must be well pleased that there is a God, that he is such a one as he has revealed himself to be, and that he is our God in covenant. We must delight ourselves in his beauty, bounty. ;ii-d benignity; our souls must return to him, and repose in him, as their Rest, and their Portion, for ever. Being satisfied of his loving-kindness, we must be satisfied with it, and make that our exceeding joy, xliii. 4. We were commanded (i'. 3.) to do good, and then follows this command, to delight in God, which is as much a privilege as a duty. If we make conscience of obedience to God, we mav then take the comfort of a complacency in him. And even this pleasant duty of delighting in God, lias a promise annexed to it, which is very full and precious, enough to recompense the hardest services; He shall give thee the desires of thy heart. He has not promised to gratify all the appetites of the body, and the humours of the fancy, but to grant all the desires of the heart, all the cravings of the renewed sanctified soul. What is the desire of the heart of a good man? It is this, to know, and love, and live to, God, to please him, and to be pleased in him.

3. We must make God our Guide, and submit in every thing to his guidance and disposal; and then all our affairs, even those that seem most intricate and perplexed, shall be made to issue well, and to our satisfaction, v. 5, 6.

(1.) The duty is very easy; and if we do it aright, it will make us easy; Commit thy way unto the Lord; roll thy way upon the Lord, so "the margin reads it, Prov. xvi. 3. Ps. Iv. 22. Cast thy burthen upon the Lord, the burthen of thy care, 1 Pet. v. 7. Wp must roll it off ourselves, so as not to affiict and

PSALMS, XXXVIl.

perplex ourselves with thoughts about future events, (Miitth. vi. 25.) not to cumber and trouble ourselves eitlier with the contrivance of the means, or with expectation of the end, but refer it to God, lea\ e it to him, by his wise and good providence to order and dispose of all our concerns, as he pleases; He-veal thy way unto the Lord; (so tlie LXX) that is, " By prayer spread thy case, and all thy cares about it, before the Lord," (as Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizfieh, Judg. xi. 11.) "and then trust in him to bring it to a good issue, with a full satisfaction that all is well that God does." We must do our duty, (that must be our care,) and then leave the event with God; Sit still, and see how the matter will fall, Ruth iii. 18. We must follow Providence, and not force it; swAscribe to Infinite Wisdom, and not/zrescribe.

(2.) The promise is very sweet; [1.] In general, " He shall bring that to pass, whate\ er it is, which thou hast committed to him, if not to thy contrivance, yet to thy content. He will find means to extricate thee out of thy straits, to prevent thy fears, and bring about thy purposes, to thy satisfaction." [2. ] In particular, "He will take care of thy reputation, and bring thee out of thy difficulties, not only with comfort, but with credit and honour. He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day;" {v. 6.) that is, "He shall make it to appear, that thou art an honest man, and that is honour enough." First, It is implied that the righteousness and judgment of good people, may, for a time, be clouded and eclipsed, either bv remarkable rebukes of Providence, (Job's great afflictions darkened his righteousness,) or by the malicious censures and reproaches of men, who give them bad names, which they no way deserve, and lay to their charge things which they know not. Secondly, It is promised that God will, in due time, roll away the reproach they are under, clear up their innocency, and bring forth their righteousness, to their honour; perhaps in this world, at furthest, in the great day, Matth. xiii. 43. Note, If we take care to keep a good conscience, we may leave it to God to take care of our good name.

7. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospercth in his way, because of the man who brinj^eth wicked devices to pass. 8. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9. For evil-doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LiOrjD, they shall inherit the earth. 10. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not he: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it skall not he. 11. But th(^ meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12. The wicked plotteth against the just, find i^nasheth upon him with his teeth. 13. The TiORD shall laugh at him; for he seeth that his day is conung, 14. The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to rast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. 15. Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. 16. A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riehes of many wicked. 17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but

the Lord upholdeth the righteous. 18. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright; and their inheritance shall be for ever. 19. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time; and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord sha/l be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume, into smoke shall they consume away.

In these verses, we have,

I. The foregoing precepts inculcated; for we are so apt to disquiet ourselves with needless, fruitless, discontents and distrusts, that it is necessary therr should be precept upon precept, and line upon line, to suppress them, and arm us against them.

1. Let us compose ourselves by believing in God; " Nest in the Lord, and wait fiatiently for him; (x>. 7.) be well reconciled to all he does, and acquiesce in it, for that is best that is, because it is what God has appointed; and be well satisfied that he will still make all to work for good to us, though we know not hnw or which way. Be silent to the Lord," so the word is; not with a sullen, but a submissive, silence. A patient bearing of what is laid upon us, and a patient expectation of what is further appointed for us, are as much our interest as they are our duty; for it will make us always easy, and there is a great deal of reason for it, for it is making a virtue of necessity.

2. Let us not discompose ourselves at what we see in this world; " Fret not thyself because of him who /iros/iers in his wicked way; who, though he is a bad man, yet thrives and grows rich and great in the world; no nor because of him who does mischief with his power and wealth, and brings wicked devices to pass against those that are virtuous and good, who seems to have gained his point, and to have run them down; if thy heart begins to rise at it, stroke down thy folly, and cease from anger, {v. 8.) check the first stirrings of discontent and envy, and do not harbour any hard thoughts of God and his providence upon this account; be not angry at any thing that God does, but forsake that wrath; it is the worst kind of wrath that can be. Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil, do not envy them their prosperity, lest thou be tempted to fall in with them, and to take the same evil course that the)'' take to enrich and advance themselves, or some desperate course to avoid them and their power." Note, A fretful, discontented, spirit lies open to many temptations; and those that indulge it are in danger of doing evil.

II. The foregoing reasons, taken from the approaching ruin of the wicked, notwithstanding their prosperity, and the real happiness of the righteous, notwithstanding their troubles, are here much enlarged upon, and the same things repeated in a pleasing variety of expression.

We are cautioned {v. 7.) not to envy, the wicked, either worldly prosperity, or the success of their plots against the righteous. The reasons here given respect these two temptations severally.

1. Good peo])le have no reason to envy the worldly prosperity of wicked people, nor to grieve or lie uneasy at it.

(1.) Because the prosperity of the wicked will soon be at an end; (■):'.9.) Fvil-doersshall he cut off bv some sudden stroke of divine justice, in the midst of their prosperity; what they have got by sin, will not onlv flow away from them, (Job xx. 28.) hut thcv shall be carried away with it. See the end of these men, (Ixxiii. 17.) how dear their ill-grt gain will cost them, and you will he far from envving them, or from being willing to espouse tlieir lot, for

PSALMS, XXXVII.

303

better, for worse. Their ruin is sure, and it is very near; (v. 10.) Yt^t a little while, and 'he tvicked shall not be what they now are; they are brought into desolation in a moment, Ixxiii. 19. Have a little patience, for the Judge stands before the door. Jam. V. 8, 9. Moderate your passion, for the Lord is at hand; (Phil. iv. 5.) and when it comes, it will be an utter ruin, he and his shall be extirpated, the day that comes shall leave him neither root nor branch; (Mai. iv. 1.) thou shalt diligently consider his /ilace, where but the other day he made a mighty figure, but it shall not be, you will not find it; he shall leave nothing valuable, nothing honourable, behind him. To the same purport, {v. 20.) The nvicked shall perish; their death is their perdition, because it is the period of all their joy, and a passage to endless misery; Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, but undone, for ever undone, are the dead that die in their sins. The wicked are the enemies of the Lord; such they make themselves, who will not have him to reign o\ er them, and as such he will reckon with them; They shall consume as the fat of lambs, they shall consume into smoke. Their prosperity, which gratifies their sensuality, is like the fat of lambs, not solid or substantial, but loose and washy; and when their ruin comes, they shall fall as sacrifices to the justice of God, and be consumed as the fat of the sacrifices was upon the altar, whence it ascended in smoke. The day of God's v^engeance on the wicked, is represented as a sacrifice of the fat of the kidneys of rams; (Isa. xxxiv.6.) for he will be honoured by the ruin of his enemies, as he was by the sacrifices; damned sinners are sacrifices, Mark ix. 49. This is a good reason why we should not envy them their prosperity; while they are fed to the full, they are but in the fattening for the day of sacrifice, like a lamb in a large place; (Hos. iv. 16.) and the more they prosper, the more will God be glorified in their ruin.

(2.) Because the condition of the righteous, even in this life, is every way better, and more desirable, than that of the wicked, v. 16. In general, a little that a righteous man has of the honour, wealth, and pleasure of this world, is better than the riches of many ivicked. Observe, [1.] The wealth of the world is so dispensed by the Di\ ine Providence, that it is often the lot of good people to h ive but a little of it, and of wicked people to have abundance ' of it; for thus God would show us that the things of this world are not the best things, for if they were, those would have most, that are best and dearest to God. [2.] That a godly man's little is really better than a wicked man's much; see Prov. xv. 16, 17.— xvi. 8.—xx\iii. 6. A godly man's estate, though ever so little, is better than a wicked man's estate, though ever so much, for it comes from a bettei-hand, from a hand of special love, and not merelv from a hand of common providence; it is enjoyed by a better title, God gives it to tliem Iiy promise, (Gal. iii. 18.) it is theirs by virtue of their relation to Christ, who is the Heir of all things; and it is put to a better use, it is sanctified to them bv the messing of God; unto the fiure all things are fiure. Tit. i. 15. A little whei ewith God is served and honoured, is better than a great deal prepared for B lal, or for a base lust.

The promises liere made to the righteous, secure them such a happiness that they need not envy the prosperity of evil-doers. Let them know to their comfort.

First, That they shall inherit the earth, as much of it as Infinite Wisdom sees good for them; they have the promises of the life that now is, 1 Tim. IV. 8. If all the earth were necessary to make them happy, they should have it. All is theirs, even the world, and things present, as well as things to come, I Cor. iii. 21, 22. They have it by inheritance, a i

safe and honourable title, not by permission only and connivance. \Mien evil-doers are cut off, the righteous sometimes inherit what they gathered; the wealth of the siJiner is laid ufifor the just. Job xxvii. 17. Prov. xiii. 22. This promise is here made, 1. To those that live a life of faith; {v. 9.) those that wait upon the Lord, as dependants oti him, expectants from him, and supplicants to him, shall inherit the earth, as a token of his present fa vour to them, and an earnest of better things intended for them in the other world. God is a good Master that provides plentifully and well, not only for his working servants, but for his waiting servants. 2. To those that live a quiet and peaceable life; {v. 11.) The meek shall inherit the earth. They are in least danger of being injured and disturbed in the possession of what they have; and they have most satisfaction in themselves, and consequently tlie sweetest relish of their creature-comforts. Our Saxiour has made this a gospel promise, and a confirmation of the blessing he pronounced on the meek, Matth. v. 5.

Secondly, That they shall delight the?nselves in the abiuidance of peace, v. 11. Perhaps they have not abundance of wealth to delight in, but they have th.it which is better, abundance of peace, inward peace and tranquillity of mind, peace with God, and then peace in God, that great peace which they have that lo\-e God's law, whom nothing shall offend; (cxix. 165.) that abundance of peace which is in the kingdom of Christ; (Ixxii. 7.) that peace which the world cannot give, (John xiv. 27.) and which the wicked cannot have, Isa. Ivii. 21. This they shall delight themselves in, and in it they shall haVe a continual feast; while they that have abundance of wealth do but cumber and perplex themselves with it, and have little delight in it.

Thirdly, That God knows their days, v. 18. He takes particular notice of them, of all they do, and of all that happens to them. He keeps account of the days of their service, and not one day's work shall go unrewarded; and of the days of their suffering, that for those also they may receive a recompense. He knows their fair days, and has pleasure in their prosperity; he knows their cloudy and dark days, the days of their affliction, and, as the day is, so shall the strength be.

Fourthly, That their inheritance shall be for ever. Their time on earth is reckoned by days, which will soon be numbered; God takes cognizance of them, and gives them the blessings of every day in its day; but it was never intended that their inheritance should be confined within the limits of those days; no, that must be the portion of an immortal soul, and therefore must last as long as that lasts, and will run parallel with the longest line of eternity itself; 1 heir inheritance shalt be for ever; not their inheritance in the earth, but that incorruptible, indefeasible, one, which is laid up for them in hea\ en. They that are sure of an everlasting inheritance in the other world have no reason to envy the wicked their transitory possessions and pleasures in this world.

Fifthly, That, in the worst of times, it shall go well with them; {v. 19.) They shall not be ashamed of their hope and confidence in God, nrr of the profession they have made of religion; for the comfort of tliat will stand them in stead, and be a real support to tlicm, in evil times. When others droop, they shall lift u]) their heads with joy and confidence; even in the days of famine, when others are dying for hunger round about them, they shall be satisfied, as Elijah was; some way or other God will provide food conxenient for them, or give them hearts to be satisfied and content without it; so that, if they should be hardly bestead and hungry, they shall not (as the wicked do) fret themselves, a?id

PSALMS, XXXVII.

curse their king and their God, (Isa. viii. 21.) but rejoice in God as the God of their salvation, e\ en when the fig-tree does not blossom, Hab. ill. 17, 18. 2. Good people have no reason to fret at the occasional success of the designs of the wicked against the just; though they do bring some of their wicked devices to pass, which makes us fear they will gain their point, and bring them all to pass, yet let us cease from anger, and nof fret ourselves so as to think of giving up the cause. For,

(1.) Their plots will be their shame, v. 12, 13. It IS true, the wicked filotteih against t/tejiist, tliere is a rooted enmity in the seed of the \yicked one against the righteous seed; their aim is, if they can, to destroy their rightei usiiess; if that fail, then to destroy them. With this end in view, they have acted with a great deal both of cursed policy and contrivance, (they plot, they practise against the just,) and of curs'ed zeal and fury, they gnash ufion them with their teeth; so desirous are they, if they could get it into their power, to eat theui up, and so full of rage and indignation are they, because it is not in their power; but by all this they do but make themselves ridiculous; the Lord shall laugh at them, ii. 4, 5. They are proud and insolent, but God shall pour contempt upon them; he is not only displeased with them, but he despises them and all their attempts as vain and ineffectual, and their malice as impotent and in a chain; for he sees that his day is co7ning, rhdX is, [1.] The day of God's reckoning, the day of the revelation of his righteousness, which now seems clouded and eclipsed. Men have their day now; this is your hour, Luke xxii. 53. But God will have his day shoi'tly, a day of recompenses, a day which will set all to rights, and render that ridiculous which now passes for glorious. /; is a small thing to be judged of man's judgment; (1 Cor. iv. 3.) God's day will give a decisive judgment. [2.] The day of their ruin, the wicked man's day, the day set for his fall, that day is coming; which denotes delay, it is not yet come, but certainly it will come. The believing prospect of that day will enable the virgin, the daughter of Zion, to despise the rage of her enemies, and la?igh them to scorn, Isa. xxxvii. 22.

(2.) Their attempts will be their destmction, V. 14, 15. See here, [1.] How barbarous they are in their designs against good people. They prepare instruments of death, the sword and the bow, no less will serve; they hunt for the precious life; that which they design, is, to cast down and slay; it is the blood of the saints they thirst after. They carry on the design very far, and it is near to be put in execution; they have drawn the sword, and bent the bow; and all these military preparations are made against the hel]3less, the poor, and needy; this shows them to be very cowardly; and against the guiltless, such as be of upright conversation, that never gave them any provocation, nor offered injury to them, or any other person; this shows them to be very wicked. Uprightness itself will be no fence against their malice. But, [2.] How justly their malice recoils upon themselves; their sword shall turn into their own heart; which implies the preservation of the righteous from their malice, and the filling u]) of the measure of their own iniquity by it. Sometimes that very thing pro\es to be their own destruction, which they projected against their liarmless neighbours; however, God's sword, which tlieir provocations have drawn against themselves, will give them their death's wound.

(3.) Those that are not suddenly cut off, shall yet be so disabled to do any further mischief, that the interests of the church shall be effectually secured; Their bones shall be broken; (v. 15.) the instruments of their ci-uelty shall fail them, and they shall lose those whom they had made too's of, to

serve their bloody purposes with; nay, their arms shall be broken, so that they shall Jiot be able to go on with their enterprises. But the Lord ufiholds the righteous, so that they neither sink under the weight of their afflictions, nor are crushed by the violence of their enemies. He upholds them bc)th in their integrity, and in their prosperity; and they that are so upheld by the Rock of ages, have no reason to envy the wicked the support of their broken reeds.

21. The wicked bonoweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous showetli mercy, and giveth. 22. For such us be blessed of him shall inherit the earth ; and tlieij that he cursed of him shall be cut oif. 23. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord ; and he delighteth in his way. 24. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. 25. I have been young, and now am old ; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 26. He is ever merciful, and lendeth ; and his seed is blessed. 27. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. 28. For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 29. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever. 30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and liis tongue talketh of judgment. 31. The law of his God is in his heart -, none of his steps shall slide. 32. The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. 33. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

These verses are much to the same purport with the foregoing verses of this psalm, for it is a sub M ject worthy to be dwelt upon. Observe here,

I. What is required of us, as the way to our happiness; which we may learn both from the charac ters here laid down, and from the dirt rtions here given. If we would be blessed of God,

1. We must make conscience of giving every body their own; for the wicked borrows, and fiays ?iot again, V. 21. It is the first thing wliich the Lord our God requires of us, that we do justly, and render to all their due. It is not only a shameful paltry thing, but a sinful wicked thing, not to repay what we have borrowed. Some make this an instance, not so much of the wickedness of the wick ed, as of the misery and poverty to which they are reduced by the just judgment of God, that 'they shall be necessitated to borrow for their supply, anci then be in no capacity to repay again, and so lie at the mercy of their creditors. \^'hatever some men seem to think of it, as it is a great sin for those that are able to deny the payment of their just debts, so it is a great misery not to be able to pay them.

2. We must be ready to all acts of charity and beneficence; for as it is an instance of (iod's good ness to the righteous, that he puts it into the power of his hand to be kind, and to do good, (and so some understand it, God's blessing increases his little, to that degree, that he has abundance to spare for the relief of others,) so it is an instance of the goodness of the righteous man, that he has a heart proper-

PSALMS, XXXVII.

305

tionable to his estate; he shows mercy, and gives, v. "21. He is ever merciful, or every day, or all tlie day, merciful, and lends, and sometimes there is as true cliaiily in lendiiig as in giving; giving and lending are then acceptable to God, when they come from a merciful disposition in the heart, which, if it be sincere, will be constant, and will keep us from being weary of well-doing. He that is truly merciful will be ever merciful.

3. VVe must lea\ e our sins, and engage in the practice of serious godliness; {v. 27.) Defiart from evil, and do good; cease to do evil, and abhor it; learn to do well, and cleave to it. This is true religion.

4. We must abound in good discourse, and with our tongues must glorify God, and edify others. It is part of the character of a righteous man, {v. 30.) YViat his jnouth sfieaketh ivisdoin; not only he speaks wisely, but he speaks wisdom, like Solomon himself, for the instruction of those about him; his tongue talks not of things idle and impertinent, but of judgment, that is, of the word and providence of God, and the rules of wisdom for the right ordering of the conversation. Out of the abundance of a good heart will the mouth speak that which is good, and to the use of edifying.

5. We must have our wills brought into an entire subjection to the will and word of God; {v. 31.) The law of God, of his God, is in his heart; and in vain do we pretend that God is our God, if we do not receive his law into our hearts, and resign ourselves to the government of it. It is but a jest and mockery to speak wisdom, and to talk of judgment, {y. 30.) unless we have the law in our hearts, and we think as we speak. The law of God must be a commanding, ruling, principle in the heart; it must be a light there, a spring there, and then the conversation will be regular and uniform, none of his steps will slide; it will effectually prevent backsliding into,sin, and the uneasiness that follows from it.

II. What is assured to us, as instances of our happiness and comfort, upon these conditions.

1. That we should have the blessing of (iod, and that blessing shall be the spring, and sweetness, and security, of all our temporal comforts and enjoyments; {v. 22.) Such as be blessed of God, as all the righteous are, with a Father's blessing, by virtue of that shall inherit the earth, or the land, for so the same word is translated, x>. 29. the land of Canaan, that glory of all lands. Our ci'eature-comforts are then comforts indeed to us, when we see them flowing from the blessing of Gcd, from his favour, his promise, and his covenant with us; and if we are sure of the blessing of God, we are sure not to want any thing that is good for us in this world. The earth shall yield iis her increase, if God, as our own God, gii'es us his blessing, Ixvii. 6. And as those whom God blesses are thus blessed indeed, for they shall inherit the land; so those whom he curses are cursed indeed, and they shall be cut off, and rooted out; and their extirpation by the divine curse will setoff the establishment of the righteous, by the divine blessing, and be a foil to it.

2. That (iod will direct and dispose of our actions and affairs, so as may be most for his glory; (f. 23.) The steps of a good jnan are ordered by the Lord; by his grace and holy Spirit he directs the thoughts, affections, and designs, of good men; he has all hearts in his hand, but theirs by their own consent; by his providence he' overrules the events that concern them, so as to make their way plain before them, both what they should do, an^ what they may expect. Observe, God orders the steps of a good man; not only his way in general, by his written word, but his particular steps, by the whispers of conscience, saying, This is the way.

Vol. III.—2 Q

jl li'ali- in it. He does not always show him his way li at a distance, but leads him step by step, as children are led, and so keeps him in a continual dependence upon his guidance; and this, (1.) Because he deliglits in his way, and is well-pleased with tht paths of righteousness wherein he walks. 77ie Lord knows the way of the righteous, (i. 6.) knows it with favour, and therefore directs it. (2.) That he may delight in his way. Because God orders his way according to his own will, therefore he delights in it: for as he loves his own image upon us, so he is well-pleased with what we do under his guidance.

3. That God will keep us from being ruined by our falls either into sin or into trouble; {v. 24.) Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down. (1.) A good man may be overtaken in a fault, but the grace of God shall recover him to repentance, so that he shall not be utterly cast down. Though he may, for a time, lose the joys of God's salvation, yet they shall be restored to him; for God shall uphold him with his hand, uphold him with his free sjjirit. The root shall be kept alive, though the leaf wither; and there will come a spring after the winter. (2.) A good man may be in distress, his affairs embarrassed, his spirits sunk, but he shall not be utterly cast down; God will be the Strength of his heart, when his flesh and heart fail, and will uphold him with his comforts, so that the spirit he has made shall not fviil before him.

4. That he shall not want the necessary su])ports of this life, {x>. 25.) " I have been young, and now am old; and, among all the changes I have seen ir. men's outward condition, and the observations I h ive made upon them, I never saw the righteous forsaken of God and man, as I have sometimes seen wicked people abandoned both by heaven and earth; nor do I ever remember to have seen the seed of the righteous reduced to that extremity as to beg their bread." David htid himself begged his bread of Ahimelech the priest, but it was when Saul hunted him; and <nir Saviour has taught us to except the case of persecution for righteousness-sake out of all the temporal promises, (Mark X. 30.) because that has such peculiar honours and comfoT'ts attending it, as make it rather a gift (as the apostle reckons it, Phil. i. 29.) than a loss or grievance. But there are very few instances of good men, or their families, that are reduced to such extreme poverty as many wicked people bring themselves to by their wickedness. He had not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread; forsaken, so some expound it If they do want, God will raise them up friends to supply them, without a scandalous exposing of themselves to the reproach of common beggars; or if they go from door to door for meat, it shall not be with despair, as the wicked man that wanders abroad for bread, saying. Where is it? Job xv. 23. Nor shall he be denied, as the prodigal, that would fain have filled his belly, but no man gave unto him, Luke xv. 16. Nor shall he grudge, if he be not satisfied, as David's enemies, when they wandered up and down for meat, lix. 15. Some make this promise relate especially to those that are charitable and liberal to the poor, and to intimate that David never observed any that brought themselves to poverty by their charity; it is withholding more than is meet that tends to poverty, Prov. xi. 24.

5. That God will not desert us, but graciously protect us in our difhcidties and straits; (x». 28.) 77ie Lord loves judgment; he delights in doing justice himself, and he delights in those that do justice; and therefore he forsakes not his saints ir affliction, when others make themselves strange to them, and become shy of them; but he takes care that they be presei-ved for ever, that the sain>,s in every age be taken under his protection, that the

PSALMS, XXXVIl.

succession be preserved to tlie end of time, and that particular saints be preserved from all the temptations, and through all the trials, of tliis present time, to that happiness which shall i)e fn-ever. He will fireserve them, to his heavenly kingdom, that is, a preservation for ever, 2 Tim. i\. IS. Ps. xii. 7.

6. That we shall have a comfortable settlement in this world, and in a better when we leave this. That we shall dwell for evermore, {v. 27.) and not be cut off, as the seed of the wicked, v. 28. That we shall i.iherit tlie land which the Lord our God gives us, and dwell therein for ever, v. 29. They shall not be tossed that make God theiv Rest, and are at home in him. But on this earth there is no dwelling for ever, no continuing city; it is in heaven only, that city which has foundations, that the righteous shall dwell for ever; that will be their everlasting habitation.

7. That we shall not become a prey to our adversaries, that seek our ruin, v. 32, 33. There is an adversary that takes all opportunities to do us a mischief, a wicked one that watches the righteous, (as a roaring lion watches his prey,) and seeks to slay him; there are wicked men that do so, that are very subtle; they watch the righteous, that they may have an opportunity to do them a mischief effectually, and may have a pretence wherewith to justify themselves in the doing of it; and they are \ery spiteful, for they seek to slay him: but it may very well be applied to the wicked one, the Devil, that old serpent, who has his wiles to entrap the righteous, his devices which we should not be ignorant of; that great red dragon, who seeks to slay them; that roaring lion, who goes about continually, restless and raging, and seeking whom he may devour. But it is here promised that he shall not prevail, neither Satan nor his instruments. (1.) He shall not prevail as a field-adversary; The Lord will not leave him. in his hand; he will not permit Satan to do what he would, nor will he withdraw his strength and grace from>his people, but will enable them to resist and overcome him, and their fuith shall not fail, Luke xxii. 31, 32. A good man may fall into the hands of a messenger of Satan, and l^'e sorely buffetted, but God will not leave him in his hands, 1 Cor. x. 13. (2.) He shall not prevail ;.s a law-adversary; God will not condemn him when he is Judged, though urged to do it by the accuser of the brethren, that accuses them before our God day and night. His false accusations will be thrown rut, as those exhibited against Joshua, (Zeeh. iii. 1, 2.) 71ic Lord rebuke thee, O Satan. It is God that justifies, and then who shall laij any thing to the charge of God's elect?

34. Wait on the Lord, and keep liis way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shall see it. 35. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay-tree ; 36. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he ivas not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. 37. Mark the perfect 7//r/w, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. 38. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. 39, But the salvation of the righteous is of the Loi'.d; he is their strength in the time of trouble. 40. And the Lohd shall help 4;h*snn, and deliver them; he shall-deliver

them from the wicked, and save them, because they tiust in him.

The psalmist's conclusion of this sermon, (for that is the nature < f this poem,) is of the same purport with the whole, and inculcates the same things.

I. The duty ' ere pressed upon us is still the same, (t'. 34.) II ait on the Lord, and keep, his way; dut)' is ours, and we must n)ind it, and make conscience rf it, keep (iod's way, and never turn out of it, nor loiter in it, keep close, keep going; but events are God's, and we must refer ourselves to him for the disposal of them; we must wait on the Lord, attend the motions of his providence, carefully observe them, and conscientiously accommodate ourselves to them. If we make conscience of keeping God's way, we may with cheerfulness wait on him, and commit to him our way; and we shall find him a good Master both to his working servants and to his waiting servants.

II. The reasons to enft)rce this duty are much the same too, taken from the certain destruction of the wicked, and the certain salvation of the righteous. This good man, being tempted to envy the prospe-ritv of the wicked, that he might fortify himself against the temptation, goes into the sanctuary of God, and leads us thither; (Ixxiii. 17.) there he

■understands their end, and thence gives us to understand it, and by comparing that with the end of the righteous, baffles the temptation, and puts it to silence. Observe,

1. The misery of the wicked, at last, however thev may prosper a while. The end of the wicked shall be cut off; {v. 38.) and that cannot be wed, that will undoubtedly end so ill. The wicked, in their end, will be cut off from all good, and all hopes of it; a final period will be put to all their joys, and they will be for ever separated from the fountain of life to all evil. (1.) Snme instances of the remarkable ruin of wicked people David had himself observed in this world; that the pomp and prosperity of sinners would not secure them from the judgntents of God, when their day was come to fall; (■£'.35,36.) / have seen a wicked man, (the wnrd is singular,) suppose Saul, or Ahithophel, (for David was an old man when he penned this psi'lm,) in great power, formidable, (sosomerender it,) the terror of the mighty in the land oftheliinng, carrying all bcfoi e him with a high hand, and seeming to licfirmlv fixed, and finely flourishing, spreading himself like a green bay-tree, -which produces all leaves and no fruit; like a native home-born Israelite, (so Dr. Hammond,) likely to take root But wliat became of him? Eliphaz, long before, had learned, when he saw the foolish taking root, to curse his habitation. Job v. 3. And David saw cause for it; for this bay-tree is withered away as soon as the fig-tree Christ cursed; he passed away as a dream, as a shadow, such was he, and all the jiomp and power he was so proud of; he was gone in an instant, he was not, I sotjght him with wonder, but he could not he found. He had acted his part, and then quitted the stage, and there was no miss of him. (2.) The total and final ruin of sinners, of all sinners, will shortly be made as much a spectacle to the saints, as they are now sometimes made a spectacle to the world; (t. 34.) When the wicked are cut off, (ctid cut off they certainly will be,) thou shalt see it, with awful adorations of the divine justice. The transgressors shall be destroyed together, V. 38. Tn this world, (iod singles out here one sinner, and there another, out of many, to be made an example in terror-em — as a warning; but' in the day of judgment there will be a general destruction of ail tiie transgressors, and not one shall escape. They that have sinned together shall be

PSALMS, XXXVIII.

307

damned together; Bind tnem in bundles, to bum them.

2. The blessedness of the righteous, at last. Let us see what will be the end of God's poor despised ])eople.

(1.) Preferment. There have been times, the iniquity of which has been such, that men's piety has hindered their preferment in this world, and put them quite out of the way of raising estates; but those that keep God's way may be assured that, in due time, he will ej^alt t/iem Co inherit the land, {v. 34.) he will advance them to a place in the heavenly mansions, to dignity and honour, and true wealth, in the New Jerusalem; to inherit that good land, that land of promise, of which Canaan was a type; he will exalt tliem above all contempt and danger.

(2.) Peace, v. 37. Let all people mark the fier-fect man, and behold the ufiright, take notice of him to admire him and imitate him, keep your eye upon him to obser\e what comes of him, and you will find that the end of that man is /leace. Sometimes the latter end of his days proves more comfortable to him than the beginning was; the storms blow over, and he is comforted again, after the time that he was afflicted; however, if all his days continue dark and cloudy, perhaps his dying day may prove comfortable to him, and his sun may set bright; or, if it should set under a cloud, yet his future state will be peace, everlasting peace. They that walk in their uprightness, while they live, shall enter into peace when they die, Isa. Ivii. 2. A peaceful death has concluded the troublesome life of many a good man; and all is well that thus ends e\erlasting-ly well. Balaam himself wished that his death and his last end might be like th.it of the riglueous. Numb, xxiii. 10.

(3.) Salvation, v. 39, 40. The salvation of the righteous, (which may be applied to the great salvation of which the firofihets inquired and searched ddigeiitly, 1 Pet. i. 10.) that is, of the Lord; it will be the Lord's doing; the eternal salvation, that salvation of God, which those shall see that order their conversation aright, (1. 23.) that is, of the Lord too. And he that intends Christ and heaven for them, ■will be a God all-sufficient to them. He is their Strength in time of trouble, to support them under it, and carry them through it; He shall help them and deliver tliem, help them to do their duties, to bear their bui'thens, and to maintain their spiritual conflicts; help them to bear their troubles well, and get good by them, and, in due time, shall deliver them out of their troubles. He shall deliver them from the wicked that would overwhelm them and swallow them up; sliall secure them there, where the wicked cease from troubling. He sliall save them; not only keep them safe, but make them happy, because they trust in him; not because they have merited it from him, but liecause they ha\e committed themselves to him, and reposed a confidence in him, and have thereby honoured him.

PSALM XXXVIIL

This is one of the penitential psalms; it is full of }jrief and complaint, from the besrinninp: to the end. David's sins and his afflictions are the cause of his jjrief and the matter of his complaints. It should seem, he was now sick and in pain, which reminded him of his sins, and helped to humole him for them; he was, at the same time, deserted by his friends, and persecuted by his enemies, so tliat the psalm is calculated for the depfh of distress and a complication of calamities. He complains, I. Of God's displeasure and of his own sin, which provoked God against him, v. 1..5. II. Of his bodily sickness, v. 6-.10. III. Of theunkindness ofhis friends,v. 11. IV. Of Injuries which his enemies did him, pleading his good conduct toward them, yet confessing his sins against God, V. 12..20. Lastly, He concludes the psalm with earnest prayers to God, for his gracious presence and

help, V. 21, 22. In sinj^ing this psalm, we out to be much affected with the mahgnity of sin; and if we have not such troubles as are here described, we know not how soon we may have, and therefore must sing of them by way of preparation, atid we know that others have them, and therefore we must sing of them by way of sympathy.

J[ Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. 1. £\ LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath;

neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. 2. For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. 3. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. 4. For mine iniquities are gone over my head; as a he»vy burden they are too heavy for me. 5. My wounds stink, and are corrupt, because of my foolishness. 6. I am troubled ; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. 7. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease; and there is no soundness in my flesh. 8. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. 9. Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee. 10. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me. 11. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

The title of this psalm is very observable; it is a I)salm to bring to remembrance; the 70th psalm, which was likewise penned in a day of affliction, is so entitled. It is designed, 1. To bring to his own remembrance; we will suppose it penned when he was sick and in pain, and then it teaches us that times of sickness are times to bring to remembrance; to bring the sin to remembrance, for which Cxod contended with us; to awaken our consciences to deal faithfully and plainly with us, and set our sins in order before us, for our humiliation. In a day of adversity, consider. Or we may suppose it penned after his reco\ ery, but designed as a record of the convictions he was under, and the workings of his heart when he was in afflictiorr, that, upon every review of this psalm, he might call to mind tlie good impressions then made upon him, and make a fresh improvement of them. To the same purport was the writing of Hezekiah, when he liad iieen sick. 2. To put others in mind of the same things which he was himself mindful of, and to teach them what to think, and what to say, when thev are sick and in affliction; let them think as he did, and speak as he did.

I. He deprecates- the wr*th of God and his displeasure in his affliction; (it'. 1.) O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath. With this same petition he began another prayer, for the visitation of the sick, vi. 1. This was most upon his heart, and should be most upon ours, when we are in affliction, that, however God rebukes and chastens us, it may not be in wrath and displeasure, for that will be wormwood and gall in the affliction and misery. Those that would escape the wrath of God, must ,prav against that, more than any outward affliction, and be content to bear any outward affliction, while it comes from, and consists with, the love of God.

n. He bitterly laments the impressio^'^s of God's

PSALMS, XXXVIIl.

displeasure upon his soul; (y. 2.) T/iine arroius stick fast in me. Let Job's complaint {ch. vi. 4.) expound David's here; by the arrows of the Almighty, he means the terrors of God, which did set themselves in array against him. He was undev a very melancholy, frightful, appreliension of the wrath of God against him for his sins, and thought he could look, for nothing but judgment and fiery indignation to devour him. God's arrows, as they are sure to hit the mark, so they are sure to stick. where they hit, to stick fast, till he is pleased to draw them/3ut, and to bind up with his comforts the wound he has made with his terrors. This will be the everlasting misery of the damned—the arrows of God's wrath will stick fast in them, and t!ie wound will be incurable. "Thy hand, thy heavy hand, presses me sore, and I am ready to sink under it; it not only lies hard upon me, but it lies lung; and who knows the power of God's anger, the weight of his hand!" Sometimes God shot his arrows, and stretched forth his hand, for David, (xviii. 14.) but now against him; so uncertain is the continuance of divine comforts where yet tlie continuance of divine grace is assured. He complains of God's wrath, as that which inflicted the bodily distemper he was under; {v. 3.) There is no souncl-7iess in myjlesh, because of thine anger. The bitterness of it, infused in his mind, affected his body; but that was not the worst, it caused the disquietude of his heai't, by reason of which he forgot the courage of a soldier, the dignity of a prince, and all the cheerfulness of the sweet psalmist of Israel, and roared terribly, v. 8. Nothing will disquiet the heart of a good man so much as the sense of God's anger; which shows what a fearful thing it is to fall into his hands. The way to keep the heart quiet, is, to keep ourselves in the love of God, and to do nothing to offend him.

III. He acknowledges his sin to be the procuring, provoking, cause of all his troubles, and groans more vmder the load of guilt than any other load, v. 3., He complains that his flesh had no soundness, his bones had no rest, so great an agitation he was in. " It is because of thine anger; that kindles the fire whicli burns so fiercely;" but, in the next words, he justifies God herein, and takes all the blame upon himself. " It is because of my sin. I have deserved it, and so have brought it upon myself; my ■own iniquities do con-ect me." If our trouble be the fruit of God's anger, we may thank ourselves, it is our sin that is the cause of it. Are we restless? it is sin that makes us so. If there were not sin in our souls, there would be no pain in our bones, no illness in oun bodies.

It is sin, therefore, that this good man complains most of, 1. As a burthen, a heavy burthen; {v. 4.) " Mine iniquities are gone over my head, as proud waters over a man that is sinking and drowning, or as a heavy burthen upon my head, pressing me down, more than I am able to bear, or to bear up under." Note, Sin is a burthen. The power of sin dwelling in us is a weight; (Heb. xii. 1.) all are clogged with it, it keeps men from soaring upward and pressing forward; a^ the saints are complaining of it as a body of death they are loaded with, Rom. vii. 24. The guilt of sin committed by us is a burthen, a heavy burthen; it is a burthen to God, he is pressed under it, (Amos ii. 13.) a burthen to the wliole creation, which groans under it, Rom. viii. 21, 22. It will, first or last, be a burthen to the sinner himself, either a burthen of repentance, when he is pricked to the heart for it, labours, ;ind is heavy laden, under it; or a burthen of ruin, when it sinks him to the lowest hell, and will for ever detain him there; it will be a talent of lead upon him, Zech. V. 8. Sinners are said to bear their iniquity. Threatenings are burthens. 2. As wounds, danger-

ous wounds; (r. 5.) "My wounds stink and are corrupt; (as wounds in the body rankle and festei^ and grow foul, for want if being dressed and looked after;) and it is through my own foolishness." Sins are wounds, (Gen. iv. 23.) painful, mortal, wounds. Our wounds by sin are often in a bad condition, no care taken of them, no application made to them, and it is owing to the sinner's foolishness, in not confessing sin, xxxii. 3, 4. A slight soie neglected may pn ve of fatal consequence, and so may a slight sin, slighted and left unrepented of.

IV. He bemoans liimself because of his afflictions, and gives ease to his grief, by giving vent to it, and pouring out his complaint before the Lord.

1. He was troubled in mind, his conscience was pained, and he had no rest in his own spirit; and a wounded spii'it who can bear.'' He was troubled, or distorted, bowed down greatly, and ivent mourning all the day long, v. 6. He was always pensiv e and melancholy, which made him a burthen and terror to himself. His spirit was feeble and sove-broken, and his heait disquieted, i'. 8. Herein David, in his sufferings, was a type of Christ, who, being in his agony, cried out. My soul is exceeding sorrowful. This is a sorer affliction than any other in this world; whatever Ciod is pleased to lay upon us, we have no reason to complain, as long as he preserves to us the use of our reason and the peace of our consciences.

2. He was sick and weak in body; his loins filled with a loathsome disease, some swelling, or ulcer, or inflammation; some think a plague-sore, such as Hezekiah's boil; and there was no soundness in his flesh, but, like Job, he was all over distempered. See, (1.) What vile bodies those are whioh we carry about with us; what gi-ievous diseases thev are liable to; and what an ofi^ence and grievance they may soon be made by some diseases to the souls that animate them, as they always ai e a cloud and clog. (2.) That the bodies both of the greatest and of the best of men have in them the same seeds of diseases that the bodies of others have, and are liable to the same disasters. David himself, though so great a ])rince, and so great a saint, was not exempt from the most grievous diseases; there was no soundness even in his flesh; probably this was after his sin in the matter of Uriah, and thus did he smart in his flesh for his fleshly lusts. When, at any time, we are distempered in our bodies, we ought to remember how God has been dishonoured in and by our bodies. He was feeble and sore-broken, V. 8. His heart panted, and was in a continual palpitation, v. 10. His strengtli and limbs failed him; as for the light of his eyes, that was gone from him, either with much weeping, or by a defluxion of rheum upon them, or through the lowness of his spirits, and the frequent returns of fainting.

Note, Sickness will tame the strongest body, and the stoutest spirit. David was famed for his courage and great exploits; and yet, when God contended with him by bodily sickness', and the impressions of his wrath upon his mind, his hair is cut, his heart fails him, and he is become weak as water. Therefore let not the strong man glory in his strength, nor any man set grief at defiance, however it may be thought at a distance.

3. His friends were unkind to him; {v. 11.) My lovers (such as had been merry with him in the dav of his mirth) now stand aloof from my sore: they would not sympathize with him in his griefs, nor so much as come within hearing of his complaints, but, like the priest and Levite, (Luke x. 31.) passed by on the other side. Even his kinsmen, that were bound to him by blood and alliance, stood afar off. See what little reason we have to trust in man, or to wonder if we be disappointed in

PSALMS, XXXVIIl.

309

our expectations of kindness from men. Adversity tries friendship, and separates between the precious and the vile. It is our wisdom to make sure a Friend in heaven, who will not stand aloof from our sore, and from whose love no tribulntion or distress shall be able to separate us. D;nid, in his troubles, was a type of Christ in his tigony, Christ on his cross, feelile and sore-broken, and then deserted by his friends and kinsmen, who l^eheld afar off. Lastly, In the midst of his complaints he comforts himself with the cognizance God graciously took both of his griefs and of his prayers; (v. 9.) "Lord, all my desire is before thee; thou knowest what I want, and what I would have, my groaning is not hid from thee. Thou knowest the burthens I groan under, and the blessings I groan after." Tiie groanings which cannot be uttered are not hid from lnim that searches the heart, and kjioivs what is the mind of the S/iirit, Rom. viii. 26, 27. In singing this, and praying it over, whatever burthen lies upon our spirits, we should by faith cast it upon God, and all our care concerning it, and then be easy.

1 2. They also that seek after my \ik lay snares/or 7ne ; and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. 13. But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and Itoas as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. 14. Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs. 15. For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear,O Loiin my God. 16. For I said. Hear me; lest other/vise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify ihejn-selves against me. 17. For I am. ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. 18. For I will declare mine iniquity; r will be sorry for my sin. 19. But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong; and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. 20. They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thin^; that good is. 21. Forsake me not, O Lord : O my God, be not far from me. 22. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

In these verses,

I. D ivid complains of the power and malice of his enemies, who, it should seem, not only took occasion, from the weakness of liis body, and the trouble of his mind, to insult over him, but took advantage thence to do him a mischief. He has a great de il to say against them, which he humbly offers as a reas-in why God should appear for him, as (xxv. 19.) Consider mine enemies.

1. ''They are very spiteful and cruel; they seek niu hurt; nay, they seek after mu life," v. 12. That life which was so precious in the sight of the Lord, and all good men, was aimed at, as if it had been forfeited, or a public nuisance; such is the enmity of the serpent's seed against the seed of the woman; it would wound the head, though it can but reach the heel. It is the blood of the saints that is thirsted after.

2. "They are very subtle and politic; they lay snares, thev imagine deceits, and herein they are restless and unwearied, they do it all the day long; they speak mischievous things one.to another; every

one has something or other to propose, that may be a mischief tome." Mischief, covered and carried on by deceit, may well be called a snare.

3. "They are very insolent and abusive; when my foot slifis, when I fall into any trouble, or when I make any mistake, misplace a word, or take a filse step, they magnify themselves against me, they are pleased with it, and promise themselves that it will ruin my interest, and that, if I slip, I shall certainly fall and be undone."

4. " They are not only unjust, but very ungrateful; \.\\Qy hate me wrongfully; {v. 19.) I never did them any ill turn, nor so much as bore them any ill-will, nor ever gave them any provocation; nay, they render evil for good, v. 20. Many a kindness I ha\e done them; iov which I might have expected a return of kindness; but for my love they are my adversaries," cix. 4. Such a rooted enmity there is in the hearts of wicked men to goodness for its own sake, that they hate it, even then when, they themselves have the benefit of it; they hate prayer, even in those that pray for them; and hate peace, even in those that would be at peace with them; but very ill-natured those are whom no courtesy will oblige, who are rather exasperated by it.

5. "They are very impious and devilish; t/iey are my adversaries merely because I follow the thing that good is;" thev hated him, not only for his kindness to them, but for his devotion and obedience to God; they hated him because they hated God, and all tliat bear his image. If we suffer ill for doing well, we must not think it strange; from the beginning it was so; Cain slew Abel, because his works were righteous; nor must we think it hard, because it will not always I)e so; for so much the greater will our reward be.

6. They are many and mighty; they are lively, they are strong, they are multiplied: (x'. 19.) Lord, how are they increased that trouble me? iii. 1. Holy David was weak and faint, his heart panted, and his strength failed, he was melancholy and of a sorrowful spirit, and persecuted by his friends; but, at the same time, his wicked enemies were strong and lively, and their number increased; let us not therefore pretend to judge of men's characters by their outward condition; none knows love or hatred by all that is before them. It should seem that David, in this, as in other complaints he makes of his enemies, has an eye to Christ, whose persecutors were such as are here described, perfectly lost to all honour and virtue. None hate Christianity, but such as have first divested themselves of the first principles of humanity, and broken througli its most sacred bonds.

II. He reflects, with comfort, upon his own peaceable and pious beha\'iour, under all the injuries and indignities that were done him. It is then only that our enemies do us a real mischief, when they provoke us to sin; (Neh. vi. 13.) when they prevail to put us out of the possession of our own souls, and drive us from Ciod and our duty; if by divine grace we are enabled to prevent this mischief, we quench their fiery darts, and are saved from harm; if still we hold fast our integrity and our peace, who can hurt us? This David did here.

1. He kept his temper, and was not ruffled or discomposed by any of the slights that were put upon him, or the mischievous things that were said or done against him; {v. 13, 14.) "/, as a deaf man, heard not; I took no notice of the affronts put upon me, did not resent them, nor was put into dis order by them, much less did I meditate revenge, or study to retin-n the injury." Note, The less notice we take of the unkindness and injuries that are done us, the more we consult the quiet of our own minds. Being deaf, he was dumb, as a man hi

PSALMS, XXXIX

whose mouth there are no reproofs; he was as silent as if he had nothing to say for himself, for fear of putting himself into a heat, and incensing his enemies yet more against him; he would not only not recriminate upon them, but not so much as vindicate himself, lest his necessary f/efence should be construed his q/'fence. Though they sought after his life, and his silence might be taken fur a confession of his guilt, yet he was as a dumb man that opens not his mouth. Note, When our enemies are most clamorous, it is, generally, our prudence to Ije silent, or to say little, lest we make bad worse. David could not hope by his mildness to win upon his enemies, or by his soft answers to turn away their wrath, for they were men of such base spirits, that they rendered him evil for good; and yet he carried it thus meekly toward them, that he might prevent his own sin, and might have the comfort of it in the reflection. Herein David was a type of Christ, who was as a sheep dumb liefore the shearer, and, when he was reviled, reviled not again; and both are examples to us, not to render railing for railing.

2. He kept close to his God by faith and prayer, and so both supported himself under these injuries, and silenced his own resentments of them. (1.) He trusted in God; (v. 15.) " Iivas as a man that opens not his mouth, for in thee, O Lord, do I ho fie. I depend upon thee to plead my cause, and clear my innncency, and, some way or other, to put them to silence and shame." His lovers and friends, that should have owned him and stood by him, and appeared as witnesses for him, withdrew from him, V. 10. But God is a friend that will never fail us, if we hope in him. / ivas as a man that heareth not, for thou wilt hear. Why need I hear, and God hear too? He careth for you; (1 Pet. v. 7.) and why need you care, and God care too? '• Thou wilt answer," (so some,) " and therefore I will say nothing." Note, It is a good reason why we should bear reproach and calumny with silence and patience, because God is a Witness to all the wrong that is done us, and, in due time, will be a Witness for us, and against those that do us wrong; therefore let us be silent, because if we be, then we may expect that God will appear for us, for this is an evidence that we trust in him; but if we undertake to manage for ourselves, we take God's work out of his hands, and forfeit the benefit of his appearing for us. Our Lord Jesus, when he suffered, therefore threatened not, because he committed himself to him that judges righteously; (1 Pet. ii. 23.) and we shall lose m-thing, at last, hy doing so; Thoji shalt answer, Lord, for me. (2.) He called upon God; (v. 16.) For I said, Hear me, that is supplied; *'I said so," {asv. 15.) "in thee do I hope, for thou wilt iiear, lest they should rejoice over me. I comforted myself with that, when I was apprehensive that they would overwhelm me." It is a great support to us, when men are false and unkind, that we have a God to go to, whom we may be free with, and who will be f lithful to us.

III. He here bewails his own follies and infirmities. 1. He was very sensible of the present workings of corruption in him, and that he was now ready to repine at the providence of God, and to be put into a passion by the injuries men did him; / am ready to halt, v. 17. This will best be explained by a reflection like this which the psalmist made iipon himself in a like case, (Ixxiii. 2.) My feet were almost gone, when I saw the firosfierity of the vAcked; so here, I was ready to halt, ready to say, T have cleansed ?>ii/ hands in vain. His snrrow was continual; ./111 the day long have I been plagued; flxxiii. 13, 14.) and it was continually before him, he could not forbear poring upon it, and that made '.lim almost ready to halt between religion and irre-

ligion. The fear of this drove him to his God; " In thee do I hope, not only that thou wilt plead my cause, but that thou wilt prevent my falling into sin." Good men, by setting their sorrow continually befoie them, have been ready to halt, who, by setting God always before them', have kept their standing. 2. He lemembered against himself his former transgressions, acknowledging that by them he had brought these troubles upon himself, and forfeited the divine protection, though he could justify himself, before God he will judge and condemn liimself; {v. 18.) " I will declare mine inicjuity, and not co\ er it, / will be sorry for my sin, and not make a light matter of it;" and this helped to make him silent under the rebukes of Providence, and the reprnurhes of men. Note, If we be truly penitent for sin, tliat will make us patient under affliction, and particularly under unjust censures. Two things are required in repentance, (1.) Confession of sin; "/ will declare mine iniquity; I will not only in general own myself a sinner, but I will make a particular acknowledgment of what I have done amiss." We must declare our sins before God freely and fully, and with their aggravating circumstances, that we may give glory to God, and take shame to ourselves. (2.) Contrition for sin; I will be sorry for it; sin will have sorrow; every true penitent grieves for the dishonour he has done to God, and the wrong he has done to himself; " I will be in care or fear about my sin," (so some,) " in fear lest it ruin me, and in care to get pardoned."

IV. He concludes with very earnest prayers to God for his gracious presence with him, and seasonable powerful succour in his distress; {y. 21, 22.) "Forsake me not, 0 Lord, though my friends forsake me, and though I deserve to be forsaken by thee. Be not far from me, as my unbelieving heart is ready to fear thou art." Nothing goes nearer to the heart of a good man in affliction, than to be under the apprehension of God's deserting him in wrath; nor does any thing therefore come more feelingly from his heart than this jjrayer, " Lord, be not thou far from me; make haste for my hel/i; for I am ready to perish, and in danger of being lost, if relief do not come quickly." God gives us leave, not only to call upon him when we are in trouble, but to hasten him. He pleads, " Thou ait my God, whom I serve, and on whom I depend to bear me out; and my Salvation, who alone art able to save me, who hast engaged thyself by promise to save me, and from whom alone I expect salvation." Is any afflicted, let him thus pray, let him thus plead, let liim thus hope, in singing this psalm.

PSALM XXXIX.

David seems to have been in a great strait, when he penned this psalm, and, upon some account or other, very uneasy; for it is with some difficulty that he conquers his passion, and composes his spirit, himself to lake that good counsel which he had given to others, (37.) to rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him, without fretting; for it is easier to give the good advice, than to give the good example, of quietness under artlict^on. What was the particular trouble which gave occasion for the conflict David was now in, does not appear. Perhaps it was the death of some dear friend or relation that was the trial of his patience, and that suggested to him these meditations of mortality; and, at the same time, it should seem too. himself was weak and ill, and under some prevailing distemper. His enemies likewise were seeking advantages against him, and watched for his hailing, that they might have something to reproach him for. Thus agsjrieved, I. He relates the struggle that was in his breast, between crace and corruption, between passion and patience, v. 1. . 3. TI. He meditates upon the doctrine of man's frailty and mortalilv, and prays to God to instruct him in it, v. 4.. 6. HI. tic applies himself to (iod for the pardon of his sins, the removal of his afflic* fions, and ihe Icngtheninir out of his life till he was ready for death, v. 7.". 13. Tins is a funeral psalm, and verV

PSALMS, XXXJX.

311

proper for the occasion; in singing it, we should get our hearts duly affected with the brevity, uncertainty, and calamitous state, of human life; and those on whose comforts God has, by death, made breaches, will ffnd this psalm of great use to them, in order to their obtaining of what we ought much to aim at under such an aflliclion, which is, to get it sanctified to us for our spiritual benefit, and to get our hearts reconciled to the holy will of God in it.

To the chief musician y even to Jeduthun. ji fimlm of David.

\. X SAID, 1 will take heed to my waj^s, JL that I sin not with my tongue; I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. 2. I was dumb with silence: I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. 3. My heart was hot within me; while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue, 4. Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. 5. Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand-breadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. 6. Surely every man walk-eth in a vain show: surely they are disquieted in vain; he heapeth up riches., and knoweth not who shall gather them.

David here recollects, and leaves upon record, the workings of his heart under his afflictions; and it is good for us to do so, that what was thought amiss, may be amended, and what was well thought of, may be improved the next time.

I. He remembered the covenants he had mnde with God, to walk circumspectly, and to be very cautious both of what he did, and what he said. When, at any time, we are tempted to sin, and are in danger of falling into it, we must,call to mind the solemn vows we have made against sin, against the particular sin we are upon the brink of. God can, and will, remind us of them; (Jer. ii. 20.) Thou saidst, I will not transgress; and therefore we ought to remind ourselves of them. So Da\ id did here.

1. He remembers that he had resolved, in general, to be very cautious and circumspect in his walking; (v. 1.) I said, I will take heed fo mynvays; and it was well said, and what he would never nn-siy, and therefore must never gainsay. Note, (1.) It is the great concern of every one of us, to take heed to our ways, that is, to walk circumspectlv, while others walk at all adventures. (2.) We ought steadfastly to resolve that we will take heed to our ways, and frequently to renew that resolution; fast bind, fast find. (3.) Having resolved to take heed to our ways, we must, upon all occasions, remind ourselves of that resolution, for it is a covenant never to be forgotten, but which we must be always mindful of.

2. He remembers that he had in particular covenanted against tongue sins—That he would not sin with his tongue. That he would not speak amiss, either to oftend God, or offend the generation of the righteous, Ixxiii. 15. It is not so easy as we could wish, not to sin in thought; but if an evil thought should arise in his mind, he would lay his hand upon his mouth, and suppress it, that it should go no further: and this is so great an attainment, that if any ojffend not in word, the same is a /lerfect man; and so needful a one, that he who sec?ns to be reli-

gious, but bridles not his tongue, his religion is vain. David had resolved, (1.) That he would, at all times, watch ygainst tongue sins. "I will keep a bridle, or muzzle, upon my mouth;" a bridle upon it, as upon an unruly horse, to guide and direct it, to check and curb it, to keep it in the right way, and on a good pace; see Jam. iii. 3. Watchfulness in the habit, is the bridle upon the head; watchfulness in the act and exercise, is the hand upon the bridle, a muzzle upon it, as upon an unruly dog that is fierce, and does mischief; by particular steadfast resolution, corruption is restrained from breaking out at the lips, and so is muzzled. (2.) That he would double his guard against them, when there was most danger of scandal; whe7i the wicked is before me. When he was in company with the wicked, he would take heed of saying any thing that might harden them, or give occasion to them to blaspheme. If good men fall into bad company, they must take heed what they say. Or, ifhe?i the wicked is before me, in my thoughts. When he was contemplating the pride and power, the prosperity and flourishing estate, of evil-doers, he was tempted to speak amiss; and therefore then he would take special care what he said. Note, the stronger the temptation to a sin is, the stronger the resolution must be against it.

II. Pursuant to these covenants, he made a shift, with much ado, to bridle his tongue; {v. 2.) I was dumb with silence, I held my fieace even from good. His silence was commendable; and the greater the provocation was, the more praise-worthy was his silence. Watchfulness and resolution, in the strength of God's grace, will do more toward the bridling of the tongue than we can imagine, though it be an unruly evil. But what shall we say of hiskeepmg silence even from good? Was it his wisdom, that he refrained good discourse when the wicked were before him, because he would not cast pearls before swine? I rather think it was his weakness; because he might not say any thing, he would say nothing, but ran into an extreme, which was a reproach to the law, for that prescribes a mean between extremes. The same law which forbids all corrupt communication, requires that which is good, and to the use of edifying, Eph. iv. 29.

III. The less he spake, the more he thought, and the more warmly. Binding the distempered pait, did but draw the humour to it; JVIy sorrow was stirred, my heart was hot within me, v. 3. He could bridle his tongue, but he could not keep his passion under; though he suppressed the smoke, that was as a fire in his bones, and while he was musing upon his afflictions, and upon the prosperity of the wicked, tlie fire burned. Note, Those that are of a fretful discontented spirit, ought not to pore much, for, while they sufter their thoughts to dwell upon the causes of the calamity, the fire of their discontent is fed with fuel, and burns the more furiously. Impatience is a sin that has its ill cause within ourselves, and that is musing, and its ill effects upon ourselves, and that is no less than burning. If therefore we would prevent the mischief of ungovemed passions, we must redress the grievance of ungo-verned thoughts.

IV. When he did speak, at last, it was to the purpose; jlt the last, I sfiake with my tongue; some make what he said, to be the breach of his good purpose, and that, in what he said, he sinned with his tongue; and so they make what follows, to ne a passionate wish, that he might die like FJ'tjal}, (1 Kings xix. 4.) and Job, ch. vi. 8, 9. But I rather take it to be, not the breach of his good jmr-pose, but the reformation of his mistake in carrying it too far; he had kept silence from good, Isut n^w he would so keep silence no longer. He had nothing to say to the wicked that were before him,

PSALMS, XXXIX.

for to them he knew not how to place his words, but, after long musing, tlie first word he said, was, a pi'ayer, and a devout meditation upon a subject, which it will be good for us all to think nuich of.

1. He prays to God to make him sensible of tlie shortness and uncertainty of life, and the near approach of death; {v. 4.) Lord, make vie to know mine end, and the measure of my days. He does not mean, " Lord, let me know how long I shall live, and when I shall die;" we could not, in faith, pray such a prayer, for God has no where promised to let us know, but has, in wisdom, locked up that knowledge among the secret things which belong not to us, nor would it be good for us to know it; but, Lord, make me to know my end, means, "Lord, give me wisdom and grace to consider it, (Deut. xxxii. 29.) and to improve what I know concerning it." T/ie living- know that they shall die, (Eccl. ix. 5.) but few care for thinking of it; we have therefore need to pray, that God by his grace would conquer that aversion which is m our corrupt hearts, to the thoughts of death. " Loi-d, make me to consider," (1.) " What death is; it is my end, the end of my life, and all the employments and enjoyments of life; it is the end of all men," Eccl. vii. 2. It is a final period to our state of probation and preparation, and an awful entrance upon a state of^ recompense and retribution. To the wicked man, it is the end of all his joys; to a godly man, it is the end of all his griefs. " Lord, give me to know my end, to be better acquainted with death, to make it more familiar to me, (Job xvii. 14.) and to be more affected with the greatness of the change. Lord, give me to consider what a serious thing it is to die." "(2.) " How near it is; liOrd, give me to consider the measure of my days, that they are measured in the counsel of God; the end is a fixed end, so the word" signifies, My days are determined; (Job xiv. 5.) and that the measure is but short; "My days will soon lie numbered and finished." When we look upon death as a thing at a distance, we are tempted to atljourn the necessary preparations for it; but when we consider how short life is, we shall see ourselves concerned to do what our hand finds to do, not only with all our might, but with all possible expedition. (3.) That it is continually working in us; "Lord, give me to consider how frail I am, how scanty the stock of life is, and how faint the spirits, which are as the oil, to keep that lamp burning." We find, by daily experience, that the earthly house of this tabernacle is mouldering and going to decay; "Lord, make us to consider this, that we m ly secure mansions in the house not made with hands."

2. He meditates upon the brevity and vanity of life, pleading it with God for relief under the burthens of life, as Job often, and pleading it with himself, for his quickening to the business of life.

(1.) Man^s life on earth is short, and of no continuance, and that is a reason why we should sit loose to it, and prepare for the end of it; (v. 5.) Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand-breadth; the breadth of four fingers, a certain dimension, a small one, and the measure whereof we have always about us, always before our eyes; we need no rod, no j)ole, no measuring line, wherewith to take the dimension of our days, nor any skill in arithmetic wherewith to compute the number of them; no, we have the standard of them at our fingers' end, and there is no multiplication of it, it is but one hand-breadth in all. Our time is short, and God has made it so; for the number of our montlis is with him; it is short, and he knows it to be so; " It is as nothing before thee." He remembers how short our time is, Ixxxix. 47. " It is nothing in comparison with thee;" so some. All time is nothing to God's eternity, much less our share of time.

(2.) Man's life on ear.h is vain, and of no value,

and therefore it is folly to be fond of it, and wisdom to make sure of a better life. Adam is Abel, man is vanity, in his present state; he is not what he seems*to be, has not what he promised himself; he and all his comforts lie at a continual uncertainty, and if there were not another life after this, all things considered, he were made in vain. He is vanity; he is mortal, he is mutable. Observe how emphatically this tiiith is expressed here. [1.] Lvery man is vanity, without exception; high and low, rich and poor, all meet in this. [2.] He is so at his best estate, when he is young, and strong, and healthful, in wealth and honour, and the height of prosperity; when he is most easy, and merry, and secure, and thinks his mountain stands strong. [3.j He is altogether vanity, as vain as you can imagine. ^11 man is all vanity, so it may be read; every thing about him is uncertain, nothing is substantial and durable but what relates to the new man. [4.] Ferily he is so. This is a truth of undoubted certainty, but which we are very unwilling to believe, and need to have solemnly attested to us, as indeed it is by frequent instances' [5.] iSe/aA is annexed, as a note commanding observation. "Stop here, and pause a while, that you may take time to consider and apply this truth, that every man is vanity." We ourselves are so.

Now, for the proof of the vanity of man, as mortal, he here mentions three things, and shows the vanity of each of them, v. 6. First, The vanity of our joys and honours: Sui-ely every man walks (even when he walks in state, when he walks in pleasure,) in a shadow, in an image, in a vain show. Wiien he makes a figure, his fashion passes away, and his great pomp is but great fancy. Acts xxv. 23. It is but a show, and theiefore a vain show, like the rainbow, the gaudv colours of which must needs vanish and disappear quickly, when the substratum is but a cloud, a vapour; such is life, (Jam. iv. 14.) and therefore such are all the gaieties of it. Secondly, The vanity of our griefs and fears; Surely they are disquieted in vain. Our disquietudes are often groundless; we vex ourselves without any just cause, and the occasions of our trouljle are often the creaturesof qur own fancy and imagination: and they are always fruitless; we disquiet ourselves in vain, for we cannot, with all our disquietment, alter the nature of things, nor the counsel of God; things'will be as they are, when we have disquieted ourselves ever so much about them.^ Thirdly, The vanity of our cares and toils. He takes a great deal of pains to hea/i u/i riches, and they ai-e but like heaps of manure in the furrows of the field, good for nothing, unless they be spread. But when he has filled his treasures with his trash, he knoivsnotwho shall gather them, nor to whom they shall descend when he is gone: for he shall not take them away with him. He asks not, For whom do I labour.? and that is his folly, Eccl. iv. 8. But if he did ask, he could not tell whether he should be a wise man or a fool, a friend or a foe; (Eccl. ii. 19.) This is vanity.

7. And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. 8. DeUver me from all my transgressions; make me not the reproach of the foolish. 9. I was dumb, and opened not my mouth; because thou didst It. 10. Remove thy stroke away from me: 1 am consumed by the blow of thy hand. 11. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely eveiy man/s vanity. Selah. 12. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold

PSALMS, XXXIX.

313

not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. 13. O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.

The psalmist, having meditated on the shortness and uncertainty of life, and the vanity and vexation of spirit that attend all the comforts of life, here, in these verses, turns his eyes and heart heaven-ward. When there is no solid satisfaction to be had in the creature, it is to be found in God, and in communion with him; and to him we should be driven by our disappointments in the world. David here expresses,

I. His dependence on God, v, 7. Seeing all is vanity, and man himself is so, 1. He despairs of a

I happiness in the things of the world, and disclaims all expectation from it; " JSTmo, Lord, nvhat wait I for? Even nothing from the things of sense and time: I have nothing to wish for, nothing to hope for, from this earth." Note, The consideration of the vanity and frailty of human life, should deaden our desires to tlie things of this world, and lower our expectations from it. " If the world be such a thing as this, God deliver me from having or seeking my

Eortion in it." We cannot count upon constant ealth and prosperity, nor upon comfort in any relation, for it is all as uncertain as our continuance here. "Now, though I have sometimes foolishly promised myself this and the other, from the world, now I am of another mind." 2. He takes hold of happiness and satisfaction in God; My hofie is in thee. Note, When creature-confidences fail, it is our comfort that we have a God to go to, a God to trust to, and we should thereby be quickened to take so much the faster hold of him by faith.

II. His submission to God, and his cheerful acquiescence in his holy will, x). 9. If our hope be in God for a happiness in the other world, we may well afford to reconcile ourselves to all the dispensations of his providence concerning us in this world; " Iivas dumb, I ofiened not my mouth, in a way of complaint and murmuring." He now again recovered that serenity and sedateness of mind which were disturbed, v. 2. Whatever comforts he is deprived of, whatever crosses he is bur-thened with, he will be easy; "because thou didst it; it did not come to pass by chance, but according to thine appointment." We may here see, 1. A good God doing all, and ordering all events concerning us. Of every event we may say, *' This is the finger of God, it is the Lord's doing;" whoever were the instruments. 2. A good man, for that reason, saying nothing against it. He is dumb, he has nothing to object, no question to ask, no dispute to raise upon it. All that God does is well done.

III. His desire toward God, and the prayers he puts up to him; Is any afflicted? Let him pray, as David here,

1. For the pardoning of his sin, and the preventing of his shnme, ik 8. Before he ) rays, {v. 10.) Remove thii stroke from me, he prays, {v. 8.) "De-lii'er me from all mine offences, from the guilt I nave contracted, the punishment I have deserved, and the power of corruption I ha\ e been captivated by." When God forgives our sins, lie deM^ers us from them, he delivers us from them all. He pleads, Make me not a refiroach to the foolish. Wicked people are foolish people; and then they show their folly most, when they think to show their wit, bv scoffing at (iod's people. When David prays that God would pardon his sins, and not make him a reproach, it is to be tiken as a prayer for peace of conscience; ("Lord, leave me not to the power of melancholv, which the foolish will

Vol. III.—2 R

laugh at me for;") and as a prayer tor grace, that God v.'ould never leave him to himself, so far as to do any thing that might make him a reproach to bad men. Note, This is a good reason why we should both watch and pray against sin, because the credit of our profession is nearly concerned in the preser\ation of our integrity.

2. For the removal of his affliction, that he might speedily be eased of his present burthens; {v. 10.) Remove thy stroke away from me. Note, When we are under the correcting hand of God, our eye must be to God himself, and not to any other, tor relief. He only, that inflicts the stroke, can remove it; and we may then, in faith, and with satisfaction, pray that our afflictions may be removed, when our sins are pardoned, (Isa. xxxviii. 17.) and when, as here, the affliction is sanctified, and has done its work, and we are humbled under the hand of God.

(1.) He pleads the great extremity he was j-educed toby his affliction, which made him the proper object of God's compassion; / am consumed by the blow of thy hand. His sickness prevailed to that degree, that his spirits failed, his strength was wasted, and his body emaciated. "Tlie blow, or conflict, of thine hand has brought me even to the gates of death." Note, The strongest, and boldest, and best, of men cannot bear up under, much less make head against, the power of God's wrath. It was not his case only, but any man will find himself an unequal match for the Almighty, v. 11. WHien God, at any time, contends with us, when with rebukes he corrects us, [1.] We cannot impeach the equity of his controversy, but must acknowledge that he is righteous in it; for, whenever he corrects man, it is for iniquity. Our ways and our doings procure the trouble to ourselves, and we are beaten with a rod of our own making. It is the yoke of our transgressions, though it be bound with his hand. Lam. i. 14. [2.] We cannot oppose the effects of his controversy, but he will be too hard for us. As we have nothing to move in arrest of his judgment, so we have no way of escaping the execution. God's rebukes make man's beauty to consume away like a moth; we often see, we sometimes feel, how much the body is weakened and decayed by sickness, in a little time; the countenance is changed; where are the ruddy cheek and lip, the sprightly eye, the lively look, the smiling face.' It is the reverse of all this that presents itself to view. What a poor thing is beauty; and what fools are they that are proud of it, or in love with it, when it will certainly, and may quickly, be consumed thus! Some make the moth to represent man, who is as easily crushed as a moth with the touch of a finger. Job iv. 19. Others make it to represent the divine rebukes, which silently and insensibly waste and consume us, as the moth does tlie garment. All which abun-dan ly proves what he had said before, that surely every man is vanity, weak and helpless; so he will be found when God comes to contend with him.

(2.) He pleads the good impressions made upon him by his affliction. He hoped that the end was accomplished for which it was sent, and that therefore it ■' ould be removed in mercy; and unless an affliction has done its work, though it may be removed, it is not removed in merry. [1.1 It'had set liim a weeping, and he hoped God would take notice rf that; when the Lord God called to mourn-inir, he answered the call, and accommodated himself to the dispensation, and therefore could, in faith, pray. Lord, held ?iot thy peace at my tears, V. 12. He that dees not willingly afflict and grieve the children of men, much less his own children, will not hold his peace a' their tears, but will either speak deliverance for them, (and if he speak, it is done,) or, in the mean time, speak comfort to them, and make them to hear joy and gladness. [2. ] It

PSALMS, XL.

had set him a praying; and afflictions are sent to stir up prayer. If they have that effect, and, when we are afflicted, we pray more, and pray better, than before, we may hope that God will hear our prayer, and give ear to our cry; for the prayer whicla, by his providence, he gives occasion for, and whicli, by his Spirit of grace, he indites, shall not return void. [3.] It had helped to wean him from the world, and to take his affections off from it; now he begun, more than ever, to look upon himself as a stranger and sojourner here, like all his fathers, not at home in this world, but tr ivelling through it to another, to a better, and would never reckon himself at home till he came to heaven. He pleads it with God; '* Lord, take cognizance of me, and of my w mts and burthens, for I am a stranger here, and therefore meet with strange usage; 1 am slighted and oppressed as a stranger; and whence should I expect relief but from thee, from that other country to which I belong?"

Lastly, He prays for a reprieve yet a little longer; {y. 13.) "O sfiare me, ease me, raise me up from this illness, that I may recover strength both in body and mind, that I mav get into a more calm and composed frame of spirit, and may be better prepared for another world, before I go hence by death, and shall be no more in this world." Some make this to be a passionate wish, that God would send him help quickly, or it would be too late, like that. Job x. 20, 21. But I rather take it as a pious prayer, that God would continue him here, till by his grace he had made him fit to go hence, and that he might finish the work of life, befoi e his life was finished; Let my soul live, and it shall firaise thee.

PSALM XL.

It should seem, David penned this psalm, upon occasion of his deliverance, bv the power and goodness of God, from some great and pressing trouble, by which he was in danger of being overwhelmed; probably, it was some trouble of mind, arising from a sense of sin, and of God's displeasure against him for it; whatever it was, the same Spirit that indited his praises for that deliverance, was in him, at the same time, a Spirit of prophecy, testifying of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow; or, ere he was aware, he was led to speak of Christ's undertaking, and the discharge of his undertaking, in words that must be applied to Christ only; and therefore how far the praises that here go before that illustrious prophecy, and the prayers that follow, may safely and profitably be applied to him, it will be worth while to consider. In this psalm, I. David records God's favour to him, in delivering him out of his deep distress, with thankfulness to his praise, V. 1..5. II. Thence he takes occasion to speak of the work of our redemption by Christ, v. 6.. 10. Ill, That gives him encouragement to pray to God for mercy and grace, both for himself and for his friends, v. 11.. 17. If, in singing this psalm, we mix faith with the prophecy of Christ, and jom in sincerity with the praises and prayers here onered up, we make melody with our hearts to the Lord.

To the chief musician. A fisalm of David.

l.T WAITED patiently for the Lord; JL and he incUned unto me, and heard Hiy cry. 2. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3. y\nd he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto om- God: many shall see ?7, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. 4. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust; and respccteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. 5. Many, O Lord my God, are thy won-

derfiil works whicli iDou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if 1 would declare and speak of them., they are more than can be numbered.

In these verses, we have,

I. The great distress and trouble that the psalmist had been in. He had been plunged into a horrible pit, and into miry clay, {v. 2.) out of which he could not work himself, and in which he fovmd himself sinking yet further. He says nothing, here, either of the sickness of his body, or the insults of his enemies, and therefore we have reason to think it was some inward disquiet, and perplexity of spirit, that was now his greatest grievance. Despondency of spirit, under the sense of God's withdrawings, and prevailing doubts and fears about the eternal state, are indeed a horrible pit and miry clay, and ha\ e been so to many a dear child of God.

II. His humble attendance upon Goil, and his believing expectations from him in those depths; / waited fiatiently for the Lord, v. 1. IVailing, I waited. He expected relief from no other than from God; the same hand that tears, must heal, that smites, must bind up, (Hos. vi. 1.) or it will never be done. From God he expected relief, and he was big with expectation, not doubting but it would come in due time. There is power enough in God to help the weakest, and grace enough in God to help the unwoithiest, of all his people that trust in him. But he waited patiently; which intimates that the relief did not come quickly; yet he doubted not but it would come, and resolved to continue believing, and hoping, and praying, till it did come. Those whose expectation is from God may wait with assurance, but must wait with patience. Now this is very applicable to Christ His agony, both in the garden, and on the cross, was the same continued, and it was a horrible pit and miry clay. Then was his soul troubled and exceeding sorrowful; but then he prayed. Father, glorify thy name; Father, save me; then he kept hold of his relation to his Father, "My God, my God," and thus waited patiently for him.

III. His comfortable experience of God's goodness to him in his distress, which he records for the honour of God, and his own and others' encouragement.

1. God answered hisprayeis; He inclined unto me, and heard my cry. Those that wait patiently for God, though they may wait long, do not wait in vain. Our Lord Jesus was heard, in that he feared, Heb. V. 7. Nay, he was sure that the Father heard him always.

2. He silenced his fears, and stilled the tumult of his spirits, and gave him a settled peace of conscience; {v. 2.) "He brought me out of that horrible pit of despondency and despair, scattered the clouds, and shone bright upon my .soul, with the assurances of his favour; and not only so, but set my feet iifion a rock, and established my goings. Those that have been under the prevalencv of a religious mehmc.holy, and by the grace of God have been relieved, may apply this very feelingly to themselves; they are brought up out of a horrible pit. (1.) The mercy is completed by the setting of their feet upon a rock, where they find firm footing, are as much elevated with the hopes of heaven, as they were, before, cast down with the fears of hell. Christ is the Rock on which a poor soul may stand fast, and on whose mediation alone between us and God we can build any solid hopes or satisfaction. (2.) It is continued in the establishment of their goings. Where God has given a

PSALMS, XL.

315

steadfast hope, he expects there should be a steady, legular, conversation; and if that be the blessed fruit of it, we have reason to acknowledge, with abundancevof thankfulness, the riches and power of his erace.

3. rie filled him with joy, as well as peace, in beliesing; "//e has put a new^ song- in my mouth; he has given me cause to rejoice, and a heart to rejoice." He was brought, as it were, into a new wurld, and that filled his mouth with a new song, even praise to our God; for to his praise and glory must all our songs be sung. Fresh mercies, especially such as we Jiever before received, call for new songs. This is applicable to our Lord Jesus, in his reception to paiadise, his resurrection from the grave, and his exaltation to the joy and glory set before him; he was brought out of the horrible pit, set upon a rock, and had a new song put in his mouth.

IV. The good improvement that should be made of this instance of God's goodness to David.

1. David's experience would be an encouragement to many to hope in God, and, for that end, he leaves it here upon record; Many shall see, and fear, and trust in the Lord. They shall fear the Lord and his justice, which brought Da\id, and the Son of Da\ id, into that horrible pit; and shall say. If this be done to the green tree, what shall be done to the dry '^ They shall fear the Lord arid his goodness, in filling the mouth of David, and the Son of David, with new songs of joy and praise. There is a holy, reverent, fear of God, which is not only consistent with, but the foundation of, our hope in him. They shall not fear him and shun him, but fear him and trust in him, in their greatest straits, not doubting but to find him as able and ready to help them as David did, in his distress. God s dealings with our Lord Jesus, are our great encouragement to trust in God; when it pleased the Lord to bruise him, and put him to grief for our sins, he demanded our debt from him; and when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand, he made it to appear that he had accepted the payment he made, and was satisfied with it; and what greater encouragement can we have to fear and worship God, and to trust in him? See Rom. iv. 25.—v. 1, 2. . •

The psalmist invites others to make God their Hope, as he did, by pronouncing those happy that do so; (x'. 4.) "Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his Trust, and him only; that has great and goofl thoughts of him, and is entirely devoted to him, and respects not the proud; does not do as they do that trust in themselves, nor depends upon those who proudly encourage others to trust in them, for both the one and the other turn aside to lies, as indeed all those do that turn aside from God." This is applicable, particularly, to our faith in Christ. Blessed are they that trust in him, and in his righteousness alone, and respect not the proud Pharisees, that set up their own righteousness in competition with that, that will not be governed by their dictates, nor turn aside to lies, with the unbelieving Jews, who submit not to the righteousness of God, Rom. x. 3. Blessed are they that escape this temptation.

2. The joyful sense he had of this mercy, led him to observe, with thankfulness, the many other favours he had received from God, v. 5. When Ciod puts new songs into our mouth, we must not forget our former songs, but repeat them; "Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which *hou hast done, both for me and others; this is but one of many." Many are the benefits with which we are daily loaded, both bv the providence, and by the grace, of God.. (1.) They are his works; not onlv the gifts of his bounty, but the operaiions

of his power; he works for us, he works in us, and thus he favours us with matter, not only for thanks, but for praise. (2.) They are his wonderful works; the contrivance of them admirable; his condescension to us, in bestowing them upon us, admirable; eternity itself will be short enough to be spent in the admiration of them. (3.) All his wonderful works are the product of his thoughts to us-ward. He does all, according to the counsel of his own will, (Eph. i. 11.) the purposes of his grace which I he purposed in himself, Eph. iii. 11. They are the projects of infinite wisd^om, the designs of everlasting love; (1 Cor. ii. 7. Jer. xxxi. 3.) thoughts of good, and not of exnl, Jer. xxix. 11. His gifts and callings will therefore be without repentance, because they are not sudden resolves, but the result of his thoughts, his many thoughts, to us-ward. (4.) They are innumerable; they cannot be methodised, or reckoned up in order; there is an order in all God's works, but they are so many that present themselves to our view at once, that we know n( t where to begin, nor which to name next; the order of them, and their natural references and dependencies, and how the links of the golden chain are joined, are a mystery to us, and what we shall net be able to account for, till the vail be rent, and the mystery of God finished. Nor can they be counted, not the very heads of them; when we have said the most we can, of the wonders of divine love to us, we must conclude with an Et csetera, and adore the depth, despairing to find the bottom.

6. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. 7. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me; 8. I delight to do thy will, O my God: y( a, thy law is within my heart. 9. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation : lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest. 10. 1 have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

The psalmist, being struck Avith amazement :it the wr.iideiful works that God had done for his people, is strangely carried out here to foretell that work of wonder which excels all the rest, and is the foundation and fountain of all, that of our redemption by our Lord Jesus Christ. God's thoughts, which were to us-ward concerning that work, were the most curious, the most copious, the most gracious, and therefore to be most admired. This paragraph is quoted by the ;ipostle, (Heb. x. 5, &c.) and applied to Christ, and his undertaking for us. As in the institutions, so in the devotions, of the Old Testament, there is more of Christ than perhaps the Old Testament saints were aware of; and when the apostle would show us the Redeemer's voluntary undertaking of his work, he does not fetch his account out of the book of God's secret counsels, which belong not to us, but from the things revealed. Obserse,

L The utter insuflficiency of the legal sacrifices to atone for sin, ifi order to our peace with God and our happiness in him; Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; thou wouldest not have the Redeemer to offer them; something he must have to offer, but not these; (Heb. viii. 3.) therefore he must not be of the house of Aaron, Heb. vli. 14.

!16

PSALMS, XL.

Or, In the days of the Messiah, burnt-offering and sin-cfFering will be no longer required, but all those ceremonial institutions will be abolished. But that It. not all; even while the law concerning them was in full force, it might be said, God did not desire them, nor accept them, for their own sake; they could not take away the guilt of sin by satisfying Sod's justice; the life of a sheep, which is so much .nferior in value to that of a man, (Matth. xii. 12.) could not pretend to be an equivalent, much less an expedient, to preserve the honour of God's go\ernment and laws, and lepair the injury done to that honour by the sin of man. They could not take away the terror of sin, by pacifying the conscience, nor the power of sin, by sanctifying the nature; it was impossible, Heb. ix. 9.—x. 1««4. What there was in them that was valuable, resulted from their reference to Jesus Christ, "of whom they were types; shadows indeed, but shadows (f'^ good things to come, and trials of the faith and obedience of God's people, of their obedience to the law, and their faith in the gospel. But the Substance must come, which is Christ, who must bring that glory to God, and that grace to man, which it was impossible those sacrifices should ever do.

II. The designation of our Lord Jesus to the work and office of Mediator; Mine ears hast thou opened; God the Father disposed him to the undertaking, (Isa. 1. 5, 6.) and then obliged him to go through with it. Mine ear hast thou digged. It is supposed to allude to the law and custom of binding servants to serve for ever, by boring their ear to the door-post; see Exod. xxi. 6. Our Lord Jesus was so in love with his undertaking, that he would not go out free from it, and therefore engaged them to persevere for ever in it; and,/or this reason, he is able to sa\ e us to the uttermost, because he has engaged to serve his Father to the uttermost, who upholds him in it, Isa. xlii. 1.

III. His own voluntary consent to this undertaking; "Then said I, Lo, I come; then, when sacrifice and offering would not do, rather than the work should be undone, I said, Lo, I come, to enter the lists with the powers of darkness, and to advance the interests of God's glory and kingdom." This bespeaks three things; 1. That he freely offered himself to this service, which he was under no engagement at all to, jjrior to his own voluntary susception. It was no sooner proposed to him, than, with the greatest cheerfulness, he consented to it, and was wonderfully well pleased with the undertaking; had he not been perfectly voluntary in it, he could not ha\'e been a Surety, he could not have been a Sacrifice; for it is by this will, (this animus offerentis — mind of the offerer,) that we are sanctified, Heb. x. 10. 2. Tliat he firmly obliged himself to it; "I come; I prrmise to come in the fulness of time." And therefore the apostle says, "It was when he came into the world that he had an actual regard to this promise, by which he had engaged his heart to approach unto God." He thus entered into bonds, not onlv to show the greatness of his love, but because he was to have the honour of his undertaking before he had fully performed it. Though tlie price was not paid, it was secured to be paid, so that he was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 3. That he frankly owned himself engaged; He said, Zo, / come, said it all along to the Old Testament saints, who therefore knew him by the title of o 'ifi^ofAivo^ — He that should cofne. This word was the foundation on which they built their faith and hope, and which they looked and longed for the ;iccomplish-ment of.

IV. The reason why he came, in pursuance of his undertaking; because, in the volume of the book-

it -was written of him, 1. In the close rolls of the divine decree and counsel; there it was written, that his ear was opened, and he said, Zo, / come, there the covenant of redemption was recorded, the counsel of peace between the Father and the Son; and to that he had an eye in all he did, the commandment he received of his Father. 2. In the letters patent of the Old Testament, Moses and all the prophets testified of him; in all the volumes of that book something or other was written of him, which he had an eye to, that all might be accom-pUshed, John xix. 28.

V. The pleasure he took in his undertaking; having freely offered himself to it, he did not fail, nor was discouraged, but proceeded with all possible satisfaction to himself; {v. 8, 9.) / delight to do thy will, O my God; it was, to Christ, his meat and drink to go on with this work appointed to him; (John iv. 34.) and the reason here given, is. Thy law is within iny heart; it is written there, it rules there, it is an active commanding principle there. It is meant of the law, concerning the work and office of the Mediator, what he was to do and suffer; this law was dear to him, and had an influence upon him in his whole undertaking. Note, When the law of God is written in our hearts, our duty will be our delight.

VI. The publication of the gospel to the children of men, even in the gi eat congregation, v. 9, 10. The same that, as a Priest, wrought out redemption for us, as a Prophet, by his own preaching first, then by his apostles, and still by his word and Spirit, makes it known to us. The great salvation began to be spoken by the Lord, Heb. ii. 3. It is the gospel of Christ, that is preached to all nations. Observe, 1. W^hat it is that is preached; it is righteousness, {v. 9.) God's righteousness, {y. 10.) the everlasting righteousness which Christ has brought in; (Dan. ix. 24.) compare Rom. i. 16, 17. It is God's faithfulness to his promise, and the salvation which had long been looked for. It is God's loving-kindness and his truth, his mercy according to his word. Note, In the work of our redemption, we ought to take notice how bright all the divine attributes shine, and give to God the praise of each of them. 2. To whom it is preached; to the great congregation, {v. 9.) and again, v. 10. When Christ was here on earth, he preached to multitudes, thousands at a time. The gospel was preached I)oth to Jews and Gentiles, to great congregations of both. Solemn religious assemblies are a divine institution, and in them the glory of God, in the face of Christ, ought to be both praised, to the glory of God, and preached for the edification of men. 3. How it is preached; freely and openly; / have not refrained my lips, I have not hid it, f have not concealed it. This intimates, that whoever undertoc>k to preach the gospel of Christ, Avould be in great temptation to hide it and conceal it, because it must be preached with great contention, and in the face of great opposition; but Christ himself, and those whom he calls to that work, set their faces as a Jiint, (Isa. 1. 7.) and were wonderfully carried on in it. It is well for us, that they were so, for by this means our eyes come to see this joyful light, an^ oir ears to hear this joyful sound; which otherwise we might foi* e\ er have perished in ignorance of.

11. Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord : let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me. 12. For innumerable evils have compassed me about; mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up : they are more than the hairs of my

PSALMS, XLl.

317

head; therefore my heart faileth me. 13. Be pleased, O Lord, to dehver me: O Lord, make haste to help me. 14. Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward, and put to shame, that wish me evil. 15. Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame, that say unto me. Aha, aha! 16. Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified. 17. But 1 am poor and needy; ye^ the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

The psalmist, having meditated upon the work of redemption, and spoken of it in the person of the Messiah, now comes to make improvement of the doctrine of his mediation between us and God, and therefore speaks in his own person. Christ having done his Father's will, and finislied his work, and given orders for the preaching of the gospel to every creature, we are encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace, for mercy and grace.

I. This may encourage us to pray for the mercy of God, and to put ourselves under the protection of that mercy; [x<. 11.) " Lord, thou hast not spared thy Son, nor withheld him; ivithhold not thou thy tender mercies then, which thou liast laid up for us in him; for wilt thou not with him also freely give us nil things? (Rom. viii. 32.) Let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually presence me." The best saints are in continual danger, and see themselves undone, if they be not continually preserved by the grace of God; and the everlasting loving-kindness and truth of God are that which we have to depend upon for our preservation to the heavenly kingdom, Ixi. 7.

II. This may encourage us, in reference to the guilt of sin, that Jesus Christ has done that towards our discharge from it which sacrifice and offering could not do. See here, 1. The frightful sight he had of sin, v. 12. This was it that made the discovery he was now favoured with, of a Redeemer, very welcome to him. He saw his iniquities to be evils, the worst of evils; he saw that they compassed him about; in all the reviews of his life, and his reflections upon each step of it, still he discovered something amiss. The threatening consequences of his sin surrounded him; look which way he would, he saw some mischief or other waiting for him, which he was conscious to himself his sins had deserved. He saw them taking hold of him, arresting him, as the bailiff does the poor debtor; he saw them to be innumerable, and more than the hairs of his head. Convinced, awakened, consciences are apprehensive of danger from the numberless number of the sins of infirmity, which seem small as hairs, but, being numerous, are very dangerous; 1l7io can understand his errors? God numbers our hairs, (Matth. x. 30.) which yet we cannot number; so he keeps an account of our sins, which we keep no account of. The sight of sin so oppressed him, that he could not hold up his head; I am not able to look u/i, much less could he keep up his heart; therefore my heart fails me. Note, The sight of our sins in their own colours would drive us to distraction, if we had not at the same time some sight of a Saviour. 2. The careful recourse he had to God, under the sense of sin; {v. 10.) seeing himself brought by his sins to the very brink of ruin, eternal ruin, with what a holy passir -n

does he f.ry out, "Be /ileased, 0 Lord, t'. ddner me; (v. 13.) O save nie fieni liic uia>h u. ci n.e, and the piesent torurs I am in, ihrcugh the appie-hensions of that wri«h; I am undone, 1 die, 1 ].ci it,h, without speedy relief. In a case of this nature, where the bliss of an immortal soul is conceineil, delays are dangerous; therefore, O Lord, make haste to help. me. "

III. This may encourage us to hope for victor> over our spiritual enemies, that seek after our sculs to destroy them, {y. 14.) the roaring lion that goes about continually seeking to devour. If Christ has triumphed over them, we, through him, shall be more than conquerors. In the belief of this, we may pray, with humble boldness, let them be ashamed and confounded together, and driven backward, V. 14. Let them be desolate, v. 15. hotli the con\ ersion of a sinner, and the glorification of a saint, are great disappointments to Satan, who does his utmost, with all his power and subtlety, to hinder both; now, our Lord Jesus having undertaken to bring about the salvation of all his chosen, we may in faith pray, that, both these ways, that great adversary may be confounded. When a child of God is brought into that horrible pit, and the miry clay, Satan cries, ./iha, aha, thinking he has gained his point; but he shall rage when he sees the brand plucked out of the fire, and shall be desolate, for a reward of his shame. The Lord rebuke tfiee, 0 Satan. The accuser of the brethren is cast out.

IV. This may encourage all that seek God, and love his salvation, to rejoice in him, and to praise him, V, 16. See here, 1. The character of good people; conformably to the laws of natural religion, they seek Gcd, desire his favour, and in all their exigencies apply themselves to him, as a people should seek unto their God; conformably to the laws of revealed religion, they love his salviticn, that great salvation of which the prophets inquired and searched diligently, which the Redeemer undertook to work out when he said, Lo, L come. All that shall be saved love the salvation, not only as a salvation from hell, but a salvation from sin. 2. The happiness secured to good people by this prophetical prayer; They that seek God shall rejoice and be glad in him, and with good reason, for he will not only be found of them, but will be their bountiful Rewarder. They that love his salvation shall be filled with the joy of his salvation, and shall say continually. The Lord be magnified; and thus they shall have a heaven upon earth; blessed are they that are thus still praising God.

Lastly, This may encourage the saints, in distress and. affliction, to trust in God, and comfort themselves in him, v. 17. David himself was one of these, / am poor and needy; a king, perhaps, now on the throne, and yet, being troubled in spirit, he calls himself poor and needy, lost and undone, without a Saviour; in want and distress, vet the Lord thinketh upon me, in and through the Mediator, by whom we are made accepted. Men forget the poor and needy, and seldom think of them; but God's thoughts toward them, which he had spokei of, (v. 5.) are their support and comfort. Thc^ may assure themselves that God is their Help unde. their troubles, and will be, in due time, their De liverer out of their troubles, and will make no long tarrj'ing; for the vision is for an appointed time, and therefore, though it tarry, we may wait for it, foi it shall come; it will come, it will not tarry.

PSALM XLI.

God's kindness and truth have often been the support and comfort of the saints, when they have had most experience of men's unkindness and treachery. David here found them so upon a sick bed; he found his enemies very barbarous, but his God very gracious. I. He here

PSALMS, XLl.

comforts himself in his communion with God under his siclfness, by faith receiving and laying hold of God's promises to him, (v. 1. .3.) and lifting up his heart in prayer to God, v. 4. II. He here represents the malice of his enemies against him, their«malicious censures of him, their spiteful reflections upon him, and their insolent conduct toward him, v. 5 .. 9. III. He leaves his case with God, not doubting but that he would own and favour him; (v. 10, U.) and so the psalm concludes with a doxolo^y, v. 13. Is any afliicted with sickness? let him sing the beginning of this psalm. Is any persecuted by enemies? let him sing the latter end of it; and we may any of us, in singing it, meditate upon both the calamities and comforts of good people in this world.

To the chief musician. A fisalm of David. . "OLESSED IS he that considereth the

poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. 2. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; cwrf he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. 3. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. 4. 1 said, O Lord, be merciful unto me; heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.

In these verses we have,

I. God's promises of succour and comfort to those (nat consider the poor; and we may suppose that David makes mention of these, with application, either, 1. To his friends, who were kind to him, and \ ery considerate of his case, now that he was •n affliction; Blessed is he that considers floor David. Here and there he met with one that sympathized with him, and was concerned for him, and kept up their good opinion of him and respect for him, notwithstanding his afflictions, while his enemies were so insolent and abusive to him; on these he pronounced this blessing, not doubting but that God would recompense to them all the kindness they had done him, particularly when they also came to be in affliction. The provocations which his enemies ga\ e him did but endear his friends so much the more to him: or, 2. To himself; he had the testi-nriony of his conscience for him, that he had considered the poor; that, when he was in honour and power at court, he had taken cognizance of the wants and miseries of the poor, and had provided for their relief, and therefore was sure God would, according to his promise, strengthen and comfoit him in his sickness. Here is a comment upon that promise; Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercif. ()bser\ e,

(1.) What the mercy is which is required of us; it is to consider the poor or afflicted, whether in mind, body, or estate: these we are to consider with prudence and tenderness; we must take notice of their affliction, and inquire into their state; must sympathize with them, and judge charitably concerning them; we must wisely consider the poor; we must ourselves be instructed by the povertv and affliction of others; it niilst be Maschil to us, that is the word here used.

(2.) Wliatthe mercy is that is promised to us, if we tluis show mercy; He that considers the poor, (if he cannot relieve them, yet he considers them, anrl has a cnmjjassionate concern for them, and, in relieving tliem, does it considerately and with discretion,) shall be considered by his'Gyod: he shall not only be recompensed in the' resurrection of tlie just, but he sh(dl he blessed nfion the earth; this branch of godliness, as much as any otlier, has the promise of the life tliat now is, aiid is usually.re- j compensed with temporal blessings. Liberality to ^he poor is the surest and safest way of thriving; \

such as practise it may be sure of seasonable and effisctual relief fi-om God.

[1.] In all troubles; He nvill deliver them in the day of ex'il, so that, when the times are at the worst, it shall go well with them, and they shall not fall into the calamities in which others are involved; if any be hid in the day of the Lord's anger, they shall. Those who thus distinguish themseh es from tliose that have hard hearts, God will distinguish from those that have hard usage. Are they in danger.'' He will preserve and keep them alive; and those who have a thousand times forfeited their lives, as the best have, must acknowledge it as a great favour if they have their lives given them for a prey. He does not say, " They shall be firefer-red," but, •' They shall be preserved and Kept alive, when the arrows of death fly thick rouna about them." Do their enemies threaten them? God will not deliver them into the nvill of their enemies; and the most potent enemy we have can have no power against us, but what is given him from above. The good-will of a God that loves us, is sufficient to secure us from the ill-will of all that hate us, men or devils! and that good-will we may promise ourseh es an interest in, if we have considered the poor, and helped to relieve and rescue them.

[2.] Particularly in sickness; {y. 3.) The Lord will strengthen him, both in body and mind, upon the bed of languishing, on which he had long lain sick, and he will make all his bed; a very condescending expression, alluding to the care of those that nurse and tend sick people, especially of mothers for their children when they are sick, which is to make their beds easy for them; and that bed must needs be well-made which God himself has the making of. He will make all his bed from head to foot, so that no part shall be uneasy; he will tu7-n his bed, (so the word is,) to shake it up, and make it yery easy; or, he will turn it into a bed of health. Note, God has promised his people that he will strengthen them, and make them easy, under their bodily pains and sicknesses. He has not promised that they shall never be sick, nor that they shall not lie long languishing, nor that their sickness shall not be unto death; but he has promised to enable them to bear their affliction with patience, and cheerfully to wait the issue; the soul shall by his grace be made to dwell at ease, when the body lies in pain.

II. David's prayer, directed and encouraged by these promises; {v. 4.) 7 said. Heal my soul. It is good for us to keep some account of our prayers, that we may not unsay, in our practices, any thing that we said in our prayers. Here is, 1. His humble petition; Lord, be ?nerciful to me. He appeals to mercy, as one that knew he could not stand the test of strict justice. The best saints, even those that have been merciful to the poor, have not made God their Debtor, but must throw themselves on his mercy. When we are under the rod, we must thus recommend ourselves to the tender mercy of our God; Lord, heal my soul. Sin is the sickness of the soul, pardoning mercy heals it, renewing grace heals it; and this spiritual healing we should be more ear nest foi', than for bodily health. 2. His penitent confession; '■^ I have sinned against thee, and therefore my soul needs healing; I am a sinner, a miserable sinner, therefore, God, be merciful to me," Luke xviii. 13. It does not appear that this has any reference to any particular gross act of sin, but, in general, to his uKUiv sins of infirmity, which his sickness set in order before him, and the dread of tlic consequences of which made him pray, Heal my soul.

.">. Mine enemies speak evil of me; When

PSALMS, XLl.

319

shall he die, and his name perish? 6. And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it. 7. All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt. 8. An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth, he shall rise up no more. 9. Yea, mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. 10. But thou, O LoKD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. H. By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. 12. And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever. 13, Blessed he the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.

Da\ id often complains of the insolent conduct of his enemies toward him, when he was sick, which, as it was very barbarous in them, so it could not but be very grievous to him. They were not, indeed, arrived at that modern pitch of wickedness, of poisoning his meat and drink, or giving him something to make him sick; but, when he was sick, they insulted over him; {v. 5. ) Aline enemies sfieak evil of me; designing thereby to grieve his spirit, to ruin his reputation, and so to sink his interest.

I. They longed for his death; When shall he die, and his name perish with him? He had but an uncomfortable life, and yet they grudged him that; but it was a useful life, he was, upon all accounts, the greatest omament and blessing of his countrv; and yet, it seems, there were some who were sick of him, as che Jews were of Paul, crying cut, Aivay •with such a fellow from the earth. We ought not to desire the death of any; but to desire the death of useful men, for their usefulness, has much in it of the venom of the old serpent. They en\ ied him his name, and the honour he had won, and doubted not but, if he were dead, that would be laid in the dust with him; yet, see how they were mistaken; when he had served his generation, he did die; (Acts xiii. 36.) !)ut did his name perish? No, it lives and flourishes, to this day, in the sacred writings, and will, to the end of time; for the memory of the Just is, and shall be, blessed.

II. They picked up every thing they could, to re-]iroac,h him with; {v. 6.) " If he come to see me," (as it has always been reckoned a piece of neighbourly kindness to visit the sick,) "he s/iea/cs vanity; he pretends friendship, and that liis errand is to mourn with me, and to comfort nie; he tel's me he is veiy sorry to see me so much indisposed, :.nd wishes me my health; but it is all fi;ittery and falsehood." We complain, and justly, of the want of sinceritv in our days, and that there is scarcely any true friendship to be found among men; but it seems, bv this, that the former days were no Ijctter than these; David's friends wereall compliment, and had notliing of that affection for him in their hctarts which they made profession of; nor was tliat the worst of it; it was upon a mischievous design that they came to see him, that they might make invidious' remarks upon every thing he said or did, and might represent it as they pleased to others, with their own comments upon it, so as to render him odious or ridiculous; His heart gathereth iiiicjuity to itself, puts

ill constructions upon every thing; and then, when he goes among his companions, he tells it them, that they may tell it others; Report, say they, and ive will report it, Jer. xx. 13. If he complained much of his illness, they would reproach him for his pusillanimity; if he scarcely complained at all, they would reproach him for his stupidity. If he prayed, or ga\e them good counsel, they would banter it, and call it canting; if he kept silence from good, when the wicked were before him, they would say that he had forgotten his religion, now that he was sick. There is no fence against those whose malice thus gathers iniquity.

III. They promised themselves that he would never recover from this sickness, nor ever wipe off the odium with which they had loaded him; they •whispered together against him, {v. 7.) speaking that secretly, in one another's ears, which they could not for shame speak out, and which, if they did, they knew would be confuted; whisperers and backbiters are put together among the worst of sinners, Rom. i. 29, 30. They whispered, that their plot against him might not be discovered, and so defeated; there is seldom whispering, (we say,) but there is lying, or some mischief on foot. Those whisperers devised evil to David; concluding he would die quickly, they contrived how to break all the measures he had concerted for the public good, to prevent the prosecution of them, and to undo all that he had hitherto been doing: this he calls devising hurt against him; and they doubted not but to gain their point; An evil disease, a thing of Belial, say they, cleaves fast imto him; the reproach with which they had loaded his name, they hoped, would cleave so fast to it, that it would perish with him, and then they should gain their point; they went by a modern maxim, Fortiter calumniari, alicjuid ad-h?erebit — Fling an abundance of calumny, and part ivill be sure to stick. The disease he is now under will certainly make an end of him; for it is the punishment of some great enormous crime, which he will not be brought to repent of, and proves him, however he has appeared, a son of Belial; or, it is inflicted by Satan, who is called Belial, the wicked one, 2 Cor. vi. 15. "It is" (according to a loose way of speaking some have) "a devilish disease, and therefore it will cleave fast to him, and noiv that he lieth, now that his distemper prevails so far as to oblige him to keep his bed, he shall rise up no more, we shall be rid of liim, and divide the spoil of his preferments." We are not to think it strange, if, when good men are sick, there be those that hope for their death, as well as those that fear it, which makes tlie world not worthy of them. Rev. xi. 10.

IV. There was one particularly, in whom he had reposed a great deal of confidence, that took part with his enemies, and was as abusive to him as any of them; (i'. 9.) Aly own familiar friend; probably, he means Ahithophel, who had been his bosom friend, and prime minister of state, in whom he trusted as one inviolably firm to him, and whose advice he relied much upon, in dealing with his enemies, who did eat of his bread, with whom he had been very intimi'te, and whom he had taken to sit at the table witli him: nay, whom lie had maintained and given a livelihood to, and so obliged, both in gratitude and interest, to adhere to him. Thev had their inaintenance from the king'spalace, did not tliink it meet for them to see the king^s dishonour, (Ezra iv. 14.) much less to do him dishonour; vet this base and treacherous confidant of David's, forgot all the eaten bread, and lifted up his heel against him that had lifted up his head; not onlv deserted him, but insulted him, kicked at him, endeavoured to supplant him. Those are wicked indeed, whom no courtesv done them, nor confidence reposed in them, will oblige; and let us not

PSALMS, XLII.

think it strange, if we receive abuses from such: David did, and the Son of David; for of Judas the traitor David here, in the Spirit, spake; our Sa\ iour himself so expounds this, and therefore gave Jud.is the sop, that the scripture might be fulfilled; He that eats bread with me, has lifted uji his lietl against me, John xiii. 18, 26. Nay, ha\c not we ourselves carried it thus pci-fidiously and disingenuously toward God? We eat of his bread daily, and yet lift ufi the heel against him, as Jeshui-u!i, that nvaxed fat and kicked, Deut. xxxii. 15.

Now, how did David bear this ins<!lent il'.-n-itured .iarriage of his encm'es toward him?

1. He prayed to (iod that they might be disappointed. He s ud nothing to them, but turned himself to God; O Lord, be than merciful to 7ne, for they are unmerciful, v. 10. He had prayed in reference to the guilt of his sins, {y. 4.) Lord, be merciful to me; and now again, in reference to tlie insults of his enemies, Lord, be merciful to me, for that prayer will suit every case. God's mercy has in it a redress for every grievance; "They endeavour to run me down, but, Lord, do thou raise me up from this bed of languishing, from which they think I shall never rise. Raise me up, that I may requite them, that I may render them good for evil;" so some; forthat was David's practice, vii. 4.—xxxv. 13. A good man will even wish for an opportunity of making it to appear that he bears no malice to those that have been injurious to him, but, on the contrary, that he is ready to do them any good office. Or, " That, as a king, I may put them under the marks of my just displeasure, banish them the court, and forbid them my table for the future;" which would be a necessary piece of justice, for warning to others. Perhaps in this prayer is couched a prophecy of the exaltation of Christ, whom God raised up, that he might be a just Avenger of all the wrongs done to him and to his people, particularly by the Jews, whose utter destruction followed, not long after.

2. He assured himself that they would be disappointed; {y. 11.) "By this I know that thou fa-vourest me and my interest, because mine enemy doth not triumfih over me." They hoped for his death, but he found himself, through mercy, recovering, and this would add to the comfort of his recovery; (1.) That it would be a disappointment to his adversaries; they would be crest-iallen and wretchedly ashamed, and there would be no occasion to upbraid them with their disappointment, they would fret at it themselves. Note, Though we may not take a pleasure in the fall of our enemies, we may take a pleasure in the frustrating of their designs against us. (2.) That that would be a token of God's favour to him, and a certain evidence that he did favour him, and would continue to do so. Note, When we can discern the favour of God to us, in any mercy personal or public, that doubles it, and sweetens it.

3. He depends upon God, who had thus delivered him from many an evil work, to preserve him to his heavenly kingdom, as blessed Paul, 2 Tim. iv. 18. " As for me, forasmuch as thou favourest mc, as a fruit of that favour, and to qualify me for the continuance of it, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and, in order to that, scttcst nie before thy face, hast thine eye always u]) mi me for good;" or, "Because thou dost, liy thy gi-ace, uphold me in my integrity, I know that thou wilt, in thy glorv, set me for ever before thy face." Note, (1.) When at any time we suffer in our reputation, our chief concern should be aloout our integrity, and then we may cheerfully leave it to God to secure our reputation. David knows, that if he can but persevere in his integrity, he needs not fear his enemies' triumphs over him. (2.) The best man in the world holds his integrity no longer than God upholds him

in it; for by his grace we are what we are; if we be left to ourselves, we shall not only fall, but fall away. (3.) It is a great comfort to us, that, however weak we are, God is able to ufihold us in our integrity, and will do it, if we commit the keeping of ic to him. (4.) If tlie grace of God did not take a constant care of us, we should not be upheld in our integrity; his eye is always upon us, else we should soon start aside from him. (5.) Those whom God now upholds in tlieir integrity, he will set before his face for ever, and make happy in the vision and fruition of himself; He that endures to the end, shall be saved.

4. The psalm concludes with a solemn doxolog}', or adoration of God as the Lord God of Israel, v. 13. It is not certain whether this \ erse pertains to this particular psalm; if s', it teaches us this. That a believing ho])e of our preservation througli grace to glory, is enough to fill our hearts with joy, and our mouths with everlasting jjraise, e\en in our greatest straits; or, this verse may have been added as the conclusion of the first book of Psalms, v/hich is reckoned to end here; the like being subjoined to Ixxii, Ixxxix, cvi, and then it teaches us to make God the Omega, who is the Alpha, to make him the End, who is the Beginning, of every good work. We are tauglit, (1.) To give glory to God as the Lord God of Israel, a God in covenant with his people; who has done great and kind things for them, and has more and better in reserve. (2.) To give him glory as an eternal God, tliat has both his being and his blessedness /rom everlasting and to everlasting. (3.) To do this with great affection and fervour of spirit; intimated in tlie double seal set to it; Amen and Amen; Be it so now, be it so to all eternity. We say. Amen to it, and let all others say. Amen, too.

PSALM XLII.

If the book of Psalms be, as some have styled it, a mirror, or looking-g-lass, of pious and devout affections, this psalm, in particular, deserves, as much as any one psalm, to be so entitled, and is as proper as any other to kindle and excite such in us: pfracious desires are here strong and fervent; gracious hopes and fears, joys and sorrows^ are here struggling, but the pleasing passion comes off^ a conqueror. Or we may take it for a conflict between sense and faith: sense obiecting, and faith answering. I. Faith begins with holy desires toward God, and com munion with him, v. 1,2. II. Sense complains of the darkness and cloudiness of the present condition, aggravated by the remembrance of the former enjoyments, v. 3, 4. III. Faith silences the complaint with the assurance of a good issue at last, v. 5. IV. Sense renews its complaints of the present dark and melancholy state, v, 6, 7. V. Faith holds up the heart, notwithstanding, with hope that the day will dawn, v. 3. VI. Sense repeats its lamentations, (v. 9, 10.) and sighs out the same remonstrance it had before made of its grievances. VII. Faith gets the last word, (v. 11.) for the silencing of the complaints of sense, and though it be almost the same with that, (v. 5.) yet now it prevails and carries the day. The title does not tell us who was the penman of this psalm, but, most probably, it was David; and we may conjecture it was penned by nim at a time when, either by Saul's persecution, or Absalom's rebellion, he was driven from the sanctuary, and cut off" from the privrlege of waiting upon God in public ordinances. The strain of it is much the same with Ixiii., and therefore we may presume it was penned by the same hand, and upon the same or a like occasion. In singing it, if we be either in outward alHiction, or in inward distress, ne may accommodate to ourselves the melancholy expressions we find here; if not, we must, in singing them, sympathize with those whose case they speak too plainly, and thank God it is not our own case; but those passages in it, wiiich express and excite holy desires toward God, and dependence on him, we must earnestly endeavour to bring our minds up to.

To the chief musician, Maschil,for the sons of Korah.

1. AS the hart panteth after the water-j\^ brooks, so panteth my soul aftei

PSALMS, XLIL

321

ihee, O God. 2. My soul thirsteth for God, for tlie living God: when shall J come and appear before God ? 3. My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? 4. When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, v^'ith the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holy-day. 5. Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? and whi/ art thou disquieted in me ? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

Holy love to God, as the Chief Good, and our Felicity, is the power of godliness, the very life and soul of religion, without which, all external professions and performances are but a shell and carcase: now here we have some of the expressions of that love. Here is,

I. Holy love, thirsting; love upon the wing, soaring upward in holy desires toward the Lord, and toward the remembrance of his name; (k. 1, 2.) "]\Iy soul fiantet/i, thirsteth, for God, for nothing more than God, but still for more and more of him. Now, observe,

1. When it was that David thus expressed his vehement desire toward God. It was, (1.) When he was thus debarred from his outward opportunities of waiting on God; when he was banished to the land of Jordan, a great way off from the courts of Ciod's house. Note, Sometimes God teaches us effectually to know the worth of mercies by the want of them, and whets our appetite for the means of grace, by cutting us short in those means. We are apt to loathe that manna, when we have plenty of it, which will be \ ery precious to us, if ever we come to know the scarcity of it. (2.) When he was deprived, in a great measure, of the inward comfort he used to have in God; he now went mourning, but he went on panting. Note, If God, by his grace, has wrought in us sincere and earnest desires toward him, we may take comfort from these, when we want those ravishing delights we have sometimes had in God, because lamenting after God is as sure an evidence that we love him, as rejoicing in God. Before the psalmist records his doubts, and fears, and griefs, which had sorely shaken him, he premises this, That he looked upon the living God as his Chief Good, and had set his heart upon him accordingly, and was resolved to live and die by him; and, casting anchor tims at first, he rides out the storm.

2. What is the Object of his desire, and what it is he thus thirsts after. (1.) He pants after God, he thirsts for God; not the ordinances themselves, but the God of the ordinances. A gracious soul can take little satisfaction in God's courts, if it do not meet with God himself there; " Oh that I knew where I might find him! That I might have more of the tokens of his favour, the graces and comforts of his Spirit, and the earnests of his glory." (2.) He has, herein, an eye to God, as the living God, that has life in himself, and is the Fountain of life and all happiness to those that are his; the living God, not only in opposition to dead idols, the works of men's hands, but to all the dying comforts of this world, which perish in the using. Living souls can never take up their rest any where short of a living God. (3.) He longs to come and appear before God; to make himself known to him, as being conscious to himself of his own sincerity; to attend on

Vol. III.—2 S

liini as a servant appears before his master, to pav Ills respects to him, and receive his commands; to give an account to him, as one from whom our judgment proceeds. To appear before God is as much the desire of tlie upright, as it is the dread of the hypocrite. The psalmist knew he could not come into God's courts, but he must incur expense, for so was the law, that nojie should appear before God empty; yet he longs to come, and will not grudge the charges.

3. What is the degree of this desire. It is \ery importunate, it is his soul that pants, his soul that thirsts, which bespeaks not only the sincerity, but the strength, of his desire; his longing for the water of the well of Bethlehem was nothing to this. He compares it to the panting of a hart, or deer, which is naturally hot and dry, especially of a hunted buck, after the water-brooks. Thus earnestly does a gracious snul desire communion with God; thus impatient is it in the want of that communion; so impossible does it find it to take up in any thing short of that communion; and so insatiable is it in taking the pleasures of that communion, when the opportunity of it returns, still thirsting after the full enjoyment of him in the heavenly kingdom.

II. Holy love, mourning for God's present with-drawings, and the want of the benefit of solemn ordinances; (f. 3.) " My (ears have beeii my meat day and night, during this ft.reed absence from God's house." His circumstances were sorrowful, and he accommodated himself to them, received the impressions, and returned the signs, of sorrow; even the royal prophet was a weeping prophet, when he v/anted the comforts of God's house. His tears were mingled with his meat; nay, they were his niear, day and night; he fed, he feasted, upon his own tears, when there was such just cause for them; and it was a satisfaction to him, that he found his heart so much affected with a grievance of this natr.re. Observe, He did not think it enough to shed a tear or two, at parting from the sanctuary, to weep a farewell-prayer, when he took his leave, but, as long as he r( ntinued under a forced absence from that place of his delight, he never looked up, but wept, day and night. Note, Those that are deprived of the benefit of public ordinances, constantly miss them, and therefore should constantly mourn for the want of them, till they are restored to them again.

Two things aggravated his grief:

1. The reproaches with which his enemies teased him; T'hey continually saij unto me, Where is thy God? (1.) Because he was absent from the ark, the token of God's presence; judging of the God of Israel by the gods of the heathen, they concluded he had lost his God. Note, Those are mistaken, who think that, when they have robbed us of our Bibles, and our ministers, and our solemn assemblies, they have robbed us of our God: for though God has tied us to them, when they are to be had, he has not tied himself to them. We know where our God is, and where to find him, when we kno\y not where his ark is, nor where to find that. Wherever we are, there is a way open heaven-wai'd. (2.) Because God did not immediately appear for his deliverance, they concluded that he had abandoned him; but herein also they were deceived: it does not follow that the saints have lost their God, because they have lost all their other friends. However, by this base reflection on God and his people, they added affliction to the afflicted and that Avas what they aimed at. Nothing is more grievous to a gracious souT, than that which is intended to shake its hope and confidence in God.

2. The remembrance of his former liberties and enjoyments, v. 4. Son, remember thy good tMngs, is a great aggravation of evil things; so much (io cur

PSALMS, XI.1I.

powers of reflection and anticipation add to the grievance of this present time. David remembered tlie days of old, and then his soul %uas fiourcd out ill him; he melted away, and the tliought ahiiost broke liis heart. He poured out his soul within him in sorrow, and then poured out his soul before God in prayer. But what was it that occasioned this jminful melting of spirit? It was not the remembrance of the pleasures at court, or the entertainments of his own house, from which he was now banished, that afflicted him; but the remembrance of the free access he liad formerly to God's house, and the pleasure he had in attending the sacred solemnities there. (1.) He went to the house of God, though in his time it was but a tent; nay, if' this psalm was penned, as many think it ■was, at the time of his being persecuted by Saul, the ark was then in a private house, 2 Sam. vi. 3. But the meanness, obscurity, and inconveniency, of the place, did not lessen his esteem of that sacred symbol of the divine presence. David was a courtier, a prince, a man of honour, a man of business, and yet very diligent in attending God's house, and joining in public ordinances; even in the days of Saul, when he and his great men inquired not at it, 1 Chron. xiii. 3. Whatever others did, David and his house would serve the Lord. (2.) He went with the multitude, and thought it no disparagement to his dignity, to be at the head of a crowd in attending upon God. Nay, this added to the pleasure of it, that he was accomi)anied with a multitude, and therefore it is twice mentioned, as that whicli he greatly lamented the want of now. The more the better, in the service of God; it is the more like to heaven, and a sensible help to our comfort in the communion of saints. (3.) He went with the voice of joy and firaise; not only with joy and praise in his heart, but with the outward expressions of it, proclaiming his joy, and speaking torth the high praises of his God. Note, When we wait upon God in public ordinances, we have reason to do it both with cheerfuhiess and thankfulness, to take to ouiselves the comfort, and give to God the glory, of our liberty of access to him. (4.) He went to keep holy-days, not to keep them in vain mirth and recreation, but in religious exercises. Solemn days are spent most comfortably in solemn assemblies.

in. Holy love, hoping;' {v. 5.) Ti7iy art thou cast downi 0 my soul? His sorrow was upon a very good account, and yet it must not exceed its due limits, nor prevail to depress his spirits; he theref ire communes with his own heart, for his relief: "Come, my soul, I have something to say to thee in thy heavincfi^s." Let us consider, 1. The cause of it. " Thou art cast down, as one stooping and sinking under a burlhtn, Prnv. xii. 25. Tliou art disquieted, in confusion asjd disorder; now, why art thou so?" Tliis may be taken as an inquiring question; " Let tlie cause of this uneasiness be duly weighed; is it a just cause?" Our disquietudes would often vanish before a strict scrutiny into tlie grounds and reasons of them. " Why am I cast down ? Is there a cause, a real cause? Have not others more cause, that do not make so much ado? Have nf>t we, at the same time, cause to be encouraged?" Or it may be taken as an expostulating question; those that commune much with their own hearts, will often have occasion to chide them, as David did licre. Why do I thus dishonour (iod by niy mclanclioly dejections? Why do I discourage others, and do so much injury to myself? Can I give a u;ood account of this tumult?" 2. The cure of it; itohe thou in God, for I shall yet firaise him. A liclieving confidence in God is a sovereign antidote against prevailing despondency, and disquiet of spiriL And therefore, when we chide oui-selvcs

for ( ur dejections, we must cliarge ourselves to hope in God; when the soul embraces itself, it sinks; if it c;itch hold on the power and promise of God, it keeps the head abo\e water. Mofie in God, (1 ) That he shall have glory from us; " J shall yet praise him; I shall experience such a change in my estate, that I shall not want matter for praise; and such a change in my spirit, that I shall not want a heart for praise." It is the greatest honour and happiness of a man, and the gieatest desire and hope of every good man, to be unto God for a name and a praise. What is the crown of heaven's bliss but this, that there we siiall be for ever praising God? And what is our support under oui- present woes but this, that we shall yet praise God, that they shall not pre\ ent, or abate, our endless hallelujahs? (2.) That we shall have comfort in him. We shall praise him for the help of his countenance; for his favour, and the support we have by it, and the satisfaction we have in it. Those that know how to value and improve the light of God's countenance, will find in that a suitable, seasonable, and sufficient, help, in the worst of times, and that which will furnish them with constant matter for praise. David's believing expectation of this kept him from sinking, nay, it kept him from drooping; his harp was a palliati\ e cure of Saul's melancholy, but his hope was an effectual cure of his own.

6. O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar. 7. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy water-spouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. 8. Yet the Lord will command his loving-kindness in the day-time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my Ufe. 9. I will say unto God my rock. Why hast thou forgotten me ? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? \0. As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, VV iiere is thy God ? 11. Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? and why art thou disquieted within me ? Hope thou in God ^ for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Complaints and comforts here, as before, take their turn, like day and night, in the course of nature.

I. He complains of the dejections of his spirit, but comforts himself with the thoughts of God, v. 6. 1. In his troubles; his soul was dejected, and he goes to God, and tells him so, O my God, my soul is cast down within me. It is a grea't support to us, when \ipon any account we are distressed, that we have liberty of access to God, and liberty of speech before him, and may open to him the causes of our dejection. David had communed with his own heart about his own bitterness, and had not as yet found relief; and therefore he turns to God, and opens before him the troulile. Note, When we cannot get relief for our burthened spirits, by pleading with ourselves, we should try what we can do, bv praying to God, and leaving our case with him. We cannot still these winds and waves; but we know who can. 2. In his devotions; his soul was elevated, and, finding the disease very painful, he ! had recourse to that as a sovereign remedy. ♦• My

PSALMS, XLIl.

323

soul is plunged; therefore, to prevents its sinking, I will remember thee, meditate upon thee, and call upon thee, and try what that will do to keep up my spirit." Note, The way to forget the sense of our miseries, is, to remember the God of our mercies. It was an uncommon case, when the psalmist remembered God, and was troubled, Ixxvii. 3. He had often remembered God, and was comforted, and therefore had recourse to that expedient now. He was now driven to the utmost borders of the land of Canaan, to shelter himself there fi-om the rage of his persecutors; sometimes to the country about Jordan, when discovered there, to the land of the Hermonites, or to a hill called Mizar, or the little hill; but, (1.) Wherever he went, he took his religion along witli him; in all these pi ices, he remembered (iod, and lifted up his heart to him, and kept his secret communion with him. This is the comfort of the banished, t'le wanderers, the travellers, of tliose that are strangers in a strange land, that Undique ad ccslos tantundem est vi3e — IVherever they are there is a may ofien heaven-Hvard. (2.) Wherever he was, he retained his affection for the courts of God's house; from the land of Jordan, or from the top of the hills, he used to look a long look, a longing look, toward the place of the sanctuary, and wish himself there. Distance and time could not make him forget that which his heart was so much upon, and which lay so near it.

II. He complains of the tokens of God's displeasure against him, but comforts himself with the hopes of the return of his favour in due time.

1. He saw his troubles coming from God's wrath, and that discouraged him; [y. 7.) " Deefi calls unto deep, one affliction comes upon the neck of another, as if it were called to hasten after it; and thy w;iter-spouts give the signal, and sound the alarm, of war." It may be meant of the terrors and tosses of his mind, under the apprehensions of God's anger. One fi'ightful thought summoned another, and made way for it, as is usual in melancholy people; he was overpowered and overwhelmed with a deluge of grief, like that of the old world, when the windows of heaven were opened, and the fountains of the great deep were broken up. Or, it is an allusion to a ship at sea, in a great storm, tossed by the roaring waves, which go over it, c\ii. 25. Whatever waves and billows of affliction go over us at any time, we must call them God's waves and his billoivs, that we may humble ourselves under his mighty hand, and may encourage ourselves to hope, that, though we be threatened, we shall not be ruined; for the waves and billows are under a divine check. The Lord on high is mightier thaji the noise of these many waters. Let not good men think it strange, if they be exercised with many and various trials, and if they come thick upon them; God knows wliat he does, and so shall they shortly. Jonah, in the wh ile's belly, made use of these words of David, Jon. ii. 3. (they are exactly the same in the original,) and of him they were literally true, ^11 thy waves and thy billows are gone over me; for the book of psalms is contrived so as to reach every one's case.

2. He expected his deliverance to come from God's favour; (v. 8.) Yet the Lord will command his lox'ing-kindness. Things are bad, but they shall not always be so; A^'oji si male mine et olim sic evit — Though affairs are now in an evil plight, they may not always be so. After the storm, there will come a calm, and the prospect of this supported him, when deep called unto deep. Observe, (1.) What he promised himself from God; The Lord will command his loving-kindness. He eyes the favour of God, as the fountain of all the good he looked for, that is life, that: is better than life; and with, that, God will gather those from whom he

has, in a little nvrath, hid his face, Isa. liv. 7, 8 God's conferring of his fa\our, is called his com manding it; this intimates the freeness of it, we cannot pretend to merit it, but it is bestowed in a way of sovereignty, he gives like a king; it intimates also the tfficacy of it; he speaks his loving-kindness, and makes us to hear it; speaks, and it is done. He commands deliverance, (xliv. 4.) commands the blessing, (cxxxiii. 3.) as one having authority. By commanding his loving-kindness, he commands down the waves and the billows, and tliey shall obey him. I'his he will do in the daytime, for God's lo\ing-kindness will make day in the soul, at any time. Though weeping has endured for a night, a long night, yet joy will come in the morning. (2.) What he promised for himself to God. If God command his loving-kindness for him, he will meet it, and bid it welcome with his best affections and devotions. [1.] He will rejoice in Grd; Ln the night, his song shall be with me. The mercies we receive in the day, we ought to return thanks for at night; when others are sleeping, we should be praising God. See cxix. 62. .'It midiiight, will I rise to give thanks. In silence and solitude, when we are retired from the hurries of the world, we must be pleasing ourselves with the thoughts of God's goodness. Or in the night of affliction; " Before the day dawns, in which God commands his loving-kindness, I will sing songs of praise in the prospect of it." Even in tribulation, the saints can rejoice in hope of the glory of God; sing in hope, and praise in hope, Rom. v. 2, 3. It is God's prerogative to give songs in the night. Job XXXV. 10. [2.] He will seek to God in a constant dependence upon him; My prayer shall beta the God of my life. Our believing expectation of mercy must not supersede, but quicken, our prayers for it. God is the God of our life, in whom we li\ e and move, the Author and Giver of all our comforts; and therefore to whom should we apply oursehes by prayer, but to him? And from him what good may not we expect.'* It would put life into ovu' prayers, in them to eye God as the God of our life; for then it is for our lives, and the lives of our souls, that we stand up to make request.

III. He complains of the insolence of his enemies, and vet comforts himself in God as his Friend, v, 9..li.

1. His com])laint is, that his enemies oppressed and reproached him, and this made a grd&t impression upon him. (1.) They oppressed him to that degree, that he went mourning, from day to day, from place to place, v. 9. He did not break out into indecent passions, though abused as never man was, but he silently wept out his grief, and went mourning; and for this we cannot blame him, it must needs grieve a man that truly loves his country, and seeks the good of it, to see himself persecuted and hardly used, as if he were an enemy to it. Yet David ought not hence to have concluded that God had forgotten him, and cast him off, nor thus to have expostulated with him, as if he did him as much wrong in suffering him to be tranipled upon, as they did that trampled upon him; Why go I mourning'/ And why hast thou forgotten nve? We mav complain to God, but we are not allowed thus to complain of him. (2.) They reproached him so cuttingly, that it was a sword in his bones, V. 10. He had mentioned before what the reproach was that touched him thus to the quick, and here he repeats it. Then say daily unto me. Where is thy God? A reproach which was therefore very griev ous to him, both because it reflected dishonour upon God, and was intended to discourage his hope in God, which he had enough to do to keep up in any measure, and which was but too apt to fail of Itself

PSALMS, XLUr.

A Rock to build upon, a Rock to take shelter in; the Hock of ages, in whom is everlasting strength, would be liis Rock, his Strength in the inner man, both for doing and suffering. To him he had access with confidence, to God his Rock he might say what he had to say, and be sure of a gracious audience. He therefore repeats what he liad said, {v. 5. ) and concludes with it, {v. 11.) Il7iy art thou cast dnnvn, O my soul? His griefs and fears were clamorous and troublesome, they were not silenced, though they were again and again answered; but here, at length, his faitn came off a conqueror, and forced the enemies to quit the field. And he gains this victory, (1.) By repeating what he had before said; chiding himself, as before, for his dejections and disquietudes, and encouraging himself to trust in the name of the Lord, and to stay himself upon his God. Note, It may be of great use to us, to think our good thoughts over again, and if we do not gain our point vith them at first, perhaps we may the second time; however, where the heart goes along with the words, it is no vain repetition. We have need to press the same thing over and over again upon our hearts, and all little enough. (2.) By adding one word to it; there, he hoped to praise God for the salvation that was in his countenance; here, " I will praise him," says he, "as the Salvation of my countenance, from the present cloud that is upon it; if God smile upon me, thi.t will make me look pleasant, look up, look forward, look round, with pleasure." He adds, and my God, "related to me, in covenant with me; all that he is, all that he has, is mine, according to the true intent and meaning of the promise;" this thought enabled him to triumph over all his griefs and fears; God's being with the saints in heaven, and being their God, is that which will ivi/ieaway all tears from their eyes, Kev. xxi. 3, 4.

PSALM XLIIL

This psalm, it is likely, was penned upon the same occasion with the former, and, having no title, may be looked upon as an appendix to it; the malady prcsentl)' returning, he had immediate recourse to the same remedy, oecause he had enter.ed it in his book, with a probatum est upon it. The 2d verse of this psalm is almost the very same with the 9th verse of the foreofoing psalm, as the 5lh of this is exactly the same with the J 1th of that. Christ himself, who had the Spirit without measure, .when there was occasion, prayed a second and third time, saying the same toords, JMatth. xxvi. 44. In this psalm, 1. He appeals to God concerning- the injuries that were done him by his enemies, v. 1, 2. II. He pravs to God to restore to him the free enjoyment of public ordinances again, and promises to make a good improvement of them, V. 3, 4. IH. He endeavours to still the tumult of his own spirit, with a lively hope and confidence in God; (v. 5.) If, in singing this psalm, we labour after these, we sing with grace in our hearts.

1. TTUDGE me, O God, and plead my tJ cause against an ungodly nation; 0 deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. 2. For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off ? why go* I mourning because of the Oj3prcssion of the enemy? 3. O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me, let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. 4. Then will I go inito the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God, my God. 5. Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? and why art thou disquieted within 'IM- f Hope in God; for I shall yet praise

him, 7cho is the health of my countenance, and my God.

David here makes his application to God by faith and prayer, as his Judge, his Strength, his Guide, his Joy, his Hope, with suitable affections and expressions.

I. As his Judge, his righteous Judge, who, he knew, would judge liim, and who, (being conscious of liis own integrity,) he knew, would judge for him; {v. 1.) Judge me, O God, and/ilead my cause. There were those that impeaclied him, against them he is defendant, and from their courts, where he stood imjustly convicted and condemned, he appeals to the court of heav en, the supreme judicature; pr.iying to have their judgment given against him, reversed, and his innocency cleared. There were those that had injured him, against them he is plaintiff, and exhibits his complaint to him who is the A\engei- of wrong, praying for justice fur himself, and upon them. Observe, 1. Who his enemies were, with whom he had this struggle. Here was a sinful body of men, whom he calls an ungodly or unmerciful nation; those chat arc unmerciful make it appear that they are ungodly, fcr those that have any fear or love of their master will have compassion on their fellow-servants. And here was one bad man the head of them, a deceitful and unjust man; most probably, Saul, who not only showed no kindness to David, but dealt ni' st perfidiously and dishonestly with him. If Absalom was the man he meant, his character was no better. As long as there are such bad men out of hell, and nations of them, it is not strange that good men, who are yet out of heaven, meet with hard and base treatment. Some think that David, by the sj)irit of prophecy, calculated this psalm for the use of the Jews in their captivity in Babylon, and that the Chaldeans are the ungodly nation here meant; to them it was very applicable, but only as other like scriptures, none of which ai-e of pnvate interpretation. God might design it for their use, whether David did or ro. 2. What is his prayer with reference to them; Judge me. As to the quarrel God had with him for sin, he prays, "Eritrr not into judgment ivith me, for then I shall be mndenin-ed;" but as to the quarrel his enemies had with him, he prays, "Lord, judge me, for I know that I shall be justified, plead my cause against them, take my part, and in thy providence appear on my behalf." He that has an honest cause may expect that God will plead it. "Plead my cause so as to deliver me from them, that they may not have their will against me." We must reckon our cause si f-ficiently pleaded, if we be delivered, though rur enemies be not destroyed.

n. As his Strength, his all-sufficient Strength; so he eyes God, (t. 2.) "Thou art the God of it y strength, my God, ?ny Strength, from whom all my strength is derived, in whom I strengthen myself, who hast often strengthened me, and without whom I am weak as water, and utterlv unable either to do or suffer any thing for tliee." David now went mourning, destitute of spiritual joys, yet he found God to be the God of his strength. If we cannot comfort ourselves in God, we may stay ourselves upon him, and mav have spiritual supports when we want spiritual delights. David here pleads this with God; "Thou art the God on whom I depend as my Strength; why then dost thou cast me off'" This was a mistake; for God never cast off any that trusted in him, whatever melancholy apprehensions they may have had of their own state. "Thou art the God of my strength; whv then is mine enemy too strong for me, and why go 1 mourning because of his oppressive power?" It is hard to reconcile the migh.tv force of the church's cnc-

PSALMS, XLIV.

326

mies with the almighty power of the church's God; but the day will reconcile them, when all his enemies shall become his footstool.

III. As his Guide, his faithful Guide; (v. 3.) Lead me, bring' me to thy holy hill. He prays, 1. That God by his providence would bring liim back. from his banishment, and open a way for him again to the free enjoyment of the privileges of God's sanctuary. His heart is upon the holy hills and the tabernacles, not upon his family-comforts, his court-preferments, or his diversions; he could bear the want of these, but he is impatient to see God's tabernacles again; nothing so amiable in his eyes as those; thither lie would be brouglit back. In order to this, he prays, "Send out thy light and thy truth; let me have this as a fruit of thy favour, which is light, and the perf )rmance of thy promise, which is truth." We need desire no more to make us happy, than the good that flows from God's favour, and is included in his promise. That mercy, that truth, is enough, is all; and when we see these in God's providences, we see ourselves under a very safe conduct. Note, Those whom God leads, he leads to his holy hill, and to his tabernacles; those therefore who pretend to be led by the Spirit, and yet turn their backs upon instituted ordinances, certainly deceive themselves. 2. That Ciod by his grace would bring him into communion with himself, and prepare him for the vision and fruition of himself in the other world. Some of the Jewish writers by the light and truth here understand Messiah the Prince, and Elias his forerunner; these are come in answei* to the prayers of the Old Testament; but we are still to pray for God's light and truth, the Spirit of light and truth, who supplies the want of Christ's bodily presence, to lead us into the mystery of godliness, and to guide us in the way to heaven. When God sends his light and truth into our hearts, those will guide us to the upper world in all our devotions, as well as in all our aims and expectations; and if we conscientiously follow that light and that truth, they will certainly bring us to the holy hill above.

IV. As his Joy, his exceeding Joy. If God guide him to his tabernacles, if he restore him to his former liberties, he knows very well what he has to do; Then will I go unto the altar of God, v. 4. He will get as near as he can unto God, his exceeding Joy. Note, 1. Those that come to the tabernacles, should come to the altar; those that come to ordin inces, should qualify themselves to come, and then come to special ordmances, to those that are most afi'ecting and most binding. The nearer we come, the closer we cleave, to God, the better. 2. Those that come to the altar of God, must see to it that therein they come unto God, and draw near to him with the heart, with a true heart: we come in vain to holy otdinances, if we do not in them come to the holy God. 3. Those that come unto God, must come to him as their exceeding Joy, not only as their future Bliss, but as their present Joy; and that not a common, but an exceeding joy, far exceeding all the joys of sense and time. The phrase, in the original, is very em-phatical— unto God the Gladness of my Joy, or of my triumph. Whatever we rejoice or tnumph in, God must be the Joy of it; all our joy in it must terminate in him, and must pass through the gift to the Giver. 4. When we come to God as our exceeding Joy, our comforts in him must be the matter of our praises to him as God, and our God. U/ion the harp will I praise thee, O God my God. David excelled at the harp; (1 Sam. xvi. 16, 18.) and with that in which he excelled he would praise God; for God is to be praised with the best we have; it is fit he should, who is the best.

V. As his Hope, his never-failing Hope, v. 5.

Here, as before, David quarrels with himself for his dejections and despondencies, and owns he did ill to yield to them, and that he had no reason to do so; IVhy art thou cast down, 0 my soul? He then quiets himself in the believing expectation he had of giving glory to (iod; Hope in God, for Ishallyet praise him; and of enjoying glory wi'th God, He is the Health of my countenance, and my God. This is what we cannot too much insist upon, for it is what we must live and die by.

PSALM XLIV

We are not told either who was the penman of this psalm, or when, and upon what occasion, it was penned ; upon a melancholy occasion, we are sure, not so much to the penman himself, (then we could have found occasions enough for it in the history of David and his afflictions,) but to the church of God in general; and therefore, if we suppose it penned by David, yet we must attribute it purely to the spirit of prophecy, aim must conclude that that spirit (whatever he himself had) had in view the captivity of Babylon, or the sufferings of the Jewish church under Antiochus, or rather, the afflicted state of the Christian church in its early days, (to which V. 22. is applied by the apostle, Rom. viii. 36.) and indeed in all its days on earth, for it is its determined lot, that it must enter into the kingdom of heaven through many tribulations. And if we have any gospel-psalms pointing at the privileges and comforts of Christians, why should we not have one pointing at their trials and exercises? It is a psalm calculated for a day of fasting and humiliation, upon occasion of some public calamity, either pressing or threatening. In it the church is taught, I. To own with thankfulness, to the glory of God, the great things God had done for their fathers, v. 1 .. 8. II. To exhibit a memorial of their present calamitous estate, v. 9..16. III. To file a protestation of their integrity and adherence to God, notwithstanding, v. 17.. 22. IV. To lodge a petition at the throne of grace for succour and relief, v. 22 .. 26. In singing this psalm, we ought to give God the praise of what he has formerly done for his people, to represent our own grievances, or sympathize with those parts of the church that are in distress, to engage ourselves, whatever happens, to cleave to God and duty, and then cheerfully to wait the event.

To the chief musician for the sons ofKorah, Maschil.

1. ^^L/S7E have heard with our ears, O T T God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old; 2. Hoio thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. 3. For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them. 4. Thou art my King,

0 God: command deliverances for Jacob. 5. Through thee will we push down our enemies; through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. 6. For

1 will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. 7. But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us. 8. In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.

Some observe, that most of the psalms that are entitled Maschil, psalms of instruction, are sorrowful psalms; for afflictions give instructions, and sor-

PSALMS, XLIV.

row of spirit opens the ear to them; Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest and teachest.

In these verses, the church, though now trampled upon, calls to remembrance the days of her triumph, of her triumph in God, and over her enemies. This is very largely mentioned here, 1. As an aggravation of the present distress. The yoke of servitude cannot but lie very heavy on the necks of those that used to wear the crown of victory; and the tokens of God's displeasure must needs be most grievous to those that have been long accustomed to the tokens of his favour. 2. As an encouragement to hope that God would yet turn again their captivity, and return in mercy to them; accordingly he mixes prayers and comfortable expectations with his record of former mercies. Observe,

I. Their commemoration of the great things God had formerly done for them. In general; (i;. 1.) Our fathers have told us what mork- thou didst in their days. Observe, 1. The many operations of providence are here spoken of as one work; " They have told us the work which thou didst;" for there is a wonderful harmony and uniformity in all that God does, and the many wheels make but one wheel; (Ezek. X. 13.) mmy works make but one work. 2. It is a debt which every age owes to posterity, to keep an account of God's works of wonder, and to transmit the knowledge of them to the next generation. Those that went before us told us what God did in their days, we are bound to tell those that come after us what he has done in our days, and let them do the like justice to those that shall succeed them; thus shall one generation praise his works to another; (cxlv. 4.) the fathers of the children shall make known his truth, Isa. xxxviii. 19. 3. We must not only make mention of the work God has done in our own days, but must also acquaint ourselves and our children with what he did in the times of old, long before our own days; and of this we have in the scripture a s'.u-e word of history, as sure as the word of prophecy. 4. Children must diligently attend to whit their parents tell them of the wonderful works of God, and keep it in remembrance, as that which will be of great use to them. 5. Former experiences of God's power and goodness are strong supports to faith, and powerful pleas in prayer under present calamities. See how Gideon insists upon it, Judg. vi. 13. Where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of? In particular, their fathers had told them,

(1.) How wonderfully God planted Israel in Canaan at first, -v. 2, 3. He drove out the natives, to make room for Israel, afflicted them, and cast them out, gave them as dust to Israel's sword, and as driven stubble to their bow. The manv com])lete victories which Israel obtained over the Canaanites, under the command of Joshua, were not to be attributed to themselves, nor could they challenge the glory of them; [1.] They were not owing to their own merit, but to God's favour and free grace; It was through the -light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour to them. Mot for thy righteousness, or the ufirightness of thy heart, doth God drive them out from before th'ee, (Dent. ix. 5, 6.) but because God would perform the oath which he sware unto their fathers, Deut. vii. 8. The less praise this allows us, the more comfort it administers to us, that we may sec all our successes and enlargements coming to us from the favour of God and the light of his countenance. [2.] They were not owing to their own might, but to God's power engaged for them, witlioiit which all their own effort's and endeavours had been fruitless. It was not bv their own sword that they got the land in possession, though they had great numbers of mightv men; nor did their own arm save them from being driven back I)v the Canaanites, and put to shame; but it was God's

right hand and his arm. He fought for Israel, else they had fought in vain; it was through him that they did valiantly and victoriously. It was God that planted Israel in that good land, as the careful husbandman plants a tree, from which he promises himself fruit. See Ixxx. 8. This is applicable to tbe planting of the Christian church in the world, by the preaching of the gospel. Paganism was wonderfully driven out, as the Canaanites. not all at once, but by little and little, not by any human policy or power, (for God chose not to do it by the weak and foolish things of the world,) but by the wisdom and power of God; Christ by his Spirit went forth conquering and to conquer; and the remembrance of that is a great support and comfort to those that groan under the yoke of antichristian tyranny; for to the state of the church under the power ot the New Testament Bubyhn, some think, (and particularly the learned Amyraldus,) the complaints in the latter part of this psalm may very fitly be accommodated. He that by his power and goodness planted a church for himself in the world, will cei-tainly support it by the same power and goodness; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,

(2.) How frequently he had given them success against their enemies that attempted to disturb them in the possession of that good land; {x<. 7.) Thou hast, many a time, saved us from our enemies, and hast put to flight, and so put to shame, theyn that hated us; witness the successes of the Judges against the nations that oppressed Israel. Many a time have the persecutors of the Christian church, and those that hate it, been put to shame by the power of truth. Acts vi. 10.

II. The good use they make of this record, and had formerly made of it, in consideration of the great things God had done for their fathers of old.

1. They had taken God for their so\ ereign Lord, had sworn allegiance to him, and put themselves under his protection; {v. 4.) Thou art my King, O God. He speaks in the name of the church, as (Ixxiv. 12.) Thou art my King of old; God, as a king, has made laws for his church, provided for the peace and good order of it, judged -for it; pleaded its cause, fought its battles, and protected it; it is his kingdom in the world, and ought to be subject to him, and to pay him tribute; or, the psalmist speaks for himself here; "Lord, Thou art my King, Whither shall I go with my petitions, but to thee? The favour I ask is not for mvself, but for thy church." Note, It is every one's'duty to improve his personal interest at the throne of grace, for the public welfare and prosperity of the people of God; as Moses, '^ If I have found grace in thy sight, guide thy people," Exod. xxxiii. 13.

2. They had always applied themselves to him by prayer for deliverance, when at any time thev were in distress; Command deliveratices for JacoS. Observe, (1.) Theenlargednessof their desire; they pray for deliverances, not one, but man)-, as many as they had need of, how many soever they were, a series of deliverances, a deliverance from every danger. 2. The strength of their faith in the power of God; they do not saj', JVork deliverances, but. Command them, which denotes his doing it easily and instantly; Speak, and it is done; such was the faith of the centurion, (Matth. viii. 8.) Speak the word only, and ytiy servant shall be healed; it denotes also his doing it effectually; " Command it, as one having authoiity, whose command will be obeyed;" Where the word of a king is, there is power, much more the word of the King of kings.

3. They had trusted and triuniphed in him. As they owned it was not their own sword and bow that had saved them. {v. 3.) so neither did tliey tiust to tlicir own sword or bow to save them for the fn ture; (v. 6.) '^Iwill net trust in my bow, nor in any

PSALMS, XLIV.

327

of my military preparations, as if those would stand me instead without God; no, through thee nvill we flush down our enemien; (v. 5.) we will attempt it in thy strength, relying only upon that, and not upon the number or valour of our forces; and, having thee on our side, we will not doubt of success in the attempt. Through thy name, by virtue of thy wisdom directing us, thy power strengthening us, and working for us, and thy promise securing success to us, we shall, we wiil, tread them under that rise uji against us. "

4. They had made him their Joy and Praise; {v. 8.) " In God we have boasted, in him we do, and will boast, eveiy day, and all the day long." When their enemies boasted of their strength and success, as Sennacherib and Rabshakeh hectored Hezekiah, they owned they had nothing to boast of, in answer thereunto, but their relation to God, and their interest in him; and if he were for them, they could set all the world at defiance. Let him that glories, glory in the Lord, and let that for ever exclude all other boasting. Let those that trust in God, make their boast in him, for they know wliom they have trusted; let them boast in him all the day long, for it is a subject that can never be exhausted. But let them withal praise his name for ever; if they have the comfort of his name, let them give unto him the glory due to it.

9. But thou hast cast otf, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies. 10, Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy; and they which hate us spoil for themselves. 11. Thou hast ^ven us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen. 12. Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price. 13. Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us. 14. Thou makest us a by-word among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people. 15. My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me, 16. For the voice of him'that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.

The people of God here complain to him of the low and afflicted condition that they were now in, under the prevailing power of their enemies and oppressors, which was the more grievous to them because they were now trampled upon, who had always been used, in their struggles with their neighbours, to win the day and get the upper hand, and because those were now their oppressors, whom they had many a time triumphed over and made tributaries; and especially because they had boasted in their God, with great assurance that he would still protect and prosper them, which made the distress they were in, and the disgrace they were under, the more shameful. Let us see what the complaint is.

I. That they wanted the usual tokens of God's favour to them, and presence with them; (y. 9.) * Thou hast cast off; thou seemest to have cast us off, and our cause, and to have cast off thy wonted care of us, and concern for us, and so hast put us to shame, for we boasted of the constancy and perpetuity of thy favour. Our armies go forth as usual, but they are put to flight, we gain no ground, but lose what we have gained, for thou goest not forth with them, for, if thou didst, which way soever they

;j turned, they would prosper; but it is quite contrary." j Note, (jod's people, when they are cast down, are I tempted to think themselves cast off, and forsaken j of God; hut it is a mistake. Hath God cast away \\ liis fieofdc'^ God forbid, Rom. xi. 1.

IL Tliat they were put to the worst before their

j| enemies in the field of battle; {v. 10.) Thou makest

[j us to turn back from the enemy, as Joshua com-

jj plained when they met with a repulse at Ai;

I (J( sh. vii. 8.) " \\'e are dispirited, and have lest

!; the ancient vah'ur of Israelites; we flee, we fall, be-

I! fore those that used to flee and fall before us; and

li then they that hate us have the plunder of our camp,

and of our country; they spoil fcr themselves, and

reckon all their own that they can lay their hands

on. Attempts to shake off the Babylonish yoke

have been ineffectual, and we have rather lost ground

by them."

in. That they were doomed to the sword and toca])tivity; {v. 11.) " Thou hast given us like shee/i afifjointed for meat. They make no more scruple of killing an Israelite than of killing a sheep; nay, like the butcher, they make a trade of it, they take a pleasure in it, as a hungry man in his meat; and we are led with as much ease, and as little resistance, as a lamb to the slaughter; many are slain, and the rest scattered among the heathen, continually insulted by their malice, or in danger of being infected by their iniquities." They looked upon themselves as bought and sold, and charged it upon God, Thou sellest thy people, when they should have charged it upon their own sin; For your iniquities have you sold yourselves, Isa. 1. 1. However, thus far was right, that they looked above the instruments of their trouble, and kept their eye upon God, as well knowing that their worst enemies had no power against them, but what was given them from above; they own it was God that delivered them into the hands of the ungodly, as that which is sold is delivered to the buyer. Thou sellest them for nought, and dost not increase in their price; so it may be read; "Thou dost not sell them by auction, to those that will bid most for them, but in haste, to those that will bid first for them; any one shall have them that will." Or, as we read it. Thou dost not increase thy wealth by their price; intimating, that they could have suffered this contentedly, if they had been sure that it would have redounded to the glory of God, and that his interest might have been some way served by their sufferings; but it was quite contrary, Israel's disgrace turned to God's dishonour; so that he was so far from being a Gainer in his glory by the sale of them, that it should seem he was greatly a Loser by it; see Isa. lii. 5. Ezek. xxxvi. 20.

IV. That they were loaded with contempt, and all possible ignominy was put upon them. In this also they acknowledge God, " Thou makest us a reproach; thou bringest those calamities upon us which occasion the reproach, and thou permittest their virulent tongues to smite us." They complain, 1. ThMt they were ridiculed and bantered, and were looked upon as the most contemptible people under the Sim; their troubles were turned to their reproach, and upon the account of them they were derided. 2. That their neighbours, those about them, from whom they could not withdraw, were most abusive to them, X'. 13. 3. That the heathen, the people that were str^angers to the commonwealth of Israel, and aliens to the covenants of promise, made them a bv-word, and shook the head at them, as triumphing in their fall, x'. 14. 4. That the reproach was constant and incessant; {v. 15.) My confusion is continually before me. The church in general, the psalmist in particular, were continually teased and vexed with the insults of the enemy. To those that are going down, every one cries, "Down with them." 5. That it was very grievous, and in

PSALMS, XLIV.

a manner overwhelmed him; The shame of 7ny face has covered 7iie. He bhished for sin, or rather for the dishonour done to God, and then it was a holy blushing. 6. That it reflected upon Ciod hini-selt; the reproach which the enemy and the avenger cast upon them, was downright blasphemy against Gcd, v. 16. and 2 Kings xix. 3. There was therefore strong reason to believe that God would appear for them. As there is no trouble more grievous to a generous and ingenuous mind than reproach and calumny, so there is none more grie\ ous to a holy gracious soul than blasphemy and dishonour done to God.

17. All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant. 18. Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way; 19. Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death. 20. U we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; 21. Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. 22. Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. 23. Awake, why sleepest thou, O fjORD? arise, cast ns not off for ever. 24. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forget-test our affliction and our oppression ? 25. For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly cleaveth unto the earth. 26. Arise for our help, and redeem us, for thy mercies' sake.

The people of God, being greatly afflicted and oppressed, here apply themselves to him; whither else should they go?

I. By way of appeal, concerning their integrity, which he only is an infallible Judge of, and which he will certainly be the Reward of.

Two things they call God to witness to.

1. That though they suffered these hard things, yet they kept close to God, and to their duty; (v. 17.) " ylii this is come ufion us, and it is as bad perliaps as iiad can be, yrt have we not forgotten thee, neither cast off the thoughts of thee, nor deserted the worship of thee; for though we cannot deny but that we have dealt foolishly, yet we have not dealt foolishly in thy covenant, so as to cast thee off", and take to other gods. Tliough idolaters were our conquerors, we did not therefore entertain any moi-e favourable thoughts of their idols and idolatries; though thou hast seemed to forsake us, and witlidraw from us, yet we have not tlierefore f'rsaken thee." The trouble they had been long in was \erv great; " We have been sore-broken in the filace of dragons, among men as fierce, and furious, and cruel, as dragons; we have been covered witli the sliadow of death, we have been under deep melancholy, and ajiprelicnsive of no-ttiing short of death; we h»v'e been wrapped up in obscurity, and buried alive; and thou hast thus broken us, thou hast thus covered us; {v. 19.) yet we have not harboured any hard thoughts of tli'ee, nor meditated a retreat fi-om thv service; though thou hast slain us, we have continued to trust in thee; our heart is not turned back, we have not secretly withdrawn our affections from thee, neither have our steps, either in our religious worship, or in

our conversation, declined from thy wa_v, (f. IS.) the way which thou hast appointed us to "walk in. When the heai-t turns back, the steps will soon decline; for it is the evil heart of unbelief that inclines us to depart from God. Is'ote, We may the better bear cur tioubles, how pressing soever, if in them we still hold fast our integrity. While our troubles do not drive us from our duty to God, we should not suff"er them to drive us from our comfort in God; for he will not leave us, if we do not leave him.

For the proof of their integrity, they take God's omniscience to witness, which is as much the comfort of the upright in heart, as it is the terror of hypocrites; (x;. 20, 21.) " If ive have forgotten the name of our God, under pretence that he had forgotten us; or, in our distress, have stretched out our hands to a strange god, as more likely to help us, shall not God search this out? Shall he not know it more fully and distinctly, than we know that which we have with the greatest care and diligence searched out? Shall he not judge it, and call us to an account for it?" Forgetting God was a heart sin, and stretching out the hand to a strange god was often a secret sin, Ezek. viii. 12. But heart sins and secret sins are known to God, and must be reckoned for; for he knows the secrets of the heart, and therefore is an infallible Judge of the words and actions.

2. That therefore they suff"ered these hard things, because they kept close to God and to their duty; (j). 22.) "It i^ for thy sake that we are killed all the day long, because we stand related to thee, are called by thy name, call upon thy name, and will not worship other gods." In this, the Spirit of prophecy had reference to those who suffered, even unto death, for the testimony of Christ, to whom it is applied, Rom. viii. 36. So many were killed, and put to such lingering deaths, that they were in the killing all the day long; so universally was this practised, that, when a man became a Christian, he reckoned himself as a sheefi a/i/iointed for (he slaughter.

II. By way of petition, with reference to their present distress, that God would, in his own due time, work deliverance for them. Their request is very importunate. Awake, arise, xk 23. Arise for our help, redeem us; {v. 26.) come speedily and powerfully to our relief, Ixxx. 2. Stir iifi thy strength, and come and save us. They complained, (x*. 12.) that God had sold them; here they pray, (v. 26.) that God would redeem them, for there is no appealing from God, but by appealing to him; if he sell us, it is not any one else that can redeem us; the same hand that tears, must heal, that smites, must bind up, Hos. vi. 1. They conijjlained, (v. 9.) Thou hast cast us off; but here they pray, \v. 23.) " Cast us not off for ever; let us not be finally forsaken of God. The expostulations are very moving; IVhy sleepest thou? v. 23. He that keeps Israel neither slumbeis nor sleeps; but, when he cloes not immediately a])pe ir for the deli\ erance of his i)eople, they are tempted to think he sleeps. The expression is figurative, as (Ixxviii. 65.) Then the Lord awaked as one out ofsler/i; but it was applicable to Christ in the letter; (Matth. viii. 24.) he was asleep when his disciples were in a storm, and they awoke him, saying, Lord, save i/s, we perish. " Wherefore hidest thou thy face, that we may not see thee and the light of thy countenance?" Or, *' that thou mayest not see us and our distresses? Thou forgettest our affliction and our oppression, for it still continues, and we see no way open for out deliverance."

And lastly, The pleas are very proper; not their own mei it and righteousness, though they had the testimony of their consciences concerning their integrity, but they plead the poor sinner's picas.

PSALMS, XLV.

329

1. Their own misery, which made them the proper objects of the divine compassion; {v. 25.) "Our soul is bowed down to the dust, under prevailing grief and fear; we are become as creeping things, the most despicable animals, our belly cleaves u7ito the earth, we cannot lift up ourselves, neither revive our own drooping spirits, nor recover ourselves out of our low and sad condition, and we lie exposed to be trodden on by every insulting foe." 2. God's mercy; " O redeem us for thy mercy-sake; we depend upon the goodness of thy nature, which is the glory of thy name, (Exod. xxxiv. 6.) and upon those sure mercies of David, which are conveyed by the covenant to all his spiritual seed."

PSALM XLV.

This psalm is an illustrious prophecy of Messiah the Prince: it is all over gospel, and points at him only, as a Bridegroom espousing the church to himself, and as a king ruling in it, and ruling for it. It is probable that our Saviour has reference to this psalm when he compares the kingdom of heaven, more than once, to a nuptial solemnity, the solemnity of a royal nuptial, Malik, xxii. 2.—XXV. 1. We have no reason to think it has any reference to Solomon's marriage with Pharaoh's daughter; if I thought it had reference to any other than the mystical marriage between Christ and his church, I would rather apply it to some of David's marriages^ because he was a man of war, such a one as the bridegroom here is described to be, which Solomon was not. But I take it to be purely and only meant of Jesus Christ; of him speaks the prophet this, of him and of no other man; and to him (v. 6, 7.) it is applied in the New Testament, {//€6. i. 8.) nor can it be understood of any other. The preface speaks the excellency of the song, V.I. The psalm speaks, I. Of the royal Bridegroom, who is Christ. 1. The transcendent excellency of his person, v. 2. 2. The glory of his victories, v. 3. .5. 3. The righteousness of his government, v. 6, 7. 4. The splendour of his court, v. 8, 9. II. Of the royal bride, which is the church. I. Her consent gained, v. 10, II. 2. The nuptials solemnized, V. 12.. 15. 3. The issue of this marriage, v. 16, 17. In singing this psalm, our hearts must be filled with high thoughts of Christ, with an entire submission to, and satisfaction in, his government, and with an earnest desire of the enlarging and perpetuating of his church in the world.

To the chief musician ufion Shoshannim, for the S071S of Korah, Maschil. A song of loves.

1. IVTY heart is inditing a good matter: I ItX speak of the things which I have made touching the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. 2. Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into thy Ups: therefore God liath blessed thee for ever. 3. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. 4. And in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. 5. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies; loherehy the people fall under thee.

Some make Shoshannim, in the title, to signify an instrument of six strings; others take in its primitive signification for lilies or roses, which, probiblv, were strewed, with other flowers, at nuptial solemnities; and then it is easily applicable to Clirist, who calls himself the Rose of Sharon, and the Lily of the vallies. Cant. ii. 1. It is a song of loves, concerning the holy love that is between Christ and his church. It is a song of the well-beloved, the virgins, the companions of the bride, {v. 14.) prepared to be sung by them; the virgin comoany, that at-

Vol. III.—2 T

tend the Lamb on mount Zion, are said to sing a new song. Rev. xiv. 3, 4.

The preface {v. 1.) speaks, 1. The dignity of the subject. It is a good matter, and it is pity that such a moving art as poetry should e\'er be employed about a bad matter. It is touching the King, King Jesus, and his kingdom and government. Note, Those that speak of Christ, speak of a good matter, no subject so noble, so copious, so fruitful, so profitable, and so well-becoming us; it is a shame that this good matter is not more the matter of our discourse. 2. The excellency of the management; this song was a confession with the mouth, of faith in the heart, concerning Christ and his church. (1.) The matter was Avell digested, as it well deserved; Aly heart is inditing it; which, perhaps, is meant of that Spirit of prophecy that dictated the psalm to David; that Spirit of Christ which was in the prophets, 1 Pet. i. 11. But it is applicable to his devout meditations and affections in his heart, out of the abundance of which his mouth spake. Things concerning Christ ought to be thought of by us with all possible seriousness, with fixedness of thought, and a fire of holy love; especially when we are to speak of those things. We then speak best of Christ and divine things, when we speak, from the heart, that which has warmed and affected us; and we should never be rash in speaking of the things of Christ, but weigh well beforehand what we have to say, lest we speak amiss. See Eccl. v. 2. (2.) It was well expressed; / will sfieak of the things •which I have made. He would express himself, [1.] With all possible clearness, as one that did himself understand, and was affected with, the things he spake of. Not, " I will speak the things I have heard from others," that is speaking by rote; but, "the things which I have myself studied." Note, What God has wrought in our souls, as well as what he has wrought /or them, we must declare to others, Ixvi. 16. [2.] With all possible cheerfulness, freedom, and fluency; " My tongue is as the fien of a ready writer, guided by my heart in every woid, as the pen is by the hand." We call the prophets the penmen of scripture, whereas really they were but the fien. The tongue of the most subtle disputant, and the most eloquent orator, is but the pen with which God writes what he pleases. Wiiy should we quarrel with the pen, if bitter things be written against us; or idolize the pen, if it write in our favour? David not only spake what he tliought of Christ, but wrote it, that it might spread tlie further, and hist the longer. His tongue was as the pen of a ready writer, that lets nothing slip. Wlien the heart is inditing a good matter, it is pity but the tongue should be as the pen of a ready writer, to leave it upon record.

In these verses, the Lord Jesus is represented, I. As most beautiful and amiable in himself. It is a marriage song; and therefore the transcendent excellencies of Christ are represented by the beauty of the royal Bridegroom; {v. 2.) Thou art fairer than the children of men, than any of them. He proposed (t-. 1.) to speak of the King, but immediately directs his speech to him. They that h ive an admiration and affection for Christ, love to go to him and tell him so. Thus we must profess our faith, that we see his beauty, and our love, that we are pleased with it; Thou art fair, thou art fairer than the children of men. Note, Jesus Christ is in himself, and in the eyes of all believers, more amiable and lovely than the children of men. The beauties of the Lord Jesus, as God, as Mediator, far surpass those of human nature in general, and those which the most amiable and excellent of the children of men are endowed with; there is more in Christ to engage our lo\ e, than there is or can he in any creature. Our Beloved is more than another be-

PSALMS, XLV.

loved. The beauties of this lower world, and its charms, are in danger of drawing away our hearts from Christ, and therefore we are concerned to understand how much he excels them all, and how much more worthy he is of our love.

II. As the great Favourite of heaven. He is fairer than the children of men, for God has done more for him tlian for any of the children of men, and all his kindness to the children of men is for his sake, and passes tlirough his hands, through his mouth. 1. He has grace, and he has it for us; grace is poured into thy ti/is. By his word, his promise, his gospel, the good will of (lod is made known to us, and the good vjorkofGod is begun and carried on in us. He received all grace from God, all the endowments that were requisite to qualify him for his work and office as Mediator, that from his fulness we might receive, John i. 16. It was not only poured into his heart, for his own strength and encouragement, but poured into his lips, that by the words of his mouth in general, and the kisses of his mouth to particular believers, he might communicate both holiness and comfort. From this grace, poured into his lips, proceeded those gracious words which all admired, Luke iv. 22. The gos-gel of grace is poured into his lips, for it began to be spoken by the Lord, and from him we receive it, he has the words of eternal life. The spirit of prophecy is put into thy lips; so the Chaldee. 2. He has the blessing, and he has it for us. "There-tore, because thou art the great Trustee of divine grace, for the use and benefit of the children of men, therefore God has blessed thee for ever, has made thee an everlasting Blessing, so as that in thee all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." Where God gives his grace, he will give his blessing; we are blessed with spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus, Eph. i. 3.

III. As victorious over all his enemies. The royal Bridegroom is a man of war, and his nuptials do not excuse him from the field of battle, (as was allowed by the law, Deut. xxiv. 5.) nay, they bring him to the field of battle, for he is to rescue his spouse by dint of sword out of her captivity; to conquer her, and to conquer for her, and then to marry her. Now we have here,

1. His prejiarations for war; {v. 5.) Gird thy sword ufion thy thigh, 0 most Mighty. The word of God is the sword of the Spirit; by the promises of that word, and the grace contained in those promises, souls are made willing to submit to Jesus Christ, and become his loyal subjects; by the threatenings of that word, and the judgments executed according to them, those that stand it out against Christ, will, in due time, be brought down and ruined. By the gospel of Christ many Jews and Gentiles were converted, and, at length, the Jewish nation was destroyed, accoi'ding to the predictions of it, for their implacable enmity to it; and paganism was quite abolished. The swoixl here girt on Christ's thigh, is the same which is said to proceed out of his mouth, Rev. xix. 15. When the gospel was sent forth to be preached to all nations, then our Redeemer girded his sword upon his thigh.

2. His expedition to this holy war; Ne goes forth with his gloru and his majesty, as a great king takes the field with abundance of pomp and magnificence; his sword, his glory, ana majesty. In his gospel he uppears transcendently great and excellent, bright and blessed, in the honour and majesty •which the Father has laid upon him. Christ, both in his person and in his gospel, had nothing of external glory or majesty, nothing to charm men, for he had no form nor comeliness, nothing to awe men, for he took ufxon him the form of a sen^ant; it was all spiritual glory, spiritual majesty. There is so much grace, and therefore glory, in that word, He that

believes shall be saved; so much terror, and there fore majesty, in that word, He that believes not, shall be damned; that we may well say, in the chariot of that gospel, which these words are the sum of, the Redeemer rides forth in glory and ma jesty. hi thy majesty ride prosperously, v. 4. Prosper thou; ride thou; this speaks the promise of his Father, that he should prosper according to the good pleasure of the Lord; that he should divide the spoil with the strong, in recompense of his sufferings. Those cannot but prosper to whom God says. Prosper, Isa. lii. 10*-12. And it denotes the good wishes of his friends, praying that he may prosper in the con\ ersion of souls to him, and the destruction of all the powei's of darkness that rebel against him: 7'hy kingdom come; Go on and prosper.

3. The glorious cause in which he is engaged; because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness, which were, in a manner, sunk and lost among men, and which Christ c;une to retrieve and rescue. (1.) The gospel itself is truth, meekness, and righteousness, it conmiands by the power of tnith and righteousness; for Christianity has these, incontes-tably, on its side, and yet it is to be promoted by meekness and gentleness, 1 Cor. iv. 12, 13. 2 Tim. ii. 25. (2.) Christ appears in it, in his truth, meekness, and righteousjiess, and these are his glory and majesty, and because of these he shall prosper. Men are brought to believe on him because he is true, to learn of him because he is meek; (Matth. xi. 29.) the gentleness of Christ is of mighty force, 2 Cor. x. 1. Men are brought to submit to him because he is righteous, and rules with equity. (3.) The gospel, as far as it prevails with men, sets up in their hearts truth, meekness, and righteousness, rectifies their mistakes by the light of truth, controls their passions by the power of meekness, and governs their hearts and lives by the laws of righteousness. Christ came, by setting up his kingdom among men, to restore those glories to a degenerate world, and to maintain the cause of those just and rightful rulers under him, that by error, malice, and iniquity, had been deposed.

4. The success of his expedition; "Thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things; thou shalt experience a wonderful divine power going along with thy gospel, to make it victorious; and the effects of it will be terrible things." (1.) In order to the conversion and reduction of souls to him, there are terrible things to be done; the heart must be pricked, conscience must be startled, and the terrors of the Lord must make way for his consolations; this is done by the right hand of Christ. The Comforter shall continue, John xvi. 8. (2.) In the conquest of the gates of hell, and its supporters, in the destruction of Judaism and Paganism, terrible things will be done, which will make men's hearts fail them for fear, (Luke xxi. 26.) and great men and chief captains call to the rocks and mountains to fall on them, Rev. vi. 15. The next verse describes these terrible things; {v. 5.) Thine arrows ate sharp in the heart of the king's enemies. [1. ] Those that were by nature enemies are thus wounded, in order to their being reduced and reconciled. Convictions are like the arrows of the bow, which are sharp in the heart on which they fasten, and bring people to fall under Christ, in subjection to his laws and government. They that thus fall on this stone shall be broken, Matth. xxi. 44. [2.] Those that persist in their enmity are thus wounded, in order to their being mined. The arrows of God's terrors are sharp in their hearts, whereby they shall fall under him, so as to be made his footstool, ex. 1. Those that would not have him to reign over them shall be brought forth and slain before him; (Luke xix. 27.) those that would not submit to his golden sceptre shall be broken to pieces by his iron rod

PSALMS, XLV.

331

6. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and over: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. 7. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with tlie oil of gladness above thy fellows. 8. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad. 9. Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.

We have here the royal Bridegroom filling his throne with judgment, and keeping his court with splendour.

I. He here fills his throne with judgment. It is God the Father that says to the Son here, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; as appears Heb. i. 8, 9. where this is quoted to prove that he is God, and has a more excellent name than the angels. The Mediator is God, else he had neither been able to do the Mediator's work, nor fit to wear the Mediator's crown. Concerning his government, observe,

1. The eternity of it; it isybr ever and ever. It shall continue on earth throughout all the ages of time, in despite of all the opposition of the gates of hell; and, in the blessed fruits and consequences of if, it shall last as long as the days of heaven, and run parallel with the line of eternity itself. Perhaps, even then the glory of the Redeemer, and the blessedness of the redeemed, shall be in a continual infinite progression; for it is promised, that not only of his government, but of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no end; (Isa. ix. 7.) even then when the kingdom shall be delivered up. to God, even the Father, (1 Cor. XV. 24.) the throne of the Redeemer will continue.

2. The equity of it; The scefitre of thy kingdom, the administration of thy government is right, exactly according to the eternal counsel and will of God, which is the eternal rule and reason of good and evil. Whatever Christ does, he does none of his subjects any wrong, but rights those that do suifer wrong; He loves righteousness and hates wickedness, v. 7. He himself loves to do righteousness, and hates to do wickedness: and he loves those that do righteousness, and hates those that do wickedness: by the holiness of his life, the merit of his death, and the great design of his gospel, he has made it to appear that he loves righteousness, (for, by his example, his satisfaction, and his precepts, he has brought in an everlasting righteousness,) and that he hates wickedness, for never did God's hatred of sin appear so as it did in the sufferings of Christ.

3. The establishment and elevation of it; Therefore God, even thy God, (Christ, as Mediator, called God his God, (John xx. 17.) as commissioned by him, and the Head of those that are taken into covenant with him,) he has anointed thee with the oil of gladness; therefore, that is, (1.) "In order to this righteous government of thine, God has given thee his Spirit, that divine unction, to qualify thee for thine undertaking," Isa. Ixi. 1. The S/i'irit of the Lord is ufion me, because he has anointed me. What God called him to he fitted him for, Isa. xi. 2. The Spirit is called the oil of gladness, because of the delight wherewith Christ was filled, in carrving on his undertaking. He was anointed with the Spirit above all his fellows, above all those that were anointed, whether priests or kings. (2.) "In recompense'of what thou hast done and suffered

for the advancement of righteousness, and the de struction of sin, God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness, has brought thee to all the honours and allthe joys of thine exalted state;" because he humbled himself, God has highly exalted him, Phil, ii. 8, 9. His anointing him, denotes the power and glory to which he is exalted; he is invested in all the dignities and authorities of the Messiah; and his anointing him with the oil of gladness, denotes the joy that was set before him, (so his exaltation is expressed, Heb. xii. 2.) both in the light of his Fa-therms countenance, (Acts ii. 28.) and in the success of his undertaking, which he shall see, a?id be satisfied, Isa. liii. 11. This he is anointed with above all his fellows, abo\ e all believers, who are his brethren, and who partake of the anointing; they by measure, he without measure. But the apostle brings it, to prove his pre-eminence above the angels, Heb. i. 4, 9. The salvation of sinners is the joy of angels, (Luke xv. 10.) but much more of the Son.

II. He keeps his court with splendour and magnificence.

1. His robes of state, wherein he appears, are taken notice of, not for their pomp, which might strike an awe upon the spectator, but their pleasantness, and the gratefulness of the odours with which they were perfumed; (x-. 8.) They smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia; of these was compounded the oil of gladness, with which he and his garments were anointed: these were some of the ingredients of the holy anointing oil which God appointed, the like to which was not to be made up for any common use, (Exod. XXX. 23, 24.) which was typical of the unction of the Spirit, which Christ, the great High-Priest of our profession, received, and to which therefore there seems to be a reference. It is the savour of these good ointments, his graces and comforts, that draw souls to him, (Cant. i. 3, 4.) and makes him precious to believers, 1 Pet. ii. 7.

2. His royal palaces are said to be ivory ones, such as were then reckoned nnost magnificent. We read of an ivory house that Ahab made, 1 Kings xxii. 39. The mansions of light above are the ivory palaces, whence all the joys both of Christ and believers come, and where they will be for ever in perfection; for by them he is made glad, and all that are his with him; for they shall enter into the joy of their Lord.

3. The beauties of his court shine very bright. In public appearances at court, when the pomp of it is showed, nothing is supposed to contribute so much to it as the splendour of the ladies, which is alluded to here, v. 9.

(1.) Particular believers are here compared to the ladies at court, richly dressed in honour of the sovereign; Kings' daughters are among thy honourable women, wliose looks and mien, and ornaments, we may suppose, by the height of their extraction, to excel all others. All true believers are born from ab')ve; they are the children of the King of kings, these attend the throne of the Lord Jesus daily with their prayers and praises, which is really their honour, and he is pleased to reckon it his. The numbering of kings' daughters among his honourable women, or maids of honour, intimates that the kings, whose daughters they were, should be tributaries to him, and dependants on hllfe, and would therefore think it a preferment to their daughters to attend him.

(2.) The church in general, constituted of these particular believers, is here compared to the queen herself; the queen-consort, whom, by an everlasting covenant, he hath betrothed to himself; she stands at his right hand, near to him, and receiving honour from him, in the richest array, in gold of Ophir^ in

PSALMS, XLV.

robes woven with gold thread, or with a gold chain, and other ornaments of gold. This is the bride, the Lamh^s wife, whose graces, which are her ornaments, are compared to Jine linen, clean and white, (Rev. xix. 8.) for their purityj here to gold of O/ihir, for their costliness; for as we owe our redemption, so we owe our adorning, not to corruptible things, but to the firecious blood of the Son of God.

10. Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline tliine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; 11. So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty; for he wthy Lord, and worship thou him. 12. And the daughter of Tyre ahall he there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favour. 13. The King's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold. 14. She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needle-work: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. 15. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the King's palace. 16. Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. 17. T will make thy name to be remembered in all generations; therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.

This latter part of the psalm is addressed to the royal bride, standing on the right hand of the roval Bridegroom. God, who said to tlie Son, Thy throne is for ever and ever, says this to the church, whom, upon the account of lier espousals to the Son, he here calls \\\^ daughter.

I. He tells her of the duties expected from her, which ought to be considered by all those that come into relation to the Lord Jesus; " Hearken therefore, and consider this, and incline thine ear; submit to those conditions of thine espousals, and bring thy will to comply with them." This is the method of

;)rofiting by the word of (iod; He that has ears, let lim hear, let him hearken diligently; he that hearkens, let him consider and weigh it duly; he that considers, let him incline and yield to the foice of what is laid before him. And what is it that is here required?

1. She must renounce all others; " Forget thine own fieofile and thy father^s house, according to the law of marriage. Retain not the affection thou hast had for them, nor covet to return to them again; banish all such remembrance, not only of thv people that were dear to thee, but of thy father's house that were dearer, as may incline thee to look back, as Lot's wife to Sodom." When Abraham, in obedience to God's call, had quitted his native soil, he was not so much as mindful of the country whence he came out. This shows, (1.) How necessary it was for those who were converted from Judaism or Paganism to the faith of Christ, wholly to cast out the old leaven, and not to bring into their Christi m profession, either the Jewish ceremonies, or the heathei? idolatries, for these would miike such a mongrel religion in Christianity as the Samaritans had. (2.) How necessary it is for us all, when we give up our names to Jesus Christ, to hate father snd mother, and all that is dear to us in this world, in comparison, to love them less than Christ and his honour, and our interest in him, Luke xiv. 26.

Here is good encouragement given to the royal bride, thus entirely to break off from her former

alliances; So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty; which intimates that the mixing of her old rites and customs, whether Jewish or Gentile, with her religion, would blemish her beauty, and would hazard her interest in the affections of the royal Bridegroom; but that if she entirely conform to his will, he would delight in her; the beauty of holiness, both on the church, and on particular believers, is, in the sight of Christ, of great price and very amiable. Where that is, he says. This is my rest for ever, here will I dwell, for I have desired it. Among the golden candlesticks he walks with pleasure. Rev. ii. 1.

2. She must reverence him, must love, honour, and obey him: He is thy Lord, and worshi/i thou him. The church is to be subject to Christ, as the wife to the husband, (Eph. v. 24.) to call him Lord, as Sarah called Abraham, and to obey him, (1 Pet. iii. 6.) and so not only to submit to his government, but to give him divine honours; we must worship him as God, and our Lord; for this is the will of God, that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father; nay, in so doing, it is reckoned that they honour the Father; if we confess that Christ is Lord, and pay our homage to him accordingly, it is to the glory of God the Father, Phil. ii. 11.

n. He tells her of the honours designed for her.

1. Great court should be made to her, and rich presents brought her; {v. 12.) " The daughter of Tyre," a rich and splendid city, " the daughter of the King of Tyre shall be there with a gift; ever)' royal family round about shall send a branch as a representative of the whole, to seek thy favour, and to make an interest in thee; even the rich among the fieo/ile, whose wealth might be thought to discharge them from dependence at court, even they shall entreat thy favour, for his sake, to whom thou art espoused, that by thee they may make him their Friend;" the Jews, the pretending Jews, who are rich to a pro\ erb, (as rich as a Jew,) shall come and worship before the church's feet in the Philadel-phian period, and shall know that Christ has loved her. Rev. iii. 9. When the Gentiles, being converted to the faith of Christ, join themselves to the church, they then come with a gift, 2 Cor. viii. 5. Rom. XV. 16. When with themselves they devote all they have to the honour of Christ, and the service of his kingdom, they then come with a gift.

2. She shall be very splendid, and highly esteemed in the eyes of all, (1.) For her personal qualifications, the endowments of her mind, which every one shall admire; (v. 13.) The king's daughter is all glorious within. Note, The glory of the church is spiritual glory, and that is indeed all glory; it is the glory cf the soul, and that is the man; it is glory in God's sight, and it is an earnest of eternal glory. The glory of the saints falls not within the \ iew of a carnal eye; as their life, so their glory, is hid with Christ in God, neither can the natural man know it, for it is spiritually discerned; but those who do so discern it, highly value it. Let us see here what is that true glory which we should be ambitious of, not that which makes a fair show in the Jiesh, but which is in the hidden man of the heart, in that which isnot corrufitible, (1 Pet. iii. 4.) whose praise is not of men, but of God, Rom. ii. 29. (2.) For her rich apparel; though all her glory is within, that for which she is truly valuable, yet her clothing also is of wrought gold; the conversation of Christians, in which they appear in the world, must be enriched with good works, not gay and gaudv ones, like paint and flourish, but substantially good, like gold; and it must be accurate and exact, like wrought gold, which is worked with ? great deal of care and caution.

PSAL.AIS, XIM

333

3. Her nuptials shall be celebrated with a great deal of honour and joy; (v. 14, 15.) S/ie shall be brought to the k'nig, as the Lord God brought the woman to the man, (Gen. ii. 22.) which was a type of this mystic'.d marriage between Clirist and his cliurch. None are brought to Clirist, but whom tlie Father brings, and he lias undertaken to do it; none besides are so brought to the king, {y. 14.) as to enter into the king's palace, v. 15. This intimates a two-fold bringing of the spouse to Christ. (1.) In the conversion of souls to Christ; then they are espoused to him, privately contracted, as chaste virgins, 2 Cor. xi. 2. Rom. vii. 4. (2.) In the completing of the mystical body, and the glorification ot all the saints, at the end of time; then the bride, the Lamb's wife, shall be made completely ready, when all that belong to the election of grace shall be called in, and called home, and all gathered together to Christ, 2 Thess. ii. 1. Tlien is the marriage of the Laml) come, (Rev. xix. 7. —xxi. 2.) and the virgins go forth to meet the bridegroom, Matth. xxv. 1. Then they shall enter into the king's palaces, into the heavenly mansions, to be ever with the Lord. In both tliese espousals, observe, to the honour of the royal bride, [1.] Her wedding-clothes; raiment of needle-work, the righteousness of Christ, the graces of the Spirit; both curiously wrought by divine wisdom. [2.] Her bride-maids; the virgins her companions, the wise virgins who have oil in their vessels as well as in their lamps, those who, being joined to the church, cleave to it and follow it, these shall go into the marriage. [3.] The miith with which the nuptials will be celebrated; With gladness and rejoicings shall she be brought; when the prodigal is brought home to his fathei", it is meet tJiat we should make merry and be glad; (Luke XV. 32.) and when the marriage of the Lamb is come, let us be glad and rejoice; (Rev. xix. 7.) f; r the day of his espousals is the day of the gladness of his heart, Cant. iii. 11.

4. The progeny of this marriage shall be illustrious; (f. 16.) Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children. Instead of the Old Testament church, the economy of which was waxen old, and ready to vanish away, (Heb. viii. 13.) as the fathers that'are going off, there shall be a New Testament church, a Gentile church, that shall be grafted into the same olive, and partake cf its root and fatness; (Rom. xi. 17.) more and more eminent shall be the children of the desolate, than the children of the married wife, Isa. liv. 1. This promise to Christ is of the sarne import with that, (Is;i. liii. 10.) He shall see his seed; and tlicse shall be made princes in all the earth, there shall be some of all nations brought into subjection to Christ, and so made princes, made to our God kings and priests, Rev. i. 6. Or it may intimate that there should be a much greater number of Christian kings than ever there was of Jewish kinj-s; those in Canaan onl)^ these in all the earth; niu'sing fatliers and nursing mothers to the church, which shall suck the breast of kings. They are princes of Christ's making; for by him kings reign, and princes decree justice.

5. The praise of this marriage shall be perpetual, in the praises of the royal Bridegroom; (j>. 18.) / will make thy name to be remembered. His Father has given him a name above every name, and here promises to make it peroetual, by keeping up a succession of ministers and Christians in every age, that shall bear up his name; which shall thus endure for ever, (Ixxii. 17.) by being remembered in all "the generations of time; for the entail of Christianity shall not be cut off. "Therefore, because they shall remember thee in all generations, they shall praise thee for ever and ever." They that help to support the honour of Christ on earth, shall in heaven see his glory, and share in it, and be for ever

praising hi.,. ,, ^.i^ believing fiope of our everlasting happiness in the ether world, let us alwa^'s keep up the remcml)r; nee cf Christ, as cur onlv Way thither, in our generation; and, in assurance r'f the perpetuating of the kingdom of the Redeemer in the world, let us transmit the remembrance r f him to succeeding generations, that his name may endui-efor ever, and be as the days of heaven.

PSALM XLVI.

This psalm encourafies us to hope and trust in God, and his power, and providence, and gracious presence, with his church, in the worst of times, and directs us to give him the glory of what he has done for us, and what he will do : probably, it was penned upon occasion of David's victories over the neighbouring nations, (2 Sam. viii.) and the rest which God gave him from all his enemies round about. We are here taught, I. To take comfort in God, when things look very black and threatening, V. 1..5. II. To mention, to his praise, the great things he has wrought for his church against its enemies, V. 6..9. III. To assure ourselves that God, who has glorified his own name, will glorify it yet again, and to comfort ourselves with that, v. 10, 11. We may, in singing it, apply it, either to our spiritual enemies, and the Encouragement we have to hope, that, through Christ, we shall be more than conquerors over them, or to the public enemies of Christ's kingdom in the world, and their threatening insults, endeavouring to preserve a holy security and serenity of mind, when they seem most formidable. It is said of Luther, that, when he heard any discouraging news, he would say, Come, let us sing the 46th psalm.

To the chief musician for the sons ofKorah. A song ujion Alamoth.

1. ^^ OD is our refuge and strength, a ver}-xJF present help in trouble : 2. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 4. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. 5. God is in the midst'of her; she shall not be moved : God shall help her, and that right early.

The psalmist here teaches us, by his own example,

I. To triumph in God, and his relation to us, and presence with us, especially when we have had some fresh experiences of his appearing in our behalf; {y. 1.) God is our Refuge and Strength; we have found him so, he has engaged to be so, and he ever will be so. Are we pursued? God is cur Refuge to whom we may flee, and in whom we mny be safe, and think ourselves so; secure upon good ground, Prov. xviii. 10. Are we oppressed by troubles? have we work to do, and enemies to grapple with? God is our Strength, to bear us up unrlcr our burthens, to fit us for all our services and sufferings; who will by his grace put strength into us, and rn whom we may stay ourselves. Are we in distress? He is a Help, to do all that for us which we need, a present Help, a Help found, so the word is, one whom we have found to be so, a Help on which we maj write Probatum est, as Christ is called a tried stone, Isa. xxviii. 16. Or, a Help at hand, one that we shaL never have to seek for, but that is always near. Or, a Help sufficient, a Help accommodated to every case and exigence; whatever it is, he is a very present Help; we cannot desire a better Help, nor shall ever find the like in any creature.

PSALIMS, XLVl.

II. To triumph over the greatest dangers; God is our Strength and our Helfi, a God all-sufficient to us; therefore ivill not we fear. Those that with a holv reverence fear God, need not with any amazement to be afraid of the power of hell or earth. If God be for «.<?, tvho can be against us, to do us any harm ? It is our duty, it is our privilege, to be thus fearless; it is an evidence of a clear conscience, of an honest heart, and of a lively faith in God, and his providence and promise; '* We ivill not ftar, though the earth be removed, though all our creature-con-fiilenccs fail us, and sink us; nay, though that which should support us threaten to swallow us up, as the earth did Korah," for whose sons this psalm was penned, and, some think, by them, yet, while we keep close to God, and have him for us, we will not fear, for we have no cause to fear;

Si fractiis illabatur orbis,

Inipavicluni ferient ruinte. HoR.

—Let Jove's dread arm with thunder rend the spheres, Beneath the crush of worlds undaunted he appears.

Observe here,

1. How threatening the danger is. We will suppose the earth to be removed, and thrown into the sea, even the mountains, the strongest and finest parts #f the earth, to lie buried in the unfathomed ocean; we will suppose the sea to roar and rage, and make a dreadful noise, and its foaming billows to insult the shore with so much violence as even to shake the mountains, v. 3. Though kingdoms and states be in confusion, embroiled in wars, tossed with tumults, md their governments in continual revolution; though their powers combine against the cnurch and people of God, aim at no less than their niin, and go very near to gain their point; yet will not we fear, knowing that all these troubles will end well for the church. See xciii. 4. If the earth be removed, those have reason to fear who have laid up their treasures on eaith, and set their hearts upon it; but not those who have laid up for themselves treasures in heaven, and who can expect to be then most happy, when the earth, and all the nvorks that are therein, shall be burnt up. Let those be trcu-bled at the troubling of the waters, who Ijuild their confidence on such a floating; foundation, l)ut not those who are led to the Rock that is higher than they, :'nd find firm footing upon that Rock.

3i How well-grounded the defence of this danger is, considering how well-guarded the church is, and that interest which we are concerned f ,r. It is not any private particular concern of our own that we are in pain ab-^ut; no, it is the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the most High; it is the ark of God, for which our hearts tremljle. But when we consider what God has provided for the comfort and safety of his church, we shall see reason to hive our hearts fixed, and set above the fear of evil tidings. Here is,

fl.) Joy to the church, even in the most melancholy and soiTowful times; {y. 4.) There is a river, the streams whereof shall make it glad, even then when the waters of the sea roar, and threaten it. It alludes to the waters of Siloam, which ivent softly by Jerusalem; (Isa. viii. 6, 7.) though of no great dejjth or breadth, yet the waters of it were made serviceable to the defence of Jenisalem, in Heze-kiah's time, Isa. xxii. 10, 11. But this must be understood spiritually; the covenant of grace is the river, the promises of which are the streams, or, the Spirit of grace is the river, (John vii. 38, 39.) the comforts of which are the streams, that make glad the city of our God. God's word and ordinances are rivers and streams with which God makes his saints idad in cloudy and dark days. God himself is to his church a Place of broad rivers and streams, Is^. xxxiii. 21. The streams that make glad the city of God are not rapid, but gentle, like those of

Siloam. Note, The spiritual comforts, whicli are conveyed to the saints by soft and silent whispers, and which come not with observation, are sufficient to balance the most loud and noisy threatenings of an angry and malicious world,

(2.) Establishment to the church; though heaven and earth are shaken, yet God is in the ?nidst of her, she shall not be moved, v. 5. God has assured his church of his special presence with her, and concern for her; his honour is embarked in her, he has set up his tabernacle in her, and has undertaken the protection of it, and therefore she shall not be moved, that is, [1.] Not destroyed, nor removed, as the earth may be, v. 2. The church shall survive the world, and be in bliss when it is in rtiins. It is built upon a rock, and the gates of hell shall not prex^ail against it. [2.] Not disturbed, not much moved, with fears of the issue. If God be for us, if God be with us, we need not be moved at the most violent attempts made against us.

(3.) Deliverance to the clmrch, though her dangers be very great; God shall help her; and who then can hurt her? He shall help her under her troubles, that she shall not sink; nay, that the more she is afflicted, the more she shall multiply. God shall help her out of her troubles, and that right early; when the inoryiing appears, very speedily, for he is a present Help, {v. 1.) and very seasonably, then when things are brought to the last extremity, and when the relief will be most welcome. This may be applied by particular believers to themselves; if God be in our hearts, in the midst of us, by his word dwelling richly ui us, we shall be established, we shall be helped; let us therefore tinist and not be afraid; all is well, and will end well.

6. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were nnoved : he uttered his voice, the earth melted. 7. The LoHD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. 8. Come, behold the ^^'orks of the L>ord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. 9. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cut-teth the spear in sunder: he burneth the chariot in the fire. 10. Be still, and know that I om God; T will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

These verses give glory to God, both as King of

nations, and as King of saints.

I. As King of nations, naling the world by his power and providence, and over-iniling all the affairs of the children of men to his own glory; he does according to his will among the inhabitants of the earth, and none may say. What doest thou ?

1. He checks the rage, and breaks the power^ of the nations that oppose him and his interests in the word; (r. 6.) Z'/;e/2^a//2en 7-a^rrf at David's coming to tlie throne, and at the setting up of the kingdom of the Son of David; compare ii. 1, 2. The kingdoms were moved with indignation, and rose in a tumultuous, furious manner, to oppose it; but God Jittered his voice, spake to them in his wrath, and they were moved in another sense, they were stnick into confusion and consternation, put into disorder, and all their measures broken; the earth itself melted under them, so that they foiuid no firm footing, their earthly hearts failed them for fear, and dissolved like snow before tlie sun. Such a melting of the spirits of the enemies, is described, Judg. v. 4, 5. and see Luke xxi. 25, 26.

PSALMS, XLVII.

336

2. When ne pleases to draw his sword, and give it commission, he can make great havock among the nations, and lay all waste; {v. 8.) Come, behold the works of (he Lord, they are to be observed, (Ixvi. 5.) and to be sought cut, cxi. 2. All the operations of Providence must be considered as the works of the Lord, and his attributes and purposes must be taken notice of in them. Particularly, take notice of the desolations he has made in the earth, among the enemies of his church, who thought to have laid the land of Israel desolate. The destruction they designed to bring upon the church has been turned upon themselves. War is a tragedy which commonly destroys the stage it is acted on; David cai'ried the war into the enemies' country; and Oh what desolations did it make there! Cities were burnt, countries laid waste, amnies of men cut off and laid in heaps upon heaps. Come and see the effects of desolating judgments, and stand in awe of God; say. How terrible art thou in thy works? Ixvi. 3. Let all that oppose him, see this with terror, and expect the same cup of trembling to be put into their hands; let all that fear him, and tmst in him, see it with pleasure, and not be afraid of the most formidable powers armed against the church. Let them gird themselves, but they shall be broken to fiieces.

3. When he pleases to sheathe his sword, he puts an end to the wars of the nations, and crowns them with peace, i). 9. War and peace depend on his word and will, as much as storms and calms at sea do, cvii. 25, 29. He makes wars to cease unto the end of the earth; sometimes in pity to the nations, that they may have a breathing time, when, by long wars with each other, they have i-un themselves out of breath. Both sides perhaps are weary of the war, and willing to let it fall; expedients are found out for accommodation; martial princes are removed, and peace-makers set in their room; and tlien the bow is broken by consent, the spear cut asunder, and turned into a pruning-hook, the sword beaten into a plough-share, and the chariots of war burned, there being no more occasion for them; or rather it maj- be meant of what he does, at other times, in favour of his own people. He makes those wars to cease, that were waged against them, and designed for their ruin. He breaks the enemies' bow that was drawn against them; Ao weapon formed against Zion shalipros-fier, Isa. liv. 17. The total destraction of Gog and Magog is prophetically described by the burning of their weapons of war; (Ezck. xxxix. 9, 10.) which intimates likewise the church's perfect security and assurance of lasting peace, which made it needless to lav up those weapons of w:!r for their own service. The bringing of a long war to a good issue, is a work of the L'lT'd, which we ought to behold with wonder and thinkfulness.

II. As King of saints, and as such we must own that ^reat and marnellous are his works, Rev. XV. 3'.

He does, and will do, crcat things,

1. For his own glory; {xk 10.) Be still, and know that lam God. (1.) L"t his enemies be still, and threaten no more, but know it, to their frror, that he is God, one infinitelv above them, :'nd that will certainly be too hard for them; let them rage no more, for it is all in vain, he that sits in heaven laughs at them; and, in spite of all their imprtent malice against his name and linnnur,.he will be exalted among the heath';n, ;ind not only amrnfr his own people, he will be exalted in the earth, and not onlv in the church. Men will set up themselves, will have their own wav, and d-^ their own will; hut let them know that God will be exEilf. d, he will have his w^ay, will do his own will, will glorify his own. name, and wherein they deal hroudlu, lie

will be above them, and make them know that he is so. (2.) Let his own people be still; let them be calm and sedate, and tremble no more, but know, to their comfort, that the Lord is God, he is God alone, and will be exalted above the heathen; let him alone tn maintain his honour, to fulfil his own counsels, and to support his own interest in the world. Though we be depressed, yet let us not be dejected, for we are sure that God will be exalted, and that may satisfy us; he will work for his great name, and then no matter what becomes of our little names. When we pray. Father, glorify thy naine, we ought to act faith upon the answer given to that prayer, when Christ himself prayed it; I have both glorified it, and I will glorify it yet again. Amen, Lord, so be it.

2. For his people's safety and protection. He triumphs in the former, J will be exalted; they triumph in this, {v. 7.) and again t-. 11. It is the Ijurthen of the song, "The Lord of hosts is with us; he is on our side, he takes our part, is present with us and President over us; l^he God of Jacob is a Refuge, to whom we may flee, and in whcm we may confide, and be sure of safety." Let all believers triumph in this. (1.) They have the presence of a God of power, of all power; The Lord of hosts is with us. God is the Lord of hosts, for he has all the creatures, which are called the hosts of heaven and earth, at his beck and command, and he makes what use he pleases of them, as the instniments either of his justice or of his mercy. This sovereign Lord is with us, sides with us, acts with us, and has promised he will never leave us. Hosts may be against us, but we need not fear them, if t^e Lord of hosts be with us. (2.) They are under the protection of a God in covenant, who not only is able to help them, but is engaged in honour and faithfulness to help them. He is the God of Jacob, not only Jacob the person, but Jacob the people; nav, and (if all praying people, the spiritual seed of wrestling Jacob; and he is our Refuge, by whom we are sheltered, ?nd in whcm we are satisfied, who by his providence secures our welfare, when without are fightings, and who by his gi-ace quiets cur minds, and establishes them, when within are fears. The Lord of hosts, the (iod of Jacob, lias been, is, and will be, with us; has been, is, and will he, cur Refuge: the original includes all; and well mav Selah be added to it; Mark this, and take the comfort of it, and sav, If God be for us, who can be against us?

PSALM XLVII.

The scope of this psalm is f o stir us up to praise God, to stir up all people to do it; and, I. We are directed in what manner to do it, piiblicl\-, cheerfully, and intelligently, V. 16, 7. II. We are furnished with matter for praise, 1. God's majesty, v. 2. 2. His sovereign and universal dominion, v. 2, 7. .9. 3. The g-reat things he had done, and will do, for his people, v. 3. . 5. Many suppose that this psalm was penned upon occasion of the bringing up of the ark to mount Zion, which v. 5. seems to refer to; God is i^one vp vHh a. shout, but it looks further, to the ascension of Christ into the heavenly Zion, after he had finished his undertaking on earth, and to the setting up of his kiricrdom in the world, to which the heathen should bccnmc willintr subjects. In singing this psalm, we are to wive honour to the exalted Redeemer, to re-j'oice in his exaltation, and to celebrate his praises, confessing that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

To the chief musician. A [isalm for the sons of Korah.

CLAP your hands, all ye pprple shout unto God with the voire of triumph: 2. For the Lord most Hsh is terrible; he is a e;reat King over all the earth. 3. He shall subdue the people under us,

PSALMS, XLv^li.

and the nations under our feet. 4. He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob, whom he loved. Selah.

The psalmist, having liis own heart filled with gi-eat and good thoughts (i God, endeavours to engage all about him in tlie blessed work of praise; as one convinced that God is worthy of all blessing and praise, and as one grieved at his own and others' backwardness to, and barrenness in, this work. Obser\e, in these verses,

I. Who are called upcn to praise God; ''all ye fieo/ile, all ye people < f Israel; those were his own subjects, and under his charge, and therefore he will engage tliem to praise God, for on them he has an influence. Whatever ethers do, he and his house, he and his people, shall praise the Lord. Or, "all ye people and nations of the earth;" and so it ma\' be taken as a prophecy of the conversion of the Gentiles, and the bringing of them into the church; see Rom. xv. 11.

II. What they are called upon to do; "0 clafi your hcmds, in token of your own joy and satisfaction in what God has done for you; of your approbation, nay your admiration, of what God has done in general; and of your indignation against all the enemies of God's glory, Job xxvii. 23. Clafi your hands, as men transported with pleasure, that cannot contain themselves; shout unto God, net to make him hear, (his ear is not heavy,) but to make all about you hear, and take notice how much you are affected and filled with the works of God. Shout with the voice of triumph in him, and in his power and goodness, that others may join with you m the triumph." Note, Such expressions of pious and devout affections as to some may seem indecent and imprudent, ought not to be hastily censured and condemned, much less ridiculed, because, if they come from an upright heart, God will accept the strength of the affection, and excuse the weakness of the expressions of it.

III. Wliat is suggested to us as matter for our praise.

1. That the God with whom we have to do, is a God of awful majesty; {v. 2.) The Lord most High is terrible. He is infinitely above the noblest creatures, higher than the highest; there are those perfections in him that are to be reverenced by all, and particularly that power, holiness, and justice, that are to be dreaded by all those that contend with him.

2. That he is a God of sovereign and universal dominion; he is a King tliat reigns alone, and with an absolute power; a King over all the earth; all the creatures, being made by him, are subject to him, and therefore he is a great King; the King of kings.

3. That he takes a particular care of his people, and their concerns, has done so, and ever will.

(1.) In giving them victory and success, (x*. 3.) subduing the people and nations under them, both those that stood in their way, (xliv. 2.) and those that made attempts upon them. This, God had done for them, witness the planting of them in Canaan, and their continuance there unto this day. This they doubted not Init he would still do for them by his servant David, who prospered, which way soever he tunicd his victorious arms; but this looks forward to the kingdom of the Messiah, which was to be set over all tl\e earth, and not confined to the Jewish nation. Jesus Christ shall subdue the Gentiles; he shall bring ihnn in as sheep, into the fold, so the word signifies, not for slaughter, but for preservation. He shall subdue their affections, aiid make them a willing fieople in the day of his fioiver; shall bring their thoughts into obedience to him, and reduce them, which had gone astray, under

the gviidance of the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls, 1 Pet. ii. 25.

(2.) In giving them rest and settlement; {v. 4.) He shall choose our inheritance for us. He had chosen the land of Canaan to be an inheritance for Israel, it was the land which the Lord their God ^ied cut for them; see Dcut. xxxii. 8. This justified their pcssessi( n of that land, and gave them a good title; and this sweetened their enjoyment of it, and made it comfortable; they had reascn to think it a happy 'ot, and to Ije satisfied in it, when it was that which Infinite Wisdom chcse for tlum. And the setting up of God's sanctuary in it, made it the excellency, the honour of Jacob; (Amos vi. 8.) and he chose so good an inheritance t\-r Jacob, because he loved him, Deut. vii. 8. Apply this spiritually, and it bespeaks, [^1.] The happiness of the saints, that God himse'.t has ch( sen their inhcritance for them, and it is a goodly heritage: he has chosen it, who knows the s<ul, and what will ser^e to make it happy; and he has chosen so well, that he himself has undertaken to be the Inheritance nf his people, (xvi. 5.) and he has laid up for tliem in the other world an inheritance incorruptible, 1 Pet. j. 4. This will be indeed the excellency of Jacob, for whom, because he loved them, he prepared such a happiness as eye has not seen. [2.] 1 he faith and submission of the saints to God. This is the language of every gracious scul, "Grd shall choose my inheritance for me; let him appoint me my lot, and I will acquiesce in the appointment. He knows what is good for me better than I do myself, and therefore I will have no will of my own but what is resolved into his."

5. God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. 6. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises unto our King, sing praises. 7. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. 8. God reign-eth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. 9. The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.

We are here most earnestly pressed* to praise God, and to sing his praises; so backward are we to this duty, that we have need to be urged to it by precept upon precept, and line upon line; so we are here, {y. 6.) Sing praises to God, and again, Sing praises. Sing praises to our King, and again. Sing praises. This intimates that it is a very necessary and excellent duty, that it is a duty we ought to be frequent and abundant in; we may sing praises again and again in the same words, and it is no vain repetition, if it be done with new aflfcctions. Should not a people praise their God? (Dan. v. 4.) Should not subjects praise their king? God is our God, our King, and therefore we must praise him; we must sing his praises, as those that are pleased with them, and that arc not ashamed of them. But here is a needful i-ule subjoined; {v. 7.) Sing ye praises with understanding, with Maschil. 1. "Intelligently ; as those that do yom-selves understand why and for what reasons you praise God, and what is the meaning of the service." This is the gospel rule, (1 Cor. xiv. 15.) To sing with the spirit, and with the understanding also; it is only with the heart that we make melody to the Lord, Eph. v. 19. It is not an acceptable sersice, if it be not a reasonable service. (2.) "Instructively; as those

PSALiMS, XLVIII.

SS"?

that desire to make others understand God's glorious p rfictiuis, and to teach them to praise him."

'l"ni-ee things are mentioned in these verses as jubt m.'.tter tor our praises, and each <jf them will admit of a double sense;

I. We must praise God going up; {v. 5.) God is gone up with a shout; wliich may refer, 1. To the c rrymy up of the ark to the hill of Zion, which w.,s done with great solemnity, David himself d.nclng before it; the priests, it is likely, blowing tlie tninipets, and the people following with their loud huzzas. The ark being the instituted token cf God's special presence with them, when that WIS brcAight up by warrant from him, he might be s:ii:lto^'-3 iifi. The emerging of God's ordinances cut of oDscurity, in order to the more public and sol-am administration of them, is a great favour to anv perple, wliich they have reason to rejoice in, and give thanks for. 2. To the ascension of our Lord Jesus into heaven, when he had finished his work on earth. Acts i. 9. Then God ivent ufi with a shout, the shout of a King, of a Conqueror, as one who, hxvm^ sfioiled /iri?ici/ialities and powers, then led captivity captive, Ixvui. 18. He went up as Mediator, typified by the ark, and the mercy-seat over it, and was l)rought as the ark was into the m'ist holy place, irito heaven itself; see Hel). ix. 24. We read not of a shout, or the sound of a trumpet, at the ascension of Christ, but they were the in-hal)itants of the upper world, those sons of God, that then shouted ftn- joy, Job xxxviii. 7. He shall come again in the same manner as he went; (Acts i. 11.) and we are sure that he shall come again with a shout and the sound of a ti-umpet.

II. We must praise God reigning, x'. 7, 8. God is not only ou?- King, and therefore we owe our homage to him, Ijut he is King of all the earth, (x>. 7.) over all the kings of the earth, and therefore, in every place, the incense of praise is to be offered up to him. Now this may be understood, 1. Of tlie kingdom of providence. God, as Creator, and tlie God of nature, reigns over the heathens, disposes of them, and all their affairs, as lie pleases, theugli tliey knnv him not, nor have any regard to him. He sits upon' the throne of his holiness, which he has prepared in the heavens, and there he rules over all, even over the heathen, serving his own l.iui'p'^ses by them and uprn them. See here the extent of God's government; all are born witliin his allegiance; even the heathen, that serve other gods, are ruled \yf the tiiie God, our God, whether "they will or no. See the equity of his government; it is a throne of holiness, on which he sits, whence he gives warrants, orders, and judgment, in which we are sure there is no iniquity. 2. Of the kingdom of the Messiah. Jesus Christ, who is God, and whose throne is for ex'er and ex'er, reigns over the heathen; not only he is intrusted with the administration of the providential kingdom, but he shall set up the kingdom of his grace in the Gentile world, and rule in the hearts of multitudes that were bred up in heathenism, Eph. ii. 12, 13. This the apostle speaks of as a great mystery, that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, Eph. iii. 6. Christ sits upon the throne of his holiness, his throne in the heavens, where all the administrations of his government are intended to show forth God's hohness, and to advance holiness among the children of men.

III. We must praise God as attended and honoured by the princes of the people, v. 9. This rnay be understood, 1. Of the congress or convention of the states of Israel, the heads and iiders of the several tribes, at the solemn feasts, or to dispatch the pulilic business ot the nation. It was the honour of Israel, that they were the people of the God of Abraham, as they were Abraham's seed, and tiktai into his covenant; and, thanks be to God,

V'OL. III.—2 U

this blessing cf Abraham is come upon the isles ol the Gentiles, Gal. iii. 14. It was their happiness, that they liad a settled government, princes of their people, who were the shields of their land; magistracy is the shield of a nation, and it is a great mercy to any people to have this shield; especially when their princes, their shields, belong unto the Lord, are devoted to his hcnr ur, and their power is employed in his servicv, for then he is greatly exalted. It is likewise the honcur of God, that, in another sense, the shields of the earth do belong to hi7n; magistracy is his institution, and he serves his own pui-poses by it in the government of the world, turning the hearts of kings, as the rivers of water, which way soever he pleases. It was well with Israel when the princes rJF their pccple were gathered together to consult for the public welfare. The unanimous agreement of the great ones of a nation in the things tliat belong to its peace, is a very happy omen, wliich promises abundance cf blessings. 2. It may be applied to the calling of the Gentiles into tlie churcli of Christ, and taken as a prophecy, that, in the days cf the Messiah, the kings of tlie earth and their people should join themselves to the church, and bring their glorv and power into the New Jenisalem; thi:t thev siiould all become the people of the God of Abraham, to whom it was promised that lie slit uld be the father of rnany nations. The volu7iteers of the people, so it may be read; it is tlie same wrrd that is used, (ex. 3.) Thy people shall be willing; for those that are gatliered to Christ are net forced, but made freely willing, to be his. When the shields of the earth, the ensigns of r>yal dignity, (1 Kings xiv. 27, 28.) are surrendered to the Lord Jesus, as the keys of a city are presented to the conqueror or sovereign, when princes use their power for the advancement of the interests of religion, then Christ is greatly exalted.

PSALM XLVIII.

This psalm, as the two former, is a triumphant song; some think it was penned on occasion of Jehoshaphat's victory, 2 Chron. xx. Others, of Sennacherib's defeat, when his army laid siege to Jerusalem in Hezekiah's time; but, for aug-ht I know, it might be penned by David, upon occasion of some eminent victory obtained in his time; yet not so calculated for that, but that it might serve any other the like occasion in aftertimes, and be applicable also to the glories of the gospel-church, of which Jerusalem was a type, especially when ft shall come to be a church triumphant, the heavenly Jerusalem, [Heb. xii. 22.) tlie Jerusalem which is above. Gal. iv. 26. Jerusalem is liere praised, I. For its relation to God, v. 1, 2. II. For God's care of it, v. 3. III. For the terror it strikes upon its enemies, v. 4..7. IV. For the pleasure it gives to its friends, who delight to think, 1. Of what God has done, does, and will do, for it, v. 8. 2. Of the gracious discoveries he makes of himself, in and for that holy city, v. 9, 10. 3. Of the effectual provision which is made for its safety, v. 11. . 13. 4. Of the assurance we nave of the perpetuity of God's covenant with the children of Zion, v. 14. In singing this psalm, we must be affected with the privilege we have as members of the gospel-church, and must express and excite our sincere good-will to all its interests.

./f song and psahn for the sons of Korah.

1. £^ RE AT is the Lord, and greatly to VH^ be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his hohness. 2. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is mount Zion; on the sides of the north, the city of the great Kine;. 3. God is known in her palaces tor a refuge. 4. For, lo, tlie kings were assembled, they passed bv together. 5. They saw z7, and so they mar-

J38

veiled; they were troubled, a«(/hasted away. 6. F'ear took hold upon them there, f///r/ pain, as of a woman in travail. 7. Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.

The psalmist is designing to praise Jerusalem, and to set forth the grandeur of that city; but he begins with the praises of God, and his greatness, {v. 1.) and ends with the praises of God, and liis goodness, V. 14. For, whatever is the suljject of our praises, God must be both the Alplui and Omega of them. And, particularly, whatever is said to the hi.nour of tlie church, must redound to the honour of the church's God. What is here said to the honour of Jerusalem, is, I. That the King of heaven owns it; it ist/ie city of our God, {v. 1.) wfiich he chose out of all the Cities of Israel to put his name there; of Zion he said kinder things than ever he said of any place upon earth, This is my rest for freer, here will I dwell, for I have desired it, cxxxii. 13, 14. It is the city of the great King, {v. 2.) the King of all the earth, who is pleased to declare himself in a special manner present there. This our Saviour quotes, to prove, that to swear by Jerusalem, is profanely to swear by God himself,'(Matth. v. 35.) for it is the city of the great King, who has chosen it for the special residence of his grace, as heaven is of his glory.

1. It is enlightened with the knowledge of God. In Judah God is known, and his name is great, but especially in Jenisalem, the head-quarters of the priests, whose lips were to keep this knowledge. In Jerusalem God is great, {v. 1.) who in other places was made little of, was made nothing of. Happy the kingdom, the city, the family, the heart, in which God is great, in which .he is uppermost, in which he is all. There God is knowri; {v. 3.) and where he is known, he will be great; none contemn God but those that are ignorant of him.

2. It is devoted to the honour of God. It is therefore called the mountain of his holiness, for holiness to the Lord is written upon it, and all the furniture of it, Zech. xiv. 20, 21. This is the privilege of the church of Christ, that it is a holy nation, a peculiar people; Jenisalem, the tvpe of it, is called the holy city, bad as it was, (Matth. xxvii. 53.) till that was set up, but never after.

3. It is the place appointed for the solemn service and woi-ship of God; there he is greatly praised, and greatly to be/iraiscd, v. 1. Note, The clearer discoveries are made to us of God and his greatness, the mnre it is expected tliat we should alxnind in his praises. They that from all parts of the country brought their offerings to Jei-usalem, had reason to be thankful that God would not only permit them thus to attend him, but promise to accept them, and meet them with a blessing, and reckon himself praised and honoured by their services. Herein Jems ilcrn tx^iified the gospel-church; for what little tvilnite of praise God has from this earth, arises from that church up.n eartli, which is therefore his tabenv.cle among men.

4. It is taken under his special protection; (y. 3.) He is known for a Refuge; he has appiroved himself sucli a oiie, and as such a one he is there applied to by his worship])ers. They that know him, will trust in him, and seek to him, ix. 10. God was known, not cnlv in the streets, but even in the palaces, of Jerusalem, for a Refuge; the great men had recourse to Gud, and acquaintance with him. And tlicn religion was likely to flourish in the city, w^v.n it reigned in the palaces.

5. lJ])fin all these accounts, Jenist-Um, and espe-cidly mount Zion, (ii which the temple was built, were univcrsallv brlnved and admired; Beautiful

. for situation, and the joy of the whole earth, v. 2.

PSALMS, XLVIII.

The sil uation must needs be every way agreeable, when Infinite ^^'isdom chose it for the place of the s.inctuary; and that whicli made it beautiful, was, tliat it was the mountain of holiness, for there is a beauty in holiness. Tliis earth is, by sin, covered with dcf.a-mity, and tliLref. re justly mieht that spot of ground, wli'ch was tlius be lUt.fied with holiness, be called (he Joy of the whole earth, th;.t is, what the whole earth had reason to rejoice in, that God would thus in very deed dwell with man upon the earth. Mount Zion was on the north side of Jerusalem, and so was a slielter to the city from the cold and bleak winds tliat blew from tli;.t quarter; or, if fair weather was expected cut of the north, they were thus directed to look Zion-ward for it.

II. That the kings of the earth were afraid of it. That God was known in their palaces for a Refuge, they had had a late instance, and a very remarkable one. Whatever it was,

1. They had had but too much occasion to fear their enemies; For the kings were assejnbled, v. 4. The neighbouring princes were confederate against Jenasalem, their heads and hems, their policies and powers, were combined for its min; they were as sembled witli all their forces, they passed, advanced, and marched on, together, not doubting but they should soon make themselves masters of that city which should have been the joy, but was the envy, of the whole earth.

2. God made their enemies to fear them. The very sight of Jemsalcm stmck them into a consternation, and gave check to their fury; as the sight of the tents of Jacob frightened Balaam from his puipose to curse Israel, Numb. xxiv. 2. They saw it and marvelled, and hasted away, v. 5. Not Feni, vidi, vici — I came, I saw, I conquered; but, on the contrary, Veni, vidi, xuctus sum — I came, I saw, I was defeated. Not that there was any thing to be seen in Jerusalem that was so very formidable; but the sight of it brought to mind what they had licard concerning the special presence of Gcd in th:it city, and the divine protection it was under, and God impressed such terrors on their minds thereby, as made them retire with precipitation. Though they were kings, though they were many in confederacy, yet they knew themselves an unequ;d match for Omnipotence, and therefore /fQ?-ca we upon them, and pain, V. 6. Note, God can dispirit the stoutest of his church's enemies, and soon pvit them in pain that live at ease. The fright they were in upon the sight of Jerusalem is here compared to the throes of a woman in travail, which are shai-p and grievous, which sometimes come suddenly, (1 Thess. v. 3.) which cannot be avoided, and which are effects of sin ;ind the curse. The defeat hereby given to their designs upon Jemsalem is compared to the dreadful work made with a fleet of ships by a vie'lent storm, when some are split, others shattered, all dispersed; {v. 7. ) Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east-wind; effects at sea lie thus exposed. The terrors of God are compared to an east-wind; (Job xxvii. 20, 21.) these shall put them into confusion, and break all their measures. Hlio knows the power of God's anger?

8. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever Selah. 9. We have thouijht of thy loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. 10. Accordine; to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy rijsht hand is full of riiz;hteousness. 11. Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments

PSALMS, XLVIll.

339

12. Walk about Zion, and go round about ner : tell the towers thereof. 13. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. 14. l^^'or this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even unto death.

We have here the good use and improvement which the people of God are taught to make of his late glorious and gracious appearances for them against their enemies, that diey might work for their good.

I. Let our faith in the word of God be hereby confirmed. If we compare what God has done with what he has spoken, we shall find, that as we have heard, so have we seen, {v. 8.) and what we have seen, obhges us to believe what we have heard. 1. " As we have heard done in former providences, in the days of old, so have we seen done m our own days." Note, God's latter appearances for his people, against his and their enemies, are consonant to his former appearances, and should put us in mind of them. 2. "As we have heard in the in-oniise and prediction, so have we seen in the perfuimance and accomplishment. We have heard that God is the Lord of hosts, and that Jeimsalem is the city of our God, is dear to him, is his particular care; and now we have seen it, we have seen the power of our God, we have seen his goodness, we have seen his care and concern for us; that he is a JVall of Jire round about Jerusalem, and the glory in the midst of her. " Note, In the great things that God has done, and is doing, for his church, it is good to take notice of the fulfilling of the scriptures; and this would help us the better to understand both the providence itself, and the scripture that is fulfilled in it.

II. Let our hope of the stability and pei-petuity of the church be hereljy encouraged. " From what we have seen, compared with what we have heard, in th'j city of our God, we may conclude, tliat God will estiblish it for ever." This was not fulfilled in Jerusalem, (that city was long since destroyed, and all its glory 1 lid in the dust,) but has its accomplishment in tlie gospel-church; we are sure that that shall be est iblishcd for ever, it is built upon a rock, and the gates of htU cannot prevail against it, Matth. xvi. 18. God himself has undertaken tlie establisliment of it; it is the Lord that has fcamdcd Zion, Isa. xiv. 32. • And what we have seen, com-p \red with what we h l^'e heard, may encourage us to hope in that promise of God, upon which the church is built.

III. Let our minds be hereby filled with good thouglits of God. "From what we have heard, and seen, and hoi:)ed for, we may take occasion to think much of God's loving-kindness, whenever we meet in the midst of his temfile," v. 9. All the streams of mercy that flow down to us, must be nin up to the fountain of God's loving-kindness. It is not owing to any merit of ours, but purely to his mercy, and the peculiar favour he bears to his people. This, therefore, we must think of with delight, think of frequently, and fixedly. What subject can we dwell upon more noble, more pleasant, more profitable! We must have God's loving-kindness always before our eyes, (xxvi. 3.) especially when we attend upon him in his temple. Wlien we enjoy the benefit of public ordinances undisturbed, we meet in his temple, and there is none to make \is afraid, we should take occasion thence to think of his loving-kindness.

_IV. Let us gi\'e to God the glory of the great things which he has done for us, and mention them

to his honour; {v. 10.) "According to thy name, O God, so is thy firaise, not only in Jerasalem, but to the ends of the earth." By the late signal deliverance of Jemsalem, God had made himself .a name; he had gloriously discovered his wisdom, power, and goodness, and made all the nations about sensible of it; and so was his/iraise; that is, some, in all parts, would be found giving glory to him accordingly. As far as his name goes, his praise will go, at least, it should go, and, at length, it shall go, when all the ends of tlie world shall praise him, xxii. 27. Rev. xi. 15. Some, by his na77ie, understand especially that glorious name of his, the Lord of hosts; according to that name, so is his praise; for all the creatures, e\en to the ends of the earth, are under his command. But his people must, in a special manner, acknowledge his justice in all he does for them; " Righteousness fills thy right hand; all the operations ot thy power are consonant to the eternal rules of equity.

V. Let all the membei-s of the church in particular, take to themsehes the comfort of what God does for his church in general; {v. 11.) " Let mount Zion rejoice, the priests and Levites that attend the sanctuary, and then let all the daughters of Judah, the country-towns, and the inhabitants of them, be glad; let the women, in their songs and dances, as ,usual on occasion of public joys, celebrate with thankfulness this great salvation which God has wrought for us." Note, When we have given God the ]n-aise, we may then take the pleasure, of the extraordinaiy deliverances of the church, and be glad because of God's judgments, the operations of his providence, all which we may see wrought in wisdom, (therefore cAltfl judg7nents,) and working for tlie good of his church.

yi. Let us diligently observe the instances and evidences of the church's beauty, strength, and safety, and faithfully transmit our observations to those that shall come after us; {v. 12, 13.) Walk about Zion. Some think this refers to the ceremony of the triumph; let those who are employed in that solemnity, walk round the walls, as they did, (Neh. xii. 31.) singing, and praising God. In doing this, let them tell the towers, and mark well the bulwarks, 1. That they might magnify the late wonderful deliverance G(xl had wrought for them. Let them observe, with wonder, that the towers and bulwarks are in all their full strength, and none of them damaged; the palaces in their beauty, and none of them blemislied; there is not the least damage done to the city by the kings that were assembled against it; {v. 4.) Tell this to the generation following, as a wonderful instance of God's care of his holy city, that the enemiesshouldnotonlynoti-uinordestroyit, but not so much as hurt or deface it. 2. That they might fortify themselves against the fear of the like threatening danger, another time. And so, (1.) We may understand it literally of Jerusalem, and the strong-hold of Zion. Let the daughters of Judah see the towers and bulwarks of Zion, with pleasure, equal to the terror with which the kings, their enemies, saw them, xk 5. Jerusalem was generally looked upon as an impregnable place, 3s appears. Lam. iv. 12. ylll the inhabitants of the world would not have believed that an enemy should have entered the gates of Jerusalem: nor could they have entered, if the inhabitants had not sinned away their defence. Set your heart to her bulwarks. This intimates that the principal bulwarks of Zion were, not tlie objects of sense, which they might set their eye upon, but the objects of faith, which they must set their hearts upon; it was well enough fortified, indeed, both by nature and art; but its bulwarks, that Avcre mostly to be relied upon, were the special presence of God in it, the beauty of holiness he had put upon it, and the promises he had made

PSALMS, XLIX.

concerning it. " Consider Jerusalem's strength, and tell it to the generations to come, that they may do n:'.thing to weaken it, and that, if at any time it be in distress, they may not basely surrender it to the enemy as not tenable." Calvin observes here, that when they are directed to transmit to posterity a particular account of the towers, and bulwarks, and palaces of Jeinisalem, it is intimated, that, in process of time, they would all be destroyed, and remain no longer to be seen; for, otherwise, what need was there to preserve the description and history of them? When the disciples were admiring the buildings of the temple, their Master told them, that in a little time one stone cf it should not 1)e left ufion another, Matth. xxiv. 1, 2. Tlierefore, (2.) This must certainly be applied to the gospel-church, tliat mount Zion, Heb. xii. 22. "Consider the towers, and bulwarks, and palaces, of that, that you m-iy be invited and encouraged to join yourselves to it, and embark in it. See it foimded on Christ, the Rock fortified by the divine power, giiarded by him that neither slumbers nor sleeps. See what precious ordinances are its palaces, what precious promises are its bulwarks; tell this to the generation following, that they may with purpose cf heart espouse its interests, and cleave to it."

VII. Let us triumph in God, and in the assurances we have of his everlasting loving-kindness, v. 14. Tell this to the generation following, transmit this truth as a sacred deposit to your posterity, That this God, who has now done such great things for us, is our God for ever and ever; he is constant and unchangeable in his love to us and care forus. 1. If God be our Ciod, he is ours for ever, not only through all the ages of time, but to eternity; for it is the everlasting blessedness of glorified saints, that God himself will be with them, and will be their God, Rev. xxi. 3. 2. If he be our God, he Avill be our Guide, our f uthful constant Guide, to show us our way, and to lead us in it; he will be so, even unto death, which will be the period of our way, and will bring us to our rest. He will lead and keep us, even to the last. He will be our Guide above death; so some. He will so guide us, as to set us above the reach of death, so that it sh;ill not be able to do us any real hurt. He will be our Guide beyond death; so others. He will conduct us safe to a happiness on the other side death, to a life in which there shall be no more death. If we take the Lord for our God, he will conduct and convey us safe to death, through death, and Ix'ycnd 'leath; down to death, and up again to glor}-.

PSALM XLIX.

This psalm is a sermon, and so is the next. In most of the psalms, we have the penman praying; or praisinsr; in these, we have him preachinsr; and it is our duty, in siniring-psalms, to teach and admonish ourselves and one another. The scope and desiprn of this discourse is, to convince the men of this world of their sin and follv in setting their hearts upon the things of this world, and so to persuade them to seek the thinsrs of a better world; as also to comfort the people of God, in reference to their own troubles, and thC grief that arises from the prosperity of the wicked. I. In the preface, he proposes to awaken worldly people out of their security, (v. 1. .3.) and to comfort himself and other godly people in a day of distress, V. 4, 5. II. In the rest of the psalm, 1. He endeavours to convince sinners of their folly in doatin<T upon the wealth of this world, by showing them, (1.) That they cannot, with all their wealth, save their friends from death, v. 6. .9. (2.) They cannot save themselves from death, y. 10. (3.J Thev cannot secure themselves a hap-pmcss in this world, v. 11,12. Much less, (4.) Can thev secure to themselves a happiness in the other world, v. 14. 2. He endeavours to comfort himself and other good people, (1.) Against the fear of death, V. 15. (2.) Against the fear of the pro.-^pcriiig power of wicked people, v. 16. .20. In singing this psalm, let us receive these instructions and be wise.

To the chief musician. A fisalm for the sons of Korah. EAR this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: 2. Both low and high, rich and poor together. 3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall he of understanding. 4. I will incline mine ear to a parable; I will open my dark saying upon the harp. 5. Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, ivhen the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?

This is the psalmist's preface to his discourse crn-ceming the vanity cf the world, and its insvifficiency to make us happy; and we seldom meet with an introduction more solemn than this is; for there is no truth of more undoubted certainty, nor of greater weight and importance, and the consideration cf which will be oi more advantage to us.

I. He demands the attention of others to that which he was about to say; (t. 1, 2.) Hear this, all ye people; hear it and heed it, hear it and consider it; what is spoken once, hear tAvice; Hear ana give ear, Ixii. 9, 11. Not only, "Hear, all ye Israelites, and give car all the inhabitants of Canaan," but. Hear, all ye people, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world; for this doctrine is net peculiar to those that are blessed with divine revelation, but even the light of nature witnesses to it. All men may know, and therefore let all men consider, that their riches will not profit them in the day cf death. Both low and high, both rich and peer, must come together, to hear the word cf God; let both, therefore, hear this with application. Let those that are high and rich in the world, hear of the vanity of their worldly possessions, and net be proud of them, ncr secure in the enjoyment cf them, but lay them cut in doing good, that with them they may make to themselves friends; let those that are poor and low, hear this, nnd be ccn-tent with their little, and net envy those th;.t have abundance. Poor people are as much in dnneer from an inordinate desire toward the wealth cf the world, as rich people from an inordinate delight in it.

He gives a good rcjison why his discourse should be regarded; (t'. 3.) My mouth shall speak of wisdom; what he hnd to s;iy, 1. Was true and good. It is wisdom and understanding, it will make these wise and intelligent that receive it, r nd submit to it. It is not doubtful luit certain, net trivial but weighty, not a matter of nice speculation, but of admirable use .to guide us in the right way to eitr great enc'. 2. It was what he \v:A himself well-digested. \A'hnt his mouth spake was the meditation cf his heart; (iis xix. 14.—xlv. 1.) it WPS Avhat God put into his mind, what he had himself seriously considered, and was fidly ;ipi)rized of the meaning of, and crn-vinced of the truth of. That Avhicli minis-tors speak from their own hearts is most likely io reach the hearts of their hearers.

II. He engages his own attention; (y. 4.) / will incline mine ear to a parable. It is called a parable, not because it is figurati\e and obscure, but be cause it is a wise discourse, and very instnictive. It is the same word that is used concerning Solomon's proverbs. The psalmist will himself incline his ear to it. This intiinates, 1. That he was taught it bv the Sjiirit of God, and did not speak of himself. I'hose that undertake to teach others, nuist first learn themselves. 2. That he thought himself nearly concerned in it, and was resolved not to venture his own soul upon that bottom which he dissuaded others from venturing theirs upon. 3. Tliat he would not exoect others should attend t«^

PSALMS, XIJX.

that which he himself did not attend to as a mattei' of the greatest importance. Where God gives the tongue of the learned, he first wa/cejjs the ear to hear as the learned, Isa. 1. 4.

III. He promises to make the matter as plain, and as affecting, as he could; / will ojien my dark saying ufion the harji. What he learned for himself, he would not conceal or confine to himself, but would communicate, for the benefit of (.thers. 1. Some understood it not, it was a riddle to th'.m; tell them of the vanity of the things tliat are seen, and of the reality and weight of invisible things, and they say, -/ih. Lord God, doth he 720t sjieak parables? For the sake of such, he would open this d irk saying, and make it so plain, th.it he tiiat nins might read it. 2. Others understood it well enough, but they were not removed by it, it never affected them, and, for their sake, he would open it upon the harp, and tiy that expedient to work upon them, to win upon them. A verse may find him who a sermon jlies. Herbert.

IV. He begins with the application of it to himself, and that is the right method in which to treat of divine things; we must first preach to ourselves, before we undertake to admonish or instruct others. Before he comes to set down the folly of carnal security, {v. 6.) he here lays down, from his own experience, the benefit and comfoi-t of a holy gracious security, which they enjoy who ti'ust in God, and not in their worldly wealth; JVherefore should I fear? he means, JVherefore should I fear their fear, (1st. viii. 12.) the fears of worldly people? 1. " Wherefore should I be afraid of them.'' Wherefore should I fear in the days of trouble and persecution, when the iniquity of my heels, or of my supplanters that endeavour to trip up my heels, shall co?n/iass me about, and they shall surround rm with their mischievous attempts? Why should I be afraid of those, all whose power lies in their wealth, which will not enable them to redeem their friends? I will not fear theirpower, for it cannot enable them to ruin me." The great men of the world will not appear at all formidable, wlien we consiiler what little stead their wealth will stand them in. We need not fear their casting us down from our excellency, who cannot support them-sclvesi in their own excellency. 2. "Wherefore should I be afraid like them?" The days of old a9;e and death are the days of exnl, Eccl. xii. 1. In the day of judgment, the iniquity of our heels, or of our steps, our past sins, will compass us about, will be set in order before us. Every work will be brought into Judgment, with every secret thing; and ex>ery one of us must give account of himself. In these days, worldly wicked people will be afraid; nothing more dreadful to them, that hav? set their hearts upon the world, than to think of le iving it; death to them is the king of terrors, because, after death, comes the judgment, when their sins wHl svirround them as so many furies; but wheref-r.' should a good man fear death, who has God with him? xxiii. 4. When his iniquities compass him ah^iut, he sees them all pardoned, his conscience is purified and pacified, and then, even in the judgment-d ly, when the hearts of others fail them for fenr, they can lift up their heads with joy, Luke xxi. 26, 28. Note, The children of God, thou'-'-h ever so poor, are in this ti-uly happy, above the m-ist prosperous of the children of this world, th it they ar.^ well-girarded against-the terrors of d? :t'i, and tlie judgment to come.

6. They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; 7. None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ran-

341

som for him; 8. (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever;) 9. I'hat he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. 10. For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. 11. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling-places to all generations: they call their lands after their own names. 12. Nevertheless, man being in honour abideth not he is like the beasts that perish. 13. This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah. 14. Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

In these verses, we have,

I. A description of tlie spirit and way of worldly people, whose portion is in this life, xvii. 14.—xlix. 6, 11. It is taken for granted that they have wealth, and A multitude of riches, (x-. 6.) houses and lands of inheritance, which they call their own, v. 11. God often gives abundance of the good things of this world to bad men, who live in contempt of "him, and rebellion against him—by which it appears, that they are not the best things in themselves, for then God would give most of them to his best fnends; and that they are not the best things for us, for then they would not have so much of tliem, who, being marked for rain, are to be ripened for it by their prosperity, Prov. i. 32. A man may have abundance of the wealth cf this world, and be made better by it, may thereby have his heart enlarged in love, and thankfulness, and obedience, and may do that good with it which will be fruit abounding to his account; and therefore it is not men's having riches that denominates them worldly, but their setting their hearts upon them as the best things; and so these worldly people are here described;

1. They repose a confidence in their riclies; They trust in their wealth, {v. 6.) they depend upon it as their portion and happiness, and expect that it will secure them from all evil, and supply them with all good, and that they need nothing else, nc, not God himself. Their gold is their hope, (Job xxxi. 24.) and so it becomes their god. Thus our Saviour explains the difficuhv of the salvation cf rich people; (Mark x. 24.)'How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kintrdom of GodI See 1 Tim. vi. 17.

2. They take a pride in their riches; They boast themselves in the multitude of them, as if they were sure tokens of God's favour, and certain proofs of their own ingenuity and industiy. My might, and the flower of my hand, have gotten me this wealth; as if they made them tmly great and happy, and more really excellent, th;m their neighbours. They boast that they have all they would have, (x. 3.) and can set all the world at defiance; / sit as a queen, and shall be a lady for ever; therefore they call their lands after their own names, hoping thereby to perpetuate their mcmoiy; and, if their lands do retain the names by which they called them, it is but a poor honour; but they often change their namej when tlicy change their owners.

3. They flatter themselves with an expectation of the perpetuity of their worldly possessions; (v. 11.) Their inward thought is, that'their house,^ shall con-

PSALMS, XLIX.

tinue for ever, and with this thought they please themselves. Are not all thoughts inward? Yes: but it intimates, (1.) That this thought is deeply I'ooted in their minds, is rolled and revolved there, and carefully lodged in the innermost recesses of their hearts. A godly man has thoughts of the world, but they are his outward thoughts; his inward thought is reserved fir God and heavenly things; but a worldly man has only some foreign floating thoughts of the things 'f Ciod, while his fixed thought, his inward thought, is about the world; that lies nearest his heart, and is upon the throne there. (2.) There it is industriously concealed; they cannot, for shame, say that they expect their houses to continue for ever, but, inwardly, they think so. If they cannot persuade themselves that they shall continue for e^'er, yet they are so foolish as to think their houses shall, and their dwelling-places—suppose they should, what good will that do them, when they shall be no longer theirs? But they will not; for the v/orld passes away, and the fashion of it; all things are devoured by the teeth of time.

'II. A demonstration of their folly herein. In general, (x'. 13.) This their ivay is their folly. Note, The way of worldlinessis a very foolish way: they that lay up their treasure on earth, and stt their affections on things below, act contrary both to right reason and to their tme interest. God himself pronounced him a fool who thought his goods were laid up for many years, and that they would be a portion for his soul, Luke xii. 19, 20. And yet their posterity approve their sayings, agree with them in the same sentiments, say as they say, and do as they do, and tread in tlie steps of their worldliness. Note, The love of the world is a disease that nms in the blood; men have it by kind, tUl the grace of God cures it. To prove the f )lly of carnal wi-ldlings, he shows, 1. Thit, with all their wealth, they cannot save the life of the dearest friend tliey l\ivc in the world, nor purcliase a reprieve for him when he is under the arrest of death; {y. 7"9.) .A'bne of them can by any means redeem his brother; his brother-worldling, who would give him counter-security out of his own estate, if he would but he hm\ for him: and gladly he would, in hopes that he miglit do the same kindness for him another time. But their words will not be taken one for anotlier, nor will one man's estate be the ransom of another man's life. God does not value it, it is of no account with him; and the true value of things is as they stand in his books. His justice will not accept it by way of commutation or equivalent. The Lord of cur brother's life is the Lord of our estate, and may take both, if he pleases, without either difficulty to himself or wrong to us; and therefore one cannot be ransom for another. We cannot bribe death, that our brother should still live, much less that he should live for ever, in this world, nor bribe the grave, that he should not see corruption; for we must needs die, and return to the dust, and there is no discharge from that war. Wlrat folly is it to trust to that, and boast of that, which will not enable us so much as for one hour to respite the execution of the sentence of death upon a parent, a child, or a friend that is to us as our own soul! It is certainly true, that the redemption of the soul is fire-cious, and ceaseth for exwr; life, when it is going, cannot be arrested, and when it is gone, it cannot be recalled, l:)y any human art, or workUy jn-ice. But this looks further, to the eternal redeni])tion which was to be wrought out by the Messiah, whom tue Old Testament saints had an eye to as the Rt -decmer. Immortality is a jewel of too great a value to be purchased liy the wealth of this world. We are not redeerned with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, 1 l*et. i. 16, 19. The learned

Dr. Hammond applies the 8th and 9th verses expressly to Christ; " The redemption of the soul shall be precious, shall be high-prized, it shall cost very dear; but, being once wrought, it shall cease for ever, it shall never ner-d to be repeated, Heb. ix. 25, 26.—X. 12. And he, the Redeemer, shall yet live for ever, and shall not see corruptioii; he shall rise again before he sees coniiption, and ther. shall live tor evermore," Rev. i. 18. Christ did that for us, which all the riches of the world could not do; well therefore may he be dearer to us than any worldly things. Christ did that for us which a brother, a friend, could not do f( r us, no not one of the best estate or interest; and therefore those that love father or brother more than him, are not worthy of him. This likewise shows the folly of worldly perple, who sell their souls for that which would never l:)uy them.

2. That, with all their wealth, they cannot secure themselves from the stroke of death. The worldling sees, and it vexes him to see it, that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, V. 10. Therefore he cannot but expect that it will, at length, come to his own turn; he cannot find any encouragement to hope that he himself shall continue for ever, and therefore foolishly comforts himself with this, that, though he shall not, his house shall. Some rich people are wise, they are politicians, but they cannot out-wit death, nor evade his stroke, with all their art and management; others are fools and binitish, (Fortuna favet fatuis — Fools are fortune's favourites,) these, though they do no good, yet perhaps do no great hurt, in the world: but that shall not excuse them, they shall perish, and be taken away by death, as well as the wise that did mischief with their craft. Or by the wise and the foolish we may understand the godly and the wicked; the godly die, and their death is their deliverance; the wicked perish, their death is their destruction; but, however, they leave their wealth toothers. (1.) They cannot continue with it, nor will it serve to procure them a reprieve. That is a frivolous plea, though once it served a turn; (Jer. xli. 8.) Slay %is not, for we have treasures in the field. (2.) They cannot cany it away with them, but must leave it behind them. (3.) They cainirt foresee who will, enjoy it when they have left it; they must leave it to others, but to whom they know not, perhaps to a fool, (Eccl. ii. 19.) perhaps to an enemy.

And as men's wealth will stand them in no stead in a dying hour, so neither will their honour; (7'. 12.) Alan, being in honour, abides not. We will sup-

Eose a man advanced to the highest pinnacle rfprc-rment, as great and happy as the world can ni:>.ke him; man in splendour, man at his best estate, surrounded and supported with all the advantages he can desire; yet then he abides not, his honour docs not continue, that is a fleeting shadow, he himself does not. He tarries not all night; this world is an inn, in which his stay is so short, that he can scarcely be said to get a night's lodging in it; so little rest is there in these things; he has but a baiting-time; He is like the beasts that perish; he must as certainly die as the beasts, and his death will be as final a period to his state in this world as theirs is; his dead body likewise will putrify as theirs do; and (as Dr. Hammond observes) frequently the greatest honours and wealth, unjustly gotten 'by the parent, descend not to any one of his ])osterity,' (as the beasts, when they die, leave nothing behind them to their yoiuig ones, but the wide world to feed in,) l)ut fill into other h.mds immediately, for which he never designed to gather tliem.

3. Th;.t their condition on the other side death will l)e very miser.iblc. The world they dote upon, will nc t (nlv not save them from death, but will sink

PSALMS, XLIX.

343

them so much the lower into hell; (v. 14.) Like s/iec/i they arc laid i?i the grave. Their prosperity did but feed them like sheep for the slaughter, (Hos. iv. 16.) and then death comes and shuts them up in the grave, like fat sheep in a fold, to be brought forth to the day of wrath. Job xxi. 30. Multitudes of them, like flocks of sheep dead of some disease, are thrown into tlic grave, and there death shall feed on them, the second death, the worm that dies not, Job xxiv. 40. Their own guilty consciences, like so many vultures, shall be con-tmually preying upon them, with. Son, remember, Luke xvi. 25. Death insults and triumphs over them, as it is represented in the fall of t1v. king of Babylon, at which hell from beiieath is rroved, Isa. xiv. 9, 8cc. While a saint can ask proud Death, Wher^ is thy sting? Death will ask the proud sinner, Where is thy wealth, thy fio?n/}? and the more he was fattened with prosperity, tlu more sweetly will death feed on him. And in the morning of tlie resurrection, when all that sleep in the dust shall awake, (Dan. xii. 2.) the ufiright shall have dominion over them; shall not onlv be advanced to the highest dignity and honour, when they are filled with everlasting shame and rontempt, elevated to the highest heavens, when they are sunk to the lowest hell; but they phall be assessors with Christ in passing judgment upon them, and shall applaud the justice of God in their ruin. When the rich man in hell begged that Lazaiiis might bring him a drop of water to cool his tongue, he owned that that upright man had dominion over him, as the foolish virgins also owned the dominion of the wise, and tliat they lay much at their mercy, when they begged. Give us of your oil. Let this comfort us, in reference to the oppressions which the upright are now often groaning under, and the dominion which the wicked have over them. The day is coming, when the tables will be turned, (Esther ix. 1.) and the upright will have the dominion. Let us now judge of things, as they will appear at that da}'. But what will become of all the beauty of the wicked? Alas! that shall all be consumed in the grave from their dwelling; all that upon which they valued themselves, and for which others caressed and admired them, was all adventitious and borrowed, it was paint and varnish, and they will rise in their own native deformity. The beauty of holiness is that which the grave, that consumes all other beauty, cannot touch, or do any damage to. Their beauty shdl consume, the grave, or hell, being a Habitation to every one of them; and what beaut}' can be there where there is nothing but the blackness of darkness for ever?

15. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the G;rave; for he shall receive me. Selah. 16. Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased: 17. For, when he dieth, he shall cany nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him ; 18. Though, while he lived, he blessed his soul: (and jnen will praise thee when thou doest well to thyself:) 19. He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. 20. Man. 'hat is in honour, and understandeth not, is .ike the beasts that perish.

Good reason is here given to good people,

I. Why they should not be afraid rf denth. There

IS no cause for that fear, if they have such a com-

furtable prospect as David here has of a happv state

on the other side death, v. 15. He had showed

{v. 14.) how miserable the dead are that die in their sins; here he shows how blessed the dead are that die in the Lord. The distinction of men's outward condition, how great a difference soever it makes in life, makes none at death; rich and poor meet in the grave: but the distinction of men's spiritual state, though, in this life, it makes a small difference, where all things come alike to all, yet, at and after death, it makes a very great one; 7\'bw he is comforted, and thou art tormented. The righteous has hope in his death, so has David here hope in God concerning his soul. Note, The believing hopes of the soul's redemption from the grave, and reception to glory, are the great support and joy of the children of God in a dying hour. They hope,

1. That God will redeem their souls from the power of the grave; which includes, (1.) The preserving of the soul from going to the grave with the body. The grave has a power over the body, by vii-tue of the sentence, (Gen. iii. 19.) and it is cruet enough in executing that power, (Cant, viii. 6.) but it has no such power over the soul; it has power to silence, and imprison, and consume, the body; but the soul then moves, and acts, and converses, more freely than ever; (Rev. vi. 9, 10.) it is immaterial and immortal. When death breaks the dark-lanthom, yet it does not extinguish the candle that was pent up in it. (2.) The re-unitina of the soul and body at the resurrection. The soul is often put for the life; that indeed falls.under the power of the grave for a time, but it shall, at length, be redeemed from it, when mortality shall be swallowed up of life. The God of life, that was its Creator at first, can and will be its Redeemer at last. (3.) The salvation of the soul from eternal nrjn; " God shall redeem my soul from the sfieol of hell, the wrath to come, that pit of destruction into which the wicked shall be cast," v. 14. It is a great cf m-fort to dying saints, that they shall not be hurt of the second death, (Rev. ii. 11.) and therefore the first death has no sting, and the grave no victory.

2. That he will receive them to himself. He redeems their souls, that he may receive them, (xxxi. 5.) Into thy hands I commit my spirit, for thou hast redeemed it. He will receive them into his favour, will admit them into his kingdom, into the mansions th^t are prepared for them, (John xiv. 2, 3.) those everlasting habitations, Luke xvi. 9.

II. Why they should not be afraid of the prosperity and power of wicked people in this world, which, as it is their pride and joy, has often been the envy, and grief, and terror, of the righteous; which yet, all things considered, there is no reason for.

1. He supposes they will be under a strong temptation to envy the prosperity of sinners, and to be^afraid that they will carry all before them with a high hand, that with their wealth and interest they will nin down religion and religious people, and that they will be found the tnily happ^ people; for he supposes, (1.) That they are' made rich, and so are enabled to give law to all about them, atid have every thing Pt command: Pecuniee obediur.t omnes et omnia — Event person and every thing obeys the commandijig injiuence of money. (2.) Thrit the glny of their house, from veiy small beginnings, is increased greatly, which naturalh-makcs men haughty, insolent, and imperious, t. 16. Thus the^' seem to be the favourites of Heaver, and therefore frrmidalile. (3.) That they are verv easy and secure in themselves and in their own minds; (-f. 18.) In his life-time, he blessed his soul; he thought himself a veiy happv man, such r^n one ?s he would be, and a very good man, such an one as he should be, because he prospered in the world. He blcssod his srul, ^s that rich fool who said to his soul, " Soul, take thine ease, and be not disturbed either with rarcs and fears about the world, cr with

PSALMS, ^..

the rebukes and admonitions of conscience. All is well, and will be well for ever." Note, [i.] It is of great consequence to consider what that is in which we bless our souls, upon the score of which we think well of ourselves. BeUevers bless themselves in the God of truth, (Isi. Ixv. 16.) and think themselves happy if he be theirs; carnal people bless themselves in the wealth of the world, and think themselves happy if they have abundance of that. [2.1 There are many whose precious souls lie under God's curse, and yet they do themselves !)less them; they applaud that in themselves which God condemns, and speak peace to themselves, when God denounces war against them. Yft tl^is is not all. (4.) They are in good reputation among their neighbours; " Men will praise thee, and cry thee up, as having done well for thyself in raising such an estate and family." This is the sentiment of all the children of this world, that those do best for themselves that do most for their bodies, by heaping up riches, though, at the same time, nothing is done for the soul, nothing for eternity; and accordingly thev bless the covetous, nvhom the Lord abhors, x. 3. If men were to be our judges, it were our wisdom thus to recommend ourselves to their good opinion: but what will it avail us to be approved of men, if God condemn us? Dr. Hammond understands this of the good man here spoken to, for it is the second person, not of the wicked man spoken of; " He, in his life-time, blessed his soul, but thou shall'be praised for doing well unto thyself. The worldling magnified himself; but thou that dost not, like him, speak well of thyself, but dost well for thyself, in securing thy eternal welfare, thou shalt be praised, if net of men, yet of God, which will be thine everlasting honour.

2. He suggests that which is sufficient to take off the strength of the temptation, by directing us to look forward to the end of prosperous sinners; (Ixxiii. 17.) " Think what they will be, in the oth( r world, and you will see no cause to envy them what they are, and have, in this world."

(i.) In the other world, they will be never the better for all the wealth and prosperity they are now so fond of; it is a miserable portion, which w'U not last si long as they must; {v. 17.) IHicn he dies, it is taken for granted that he goes into another world himself, but he shall carry nothing away with him of all that which he has been so IcMig heaping up. The greatest and wealthiest cannot therefore be the hippiest, because they are never the better for their living in this world; as they came naked into it, thev shall go n ked out of it. ^ut those have something'to show in the other world, for their living in this w;rld, who can say, through grace, that though they came con-upt, and sinful, and spiri-tuaPy n ked, into it, they go renewed, and sanctified, a -.d well-clotlied with the righteousness of Christ, (^it of it. They that are rich in the graces and c-^mf irts of the Spirit, have something which, when they die, they shall carry away with them, something which death cannot strip them of, nay, which death will be the improvement of; but as for worl 'Iv i)osscssions, as we brought nothing into the world, (what we have we had from others,) so it is certain that we shall carry nothing out, but leave it to others, 1 Tim. vi. 7. They shall descend, but their plory, tliat which they called and counted their glory, and gloried in, shall not descend after them, to lessen the disgrace of death and the grave, to bring them off in the judgment, or abate the torments of hell; prace is glory that will ascend with us, but no earthly glory will descend after us.

(2.) In the other world, they will be infinitely the worse for all their abuses of the wealth andj)i'ospe-rity they enjoyed in this world, {v. 19.) The soul ihall go to the generation of his fathers, his worldly-

wicked fathers, whose sayings ht approved, and whose steps he trod in, his fathers who would not hearken to the word of God, Zech. i. 4. He shaU go to be there where they are that shall never see light, shall never have the least glimpse oi comfort and joy, being condenmed to utter darkness. Be not afraid then of the pcmp and power of wicked people; for the end of the man that is in honour, if he be not wise and good, will be miserable; if he understand not, he is to be pitied rather than envied. A fool, a wicked man, in honour, is really as despicable an animal as any under the sun; he is like the beasts that perish; {v. 20.) nay, it is better to be a beast, than to be a man that makes himself like a L»east. Men in honour, that understand, that know and do their auiy, ana maKe conscience oi ii, are as> gods, and children of the Most High. But men in honour, that understand not, that are proud, and sensual, and oppressive, are as beasts, and they shall perish, like the beasts, ingloricusly as to this world, though not, like the beasts, indemnified as to another world. Let prosperous sinners therefore be afraid for themselves, but let not even suffering saints be afraid of them.

PSALxVr L.

This psalm, as the f>. rmer, is a psalm of instruction, not oi prayer or praise: it is a psalm of reproof and admonition, in singing whicn, we are to teach and admonish one another. In the foregoing psalm, after a general demand of attention, God by his prophet deals (v. 3.) with the children of this world, to convince them of their sin and folly in setting their hearts upon the wealth of this world; in this psalm, after a like preface, he deals witli those that were, in profession, the church's children, to convince them of their sin and folly in placing their religion in ritual services, while they neglected practical godliness; and this is as sure a way to ruin as the other. This psalm is intended, 1. As a reproof to the carnal Jews, both those that rested in the external performances of their religion, and were remiss in the more excellent duties of prayer and praise; and those that expounded the law to others, but lived %vicked lives themsehes. 2. As a prediction of the abolishing of the ceremonial law, and of the introducing of a spiritual way of worship, in and by the kingdom of the Messiah, John iv. 23, 24. 3. As a representation of the day of judgment, in which God will call men to an account concerning their observance of those things which they have thus been taught; men shall be judged according to what is icrilteii in the books; and therefore Christ is fitly represented speaking as a Judge, then when he speaks as a Lawgiver. Here is, 1. The glorious appearance of the Prince that gives law and judgment, v. 1 . . 6. II. Instruction given to his worshippers, to turn their sacrifices into prayers, v. 7.. 15. III. A rebuke to those that pretend to worship God, but live in disobedience to his commands; (v. 16 .. 20.) their doom read; (v. 21,22.) and warning given to all to look to their conversation as well as to their devotions, v. 23. These instructions and admonitions we must take to ourselves and give to one another, singing this psalm. ^ psalm of Asaph.

1. rj^HE mighty God, etcn the Lord, JL hath spoken, and ealled the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. 2. Out of Zion,- the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. 3. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. 4. He shall call to the hi^avens from above, and to the earth, (that he may judge his people.) 5. Gather my saints together unto me ; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. 6. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself Selah.

PSALMS, L.

345

It is probable that Asaph was not only the chief musician, who was to put a tune to this psalm, but that he was himself the penman of it; for we read that in Hezekiah's time they praised God in the tuords of David, and of Asajih the seer, 2 Chron. xxix. 30.

Here is,

I. The court called, in the name of the King of kings; {i.<. 1.) The mighty God, even the Lord, hath sfioke7i; El, Elohim, Jehovah, the God of infinite

gower, justice, and mercy. Father, Son, and Hoi}' rhjst. God is the Judge, the Son of God came for judgment into the world, and the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of judgment. All the earth is called to attend, not only because the controversy God had with bis people Israel, for their hj'pocrisy and ingr.ititude, might safely be referred to any man of reason; nay, letthe house of Israel \t%(M judge between God and his vineyard; (Isa. v. 3.) but because all the children of men are concerned to know the right way of worshipping God, in spirit and in truth; because, when the kingdom of the Messiah should be set up, all should be instructed in the evangelical worship, and invited to join in it, (see Mai. i. 11. Acts x. 34.) and because, in the day of final judgment, all nations shall be gathered together, to receive tlieir diOTi, and every man shall give an account of himself unto (iod.

II. The judgment set, and the Judge taking his seat. As, when Gad give the law to Israel in the w lde"ness, it is said, He came from Sinai, and rose ufi from Seir, and shined forth froju mount Par an, and came with ten thousands of his saints, and then from his light hand w?nt a fiery law; (Deut. xxxiii. 2.) so, with allusion to that, when God comes to r_"prove them for their hypocrisy, and to send forth his gospel to supersede the legal institutions, it is said here, 1. Tliat he shall shine out of Zion, as then from the top of Sin li, v. -2. Because in Zion his or icle w is now fixe.l, thence liis judgments upon that provoking people were denounced, and thence the orl .'rs issued f "^r the execution of them; (Joel li. 1.) Blow ye the trumfietin Zion. Sim:>times there are m >re than ordinary appearances of God's presence anl power working with and by his word and ordinances, for the convincing of men's consciences, and th^ re-'ormi'.ig and refining of his church; and tlien Gol, who dw ivs dwells in Zion, may be said to sh'ne out of Zion. Moreover, he may be said to shine out of Zion, because tlie gospel, which set up f^pir'.tual worship, w is to go forth from mount Zion, (Isa. ii. 3. Mie. iv. 2.) and the pi'eachvrs of it were tT begin at Jerusalem, (Luke xxiv. 47'.) and Cliris-tians are s I'd to come unto mount Zion, to receive th^ir iiistructi ms, Heb. xii. 22, 28. Zion is here caUed the fierfection of beauty, because it was the h-^l/hll; ani holiness is indeed the perfection of beaut v. 2. Th it he shcdl come, and not keep, silence, sh ill no longer seem to wink at tlic sins of men, as lie h id done, {v. 21.) but shall show his displeasure at th"m, and shall also c luse that mystery to be puhli ;iied to th • world by liis holy apostles, which had long lain hid, that the Gentilesshndd be fellow-he'rs, (Rph. ii'. 5, 6.) and that the partition-wall of the ceremoai d 1 iw should betaken dovn; this shall now no l^uTcr b ■ con^e d"d. In the "re it day, our God shall come, arid shall not kerfi silence, but shall mak^ those to hear his judgment that would not hearken t:^ his 1 iw. 3. That his appe irance should be very majestic and terrible; a fire sha'l devour before him. The fire 'f his jude;ments shall make way for the rebukes of his word, in . rdcr to the awakening of the hypocritical nation of the Jews, that the sinn'^rs in Zion, being afraid f^f thit devouring fire, (Isa. xxxiii. 14.) miglit be startled out of their sins. When lis gospcl-k'ngflom v/is to be set up, Christ came to send ^re on the earth. Luke

Vol. 111.-^2 X

xii. 49. The Spirit was given in cloven tongues as of fire, introduced by a rushing mighty wind, which was very tempestuous. Acts ii. 2, 3. And, in the I last judgment, Christ shall come in flaming fire, j 2 Thess. i. 8. See Dan. vii. 9. Heb. x. 27. 4. That as on mount Sinai he came with ten thousands of his saints, so he shall now call to the heavens from above, to take notice of this solemn process, (x-. 4.) as Moses often called heaven and earth to witness against Israel, (Deut. iv. 26.—xxxi. 28.—xxxii. 1.) and God by his prophets, Isa. i. 2. Mic. vi. 2. The equity of the judgment of the great day will be attested and applauded by heaven and earth, by saints and angels, even all the holy myriads.

III. The parties summoned; (xi. 5.) Gather my saints unto me This may be understood, either, 1. Of saints indeed; "Let them be gathered to God through Christ; let the few pious Israelites be set by themselves;" for to them the following denunciations of wrath do not belong; rebukes to hypocrites ought not to be terrors to the upright. When God will reject the services of those that only offered sacri fice, resting in the outside of the perforaiance, hfi will graciously accept those who, in sacrificing, makt a covenant with him, and so attend to, and answer, the end of the institution of sacrifices. The design of the preaching of the gospel, and his setting up of Christ's kingdom, was, to gather together in one the children of God, John xi. 52. And, at the second coming of Jesus Christ, all his saints shall be gathered together unto him, (2 Thess. ii. 1.) to be assessors with him in the judgment, for the saints shall judge the world, 1 Cor. vi. 2. Now it is here gi\'cn as a character of the saints, that they have made a covenant with God by sacrifice. Note, (1.) Those only shall be gathered to God as his saints, who have, in sincerity, covenanted with him, who have t iken him to be their God, and given up them-s' Ives to him to be his people, and thus have joined tliemselves unto the Lord. (2.) It is only by sacrifice, by Christ the great Sacrifice, (from whom all the legal sacrifices derived what value they had,) that we po r sinners can covenant with Goi, so as to be accepted of him. There must be an atonement made for the breach of the first covenant, before we can be admitted again into covenant. Or, 2. It may be understood of saints in profession, such as the people of Israel were, who are called a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation, Exod. xix. 6. They were, as a body politic, taken into covenant with God, the covenant of peculiarity, and it was done with great solemnity by sacrifice, Exod. xxiv. 8. "Let them come and hear what God has to say to tliem; let them receive the reproofs God sends them now by liis proplicts, and the gospel he will, in due time, send them by his Son; which shall supersede the ceremonial law. If these be slighted, let them expect to hear from God another way, and to be judged by that word which they will not be ruled by." IV. The issue of this solemn trial foretold; (y. 6.) The heavens shall declare his righteousness; those heavens that were called to be witnesses to the trial; {v. 4.) the peofile in heaven shall say, Hallelujah. True and 7-ighteous are his judg7ne?!ts,'Rev. xix. 1, 2. The righteousness of God, in aU the rebukes of his word and providence, in the establishment of his gospel, (which brings in an ex<erlasting righteous ness, and in which the righteou.s-ness of God is re vealed,) and especially in the judgment of the great dav, is what the heavens will declare, 1. It wiU be universally kno\vn, and proclaimed to all the world. As the heavens declare the glory, the wisdom, and power, of God the Creator, (xix. 1.) so thev shall no less openly declare the elorv, the justice, and righteousness, of God the .fudge; and so Irud do they proclaim both, that there "is no speech nor 'an guage where their voice is not heard, as it f'-llcws

PSALMS, L.

then;, V. 3. 2. It will be incontestably owned and proved; who can deny what the heavens declare? Even sinners' own consciences will subscribe to it, and hell as well as heaven will be forced to acknowledge the righteousness of God. The reason given, is, for God is Judg-e himself, and therefore, (1.) He will be just; for it is impossible he should do any wrong to any of his creatures, he never did, nor ever will. When men are employed to judge for him, they may do unjustly: but when lie is Judge himself, chore can be no injustice done. Is God unrighteous, Hvho takes vengeance? The apostle, for this reason, st.irtles at the thought of it; God forbid! for then ho'jo shall God judge the world? Rom. hi. 5, 6. Tiiese decisions will be perfectly just, for against them there will lie no exception, and from them there will lie no appeal. (2.) He will be justified; God is Judge, and therefore he will not only execute justice, but he will oblige all to own it; for he will be clear ivhen he judges, li. 4.

7. Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. 8. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices, or thy burnt-offerings, to have been continually befoi'e me. 9. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy folds: 10. For eveiy beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. 11. I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are mine. 12. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. 13. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats ? 14. Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High : 15. ^/And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

God is here dealing with those tliat placed all their religion in the observances of the ceremonial law, and thought those sufficient.

I. He lays down the original contract between him and Israel, in which they had avouched him to be their God, and he them to be his people, and so both parties were agreed; {xk 7.) Hear, O my people, and I will speak. Note, It is justly expected, that whatever others do, when he speaks, his people should give ear; who will, if they do not? And then we may comfortably expect that God will speak to us, when we are rdady to hear what he says; even when he testifies against us in the rebukes and threatenings of his word and providences, we must be forward to hear what he says, to hear even the rod, and him that has appointed it.

II. He puts a slight upon the legal sacrifices, V. 8, &c. K^ow,

1. This may be considered as looking back to the use of these under the law. God had a controversy with the Jews; but what was the ground of the controversy? Not their neglect of the ceremonial institutions; no, they h;id not been wanting in the observance of them, their burnt-offerings had been continually before Gnd, they took a pride in them, and hfipcd by their offt-rings to procure a dispensation for their lusts, as the adulterous woman, Prov. vii. 14. Tlvir constant sacrifices, they thought, would both expiate and excuse their neglect of the weightier m itters of the law. Nay, if they had, in some degree, neglected these institutions, yet that should not have been tht' cause of God's quarrel w'^th them, for it w.is but a small off't-iice, in compari-

son with the immoralities of their conversation. They thought God was mightily beholden to them for the ipany sacrifices they had brought to his altar, and that they had made him \evy much their Debtor by them, as if he could not have maintained his numerous family of priests without their contributions; but God hei'e shows them the contrary, (1.) That he did not need their sacrifices; what occasion had He for their bullocks and goats, who has the command of all the beasts of the forest, and the cattle xipon a thousand hills, (y. 9, 10.) has an incontestable propriety in them, and dominion over them, has them all always under his eye, and within his reach, and can make what use he pleases of them? they all wait on him, and are all at his disposal; civ. 27« -29. Can we add any thing to his store, whose all the wild fowl and wild beasts are, the world itself and the fulness thereof? xk 11, 12. God's infinite self-sufficiency proves our utter insufficiency to add any thing to him. (2.) That he could not be benefitted by their sacrifices. Their goodness, of this kind, could not possibly extend unto him, nor, if they were in this matter righteous, was he the better; [v. 13.) Will I eat the flesh of bulls? It is as absurd to think that their sacrifices could, of themselves, and by virtue of any innate excellency in them, add any pleasure or praise to God, as it would be to imagine that an infinite Spirit could be supported bv meat and drink, as our bodies are. It is said indeed cf the demons whom the Gentiles worshipped, that they did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drink the wine of their drink-offerings, (Deut. xxxii. 38.) they regaled themselves in the homage they robbed the true God of; but will the great Jehovah be thus entertained? No, to obey is better thUn sacrifice, and to love God and our neighbour, better than all burnt-offerings, so much better, that God, by his prophets, often told them that their sacrifices were not only not acceptable, but abominable, to him, while they lived in sin; instead of pleasing him, he looked uprn them as a mockery, and therefore an affront and provocation to him; see Prov. xv. 8. Isa. i. 11, &c.— Ixvi. 3. Jer. vi. 20. Amos v. 21. They are therefore here warned not to rest in these performances; but to conduct themselves, in all other instances, toward God as their God.

2. This may be considered as looking forward to the abolishing of these by the gospel of Christ. Thus Dr. Hammond understands it. ^Vhen God shall set up the kingdom ol the Messiah, he shall abolish the old way of worship by sacrifice and offerings; he will no more have those to be continually before him; {y. 8.) he will no more require of his worshippers to bring him their bullocks and their goats, to be burnt upon his altar, t'. 9. For indeed he never appointed this, as that which he had any need of, or took any pleasure in, for, besides that all we have is his already, he has far more beasts in the forest, and upon the mountains, which we know nothing of, nor have any property in, than we have in our folds; but he instituted it, to prefigure the great sacrifice which his own Son should, in the fulness of time, offer upon the cross, to make atonement for sin, and all the other spiritual sacrifices of acknowledgment, with which God, through Christ, will be well ploised.

III. He directs to the best sacrifices of prayer and praise, as those which, under the law, were preferred before all burnt-oflx^rings and sacrifices, and on which then the greatest stress was laid, and which now, under the gospel, come in the room of those carnal ordinances which were imposed until the times of reformation. He shows us here, (t. 14, 15.) what is good, and what the I^ord our God requires of us, and will accept, when sacrifices arc slighted and superseded. 1. We must make a penitent acknowledgment of our sins: offer to God

PSALMS, L.

347

znnfession; so some read it, and understand it of the confession of sin, in order to our giving glory to God, and taking shame to ourselves, that we may never return to it; A broken and contrite heart is the sacrifice which God ivill not despise, li. 17. If the sin was not abandoned, the sin-offering was not accepted. 2. We must give God thanks for his mercies to us; Offer to God thanksgiving, every day, often every day, (Seven times a day will I praise thee, J and upon special occasions; and this shall please the Lord, if it come from an humble thankful heart, full of love to him, and joy in him, better than an oar or bullock, that has horns and hooj's, Ixix. 30, 31. 3. We must make conscience of performing our covenants with him; Pay thy vows to the Most High, forsake thy sins, and do thy duty better, pursuant to the solemn promises thou hast made him to that purport. When we give God thanks for any mercy we have received, we must be sure to pay the vows we made to him when we were in pursuit of the mercy, else our thanksgivings will not be accepted. Dr. Hammond applies this to the great gospel-ordinance of the euCTiarist, in which we are to give thanks to God for his great love in sending his Son to save us, and to pay our vows of love and duty to him, and to give alms. Instead of all the Old Testament types of a Christ to come, we have that blessed memorial of a Christ already come. 4. In the day of distress, we must apply ourselves to God by faithful and fervent prayer; (v. 15.) Call upon me in the day of trouble, and not upon any other god. Our troubles, though we see them coming from God's hand, must drive us to him, and not drive us from him. We must thus acknowledge him in all our ways, depend upon his wisdom, power, and goodness, and refer ourselves entirely to him, and so give him glory. This is a cheaper, easier, readier, way of seeking his favour, than by a peace-offering, and yet more acceptable. 5. When he, in answer to our prayers, delivers us, as he has promised to do in such a way and time as he shall think fit, we must glorify him, not only by a grateful mention of his favour, but by living to his praise. Thus must we keep up our communion with God; meeting him with our prayers when he afflicts us, and with our praises when he delivers us. •

16. But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? 17. Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. 18. When thou sawest a thief, then thou con-sentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. 19. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. 20. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son. 21. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself; hut I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. 22. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear yoit in pieces, and there he none to deliver. 23. Whoso offer-eth praise glorifieth me: and to him that or-dereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.

God, by the psalmist, having instructed his people in the right way of worshipping him, and keep-

ing up their communion with him, here directs his speech to the wicked, to hypocrites, whether thev were such as professed the Jewish or the Christian religion: hypocrisy fs wickedness, for which God will judge. Observe here, I. The charge drawn up against them.

1. They are charged with invading and usui-ping the honours and privileges of religion; {v. 16.) What hast thou to do, O wicked man, to declare my statutes? This is a challenge to those that are really profane, but seemingly godly, to show what title they have to the cloak of religion, and by what authority they wear it, when they use it only to cover and conceal the abominable impieties of their hearts and lives. Let them make out their claim to it if they can. Some think it points prophetically at the Scribes and Pharisees, that were the teachers and leaders of the Jewish church, at the time when the kingdom of the Messiah, and that evangelical way of worship spoken of in the foregoing verses, were to be set up. They violently opposed that great revolution, and used all the power and interest which they had by sitting in Moses's seat to hinder it; but the account which our blessed Saviour gives of them, (Matth. xxiii.) and St. Paul, (Rom. ii. 21, 22.) makes this expostulation here agree very well to them. They took on them to declare God's statutes, but they hated Christ's insti-uction; and therefore what had they to do, to expound the law* who rejected the gospel? But it is applicable to all those that are practisers of iniquity, and ytt professors of piety, especially if withal they be preachers of it. Note, It is very absurd in itself, and a great affrbnt to the God of heaven, for those that are wicked and ungodly, to declare his statutes, and to take his covenant in their mouths. It is very possible, and too common, for those that declare God's statutes to others, to live in disobedience to them themselves; and for these that take God's covenant in their niruths, in their hearts to continue their covenant with sin and death; but they are guilty of an usurpation, they take to themselves an honour which thev have no title to, and there is a day coming, when they will be thinist out as intruders. Friend, how earnest thou in hither?

2. They are charged with transgressing and violating the laws and precepts of religion.

(1.) Thev are charged with a daring contempt of the word of God; {v. 17.) Thou hatest instruction. They loved to give instruction, and to tell others what they should do, for this fed their pride, and made them look great, and by this craft they got their living; but they hated to receive instruction from God himself, for that would be a check upon them, and a mortification to them; "Thou hatest discipline, the reproofs of the word, and the rebukes of Providence." No wonder that these who hate to be reformed hate the means of reformation; Thou castest my words behind thee. Thev seemed to set God's words before them, when thev sat in Moses's seat, and undertook to teach others out of the law; (Rom. ii. 19.) but in their conversations they cast God's Word behind them, and did not care for seeing that rule which they were resolved not to be ruled by. This is despising the commandment of the Lord. (2.) A close confederacy with the worst of sinners; {y. 18.) " When thou sawest a thief, instead of reproving him and witnessing against him, as those should do that declare God's statutes, thou consentedst with him, didst approve of his practices,* and desire to be a partner with him, and to share in the profits of his cursed trade; and thou hast been partaker with adulterers, hast done as they did, and encouraged them to go on in their wicked courses; hast done these things, and hast had pleasure in them that do them," Rom. i. 32. (3.) A constant persisting in the worst of tongue-sins; {v. 19.) " Thou givest thy mouth to evil; not only allowest

PSALMS, LI.

thyself in, but addictest th3^self wholly to, all manner of evil speaking." [1.] Lying; Thy tongue frames deceit, which denotes contrivance and deliberation in lying. It knits or links deceit; so some. One lie begets another, and one fraud requires another to cover it. [2.] Slandering; {y. 20.) " Thou sittest, and sfieakest agamst thy brother, dost basely abuse and misrepresent him, magisterially judge and censure him, and pass sentence upon him, as if thou wert his master, to whom he must stand or fall, whereas he is thy brother, as good as thou art, and upon the level with thee, for he is thine own mother^s son. He is thy near relation, whom thou oughtest to love, to vindicate, and stand up for, if others abused him; yet thou dost thyself abuse him, whose faults thou oughtest to cover and make the best of; if really he had done amiss, yet thou dost most falsely and' unjustly charge him with that which he is innocent of; thou sittest, and doest this, as a judge upon the bench, with authority; thou sittest in the seat of the scornful, to deride and backbite those whom thou oughtest to respect and be kind to." Those tliat do ill themselves, commonly delight in speaking ill of others.

II. The proof of this charge; {v. 21.) " These things thou hast done; the fact is too plain to be denied, the fault too bad to be excused; these things, Grid knows, and thine own heait knows, thou hast done." The .sins of sinners will be proved upon them, beyond contradiction, in the judgment of the great day; "/ nvill refiro-ue thee, or convince thee, so that thou shalt have not one word to say for thyself. " The day is coming when impenitent sinners will have their mouths for ever stopped, and be struck speechless. What confusion will they be filled with, when God shall set their sins in order before their eyes! They would not see their sins to their humiliation, but cast them behind their backs, covered them, and endeavoured to forget tliem, nor would they suffer their own consciences to put them in mind of them; but tlie day is coming when God will make them see their sins to their everlasting shame and terror; he will set them in order, original sin, actml sins, sins against the law, sins against the gospel, against the first tal)le, against the second table, sins of childhood and jxuth, of riper age, and old age. He will set them iii order, as the witnesses are set in order, and called in oi der, against the criminal, and asked whit they have to say against him.

III. The Judge's patience, and the sinner's abuse of that patience; " I kept silence, did not ;iive thee any disturbance in thy sinful way, but let thee alone to take thy course; sentence against thine evil works was respited, and not executed speedily." Note, The patience of God is very great toward provoking sinners. He sees their sins, and hates them; it Avould be neither difficulty nor damage to him, to punish them, and yet he waits to l)e gracious, and gives them space to repent, that he may render tliem inexcusable if they repent not. His patience is the more wonderful, because the sinner makes such an ill use of it; " Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself, as weak and forgetful as thyself, as false to my word as thyself, nay, as much a friend to sin as thyself." Sinners take God's silence for consent, and his patience for connivance; and therefore the longer thev are reprieved, the ;nore are their hearts hardened; but, if they turn not, they shall be made to see their error when it is too late, and that the God they provoke is just, and holy, and terrible, and not such a one as themselves.

IV. The f lir warning given of the dreadful doom of hypocrites; {v. 22.) " A^ow consider this, ye that forget God; consider that God knows, and keeps "accounts of, all your sins; that he will call you to an account for them; that patience, abused, will turn into the greater wrath; that though you forget God,

and your duty to him, he will not forget yo\i, and your rebellions against him: consider this in time, before it be too late; for if these things be not con sidered, and the consideration of them improved, he will tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver." It is the doom of hypocrites to be cut in sunder, Matth. xxiv. 51. Note, 1. Forgetfulness of God is at the bottom of all the wickedness of the wicked. They that know God, and yet do not obey him, do certainly forget him. 2. Those that forget God forget themselves; and it will never be right with them, till they consider, and so recover themselves. Consideration is the first step toward con\'er-sion. 3. Those that will not consider the warnings of God's word will certainly be torn in pieces by the exe cutions of his wrath. 4. When Gcd comes to tear sinners in pieces, there is no delivering them rut of his hand. They cannot deliver themselves, nor can any friend they have in the world deliver them.

V. Full instructions given to us all, how to prevent this fearful doom. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Ave have it, x\ 23. which directs uf what to do, that we mixf attain our chief end.

1. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and we are here told, that whoso offers praise glorifies him, whetlier he be Jew or Gentile, those sjDiritual sacrifices shall be accepted from him. We nmst praise God, and we must sacrifice praise, direct it to God, as every sacrifice was directed; put it into the hands of the Priest, our Lord Jesus, who is also the Altar; see that it l)e made by fire, sacred fire, that it be kindled with the flame of holy and devout affection; we must be fervent in spirit, praising the Lord. This he is pleased, in infinite condescension, to interpret as glorifying him. Hereby we give him the glory due to his name, and do what we can to advance the interests of his kingdom among men.

2. Man's chief end, in conjunction with this, is, to enjoy God; and we are here told that those who order their conversation aright shall see his salvation. (1.) It is not enough for us to offer praise, but we must withal order our conversation aright. Thanksgiving is good, but thanks-living is better. (2.) Those that would have their conversation right must take care and pains to order it; to dispose it according to-rule; to understand their way, and to direct it. (3.) Those that take care of their conversation make sure their salvation; them God will make to see his salvation; for it is a salvation ready to be revealed; he will make them to see it and enjoy it, to see it, and to see themselves happy for ever in it. Note, The right ordering of the conversation is the only way, and it is a sure way, to obtain the great salvation.

PSALM LL

Though David penned this psalm upon a very particular occasion, yet it is of as gfeneral use as any of David's psalms; it is the most eminent of the penitential psalms, and most expressive of the cares and desires of a repent-inpr sinner. It is pity indeed, that, in our devout addresses to God, we should have any thin<r else to do than to praise God, for that is the work of heaven; but we make other work for ourselves, by our own sins and follies: we must come to the throne of grace in the posture of penitents, to confess our sins, and sue for the sirace of God; and if therein we would take with us words, we can no where find any more apposite than in this psalm, which is the record of David's repentance for his sin in the matter of Uriah, which was the greatest blemish upon his character: all the rest of his faults were nothing to this; it is said of him, (1 Kings xv. 6.) That he turned not aside from the commandment of the Lord nil the days of his life, save only in the mailer of Uriah the Hittite. In this psalm, I. He confesses his sin, v. 3. .6. II. He prays earnestly for the pardon of his sin, v. 1, 2, 7, 9. III. For peace of conscience, v. 8, 12. IV. For grace to go and sin no more, v. 10, 11, 14. V. For libertv of access to God, v. 15. Vr He promises to do what lie could for the good

PSALMS, LI.

349

of the souls of others, (v. 13.) and for the glory of God, v. 16, 17, 19. And lastly, concludes ivilh a prayer for Zion and Jerusalem, v. IS. Those whose consciences charge them with any gross sin should, with a believing regard to Jesus Christ, the Mediator, again and again pray over this psalm; nay, though we have not been guilty of adultery and murder, or any the like enormous crime, yet, in singing it, and praying over it,we may very sensibly apply it to all ourselves, which if we do with suitable aflections, we shall, through Christ, find mercy to pardon, and grace for seasonable help. To the chief musician. Jl fisalm of David, when J\''athan the pi-ofihet came u7ito him, after he had gone in to Bathshcba.

1. IJTAVE mercy upon me, O God, ac-Xl cording to thy loving-kindness; according unto tlie multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3. For I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me. 4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight; that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

The title has reference to a very sad story, that of David's fall. But, though he fell, he was not utterly cast down, for God graciously upheld him, and raised him up. 1. The sin whicli, in this psalm, he laments, was, the folly and wickedness he committed with his neighbour's wife; a sin not to be spoken of, or thought of, without detestation. His debauching of Bathsheba was the inlet to all the other sins that followed; it was as the letting forth of water. This sin of David's is recorded for warning to all, that he who thinks he stands may take heed lest he fall. 2. The repentance which, in this psalm, he expresses, he was brought to by the ministry of Nathan, who was sent of God to convince him of his sin, after he had continued above nine months (for aught that appears) withrut any particular expressions of remorse and sorrow for it. Bat though God may suffer his people to fall into sin, and to lie a great while in it, yet he will, by some means or other, recover them to repentance, bring them to himself, and to their right mind, again. Herein, generally, he uses the ministry of the word, which yet he is not tied to. But those that have been overtaken in any fault, ought to reckon a faithful reproof the gi-eatest kindness that can be done them, and a wise reprover their best friend. Let the righteous smite me, and it shall be excellent oil. 3. David, being convinced of his sin, poured out his soul to God in prayer for mercy and grace. Whither should backsliding children return, but to the Lord their God, from whom they have backslidden, and who alone can heal their backslid-ings? 4. He drew up, by divine inspiration, the workings of his heart toward God, upon this occasion, into a psalm, that it might be often repeated, and long after reviewed; and this he committed to the chief musician, to be sung in the public service of the church. (1.) As a profession of his own repentance, which he would have to be generally taken notice of; his sin ha\ang been notorious, that the plaister might oe as wide as the wound. ' Those that tinily repent of their sins will not be ashamed to own their repentance; but, having lost the honour

of innocents, will rather covet the honrur of penitents. (2.) As a pattern to others, btth to bring them to repentance by his example, and to instruct them, in their rtpcntance, what to do, and what to say. Being converted himself, he thus strengthens his brethren; (Luke xxii. 32.) and, for this cause he obtained mercy, 1 Tmi. i. IC.

In these words, we have,

L David's humble petition, x>. 1, 2. His prayer is much the same with that which cur Saviour puts into the mouth of his penitent pul)lican in the parable; God be merciful to me a sinner! Luke xviii. 13. David was, upcn m:'ny accounts, a man of great merit; he had not only done much, but suffered much, in the cause of Ciod; ;md yet, when he is convinced cf sin, he does not cfFcr to balance his evil deeds with his good deeds, nor can he think that his services will atone for his cffenccs; but he flies to God's infinite mercy, and depends upon that only for pardon and peace; Have mercy upon me, 0 God. He owns himself obnoxious to God's justice, and therefore casts himself upon his mercy; and it is certain that the best man in the world is undone, if God be not mere iful to him. Observe,

1. What his plea is for this mercy; "Have mercy upon me, O God, net according to the dignity of my birth, as descended from the prince of the tribe of Judah, not according to my public services as Israel's champion, or my public honours as Israel's king;" his plea is not, ford, remember David and all his afflictions, hoiv he vowed to build a place for the ark; (cxxxii. 1, 2.) a true penitent will make no mention of any such thing; but, "Have mercy upon me for thy mercy's sake. I have nothing to plead with thee, but," (1.) "The freeness of thy mercy, according to thy loving-kindness, thv clemency, the goodness of thv natiire, which inclines thee l:o pity the miserable.'' (2.) "The fulness of thy mercy. There is in thee not only loving-kindness and tender mercies, but abundance of it, a multitude of tender mercies for the forgiveness of many sinners, of many sins, to multiply pardons as we multiply transgressions."

2. What is the particular mercy that he begs; the pardon of sin; Blot out my transgressions, as a debt is blotted or crossed out of the book, when either the debtor has paid it, or the creditor has re mitted it; "Wipe out my transgressions, that they may not appear to demand judgment against me, nor stare me in the face, to my confusion and ter ror." The blood of Christ, sprinkled upon the conscience, to purify and pacify that, blots out the transgression, and, having reconciled vis to God, reconciles us to ourselves, v. 2. " M^ash me thro%ighly from mine iniquity; wash my soul from the gTiilt and stain of my sin by thy mercy and grace; for it is only from a ceremonial pollution that the water of separation will avail to cleanse me. Multiply to wash me; the stain is deep, for I have lain long soaking in the guilt, so that it will not easily be got out. Oh wash me much, wash me throughly; cleanse me from my sin. " Sin defiles us, renders us odious in the sight of the holy God, and uneasy to ourselves; it unfits us for communion with God, in grace or glory. When God pardons sin, he cleanses us from it, so that we become acceptable to him, easy to ourselves, and have liberty of access to him. Nathan had assured David, upon his first profession of repentance, that his sin was pardoned. The Lord has taken away thy sin, thou shalt not die; (2 Sam. xii. 13.) yet he prays, Wash me, cleanse me; blot out my transgressions; for God will be sought unto, even for that which he has promised; and those whose sins are pardoned must pray that the pardon may be more and more cleared up to them. God had forgiven him, but he could not forgive himself; and therefrre he is thus importu-

PSALMS, LI.

uate for pardon, as one that thought himself unworthy of it, and knew hov/ to value it.

II. David's penitential confessions, v. 3-'5. 1. He was very free to own his guilt before God; I ac-knoivledge my transgressions; this he had formerly found the onlv way of easing his conscience, xxxii. 4, 5. Nathan said, Thou art the man; I am, says David; / have sinned. 2. He had such a deep sense of it, that he was continually thinking of it, with sorrow and shame. His contrition for his sin was not a slight sudden passion, but an abiding grief; ^^My sin is ever before me, to liumble me and mortify me, and make me continually blush and tremble. It is ever against me;" (so some;) "I see it before me as an enemy, accusing and threatening ms." David was, upon all occasions, put in mind of his sin, and was willing to be so, for his further abasement. He never walked on the roof of his house without a penitent reflection on his unhappy walk there, when from thence he saw Bathsheba; never lay down to sleep, without a sorrowful thought of the Ijed of his uncleanness; never sat down to meat, never sent his servant on an errand, or took his pen in hand, but it put him in mind of his making Uriah drunk, the treacherous message he sent by him, and the fatal warrant he wrote, and signed, for his execution. Note, The acts of repentance, even for the same sin, must be often repeated. It will be of good use for us to have our sins ever before us, that by the remembrance of our past sins we may be kept humble, may be armed against temptation, quickened to duty, and made patient under the cross.

(1.) He confesses his actual transgressions; (x". 4.) Jlgainst thee, thee only, have I sinned. David was a very great man, and yet, having done amiss, submits to the discipline of a penitent, and thinks not his royal dignity will excuse him from it. Rich and poor must here meet together; there is one law of repentance for both; the greatest must be judged shortly, and therefore must judge themselves now. David was a very good man, and yet, having sinned, he willingly accommodates himself to the place and posture of a penitent. The best men, if they sin, should give the best example of repentance.

[1.] His confession is particular; "I have done 'his eiiil, tliis that I am now n. proved for, this that my own conscience now upbraids me with." Note, [t is good to be particular in the confession of sin, that we may be the more express in praying for pardon, and so may have the more comfort in it. We ought to reflect upon the particular heads of cur sins of infirmity, and the particular circum-Btanccs of our gross sins.

[2.] He aggr:iv;ites the sin which he confesses, and lavs a lo id upon himself for it; y/gainst thee, and in thy sight. Hence our Saviour seems to borrow the confession which he puts into tlie mouth of the returning prodigal; / have sinned against Heaven, and before thee, Luke xv. 18. Two things David laments in his sin. First, That it was committed against God. To him the affront is given, and he is the Party wronged. It is his truth that by wilful sin we deny; his conduct that we desj/ise; his command that we disobey; his promise that we distrust; his name that we dishonour; and it is with him that we deal deceitfully and disingenuously. From this topic Joseph fetched the great argument against sin, (Gen. xxxix. 9.) and David here the great aggravation of it; Jgainst thee only. Some make this to bespeak the prerogative of his crown, that, as a king, he was not accountal)le to.any but (iod; but it is more agreeable to his present temper, to suppose that it bespeaks the cleej) nntriti<m of his soul for his sin, and that it was upon light grounds. He here sinned against Bathsheba

and Uriah; against his own soul and bcdy, and fami \y; against his kingdom, and against the church cf God; and all this helped to humble him; but none of these were sinned against so as God was; and therefore this he lays the most sorrowful accent upon; Against thee 07ily have I sinned. Secondly, That it was committed in God's sight; "This not only proves it upon me, but renders it exceeding sintul." This should greatly humble us for all our sins, that they have been committed under the eye of God, which argues either a disbelief of his omniscience, or a contempt of his justice.

[3.] He justifies God in the sentence passed uprn him; for that the sivord shall never depart from his house, 2 Sam. xii. 10, 11. He is very forward to own his sin, and aggravate it, not only that he might oljtain the pardon of it himself, but that by his confession he might give honour to God; First, That God might be justified in the threatenings he had spoken by Nathan; "Lord, I have nothing to say against the justice of them; I deserve what is threatened, and a thousand times worse." Thus Eli acquiesced in the like threatenings, (1 San^ii. 18.) It is the Lord. And Hezekiah, (2 KingsJItx. 19.) Good is the ivord of the Lord, which thou met spoken. Secondly, That God might be clear -sfhen he judged, when he executed those threatenings. David published his confession of sin, that, when hereafter he should come into trouble, none might say, God had done him any wrong; for he owns the Lord is righteous: thus will all true penitents justify God by condemning themselves; Thou art just in all that is brought upon us.

(2.) He confesses his original corruption; {v. 5.) Behold, Iivas shapen in iniquity. He does not caU upon God to behold it, but unto himself. " Come, my soul, look unto the rock out of which I was hewn, and thou wilt find I was shapen in iniquity. Had I duly considered this before, I find I should not have made so bold with the temptation, nor have ventured among the sparks with such tinder in my heart; and so the sin might have been prevented: let me consider it now, not to excuse or extenuate the sin; Lord, I did so; but indeed I could not help it, my inclination led me to it:" (for as that plea is false, with due care and watchfulness, and improvement of the grace of God, he might have helped it; so it is what a true penitent never offers to put in:) "but let me consider it rather as an aggravation of the sin; Lord, I have not only been guilty of adultery and murder, but I have an adulterous murderous nature; therefore I abhor myself." David elsewhere speaks of the admirable structure of his body, (cxxxix. 14, 15.) it was curiously ivrought; and yet here he says it was shapen in iniquity, sin was twisted in with it; not as it came out of God's hands, but as it comes through cur parents' loins. He elsewhere speaks of the piety of his mother, that she was God's handmaid, and he pleads his relation to her; (cxvi. 16.—Ixxxvi. 16.) and yet he here says she conceived him in sin; for though she was, hygi-ace, a child of God, she was, by nature, a daughter of Eve, and not excepted ft-om the common character. Note, It is to be sadly lamented by ever}' one of us, that we brought into the world with us a cornipt nature, wretchedly degenerated from its primitive purity and rectitude; we have, from our birth, the snares of sin in our bodies, the seeds of sin in our souls, and a stain of sin upon Ijoth. This is what we call original sin, because it is as ancient as our original, and because it is the original of all our actual transgressions. This is that foolishness which is bound in the heart of a child, tlie proneness to evil, and backwardness to good, which is the burthen of the regenerate, and tlie rum cf the unregenerate; it is a bent to backslide froip God.

PSALMS, LI.

351

III. David's acknowledgment of the grace of God; {v. 6.) both his good-will toward us, f Thou desireth truth in the inward parts, J "Thou wculdest have «is all honest and sincere, and tme to our profession;" .'ind his good work in us, " In the hidden part thou hast made," or shalt make, " me to knowwisdom." Note, 1. Ti-uth and wisdom will go very far toward making a man a good man. A clear head and a sound heart (pnidence and sincerity) bespeak the man of God perfect. 2. What God requires of us, he himself works in us, and he works it in the regular way, enlightening the mind, and so gaining the will, ^ut how does this come in here? (1.) God is hereby justihed and cleared; " Lord, thou wast not the Author of my sin; there is no blame to be laid upon thee; but 1 alone must bear it; for thou hast many a time' admonished me to be sincere, and hast made me to know that which, if I had duly considered it, would have prevented my falling into this sin; had I improved the grace thou hast given me, I had kept mine integrity." (2.) The sin is hereby aggravated; "Lord, thou desirest truth; but where was it when I dissembled with Uriah? Thou hast made me to knoiu ivisdom; but I have not lived up to what I have known." (3.) He is hereby encouraged, in his repentance, to hope that God would graciously accept of him; for, [1.] God had made him sincere in his i-esolutions never to return to folly again; Thou desirest truth in the ijiivard fiart; this is that which God has an eye to, in a returning sinner, that in his sfiirit there be no guile, xxxii. 2. David was conscious to himself of the uprightness of his heart toward God, in his repentance, and therefore doubted not but God would accept him. [2. ] He hoped that God would enable him to make good his resolutions, that, in the hidden part, in the new man, which is called the hidden man of the heart, (1 Pet. iii. 4.) he would make him to know wisdom, so as to discern and avoid the designs of the tempter, another time. Some read it as a prayer; "Lord, in this instance, I have done foolishly; for the future, make me to know wisdom. " Where there is truth, God will give wisdom; those that sincerely endeavour to do their duty, shall be taught their duty.

7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and 1 shall be whiter than snow. 8. Make me to hear joy and gladness ; that the bones which, thou hast broken may rejoice. 9. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit: 13. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

See here,

I. Whit David prays for; manv excellent petitions h? here puts up; to which, if we do but add, for Christ's sake, they are as evangelical as any other.

1. He prays that God would cleanse him from his sins, and the defilement he had contracted bv them; {y. 7.) "Purge me with hyssofi; pardon my sins, and let me know that they are pardoned, that I may be restored to those privileges which by sin I have forfeited and lost." The expression here alludes to a ceremonial distinction, that of cleansing the leper, or those that were unclean by the

touch of a body, by sprinkling water, or blcod, or both, upon them, with a bunch of hyssop, by which they were, at length, discharged from the restraints they were laid under by their pollution. "Lord, let me be as well assured of my restoration to thy favour, and to the privilege of communion with thee, as they were thereby assured of their re-admission to their former privileges." But it is founded upon gospel-grace; Purge me with hyssop, with the blood of Christ applied to my soul by a lively faith, as water of purification was sprinkled with a bunch of hyssop. It is the blood of Christ, which is therefore called the blood of sprinkling, (Heb. xii. 24.) that purges the conscience from dead works, from that guilt of sin, and dread of God, which shut us out of communion with him, as the touch of a dead body, under the law, shut a man out frrm the courts of God's house. If this blood of Christ, which cleanses from all sin, cleanse us from our sin, then we shall be clean indeed, Heb. x. 2. If we be washed in this fountain opened, we shall be whiter than snow; not only acquitted, but accepted; so those are, that are justified; (Isa. i. 18.) Though your sms have been as scarkt, they shall be white as snow.

2. He prays that, his sins being pardoned, he might have the comfort of that pardon. He asks not to be comforted, till first he is cleansed; but if sin, the bitter root of sorrow, be taken away, he can pray in faith, "Make me to hear joy and gladness; (xK 8.) let me have a well-grounded peace, of thy creating, thy speaking, so that the bones which thou hast broken by convictions and threat-enings, may rejoice, may not only be set again, and eased from the pain, but'may be sensibly comforted, and, as the prophet speaks, may flourish as an herb." Note, (1.) The pain of an heart truly bro* ken for sin, may well be compared to that of a broken bone; and it is the same Spirit who, as a Spirit of bondage, smites and wounds, and, as a Spirit of adoption, heals and binds up. (2.) The comfort and joy that arise from a sealed pardon to a penitent sinner, are as refi-eshing as perfect ease from the most exquisite pain. (3.) It is God's work, not only to speak this joy and gladness, but to make us hear it, and take the comfort of it. He earnestly desires that God would lift up the light of his countenance upon him, and so put gladness into his heart; that he would not only be reconciled to him, but, which is a further act of grace, let him know that he was so.

3. He prays for a complete and effectual paidon. This is that which he is most earnest for, a., the foundation of his comfort; {v. 9.) "Hide thy face from my sins; be not provoked by them to deal witli me as I deserve; they are ever belore me, let them be cast behind thy back; blot out all mine iniquities out of the book of thine account; blot them out, as a cloud is blotted out and dispelled by the beams of the sun," Isa. xliv. 22,

4. He prays for sanctifying grace; and this every true penitent is as earnest for, as for pardon 'an^ peace, v. 10, He does not pray, "Lord, preserve me my reputation," as Saul, / have sinned, yet honour ine before this people. No, his great concern is, to get nis coiTupt nature changed: the sin he had been guilty of, was, (1.) An evidence of its impurity, and therefore he prays. Create in me a clean heart, O God. He now saw, more than ever, what an unclean heart he had, and sadly laments it, btit sees it is not in his own power to amend it, and therefore begs of God, (whose prerogative it is to create,) that he would create in him a clean heart. He only that made the heart, can new make it; and to his power nothing is impossible. He created the world by the word of his power, as the God of nature, and it is by the word

PSALMS, LI.

cf his power as the God of grace that we are clean, (J^hii XV. 3.) that we are sanctified, John xvij. 17. (2.) It was the cause of its disorder, and undid much of the good work that had been wrought in him; and therefore lie prays, '■'■Lord, reneiv a right spirit Tjithin me; repair the decays of spiritual strength, which this sin h .s been the cause of, and set me to rights again." Renew a constant spirit within me; so some. He had, in this matter, discovered much inconstancy and inconsistency with himself, and therefore prays, "Lord, fix me for the time to come, that I may never in like manner depart from thee."

5. He prays for the continuance of God's goodwill toward him, and the progress of his good work in him, v. 11. {1.) Tiuit he might never be shut out from God's tavour; "Cast me not away from thy presence, as one whom thou abhorrest, and canst not endure to look upon." He prays, that he might not be thrown out of God's protection, but that, wherever he went, he might have the divine presence with him, miglit be under the guidance of his wisdom, and in the custody of his power, and that he might not be forbidden communion with God; "Let me not be banished thy courts, but always have liberty of access to thee by prayer." He docs not deprecate the temporal judgments which God by Nathan had threatened to bring upon him; "God's will be done;" but, "Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath. If the sword come into my house never to depart from it, yet let me have a God to go to in my distresses, and all shall be well." (2.) That he might never be deprived of God's grace; Take not thy holy Spirit from me. He knew he had by his sin grieved the Spirit, and provoked him to withdraw; and that, because he also was flesh, God might justly have said that his Spirit should no more strive with him, or work upon him, Gen. vi. 3. This he dreads, more than any thing; we are undone, if God take his holy Spirit from us. Siul was a sad instance of this. How exceeding sinful, how exceeding miserable, was he, when the Spirit of the Lord was departed from him! David knew it, and tlierefore begs thus earnestly; "Lord, wh .tcver thou take from me, my children, my crown, mv life, yet take not thy holy Spirit from me," (see 2 Sain. vii. 15.) "but continue thy holy Spirit with me, to pei-fect the work of my repentance, to prevent my relapse into sin, and to enable me to discharge my duty both as a prince and as a psalmist."

6. He prays for the restoration of divine comforts, and the pei-petual communications of divine gi-ace, V. 12. David finds two ill effects of his sin; (1.) It had made him sad, and therefore he prays. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. A child f^f God knows no tnie nor solid joy, but the joy of God's salvation, joy in God his Saviour, and in tlie hope of eternal life. .By wilful sin we forfeit this joy, and deprive ourselves of it; our evidences cannot but be clouded, and our hopes shaken; when we give ourselves so much cause to doubt of our interest in the salvation, how can we expect the joy of it? But when we truly repent, we may pray and hope that God will restore to us those joys. They that sow in penitential tears, shall reap in the joys of God's salvation, when the times of refreshing shall come. (2.) It had made him weak, and therefore he ])rays, "Uphold me with thy free Spirit; I am ready to fall, either into sin or into despair; Lord, sustain me; my own spirit" (though the sjjirit of a man will go fir toward the sustaining his infirmity) "is not sufficient, if I be left to myself, I shall certainly sink; therefore uphold me with thy Spirit, let him counter-work the evil spirit that would cast me down from mine excellency. Thy Spirit is a free spirit, a free agent himself, working

freely," (and that makes those free, whom he works upon, for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty;) "thy ingenuous princely Spirit." He was conscious to himself of having acted,, in the matter of Uriah, very disingenuously, and unlike a prince; his behaviour was base and paltry: "L< rd," says he, "let thy Spint inspire my soul' with ni ble and generous principles, that I may always act as becomes me." A free spirit will be a firai and fixed spirit, and will uphold us. The more cheerful Ave are in our duty, the more constant we vhall be to it.

II. See what David here promises, v. 13. Observe, 1. What good work he promises God; I will teach transgressors thy ways. David had been himself a transgressor, snd therefore could speak experimentally to transgressors, and resolves, having himself fcund mercy with Gcd in the way of repentance, to teach ethers God's ways; (l.)Our way to God by repentance; he would teach others that had sinned, to take the same course that he had taken, to humble themselves, to confess their sins, and seek God's face; and, (2.) God's way to wards us in pardoning mercy; how ready he is to receive those that return to him. He taught the former by his own example, for the direction of sinners in repenting: he taught the latter by his own experience, for their encouragement. By this psalm he is, and will be to the world's end, teaching transgressors, telling them what God had done for his soul. Note, Penitents should be preachers; Solomon was so, and blessed Paul. 2. What good effect he promises himself from his doing this; " Sinners shall be converted unto thee, and shall neither persist in their wanderings from thee, ncr despair of finding mercy in their returns to thee." The great thing to be aimed at in teaching transgi*essors, is, tlieir conversion to God; that is a happy point gained, and happy they that are instrumental to contribute towards it. Jam. v. 20.

14. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; ajid my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15. O LoRP, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. 16. For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would T give it: thou delightest not in burnt-offering. 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt-ofifering, and whole burnt-offering: then^shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

I. David pravs against the guilt of sin, and prays for the grace of God, enforcing both petitions from a plea taken from the glory of God, which he promises with thankfulness to show forth.

1. He prays against the guilt of sin, that he might be delivered from that, and promises that then he would praise God, v. 14. The particular sin he prays against, is, l)lood-guiltiness, the sin he had now been guilty of, having slain Uriah with the sword of the children of Ammon. Hitherto, perhaps, he had stopped the mouth of conscience with that frivolous excuse, that he did not kill him himself; but now he was convinced that he was the murderer, and, hearing the blood cry to God foi vengeance, he cries to God for mercy, "Delive?

PSALMS, LI.

353

me from blood-guiltiness; let me not lie under the g'ult of the kind I have contracted, but let it be p ii-iloned to me, and let me never be left to myself to contract the like guilt again." Note, It concerns us all to pray earnestly against the gniilt of blood. In this praj'er, he eyes God as the God of salvation. Note, Those to whom God is the God of salvation, he will deliver from guilt; for the salvation he is the God of, is, salvation from sin. We may therefore plead this with him, "Lord, thou art the God of my salvation, therefore deliver me from the dominion of sin." He promises, that, if God would deli\'er him, his tongue should sing aloud of his righteousness; God should have the glory btth of pardoning mercy, and of preventing grace. God's righteousness is often put for his grace, especially in the great business of justification and sanctification. This he would comfort himself in, and therefore sing of; and this he would endeavour l)oth to acquaint and to affect others with; he would sing aloud of it. Tliis all those should do that liave had the benefit of it, and owe their all to it. '' 2. He prays for the grace of God, and promises to improve that grace to his glory; (x*. 15.) "O Lord, open thou my lips, not only that I may teach and instruct sinners," (which tlie best preacher cannot do to any purpose, unless God give him the opening of the mouth, and the tongue of the learned,) "but that my mouth may show forth thy firaise; not only tliat I may have abundant matter for praise, but a heart enlarged in praise." Guilt had cl'ised his lips, had gone near to stop the mouth of prayer; he could not for shame, he could not for fear, come into tlie presence of that God whom he knew he had offended, much less speak to him; his heart condemned him, and therefore he had little confidence toward God: it cast a damp particularly upon his praises; when he had lost the joys of his sah'ation, his haip was hung upon the willow-trees; therefore he prays, "Lord, open my lips, put my he;irt in tune for praise again." To them that are tongue-tied by reason of guilt, the assurance r'f the for:^iveness of their sins says effectuallv, Rphphatha — Be opened; and when the lips are rpened, what should thev speak but the praises cf (Jod, as Zacharias did? Luke i. 64.

II. David offers the sacrifice of a penitent, con-tr-te, he^rt, as that which he knew God would be pleased v/ith.

1. He knew well that the saci'ificing of beasts was, in itself, of no account with God; {y. 16.) Thou de-sirest not sacrifice, {else would I give it with all my heart to obtain pai'dcn and peace,) thou delightest not in burnt-offering. Here-see how glad David would have been to give thousands of rams, to make atonement for sin. Those that are thoroughlv convinced of their misery and danger, by reason of sin, would spare no cost to obtain the remission of it, Mic. vi. 6, 7. ,But see how little God valued this! As trials of obedience, and types of Christ, he did indeed require sacrifices to be offered; but he had no delight in them for anv intrinsic worth or value they had; Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not. As they cannot mnke satisfaction for sin, so God cannot t -ke anv satisf iction in them, any otherwise thin as the offering of them is expressive of love and duty to him.

2. He knew also how acceptable true I'cpentance is to God: {v. 17.) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. See here, (1.) What the good work is, that is wrought in eveiy true penitent; a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. It is a work wrought upon the he:^.rt; that is it that God looks at, and requires, in all religious exercises, particularly in the exercises of repentance. It is a shaip work wrought there, no less than the breaking of ll-e heart; not in despair, (as we say, when a P"van

VOL. Ill—2 Y

is undone. His heart is broken,) but a necessar\-humiliation, and sorrow, for sin. It is a heart breaking with itself, and breaking from its sin; it is a heart pliable to the word of God, and patient under the rod of God; a heart subdued and brought into obedience; it is a heart that is tender, like Josiah's, and trembles at Gcd's word. Oh that there were such a heart in us! (2.) How graciously God is pleased to accept cf this; it is the sacrifices of God; net one, but many, it is instead of all burnt-offering and sacrifice. ' The breaking cf Christ's bcdy for sin, is the rnly sacrifice cf atcne ment, for no sacrifice but that cculd take away sin; but the breaking cf curhearts for sin, is a sacrifice of acknowledg-ment, a sacrifice of God, for to him it is offered up; he requires it, he prepares it, (he provides this lamb fcr a burat-cffering,) and he will accept cf it. That which pleased Gcd, was, not the feeding cf a beast, and mr.king much cf it, but killing it; so it is not the pampering of cur flesh, but the mortifying of it, that God will accept. The sacrifice was bound, was bled, was burnt; so the penitent heart is bound by convictions, bleeds in contrition, and then burns in hrly zeal against sin, and for God. The sacrifice was offered upcn the altar that sanctified the gift; so the broken heart is acceptable to Gcd only through Jetus Christ; there is no true repentance withe ut faith in him; and this is the sacrifice which he will nrt despise. Men despise that which is broken, but Gcd will net. He despised the sacrifice rf torn and broken beasts, but he will not despise that cf a triTi and brrktn heart. He will not overlook it, he will net refuse or reject it; though it make God no sati&factirn frr the wrong done him by sin, yet he dees net despise it. The proud Pharisee despised the brokenhearted publican; and he thought vtry meanlv cf himself, but God did not despise him. More is implied thtm is expressed; the great Gcd cverlceks heaven and earth, to look with favour upcn a brokni and contrite heart, Isa. Ixvi. 1, 2.—Ivii. 15.

III. David intercedes for Zion and Jerusalem, witli an eye to the hcncur of God. See what ccn-cern he had,

1. For the good of the church of God; {v. 18.) Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion, that is, (1.) "To all the particular worshippers in Zion, to all that love and fear thy name; keep them from filling into such wounding, wasting, sins as these cf mine; defend and succour all that fear thy name." Those that have been in spiritual troubles themselves, know how to pity and pray for those that are in like manner afflicted. Or, (2.) To the public interests of Israel. David was sensible of the wrong he had done to Judah and Jerusalem by his sin; how it liad weakened tlie hands, and saddened the hearts, of good people, and opened the mouths of their adversaries: he was likewise afraid lest he, being a public person, his sin should bring judgments upon the city and kingdom, and therefore he prays to God to secure and advance those public interests which he had damaged and endangered. He prays, that God would prevent those national judgments which his sin had deserved, that he would continue those blessings, and carry on that good work, which it had threatened to retard and put a stop to. He prays, not only that God would do good to Zion, as he did to other places, by his providence, but that he would do it in his good pleasure, with the peculiar favcur he bore to that place Avhich he had chosen to put his name there; that the walls of Jeruralcm, which perhaps were now in the build'ng, might be built up, and that good work finished. Nrte,' [L] When we have most business of rur (,wn, rnd cf rreatcst importance at the throne cf grace, vet then wc mu; t not forget to pray for the church ef Grd; irav, lour Master has taught us in ottr daily rrnvcrj to

PSAI.MS, LII.

begin with that, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. [2.] The consideraticn of the prejudice we have done to the pubhc interests b\' cur sins, should engage us to do them all the service we can, particularly by our prayers.

2. For the honour of the churches cf God, v. 19. If God would show himself recr-.nciled to liim and his people, as he had prayed, then they should go on with the public services of his house; (1.) Cheerfully to themselves. The sense of G:)d's goc-dness to them would enlarge their hearts in all tlie instances and expressions of thankfulness and obedience. They will then come to his tabernacle with burnt-offerings, with whole liumt-e fferings, which were intended purely for the glory of God, and they shall offer, not lambs and rams only, but bullocks, the costliest sacrifices, upon his altar. (2.) Acceptably to God; " Thou shalt be pleased ivith them; we sliall have reason to hope so, when we perceive the sin taken away, which threatened to hinder thine acceptance." Note, It is a great comfort to a good man, to think of the communion that is between God and his people in their public assemblies; how he is honoured by their humole attendance on him, and they are happy in his gracious acceptance of them.

PSALM LII.

David, no doubt, was in very great grief, when he said to Abiathar, (I Snm. xxii. 22.) I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father''s house, which were put to death upon Doer's malicious informationj to give some vent to that grief, and to gain some relief to his mind under it, he penned this psalm, wherein, as a prophet, and therefore with as good an authority as if he had been now a prince upon the throne, I. He arraigns Doeg for what he had done, v. 1. II. He accuses him, convicts him, and aggravates his crimes, v. 2 . . 4. III. He passes sentence upon him, v. 6. IV. He Ibretells the triumphs of the righteous in the execution of the sentence, v. 6, 7. V. He comforts himself in the mercy of God, and the assurance he had that he should yet praise him, V. 8, 9. In singing this psalm, we should conceive a detestation of the sin of lying, foresee the ruin of those that persist in it, and please ourselves with the assurance of the preservation of God's church and people, in spite of all the malieious designs of the children of Satan, that father of lies.

To the chief musician, Maschil. A psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and tola Saul, and said unto him, David is come to t}w house of jihimelech.

1. ^V%7"IIY boastest thou tltysolf in mjs-▼ T chief, O mighty man \ the i:;ood-ness of God rndureth continually, 2. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs, like a shaip i razor, working deceitfully. 3. 'i'hou lovest evil more than good, and lying rather than j to speak righteousness. Selah. 4. Thou lovest all-devouring words, O thou deceitful; tongue. 5. God shall likewise destroy thee for ever: he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling-place, and root thee out of the lalid of the living. Selah. .'

Tlie title is a brief account of the story which the psalm refers to. D.ivid now, at length, saw it ne- j cess iry to quit ti'.e court, and shift for his own safet\-, < f jr fear of Siul, who had once and again attemi^tcd 11 murder him. Being unprovided with arms and victu lis, he, by a wile,* got Ahiraelech the priest to fu:aish him with lir.th; Doeg an Edomite happened to b- there, and he went and informed Said against Ahimclech, representing him as confederate with a traitor; upon which accusation. Saul grounded a

j very bloody wairant, to kill all the priests; aiKl Doeg, the prosecutor, was the executioner, 1 Sam j xxii. 9, &c. i In these verses,

I I. Duvid argues the case fairly with this proud : and mighty man, t. 1. Dccg, it is probable, was [ mighty in respect if b.dilv strength; but, if l;e was, ; he gained no reput ,ti( n t<, by h.s. easy victory over I the unarmed priests of the l-.(^ rd; it is no hcncur fcr I those that wear a swcrd, to htcti r these that wear an ephod. However, he w.;s, by his (fSce, a mighty man, for he was set over the servants cf Saul, chamberlain (.1 the h;;usclic Id. This was he that boasted liimself, net only in tlie power he had to do mischief, but in the miVeliief I.e did. Note, It is bad to do ill, but it is werse to beast of it, and glory in it, when we have dene; not only net to be ashamed of a wicked miction, but to just.fx' it; not only to justify it, but to magnify it, ;.nd \ ahie ourselves upon it. They that glory in theii" sin, glcry in their shame; and then it beccmes yet mere shameful; mighty men are often mischievous men, and boast of their heart's desire, x. 3. It is uncertain how the following words come in; The goodness of God endures continually. Some make it t' e wicked man's answer to this question. The patience and forbearance of God (the great prcc/s ( f his goodness) are abused by sinners, to the liardening (;f their hearts in their wicked ways; because sentence against their e\'il works is not executed speedily, nay, because God is continually doing them g(cd, tlierefore they boast in mischief; as if their prrsperity in their wickedness were an evidence that there is no harm in it. But it is rather to be taken as an argument against him, to show, 1. The sinfulness cf Ixis sin; " God is continually doing good, and those th:.t therein are like him, have reason to glcry in tlieir lieing so: but tliou art continu illy doing mischief, and therein art utterly unlike him, and ccntrarj' to him, and yet gloriest in being so." 2. The folly rf it; "Thou thinkest, with the mischief which thcu boastest of, (so artfully contrixed, and so successfully carried on,) to nin d' wn und nv.n the people of God; but thru wilt find thyself mistaken, the goodness of God endures coniiiivallu f r their preservation, ;.nd then they need not far what man can do unto them.'' The enemies in vain boast in their mischief, while we have God's mercy to boast in.

II. He draws up :i high charge against him in the court cf hea\'en, as he h;id drawn up a high charge against Ahimelech in Saul's c( urt, v. 2« -A. He accuses him of the wickedness of his tongue, (that unruly e\il full if dc;ully p'isen,) and the wickedness of his hea;-t, which that was an evidence cf. Four things he charges him with. 1. Malice; his tongue does mischief, not only pricking like a needle, but cutting like a shai-p razor. Scornful bantering woi'ds would n^t content him: he loved devouring words, words that wcmld ruin the priests of the Lord whom he hated. 2. Falsehood; it was a deceitful tongue that he did this -mischief with; {v. 4.) he loved lying, {v. 3.) and this shai-p razor did work deceitfiiily, (f. 2.) that is, liefore he had this occasion given him to discover his malice against the priests, he had acted veiy plausibly toward them; though he was an Edomite, he attended the altars, and brought his offerings; and paid his respects to the priests, as decently as anv Israelite; therein he put a force upon himself, (f<n- he was detained before the Lord,) but thus he gained an opportunity of ASm% them so much the greater mischief. ()r, it may refer to the informatirn itself, which he gave in against Ahimelech; for the matter of fact was, in substance, true, yet it w;ts misrepresented, and false colours put upon it; and therefore he might well be said to love lying, and to have a deceitftil tongue. He told the triith, but not all the

PSALMS, LII.

35^

truth, as a witness ought to do; had he told that Dcn id m.ide Ahimelecn believe iie was then going upun Saul's errand, the kindness he showed him would have appeared to be net only not traitorous ag.unst Saul, but respectful to hini. It will not save us from tue guilt of lying, to be able to say, "There Was some tnitli in what we said," if we pervert it, and make ic to appear otlierwise than it was. 3. Subtlety m sin; '• rinj tongue devises mischiefs; it speaks the mischief which thy heart devises." The more there is cf crtift and contrivance in any wickedness, the more there is of the Devil in it. 4. Affection to sin; " Thou /ovest evil more than good; that is, thou lovesteil, and hast no love at all to that which is good; thou takest delight m lying, and makest no conscience of doing riglit. Tiu^u wculdest rather please Saul, by telling a he, than please God, by speaking trutli." I'hose are cf Doeg's spirit, who, instead of being pleased (as we ought all t) be) with an opporiunity of doing a man a kindness in his body, estate, or good name, are glad when they have a fair occasion to do a man a mischief, and readily close with an opportunity cf that kind; that is loving evil more than good. It is bad to speak devouring words, but it is worse to lo\e thein, either in others or in ourselves.

111. He reads his doom, and denounces the judgments of God against him for his wickedness; {x>. 5. ) "Thou hast destroyed the priests of the Lord, and cut them off, and therefore God shall likewise destroy thee for ever." Sons of perdition actively, shall be sons of pei'dition passively, as Judas and the man of shi. Destroyers shall be destroyed; those especially that hate, and persecute, and' destroy, the priests of the Lord, his muiisters, and people, who are made t'j our God priests, a royal priesthood, shall be taken away with a swift and e\ erlasting destniction. Doeg is here condemned; 1. To be driven out of the church; He shall pluck thee out of the tabernacle, not thy dwelling-place, but God's; so it is most probably understood. "Thou shalt be cut off" fr..m tlie favour of God, and his presence, and all ccmmunion with him, and shalt have no benefit either by oracle or offering." Justly was he depriv ed of idl the privileges of God's house, who h id been so mischievous to his servants; he had come sometimes to God's tabernacle, and attended in his courts, but he was detained there, he was weary cf his service, and sought an opportunity to defame his f imily; it was \eryfit, therefore, that he should be t.iken away, and plucked out thence; we should forbid one' of our house, that should serve us so. N(,te, We forfeit the benefit pf ordinances, if we make an ill use of them. 2. To be driven out c;f the world; " He shall root thee out of the land of the living, in which thou thought-est thyself s., deeply rootecl." When good men die, they are transplanted from the land c f the living on earth, the nursery of the plants of righteousness, to that in lieavcn, the garden cf the Lord, where they shall take root for e\ er; but when wicked men die, they iire rooted out of the land of the liN ing, to perish for ever; as fuel to the file of divine wrath. This will be the portion of those that contend with God.

6. The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: 7.- Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness, 8. But I am like a green olive-tree in the house of God: J trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. 9. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will

wait on thy name ; for it is good before thy saints.

David was at this time in great distress, the mischief Doeg had done him was but the beginning of his sorrows; and jet here we ha\e him triumphing, and that is more than rejoicing, in tribulation. Blessed Paul, in the midst of his ticubles, is m the midst of his triumphs, 2 Cor. ii. 14. Da\ id iiere triumphs, L In the fall cf Doeg. Yet, lest this should look like personal revenge, he does net speak of it as his own act, but the language of other rightecus persons. They shall obstrs e Gcd's judgments en Doeg, and speak of them; 1. To the glory of God; They shall see and fear; (x: 6.) they shall reverence the justice of God, and stand in awe cf him, as a God of almighty power, bef(;re whom the proudest sinner cannot stand, and before whcm, tliercfore, we ought e^■ely one of us to humble curseh es. Note, God's judgments on the wicked should strike an awe upon the nghteous, and make them afraid of cfFend-ing God, and incurring his displeasure, cxix. 120. Rev. x\. 3, 4. 2. To the shame cf Doeg. They shall laugh at him, not with a ludicrous, but a rational, serious, laughter, as he that sits in heaven shall laugh at him, ii. 4. He shall tippear ridiculous, and worthy to be laughed at We are told how they shall triumph in God's just judgments on him; {x\ 7.) Lo, this is the man that made not God his Strength. The fall and ruin of a wealthy mighty man, cannot but be generally taken notice of, and every one is apt to make his remarks upon it; now this is the remark which the righteous should make upon Dceg's fall, that no better could come of it, since he took the wrong method of establishing himself in his wealth and power. If a newly-erected fabric tumbles down, e\ ery one immediately inquii-es, where was the fault in the building of it? Now, that which ruined Doeg's prosperity, was, (1.) That he did not build it upon a rock; He made not God his Strength, he did not think that the continuance of his prosperity depended upon the fa\'cur of God, and therefisre tcck no care to make sure that faAour, nor to keep himself in God's love, made no conscience rf his duty to him, nor sought him in the least. Those wretchedly deceive themselves, that think to support themselves in their power and wealth without God and religion. (2.) That he did build it upon the sand. He thought his wealth would support itself; He trusted in the abundance of his riches, which, he imagined, were laid u/i for many years; nav, he thought his wickedness would help to support it; he was resolved to stick at nothing, for tlie securing and advancing of his honour and power; right or wrong, he would get what he could, and keep what he had, and be the ruin of any one that stood in his wav; and this, he thought, would strengthen him; thev mav have any thing that will make conscience cf nothing. But now see what it comes to; see what untempered mortar he built his house with, now that it is fallen, and himself buried in the ruins of it.

II. In his own stability; {v. 8, 9.) "This mighty-man is plucked up by the roots; but I am like a green olive-tree, planted and rooted, fixed and flourishing; he is turned out of God's dwelling-place, but I am established in it, not detained, as Doeg, by any thing but the abundant satisfaction I meet with there." Note, Those that by faith and love dwell in the house of God, shall be like green olive-trees there; the wicked are said to flourish like a green bay-tree, (xxxvii. 35.) Avhich bears no useful fniit, though it have abundance of large leaves; but the righteous flourish like a green olive-tree, which is fat as well as flourishing, (xcii. 14.) and with its fatness honours God and man, (Judg. ix. 9.) deriving its root and fatness from the good Olive, Rom. xi. 17

PSALMS, LIIl.

Now, what must we do, that we may be as gi-een olive-trees?

1. We must live a life of faith and holy confidence in God and his grace; "I see what comes of men's trusting in the abundance of their riches, and therefore I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ex^er; not in the world, but in God, not in my own merit, but in God's mercy, which dispenses its girts freely, even to the unworthy, and has in it an all-sufficiency to be our portion and happiness." This mercy is for ever, it is constant and unchangeable, and its gifts will continue to all eternity; we must, therefore, for ever trust in it, and ne\'er come oif from that foundation.

2. We must live a life of thankfulness and holy joy in God; {v. 9.) " I nvill praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it, hast avenged the blood of thy priests upon their bloody enemy, and given him blood to drink; and hast performed thy promise to me;" which he was as sure would be done in due time, as if it were done already. It contributes ^"ery much to the beauty of our profession, and to our fruitfulness in every grace, to be much in praising God; and it is certain that we never want matter for praise.

3. We must live a life of expectation, and humble dependence upon God; I will wait on thy name; I will attend upon thee in all those ways whei'ein thou hast made thyself known, hopuig for the discoveries of thy favour to me, and willing to tarry till the time appointed for them; for it is good before thy saints;" or, in the o/iinion and judgment of thy saints, with whom David heartily concurs. Co.mmunis census fidelium — All the saints are of this mind. (1.) That God's name is good in itself; that God's manifestations of himself to his people are gracious and very kind; there is no other name given than this, that would be our refuge and strong tower. (2.) That it is very good for us to wait on that name; that there is nothing better to calm and quiet our spirits, when they are raffled and disturbed, and to keep us in the way of duty, when we are tempted to use any indirect courses for our own relief, than to hope, and quietly wait for, the salvation of the Lord, Lam. iii. 26. All the saints have experienced the benefit of it, who never attended him in vain, never followed his guidance, but it ended well, nor were e\er made ashamed of their believing expectations from him. What is good before all the saints, let us tlierefore abide and abound in, and in this particulai-ly; Tii-m thoxi to thy God, keep, mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God contin ually, Hos. xii. 6.

PSALM LIU.

God speaks once, yea twice, and it were well if man would even then perceive it; God, in this psalm, speaks tivice, for this is the same almost verbatim with the 11th psalm. The scope of it is to convince us of our sins, to set us a bhishinpr, and tremblinir, because of them ; and this is what we are with so much difficultv broupht to, that there is need of line upon line to this purport. The word, as a convincinfr word, is compared to a hammer, the strokes whereof must be frequently repeated. God, by the psalmist, here, I. Shows us how bad we are, V. 1. II. Proves it upon us by his own certain know-ledsre, v. 2, 3. III. He speaks terror to persecutors, the worst of sinners, v. 4, 5. IV. He speaks encouragement to God's persecuted people, v. 6. Some little variation there is between Px. xiv. and this, but none considerable; I>etween v. 5, 6. there, and v. 5. here ; some expressions (here used, are here left out, coiicernin<r the shame which the wicked put upon God's people, and, instead of that, ishere foretold the shame which God would put upon the wicked; which alteration, Avilh fome others, he made hv divine direction, when he delivered it the second time to the chief musician. In sin^^inir it, we oudit to lament the corruption of the human nature, and the wretched deirencracy of the world we live in, yet rejoicing, in hope of ihc g-reat salvation.

To the chief ?nusician upon Mahalath, Maschil. A psalm of Daxnd.

1. ^I^HE fool hath said in his heart, There JL is no God. Corrupt are they, and Jiave done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. 2. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were atiy that did understand, that did seek God. 3. Everyone of them is gone back; they are altogether become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 4. Have the workers of inicjuity no knowledge? who eat up my people (7.S they eat bread: they have not called upon God. 3. There were they in great fear zr/icre no fear was; for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put thcni to shame, because God hath despised them. 6. Oh that the salvation of Israel icere come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glaid.

This psalm was opened befcre, and therefore we shall here only observe, in short, seme things concerning sin, in order to the increasing of rur sorrow for it and hatred of it.

1. The fact of sin; is that proved? Can the charge be made out? Yes, God is a Witness to it, an unexceptionable witness: frrm the place ef his h; liness he looks on the children of men, and sees how little good there is among them, v. 2. All the sinfulness of their heaj-ts and lives is naked and cptn befrre him.

2. The fault of sin; is thei-e any harm in it? Yes, it is iniquity, {x<. 1, 4.) it is an unrightecus thing; it is that which there is no good in, {y. 1, 3.) it is an evil thing, it is the "worst of evils, it is that Avliich makes this world such an evil world as it is; it is going back from God, v. 3.

3. The fountain of sin; hew comes it that men are so bad? Surely, it is because there is no fear of God before their eyes: they say in their hearts, " There is no God at all to c;dl us to vn account, none that we need to stand in awe of." Men's bad practices flow frc ni tl eir bad principles; if tliey profess to know God, yet in works, l)ecause in thoughts, they deny him.

4. The folly of sin; he is a fool, (in the account of Gnd, whose judgment we are sure is right,) that harljours such rorni])t thoughts; atheists, whether in opinion or practice, are the greatest fools in the world. They that do not seek God, do n'^t understand, they are like brute beasts that have no un-elerstanding; for man is distinguisheel from the brutes, not so much by the powers of reasrn, as by a capacity for religion. The workers of iniquity, whatever they pretenel to, liave no knowledge; those may tndy be said to know nothing, that do n(^t know God, T'. 4.

5. The filthniess of sin; sinners are coiTupt, {v. 1.) their nature is vitiated and spoiled, and the more noble the nature is, the nmre \ile it is when it is dc-pravexl; as that of the angels, Corruptio optimi est pessima — A''othing, when corrupted, is so bad as the best. Their iniquity is abominable, it is odious to the holy God, and it renders them so; whereas otherwise he hates nothing that he has made. It n\akes men filthy, altogether filthy; wilful sinners a'-e offcnsi\e in the nostrils of the God of heaven and of the holv angels. What decency soever pienid

PSALMS, LIV.

357

sinners pretend to, it is certain that wickedness is the greatest defilement in the world.

6. The fruit of sin; see to what a degi-ee of barbarity it brings men at last; when men's hearts are hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, see their cruelty to their brethren, that are bone of their bone—because they will not run ivitli them to the same excess of riot, they eat them up, as they eat bread; as if they were not only bccf me beasts, but be:^.sts of prey. And see their contempt cf God at the same time; they have not called upon him, but scorn to be beholden to him.

7. The fear and shame thit attend mv, (i. J.) There were they in great fear, who had made Gcd their Enemy; their own guilty consciences fr'ghtLU-ed them, and filled them with horror .though ctlier-wise tliere was no app^.rent cause ( f fear; the wicked flees when 7ionepursues. See the grkAind of this fear; it is because God has formerly scattered the bones of those that encamped against his people; not only broken their power, and dispersed their forces, but slain them, and reduced their bodies to diy bones, like these scattered at the grave's mouth, clxi. 7. Such will be the fate of those that lay siege to the camji of the saints, and the beloved city. Rev. XX. 9. The apprehensions of this cannot but put those into frights that eat up God's people. This enables the virgin, the daughter of Zion, to put them to shame, and expose them, because God has despised them; to laugh at them, because he that sits in heaven laughs at them. We need not lor>k upon those enemies with fear, whom God looks upon with contempt. If he despises them, we may.

Lastly, The faith of the saints, and their hope and power touching the cure of this great evil; {x>. 6.) There will come a Saviour, a great salvation, a salvation from sin. Oh that it might be hastened! for it will bring in glorious and joyful times. There were those in the Old Testament times, that looked and hoped, that prayed and waited, for this redemption. (1.) God will, indue time, save his church from the sinful malice of its enemies, which would bring joy to Jacob and Israel, that had long been in a mournful melancholy state. Such sahations were often wrought, and all typical of the e^■erlasting triumphs of the glorious church. (2.) He will save all beliexers from their own iniquities, that they may not be led captive by them, which will be everlisting matter of joy to them. From this work-the Redeemer had his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins, Matth. i. 21.

PSALM LIV.

The key of this psalm hangs at the door, for the title tells us upon what occasion it was penned—when the inhabitants of Ziph, men of Judah, (types of Judas the traitor,) betrayed David to Saul, by informinsr him where he was, and putting him in a wav how to seize him. This they did twice; (1 Sam. xxili. 19.—xxvi. 1.) and it is upon record, to their everlastincr infamy. The psalm is sweet; the former part of it, perhaps, was meditated when he was in his distress, and put into writing when the danger was over, with the addition of the two last verses, which speak his thankfulness for the deliverance, which yet mieht be 'vritfen in filth, even then when he was in the midst of his fright. Here, I. He complains to God of (he malice of his enemies, and prays for help against them, v. 1 . . 3. l\. He comforts himself with an assurance of the divine favour and protection, and that, in iluc time, his enemies should be confounded, and he delivered, V. 4. . 7. What time we are in distress, we may comfortably sing this psalm.

To the chief musician on M'ginoth, Maschil. A psnlm of David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?

■• Cl-'^VE me, O God, by thy name, and

^ judge me by thy strength. 2. Hear

my prayer, O God; give ear to the words

of my mouth. 3. For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.

We may observe here,

1. The great distress that David was now in, which the title gives an account of. The Ziphims came cf their own accord, and inforrned Saul where Da\ id Was, with a promise to deliver him into his hand. One would have thought, when David was retired into tlie country, he should not have been pursued; into a desert country, he should not have been dibcovercd; and into his own country, he should net ha\ e been betrayed; and yet it seems he was. Ne\er let a good man expect to be safe and easy, till he comes to heaven. How treacherous, how officious, were these Ziphims! It is well that God is faithful, for men are not to be tinisted, Mic. vii. 5.

2. His prayer to God for succour and deliverance, V. 1, 2. He appeals to God's strength, by which he was able to help him, and to his name, by which he was engaged to help him; and begs he would save him from his enemies, and judge him, plead his cause, and judge for him. David has no ether plea to depend upon than God's name, no other power to depend upon than God's strength, and those he makes his refuge and confidence. This would be the cfFc^ctual answer of his prayers, (v. 2.) which e\ en in his flight, when he had not opportunity fcr solemn address to God, he was ever and anon lifting up to heaven; Hear my prayer, which comes from my heart, and give ear to the words of my mouth.

3. His plea, which is taken from tlie character c f his enemies, v. o. (1.) They are strangers; such were the Ziphites, unworthy the name of Israelites; "They have used me more basely and barbarously than the Philistines themselves would have done." The worst tre'itment may be expected from those who, ha^mg broken through the bends of relation and alliance, make themselves strangers. (2.) They are oppressors; such was Saul, who, as a king, shc;uld have used his power for the prctecticn of all his good subjects, but abused it for their destruction. Nothing is so grievcus as oppression in the seat of judgment, Eccl. iii. 16. Paul's gi'eatest perils were by his own countrymen, and by false brethren; (2 Cor. xi. 26.) and so were David s. (3.) They were very f^.rrnidable and threatening; they not only hated him and wished him ill, but they rose up against him in a body, joining their powe" to do him a mischief. (4.) They were very spiteful and malicious; They seek after my soul; they hunt for the precious life, no less will satisfy them. We may, in faith, pray that God would nrt by his providence give success, lest it should look like giving countenance, to such cniel bloody men. (5.) They were very prcfne and atheistical, and, for this reason, he thought God was concerned in honour to appear against them; They have not set God before them; thcv have q\ute cast off the thoughts of God, they do not consider that his eye is upon them, that, in fi ',ht:iig against his people, they fight against him, nt r ha\ (• they any dread of the certain fatal conse-quenres of such an unequal engagement. Note, From those who do not set God before them no good is to be ex])ected; nay, what wickedness will not such men be iTuilty cf ? What bonds of nature, or fric ndship, or (rratit'.ide, cr covenant, will hold those th't ha\e brok' n thrr ugh the fear of God? Selah; Mark this. Let us all be sure to set God before us ■!t all times; f r if we do not, we are in danger of becoming desperate.

4. Behold, God is my helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. 5. He

.35 R

PSALMS, LV.

shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth. 6. I will freely sacri-tice unto thee; 1 will praise thy name, O Loud, for it is good. 7. For he hath delivered me out of all trouble; and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.

We have here the lively actings (^f David's faith in his prayer, by which he was assured the issue would be comfortable, though the attempt upon him was formidable.

1. He was sure that he had God on his side; that God took his part; {v. 4.) he speaks it with an air of triumph and exultation, Behold, God is mi?ie Helper. If we be for him, he is fr r us; and if he be for us, we shall have such help in him, that we need not fear any power engaged against us. Though men and devils aim to be our destroyers, they shall not prevail while God is our Heliier; The Lord is with them that uphold my soul. Compare cxviii. 7. " The Lord taketh my part with them that help me. There are some that uphold me, and God is one of them; he is the principal one; none of them could help me, if he did not help them." Every creature is that to us (and no more) that God makes it to be. He means, " The Lord is he that upholds my soul, and keeps me from tiring in my work, and sinking under my burthens." He th it by his providence upholds all things, by his grace upholds the souls of his people. Qod, who will, in due time, sa\e his

Eeople, does, in the mean time, sustain them, and ear them up, so that the spirit he has made shall not fail befre him.

2. God tak'ng part with him, he doubted n^t but his enemies slmuld b'^th fl'e and fall before him; {y. 5.) " He shall reward ex'il unto mine e?iemies that observe me, seeking an opportunity to do me a mischief. The evil they designed nga:nst me, the righteous God will return up; n their own heads." David would not render evil to them, but he knrv/ God would; I as a deaf man heard not, for thou wilt hear. The enemies we forgive, if they repent not, God will judge: and, for this reason, we must not avenge ourselves, because God hns said. Vengeance is 7nine. But he prays. Cut them off in thy truth. This is not a prayer of malice, but a prayer of faith, for it has an eye to the word of God, and only desires the performance of that. There is truth in God's threatenings, as well as in his promises, and sinners that repent not will find it so to their cost.

3. He promises :o give thanks to God for all the experience he had had of liis goodness to him; {t.). 6.) I will sacrijice unto thee. Though sacrifices were expensive, yet, when God required th;it his worshippers should in that way praise him, David would not only oflFcr tiiem, \)\\t offi r them freely, and without grudging. All rur spiritual sacr-fices must, in this sense, be free-Avill oflFi rings, f r G'^d loves a cheerful giver. Yet he will not only bring his sacrifice, which was but the slndnw, the ceremony; he will mind the substance, I will praise thy name. A thankful lieart, and the c:dv( s <^i rur lips giving thanks to his n.>me, are the sncrifices Grd will accept; *• I will praise thxnwwe, for if is good. Thy name is not only great but good, and tlierefore to be praised; to praise thy name is not only whnt we are bound to, but it is good, it is pleasant, it is ]U'^fitah1e; it is good for us, (xcii. 1.) therefore / vjill firaise thii name."

4. He spenks of his deliverance ■■% a thinsr done; {t'. 7.) I will praise thy name, and say, " H has delivered me; this shall be mv srin? then." That which he rejoices in, is, a complete deliverance; f[e has delivered me from all trouble; and a deVu'eranrc to his heart's content; Mine eye has seen its desire v/ion mine enemies; not seen them cut off and ruin-

ed, but forced to retreat; tidings being brought to Saul that the Philistines were upon him, 1 Sam. xxiii. 27, 28. All Da\ id desired, was, to be himself safe; when he saw Saul draw off his forces, he saw his desire; He has delivered me from all trouble. Eithc;r, (1.) With this tliought Da\ id comforted himself when he was in distress, " He has delivered me from all trouble hithtrto, and many a time I have gained my point, and seen my desire on mine enemies; therefore he will deliver me out cf this trouble." We sliould thus, in our greatest straits, encourage ourseh es with cur past experiences. Or, (2.) 'With this thouglit he magnified his present deliverance, when the fright is over, that it was an earnest of his further deliverance. He speaks cf the completing of his deliverance as a thing done, though he had as yet many troubles before him; because, having Gcd's promise for it, he was as sure of it as if it was done already. " He that has begun to deliver me from this tn-uble, sliall deliver me from all troubles, and shall, at length, give me to see my desire upon mine enemies." This may, perhaps, point at Christ, of whom David was a type; God would deliver him out of all the troubles of his state of humiliation, and he was perfectly sure of it; and all things are said to be put under his feet; for though we see not yet all things put under him, yet we are sure he shall reign till all his enemies be made his footstool, and he shall see his desire upon them. However, it is an encouragement to all believers to make that use of tlieir particular deliverances which St. Paul does, (like David here) 2 Tim. iv. 17, 18. He that delivered me from the mouth of the Hon shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me to his heavenly kingdoni.

PSALM LV.

Ills the conjecture of many expositors, that David penned this psalm upon occasion of Absalom's rebellion, ;ind that the particular enem}' he here speaks of, that dealt treacherously with him, was Ahithophel; and some will therefore make David's troubles here typical of Chris^t's suffering, and Ahithophel's treachery a figure ofJudas's, because they both hanged themselves. Bu' there is nothing in it that is particularly applied to Christ in the New Testament. David was in great distress when he penned this psalm. \. He prays that God would mai;i-fest his favour to him, and pleads his own sorrow and fear, v. 1 . . 8. II. He prays that God nould manifest his displeasure against his enemies, and pleads their great wickedness and treachery, (v. 9. 15.) and again, V. 20, 21. HI. He assures himself that God would, in due time, appear for him against his enemies, comforts himself with the hopes of it, and encourages others to trust in God, (v. 16. .19.) and again, v. 2-2,23. In singing this psalm, we may, if there be occasion, apply it to our own troubles; if not, we may sympathize wiih those to whose case it comes nearer, foreseeing that there will be, at last, indignation and wrath to the persecutors, a salvation and joy to tlie persecuted.

To the chief muftician on JVeginoth, Maschil. A psalm of David.

1, £^ IVE ear to my prayer, O God ; and \^ hide not thyself from my supplication. 2. Attend unto me, and hear me : I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise ; 3. Because of the voire of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked : for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. 4. My h(\irt is sore pained within me; and thp terrors of death are fallen upon me. 5. Fearfulni^ss and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. 6. -And I said, Oh that 1 had wings like a dove! for then I would flee

PSALMS, LV.

359

away, and be at rest. 7. Lo then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness, Selah. 8. 1 would hasten my escape fiom the windy storm and tempest.

Ill these verses, we have,

I. David praying. Prayer is a srdve for e\cry sore, and a relief to the spirit under every burtlien; Give ear to my fir ay er, O God, v. 1, 2. He d ;es not set down the petitions he oifered up to God in his distress, but begs tiiat God would hear the pravers which, at every period, his heart Hfted up tj God, and grant an answer of peace to them; Attend to me, hear me. Saul would not hear his petitions, his other enemies regarded not his pleas, out, "Lord, be thou pleased to hearken to me. Hide not thyself from my su/ifilication; either as one unconcerned, and not regarding it, nor seeming to take any notice of it, or as one displeased, angry at me, and therefore at my prayer." If we, in our prayers, sincerely lay open ourselves, our case, our hearts, to God, we have reason to hope that he will not hide himself, his favours, his comforts, from us.

II. David weeping; for in tliis he was a type of Christ, that he was a man of sorrows, and often in tears; {v. 2.) " I mourn in my comfilaint,'''' (or, in my meditation, my melancholy musings,) "and I make a noise; I cannot forbear such sighs and groans, and other expressions of grief, as disco\'er it to those about me." Great griefs are sometimes noisy and clamorous, and thus are, in some measure, lessened, while those increase that are stifled, and have no vent given them. But what was the matter? V. 3. It is because of the voice of the enemy; the menaces and insults of Absalom s party, that swelled, and hectf^red, and stirred up the people to cry out against David, and shout him out of his palace and capital city, as afterwards the chief priests stirred up the mob to cry out against the Son of David, ylivay with him, crucify him. Yet it w;as not the voice of the enemy only that fetched tears from David's eyes, but their ofifiression, and the hvirdship he was thereby reduced to; They cast iniquitii ufion me. They could not justly charge Daid with any m d-administration in his government, could not prove any act of oppression or injustice u])on him, but they loaded him with calunmies. Th'ush thev f 'und no iniquity in him, relating to his trust as a kin;.^, yet they cast all manner of iniquity upon him, and represented him to the people as a tyrant fit to be expelled. Innocency itself is no security against violent and lying tongues. They hated him themselves, nay, in wrath they hated him; there was in their enmity both the heat and violence of anger, or sudden passion, and the implacableness of hatred and rooted malice; and therefore they studied to make him odious, that others also might hate him. This made him m-^urn, and the more, because he could remember the time when he was the darling rf the people, and answered to his name, David, a beloved one.

III. David trembling, and in great consternation. Wc m ly well suppose him to be so, upon the breaking out of Abs ilom's conspiracy, and the general defection of the people, even those that he had little reison to suspect.

1. See what fear seized him.- David was a man of great boldness, and in some very eminent instances had signalized his courage, and yet, when the danger was surprising and imminent, his heart failed him; let not the stout man therefore glory in his courage, any more than the strong man in strength. Now that David's heart is sore-pawed vjithin him., the terrors of death are fallen ufion him, V. 4. Fearfulncss of mind and trembling cf budy carat apon him, and horror covered and •over-

whelmed him; (,;'. 5.) when without are fightings, no marvtl that w.thin arc fears; and, if it was upon the occasii n of Absah m's rebellion, we may suppose that the remembrance rf his sin in the matter of Uriah, which God was now reckoning with him for, added as much more to the fright. Scmttimes David's f dth made him, in a manner, fearless, and he could Ix-ldly say, when surrounded with enemies, / ivill not be' afraid what man can do unto ?ne. But at other times his fears prevail and tyrannise; firthe best men are not always alike strong in faith.

2. See how desirous he was, in this fright, to retire into a desert, any whither to be far enough from hearing the voice of the enemy, and seeing their oppressions. He said, {v. 6.) said it to God in prayer, said it to himself in meditation, said it to his triends in complaint. Oh that I had wings like a dove! Much as he had been sometimes in love with Jerusalem, now that it was become a rebellious city, he longed to get clear cf it, and, like the prophet, wishes he had in the wilderness a lodging place of way-faring men, that he might leavers people, and go from them, for they were an assembly of treache-rojLs men, Jer. ix. 2. This agrees very well with David's resolution upon the breaking out of that pli t, Arise, let us flee, and make sfieed to defiart, 2 Sam. XV. 14. ^

Observe,

(1.) How he would make his escape; he was so surrounded with enemies, that he saw not how he could escape but upon the wing, and therefore he wishes, Oh that I had wings, not like a hawk that flies strongly, but like a dove that flies swiftly; he wishes for wings, not to fl\' irpon the prey, but to fly from the birds of prey, for such his "enemies were. The wings of a dove were most agreeable to hirn who was of a dove-like spirit, and therefore the wings of an eagle would not become him. The dove flies low, and takes sihelter as soon as she can, and thus would David fly.

(2.) What he would make his escape from; frrm the w;nd, storm, and tempest, the tumult and ferment .that the city was now in, and the danger to which he was exposed. Herein he was like a dove that cannrt endure noise.

(3.) What he aimed at, in making this escape; not victory, but rest; " I would Jly away, and be at 7-est, V. 6. I would fly any whither, if it were to a barren frightful wildenii'ss, ever so far off, so I might be quiet," v. 7. Note, Peace and quietness, in silence and solitude, are what the wisest and best of men have most eaniestly coveted, and the more when they have been vexed and wearied with the noise and clamour of those about them. Gracious souls wish to retire from the hurry and bustle of this world, that they may sweetly enjoy God and themsolves; and, if there be any true peace on this side heaven, it is they that enjoy it in those retirements. This makes death desirable to a child of God, that it is a final escape from all the storms and tem.pcsts of this world, to perfect and everlasting rest.

9. Destroy, O Lord, and divide their ton£;ues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city. 10. Day and night they fro about it upon the walls thereof; mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it. 11. Wickedness is in the midst thereof; deceit and £;uile depart not from her streets. 1 '-2. For if icas not an enemy that reproached me : then could I have borne it: neither vns it he that hated me Ma/did magnify/^?w.sf//' against me; then I would have hid myself

PSALiMS, LV.

I'iOtn him; 13. But ^7 i^;a5 thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.

14. We took sweet counsel together, o«c/ walked unto the house of God in company.

15. Let death seize upon tliem, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

David here complains of his enemies, whose wicked plots had brought him, though not to his f;dth's end, yet to his wit's end, and prays against hem by the spirit of prophecy. Observe here,

I. The chciracter he gives of the enemies he feared. They were of the worst sort of men, and his I'jscription of them agrees very well with Absalom ind his accomplices.

1. He complains of the city Jerusalem, which strangely fell m with Absalom and fell off from David, so that he had none there, but his own guards and servants, that he could repose any confidence in; How h that faithful citij become a harlot'. David did not take the representation of it from others; but with liis own e)es, and with a sad heart, did himself see nothing but r/o/e«ce OTzrf siJn/cz^ the city; {y. 9.) for, wlien they grew disaffected and disloyal to David, they grew mischievous one to another. If he walked tlie rounds upon the walls of the city, he saw that \'iolence and strife went about it day and night, and mounted its guards, v. 10. All the arts and methods which the rebels used for the fortifying of the city, were made up of violence and strife, and there were no remains of honesty or love among them. If he looked into the heart of the city, mischief and injiry, mutual wrong and vexation, were in the midst of' it; wickedness, all manner cf wickedness, is in the midst thereof; Jusqiie datum sceleri — iVickcdness was legalized. Deceit and gai le, and all manner of trcacliL-rous dealing, defiarted not from her streets, v. 11. It may be meant of their base and barbarous usage of David's friends, and such as th"V knew were firm and faithful to liim; they did t.iern all the mischief they coidd, Ijy fraud or force. Is tins the character of Jerusalem', the rcyal city, and, which is m^re, the holy city; and in David's f.mc too, so soon after the thrones of judgment and the testimony of Israel were botli placed there? Is this the city that men call the perfection of beauty? Lam. ii. 15. Is Jerusalem, the head quarters of God's priests, s') ill taught? Can Jerusalem be ungrateful to D ivid himself, its own illustrious f^mnder, so that he cannrit reside in it? Let us notice surprised at the corni])tions and disorders of this church on c'.rth, bvit long to see the New Jerusalem, where there is no violence or strife, no mischief or guile, and into Vv-hlch n) unclean thing shall enter, nor any thin,; th it disquiets.

2. He complains of one of the ring-leaders of the conspiracy, that h id been very industrious to foment jealousies, to misrepresent him and his government, and to incense the citv against him; it was one that reproached him, as if he either abused his power, or neglected tlie use of it, for that was Absalom's malicious suggestion; There is no man deputed of the kinfr to"hear thee; 2 Sam. xv. 3. That and sim lar accusations were industriously spread among the people; and who was most active in it? "Not a sworn enemy, not Shimei, or any of the nonjurors; then I C'vdd have borne it, for I should not have expected better from them;" (and we find how patiently he di'l l)car Shimei's curses;) " not one tiiat professed to liat.- me, tlun I would have stood upon my guard against him, weuld have hid myself and my counsels from him, so that it would not have been in his power to betray me; but it was thou, a

jnan,minee(jual"-u. 13. The Chaldee-paraphrase names Ahithophel as the person here meant, and nothing in that plot seems to have discouraged David so much as to hear that Ahithophel was amone the conspirators with Absalom, (2 Sam. xv. 31.) for he was the king's counsellor, 1 Chron. xxvii. 33. " It was thou, a man, mine equal, one whom I esteemed as myself, a friend as mine own soul, to whom I had communicated all my secrets, and who knew my mind as well as I myself did; my guide, with whom I advised, and by whom I was directed in all my affairs, whom I made president of the council, and prime-minister of state; my intimate acquaintance and familiar friend; this is the man that now abuses me. I have been kind to him, but I find him thus basely ungrateful; I have put a ti-ust in him, but I find him thus basely treacherous; nay, and he could not have done me the one half of the mischief he docs, if I had not showed him so much respect." All this must needs be very grievous to an ingenuous mind, and yet this was not all; this traitor had seemed a saint, else he had never been David's bosom friend; {y. 14.) " We took counsel together, spent many an hour together, with a great deal of pleasure in religious discourse;" or, as Dr. Hammond reads it, " We joined ourselves together to the assembly; I gave him the right-hand of fellowship in holy ordinances, and then we walked to the house of God in company, to attend the public service." Note, (1.) There always has been, and always will be, a mixture of good and bad, scvmd and unsound, in the visible church, between whom, perhaps, for a long time, we can discern no difference; but the Searcher of hearts does. David, who went to the house of God in his sincerity, had Ahithophel in company with him, who went in his hypocrisy. The Pharisee and the Publican went togetht r to the temple, to pray; but, sooner Cir later, they that are pertcct, and they that are net, will be made manifest. (2.) Carnal policy may carrv men en very far, and very long, in a professicn of religion, while it is in fashion, and will serve a turn. In the court of pious David, none was more devout than Ahithophel, and yet his heart was not right in the sight of God. (3.) We must not wonder, if we be sadly deceived in some that have made great pretensions to those two sacred things, religion and friendship; Da\id himself, though a very wise man, was thus imposed upon, wliich may make similar disappointments the more tolerable to us.

II. His prayers against them, which we are brth to stand in awe of, and to comfort ourselvc s in, : s propliecies, but not to copy into (vir prayers againtt any particular enemies of our own. He prfiys,

i. Th'.t (icd would disperse them, as he did the Bal)el-builders; (v. 9.) *^ Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues; blast their counsels, by nuik-ing them to disagree among themselves, and c\: sh with one another. Send an evil spirit among th( m, that they may net understand one another, but be envious and jealous one of another.". This prayer was answered in the turning of Ahithophel's coim-' sel into foolishness, by setting up the counsel of Hushai against it. God often destroys the church's enemies by dividing tliem; nor is there a surer way to the dcstraction of any perple than their di^■isirn. A kingdom, an interest, divided against itself, crn-not long stand.

2. That God would destroy them, as he did Da than and Abiram, and their associates, wlio were confederates against Moses, whose throat being an open sepulchre, the earth t1\erefore opened, ;ind swallowed them up. This was then a new thing wliich God executed. Numb. xvi. SO. But David prays that it might p( w be i-tjieated, or something equivalent; (t. 15.) "Let death seize upon them by divine wan-ant, and let them go down t/uick info

PSALMS, LV.

361

hell; let them be dead, and buried, and so, utteriy dt stroyed, in a moment; for wickedness is wherever they are, it is in the midst of them." The souls of impenitent sinners go down quick, or alive, into hell, for they have a perfect sense of their miseries, and shall therefore live still, that they may be still miserable. This prayer is a prophecy of the utter, the final, the everlasting, iniin of all those who, whether secretly or openly, oppose and rebel against the Lord's Messiah.

16. As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. 17. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud; and he shall hear my voice. 18. He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that urns against me: for there were many with me. 19. God shall hear and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. 20. He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him; he hath broken his covenant. 21. The. loords of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in liis heart: liis words were softer than oil, ' yet loere they drawn swords. 22. Cast thy ;. burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain j thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. 23. But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half then- days; but T will trust in the6.

In these verses,

I. David perseveres in his resolution to call upon God, being well assured that he should not seek him in vain; {x>. 16.) "As for me, let them take what course they please to secure themselves, let violence and strife be their guards, prayer shall be mine: this I have found comfort in, and therefore this will I abide by; I will call tifion God, and commit myself to him, and the Lord shall save me." Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, in a right manner, shall be saved, Rom. x. 13. He resolves to be both fervent, and frequent, in this duty. 1. He will pray fervently; / will pray and cry aloud. "I will meditate," (so the former word signifies,) "I will speak with my own heart, and the prayer shall come thence." Tlien v/e pray aright, when we pray with all that is within us; tliink first, and then pray over our thoughts; for the true nature of prayer is, lifting up the heart to God. Having meditated, he will cry, he will cry aloud: tlie fervour of his spirit in prayer shall be expressed, and yet more excited, by the intenseness and earnestness of his voice. 2. He will pray frequently, every day, and three times a day, evening, and morning, and at noon. It is probable that this had been his constant practice, and he resolves to continue it, now that he is in his distress. Then we may come the more boldly to the throne of grace in trouble, when we do not then first begin to seek" acquaintance with God, but it is" what we have 'constantly practised, and the trouble finds the wheels of prayer going. They that think tliree meals a day little enough for the body, "ught much more to think three solemn prayers a day little enough for the soul, and to count it a pleasure, nrt a task. As it is fit that in the nnniing we should be^in the day with God, and in the evening clos? it with him, so it li fit that in the midst of the day we shoidd retire a

Vol III.—2 Z

while to converse with him. It was Daniel's practice to pray three times a day; (Dan. vi. 10.) and noon was one of Peter's hours of prayer, Acts x. 9. Let not us be weary of praying often, for God is not weary of hearing; "He shall hear my voice, and not blame me for coming too often, but the oftener the better, the more welcome."

II. He assures himself that God would, in due time, give an answer of peace to his prayers.

1. That he himself should be delivered, and his fears prevented; those fears with which he was much disordered, {v. 4, 5.) by the exercise of faith were now silenced, and he begins to rejoice in hope; {v. 18.) God has delivered my soul in peace, that is, he will deliver it; David is as sure of the deliverance as if it were already wrought. His enemies were at war with him, and the battle was against him, but God delivered him in peace, brought him off with as much comfort as if he had never been in danger. If he did not deliver him in victory, yet he delivered him in peace, inward peace, he delivered his soul in peace; by patience and holy joy in God he kept possession of that; those are safe and easy whose hearts and minds are kept by that peace of God which passes all understanding, Phil. iv. 7. David, in his fright thought all were against him; but now he sees there were many with him, more than he imagined, his interest proved better than he expected, and this he gives to God the glory of; for it is he that raises us up friends when we need them, and makes them faithful to us. There were many with him, for though his subjects deserted him, and went over to Absalom, ytt God was with him, and the good angels. Witli an eye of faith he nov/ sees himself surrounded, as Elisha was, with chariots of fire, and horses of fire, i;nd therefore triumphs thus, There are many with me, more with me than against me, 2 Kinesvi.' 16, 17.

2. That his enemies should be reckoned with, and brcught down. They had frightened him with their memces, (t'. 3.) but here he says enough to friglitcn them, and make them tremble with more reason, and no remedy, for they could not ease themselves of their fears, as David could, by faith in God.

(1.) David here gives their character, as the reason why he expected God would bring them down.

[1.] Thcv are impirus and profane, and stand in no awe of God, of his raithority or wrath; {v. 19.) " Because they have no changes, no afflictions, no interruptii^n to the constant course of their prosperity, no crosses to empty them from vessel to vessel, therefore they far not God, they live in a constant neglect and contempt of God and religion, which is tlic cause cf all their other wick-^dness, and by which tliey arc certainly marked fcr destruction.

[2.] They are treachercus and false, and will not be held by the most sacred and solemn engagements; (v. 20.) " He has put forth his hand against such as be at peace with him, that never provoked him, nor gave him any cause to quarrel with them; nay to whom he had given all possible encouragement to expect kindness from him. He has put forth his hand against those whom he had given his hand to, and has broken his covenant, both with God and man, has pcrfidiovisly violated his engagement to both;" than which nothing makes men riper for ruin.

[3.] They are l)ase and hypocritical, pretending friendship wliilc they design mischief; (v. 21.) " The words of his mouth" (probably he means Ahithophel particularly) "were smoother than butter, and sofrr than oil, so courteous was lie r.nd ol^liging, so free in his professions of respjct and

PSALMS, LVl.

kindness, and the proffers of his service; yet, at the same time, ivar ivas in his heart, and all this courtesy was but a stratagem of war, and those very words had such a mischievous design in them, that they were as drawn swords designed to stab." They smQe in a man's lace, and cut his throat at the same time, as Joab, that kissed and killed. Satan is such an enemy; he flatters men into their ruin; when he sfieaks fair, believe him not.

(2.) David here foretells tlieir i-uin.

[1.] God shall afflict them, and bring them into straits and frights, and recompense tribulation to them that have troubled his people, and this, in answer to the prayers of his people; God shall hear and afflict them, liear the cries of the oppressed, and speak ten-or to their oppressors, even he that abides of old, who is God from everlasting, and world without end, and who sits Judge from the beginning of time, and has always presided in the affairs of tlie cliildren of men. Mortal men, though ever so liigh and strong, will easily be cinished by an eternal God, and are a \'ery unequal match for him. This the saints have comforted themselves with, in reference to the threatening power of the churcli's enemies; (Hab. i. 12.) Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord?

[2. ] God sliaU bring them down, not only to the dust, but to the pit of destniction; (v. 23.) to the bottomless pit, which is called destruction, Job xxvi. 6. He afflicted them, (f. 19.) to see if that would humble and reform them; but they not being wrought iipon by that, he shall, at last, bring them to iTiin. Those that are not reclaimed by the rod of affliction, will certainly be brought down into the pit of destruction. They are bloody and deceitful men, the worst of men, and therefore shall not live out half their days, not half so long as men ordinarily live, and as they might have lived in a course of nature, and as they themselves expected to live. They shall live as long as the Lord of life, the righteous Judge, has appointed, with whom the number of our months is; but he has determined to cut them off, by an untimely death, in the midst of their days. They were bloody men, and cut others off, and therefore (iod will justly cut them off: they were deceitful men, and defrauded others of the one half perhaps of what was their due; and now God will cut them short, though not of that which was their due, yet of that which they counted upon.

III. He encourages himself, and all good people, to commit themselves to God with confidence in him. He himself resolves to do so; (z'. 23.) "7 will trust in thee, in thy providence, and power, and mercy, jmd not in my own prudence, strength, or merit; when bloody and deceitful men are cut off in the midst of their days, I shall still live bv faith in thee." And this he will have others to do;' {v. 22.) " Cast thy burthen upon the Lord, whoever thou art, that art burthened, and whatever the burthen is. Cast thy gift ufion the Lord," so some read it; "Whatever blessings God has bestowed upon thee to enjoy, commit them all to his custody, and particularly commit the keeping of tliy soiil to him." Or, " Wliatever it is that thou desircst God should give thee, leave it to him to give it thee in his own way and time." Cast thy care upon the Lord, so the LXX, to which the apostle refers, 1 Pet. v. 7. Care is a burthen, it makes the he;irt stoop; (Prov. xii. 25.) we must cast it upon God l)y faith and prayer, commit our way and works to liim; let him do as seemeth him good, and we will be satisfied. To cast our burthen upon God, is, to stay ourselves on his providence and ])romise, and to be very easy in the assurance that all shall work for good. ' If we do so, it is promised, 1. Th ;t he will sustain us, both support and supply us; will himself carry us 01 the arms of his power, as the nurse camcs'the

suckmg-child, will strengthen our spirits so by his Spirit, as that they shall sustain the infirmity. He has not promised to free us immediately from that trouble which gives rise to our cares ana fears; but he will provide that we be not tempted above what we are able, and that we shall be able according -is we are tempted. 2. That he will never ? uffer the righteous to be moved, to be so shaken by any J troubles, as to quit either their duty to God, or their comfort in him. However, he will not suffer them to be moved for ever; (as some read it;) though they fall, they shall not be utterly cast down.

PSALM LVL

It seems by this, and many other psalms, that, even in times of the greatest trouble and distress, David never hung his harp upon the n'illow-trees, never unstrung it, or laid it by; but that, when his dangers and fears were greatest, he was still in tune for singing God's praises. He was in imminent peril when he penned this psalm, at least, when he meditated it; yet even then his meditation of God was sweet. I. He complains of the malice of his enemies, and begs mercy for himself, and justice against them, V. 1,2, 5. .7. H. He confides in God, being assured that he took his part, comforting himself with this, that therefore he was safe, and should be victorious, and that, while he lived, he should praise God, v. 3, 4, 8. .13. How pleasantly may a good Christian, in singing this psalm, rejoice m God, and praise him for what he will do, as well as for what he has done.

To the chief musician upon Jonath-elem-rechokim, Michtam of David, ivhen the Philistines took him in Gath.

1. TOE merciful unto me,O God; for man Jj would swallow me up: he fighting daily oppresseth me. 2. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they he many that fight against me, O thou Most High. 3. What time I am afraid 1 will tmst in thee. 4. In God I will praise his word ; in God I have put my trust: 1 will not fear what flesh can do unto me. 5. Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. 6. They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul. 7. Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, OGod.

David, in this psalm, bv his faith throws himself into the hands of God, tnen when he had by his fear and f(;lly thrown himself into the hands of the Philistines; it was when the-y took him in Gath, whither he fled for fear of Saul, forgetting the quarrel they had with him for killing Goliath; but they soon put him in mind of it, 1 Sam. xxi. 10, 11. Upon that occasion he changed his behaviour, but with so little ruffle to his temper, that then he penned both this psalm and the 34th. This is called Michtam — A golden psalm. So some other psalms are entitled, but this has something peculiar in the title; it is upon Jonath-elem-rechokim, which signifies. The silent dove afar off. Some apply that to David himself, who wished for the wings of a dove on which to fly away. He was innocent and inoffensive, mild and patient, as a dove, was at this time dri\ en from his nest, from the sanctuaiy, (Ixxxiv. 3.) was forced to wander afar off, to seek for shelter in distant countries, there he was like the doves of tht vallies, mourning and melancholy; but silent, neither murmuring against God, nor railing at the instruments of his trouble; herein a type of Christ, who was as a sheep, dumb before the shearers, and a

PSALMS, LVl.

36.?

pattern to Chi'istians, who, wherever they are, and whatever injuries are done them, ought to be as silent doves.

In this former part of the psalm,

I. He complains to God ot the malice and wickedness of his enemies, to show what reason he had to fear them, and what cause, what need, there was, that God should appear against them; (y. 1.) Be merciful unto me, 0 God. That petition includes all the good we come to the throne of grace for; if we obtain mercy there, we obtain all we can desire; and need no more to make us happy. It implies likewise our best plea, not our merit, but God's mercy, his free rich mercy. He prays he might find mercy with God, for with men he could find no mercy. When he fled from the cruel hands of Saul, he fell ijito the cruel hands of the Philistines; " Lord," (says he,) " be thou merciful to me now, or I am undone." The mercy of God is what we may flee to, and trust to, and in'faith pray for, when we are surrounded on all sides with difficulties and dangers. He complains,

1. That his enemies were very numerous; (v. 2.) " T/iey be many that fight against me, and think to overpower me with numbers; take notice of this, O thou most High, and make it to appear that, wherein they deal proudly, thou art above them." It is a point of honour to come into the help of one against many. And if God be on our side, how many soever they are that fight against us, we may, upon good grounds, boast, that there are more with us; for (as that great general said) " How many do we reckon him for?"

2. That they were very barbarous; they would sivalloiv him up, (v. 1.) and again, v. 2. They sought to devour him; no less would sem^e, they came upon him with the utmost fury, like beasts of prey, to eat up his flesh, xxvii. 2. Man would swallow him up, those of his own kind, from whom he might have expected humanity. The ravenous beasts prey not upon those of their own species; yet a bad man would devour a good man, if he could. " They are men, weak and frail; make them to know that they are so," ix. 20.

3. That they were very unanimous; {v. 6.) They gather themselves together; though they were many, and of different interests among themselves, yet they united and combined against David, as Herod and Pilate against the Son of David.

4. That they were very powerful; quite too hard for him, if God did not help him; " They fight against me; (v. 2.) They ofi/iress me; (y. 1.) I am almost overcome and borne down by them, and reduced to the last extremity."

5. That they were very sxibtle and crafty; (y. 6.) " They hide themselves; they industriously cover their designs, that they may the more effectually prosecute and pursue them. They hide themselves as a lion in his den, that they mav mark my steps; they observe every thing I say and do, with a criti-(-al eye, that they may have something to accuse me «^f » Thus Christ's enemies watched him, Luke

of.

XX. 20. Or, "They have an eye upon all my motions, that they may gain an opportunity to do me a mischief, and may lay their snares for me."

6. That they were veiy spiteful and malicious; thev put invidious constructions upon every thing he said, though ever so honestly meant, and prudently expressed; (x^. 5.) "They'wrest my words, put them upon the rack, to extort that out of them which was never in them;" and so they made him an offender for a word, (Isa. xxix. 21.) misrepresenting it to Saul, and aggravating it, to incense him yet more against him. They made it their whole business to ruin David, all'their thoughts were against him for evil, which put evil interpretations UDon all his words.

7. That they were very restless and imwearied they continually waited for his soul, it was the life, the precious lite, they hunted for; it was his death they longed for, v. 6. They fought daily against him, {-u. 1.) and would daQy swallow him up, (x-. 2.) and every day they wrested his words, v. 5. Then-malice would not admit the least cessation of arms, or the acts of hostility, but they were continually pushing at him. Such as this, is the enmity of Satan and his agents against the kingdom of Christ and the interests of his holy religion, which if we cordially espouse, we must not think it strange to meet with such treatment as this, as though some strange thing happened to us. Our betters have been thus used; so persecuted they the prophets.

II. He encourages himself in God, and in his promises, power, and providence, v. 3, 4. In the midst of his complaints, and before he has said what he has to say of his enemies, he triumphs in the divine protection. 1. He resolves to make God his Confidence, then when dangers were most threatening, and all other confidences failed; "What time lam afraid, in the day of my fear, when I am most terrified from without, and most timorous within, then / will trust in thee, and thereby my fears shall be silenced. Note, There are some times which are, in a special manner, times of fear with God's people; in these times, it is their duty and interest to trust in God as their God, and to know whom they have trusted. This will fix the heart, and keep it in peace. 2. He resolves to make God's promises the matter of his praises, and so we have reason to make them; {-v. 4.) "In God I will praise, not only his work which he has done, but his word which he has spoken; I will give him thanks for a promise, though not yet perfoi-med; in God, in his strength, and by his assistance, I will both gloiy in his word, and give him the glory of it." Some understand, by his word, his providences, every event tliat he orders and appoints; "When I speak Avell cf God, with him I will speak well of every thing that he does." 3. Thus supported, he will bid defiance to all adverse powers; " When in God I have put ?ny trust, I am safe, I am easy, and I will not fear whatfiesh can do unto me; it is but flesh, and cannot do much; nay, it can do nothing but by divine permission.' As we must not trust to an aiTn gf flesh, when it is engaged for us, so we must not be afraid of an ann of flesh when it is stretched out against us.

III. He foresees, and foretells^ the fidl of those that fought against him, and of all others that think to establish themselves in and by any wicked practices; {v. 7.) Shall they escape by iniquity? They hope to escape God's judgments, as they escape men's, by violence and fraud, and the arts'of injustice and treachery; but shall they escape ? No, they certainly shall not; the sin of sinners will never be their security, nor will either their impudence or their hypocrisy bring them off" at God's bar; God will, in his anger, cast down, and cast out, such people, Rom. ii. 3. None are raised so high, or settled so firmly, but that the justice of God can bring them doAvn, both from their dignities, and from their confidences; Who knows the power of God's anger; how high it can reach, and how forcibly it can strike?

8. Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle : are they not in ihy book ? 9. When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back : this I know ; for God is for me. 10. In God I will praiSe his word ; in the Lord will I praise his \\ ord. 11. In God have T put my trust: I will not be afraid what man ran do unto rae

S64

PSALMS, LVl.

12. Thy vows are upon rae, O God: I will i render praises unto thee. 13. For thou hast | delivered my soul from death; wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living ?

Several things David here comforts himself with, in the day of his distress and fear.

I. That God took particular notice of all his grievances and all his griefs, v. 8. 1. Of all the in-conveniencies of his state; 77^0^ tellest mywander-ings, my Jiittings, so the old translation. David was now but a young man, (under thirty,) and yet he had had many removes, from his father's house to the court, thence to the camp, and now driven out to sojourn where he could find a place, but not allowed to rest any where; hunted like a partridge upon the mountains; continual terrors and toils attended him; but this comforted him, that God kept a particular account of all his motions, and numbered all the weary steps he took, by night oi- by day. Note, God takes cognizance of all the afflictions of his people; and he does not cast out from his care and love those whom men have cast out from their acquaintance and converse. 2. Of all the impressions thus made upon his spirit. When he was wandering, he was often weeping; and therefore prays, "Put thou my tears into thy bottle, to be preserved and looked upon; nay, I know they are m thy book, the book of thy rcmembvcmce." God has a bottle and a book for his people's tears, both those for their sins, and those for their afflictions. This intimates, (1.) That he observes them with compassion and tender concern; he is afflicted in their afflictions, and knows their souls in adversity. As the blood of his sauits, and their deaths, are precious in the sight of the Lord, so are their tears, not one of them shall fall to the ground. J have seen thy tears, 2 Kings xx. 5. / have heard E/ihrairn bemoaning himself, Jer. xxxi. 18. (2.) That he will remi'mber them, and review them, as we do the accounts we have booked. Paul was mindful of Timothy's tears, (2 Tim. i. 4.) and God will not forget the sorrows of his people. The tears of Ciod's persecuted people are bottled uj), and sealed among God's treasures; and when these books come to be opened, they will be found vials of wrath which will be poured out upon their persecutors, whom God will surely reckou with for all the tears they have forced from his people's eyes; and they will be breasts of consolation to God's m uvners, whose sackcloth will be turned into garments of praise; God will comfort his people acccrchng to the time wherein he has afflicted them, and give to th.m to reap in joy, who sowed in tears. What w..s sown a tear, will come up a pearl.

II. That his prayers would be powerful fcr the defeat and discomfiture of his enemies, as well ;'S for his own support and encouragement; {v. 9.) "IVhen I cry unto thee, then shall my enemies turn back; I need no other weapons than i)rayers and te;:rs; this I knoiu,for God is for me, to Jplead my cause, to protect and deliver me; and if God be for me, who can be against me so as to prevail ?" The s lints have God for them; they may know it; and to him they must cry when they are surrounded with enemies; which, if they do in faith, tliey shall find a <li\ine power exerted and engaged for tliem; their enemies shall be made to turn liack; their spiritual enemies, against whom we fight best upon our knees, Eph. vi. 18.

III. That his faith in God would set him above tlie fear of man, v. 10, 11. Here he rt peats, with a strone; pathos, what he had said; (t. 4.) "In God loill I fjraise his nvord; I will F.rmh depend u])on the promise, for the sake of him that m.ide it, who

is true and faithful, and has wisdom, power, and goodness, enough to make it good." When we give credit to a man's bill, we honour him that drew it; s ) wlien we do, and suffer, for God, in a dependence upon his promise, not staggering at it, we give glory to God, we praise his word, and so give praise to him. Having thus put his tnist in God, he looks with a holy contempt upon the threatening power of man; "In God have I put my trust, and in him only, and therefore Iivill ?20t be afraid what man can do unto me, though I know very well what he would do if he could," v. 11. This triumphant word, so expressive of a holy magnanimity, the apostle puts into the mouth of every true believer, whom he makes a Christian hero, Heb. xiii. 6. We may each of us boldlv say, The Lord is my Helper, and then / will not far what man shall do unto me; for he has no power but what he has given him from above.

IV. That he was in bonds to God; {v. 12.) " Thy vows are upon me, O God; not upon me as a bur-tlien wliich I am loaded with, but as a badge which I glory in, as that by which I am known to be thy menial servant; not upon me as fetters that hamper me, (such are superstitious vows,) but upon me as a bridle that restrains me from what would be hurtful t,T me, and directs me in the way of my duty. Thy vows are upon me, the vows I have made to thee, to which thou art not only a Witness, but a Party, and which thou hast commanded and encouraged me to make." It is probable that he means especially those vows which he had made to God in the day of his trouble and distress, which he would retain the remembrance of, and acknowledge the obligations of, when his fright was over. Note, It ought to be the matter of our consideration and joy, that the vows of God are upon us; our baptismal vows, renewed at the Lord's table, our occasional vows under convictions, under cori'ections, by thtse we are bound to li\ e to God.

V. That he sliould still have more and more occasion to praise him; I will render praises unto thee. This is part of the perfoiTnance of his vows; for vows of thankfulness properly accompany prayers for mei'cy, and, when the mercy is received, must be made good. When we study what we shall render, this is the least we can resolve upon, to render praises to God. Poor returns for rich receivings! Two things he will praise God for;

1. For what he had done for him; {y. 13.) " Thou hast delivered my soul, my life, from deatli, which was just ready to seize me.'' If God have delivered us from sin, either from the commission of it by preventing grace, or from the punisliment of it by p irdoning mercy, we have reason to own that lie has thereby delivered our scnils from death, which is the wages of sin. If we, who were by nature dead in sin, are cjuickened together with Christ, and are made spivituall)' alive, we have reason to own that God has delivered our souls from death.

2. For what he would do for him;-" Thou hast delivered my soul from death, and so hast given me a new life, and thcTeby liast given me an earnest vt further mercy, that tlu u wilt deliver my feet from falling: thou hast dene the greater, and therefore them wilt do the lesser; thuu hast begun a good work, and tlierefore thou wilt carry it on, and perfect it." Tliis may be taken either as the matter of his prayer, ])leading his experience, or as the matter of his praise, raising his ex])ectations; and those tliat know how to j^raise in faith, will give God thanks for mercies in promise and prospect, as well as in possession. See liere, (1.) W'hat David hopes for, that God would deliver his feet from falhng eitlier into sin, which would wound his conscience, or into the ajipearance of sin, from which his enemies would take occasion to wound his good name

PSALMS, LVn.

36.">

Those that think they stand must take heed lest they fall, because the best stand no longer than Ood is pleased to uphold them. We are weak, our way is slippery, many stumbling-blocks are in it, our spiritual enemies are industrious to thrust us down, and therefore we are concerned by faith and prayer to commit ourselves to his care, who keeps the feet of his saints. (2.) What he builds this hope upon; " Thou hast delivered my soul from death, and therein hast magnified thy power and goodness, and put me into a capacity of receiving further mercy from thee; and now wilt thou not secure and crown thy own work?" God never brought his people out of Egypt, to slay them in the wilderness. He that in conversion delivers the soul from so great a death as sin is, will not fail to preserve it to his heavenly kingdom. (3.) What he desig-ns in these hopes; that I may walk before God, in the light of the living, that is, [1.] "That I may get to heaven, the only land of light and life; for in thi^ world darkness and death reign." [2.] " That I may do my duty, while this life lasts. Note, This we should aim at in all our desires and expectations of deliverance both from sin and trouble, that we may do God so much the better service; that, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, nve may serve him without fear.

PSALM LVIL

This psalm is very like that which goes next before it; it was penned upon a like occasion, when David was both in danger of trouble, and in temptation to sin ; it begins as that did, Be merciful to me; the method also is the same; 1. He begins with prayer and complaint, yet not without some assurance of speeding in liis request, vi 1..6. II. He concludes with joy and praise, v. 7.. II. So that hence we may take direction and encouragement, both in our supplications, and in our thanksgivings, and may offer both to God in singing this psalm.

To the chief musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David, when heJied from Saul in the cave.

1. 13 E merciful unto me, O God, be mer-Jj ciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will 1 nrake my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. 2. I will ciy unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. 3. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. 4. My soul is among lions; and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. 5. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth. 6. They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.

The title of this psalm has one word new in it, 4.1-taschith — Destroy not. Some make it to be only some known tune to which this psalm was set, others apply it to the occasion and matter of the psalm; Destroy not; that is, David would not let Saul be destroyed, when now in the cave there was a fair opportunity of doing it, and his servants would fain have done it; No, says David, destroy him not, 1 Sam. xxiv. 4, 6. Or rather, God would not let David be destroyed by S uil; he suffered him to per-

secute David, but st'll under this limitation. Destroy him not; as he permitted Sati:n to i'fflict Jf b, Qyily save his life. Duvid must net be destroyed, for a blessing is in him, (Isa. Ixv. 8.) even Christ, the Best of blessings. W'hen David was in the cave, in imminent peril, he ht re tells us what were the workings of his heart toward God; ind happy they that have such gof)d thoughts ;is these in their minds, when they are in danger!

I. He supports himself with faith and hope in God, and prayer to him, v. 1, 2. Seeing himself surrounded with enemies, he looks up to God with that suitable prayer. Be merciful to me, 0 Lord; which he again repeats, and it is no vain repetition; Be merciful unto me. It was the publican's prayer, Luke xviii. 13. It is pity that any shruld use it slightly and profane ly, should cry, God be merciful to us, or. Lord, have mercy upon us, when they mean only to express their wonder, or surprise, or vexation, but God and his mercy are not in all their thoughts. It is with much devout affection that David here prays, " Be merciful tin to me, 0 Lord; look with compassion upon me, and in thy love and pity ^redeem me." To recommend himself to God's mercy, he here professes,

1. That all his dependence is upon Gcd; My soul trusteth in thee, v. 1. He did not only profess to trust in God, but his soul did indeed rely on God only, with a sincere devotion and self-dedicatirn, anel an entire complacency and satisfaction. He goes to God, and, at the fejotstool of the thrrne of his grace, humbly professes his confidence in him; In the shadow of thy wings will 17nake my refuge, as the cliickens take shelter under the wings ( f the hen, when the Ijirds of prey are ready to strike at them,.until these calamities be over-past. (1.) He was confident his troubles would end well, in due time; these calamities will be over-past; the storm will blow over, .A^on si male -mine et olim sic erit — Though now distressed, J shall not always be. Our Lord Jesus comforted himself with this, in his sufferings, (Luke xxii. 37.) The things concerning me have an end. (2.) He was very easy under the divine protection, in the mean time. [1.] He comforted himself in the goodness of God's nature, by which he is inclined to succour and protect his people, as the hen is by instinct to shelter her young ones. God comes upon the wing to the help of his people, which denrtes a speedy deliverance; (xviii. 10.) and he takes them under his wing, which denotes warmth and refreshment, even when the calamities are upon them; see Matth. xxiii. 37. [2.] In the promise of his word, and the covenant of" his grace; for it may refer to the out-stretched wings of the cherubims, between which God is said to dwell, (Ixxx. 1.) and whence he gave his oracles. "To God, as the God of grace, will I fly, and his promise shall be my refuge, ancl a sure passport it will be through all these dangers." God, by his promise, offers himself to us, to be trusted; we hv our faith must accept of him, and put our tiiist in him.

2. That all his desire is toward God; (v. 2.) "7 will cry unto God most high, for succour and relief; to him that is most high will I lift up my soul, ?nd pray earnestly, even unto God that performs all things for me." Note, (1.) In every thing that befalls us, we ought to see, and own, the hand of God; whatever is done, is of his performing, in it his counsel is accomplished, and the scripture is fulfilled. (2.) Whatever God performs concerning his people, it will appear, in the issue, to have l^een performed for them, and for their benefit. Though God be high, most high, yet he condescends so low, as to take care that all things be made to work for good to them. (3.) This is a good reason why we should, in all our straits and difficulties, cry unto him; not only pray, but pray earnestly.

FSALiMS, LVII.

3. That all his expectation is from God; {v. 3.) He shall send from heaven, and save me. They that make God their only Refuge, and fly to liim by faith and prayer, may be sure of salvation, in his way and time. Obsei-ve here, (1.) Whence he expects the salvation; from htaven. Look which way he will, on this earth, refuge fails, no help appears: but he looks for it from heaven; they that lift up their hearts to things above, may from thence expect all good. (2.) What the salvation is that he expects; he trusts that God will save him from the reproach of those that xvould sivallow him up, that aimed to ruin him, and, in the mean time, did all they could to vex him. Some read it. He shall send from heaven, and save me, for he has put to shame him that would swallow me up; he has disappointed their designs against me liitherto, and therefore he will perfect my deliverance. (3.) What he will ascribe his salvation to; God shall send forth his mercy and truth. God is good in himself, and faithful to every word that he has spoken, and so he makes it appear wlien he works deliverance for his people. We need no more tn make us happy, than to have the benefit of the mercy and truth of God, XXV. 10.

II. He represents the power and malice of his enemies; (x'. 4.) My soul is amorig lions; so fierce and furious was Saul, and those al)out him, against David, that he might have been as safe in a den of lions, as among such men, who were continually roaring against him, and ready to make a prey of him. They are set on fire, and breathe nothing but flame; they set on fire the course of nature, inflaming one another agiinst David, and they were themselves set on fire of hell. Jam. iii. 6. They were sons of men, from wliom one might liave expected something of the reason and comp ission of a man; but they were beasts of prey in the shape of men; their teeth, which they g-nashed upon him, and with which they hoped to tear liim to pieces, and to eat liim up, were spears and arrows fitted for mischiefs and murders; :ind their tongue, with which they cursed him, :md woundt-d his reputation, was as a sharp sivord to cut and kill; see xlii. 10. A s])iteful tongue is a d ingcrc/Us weapon, wherewith Satin's instruments fi2;ht against God's people. He dcscribi-s their malicious projects against him, (t'. 6.) and shows tlie issue of them; " They have prefiared a net for my steps, in which to tike me, that I might not again escape out of their h aids; theii hax^e digged a pit before me, that I might, ere I was ;iware, run headlong into it." See the policies of the church's enemies; see the pains thev take to do m'schief. But let us see what comes of it. 1. It is indeed some disturbance to David; My soul is bowed down. It made him droop, and liang Wv.^ head, to think that there should be those that bore him so murh ill-will. But, 2. It was destruction to thenis Ives; they disrged a pit for David, into the midst whereof they are fallen. The mischief they d('si>rn"d agaiiist D ivid, i-etum-ed upon themselves, and thev were embarrassed in their coimsels; then when S \\\\ was pursuing David, the Pliilistines were invading him; nay, in the cave, when Saul thought David shnnldfall into his hands, he fell into the hands of David, and lay at his mercy.

III. He pravs to God to glirify himself aiid his own great name; {v. 5.) "Whatever comes of me and my interest, he thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, l)e thou praised bv the holv angels, those glorious inh-^bitants of the \ipper world; and let thy glory be above, or over all tlie earth, let all the in1iabit;mts of this earth be brought to know and praise thee." Thus (iod's glorv should lie ii-arcv nur hearts, and we should be moi-e concerned f'tr it, tlian for any particular intorests of our own. \Vh,.'n David was in the greatest distress and dis-

grace, he did not pray, Lord, exalt me, but. Lord, exalt thine own name. Thus the Son of David, when his soul was troubled, and he prayed. Father, save me from this hour, immediately withdrew that petition, and presented this in the room of it, For this cause came I to this hour; Father, glorify thy name, John xii. 27, 28. Or it may be taken iis a plea to enforce his petition for deliverance; " Lord, send from heaven to save me, and thereby thou wilt glorify thyself as the God both of heaven and earth." Our best encouragement in prayer, is taken from the glory of God, and to that therefore, more than our own comfort, we should have an eye in all our petitions for particular mercies; for this is made the first petition in the Lord's prayer, as that I which regulates and directs all the rest. Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

7. My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will, sing and give praise. 8. Awake up, my glory; awake psaltery and haip; I myself will awake early. 9. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people; I will sing unto thee among the nations: 10. For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy tmth unto the clouds. 11. Be thou exalted, OGod, above the heavens: let thy glory he above all the earth.

How strangely is the tune altered here! David's prayers and complaints, by the lively actings of fajth, are here, all of a sudden, turned into praises and thanksgivings; his sackcloth is loosed, he is girded with gladness, and his hallelujahs are as fervent as his hosannas. This should make us in love with prayer, that, sooner or later, it will be swallowed up in praise. Observe,

1. How he prepares himself for the duty of praise; {y. 7.) My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed. My heart is erect, or lifted up, (so some,) which was bowed down, t. 6. My heart is fixed, (1.) With reference to God's providences; it is prepared for every event, being stayed upon God, cxii. 7. Isa. xxvi. 3. My heart is fixed, and then none of these things jnove me. Acts xx. 24. If by the grace of God we be brought into this even composed frame of spirit, we ha\ e great reason to be thankful. (2.) With refei-cnce to the worship of God; My heart is fixed to sing and give praise. It is implied, that the heart is the main thing required in all acts of devotion; nothing is done to pui-pose in religion, further than it is done with the heart. The heart must be fixed; fixed for the duty, fitted ^nd put in frame for it; fixed in the duty by a close application; attending on the Lord without distraction.

2. How he excites himself to the duty of praise; {y. 8.) Awake up, my glory — my tongue; our tongue is our glory, and never more so th'an when it is employed in praising God; or, my soul, that must be first awakened; dull and sleepy devotions will never be acceptable to God; we must stir up ourselves, and all that is within us, to praise God; with a holy fire must that sacrifice be kindled, and ascend in a holy flame. David's tongue will lead, and his psaltery and harp will follow, in these hymns of praise. / iny,<ielf will awake, not only, " I will not be dead, and drinvsv, and careless, in this work," but, "I will be in tlie most livelv frame, as one newly awakened out of a refreshing sleep." He will awake early to this work, early in the morning, to begin the day with God; early in the beginnings of amer-cy; when God is coming towards us with his f:i-vours, we must go forth to meet liim with our praises.

PSALMS, LVIII.

367

3. How he pleases himself, and (as I may say) rven prides himself, in the work of praise; so far is he from being ashamed to own his obligations to God, and dependence upon him, that he resolves to firaise him among the peofile, and to sing unto him among the nations, v. 9. This intimates, (1.) That his own heart was much affected and enlarged in praising God; he would even make the earth ring with his sacred songs, that all might take notice how much he thought himself indebted to the goodness of God. (2.) That he desired to bring others in'to join with him in praising God; he will publish God's praises among the people, that the knowledge and fear and love of God might be propagated, and the ends of the earth might see his salvation. When David was driven out into heathen lands, he would not only not worship their gods, but he would openly avow his veneration for the God of Israel, would take his religion along with him wherever he went, would endeavour to bring others in love with it, and leave the sweet savour of it behind him. David, in his psalms, which fill the universal church, and will to the end of time, may be said to be stiW/iraising God among the fieofile, and singing to him among the nations; for all good people make use of his words in praising God. Thus St. John, in his writings, is said topro/ihesy again before many fieofiles and nations. Rev. x. 11.

4. How he furnishes himself with matter for praise, v. 10. That which was the matter of his | hope and comfort, fGod shall send forth his mercy and his truth, -v. 3.) is here the matter of his thanksgiving, Thy mercy is great unto the heavens, great beyond conception and expression; and thy truth unto the clouds, great beyond discovery, for what eye can reach that which is wrapped up in the clouds? God's mercy and truth reach to the heavens, for they will bring all such to heaven as lay up their treasure in them, and build their hopes upon them. God's meixy and truth are praised even to the heavens, that is, by all the bright and blessed inhabitants of the upper world, who are continually exalting God's praises to the highest, while David on earth is endeavouring to spread his praises to the furthest, xk 9.

5. How he leaves it at last to God to glorify his own name; {v. 11.) Be thou exalted, O God. The same words which he had used, {v. 5. ) to sum up his prayers in, he here uses again, (and no vain repetition,) to sum up his praises in; " Lord, I desire to exalt thy name, and that all the creatures may exalt it; but what can the best of us do towards it? Lord, take the work into thine own hands; do it thyself, be thou exalted, O God. In the praises of the church triumphant, thou art exalted to the he;ivens, and in the praises of the church militant, thy glory is throughout all the earth; Iwt thou art above all the blessing and praise rf both, (Nch. ix. 5.) and therefore, Lord, exalt thyself above the heavens, and above all the earth: Father, glorify thine own name: Thou hast glori^ed it, glorify it yet agaiji."

PSALM LVIIL

It is the probable conjcclure of some, ( \myraldiis particularly,) that beTore Saul beiran to persecute David by force of arms, and raised the militia to seize him, he formed a process ajxainst him by course of law, upon which he was condemned, unheard, and attainted as a traitor by the g-reat council, or supreme court of judicature, and then proclaimed qid caput geril lupinum — an outlaiued wolf, whom any man miffht kill, and no man misrht protect. The elders, in order to curry favour with Saul, havini passed this bill of attainder, it is supposed that David penned this psalm on the occasion. I. He describes their sin, and a'^'irravates that, v. 1 .5. II. He imprecates and foretells their ruin, and the judgments -which ihc ricrhteous God would brincr upon them for their injustice, v. 6. .9. Which would redound, 1. To the comfort of the saints, r. 10. 2. To the glorv of

God, V. II. Sin appears here both exceeding sinful and exceeding dangerous, and God a just Avenger of wrong, with which we should be affected in singing this psalm.

To the chief musiciayi, Al-taschith, Mitcham of Da ' vid.

1. X1|0 ye indeed speak righteousness, O mJ congregation? do ye judge uprightly O ye sons of men? 2. Yea, in heart you work wickedness; you weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. 3. The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. 4. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; 5. Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.

We have reason to think that this psalm refers to the malice of Saul and his janizaries against David, because it bears the same inscription (Al-taschith^ and Mitcham of David) with that which goes before and that which follows, both which appear, by the title, to have been penned with reference to that persecution through which God preserved him, (Al-taschith — Destroy not,) and therefore the psalms he tlien penned were precious to him, Mich-tams, David's jewels, as Dr. Hammond translates it.

In these vei-ses, David, not as a king, for he was not yet come to the throne, but as a prophet, in God's name arraigns and convicts his judges, with more authority and justice than they showed in prosecuting him. Two things he charges them with;

I. The corruption of their government. They were a congregation, a bench of j-ustices, nay, perhaps, a congress or convention of the states, from whom one might have expected fair dealing, for they were men learned in the laws, had been brought up in the study of these statutes and judgments, which were so righteous, that those of other nations were not to be compared with them. One would not have thought a congregation of such could be bribed and biassed with pensions, and yet, it seems, they were, because the son of Kish could do that for them, which the son of Jesse could not, 1 Sam. xxii. 7. He had vineyards, and fields, and preferments, to give them, and therefore, to please him, they would do any thing, right or wrong. Of all the melancholy views which Solomon took of this earth and its grievances, nothing vexed him so much as to see, that, in the place of judgment, wickedness was there, Eccl. iii. 16. bo it was in Saul's time.

1. Tlie judges would not do right, would not protect or ^'indicate oppressed innocency; (v. 1.) " Do ye indeed speak righteousness, or judge uprightly ? No, yovi are fir from it, your own consciences cannot but tell you that you do not discharge the trust reposed in you rs magistrates, by which you are obliged to be a terror to evil-doers, and a praise to them that do well. Is this the justice you pretend to administer? Is this the patronage, this the coun-tcn '.nee, which an lionest man, and an honest cause, may expect from you? Remember you are sons of men, mortal and dying, and that you stand upon the same level, before God, with the meanest of those vou trample upon, and must yourselves be called to an account and judged. You are sons of men, and therefore we may appeal to yourselves, and to tliat law of nature which is Avritten in every man's heart. Do ye indeed speak righteousness? And will not vour second thouglits correct what you have dene?" Note, It is good for us often to reflect upon what we say, with this serious question, Do we indeed speak

PSALMS, LVIIl.

righteousness? that we may unsay what we have spoken amiss, and may proceed no further in it.

2. They did a great deal of wrong; they used their power for the support of injury and oppression; {v. 5.) In heart you ivork wickedness. It intimates that they wrought with a greut deal of plot and management, not by surprjsej but w;tli premeditation and design, and with a strong inclinaticjn to it, and resolution in it. The more there is of the heart, in any act of wickedness, the worse it is, Eccl. viii. 11. And wai.t was their wickedness? It follows, " You weigh the violence of your hands in the earth," {or i7i the land,) "the peace of which you are appointed to be t'ae conservators of." They did all the violence and injury tlicy could, either to enrich, or avenge, themselves, and they vveiglied it, that is, (1.) They did it with a great deal of craft and caution; " You frame it by rule and lines," (so the word signifies,) "that it may effectually answer your mischievous intentions; such masters are you of the art of oppression." (2.) They did it under colour of justice. They held the balances (the emblem of justice) in their hands, as if they designed to do right, and right is expected from them, but the result is violence and oppression, which are practised more effectually n-om being practised under the pretext of law and right.

II. The corruption of their nature. This was the root of bitterness from which that gall and wormwood sprang; {y. 3.) The wicked, who, in heart, work wickedness, are estranged from the ivonib, estranged from God and all good, alienated from the divine life, and its principles, powers, and pleasures, Eph. iv. 18. A sinful state is a state of estrangement from that acquaintance with God, and service of him, which we were made for. Let none wonder that these wicked men dare do such things, for wickedness is bred in the bone with them, they brought it into the world with them, they have in their natiu-es a strong inclination to it, they learned it from their wicked parents, and have been trained up in it by a bad education; they are called, and not miscalled, transgressors from the womb, one can therefore expect no other than that they will deal very treacherously; see Isa. xlviii. 8. They go astray from God and their duty as soon as they be bom, as soon as possibly they can; the foolishness that is bound up in their hearts, appears with the first operations of reason; as the wheat springs up, the tares spring up with it. Three instances are here given of the corruption of nature.

1. Falsehood. They soon learn to speak lies, and bend their tongue's, like their bows, for that purpose, Jer. ix. 3. How soon will little children tell a lie, to excuse a fault, or in their own commendation! No sooner can they speak than they speak to God's dishonour; tongue-sins are some of the first of our actual transgressions.

2. Malice. Their poison (their ill-will, and the spite they bore to goodness and all good men, particularly to David) was like the poison of a serpent, innate, venomous, and very mischievous, and that which they can never be cured of. W9 pity a dog that is poisoned by accident, but hate a sei-pent that is poisonous by nature. Such was the cursed enmity in the serpent's brood, against the Lord and his anointed.

3. Untractablcness. They are malicious, and nothing will work upon them, no reason, no kindness, to mollify them, and bring them to a better temper. They are like the deaf adder that stops her ear, v. 4, 5. The psalmist, having compared these wicked men, whom he hei-e complains of, to serpents, for their poisonous malice, takes occasion thence, upon another account, to compare them to the deaf adder or viper, concerning which there was then this \'ulgar tradition, that, whereas by

music, or some other art, they had a way of charm ing sei-pents, so as either to destroy them, or, at least, disable tlum to do mischief, this dtaf udder would lay one ear to the grcund, i.nd step the other with her tail, so that she c( uld not hear the voice <i the enchantment, and so defeated the intention of it, and secured herself. The using of this comparison neither verifies the story, ncr, if it were true, justifies the use cf this enchantment; for it is only an illusion to the report cf such a thing, to illustrate the obstinacy of sinners in a sinful way. God's design, in his word and providence, is, to cure serpents cf their malignity; to this end, how wise, how powerful, how well-chosen, are the charms! How f( rcible the right words! But all in vain, with m;,st men; and what is the reason? It is, because they will n< t hearken. None so deaf as those that will not hear; we have piped unto 7nen, and they have not danced; how should they, when they have stopped their ears?

6. Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth; break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord. 7. Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his how to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. 8. As a snail u)hich melteth, let every one of them pass away; like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. 9. Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both livdng, and in his wrath. 10. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the 1 ighteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in tlie earth.

In these verses, we have,

I. David's prayers against his enemies, and all such enemies of God's church rmd people; for it is as enemies of the latter that he locks upcn them, so that he was actuated by a public spirit, in praying against them, and not by any private revenge.

1. He prays that they might be disabled to do any further mischief; {v. 6.) Break their teeth, O God. Not so much that they might not feed themselves, as that they might not be able to make prey of others, iii. 7. He does not say; "Break their necks," (no, let them live to repent, slay them not, lest my people forget,) but, "Break their teeth, for they are lions, they are young lions, that live by rapine."

2. That they might be disappointed in the plots they had already laid, and might not gain their point; " Ulien he bends his bow, and takes aim to shoot his arrows at the upright in heart, let them be as cut in pieces, v. 7. Let thejn fall at his feet, and never come near the mark."

3. That they and their interest might waste and come to nothing; that they might melt away as waters that mm continually, as the waters of a land-flood, which, though they seem formidable for a while, soon soak into the ground, or return to their channels; or, in general, as water is spilt 07i the ground, which cannot be gathered up again, but gradually dries away, and disappears. Such shall the floods of ungodly men be, which sometimes make us afraid; (xviii. 4.) so shall the proud waters 1)0 reduced, which threaten to go over otir soul, cxxiv. 4, 5. Let us by faith then see what thev

PSALMS, LIX.

360

ith^M be, and then we shall not fear what they arc. He prays, (v. 8.) that they might 'melt as a snail, which wastes by its own motion, in every stretch it makes leaving some of its moisture behind, which, by degrees, must needs consume it, though it make n path to shine after it. He that, like a snail in her house, is filemis sui—full of himstlf, that pleases himself, and trusts to himself, does but consume himself, and will quickly bring himself to nothing. And he prays, that they might be like the untimely birth of a ivoman, which dies as soon as it begins to live, and never sees the sun. Job, in his passion, wished himself had been such a one, (Job iii. 16.) but he knew not what he said. We may, in faith, pray against the designs of the church's enemies, as the prophet does; (Hos. ix. 14.) Give them, 0 Lord, what wilt thou ffive them ? Give them, a mis-carrying womb, and dry breasts. Which explains this here.

II. His prediction of their ruin; {v. 9.) "Before your pots can feel the heat of a fire of thorns made under them, which they will presently do, for it is a quick fire, and violent while it lasts, so speedily, with such a hasty and violent flame, God shall hurry them away, as terribly and as in-esistibly as with a whirlwind, as it were alive, as it were in fury." The proverbial expressions are somewhat difficult, but the sense is plain; 1. That the judgments of God often surprise wicked people in the midst of their jollity, and hurry them away of a sudden. When they are beginning to walk in the light of their o\vn fire, and the sparks of their own kindling, tliey are made to lie down in sorrow; (Isa. 1. 11.) and their laughter proves like the crackling of thorns under a pot, the comfort of which is soon gone, here they can say, Alas, I am warm, Eccl. vii. 6. 2. That there is no standing before the destruction that comes from the Almighty; for who knows the power of God's anger? When God will take sinners away dead or alive, they cannot contest with him; The wicked are driven away in their wickedness.

Now there are two things which the psalmist promises himself as the good effects of sinners' destruction.

(1.) That saints would be encouraged and comforted by it; (y. 10.) The righteous shall rejoice, when he sees the x'engeance; the pomp and powei", the prosperity and success, of the wicked, are a discouragement to the rigliteous; they sadden their hearts, and weaken their hands, and are sometimes a strong temptation to them to question their foundations, Ixxiii. 2, 13. But, when they see the judgments of God hurrying them away, and just vengeance taken on them for all the mischief they have done to the people of God, they rejoice in the satisfaction thereby given to their doubts, and the confirmation thereby given to their fuith in the providence of God, and his justice and righteousness in governing of the world; they shall rejoice in the victory thus gained over that temptation, by seeing their end, Ixxiii. 17. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked; there shall be abundance of blood shed; (Ixviii. 23.) and it shall be as great a refreshment to the saints, to see God glorified in the ruin of sinners, as it is to a weary traveller to have his feet washed. It shall likewise contribute to their satisfaction; the sight of the vengeance shall make them tremble before God, .(cxix. 120.) and shall convince them of the evil of sin, and the obligations they he under to that God who pleads their cause, and will suffer no man to do them wrong, and go unpunished for it. The joy of the saints, in the destruction of the wicked, is then a holy joy, and justifiable, when it helps to make them holy, and to purify them from sin.

I.) That sinners would be convinced and con-'OL III.—3 A

^1

verted by it, v. 11. 1 he vengeance God sometimes takes on the wicked in this world, will bring men to say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous. Any man may draw this inference from such providences, and many a man shall, who, before, denied even these plain truths, or doubted of them. Some shall have this confession extorted from them, others shall have their minds so changed, that they shall wUlingly own it, and thank God, wlicj has given them to see it, and see it with satisfaction., That God is, and. That he is (1.) The bountiful Rc-warder of his saints imd ser\-ants; Verily, (howei.ier it be, so it may be read,) there is a fruit to the righ-teous; whatever damage a man may sustain, whatever hazard he may i-un, and whatever hardship he may undergo for his religion, he shall not only be no loser by it, but an unspeakable gainer, in the issue. Even in this world there is a reward for the rigliteous, they shall be recompensed in the earth. They shall be taken notice of, honoured, and protected, that seemed slighted, despised, and abandoned. (2.) That he is the righteous Governor of the world, and will surely I'eckon with the enemies of his kingdom; verily, however it be, though wicked people prosper and bid defiance to Divine Justice, yet it shall be made to appear, to their confusion, that the world is not governed by chance, but by a Being of infinite wisdom and justice; there is a God that judges in the earth, though he has prepared his throne in the hea\ ens. He presides in all the affairs of the children of men, and directs and disposes them according to the counsel r,f his will, to his own glory; and he will punish the wicked, not only in the world to come, but in the earth, where they have laid up their treasure, and promised themselves a happiness; in the earth, that the Lord may be known by the judgments which he executes, and they may be taken as earnests of a judgment to come. lie is a God, (so we read it,) not a weak man, not an angel, not a mere name, not (as the atheists suggest) a creature of men's feai and fancy, not a deified hei'o, net the sun and mocn, as idolaters imagined; but a God, a self-existent, perfect. Being; he it is that judges the earth; his favour therefore let us seek, from whom everv man's judgment pi'oceeds, and to him let all judgment be referred.

PSALM LIX.

This psalm is of the same nature and scope with six or seven foregoing psalms; they are all filled with David's complaints of the malice of his enemies, and of tfteir cursed and cruel designs against him; his prayers and prophecies against them; arid his comfort and confidence in God as his God. The first is the language of nature, and may be allowed; the second of a prophetical spirit, looking' forivard to Christ and the enemies of his kingdom, and therefore not to be drawn into a precedent; the third of grace and a most holy faith, which ought to be imitated by every one of us. In this psalm, I. He prays to God to defend and deliver him from his enemies, representing them as very bad men, barbarous, malicious, and atheistical, v. 1.. 7. II. He foresees and foretells the destruction of his enemies, which he would give to God the glory of, v. 8 . . 17. As far as it appears that any of the particular enemies of God's people fall under these characters, we mav, in singing this psalm, read their doom, and foresee their ruin.

To the chief musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they %vatchcd the house to kill him.

1. X\ELIVER me from mine enemies, O \3 my God: defend me from them thai rise up against me. 2. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men. 3. For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul; the mighty are gathered

PSALMS, LIX.

Against me; not yor my transgression, nor for my sin, O Lord. 4. They rnn and prepare themselves without viy fault: auake to help me, and behold. 5. Thou, there-lore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah. 6. They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the City. 7. Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips; for who, say they^ doth hear ?

The title of this psalm acquaints us particularly with the occasion on which it was penned; it was when Saul sent a party of his guards to beset David's house in the night, that they might seize him and kill him; we have the story, 1 Sam. xix. 11. It was when his hostilities against David were newly begun, and he had but just before narrowly escaped Saul's javelin. These first ei-uptions of Saul's malice could not but put David into disorder, and be both grievous and terrifying, and yet he kept up his communion with God, and such a composure of mind, so that he was never out of frame for prayer and praises; happy they whose intercourse with heaven is not intercepted or broken in upon by their cares, or griefs, or fears, or any of the hurries (whether outward or inward) of an afflicted state.

In these verses,

I. David prays to be delivered out of the hands of his enemies, and that their ciniel designs against him might be defeated; {v. 1, 2.) "Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God; thou art God, and canst deliver me; Tny God, under whose protectinn I have put myself, and thou hast promised mc to be a God all-sufficient, and therefore, in honcur and faithfulness, thou wilt deliver me. Set me on high out of the reach of the power and malice of them that rise up against me, and above the fear of it. Let me be safe, and see myself so, safe and easy, safe and satisfied. Oh deliver me, and save me!" He cries out as one ready to perish, and that had his eye to God only for silvation and deliverance. He prays, {y. 4.) "Awake to help, me, take cc^pii-zance of my case, behold that with an eye rf pity, and exert thy power for my relief." Thus the disciples, in the storm, awoke Christ, saying. Master, Mye us, roe perish. And thus earnc'stly should we pray daily, to be defended and delivered from rur spiritual ei\emies, the temptations of Satan, and the corruptions of our oAvn hearts, which war against our spiritual life.

II. He pleads for deliverance. Our God gives VIS leave, not onlv to pray, but to plead with him, to order our cause before him, and to fill cur mt utli with arjruments; not to mo\c him, but to move ourselves; David does so here.

1. He pleads the bad character of his enemies; they are ivorkers of iniqtiity, and therefore not cnly his enemies, but God's enemies; they are bloody men, and therefore not only his enemies, but enemies to all mankind; " Lord, let not the workers of i.niquity prevail against one that is a worker of righ-tonusness; nor bloody men against a merciful man."

2. He pleads their malice against him, and the imminent danger he was in from them; (x'. ?,.) "Their spite is great, they aim at my soul, my life, mv better j)art; tlicy are subtle and very politic, they lie in wait, taking an opportunity to do me a ir.ischief; they are all mighty, men of honrur, and 'St 'tcs, and interest in court and country; they ;'.re in a cxmfcdcracy, they arc united by league, and actually gathered together against me; combined

both in consultation and action. They are ver) ingenious in their contri\ances, and very industrious in the prosecution of them; (t. 4.) They run and pre pare themselves, with the utmost speed and fury, to do me a mischief." He takes particular notice of the brutish carriage of the messengers that Saul sent to take him; {v. 6.) " They return at evening frcir the posts assigned them in the day, to apply them selves to their works of darkness, (their night-work, which may well be their day-sliame,) and then they make a noise like a hcund in pursuit of the hare." Thus did David's enemies, when they came to take him, raise an out-cry against him as a rebel, a traitor, a man not fit to live; with this clamour they went round about the city, to bring a bad reputation upon David, if possible, to set the mob against him, at least, to prevent their being incensed against them, which otherwise they had reason to fear thev would be, so much was David their darling. Thus the persecutors of our Lord Jesus, who are compared to dogs, (xxii. 16.) ran him down with noise, for else they could not have taken him, at least, not on the feast-day, for there would have been an uproar among the people. They belch out with their mouth the malice that boils in their hearts, v. 7. Swords are in their lips; reproaches that wound my heart with ginef, (xlii. 10.) and slanders that stab my reputation. They were continually suggesting that which drew, and whet, Saul's sword against him, and the fault is laid upon the false accusers. The sword, perhaps, had not been in Saul's hand, if it had not been first in their lips.

3. He pleads his own innoccncy, not as to God, he was never backward to own himself guilty before him, but as to his persecutors; what they charged him with was utterly false, nor had he ever said or done any thing to deserve such treatment from them; (i'. 3.) " J^ot for my transgression, nor for my sin, 0 JLord, thou knowest, wlio knowest all things." And again, {y. 4.) without my fault. Note, (1.) The innocency of the godly will not secure them from the malignity of the wicked. Those that are harmless, like doves, yet, for Christ's sake, are hated of all men, as if they were noxirus like serpents, and oAnoxif us accordingly. (2.) Though cur innocency will not secure us fr< m troubles, yet it will greatly support and comfi rt us under our troubles. The testimony of cur conscience for us, that we have behaved ourselves well toward those that behave themselves ill toward us, will be very much our rejcncing in the day of evil. (3.) If we are conscious to ourselves of our innocency, we may with huml)le confidence appeal to God, and beg of him to plead our injured cause, which he will do in due time.

4. He pleads that his enemies were profane and atheistical, and bolstered themselves up in their enmity to David, with the contempt of God; For who (say they'\ doth hear? v. 7. Net God himself, x. 11.—xciv. 7. Note, It is not strange, if those regard not what they say, who have made themselves believe that God regards not what they say.

III. He refers himself and his cause to the just judgment of God, 7'. 5. "The Lord, the Judfge, ])e Judge between me and my persecutors!" In this appeal to God, he has an eye to him as the Lord of hosts, that has power to execute judgment, having all creatures, even hosts rf angels, at his command; he views him also as the God of Israel, to whom he was, in a peculiar manner. King and Judge, not doubting that he would ajipear (n the behalf of these that were upright, thr.t were Israelites indeed-Wlicn Saul's hosts persecuted him, he h;;d recourse to God as the Lord of all hosts; when those maligned him, wliosc spirit were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, he had recrurse to (iod as the God of Israel. He desires, that is, he is very sure.

PSALMS, LIX.

371

T.n;it God will awakti to visit all the nations, will •n ke an early and exact inquiry into the controversies and quarrels that are among the children of men; there will be a day of visitation, (Isa. x. 3.) and to that day David refers himself, with this solemn appeal, Be not merciful to any 'wicked transgressors; Selah; Mark that. 1. If David had been conscious to himself that he was a wicked transgressor, he would not have expected to find mercy; but as to his enemies, he could say he was no trans-gi-essor at all; {v. 3, 4.) '^JVotfor my transgression, and therefore thou wilt appear for me." As to God, he could say he was no wicked tnmsgressor; for, though he had transgressed, he was a penitent transgressor, and did not obstinately persist in what he had done amiss. 2. He knew his enemies were wicked transgressors, wilful, malicious, and hardened, m their transgressions, both against God and man, and therefore he sues for justice against them; judgment without mercy. Let nut those expect to find mercy, who never showed mercy, for such are wicked transgressors.

8. But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them''; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision. 9. Because of his strength will I wait upon thee : for God is my defence. 10. The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God shall let me see iiii/ desire upon mine enemies. 11. Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O L<mD our shield. 12. For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, let them even be taken in their pride; and for cursing and lying ichich they speak. 13. Consume them in wrath, consume them^ that they maij not he; and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah. 14. And at evening let them return, and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. 15. Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge, if they be not satisfied. 16. But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. 17. Unto thee, O my strength, I will sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.

Divid here encourages himself, in reference to tiie threatening power of his enemies, with a pious resolution to wait upon God, and a believing expectation that he should yet praise him.

I. He resolves to wait upon God; {v. 9.) "Because of his strength," (either the strength of his enemies, the fear of which drove him to God, or because of God's strength, the hope of which drew him to God,) "ivill I wait upon thee, with a believing dependence upon thee, and confidence in thee-." It is our wisdom and duty, in times of danger and difficulty, to wait upon God; for he is our I)efence, our High-Place, in whom we shall be safe. He hopes,

1. That G-^d will be to him a God of meraj; (x>. 10.) " The God of my mercy shall prex'ent me with the blessings of his goodness, and the gifts of his mercy; prevent my fears, pre\ ent my prayers, and )je better to me than my own expectations." It is very comfortable to us, in prayer, to eye God. not

only as the God of mercy, but as the God of cur mercy, the Author of all good in us, and the (iiver of all good to us. Whatever mercy there is in God. it is laid up for us, and is ready to be laid out upon us. Justly does the psalmist call God's mercy his mercy, for all the blessings of the new covenant are called the sure mercies of David; (Isa. Iv. 3.) and they are sure to all the seed.

2. That he will be to his persecutors a God of vengeance. His expectation cf tliis he expresses partly by way of prediction, and partly by way of petition, which come all to one; for his prayer that it might be so, amounts to a prcphec}' that it shall be so. Here are several things which he foretells concerning his enemies, or obser\ ers, that sought occasions against him, and opportunity to do him a mischief; in all which he should see his desire, not a passionate or revengeful desire, but a believing desire, upon them, x'. 10.

(1.) He foresees that God would expose them to scorn, as they had indeed made themselves ridiculous; (v. 8.) "They think God does not hear them, does not heed them; but thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them for their folly, to think that he who planted the ear, shall not hear, and thou shalt have not them only, but all other such heathenish people that live without God in the world, in derision." Note, Atheists and persecutors are worthy to be laughed at, and had in derision. See Ps. ii. IProv. i. 26. Isa. xxxvii. 22.

(2.) That God would make them standing monu ments of his justice; {v. 11.) Slay them not; let them not be killed outright, lest my fieofile forget. If the execution be soon done, the impressions of it will not be deep, and therefore will not be durable, but will quickly wear off; swift desti-uctions startle men for the present, but they are soon forgotten; for which reason he prays that this might be gradual, ^'Scatter them by thy power, and let them carry about with them, in their wanderings, such tokens of God's displeasure as may spread the notice of their punishment to all parts of the countiy." Thus Cain himself, though a murderer, was not slain, lest the vengeance should be forgotten, but was sentenced to be a fugitive and a vagabond. Note, When we think God's judgments come slowly upon sinners, we must conclude that God has wise and holy ends in the gradual proceedings of his wrath. "So scatter them, as that they may never again unite to do mischief, bring them down, O Lord, our Shield." If God has undertaken the protection of his people as their Shield, he will, doubtless, humble and abase all those that fight against tliem.

(3.) That they might be dealt with according to their deserts; {v. 12.) For the sin of their mouth, even for the words of their lips; (for every word they speak hns sin in it,) let them for this be taken in their pride, even for their cursing others, and themselves, (a sin Saul was subject to, 1 Sam. xiv. 28, 44.) and lying. Note, [l.J There is a great deal of malignity in tongue-sins, more than is commonly thought of. [2.] Cursing, and Iving, and speaking proudly, are some of the worst of the sins of the tongue; and that man is truly miserable whom God deals with according to the deserts of these, making his own tongue to fall on him.

(4.)''That God would glorify himself, as Israel's God and King, in their destruction; (y. 13.) " Con-su?ne them in wrath, consume them; follow them with one judg-mcnt after another, till they be utterlv ruined, let tlicm be sensibly, but gradually, wasted, that they themselves, while they are in the consuming, may know, and that the standers-by may likewise draw this inference from it, That God ruleth in Jacob unto the e7ids of the earth." Saul and his party think to rule and carry all before

PSALMS, LX.

r.hem, but they shall be made to know that there is a Higher than they; that there is one who does and will overrale them. The design of God's judgments is to convince men that the Lord reigns, that he fulfils his own counsels, gives law to all the creatures, and disposes all things to his own glory, so that the greatest of men are under his check, and he makes what use he pleases of them. He rules in Jacob, for there he keeps his court, there he is known, and his name is great; but he 7-ules to the end of the earth, for all nations are within the territories of his kingdom. He rules to the ends of the earth, even over those that know liim not, but he i-ules for Jacob; so it may be read; he has an eye to the good of his church in tlie government of the world; the administrations of that government, even to the ends of the earth, are for Jacob his servant's sake, 'and for Israel's his elect, Isa. xlv. 4.

(5.) That he would make their sin their punishment; {v. 14.) compare x>. 6. Their sin was, hunting for David, to make a prey of him; their punishment should be, that they should be reduced to such extreme po\'ert)', that they should hunt about for meat to satisfy their hunger, and should miss of it, as thev missed of David. Thus they should be, not cut off* at once, but scattered, (v. 11.) and gradually consumed; {v. 15.) they that die by famine die by inches, and feel themselves die. Lam. iv. 9. He foretells, that they should be forced to beg their bread from door to door. [1.] That they should do "it with the greatest regret and reluctancy imaginable; to beg they are ashamed, (which makes it the greater punishment to them,) and therefore they do it at evening, when it begins to be dark, that they may not be seen; at the time when other beasts of prey creep forth, civ. 20. [2.] That yet they sliould be very clamorous and loud in their complaints, which would proceed from a great indignation at their condition, which they cannot in the least degree reconcile themselves to; They shall make a noise like a dog. When they were in quest of David, they made a noise like an angry dog snarling and barking; now, when they are in quest of meat, they shall make a noise like an hungry dog howling and wailing. Those that repent of their sins, mourn, when in trouble, like doves; those whose heaits are hardened, make a noise, when in trouble, like dogs, like a ivild bull in a net, full of the fury of the Lord. See Hos. vii. 14. They have s nt cried unto me ivith their heart, when they howled n their beds for com and wine. [3.] That they should meet with little relief, but the hearts of people should be very much hardened toward them; so that they should ^o round about the city, and wander ufi and down for meat, {y. 15.) and should get nothing but by dint of importunity, according to our marginal reading. If they be not satisfied, they will tarry all night; so that what people do give them, 's not with good-will, but only to be rid of them, 'est by tlicir continual coming they weary them. '4.] That they should be insatiable, which is the '.reatest misery of all in a poor condition; They are "reedy dogs which can never have enough, (Isa. Ivi. 11.) and they grudge if they be not satisfied. A conteii ed man, if he has not what he would have, yet does not grudge, does not quarrel with Providence, n r fret within himself; but those whose God is their nelly, if that be not filled, and its appetites g^Mtified, fall out both with God and themselves It is not poverty, but discontent, that makes a mar unhappy.

II. He expects to praise God; that God's provi-denc would find him matter for praise, and that <iod's grace would work in him a heart for praise, 7. 16, 17. Obsene,

). What he would praise Gcd for. (1.) He

would praise his power and his mercy, both should be the subject mutter of his song. Power, without mercy, is to be dreaded; mercy, without power, is not what a man can expect much benefit from; but God's power, by which he is able to help us, and his mercy, by which he is inclined to help us, will justly be the everlasting praise of all the saints. (2.) He would praise him, because he had, many a time, and all along, foimd him his Defence, and his Refuge, in the day of trouble. God brings his people into trouble, that they may experience his power and mercy in protecting and sheltering them, and may have occasion to praise him. (3.) He would praise him, because he had still a dependence upon him, and a confidence in him, as his Strength tn support him and carry him on in his duty, his Defence to keep him safe from evil, and the God of his mercy to make him happy and easy. He that is all this to us, is certainly worthy of our best affections, praises, and services.

2. How he would praise Gcd. (1.) He would sing. As that is a natural expression of joy, so it is an mstituted ordinance for the exerting and exciting of holy joy and thankfulness. (2.) He would sing aloud, as one much affected with the glon- of God, that was not ashamed to own it, and that desired to affect others with it. He will sing of God's power, but he will sing aloud of his mercy; the consideration of that raises his affections more than any thing else. (3.) He would sing aloud in the morning, when his spirits were most fresh and lively: God's compassions are new every morning, and therefore it is fit to begin the day with his praises. (4.) He would sing unto God, {v. 17.) to his hcncur and gloiy, and with him in hi-s e)'e. As we must direct our prayers to God, so to him we must direct our praises, and must look up, making melody to the Lord.

PSALM LX.

After many psalms which David penned in a day of distress, this comes, which was calculated for a da}- of triumph; it was penned after he was settled in the throne upon occasion of an illustrious victory which God blesseu his forces with over the Syrians and Edomites: it was when David was in the zenith of his prosperity, and the affairs of his kingdom seem to have been in a better posture than ever they were either before or after. See 2 Sam. viii. 3, 13. I Chron. xviii. 3, 12. David, in prosperity, was as devout as David in adversity. In this psalm, I. He reflects upon the bad state of the public interests, for many years, in which God had been contending with them, v. 1..3. 11. He takes notice of the happy turn lately given to their affairs, v. 4. HI. He prays for the deliverance of God's Israel from their enemies, V. 5. IV. He triumphs in hope of their victories over their enemies, and begs of God to carry them on and complete them, v. 6.. 12. In singing this psalm, we may have an eye both to the acts of the church, and to the state of our own souls, both which have their struggles.

To the chief musician upon Shushan-eduth, Mich-tam of David, to teach; when he strove with jiram-naharaim and with Aravi-zobah, when Joab ret limed and smote of Edom in the valley of Salt twelve thousand.

] . g^ GOD, thou hast cast us off, thou \J hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased ; O turn thyself to us ag;ain. "2. Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh. 3. Thou hast showed thy people hard things; thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment. 4 Thou hast i^iven a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the tvuih. Selah. 5. That thv beloved mny

PSALMS, LX.

373

be deliv<5red, save loith thy right hand, and hear me.

The title gives us an account, 1. Of tlie general design of the psalm; it is Michtam—-David's jewel, and it is to teach. The Levites must teach it the people, and by it teach them both to trust in God, and to triumph in him; we must in it teacli ourselves and one another. In a day of public rejoicing, we have need to be taught to direct our joy to God, and to terminate it in him, to give none of that praise to the instruments of our deliverance which is due to him only, and to encourage our hopes with our joys. 2. Of the particular occasion of it: It was at a time, (1.) When he was at war with the Syrians, and still had a conflict with them, both those of Mesopotamia, and those of Zobah. (2.) When he had gained a great victory over the Edomites, by his forces jnd"r the command of Joab, who had left 12,000 of the enencw dead upon the spot. David has an eye to both tnese concerns, in this psalm: he is in care about his strife with the Assyrians, and, in reference to that, he prays; he is rejoicing in his success against the Edomites, and, in reference to that, he triumphs with a holy confidence in God, that he would complete the x'ictory. We have our cares, at the same time that we have cur joys, and they may serve for a balance to each other, that neither may exceed. They may likewise furnish us with matter both for prayer and praise, for both must be laid before God with suitable affections and devotions. If one point be gained, yet in another we are still striving: the Edomites are vanquished, but the Syrians are not; therefore let not him that mrds on the harness, boast as if he had put it off. In these verses, which begin the psalm, we have, I. A melancholv memorial of the many disgraces and disappointmeiits which God had, for some years past, put the people under. During the reign of S ml, especially in the latter end of it, and during David's struggle with the house of Saul, while he reigned over Judah only, the affairs of the kingdom were much perplexed, and the neighbouring nations were vexatious to them. 1. He complains of hard things which they had seen, which they had suffered, {-v. 3.) while the Philistines and other ill-disposed neighlK)urs took all advantages against them. God sometimes shows even his own people hard things in this world, that they may not take up their rest in it, but may dwell at ease in him only. He owns God's displeasure to be the cause of all the hardshi]5s they had undergone; "Thou hast been disfileasi'd by us, displeased against us, {y. 1.) and in tli>- displeasure hast cast us off, and scattered us, hast put us out of thy protection; else our enemies could not lia\-e ])revailed thus against us. Tliey liad never made a prey of us, if thou hadst not broken ] the staff of bands, (Zech. xi. 14.) l)y which we ; were united, and so scattered us." Whate\-er oui-trouble is, and whoever are the instruments nf it, we must own the hand of God, his righteous hand, in it. 3. He laments the ill effects and consequences of the miscari-iages of the late years. The whole nation was in a convulsion; Thou hast 7nade the earth to tremble, or the land. The generality of the people had dreadful apprehension of the issue of these things; the good i)eople themselves were in a dnsteniation; "Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment; we were like men intoxicated, and at our wit's end, not knowing how to reconcile these dispensations with God's promises and his relation to his people; we are amazed, can do nothing, nor know we what to do."

Now this is mentioned here, to teach, that is, for ':he insti-uction of the people. When God is turn-ng his hand in our favours, it is good to remember our former calamities. (1.) That we may retain

the good impressions they made upon us, and may have them revived. Our souls must still have the affliction and the miseiy in remembrance, that they maybe humbled within us, Lam. iii. 19, 20. (2.) That God's goodness to us, in relieving and raising us up, may be more magnified; for it is as life from the dead, so strange, so refreshing. Our calamities serve as foils to our joys. (3.) That we may net be secure, but may always rejoice with trembling, as those that know not how soon we may be returned into the furnace again, which we were lately taken out of, as the silver is when it is not thorcugh-ly refined.

II. A thankful notice of the encouragement God had given them to hope, that, though things had been long bad, they would now begin to mend; {v. 4.) "Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, (for, as bad as the times are, there is a remnant among us that desire to fear thy name, for whom thou hast a tender concern,) that it may be displayed by thee, because of the truth of thy promise which thou wilt perform, and to be displayed by them, in defence of truth and equity," xh'. 4. This banner was David's government, the establishment and enlargement of it over all Israel; the pious Israelites, who feared God, and had a regard to the divine desig-nation of David to the throne, took his elevation as a token for good, and like the lifting up of a banner to them. 1. It united them, as soldiers are gathered together to their colours; they that were scattered, (x". 1.) divided among themselves, and so, weakened and exposed, coalesced in him, when he was fixed upon the throne. 2. It animated them, and put life and courage into them, as the soldiers are heartened by the sight of their bannei-. 3. It struck a terror upon their enemies; to whom they could now hang out a flag of defiance. Christ, the'Son of David, is given/o?- an E?isign of the people, (Isa. xi. 10.) for a Banner to those that fear God; in him, as the Centre of their unity, they are gathered together in one; to him they seek, in him they glory and take courage; his love is the banner over them, in his name and strength they Avage war with the powers of darkness, and under him the church becomes terrible as an army with banners. III. An humlile petition for seasonable mercy.

1. That God would be reconciled to them, though he had been displeased with them. In his displeasure their calamities began, and therefore in his faxour their prosperity must begin; O turn thyself to us again; {v. 1.) smile upon us, and take part with us; be at peace with us, and in that peace we shall have peace. Tranquillus Deus, tranquillat omnia — .i God at peace ivith us, spreads peace over all the scejie.

2. Tliat thev might be reconciled to one another, thougli thevliad Ijeen broken and wretchedly divided among themselves; "Heal the breaches of our land, (t. 2.) not only the breaches made upon us by our enemies, l)ut the breaches made among ourselves by oui- unhappy divisions." Those are breaches which the follv and corniption of man makes, and which nothing but tlie wisdom and grace of God can make uj) and i-e])air, by pouring out a spirit of love and peace, by which only a sliaken shattered kingdom is set to i-ights, and saved from ruin.

3. That thus they might be preserved out of the hands of their enemies; {v. 5.) "That thy beloved 7nay be delivered, and not made a prey of, save with thy right hand, with thine own power, and by sucli-instniments as thou art pleased to make the men of tliy right hand, and hear me. " They that fear God are his beloved; they are dear to him as the apple of his eye; they are often in distress, but they shall be delivered; God's own right hand shall save them, for they that have his heart have his hand; Save them, and hear me. Note, God's praying people

PSALMS, LX.

may take the general deliverances of the church, as answers to their prayers in particular. If we improve what interest we have at the throne of gi-ace for blessings for the public, and those blessings be bestowed, beside the share we have with others in the benefit of them, we may each of us say, with peculiar satisfaction, "God has therein heard me, •».nd answered me."

^. God hath spoken in his hohness; I will rejoice: I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. 7. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of my head; Judah is my lawgiver; 8. Moah ?s my wash-pot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me. 9. Who will bring mc into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom? 10. fVilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and thou, O God, ivhich didst not go out with our armies? 11. Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. 12. Througii God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

David is here rejoicing in hope, and praying in hope; such are the triumphs of the saints, not so much upon the account of what they have in possession, as of what they have in prospect; (v. 6.) "God has nfiokcn in his holiness; he has given me his word of promise, has siuorn by his holiness, and he will not lie unto David; (Ixxxix. 35.) therefore / will rejoice, and please myself with the hopes of the performance of the promise, which was intended for more than a pleasing promise." Note, God's word of promise, being a firm foundation of hope, is a full fountain of joy to all believers.

I. David here rejoices; and it is in prospect of ■ two things;

1. The perfecting of this revolution in his own kingdom. God having sfioken in his holiness that pavid shall be king, he doubts not but the kingdom is all his own, as sure as if it were already in his hand; / will divide Shechem, a j^leasant city in mount Ephraim, and mete out the valley of Succoth, as my own; {v. 7.) Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and both entirely reduced. Ephraim would furnisli him with soldiers for his lifc-girards and his standing forces, Judah would funiish him with al)lc judges for his courts of justice; and thus Ephraim would be the strength of his head, and Judah his lawgiver. Thus m?c\' an active believer triumph in the promises, and take the comfort of all the good contiined in them; for tiiey are all yea and amen in Christ; "God has sfioken in his holiness, and then pirdon is mine, peace mine, grace mine, Christ mine, lieaven mine, God himself mine;" jill is yours, for you are Christ's, 1 Cor. iii. 22, 23.

2. The conquering of the neighbouring nations, which had been vexatious to Israel, were still dan-eerons, and ojjposed the tiironc of D ivid, v. 8. Moab shall' l)e enslaved, and ])ut to the meanest dmdgeiy; The Moabites becami- David's sen>ants, 2 Sam. viii. 2. Edom shall l)e taken possession of, as David's own, which was signified b\' drawing off his shoe over it, Rutli iv. 7. As fir the Philistines, let them, if they dar.-, triumph ox'er him as they had done; he will soon force them to cliange their note: rather let those that know their own interest, triumph because of him; for it would be tlio greatest kindness imaginable to them, to be lirouglit into objection to David, and communion with Isi-ael.

But the war is not yet brought to an end; there is a strong city, Rabbah (perhaps) of the children oi Ammon, which yet holds out; Edom is not vet subdued. Now, (1.) David is here inquiring {ov help to cany on the war; "Who will bring me into the strong city? What allies, auxiliaries, can I depend upon, to make me master of the enemies' country, and their strong holds?" They that have begun a good work, cannot but desire to make a thorough work of it, and to bring it to perfection. (2.) He is expecting it from God only; " Wilt not thou, OGod? For thou hast sfioken in thine holiness; and wilt not thou be as good as thy word?" He takes notice of the frowns of Providence they had been under, Thou hadst, in appearance, cast us off, thou didst not go forth with our arjnies; when they were defeated :md met with disappointments, they owned it was b^ cause thev wanted, that is, because they had forfeited, the gracious presence of God with them; yet they do not therefore fly from him, but ratl\er take so nuich the faster hold of him; and the less he has done for them of late, the more they hoped he would do. At the same time that they own God's justice in what was past, they hoped in his mercy for what was to come; "Though thou hadst cast us off, yet thou wilt not contend for ever, thou wilt not always chide; though thou hadst cast us off, yet thou hast begini to show mercy; and wilt thou not perfect what thou hast begun?" The Son of David, in his sufferings, seemed to be cast off by his Father, when hp cried out, Why hast thou forsaken me? And yet, even then, he obtained a glorious victory over the powers of darkness and their strong city, a victoiy which will undoubtedly be completed at last; for he is gone forth conquering and to conquer. The Israel of God, his spiritual Israel, are likeAvise through him, more than conquerors. Thougli sometimes they may be tempted to think that God has cast them off, and may be foiled in particular conflicts, yet God will bring them into the strong city at last; Vincimur in firselio, sed non in bello — We are foiled in a battle, but not in the whole war. A lively faith in the promise will assure us, not only that the God of fieace shall tread Satan under our feet shortly, but that it is our Father's good fileasure to give us the kingdom.

II. He prays in hope. His prayer is, Give us helfi from trouble, v. 11. Even in the day of their triumph, they see themselves in trouble, because still in war, which is troublesome even to the prevailing side. None, therefore, can delight in wai', but those that love to fish in trouliled waters. The helfi from trouble they pray for, is, preservation from those they were at war with. Thougli now thev were conquen^rs, yet, (so uncertain are the issues of war,) unless God gave them help in the next engagement, they might be defeated; therefore. Lord, send us hel/i from the sanctuary. Helfi from trouble is rest from war, which they praved iov, as t hose that contended for equity, not for victory, Sic quperimus fiacem — Thus we seek for fi^ace.

The ho])c with which they suppoit tliemselves in this prayer, has two things in it. 1. A diffidence of themselves, and all tlieir creature-confidences; Vain is the helfi of man. Then only we are qualified to receive help from God, when we are brought to own the insufficiency of all creatures to do tliat for us which we expect him to do. 2. A confidence in God, and in liis power and promise; (t. 12.) " Through God we shall do vaiianthi, and so we shall do victoriouslv; for he it is, and he onlv, that shall tread down our enemies, and shall have the praise of it." Note, (1.) Our confidence in God must be so far from superseding, that it must en-c nirage and quicken, our cndeavoin-s in the wav of o)ir duty. 1 hough it is God that performs all things for us, yet there is something to be done by us.

PSALMS, LXl.

375

(2.) Hope in God is the best principle of true courage. Those that do their duty under his conduct, may afford to do it valiantly; for what need they fear who have God on their side? (3.) It is only through God, and by the influence of his grace, tliat we do vahantly; it is he that puts strength into us, and inspires us, who of ourselves are weak and timorous, with courage and resolution. (4.) Though ^\'e do ever so valiantly, the success must be attributed entirely to him; for he it is that shall tread donvn our enemies, and not we ourselves. All our victories, as well as our valour, are from him, and therefore at his feet all our crowns must be cast.

PSALM LXI.

David, in this psalm, as in many others, beg.us with a sad heart, but concludes with an air of pleasantness; begins with prayers and tears, but ends with songs of praise. Thus the soul, by being lifted up to God, returns to the enjoyment of itself. It should seem, David was driven out and banished when he penned this psalm, whether by Saul or Absalom is uncertain: some think by Absalom, because he calls himself the king; (v. 6.) but that refers to the King Messiah. David, in this psalm, resolves to persevere in his duty, encouraged thereto both by his experience,and by his expectations. I. He will call upon God, because God had protected him, V. 1-.3. II. He will call upon God, because God had provided well for him, V. 4, 5. III. He will praise God, because he had an assurance of the continuance of God's favour to him, v. 6. .8. So that, in singing this psalm, we may find that which is very expressive both of our faith and of our hope, of our prayers and of our praises; and some passages in this psalm are very peculiar.

To the chief musician iifion JVeg-inah. A psalm of David.

1. inrEAR my cry, O God; attend unto -SJL my prayer. 2. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. 3. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. 4. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever; I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.

In these verses, we may observe,

1. David's close adherence and application to God by prayer in the day of his distress and trouble; "Whatever comes, I will cry unto thee; {v. 2.) not cry to other gods, but to thee only; not fall out with thee because thou afflictest me, but still look unto tliee, and wait upon thee; not speak to thee in a cold and careless manner, but cry to thee with the greatest importunity and fervency of spirit, as one that will not let thee go, except thou bless me." This he will do, (1.) Notwithstanding his distance 'rom the sanctuary, the house of prayer, where he .:sed to attend as in the court of requests; '^From the end of the earth, or of the land, from the most "emote and obscure comer of the country, will I cry unto thee. " Note, Wherever we are, we may have liberty of access to God, and may find a way open to the throne of grace, Undique ad c^elos tantiindem estvige — Heaven isegually accessible from all places. "Nay, because I am here in the end of the earth, in sorrow and solitude, therefore I will cry unto thee." Note, That which separates us from cur ether comforts, should drive us so much the nearer to God, the Fountain of all comfort. (2.) Notwithstanding the dejection anddespondency of his spirit; "Though my heart is over^tvhelmed, it is not so sunk, so bur-thened, but that it may oe Ifted up to God in prayer; if it is not capaoie of ^nng thus raised, it is certainly too much cas.' dof^ Nay, because my heart is ready to be overwh*"' ned, therefore I will cry unto thee, for bv that riieaa' It will be supported

and relieved." Note, Weeping must quicken pray mg, and not deaden it. Is any afflicted? let him pray. Jam. V. 13. Ps. cii. title.

2. The particular petition he put up to God, when his heart was overwhelmed, and he was ready to sink; Lead me to the Rock that is higher than J; that is, (1.) "To the Rock which is too high for me to get up to, miless thcu help me to it. Lord, give me such an assurance and satisfaction of my own siifcty as I can never attain to but by thy special grace working such a faith in me." (2.) "lothe Hock on the top of which I shall be set further out of the reach ot my troubles, and nearer the serene and quiet region, than I can be by any power or wis-" dom ff my own." God's power and promise are a rock that is higher than we. This Rock is Christ; they are safe that are in him. We cannot get upon this rock, unless God by his power lead us; / will put thee in the cleft of the rock, Exod. xxxiii. 22. We should, therefore, by faith and prayer, put ourselves under the divine conduct, that we may be taken under the divine direction.

3. His desire and expectation of an answer ci peace. He begs in faith; (x*. 1.) "Hear my cry, C God, attend wito my prayer; let me have the present comfort of knowing that I am heard, (xx. 6.)_ and in due time let me have that which I pray for.''

4. The ground of this expectation, and the plea he uses to enforce his petition; {v. 3.) " Thou hast been a Shelter for me, I have found in thee a Rock higher than I; therefore I trust thou wilt still lead me to that Rock." Note, Past experiences of the bcfiefit of trusting in God, as they should engage us stUl to keep close to him, so they should encourage us to hope that it will not be in vain. "Thou hast been my strong Tower from the enemy, and thou art as strong as ever, and thy name as much a refuge to the righteous as ever it was," Prov. xviii. 10.

5. His resolution to continue in the way of duty to God, and dependence on him, v. 4. (1.) The service of God shall be his constant work and business: all those must make it so who expect to find God their Shelter and strong Tower: none but his menial servants have the benefit of his protection; / will abide in thy tabernacle for ever. David was now banished from the tabernacle, which was his greatest grievance; but he is assured that God, by his providence, would bring him back to his tiiber-nacle, because he had, by his grace, wrought in him such a kindness for his tabernacle, as that he was resolved to make it his peiiJctual residence, xxvii. 4 He speaks of abiding in it for ever, because that tabernacle was a type and figure of heaven, Heb. ix. 8, 9, 24. Those that dwell in God's tabernacle, as it is a house of duty, during their short ex<er on earth, shall dwell in that tabernacle which is the house of glory, during an endless exier. (2.) The grace of God and the covenant of grace shall be his constant comfort; I will make my refuge in the covert of his wings, as the chickens seek both warmth and safety under the wings of the hen. Those that have found God a Shelter to them, ought still to have recourse to him in all their straits. This advantage thev have that abide in God's tabernacle, that in the time of trouble he shall there hide them.

5. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. 6. Thou wilt prolong the king's hfe ; and his years as many generations. 7. He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him. 8. So will T sing praise unto thy name for ever, that 1 may daily perform my vows.

PSALMS, LXIl.

In these verses, we may observe, 1. With what pleasure David louks back upon what God had done for him formerly; {v. 5.) Thou,

0 God, hast heard my vows, that is, (1.) "The vows themselves which I made, and with which

1 bound my soul; thou hast taken notice of them; thou hast accepted them, because made in sincerity, and been well pleased with them; thou hast been mindful of them, and put me in mind of them;" God put Jacob in mind of his vows, Gen. xxxi. 13.—XXXV. 1. Note, God is a Witness to all our vows, all our good purposes, and all our solemn promises of new oliedience. He keeps an account of them, which should be a good reason with us, as it was with David here, why we should perform our vows, V. 8. For he that hears the vows we made, will make us hear respecting them, if they be nut made good. (2.) "The prayers that went along with those vows; those thou hast graciously heard, and answered;" which encouraged him now to pray, 0 God, hear my cry. He that never did say to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me, in vain, will not now begin to say so. "Thou hast heard my vows, and given a real answer to them; for thou hast e-iven me the heritage of those that fear thy name. ' Note, [1.] There is a peculiar people in the world, that fear God's name, that with a holy awe and reverence accept of, and accommodate themselves to, all the discoveries he is pleased to make of himself to the children of men. [2.] There is a heritage peculiar to that peculiar people, present comforts, earnests of their future bliss. God himself is their Inheritance, their Portion for ever. The Levites, that had God for their inheritance, must take up with him, and not expect a lot like their brethren; so those that fear God have enough in him, and therefore must not complain if they have but little of the woi'ld. [3.] We need desire no better heritage than that of those who fear God. If God deal with us as he uses to deal with those that love his name, we need not desire to be any better dealt with.

2. With what assurance he looks forward to the continuance of his life; (t. 6.) Thou shalt prolong tlip king''s life. This may be understood, either, (1.) Of himself; if it was penned before he came to the crown, yet, Ijeing an^^inted by Samuel, and knowing what God had spoken in his holiness, he could, in faith, call himself the kivg, though now persecuted as an outlaw; or, perh'ps, it was penned when Absalom sought to dethrone him, and forced him into exile. There were those that aimed to shorten his life, l)ut he trusted to God to prolong his life, wliich he did to the age of man set by Moses, that is, 70 years; which, being spent in serving his generation'according to the will of God, (Acts xiii. 36.) miirht be reckoned as many generations, because rnanv gencr itions would be the better for him. His resolution was, to abide in God's tabernacle for ever, {v. 4.) in a wav of dutv; and now his hope is, that he shall abide before God for ever, in a wav of comfort. Those abide to good purpose in this world that abide before God; that serve him, and walk in his fear; and they that do so shall abide before him f ,j. p^.^.p_ Yii: speaks of himself in the third person, because the psalm was delivered to the chief musician for tlie use of the church, and he would have the people, in singing it, to be encouraged with an assurance, that, notwithstanding the malice of his enemies, their kinsr, as thev wished, should live for ever. Or, (2.) Of the Messiah, the King of whom he was a tvpe; it was a comfort to David to think, (Vhatevcr became of him, that the years of the Lord's Anointed should be as many generations, and that of the increase of his government and peace there should be no end. The Mediator shall abide heforc God for ever, for he always appears in the presence of God for us, and ever lives, making in-

tercession; and because he lives, we shall live also

3. With what importunity he begs of God to take him and keep him always under his protection; O prepare mercy and truth which may preserve him, God's promises, and our faith in them, are not to supersede, but to quicken and encourage, prayer. David is sure that God will prolong his life, "and therefore prays that he would preserve it. Not that he would prepare him a strong life-guard, or a weU fortified castle; but that he would prepare mercy and truth for his presei-vation; that God's goodness would provide for his safety, according to the promise. We need not desire to be better secured than under the protection of God's mercy and truth. This may be applied to the Messiah; Let him be sent in the fulness of time, in performance of the truth to Jacob, a?id the mercy to Abraham, Micah vii. 20. Luke i. 72, 73.

4. With what cheerfulness he vows the grateful returns of duty to God; (x'. 8.) So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever. Note, God's preservation of us calls upon us to praise him; and therefore we should desire to live, that we may praise him; Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee. We must make praising God the work of our time, even to the last, as long as our lives are prolonged, we must continue praising God; and then it shall be made the work of our eternity, and we shall be praising him for ever; that I may daily perform my vows. His praising God was itself the performance of his vows, and it disposed his heart to the performance of his vows in other instances. Note, (1.) The vows we have made we must conscientiously perform. (2.) Praising God, and paying our vows to him, must be our constant daily work; every day we must be doing something towards it, because it is all but little in comparison with what is due, because we daily receive fresh mercies, and because, if we think much to do it daily, we cannot expect to be doing it eternally.

PSALM LXII.

This psalm has nothing in it directly either of prayer or praise, nor does it appear upon what occasion it was penned, nor whether upon any particular occasion, whether mournful or joyful. But'in it, I. David, with a great deal of pleasure, professes his own confidence in God, and dependence upon him, and encouraores himself to continue wailing on him, v. 1. .7. II. With a great deal of earnestness, he excites and encourages others to trust in God likewise, and not in any creature, v. 8.. 12. In singing it, we should stir up ourselves to wait on God.

To the chief musician, to Jtduthun. A psalm of David.

1. ^THRULY my soul waiteth upon God: JL from him coineth my salvation. 2. He only is my rock and my salvation ; he is my defence: I shall not be ejeatly moved. 3. How long will ye imagin<> mischief against a man ? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye he, and as a tottering fence. 4. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency; they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah. 5. My soul, wait thou only upon God: for my expectation is from him. 6. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence: I shall not be moved. 7. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

In these verses, we have,

I. Da\'id's profession of dependence upon God,

PSALMS, L.XI1.

377

and upon him only, for all good; {v. 1.) Truly my S'ui ivaiteth upon God. JVevertheless, (so some,) or, ''However it be, whatever difficulties or dangers I may meet with, though God frown upon me, and I meet with discouragements in my attendance on him, yet still my soul waits upon God;" (or is silent to' God, as the word is;) "says nothing against what he does, but quietly expects what he will do." We are in the way both of duty and comfoit when our souls wait upon God; when we cheerfully refer ourselves, and the disposal of all our affairs, to his will and wisdom, when we acquiesce in, and accommodate ourselves to, all the dispensations of his providence, and patiently expect a doubtful event, with an entire satisfaction in his righteousness and ^goodness, /lowever it be. Is 7iot my soul subject }o God? So the LXX. So it is, certainly so it ought to be; our wills must be melted into his will. • " My soul has respect to God, for from him cometh my salvation." He doubts not but his salvation will come, though now he was threatened and in danger; and he expects it to come from God, and from him only; for in -vain is it hoped for from, hills and mountains,lev. iii. 23. Ps. cxxi. 1, 2. "Fromhim

1 know it will come, and therefore on him will I patiently wait till it does come, for his time is the best time." We may a^pply it to our eternal salvation, which is called the salvation of God, (1. 23.) from him that comes; he prepared it for us, he pre-

f>ares us for it, and preserves us to it, and therefore et our souls wait on him, to be conducted through this world to that eternal salvation, in such way as he thinks fit.

II. The ground and reason of this dependence; {v. 2.) He only is my Rock and my Salvation, he is my Defence. 1. " He has been so many a time; in him I have found shelter, and strength, and succour; he has, by his grace, supported me, and borne me up, under my troubles, and, by his providence, defended me from the insults of my enemies, and delivered me out of the troubles into which I was plunged; and therefore I trust he will deliver me,"

2 Cor. i. 10. 2. " He only can be my Rock and my Salvation; creatures are insufficient, they are nothing without him, and therefore I will look above them to him." 3. "He has by covenant undertaken to be so. Even he that is the Rock of ages, is my Rock; he that is the (iod of salvation, is my Salvation; he that is the Most High, is my High Place; and therefore I have all the reason in the world to confide in him."

III. The improvement he makes of his confidence in God.

1. Trusting in God, his heart is fixed. " If God is my Strength and mighty Deliverer, I shall not be

freatly jnoved, I sliall not be undone and ruined; may b? shocked, but I shall not be sunk." Or, "I shall not be much disturbed and disquieted in my own breast. I may be put into some fright, but I shall not be afraid with any amazement, nor so as to be put out of the possession of my own soul. I may be perplexed, but not in despair," 2 Cor. iv. 8. This hope in God will be an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast.

2. His enemies are slighted, and all their attempts against him looked upon by him with contempt, v. 3, 4. If God be fir us, we need not fear what man can do against us, thoue:h ever so might)' and maU-cious. He here, (1.) Gives a character of his enemies. They imag'irie mischief, design it with a great deal of the serpent's venom, and contrive it wit'n a great deal of the serpent's subtlety, and this aga'nst a man, one of their own kind, against one single man, that is not an equal match for them, for they are many; they continued their malicious prosecution, though Providence had often defeated their mischievous designs. How long wUl ve do it' will ye

Vol. III.—3 B

never be convinced of your error.' wiU your malice never have spent itself.' They are unanimous in their consultations, to cast an excellent man down from his excellency, to draw an honest man from his in tegrity, to entangle him in sin, which is the only thing that can effectually cast us down fi-cm our excellency; to thnist a man, whom God has exalted, down from his dignity, and so to fight against Gcd. Envy was at the bottom of their malice; they were grieved at David's advancement, and therefore plotted, by diminishing his character, and blackening that, (which was casting him down from his excellency,) to hinder his prefennent. In order to this, they calumniate him, and love to hear such bad characters given of him, and such bad reports raised and spread concerning him, as they themselves know to be false; they delight in lies. And as they make no conscience of lying concerning him, to do him a mischief, so they make no conscience of lying to him, to conceal the mischief they design, and accomplish it the more effectually; they bless with their mouth, they compliment David to his face, but they curse inwardly; in their hearts they wish him all mischief, and privately they are plotting against him, and in their cabals carrying on some evil design or other, by which they hope to ruin him; it is dangerous putting our trust in men who are thus false; but Gcd is faithful. (2.) He reads their doom, pronounces a sentence of death upon them, not as a king, but as a prophet; Ye shall be slain, all of you, by the righteous judgments of Gcd. Saul and his servants were slain by the Phihstines on mount Gilboa, according to this prediction; those who seek tlie ruin of God's chosen, are but preparing ruin for themselves. God's church is built upon a rock which will stand; but they that fight against it, and its patrons and protectors, shall be as a bowing wall and a tottering fence, which, having a rotten foundation, sinks with its own weight, falls of a sudden, and buries those in the ruins of it that put themselves under the shadow and shelter of it. David, having put his confidence in God, thus foresees the ovei throw of his enemies, and, in effect, sets them at defiance, and bids them do their worst 3. He is himself encouraged to continue waiting upon God; {v. 5- •?.) My soul, wait thou only upon God. Note, The good we do, we should stir up ourselves to continue doing, and to do yet more and more, as those that have, through grace, experienced the comfort and benefit cf it. We have fcund it good to wait upon God, and therefore should charge our souls, and even charm them, into such a constant dependence upon him, as may make us al-wa.ys easy. He had said, (v. 1.) From hi7n cometh my salvation; he says, {v. 5.) My expectation is fro7)i him. His salvatirn was the principal matter of his expectation; let him have that frrm God, and he expects no more. His salvation being from God, all his other expectations are from him; "If God will save my soul, as to every thing else let him do what he pleases with me, and I will acquiesce in his disposals, knowing they shall all turn to my salvation," Phil. i. 19. He repeats {v. 6.) what he had said concerning God, (v. 2.) as one that was not cnly assured of it, but greatly pleased with it, and that dwelt much upon it, in his thoughts: He only is my Rock and my Salvation, he is my Defence, I know he is: but there he adds, I shall not be greatly moved, here, I shall not be moved at all. Note, The more faith is acted, the more active it is; Crescit eundo — It grows by being exercised. The more we meditate upcn_ God's attributes and promises, and our own experience, the more ground we get of our fears, which, like Haman, when they begin to fall, shall fall before us, and we shall be kept in perfect peace, Isa. xxvi. 3. And as David's faith in God advances to an unshaken stayedness, so his joy in

PSALMS. LXIl.

God improves itself into a holy triumph; (v. 7.) In God is my salvation and my glory. Where our salvation is, there our glory is; for what is our salvation, but the glory to be revealed; the eternal weight of glory: And there our glorying must be. In God let us boast all the day long. " The rock of my strength, my strong rock, on which I build my hopes, and stay myself, and my refuge, to which I nee for shelter when I am pursued, is in God, and in him only. I have no other to flee to, no other to trust to; the more I think of it, the better satisfied I am in the choice I have made." Thus does lie delight himself in the Lord, and then ride ufon the high places of the earth, Isa. Iviii. 14.

8. Trust in him at all times, ye people; pour out your heart before him : God is a refuge for us. Selah. 9. Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie : to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity. 10. Trust not in oppression, become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. 11. God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God. 12. Also unto thee, O Lord, helongeth mercy: for thou ren-derest to every man according to his work.

Here we have David's exhortation to others to trust in God, and wait upon him, as he had done. Those that have found the comfort of the ways of iTod themselves, will invite others into those ways; there is enough in God for all the saints to draw from, and we shall have never the less for others sharing with us.

1. He counsels all to wait upon God, as he did, v. 8. Observe, 1. To whom he gives this good counsel. Ye people, that is. All people; all shall be welcome to trust in God, for he is the Confidence of all the ends of the earth, Ixv. 5. Ye people of the house of Israel; (so the Chaldee;) they are especially engaged and invited to tinist in God, for he is the God of Israel; and should not a people seek unto their God? 2. What the good counsel is which he gives. (1.) To confide in God; " Ti-ust in him; deal with him, and be willing to deal upon trust; depend upon him to perform all things for you, upon his wisdom and goodness, his power and promise, his providence and grace. Do this at all times. We must have an habitual confidence in God always, must live a life of dependence upon him; must so trust in him at all times, as not at any time to put that confidence in ourselves, or in any creature, which is to be put in him only: and we must have an actual confidence in God upon all occasions; trust in him upon every emergency, to guide us wlien we are in doubt, to protect us when we are in danger, to supply us when we are in want, to strengthen us for every good w(ird and work. (2.) To converse with God; Pour out your heart before him; the expression seems to allude to tlic pouring-out of the drink-offerings Ixfore the Lord. \\'hen we make a penitent confession of sin, our hearts are therein poured out before God, 1 Sam. vii. 6. But here it is meant of prayer, which, if it be as it should i)e, is, the pduring out of the heart before God. We must lay our grievances bcfcire him, offer up our desires to him with all humble freedom, and then entirely refer ourselves to his disposal, patiently submitting our wills to his: this is pouring out our hearts. 3. What encouragement he gives us to take this good counsel; God is a Refuge for us; not only my Refuge, {v. 7.) but a Refuge for us all.

even as many as will flee to him, and take shelter in him.

II. He cautions us to take heed of misplacing our confidence, in which, as much as in any thing the heart is deceitful, Jer. xvii. 5-«9. They that trust in God ti-uly, (x". 1.) will trust in him only, v. 5.

1. Let us not tnist in the men of this world, for they are broken reeds; {y. 9.) Surely men of low degree are -vanity, utterly unable to help us, and men of high degree are a lie, that will deceive us, if we ti-ust to them. Men of low degree, one would think, might be relied on for their multitude and number, their bodily strength and service; and men of hig'.i degree, for their wisdom, power, and influence; but men of neither degree are to be de pended en; nay, of the two, men of high degi-ee are mentioned in terms more disparaging; for they are a lie, which denotes not cnly vanity, but iniquity. We are ncjt so apt to depend uprn men of low degree, 'as upon the king and the captain of the host, who, by the figure they make, tempt us to ti-ust in them, and so, when they fail us, prove a lie. But, lay them in the balance, the balance of the scripture, or, rather, make trial of them, see how they wili prove, whether they will answer your expectations from them or no, and you will write Te/cel upon them, they are alike lighter than vanity; there is no depending upon their wisdom to advise us, or their power to act for us, upon their good will to us, no, nor upon their promises, in comparison with God, or otherwise than in subordination to him.

2. Let us not trust in the wealth of this world, let not that be made our strong city; {v. 10.) Trust not in oppression, in riches got by fraud and violence; because, where there is a great deal, it is commonly got by mdirect scraping or saving; our Saviour calls it the mammon of unrighteousness, Luke xvi. 9. "Trust not in the arts of getting riches. Think not, either because you have got abundance, or are in the way of getting, that therefore you are safe enough; for this is becoming vain in robbery, cheating yourselves while you think to cheat others." He that trusted in the abundance of his riches, strengthened himself in his nvickedness; (lii. 7.) but, at his end, he will be a fool, Jer. xvii. 11. Let none be so stupid as to think of supporting themselves in their sin, much less of supporting themselves in this sin. Nay, because it is hard to have riches, and not to trust in them, if they increase, though by lawful and honest means, we must take heed lest we let out our affections inordinately toward them; " Set not your heart upon them; be not eager for them, do not take a complacency in them as the rest of your souls, nor put a confidence in them as your portion; be not over-solicitous about them, do n^^t value yourselves and others by them; make not the wealth of the world your chief good and highest end; in short, do not make an idol of it." This we are most in danger of doing wlien they increase; when the grounds of the rich maa brought forth plentifullv,"then he said to his soul. Take thine ease in these things, Luke xii. 19. It is a smiling world that is most likely to draw the heart away from God, on whom only it should be set.

III. He gives a very good reason why we should make God our Confidence, because he is a God of infinite power, mercy, and righteousness, v. 11, 12. This he himself was well assured of, and wculd have us be assured of.it. God has spoken once, ttvicc have J heard this, that is, 1. " Cicd has spoken it, and I have heard it, nice, yea twice. He has sjinken it, and I have he ard it 1)y the light of reason, whicli easily infers it fr(;m the nature of the infinitely perfect Being, and from liis works bcth rf creatirn and ])r' vidence. He has spoken it, and I have heard once, yea twice, that is, manv a time, by the events that have concerned me in particular.

PSALMS, LXIIl.

379

I have heard it, too, by the light of revelation, by dreams and visions, (Job iv. 15.) by the glorious maniftstation of himself upon mount Sinai," (to which, some think, it does especially refer,) "and by the written word." God has often told us what a great and good God he is, and we ought as often to take notice of what he has told us. Or, 2. " Though God spake it but once, I heard it twice; heard it diligently, not only witli my outward ears, but with my soul and mind." To some God speaks twice, and they will not hear once; but to others he speaks but once, and they hear twice. Compare 4ob xxxiii. 14.

Now, what is it which is thus spoken and thus heard?

(1.) That the God with whom we have to do is infinite in power. Power belongs to God; he is almighty, and can do everything; with him nothing is impossible. All the powers of all the creatures are derived from him, depend upon him, and are used by him as he pleases. His is the power, and to him we must ascribe it. This is a good reason why we should trust in him at all times, and live in a constant dependence upon him; for he is able to do all that for us which we trust in him for.

(2.) That he is a God of infinite goodness; here he turns his speech to God himself, as being desirous to give him the glory of his goodness, which is his glory; Also unto thee, 0 Lord, belongeth mercy. God is not only the greatest, but the best, of beings. Mercy is with him, cxxx. 4, 7. He is merciful, in a way peculiar to himself; he is the Father of mercies, 2 Cor. i. 3. This is a further i-eason why we should trust in him, and answers the objections of our sinfulness and unworthiness; though we deserve nothing but his wrath, yet we may hope for all good from his mercy, Avhich is over all his works.

(3.) That he never did, nor never will do, any wrong to any of his creatures; For thou renderest to every man according to his work. Though he does not always do this, visibly, in this world, yet he will do it in the day of recompense. No service done him shall go unrewarded, nor any affront given him, unpunished, unless it be repented of. By this it appears that power and mercy belong to him. If he weri not a God of power, there are sinners that would be too powerful to be punished; and if he were not a God of mercy, there are services that would be too worthless to be rewarded. This seems especially to bespeak the justice of God in judging upon appeals made to him by wronged innocency; he will be sure to judge according to truth, in righting the injured, and avenging them on those that have been injurious to them, 1 Kings viii. 32. Let those, therefore, that are wronged, commit their cause to him, and ti-ust to him to plead it.

PSALM LXIIL

This psalm has in it as much of warmth and lively devotion, as any of David's psalms in so little a compass. As the sweetest of Paul's epistles were those that bore date out of a prison, so some of the sweetest of David's psalms were those that were penned, as this was, in a wilderness. That which grieved him most in his banishment, was, the want of public ordinances ; these he here longs to be restored to the enjoyment of; and the present want did but whet his appetite. Yet it is not the ordinances, but the God of the ordinances, that his heart is upon. And here we have, I. His desire toward God, v. 1, 2. II. His esteem of God, v. 3, 4. III. His satisfaction in God, v. 5. IV. His secret communion with God, v. 6. V. His jovful dependence upon God, v. 7, 8. VI. His holy triumpli in God over his enemies, and in the assurance of his own safety, v. 9. . 11. A devout and pious soul has little need of direction how to sing this psalm, so naturally does it speak its own genuine language ; and an unsanclified soul, that is unacquainted and unaffected with divine things, is scarcely capable of singing it with under-"tanding.

A /isalm of David, nvhen he was in the wilderness ofJudah.

GOD, thou art my God; early v^ill I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 2. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

The title tells us when the psalm was penned, when David was in the wilderness of Judah; that is, in the forest of Hareth, 1 Sam. xxii. 5. Or, in the wilderness ofZi/ih, 1 Sam. xxiii. 15. 1. Even in Canaan, though a fruitful land, and the people numerous, yet there were wildernesses, places less fruitful, and less inhabited, than other places. It will be so in the world, in the church, but not in heaven; there it is all city, all paradise, and no desert ground; the wilderness there shall blossom as the rose. 2. Tlie best and dearest of God's saints and servants may sometimes have their lot cast in a wilderness, which speaks them lonely and solitary, desolate and afflicted, wanting, wandering, and unsettled, and quite at a loss what to do with themselves. 3. None of the straits and difficulties of a wilderness must put us out of tune for sacred scngs; but even then it is our duty and interest to keep up a cheerful communion with God. There are psalms proper for a wilderness, and we ha.ve reason to thank God that it is the wilderness of Judah we are in, not the wilderness of Sin.

David, in these verses, stirs up himself to take hold on God,

I. By a lively active faith; 0 God, thou art my God. Note, In all our addresses to God, we must eye him as God, and cur God, and this will be cur comfort in a wilderness-state. We must acknowk dge that God is, that we speak to one that really exists, and is present with us, when we say, O God, which is a serious word; pity it should ever be used as a by-word. And we must own his authority over us, and propriety in us, and our relation to him; Thou art my God, mine by creation, and therefore my rightful Owner and Ruler, mine by covenant, and my own consent." We must speak it with the greatest pleasure to ourselves, and thankfulness to God, as those that are resolved to abide by it; O God, thou art jny God.

II. By pious and devout affections, pursuant to the choice he had made of God, and the covenant he had made with him.

1. He resolves to seek God, and his favour and grace. Thou art my God, and therefore I will seek thee, for, should not a peofile seek unto their God? Isa. viii. 19. We must seek him; we must covet his favour as our chief good, and consult his glory as our highest end; we must seek acquaintance with him by his word, and seek mercy frrm him by prayer. We must seek him, (1.) Early, with the utmost care, as those that are afraid of missing him; we must begin our days with liim, begin every day with him; F.arly will I seek thee. (2.) Earnestly; " My soul thirsteth for thee, and my flesh longeth for thee; my whole man is affected with this pursuit, here in a dry and thirsty land." Observe, [1.] His complaint in the want of God's favourable presence. He was in a dry and thirsty land; so he reckoned it, not so much because it was a wilderness, as because it was at a distance from the ark, from the word and sacraments. This world is a weary land, so the word is; it is so to the worldly that have their portion in it, it will yield them no true satisfaction; it is so to the godly that have their passage through it, it is a valley of Baca, they can promise themselves little from it. [2.] His importunity for

PSALMS, LXIII.

that prestrnce of Gcd; My soul thirsteth, longeth, fjr thee. His want quickened his desires, which WL-rc \ery intense; he thirsted as the liunted liart tor the water-brooks; he would take up with nothing short of it. His desires were almost impatient; he longed, he languished, till he should be restored to tue liberty of God's ordinances. Note, Gracious souls look down upon the world witli a holy disdain, and l(xk up to God with a holy desire.

2. He longs to enjoy God. What is it that he does so passionately wish for? What is his petition, and whit is his request? It is this, {v. 2.) To see thy /lower, and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. That is, (1.) "To see it here in this wilderness, as I ha\ e seen it in the tabernacle; to see it in secret, as I have seen it in the solemn assembly. " Note, When we want the benefit of public ordinances, we should desire and endea\our to keep up the same communion with God in our retirements, that we have had in the great congregation. A closet may be turned into a little sanctuary. Ezckiel had the visions of the Almighty in Babylon, and John, in the isle of Patmos. When we are alone, we may have the Father with us, and that is enough. (2.) "To see it again in the sanctuary, as I have formerly seen it there." He longs to be brought out of the wilderness, not that he might see his friends again, and be restored to the pleasures and gaieties of the court, but that he might have access to the sanctuary; not to see the priests there, and the ceremony of the worship, but to see thy power and glory, thy glorious power, or thy powerful glory, which is put for all God's attributes and perfections; " that I may increase in my acquaintance witli them, and have the agreeable impressions of them made upon my heart." So to behold the glory of the Lord, as to be changed into the sa7ne image, 2 Cor. iii. 18. That I may see thy power and glory; he does not say, as I have seen them, but as 1 have seen thee. We cannot see the essence of God, but we see him, in seeing by faith his attributes and perfections. These sights David here pleases himself with the remembrance of; those were precious minutes which he spent in communion with God, he loved to think them over again; these he lamented the loss of, and longed to be restored to. Note, That which has been the delight, and is the desire, of gracious souls, in their attendance on solcnm ordinances, is, to see God, and his power and glory in them.

3. Because thy loving-kindness is better than Hfe, my hps shall praise thee. 4. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. 5. My soul shall be satisfied as ivith marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; 6. When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the 7^/^//^watches.

How soon are David's complaints and prayers turned into praises and thanksgivings! After two verses that speak his desire in seekinc; God, here are some that speak his joy and satisfaction in ha\ing found him. Faithful prayers may quickly 1)e turned into joyful praises, it it be not our mvn fault. Let the hearts of those rejoice that seek the Lord, (cv. 3.) and let them praise him for working those desires in them, and giving them assurance that he will satisfy them. David was now in a wilderness, and yet had his heart much cnlargetl in blessing God. Even in affliction, we need not want matter for praise, if we have but a heart to it. Observe,

I. Wliat David will praise God for; {v. 3.) Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, than lives; lite, and all the comforts of life; life in its best.

estate; long life and prospenty. God's loving-kind ness IB, in itself, and in the account of all the saints, better than life. It is our spiritual life, and that is better than tempcjral life, x,\x. 5. It is better, a thousand times, to die in God's favour, than to live under his wrath. David, in the wilderness, finds, by comfortable experience, that God's loving-kindness is better than life; and Therefore (says he) 7ny li/is shall praise thee. Note, Those that ha\e their hearts refreshed with the tokens of Cicd's favour, ought to have them enlarged in his praises. A great deal of reason we have to bless Gcd that we have better provisions, and better possessions, than the wealth of this world can afford us; and tliLt, in the service of God, and in communion with him, we have better employments, and better tnjo} nients, than we can ha\ e in the business and converse of this world.

II. How he will praise God, and how long, v. 4. He resch es to live a life of thankfulness to God, and dependence on him. Obser\ e, 1. His manner of blessing God; " Thus will J bless thee; thus, as I have now begun; the present devcut affections shall not pass away, like the morning cloud, but shine more and more, like the moniing sun." Or, "I will bless thee with the same earnestness and fervency with which I have prayed to thee." 2. His continuance and perseverance therein; / will bless thee while I live. Note, Praising God must be the work of cur whole lives; we must always retain a grateful sense of his former favours, and repeat our thanksgivings for them; we must every day give thanks to him for the benefits with which we are daily loaded. We must in every thing give thanks; and not be put out of frame for this duty by any of the afflictions of this present time. Whatever days we live to see, how dark and cloudy soever, though the days come, of which we say, JVe have no pleasure in them, yet still every day must be a thanksgiving day, even to our dying day. In this work we must spend our time, Ijecause in this work we hope to spend a blessed eternity. 3. His constant regard to Gcd upon all occasions, which should accompany his praises of him; I will lift up my hajids in thy name. We must have an eye to God's name, to all that by which he has made himself known, in all our prayers and praises, which we are taught to begin witli, Hallowed be thy name, and to conclude with. Thine is the glory. This we must have an eye to in our work and warfare; we must lift up our hands to our duty, and against our spiritual enemies, in God's name, in the strength of his Spirit and grace, Ixxi. 16. Zech. x. 12. We must make all our vows in God's name; to him we must engage oui'selves, and in a dependence upon his grace. And when we lift up tlie hands that hang down, in comfort and joy, it must be in (iod's name; from him our com-ftj'rts must be fetclied, and to him they must be devoted; In thee do we boast all the day long.

III. With what pleasure and delight he would praise God, x'. 5. 1. With inward ce mplaccncy; My soul shall he satisfied as with marrow and fatness; not only as with bread, which is neurishing, but as with marrow, wliich is jileasant ;ind de lirious, • Is 1. XXV. 6. David hopes he shall return again to the enjoyment of God's e)rdinanres, and tlien he shall thus be satisfied, and the ni< re for his having been for a time under restri'int. ())■, if not, yet in Ciod's loving-kindness, and in con\ ersing witli him in solitude, lie shall be thus satisfied. Note, There is that in a gracious God, and in conmiunion with him, which gives abundant satisfaction to a soul, xxxvi. 8.—Ixv. 4. Anel tliere is that in a gracious soul, which takes abund mt satisfaction in God, and communion with him. The saints have a contentment with (iod, they desire no more than his favour to make them happy; and they have a transcend-

PSALMS, Lxrn.

38i

ent complacency in God, in comparison witli which all the delights of sense are sapless and without relish; as puddle-water in comparison with the wine of this consolation. 2. With outward expressions of this satisfaction; he will praise God ivith joyful lips. He will praise liim, (1.) Openly; his mouth and lips shall praise God. When with the heart man believes, and is thankful, with the mouth confession must be made of both, to the glory of God; not that the performances of the moutli are accepted without the heart, (Matth. xv. 8.) but out of the abundance of the heart the mouth must speak, (xh. 1.) both for the exciting of our owr^ devout affections, and for the edification of others. (2.) Clieerfully; we must praise (iod with joyful lips; we must address ourseh^es to that and other duties of religion with great cheerfulness, and speak forth the praises of God from a principle of holy joy. Praising lips must be joyful lips.

IV. How he would entertain himself with thoughts of God when he was most retired; {y. 6.) I will praise thee, when I remember thee ufion my bed. We must praise God, upon every remembrance of him. Now that David was shut out from public ordinances, he abounded the more in secret communion with God, and so did something toward making up his loss. Observe here,

1. How David employed himself in thinking of God. God was in all his thoughts, which is the reverse of the wicked man's character, x. 4. The thoughts of God were ready to him; " I remember thee; when I go to think, I find thee at my right nand, present to my mind." Tliis subject should first offer itself, as that which we cannot forget or overlook. And they were fixed in him; I meditate on thee. Thoughts of God must not be transient thoughts, passing through the mind, but abiding thoughts, dwelling in the mind.

2. When David employed himself thus; XJfion his bed, and in the night-watches. Da\'id was now wandering and unsettled, but, wherever he came, he brought his religion along with him. Upon my beds, so some: being hunted by Saul, he sefdom lay, two nights together, in the same bed; but, wherever he lay, if, as Jacob, upon the cold ground, and with a stone for his pillow, good thoughts of God lay down with him. David was so full of business, all day, shifting for his own safety, that he had scarcely leisure to apply himself solemnly to religious exercises, and therefore, rather than want time for them, he denied himself his necessary sleep. He was now in continual peril of his life, so that we may suppose care and fear many a time held his eyes waking, and gave him wearisome nights; but then he entertained and comforted himself with thoughts of God. Sometimes we find David in tears upon his bed, (vi. 6.) hut thus he wiped away his tears. When sleep departs from our eyes, through pain or sickness of body, or any disturbance in the mind, our souls, by remembering God, may be at ease, and repose themselves. Perhaps an hour's pious meditation will do us more good than an hour's sleep would have done; see xvi. 7.—xvii. 3.—iv. 4.—cxix. 62. There wei'e night-watches kept in the tabernacle for praising God, (cxxxiv. 1.) in which, probably, David, when he had liberty, joined with the Levites; now that he could not keep place with them, he kept time with them, and wished himself among them.

7. Because thou hast been my help : therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. 8. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. 9. Bnt those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower pails of the earth. 10. They shall fall by the sword; they shall be

a portion for foxes. W. Bnt the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth hy him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

David, having expressed his desires toward God, and his praises of him, here speaks his confidence in him, and his joyful expectations frcm.him; {v. 7.) In the shadow of thy wings I will rejoice; alluding either to the wings cf the chenibinis, stretched out over tlie ark of the coven;:nt, between which Gcd is said to dwell; ("I will rejoice in thine oracles, and in covenant and communii n with thee;") or to the wings of a fowl, under which the helpless ycung ones have shelter, as the eagk's ycung ones, (Exod. xix. 4. Deut. xxxii. 11.) which speaks the divine power; and the ycung ones cf the ccmmcn hen, (Matth. xxiii. 37.) which sjieaks more cf divine tenderness. It is a phrase often used in the psalms, (xvii. 8.—xxxvi. 7.—Ivii. 1.—Ixi. 4.—xci. 4.) and no where else in this sense, except Ruth ii. 12. where Ruth, wlien she became a proselyte, is said to trust under the wings of the God of Israel. It is our duty to rejoice in the shadow of God's wings, which denotes our recourse to him by faith and prayer, as naturally as the chickens, when they are cold or frightened, run by instinct under the wings of the hen. It intimates also our reliance upon him as able and ready to help us, and rur '-efreshment and satisfaction in his care and protection. Having committed ourselves to God, we must be easy and pleased, and quiet from the fear of evil.

Now let us see further,

I. What were the supports and encouragements of David's confidence in God. Two things were as props to that hope, which the word of God was the only foundation of.

1. His former experiences of God's power in relieving him; "Because thou hast been viy Help, when oth.er helps and helpers failed me, therefore I will still rejoice in thy salvation, will trust in thee for the future, and will do it with delight and holy joy. Thou hast been not only my Helper, but my Help;" for we could never have helped rurselvcs, nor could any creature have been helpful to us, but by him. Here we may set up our Ebenezcr, saying, Hitherto the Lord has helped us, and must therefore resolve that we will never desert him, never distrust him, nor ever droop in our walking with him.

2. The present sense he had of God's grace carrying him on in these pursuits; (f. 8.) My soul follows hard after thee, which speaks a vei y earnest desire, and a serious, vigorous, endeavcur to keep up communion with God; if we cannot always have God in cur embraces, yet we must always have him in our eye, reaching forth toward him as cur Prize, Phil. iii. 14. To press hard after God, is to follow him close, as those that are afraid of losing the sight of him, and to follow him fast, as these that long to be with him. This David did, and he owns, to the glory of God, Thy right hand upholds me. God upholds him, (1.) Under his aflRictirnF, that he might not sink under them; Underneath are the everlasting arms. (2.) In his devotions; Gcd upheld him in his holy desires and pursuits, that he might not grow weary in well-doing. Those that follow hard after God, would soon fail and give off, if God's right hand did not uphold them. It is he that strengthens us in the pursuit of him, quickens our good affections, and comforts us while we have not yet attained what we are in the pursuit of. It i« by tiie power of God, that is, his right hand, that we ai'e kept from falling. Now this was a great eti couragement to the psalmist to hope that he Avould, in due time, give him that which he so rai-nestly de-

PSALMS, LXIV.

sired, because he had by his grace wrought in him those desires, and kept them up.

II. What it was that David triumphed in the hopes of.

1. That his enemies should be rained, v. 9, 10. There were tliose that sought his soul to destroy it; not only his life, (which they struck at, both to prevent his coming to the crown, and because they envied and hated him for his wisdom, piety, and usefulness,) but his soul, which they sought to destroy by banishing him from God's ordinances, which are the nourishment and support of the soul, so, doing what they could to starve it; and, by sending him to serve other gods, so, doing what they could to poison it, 1 Sam. xxvi. 19. But he foresees, and loretells, (1.) That they shall _§-o into the lower parts of the earth; to the grave, to hell; their enmity to David would be their death and their damnation; their ruin, their eternal ruin. (2.) That they shall fall by the sword; by the sword of God's wrath and his justice; by the sword of man. Job xix. 28, 29. They shall die a violent death, Rev. xiii. 10. This was fulfilled in Saul, he fell by the sword, his own sword; David foretold this, yet he would not execute it when it was in the power of his hand, once and again; for precepts, not prophecies, are our rule. (3.) That they shall be a portion for foxes; either their dead bodies shall be a prey to ravenous beasts, (Saul lay a good while unburied,) or their houses and estates shall be a habitation for wild beasts, Isa. xxxiv. 14. Such as this will be the doom of Christ's enemies, that oppose his kingdom and interest in the world; Bring them forth, and slay them before me, Luke xix. 27.

2. That he himself should gain his point at last, {v. 11.) that he should be advanced to the throne to which he had been anointed; The Icing shall rejoice in God. (1.) He calls himself the king, because he knew liimself to be so in the divine purpose and designation; thus Paul, while yet in the conflict, writes himself more than a concjiieror, Rom. viii. 37. Believers are made kings, though they are not to have the dominion till tlie morning of the resurrection. (2.) He doubts not but that though he was now sow-mg in tears, he should reap in joy; The king shall rejoice. (3.) He resolves to make God the Aly^hd and Omega of all his joys; he shall rejoice in God. Now this is applicable to the glories and joys of the exalted Redeemer. Messiah the Prince sliall rc-1 lice in God; he is already entered into the joy set before him, and his glory will be completed at his second coming.

Two things would be the good effect of his ad-V mc mint;

[1.] It would be the consolation of his friends. Kvery otic that swears to him, that is, to Da\id, that comes into his interest, and takes an oath of al-legi inco to him, slvdl glory in his success; or that swears by him, tliat is, by the blessed name of God, and n't I)y any idol; (Dent. vi. 13.) and then it means all good people, that m-ikc a sincere and open profession of G';d's name; they shall glory in God; they shall glory in David's advancement; They that far thee, Tjill be glad when they see me. They that heartily espouse the cause of Christ, shall glory in its victory at last. If ive suffer with him, we shall reign with him.

[2.] It would be the confutation of his enemies; T/ie mouth ,fthem that s/ieak lies, of Saul, and Doeg, and others that misrepresented D ivid, and insulted over him, fls if liis cause was desperate, shall be 'luite st j)pcd; they shall not Irwe one word more to say ag linst him, Init will b'.' for ever silenced and shanied. Apply.this to Clirist's enemies, to those that <^pcak lies to him, as all hypocrites do, that tell him thpy Invc him, wliile their hearts are not with him; their mouth shall be stopped with that word, I know

you not whence you are; they shall be for ever speechless, Matth. xxii. 12. The mouths of those also that speak lies against \)\m,t\i&X.p€n'ert the right ways of the Lord, and speak ill of his hoh- religion, will be stopped, in that day when the Lord shall come to reckon for all the hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. Christ's second coming will be the everlasting triumph of all his faithful friends and followers, who may therefor' now triumph in the believing hopes of it.

PSALM LXIV.

This whole psalm has reference to David's enemies, persecutors, and slanderers ; many such there werCj and a great deal of trouble they gave him, almost all his days, so that we need not guess at any particular occasion of penning this psalm. I. He prays to God to preserve him from their malicious designs against him, v. ), 2. II. He gives a very bad character of them, as men marked for ruin by their own wickedness, v. 3. .6. III. By the spirit of prophecy, he foretells their destruction, which would redound to the glory of God, and the encouragement of his people, v. 7.. 10. In singing this psalm, we must observe the effect of the old enmity that is in the seed of the woman against the seed of the serpent; and assure ourselves that the serpent's head will be broken, at last, to the honour and joy of the holy seed.

To the chief musician, ji psalm of David. 1. TTEAR my voice, O God, in my pray-a1 er: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. 2. Hide me from tlie secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: 3. Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their hows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words ; 4. That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fearnot. 5. They encourage themselves in an evil matter; they commune of lajing snares privily; they say. Who shall see them ? 6. They search out iniquities ; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them., and the heart, is deep.

David, in these verses, puts in before God a representation of his own danger, and of his enemies' cliaracter, to enforce his petition that God would protect him, and punish tliem.

I. He earnestly begs of God to preserve him; {y. 1, 2.) Hear my -voice, 0 God, in my prayer; grant me the thing I pray for: and this is it, Lord, preserve my life from far of the enemy, from the enemy that I am in fear of. He makes request for his life, which is, in a particular manner, dear to him, because he knows it is designed to be very serviceable to God and his generation. When his life is strack at, it cannot be thought he should altogether hold his peace; Esth. vii. 2, 4. And if he plead his fear of the enemy, it is no disparagement to his courage; his fatlier Jacob, that jjrince with God, did so before him, (Gen. xxxii. 11.) Deliver me from the hand of Esau, for J far him. Presence 'my life from fear, not "only frr m t1ie tiling itself which I fe-^r, hut from the disquieting ffar of it; this is, in effect, the preservation of the life, for fear has torment; particularly the fear of death, by reason of which seme are, all their life-time, subject to bondige. He priys, "Hide 7ve from the secret counsel of the wicked, frrm the mischief which they secretly consult among themselves to do against me, ^n'Xfrom the insurrection of the workers of inicjuity.

PSALMS, LXIV.

383

whc join forces, as they join counsels, to do me a mischief." Observe, The secret counsel ends in an insurrection; treasonable practices begin in treasonable confederacies and conspiracies. "Hide me from them, that they may not find me, that they may not reach me. Let me be safe under thy protection. "

II. He complains of the great malice and wickedness of his enemies; "Lord, hide me from them, for they are the worst of men, not fit to be connived at; they are dangerous men, that will stick at nothing; so that I am undone, if thou do not take my part."

1. They are very spiteful in their calumnies and reproaches; v. 3, 4. They are described as military men, with their sword and bow, archers that take aim exactly, secretly and suddenly shoot at the harmless bird that apprehends not herself in any danger. But, (1.) Their tongues are their swords, flaming swords, two-edged swords, drawr swords, drawn in anger, with which they cut, and wound, and kill, the good name of their neighbour. The tongue is a little member, but, like the sword, it boasts great things, Jam. iii. 5. It is a dangerous weapon. (2.) Bitter words are their arrows. Scurrilous reflections, opprobrious nicknames, false represent:itions, slanders and calumnies, the fiery darts of the wicked one, set on fire of hell. For these their malice bends their bows, to send out these arrows with so much the more force. (3.) The upright man is their mark, against him their spleen is, and they cannot speak peaceably either of liim or to him. The better any man is, the more he is envied by those that are themselves bad, and the more ill is said of him. (4.) They manage it with a great deal of art and subtlety; they shoot in secret, that those they shoot at may not discover them, and avoid the danger, for in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird. And suddenly do they shoot, without gi\ -ing a man lawful warning, or any opportunity to defend himself. Cursed be he that thus smites his neighbour secretly, in his reputation, Deut. xxvii. 24. There is no guard against a pass made by a false tongue. (5.) Herein they fear not; they are confident of their success, and doubt not but by these methods they shall gain the point which their malice aims at. Or, rather they fear not the wrath of God, which will be the portion of a false tongue. They are impudent and daring in the mischief they do to good people, as if they must never be called I') an account for it.

2. They are very close, and very resolute, in their malicious projects, xk 5. (1.) They strengthen and corroborate themselves and one another in this evil matter, and, by joining together in it, they mike one another the more bitter and the more bold; Fortiter calumniari, aliquid adhaerehit — Lay on an abundance of reproach; part tvill be sure to stick. It is bad to do a wrong thing, but worse to encourage oursehes and one another in it, thnt is doing the Devil's work for him. It is a sign that the heart is hardened to the highest degree, when it is thus fully set to do evil, and fears no clours. It is the office of conscience to discourage men in an evil matter, but, when that is baffled, the case is desperate. (2.) They consult with themselves and one another now to do the most mischief, and most eff'ectuiUy; They co?nmune of laying snares privilif. All their communion is in sin, and all their communication is how to sin securely. They hold councils of war for finding rut the most effectual expedients to do mischief, every snare they lay was talked of bef^re, and was laid with all the contrivance cf their wicked wits combined. (3.) They please themselves with an atheistical conceit that God himself takes no notice of their wicked practices; thev say, Who shall see them? A practical disbelief of God's

omniscience is at the bottom of all the wickedness of the wicked.

3. They are very industrious in putting their projects in execution; (x'. 6.) They search out iniquity, they take a great deal of pains to find out some iniquity or other to lay to my charge, they dig deep, and look far back, and put things to the utmost stretch, that they may have something to accuse me of;" or, " They are industrious to find out new arts of doing mischief to me; in this they accomplish a diligent search; they go through with it, and spare neither cost nor labour; exnl men dig up mischief. Half the pains that many take to damn their souls, would serve to save them'. They are masters of all the arts of mischief and destruction, for the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, are deep; deep as hell, desperately wicked, who can know it? By the unaccountable wickedness of their wit, and of their will, they show themselves to be, both in subtlety and malignity, the genuine off'spring of the old serpent.

7. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. 8. So they shall make their own tong:ue to fall upon themselves : all that see them shall flee away. 9. And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God : for they shall wisely consider of his doing. 10. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall gloiy.

We may observe here,

I. The judgments cf God which should certainly come upon these malicious persecutors of David. Though they encouraged themselves in their wickedness, here is that which, if they would believe and consider it, was enough to discourage ihem. And it is observable how the punishment answers the sin. 1. They shot at David secretly and suddenly, to wound him; but God shall shoot at them, for he ordains his arrows against the persecutors; (vii. 13.) against the face of them, xxi. 12. And God's arrc;ws will hit surer, and fly swifter, and pierce deeper, than theirs do, or can. They have many arrows, but they are only bitter words, and words are but wind; the curse causeless shall not come; but God has one arrow that will be their death, his curse, which is ne\er causeless, and therefore sliall ccme; with it they shall be suddenly wounded, their wound by it will be a surprise upon tliem, because they were secure, and not iipprehen-sive of any d;inger. 2. Their tongues fell upon him, but God shall make their own tongues to fall upon themselves. They do it by the desert cf their sin, God docs it by the justice of his wrath, v. 8. When God deals with men according to the desert of their tongue-sins, and brings those mischiefs upon them, which they have passionately and malicirusly imprecated upon others, then he makes their own tongues to fall upon them; and it is weight enough to sink a man to tlie lowest hell, like a talent of lead. Many have cut their own throats, and many more have damned their own souls, with their tongues, and it will be an aggravation of their ccndenmaticn; O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; art snared in the words of thy mouth. If thou scomest, thou alone shalt bear it. They that love cursing, it shall come unto them. Sometimes men's secret wickedness is brought to light by their own confession, and then their own toneue falls upon themselves.

II. The influence which these judgments should have upon others; for it is done in the open sight oj all. Job xxxiv. 26.

1. Their neighbours shall shun them, and shift for their o^vn safety; they shall flee away, for fear of partaking in their plagues, and being involved in their ruin, so dreadful will it be, and such a noise will it make in the country; they shall flee away, as the men of Israel did from the tents of Korali, Ua-than, and Al)iram, Numb. xvi. 27. Some think this was fulfilled in the death of Saul, when not onlv his army was dispersed, but the inhabitants of the' neighbouring country were so terrified with the fall, not only of their kmg but of his three sons, that thev quitted their cities and fled, 1 Sam. xxxi. 7.

2'. Spectators shall reverence the proMdtnce of God therein, v. 9. (1.) They shall underst:ind and observe God's hand in all; and vuiless we doso, we are not likely to profit by tlie dispensations ot PrcA-i-dence, (Hos. xiv. 9.) T/it^y shall wisely consider /lis doing-. There is need of consideration and serious thought rightly to take the matter of fact, and need of wisdom to put a true interpretation upon it. God's doing is well worth our considering, (Eccl. vii. 13.) but it must be considered wisely, that we put not a corrupt gloss upon a pure text. (2.) They shall be affected with a holy awe of God, upon the consideration of it. All men (all that have any j thing of the reason of a man in them) shall fear and I tremble because of God's judgments, cxix. 120. They shall fear to do the like, fear being found per- i secutors of God's people; Smite the scorner, and the siTufile shall beware. (3.) They shall declare the work of God; they shall speak to one another, and to all about them, of the justice of God in punishing persecutors; what we wisely consider ourselves, we should wisely declare to others, for their edification and the glory of God; This is the finger of God.

3. Good people shall, in a special manner, take notice of it, and it shall affect them with a holy pleasure, v. 10. (1.) It shall increase their joy; The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, not glad of the misery and ruin of their fellow-creatures, but glad that God is glorified, and his Avord fulfilled, and the cause of injured innocency pleaded effectually. (2.) It shall encourage their faith; they shall commit themselves to him in the way of duty, ;'-nd be willing to venture for him with an entire confidence in him. (3.) Their joy and faith shall both express themselves in a holy boasting; All the upright in heart, that keep a good conscience and approve themselves to God, shall glory, not in themselves, but in the favour of God, in his righteousness and goodness, their relation to him and interest in him; Let him that glories, glory in the Lord.

PSALM LXV.

In this psalm, we are directed to give to God the glory of his power and goodness, which appear, I. In the kingdom of grace, (v. 1.) Hearing prayer, (v. 2.) Pardoning sin, (v. 3.) Satisfying the souls of the people, (v. 4.) Protecting and supporting them, v. 5. II. In the kingdom of Providence, fixing the mountains, (v. 6.) Calming the sea, (v. 7.) Preserving the regular succession of day and night, (v. 8.) And making the earth fruitful, V. 9. .13. These arc blessings we are all indebted to God for, and therefore we may easily accommodate this psalm to ourselves in singing of it. To the chief musician. A psalm and song of David.

1. T>RAISE waiteth for thee, O God, in jL Zion: and unto thoe shall the vow be performed. 2. O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. 3. Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shall purge them away. 4. Blessed is the man ivhom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satis-

PSALMS, LXV.

fied with the goodness of thy house, even ol thy holy temple. 5. By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation ; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them thai are afar oli" 7ipon the sea:

The psalmist here has no particular concern of his own, at the tlirone of grace, but begins with an address to God, as the master cf an assembly, and the mouth of a congreguticn; and observe,

1. How he gives glory to Gcd, v. 1. 1. By humble thankfulness; Fraise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion; waits in expectation of the mercy desired, waits till it arrives, that it may be received with thankfulness, at its first f.pprcach; when Gcd is coming toward us with his favours, we must go forth to meet him with our praises, and wait till the day dawn. Praise waits, with an entire satisfaction in thy holy will, and dependence en thy mercy; when we stand ready in every thing to give thanks, then praise waits for Gcd. Praise waits thine acceptance; the Levites by night stood in the house of the Lord, ready to sing their songs of praise at thf hour appointed, (cxxxiv. 1, 2.) and thus their praisp waited for him; Praise is silerit unto thee, (so the word is,) as wanting words to express the great goodness of God, and being sti-uck with a silent admiration at it. As there are holy groanings which cannot be uttered, so there are holy adcrings which cannot be uttered, and yet shall be accepted by him that searches the heart, and knows what is the mind of the spirit. Our praise is silent, that the praises of the blessed angels, who excel in strength, may be heard. Let it not be told him thf.t I speak, for if a man offer to speak forth all God's praise surely he shall be swallowed up. Job xxxvii. 2C. Before thee, praise is reputed as silence, so thv' Clialdee; so far exalted is Gcd above all cur blessing and praise. Praise is due to Gcd firm all the world, but it waits for him in Sion onl\-, in hii-church, among his people; all his works priiise him. they minister matter for praise, but his saints cnly bless him by actual adorations. The redcemec" church sing their new srng upon mount Sirn, Rev. xiv. 1, 3. In Sion was God's dwelling-place, Ixxvi. 2. Happy they who dwell with him there, for they will be still praising him. 2. By sincere faithfulness; Unto thee shall the vow be performed, the sacrifice shall be oft'ered up, which was \owed. We shall not be accepted in cur thanksgivings to God for the mercies we have received, unless we make conscience of paying the vows which wc made when we were in pursuit of the mercy; for better it is not to vow, than to vow, and not to pay. II. What he gives him glory for. 1. For hearing prayer; {y. 2.) Praise waits for thee; and why is it so ready? (1.) "Because thru art ready to grant our petitions. O thou that hear-I est prayer, thou canst answer every prayer, for thou art able to do for us more than we arc able to I ask or think, (Eph. iii. 20.) and thru wilt answer j every prayer of taith, cither in kind or kindness." ' It is much for the glory of God's goodness, and the j encouragement of ours, that he is a God hearing ! prayer, and has taken it among the titles r f his hc-1 nour to be so; and we are much wanting to our-' selves, if we do not take all occasions to give him his title. (2.) Because, for that reason, we are ready to run to him when we are in our straits; " Therefore, because thou art a God hearing prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come; justly docs every man's praise wait for thee, because every man s prayer waits on thee, when he is in want or distress, whatever he does at other times. Now only the seed of Israel come to thee, and the proselytes tc

PSALMS, LXV.

385

their religion; but when thy house shall be called a house of firayer to all fieojile, then unto thee shall all flesh come, and be welcome," Rom. x. 12, 13. To him let us come, and come bol-Hy, because he is a God that hears prayer.

2. For pardoning sin. In this, who is a God like unto him? Micah vii. 18. By tliis he proclaims his name, (Exod. xxxiv. T.) and therefore, iipon this account, praise waits for him, v, 3. "Our sins reacli to the heavens, iniquities prevail against us, and appear so numerous, so heinous,' that, when they are set in order before us, we are full of confusion, and ready to fall into despair. Tliey prevail so against us, that we cannot pretend to balance them with any righteousness of^ our own; so that, when we appear before God, our own consciences accuse us, and we have no replication to make; and yet, as for our transgressions, thou shalt, of thine own free mercy, and for the sake of a righteousness of thine own providing, purge them away, so that we shall not come into condemnation for them." Note, The greater our danger is by reason of sin, the more cause we have to admire the power and riches of God's pardoning mercy, which can invalidate the threatening force of our manifold transgressions, and our mighty sins.

3. For the kind entertainments he gi\'^es to those that attend upon him, and the comfort they have in communion with him. Iniquity must first be purged away, {y. 3.) and then we are welcome to compass God's altars, v. 4. They that come into communion with God, shall certainly find true happiness and full satisfaction in tliat communion.

(1.) They are blessed; not only blessed is the nation, (xxxiii. 12.) but blessed is the man, the partis cular person, how mean soever, nvhom thou choosest, avd causest to ajifiroach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts; he is a happy man, for he has the surest token of the divine favour, and the surest pledge and earnest of everlasting bliss. Observe here, [ 1. ] What it is to come into communion with God, in order to this blessedness. First, It is to approach him by laying hold on his covenant, setting our best affections upon liim, and letting out our desires toward him; it is to converse with him, as one we love and value. Secondly, It is to dwell in his courts, as the priests and Levites did, that were at home in God's house; it is to be constant in the exercises of religion, and apply ourselves closely to them, as we do to that which is the business of our dwelling-place. [2. J How we come into communion with God; not recommended by an)' merit of our ovm, or brought in by any management of our own, but by God's free choice; " Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and so distinguishest from others who are left to themselves;" and it is by his effectual special grace, pursuant to that choice; whom -he chooses he causes to approach; not only invites them, but inclines and enables them, to draw nigh to him. He draws them, John vi. 44. (2.) They shall be satisfied. Here the psalmist changes the person, not, He shall be satisfied, the man whom thou choosest, but. We shall; which teaches us to apply the promises to ourselves, and by an active faitli to put our own names into them; We shall be satisjied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. IsTote, [1.] God's holy temple is his house; there he dwells^ where his ordinances are administered. [2.] God keeps a good house; there is abundance of goodness in his house, righteousness, grace, and all the comforts of the everlasting covenant; thei'e is enough for all, enough for each; it is read}', alwa}'s ready; and all on free cost, without money and without' price. [3.] In those things there is that which is satisfying to a soul, and with which all gracious souls will be satisfied; let them have the pleasure of communion with,

Vol. III.—3 C

God, and that suffices them, they have enough, they desire no more.

4. For the glorious operations of his power on their behalf; {v. 5.) By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou afiswer us, 0 God of our salvation. This may be understood of the rebukes which God in his pi'ovidence sometimes gives to his own people; he often answers them by terrible things, for the awakening and quickening of them, but always in righteousness; he neither does them any wrong, nor means them any hurt, for even then he is the God of their salvation. See Isa. xlv. 15. But it is rather to be understood of his judgments upon their enemies; God answers his people's prayers by the desti-uctions made, for their sakes, among the heathen, and the recompense he renders to tlieir proud oppressors, as a righteous God, the God to whom vengeance belongs, and as the God that protects and saves his people. By wonderful things, (so some read it,) things which are very surprising, and which we looked not for, Isa. Ixiv. 3. Or by things which strike an awe upon us, thou wilt answer us; the holy freedom that we are admitted to in God's courts, and the nearness of our approach to him, must not at all abate our reverence and godly fear of him; for he is terrible in his hoh-places.

5. For the care he takes of all his people, however distressed, and whithersoever dispersed: he is the Confidence of all the ends of the earth, of all the saints all the world over, and not theirs onl}- that were of the seed of Israel: for he is the God of tlie Gentiles, as well as of the Jews; the Confidence cf them that are afi\r off" from his holy temple, and its courts, that dwell in the island of the Gentiles; or tliat are m distress upon the sea. They trust in thee, and ciy to thee, wlien they are at their wit's end- cvii. 27, 28. By faith and prayer we may keep up our commvmion with God, and fetch in comfort from him, wherever we are, not only in the solemn assemblies of his people, but afar off upon the sea.

6. VVhich by his strength settest fast the mountains; heing girded with power: 7. Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumuU of the people. 8. They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid of thy tokens : thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice. 9. Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly en-richest it with the river of God, ichkh is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. 10. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly; thou settlest the furrows thereof; thou makest it soft with showers; thou blessest the springing thereof 11. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. 12. They drop ?/po7i the pastin-es of the wilderness; and the httle hills rejoice on every side. 13. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the vallies also are covered over with corn: they shout for joy, they also sing.

That we may be the more affected with the wrn-derful condescensions of the God of i;race, it is cf use to observe his jjower and soveieigntv as the God of nature; the riches aad bounty of his providential kingdom.

PSALMS, LXV.

I. He establishes the earth, and it al)idcs, cxix. 90. {v. 6.) By /lis own strength, he scttcth fast the mountairis; did set them fast at first, and still keeps them firm, though they are sometimes shaken by t-arthquakes;

Feriuntque Bummos

Fulniina monies.

The lightning blasts the loftirst hills.

Hence they are called everlasting- mountains, Hab. iii. 6. Yet God's covenant with his people is said to stand more firm than they, Isa. liv. 10.

II. He stills the sea, and it is quiet, v. 7. The sea, in a storm, makes a great noise, which adds to its threatening terror; but, when God pleases, he commands silence among the waves and billows, and lays them to sleep, turns the storm into a calm quickly, cvii. 29. And by this change in the sea, as well as by the former instance of the unchangea-bleness of the earth, it appears that he, whose the sea and the drv land are, is girded with power. And by this, oiir Lord Jesus gave a proof of his divine power, that he commanded the winds and waves, and they obeyed him. To this instance of the quieting of the sea, he adds, as a thing much of the same nature, that he stills the tumult of the people, the common people. Nothing is more unruly and disagreeable than the insurrections of the mob, the insults of the rabble; yet even these God can pacify, in secret ways, which they themselves are not aware of. Or, it may be meant of the outrage of the people that were enemies to Israel, ii. 1. God has many ways to still them, and will for ever silence their tumults.

III. He renews the morning and evening; and their revolution is constant, v. 8. This regular succession of day and night may be considered, 1. As an instance of God's great power, and so it strikes an awe upon all. Thev that dwell in the uttermost parts of the earth are afraid at thy signs or tokens; they are by them convinced that there is a supi-cme Deity, a sovereign Monarch, before whom they ought to fear and'tremble; for in these things the invisible things of God are clearly seen; and therefore they are said to be set for signs. Gen. i. 14. Many of them, that dwelt in the remote and dai-k comers of the earth, were so afraid at tliese tckuis, that they were driven to worship them, (Deut. \\. 19.) not considering that they were God's tokens, undeniable proofs of his power and godliead, and therefore they should ha\-e l)een led l)y them to worship him. 2. As an instance of God's p-eat goodness, and so it brings comfort to all; Thou makest the outgoings of the inorning, betcre tlie sun rises, and of the evening, l)efore the sun sets, to rejoice. As it is (Jod that scatters the light of the morning, and draws the curtains of the evening, so he docs both in favour to man, and niakes both to rejoice, gives occasion to us to rejoice in both; so that, how contrary soever light and darkness are to each other, and how inviolable soever the partition between them, (Gen. i. 4.) both are equally welcome to the world in their season: it is hard to

■ say which is more welcome to us, the light of the morninsr, which befriends the business of the day, or the shadows of the evening, which befriend the repose of the night. Does the watchman wait for the morning? so does the hireling earnestly desire the shadow. Some understand it of the moming and evening sacrifice, which good people gixatly rejoiced in, and in which God was constantly honoured. Thou makest them to sing, so the word is; for, every morning and every evening, songs of praise were sung 1)v the Levitcs, it was that which the dutv of cvei-v day reciuired. We are to look upon our daily worship, alone, and with our families, to be both the most needful of our daily occupations, and the most delightful of our daily com-

\ forts; and if therein we keep up our CA)mmiunon with God, the outgoings both of the morning and of the evening are tlieixby made tixily to rejoice.

IV. He waters the earth, and makes it fmitfulj on this instance of God's power and gofjdness he enlarges very much. The psalm being, probably, penned upon occasion, either of a more tiian ordinary plentiful harvest, or of a seascnable rain after long drought. How much the fruitfulncss of this lower part of the creation depends upon the influence of the upper, is easy to oljserve; if the heavens lie as brass, tlie earth is as iron; which is a sensible intimation to a stupid world, that e\ery good and perfect gift is from above, omnia desufier — all from above; we must lift up our eyes aljove the hills, lift them up to tlie lieavens, where the original springs of all blessings are, out of sight, and thither must our praises return; as the first-fruits of the earth were, in the heave-offerings, lifted up towards heaven, by way of acknowledgment that thence they were derived. All God's blessings, even spiritual ones, are expressed by his raining righteousness upon us.

Now observe how the common blessing of rain from heaven, and fraitful seasons, is here described.

1. How much there is in it of the power and goodness of God; which is here set forth by a gi'eat variety of lively expressions. (1.) God, that made the earth, hereby visits it, sends to it, gives proof of his care of it, v. 9. It is a visit in mercy, which the inhabitants of the earth ought to return in praises. (2.) God, that made it dry land, hereby waters it, in order to its fiiiitfulness; though the productions of the earth flourished Ijefore God had caused it to rain, yet even then there was a mist which answered the intention, and watered the whole face of the ground. Gen. ii. 5, 6. Our hearts are dry and liarren, unless God himself be as the dew to us, and water us; and the plants of his own planting he will water, and make them to increase. (3.) Rain is the river of God, which is full of Avater; the clouds are the springs of this river, which do not flow at random, l)ut in the channel which God cuts out for it. The showers of rain, as the rivers of water, he tums which way soever he pleases. (4.) This ri\er of God enriches the earth, which without it would quickly be a poor thing. The riches of the earth, which are produced out of its surface, are abundantly more useful and serviceable to man than those which are hid in its bowels; we might li\'e well enough without silver and gold, but not without corn and grass.

2. How much benefit is derived from it to the earth, and to man upon it.

(1.) To the earth itself; the rain in season gives it a new face; nothing is more i-eviving, more refreshing, than the rain upon the new-mown grass; (Ixxii. 6.) even the ridges of the earth, off which the rain seems to slide, are watered abundantly, for they drink in the rain which comes often upon them; the'furrows of it, which are turned up l)y the plough, in order to the seedness, are settled oy the rain, and made fit to receive the seed, (x'. 10.) they are settled by being made soft. That which makes the soil of the heart tender, settles it; for the heart is established with that grace. Thus the springing of the year is blessed; and if the spring, that first quarter of the year, be blessed, that is an eamest of a blessing upon the whole year, which God is therefore said to crown with his'goodness, {v. 11.) to compass it on every side as the head is compassed with a crown, and to complete the comforts of it, as the end of a thing is said to crown it. And his paths are said to drop fatness; for whatever fatness there is in the earth, which impregnates its productions, it comes from the outgoings of the divine goodness. Wherever God goes, he leaves the tokens of his

PSALMS, LXVl.

387

mercy behind him, (Joel ii. 13, 14.) and makes his path thus to shine after hmi. These communications of God's goodness to this lower world are veiy extensive and diffusive; (v. 12.) They dro/i ufion the pastures of the wilderness, and not only upc;n the pastures of the inhabited land. The deserts, which man takes no care of, and receives no profit from, are under the care of the Divine Providence, and the pi'ofits of them redound to the glory of God, as the great Benefactor of the whole creation, though not immcdiLitely to the benefit of man; and we ought to be thankful not only for that which serves us, but for that which ser\'es any part of the creation, because thereby it turns to the honour of the Creator. The wilderness, which makes not such returns as the cultivated grounds do, receives as much of the rain of heaven as the most fruitful soil; for God doeth good to the evil and unthankful. So extensive are the gifts of God's bounty, that in them the liills, the little hills, rejoice on every side, even the north-side, that lies most from the sun. Hills are not above the need of God's providence; little hills are not below the cognizance of it. But as, when he pleases, he can make them tremble, (cxiv. 6.) so, when he pleases, he can make them rejoice.

(2.) To man upon the earth. God, by providing rain for the earth, prepares corn for man, -u. 9, As for the earth, out of it comes bread, (Job xxviii. 5.) for out of it comes corn; but eveiy grain of corn that comes out of it, God himself prepared; and therefore he provides rain for the earth, that thereby he may prepare corn for man, under whose feet he has put the rest of the creatures, and for whose use he has fitted them. When we consider that the yearly produce of the corn is not only an operation of the same power that raises the dead, but an instance of that power not much unlike it, as appears by that of our Saviour, (John xii. 24.) and that the constant benefit we have from it, is an instance of that goodness which endures for ever, we shall have reason to think that it is no less than a God that prepares coi'n for us.

Com and cattle are the two staple commodities with which the husbandman, who deals immediately in the finiits of the earth, is enriched; and both are owing to the divine goodness in watering the earth, -u. 13. To this it is owing that the pastures are clothed with flocks, v. 13. So well stocked are the pastures, that they seem to be covered over with the cattle that are laid in them, and yet the pasture not overcharged; so Avell fed are the cattle, that they are tlie ornament and the glory of the pastures in which they are fed. The vallies are so fruitful, that they seem to be covered over with corn, in the time of harvest. The lowest pails of the earth are commonly the most fruitful, and one acre of the humble vallies is worth five of the lofty mountains. But both corn-ground and pasture-ground, answering the end of their creation, are said to shout for joy, and sing; because they are serviceable to the honour of God and the comfort of man, and because they furnish us with matter for joy and praise. As there is no earthly joy above the joy of harvest, so there were none of the feasts of the Lord, among the Jews, solemnized with greater expressions of thankfulness than the feast of in-gathering at the end of the year, Exod. xxiii. 16. Let all these common gifts of the divine bounty, which we yearly and daily partake of, increase our love to God, as the best of beings, and engage us to glorify him with our bodies, which he thus provides so well for.

PSALM LXVL

This is a thanksgiving-psalm ; and it is of such a general use and application, that we need not suppose it penned upon any particular occasion. All people are here called upon to praise God, I. For the general instances

of his sovereign dominion and power in the ivhole creation, V. 1..7. II. Tor the special tokens of his favour to the church, his peculiar people, v. 8. .12. And then, III. Tlie psalmist praises God for his own experiences of his goodness to him in particular, especially in answering his prayers, V. 13..20. If we have learned in every thing to give thanks for ancient and modern mercies, public and personal mercies, we shall know how to sing this psalm with grace and understanding.

To the chief musician. A song ov psalm.

I.IV/B'AKE a joyful noise unto God, all ITJL ye lands: 2. Sing forth the honour of his name; make his praise glorious. 3. Say unto God, How terrible art thov in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee, 4. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah. 5. Come and see the works of God; he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. 6. He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rdoice in him. 7. He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.

In these verses, the psalmist calls upon all people to praise God, all lands, all the earth, -v. 1.; all the inhabitants of the world that are capable of praising God. 1. This speaks the glory of God, that he is worthy to be praised by all, for he is good to all, and furnishes every nation with matter for praise. 2. The duty of man, that all are obliged to praise God; it is part of the law of creation, and therefore is required of every creature. 3. A prediction of the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ; the time should come when all lands should praise God, and this incense should in every place be offered to him. 4. A hearty good-will which the psalmist had to this good work of praising God; he will abound in it himself, and wishes that God might have his tribute paid him by all the nations of the earth, and not by the land of Israel only. He excites all lands, (1.) To make a joyful noise to God: holy joy is that devout affection which should animate all our praises; and though it is not making a noise in religion that God will accept of, (hypocrites are said to cause their voice to be heard on high, Isa. Iviii. 4.) yet, in praising God, [1.] We must be hearty and zealous, and must do, what we do, with all our might, with all that is within us; [2.] We must be open and public, as those that are not ashamed of our Master; and both these are implied in making a noise, a jovful joy. (2.) To sing with pleasure, and to sing forth, for the edification of others, the honour of his name, of all that whereby he has made himself known, v. 2. That which is the honour of God's name, ought to be the matter of our praise. (3.) To make his praise glorious, as far as we can. In praising God, we must do it so as to glorify him, and that must be the scope and drift of all our praises. Reckon it your greatest glory to praise God; so some. It is the highest honour the creature is capable of, to be to the Creator for a name and a praise.

He had called upon all lands to praise God, t. 1.; and, V. 4., he foretells that they shall do so; All the earth shall nvorship thee; some in all parts of the earth, even the remotest regions, for the e^^erlasting gospel shall be preached to every nation and kindred; and this is the purport of it. Worship him that made heaven and earth. Rev. xiv. 6, 7, Being thus

■388

PSALMS, LXVl.

sent forth, it shall not return void, but shall bi-ing all the earth, more or less, to worship God, and sing unto him. In gospel-times God shall be wor-shijpped by singing of psalms; they shall sing to God, that is, si?ig to his name, for it is only to his declarative glor)^ that by which he has made himself known, not to his essential glory, that we can contribute anv thing by our praises.

That we ma\^ be luniished with matter for praise, we are here called upon to come and see the works of God; for his own works praise him, whether we do or no; and the reason why we do not praise him more and better, is, because we do not duly and attentively observe them. Let us therefore see God's works, and o1)serve the instances of his wisdom, power, and faithfulness, in them, {v. 5.) and then speak of th-m, and speak of them to him, {v. 3.) say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works, terrible in thy doings!

1. God's works are wonderful in themselves, and such as, when duly considered, may justly fill us with amazement. 'God is terrible, that is, admirable in his works, through the gi'eatness of his power, wliich is such, and shines so bright, so strong, in all he does, that it may be tmly said there are not any works like unto his works. Hence he is said to be fearful in praises, Exod. xv. 11. In all his doings toward the children of men, he is terrible, and to be eyed with an holy awe. Much of religion lies in a reverence for the Divine Providence.

2. They are formidable to his enemies, and have many a time forced and frightened them into a feigiied submission; {-v. 3.) Through the greatness of thy flower, before which none can stand, shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee, they shall lie unto thee, (so the word is,) they shall be compelled, sore against their wills, to make their peace with thee upon any terms. Subjection extorted by fear is seldom sincere, and therefore force is no proper means of propagating religion; nor cm there be much joy of such proselytes to the church as will in the end be found liars unto it, Deut. xxxiii. 29.

3. They are comfortable and beneficial to his people, V. 6. When Israel came out of Eg}'pt, he turned the sea into dry la?id before them, which encouraged them to follow God's guidance through the wilderness; and when they were to enter Canaan, for tlieir encouragement in their wars, Jordan was divided before them, and they went through that flood on foot; and such foot, so signally owned by heaven, might well pass for cavalry, rather than infantry, in the wars of the Lord. There did the enemies tremble before them; (Exod. xv. 14, 15. Josh. v. 1.) but there did we rejoice in him; both trust his power, (for relying on God is often expressed by rejoicing in him,) and sing his praise, cvi. 12. There did we rejoice; our ancestors did, and we in their loins. The joys of our fathers were cur joys, and we ought to look upon ourselves as sharers in them.

4. They are commanding to all. God by his works keeps up his dominion in the world; (i'. 7.) He rules by his fiowerfor ever; his eyes behold the nations. (1.) God has a commanding eye; from the height of lieaven his eye commands all the inhabitants of the world, and he has a clear and full view of tliem all. His eyes rim to and fro through the earth; the most remote and obscure nations are under his inspection. (2.) He has a commanding arm; his power iiiles, ndes for ever, and is never weakened, never ol)structed; strong is his hand, and high is his right hand. Hence he infers, J.et not the rebellious exalt theinselves; let not those that have revolting and rebellious hearts dare to rise up in any overt acts of rebellion against God, as Ado-•I'.jah' exalted himself, saying, / will be king; let

not those that are in rebellion against God exalt themselves, as if there were any probabiMty thai they sliGuld gain their point; no, let them be still, for God hath said, / will be exalted, and man can not gainsay it.

8. O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard; 9. Which holdeth our soul in life, and sulTereth not our feet to be moved. 10. For thou, O God, hast proved us: and thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. 11. Thou broughtesl us into the net; thou layedst affliction upon our loins. 12. Thou hast caused men to lide over our heads: we went through fire and through water ; but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.

In these verses, the psalmist calls upon God's people in a special manner to praise him. Let all lands do it, but Israel's land particularly. Bless our God; bless him as ours, a God in covenant with us, and that takes care of us as his own. Let them make the voice of his praise to be heard; {v. 8.) for from whom sliould it be heard, but from those who are his peculiar favourites and select attendants?

Two things we have reason to bless God fcr.

I. Common protection; {y. 9.) He holdeth our soul in life, that it may not drop away of itself; for, being continually in our hands, it is apt to slip through our fingers. We must own that it is the good providence of God that keeps life and soul together, and his visitation that preserves our spirit; lie puts our soul in life; so the word is. He that gave us our being, by a constant renewed act upholds us in our being, and his providence is a continued creation. When we are ready to faint and perish, he restores our soul, and so puts it, as it Avere, into a new life, giving new comforts. jVon est vivere, sed valere vita — It is not existence, but happiness, that desemes the name of life. But we are apt to stumble and fall, and are exposed to many destructive accidents, killing disasters as well as killing diseases, and therefore as to these also Ave are gxiarded by the divine power; he suffers not our fret to be moved, preventing many unforeseen evils, which we oursehcs were not aware of our danger from. To him we owe it that we have not, long ere tliis, fallen into endless ruin. He will keep the feet of his saints.

II. Special deliverance from great distress. Observe,

1. How grievous the distress and danger were, V. 11, 12. What particular trouble of the church this refers to, does not appear; it might be the trouble of some private persons or families only. But, whatever it Avas, tluy Avere surprised Avith it, as a bird Avith a snare, inclosed and entangled in it, as a fisli in a net; tliey Avere pressed doAvn Avith it, and kept under as Avith a load upon their loins, v. 11. But they OAvncd the hand of God in it; Ave are never in the net, l)ut God brings us into it, never under affliction, but Ciod l:^ys it upon us. Is any thing more dangerous tlian fire and Avatcr? ]Vr went through both, afflictions of different kinds; the end of one trouble Avas the beginning rf another; Avhen Ave had got clear of one sort of diingers, Ave found ourselves involved in dangers of sjiother sort Such may be the troubles of the best of God's saints, but he has promised, Wheyi thou passest through the waters, through the fire, I will be with thee, fsa. xliii. 2. Yet proud and cruel men may be as dangerous as fire and Avater, and more so; Be-warc of men, Matth. x. 17. When men rose up against us, tliat Avas fire and Avater, and all that is

PSALMS, LXVI.

381^

threatening; (cxxiv. 2, 3, 4.) and that was the case here; " Thou hast earned men to ride ouer our heads, to trample upon us and insult over us; to hector and abuse us, nay, and to make perfect slaves of us; they have said to our souls, Bow do'wn, that we may go over," Isa. li. 23. While it is the pleasure of good princes to rule in the heaits of their subjects, it is the pride of tyrants to ride over tlieir heads; yet the aflfiiicted church in this also owns the hand of God, "Thou hast caused them thus to abuse us;" for the most furious oppressor has no power but what is given him from above.

2. How gracious God's design was, in bringing them into this distress and danger. See what the meaning of it is, (x-. 10.) Thou, O God, hast proved us, and tried us. Then we are likel}' to get good by our afflictions, when we look upon them under this notion, for then we may see God's grace and love at the bottom of them, and our own honour and benefit in the end of them. By afflictions we are proved as silver in the fire. (1.) That cur graces, by being tried, may he made more evident, and so we may be approved, as silver, when it is touched and marked sterling, and this will be to our praise at the afipeariiig of Jesus Christ, (iPet. i. 7.) and perhaps in this world; Job's integrity and constancy were manifested by his afflictions. (2.) That our graces, by being exercised, may be made more strong and active, and so we may be improved, as silver, when it is refined by the fire, and made more clear from its dross; and this will be to our unspeakable advantage, for thus we are made partakers of God's holiness, Heb. xii. 10. Public troubles are for the purifying of the church, Dan. xi. 35. Rev. ii. 10. Deut. viii. 2.

3. How glorious the issue was at last. The troubles of the church will certainly end well; these do so. For (1.) The outlet of the trouble is happy. They are in fire and water, but they get through them; "We went through fire and water, and did not perish in the flames or floods." Whatever the troubles of the saints are, blessed be God, there is a way through them. (2.) The inlet to a better state is much more happy; Thou broughtest us out into a ivealthy place, into a well-watered place, for the word is, like the gar-dens of the Lord, and therefore fruitful. God l^rings his people into trouble, that their comforts afterward may be the sweeter, and that their affliction may thus yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness, which will make the poorest place in the world a wealthy place.

13. I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings; I will pay thee my vows, 14. Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble, 15,1 will offer unto thee burnt-sacrifices of fat-lings, with the incense of rams: I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah, 16, Come, and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. 17. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear jne: 19. B?it verily God hath heard ine; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. 20. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

The psalmist, having before stirred up all people, and all God's people in particular, to bless the Lord, here stirs up himself, and engages himself to do it.

1. In his devotions to his God, r. 13- '15. He had called upon others to sing God's praises, and to make a joyful noise with them; but, for himself, his resolutions go fdi-ther, and he will praise God,

1. By costly sacrifices, which, under the law, were offered to the honour of God. All people had not wherewithal to offer these sacrifices, or wanted zeal to be at such an expense in praising God; but David, for his part, being able, is as willing, in this chargeable way to pay his homage to God; {v. 13.) / 11'ill go into thy house ivith burni-offtirings. His sacrifices should be public, in the pliice which God had chosen; " I will go into thy house with them." Christ is our Temple, to whom we must bring our spiritual gifts, and by whom they are sanctified. 'I hey should be the best of the kind; burnt-sacri fices, which were wholly consumed upon the altar to the honour of God, and of which the offerer had no share; and burnt-sacrifices of fatlings, not the lame or the lean, but the best fed, and such as would be most acceptable at his own table. God, who is the best, must be served with the best we have. The feast God makes for us is -d. feast of fat things, full of marroiv; (Isa. xxv. 6.) and such sacrifices should we bring to him. He will offer bullocks with goats, so liberal would he be in his return of praise, and not strait-handed. He would not offer that which cost him nothing, but that which cost him a great deal; and this with the mcense of rams, that is, with the fat of rams, which being burnt upon the altar, the smoke of it would ascend like the smoke of incense. Or, rams witli incense. The incense typifies Christ's intercession, without which the fattest of our sacrifices will not be accepted.

2. By a conscientious performance of his vows. We do not acceptably praise God for our deliverance out of trouble, unless Ave make conscience of paying the vows we made when we were in trouble. This was the psalmist's resolution, {y. 13, 14.) / will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered when I was in trouble. Note, (1.) It is very common, and very commendable, when we are undei the pressure of any affliction, or in the pursuit of any mercy, to make vows, and solemnly to speak them before the Lord; to bind ourselves out from sin, and bind oursches more closely to cur duty; not as if this were an equivalent, or valuable consideration, for the favour of God, it is only a qualification for receiving the tokens of that favour. (2.) The vows wliich we made when we were in trouble, must not be forgotten wlien the trouble is over, but be carefully performed, for better it is not to vow, than to vow and not pay.

II. In his declarations to "his friends, v. 16. He calls together a congregation of good pecple to hear his thankful narrative of God's favours to him; " Come, and hear, all ye that fear God, for, 1. You will join with me in my praises, and help me in giving tluinks." And we should be as desirous of the assistance of those tliat fear God, in returning thanks for the mercies we have received, as in praying for those we want. 2. " You will be edified and encouraged l^y that which I have to say; The humble shall hear of it, and be glad, (xxxiv. 2.) They that fear thee will be glad when they see me, (cxix. 74.) and tlicrefore let me have their company, and I will declare to them, not to vain carnal people, that will banter it, and make a jest of it," (pearls are not to be cast before swine,) " but to them that fear God, and will make a good use of it, I will declare what God has done for my soul;" not in pride and vain-glory, that he might be thought more a favourite of heaven than other people, but for the honour of God, to which we owe this as a just debt, and for the edification of others. Note, God's people should communicate tl>eir experiences to each otner; we should take -dl rccasions to tell

PSALiMS, LXVII.

one another of the great and kind things which God has done for us, especially which he lias done for our souls, the spiritual blessings with which he has blessed us in heavenly things; these we should be most affected with ourselves, and therefore with these we should be desirous to affect others.

Now what was it that God had done for his soul?

(1.) He had wrought in him a love to the duty of prayer, and had by his grace enlarged his heait in that duty, (v. 17.) I cried untohirri with my mouth; but if God, among other things done for our souls, had not given us the spirit of adoption, teaching and enabling us to cry, Abba Father, we sliould never have done it. That God has given us leave to pray, a command to pray, encouragements to pray, and (to crown all) a heart to pray, is what we have reason to mention, with thauMuhiess, to his praise; and the more, if, when we cried to him with our moutn, he was extolled with our tongue, if we were enabled by faith and hope to give glory to him then, when we were seeking for mercy and grace from him, and to praise him for mercy in prospect, though it be not yet in possession. By crying to him we do indeed extol him. He is pleased to reckon himself lionoured by the humble believing prayers of the upright, and this is a great thing which he has done for our souls, that he has been pleased so far to unite interests with us, that, in seeking our own welfare, we seek his glory. His exaltation was under 7ny tongue, so it m:i\" be read; I was considering in my mind how I might exalt and magnify his name. When prayers are in our mouths, praises must be in our hearts.

(2.) He had wrought in him a dread of sin as an enemy to prayer; (v. 18.) If I regard inicjuity in my heart, I know very well the Lord will not hear me. The Jewish writers, some of them that have the leaven of the Pharisees, wliich is hypocrisy, put a very corrujit gloss upon these words; If I regard iniquity in ?ny heart, that is, say they, If 1 allow myself only in heart-sins, and iniquity does not break out m my words and actions, God will not hear me, that is, he will not be offended with me, will take no notice of it, so as to lay it to my charge; as if heart-sins were no sins, in God's account; the falsehood of this our Saviour has shown in his spiritual exposition of the law, M.itth. v. But the sense of this place is plain; If I regard iniquity in my heart, that is, " If I have favourable thoughts of it, if I love it, indulge it, and allow myself in it, if I treat it as a friend, and bid it welcome, make provision for it, and am loath to part witli it, if I roll it under my tongue as a sweet morsel, though it be but a heart-sin that is thus countenanced and made much of, if I delight in it after the inward man, God will not hear my prayer, will not accept it, or be pleased with it, nor can I expect an answer of peace to it." Note, Iniquity, regarded in the heart, will ceitainly spoil the comfort and success of prayer; for the sacrifice of the wicked ia an abomination to the Lord. They that continue in love and league with sin, have no interest either in the promise or in the Mediator, imd therefore cannot expect to speed in prayer.

(3.) He had graciously gi-anted him an answer of peace to his prayers; (v. 19.) "But verily God haa heard me; though, being conscious to myself of much amiss in me, I began to fear that my prayers would have been rejected, yet, to mv comtort, I found that God was pleased to regard them." This God did for his soul; by answering his prayer, he gave him a token of his favour, and an evidence that he had wrought a good woi-k in him. And therefore he concludes, (xk 20.) Blessed be God. The two foregoing verses are the major and minor propositions of j^ syllogism; If I regard iniquity in my heart, God will not hear my prayers, that is the

proposition; but verily God hi*s heard me, tnat is the assumption, from which he might have rationally inferred, "Therefore I do not regard iniquity in my heart;" but, instead of taking the comfort to himself, he gives the praise to God, Blessed be God. Whatever are the premises, God's glorv must always be the conclusion; God has heard me, and therefore blessed be God. Note, What we wm by prayer, we must wear with praise. Mercies, in answer to prayer, do, in a special manner, oblige us to be thankful. He has not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy; lest it should be thought that the de-li\-erance was granted for the sake of some worthiness in his prayer, he ascribes it to God's mercy. This he adds Ijy way of correction, " It was not my prayer that fetched the deliverance, but his mercy that sent it." Therefore God does not turn away our prayer, because he does not turn away his own mercy, for that is the foundation of our hopes, and the fountain of our comforts, and therefore ought to be the matter of our praises.

PSALM LXVII.

This psalm relates to the church, and is calculated for the public. Here is, I. A prayer for the prosperity of the church of Israel, v. 1. II. A prayer for the conversion of the Gentiles, and the bringing of them into the church,. V. 2 .. 5. III. A prospect of happy and glorious times, when God shall do this, v. 6, 7. Thus was the psalmist carried out by the spirit of prophecy, to foretell the glorious estate of the Christian church, in which Jews and Gentiles should unite into one flock; the beginning of which blessed work ought to be the matter of our joy and praise, and the completing of it of our prayer and hope, in singing this psalm.

Fo the chief musician on A'eginoth. A psalm or song.

1. 4~^ OD be merciful unto us, and bless vX us; and cause his face to shine upon us. Selah. 2. That thy way ma}' be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. 3. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. 4. O let the nations be glad, and sing for joy; for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. 5. Let the people praise thee, O God ; let all the people praise thee. 6. Then shall the earth yield her increase ; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. 7. God siiall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

The composition of this psalm is such as denotes the penman's affections to have been very warm and lively; by which spirit of devotion he was elevated to receive the spirit of prophecy concerning the enlargement of God's kingdom.

I. He begins with a prayer for th'e welfare and prosperity of the church then in being, in the happiness of which he should share, and think himself happy, V. 1. Our Saviour, in teaching us to say, Our 'Father, has intimated that we ought to pray with and for others; so the psalmist here pniys not, God be 7nerciful to me, a?id bless me, but to us, and bless us; for we must make supplication for all saints, and be willing and glad to takf> ?,-ar lot with them. We are here taught, .. That all our happiness comes from Gixl's mercy, and takes rise in that; and therefore the first thing prayed for, is, (lod be ?>iercif'ul fo us, to us sinners, and pardon our sins, (Luke xviii. 13.) to us misci-able sinners, and help us (Hit of our miseries. 2. That it is conveyed t>y G 'd's bl'.ssing, and secured in that; God bleaa us, give us an interest in his promises, and confer

PSALMS. LXVII.

391

upon us all the good contained in them. God's speaking well to us, amounts to his doing well for us. God bless us, is a comprelicnsive prayer; it is pity such excellent words should ever be used slightly and carelessly, and as a by-word. 3. That it is completed in the light of his countenance; God cause his face to shine ujion us, God by his grace qualify us for his favour, and then give-us the tokens o*' his favour. We need desire no more to make us happy, than to have God's face shine u})on us, to have God love us, and let us know that he loves us; To shine 'uiith us; so the margin reads it; ivith us doing our endeavour, and let it crown that endeavour with success. If we by faith walk with God, we may hope that his face will shine with us.

II. He passes from this to a prayer for the conversion of the Gentiles; {u. 2.) That thy ivay may be knoivn u/inn earth. " Lord, I pray not only that thou wilt be merciful to us and bless us, but that thou wilt be merciful to all mankind, that thy way may be known u/ion earth." Thus public-spii'ited must we be in our prayers. Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come. We shall have never tlie less of God's mercy, and blessing, and favour, for others coming in to share with us. Or it may be taken thus, " God be merciful to us Jews, and bless us, that thereby thy way may be known upon earth; that, by the peculiar distinguisli-ing tokens of thy favour to us, others may be allured to come and join themselves to us, saying, Jl'e will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." Zech. viii. 23. These verses, which point at the conversion of the Gentiles, may be taken, 1. As a prayer; and so it speaks the desire of the Old Testament saints; so far were they from wishing to monopolize the privileges of the church, that they desired nothing more than the thi'owing down of the inclosure, and the laying open of the advantages. See then how the spirit of the Jews, in the days of Christ and his apostles, differed from the spii'it of their fathers. The Israelites indeed, that were of old, desired that God's name might be known among the Gentiles, those counterfeit Jews were enraged at the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles; nothing in Christianity exasperated them so much as that did. 2. As a prophecy; that it shall be as he here prays. Many scripture-prophecies and promises are wrapt up in prayers, to intimate, that the answer of the church's prayer is as sure as the pei'-formance of God's promises.

Three things are here prayed for, with reference to the Gentiles.

(1.) That divine revelation might be sent among them, T'. 2. Two things he desires might be known upon earth, even among all nations, and not to the nation of the Jews only. [1.] God's way, the rule of duty; "Let them all know, as well as we do, what is good, and what the Lord our God recjuires of them; let them be blessed and honoured with the same righteous statutes and judgments, which are so much the praise of our nation, and the envy of all its neighbours," Deut. iv. 8. [2.] His saving health, or his salvation; the former is wrapt up in his law, tliis in his gospel. If God makes known his way to us, and we walk in it, he will show us his saving health, 1. 23. They that have themselves experimentally known the pleasantness of God's ways, and the comforts of his salvation, cannot but desire and pray that they may be known to others, even among all nations. All upon earth are bound to walk in God's way, all need his salvation, and there is in it enough for all; and therefore we should pray, that both the one and the other may be made luiown to all.

(2.) That divine worship may be set up among them, as it will be where divine revelation is received and embraced; (x". .3.) '^ Let the people firaise

thee, O God, let them have matter for praise, let them have hearts for praise; yea, let not only some, but all the people, praise thee;" all nations in their national capacity, some of all nations. It is again repeated, {v. 5. ) as that which the psalmist's heart was very much upon. They that delight in praising God themselves, cannot but desire that others also may be brought to pi-aise him; that he may have the honour of it, and they may have the benefit of it. It is a prayer, [1.] That the gospel might be preached to them, and then they would have cause enough to praise God, as for the day-spring after a long and dark night. Oj-tus est sol — The sun is risen. Acts viii. 8. [2.] That they might be converted and brought into the church, and then they would have a disposition to praise God, the living and ti-ue God, and not the dumb and dunghill deities they had worshipped, Dan. v. 4. Then their hard thoughts of God would be silenced, and they would see him, in the gospel-glass, to be love itself, and the proper object of praise. [3.] That they might be incoiporated into solemn assemblies, and might praise God in a body, that they might all together praise him with one mind and one mouth. Thus a face of religion appears upon a land, when God is publicly owned, and the ordinances of religious worship are duly celebrated in religious assemblies.

(3.) That the divine government may be acknowledged and cheerfully submitted to; (v. 4.) O let the nations be glad, and sing for joy. Holy joy, joy in God, and in his name, is the heart and soul oj thankful praise. That all the people mav praise thee, let the nations be glad. They that rejoice in the Lord always, will in ex'ei-y thing give thanks. The joy he wishes to the nations, is, holy joy; for it is joy in God's dominion, joy that God has taken to himself his great po%ver, and has reigued, which the unconverted nations are angry at, Rev. xi. 17, 18. Let them be glad, [1.] That the kingdom is the Lord's, xxii. 28. That he, as an absolute Sovereign, shall govern the nations upon earth. That by the kingdom of his providence he shall overrule the affairs of kingdoms, according to the counsel of his will, though they neither know him ncr own him; and that in due time he shall disciple all nations by the preaching of his gospel, (Matth. xxviii. 19.) and set up the kingdom of his grace among them, upon the iiiin of the Devil's kingdom. That he shall make them a willing people in the day of his power, and even the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of the Lorcl ayxd of his Christ. [2.] That every man's judgment proceeds from the Lord; "Let them be glad that thou shalt judge the people righteously, that then shalt gi\e a law and gospel which shall be a righteous rule of judgment, and shalt pass an vuierring sentence, according to that rule, upon all the children of men; against which there will lie no exception." Let us all be glad that we are not to be one another's judges, but that he that judges us is the Lord, whose judgment we are sure is according to tnith.

III. He concludes with a joyful prospect of all good, when God shall do this, when the nations shall be converted, and brought to praise God.

1. The lower world shall smile upon them, and they shall have the fruits of that; (x>. 6.) Then shall the earth yield her increase. Not but that God gave rain frcm heaven, and fiaiitful seasons to the nations, when they sat in darkness; (Acts xiv. 17.) But, when they were converted, the earth yielded its increase to God; the meat and the di'ink then became a meat-offering and a drink-offering to the Lord our God; (Joel ii. 14.) and then it was fniitful to some good purpose. Then it yielded its increase more than before, to the comfort of men, who through Christ acquired a covenant-title to the fruits of it, and had a sanctified use of it. Note, The sue-

PSALMS, LXVIIl.

cess of the gcspel sometimes brings outward mercies along with it; righteousness exalts a nation. See Isa. iv. 2. —Ixii. 9.

2. The upper world shall smile upon them, and they shall have the favours of that which is much better; God, even our own God, shall bless us, v. 6.

Vnd again, {v. 7.) God shall bless us. Note, (1.) There are a people in the world that can, upon good grounds, call God their God. (2.) Believers have reason to glory in their relation to God, and the interest they have in him. It is here spoken with an air of triumph; God, even our own God. (3.) Those who through grace call God their own, may with an humble confidence expect a blessing from him. If he be our God, he shall bless us with special blessings. (4.) The blessing of God is ours in covenant, is that which sweetens all our creature-comforts to us, and makes them comforts indeed; then we receive the increase of the earth as a mercy indeed, when with it God, even our own God, gives us his blessing.

3. All the world shall hereby be brought to do like them; The ends of the earth shall fear him, that is, worship him, which is to be done with a godly fear. The blessings God bestows upon us, call upon us not only to love him, but to fear him, to keep up high thoughts of him, and to be afraid of offending him. When the gospel begins to spread, it shall get ground more and more, till it reach to the ends of the earth. The leaven hid in the meal shall diffuse itself, till the whole be leavened. And the many blessings which they will own themselves to have received, that are brought into the church, invite others to join themselves to them. It is good to cast in our lot witli those that are the blessed of the Lord.

PSALM LXVIIT.

This is a most excellent psalm, but in many places the genuine sense is not easy to come at; for in this, as in some other scriptures, there are things dark and hard to be understood. It does not appear when, or upon what occasion, David penned this psalm ; but, probably, it was ivhen, God having given him rest from all his enemies round about, he brought the arii (which was both the token of God's presence and a type of Christ's mediation) from the house of Obed-edom to the tent he had pitched for it in Zion ; for the first words are the prayer which Moses used at the removing of the ark, j^umb. X. 35. From this he is led, by the Spirit of prophecy, to sneak glorious things concerning t+ie Messiah, his ascension into heaven, and the setting up of his kingdom in the world. I. He begins with prayer, botli against God's enemies, (v. 1, 2.) and for his people, v. 3. II. He proceeds to praise, which takes up the rest of the psalm, calling upon all to praise God, (v. 4,26,32.) and suggesting many things as matter for praise. 1. The greatness and goodness of God, V. 4..6. 2. The wonderful works God had wrought for his people formerly, bringing them through the wilderness,.(v. 7, 8.) settling them in Canaan, (v. 9, 10.) giving them victory over their enemies, ^v. 11, 12.) and delivering them out of the hands of their oppressors, v. 13, 14. 3. The special presence of God in his church, (v. 15.. 17.) 4. The ascension of Christ, (v. 18.) and the salvation of his people by him, V. 19, 20. 5. The victories which Christ would obtain over his enemies, and the favours he would bestow upon his church, v. 21 .. 28. 6. The enlargement of the church by the accession of the Gentiles to it, v. 29 .. 31. And so he concludes the psalm with an awful acknowledgment of the glory and grace of God, v. 32.. 35. With all these great things we should endeavour to be duly affected in singing this psalm.

To the chief nuisician. A psalm or song of David. 1. T ET God arise, let his enemies be scat-JLJ tered: let them also that hate him flee before him. 2. As smoke is driven away, so drive them a^^'ay: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. 3. But let the righteous be

glad: let them rejoice before God; yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. 4. Sing unto God, sing praises unto his name: extol him that lideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. b. A fathei of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows. is God in his holy habitation. 6. God set teth the solitary in families : he bringeth out those which are bound with chains; but the rebellious dwell in a diy land.

In these verses,

I. David prays that God would appear in his glory;

1. For the confusion of his enemies; {y. 1, 2.) " JLet God arise, as a Judge to pass sentence upon them, as a General to take the field and do execution upon them; and let them be scattered, and flee before him, as unable to keep their ground, much less to make head against him. Let God arise, as the sun when he goes forth in his strength; and the children of darkness shall be scattered, as the shadows of the evening flee before the rising sun. Let them be driven away as smoke by the Avind, which ascends as if it would eclipse the sun, but is presently dispelled, and there appears no remainder of it; Let them melt as wax before the Jire, which is quickly dissolved." Thus does David comment upon Moses's prayer, and not only repeat it, with application to himself and his own times, but enlarge upon it, to direct us how to make use of scripture-prayers. Nay, it looks further to the Redeemer's victory over the enemies of his kingdom, for he was the Angel of the covenant, that ^iiided Israel through the wilderness. Note, (1.) There are, and liave been, and ever will be, such as are enemies to God, and hate him; tliat join in with the old serpent against the kingdom of God among men, and against the seed of the woman. (2.) They are the wicked, and none but the wicked, that are enemies to Gcd; the children of the wicked one. (3.) Thfugh we are to pray for cur enemies as such, yet we are to prav against God's enemies as such, against their enmity'to him, and all their attempts upon his kingdom. (4.) If Gcd but arise, all his impenitent implacable enemies, that will not repent to give him glory, will certainly and speedily be scattered, and driven awav, and made to perish at his presence; for none ever hardened his heart against Gcd, and prospered. The day of judgment will be the day of the complete and final perdition of migcdly men., (2 Pet. iii. 7.) who shall melt like wax before that naming fire in which the Lord shall then appear, 2 Thess. i. 8.

2. For the comfort and joy of his own people; {v. 3.) "Let the righteous he glad, that are now in sorrow, let them rejoice before God, in his favr arable presence. God is the Joy of his peo^^^le, let them rejoice whenever they come before God, yea, let them exceeding;ly rejoice, let them rejoice with gladness. " Note, Those who rejoice in God have reason to rejoice with exceeding joy; and this joy we ought to wish to all the saints, fork belongs to them, Light is sown for the righteous.

II. He praises God for his glorious appearances, and calls upon us to praise him, to sing to his name, and extol him,

1. As a great God, infinitely great; (v. 4.) He rides upon the heavens, by his name JAH. He is the Spring of all the motions of the heavenly bodies, directs and manages them, as he that rides in the chariot, sets it a-going; has a supreme command of the influences of heaven; he rides upon the heavens for the help of his people, (Deut. xxxiii. 26.) so

PSALMS, LXVIIl.

393

sv iftly, so strongly, and so much above the reach of opposition. He miles these by his name Jah, or Jehovah, a self-existent, self-sufficient Being, the fountain of all beings, power, motion, and perfection; this is his name for ever. When we thus extol God, we must rejoice before him; holy joy in Gcd will very well consist with that reverence and godly fear wherewith we ought to worship him.

2. As a gracious God, a God of mercy, and tender compassion. He is great, but he despises n' t any, no not the meanest; nay, being a God of great power, he uses his power for the relief of those that are distressed, u. 5, 6. The fatherless, the widows, the solitary, find him a God all-sufficient to them. Observe how much God's goodness is his glory. He that rides on the heavens, by his name Jah, one would think, should immediately have been adored as King of kings and Lord of lords, and the sovereign Director of all the affiiirs of states and nations; he is so, but this he rather glories in, that he is a Father to the fatherless. Though God be high, yet has he respect unto the lowly, Happy they that have an interest in such a God as this. He that rides upon the heavens is a Father worth having; thrice happy is the people whose God is the Lord. (1.) When families are bereaved of their head, God takes care of them, and is himself their Head; and the widows and the fatherless children shall find that in him which they have lost in the relation that is I'emoved, and infinitely more and better. He is a Father of the fatherless, to pity them, to bless them, to teach them, to provide for them, and to portion them. He \w\\\ preserve them alive, (Jer. xlix. 11.) and with him they shall find mercy, Hos. xiv. 3. They have liberty to call him Fatlier, and to plead tlieir relation to him as their Guardian, cxlvi. 9.— X. 14, 18. He is a Judge or Patron of the widows, to give them counsel, and to do them right; to own them, and plead their cause, Prov. xxii. 23. He has an ear open to all their complaints, and a hand open to all their wants. He is so in his holy habitation; which may be understood either of the habitation of his glory in heaven, (there he has prepared his throne of judgment, which the fatherless and widow have free recourse to, and are taken under the protection of, ix. 4, 7.) or, of the habitation of his grace on earth; and so it is a direction to the widows and fatherless, how to apply themselves to God; let them go to his holy habitation, to his word and ordinances, there they may find him, and find comfort in him. (2.) When families are to be built up, he is the Founder of them; God sets the solitary in families, brings tkem into comfortable relations that were lonely, gives them a convenient settlement that were unsettled; (cxiii. 9.) he makes those dwell at home that were forced to seek for relief abroad, (so Dr. Hammond,) putting them that were destitute into a way of getting their livelihood, which is a very good way for man's charity, as it is of God's bounty.

3. As a righteous God. (1.) In relieving the oppressed; he brings out those that are bound with chains, and sets them at liberty, who were unjustly imprisoned, and brought into servitude. No chains can detain those whom God will make free. (2.) In reckoning with the oppressors; The rebellious dwell in a dry land, and have no comfort in that whidi they have got by fraud and injury. The best land Avill be a dry land to those that by their rebellion have forfeited the blessing of God, which is the juice and fatness of all our enjoyments. Israel were brouglit cut of Eeypt into the wilderness, but were there better provided for than the Egyptians themselves, whose land, if Nilus failed them, as it sometimes did, was a dry land.

7. O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march Vol. III.—3 D

through the wilderness; Selah: 8. The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God : even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Is rael. 9. Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary. 10. Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor. 11. The Lord gave the word; great was the company of those that published it.

12. Kings of armies did flee apace; and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.

13. Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye he as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold. 14. When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was lohite as snow in Salmon.

The psalmist here, having occasion to give God thanks for the great things he had done for him and his people of late, takes occasion thence to praise him for what he had done for their fathers in the days of old. Fresh mercies should put us in mind of former mercies, and revive our grateful sense of them. Let it never be forgotten,

I. That God himself was the Guide of Israel through the wilderness; when he had brought them out of their chains, he did not leave them in the dry hind, but himself went before them, in a march through the wilderness, v. 7. It was not a journey but a march, for they Avent as soldiers, as an army with banners. The Egyptians promised themselves that the wilderness had shut them in, but they were deceived; God's Israel having him fcr their Leader, marched through the wilderness, and were not lost in it. Note, If God bring his people into a wilderness, he will be sure to go before them in it, and bring them out of it. Cant. viii. 5.

II. That he manifested his glcricus presence with them at mcunt Sinai, v. 8. Never did any people see the glory of God, nor hear his voice, as Israel did, Deut. iv. 32, 33. Never had any people such an excellent law given them; so expounded, so enforced. Then the eai'th shook, and the neighbouring countries, it is likely, felt the sliock; terrible thunders there were, accompanied, no doubt, with thunder-showers, in which the heavens seemed to drop; while the divine doctrine dropt as the rain, Deut. xxxii. 2. &'i?iai itself, that vast mountain, that long ridge of mountains, was moved at the presence of God; see Judg. v. 4, 5. Deut. xxxiii. 2. Hab. iii. 3. This terrilile appearance of the Divine Majesty, as it would possess them with a fear and dread of him, so it w( uld enccuroge their faith in him and dependence upon him. Whatever moun tains of difficulty lay in the wav of their happy set tlement, he that could move Sinai itself, could remove them, could get over them.

III. That he provided very comfortably for them botli in the wilderness and in Canaan; (7;. 9, 10.) 77/0?/ didst send a plentiful rain, and hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor. This may refer, 1. To the victualling rf their camp with manna in the wilderness, which was rained upon them, as were also the quails, (Ixxviii. 24, 27.) and it might be fitly called a rain of liberality or munificence, for it was a memorable instance of the divine bounty. This confirmed the camp of Israel, (here called God's inheritance, because he had chosen them to be a peculiar treasure to himself,) when it was weary, and ready to perish; this confirmed their faith, and was

PSALMS, LXVIII.

a proof of God's power and goodness. Even in the wilderness God found a comfortable dwelling for Isi-ael, which was his congregation. Or, 2. To the seasonable supplies granted them in Canaan, that \3i-nd flowing ivith milk and honey, which is said to drink ivater of the rain of heaven, Deut. xi. 11. When sometimes that fruitful land was ready to be turned into barrenness, for the iniquity of them that dwelt therein, God, in judgment, remembered mercy, and sent them a plentiful rain, which refreshed it again, so that the congregation of Israel dwelt therein, and there was provision enough, even to satisfy their poor with bread. This looks furtlier to the spiritual provision made for God's Israel; the spirit ot grace and the gospel of grace are the plentiful rain, with which God confirms his inheritance, and from which their fruit is found, Isa. xlv. 8. Christ himself is the Rain; (Ixxii. 6.) He shall come as showers that water the earth.

IV. That he often gave them victory over their enemies; armies, and kings of armies, appeared against them, from their first coming into Canaan, and all along in the times of the judges, till David's days, but, first or last, they gained their point against them, v. 11, 12, 14. Observe here, 1. That God was their Commander in chief; The Lord gave the word, as General of their armies; he raised up judges for them, gave them their commissions and instructions, and assured th?m of success; God sfioke in his holiness, and then Gilead is mine. 2. That they had prophets, as God's messengers, to make known his mind to them. God gave them his word, {the word of the Lord came unto them,) and then great was the comfiany of the fireachers, prophets knd pro/ihetesses; for the word is feminine. When God has messages to send, he will not want messengers. Or perhaps it may allude to the women's joining in the triumph, when the victory was obtained, as was usual, (Exod. xv. 20. 1 Sam. xviii. 7.) in which they took notice of tlie word of God, triumphing in that as much as in his works. 3. That their enemies were defeated, and put to confusion; Kings of armies did flee, did flee with the greatest terror and precipitation imaginable, did not fight and flee, but flee and flee, retired without striking a stroke; they fled apace, fled and never rallied again. 4. That they were enriched with the plunder of the field; She that tarried at home divided the sfioil. Not only the men, the soldiers that abode by the stuff, who were, by a statute of distributions, to share the prey, (1 Sam. xxx. 24.) but even the women that tarried at home had a share; which intimates the abundance of spoil that should be taken. 5. That these great things which God did for them were sanctified to them, and contributed to their reformation; {v. 14.) JVhen the jil-mighty scattered kings for her, for the church, she was white as snow in Sahnon, purified and refined by the mercies of God; when the host went forth against theenetny, they kept themselves from every ivicked thing, and so the host returned victnri(.us, and Israel, i)y the victory, was confirmed in their purity and piety. This account of Israel's victrrics IS applicable to'the victories obtained by the exalted Redeemer, for those that are his, over death and hell. By the resurrection of Christ our i-piritual enemies were made to flee, their power was bn ken, and they were for ever disabled to hurt any of God's people. This victory was first notified by the women (the she-publishers) to the disciples, (Matth. xxviii. 7.) and bv them it was preached to all tlie world; wliile believers that tv.rry at home, th-at did not themselves contribute any thing towards it, enjoy the benefit of it, and divide the spoil.

V. That, from a low and despised erudition, they had been advanced tn splend'^ur and prcspevity. When they were bond-slaves in Eg)-pt, and .after-

ward, when the/ were oppressed sometimes by ont potent neighbour, and sometimes by another, they did, as it were, lie among the fiots or rubbish, as de spised broken vessels, or as vessels in which there was no pleasure—they were black, and dirtv, and discoloured. But God, at length, delivered them from the /lots; (Ixxxi. 6.) and in David's time they were in a fair way to be one of the most prosperous kingdoms in the world, amiable in the e) es of all about them, like tlie wings of a dove covered with silver, v. 13. "And so, says Dr. Hammond, under Christ's kingdom, the heathen idolaters, that were brought to the basest and most despicable condition of any creatures, worshipping wood and stone, and given up to tlie vilest lusts, should, from that detestable condition, be advanced to the service of Christ, and the practice of all Christian virtues, the greatest inward beauties in the world." It may be applied also to the deliverance of the church out of a suff'ering state, and the comforts of particular believers after their despondencies.

15. The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; a high hill, «5 the hill of Bashan. 1G. Why leap ye, ye high hills ? this is the hill tchich God desireth to dwell in; yea, the Lord will dwell m it for ever. 17. The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the 1>.ord is among them as in Sinai, in the holy place. 18. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity cap five: thou hast received gifts for men; yea for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. 19. Blessed be the Lord, icho daily loadeth us with benefits., ere;^ the God of our salvation. Selah. 20. He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death. 21. But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his tie& passes.

David, having given God praise for what he had done for Israel in general, as the God of Israel, (t. 8.) here comes to give him praise as Zion's God in a special manner; compare ix. 11. Sing praises to the Lord which dwelleth in Zion, for which reason Zion is called the hill of God.

I. He compares it with the hill of Bashan, and other high and fruitful hills, and prefers it before them, V. 15, 16. It is ti-ue, Zion was but little and low, in comparison with them, and was not covered over with flocks and herds as they were, yet, upon this account, it has the pre-eminence above them all, that it is the hill of God, the hill which he desires to dwell in, and where he chooses to manifest the tokens of his peculiar presence, cxxxii. 13, 14. Note, It is much more honourable to be holy to God, than to be high and-great in the world. " Uliy leap ye, ye high hills? Why do you insult over poor Zion, and boast of your own height? Tliisis the hill whicli God has chosen, and therefore, though you exceed it in bulk, and be first-rates, yet, because en this the royal flag is hoisted, you must all strike sail to it." Zion was especially honourable, because it was a type of the gospel-church, which is therefore called mount Zion, (Heb. xii. 22.) and this is intimated h'.re, when he said, The Lord will dwell init for eT.<er, which nuist have its accrmiilishment in the gospel Zirn. Tliere is no kingdom in the world comparable to the kingdcm of the Redeemer, no

PSALMS, LXVIIJ.

395

city comparable to that which is incoi-porated bv the gospd-charter, for there God dwells, and will dwell for ever.

II. He compares it with mount Sinai, of which he had spoken, (v. 8.) and shows that it has the Shechinah or divine presence in it, as really, though not as sensibly, as Sinai itself had, v. 17. Angels are ihe chariots of God, his chariots of war, which he makes use of against his enemies; his chariots of conveyance, which he sends for his friends, as he did for Elijah, and Lazarus is said to be carried by the angels; his chariots of state, in the midst of which "he shows his glory and power. They are vastly numerous; twenty thousands, even thousands multiplied. There is an innumerable company of angels in the heavenly Jerusalem, Heb. xii. 22. The enemies David fought with had chariots; (2 Sam. viii. 4.) but what were they, for number or strength, to the chariots of God? While David had them on his side, he needed not to fear those that trusted in chariots and horses, xx. 7. God appeared on mount Sinai, attended with myriads of angels, by whose dispensation the law was given. Acts vii. 53. He co?nes with ten thousands of saints, Deut. xxxiii. 2. And still in Zion God manifests his glory, and is really present, with a numerous retinue of his heavenly hosts, signified by the cheru -bims, between which God is said to dwell. So that, as some read the last words of the verse, Sinai is in Che sanctuary; the sanctuary was to Israel instead of mount Sinai, whence they received divine oracles. Our Lord Jesus has these chariots at command; when the First Begotten was brought into the world, it was with this charge, Let all the angels of God worshifi him; (Heb. i. 6.) they attended him upon all occasions, and he is now among them, angels, firincifialities, and fiowers, being made subject to him, 1 Pet. iii. 22. And it is intimated in the New Testament, that the angels are present in the solemn religious assemblies of Christians, 1 Cor. xi. 10. Let the woman have a veil on her head, because of the angels; and see Eph. iii. 10.

III. The glory of mount Zion was, the King whom God set on that holy hill, (ii. 6.) who came to the daughter of Zion, Matth. xxi. 5. Of his ascension the psalmist here speaks, and to it it is expressly applied, (Eph. iv. 8.) Thou hast ascended on high; (v. 18.) compare xlvii. 5, 6. Christ's as-ending on high is here spoken of as a thing past, so sure was it; and spoken of to his honour, so great was it. It may include his whole exalted state, but points especially at his ascension into heaven to the right hand of the Father, which was as much our advantage as his advancement. For, 1. He then triumphed over the gates of hell; he led cafitivity cafitive; he led his captives in triumph; as great conquerors used to do, making a show of them openly. Col. ii. 15. He led those captive who had led us captives, and who, if he had not interposed, would have held us captive for ever. Nay, ne led captivity itself captive, having quite broken the power of sin and Satan. As he was the Death of death so he was the Captivity of captivity, Hos. xiii '^. This speaks the complete victory which Jesus Christ oljtained over our spiritual enemies; it was such, that through him we also are more than conquerors, that is, triumphers, Rom. viii. 37. 2. He then opened the gates of heav,en to all believers; Thou hast received gifts for men; he gave gifts to men, so the apostle reads it, Eph. iv. 8. For he received that he might give; on his head the anointing of the Spirit was poured, that from him it might descend to the skirts of his garments. And he gave what he had received; having received power to give eternal life, he bestows it upon as many as were given him, John xvii. 2. Thou hast received ^fts for men, not for angels; fallen angels were not

to be made saints, nor standing angels made gospel ministers, Heb. ii. 5. Not for Jews only, but for all rnen; whoever will may reap the benefit of these gifts. The apostle tells us what these gifts were, (Eph. iv. 11.) prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, the institution of a gospel-ministry, and the qualification of men for it; both which are to be valued as the gifts of Heaven, and the fruits of Christ's ascension. Thou hast received gifts in man; so the margin; that is, in the human nature which Christ was pleased to clothe himself with, that he might be a 7nerciful and faithful High-Priest in things pertaining to God. In him, as Mediator, all fulness dwells, that from his fulness we might receive. To magnify the kindness and love of Christ to us in receiving these gifts for us, the psalmist observ'es, (1.) The forfeiture w*» had made of them. He received them for the rebellious also, for those that had been rebellious; sc all the children of men had been in their fallen state; perhaps it is especially meant of the Gentiles, that had been enemies in their mijids by wicked works. Col. i. 21. For them these gifts are received, to them they are given, that they might lay down their arms, that their enmity might be slain, and that they might return to their allegiance. This magnifies the grace of Christ exceedingly, that thr( ugh him rebels are, upon their submission, not only pardoned, but prtfoiTed. They have com missions given them under Christ, which some say, in our law, amounts to the reversing of an attainder. Christ came to a rebellirAis world not to condemn it, but that through him it might be saved. (2.) The favour designed us in them; He received gifts for the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell among them; that he might set up a church in a rebellious world, in which he would dwell by his wrrd and ordinances, as of old in the sanctuary; that he might set up his throne, and Christ might dwell in the hearts of particular persons that had been rebellious. The gracious intention of Christ's undertaking was to rear up the tabernacle of God among men, that he might dwell with them, and they might themselves be living temples to his praise, Ezek. xxxvii. 27.

IV. The glory of Zion's King, is, that he is a Saviour and Benefactor to all his willing people, and a consuming Fire to all these that persist in rebellion against him, x'. 19--21. We have here good and evil, life and death, the blessing and the curse, set before us, like that, (Mark xvi. 16.) He that beliex'es shall be saved; he that beliex'es not shall be damned.

1. They that take God for their God, and so give up themselves to him to be his people, shall be loaded with his benefits, and to them he will be a God of salvation. If in sincerity we a^"ouch Gor" to be our God, and seek to him as such, (1.) He %vill continually do us good, and furnish us with occasion for praise. Having mentioned the gifts Christ received for us, {y. 18.) fitly does he subjoin, in the next words. Blessed be the Lord, for it is owing to the mediation of Christ that we live, and live comfortably, and are daily loaded with benefits. So manv, so weightv, are the gifts of God's bounty to us, that he may be truly said to load us with them; he pours out blessings till there be 720 room to receive them, Mai. iii. 10. So constant are they, and so unwearied is he in doing us good, that he daily loads us with them, according as the necessity of every day requires. (2.) He will, at length, be unto us the God of salvation, of everlasting salvation, the salvation of God, which he will .show to them that order their conversation aright, (1. 23.) the salvation of the soul. He that daily loads us with ber.ejits will not put us off with present things for a portion, but will be the God of cur salvation;

PSALMS, LXVIII.

and what he gives us now, he gives as the God of salvation, pursuant to the great design of our salvation. He is our God, and therefore he will be the God of eternal salvation to us, for that only will answer the vast extent of his covenant-relation to us as our God. But has he power to complete this salvation? Yes, certainly, for unto God the Lord belong the issues from death. The ke}s of hell and death are put into the hand of the Lord Jesus, Rev. i. 18. He, having made an escape from death himself in his resurrection, has both authority and power to rescue those that are his from the dominion of death, by alteiing the property of it to tliem when they die, and giving them a complete victory over it when they shall rise again; for the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. x\nd to those that shall thus for ever escape death, and shall find such an outlet from it as not to be hurt of the second death, to them surely deliverances from temporal death are mercies indeed, and come from God as the God of their salvation. See 2 Cor. i. 10.

2. They tliat persist in their enmity to him, will certainly be ruined, (x'. 21.) God shall ivound the head of his enemies, of Satan the old serpent, of whom it was by the first promise foretold, that the Seed of the nvoinan should break his head. Gen. iii. 15. He shall destroy all the powers of the nations, whether Jews or Gentiles, that oppose him and his kingdom among men, ex. 6. He shall tvound the heads over many countries; of all those, wlioevcr they are, that will 720/ haxte him to 7'eign over them, for those he accounts his enemies, and the)' shall be brought forth and slain before him, Luke xix. 27. He will ivound the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his trespasses. Note, Those who go on still in their trespasses, and hate to Ije reformed, God looks upon as his enemies, and will treat them accordingly. In calling the head the hairy scalp, perhaps there is an allusion to Absalom, whose bushy hair was his halter. Or it denotes either the most fierce and barbarous of his enemies, who let their hair grow, to make themselves look the more frightful; or the most fine and delicate of his enemies, who are nice about their hair: neither the one nor the other can secure themselves from the fatal Avounds which Divine Justice will give to the heads of those that go on in their sins.

22. The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan; I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea: 23. That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same. 24. They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuar}\ 25. The singers went before, the players on instruments folhnred after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels. 26. Bless ye God in the congregations, even the IjORd from the fountain of Israel. 27. There is little Benjamin icith their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali. 28. Thy God hath commanded thy strength : strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us. 29. Because of the temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee. 30. Rebuke the compan^^ of spearmen, the

multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war. 31. Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.

In these verses, we have three things.

I. The gracious promise which God makes of th€ redemption of his people, and their victoiy over his and their enemies; {y. 22, 23.) The Lord said, in his own gracious pui-pose and promise, "I will do great things for my people, as the God of their salvation," V. 20. God will not fail the expectations of those who bv faith take him for their God. It is promised, 1. That he Avill set them in safety from their danger, as he had done formerly: I will again bring them from the depths of the sea, as he did Israel, when he l^rcught them out of the slavery of Egypt into the ease and liberty of the wilderness; and / rjtll again bring them from Bashan, as he did Israel, when he brcught them from their wants and wanderings in the wilderness into the fulness and settlement of the land of Canaan; for the land of Bashan was en the ether side Jordan, where they had wars with Sihon and Og, and whence their next remove was into Canaan. Note, The former appearances of God's power and goodness for liis people should encourage their faith and hope in him for the future, that what he has done he will do again. He will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people; (Isa. xL 11.) and we may perhaps see repeated all the wonders ivhich our fathers told us of. But this is not all; 2. That he will make thtm victorious over their enemies; {y. 23.) That thy feet may be dipped, as thou passest ah ng, in the blood of thine e7iemies, shed like water in great abundance, and the tongue of thy dogs may lap i7i the same. Dogs licked the blood of Ahab; and, in the destinicticn of the anti-christian generation, we read of blood up to the horses' bridles, Rev. xiv. 20. The victories with which God blessed David's forces over the enemies of Israel are here prrphesied cf, but as types cf Christ's victory over death and the grave, for himself and for all believers, in his resuiTectirn (and theirs by virtue of his) out of the earth; and of the destniction of the enemies of Christ and his church, who shall have blood given them to drink, for they are worthy.

II. The welcome entertainment which God's own people shall give to these glorious discovenes of his grace, botli in his word and in his works. Has he spoken in his holiness? Has he said he will bring again from Bashan^ What then is required of us in retuTTi to this?

1. That we observe his motions; {v. 24.) "They have seen, thy people have seen, thy goings, O God; while others regard not the work of the Lord, nor the rpc ratirn of his hands, they have seen the goings of my God, iny King, in the sanctuanj." See here, (1.) How ::n active faith apprf prialcs Grd; he is God and Kine; Init that is not all, he is mii God and my King. Those who thus take him for theirs, r\v\\ see him, in all his outgoings, acting as their (iod, as their King, for their go<xl, and in answer to their j^ravers. (2.) Where God's most reniarka-l)le outgoings are; e\ea in the sanctuaiy, in and by his word :uid ordinances; and among his peo])le, in the gospel-church especially, in and by which is made kncnvn the manifold wisdom of God. These outgoings of his in the sanctuary far outshine the outgoings of the morning and the evening, and more loudlv proclaim his eternal power and godhead. (3.) Wiiat is our duty in reference to these outgo

PSALMS, LXVTII.

397

ings, which is to observe them, This is the finger of God; surely God is ivith us of a truth.

2. That we give him glory in the most devout and solemn manner. When we see his goings in his sanctuary,

(1.) Let those that are immediately employed in the service of the temple praise him, x'. 25. It was asserted tliat the Levites, some of whom were singers, and others pla^^ers on instruments, who had tlie nearest views of his outgoings in his sanctuary, should lead in his praises. And, it being a day of extraordinary triumph, among them were damsels playing ivith timbrels, to complete the concert. "Thus, (says Dr. Hammond,) when Christ is gone up to heaven, the apostles shall celebrate and publish it to all the world, and even the women that were witnesses of it shall affectionately join with them in divulging it."

(2.) Let all the people of Israel, in their solemn religious assembly, give glory to God; Bless ye God, not only in temples, but in the synagogues, or schools of the propliets; or wherever there is a congregation of those that come forth from the fountain of Israel, that are of the seed of Licob, let them concur in blessing God. Public mercies, which we jointly share in, call for public thanksgivings, which all should join in. " Thus (says Dr. Hammond) all Christians shall l)e obligee' solemnly to magnif\' the name of the Messiah, and to that end, fi-equently to assemble together in congregation." And,

(3.) Let those among them who, upon any account, are the most eminent, and make a figure, go before the rest in praising God, v. 27. Tliere was little Benjamin, (that was the royal tribe in Saul's time,) with their rulers, the princes ofJudah, (that was the royal tribe in David's time,) and their council, their captains or leaders. In the beginning of David's reign, there had been long war between Judah and Benjamin, but now they both join in praises for success against the common enemy. But why are the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali particularly mentioned? Perhaps, because those tribes, lying toward the north, lay most exposed to the incursions of the Syrians, and other neiglibours that molested them, and therefore should be in a particular manner thankful for these victories over them. Dr. Hammond gives another reason, That these Avere the two learned tribes, jYafihtali giveth goodly words, (Gen. xlix. 21.) and Zebulun had those that handle the pen of the writer, Judg. v. 14. These shall join in praising God, their princes especially. It is much for the honour of God, when tlicise that are above others in dignity, power, and reputation, go before them in the worship of God, and are forward in using their influence and interest for the advancing of any service tliat is to be done to him. Dr. Hammond notes hence, that the kingdom of the Messiah should, at length, be submitted to by all the potentates and learned men in the world.

3. That we seek unto him, and depend upon him, for th'- perfecting of what he has begun, x>. 28. In the former part of the verse, the psalmist speaks to Israel, "Thy God has commanded thy strength; whatever is done for thee, or whatever strength thou hast to help thyself, it comes from God, his power and grace, and the word which he has commanded. Thou hast no reason to fear, while thou hast strength of God's commanding; and no reason to boast,while thou hast no strength but what is of his commanding." In the latter part, he speaks to God, encouraged by his experiences; "Strengthen, 0 God, that which thou hast wrought for us. Lord, confirm what thou hast commanded, perfoiTn what thou hast promised, and bring to an happy end that good work which thou hast'so gloriously begun." What God has wrought he will strengthen; where he has given time grace, he will give more grace.

Some make this whole" verse to be a believer's address to the Messiah, whom David calls God, as he had done, xlv. 6, 8. " Thy God" (Gcd the Father) " has commanded thy strength, has made thee strong for himself, as the mail of his right hand, (Ixxx. 17.) has treasured up strength in thee for us; therefore we pray, that tliou, O God the Son, wilt strengthen what thou hast wrought for us, wilt accomplish thine undertaking for us, by finishing thy good wcrk in us."

III. The powerful invitation and inducement which would thereby be given to those that are without, to ccme in and join themselves to the church, V. 29..31. • This was in part fulfilled by the accession of many proselytes to the Jewish religion in the days cf David and Solomon; but it was to have its full accomplishment in the crnversion cf the Gentile nations to the faith of Christ, and the making of them fellow-heirs, and cf the same body, with the seed of Israel, Eph. iii. 6.

1. Some shall submit for fear; (y. 30.) "Th€ company of spearmen, that stand it out against Christ and his gospel, that are net willing to be ruled by him, that persecute the preachers and professors of his name, that are furious and cutragecus as a multitude of l)ulls, fat and wanton as the calves of the people," (which is a description of those Jews and Gentiles that opposed the gospel of Christ, and did what they could to prevent the setting up cf his kingdom in the world,) "Lord, rebuke them, abate their pride, assuage their malice, and confound their de\'ices, till, conquered by the convictions of tlieir consciences, and the many checks cf pro\idence, they be every one of them brought, at length, to submit themselves with pieces of silver, as being glad to make their peace with the church upon any terms." Even Judas submitted himself witli pieces of silver, when he returned them with this confession, / hax^e betrayed innocent blood. And see Rev. iii. 9. Many, by being rebuked, have been happily saved from being ruined. But as for those that will not submit, notwithstanding these rebukes, he prays for their dispersion, which amounts to a prophecy of it; Scatter thou the people that delight in war, who take such a pleasure in opposing Christ, that they will never be reconciled to him. This may refer to the unbelieving Jews, who delighted in making war upon the holy seed, and would not submit themselves, and were therefore scattered over the face of the earth. David had himself been a man of war, but could appeal to God, that he never delighted in war and bloodshed for its own sake; as for those that did, and therefore would not submit to the fairest terms of peace, he does not doubt but God would scatter them. Those are lost to all the sacred principles of humanity, as well as Christianity, that can delight in war, and take a pleasure in contention; let them expect that, sooner or later, they shall have enough of it, Isa. xxxiii. 1. Rev. xiii. 10.

2. Others shall submit willingly; (v. 29, 31.) Because of thy temple at Jerusale?n, (this David speaks of in faith, for the temple of Jerusalem Avas not built in his time, only the materials and model were prepared,) kings shall bring presents unto thee, rich presents shall be brought, such as are fit for kings to bring. Even kings themselves, that stand much upon the punctilios of honour and prerogative, shall court the favour of Christ, at a great expense. There is that in God's temple, that beauty and benefit in the service of Gcd, in communion with him, and in the gospel of Christ, which went forth from Jerusalem, that is enough to invite kings themselves to bring presents to God, to present themselves to him as living sacrifices, and Avith themselves the best performances. He mentions Egypt and Ethiopia, two countries out cf Avhicn

PSALMS, LXIX.

subjects and supplicants were least to be expected; (v. 31.) Princes shall come out of Egypt, as ambassadors to seek God's favour, and submit to him; and they shall be accepted, for the Lord of Hosts shall thereupon bless them, saying. Blessed be -Egypt 7ny /leo/i/e, Isa. xix. 25. Even Ethioi^ia, that had stretched out her hands against God's Israel, (2Chron. xiv. 9.) should now stretch out her hands unto God, in prayer, in presents, and to take hold on him, and that soon; Agree ivith thine adversary (fuickly. Out of all nations some shall be gathered m to Christ, and be owned by him.

32. Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of tlie earth; O sing praises unto the Lord ; Se-lah: 33. To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens which were, of old: lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice. 34. Ascribe ye strength unto God : his excellency is over Israel, and his strength ?.s in the clouds. 35. O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.

The psalmist, having prayed for, and prophesied of, the conversion of the Gentiles, here invites them to come in and join with the devout Israelites in praising God, intimating that their accession to the church would be the matter of their joy and praise; (x>. 32.) Let the kingdoms of the earth sing jiraises to the Lord; they all ought to do it, and when they become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ, they will do it. God is here proposed to them as the proper Object of praise, upon several accounts.

1. Because of his supreme and sovereign dominion; He rides ufion the heavens of heaxtens, ivhich were of old; {y. 33.) compare v. 4. He has, from tlie beginning, nay, from before all time, j^repared his throne; he sits on the circuit of heaven; giiides all the motions of the heavenly bodies; and, from the highest heavens, which are the residence of his glory, dispenses the influences of his power and goodness to this lower world.

2. Because of his awful and terrible majesty; He sends out his voice, and that a mighty voice; which may refer either generally to the thunder, wliich is called the voice of the Lord, and is said to be fioiv-erful and full of majesty, (xxix. 3, 4.) or in particular to that thunder in which God spake to Israel at mount Sinai.

3. Because of his mighty power; Ascribe ye strength unto God; {y. 34.) acknowledge him to be a God of such irresistil)le power, that it is folly to contend with him, and wisdom to submit to him; acknowledge that he has power sufficient both to protect his faithful subjects, and to destroy his stubborn adversaries; and give him the glory of all the instances of his omnipotence. Thine is the kingdom and fio%ver, and therefore. Thine is the glory. We must acknowledge his power, (1.) In the kingdom of grace. His excellency is over Israel; he shows his sovereign care in protecting and governing his church; that is the excellency of his power, which is employed for the good of his people. (2.) In tlie kingdom of pro\'idence: His strength is in the clouds, whence comes the tluuulcr of liis power, tlie small rain, and the great rain of his streiigth. Though God has his Btrength in the clouds, yet he condescends to gather his Israel under the shadow of liis wings, Deut. xxxiii. 26.

4. Because of the glory of his sanctuary, and the wonders wrought there; (t. 35.) 0 God, thou art icrnble out of thy holy places. God is to be admired

and adored with reverence and godly fear by all those that attend him in his holy places, that receive his oracles, that observe his operations according to them, and that pay their homage to him. He displays that out ofhis holy places, which speaks aloud that he will be sanctified in those that come nigh unto him. Out of heaven, his holy place above, he does, and will, show himself a terrible God. Nor is any attribute of God more dreadful to sinners than his holiness.

5. Because of the grace bestowed upon his people; The God of Israel is he that gives strength and poiver unto his people, which the gods of the nations, that were vanity and a lie, could not give to their worshippers; how should they help them, when they could not help themselves? All Israel's strength against their enemies came from God; they owned they had 720 might of their own, 2 Chron. xx. 12, And all our sufficiency for our spiritual work and warfare is from the grace of God. It is through Christ strengthening us that we can do all things, and not otherwise; and therefore he must have the glory of all we do, (cxv. 1.) and our humble thanks for enabling us to do it, and accepting the work of his own hands in us. If it be the God of Israel that gives strength and power unto his people, they ought to say. Blessed be God. If all he from him, let all be to him.

PSALM LXIX.

David penned this psalm, when he was in affliction ; and in it, I. He complains of the great distress and trouble he was in, land earnestly beg-s of God to relieve and succour him, V. 1..21. li. He imprecates the judgments of God upon his persecutors, v. 22. .29. III. He concludes with the voice of joy and praise, in an assurance that God would help and succour him, and would do well for the church, v. 30. . 36. Now, in this, David was a type of Christ, and divers passages in this psalm are applied lo Christ in the New Testament, and are said to have their accomplishment in him, v. 4, 9, 21 ; and V. 22. refers to the enemies of Christ. So that (like the 22d psalm) it begins with the humiliation, and ends with the exaltation, of Christ, one branch of which was the destruction of the .Jewish nation for persecuting him, which the imprecations here are predictions of In sing ing this psalm, we must have an eye to the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that followed ; not forgetting the sufferings of Christians too, and the glory that shall follow them ; for it may lead us to think of the ruin reserved for the persecutors, and the rest reserved for the persecuted.

To the chief musician 7ipon Shoshajinim. A psalm of David.

1. CI AVE me, O God; for the waters are O come in unto my soul. 2, I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. 3. I am weary of my crying; my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. 4. They that hate me without a cause are more than tlie hairs of my head: they that would destroy me, beina; mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that whicli I took not away. 5. O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee. G. Let not them that wait on thc^e, O I-ord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake; lot not those that se(>k thee be confoimded for my sake, O God of Israel. 7. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach: shame hath covered my face. 8.1 am become » plran-

PSALMS, LXIX.

39S

ger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children. 9. For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up ; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. 10. When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. 11. I made sackcloth also my garment ; and I became a proverb unto them. 12. They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I ivas the song of the drunkards.

In these verses, David complains of his troubles, intermixing with those complaints some requests for relief.

I. His complaints are very sad, and he pours them out before tlie Lord, as one that hoped thus to ease himself of a burthen that lay very heavy upon him.

1. He complains of the deep impressions that his troubles made upon his spirit; {v. 1, 2.) "Thewa-ters of affliction, those bitter waters, are come unto my soul; not only threaten my life, but disquiet my mind; they fill my head with perplexing cares, and my heart with oppressive grief; so that I cannot enjoy God and myself as I \ised to do." We shall bear up under our troubles, if we can but keep them from our hearts; but wlien they put us out of the possession of our own souls, our case is bad. The s/iirit of a man nvill sustain his infirmity; but what shall we do when the spirit is wounded? That was David's case here. His thoughts sought for something to confide in, and with which to support his hope, but he found nothing; he sunk in deep mire, where there was no standing, no firm footing; tlie considerations that used to support and encourage him, now failed him, or were out of the wav, and he was ready to give himself up for gone. He sought for something to comfort himself with, but found himself in deep waters that overflowed him, overwhelmed him. He was like a sinking drowning man, in such confusion and consternation. Tliis points at Christ's sufferings in his soul, and the inward agony he was in, when he said, JVo~v is iny soul troubled; and My soul is exceeding sorrowful; for it was his soul that he made an offering for sin. And it instructs us, wl\en we are in affliction, to commit the keeping of our souls to God, that we may be neither soured witli discontent, nor sink into despair.

2. He complains of the long continuance of his troubles; {y. 3.) I amiveary of my crying. Though he could not keep his head above water, yet he cried to his God, and the more deatli was in his view, the more life was in his prayers; yet he had not immediately an answer of peace given in, no, nor so much of that support and comfort in praying, which God's people used to have; so that he was almost weary of crying, grew hoarse, and his tliroat so dried, that he could cry no more. Nor had he his wonted satisfaction in believing, hoping, and expecting relief, Mine eyes fail while J wait for my God; he had almost looked his eyes out, in expectation of deliverance. Yet his pleading this with God, is an indication that he is resolved not to give up believing and praying. His throat is dried, but his heart is not; his "eyes fail, but his faith does not. Thus our Lord Jesus, on the cross, cried out. Why hast thou forsaken me? Yet, at the same time, he kept hold of his relation to him. My God, my God.

3. He complains of the malice and multitude of his enemies, their injustice and crueltv, and the hardships they put upon him, v. 4. They hated him, they would destroy him, for hatred aims at the desti-uction of the person hated; but what was his iniq;.;ty, what was his sin, what provocation had he

given them, that they were so spiteful toward him? None at all; "They hate me ivithoiit cause; I never did them tlie least injury, that they should bear me such ill-will." Our Saviour applies this to himself, (John XV. 25.) They hated me without a cause. We are apt to use this, in justification of our passion against those that hate us, that we never gave them cause to hate us. But it is rather an argument why we should bear it patiently, because then we suffer as Clirist did, and may then expect that God will right us; "They are mine enemies wrongfully, for I have been no enemy to them." In a world where unrighteousness reigns so much, we must not won der if we meet with those that are our enemies wrongfully. Let us take care that we never do wrong, and then we may the better bear it, if we receive wrong. These enemies were not to be despised, but were very formidable, both for their number. They are more than the hairs of mine head, (Christ's enemies were numerous, they that came to seize him were a great multitude; how were they increased that troubled him!) and for their strength, They are mighty, in authority and power. We sltp weak, but our enemies are strong; for we wrestLC against j^rincifialities and powers. Then I restored that wh'ch I took not away. Applying this to David, (1.) It was what his enemies compelled him to; they made him suffer for that offence which he had never been guilty of. (2.) It was what he consented to, that, if possible, he might Tjacify them, and make them to be at peace with h'm. He might have insisted upon the laws of justice and honour, the former not requiring, and the latter commonly thought to forbid, the restoring of that Avhich we took not away, for that is to wrong ourselves both in our wealth and in our reputation. Yet the case may be such sometimes, that it may become our duty. Blessed Paul, though free from all men, yet, for the honour of Clirist, and the edification of the church, made himself a servant to all. But, applying it to Christ, it is an observable description of the satisfaction which he made to God for our sin by his blood; Then he restored that which he took not away; he underwent the punishment that was due to us, paid our debt, suffered for our offence. God's glory, in some instances of it, was taken away by the sir. of man; man's lionour, and peace, and happiness, were taken away; it was not he tliat took them away, and yet by the mei'it of his death he restored them.

4. He complains of the unkindness of his friends and relations, and tliis is a grievance which with an inienunus mind cuts as deep as any other; (x". 8.) "/ am become a stranger to my brethren; they make themselves strange to me, and use me as a stranger, are shy of conversing • with me, and ashamed to own me." This was fulfilled in Christ, whose brethren did not believe on him, (John vii. 5.) wlio came to his own, and his own received him not, (John i. 11.) and who was forsaken by his disciples, whom he had been free with as his brethren.

5. He complains of the contempt that was put upon him, and the reproach with which he was continually loaded. And in this, especially, his complaint jioints at Christ, who for our sakes submitted to the greatest disgrace, and made himself of no reputation; we having by sin injured God in his honour, Christ made him satisfaction, not only by divesting himself of the honours due to an incarnate Deity, but by submitting to the greatest dishonours tliat could be done to any man. Two things David here takes notice of as aggi'avations of the indignities done him: (1.) Tlie ground and matter of the reproach, XK 10, 11. They ridiculed him for that by which he both humbled himself and honoured Gott. When men lift up themselves in pride and vain glory, they are justly laughed at for it; but David chastened his soul, and clothed himself with sack-

PS.\LMS, LXIX.

cloth, and, from his abasing himself, they took occasion to trample upon him. When men dishonour God, it is just that it turn to their dishonour; but when Da\id, purely in devotion to God, and to testify his respect to him, wept, and chastened his soul with fasting, and madt- sackcloth his garment, as humble penitt-nts used to do; instead of commending his devotion, and recommending it as a great cxmiple of piety, they did all they could both to discourage him in it, and to prevent others from followmg his good example, for that was his reproach; thev laughed at him, as a fool, for mortifying himself' thus; and even for this he became a' proverb to them; they made him the common subject of their banter. We must not think it strange if we be ill-spoken of for that which is well done, and in which we have reason to hope that we are accepted of God. Our Lord Jesus was stoned for his good works, (John x. 32.) and, when he cried, Eli, Eli, My God, my God, was bantered, as if he called for "Elias. (2.) The persons that reproached him, v. 12. [1.] Even the gi'avest, and the most honouraljle, from whom better was expected; They that sit in the gate speak against me, and their reproaches pass for the dictates of senators, and the decrees of judges, and are credited accordingly. [2. ] The meanest, and the most despicable, the abjects, (xxxv. 15.) the scum of the country, the children of fools, yea, the children of base men; (Job XXX. 8.) and he was the song of the drunkards, they made themselves and their companions merry witn him. See the bad consequences of the sin of drunkenness; it makes men des/iisers of those that are good, 2 Tim. iii. 3. When the king tuas made sick nvith bottles of wine, he stretched out his hand ■with scorners, Hos. vii. 5. The bench of the diimk-ards is the seat of the scornful. See what is commonly the lot of the best of men; they that are the praise of the wise, are the song of fools: but it is easy to those that rightly judge of things, to despise being thus despised.

II. His confessions of sin are very serious; {v. 5.) "0 God, thou knotvest 7ny foolishness, both \v\vAt is, and what is not; my sins tliat I am guilty of are not hid from thee, and" therefore thou knowest how innocent I am of tliose crimes which they charge upon me." Note, Even then when, as to men's unjust accusations, we plead A'ot guilty, yet, before God, we must acknowledge ourselves to have deserved all that is brought upon us, and much worse. This is the genuine confession of a penitent, who knows that he cannot prosper in covering his sin, and that therefore it is his wisdom to acknowledge it, because it is naked and open before God. 1. He knows the corniption of our nature; Thou knotvest the foolishness that is bound ufi in my heart. All our sins take rise from our foolishness. 2. He knows the transgressions of our lives; they are not hid from him, no not our heart-sins, no not those that are committed most secretly. They are all done in his sight, and are never cast behind his_ back, till thev are repented of and ])ardoncd. Tliis may be applied to Christ, for he knew no sin, yet he was made sin for us; and God knew it, rior was it hid from him, when it pleased the Lord to bi-uise him, and put him to grief.

III. His supplications ai'e very earnest. 1. For himself; {v. 1.) "Save me, O God, save me from sinking, from despairing." Thus Christ was heard in that he feared, for he was saved from letting fall his undertaking, Heb. v. 7. 2. For his friends; (t. 6.) Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, and that seek thee, O God of Israel, (under these two characters we ought to seek God, and in seeking him to wait on him, as the God of hosts, who lias all power to help, and as the God of Israel in covenant with his people, whom therefore he is engaged

in honour and truth to help,) let not them be ashamed and confounded for my sake. This intimates his fear, that, if God did not appear for him, it would be a discouragement to all other good people, and would give their enemies occasion to triumph over them; it intimates too his earnest desire, that, whatever became of him, all that seek God, and wait upon him, might be kept in heart, and in countenance, and might neither be discouraged in themselves, nor exposed to contemiit from others. If Jesus Christ had not been owned and accepted of his Father in his sufferings, all that seek Cicd, and wait for him, had been ashamed and confounded; l^ut they have confidence towai'ds God, and in his name come boldly to the throne of grace.

IV. His plea is very powerful, v. 7, 9. Reproach was one of tlie gi'eatest of his burthens; " Lord, roll away the reproach, and plead my cause, f(,r, 1. It is for thee that I am reproached, for serving thee and tnisting in thee; lor thy sake I have borne re/iroach." Those that are evil spoken of for welldoing, may with an humble confidence leave it to God to bring forth their righteousness as the light. 2. " It is W//A thee that I am reproached; The zeal of thiiie house has eaten me uji, has made me forget myself, and do that which they wickedly tuni to my reproach. They that hate thee and thy b.ouse, for that reason hate me, because they know how zealously affected I am to it. That is it that has made them ready to eat me up, and has eaten up all the love and respect I had among them." They that blasphemed God, and spoke ill of his word and ways, did therefore reproach David, for believing in his word, and walking in his ways. Or it may be considered as an instance of David's zeal for God's house, that he resented all the indignities done to God's name, as if they had been done to his own name. He laid to heart all the dishonour done to God, and the contempt cast upon religion; these he laid nearer to his heart than any outward troubles of his own. And therefore he had reason to hope God would interest himself in the reproaches cast upon him, because he had always interested himself in the reproaches cast upon God. Both the parts of this verse are applied to Christ; (1.) It was an instance of his love to his Father, that the zeal of his house did eT.>en eat hiin up, when he whipped the buyers and sellers out of the temple, which reminded his disciples of this text, John ii. 17. (2.J It was an instance of his self-denial, and that he pleased not himself, that the reproaches of them that reproached God fell upon him, (Rc^m. xv, 3.) and therein he set us an example.

13. But as for me, my prayei- is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me : in the tnith of thy salvation. 14. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate ine, and out of the deep waters. 15. Let not the water-flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. 16. Hear me, O liORn; for thy loving-kindness ?> good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. 17. And hide not thy face from thy sen'ant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. 18. Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me, because of mine enemies. 19. Thou hast known my rcjiroach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries

PSALMS, LXIX.

401

are all before thee. 20. Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness • and I looked for some to take pity, but there ivas none ; and for comforters, but r found none. 21. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

David had been speaking before of the spiteful reproaches which his enemies cast upon him; But as for me, my jirayer is u?ito thee. They spoke ill of him for his fasting and praying, and for that he was made the song of the dmnkards; but, notwithstanding that, he resolves to continue praying. Note, Though we may he jeered for well-doing, we must never be jeered out of it. Those can bear but little for God, and their confessing of his name Ijefore men, that cannot bear a scoff and a hard word, rather than quit their duty. David's enemies were very abusive to him, but this was his comfort, that he had a God to go to, with whom he would lodge his cause. " They think to carry their cause by insolence and calumny; but I use other methods, whatever they do, .^s for me, iny jirayer is unto thee, 0 J^ord. ' And it was in an acceptable time; not the less acceptable for being a time of affliction. God will not drive us from him, though it is need that drives us to him; nay, it is the more acceptable, because the misery ;uid distress of God's people make them so much tlie more the olijects of his pity: it is seasonable for him to help them, when all other helps fail, and they are undone, and feel that they are, if he do not lielp them. We find this expression used concerning Christ, (Isa. xlix. 8.) In an acceptable time have I heard thee. Now observe,

I. What his requests are. 1. That he might have a gracious audience given to his complaints, the cry of his affliction, and the desire of his heart. Hear me; [y. 13.) and again, Hear me, O Lord; {y. 16.) Hear me sfieedily; {t.k 17.) not only hear what I say, but grant what I ask. Clirist knew that the Father heard him always, John xi. 42. 2. That he might be rescued out of his troubles; might be saved from sinking under the load of grief; {Deliver ?ne out of the inire; let me not stick in it, (so some,) but help me out, and set my feet on a rocky xl. 2.) might be sa\'ed From his enemies, that they might not swallow him up, nor have their will against liim; " Z,et me be delivered fro7n them that hate me, as a lamb from the paw of the lion, v. 14. Tliough I am come into deep waters, {y. 2.) where I am ready to conclude that the floods will overflow me, yet let my fears lie prevented, and silenced; let not the watei'-flood, though it flow upon me, overflow me, V. 15. Let me not fall into the gulf of despair, let not that deep swallow me vip, let not that pit shut her mouth upon me, for then I am luidone." He gave himself for lost, in the beginning of the psalm, yet now he has his head above water, and is not so weary of crying as he thought himself. 3. That God would turn to him, {y. 16,) that he would smile upon him, and not hide his face fi-om him, v. 17. The tokens, of God's favom- to us, and the light of his countenance shining upon us, are enough to keep our spirits from sinking in deepest mire of outward troubles, nor need we desire any mt)re to make us safe and easy, v. 18. "Draw nigh to my soul, to manifest thyself to it, and that shall redeem it."

II. Wl\at his pleas are, to enforce these petitions.. 1. He pleads God's mercy and ti-uth; (y. 13.) In

the multitude of thy mercy hear me. There is a mercy in God, a multitude of mercies, all kinds of mercy, inexhavistible mercy, mercy enough for all, enough for each; and hence we must take our encouragement in praying. The ti'uth also of his

Vol. hi. —3E

sahation, the trath of all those promises of salvation wiiich lie has made to those that tinist in him, is a further encouragemerit. He repeats his argument taken from the mercy of God; "Hear 7/ze, for thy loving-kindness is good; it is so in itself, it is rich, and plentiful, and abundant, it is so in the account of all the saints, it is \-ery precious to them, it is their life, their joy, their all; Oh, let me have the benefit of it! Turn to me, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies," v. 16. See how highly he speaks of the goodness of God; in him tliere are mercies, tender mercies, and a multitude of them. If we think well of God, and continue to do so, under tlie greatest liardships, we need not fear but God will do well for us; for he takes pleasure iri those that hope i?i his viercy, cxlvii. 11.

2. He pleads his own distress and affliction; "Hide not thy face from me,/or / atn in trouble, {v. 17.) and thcrefoi-e need th)^ favour; tlierefore it will come seasonably; and therefore I shall know how to value it." He pleads particularly the reproach he was under, and the indignities that were done him; {v, 19.) Thou hast known my reproach, my shame, and my dishonour. See wliat a stress is laid upon this: for, in the suffenngs of Christ for us, perhaps nothing contributed more to the satisfaction he made for sin, which had been so injurious to God in his honour, than tlie reproach, and shame, and dishonour, he underwent; which God took notice of, and accepted, as more than an equivalent fcr the e\erlasting shame and contempt which our sins had desen^d, who therefore must l)y repentance take shame to oursehes, and bear the reproach of cm-youth. And if at any time we be called out to sufter reproach, and shame, and dishoncur, for his sake, tliis may be our comfort, that he knows it, ind as he is before-hand with us, so lie will not be l^ehuid-hand with us. The psalmist speaks the language of ai", ingenuous nature, when he says, {v. 20.) Reproach has broken my heart, I am full of heaviness; for it beai's liard upon one that knows the worth of a good name, to be oppressed with a bad one; but, when we consider what an honour it is to be dishonoured for God, and what a favour to be counted worthy to suffer shame for his name, (as they deemed it. Acts V. 41.) we shall see there is no reason at all why it shoulcl sit so hea\-y, or be any heart-breaking to us.

3. He pleads tlie insolence and cruelty of his enemies; {v. 18.) Deliver me deeause of mine enemies, because they were such as he had before described them; {y, 4.) "Mine adversaries are all before thee, (y. 19.) thou knowest what sort of men they are, what danger I am in from them, what enemies they are to thee, and how much thou art reflected upon in what they do and design against me. *■ One instance of their barbarity is given, {v. 21.) They gave me gall for my m-ecit, (the word signifies a bitter herb, and is often joined with wormwood,) cna?m my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. This was literally fulfilled in Christ, and did so directly point to him', that he would not say It is finished, till this was ful filled;; and, in order that his enemies might havt. occasion to fulfil it, he said^ I thirst, John xix. 28, 29. Some tliink that the hyssop which they put to his mouth, with vinegar, was the bitter herb'which they gave him with the vinegar for his meat. See how pai-ticularly the sufferings of Christ were foretold, which proves the scripture to be the word c^f Cicd; and how exactly the predictions wei-e fulfilled in Jesus Christ, which proves him to be the ti-ue Messiah. This is he that should come, and wt- are to look for no other.

4. He pleads the unkindncss of his friend:-, and his disappohitment in them; (v. 20.) / looked for some to take pity, but there ivas none; thev all f'ikd him, like the brooks in summer. This was fulfilled in Christ, for in his sufferings all his disciples forscok

PSALMS, LXIX.

him and fled. We cannot expect too little from men, miserable comforters are they all; nor can we expect too nmch from God, for he is the Father of mercy, and the God of all comfort and consolation.

22. Let their table become a snare before them; and that jvhicli should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. 23. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake. 24. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. 25. Let their habitation be desolate ; and let none dwell in their tents. 26. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten ; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded. 27. Add iniquity unto their iniquity ; and let them not come into thy righteousness. 28. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. 29. But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, J God, set me up on high.

These imprecations are not David's praj'ers against his enemies, but prophecies of the destruction of Christ's persecutors, especially the Jewish nation, which our Lord himself foretold with tears, and which Avas accomplished about forty years after the death of Christ. The two first verses of this paragraph are expressly applied to the judgments ot God upon the unbelieving Jews by the apostle, (Rom. xi. 9, 10.) and therefore the whole must look that way. The rejection of the Jews for rejecting Christ, as it was a signal instance of God's justice, and an earnest of the vengeance which God will at last take on all that are obstinate in their infidelity, so it was, and continues to be, a convincing pi-oof of the tnath of the Christian religion; one great objection against it, at first, was, that it set aside the ceremonial law; but its doing so was effectually justified, and that objection removed, when God so remarkably set it aside by the utter dcstniction of tlie temple, and the sinking of those, with tlie Mosaic economy, that obstinately adhered to it, in opposition to the gospel of Clirist.

Let us observe here,

I. What the judgments are which should come upon the ci-ucifiei's of Christ; not upon all of them, for there were those who had a hand in his death, and yet repented, and famd mercy, (Acts ii. 23.—iii. 14, 15.) but upon those of them and their successors, (vhojustificd itby an obstinate infidelity, and rejection of Ills gospel, and by an inveterate enmity to his disciples and followers. See 1 Thess. ii. 15, 16. It is here foretold,

1. That their sacrifices and offerings should be mischief and prejudice to them; it'. 22.) Let their table become a snare. The altar of the Lord, which is called his table and theirs, because, in feasting upr^n the sacrifices, they were partakers of the altar: this should have been for their welfare or peace, for they were peace-ofFcrings, but it became a snare and a trap to them, for by their affection and adherence to the altar they were held fast in their iiifi-delitv, and hardened in their prejudices against Christ, that Altar which they had no right to eat of v/ho continued to serve the tabeniacle, Heb. xiii. 10.

Or, it may lie understood of their common creature-comforts, even their necessary food; they h id triven Christ gall and vinegar, and therefore justly shall their meat and drink be made gall and vinegar to them. When the supports of life and delights of

sense, througli the coiTupticn of cur nature, become an occasion of sin t j us, and are made the food and fuel of uur sensuality, then (,ur table is a snare, which is a gocd reason why wc should never feed ourselves without fear, Jude'l2.

2. That tliey should never have the comfort either of that kiiowledge, or cf that peace, which believers are blessed with in the grs-pel cf Christ, y. 23. That tliey shcukl be given up, (1.) To a judicial blindness'; Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not the glor}' cf God ui the face cf Christ. Their sin was, that they vjoiUd net see, but shut their eyes against the light, loving darkness rather} their punishment was, that they should not see, but be given up to their own hearts' lusts, which were hardening, and the god of this world should be permitted to blind their minds, 2 Cor. iv. 4. This was foretold concerning them, (Isa. vi. 10.) and Christ ratified it, Matth. xiii. 14, 15. John xii. 40. (2.) To a judicial terror. There is a gracious teiTor, which opens the way to comfort, such as that of Paul, (Acts ix. 6.) he trembled and was astonished; but this is a terror that shall never end in peace, but shall make their loins continually to shake, through horror of conscience, as Belshazzar, when the joints of his loins were loosed. Let them be driven to despair, and filled with constant confusion. This was fulfilled in the desperate counsels of the Jews, when the Romans came upon them.

3. That they should fall and lie under God's anger and fiery indignation; {xk 24.) Pour out thine indignation ufion them. Note, Those who reject God's great salvation proffered to them, may justly fear that his indignation will be poured out upon them; for they that submit not to the Son cf his love, will certainly be made the generatic:n cf his wrath. It is the doom passed on those who believe not in Christ, that the ivrath of God abideth on them, (John iii. 36.) it takes hold of them, and will never let them go. Salvation itself will not save those thht are not willing to be ruled by it. Behold the goodness and severity of God!

4. That their place and nation should be utterly taken away, the verj' thing they were afraid of, and to prevent which, as they pretended, they persecuted Christ; John xi. 48.'(r. 25.) Let their habitation be desolate, which was fulfilled when their countrv was laid waste bv the Romans, and Zio?h, for their sakes, '!vas ploughed as afield, Mic. iii. 12. The temple was the house which they wei'e in a particular manner proud of, but this was left unto them desolate, Matth. xxiii. 38. Yet that is not all, it ought to be some satisfaction to us, if we be cut off from the enjoyment of our possessions, that others will have the benefit of them when we are dislodged; but is here added. Let none dwell in their tents, which was remarkably fulfilled in Judah and Jenisalem, for, after the destruction of the Jews, it was long ere the countiy was inhabited to any puipose. But this is applied particularly to Judas, by St. Peter, Acts i. 20. For he bcing/c/o de se — a suicide, we may suppose his estate was confiscated, so that ///* habitation was desolate, and no man of his own kindred dwelt therein.

5. That their way to niin should be down-hill, and nothing should stoj) them, nor intei-pose to prevent it; (v. 27.) " Lord, leave them to themselves, to add iniquity to iniquity." Tliose that are bad, if they be given up to their own hearts' lusts, will certainly be worse; they will add sin to sin, nay, they will add rebellion to their sin, Jo)) xxxiv. 37. It is said of the Jews, that they filled u/i their sin ahvaijs, 1 Thess. ii. 16. Md the punishment of iniquity to their ini-(/ttitv, so some read it, for the same word signifies both sin and punishment, so close is their connexion. If men will sin, God will reckon for it. But those that have multiplied to sin, may yet find raercv, for

PSALMS, LXIX.

40:5

God multiplies to pardon, through the vighteousness of the Med.utor; and tlie"ef<M-e, that they might be precluded from ;dl hopes of mercy, he adds, Let them not come into thy righteousiiess, to receive the benefit of the righteousness of God, which is by i'aith in a Mediator, Phil. iii. 9. Not that God shuts out any from tliat righteousness, for the gospel excludes none that do not by tlieir unbelief exclude themselves; but let them be left to take their own course, and they will never come into this government; for, being igTiorant of the demands ot God's righteousness, and going about to establislithe merit of their own, they have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God, Rom. x. 3. And those that are so proud and self-willed, that they will not come into God's righteousness, shall have their doom accordingly; themselves have decided it, they shall not come into his righteozisness. Let them not expect any benefit by it, that are not willing and glad to be beholden to it.

6. That they should be cut off from all hopes of happiness; {v. 28.) Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be suffered to live any longer, who, the longer they live, the mere mischief they do. Multitudes of the unbelieving Jews fell by sword and famine, and ncne of those who had embraced the Christian faith perished among them; the nation, as a nation, was blotted out, and became not a people. Many understand it of their rejection from God's covenant, and all the privileges of it; that is the hook of the living; " Let the commonwealtli of Israel itself, Israel according to the flesh, now l)ecome alienated from that covenant of promise, which hitherto it has had the monopoly of. Let it appear that they were never written in the Lamlj's book of life, but reprobate silver let me?i call them, because the Lord has rejected them. Let them not be written with the righteous; let them not have a place in the congregation of the saints, when they shall all be gathered in the general assembly of those whose names are "written in heaven," i. 5.

II. Wliat the sin is, for which these dreadful judgments sh'.uld be brought upon them; {v. 26.)

They fiersecute him tuhom thou hast s?nitten, and talk to the grief of thy wounded. 1. Christ was he whom God had smitten, for it pleased the Lord to bruise him, and he was esteemed stricken, sm't-ten of God. and afflicted, and therefore men hid their faces from him, Isa. liii. 3, 4, 10. They persecuted him witli a rage reaching up to heaven, they cried. Crucify him, cruc'fy him. Compare that of St. Peter with this; (Acts ii. 23.) though he was delivered by the counsel and foreknowledge of God, it was with w'cked hands that they crucified and slew him. Thev talked to the ginef of the Lord Jesus when he was upon the cross, saying, He trusted in God, let him deliver him, than which nothing-could be said moi-e grieving. 2. The suffering saints were God's wounded, wounded in h.is cause, and for his sake, and them they persecuted, and talked to their grief. For these things wrath came ufion them to the uttermost, 1 Thess. ii. 16. and see Matth. xxiii. 34, &c. This may be understood more generally, and it teaches us that nothing is more provoking to God than to insult over those whom he hap smitten, and to add affliction to the afflicted, upon which it justly follows here; Md iniquity to iniquity; see Zech. i. 15. Those that are of a wounded spirit, under trouble and fear about their spiritual state, ought to be very tenderly dealt with, a^d care must be taken not to talk to their grief and not to make the heart of the righteous sad.

III. What the psalmist thinks of himself in the niidstof all; (t'. 29.) "But I am poor and sorrowful, that is the worst of my case, under outward afflictions, yet written among the righteous, and not ,

under God's indignation as they are." It is better to be poor and sorrowful, with the blessing of God, than rich and jovial, and under his curse. For they who come into God's righteousness shall soon see ;.ii end of tlieir poverty and sorrow, and his salvation shall set them up on high, which is the thing that David here pi'ays for, Isa. Ixi. 10. This may be applied to Christ. He was, in his humiliation, poor and sorrowful, a man of sorrows, and that had not where to lay his head; but God highly exalted him, the salvation wrought for him, the salvation wrought by \\\m,set him uji on high, far above all firinci-fialities and powers.

30. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. 31. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. 32. The humble shall sec this., and be glad : and your heart shall live that seek God. 33. For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. 34. Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and eveiy thing that moveth therein : 35. For God will save Sion, and will build the cities of Judah; that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. 36. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it; and they that love his name shall dwell therein.

The psalmist here, both as a type of Christ, and as an example to Christians, concludes a psalm with holy joy and praise, which he began with complaints and remonstrances of his griefs.

1. He resolves to praise God himself, not doubting but that therein he should be accepted of him; {y. 30, 31.) "/ will praise the name of God, not only with my heart, but with my song, and magnify him with thanksgiving;" for he is pleased to reckon himself magnified by the thankful praises of his people. It is intimated that all Christians ought to glorify God witli their praises, in psalms, a7id hymns, and spiritual songs. And this shall please the Lord, through Christ, the Mediator of our praises as well as of our prayers, better than the most \alual3le of the legal sacrifices, {y. 31.) an ox or bullock. This is a plain intimation, that, in the days of the Messiah, tin end should be put, not only to the sacrifices of atonement, but to those of praise and acknowledgment, which were instituted by the ceremonial law; instead of them, spiritual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving are accepted; the calves rf our lips, not tlie calves of the stall, Heb. xiii. 15. It is a great comfort to us, that humlale and thankful praises are more pleasing to God than the most costly pompous sacrifices are, or ever were.

2. He encourages other good people to rejoice in God, and continue seeking him; {v. 32, 33.) The humble shall see this, and be glad. They shall observe, to their comfort, (1.) The experiences of the saints. They shall see how ready God is to hear the poor, when they cry to him, and to give them that which they call upon him for; how far he is from despising his prisoners, though men despise them; he favours them with his gracious visits, and will find a time to enlarge them. The htnnble shall see this, and be glad, not only because, when one member is lionoured, all the members rejoice witli it, but Ijecause it is an encouragement to them, in their straits and difficulties, to trust in God. It shall revive the hearts of those who seek God, to see more seals and subscriptions to this truth, that Ja cob's God never said to Jacob's seed. Seek ye me, in vain. (2.) The exaltation of the Savicur, fni i.f

PSALMS, LXX.

l.'ni the psalmist had been speaking, and of himself its a type of him. When his sorrows are over, and lie enters into the joy that was set before him, when lie is heard, and discharged from his imprisonment in the grave, the humble shall look upon it and be ghid, and they that seek God through Christ, shall live and be comforted; concluding, that, if they suf-f jr with him, they shall also reign with him.

3. He calls upon all the creatures to praise God; the heaven, and earth, and sea, and the inhabitants cf each, v. 34. Heaven and earth, and the hosts of both, were made b)- him, and therefore let heaven and earth praise him. Angels in heaven, and s.iints on eartli, may each of them in their respective habitations furnish themselves with matter enough for constant praise. Let the fishes of the sea, tliough mute to a proverb, praise the Lord, for the sea is his, and he made it.

The praises rf the world must be offered for God's favours to his church, v. 35, 36. For God will save Zion, the holy mountain, where his service was kept up. He will save all that are sanctified and set apart to him, all that employ themselves in his worship, and all those over whom Christ reigns; f jr he was King upon tlie holy hill of Zion. He has mercy in store for the cities of Judah, of which tribe Christ was. God will do great things for the gospel-church, in which let all that wish well to it, rejoice.' For, (1.) It shall be peopled and inhabited. There shall be added to it such as shall be saved. The cities of Judah shall be built, particular churches shall be formed and incorporated according t:^ the gospel-model, that there may be a remnant to dwell there, and to have it in possession, to cnj )y the privileges conferred upon it, and to pay the tribute and services required from it. They tliat love his naijie, that have a kindness for religion ii; general, shall embrace the Christian religion, and take their place in the Christian church; they shall dwell therein, as citizens, and of the household of G^d. (2.) It shall be perpetuated and inherited. Christianity was not to be res unius setatis — a transitory thing; no, the seed of his servants shall i>i-herit it, God will secure and raise up for himself a seed to serve him, and they shall inherit the privileges of their fathers; for the promise is to you and your children, as it was of old, / nvill be a God to thee, and thy seed after thee. The land of promise shall never be lost for want of heirs, for God can out of stones raise uji children unto jibraham, and will do it rather than the entail shall be cut off. David shall never want a man to stand before him. The Redeemer shall see his seed, and prolong his days in them, till the mystery of God shall be finished, and the mystical body completed. And since the holy seed is the substance of the world, and if that were all gathered in, the world would be at an end quickly, it is just that, for this assurance of the preservation of it, heaven and earth should praise him.

PSALM LXX.

This psalm is adapted to a state of affliction; it is copied almost word for word from the 40th, and, some think, for that reason, is entitled, a psalm to bring to remembrance; for it may be of use sometimes to pray over the prayers y\e have formerly made to God, upon like occasions, which may be done with new affections. David here pravs that God would send, I. Help to himself, V. 1,5. 11. Shame to his enemies, v. 2, 3. III. Joy to his friends, V. 4. These five verses were the five last ♦ erses of Ps. xl. He seems to have intended this short prayer to be, both for himself and us, a salve for every sore, and therefore to be always in mind; in slnfrinp, we may apply it to our particular troubles, whatever they are.

7b the chief musician. A psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.

AKE Iwstc, O God, to deliver mc; make hnste to help me, O Lord.

2. Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt. 3. Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha ! 4. Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually. Let God be magnified. 5. But I am poor and needy; make haste unto me, O God: thou ari my help and my deliverer,© Lord; make no tar-lying.

The title tells us that this psalm was designed to bring to remembrance, to put God in remembrance of his mercy and promises; for so we are said to do, when we pray to him, and plead with him; (Isa. xliii. 26.) Put me in remembrance. Not that the Eternal Mind needs a remembrancer, but this honour he is pleased to put upon the prayer of faith. It was rather to put himselr and others in remembrance of former afflictions, that we may never be secure, but always in expectation of troubles, and of former devotions, that, when the clouds return after the rain, we may have recourse to the same means which we have formerly found effectual for fetching in comfort and relief. We may in prayer use the words we have often used before; our Saviour in his agony prayed thrice, saying the same words; so David here uses the words he had used before, yet not without some alterations, to show that he did not design to tie himself or others to them as a form. God looks at the heart, not at the words.

1. David here prays that God ivculd make haste to relieve and succour liim; (t. 1, 5.) I am poor and needy, in want and distress, and much at a loss within myself. Poverty Jind necessity are very good pleas in prayer to a God of infinite mercy, who despises not the sighing of a crntritc lie art, and has pronounced a blessing upon tlie poor in spirit; who fills the hungry with good things. He prays, (1.) That God would appear for him to deliver him from his troubles in due time. (2.) That in the mean time he would come in to him, to lulp him under his troubles, that he might not sink ;.nd faint. (3.) That he would do this quickly; Make haste, {v. 1.) and again, {v. 5.) Make haste, make no tai~rying. Sometimes God seems to delay helping his own people, that he may excite such earnest desires as these. He that believes does not ynake haste, so as to anticipate or outnin the divine counsels, so as to force a way of escape, or to take any unlawful metlicds of relief; but he may make haste by going forth to meet God in humble']n-ayer, that he would hasten tlie desired succour. " Make haste unto me, for the longing desire of my snul is toward thee; I shall perish, if I be not speedily hcljied; I have no other to expect relief from; thou art my Help and my Deliverer. Thou hast engaged to be so to all that seek thee; I depend upon thee to be so to me; I have often found thee so; and thou art sufficient, all-sufficient, to he so; therefore make haste to mc."

2. He pravs that God would fill the fare s rf his enemies with shame, v. 2, 5. Oliserve, (1.) How he describes them; they s( u«ht after liis soul, his life, to destroy tliat; liis mind, to disturl) that; to draw liim from God tii sin, and to despair; they desired his hurt, his ruin; when any calamity befell him, or threatened him, they said, "Aha, aha, sc Tjould ive have it, we shall gain our point new, and sec him rtiined." Thus spiteful, thus insolent, wore thev. (2.) Wlvt h's prayer is agaiflr^t them; " J.rf thnn be ashamed; let them be brcueht to rc-j)cntance, so filled with shame, as that they may

PSALMS, LXXl.

405

seek thy name; (Ixxxiii. 16.) let them see their fault and folly, in fighting against those whom thou dost protect, and be ashamed of their envy, Isa. xxvi. 11. However, let their designs against me be frustrated, and their measures broken; let them be turned back from their malicious purtuits, and then they will be ashamed and confounded, and, like the enemies of the Jews, 7nuch cast down in their own eyes," Neh. vi. 16.

3. He prays that God would fill the hearts of his friends with joy; (v. 4.) that all those who seek God, and love his salvation, w)\o desire it, delight in it, and depend upon it, may have continual matter for joy and praise, and hearts for both; and then he doubts not but he may put in for a share of the blessing he prays for; and so may we, if we answer the character. (1.) Let us make the service of God our gi-eat business, and the favcur of God our great delight and pleasure, for that is seeking him, and loving his salvation. Let the pursuit of a happiness in God be our great care, and the enjoyment of it our great satisfaction. A heart to love the salvation of the Lord, and to prefer it before ariy secular advantages whatsoever, so as cheerfully to quit all, rather than hazard our salvation, is a good evidence of our interest in it, and title to it. (2.) Let us then be assured, that, if it be not our own fault, the joy of the Lord shall fill our minds, and the high praises of the Loi'd shall fill our mouths. Those that seek God, if they seek him early, and seek him diligently, shall rejoice and be glad in him, for their seeking him is as an evidence cf his good will to them, and an earnest of their finding him, cv. 3. There is joy even in seeking God, for it is one of the fundamental principles of i-eligion, That God is the Rewarder of all those that diligently seek him. Those that love God's salvation shall say with pleasure, with constant pleasure, (for praising God, if we make it our contmual work, will be our continual feast,) Let God be magnified, as he will be, to eternity, in the salvation of his people. All who wish well to the comfort of the saints, and to the glory of God, cannot but say a hearty amen to this prayer, that those who love God's salvation may say continually. Let God be magnified.

PSALxM LXXL

David penned this psalm in his old age, as appears by several passages in it; which makes many think it was penned at the time of Absalom's rebellion; for that was the great trouble of his latter days. It might be occasioned by Sheba's insurrection, or some trouble that happened to him in that part of his life, of which it was foretold, that the sword should not depart from his house. But he is not over-particular in representing his case, because he intended it for the general use of God's people in their afflictions, especially those they meet with in their declining years; for this psalm, above any other, is fitted for the use of the old disciples of Jesus Christ. I. He begins the psalm with believing prayers; with prayers that God would deliver and save him, (v. 2, 4.) and not cast him off, (v. 9.) or he far from him, (v. 12.) and that his enemies might be put to shame, v. 13. He pleads his confidence in God; (v. 1, 3, 5, 7.) the experience he had had of help from God; (v. 6.) and the malice of his enemies against him, v. 10, U. H. He concludes the psalm with believing praises, v. 14, &c. Never was his hope more established, v. 16, 18, 20, 21. Never were his joys and thanksgivings more enlarged, v. 15, 19, 22.. 24. _ He is in an ecstasy of joyful praise; in the singins of it, we too should havo our faith in God encouraged, and our hearts raised in blessing his holy name,

I TN thee, O Lord, do I put my tmst; X. let me never be put to confusion. 2. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me. 3. Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort:

thou hast given commanoment to save me, for thou art my rock and my fortress. -^1, Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. 5. For thou art my hope, O Lord God : thou art my trust from my youth. 6. By thee have T been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee. 7. 1 am as a wonder unto many: but thou art my strong refuge. 8. Let my mouth be filled ivith thy piaise and with thine honour all the day.

9. Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.

10. For mine enemies speak against me 5 and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, 11. Saying, God hath forsaken him; persecute and take him: for there is none to deliver hiin. 12. O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste fc^my help. 1.3. liCt them be confounded am, consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.

Tv/o things, in general, David here prays for; Th^t he might not be crnfcunded, and. That his enemies and persecutors might be confounded.

1. He prays that he might never be made ashamed of his deptndenee upon God, nor disappointed in his believing expectations from him. With this petition every true believer may ccme boldly to the throne (f grace; for God will never dash the hepe that is of his own raising. Now observe here,

1. How David professes his confidence in God, and with what pleasure and grateful variety of expression he repeats his prcfessicn cf that confidence, still presenting the profession of it to God, and pleading it with him. We praise Gcd, and so please him, by telling him, (if it be indeed true,) what an entire confidence we have in him; {v. 1.) ''In thee, O Lord, and in thee only, do I put my trust. 'V\^hat-ever ethers do, I choose the God cf Jacob for my Help. They that are entirely satisfied with God's all-sufficiency, and the truth of his promise, and, in dependence upon that, as sufficient to make them amends, are freely willing to do and suffer, to lose and venture, for him, may truly say, In thee, 0 Lord, do I put my trust. Those that will deal with God, must deal ujwn trust; if we are shy of dealing with him, it is a sign we do not trust him. Thou art my Bock and my Fortress, {v. 3.) and again, " Thoic art iny Refuge, my strong Refuge; (y. 7.) I fly to thee, and am sure to bfe safe in thee, and under thy protection. If thou secure me, none can hurt me. Thou art my Hope and my Trust; {v. 5.) thou hast proposed thyself to me in thy word as the proper Object of my hope and trust; I have hoped in thee, and never found it vain to do so."

2. How his confidence in Gcd is supported and encouraged by his experiences; (xk 5, 6.) " Thou hast been my Trust from my youth; ever since I wiis capable of discei-ning between my right hand and mv h ft, I stayed myself upon thee, and saw a great deal rf reason to do so; for by thee have I been holden up from the womb." Ever since he had the use of his reason, he had been a dependent upcn God's goodness, because ever since he had a bein^, he had been a monument cf it. Note, The const

PSALMS, LXXl.

deration of the gracious care which tlie Divine Pro-•. idence took of us in our birth and inf;mcy, should engage us to an early piety, and constunt devoted-ness to his honour. He that was our Help from our tj;rth, ought to be our Hope from our youth. If we received so much mercy from God before wc are capaljle of doing him any ser\"ice, we should lose no time when we are capable. This comes in here as a support to the psalmist in his present distress; not cnly that God had gi\en him his life and being, bringing him out of his mother's bowels into the world, and pro\iding that he shcjuld not die from the womb, nor give up the ghost when he came out of tlie belly; but that he had betimes made him one of his family; "Thou ait he that took me out of my mother's bowels into the arms of thy grace, under the shadow of thy wings, into the bond of thy covenant; thou tookest me into thy church, as a sen cf thine handmaid, and born in thine house, cxvi. 16. And therefore," (1.) " I have reason to hope that tliou wilt protect me; thou that hast held me up liith-crto, wilt not let me fall now; thou that madest me. Wilt not forsake the work of thine own hands; thou tl»at helpedst me, when I could not help myselt, wilt not abandon me now that 1 am as helpless as I was then." (2.) "Therefore I have reason to resolve that I wdl devote myself unto thee; My praise shall theri'Jore be continually of thee; I will make it my business ever)' day to praise thee, iuid flpl take all occasions to do it."

3. What his requests to God are, in this confidence.

(1.) That he might riexwr be fiut to confusion, {v. 1.) that he might not be disappointed of the mercy he expected, and so made ashamed of his expectation. Tlius we may all pray in faith, that cur confidence in God may not be our confusion. Hope of the glory of God is hope that makes not ashamed.

(2.) That he might be delivered out of the hand of his enemies; {%'. 2.) " Deliver vie in thy righte-o:i3nesH; as thou ait the righteous Judge of t'xie world, ijL-iding the cause cf the injured, and punishing the injui-ious, cause me some way or other to escape." (God will, with tlie temptation, make a way to escape, 1 Cor. X. 13.) " Inclitie thine ear unto my firayers, and, in answer to them, save me out of my troubles, x>. 4. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hands of those that are ready to pull me in pieces." Three things he pleads for deliverance; [1.] The encouragement (iod had given him to expect it; Thou hast given commandment to save me; {xk 3.) thou hast promised to do it; and such efficacy is there in God's promises, that they are often spoken of as commands; like that, Let there be light, and there nvas light. He speaks, and it is done. [2.] The character of his enemies; thcv are wicked, unrighteous, cruel, men, and it will be for the honour of God to appear against them, {v. 4.) for he is a holy, just, and good, God. [3.] The many eyes th.i't were upon him; {v. 7.) ''lam as a rjonder unto many; every one waits to sec what will be the issue of such extraordinary troubles as I am fallen into, and such extraordinary confidence as I profess to have in God." Or, "1 am looked upon as a monster, am one whom ever)' body shuns, and therefore ;lm undone if the Lord be not my Refuge. Men abandon me, but Ciod will not"

(3.) That he might always find rest nnd snfcty in (iod; (t. 3.) lie thou my strong Habitation; be thou to me a Rock ofrefios'c, ivhereto I may continually resort. Tliey that are at home in Ciod, that live a life of communion with him, and confidence in him, tliat continually resort unto him by faith and ])ra\er, having their e)es (.vcr toward liim, may promise themselves a strong Habitati n in him, such as never will fall of itself, nor can ever be broken through

by any invading power; and they shall be welcome to resort to him continually upon all occasions, and not be upbraided as C(;niing too often.

(4.) That he might have continual matter for thanksgiving to God, and might be continually em ployed in that pleasant work; (v. 8.) "Let my mouth bellied with thy praise, as now it is with my complaints, and then I shall not be ashamed of my hope, but my enemies will be ashamed cf their insolence. " They that love God, love to be praising him, and desire to be doing it all the day; not only in their morning and evening devotions, not only sex'en times a day, (cxix. 164.) but all the day, to intemnix with all the)' say something or other that may red? und to the honour and praise of God. They resolve to do it while they live, they hope to be doing it eternally in a better world.

(5.) That he might not be neglected now in his declining years; {v. 9.) Cast me not off now in the time of my old age, forsake me not tvhen my strength fails. Observe here, [1.] The natural stnse he had of the infirmities cf age; My strength fails; where tliere was strength of body, and vigour cf mind, strong sight, a stn ng voice, strong limbs, alas! in old age they fail; the life is continued, but the strength is gone, or that which is, is labour and sorrow, xc. 10. [2.] The gracious desire he had of the continuance of God's presence with him under these infirmities; Lord, cast me not off, do 720^ then forsake me. This intimates that he should look upon himself as undone, if Gcd should abandon him; to be cast off and forsaken of God is a thing to be dreaded at any time, especially in the time of old age, and when our strength fails us; for it is God that is the Strength of our heart. But it intimates that he had reason to hope God would not desert him; the faithful servants of God may be comfortably assured that he will not cast them off in old age, nor forsake them when their strength fails them. He is a Master that is not wont to cast off eld servants. In this confidence, David here prays again, {y. 12.) " 0 God, be not far from me, let me not be under the apprehension of thy withdrawings, fci then I am miserable; 0 my God, a God in covenant with me, make haste for my helfi, lest I perish before help come."

II. He prays that his enemies might be made ashamed of their designs against him. Observe, 1. What it was which they unjustly said against him, V. 10, 11. Their plot was deep and des])crate, it was against his life; They lay wait for my soul, (f. 10.) and are adversaries to that, t. 13. Their powers and policies were ccmbined, they take counsel together, and very insolent they were in their conduct; they sa^•, God has forsakeji him, persecute and take him. Here their premises are utterlv false, that because a good man was in great trouble, ;nd had continued long in it, and was not so scon delivered as perhaps he expected, therefore God had forsaken him, and would have no more to do Avith him. All are not forsaken cf Ciod, who think so themselves, or whom ethers think to l)c so. And as their premises were false, so their inference was barbarous. If Ciod has forsaken him, then persecute and take him, and doubt not but to make a prey of him. This is talking to the grief of one whom God hath smittai, Ixix. 26. But thus they endeavrur to discourage David, as S< nnacherib en-dea\ouredtointimidateHezekiah,by .uggcstingthat God was his Enemv, and fouirht against him; .^Im I now come up without the Lord against this city, to destroy it? Isa. xxxvi. 10. It is ti-ue, if God has f rsakin a man, there is none to deliver him; but therefore to insult over him, ill becomes these who ;irc cnnsci( us to themselves that they deserve to be for ever f rsakcn of Ciotl. But rejoice 7iot against me, 0 mine enemy, though I full, I shall rise He

PSALMS, LXXl.

4o:

that seems to forsake for a small moment, will gather with everlasting kindness. 2. What it was which he justly prayed for, from a spirit of prophecy, not a spirit of passion; (j>. 13.) Let them be confounded and consumed tliat are adversaries to my soul. If they will not be confounded by repentance, and so saved, let them be confounded with everlasting dishonour, and so ruined. God will turn into shame the glory of those who turn into shame the glory of God and his people.

14. But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. 15. My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; lor I know not the numbers thereof. 16.1 will go in the strength of the Lord God : I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. 17. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. 18. Now also, when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not, until I have showed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. 19. Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things : O God, who is like unto thee? 20. Thov., which hast showed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. 21. Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side. 22.1 will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth,

0 my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. 23. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. 24. My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.

David is here in a holy transport of joy and praise, arising fi'om his faith and hope in God; we have both together, (x'. 14.) where there is a svidden and remarkible change of his voice, his fears are all silenced, his hopes raised, and his prayers turned into thanksgivings, "Let mine enemies say what they will, to drive me to despair, I will hofie continually, hope in all conditions, in the most cloudy and dark day; I will live upon hope, and will hrpe to the end." Since we hope in one that will never fail us, let not our hope in him fail us; and then we shall praise him yet more and more. "The more they reproach me, the more closely will I clea»'e to thee;

1 will praise thee more and better than ever I have done yet." The longer we live, the more expert we should grow in praising God, and the more we should abound in it I nvill add over and above all thy praise, all the praise I have hitherto offered, for it is all too little. When we have said all we can, to the glory of God's gi-acc, there is still more to be said; it is a subject that can never be exhausted, Rnd therefore we should never grow weary of it. Now observe, in these verses,

I. How his heart is established in faith and hope; and it is a good thing that the heart be so established. Observe,

1. What he hopes in, v. 16. (1.) In the power of

God: " I vjill go i7i the strength of the Lor a Goa, not sit do^vn in despair, but stir up myself to, -^"d exert myself in, my work and warfare; will go forth and go on, not in any strength of my own, but in God's strength; disclaiming my own sufficiency, and depending en him only tis all-sufficient; in the strength of his providence, and in the strength of his gnice." We must always go about God's work, in his strength, having our eyes \x[> unto him to work in us both to will and to do. (2.) In the promise of God; " I %vill jnake mention of thy righteousness, thy faithfulness-to c\ery word which thou hi'.st spoken, the equity of thy disposals, and thy kindness tc thy people that trust in thee. This I will make mention of as my plea in prayer for thy mercy." We may \'ery fitly apply it to the righteousness of Christ, which is called the righteousness of God by faith, and which is witnessed by the law and the firojihcts; we must depend upon God's strength for assistance, and upon Christ's righteousness for acceptance. In the Lord have I righteousness and strength, Isa. xlv. 24.

2. \Vhat he hopes for.

(1.) He hopes that God will not leave him in his old age, but will be the same to him to the end, that he had been all along, x'. 17,18. Observe here, [1. ] What God had done for him when he was jcung; Thou hast taught me from my youth. The good education and good insti-uctions which his parents gave him when he was young, he owns himself obliged to give God thanks for as a great favour. It is a blessed thing to be taught of God from our youth, frcm our childliood to know the holy scriptures, and it is what we have reason to bless God for. [2.] What he had done for God when he was middle-aged; He had declared all God's wondrous works. These tliat have got good when they are young, must be doing good when they are grown up, and must continue to communicate what they have received. We must own that all the works of God's goodness to us are wondrous works, admiring he should do so much for us who are so undeserving, and we must make it our business to declare them, to the glory of God, and the good of others. [3.] What he desired of God now that he was old; j\i''ow that I am old and gray-headed, dying to this world, and hastening to another, O God, forsake me not. This is wliat he earnestly desires and confidently hopes for. Those that have been taught of God from their youth, and have made it the business of their lives to honour him, may be sure that he will not leave them when they are old and gray-headed, will not leave them helpless and comfortless, but will make the evil days of old age their best days, and such as they shall have occasion to say they have pleasure in. [4. ] What he designed to do for God in his old age; " I will not only show thy strength, by my own experience of it, to this generation, but I will leave my observations upon record for the benefit of posterity, and so show it to every one that is to come." As long as we live, we should be endeavouring to glorify God and edify one another; and those that have had the largest and longest experience of the goodness of God to them, should im firove their experiences for the good of their friends, t is a debt which the old disciples of Christ owe to the succeeding generations, to leave behind them a solemn testimony to the power, pleasure, and advantage, of religion, and the truth of God's promises.

(2.) He hopes that God would revive him, and raise him up out of his present lew and disconsolate condition; (y. 20.) Thou who hast made me to see and feel great and sore troubles, above most men, shalt quicken me again. Nrte, [1.] The best of God's saints and servants are sometimes exercised with great and sore troubles in this world. [2.] God's hand is to be eyed in all the troubles of the

tOfi

PSALMS, LXXll.

saints, and that will help to extenuate them, and make til em seem light. He does not say, "Tliou hast burthened me with those troubles," but *^ showed them me;" as the tender father shows the child ttie rod to keep him in awe. [3.] Though God's people be brought ever so low, he can revive them, and raise them up. Are they dead? He can quicken them -dgain. See 2 Cor. i. 9. Are they buried, as ncaa men out of mind? He can bring than ufi again from the depths of the earth, can cheer the most drooping spirit, and raise the most sinking interest. [4.] If we have a due regard to the hand of God in our troubles, we may promise ourselves, in due time, a deliverance out of them. Our present troubles, though great and sore, shall be no hinderancc to our joyful resurrection from the depths of the earth; witness our great Master, to whom this may have some reference; his Father showed him great and sore troubles, but quickened him and brought him up from the grave.

(3.) He hopes that God would not only dehver him out of his troubles, but would advance his honour and joy more than ever; {v. 21.) " Thou shalt not only restore me to my greatness again, but shalt increase it, and give me a better interest, after this shock, than before; thou shalt not only comfort me, but comfort me on every side, so that I shall see nothing black or threatening on any side." Note, Sometimes God makes his people's troubles contribute to the increase of their greatness, and their sun shines the brighter for having been under a cloud. If he makes them contribute to the increase of their goodness, that will prove in the end the increase of their gi-eatness, their glory; and if he comfort them on every side, according to the time and degree wherein he has afflicted them on every side, they will have no reason to complain. When our Lord Jesus was quickened again, and brought back from the depths of the earth, his greatness was increased, and he entered on the joy set before him.

(4.) He hopes that all his enemies would be put to confusion, v. 24. He speaks of it with the greatest assurance as a thing done, and triumphs in it accordingly; They are coTifoinided, they are brought to shame, that seek my hurt. His honour would be their disgrace, and his comfort their vexation.

II. Let us now see how his heart is enlarged in joy and praises; how he rejoices in hope, and sings in hope, for we are saved by hope.

1. He will speak of God's righteousness and his salvation, as great things, things which he was well acquainted with, nnd much affected with, which he desired God might have the glory of, and others might have the comfortable knowledge of; (jk 15.) Aly mouth shall show forth thy righteousness, and thy salvation; and agaui, {v. 24.) My tongue shall talk of thy righteousness, and this, all the day. God's righteousness, which David seems here to be in a particular manner affected with, includes a great deal: the rectitude of his nature; the equity of his ])rovidential disposals; the righteous laws he has given us to be ruled by; the righteous promises he has given us to depend upon; and the everlasting righteousness whicli his Son has brought in for our justification. God's righteousness and his salvation are here joined together; let no man think to put them asunder, nor expect salvation without righteousness, 1. 23. If these two are made the objects of our desire, let tliem be made the sulijects of our discourse all the dav, for they are subjects that can never be drawn drv.

2. He will speak of them with wonder and admiration; as one astonished at the dimensions of divine love and gracf, the height and dejith, the length and breadth, of it; '* Tknow not the numbers thereof; (t. 15.) Though I cannot give a particular account of thy favours to me, they are so many, so

great; (if / would count them, they are more in number than the sand, xl. 5.) yet, knowing them to be numberless, I will be still speaking of them, for in them 1 shall find new matter," t^. 19. The righteousness that is in Gcd is very high; that which is done by him for his people is very great: put both together, and we shall say, O God, who is like unto thee? This is praising God, acknowledging his perfections and performances to be, (1.) Above our conception; they are very high and great; so high, that we cannot apprehend them; so great that we cannot comprehend them. (2.) "Without any parallel; no being like him, no works like his; 0 God, who is like unto thee? None in heaven, none on earth, no angel, no king. God is a non-such; we do not rightly praise him, if we do not own him to be sa

3. He will speak of them with all the expressions of joy and exultation, v. 22, 23. Observe, (1.) How he would eye Gcd in praising him. [1.] As a faithful God; I will firaise thee, even thy truth. God is made known by his word; if we praise that, and the ti-uth of that, we praise him. By faith we set to our seal that God is time; and so we praise his truth. [2.] As a God m covenant with him; "O my God, whom I have consented to, and avouched for mine." As in our prayers, so in our praises, we must look up to God as our God, and give him the glory of our interest in him and relation to him. [3.] As the Holy One of Israel; Israel's God in a peculiar manner, glorious in his holiness among that people, and faithful to his covenant with them. It is God's honour, that he is a Holy One; it is his people's honour, that he is the Holy One of Israel. (2.) Observe how he will express his joy and exultation; [1.] With his hand, in sacred music, with the psaltery, Avith the hai-p; at these David excelled, and the' brst of his skill shall be employed in setting forth God's praises to such advantage as might affect others. [2.] With his lips, in sacred songs; " Unto thee will I sing, to thine honrur, and with a desire t'^ be accepted rf thee. JVfy li/is shall greatly rejoice when J s:?ig- unto thee, knowing they c;.nn(;t be better employed." [3.] In both, with his heart; "My scul shall rejoice, which thou hast redeemed." Note, First, Holy joy is the very heart and life of thankful praise. S'eco)idly, We do not make melody to the Lord, in singing his praises, if we do not do it with our hearts. My lips sliall rejoice, iDut that is nothing; lip-labour, though ever so well laboured, if that be all, is but lost labour in serving God; the st.ul must be at work, and with all that is within us we must bless his he ly name, else all a.bout us is worth little. Thirdly, Redeemed souls rught to be joyful, thankful souls. The work of redemption ought, above all God's works, to be celebrated by us in our praises. The Lamb that was slain, and has redeemed us to God, must therefore be counted worthy of all blessing and praise.

PSALM LXXII.

The forefroing psalm was penned by David when he was old, and, it should seem, so was this too; for Solomon was now standing fair for the crown; that was his prayer for himself, this for his son and successor, and, with these two, the prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended, as we find in the close of this psalm. If we have but God's presence with us while we live, and pood hopes concerning those that shall come after us, that thev shall be praising God on earth when we are praising him in heaven, it is enough. This is entitled a psahn for Solomon: it is probable that David dictated it, or, rather, that it was by the blessed Spirit dictated to him, when, a little before he died, bv divine direction, he settled the succession, and gave orders to proclaim Solomon king, 1 Kings i. 30, &c. But, though Solomon's name is here niade use of, Christ's kingdom is here prophesied of, under the type and figure of Solomon's. David knew what the divine oracle was, \ha.l of the fntil of his loins, according to the Jlesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on hif

PSALMS, LXXII.

409

throne, Aclt ii. 30. To him he here bare witness, and with tne prospect of the glories of his kingdom he comforted himself in his dying moments, when he I'oresaw that his house would not be so with God, not so great, not so CTOod, as he wished. David, in spirit, I. Begins with a snort prayer for his successor, v. 1. II. He passes immediately into a long prediction of the glories of his •eign, V. 2.. 17. And, III. He concludes with praise to the God of Israel, v. 18. .20. In singing this psalm, we must have an eye to Christ, praising him as a King, and pleasing ourselves with our happiness as his subjects.

A psalm for Solomon.

GIVE the king thyjudgments,OGod, and thy righteousness unto the king's son.

This verse is a prayer for the king, even the king's son.

1. We may apply it to Solomon; Give Imn thy judgments, O God, aiid thy righteousness; make him a man, a king; make him a good man, a good king. (1.) It is the prayer of a father for his child; a dying blessing, such as the patriarchs bequeathed to their children. The best thing we can ask of God fur our children, is, that God will give them wisdom and grace to know and do their duty; that is better than gold. Solomon learned to pray for himself as his father had prayed for him, not that God would give him riches and honour, but a wise and understanding heart. It was a comfort to David, that his own son was to be his successor; but more so, that he was likely to be both judicious and righteous. David had given him a good education, (Prov. iv. 3.) had taught him good judgment and righteousness, yet that would not do unless God gave him his judgments. Parents cannot give grace to their children, but may, by prayer, bring them to the Gnd of grace, and shall not seek him in vain, tor their prayer shall either be answered, or it shall return with comfort into their own bosom. (2.) It is the praver of a king for his successor. David had executed judgment and justice during his reign, and low he pi-ays th;it his son might do so too. Such a coni.'^rn as this we should have for posterity, desiring and endeavouring that those who come after us may do God more and better service in their day than we hwe done in ours. Those have little love either to God or man, and are of a very narrow selfish spirit, who care not what becomes of the world and the church when they are gone. (3.) It is the prayer of subjects for their king. It should 5eem, David penned this psalm for the use of the people, that tliey, in singing, might pray for Solomon. Those who wv-uld live quiet and peaceable lives, must pr;iy for kings and all in authority, that God would give them liis judgments and righteousness.

% We mav apply it to Christ; not that he who intercedes for us needs us to intercede for him. But, (1.) It is a prayer of tlie Old Testament church for sending the Messiah, as the church's King, King cm the holy hill of Zion, of whom the King of kings had said, Thou art my Son, ii. 6, 7. "Hasten his coming, to whom all judgment is committed;" and we must thus hasten the second coming cf Christ, when he shall judge the nvorld in righteousness. (2.) It is an expression cf the satisfaction which all *rue believers take in the authority which the Lord Jesus has received from the Father^ " Let him have all power both in heaven and earth, and be the Lord our Righteousness; let him be the great Trustee cf divine grace for all that are his; give it him, that he may give it us."

2. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. 3. The mountains shall bring peace to the

VftL. HI.—3 f

people, and the little hills, by righteousuesa 4. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. 5. They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. 6. He shall come down hke rain upon the mown grass ; as showers that water the earth. 7. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon en-dureth. 8. He snail have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. 9. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him ; and his enemies shall lick the dust. 10. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents : the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. 11. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him; all nations shall serve him. 12. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth ; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. 13. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. 14. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. 15. And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised. 16. There shall be a handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and thej/ of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. 17. His name shall endure forever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun ; and Jiien shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.

This is a prophecy cf the prosperity and perp>c-tuity of the kingdom of Christ, under the shadow of the reign of Solomon. It comes in, 1. As a plea to enforce the prayer; "Lord, give him thy judgments, and thy righteou^iiess, and then he shall judge thy people ivith righteousness, and so shall answer the end of his elevation, v. 2. Give him thy grace, and then thy people, crmmitted to his charge, will have the benefit of it." Because God loved Israel, he made him king over them to do judgment and justice, 2 Chivn. ix. 8. We may in faith wrestle with Ciod for that grace which we have reason to think will be of common advantage to his church. 2. As an answer of peace to the prayer. As by the prayer of faith we return answers to God's promises of mercy, so by the promises of mercy God returns answers to cur prayers of faith. That this prophecy must refer to the kingdom of the Messiah, is plain, because there are many passages in it which cannot be applied to the reign of Si lemon. There was indeed a great deal of righteousness and peace, at fii-Kt, in the administration cf his government; but, before the end of his reie:n, there were both trouble and unrighteousness. The kingdom here spoken of is to last as long as the sun, but Solomon's was soon extinct. Therefore even the Jewish expositors im-dcrstand it of the kingdom of the Messiah.

Let us observe the many great and precious promises here made, which were to have their fuU ac«

PSALMS, LXXII.

«x)mplishment only in the kingdom of Christ; and yet some of them were in part fulfilled in Solomon's reign.

I. That it should be a. righteous government; {v. 2.) He shall judge thy people with righteousness. Compare Isa. xi. 4. All the laws of Christ's kingdom are consonant to the eternal i-ules of equity; the chancery it erects, to relieve against the rigours of

ae broken law, is indeed a court of equity; and against the sentence of his last judgment there will lie no exception. The peace of his kingdom shall be supported by righteousness; (v. 3.) for then only is the peace like a ri\'er, when the righteous?iess is as the waves of the sea. The world will be judged ill righteousness, Acts xvii. 31.

II. That it should be a peaceable government; The ■/nou?itai?is shall bring peace, and the little hills; {y. 3.) that is, (says Dr. Hammond,) both the superior and the inferior couits of judicature in Solomon's kingdom. There shall be abundance of peace, v. 7. Solomon's name signifies peaceable, and such was his reign; for in it Israel enjoyed the \ictories of the foregoing reign, and preserved the tranquillity and repose of that reign. But peace is, in a special manner, the glory of Christ's kingdom, for, as far as it prevails, it reconciles men to God, to themselves, and to one another, and slays all enmities; for he is our Peace.

III. That the poor and needy should be, in a particular manner, taken under the protection of this government; He shall Judge thy poor, v. 2. Those are God's poor, that are impoverished by keeping a good conscience, and those shall be provided for with a distinguishing care, shall be judged for with judgment, with a pai'ticular cognizance taken of

their case, and a particular vengeance taken for their wrongs. The poor of the people, and the children of the needy, he will be sure so to judge, as to save, x'. 4. This is insisted upon again, {y. 12, 13.) intimating that Christ will be sure to carry his cause on behalf of his injured poor. He will deliver the needy that lie at the mercy of their op-

Eressors, the poor also, both because they have no elper, and it is for his honour to help them; and because they cry unto him, and he has promised, in answer to their prayers, to help them; they by prayei commit themselves unto him, x. 14. He will spare the needy that throw themselves on his mercy, and will not be rigorous and severe with them, he will save their souls, and that is all they desire; Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the /cifig-dom of heaven. Christ is the poor man's King.

IV. That proud oppressors shall be reckoned with; He shall break them in pieces; {v. 4.) shall take away their power to hurt, and punish them for all the mischief they ha^'e done. This is the office of a good king, Parcere subjectis, et debellare su-perbos — To spare the va?iguish'd, and debase the proud. The Devil is the great oppressor, wliom Christ will break in pieces, and of wliose kingdom he will be the destruction; with the breath of his mouth shall he slay that wicked one, (Isa. xi. 4.) and sliall deliver the souls of his people from deceit and violence, v, 14. He shall save from the power of Satan, both as an old serpent working bv deceit to ensnare them, and as a roaring lion working by violence to terrify and devour them. So precious shall their blood be unto him, that not a drop of it shall be shed by the deceit or violence of Satan or his instruments,'without being reckoned for. Cluist is a King, who, though he calls his subjects sometimes to resist unto blood fir him, yet is not prodigal of their blood, ivir v/ill ever have it parted with, but upon a valuul)le consideration to his glory and theirs, and the filling up of the measure cf their enemies' iniquity.

V. That religion shall flourish under Christ's go-

vernment; [y. 5.) They shall fear thee as long at the sun and moon endure. Solomon indeed 6uilt the temple, and the fear and worship of God was well kept up, for some time, under his government, but it did not last long; this, therefore, must point at Christ's kingdom, all the subjects of which JM-e brought to, and kept in, the fear of God; for the Christian religion has a direct tendency to, and a powerful influence upon, the support and advancement of natural religion. Faith in Christ will set up, and keep up, the fear of God; and therefore this is the everlasting gospel that is preached, Fear God, and give honour to him. Rev. xiv. 7. And as Christ's government promotes devotion toward Gcd, so it promotes both justice and charity among men; {y. 7.) In his days shall the righteous flourish; righteousness shall be practised, and those that practise rightecusness shall be preferred. Righteousness shall a])ound, and be in reputation, shall command, and be in power. The law of Christ, written in the heart, disposes men to be hcnest and just, and to render to all their due; it likewise disposes men to live in love; and so it produces abundance of peace, and beats swords into ploughshares. Both hcliness and love shall be pci-petual in Christ's kingdom, and shall never go to decay, for the subjects of it shall fear God as long as the su7i and moon endure; Christianity, in the profession of it, having got footing in the world, shall keep its ground till the end of time, and having, in the power of it, got foe ting in the heart, it will continue there till, by death, the sun, and the moon, and the stars, that is, the bodily senses, are darkened. Through all the changes of the world, and all the changes of life, Christ's kingdom will support itself; and if the fear of God continues as long as the sun and moon, abundance of peace will. The peace of the church, the peace of the soul, shall run parallel with its purity and piety, and last as long as these last.

VI. That Christ's government shall be very comfortable to all his faithful loving subjects; {v. 6.) He shall, by the graces and comforts of his Spirit, cofne down like rain upon the mown grass; not on that which is cut down, but that which is left growing, that it may spring again, though it was beheaded. The gospel oi Christ distils as the rain which softens the ground that was hard, moistens that which was dry, and so makes it green and fmitful, Isa. Iv. 10. Let our hearts dri77k m the rain, Heb. vi. 7.

VII. That Christ's kingdom shall be extended very far, and greatly enlarged; considering, 1. The extent of his territories; {v. 8.) He shall have dominion from sea to sea, from the South sea to the North, or from the Red sea to the Mediterranean; and from the river Euphrates, or Nile, to the ends of the earth. Solomon's dominion was very large, (1 Kings iv. 21.) according to the promise, Gen. XV. 18. But no sea, no river, is named, that it might, by these proverbial expressions, bespeak the universal monarchy of the Lord Jesus. His gosp>el his been, or shall be, preached to all nations, (Matth. xxiv. 14.) and the kingdoms of the world shall become his kingdoms, (Rev. xi. 15.) when the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in. His territories shall be extended to those countries, (1.) That were stran!:;ers to him; They that dwell in the wilderness, ( ut of all high roads, that seldom hear news, shall hear the glad tidings of the Redeemer, and redemption by him, shall bow before hi?n, shall believe in him, accept of him, worship him, and take his yoke upon them. Before the Lord Jesus w« must all either bow or break; if we break, we are mined, if we l)ow, we are certainly made for ever. (2.) Thr.t were enemies to him, and had fiught against him; Theii shall lick the dust, thcv sh;ill l>e brought down, rnd laid in the dust, shall bite the. ground for vexation, and be so hunger-bitten, that

PSALMS, LXXIl.

411

fliey shall be glad of dust, the serpent's meat, (Gen. iii. 13.) for of his seed they are; and over whonn shall not he nde, when his enemies themselves are thus humbled and brought low? 2. The dignity of his tributaries; He shall not only reign over them that dwell in the wilderness, the peasants and cottagers, but over them that dwell in the palaces, (r. 10.) T/ie kings of Tarshish, and of the isles, that lie most remote from Israel, and are the isles of the Gentiles, (Gen. x. 5.) these shall bring presents to him as their Sovereign Lord, l)y and under whom they hold their crowns, and all their crown-lands. They sliall couit liis favour, and make an interest in him, tliat they itiay hear his wisdom. This was literally fulfilled in Solomon j for all the kings of the earth sought the wisdom of Solomon, and brought every man his jiresent; (2 Chron. ix. 23, 24.) and in Christ too, when the wise men of the East, wlio, proljably, were men of tlie first rank in their own country, came to worshii) him, and brought him ftresents, Matth. ii. 11. They sliall present themselves to him; that is tlie best present we can luring to Christ, and without that no other present is acceptable, Rom. xii. 1. They shall offer gifts, spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, offer them to Chinst as their God, on Christ as their Altar, which sanctifies every gift. Their conversion to God is called the offering ufi, ov sacrificing of the Gentiles, Rom. XV. 16. And so is their devotion to God, Heb. xiii. 15, 16. Yea, all kings shall, sooner or later, fall donun before him, either to do their duty to him, or to receive tlieir doom from him, v. 11. They sliall fall before him, either as his willing suljjects, or as liis conquered cajjtives; as supplicants for liis mercy, or expectants of his judgment. And when the kings submit, the people come in of course; All ttatio?!s shall sejT'e hi?n, all shiiW be invited into his service; some of all nations shall come into it, and in ever\- nation incense shall be offered to him, and a fiure rffering, Mai. i. 11. Rev. vii. 9.

VIII. That lie shall be honoured and beloved by all his subjects, {xk 15.) He shall live; his subjects shall desire his life, O king, live for ever, and with good I'eason; f.r he has said, Because I live, you shall live also; and of him it is witnessed, that he liveth, ever liveth, making ititercessioji, Heb. vii. 8, 25. He shall li\'e, and live prosperously; and, 1. Presents sliuU l)e made to him. Though he shall be al)le to live without them, for he needs neitlier the gifts, nor the services of any; yet to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba; gold, the best of metals, gold of Sheika, which, prol^ably, was the finest gold; for he that is best must be served with the best. They that have abundance of the wealth of this world, that have gold at command, must give it to Christ, must serve him with it, do good with it; Ho?iour the Lord with thy substance. 2. Prayers sliall be made for him, and that continually. The people prayed for Solomon, and that helped to make liim> and his reign so great a blessing to them. It is the duty of sulijects to make prayers, intercessions, and gi\'ing of thanks, for kings and all in authority; not in compliment to them, as it is too often done, but in concern for the public welfare. But how is this applied to Christ? He needs not our prayers, nor can have any benefit by them. But the Old Testament saints prayed for his coming, prayed continually for it; for they called him He that should come. And, now that he is come,'we must pray for die success of his gospel, and the advancement of his kingdom, which he calls praying for him; Ho-sanna to the Son of David, prosperity to his reign; mid we pray for his second coming. It may be read. Prayer shall be made through him, or for his sake; whatsoe\'er we ask of the Father shall be in his name, and in dependence upon his intercession. 3. Praises shall be made of him, and high encomiums

given of his wisdom, justice, and goodness; Daily shall he be praised. By praying daily in his name, we give him honour. Subjects ought to s])eak well of t!ie government that is a blessing to them; and much more ought all Christians to praise Jesus Christ, daily to praise him; for they owe their all to him, and to him they lie under the highest obliga tions.

IX. That under his government there shall be a wonderful mcrease both of meat and mouths, both of the fiaiits of the earth in the country, and of the people uihabiting the cities, v. 16. l.The country shall grow rich; sow but a handful of corn on the top of the mountains, whence one would expect but little, and yet the fruit of it shall shake like Lebanon, it shall come up like a wood, sotliick, and tall, and strong, like the cedars of Lebanon. Even upon the tops of the mountains, the eaith shall bring forth by handfuls; that is an expression of great plenty; (Gen. xli. 47.) as the grass upon the house-top is said to be that wherewith the mower fills not his hand. This is ajiplicable to the wonderful productions of the seed of the gospel in the days ri the Messiah. A handful of that seed, sown in the mountainous and barren soil of the Gentile world, produced a wonderful harAest gathered into Christ, fruit that shook like Lebanon. The fields were white to the hai-vest, John iv. 35. Matth. ix. 37. The grain of mustard-seed grew up to a great tree. 2. The towns shall grow populous; T/iey of the city shall flourish like grass, for number, for verdure. Tlie gospel-churcli, the city of God among men, shall have all the marks of prosperity, many shall be added to it, and those that are, slmll be happy in it.

X. That his government shall be perpetual, both to his honour, and to the happiness cf his subjects. Tlie Lord Jesus shall reign for cvei", and of him only this must be understood, and net at all of Solomon. It is Christ only that shall be feared throughout all generations, (y. 5.) and as lo7ig as the sun and moon endure, v. 7. 1. The honour of the ])rince is immortal, and shall never be sullied; (t. 17.) His name shall endure for ever, in despite of all the malicious attempts and endeavours of the powers of darkness to eclipse the lustre of it, and to cut off tlie line of it; it sliall be preserved, it shall be perpetuated, it shall be propagated. As the names of earthly princes are continued in their posterity, so Christ is in himself; Filiabitur nomen ejus — His name shall descend to posterity; all nations, while the world stands, shall call him blessed; shall bless God for him, continually speak well of him, and think themselves happy in him. To the end ot time, and to eteniity, his name shall be celebrated, shall be made use of; every tongue shall confess it, and every knee shall bow before it. 2. The happiness of the people is universal too, it is complete, and everlasting; men shall be blessed, tndy and for ever blessed, in him. This plainly refers to the promise made unto the fathers, that in the Messiah all the nations of the earth should be blessed. Gen. xii. 3.

18. Blessed le the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous thin^. 19. And blessed he his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his gloiy. Amen, and amen. 20. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

Such an illustrious prophecy as is in the foi-ego-ing verses of the Messiah and his kingdom, may fitly be concluded, as it is here, with hearty prayers and praises.

PSALMS, LXXIIL

tor the prophecy and promise, -v 18, 19. So sure is every word of God, and with so much satisfaction may we rely upon it, that we have reason enough to give thanks for what he has said, though it be not yet done. We must own, that, for all the great things he has done for the world, for the church, for the children of men, for his own children, in the kingdom of providence, in the kingdom of grace, for all the power and ti-ust lodged in the hands of the Redeemer, God is worthy to be praised; we must stir up ourselves and all that is within us to praise him after the best manner, and desire that all others may do it. Blessed be t/ie Lord, that is, blessed be his glorious name; for it is only in his name that we can contribute any thing to his glory and blessedness, and yet that is also exalted above all blessing and firaise. Let it be blessed for ever, it shall be blessed for ever, it deserves to be blessed for ever, and we hope to be for ever blessing it. We are here taught to bless the name of Christ, and to bless God in Christ, for all that which he has done for us by him. We must bless him, (1.) As the Lord God, as a self-existent, self-sufficient. Being, and our Sovereign Lord. (2.) As the God of Israel, in covenant with that people, and woi--shipped bvthem, and who docs this in performance of the truth unto Jacob and the mercy to Abraham. (3.) As the God who only does ivondrotis things, in creation and providence, and especially tliis work of redemption, which excels them all. Men's works are little common trifling things, which, however, without him, they could not do. But God does all bv his own power, and they are wondrous things which he does, and such as will be the eternal admiration of saints and angels.

2. He is earnest in prayer for the accrmplish-ment of this prophecy and promise; Let the whole earth be fiVed with his glory; ;'.s it will be when the kings of Tarshish, and the isles, shall bring fire-sents to him. It is sad to think how empty the eailh is of the glorv of God, how little service and lionnur he has from a world to which he is such a bountiful Benefactor. All those, therefore, that wish well to the honour of God, and the welfare of mankind, cannot but desire that the earth may be filled with the discoveries of his gl'ry, suitably returned in thankful acknowledgments of his glory. Let e\ery heart, and every mouth, and every assembly, be filled with the high praises of God. We shall see how earnest David is in this prayer, and how much his heart is in it, if we observe, (1.) How he shuts up the prayer with a douljle seal; " jimen and Amen, again and again I say, I say it, and let all others say the same, so be it; Amen to my prayer; Amen to the pravers of all the saints to this purport; Hallowed be thy naine, thy kitigdom come." [2.) How he even shuts u]) his life with this prayer, V. 20. This was the last psilm that ever he penned, though not placed last in this collection; he penned it when he lav on his death-l)'-d, and with this he breathes his last; "Let God be glorified, let the kingdom of the Messiah be set up, and kept up in the world, and I have enough, I desire no more. With this let the prayers of David the son of Jesse be ended; even so, come, Lord Jesus, come quickly."

PSALM LXXriI.

This psalm, and the ten that next follow it, carry the name of Asaph in the titles of them. If he was the penman of them, (as many think,) we ritrhlly call them psalms of Asaph. If he was only the chief musician, to whom they were delivered, our marprinal readin? is risrht, which calls them psalms for Asaph. It is prohable that he penned them; for we read of the words of David, and of Asaph the seer, which were ti«cd in praisinfr God, in He-zekiah's time, 2 Chron. xxix. 30. Though the Spirit of P'ophecy, by sacred songs, descended chiefly on David,

who is therefore styled the xweet psalmist of Israel, yet God put some of that Spirit upon those about him. 'J'his is a psalm of great use; it gives us an account of the conflict which the psalmist had with a strong temptation to envy the prosperity of w icked people. He begins his account with a sacred principle, which he held fast, and, by the help of which, he kept his ground, and carried his point, v. 1. He then tells us, I. How he got into the temptation, v. 2. .14. II. How he got out of the temptation, and gained a victory over it, v. 15..20. III. How he got by the temptation, and was the better for it, V. 21.. 28. If, in singing this psalm, we fortify ourselves against the like temptation, we do not use it in vain. The experiences of others should be our instructions.

A fisalm of Asaph,

1.

TRULY God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. 2. But as for me, my feet were ahuost gone ; my steps had well nigh slipped. 3. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4. For there are no bands in tiieir death; but their strength is firm. 5. They are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men. 6. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain ; violence covereth them as a garment. 7. Their eyes stand out whh fatness: they have more than heart could wish. 8. They are corrupt, and speak vA'ickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. 9. They set their mouth against tlie heavens; and their tongue walketh through the earth. 10. Therefore his people return hither; and waters of a full citp are wrung out to them: 11. And they say. How doth God know ? and is there knowledge in the Most High ? 12. Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. 13. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. 14. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.

This psalm begins somewhat abruptly. Yet God is good to Israel, so the margin reads it: he had been thinking of the prosperity of the wicked; while he was thus musing, the fire burned, and, at last, he spake by way of check to himself for what he had been thinking of; " However it be, yet God is good." Though wicked people receive many of the gifts of his ])rovidential bounty, yet we must own tliat he is, in a peculiar manner, good to Israel; they have favours from him, which others have not.

The psalmist designs an account of a temptaticn he was strongly ;issaulted with—to envy the prosperity of the wicked; a ccmmon temptation, which has tried the graces of many of the saints. Now, in this account,

I. He lavs down, in the first place, that great principle which he is resolved to abide by, and not to quit while he was parleying with this temptatirn, V. 1. Job, when he was entering into such a temptation, fixed for his principle, the omniscience of Ciod; Times are not hidden from the Almightyy Job xxiv. 1. Jeremiah's principle is, the justice of God; Fighteons art thou, O God, when I fileaa with thee, Jer. xii. 1. Habakkuk's principle is, the holiness of God; Thou art of fiurer eyes than

PSALMS, LXXIir.

413

to behold iniquity, Hab. i. 13. The psalmist's here, is, the goodness of God. These are truths which cannot be shaken, and which we must resolve to live and die by. Though we may not be able to reconcile all the disposals of Providence with them, we must believe they are reconcileable. Note, Good thoughts of God will fortify us against many of Sitan's temptations. Truly God is good; he had had many thoughts in his mind concerning the providences of God, but this word, at last, settled him; For all this, God is good, good to Israel, even to those that ere of a clean heart. Note, 1. Those are the Israel of God that are of a clean heart, purified by the blood of Christ, cleansed from the pollutions of sin, and entirely devoted to the glory of God. An upright heart is a clean heart; cleanness is truth in the inward part. 2. God, who is good to all, is, in a special manner, good to his church and people, as he was to Israel of old. God was good to Israel in redeeming them out of Egypt, taking them into covenant with himself, giving them his laws and ordinances, and, in the various providences that related to them; he is, in like manner, good to all them that are of a clean heart, and, whatever happens, we must not think otherwise.

II. He comes, now, to relate the shock that was given to his faith, in God's distinguishing goodness to Israel, by a strong temptation to envy the pros-pei'ity of the wicked, and therefore to think that the Israel of God are no happier than other people, ixnd that God is no kinder to them than to others. He speaks of it as a very near escape, that he had not been quite foiled and overthrown by this temptation, V. 2. "But, as for me, though I was so well satisfied in the goodness of God to Israel, yet my feet were almost gone, the tempter had almost tripped up my heels, my steps had well nigh slipped, I had like to have quitted my religion, and given up all my expectations of benefit by it, for I was envious at the foolish." Note, 1. The faith even of strong believers may sometimes be sorely shaken, and ready to fail them. There are storms that will try the firmest anchors. 2. Those that shall never be quite undone, are sometimes very near it, and, in their own apprehension, as good as gone. Many a precious soul, that shall live for ever, had once a very naiTow turn of its life; almost and well nigh ruined, but a step between it and fatal apostasy, and yet snatched as a brand out of the burning, which will for ever magnify the riches of divine grace in the nations of them that are saved. Now let us take notice of the process of the psalmist's temptation, what he was tempted with, and tempted to do.

(1.) He observed that foolish wicked people have sometimes a very great share of outward prosperity. He saw, with grief, the firosfierity of the wicked, v. 3. Wicked people are really foolish people, and act against reason and their true interest, and yet every stander-by sees their prosperity.

[1.1 They seem to have the least share of the troubles and calamities of this life; {v. 5.) They are not in the troubles of other men, even of wise and good men, neither are they plagued like other men, but seem as if, by some special privilege, they were exempted from the common lot of sorrow-s. If they meet with some little trouble, it is nothing to what others endure, that are less sinners, and yet greater sufferers.

[2. ] They seem to have the greatest share of the comforts of this life. They live at ease, and bathe themselves in pleasures, so that their eyes stand out tvith fatness, v. 7. See what the excess of pleasure is; the moderate use of it enlightens the eyes, nut they that indulge themselves inordinately in the delights of sense ha\'e their eyes i-eady to start

out of their heads. Epicures are really their own tormentors, by putting a force upcn nature, while they pretend to gratify it. And well may they feed themselves to the full, who have more "thLin 'heart could wish, more than thev themselves ever the utht of, or expected to be ma'stcrs cf. They have," at least, more than an humble, quiet, ccntented, heart could wish, yet not so much : s they themselvt-s wish for. There are many who have a great dei.l of this life in their hands, but nothing of the other life in their hearts. Thev are ungotlly, live withe ut the fear and worship of God, and yet thty.prosper and come on in the world, and not only are rich, but increase in riches, v. 12. They are locked upon as thriving men; while ethers have much ado to keep what they have, they are still adding more, more honour, power, pleasure, by increasing in riches; 7^hey are the prosperous of the age, so seme read it.

[3.] Their end seems to be peace; this is mentioned first, on account of its being so strange; for it was never thought to be the peculiar privilege (f the godly; (xxxvii.. 37.) yet, to outward appearance, it is often the lot cf the ungodly; {v. 4.) There are ?io bands in their death. They are not taken off by a violent death; they are foolish, and yet die not as fools die; for their ha?ids are not bound, vcr their feet put in fetters, 2 Sam. iii. 33, 34. They are not taken off by an untimely death, like the fruit forced from the tree before it is ripe, but rrc left to hang on, till, through old age, they gently drop off" themselves. They do not die of sore and painful diseases, there are no pangs, no agonies, in their death, hut their strength is firm to the last, so that they scaz-cely feel themselves die. They are of those who die in their full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet; not of those that die in the bitterness of their souls, and nei>er eat tvith pleas2ire. Job xxi. 23, 25. _ Nay, they are not bound by the terrors of conscience in their dying moments, they are not frightened either with remembrance of their sins, or the prospect of their misery; but die securely. We cannot judge of men's state on the other side death, either by the manner of their death, or the frame of their spirits in dying. Men may die like lambs, and yet have their place with the goats.

(2.) He obser\'ed that they made a very bad use of their outward prosperity, and were hardened by it in their wickedness, which very much strengthened the temptation he was in to fret at it. If it had done them any good, if it had made them less provoking to God, or less oppressive to man, it would never have vexed him; but it had quite a contrary effect upon them.

[1.] It made them very proud and haughty, because they live at ease; Pride compasses the?n as a chain, -v. 6. They show themselves (to all that see them) to be puffed up with their prosperity, as men show their ornaments; The pride of Israel testifies to his face, Hos. v. 5. Isa. iii. 9. Pride ties on their chain, or necklace; so Dr. Hammond reads it. It is no harm to wear a chain or necklace; but when pride ties it on, when it is worn to gratify a vain mind, it ceases to be an ornament. It is not so much what the dres? or apparel is, (thrugh we have rules for that, 1 Tim. ii. 9.) as what principle ties it on, and with what spirit it is worn. And as the pride of sinners appear in their dress, so it does in their talk; They speak loftily- (t'. 8.) they affect great swelling words of vanity, (2 Pet. ii. 18.) bragging of themselves, and disdaining all about them. Out of the abundance of the pride that is in their heart they speak big.

[2. ] It made them oppressive to their poor neighbours; (v. 6.) Violence covers the?n as a garment. What they have got by fraud and oppression, they

PSALMS, LXXIIl.

keep and increase by the same wicked methods, and care not what injury'they do to others, nor what violence they use, so they may but enrich and aggrandize themselves. They are corrupt, like the giants, the sinners of the old world, when the earth nvas filled with violence. Gen. vi. 11, 13. They care not what mischief they do, either for mischief-sake, or for tlieir own advantage-sake. They speak wickedly concerning' oppression, they oppress and justify themselves in it; they that speak well of sin, speak wickedly of it. They are corrupt, that is, dissolved ui pleasures, and every thing that is luxurious; (so some;) and then they deride and speak maliciously, they care not whom they wound with the poisoned darts of calumny, from on high they speak oppression.

[3. ] It made them very insolent in their carriage, toward both God and man; {v. 9.) They set their mouth agai72st the heavens; putting contempt upon God himself and his honour, bidding defiance to him, and his power and justice; they cannot reach the heavens with their hands, to shake God's throne, else they would; but they show their ill-will by setting their mouth against the heavens. Their tonj^ie also walks through the earth, and they take libvrty to abuse all that come in their way. No man's greatness or goodness can secure him from the scourge of the virulent tongue; they take a pride and pleasure in bantering all mankind; they are pests of the country, for they neither fear God nor regard man.

[4.] In all this, they were very atheistical and profine. Thev could not have been thus wicked, if thev had not learned to say, (z>. 11.) How doth God know? and is there knowledge iji the Most High? So far were they from deshnng the knowledge of God, who gave them all the good things thev had, and would have taught them to use them well, that they were not willing to believe God had any knowledge of them, that he took any notice cf their wickedness, or would ever call them to an account. As if because he is Most High, he could not, or would not, see them. Job xxii. 12, 13. Whereas because he is Most High, therefore he can, and will, take cognizance of all the children of men, and of all they do, or say, or think. What an affront is it to the God of infinite knowledge, from whom "all knowledge is, to ask, Is there knowledge in him? Well may he say, (v. 12.) Behold, these are the ungodly.

(3.) He observed, that, while wicked men thus prospered in t'aeir impiety, and were made more mipious by their prosperity, good people were in great affliction, and he himself in particular, which V ery much strengthened the temptation he was in to quarrel with Providence.

[1.] He looked abroad, and saw many of God's people greatly at a loss; (y. 10.) "Because the wicked are so very daring, therefore his people return hither; they are at the same pause, the same plunge, that I am at; they know not what to say to it, any more than I do, aiul the rather, because waters of a full cup are wrung out to them; they are not only made to drink, and to drink deep, of the bitter cup of affliction, but to drink all; care is taken that they lose not a drop of that unpleasant potion, the waters are wrung out unto them, that they may have the dregs of the cup. They pour out al5\ni-dance of tears when they hear wicked people blaspheme God, and speak profanely," as David did, cxix. 136. These are the waters wnuig out to tlieni.

[2.] He looked at home, and felt himself under the continual frowns of Providence, while the wicked were sunning themselves in its smiles; (t. 14.) " For my part," siys he, " jill the day long have I been plagued with one affliction or another, and chastened ex'ery morning, as duly as the moniing

comes." His afflictirns were great, he was chas tened and plagued; the returns cf them were con stant, ex'ery morning with the morning, and they continued, without intermission, all the day long. This he thought was very hard, that, when those who blasphemed God were in prosperity, he, that worshipped God, was under such great aflflicticn. He spake feelingly when he spake of his own trcubles; there is no disputing against sense, except by faitli. (4.) From all this arose a veiy strong temptation to cast off his religion. [1.] Some, that observed the prosperity of the wiclced, especially comparing it with the afflictions of the righteous, were tempted to deny a Providence, and to think that God had forsaken the earth. In this sense some take v, IL There are those, even among God's professing people, that say, "How does God know? Surely all things are left to blind fortune, and not disposed of by an all-seeing God." Some of the heathen, upon such a remark as this, have asked, Quis putet esse Deos? — JMio will believe that there arc Gods? [2.] Though the psalmist's feet were not so far gone as to question God's omniscience, yet he was tempted to question the benefit cf religion, and to say, (r. 13.) Verily, I have cleansed my heart in voir:, and have, to no purpose, washed my hands in innocency. See here what it is to be religious; it is to cleanse our hearts, in the first place, by repentance and regeneration, and then to wash our hands in innocency, by an universal reformation of cur lives. It is not in vain to do this; not in vain to serve God and keep his ordinances; but good men have been sometimes tempted to say, " It is in vain," and "Religion is a thing that there is nothing to be got by," because they see wicked people in prosperity. But however the thing may appear now, when the pui'e in heart, those blesseel ones, shall see God, (Matth. v. 8.) they will not say that they have cleansed their hearts in vain.

15. If I say, I will speak linis; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. 16. When I thought to know this, it iras too painful for me, 17. Until 1 went into the sanctuary of God; iheii understood I tlieir end. 18. Surely thou didst set them in slipper)^ places: thou castedst them down into destruction. 19. How are they hrousht into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. 20. As a dream when one awaketh ; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shall despise their image.

We have seen what a strong temptation the psalmist was into envy prospering profaneness; now here we are told how he kept his footing, and got the victory.

I. He kept up a respect for God's people, and with that he restrained himself from speaking wha» he had thought amiss, t'. 15. He got the victory by degrees, and this was the first point he gained; he was ready to say, Verily, I have cleansed my heart in vain, and thought he had reason to say it; but he kept his mouth with this consideration; " If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should myself revolt and apostatize from, and so give the greatest (ffcnce imaginable to, the generafion of thy children." Observe here, 1. Though he thought amiss, he took care not to utter that evil thought which he had conceived. Note, It is bad to think ill, but it is worse to speak it, for that is giving tlie evil thought an Imjirimatur — A public sanction; it is allowing it, giving consent to it, and publishing i»

PSALMS, LXXIIl.

415

fcr thp infection of others. But it is a good sign that we repent of the evil imagination of the heart, if we suppress it, and the error remains with ourselves. It, tlierefore, thou liast been so foolish as to think evil, be so wise as to lay thy hand upon thy mouth, and let it go no further, Prov. xxx. 32. If I say, I ivill speak thus. Observe, Though his corrupt heart made this inference from the prosperity of the wicked, yet he did not mention it to those about him, till he h id debated within himself, whether it were fit to be mentioned or no. Note, We must think twice before we speak once; both because some things may be thought, which yet may not be spoken, and because the second thoughts may correct the mistakes of the first. 2. The reason' why he would not speak it, was, for fear of giving offence to those whom God owned for his children. Note, (1.) There are a people in the world, tiiat are the generation of God's children, a set of men that hear and love God as their Father. (2.) "NVe must be \'ery careful not to say or do any thing which may justly offend any of these little ones, (Matth. xviii. 6.) especially which may offend Vie generation of them, may sadden their hearts, or weaken their hands, or shake their intei'est. (3.) There is nothing that can give more general offence to the generation of God's children, than to say that •we have cleansed our heart in -vain, or that it is in vain to serve God; for there is nothing more contrary to their universal sentiment and experience, nor any thing that grieves them more, than to hear God thus reflected on. (4.) I'hose that wish themselves in the condition of the wicked, do, in effect, quit the tents of God's children.

II. He foresaw the ruin of wicked people; by this he baffled the temptation, as by the former he gave some check to it Because he durst not speak what he had thought, for fear of giving offence, he began to consider whether he had any good reason for that thought; (x'. 16.) " I endeavoured to undei'-stand the meaning of this unaccountable dispensation of Providence; but it was too pai} fill for me, I could not conquer it by the strength of my own reasoning;" it is a problem, not to be solved by the mere light of nature, for, if there were not another life after this, we could not fully reconcile the prosperity of the wicked with the justice of God; but (t'. 17.) he ivent into the sanctuary of God; he applied himself to his devotions, meditated upon the attributes of God, and the things rez>ealed nvhich belong to us and to our children; he consulted the scriptures, and the lips of the priests who attended the sanctuary; he prayed to God to make this matter plain to him, and to help him over this difficulty; and, at length, he understood the wretched end of wicked people, which he plainly foresaw to be such, that, even in the height of their prosperity, they were rather to be pitied than envied, for they were but ripening for ruin. Note, 1. There are many gi'cat things, and things needfiil to be known, which will not be known otherwise than by going into the sanctuary of God, by the word and prayer. The sanctuaiy therefore rnust be the resort of a tempted soul. 2.' We must judge of persons and things as they appear by the light of divine revelation, and then we shall judge righteous judgment; particularly we must judge by the end; all is well that ends well, everlastinglv well; but nothing well that ends ill, everlastinglv ill. Tl\e righteous man's afflictions end \p peace, and therefore he is happy; the wicked man's enjoyments end in desti-uction, and therefore he is miserable.

(1.) The prosperity of the wicked is short and uncertain; the high places in which Providence sets them, are slippery places, {y. 18.) where they cinnot long keep footing; but when they offer to climb higker, that verj' attempt will be the occa-

sion of their sliding and falling. Their prosperity has no firm ground, it is not built upon God's favour or his promise; and they have not the satisfaction of feeling that it rests on firm ground.

(2.) Their dcsti-uction is sure, and sudden, and very gi-eat. This cannot be meant of any temporal desti-uction; for they were supposed to spend all their days in wealth, and their death itself had no bands in it; In a moment they go down to the grave, so that even that could scarcely be called their destruction; it must therefore be meant of eternal destruction on the other side death; hell arid destruction. They flourish for a time, but are undone for ever. [1.] Their ruin is sure and inevitable; he speaks of it as a thing done; They are cast down; for their destruction is as certain as if it were already accomplished. He speaks of it as God's doing, and therefore it cannot be resisted; Thou castest them down. It is destruction from the Almighty, (Joel i. 15.) from the glory of his power, 2 1 hess. i. 9. Who can support those whom Gcd will cast down, on whom God will lay burthens? [2.] It is swift and sudden; Their damnation slumbers not; for how are they brought into desolation as in a moment! V. 19. It is easily effected, and will be a sui-prise to themselves and all about them. [3.] It is severe and very dreadful. It is a total, final, ruin; They are utterly consumed with terrors. It is the misery of the damned, that the terrors of the Almighty, whom they have made their Enemy, fasten upon their gviilty consciences, which can neithei shelter them from them, nor strengthen them under them; and therefore not their being, but their bliss, must needs be utterly consumed by them; not the least degree of comfort or hope remains to them; the higher they were lifted up in their prosperity, the sorer will their fall be when they are cast down into destructions, (for the word is plural,) and suddenly brought i7ito desolation.

(3.) Their prosperity is therefore not to be envied at all, but despised rather; quod erat demovstran-dum — which was the point to be established; v. 20. jls a dream when one awaketh, so, O Lord, when thou awakest, or when they av/ake, (as some read it,) thou shalt despise their image, their shadow, and make it to vanish. In the day of the great judgment, (so the Chaldee paraphrase reads it,) when they are awaked out of their graves, thou shalt, in wrath, despise their image; for they shall rise to shame and everlasting contempt.

See here, [1.] What their prosperity now is; it is but an image, a vain show, a fashion of the world that passes away; it is not real, but imaginary, and it is only a corrupt imagination that makes it a happiness; it is not substance, but a mere shadow; it is not what it seems to be, nor wll it prove what we promise ourselves from it; it is as a dream, which may please us a little, while we are asleep, yet, even then, it disturbs our repose; but, how pleasing soever it is, it is all but a cheat, all false; when we awake, we find it so. A hungr\' man dreams that he eats, but he awakes, and his soul is empty, Isa. xxix. 8. A man is never the more rich oi honourable for dreaming he is so. "WTio therefore will envy a man the pleasure of a dream? [2.] What will be the issue of it; God will awake to judgment, to plead his own and his people's injured cause; they shall be made to awake out of the sleep of their carnal security, and then God shall despise their image; he shall make it appear to all the world how despicable it is; so that the righteous shall laugh at them, lii. 6, 7. How did God despise that rich man's image, when he said. Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.' Lake xii. 19, 20. We ought to be of God's mind, frr his judgment is according to truth, and net to admire and envy that which he despises, and will despise;

PSALMS, L.XXII1.

for, sooner or later, he will bring all the world to be of one mind.

21. Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. 22. So foohsh was I and ignorant; I was as a beast before thee. 23. Neverthelesi?, I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. 24, Thou shall guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. 25. Whom have I in heaven hut thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. 26. My flesh and my heart faileth: hut God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. 27. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish; thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. 28. But it is good for me to draw^ near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.

Behold Samson's riddle again unriddled, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong sweetness; for we have here an account of tlie good improvement which the psalmist made of that sore temptation with which he had been assaulted, and by which he was almost overcome. He that stumbles and does not fall, by recovering himself takes so much the longer steps forward. It was so with the psalmist here; divers good lessons he learned from his temptation, his struggles with it, and his victories over it. Nor would God suffer his people to be tempted, if his grace were not sufficient for them, not only to save them from harm, l)ut to make them gainers by it; even this shall work for good.

I. He learned to think ver^r humbly of himself, and to abase and accuse himself before God; {y. 21, 22.) he reflects with sliame upon tlic disorder and danger he was in, and the vexation he gave himself, by entertaining tlie temptation, and parleying with it; My heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins, as one afflicted with the acute pain of the stone in the region of the kidnies. If evil thoughts at any time enter into the mind of a good man, he does not roll them under his tongue as a sweet morsel, but they are grievous and painful to him; temptation was to Paul as a thorn in the flesh, 2 Cor. xii. 7. This particular temptation, the working of en\y and discontent, is as painful as any other; where it constantly rests, it is the rottenness of the bones, (Prov. xiv. 30.) whei-e it does but occasionally come, it is the pricking of the reins. Fretfulness is a con-uption that is its own correction.

Now, in the reflection upon it, 1. -He owns it was his folly thus to vex himself; " So foolish was I to be my own tormentor." Let peevish people thus reproach themselves for, and shame themselves out of, their discontents; "Whit a fool am I thus to make myself uneasy without a cause!" 2. He owns it was his ignorance to vex himself at this; "So ignorant was I of that wliich I might have known, and which, if I had known it ariglit, would liave been sufficient to have silenced my murmurs. / was as a beast, Bclicmoth, a great beast, before thee. Beasts mind present things only, and never look before at wliat is to come; and 'so did I. If I had not been a great fool, I should never have suffered such a senseless temptation to have prevailed over me so far. What! to envy wicked men upon account of their prosperity? To be ready to wish myself one of them, and to think of changmg conditions with them? So foolish was I." Note^ If good men

do, at any time, through the surprise and strength of temptation, think, or speak, or act, amiss, when they see tlieir error, they will reflect upon it witli sorrow, and shame, and self-abhorrence; will call themselves fools for it; Surely I ayn more brutish than any man, Prov. xxx. 2. Job xlii. 5, 6. Thu5 David, 2 Sam. xxiv. 10.

II. He took occasicn hence to own his dependence on, and obligiitions to, the grace of God; {v. 23.) " JVeverthelcss, f;olish as I am, / a7n continually with thee, and in thy favour, thou hast holde?i mt by my r,ght hand. " ' This may refer, either, 1. Tf the care God h id taken of him, and the kindness he had showed him, all along from his beginning hitherto. He had said, in the ht ur of temptation, (v 14.) jill the day long have I been plagued; bu. here he corrects himself fur that passionate com plaint, "Though God has chastened me, he ha* not cast me oft"; notwithstanding all the crosses of my life, / have been continually with thee, I havi had thy presence with me, and thou hast been nigh unto me in all that which I have called upon thet for; and tlierefore, though perplexed, yet not ir despair. Though God has sometimes written bittei things against me, yet he has still holden me by mt right hand, both to'keep me, that I should not desert him, or fly off" from him, and to prevent my sinking and fainting under my burthens, or losing my wav in the wilderness through which I have walked.'' If we have been kept in the way with God, kept close to our duty, and upheld in our integrity, we must own ourseh'es indebted to the free grace of God for our preser\ation; Having obtained help, of God, I continue hitherto. And if he has thus maintained the spiritual life, the earnest of eternal life, we ought not to complain, whatever calamities of this present time we have met with. Or, 2. To the late experience he had had of the power of divine grace in carrying him through this strong temptation, and bringing him off" a conqueror; "1 was foolish and ignorant, and yet thou hast had compassion on me, and tauglit me, (Heb. v. 2.) and kept me under tliy protection;" for the unworthi-ness of mat is no bar to the free grace of God. W^e must ascribe our safety in temptation, and our victory over it, not to cur own wisdom, for we are foolish and ignorant, but to tlie gracious presence of God with us, and the prevalency of Christ's intercession for us, that our faith may not fail; " My feet were almost gone, and they liad quite gone past recovery, but that thou hast holden me by my iTght hand, and so kept me from falling."

III. He encouraged himself to hope that the same God who had delivered him from this evil work, would presei^>e him to his heavenly kingdojn, as St. Paul docs; (2 Tim. iv. 18.) " I am now uplicld by thee, therefore thou shalt guide me with thy counsel; leading me, as thou hast done hitherto, man)- a difficult step; and, since I am now continually with tliee, thou shalt afterward receive me to glory," v. 24. This completes the happiness of the si.ints, so that they have no reason to envy the worldly prosperity of sinners. Note, 1. All those wlio crnnnit themselves to God, sliall be c:uided with liis counsel, with the counsel both of his Word and of his Spiri*-, the best Counsellors. The psalmist had like to have paid dear for following his own counsels in this temptation, and thercfrre resolves, for the futm'c, to take God's advice, whicli sliall never be wanting to those that duly seek it, with a resolution to ft How it. 2. All those that are guided and led by the counsel of God in this world, shall be received to his glory in another world. If we make God's glory in us the end we aim at, he Avill make our glciy with him the end we shall for ever be happy in. Upon this consideration, let us never envy sinners, but

, rather bless ourselves in our own blessedness. If

PSALMS, LXXIII.

417

Givl direct us in the way of our duty, and pre\'ent oui turning aside out of it, he will afterward, when ' our stiite of trial and pi'eparation is over, receive us to his kingdom and glory; the believing hopes and prospects of which will reconcile us to all the dark providences that now puzzle and peiplex us, and ease us of the pain we have been put into by some threatening temptations.

IV. He was hereby quickened to cleave the closer to God, and very much confirmed and comforted in the choice he had made of him; (v. 25, 26.) his thoughts liere dwell with delight upon his own happiness in God, as much greater than the happiness of the ungodly that prospered in the world. He saw little reason to envy them what they had in the creature, when he found how much more and better, surer and sweeter, comforts he had in the Creator, and what cause he had to congratulate himself on this account. He had complained of his afflictions; {v. 14.) but this makes them very light and easy, ^11 is well, if God be mine. We have here the breathings of a sanctified soul toward God, and its repose in him, as that to a godly man really, which the prosperity of a worldly man is to him in conceit and imagination; Whom have I in heaven but thee? There is scarcely a verse, in all the psalms, more expressive than this of the pious and devout affections of a soul to God; here it soars up toward him, follows hard after him, and yet, at the same time, has an entire satisfaction and complacency in him.

1. It is here supposed that God alone is the Felicity and Chief Good of man. He, and he only, that made the soul, can n\ake it happy; there is none in heaven, none in earth, that can pretend to do it besides.

2. Here are expressed the workings and breathings of a soul toward God accordingly. If God be our Felicity,

(1.) Then we must have him; fWhom have I but thee?) we must choose him, and make sure to ourselves an interest in him. What will it avail us that he is the Felicity of souls, if he be not the Felicity of our souls, and if we do not by a livel}" faith make him ours, by joining ourselves to him in an everlasting covenant?

(2.) Then our desire must be toward him, and our delight in him; the word signifies both; we must de-liglit in what we ha\'e of God, and desire what we yet further hope for. Our desires must not only be offered up to God, but they must all terminate in him; desiring nothing more than God, but still more and more of him; this includes all our prayers. Lord, give us thyself; as that includes all the promises, I ivill be to them a God. The desire of our souls is to thy name.

(3.) We must prefer him in our choice and desire before any other. [1.] *' There is none in heaven but thee, none to seek, to, or tnast in, none to covirt or covet acquaintance with, but thee." God is in himself more glorious than any celestial being, (Ixxxix. 6.) and must be, in our eyes, infinitely more desirable. Excellent beings there are in heaven, but God only can make us happy. His favour is infinitely more to us than the refreshment of the dews of heaven, or the benign influence of the stars of heaven; more than tne friendship of the saints in heaven, or the good offices of the angels there. [2. ] I desire none on earth beside thee; not only none in heaven, a place at a distance, which we have but little acquaintance with, but none on eailh neither, where we have many friends, and where much of our present interest and concern lie. " Earth carries away the desires of most men, and yet I have none on earth, no persons, no things, no possessions, no delights, that I desire beside tliee, or with thee, in comparison or competition with tl\ee." We must

Vol. Ill— 3 G

desire nothing beside God, but what we desire for him; (A'il firxter te, nisi firojiter te — JVothing be side thee, except for thy sake; J nothing but what we desire from liim, and can be content without, so that it be made up in him. We must desire nothmg beside God, as needful to be a partner with him in making us happy.

(4.) Then we must repose ourselves in God with an entire satisfaction, v. 26. Observe here, [1.] Great distress and trouble supposed; Myjiesh and my heart fail. Note, Others have experienced, and we must expect, the failing both ot flesh and heart. The body wUl fail by sickness, age, and death; and that which touches the bone and the flesh, touches us in a tender part, that part of cur-selves which we have been but too fond of; when the flesh fails, the heart is ready to fail too; the conduct, courage, and comfort fail". [2. ] Sovereign relief provided in this distress; But God is the Strength of my heart, and my Portion for ever. Note, Gracious souls, in their greatest distresses, rest upon God as their spiritual Strength, and their eternal Portion. First, " He is the Strength of my heart: the Rock of my heart, a firm Foundation, which will bear my weight, and not sink under it. God the Strength of my heart; I have found him so, I do so still, and hope ever to find him so." In the distress supposed, he had put the case of a double failure, both Jlesh and heart fail; but in the relief, he fastens on a single support, he leaves cut the flesh and the consideration of that, it is enough that God is the Strength of his heart. He speaks as one careless of the body, (Let that fail, there is no remedy,) but as one concerned about the soul, to be strengtheiied in the inner man. Secondly, " He .'s my Portion for ex^er; he will not cnly sujjport me while I am here, but make me happy wlitn I go hence." The saints choose God for their Portion, they have him for their Portion, and it is their happiness that he will be their Portion; a Portion that will last as long as the immortal soul lasts.

V. He was fully convinced of the miserable estate of all wicked people. Tliis he learned in the sanctuary, upon this occasion, and he wculd neA'er forget It; (r. 27.) " Lo^ they that are far from thee, in a state of distance and estrangement, that desire the Almighty to depart from them, shall certainlj-perish; so shall their doom be; they choose to be far from God, and they shall be far from him foi ever; thou shalt justly'destroy all them that go a whoring from thee, all apostates, that in profession have been betrothed to God, but forsake him, their duty to him, and their communion with him, to embrace the bosom of a stranger." The doom is severe, no less than perishing, and being destroyed. It is universal; " They shall all be destroyed Avithout exception." It is'certain; "Tliou hast destroyed:" it is as sure to be done as if done alreadv; and the destruction of some ungodly men is an earnest of the perdition of all. God himself undertakes to do it, into whose hands it is a fearful thing to fall; " Thou, though infinite in goodness, wilt reckon for thine injured honour and abused patience, and wilt destrov them that go a whoring from thee."

VI. He was greatly encouraged to cleave to God. and to confide in him, v. 28. If they that are far from God shall fierish, the-n, 1. Let this constrain us to live in communion with Gk)d; if it fare so ill with those that live at a distance from him, tlien it is good, very good, the chief good, that good for a man, in this life, which he should most carcfullv pursue and secure. " It is best for me to di^w nerV to God, and to have Go-ci draw near to me;" th'" original may take in both. But for my part, (so ] would read it,) the afiftroach of God is good for mr-. Our drawing near to God takes rise from his .iravv ing near to us, and it is the happy Diccting that

PSALMS, LXXIV.

makes the bliss. Here is a gi*eat ti-uth laid down, That it is good to draw near to God; but the life cf it lies in the application, "It is gocd for me.'''' Those are the wise, who know wh;it is good for themselves; " It is good, says he, (and every good man agrees with him in it,) it is good fur me to draw near to God; it is my duty, it is my interest." 2. Let us therefore live in a continual dependence upon him; " / ha-veput ?ny trust in the Lord God, and will never go a whonng from him after any creature-confidences. " If wicked men, notwithstanding all their prosperity, shall perish and be destroyed, then let us trust "in the Lord God, in him, not in them, (see cxlvi. 3"5.) in him, and not in our worldly prosperity; let us trast in God, and neither fret at them nor be afraid of them; let us tiiist in him for a better portion than theirs is. 3. While we do so, let us not doubt but that we shall have occasion to praise his name. Let us trust in the Lord, that we may declare all his works. Note, Those that with an upright heart put their trust in God, shall never want matter for thanksgiving to him.

PSALM LXXIV.

This psalm does so particularly describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, by Nebuchadnezzar and the army of the Chaldeans, and can so ill be applied to any other event we meet with in the Jewish history, that interpreters incline to think, either, it was penned by Da-rid, or Asaph in David's time, with a prophetical reference to that sad event; which yet is not so probable; or, that it was penned by another Asaph, who lived at the time of the captivity, or by Jeremiah, (for it is of a piece with his Lamentations,) or some other prophet, and, after the return out of captivity, was delivered to the sons of Asaph, who were called by his name, for the public service of the church. That was the most eminent family of the singers in Ezra's time- See Ezra ii. 41.—iii. 10. JVeA. xi. 17, 22.—xii. 35, 46. The deplorable case of the people of God, at that time, ia here spread before the Lord, and left with him. The prophet, in the name of the church, I. Puts in complaining pleas of the miseries they suffered, for the quickening of tlicir desires in prayer, v. 1..11. II. He puts in comfortable pleas for the encouraging of their faith in prayer, V. 12., 17. III. He concludes with divers petitions to God for deliverances, v. 18. . 23, In singing it, we must be affected with the former desolations of the church, for we are members of the same body, and may apply it to any present distresses or desolations of any part of the Christian church.

Maschil of Asa/ih.

GOD, why hast thou cast ?/s off for ever ? ichy doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture / 2. Ke-inomber thy congregation, idIucIi thou hast })urchased of old ; the rod of thiite inheritance, ivhich thou hast redeemed; this mount Sion, wherein thou hast dwelt. 3. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; evai all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. 4. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs. 5. A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. 6. But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. 7. They have cast fire into thy sanctuary; they have defiled hij r.aafinfx dotnn thedwelling-plareof tliy name to the ground. 8. They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burnt up all the synagogues of God in the

land. 9. AV'e see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. 10. O God, how long shall the adversary reproach i shall the enemy l)laspheme thy name for ever ? 11. Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand ? pluck it out of thy bosom.

This psalm is entitled Maschil, a psalm ,, give instruction, for it was penned in a day of afRictior, which is intended for instruction; and this instruction, in general, it gives us. That, when we are, upon any account, in distress, it is our wisdom and duty to apply ourselves to God by faithful and fei \'ent prayer, and we shall not find it in vain to do so.

Three things they here complain of.

I. The displeasure of God against them, as that which was the cause and bitterness of all their calamities. They look above the instraments of their trouble, who, they knew, could have no power against them, unless it were given them from above, and keep their eye upon God, by whose determined counsel they were delivered up into the hands of wicked and unreasonable men. Observe the liberty they take to expostulate with God; {v. 1.) we hope, not too great a liberty, for Christ himself, upon the cross, cried out, My God, my God, tvhy hast thou forsaken me? So the church here, O God, ivhy hast thou forsaken us for ever? Here they speak according to their present dark and melancholy apprehensions; for otherwise. Has God cast aivay his people? God forbid, Rom. xi. 1. The people of God must not think that because they are cast down, they are therefore cast off; that because men cast them'off, therefore God does; and that because he seems to cast them off for a time, therefore they are really cast off for ever: vet this expostulation intimates, that they dreaded God's casting them off more than any thing, that they desired to be owned of him, whatever they suffered from men, and were desirous to know wherefore he thus contended with them; ll'hy doth thine anger smoke? Why does it rise up to such a degree, that all about us take notice of it, and ask, JVhat means the heat of this great anger? Dcut. xxix. 24. Compare x'. 20. where the .'•.ngcr of the Lord and his jealousy are said to smoke against sinners.

Observe what they plead with God, now that thev lay under the tokens and apprehensions of his wrath.

1. They plead their relation to him; "We are the sheep of thy pasture, the sheep wherewith thou hast been pleased to stock thy pasture, thy peculiar people, whom thou art pleased to set apart for thyself, and design for thine own glory. That the wolves worrv the sheep is not strange; but was ever any shepherd thus displeased at his own sheep? Remember, we are thy congregation, (v. 2.) incorporated by thee and" for thee, and devoted to thy praise; we are the rod, or tribe, of thine inheritance, whom thou hast been pleased to claim a special property in, above other people, (DeuL xxxii. 9.) and from whom thou hast received the rents and issues of praise and worship, more than from the neighbouring nations. Nav, a man's inheritance may lie at a great distance, out we are ]ileading for mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt, which has been the place of thy peculiar delight and residence, thv demesne and mansion."

2. They plead the great things God had done for them, and the vast expense he had been at upon them; " It is thy congregation, which thou hast not only made with a word's speaking, but purchased of old bv many miracles of mercy, when they were first formed into a people; it is thine inheritance,

PSALMS, LXXIV.

4J9

»>rhich thou hast redeemed when they wei-e sold into servitude;" God gave Egyfit to ruinybr their random, gave men for them, mvl people for their life, Isa. xliii. 3, 4. " Now, Lord, wilt thou now abandon a people that cost thee so dear, and has been so dear to thee?" And if the redemption of Israel out of Egypt was an encouragement to hope that he would not cast them off, much more reason have we to hope that God will not cast off any whom Christ has redeemed with his own blood; but the people of his purchase shall be for ever the people of his praise.

3. They plead the calamitous state that they were in; {y. 3.; "Lift up thy feet; come with speed to repair tlie desolations that are made in thy sanctuary, which otherwise will be peipttucd and irreparable. " It has been sometimes said, that the divine vengeance strikes with iron hands, yet it comes with leaden feet; and then those who wait for the day of the Lord, cry. Lord, lift up thy feet. Ejcalt thy steps; magnify thyself in tlie outgoing of thy providence. When the desolations cf the sanctuary have continued long, we are tempted to think tiiey will be perpetual; but it is a temptation; for God will avenge his own elect, will avenge tliem speedily, though he bear long with their oppressors and persecutors.

II. They complain of the outrage and cruelty of their enemies; not so much, no not at all, of what they had done to the prejudice of their secular m-terests; here are no complaints of the burning of their cities and ravaging of their country, but only what they had done against the sanctuary and the synagogue. Tlie concerns of religion should lie nearer our hearts, and affect us more, than any worldly concern whatsoevei". The desolation of God's house should grieve us more than the desolation of our own houses; for the matter is not great what becomes of us and our families in this world, provided God's name may be sanctified, his kingdom may come, and his will be done.

1. He complains of the desolations of the sanctuary, as Daniel, ch. ix. 17. The temple at Jemsa-lem was the dwelling-place of God's name, and therefore the sanctuary, or holy place, v. 7. In this, the enemies did wickedly, [xk 3.) for thev destroyed it in downright contempt of God and affront to him. ^1.) They roared in the midst of God's congregations; there where God's faithful people attend on him with an humble, reverent, silence, or softly speaking, they roared in a riotous, revelling, manner, being elated with having made themselves masters of that sanctuary, of whicli they had sometimes heard formidable things. (2.) They set up their ensigns for signs; the banners of their army they set up in tlie temple, (Israel's strongest castle, as ''ong as they kept close to God,) as trophies of their victory. There where the signs of God's presence used to be, now the enemy had set up their ensigns. This daring defiance of God and his power touched his people in a tender part (3.) They took a pride in destroying the carved work of the temple. As much as, formerly, men thought it an lionour to lend an hand to the building of the temple, and he "was thought famous that helped to fell the timber for that work, so much, now, they valued themselves upon their agency in destroying it, x>. 5, 6. Thus, as formerly those were celebrated for wise men that did service to religion, so now they are cried up for wits that help to run it dowTi. Some read it thus. They show themselves, as one that lifts up axes on high in a thicket of trees, for so do tViey break down the can-ed work of the temple; they make no more sciiiple of breaking down the rich wainscot of the temple, than wood-cutters do of hewing trees in the forest; such indignation have Ihev at the sanctuary, that the most curious carving

that ever v/as seen is beaten down by the common soldiers, without any regard had to it, either as a dedicated thing, or as a piece of exquisite art. (4.) They set fire to it, and so violated or destroyed it to the ground, v, 7. The Chaldeans burnt the house ol God, that stately, costly, fabric, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 19. And the Romans left not there one stone upon another (Matth. xxiv. 2.) razing it, razing it even to the foundations, till Zion, the holy mountain, was, by Titus Vespasian, ploughed as a field.

2. He complains of the desolations of the synagogues, or sj.liools cf the proplicts, which, before the captivity, were in use, tlicugli much more after. There God's word was read and expounded, and his name praised and called upon, v.'ithout altars cr sacrifices. These also they liad a spite to; (x). 8.^ Let us destroy them together; net only the temple, but all the places of religious worship, and tlie worshippers with them; let us destroy them together, let them be consumed in the same Aame. Pursuant to this impious resolve, they burnt up all the synagogues of God in the land, and laid them all waste. So gi-eat was their rage against religion, that the religious houses, because religious, were all levelled M'ith the ground, that God's worshippers miglit net glorify God, and edify one another, by meeting in solemn assemblies,

III, The great aggravation cf aU these calamities, was, that they had no prospect at all of relief, nor could they foresee an end of them; {v. 9. ) "We see our enemy's sign set up in the sanctuary, but we see not our signs, none of the tokens of God's presence, no hopeful indications of approaching deliverance; there is no inore ariy prophet to tell us how long the trouble will last, and when things concerning us shall have an end; that the hope of an issue, at last, may support us under our troubles." In the captivity in Babylon, they had prophets, and had been told how long the captivity should continue, but the day was cloudy and dark, (Ezek. xxxiv. 12.) and they had not as yet the comfort of these gracious discoveries; God spake once, yea, twice, good words and comfortable words, but they perceived them not. Observe, They do not complain, "We see not our armies, there are no men of war to command our forces, nor an}- to go forth with our hosts;" but, " no prophets, none to teU us how long."

This puts them upon expostulating with God, as delaying, 1. To assert his honour, (v. 10.) Ifow long shall tlie adversary reproach, and blaspheme thy naine? In the desolations of the sanctuary, our chief concern should be for the glory of God, that that may not be injured by the blasphemies of those who persecute his people for his sake, because they are his; find therefore our inquiry should be, not " How long shall we be troubled," but "How long shall God be blasphemed?" 2. To exert his power; (t. 11.) " Why withdrawest thou thy hand, and dost net stretch it out, to deliver thy people, arid destroy thine enemies? Pluck it out of thy bosom, and be not as a man astonished, as a man that cannot save, or will not," Jer. xiv. 9. When the power cf enemies is most threatening, it is comfortable to fly to the power of God.

12. For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 13. Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the v\'aters. 14. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to he meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. 15. Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers

PSALMr^, LXXIV.

1G. The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the hght and tiie sun. 17. Thou hast set all the borders of the (arth: thou hast made summer and winter.

The lamenting church fastens upon something here, which she calls to mind, and therefore hath nhe hope, (as Lam. iii. 21.) with which she encourages herself, and silences her own complaints.

Two tilings quiet the minds of those that are here sorrowing for the solemn assembly.

I. That God is the God of Israel, a God in covenant with his people; {y. 12.) God is my King of old. This comes in both as a,plea in prayer to God, (xliv. 4. Thou art my King, O God,) and as a prop tj their own faith and liope, to encourage themselves to expect deliverance, considering the days of old, Ixxvii. 5. The church speaks as a complex l)ody, the same in every age, and therefore calls God, " My King, my King of old," or, " from antiquity;" lie of old put himself into that relation to them, and appeared and acted for them in that relation; as Israel's King, he wrought salvation in tlie midst of the nations of the earth; for what he did, in the government of the world, tended toward the salvation of his church.

Several things are here mentioned, which God had done for his people, as their King of old, which encouraged them to commit tliemselves to him, and depend upon him. 1. He had divided the sea before them, when tl\ey came out of Egypt, not by the strength of Moses or liis rod, but by his own strength; and he that could do that could do any thing. 2. He had destroyed Pharaoh and the Egyptians; Pharaoh was the leviathan, the Egyptians were the dragons, fierce and ciniel. Observe, (1.) The victory obtained over these enemies; God brake their heads, baffled their politics; as when Israel, the more they were afflicted by them, mul-tipled the more; God cnishcd their powers, though complicated, mined their country by ten plagues, and, at last, drowned them all in the Red sea; This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, Ezek. xxxi. 18. It was the Lord's doing, none besides could do it, and he did it witli a strong hand and outstretched arm. This was typical of Christ's victory over Satan and his kingdom, pursuant to the first promise, that the Seed of the wom in should break the serpent's head. (2.) The improvement of this victory for the encouragement of the church; Thou gavest him to be meat to the fieojile of Israel, now going to inhabit the ivilderness. The spoil of the Egyptians enriched them; they stripped tlieir slain, and so got the Egyptians' arms and weapons, as before they had got their jewels. Or i-atlier, this providence was meat to their faith and hope, to suppcnl and encourage them in reference to the other difficulties they were likely to meet with in the wilderness. It was part of the spiritual meat which they were all made to eat of. Note, The breaking of the heads of the church's enemies, is the joy and strength of theliearts of the church's friends. Thus the companions make a banquet even of leviathan, Job xli. 6. (3.) God had both ways altered the course of nature, both in fetching streams out of the rock, and turning streams into rock, v. lo. [1.1 He had dissolved the rock into waters; Thou didst bring out the fountain and the food; (so some read it;) and eveiy one knows whence it was brought, out of the rock, nut of the flinty rock. Let this never be forgotten, but let it especiall)' be remembered, that t!ie Rock was Christ, and the waters out of it spiritual drink. [2.] He had congealed the waters into rock; Thou driedst u/i mighty, rapid, rivers, i irdan particularly, at the time when it ovei-flowcd all its banks. He that did these things could now

deliver his oppressed people, and break the yoke of the oppressors, as he had done formerly; nay, he would do it, for his justice and goodness, his wisdom and ti\ith, are still the same, as well as his power.

II. That the Gcd of Israel is the God of nature, V. 16, 17. It is he that orders the regular successions and revolutions, 1. Of day and night; he is the Lord of all time; the evening and the morning are of his ordaining; it is he that opens the eyelids of the morning light, and draws the curtains of the evening shadow. He has prefiared the moon and the sztn; (so some read it;) the two great lights, to rule by day and night alternately. The preparing of them denotes their constant readiness, and exact observance of their time, which they never miss a moment. 2. Of summer and winter; "Thou hast appointed all the bounds of the earth, and the dii fcrent climates of its several regions, for thou hast made summer and winter, the frigid and the torrid zones; or rather, the constant revolutions of the year, and its several seasons." Herein we are to acknowledge God, from whom all the laws and powers of nature are derived; but how does this come in here? (1.) He that had power at first to settle, and stiU to preserve, this course of nature, by the diurnal and annual motions of the heavenly bodies, has certainly all power both to save and to destroy, and with him nothing is impossible, nor any difficulties or oppositions insuperable. (2.) He that is faithful to his covenant with the day and with the night, and preserves the ordinances of heaven inviolable, will certainly make good his promise to his people, and never cast off those whom he has chosen, Jer. xxxi. 35, 36.—xxxiii. 20, 21. His covenant witli Abraham and his seed is as firm as that with Noah and his sons. Gen. viii. 21. (3.) Day and night, summer and winter, being counterchanged in the course of nature, throughout all the borders of the earth, we can expect no other than that trouble and peace, prosperity and adversity, should be, in like manner, counterchanged in all the borders of the church. We have as much reason to expect affliction as to expect night and winter. But w have then no more reason to despair of' the retun. of comfort, than we have to despair of day and summer.

18. Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, and that the fooHsh people have blasphemed thy name. 19. O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the multitude of the jcicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever. 20. Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. 21. O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name. 22. Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily. 23. Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.

The psalmist here, in the name of the church, most earnestly l^egs that God would appear foi them against their enemies, and put an eno to their present troubles; to encourage his own faith, he in terests God in this matter; (t'. 22.) Jrise, O God, plead thine otvn cause. This we may be sure he will do, for he is jealous for his o^v^l honour; what ever is his own cause, lie will plead it with a stroni; hand, will appear against those that oppose it, an''

PSALMS, LXXV.

with and for those that cordially espouse it He Will arise and plead it, though for a time he seems to neglect it; he will stir up himself, wDl manifest himself, will do his own work in his own time. Note, The cause of religion is God's own cause, dnd he will certainly plead it.

Now, to make it out that the cause is God's, he pleads,

I. That the persecutors are God's sworn enemies; "Lord, they have not only abused us, but they ha\ e been, and are, abusive to thee; what is done against us, for thy sake, does, by consequence, reflect upon thee. But that is not all, they have directly and immediately reproached thee, and blasfihemed thy name" v. 18. This was that which they roared in the sanctuary; they triumphed as if they had now got tlie mastery of the God of Israel, of whom they iiad heard sucn great things. As nothing, grieves the saints more, than to hear God's name blasphemed, so nothing encourages them more to hope that God will appear against their enemies, than when they are arrived at such a pitch of wickedness as to reproach Gcd himself; this fills the measure of their sins apace, and hastens their ruin. The psalmist insists much upon this; " We dare not answer their reproaches. Lord, do thou answer them. Remember that the foolish fieofile have blasfihenicd thy yiame, [y. 18.) and that still the foolish man re/iroaches thee daily." Observe the character of those that reproach God; they are foolish. As atheism is folly, (xiv. 1.) pro-faneness and blasphemy are no less so. Perhaps they are cried up for the wits of the age, that ridicule religion and sacred things; but really they are the greatest fools, and will shortly be made to appear so before all the world. And yet see their malice; They reproach God daily, as constantly as his faitliful worshippers pray to him and praise him; see their impudence; They do not hide their blasphemous thoughts in their own bosoms, but proclaim them with a loud voice; {Forget not the voice of thine e?iemies, v. 23.) and this, with a daring defiance of divine justice; They rise up against thee, and by their blasphemies even wage war with heaven, and take up arms against the Almighty. Their noise and tumult ascend continually, (so some,) as the cry of Sodom came up before God, calling for vengeance. Gen. xviii. 21. It increases continually; (so we read it;) they gi-ow worse and worse, and are hardened in their impieties by their successes. Now, Lord, remember this, do not forget it. God needs not to be put in remembrance by us of what he has to do, but thus we must show our concern for his honour, and believe that he will A'indicate us.

U. That the persecuted are his covenant-people.

1. See what distress they are in; they are fallen into the hands of the ?niiltitude of the wicked, t. 19. Hotv are they increased that trouble them! There (s no standing before an enraged multitude, especially like these, armed with power; and as the}- are numerous, so they are barbarous; The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. The land of the Chaldeans, where there was none of the light of the knowledge of the true Gcd, (though otherwise it was famed for learning and arts,) was Indeed a dark place; the inhabitants of it were alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that was in them, and therefore they were cruel:

vhere there was no true divinit\', there was scarcely lo be found common humanity; they were especially cruel to the people of God; certainly they have no knowledge, who eat them up, xiv. 4. They are oppressed, {v. 21.) because they are poor and unable to right themselves; they are oppressed, and so

Tiade poor.

2. See what reason they had to hope that God would appear for their relief, and not suffer them to be always thus trampled upon. Observe how

421

the psalmist pleads with God for them; (1.) "It is thy turtle-dove that is ready to be swallowed up b) the multitude of the wicked," v. 19. The church is a dove, for harmlessncss and mildness, innocency and inoffensiyeness, purity and fruitfulness; a dove, for mournfulness in a day of distress; a turtle-dove for fidelity, and the constancy of love: tui-tle-do\es and pigeons were the only fowls that were offered in sacrifice to God. "Shall thy turtle-dove, that is true to thee, and dcA^oted to thine honour, be delivered, its life and soul and all, into the hand of the multitude of the wicked, to wliom it will soon become an easy and acceptable prey? Lord, it will be thine honour to help the weak, especially to help thine own." (2.) " It is the congregation of thy poor, and they are not the less thine for their being poor; (for God has choseyi the poor of this world, Jam. ii. 5.) but they have the more reason to expect thou wilt appear for them, because they are many, it is the congregation of thy poor; let them not be abandoned and forgotten for ever." (3.) "They are in covenant with thee; and wilt thou not have respect unto the covenant? v. 20. Wilt thou not perform the promises thou hast, in thy covenant, made to them? Wilt thou not own them whom thou hast brought into the bond of the covenant?" WHien God delivers his people, it is in remembrance of his covenant. Lev. xxvi. 42. "Lord, though we are unworthy to be respected, yet have respect to the covenant" (4.) "They trust in thee, and boast of their relation to thee, and expectations from thee; O let them not return ashamed of their hope, {y. 21.J as they will be, if they be disappointed." (5.) " K thou deliver them, they will praise thy name, and give thee the glory of their deliverance. Appear, Lord, for those tliat will praise thy name, against those that blaspheme it."

PSALM LXXV.

Though this psalm is attributed to Asaph, in the title, vet it does so exactly agree with David's circumstances," at his coming to the crown after the death of Saul, that most interpreters apply it to that juncture, and suppose that either Asaph penned it, in the person of David, as his poet-laureat; (probably, the substance of the psalm was some speech which David made to a convention of the states, at his accession to the government, and Asaph turned it into verse, and published it in a poem, for the better spreading of it among the people;) or that David penned it, and delivered it to Asaph as a precentor of the temple. In this psalm, I. David returns God thanks for bringing him to the throne, v. 1, 9. II. He promises to lay out himself for the public good, in the use of the power God had given him, v. 2, 3, 10. III. He checks the insolence of those that opposed his coming to the throne, v. 4, 5. IV. He fetches a reason for all this from God's sovereign dominion in the affairs of the children of men, v. 6..8. In singing this psalm, we must wive to God the glory of all the revolutions of states and Kingdoms, believing that they are all according to his counsel, and that he will make them all to work for the good of his church.

To the chief musician, Al-taschith. A psalm or song of Asaph.

1. TTNTO thee, O God, do we give U thanks, unto thee do we give thanks for that thy name is near, thy wondrous works declare. 2. When I shall receive the congregation, I will judge uprightly. .3. The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah. 4. I said unto the fools. Deal not foolishly; and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn: 5. Lift not up your horn on high: speak no* with a stiff neck.

PSALMS, LXXV.

In these verses,

I. The psahnist gives lo God the praise of his advancement to honour and power, and tlie other great things he had aone for hinri and for his people Israel; (■y. 1.) Unto thee, 0 God, do tve give thanks, for all the favours thou hast bestowed upon us; and again, unto thee do ive ffive thanks; for our thanksgivings must be often repeated. Did not we often pray for mercy, when we were in pursuit of it; and shall we think it will suffice once or twice to give thanks, when we have obtained it? Not only/do give thanks, but ive do; I and all my friends. If we share with othei's in their mercies, we must join with them in their praises; " Unto thee, O God, the Author of our mercies; and we will not give that glory to the instruments which is due to thee only. For that thy nam? is near, that the complete accomplishment of thy promise made to David is not far off, thy wondrr.us works, Avhich thou hast already done for him, declare." Note, 1. There are many works which God does for his people, that may tiaily be called wondrous works, out of the common course of pix)vidence, and quite beyond our expectation. 2. These wondrous works declare the nearness of his name; they show that he himself is at hand, nigh to us in what we call upon him for, and that he is about to do some great things for his people, in pursuance of his puipose and promise. 3. When God's wondrous works declare the nearness of his name, it is our duty to give him thanks, again and again to give him thanks.

II. He lays himself under an obligation to use his power well, pursuant to the great tnist reposed in him; (x". 2.) When I shall receive the congregation, I will judge ufirightlij. Here he takes it for granted, that God would, in due time, perfect that which concerned him, that though the congregation was very slow in gathering to him, and grer.t opposition was made to it, yet, at length, he should receive it; for what God has spoken in his holiness, he will perform by his wisdom and power. Being thus in expectation of the mercy, he promises to make conscience of his duty; "When I am a judge, I will judge, and judge uprightly; not as those that went before me, who either neglected judgment, or, which was worse, perverted it; either did no good with their power, or did hurt." Note, 1. Those that are advanced to posts of honour, must remember they are posts of service, and must set themselves with diligence and application of mind to do the work to Avhich they are called. He does not say, "When I shall receive the congregation, I will take my ease, and take state upon me, and leave the public business to others;" but, "I will mind it myself." 2. Public trusts are to be managed with great integrity; they that judge, must judge uprightly, ac-coi-ding to the rules of justice, without respect of persons.

III. He promises himself that his government would be a public blessing to Israel, v. .". Tlic ])rc-sent state of the kingdom was very bad; The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved; and no marvel, when the former reign was so dissolute, that all went to rack and ruin. There was a general corruption of manners, for want of putting the laws in execution against vice and profancncss. They were divided one from another, for want of centering, as they ought to do, in the government God hnd appointed. They were all to pieces, two against three, and three against two, cnunbled into factions and parties, which was likely to issue in their min; but I bear ufi the fiillars of it. Even in SiuTs time, David did what he could for the public welfare; but he hoped, that, when he harl himself received tlu-congregation, he should do much more, and should not only prevent the public min, but recover the public strength and beauty. Now, 1. See the mis-

chief cf parties; they melt and dissolve a land and

the inhabitants of it. 2. See how much one head frequently holds up. The fabric had sunk, if David had not held up the pillars of it. This may well be applied to Christ and his government. The world and all the inhabitants of it were dissolved by sin, man's apostasy threatening the destruction of the whole creation; but Christ bore up the pillars of it, he saved the whole world from utter ruin, by saving his people from their sins, and into his han^ the administration of the kingdom cf Providence is committed, f ir he ufiholds all things by the word of his fioivcr, Heb. i. 3.

IV. He checks those that opposed his government, that were against his accession to it, and ob-stiTJcted the administration of it, striving to keep up that vice and profaneness which he had made it his business to suppress; {y. 4, 5.) / said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly. He had said so to them in Saul's time, when he had not power to restrain them, yet he had wisdom and grace to reprove them, and to give them good counsel; though they bore themselves high, upon the favour of that unhappy prince, he cautioned them not to be too presumptuous. Or rather, he does now say so to them. As soon as he came to the crown, he issued out a proclamation against vice and pi'ofaneness, and here we have the contents of it. 1. To the simple sneaking sinners, the fools in Israel, that corrupted themselves, to them he said, " Deal not foolishly; do not act so directly contrary both to your reason and to your interest as you do, while you walk ccntraiy to the laws God has given Israel, and the promises he has made to David." Christ, the Son of David, gives us this counsel, issues out this edict. Deal not foolishly. He who is made of God to us Wisdom, Bids us be wise for ourselves, and not make fools of ourselves. 2. To the proud daring sinners, the wicked, that set God himself at defiance, he says, "Lift not up. the horn; boast not of your power and prerogatives, persist not in your contumacy and contempt of the government set over you; lift not ufi your horn on high, as though you could have what you will, and do what you will; speak not with a stiff neck, in which is an iron sinew, that will never bend to the will of God in the govenmient; for they that will not bend, shall break; they whose necks are stiffened, are so to their own destruction." This is Christ's word of command in his gospel, that every mountain will be brought low before him, Isa. xl. 4. Let not the antichrlstian power, with its heads and horns, lift up itself against him, for it shall ccitainly be broken to pieces; what is said with a stiff neck, must be unsaid again with a broken heart, or we ai-c undone. Pharaoh said with a stiff neck. Who is the Lord? But God made him knew, to his cost.

6. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor fiom the west, nor from the south: 7. But God is the judge; he putteth down one, and setteth up another. 8. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and tlie wine is red; it is full of mixture, and he poureth out of the same: hut the dreg:s thereof, all the M^icked of the earth shall wring them out, ond drink thcni. 9. But I will deelare for ever; I will sing praises tc the God of Jaroh. 10. AU the homs of the wicked also will T rut off: /;/// the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

In these verses, we have two great doctrines liid dcwn, and two gt-cd inferences draAvn ttojt;

PSALMS, LXXVI.

421

them, for the confirmation of what he had before said.

I. Here are two great truths laid down concerning God's government of the world, which we ought to mix faith with, both pertinent to the occasion.

1. That from God alone kings receive their power, (x). 6, 7.) and therefore to God alone David would give the praise of his advancement; having his power from God, he would use it for him, and therefore they were fools that lifted up the horn against him. We see strange revolutions in states and kingdoms, and are sui-prised at the sudden disgrace of some, and elevation of others; we are all nill of such changes, when they happen; but here we are directed to look at the Author of them, and are here taught where the original of power is, and whence promotion comes. Whence comes preferment in kingdoms, to the sovereignty of them? And whence comes preferments in kingdoms, to places of power and tnist in them? The former depends not upon the will of the people, nor the latter on the will of the prince, but both on the will of God, who has all hearts in his hands; to him therefore those must look who are in pursuit of preferment, and then they begin right. We are here told, (1.) Negatively; which way we are not to look for the fountain of power; Promotion comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert, that is, neither from the desert on the north of Jei-usalem, nor from that on the south; so that the fair gale of preferment is not to be expected to blow from any point of the compass, but only from above, directly thence. Men cannot gain promotion either by the wisdom or wealth of the children of the east, or by the numerous forces of the isles of the Gentiles, that lay westward, or those of Egypt or Arabia, that lay south; no concurring smiles of second causes will raise men to preferment without the First Cause. The learned Bishop Lloyd (Serm. in loc.J gives this gloss upon it; All men took the original of power to be from heaven, but from whom there, many knew not; the eastern nations, who were generally given to astrology, took it to come from their stars, especially the sun, their god; No, says David, it comes neither from the east, nor from the west, neither from the rising, nor from the setting, of such a planet, or such a constellation, nor from the south, nor from the exaltation of the sun, or any star in the mid-heaven. He mentions not the north, because none supposed it to come thence; or, because the same word that signifies the north, signifies the secret place; and from the secret of God's counsel it does come; or from the oracle in Zion, which lay on the north side of Jerusalem. Note, No wind is so good as to blow promction, but as He directs, who has the winds in his fists. (2.) Positively; God is the fudge, the Governor or Umpire; when parties contend for the prize, he fiuts down one, and sets u/i another, as he sees fit, so as to serve his own puiposes, and bring to pass his own counsels. Herein he acts by prerogative, and is not accountable to us for any of these matters; nor is it any damage, danger, or disgrace, that He, who is infinitely wise, holy, and good, has an arbitrary and despotic power to set up, and piit down, whom, and when, and how, he pleases. This is a good reason why magistrates should rule for God, as those that must give account to him, because it is by him that kings reign.

2. That from God alone all must receive their doom; {v. 8.) In the hand of the Lord there is a cup, which he puts into the hands of the children rvf.men, a cup of providence, mixed up (as he thinks fit") of manv ingredients; a cup of affliction; the sufferings of Christ are c".lled a cnf^, Matth. xx. 22. John xviii. 11. The judgments of God unon sinners arc the cufx of the Lord's right hand, Hab. ii. 16.

The nvhie .<s red, denoting the wrath of God, which is infused into the judgments executed on sinners, and is the wormwood and the gall in the affliction and the misery. It is red as fire, red as blood, for it burns, it kills. It is full of mixture, prepared in wisdom, so as to answer the end: there are mixtures of mercy and gr.xe in the cup of affliction, when it is put into the hands of God s own people; mixtures of the curse, when it is put into the liands of the wicked; it is wine mingled with gall. These vials, (1.) Are poured out upon all; see Rev. xv. 7. —xvi. 1. where we read of the angels pouring cut the ^•ials of God's wrath upon the earth. Some drops of this wrath may lig'at on good people; when God's judgments are abroad, they have their share in common calamities; but, (2.) The dregs of the cup are reserved for the wicked. The calamity itself is but the vehicle into which the wrath and curse is infused, the top of which has little of the infusion; but the sediment is pure wrath, and that shall fall to the share of sinners; they have the dregs of the cup now, in the terrors of conscience, and hereafter, in the torments of hell. They shall wring them out, that not a drop of the wrath may be left behind, and they shall drink them, for the curse shall enter into their bowels like water, and like oil into their bones. The cup of the Lord's indignation will be to them a cup of trembling, everlasting trembling. Rev. xiv. 10. The wicked man's cup, while he prospers in the world, is full of mixture, but the worst is at the bottom. The wicked are i-eserved unto the day of judgment.

II. Here are two good practical inferences drawn from these great ti-uths, and they are the same purposes of duty that he began the psalm with. This being so, 1. He will praise God, and give him glory, for the power to which he had advanced him; {v. 9.) I will declare for erver that which thy wondrous works declare, v. 1. He will praise God for his elevation, not only at first, while the mercy was fresh, but for ever, so long as he lives; the exaltation of the Son of David will be the subject of the saints' everlasting praises. He will give glory to God, not only as his God, but as the God of Jacob; knowing it was for Jacob his servant's sake, and because he loved his people Israel, that he made him king over them. 2. He will use the power with which he is inti-usted, for the great ends for which it was put into his hands, {v. 10.) as before, V. 2, 4. According to the duty of the higher powers, (1.) He resolves to be a terror to evildoers, to humble their pride, and break their power; " Though not all the heads, yet all the horns of the wicked will I cut off, with which they push their poor neighbours; I will disable them to do mischief." Thus God promises to raise up carpenters which shf uld fray the horns of the Gentiles that had scattered Judah and Israel, Zech. i. 18--21. (2.) He resolves to be a Protection and Praise to them that do well; The horns of the righteous shall be exalt ed; they sh:'ll be preferred and put into places of power; and tlicy tliat are good, and have hearts to do good, shall not want ability and opportunity for it. This agrees with David's resolutions, ci. 3, &c. Herein David was a type of Christ, who with the breath of his mouth shall slay the wicked, but shaU exalt with hoiiour the horyi of the righteous, cxii. 9.

PSALM LXXVI.

This psalm seems to have been penned upon occasion of some preat victory obtained by the church over some threateninpr enemv or other, and designed to g-race the triumph. The L^X call it, A song upon tfie Assyrians; whence many srood interpreters conjecture, that it was penned nhen Sennacherib's army, then besieofinn: Jerusalem, was entirely cut oflTby a destroyinof ancrel in He-zekiah's time; and several passa<jes in the psalm are very applicaJ^e to that work of wonder; but there was a

PSALMS, LXXVI.

reli;^ious triumph upon occasion of another victory, in J^lioshaphat's time, which misrht as well be the subiect of this psalm; (2 Chron. xx. 2S.) and it might be called a song ofJlsaph, because always sung by the sons of Asaph. Or it might be penned by Asaph, who lived in David's lime, upon occasion of the man^- triumphs with which God delighted to honour that reign. Upon occasion of this glorious victory, whatever it was, I. The psalmist congratulates the happiness of the church, in having God so nigh, V. 1.. 3. 11. He celebrates the glory of God's

fower, which this was an illustrious instance of, v. 4. .6. II. He infers hence, what reason all have to fear before him, v. 7 .. 9. And, IV. What reason his people have to trust in him, and to pay their vows to him, v. 10..12. It is a psalm proper for a thanksgiving-day, upon the account of public successes, and not improper at other times, because it is never out of season to glorify God for the great things he has done for his church formerly, especially for the victories of the Redeemer over the powers of darkness, which all those Old Testament victories were types of, at least, those that are celebrated in the psalms.

To the chief musician on JVeginoth. A psalm, or song ofAsafih.

1. XN Jiidah is God known; his name is JL great m Israel. 2. In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling-place in Sion. 3. There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah. 4. Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. 5. The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep; and none of the men of might have found their hands. 6. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.

The church is here triumphant, even in the midst of its miUtant state. The psahiiist, in the church's name, triumphs here in God, the Centre of all our triumphs.

I. In the revelation God had made of himself to them, X'. 1. It is the honour and privilege of Judah and Israel, that among them God is known, and where he is known his name will be great. God is knovv^n as he is pleased to make himself known; and they are happv to whom he discovers himself. Hajjpy people tViat have their land filled with the knowledge of God; happy persons that have their hearts filled with that knowledge! In Judah God was known, so as he was not known in other nations, which made the favour the greater, inasmuch as it was distinguishing, cxlvii. 19, 20.

II. In the tokens of God's special presence with them in his ordinances, v. 2. In the whole land of Judah and Israel God was known, and his name was great; but in Salem, in Zion, were his tabernacle and his dwelling-place; there he kept court, there he received the homage of his people by their sacrifices, and entertained them by the feasts upon the sacrifices; thither they came, to address themselves to him, and thence by his oracles \\c issued out his orders; there he recorded his name; and of tliat place he said. Here will I dwell, for I have desired it. It is the glory and happiness of a people to have God among thcrh by his ordinances; out his dwelling-place is a tabernacle, a moveable dwelling; yet a little while is that light with 7is.

III. In the victories they had obtained over their enemies; (t. 3.) There brake he the arrows of the bow. Observe how threatening the danger was; though Judali and Israel, Salem Pnd Zion, were thus privileged, yet war is raised against them, and the weapons of war are furbished. Here are bow and arrows, sl\i( Id and sword, and all fc;r battle; h>u all arc broken and rendered useless. And it

was done there, 1. In Judah and Israel, in tavour of that people near to God. While the weapons of war were used against other nations, they answered their end, but, when turned against that holy nation, they were immediately broken. The Chaldee paraphrases it thus. When the house of Israel did his will, he placed his majesty among them, and there he brake the arrows of the bow; while they kept close to his service, they were great and safe, and eveiy thing went well with them. Or, 2. In the tabernacle and dwelling-place in Zion, there he brake the arrows of the bow; it was done in the field of battle, and yet it is said to be done in the sanctuary, because done in answer to the prayers which God's people there made to him, and in performance of the promises which he there made to them; of both which, see that instance, 2 Chron. XX. 5, 14. Public successes are owing as much to what is done in the church, as to what is done in the camp. Now this victory redounded very much, (1.) To the immortal honour of Israel's God; {v. 4.) Thou art, and hast manifested thyself to be, more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. [1. J "Than the gi-eat and mighty ones of the earth in general, who are high, and think themselves firmly fixed like mountains, but are really mountains of prey, oppressive to all about them. It is their glory to destroy; it is thine to deliver." [2.] "Than our invaders in particular: when they besieged the cities of Judah, they cast up mounts against them, and raised batteries; but thou art m^re able to protect us, than they are to annoy us." Wherein the enemies of the church deal proudly, it will appear that God is above them.

(2.) To the perpetual disgrace of the enemies of Israel, v. 5, 6. They were stout-hearted, men of great courage and resolution, flushed with their former victories, enraged against Israel, confident of success; they were 7fien of might, robust, andfitfcr service; they had chariots and horses, which were then greatly valued and tnisted to in war, xx. 7. But all this force was of no av;nl when it was levelled against Jeinisalem. [1.] The stcut-hearted have despoiled and disarmed themselves; (so some read it;) when God pleases, he can make his enemies to weaken and destroy themselves. They have slept, not the sleep of the i-ighteous, who sleep in Jesus, but their sleep, the sleep of sinners, that shall wake to everlasting shame and contempt. [2.] The men of might can no more find their hands, than the stout-hearted can their spirit. As the bold men are cowed, so the strong men are lamed, and cannot so much as find their hands, to save their own heads, much less to hurt their enemies. [3.] Tlie chariots and horses mav be truly said to be cast into a dead sleep, when their drivers and their riders were so. God did but speak the word, as the God of Jacob, that commands deliverances for Jacob, and, at his rebuke, the chanot and horse were both cast into a dead sleep; when the men were laid dead upon the spot by the destroying angel, the chario* and horse were not at all formidable. See the power and efficacv of God's rebukes. With what pleasure may we Christians apply all this to the advantages we enjoy by the Redeemer! It i« througli him tnat God is known; it is in him that God's name is great; to him it is owing that God has a tabernacle and a dwelling-place in his church. He it was that vanquished the strong man armed, spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly.

7. Thou, even ttiou, art to be feared; and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angiy ? 8. Thou didst cause judgment to

PSALMS, LXXVII.

425

be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, 9. When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah. 10. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. 11. Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared. 12. He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth.

This glorious victory, with which God had graced and blessed his church, is here made to speak three things.

I. Terror to God's enemies; {v. 7••9.) " Thou, even thou, art to be feared; thy majesty is to be reverenced, thy sovereig-nty to be submitted to, and thy justice to be dreaded by those that have offended thee." Let all the world learn by this event to stand in awe of the great God. 1. Let all be afraid of his wrath against the darin,^ impiety of sinners; Who may stand in thii sight, from the minute that thou art angry ? If God be a consuming Fire, how can chaff and stubble stand before him, though his anger be kindled but a little, ii. 12. 2. Let all be afraid of his jealousy fnr oppressed innocency, and the injured cause of his own people; " Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from, heaven, then ivhen thou didst arise to save all the meek of the earth; {y. 8, 9.) and then the earth feared, and ivas still, waiting what would be tlie issue of those glorious appearances of thine." Note, (1.) God's people are the 7neek of the earth, (Zeph. ii. 3.) the (/uiet in the land, (xxxv. 20.) that can bear any wrong, but do none. (2.) Though the meek of the earth are by their meekness exposed to injury, yet God will, sooner or later, appear for their salvation, and plead their cause. (3.) When God comes to save all the meek of the earth, he will cause Judgment to be heard from heaven; he will, make the world know that he is angry at the oppressors of his people, and takes what is done against them, as done against himself. The righteous God long seems to keep silence, yet, sooner or liter, he will make judgment to be heard. (4.) When God is speaking judgment from heaven, it is time for the earth to compose itself into an awful and reverent silence; The earth feared, and was still, as silence is made by proclamation, when the court sits. Be still, and know that I am God, xlvi. 10. Be silent, 0 all flesh, before the Lord, for he is raised up to judgment, Zech. ii. 13. Those that suppose this psalm to have lieen penned upon the occasion of the routing of Sennacherib's army, take it for granted that the descent of the destroying angel, who did the execution, was accompanied with thunder, by which God caused Judgment to be heard from heaven, and that the earth feared, that is, there was an earthquake, but it was soon over. But this is altogether uncertain.

II. Comfort to God's people, v. 10. We live in a very angry provoking world, we often feel much, and are apt to fear more, from the wrath of man, which seems boundless. But this is a great comfort to us, 1. That, as far as God permits the wrath of man to break forth at any time, he will make it turn to his praise, will bring honour to himself, and sen'e his own purposes by it; Surely the ivrath of man shall firaise thee, not only by the checks given to it, when it shall be forced to confess its own im-potency, but e\'en by the lil^erty given to it for a time. The hardships which God's people suffer by the wrath of their enemies are made to redound to

Vol. III.—3 H

the glory of God and his grace; and the more the heathen rage and plot against the Lord and his Anointed, the more will God be praised for setting his King ufion his holy hill of Zion, in spite of them, ii. 1, 6. When the heavenly hosts make this the matter of their thanksgiving-songs, that God has taken to him his great fiower, and has reigned, though the nations were angry, (Rev. xi. 17, 18.) then the wrath of man adds lustre to the praises or God. 2. That what will not turn to his praise, shall not be suffered to break out; The remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. Men must never permit sin, because thev cannot check it when they will; but God can. He can set bounds to the wrath of man, as he does to the raging sea; Hitherto it shall come, and no further; here shall its proud waves be stayed. God restrained the remainder of Sennacherib's rage, for he put a hook in his nose, and a bridle in his Jaws; (Isa. xxxvii. 29.) and, though he permitted him to talk big, he restrained him from doing what he designed.

III. Duty to all, v. 11, 12." Let all submit themselves to this great God, and become his loyal subjects.

Observe, 1. The duty required of us all, all that are about him, that have rny dependence upon him, or any occasion to ap])roach to him; and who is there that has not? We are, therefore, every one of us commanded to do our homage to the King of kings; Vow and fiay; take an oath of allegiance to him, and make conscience of keeping it. Vow to be his, and pay what you vow. Bind your souls with a bond to him, (for that is the nature of a vow,) and then live up to the obligations you have laid upon yourselves; for better it is not to vow, than to vo'to and not to /lay. And, having taken him for our King, let us bring presents to him, as sui)jects to their Sovereign, 1 Sam. x. 27. Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land, Isa. xvi. 1. Not that God needs any present we can bring, or can be benefitted by it; but thus we must give him honour, and own that we have our all from him. Our prayers and praises, and especiallv our hearts, are the presents we should bring to the Lord our God. 2. The reasons to enforce this duty; Render to all their due, fear to whoin fear is due; and is it not due to God? Yes; (1.) He ought to be feared; He is the Fear, so the word is; his name is glorious and fearful; and he is the yjrrper Object of our fear; with him is terrible majesty. The God of Abraham is called the Fear of Isaac; (Gen. xxxi. 42.) and we are commanded to make him ojir Fear, Isa. viii. 13. When we bring presents to him, we must have an eye to him as irreatly to be feared; f^r he is terrible in his holy places. (2.) He will be feared, even by these who think it their sole prerogative to be feared; (t. 12.) He shall cut off the sfiirit of firinces; he shall slip it off as easily as we slip off a flower from the stalk, or a bunch of grapes from the vine; so the word signifies. He can dispirit those that are most daring, and make them heartless; for he is, or will be, terrible to the kings of the earth; and, sooner or later, if they be not so wise as to submit themselves to him, he will force them to call in vain to rocks ajjd mountains to fall on them, and hide them from his wrath, Re\'. vi. 16. Since there is no contending with God, it is as much our wisdom as it is our duty to submit to him.

PSALM LXXVII.

This psalm, accordincr to the method of many other psalms, bejrins with sorrowful complaints, but ends with comfortable encourag'ements. The complaints seem to be of personal trrievai ces, but the encourafremenfs relate to the public concerns of the church, so that it is not certain whether it was penned upon a personal or a public account. If they were private troubles that he was

PSALMS, LXXVll.

groaning under, it teaches us, that what God has wrought for his church in general, may be improved for the comfort of particular believers; if it was some public calamity that he is here lamenting, his speaking of it so feelingly, as if it had been some particular trouble of his own, shows how much we should lay to heart the interests of the church of God, and make them ours. One of the rabbins says, This psalm is spoken in the dialect of the captives; and therefore some think it was penned in the captivity in Babylon. I. The psalmist complains here of the deep impressions which his troubles made upon his spirits, and the temptation he was in to despair of relief, v. I-.IO. II. He encourages himself to hope that it would be well at last, by the remembrance of God's former appearances for the help of his people, of which he gives several instances, v. 11. .20. In singing'this psalm, we must take shame to ourselves for all our sinful distrusts of God, and of his providence and promise, and give to him the glory of his power and goodness, by a thankful commemoration of what he has done for us formerly, and a cheerful dependence on him for the future.

To the chief musician, to Jeduthun. A fisalm of Asajih.

1. X CRIED unto God with my voice, JL even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me. 2. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. 3. I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. 4. Thou boldest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. 6. I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart, and my spiiit made diligent search. 7. Will the Lord cast off for ever ? and will he be favourable no more ? 8. Is his mercy clean gone for ever ? doth Im promise fail for evermore ? 9. Hath God forgotten to be gracious ? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies ?• Selah. 10. And I said, This is my infinnity: hut I ivill remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.

We have here the lively portraiture of a, good man, under prevailing melancholy, fallen into, and sinking in, that horrible pit and that miry clay, but struggling to get out. Drooping saints, that are of a sorrowful spirit, may here in this glass see their own faces. The conflict which the psalmist liad with his griefs and fears seems to have been over when he penned this record of it; for he says, (f. 1.) J cried unto God, and he gave ear unto ine; which, while the struggle lasted, he had not the comfortable sense of, as he had afterward; but he inserts it in the beginning of his narrative, as an intimation that his trouble did not end in despair; for God heard him, and, at length, he knew that he heard him. Obscr\e,

I. His melancholy prayers. Being afflicted, he prayed, (Jam. \'. 13.) and, being in an agony, lie prav-ed more eanicstU ; (t'. 1.) Mij voice was unto God, and I cried t-ven iiu'th my voice unto God. He was full of compl lints, but he directed them to God, and tunied them all into prayers, vocal prayers, verv earnest and importunate. Thus he gave vent to lii's grief, and gained snme ease; and thus he took the right way in order to relief; [v. 2.) In the day of

my trouble-1 sought the Lord. Note, Days of trou ble must be days of prajer, days of inward trouble especially, when God seems to have withdrawn from us; we must seek him, and seek till we find him. In the day of his trouble, he did not seek for the diversion of business or recreation, to shake off his trouble that way, but he sought God, and his favour and grace. Those that are under trouble of mind must not think to drink it away, or laugh it away, but must pray it away. My hand was stretched out in the Jiight, and ceased not; so Dr. Hammond reads the following words, as speaking the incessant importunity of his prayers. Compare cxliii. 5, 6.

II. His melancholy grief. Grief may then be called melancholv indeed, 1. When it admits of no intermission; sucK was his; Uly sore, or wound, ran in the night, and l)led inwardly, and it ceased not, no, not in tlie time appointed for rest and sleep. 2. When it admits of no consolation; and tliat also was his case; My soul refused to be comforted; he had no mind to liearken to tliosc that would be his com-tbrters. .4s vinegar ujion nitre, so is he that sings songs to a heavy heart, Prov. xxv. 20. Nor had he any mind to think of those things that wcitld be his comforts; he put them far from him, as one that indulged himself in sorrow. Those that are in sorrow, upon any account, do nc t only prejudice themselves, but affront God, if they refuse to be comforted.

III. His melancholy musings. He pored so much upon the trouble, whatever it was, personal or public, that, 1. The methods that should have relieved him did but increase his grief, v. 3. (1.) One would have thought that the remembrance of God should have comforted him, but it did not; I remembered God, and was troubled, as poor Job; {ch. xxiii. 15.) J OTn troubled at his presence; when I consider, I am afraid of him. When he remembered God, his thoughts fastened only upon his justice, ?.nd wrath, and dreadful majesty; and thus God himself became a Terror to him. (2.) One would have thought that pouring out his soul before God should have given him ease, but it did not; he complained, and yet his spirit was overwhelmed, and sank under the load. 2. The means of his present relief were denied him, v. 4. He could not enjoy sleep, which, if it be quiet and refreshing, is a parenthesis to our griefs and cares; *' Thou holdest mine eyes waking with thy terrors, which make me full of tossings to and fro until the dawning of the day." He could not speak, by reason of the disorder of his thoughts, the tumult of his spirits, and the confusion his mind was in; he kept silence n'en from good, while his heart was hot within him; he was ready to burst like a new bottle, (Job xxxii. 19.) and yet so troubled, that he could not speak and refresli himselt Grief never preys so much upon the spirits as when it is thus smothered and pent up.

IV. His melancholy reflections; (t. 5, 6.) " I have considered the days of old, and compared them with the pi'escnt days; and our fomier prosperity does but aggravate cur present calamities; for we .see not the wonders that our fathers told us cf " Melancholv people are apt to pore altogether upon the days of old, and the vears cf ancient times, and to magnify them, for the justifying of their own uneasiness an^ discontent at the present posture of affliirs. But say not thou that the former days were better than these, because it is more than thou knowest wlicther thev were or no, Eccl. vii. 10. Neither let the remembrance of the comforts we have lost make us unthankful for those that are left or impatient under our crosses.

Particularly, he called to remembrance his song in the night, the comforts with which he had supported himself in his former sorrows, and entertained

PSALMS, LXXVll.

'4f7

himself in his former solitude; these songs he remembered, and tried if he could net sing them over again; but he was out of tune for them, and the remembrance of them did hut fiour out his soul in him, xliii. 4. See Job xxxv. 10.

V. His melancholy fears and apprehensions; " / communed with mine own heart, v. 6. Come, my soul, what will be the issue of these things? what can I think of them? and what can I expect they will come to at last? I made diligent search into the causes of mv trouble, inquiring wherefore God contended witli mc, and what would be the consequences of it. And tlius I began to reason, I nil the Lord cast off for ever, as he does for the present? He is not now favourable; and ivill he be favourable 710 more? His mercy is now gone; and is it clean g-one forever? His promise nov/iaWs; anddoesitfail for evermore? God is not now gracious; but has he forgotten to be gracious ? His tender mercies have been withheld, perhaps in wisdom; but are they shut up, shut up in anger?" t. 7"9. This is the language of a disconsolate deserted soul, walking in darkness, and having no light; a case not uncommon even with those that fear the Lord, and obey the voice of his servant, Isa. 1. 10. He may here be looked upon, 1. As groaning under a sore trouble; God hid his face from him, and withdrew the usual tokens of his favour. Note, Spiritual trouble is, of all others, most grievous to a gracious soul; nothing wounds and pierces it like the apprehensions of God's being angry, the suspending of his favour, and the superseding of his promise; this wounds the spirit; and who can bear that? 2. As grappling with a strong temptation. Note, God's own people, in a cloudy and dark day, may be tempted to make desperate conclusions about their own spiritual state, and the condition of God's church and kingdom in the world, and, as to both, to give up all for gone. We may be tempted to think that God has abandoned us, and cast us off, that the covenant of grace fails us, and that the tender mercy of our God shall be for ever withheld from us. But we must not give way to such suggestions as these. If fear and me-lanchfily ask such peevish questions, let faith answer them from the scripture; Will the Lord cast off for ever? God forbid, Rom. xi. 1. No, The Lord will not cast off his people, xciv. 14. J Fill he be favourable no more? Yes, he \w\\\; for though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion. Lam. iii. 32. Is his mercy clean gone for ever? No; his mercy endures for ever; as it \sfrom everlasting, it \s to everlastirig, cm. 17. Doth his promise fait for evermore? No; it is impossible for God to lie, Heb. vi. 18. Hath God forgotten to be gracious? No; he cannot deny himself, and his own name, which he hath proclaimed gracious and merciful, Exod. xxxiv. 6. Has he iii anger shut up his tender mercies? No; they are new every morning; (Lam. lii. 23.) and therefore. How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? Hos. xi. 8, 9.

Thus was he going on with his dark and dismal apprehensions, when, on a sudden, he first checked himself with that word, Selah; "Stop there, go no further, let us hear no more of these unbelieving surmises;" and he then chid himself; (x». 10.) / said. This is mine infirmity. He is soon aware that it is not well said, and therefore, Jrhy art thou cast down, O my soul? I said, " TJiis is mine affliction;" (so some understand it,) "this is the calamity that falls to my lot, and I must make the best of it; every one has his affliction, his trouble in the flesh; and this is mine, the cross I must take up." Or rather, " This is my sin, it is mine iniquity; the plague of my own heart." These doubts and fears proceed fi-cm the want and weakness of faith, and the con-uption of a distempered mind. Note, (1.) We all know that concerning ourselves of which we

must say, " This is our infirmity, a sin that most easily besets us." (2.) Despondency of spirit, and distrust of God, under affliction, are too often the infirmities of good people, and, as such, are to be reflected upon by us with sorrow and shame, as by the psalmist here; 77//s is my infirmity. When, at any time, it is working in us, we must thus suppress the rising of it, and not suffer the evil spirit to speak. We must argue down the insurrections of unbelief, as the psalmist hei-e; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. He had been considering the years of ancient times, {v. 5. ) the blessings lormerly enjoyed, the I'emem brance of which did only add to his grief; but now he considered them as the years of the right hand of the Most High; that those blessings of ancient times came from the Ancient of days, from the power and sovereign disposal of his right hand, who is over all, God blessed for ever; and this satisfied him; for may not the Most High with his right hand make what changes he pleases?

11. I will remember the works of the Lord ; surely I will remember thy wonders of old. 12. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. 13. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God ! 14. Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. 15. Thou hast \\ith thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. 16. The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee : they were afraid; the depths also were troubled. 17. The clouds poured out water; the skies sent out a sound : thine arrows also went abroad. 18. The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven : the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. 19. Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. 20. Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

The psalmist here reco\'ers himself out of the great distress and plague he was in, and silences his own fears of God's casting off his people, by the remembrance of the great things he had done for them foiTnerly, which, though he had in vain tried to quiet himself with, (t-. 5, 6.) yet he tried again, and, upon this second trial, found it not in vain. It is good to persevere in the proper means for the strengthening of faith, though they do net prove effectual at first; " / will re?nember, surely I will, what God has done for his people of old, till I can thence infer a happy issue of the present dark dispensations," v. 11, 12. Note, 1. The works of the Lord, for his people, have been wondrous works. 2. They are recorded for us, that they may be remembered by us. 3. That we may have" benefit by the remembrance of them, we must meditate uf)on them, and dwell upon them in cur thoughts, and must talk of them, that we may inform cur-selves, and others, further concerning them. 4. The due remembrance of the works ofGcd will be a powerful antidote against distrust of his premise and goodness; for he is God, and changes not. If he begin, he will finish his work, and bring fcith the top-stone.

Two things, in general, satisfied him ver}' much.

PSALMS, LXXVIII.

I. That God's way is in the sanctuunj, v. 13. It is in holiness, so some. When we cannot solve the particular difficulties that may arise in our constructions of the Divine Providence, this we are sure oi, in general, That God is holy in all his works, that they are all worthy of himself, and consonant U) the eternal purity and rectitude of his nature. He has holy ends in all he does, and will be sanctified in every dispensation of his providence. His way is according to his promise, which he has spoken in his holiness, and made known in the sanctuary; wliat he has done is accordii)g to what he has said, and may be interpreted by it; and, from what he has said, we may easily gather that he will not cast off his people for ever. God's way is for the sanctuary, and for the benefit of it. All he does is intended for the good of his church.

II. That God's way is in the sea; though God is holy, just, and good, in all he does, yet we cannot give an account of the reasons of his proceedings, nor make any certain judgment of his designs; His fiath is in the great waters, and his footsteps are not known, v. 19. God's ways are like the deep waters, which cannot be fathomed; (xxxvi. 6.) like the way of a ship in the sea, which cannot be tracked; Prov. xxx. 18, 19. God's proceedings are always to be acquiesced in, but cannot always be accounted for.

He specifies some particulars, for which he goes as far back as the infancy of the Jewish church, and from which he gathers, 1. That there is no God to be compared with the God of Israel; {v. 13.) Who is so great a God as our God? Let us first give to God the glory of the great things he has done for his people, and acknowledge him thei'cin great above all comparison; and then we may take to ourselves the comfort of what he lias don?, and encourage ourselves with it. 2. That he is a God of almighty power; {v. 14.) " ThoJi art the God that alone docst wonders, above the power of any creature; thou hast, visibly, and beyond any contradiction, declared thy strength among'the people." What God has done for his church, has been a standing declaration of his almighty power, for therein he has made b ire his everlasting arm.

(1.) God brought Israel out of Egypt, i<. \5. This was the beginning of mercy to them, and was yearly to be commemor.itcd among them in the pass-over; " Thou hast with thine arm, stretched out in so many miracles, redeemed thy /leofile o\it of the hand of the Egj^ptians." Tliough they were d'jli-vered by power, yet they arc said to be redeemed, as if it had been done by price, because it was tyi)i-cal of the great redemption which was to Ijc wroviglit nut, in the fulness of time, both by price and ]Mnver. Those that were redeemed are here c tiled, not only the sons of Jacob, to whom the promise was made, but of Joseph also, who had a most firm and lively belief of the performance of it; for, when he was dying, he made mention of the departing of the children of Israel out of Egypt, and gave commandment concerning his bones,

(2.) He divided the Red sea before them; (t'. 16.) The waters gave way, and a lane was made through that crowd instantly, as if they had seen God himself at the head of the armies of Israel, and had retired for fear of him. Not only tl\e surface of the waters, but the depths, were troubled, and opened to the right and to the left, in obedience to his word of command.

(3.^ He destroyed the Egyptians; (t-. 17.) The clouaa poured out water upon them, while the pillar of fire, like an umbrella over the camp of Israel, sheltered it from the shower, in which, as in the deluge, the waters that were above the firmament concurred with tliose that were bcneatli the firnia-ment to destroy the rebels. Then the skies sent out

a sound, thine arrows also went abroad; which is exphiined, {y. 18.) The -voice of thy thunder wa» heard in the heaven, tliat is, the sound which the skies sent forth; The lightnings lightened the world; those are the arrows which went abroad, by which the host of the Egyptians was discomfited with so much terror, that the earth of the adjacent coast trembled and shook. Thus God's way was hi the sea, for the desti-uction of his enemies, as well as for the salvation of his people; and yet, when the waters returned to their place, his footsteps were not known; {y. 19.) there was no mark set upon the place, as there was afterward in Jordan, Josh, iv. 9. We do not read, in the story of Israel's passing through the Red sea, that there were thunders and lightnings, and an earthquake; yet there might be, and Josephus says there were, such displays of tlie divine terror upon that occasion. But it may refer to the thunders, lightnings, and earthquakes, that were at mount Sinai when the law was given.

(4.) He took his people Israel under his own gTiidance and protection; {v. 20.) Thou leddest thy people like a Jiock. They being weak and helpless, and apt to wander like a flock of sheep, and lying exposed to tlie beasts of prey, God went before them with all the care and tenderness of a Shepherd, that they might not fail. The pillar of cloud and fire led them, yet that is not here taken notice of, but the agency of Moses and Aaron, by whose hand God led them; they could not do it without God, but God did it with and by them. Moses was their governor, Aaron their high-priest; they were guides, overseers, and inilers, to Israel, and by them God led them. The right and happy administration of the two great ordinances of magisti'acy and ministry, is, tliougli not so great a miracle, yet as great a mercy, to any people, as the pillar of cloud and fire was to Israel in the wilderness.

The psalm concludes abruptly, and does not apply those ancient instances of God's power to the present distresses of the church, as one might have expected. But, as soon as the good man began to meditate on these things, he found he had gained his point; his very entrance upon this matter gave him light and joy; (cxix. 130.) his fears suddenly and strangely vanished, so that he needed to go no further; he went his way, and did eat, and his countenance was 710 more sad.

PSALM LX,:?CVII1.

This psalm is historical; it is a narrative.of the great mercies God had bestowed upon Israel, the great sins wherewith they had provoked him, and the many toiiens of his displeasure they had been under for their sins. The psalmist beoran, in the foregoing: psalm, to relate God's wonders of old, for his own encouragement in a difficult time; there he broke off" abruptly, but here resumes the subject, for the edification of the church, and enlarges much upon it; showing not only how good God had been to them, which was an earnest of further finishing mercy, but how basely tbey had condircted themselves toward God, which justilied him in correcting them as he did at this time, and forbade all complaints. Here is, I. The preface to this church-history, commanding the attention of the present age to it, and recommending it to the study of the generations to come, v. I. .8. \\. The history itself from Moses to David; it is put into a psalm or song, that it might be the better remembered, and transmitted to posterity, and that the singing of it might afflict them with the things here related, more than they would be with a bare narrative of them. The general scope of this psalm we have, v. 9. .11. where notice is taken of the present rebukes they were under, (v. 9.) the sin which brought them under those rebukes, (v. 10.) and the mercies of God to them formerly, which aggravated that sin, v. 11. As to the particulars, we arc here fold, 1. What wonderful works God had wrought for ihem in bringing them out of Egypt, (v. 12. . 16.) providing for them in the wilderness, (v. 23.. 29.) plaguing and ruining their enemies, (t. 43..53.) and, at lengttC

PSALMS, LXXVIII.

42*9

nutting them in possession of the land of promise, v. 54, 65. 2. How ungrateful they were to God for his favours to them, and how many and great provocations they were guilty of. How they murmured against God, and distrusted him, (v. 17 .. 20.) and did but counterfeit repentance and submission when he punished them, (v. 34,.37.) thus grieving and tempting him, v. 40..42. How they affronted God with their idolatries, after they came to Canaan, v. 66 . . 68. 3. How God had justly punished them for their sins, (v. 21, 22.) in the wilderness, making their sin their punishment, (v. 29.. 33.) and now, of late, when the ark was taken by the Philistines, v. 59.. 64. 4. How graciously God had spared them, and returned in mercy to them, notwithstanding their provocations. He had forgiven them formerly, (v. 38, 39.) and now, of late, had removed the judgments they had brought upon themselves, and brought them under a happy establishment, both in church and state, V. 65.. 72. As the general scope of this psalm may be of use to us, in the singing of it, to put us upon recollecting what God has done for us, and for his church formerly, and what we have done against him, so the particulars also ma)^ be of use to us, for warning against those sins of unbelief and ingratitude which Israel of old was notoriously guilty of, and the record of which was preserved for our learning. These things happened unto themfor ensamples, I Cor. x. 11. Heb. iv. 11.

Maachil of Asafih.

\. f^ IVE ear, O my people, to my law : \M incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2. I will open my mouth in a parable ; I will utter dark sayings of old; 3. Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 4. We will not hide thei7i from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. 5. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; G. That the generation to come might know them, even the children ivhich should be born, icho should arise and declare them to their children: 7. That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God; but keep his commandments: 8. And might not be as then-fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation ; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

These verses, which contain the preface to this history, show that the psalm answers the title; it is indeed Masc/iil, a psalm to give instruction; if we receive not the instruction it gives, it is our own fault. Here,

I. The psalmist demands attention to what he wrote; {v. 1.) Give ear, O my fieo/ile, to my law. Some make these the psalmist's words; David, as a king, or Asaph, in his name, as his secretary' of state, or scribe to the sweet-singer of Israel, here calls upon the people, as his people committed to his charge, to give ear to his law. He calls his instntctions his laiv or edict, such Avas their commanding force in themselves; every good truth, received in the light and love of it, will have the power of the law upon the conscience; yet that was not aU, David was a king, and he would interpose his royal power for the edification of his people. If God, by his grace, make great men good men, they will be capable of doing more good than others, be-

cause their word will be a law to all about them, who must therefore give ear. and hearken; for to wliat pui'pose is divine revelation brought to out ears, if we will not incline our ears to it, both humble ourselves, and engage ourselves to liear it, and heed it.'' Or, the psalmist, being a prophet, speaks as God's mouth, and so calls them /2is people, and demands subjection to what was said as to a law. Let him that has an ear thus hear what the Spirit saith unto t/ie c/iurc/ies, Rev. ii. 7.

II. Several reasons are given why we should dili gently attend to that whicli is here related.

1. The things here discoursed of are weighty, and deserve consideration, strange, and need it; (v. 2.) I will open my mouth in a parable, in that which is sublime and uncommon, taut A'ery excellent, and well worthy ycur attention; / will utter dark sayings, which challenge your most serious regards as much as the enigmas with which the eastern princes and learned men used to try one another. These are called dar/c saijirigs, not because they are hard to be understood, but because they are greatW to be admired, and carefully to be looked into. This is said to be fulfilled in the parables which cur Saviour put forth, (Matth. xiii. 35. J which were (as this) representations of the state ot the kingdom of God among men.

2. They are the monuments of antiquity; dark sayings of'old, which our fathers have told us, v. 3. They are things of undoubted certainty, we have heard them and known them, and there is no room left to question the truth of them. The gospel of Luke is called a declaration of t/iose things which are most surely believed among us; (Luke i. 1.) so were the things here related. The honour we owe to ovu' parents and ancestors obliges us to attend to that which our fathers have told us, and, as far as it appears to be true 'and good, to receive it with so much the more reverence and regard.

3. Tliey are to be transmitted to postei-ity, and it lies as a charge upon us carefully to hand them down; {v. 4.) because our fathers told them us, 7yf will not hide them from tlieir children. Our children are called theirs, for they were in care for their seed's seed, and looked upon them as theirs; and, in teaching our children the knowledge of God, we repay to our parents some of that debt we owe to them for teaching us. Nay, if we have no children of our own, we must declare the tilings of God to their children, the children of others. Our care must be for posterity in general, and not only for our own posterity; and for the generation to come hereafter, the children that shall be bom, as well as for the generation that is next rising up, and the children that are born. That which Ave are to transmit to our children, is, not only the knowledge of languages, arts, and sciences, liberty and property, but especially the praises of the Lord, and his strength appearing in the Avonderful works he has done. Our great care must be to lodge our religion, that great deposit, pure and entire in the hands of those that succeed us.

There are two things, the full and clear knoAV-ledge of which we must preserve the entail of to our heirs.

(1.) The law of God; for this was given with a particular charge to teach it diligently^to their children; {y. 5.) lie established a testimomj qx coA^e-nant, and enacted a laAv, in Jacob and Israel, gaAX them precepts and promises, Avhich he commanded them to make known to their children, Dcut. vi. 7, 20. The church of God, as the historian says of the Roman commonAvealth, Avas not to be res uni^iH Fetalis — a business of one age, but was to be kept up from one generation to another; and theref( re, as God provided for a succession of miniiltrs in the

PSALMS, LXXVIII

tribe of Levi and the house of Aaron, so he appointed that parents should train up their children in the knowledge of his law; and when they were grown up, they must arise, aiid declare them to their children, {v. 6.) that, as one generation of God's servants and worshippers passes away, another generation may come, and the church, as the earth, may abide for ever; and thus God's name among men may be as the days of heaven. ---.^

(2.) The providences of God concerning them," both in mercy and in judgment. The former seem to be mentioned for the sake of this; since God gave order that his laws should be made known to posterity, it is requisite that with them his works also should be made known, the fulfilling of the promises made to the obedient, and the threatennigs denounced against the disobedient. Let these be told lo our children and our children's children.

[1.] That they may take encouragement to conform themselves to the will of God, v. 7. That, not forgetting the works of God wrought in former days, they might set their hope in God, and keep his commandments, might make his command their rule, and his covenant their stay; those only may with confidence hope for God's salvation, that make conscience of doing his commandments. The works of God, duly considered, will very much strengthen our resolution both to set our hope in him, and to keep his commandments, for he is able to bear us out in both.

[2.] That they may take warning not to conform themselves to the example of their fathers; {v. 8.) That they might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation. See here. First, What was the character of their fathers; though they were the seed of Abraham, taken into covenant with God, and, for aught we know, the only professing people ho had then in the world, yet they were stubborn and rebellious, and walked contrary to God, in direct opposition to his will; they did indeed profess relation to him, but they did not set their hearts right, they were not cordial in their engagements to God, nor inward with him in their worship of him, and therefore their s/iii-it ivas not steadfast rjith him, but upon every occasion they flew off from him. Note, Hvpocrisy is the high road to apostasy; those that do not set their hearts right, will not be steadfast with God, but play fast and loose. Secondly, What was a charge to the children; That they be 7iot as their fathers. Note, Those that are descended from wicked and ungodly ancestors, if they will but consider the word and works of God, will see reason enough not to tread in their steps. It will be no excuse for a vain conversation, that it was received by tradition from our fathers; (1 Pet. i. 18.) for what we know of them, that was evil, must be an admonition to us, that we dread that which was so pernicious to them, as we would shun those courses which they took, that were i-uinous to their health or estates.

9. The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. 10. They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in iiis law; 11. And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had showed them. 12. M arvellous things (lid he in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. 13. He divided ihe sea, and caused them to pass through: and he made the waters to stand as a heap.

14. In thn day-time also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.

I -J He clave the rocks in the wilderness.

and gave them drink as out of the gieat depths. 16. He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. 17. And they sinned yet more against him, by provoking the iMost High in the wilderness. 18. And they tempted God in their heart, by asking meat for their lust

1 9. Yea, they spake against God : they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness ?

20. Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed ; can he give bread also / can he provide flesh for his people ? 21. Therefore the Lord heard this., and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel. 22. Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation ; 23. Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, 24. And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. 25. Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full. 26. He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven; and by his power he brought in the south wind. 27. He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea; 28. And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations. 29. So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire;

30. They were not estranged from their lust: but while their meat ims yeX in their mouths,

31. The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel. 32, For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works. 33. Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble, 34. When he slew them, then they sought him; and they returned and inquired early after God: 35. And they remembered that God was their Rock, and the high God their Redeemer. 36. Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues: 37. For their heart was not right with him^ neither were they stedfast in his covenant. 38, But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath: 39. For he remembered that they tcere bnt flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.

In these verses,

I. The psalmist observes the late rebukes of Providence that the people of Israel had been under, which they had hi-oughtupon themselves by tlieir dealing treacherously with God, ik 9'-11. The children of Ephraim, in which tril^e Shiloh was, though they were well armed, and shot with

PSALMS, LXXVIII.

431

bows, yet turned back in the day of battle. This seems to refer to that shameful defeat which the Phihstines gave them in Eh's time, when they took the ark prisoner, 1 Sam. iv. 10, 11. Of this the psalmist here begins to speak, and, after a long digression, returns to it again, v. 61. Well might ttuit event be thus fresh in mind, in David's time, above forty years after, for the ark, which in that memorable battle was seized by the Philistines, though it was quickly brought out of captivity, was never brought out of obscurity, till David fetched it from Kirjath-jearim to his own city. Observe, 1. The shameful cowardice of the children of Ephraim, that warlike tribe, so famed for valiant men, Joshua's tribe; the children of that tribe, though as well armed as ever, turned back, when they came to face the enemy. Note, Weapons of war stand men in little stead without a martial spirit, and that is gone, if God be gone. Sin dispirits men, and takes iiWay the heart. 2. The causes of their cowardice, which were no less shameful; and these were, (1.) A shameful violation of God's law, and their covenant with him; {xk 10.) they were basely treacherous and perfidious, for they kept not the covena?it of God, and basely stubboi-n and rebellious, (as they were described, v. 8.) for they peremptorily refused to walk in his law, and, in effect, told him to his face they would not be iniled by him. (2.) A shameful ingratitude to God for the favours he had bestowed upon them; they for gat his xvorks and his wonders, his works of wonder which they ought to have admired, v. 11. Note, Our forgettulness of God's works is at the bottom of our disobedience to his laws.

II. He takes occasion hence to consult precedents, and to compare this with their fathers' case; who were in like manner unmindful of God's mercies to them, and ungrateful to their Founder and great Benefactor, and were therefore often brought under his displeasure. The narrative in these verses is very remarkable, for it relates a kind of struggle between God's goodness and man's badness, and mercv, at length, rejoices against judgment.

1. God did great things for his people Israel, when he first incoiporated them, and formed them into a people; Marx-ellbus things did he in the sight of their fathers, and not only in their sight, but in their cause, and for their benefit; so strange, so kind, that one would think they should nc\'er be forgotten. What he did for them in the land of Egypt is barely mentioned here, (y. 12.) but afterward resumed, V, 43. He proceeds here to show, (1.) How he made a lane for them through the Red sea, and j caused them, gave them courage, to pass through, though the waters stood over their heads, as a lieap, T^. 13. See Isa. Ixiii. 12, 13. where God is said to lead them by the hand, as it were, through the dee/i, that they should not stumble. (2.) How he provided a guide for them through the untrodden paths of the wilderness; (y. 14.) he led them step by step, in the day-time, by a cloud, which also sheltered them from the heat, and all the night with a light of fire, which perhaps warmed the air, at least, made the darkness ot night less frightful, and perhaps kept off wild l^easts, Zech. ii. 5. (3.) How he furnished their camp with fresh water, in a dry and thirsty land where no water was; not by opening' the bottles of heaven, (that had been a common way,) but by broaching a rock; (r. 15, 16.) He clave the rocks in the wilderness, which yielded water, though they were not capable of receiving it either from the clouds above, or the springs beneath. Out of the dry and hard rock he gave them drink, not distilled as out of an alembic, drop by drop, but in streams rmining down like rivers, and as out of the great depths. God gives abundantly, and is rich in mercy; he gives seasonably, and scmctimes

makes us to feel the want ot mercies, that we may the better know the worth of them. This water, which God gave Israel out of the rock, was the more valuable, l)ecause it was spiritual druik, and that Rock was Christ.

2. When God began thus to bless them, they began to affront him; (x*. 17.) They sinned yet more against him, more than they had done in Egj'pt, though there they were bad enough, Ezek. xx. 8. They bore the miseries of their servitude better than the difficulties of their deliverance, and never murmured at their task-masters, so as they did at Moses and Aaron; as if they were delivered to do all these abo?ninations, Jer. vii. 10. As sin sometimes takes occasion by the commandment, so at other times it takes occasion by the deliverance, to become more exceeding sinful; They provoked the Alost High; though he is Most High, and they knew themselves an unequal match for him,yet they provoked him, and even bid defiance to his justice. And this in the wilderness, Avhere he had them at his mercy, and therefore they were bound in interest to please him; and where he showed them so much mercy, and therefore they were bound in gratitude to please him; yet there they said and did that which they knew would provoke him; They tempted God in their heart, v. 18. Their sin began in their heart, and thence it took its malignity; They do always err in their heart, Heb. iii. 10. Thus they tempted God, tried his patience to the utmost, whether he would bear with them or no; and, in effect, bid him do his worst. Two ways they provoked him;

(1.) By desiring, or rather demanding, that which he had not thought fit to give them; They asked meat for their lust. God had given them meat foi their hunger, in the manna, wholesome pleasant food, and in abundance; he had given them meat for their faith, out of the heads of leviathan, which he brake in pieces, Ixxiv. 14. But all this would not serve; they must have meat for their lust, dainties and varieties to gratify a luxurious appetite. Nothing is more provoking to God than our quarrel- ,^ ling with our allotment, and indulging the desires of the flesh.

(2. ) By distrusting his power to give them what they desired. This was tempting God indeed! They challenged him to give them flesh; and if he did not, they would say, it was because he could not, not because he did not see it fit for them; {v. 19.) They spake against God. They that set bounds to God's power, speak against him. It was as injurious a reflection as could be cast upon God, to sav. Can God furnish a table in the wilderness ? They had manna, but they did not think they had a table furnished, unless they had boiled and roast, a first, a second, and a third, course, as they had in Egypt, where they had both flesh and fish, and sauce too; (Exod, xvi. 3. Numb. xi. 5.) dishes of meat, and salvers of fniit. What an unreasonable, insatial)le, thing is ^ luxury! Such a mighty thing did these epicures fhmK a table well furnished to be, that they thought it was more than God himself could give them in that wilderness; whereas, the beasts of the forest, and all the fowls of the mountains, are his, 1. 10, 11. Their disbelief of God's power was so much the worse, in that they did at the same time own that he had done as much as that came to; (v. 20.) Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, which they and their cattle drank of. And whether is it easier to furnish a table in the wilderness, which a rich man can do, or to fetch water out of a rock, which the greatest potentate on the earth cannot dc.'' Never did unbelief, though always unreasonable, ask so absurd a question; "Can he that melted down a rock into streams of water, give liread also?" Or, can he, that has given bread, provide flesh also? Is any thing too hard for Omnipotence? When once

PSALMS, LXXVIIl.

the ordinary powers of nature are exceeded, God has made bare his arm, and we must conclude nothing is impossible "with him. Be it ever so great a thing that we ask, it becomes us to own, Lord, if thou ivilt, thou canst.

3. God justly resented the provocation, and was much displeased with them; yv. 21.) The Lord heard this, and 'H'as wroth. Note, God is a Witness to all our munnuraigs and d.strusts; he liears them, and is much displeiised witli them, ./ijire nvas kindled foi- this ag-aimt Jacob, the Jire of the Lord burnt among them, Numb. xi. 1. Or, it may be understood of the fire of God's anger which came up agamst Israel. To unbelievers our God is himself a consuming Fire. Those that will not believe the power of God's mercy, shall feel the power of his mdignation, and be made to confess, that it is a fearful thing- to fall into his hands. Nowhere w"e are told,

(1.) Why God thus resented the provocation, v. 22. Because by tliis it appeared that they believed not in God, they did not give credit to the revelation he had made of himself to them, for they durst not commit themselves to him, nor venture themselves with him; They trusted not i?i the salvation he had begun to work for them; for then they would not thus have questioned its progress. Those cannot be said to trust in God's salvation as their felicity at last, who cannot find in their hearts to trust in his pi'ovidence for food convenient in the way to it. That which aggravated their unbelief, was, the experience they had had of the power and goodness of God, V. 23'-25. He had given them undeniable proofs of his power, not only on earth beneath, but in heaven above; for Ae commanded the clouds from above, as one that had created them, and commanded them into being; he made what use he pleased of them. Usually, by their showers, they contribute to the earth's producing com; but now, when God so commanded them, they showered down corn themselves, which is therefore called here the corn of heaven; for heaven can do the work without the earth, but not the earth without heaven. God, who has the key of the clouds, ofiaied the doors of heaven, that is more than opening the ivindoivs, which yet is spoken of as a great blessing, Mai. iii. 10. To all that by faith and prayer^ ask, seek, and knock, these doors shall at any time be opened, for the God of heaven is rich in mercy to all that call upon him; he not only keeps a good house, but keeps open house. Justly might God take it ill that they should distrust him, when he had been so very kind to theni, that he had rained down manna upon them to eat, svil)stantial food, daily, duly, enough for all, enough for each; Man did eat angels' food, such as angels, if they had occasion for i()od, would eat and be thankful; or rather such as was given by the ministry of angels, and (as the Clialdee reads it) such as descended from the dwelling of angels. Every one, even the least cliild in Israel, did eat the bread of the mighty; (so the margin reads it;) the weakest stomach could aigest it, and yet it was so nourishing, that it was strong meat for strong men. And though the provision was so good, yet they were not stinted, nor ever reduced to short allowance; for he sent them meat to the full; if they gathered little, it was their own fault; und vet even then they had no lack, Exod. xvi. 18. The daily provision God makes for us, and has made ever since we came into the world, though it has not so much of miracle as this, has no less of mercy, and is therefore a great aggravation of our distrust of God.

(2.) How he expressed his resentment of the provocation; not in denying them what they so inor-dinatel)^ lusted after, but in granting it to them. [1.1 Did they question liis power? He soon gave

1 them a sensible conviction that he could furnish a I table in the wilderness. Though the winds seem to j blow where they list, yet, when he pleased, he could make them his caterers to fetch in provisions, v. 26. I He caused an east-wind to blow, and a south-wind, j either a south-east-wind, or an east-wnid, first to j bring in the quails from that quarter, iuid then a I south-wind to Ijring m more from that quarter; so I that he rained fiesh upon them, and that cf the most i delicate sort, not butchers'-meat, but wild-fowl and abundance of it, as dust, as the sand oftht sea, (-v. "27. ) so that the meanest Israelite nrlght have tumcient; and it cost them nothing, no, net the pains of fetching it from the mountains, for He let it full in the midst of their camfi, round about their habitation, v. 28. We have the account. Numb. xi. 31, 32. See how good God is, even to the evil and unthankful, and wonder that his goodness does not overcome their badness. See what little reason we have to judge of Gcd's love by such gifts of his bounty as these; dainty bits are no tokens of his peculiar favour; Christ gave dry bread to the disciples that he loved, but a sop dipped in the sauce to Judas that lietrayed him. [2.] Did they defy his justice, and boast that they had gained their point? He made them pay dear for their quails, for, though he gave them their own desire, they were not estranged from their lust; {y. 29, 30.) their appetite was insatiable, they were well-filled, and yet they were not satisfied; for they knew not what they would have; such is the nature of lust, it is content with nothing, and the more it is humoured, the more humoursome it grows. They that indulge their lust will never be estranged from it. Or it intimates that God's liberality did not make them ashamed of their ungrateful lustings, as it would have done, if they had had any sense of honour. But what came of it? While the meat was yet in their mouth, rolled imder the tongue as a sweet morsel, the wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, {v. 31.) those that were most luxurious, and most daring. See Numb. xi. 33, 34. They were fed as sheep for the slaughter: the butcher takes the fattest first. We may suppose there were some pious and contented Israelites, that did eat moderately of the quails, and were neAei'the worse; for it was not the meat that poisoned them, but their own lust. Let epicures and sensualists here read their doom; the end cf those who make a god of their belly, is destruction, Phil. iii. 19. The prosperity of fools shall destroy them, and their ruin will be the greater.

4. The judgments of God upon them did not re-foiTn them, nor attain the end, any more than his mercies; (x'. 32.) Tor all this, they sinned still, they murmured and quarrelled with G(;d and Moses as much as ever. Though Gcd was wroth, and imote them, yet they went on frowardly in the way of their heart; (Isa. Ivii. 17.) they believed ?7f)t for his wondrous works. Though his Avorks (;f justice were as wondrous, and as great proofs of Jiis power as his woi'ks of mercy, yet they were not wrought U])cn by them to fear Gcd, nor convinced how much it was their interest to make him their Friend. These hearts are hard indeed, that will neither be melted by the mercies of God, nor broken by his judi;,Tnents.

5. They persisting in their sins, God proceeded in his judgments, but tliey were judgments of another nature, which wrought not suddenly, but slowly. He punished them, not now with such acute diseases as that was which slew the fattest of them, but a lingering chronical distemper; {v. 53.) Therefore their days did he consunw in vanity, in the wilderness, and their years in trouble. By an irreversible doom they were condemned to wear out thirty->"'ight tedious years in the wilderness, Avhich, indeed, were consumed in vanity; for in all those years ther'; was not a step taken nearer Canaan, out they were

PSALMS, I.XXVIJL

433

turned back again, and wandered to and fro as in a labyrinth, not one stroke struck toward the conquest of it: and not only in vanity, but in trouble, for their carcases were condemned to fall in the wilderness, and there they all perished, but Caleb and Joshua. Note, Those that sin still, must expect to be in trouble still. And the reason why we spend our days in so much vanity and trouble, why we live with so little comfort, and to so little pui-pose, is, because we do not live by faith.

6. Under these rebukes, they professed repentance, but they were not coi'dial and sincere in it. (1.) Their profession was plausible enough; (j>. 34, 35.) When he slew them, or condemned them to be slain, the7i they sought him; they confessed their fault, and begged his pardon. When some were slain, others in a fright cried to God for mercy, and promised they would reform, and be very good; then they returned to God, and inquired early after him. So one would take them to be such as desii-ed to find him. And they pretend to do this, because, i: -iwever they had forgotten it formerly, now they remembered that God was their Rock, and therefore, now that they needed him, they would fly to him, and take shelter in him; and now they remembered that the high God was their Redeemer, who brought them out of Egypt, and to whom, therefore, they might come with boldness. Afflictions are sent to put us in mind of God as our Rock and our Redeemer; for, in prosperity, we are apt to forget him. (2.) They were not sincere in this profession; {y. 36, 37.) They did but flatter him nvith their mouth, as if they thought by fair speeches to prevail with him to revoke the sentence, and remove the judgment, with a secret intention to break their woi'd when the danger was over; they did not return to God nvith their whole heart, but feignedly, Jer. iii. 10. All their professions, prayers, and promises, were extorted by the rack; it was plain that they did not mean as they said, for they did not adhere to it; they thawed in the sun, but froze in the shade; they did but lie to God with their tongues, for their heart was not with him, was not right with him, as appe;u-ed by the issue, for they were not steadfast in his covenant. They were not sincere in tlieir reformation, for they were not constant; and, by thinking thus to impose upon a heart-searching God, they really put as great an affront upon him as Ijy unv of their reflections.

7. God, hereupon, in pity'to them, put a stop to the judgments which were threatened, and in part executed; (v. 38, 39.) But he, beiiig full of com-fiassion, forgave their iniquity. One would think this counterfeit repentance should have filled up the measure of their iniquity. Wliat could be more provoking than to lie thus to the holy God, than thus to keep, back part of the price, the chief part? Acts v, 3. And yet he, being full of compassion^ forgave their iniquity thus far, that he did not destroy them, and cut them off from being a people, as he justly might have done, but spared their lives till ♦■hey had reared another genei'ation which should :nter into the promised land. Destroy it not, for a blessing is iti it, Isa. Ixv. 8. Many a time he turned his anger away; for he is Lord of his anger, and did not stir up all his wrath, to deal with them as they deserved. And why did he not? Not because their ruin would have been any loss to him, but, (1.) Because he was full of compassion, and,-when he was going to destroy them, his repentings were kindled

. together, and he said, Ifow shall I give thee ufi, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel? Hos. .<\. 8. (2.) Because, though they did not rightly remember that he was their Rock, he remembered that they were but flesh. He considered the corruption of tlieir nature, which inclined them to evil, and was pleased to make that an excuse for his sparing them, though it was really no excuse for

Vol. i;.— 3l

their sin. See Gen. vi. 3. He considered the weakness and frailty of their nature, and what an easy thing it would be to crush them; They are as a wind that passeth away, and coineth not again. They may soon be taken off; but, when they are gone, they are gone irreco\'erably, and then what will become of the covenant with Abraham ? They are flesh, they are wind; whence it were easy to argue, they may justly, they may immediately, be cut off, and there would be no loss of them: but God argues on the contrary, therefore he will not destroy them; for the tiiie reason is. He is full of compassion.

40. How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! 41 Yea, they turned back, and tempted God, and hmited the Holy One of Israel. 42. They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy; 43. How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan: 44. And had turned their rivers into blood ; and their floods, that they could not drink. 45. He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them. 46. He gave also their increase unto the caterpillar, and their labour unto the locusts 47. He destroyed their vines with hail,and their sycamore-trees with frost. 48. He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. 49. He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them. 50. He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence; 51. And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham: 52. But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock, 53. And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. 54. And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, ivhich his right hand had purchased. 55. He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. 5Q>. Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God^, and kept not his testimonies; 57. But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow. 58.. For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. 59. When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel: 60. So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent 7vhich he placed among men ; 61. And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand. 62 He gave his people over also

l^SALMS, LXXViil.

unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance. 63. The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage. 64. Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no amentation. 65. Then the Lord awaked dS one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine. 66. And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts; he put them to a perpetual reproach. 67. Moreover, he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim; 68. But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion, which he loved. 69. And he built his sanctuary like high palaces^ like the earth which he hath established for ever. 70. He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheep-folds: 71. From following the ewes great with young, he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. 72. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.

The matter and scope of this paragraph are the same with the former, showing what great mercies God had bestowed upon Israel, how provoking they had been, what judgments he had brought upon them for their sins, and yet how, in judgment, he remembered mercy at last. Let not those that receive mercy from God be thereby imboldened to sin, for the mercies they receive will aggravate their sin, and hasten the punishment of it; yet let not those that are under divine rebukes for sin be discouraged from repentance, for their punishments are means of repentance, and shall not prevent the mere)' God has yet in store for them. Observe,

L The sins of Israel in the wilderness again reflected on, because written for cur admonition; {y. 40, 41.) How often did they provoke him in the •wilderness: Not once, or twice, but many a time; and tlie repetition of the provocation was a great aggravation of it, as well as the place, {y. 17.) God kept an account how often they provoked him, though . they did not; (Numb, xiv. 22.) They have tempted 7ne these ten times. By provoking him they did not so much anger him as grieve him, for he looked upon them as his children, Israel is my son, inyjirst-born, and the undutiful, disrespectful, behaviour of children does more grieve than anger the tender parents; tliey lay it to heart, and take it unkindly, Isa. i. 2. They grieved him, because they put him under a necessity of afflicting them; which he did not willingly. After they had humbled themsehes before him, they turned back and tempted God, as before, and limited the Holy One of Israel, prescribing to him what proofs he should give of his power and presence with them, and what methods he should take in leading them, and providing for them. They limited him to their way, and their time, as if he did not observe that they quarrelled with him. It is presumption for us to limit the Holy One of Israel; for, being the Holy One, he will do what is most for his own glory; and, being the Holy One of Israel, he will do what is most for their good; and we both impeach his wisdom, and betray our own pride and folly, if we go about to prcscriljc to him. That which occasi(^ned their limiting God for the future, was, their forgetting of his former favours; {v. 42.) Tlicy remembered not his hand, lio-w strong it is, and how it had been stretched out for them, nor the day

ivhe7i he delivered them from the enemy, Pharaoh, that great enemy who sought their i-uin. There aie some days made remarkable by signal deliverances, which ought ne\ er to be forgotten, for the remembrance of them wcmld encourage us in our greatet^t straits.

II. The mercies of God to Israel, which they were unmindful of when they tempted God, and limited him; this catalogue of the works of wonder which God wrought for them, begins higher, and i" carried down further, than that before, v. 12, &c.

1. This begins with their deliverance out of Egypt, and the plagues with which God compelled th<; Egyptians to let them go: these were the signs God wrought in Egypt, {y. 43.) the wonders he wrought in the field of Zoan, that is, in the country of Zoan, as we say, in Agro .AC meaning in such a country. Divers of the plagues of Egypt are here specified, which speak aloud the power of God, and his favour to Israel, as well as terror to his and their enemies. As, (1.) The turning of the waters into blood: they had made themselves drunk with the blood of God's people, even the infant's, and now God gave them blood to drink, for they were worthy, V. 44. (2.) The flies and frogs which infested them, mixtures of insects in swarms, in shoals, which devoured them, which destroyed them, v. 45. For God can make the weakest and most despicable animals instruments of his wrath, when he pleases; what they want in strength may be made up in number. (3.) The plague of locusts, which devoured their increase, and that which they had laboured for, v. 46. They are called God^s great army, Joel ii. 25. (4.) The hail, which destroyed their trees, especially their vines, the weakest of trees, {v. 47.) and their cattle, especially their flocks of sheep, the weakest of their cattle, which were killed with hot thunderbolts; {v, 48.)^ and the frost, or congealed rain, (as the word signifies,) was so violent, that it destroyed even the sycamore trees. (5.) The death of the first-bom was the last and sorest of the plagues of Egypt, and that which perfected the delivci-ance of Israel; it was first in intt;n-tion, (Exod. iv. 23.) but last in execution; for, if gentler methods would have done the work, this had been prevented: but it is here largely described, T'. 49-ol. [1.] The anger of God was the cause of it; wrath was now come upon the Egyptians to the uttermost; Pharaoh's heart having been often hardened after lesser judgments had softened it, God now stirred up all his wrath; for he cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, anger in the highest degree ; wrath and indication the cause, and trouble, tribulation, and anguish, (Rom. ii. 8, 9.) the eflect. This from on high he cast upon them, and did not spare, and they could not flee out of his hands. Job xxvii. 22. He made a way, or, as the word is. He weighed a patJi, to his anger; he did not cast it upon them uncertainly, but by weight; his anger was weighed with the greatest exactness in the balances of justice; for, in his gi-eatest displeasure, he never did, nor ever will do, any wrong to any of his creatures; the path of his anger is always weighed. [2.] The angels of God were the insti-uments employed in this execution; He sent evil angels among them; not evil in their own nature, but in respect to the errand upon which they were sent; they were destroying angels, or angels of punishment, which pass'ed through all the land of Eginit, with orders, according to tlVe weighed paths of God's anger, not to kill all, but the first-boni only. Good angels become evil angels to sinners; they that make the holy God their Enemy, must never expect the holy angels to be their friends. [3.] The execution itself was very severe; He spared riot their soul from death but suffered death to ride in triumph among them and gave their life over to the pestilence, which cut

PSALMS, LXXVIII.

435

Ihf thread of life off immediately; for /le smote all the first-born in Eg-yfit, {y. 51.) the chief of their strength, the hopes of their respective families; children are the parents' strength, and the first-born the chief of their strength. Thus, because Israel was precious in God's sight, he gave men for them, and fieofile for their life, Isa. xlni. 4.

By these plagues on the Egyptians, God made a way for his oivn fieofile to go forth like sheefi; distinguishing between them and the Egyptians, as the shefiherd divides betiveen the sheefi and the goats, having set his own murk on these sheep, by the blood of the lamb sprinkled on their door-posts. He made them go forth like sheep, not knowing whither they went, and guided them in the wilderness, like as a shepherd guides his flock, with all possible care and tenderness, v. 52. He led them on safely, though in dangerous paths, so that they feared not, tliat is, they needed not to fear; they were indeed frightened at the Red sea, (Exod. xiv. 10.) but that was said to them, and done for tliem, which effectually silenced their fears. But the sea overwhelmed their enemies, that ventured to pursue them into it, V. 53. It was a lane to them, but a gra\'e to their jjersecutors.

2. It is carried down as far as their settlement in Canaan; {v. 54.) He brought them to the border of his sanctuary, to that land, in the midst of wliicli he set up his sanctuary, which was, as it were, the centre and metropolis, the crown and glory, of it; that is a happy land which is the border of God's sanctuary; ft was the happiness of that land, that there God was known, and there were his sanctuary and dwelling-place, Ixxvi. 1, 2. The whole land in general, and Zion in particular, was the mountain which his right hand had purchased, which b)' his own power he had set apart for himself. See xliv. 3. He made them to ride on the high places of the earth, Isa. Iviii. 14. Deut. xxxii. 13. They found the Canaanites in the full and quiet possession of that land, but God cast out the heathen before them, not only took away their title to it, as the Lord of the whole earth, but himself executed the judgment given against them, and, as Loi'd of hosts, turned them out of it, and made his people Israel tread upon their high places, dividing each tribe an inheritance by line, and making them to dwell in the houses of those whom they had destroyed. God could have turned the uninhabited, uncultivated, wilderness (which perhaps was nearly of the same extent as Canaan) into fruitful soil, and have planted them there; but the land he designed them was to be a type of heaven, and therefore must be the glory of all lands; it must likewise be fought for, tor the kingdom of heaven suffers violence.

III. The sins of Israel after they were settled in Canaan; {y. 56--58.) The children were like their fathers, and brought their old corraptions into their new habitations; though God had done so much for them, yet they tempted and provoked the most high God still. He gave them his testimonies, but they did not keep them; they began very promisingly, but they turned back, gave God good Avords, but dealt unfaithfully, and were like a deceitful bow, wliich seemed liKely to send the arrow to the mark, but, when it is drawn, breaks, and drops the arrow at the archer's foot, or, perhaps, makes it recoil in his face. There was no hold of them, nor any confidence to be put in their promises or professions. They seemed sometimes devoted to God, but they presently turned aside, and provoked him to anger with their high places and their graven images. Idolatry was the sin that did most easily beset them, and which, though they often professed their repentance for, they as often relapsed into. It was spiritual adultery either to worship idols, or to worship God by images, as if he had been an idol, and

therefore by it they are said to move him to jealousy, Deut. xxii. 16, 21.

IV. The judgments God brought upon them for these sins. Their place in Canaan would no more secure them in a sinful way, than their descent from Israel; You 07ily have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore I will punish you, Amos iii. 2. Idolatry is winked at among the Gentiles, but net in Israel. 1. God was displeased with them; {v. 59.) When God heard this, when he heard the cry of their iniquity, which came up before him, he was wroth, he took it very heinously, as well he might, and he greatly abhorred Israel, whom he had greatly loved and delighted in. They that had been the people of his choice, became the generation of his wrath. Presumptuous sins, idolatries especially, render even Israelites odious to God's holiness, and obnoxious to his justice. 2. He deserted his tabernacle among them, and removed the defence which was upon that glory, v. 60. God never leaves us till we leave him, never withdraws till we have driven him from us. His name is Jealous, and he is a jealous God; and therefore no marvel if a people whom he had betrothed to himself be loathed and rejected, and he refuse to cohabit with them any longer, when they have embraced the bosom of a stranger. The tabernacle at Shiloh was the tent God had placed among men, in which God would in very deed dwell with men upon the earth; but when his people treacherously forsook it, he justly forsook it, and then all its glory departed. Israel has small joy of the tabernacle without the presence of God in it. 3. He gave up all into the hands of the enemy. Those whom God forsakes become an easy prey to the destroyer. The Philistines are sworn enemies to the Israel of God, and no less so to the God of Israel, and yet God will make use of them to be a scourge to his people. (1.) God permits them to take the ark prisoner, and carry it off as a trophy of their victory, to show that he had not only forsaken the tabernacle, but even the ark itself, which shall now be no longer a token of his presence; {y. 61.) He delivered hit, strength into captivity, as if it had been weakened and overcome, and his glory fell under the disgrace of being abandoned into the enemj's hand. We have the story, 1 Sam. iv. 11. "When the ark is become as a stranger among Israelites, no marvel if it soon be made a prisoner among Philistines. (2.) He suffers the armies of Israel to be routed by the Philistines; {y. 62, 63.) He gave his people over unto the sivord, to the sword of his own justice, and of the enemy's rage, for he 7^05 wroth with his inheritance; and that wrath of his was the fire which consumed their young men in the prime of their time, by the sword or sickness, and made such a devastation of them, that their maidens were not praised, were not given in marriage, which is honourable in all; because there were no young men for them to be given to, and because the distresses and calamities of Israel were so many and great, that the joys of marriage-solemnities were judged unseasonable; and it was said. Blessed is the womb that beareth not. General destructions produce a scarcity of men; (Isa. xiii. 12.) / will make a man more precious than fine gold, so that seveii women shall take hold of one man, Isa. iv. 1.—iii. 25. Yet this was not the worst, (3.) Even their priests, who attended the ark, fell by the sword, Hophni and Phinehas; justly they fell, for thev made themselves vile, and were sinners before the Lord exceedingly; and their priesthood was so far from being their protection, that it aggravated their sin, and hastened their fall; justly did they fall by the sword, because they exposed themselves in the field of battle, without call or warrant; we throw ourselves but of God's protection, when we go out of our place, and out of

PSALMS, LXXVIIL

! lie way of our duty. When the priests fell, their w dows made no lamentation, v. 64. All the cere-laonies of mourning were lost and buried in substantial grief; the widow of Phinehas, instead of lamenting her husband's death, died herself, when she had called her son Ichabod, 1 Sam. iv. 19, &c.

V. God's return, in mercy, to them, and his gi-a-cious appearances for them after this. We read not of their repentance and retui-n to God, but God was grieved for the miseries of Israel, (Judg. x. 16.) and 'concerned for his own honour, fearing the wrath of the enemy, lest they should behave themselves strangely, Dcut. xxxii. 27. And therefore then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, (v. 65.) and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine; not only like one th;it is raised out of sleep, and recovers himself from the slumber which, by drinking, he was ovei-come with, who then regards that which before he seemed wholly to neglect, but like one that is refreshed with sleep, and whose heart is made glad by the sober and moderate use of wine, and is therefore the more lively and vigorous, and fit for business. When God had delivered the ark of his strength into captivity, as one jealous of his honour, he soon put forth the arm of his strength to rescue it; stirred up his strength to do great things for his people.

1. He plagued the Philistines who held the ark in • captivity, v. 66. He smote them with emerods in

the hinder parts, wounded them behind, as if they were fleeing from him, even then when they thought themselves more thun conquerors. He put them to reproach, and they themselves helped to make it a perpetual reproach, by the golden images of their emerods, which they returned with the ark for a trespass-offering, (1 Sam. vi. 5.) to remain in fier/ietuam rei memoriam—as a perpetual memorial. Note, Sooner or later, God will glorify himself by putting disgrace upon his enemies, then when they are most elevated with their successes.

2. He provided a new settlement for his ark, after it had .been some months in captivity, and seme years in obscurity. He did indeed refuse the tabernacle of Joseph, he never sent it back to Shiloh, in the tribe of Ephraim, v. 67. The ruins of that place were standing monuments of divine justice. Go, see what J did to Shiloh, Jer. vii. 12. But he did not wholly take away the glory from Israel; the moving of the ark is not the removing of it; Shiloh has lok it, but Israel has not; God will have a church in the world, and a kingdom among men, though this or that place may have its candlestick removed; nay, the rejection of Shiloh is the election of Zion, as, long after, the fall of the Jews was the riches of the Gentiles, Rom. xi. 12. When God chose not the tribe of Ephraim, of which tribe Joshua was, he chose the tribe of Judah, {v. 68.) because of that tribe Jesus was to be, who is greater than Joshua. Kirjath-jearim, the place to which the ark was brought after its rescue out of the hands of the Philistines, was in the tribe of Judah; there it took possession of that tribe; but thence it was removed to Zion, that mount Zion which he loved, {v. 68.) which was beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth; thei-e it was, that he built his sanctuary like high palaces, and like the earth. David indeed erected only a tent for the ark, but a temple was then designed and prepared for, and finished by his son; and'that was, (1.) A very stately place. It was built like the palaces of princes, and the great men of the earth, nay, it excelled tliem all in splendour and magnificence; Solomon built it,'and yet here it is said, God built it, for his father had taught him, perhaps with reference to this undertaking, that except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it, cxxvii. 1. which is a psalm for Solomon. (2.) A very stable place, like

the earth; though not to continue as long as ^he earth, yet, while it was to continue, it was as finn as the earth, which God upholds by the word of his power, and it was not finally destroyed till the gospel-temple was erected, which is to continue a* long as the sun and moon endure, (Ixxxix. 36, 37. "• and against which the gates of hell shall not prt vail.

3. He set a good government over them; a mo narchy, and a monarch after his own heart, ^e chose David his servant out of all the thousands ot Israel, and put the sceptre into his hand, out ot whose loins Christ was to come, and who was ti. be a type of him, v. 70. Concerning David, observe here/

(1.) The meanness of his beginning. His extraction indeed was great, for he descended from the prince of the tribe of Judah, but his education was poor: he was bred, not a scholar, not a soldier, but a shepherd, he was taken from the sheep-folds, as Moses was, for God delights to put honour upon the humble and diligent, to raise the poor out of the dust, and to set tliem among princes; and some times finds those most fit for public action that have spent the beginning of their tin\e in solitude and contemplation. The Son of David was upbraided with the obscurity of his original. Is not this the carpenter? David was taken, he does not say, froin leading the rams, hut from following the ewes, especially those great with young, which intimated, that, of all the good properties of a shepherd, he was most remarkable for his tenderness and compassion to those of his flock that most needed it; this temper ^ of mind fitted him for government, and made him a type of Christ, who, when he feeds his flock like a shepherd, does with a particular care gently lead those that are with young, Isa. xl. 11.

(2.) The greatness of his advancement. God preferred him to feed Jacob his people, v. 71. It was a great honour that God put upon him, in advancing him to be a king, especially to be kmg over Jacob and Israel, God's peculiar people, near and dear to him; but withal it was a great trust reposed in him, when he was charged with the government of those that were God's own inheritance. God advanced him to the throne, that lie might feed them, not that he might feed himself; that he might do good, not that he might make his family great. It is the charge given to all the under-shepherds, both magistrates and ministers, that they feed the flock of God.

(3.) The happiness of his management. David, having so great a trust put into his hands, obtained mercy of the Lord, to be found both skilful and faithful in the discharge of it; {v. 72.) So he fed them, he iiiled them and taught them, guided and protected them, [1.] Veij honestly; he did it ac-cording to the ijitegiity of his heart, aiming at nothing but the glor)^ of God, and the good of the people committed to his charge; the principles of his religion were the maxims of his government, which he administered, not with carnal polic)', but with godly sincerity, by the grace of God. In eveiT thing he did, he meant well, and had no by-end in view. [2.] Very discreetly; he did it by the skilfulnesa of his hands; he was not onl)' veiy sincere in what he designed, but very piiident in what he did, and chose out the most proper means in pursuit of his end, for his God did instnict him to discretion. Happy the people that are under such a government! With good reason does the psalmist make this the finishing, crowning, instance of God's favour to Israel; for David was a type cf Christ, the great and good Shepherd, wlio was humbled first, and then exalted, and of whom it was foretold, that he sliould be filled with the spirit of wisdom and understand ing, and should judge and re/irove with eguity.

PSALMS, LXXIX.

4?7

Isa. xi. 3, 4. On the integrity of his heart and the skilfulness of his hands all his subjects may entirely rely, and of the increase of his government and people there shall be no end.

PSALM LXXIX.

This psalm, if penned with any particular event in view, is with most probability made to refer to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and the woeful havoc made of the Jewish nation by the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar. It is set to the same tune, as I may say, with the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and that weeping prophet borrows two verses out of it, (v. 6, 7.) and makes use of them in his prayer, Jer. x. 25. Some think it was penned long before, by the spirit of prophecy, prepared for the use of the church iti that cloudy and dark day. Others think that it was penned then by the spirit of prayer, either by a prophet named Jisaph, or some other prophet, for the sons of Asaph. Whatever the particular occasion was, we have here, I. A representation of tlie very deplorable condition that the people of God were in at this time, v. 1. .5. II. A petition to God for succour and relief; that their enemies might be reckoned with, (v. 6, 7, 10, 12.) that their sins miijht be pardoned, (v. 8, 9.) and that they might be delivered, v. 11. III. A plea taken from the readiness of his people to praise

' him, v. 13. In times of the church's peace and prosperity, this psalm may, in the singing of it, give us occasion to bless God that we are not thus trampled on and insulted. But it is especially seasonable in a day of treading down and perplexity, for the exciting of our desires toward God, and the encouragement of our faith in him, as the church's Patron.

A psalm of Asaph.

GOD, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps. 2. The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to he meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. 3. Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them. 4. We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. 5. How long, Lord ? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire ?

We have here a sad complaint exliibited in the court of heaven. The world is full of complaints, and so is the church too, for it suffers, not only with it, but from it, as a lily among thorns. God is complamed to; whither should children go with their grievances, but to their father, to sucli a father as is able and willing to help? The heathen are complained of, who, being themselves aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, were sworn enemies to it. Though they knew not God, nor owned him, yet God having them in a chain, the church very fitly appeals to him against them, for he is King of nations, to overrule them, to judge among the heathen, and the King of saints, to favour and protect them.

I. They complain here of the anger of their enemies, and the outrageous fury of the oppressor, ex-eited,

1. Against places, v. 1. They did all the mischief they covdd, (1.) To the holy land; they invaded that, and made inroads into it; " The heathen are come into thine inheritance, to plunder that, and lay it waste." Canaan was dearer to the pious Israelites, as it was God's inheritance, than as it was their o\vn; as it was the land in which God was known, and his name was great, than as it was the land in which they were bred and born, and which

they and their ancestors had been long in possession of. Note, Injuries done to religion should grieve us more tlian even those done to common right, nay, to our own right. We should better bear to see cur own inheritance wasted than God's inheritance. This psalmist had mentioned it in the foregoing psalm, as an instance of God's great favour to Israel, that he had cast out the heathen before them, Ixxviii. 55. But see what a change sin made; now tlie heathen are suffered to pour in upon them. (2.) To the holy city; They have laid Jerusalem on heaps, heaps of rubbish, such heaps as are raised over graves, so some. The inhabitants were buried in tlie ruins of their own houses, and their dwelling-places became their sepulchres, their long liomes. (3.) To the holy house; that sanctuary which God h?d built like high palaces, and which was thought to be established as the earth, was now laid level witli the ground; Thy holy temple have they defiled, by entering into it, and laying it waste. God's own people had defiled it by their sins, and therefore God suffered their enemies to defile it by their insolence.

2. Against persons, against the bodies of Gcd's people; further their malice cc^uld net reach. (1.) They were prodigal of their blood, and killed them without mercy; their eye did not spare, nor did they give any quarter; {y. 3.) Their blood have they shed like water, wherever they met with them, round about Jerusalem, in all the avenues to the city; whoever went out, or came in, was waited for of the sword. Abundance of human blood was shed, so that the channels of water ran with blood. And they shed it with no more reluctancy or regret than if they had spilt so much water, little thinking that every drop or it will be reckoned for in the day when God shall make inquisition for blood. (2.)' They were abusive to their dead bodies; when they had killed them, they would let none bury them. Nay, those that were buried, even the dead bodies of God's servants, the flesh of his saints, wliose names and memories they had a particular spite at, they digged up again, and gave them to be meat to the fowls of the heaven, a?2d to the beasts of the earth; or, at least, they left those so exposed, whom they slew, they hung them in chains, which was in a particular manner grievous to the Jews to see, because God had given them an express law against this, as a barbarous thing, Deut. xxi. 23. This inhuman usage of Christ's witnesses is foretold; (Rev. xi. 9.) and thus even the de'ad bodies were witnesses against their persecutors. This is mentioned, (says Austin, De Civitate Dei, lib. 1. cap. 12.) not as an instance of the misery of the persecuted, (for the bodies of the saints shall rise in glorv, however they became meat to the birds and the fowls,) but of the malice of the persecutors.

3. Against their names; {v, 4.) " We that survive are become a reproach to our neighbours, they all study to abuse us, and load us with contempt, and represent us as ridiculous, or odious, or both; upbraiding us with our sins and with our sufferings, or giving the lie to our relation to God, and expectations from him; so that we are become a scorn and derision to them that are round about us." If God's professing people degenerate from what themselves and their fathers were, they must expect to be told of it; and it is well if a just reproach will help to bring us to a true repentance. But it has been the lot of the gospel-Israel to be made unjustly a reproach and derision; the apostles themselves were counted as the offscouring of all things.

II. They wonder more at God's anger, v. 5. This they discern in the anger of their neighbours, and this they complain most of; How long. Lord, wilt thou be angry.? Shall it be_/br ex<er? This intimates, that they desired no more"than that God would be reconciled to them, that his anger might be turn-

PSALMS, LXXIX.

cd away, ind then tue remainder of men's wrath would be restrained. Note, Those who desire God's favour as better than life, cannot but dread and deprecate his wrath as worse than death.

6. Pour out thy wrath upon the lieathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name: 7. For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling-place. 8. O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us; for we are brought very low. 9. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name; and deliveV us, and purge away our sins, for th) name's sake. 10. Wherefore should the heathen say. Where is their God? let him bn known among the heathen in our sight, bi/ the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed. 11. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou tiiose that are appointed to die: 12. And render unto our neighbours seven-fold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord. 13. So we thy people, and sheep of thy pasture, will give thee thanks for ever; we will show forth thy praise to all generations.

The petitions here put up to God, are very suitable to the present distresses of the church, and they hive pleas to enforce them, interwoven with them, taken mostly from God's honour.

1. They pray that God would so turn away his anger from them, as to turn it upon those that persecuted and abused them; {v. 6.) " Four out thy wrath, the full vials of it, ufion the heathen; let them wring out the dregs of it, and drink them." This pr;wer is, in effect, a prophecy, in which the ivrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and mirighteousness of men. Observe here, (1.) The character of those he prays against; they are such as have not known God,.nor called upon his name. The reason why men do not call upon God, is, because they do not know him, how able and willing he is to help them. They that persist in ignorance of God, and neglect of prayer, are the ungodly, who live without God in the world. There are kingdoms that know not God, and obey not the gospel, but neither their multitude, nor their force united, will secure them from his just judgments. (2.) Their crime; they have devoured Jacob, v. 7. That is crime enough, in the account of Him, who reckons that those who touch his people, touch the apple of his eye. They have not only disturbed, but devoured, Jacob; not onlv encroached upon his dwelling-place, the land of Canaan, but have laid it waste by plundering and depopulating it. (3.) Their condemnation. "Pour out thy wrath upon them; do not only restrain them from doing further mischief, but reckon with them for the mischief they have done." 2. They pray for the pardon of sin, which they own to be the procuring cause of all their calamities. How unrighteous soever men were, God was righteous in permitting them to do what they did. They pray,

(1.) That God would not remember against them their former iniquities; {v. 8.) either their own former iniquities, that now, whin they were old, they might not be made to possess the iniquities of their

youth; or the former iniquities of their people, the sins of their ancestors. In the captivity of Babylon, former iniquities were brought to account; but God promises not again to do so; (Jer. xxxi. 29, 30.) and so they pray, "Remember not against us our first sins;" which some make to look as far back as the golden calf, because God said, In the day when I visit, I will visit for this sin of theirs u/ion them, Exod. xxxii. 34. If the children by repentance and reformation cut off the entail of the parents' sin, they may in faith pray that God will not remember them, against them. When God pardons sin, he blots it out, and remembers it no more.

(2.) That he would purge away the sins they had been lately guilty of, by the guilt of which their minds and consciences had been defiled; Deliver us, and purge away our sins, v. 9. Then deliverances from trouble are granted in love, and are mercies indeed, when they are grounded upon the pardon of sin, and flow from that; we should therefore be more earnest with God in prayer for the removal of our sins, tlian for the removal of our afflictions, and the pardon of them is the foundation and sweetness of our deliverances.

3. They pray that God would work deliverance and salvation tor them, and bring their troubles to a good end, and that speedily; Let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us, v. 8. They had no hopes but trom God's mercies, his tender mercies; their case was so deplorable, that they looked upon themselves as the proper objects of divine compassion, and so near to desperate, that, unless divine mercy did speedily uiterpose to prevent their ruin, they were undone. This whets their importunity, "Lord, help us; Lord, deliver us; help us under our troubles, that we bear them well; help us out of our troubles, that the spirit may not fail. Deliver us from sin, from sinking." Three things they plead, (1.) The great distress they were reduced to; " We are brought very low, and, being low, shall be lost, if thou help us not." The lower we are brought, the more need we have of help from heaven, and the more wiU divine power be magnified in raising us up. (2.) Their dependence upon him; " Thou art the God of our salvation, who alone canst help; salvation belongs to the Lord, from whom we expect help, for in the Lord alone is the salvation of his people." They who make God the God of their salvation, shall find him so. (3.) The interest of his own honour in their case; they plead no merit cf theirs, they pretend to none, but, " Help us for the glory ofthynarne; pardon us for thy name's sake." The best encouragements in prayer are those that are taken from God only, and those things whereby he has made himself known. Two things are insinua ted in this plea. [1.] That God's name and honour would be greatly injured, if he did not deliver them; for those that derided them, blasphemed God, as if he were weak and could not help them, or withdrawn and would not; therefore they plead; {y. 10.) " Wherefore should the heathen say; Where is their God}-' He has forsaken them, and forgotten them; and this they get by worshipping a God whom they cannot see." JVil preeter nuhes, et cceli 7iumen adorant. Juv.— They adore no other Divinity than the clouds and the sky. That which was their praise, (That they served a God that is every where,) was now turned to their reproach and his too, as if they served a God that is no where. " Lord," say they, "Make it to appear that thou art, by making it to appear that thou art with us and for us; that when we are asked, JVhere is your God? we may be able to say. He is nigh unto "us in all that which we call upon him for; and yc.u see he is so by what he doeth for us." [2.] That God's name and honour would be greatly ad-\anced, if he did deliver them; his mercy would be glorified in dcli\crins thtm that were so miserable

PSALMS, LXXX.

4-M

ftnd helpless. By making bare his evei'lasting arm on their behalf, he would make unto himstlf an everlasting name; and their deliverance would be a ♦.ype and figure of the great salvation, which, in the fulness of time, Messiah the Prince would work out, to the glory of God's name.

4. They pray that God would avenge them on their adversaries, (1.) For their cruelty and barbarity; (t7. 10.) "Let the avenging of our blood" 'according to the ancient law, Gen. ix. 6.) "be known among the heathen; let them be made sensible that what judgments are brought upon them are punishments of the wrong they have done to us; let this be in our sight, and by this means let God be known among the heathen, as the God to ivhom ven-

feance belongs, (xciv. 1.) and the God that espouses is people's cause." Tfiose that have intoxicated themselves with the blood of the saints, shall have blood given them to drink, for they are worthy. (2.) For their insolence and scorn; (x*. 12.) "■Render to them their refiroach. The indignities which by word and deed they have done to the people of God, himself, and his name, let them be repaid to them with interest." The reproach wherewith men have reproached us only, we must leave it to God, whether he will render it to them or no, and must pray that he would forgive them; but the reproach wherewith they have blasphemed God himself, we may in faith pray that God would render it seven-fold into their bosoms, so as to strike at their hearts, to humble them, and bring them to repentance. This prayer is a prophecy of the same import with that of Enoclf, That God will convince sinners of all their hard speeches which they have spoken against him, (Jude xv.) and will return them into their own bosoms by everlasting terrors at the remembrance of them.

5. They pray that God would find out a way for the rescue of his poor prisoners, especially the condemned prisoners, v. 11. The case of their brethren, who were fallen into the hands of the enemy, was very sad; they were kept close prisoners, and because they durst not be heard to bemoan themselves, they vented their griefs in deep and silent sighs. All their breathing was sighing, and so was their praying. They were appointed to die, as sheep for the slaughter, and had received the sentence of death within themselves. This deplorable case the psalmist recommends, (1.) To the divine pity; "Let their sighs come up. before thee, and be thou pleased to take cognizance of their moans." (2.) To the divine power; "According to the greatness of thy arm, which no creature can contest with, preserve thou those that are appointed to die, from the death to which they are appointed." Man's extremity is God's opportunity to appear for his people. See 2 Cor. i. 8--10.

Lastly, They promise the returns of praise for the answers of prayer; {v. 13.) So we will give thee thanks for ever. Observe, (1.) How they please themselves with their relation to God; "Though we are oppressed and brought low, yet we are the sheep of thy pasture, not disowned and cast off by thee for all this; We are thine, save us. " (2.) How thev promise themselves an opportunity of praising God for their deliverance, which they therefore desired, and would bid welcome, because it would furnish them with matter for thanksgiving, and put their hearts in tune for that excellent work, the work of heaven. (3.) How they oblige themselves not only to give God thanks at present, but to show forth his praise unto all generations, that is, to do all they could, both to perpetuate the remembrance of God's favours to them, and to engage their posterity to keep up the work of praise. (4.) How they plead this with God; "Lord, appear for us, against our enemies; for, if they get the better, they will blaspheme thee; (y. 12.) but if we be de-

livered, we will praise thee. Lord, we art that people of ti'ine, which thou hast fo7-med for thysrf to show forth thy praise; if we "be cut (ff, whence shall that rent, that tribute, be raised?" Note, These lives that are entirely devoted to God's praise are assuredly taken under his protection.

PSALM LXXX.

This psalm is much to the same purport with the foregoing. Some think it was penned upon occasion of the desolation and captivity of the ten tribes, as the foregoing psalm of the tico. But many were the distresses of the Israel of God, many perhaps ■which are not recorded in the sacred history, some whereof might give occasion for the drawing up this psalm, which is proper to be sung in the day of Jacob's trouble; and if, in singing it, we express a true love to the church, and a hearty concern for its interest, with a firm confidence in God's power to help it out of its greatest distresses, we make melody with our hearts to the Lord. The psalmist here, 1. Begs for the tokens of God's presence with them, and favour to them, V. 1..3. II. He complains of the present rebukes they were under, v. 4- .7. III. He illustrates the present desolations of the church, by the comparison of a vine and a vineyard, which had flourished, but was now destroyed, v. 8.. 16. IV. He concludes with prayer to God for the preparing of mercy for them, and the preparing of them for mercy, v. 17. .19. This, as many psalms before and after, relates to the public interests of God's Israel, which ought to lie nearer to our hearts than any secular interest of our own.

To the chief musician upon Shoshannim-Eduth. A psalm of Asaph.

1. #^ IVE ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou VB^ that leadest Joseph hke a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth. 2. Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up thy strengtli, and come and save us. 3. Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. 4. O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angiy against the prayer of thy people? 5. Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure. 6. Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours < and our enemies laugh among themselves. 7. Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

The psalmist here, in the name of the church, applies himself to God by prayer, with reference to the present afflicted state of Israel.

1. He entreats God's favour for them; {v. 1, 2.) that is all in all to the sanctuary when it is desolate, and is to be sought in the first place. Observe, (1.) How he eyes God in his address, as the Shepherd of Israel, whom he had called the sheep of his pasture, (Ixxix. 13.) under whose guidance and care Israel was, as the sheep under the care and conduct of the shepherd. Christ is the great and good Shepherd, to whom we may in faith ccmmit the custody of his sheep that were given to him. He leads Joseph like a flock, to the best pastures, and out of the way of danger; if Joseph fellow him not as obsequiously as the sheep do the shepherd, it is his own fault, ^e dwells betnveen the cherubims, where he is ready to receive petitions, and to give directions; the mercy-seat was between the cherubims; and it is very comfortable, in prayer, to lock up to God as sitting en a throne cf grace, and that it is so to us, is owing to the great propitiation, frr the mercy-seat was the propitiatory. (2.) Whrt he expects and desires from God; that lie would give ear to the cry of their miseries, and of their

PSALMS, LXXX.

prayers; th:it he would sliine forth both iii his own elory, and in favour and kindness to his pcrple; tliat he would show himself, and smile on them; that he would stir up his strength, that he would excite it, snd exert it: it had seemed to slumber; " Lord, awaken it:" his cause met with great opposition, and the enemies threatened to overpower it; " Lord, put forth thy strength so much the more, and come for salvation to us; be to thy people a powerful Help, and a present Help; Lord, do this before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,"thatis, " in the sight of all the tribes of Israel, let them see it to their satisfaction." Perhaps these three tribes are named, because they were the tribes which formed that squadron of the camp of Israel that, in their march through the wilderness, followed next after the tabernacle; so that before them the ark of God's strength rose to scatter their enemies.

2. He complains of God's displeasure against them. God was angry, and he dreads that more than any thing, v. 4. (1.) It was gi-eat anger; he apprehended that God was angry against the prayer oi his people; not only that he was angry notwithstanding their prayers, by which they hoped to turn away his wrath from them; but that he was angry with their prayers, though they were his own people that prayed. That God should be angiy at the sins of his people, and at the prayers of his enemies, is not strange; but that he should be angry at the prayers of his people, is strange indeed. He not only, delayed to answer them, (that he often does, in love,) but he was displeased at them. If he be really angry at the prayers of his people, we may be sure it is because they ask amiss, Jam. iv. 3. They pray, but they do not wrestle in prayer, their ends are not right, or there is some secret sin harboured and indulged in them; they do not lift up pure hands, but they lift up hands with wrath and doubting. But perhaps it is only in their own ;ip-prchcnsion; he seems angry with their prayers, when really he is not; for thus lie will try tlieir patience and perseverance in prayer; as Christ tried the woman of Canaan when he said, It in not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to doj^s. (2.) It was anger that had continued a great wliile; " How long ivilt thou be aiigry? We have still continued praying, and vet are still under thy frowns."

Now the tokens of God's displeasure, which they had been long under, were both their sorrow and shame. [1.] Their sorrow; (r. 5.) Thou fecdest them with the bread of tears, they eat their meat from day to dav in tears, this is the vinegar in which they d/fi/ied their morsel, xlii. 3. They had tears given them to drink, not now and then a taste of that bitter cup, but in great me;isure. Note, There arc many that spend their time in sorrow, who yet shall spend their eternity in joy. [2.] It was their shame, x>. 6. God, by frowning u])on them, made them a strife unto their neigliI)ours, each strove which should expose them most; and such a chca]) and easv ]irey were thev made to them, that all the strife was, who should have the stripping and plundering of them. Their enemies laughed among themselves to see the frights they were in, the straits they were reduced to, and the disappointments they met with. When God is displeased with his people, we must expect to see them in tears, and their enemies in trium])h.

3. He prays earnestly for converting grace, in order to their acceptance with God, and their salvation; Turn us again, O God, v. 3. Turn us aq^aiti, O God of hosts; (t. 7.) and th(-n cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. It is the burtnen of the song, for we liavc it again, v. 19. They are conscious to themselves that they have gone astray from God and their duty, and have turned aside into

sinful ways, and that this was it that provoked God to hide his face from them, and to give them up into the hand of their enemies; and therefore they desire to begin their work at the right end; "Lord, turn us to thee in a waj' of repentance and reformation, and then, no doubt, thou wilt return to us in a way of mercy and deliverance." Observe, (1.) No salvation but from God's favour; " Cause thy face to shine, let us have thy love and the light of thy countenance, and then we shall be saved." (2.) No obtaining favour with God unless we be converted to him. We must turn again to God from the world and the flesh, and then he wiU cause his face to shine upon us. (3.) No conversion to God but by his own gi-ace: we must frame our doings to turn to him, (Hos. v. 4.) and then pray earnestly for his grace, Turn thou me, and I shall be turned, pleading that gracious promise, (Prov. i. 23.) Turn you at my refiroof; behold, I ivill fiour out my Spirit unto you. The prayer here is for a national conversion; in this method we must pray for national mercies, tliat what is amiss may be amended, and then our grievances would be soon redressed. Ns tional holiness would secure national happiness.

8. Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt; thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. 9. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. 10. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof loere like the goodly cedars. 11. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. 12. Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? 13. The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it. 14. Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts, look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; 15. And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch thnt thou madest strong for thyself. 16. It w burnt with fire; it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. 17. Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself 18. So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. 19. Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts; cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.

The psalmist is here presenting his suit for the Israel of God, and pressmg it home at the thi-one of grace, pleading with God for mercy and grace for them. The church is here represented as a vine, (x". 8, 14.) and a vineyard, v. 15. The Root of this vine is Christ, Rom. xi. 18. The branches are believers, John xv. 5. The church is like a vine, weak, and needing support, unsightly, and having an unpromising outside, ])ut spreading and fruitful, and its fi-uit most excellent; the church is a choice and noble vine; we have reason to acknowledge the goodness of God, that he has planted such a vine in the wilderness of this world, and preserved it to this day. Now obsen'e here,

1. How the vine of the Old Testament church was planted at first. It was brought out of Ejn-pt with a high hand, the heathen were cast out of Ca-

PSALMS, LXXX.

441

naan to make room for it; seven nations to make room for that one. Thou didst siveeji before it; so some read, (x*. 9.) to make clear work; the nations were swept away as dirt with the besom of destruction. God, having made room for it, and planted it, caused it to take deep root by a happy establishment of their government both in church and state; whiCh was so firm, that, though their neighbours about them often attempted it, they could not prevail to pluck it up.

II. How it spread and flourished. 1. The land cf Canaan itself was fully peopled. At first, they were not so numerous as to replenish it, Exod. xxiii. 29. But in Solomon's time Judah and Israel were mayiy as the sand of the sea; the land was filled with them, and yet such a fruitful land that it was not overstocked, v. 10. The hills of Canaan were • .overed with their shadow, and the branches, though I hey extended themselves far, like those of the vine, yet were not weak like them, but as strong as those of the goodly cedars. Israel net only had abundance of men, but those might)" men of valour. '-;. They extended their conquests and dominion to the neighbouring countries; {x>. 11.) She sent out her boughs to the sea, the great sea westward, and her branches to the river, to the river of Egypt southward, the river of Damascus northward, or rather, the river Euphrates eastwai-d. Gen. xv. 18. Nebuchadnezzar's greatness is represented by a flourishing tree, D :n. iv. 20, 21. But it is oSservable here c^nc^rning this vine, that it is praised for its shado-f, its doughs, and its branches, Ijut not a word of its fruit, fcir Israel was an empty vine, Hos. X. 1. Gxl came, looking for grapes, but behold, wild grapes, Isa. v. 2. And if a vine do not bring fortli fru't, no tree so useless, so worthless, Ezek. XV. 2, 6.

III. How it was wasted and niined; " Lord, thou hast done great tilings hv this vine, and why shall it be all undone again? If it were a plant not of God's planting, it were not strange to see it rooted up; but shall God dcsen and abandon that which he himself gave b^^ing to?" t-. 12. JFhy hast thou the?! broke?! doiv?i her hedges? There was a good reason f t this change in God's way toward them; tliis noble vine was become the degenerate filant of a strange vine, (Jer. ii. 21.) to the reproach of its great Own^r, and then no marvel if he took away its hedge; (Is?., v. 5.) yet Gxl's former favours to this vine are ur.gcd as "pleas in prayer to God, and improved as encouragements to faith, that for all this God would not wholly cist them off. Observe, 1. Tlie malice and enmity of the (rentile nations against Israel; as soon as ever God brake down their hedges and left tli'-m exposed, troops of enemies presently brak--" in ur>"n them, that waited fir an opportunity to destro\- thm. Thev that passed by the way, plucked at tliem; the boa)- out of the wood and the wild beast of the field were ready to ravage it, v. 13. But, 2. See also the restraint wh'ch these cruel enemies w re under, f r, till G^id Ivtd broken down their hedges, thev could nnt pluck a leaf of this vine. Tho De\'il c uld not hurt Job, so l^ng as Gnd continued the h-^dge round about him, Jolj i. 10. See how mu'-h it is the interest r{ -iny people to keep them-selv "s rn the fivr^ur of G xl, nnd th'-n thev need not fear any wild heist '^f the field, J-bw. 23. If wej p'-ovnke God to withdraw, our defence is tiarted from tis, and we are und'^n'". The di^plcrable state of Israelis descrilied; {v. 16.) It is burnt with fire, it is cut dovju; the pc-ple are trentrd like thorns and briers, that are nigh unto cursine, and whose end is to be burned, and no longer like vines that are protected and cherished; they perish not through the rage of the wild beast and the l:)oar, but at the rebuke of thy countenance; that was it which they dreaded, and to which they attributed all their \

Vol. III.—3 K

calamities. It is well or ill with us, according as we are under God's smiles or frowns. IV. What their requests were to God hereupon.

1. That God would help the vine; {v. 14, 15.) that he would graciouslv take cognizance of its case, and to do for it as he thought fit; "Return, we beseech thee, O Lord of hosts, for thou hast seemed to go away from us. Look down from heaven, to which thou hast retired; from heaven, that place of prospect, whence thou seest all the wrongs that are done us; that place of power, whence thcu canst send effectual relief; from heaven, where thcu hast prepared thy throne of judgment, to which we appeal, and where thou hast prepared a better country for those that are Israelites indeed; thence give a gracious look, thence make a gracious visit, to this vine. Take our woeful condition into thy compassionate ccnsideriition, and for the particular fruits of thy pity we refer ourselves to thee. Only behold the vineyard, or r; ther the root, which thy right hand hath planted, and wh'ch therefore we liope thy right hand will pn tcct; that branch which thou ?nadest strong for thyself, to show forth thv praise, (Isa. xliii. 21.) th:it with the fniit of it thoii miglitest lie honoured. Lord, it is formed by thyself, and for thyself, and thercff re it may with an humble confidence be committed to thyself, and to thine own care;" yls for God, his work is perfect. What we read the Branch, in the Hebrew is the Son, (Ben,) whom in thy c/unsel thru hast made strong for thyself. Thr.t" bntnch was to come out of the stf^ck of Israel; My seii>ant the Branch, Zech. iii. 8. And therefore, till he was ccme, Israel in general, and the house of David in particular, must be preser\-ed and upheld, and kept in being. He is the true Vine, John xv. 1. Isa. xi. 1. Destroy it not, for that a blessing is i?i it, Isa. Ixv. 8.

2. That he would help tlie vine-dresser; {v. 17, 18.) " Let thy hand be upon the ?nan of thy light hand;" that king (whoever it was) of the house ef David, that was now to go in and cut before them; " let thy hand be upon him, not only to protect and cover him, but to own him, and strengthen him, and give him success." W'e have this phrase, Ezra viL 28. ^nd I was stre?igthened as the hand of the Lord my God was upo?i me. Their king is called the man of God^s right hand, as he was the representative of their state, which was dear to God, as his Benjamin, tlio son of his light hand; as he was president ir their aflfiirs, and pn instrument in God's right hand of mucli good to them, defending them from themselves and from their enemies, find directing them in the riuht wa\-; and as he was under-shepherd under him who was the great Shepherd eif Israel. Princes, who have power, must remember that they are sons of ?nen, cf Jldam, so the word is; that, if the\" ;re strong, it.is G^el that has made them strong, and lie has made them so for himself, for they are his ministers to servo the inter"?'*-' of his kingdci^. aninv men; which if they do in sincerity, his hanC shall be ufio?? them; and wc should pray in faith tliit it may be so, addin<j: tliis promise, that, if Gcd will adhere to our governors, we will ndhere'tohim, So will not we go back from thee; we will never desert a cause which we see thot God espouses, and is th<' Patron of Let God be our Leader, and we will f How him. Adding also this prayer, "Quick en us, put life int'^ us, revi\e cur dying interests, revive our droopine spirits, and then we will call ufwn thy na?ne. We will continue to do so upon all occasions, having f und it not in vain to do so." We cannot call upon God's name in a right manner, unless he quicken us; but it is he that puts life into cur souls, that puts livediness into our pravers.

B\it manv intei-preters, both Jcwisli and Christian, avply this to the Messiah, the Son of David, the Protector and Saviour of the church, and the

PSALMS, LXXXl.

Keeper of the vineyard. (1.) He is the Man of God's right hand, to whom he has s-wom by his rig/U hand, so the Chaldee; whom he has exalted to his right hand, and who is indeed his right hand, the Arm of the Lord, for all power is given to him. (2.) He is that Son of man whom he made strong for himsc'lf, for the glorifying of his name, and the advancing of the interests of his kingdom among men. (3.) God's hand is upon him throughout his whole undertaking, to bear him out and carry him on, to protect and animate him, that the good filea-sure of the Lord inight prosper in his hand. (4.) The stability and constancy of believers are entirely owing to the grace and strength which are laid up for us in Jesus Christ, Ixviii. 28. In him is our strength found, bv which we are enabled to persevere to the end. Let thy hand be upon him, on him let our help be laid, who is mighty, let him be made able to save to the uttemiost, and that will be our security; so ivill not we go back froin thee.

Lastly, The psalm concludes with the same petition that had been put up twice before, and yet it is no vain repetition; {v. 19.) Turn us again. The title given to God rises, {x'. 3.) 0 God, (y. 7.) O God of hosts, {v. 19.) O Lord f Jehovah J God of hosts. When we come to God for his gi'ace, his good will towards us, and his good work in us, we should pray earnestly, continue instant in prayer, and pray more earnestly.

PSALM LXXXL

This psalm was penned, as is supposed, not upon occasion of any particular providence, but for the solemnity of a particular ordinance, either that of the new moon in general, or that of the feast of trumpets, on the new moon of the seventh month, Lev. xxiii. 24. Jfiunb. xxix. 1. When David, by the Spirit, introduced the singing of psalms into the temple-service, this psalm was intended for that day, to excite and assist the proper devotions of it. All the psalms are profitable; but if one psalm be more suitable than another to the day, and the observances of it, we should choose that. The two great intentions of our religious assemblies, and which we ought to have in our eye in our attendance on them, are answered in this psalm, which are, to give glory to God, and to receive instruction from God; to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple: accordingly, by this psalm we are assisted, on our solemn feast-days, I. In praising God for what he is to his people, (v. 1. .3.) and has done for them, v. 4. .7. II. In teaching and admonishing one another concerning the obligations we lie under to God, (v. 8.. 10.) the danger of revolting from him, (v. 11, 12.) and the happiness we should have, if we would but keep close to him, v. 13 . . 16. This, though spoken primarily of Israel of old, is written for our learning, and is therefore to be sung with application.

To the chief musician upon Gittith. A psalm of

Asaph. I. ClING aloud unto God our strength: 1^ make a joyful noise unto the God of Tacob. 2. Take a psahii, and bring liither he timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psal-lery. .3. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon^ in the time apjiointed, on our solemn feast-day. 4. For this irns a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. 5. This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Kgypt; where I heard a languajie that T understood not. G. T removed his shouldcM' from the burden: his liands were (k'liv(>rcd from the pots. 7. Thou ealledst in trouble, and 1 delivered thee; 1 answered tliee in th(^ secret place of thiinder; I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.

When the people of God were gathered together in the solemn day, the day of the feast of the Lord, they must be told that they had business to do, for we do not go to church to sleep, or to be idle; no, there is that which the duty of every day requires; work of the day, which is to be done in \*% day. And here,

I. The worshippers of Ciod are excited to their work; and are taught, by singing this psalm, to stir up both themselves and one another to it, v. 1..3, Our errand is, to give unto God the glory due unto his name, and in all cur religious assemblies we must mind this as our business. 1. In doing this, we must eye God as our Strength, and as the God of Jacob, -V. 1. He is the Strength of Israel, as a people, for he is a God in covenant with them, who will powerfully protect, support, and deliver them, who fights their battles and makes them do valiantly and victoriously. He is the Strength of every Israelite; by his grace we are cnal)lcd to go through all our services, sufferings, and conflicts; to him, as cur Strength, we must pray, and we must sing praise to him, as the God of all the wrestling seed of Jacob, with whom we have a spiritual communion. 2. We must do this by all the expressions of holy joy and triumph. It was then to be done by musical instruments, the timbrel, harp, and psalteiT; and by blowing the trumpet, some think, in remembrance cf the sound of the trumpet on mount Sinai, which waxed louder and louder; it was then, and is now, to be done, by singing psalms, singing aloud, and making a joyful noise. The pleasantness of the harp, and the aw'ful-ness of the trumpet, intimate to us that Gi d is to be worshipped with cheerfulness and holy joy, with reverence and godly fear. Singing aloud, and making a noise, intimate that we must be warm and affectionate in prasing God; that we must with a hearty good will show forth his praise, as those that are not ashamed to own our dependence en him, and obligations to him; and that we should join many together in this work, the more the better, it is the more like heaven. 3. This must be done in the time appointed. No time is amiss for praising God; ( Seven times a day will I praise thee; nay, at midnight will I rise and give thanks unto thee; J but some are times appointed, not for God to meet us, (he is always ready,) but for us to meet one another, that we may join together in praising God. The solemn feast-day must be a day of praise; when we are receiving the gifts of God's bounty, and rejoicing in them, then it is proper to sing here his praises.

II. They are here directed in their work.

1. They must look up to the divine institution, which it is the observation of; in all religious worship we must have an eye to tlie command; (x'. 4.) This was a statute for Israel, for the keeping up or a face of religion among them; it was a law of the God of Jacob, which all the seed of Jacob are bovnd by, and must be subject to. Note, Praising God is n-^t only a good thing, which we do well to do, but it is our indis])cnsable duty, whicli we are obliged to do, it is at our peril if we neglect it; and in all religious exercises we must have an eye to the institution, as our warrant and nile; "This I do, be-ciuse (iod has commanded me; and therefore I hope he will accept me;" then it is done in faith.

2. Th"v must lork back upon those operations of Divine Providence, which it is the memorial of. 'i'his s'ik-nm service was ordained fnr a testimony, {v. 5.) a standing traditional evidence, for the attesting <f the matters ( f fart. It was a testimony to Isi-ael, th it tliey might knew and remember what Ciod had done f'^r their fathers, and would be a tes-tinvny against them, if they sliould be ignorant of tlirm, and f rget tlu ni.

(1.) Thf psalmist, in the people's name, puts himself in mind of the general work of God on Is-

PSALMS, LXXXl.

443

niel's behalf, which was kept in remembrance by this and other solemnities, -v. 5. When God went cut against the land of Egypt, to lay it waste, that he might force Pharaoh to let Israel go, then he ordained solemn feast-days to be observed by a statute for ever in their generations, as a memorial of it, particularly the passover, which perhaps is meant by the solemn feast-day; {v. 3.) that was appointed just then when God went out through the land of Egypt, to destroy the first-born, and passed over the houses of the Israelites, Exod. xii. 23, 24. By it that work of wonder was to be kept in pcrjjetual remembi-ance, that all ages might in it behold the goodness and severity of God. The psalmist, speaking for his peo ■ pie, takes notice of this aggravating circumstance of tlieir slavery in Egypt, that there they heard a language that they understood not, there they were strangers in a strange land; the Egypti ms and the Hebrews understood not one another s language, for Joseph spake to his brethren by an interpreter, (Gen. xlii. 23.) and the Egyptians are said to be, to the house of Jacob, a {leofde of a strange language, cxiv. 1. To make a deliverance appear the more gracious, the more glorious, it is good to observe every thing that makes the trouble we are delivered from appear the more grievous.

(2.) The psalmist, in God's name, puts the people in mind of some of the particulars of their deliverance; here he changes the person, v. 6. God speaks by him, saying, I removed his shoulder from, the burthen. Let him remember this on the feast-day, [1.] That God had brought them out of the house of bondage; had removed their shoulder from the burthen of oppression, under which they were ready to sink; had delivered their hands from the pots, or panniers, or baskets, in which they carried clay or bricks. Deliverance out of .slavery is a very sensible mercy, and which ought to be had in evei--lasting remembrance. But this was not all. [2.] God had delivei-ed them at the Red sea; then they called in trou])le, and he rescued them, and disap'-pointed the designs of their enemies against them, Exod. xiv. 10. Then he answered them with a real answer, out of the secret place of thunder, that is, out of the pillar of fire, through which God looked upon the host of the Egyptians, and troubled it, Exod. xiv. 24, 25. Or, it may be meant of the giving of the law at mount Sinai, which was the secret place, for it was death to gaze, (Exod. xix. 21.) and it was in thunder that God then spake. Even the terrors of Sinai were favours to Israel, Deut. iv. 33. [3.] God had borne their manners in the wilderness; *■' I proved thee at the nvaters of Meribah; thou didst there show thy temper, what an unbelieving murmuring people thou wast, and yet I continued mv favour to tliee," Selah; Mark that; compare God's goodness and man's badness, and they will serve as foils to each other. Now, if they, on their solemn feast-days, were thus to call to mind their redemption out of Egypt, much more ought we, on the Christian s ^bbuth, to call to mind a more glorious redemption wrn\ight out for us by Jesus Christ, from worse than Euryptian bondage, "and the many gracious answers he has given to us, notwithstanding our manifold provocations.

8. Hear, O my people, and 1 will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou,wilt hearken unto me; 9. There shall no strani2;e god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. 10. T am the Lord thy God, which brought thoe out of the land of lEgypt: v)Den thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. H. But my people would not hearken to my voice: and Israel would none of me. 12. So ||

I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust; and they walked in their own counsels. 13. Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, flnt/ Israel had walked in my ways! 14. ] should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. 15. The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever. 16. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

God, by the psalmist, here speaks to Israel, and, in them, to us, on whom the ends of the world are come.

I. He demands their diligent and serious attention to what he was about to say; {y. 8.) ^' Hear, O myJieofile; who should hear me, if my own people will not? I have heard and answered thee; now, wilt thou hear me? Hear what is said with the greatest solemnity, and the most unquestionable certainty, for it is what I will testify unto thee. Do net only give me the hearing, but hearken unto me, be advised by me, be iniled by me." Nothing could be more reasonably or more justly expected, and yet God puts an if upon it; " If thou wilt hearken unto vie. It is thine interest to do so, and yet it is questionable whether thou wilt or no, for thy neck is an iron sinew."

II. He puts them in mind of their obligation to him, as the Lord their God and Redeemer; {v. 10.) / am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egyfit; this is the premce to tlie ten commandments, and a powerful reason for the keep>-ing of them, showing that we are bound to it in duty, interest, and gratitude, all which bonds we break asunder, if we be disobedient.

III. He gives them an abstract both of the precepts and of the promises which he gave them as the Lord, and their God, upon their coming out of Egypt. 1. The great command was. That they should have no other gods before him; {y. 9.) There shall no strange god be in thee, none beside thine own God. Other gods might well be called strange gods, for it was very strange that ever any people, who had the true and living God for their God, should hanker after any other. God is jealous in this matter, for he will not suflFer his gh ry to be given to another; and therefore in this matter they must be circumspect, Exod. xxiii. 13. 2. The gi-ea't promise was. That God himself, as a God all-sufficient, would be nigh unto them in all that which they called upon him for, Deut. iv. 7. That, if they would adhere to him as their powerful Protector and Ruler, they should always find him their bountiful Benefactoi-. Open thy mruth wide and I will fill it, as the young ravens that cry open their mouths wide, and the old ones fill them. See here, (1.) What is our duty; to raise our expectatirns from God, and enlarge our desires toward him. ^^'e cannot look for too little frr m the creature, nor too much from the Creator. We are net straitened in him; why therefore should we be straitened in cur own bosoms? (2.) What is God's promise; I will fill thy mruth with good things, ciii. 5. There is eno2igh in God to fill our treasures, (Prov. viii. 21.) to replenish ex'ery hungry soul, (Jer. xxxi. 25.) to supply all our wants, to answer all our desires, and to make us completely happy. The pleasures of sense will surfeit, and never satisfv; (Isa. Iv. 2.) divine ])le;isurcs will sntisfy, and never surfeit. And we m-iy have enough from Gcd, if we pray for it in faith; Ask, and it bhall be given you; he gives libe-

PSALMS, LXXXl

rally, and ujihraids not. God assured his people Israel, that it should be their own fault, if he did not do as great and kind things for them as he had done for their fathers. Nothing should have been thought too good, too much, to give them, if they would but have kept close to God. He ivould moreover have given them such and such things, 2 Sam. xii. 8.

IV. He charges them with a high contempt of his authority as their Lawgiver, and his grace and favour as their Benefactor, v. 11. He had done much for them, and designed to do more; but all in vain; " My people nvould not hearken to my voice, but turned a deaf ear to all I said." Two things he complains of; 1. Their disobedience to his commands; they did hear his voice, so as never any people did; but they would not hearken to it, they would not be ruled bv it, neither by the law, nor by the reason of it. 2. Their dislike of his covenant-relation to them; They ivould none of me. " They acquiesced not in my word;" so the Chaldee. God was willing to be to them a God, but they were not willing to be to him a people; they did not like his terms. "I would have gathered them, but they would not." They had none of him; and why had they not? It was not because they might not,' they were fairly invited into covenant with God; it was not because they could not, for the word was nigh them, even in their mouth and in their heart; but it was purely because they would not. God calls them his

{)eople, for they were bought by him, bound to him, lis by a thousand ties, and yet even they have not hearkened, have not obeyed; Israel, the seed of Jacob my friend, set me at nought, and ivould have none of me. Note, All the wickedness of the wicked world is owing to the wilfulness of the wicked will. The reason why people are not religious, is, because they will not be so.

V. He justifies himself with this, in the sjiiritual judgments he had brought upon them; (z>. 12.) So I gave them up unto their oivn hearts' lusts, which would be more dangerous enemies, and more mischievous oppressors, to them, than any of the neighbouring nations ever were. God withdrew his Spint from them, took off the Ijridle of restraining grace, left them to themselves, and justly; they will do as they will, and therefore let them do as they will: Ephraim is joined to idols; let himaloyie. It is a rigliteous tiling with God to give those up to their own hearts' lusts thit indulge them, and give up themselves to be led b\^ them; for whv should his Spirit always strive? His grace is his own, and he is Debtor to no man, and yet, as he never gave his grace to any that could say they deserved it, so he never took it away from ;iny, but such as had first forfeited it; They ivould none of?ne, so I gave them !/p, let them take their course"; and see what follows; they walked in their own counsels, in the way of their heart, and in the sight of their eye, both in their worships, and in their conversations.

I left them to do as they would, and then they did ' all that was ill; they wilked in their own counsels, ' and not according to the counsels of God, and his advice. God therefore was not the Author of their i sin, he left them to the lusts of their own hearts, j and tlie counsels of their own heads; if they do not well, the Ijlame must lie U])on their own hearts, and the blood upon their own heads.

VI. He testifies his good will to them, in wishing they had done well for themselves. He saw how sad their case was, and how sure their ruin, when they were delivered up to their own lusts; that is worse than being given up to Satan, which mav be in order to reformation, (] Tim. i. 20.) and to' salvation, 1 Cor. v. 5. But to ])e delivered up to our own hearts' lusts, is to be sealed under condemnation. He that is filthy, let him be filthv still; what

fatal precipices will not thesehuriy amanto? Now, here God looks upon thtm with pity, and shews that it was with reluctancy that he thus' abandoned them to their folly and fate; Hoiv shall I give thee up, Ephraim?' Hos. xi. 8, 9. So here, Qh that my people had hearkened I See Isa. xlviii. 18. Thus Christ lamented the obstinacy of Jeiiisalem; If thou hadst knoivn, Luke xix. 42. The expressions here are \ ery affecting, {v. 13* .16.) designed to show, 1. How unwilling God is that any should perish, and desirous that all should come to repentance. He delights not in the niin of sinful persons or nations. 2. What enemies sinners are to themselves, and what an aggravation it will be of their misery, that they might have been happy upon such easy terms.

Observe here, (1.) The great mercy Gcd had in store for his people, and which he would have wrought for them, if they had been obedient. [1.] He would have given them victory over their enemies, and would soon have completed the reduction of them. They should not erdy have kept their ground, but have gained their point, against the remaining Canaanites, ynd their encroaching vexatious neighbours; {v. 14.) I should have subdued their enemies; and it is God only that is to be de-pendeet on for the suljduing our enemies. Nor would he have put them to the expense and fatigue of a tedious war, he would soon have done it; for he would have turned his hand against their adversa ries, and then they had not been able to stand before them. It intimates how easily he would have done it, and without any difficultv; with the turn of a hand; nay, ivith the breath of his mouth shall he slay the wicked, Isa. xi. 4. If he but turn his hand, the haters of the Lord will submit theinselves to him; {y. 15.) and though they are not brought tf» love him, yet they shall be made to fear him, and to confess that he is too hard for them, and that it is in vain to contend with him. God is honoured, and so is his Israel, by the submission cf those that have been in rebellion agr^.inst them, though it be but a forced and feigned submission. [2. ] He would have confirmed and perpetuated their posterity, and established it upon sure and lasting foundations. In despite of all the attempts of their enemies against them, their time should have endured for ever, and they should never have been disturbed in the possession of the good land God had given them, much less evicted, and turned out of all possession. [3.] He would have given them gi'eat plenty of all good things; (i». 16.) He should have fed them with the finest of the wheat, with the best grain, and best of the kind. Wheat was the staple-crmmoditv of Canaan, and they exported a deal of it, Ezek. xxvii. 17. He would not only have provided for them the best sort of bread, but with honey out of the reck ivould he have sati^.fied them. Beside tlie prccirus products of tlie fruitful soil, thnt there might not be a barren spot in all their land, even the clefts cf the rock should serve for bce-hivcs, and in tlicm they should find honey in abundance. See Deut. xxxii. 13, 14. In short, God designed to make them cveiy way easy and happy.

(2.) The duty God required from them as the condition of all this mercy. He expected no more thi^n that they should hearken to him, as a scholar to his teacher, to receive his instnictirns; as a servant to his master, to receive his commands; and that they should walk in his ways, those ways et the Lord which are right and pleasant, that they should observe the institutions of his ordinances, and attend the intimations of his providence, there was nothing unreasonable in this.

(3.) Observe how the reason of the withholding, of the mercy is laid in their neglect of the duty; If they had hearkened to me, I would soon have

PSALMS, LXXXII.

443^

subdued their enemies. Note, National sin Jind disobedience is the great and only thing that retards and obstructs national salvation and dclivtrance. When I would have healed Israel, and set every thing to rights among them, then the iniquity of Efihraim was discovered, and so a stop was put to the cure, Hos. vii. 1. We are apt to say, " if such a method had been taken, such an instrument employed, we should soon have subdued our enemies;" but we mistake; if we had hearkened to God, and kept to cur duty, the thing had been done, but it is sin that makes our troubles long, and salvation slow. And this is that which God himself complains of, and wishi's it had been otherwise. Note, Therefore God would have us do our duty to him, that we may be qualified to receive favour from him. He therefore delights in our serving him, not because he is the better for it, but because we shall be.

PSALM LXXXIL

This psalm is calculated for the meridian of princes' courts, and courts of justice, not in Israel only, but in other nations; yet it was probably penned primarily for the use of the magistrates of Israel, the great Sanhedrim, and their other elders, who were in places of power, and perhaps by David's direction. This psalm is designed to make kings wise, and to instruct tite judges of tfie eartli, as ii. 10. to tell them their dutv, as 2 Sam. xxiii. 3. and to tell them of their faults, as Iviii. 1. We have here, I. The dignity of magistracv, and its dependence upon God, v. 1. II. The duty of magistrates, V. 3, 4. III. The degeneracy of bad magistrates, and the mischief they do, V. 2, 5. IV. Their doom read, v. 6, 7. V. The desire and prayer of all good people, that the kingdom of God may be set up more and more, v. 8. Though magistrates may most closely apply this psalm to themselves, yet we may any of us sing it with understanding, when we give glory to God in singing it, as presiding in all public affairs, providing for the protection of injured innocency, and ready to punish the most powerful in justice, and when we comfort ourselves with the belief of his present government, and with the hopes of his future judgment. A fisahn of Asaph. 1. ^^ OD standeth in the congregation of \% the mighty: he judgeth among the gods. 2. How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. 3. Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. 4. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked. 5. They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

We have here,

I. God's supreme presidency and power in all councils and courts, asserted and laid down, as a great ti-utli necessary to be believed both by princes and subjects; {y. 1.) God stands, as chief Director, in the congregation of the mighty, the mighty One, in catn fortis — in the councils of (he firince, the supreme Magistrate, and he judges among the gods, the inferior magistrates; both the legislative and the executive power of princes is under his eye and his hand. Observe here, 1. The power and honour of magistrates, they are the mighty; they are so in authority, for the public good; it is a great power that they are intrusted with, and they ought to be mighty in wisdom and courage. Tliey are, in the Hebrew dialect, called gods; the same word is iised for these subordinate governors, that is used for the sovereign Ruler of the world. They are Elohim; angels arc so called, both because they are great in power aod might, and because God is pleased to make use of their scr\'ice in the goverii-

ment of this lower world; and magistrates, in an inferior capacity, are likewise the ministers of his providence in general, for the keeping up of order and peace in liuman societies, and particularly of his justice and goodness in pvniishing evil doers, and protecting the m that do well. Good magistrates, who answer the ends rf magistracy, are as Gcd; some of his honour is put upon them, they are his vicegerents, and great blessings to any people. A divi7ie sentence is in the lips of the king, Prov. xvi. 10. But as roaring lions, and ranging dears, so are wicked rulers over the poor people, Prov. xxvL 15. 2. A gocxl form and constitution of government intimated, and tliat is a mixed monarchy like curs; here is the mighty One, the Sovereign, and here is his congregation, his privy council, his parliament, his bench of judges, who are called the gods. 3. God's incontestable sovereignty maintained in pnd over all the congregations of the mighty. God stands, he judges among them; they have their power from him, and are accountable to him; by him kings reign. He is present at all their debate s, and inspects all they say and do, and what is said and done amiss will be called over again, and they reckoned with for their mal-administrations. God has their hearts in his hands, and their tongues too, and he directs them which way soei'er he will, Prov. xxi. 1. So that he has a negative voice in all their resolves, anel his counsels shall stand, whatever devices are in men's hearts; he makes what use he pleases of them, and serves his own purposes and designs by them, though their hearts little think so, Isa. x. 7. Let magistrates consider this, and be awed by it; God is with them in the judgment, 2 Chron. xix. 6. Deut. i. 17. Let subjects ccnside r this, and be comforted with it; for good princes and good judges, who mean well, are under a divine direction, and bad ones, who mean ever so ill, are under a divine restraint.

n. A charge given to all magistrates to do good with their power, as they will answer it to him by whom they are inti-usted with it, v. 3, 4. 1. They are to be the protectors of those who lie exposed to injury, and the patrons of those who want advice and assistance. Defend the poor, who have no money wherewith to make friends or fee counsel, and the fatherless, who, while they are young and unable to help themselves, have lost all those who woulel liave been guides of their youth. Magistrates, as they must be fathers to their country in general, so particularly to those in it who are fatherless; the}' are called the gods. Herein they must be ff 1-lowers of him, they must be fathers of the fatherless. Job was so. Job xxix. 12. 2. They are to admiitis-ter justice impartially, and do right to the afflicted and needy, who, being weak and helpless, liave often wrongs done them; and will be in danger of losing all, if magistrates do not, ex officio — officially, interpose for their relief. If a poor man has an honest cause, his poverty must be no prejudice to his cause, how great and powerful soever th( se are that contend with him. 3. They are to rescue those who are already fallen into the hands cf oppressors, and deliver them; (x'. 4.) Rid them out of the hand of the wicked, avenge them of their adversary, Luke xviii. 3. These are clients whom there is nothing to be got by, no pay for serving them, no interest by obliging them; yet these are they whom judges and magistrates must concern tliemselves for, whose comfort they must consult, and whose cause they must espouse.

III. A charge drawn up against bad magistrates, who neglect their duty, and abuse their power, for R-ctting that God standeth among them, v. 2, 5. Observe,

1. Wliat the sin is they are here charged with; they judge unjustly, contrary to the rules of equity

PSALMS, LXXXIII.

and the dictates of their consciences; giving judgment against those who have right on their side, out of malice and ill-will; or for those who have an unrighteous cause, out of favour and partial affection. To do unjustly is bad, but to judge unjustly is much worse, because it is doing wrong under colour of right; against such acts of injustice there is least fence for the injured, and by them encouragement is given to the injurious. It was as great an evil as any Solomon saw under the sun, when he observed the place of judgment, that iniquity ivas there, Eccl. iii. 16. Isa. v. 7. They not only accepted the persons of the rich, because they were rich, though that is bad enough, but (which is much worse) they accepted the persons of the nvicked, because they were wicked; they not only countenanced them in their wickedness, but loved them the better for it, and fell in with their interests. Woe unto thee, O land, when thv judges are such as these!

2. What was the cause of this sin. They were told plainly enough that it was their office and duty to protect and deliver the poor, it was many a time given them in charge, yet they judge unjustly, for they know not, neither ivill they undeistand. They do not care to hear their duty, they will not take pains to study it, they have no desire to take things right, but are governed by interest, not by reason or justice; a gift in secret blinds their eyes. They know not, because they will not understand; none so blind as those that will not see. They have baffled their own consciences, and so they walk on in darkness, not knowing or caring what they do or whither they go. They that walk on in darkness are walking on to everlasting darkness.

3. What were the consequences of this sin; .411 the foundations of the earth, or of the land, are out of course; when justice is perverted, what good can be expected? The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved, as the psalmist speaks in a like Cise, Ixxv. 3. The miscarriages of public persons are public mischiefs.

6. I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High: 7. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. 8. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

We have here,

1. Eaithlv gods abased and brought down, v. 6, 7. The dignity of their character is acknowledged; {■V. 6.) I have said, ye are gods. They have been honoured with the name and title of gods; God himself called tliem so in the statute against treasonable words; (Exod. xxii. 28.) Thou shalt not revile the # gods. And if they have this style from the Foun-biin of honour, who can dispute it? But what is man, that he should be thus magnified? He called them gods, because unto them the nvord of God came, so our Saviour expounds it; (John x. 35.) they had a commission from God, and were delegated and appointed by l\im to lie the shields of the earth, the conservators of the public peace, and re-\-engers to execute wrath upon those that disturb it, Rom. xiii. 4. All of them arc in this sense chil-dren of the most High, (iod has ]3Ut some of his honour upon them, and employs them in his providential government of the world, as David made his sons chief rulers. Or, " Because I said. Ye are gods, ye liave carried the honour further than wns iijttnck'd, and have imae;ine(l yourselves to be the children of the most High," as the king of BabyU;n, (Isa. xiv. 14.) T-iVill be like the 7nost High, and tlie Icing of Tyre, (Ezek. xxviii. 2.) 77iou hast set thy heart as the heart of God. It is a hard thing for men to have so much lionour put upon them by the hand of God, and so much honour paid them, as

ought to be by the children of men, and not to be pi-ou^ of it and puffed up with it, and so to think of themselves above what is meet. But here follows a mortifying consideration; Ye shall die like men. This may be taken, either, (1.) As the punishment of bad magistrates, such as judged unjustly, and by their misrule put the foundations of the earth 07it of course; God will reckon with them, and will cut them off in the midst of their pomp and prosperity; they shall die like other wicked men, and fall like one of the heathen princes, and their being Israelites shall not secure them, any more than their being judges; or like one of the angels that sinned; or like one of the giants of the old world. Compare this with that which Elihu observed concerning the mighty oppressors in his time; (Job xxxiv. 26.) He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others. Let those that abuse their power, know that God will take both it and their lives from them; for wherein they deal proudly, he will show hi7tiself above them. Or, (2.) as the period of the glory of all magistrates in this world; let them not be puffed up with their honour, or neglect their work, but let the consideration of their mortality, be both mortifying to their pride, and quickening to their duty. Ve are called gods, but ye have no patent for immortality, ye shall die like men, like common men, and, like one of them, ye, Oprinces, shall fall. Note, Kings and princes, all the judges of the earth, though they are gods to us, are men to God, and shall die like men, and all their honour shall be laid in the dust. Mors sceptra ligonibus xquat — Death mingles sceptres with spades.

2. The God of heaven exalted and raised high, V. 8. The psalmist finds it to little purpose to reason with these proud oppressors, they turned a deaf ear to all he said, and walked on in darkness, and therefore he looks up to God, appeals to him, and begs of him to take mito himself his great power; jirise, O God, judge the earth; and, when he prays that he would do it, he believes that he will do it; Thou shalt inherit all nations. This has respect, (1.) To the kingdom of providence; God governs the world, sets up and puts down whom he pleases, he inherits all nations, has an absolute dominion over them, to dispose of them as a man does of his inheritance; this we are to believe, and to comfort ourselves with, that the earth is not given so nuich i7ito the hands of the wicked, the wicked rtilers, as we are tempted to think it is. Job ix. 24. But God has reserved the power to himself, and overiiiles them. In this faith we must pray, " jirise, O God, judge the earth, appear against those that judge unjustly, and set shepherds over thy people after thine own heart." There is a righteous God to whom we may have recourse, and on whom we may depend, for the effectual relief of all that find themselves aggrieved by unjust judges. (2.) It has respect to the kingdom of the Messiah. It is a prayer for the hastening of that, that-Christ would come, who is to judge the earth; and that promise is pleaded, that God shall give him the heathen for his inheritance. Thou, O Christ, shalt inherit all nations, and be the Governor over them, ii. 8.— xxii. 28. Let the second coming of Christ set to rights all these disorders. There are two words with which we may comfort ourselves and one another, in reference to the mismanagements of power among men; one is, (Rev. xix. 6.) Hallelujah, the Lord God omnipotent reigneth; the other is, (Rev xxii. 20.) Surely, I come quickly.

PSAOI LXXXIII.

This psalm is the last of those that ^o under the name of Asaph. It is penned, as most of those, upon a public account, with rrforcnce to the insults'orthe church's enemies, who fousiht its ruin. Some think it was penned

PSALMS, LXXXIIl.

44:

apon occasion of the threatenins; descent which was made upon the land of Judah, in Jehoshaphat's lime, by the Moabites and Ammonites, those children of Lot here spolcen of, (v. 8.) who were at the head of the alliance, and to whom all the other states here mentioned were auxiliaries. We have the story, 2 Chron. xx. 1. where it is said, The children of Moab and Ammon, and others besides them, invaded the land. Others think it was penned with reference to all the confederacies of the neighbouring nations against Israel, from first to last. The psalmist here makes an appeal and application, I. To God's knowledge, by a presentation of their desio^ns and endeavours to destroy Israel, v. 1..8. II. To God's justice and jealousy, both for his church and for his own honour, by an earnest prayer for the defeat of their attempt, that the church mi^ht be preserved, the enemies humbled, and God glorified, v. 9 .. 18. This, in the singing of it, we may apply to the enemies of the gospel-church, all antichristian powers and factions, representing to God their confederacies agninst Christ and his kingdom, and rejoicing in the hope that all their projects will be baffled, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church.

jl song- or fisalm of Asafih.

EEP not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. 2. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult ; and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. 3. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. 4. They have said. Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. 5. For they have consulted together with one consent; they are confederate against thee : 6. The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; 7. Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines, with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8. Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.

The Israel of God were now in danger and fear, and great distress; and yet their prayer is called, A song or psalm, for singing psalms is not unseasonable, no, not when the harps are hung upon the willow-trees.

I. The psalmist here begs of God to appear on the behalf of his injured threatened people; (x". 1.) *^ Keefi not thou si/ence, 0 God, but give judgment for us against those that do us an apparent wrong." Thus Jehoshaphat prayed upon occasion of that invasion; (2 Chron. xx. 11.) Behold, how they reiuard us, to coine to cast us out of thy /losscssion. Sometimes God seems to connive at tlie unjust treatment which is given to his people; he keeps silence, as one that either did not observe it, or did not concern himself in it; he holds his peace, as if he would observe an exact neutrality, and let them fight it out; he is still, and gives not the enemies of his people any disturbance or opposition, but seems to sit by as a man astonished, or as a mighty nian that cannot save. Then he gives us leave to call upon him, as here, " Keep not thou silence, O God. Lord, speak to us by thy prophets, for our encouragement against our fears;" (as he did in reference to that invasion, 2 Chron. xx. 14, &c.) "Lord, speak for us by thy j^rovidence, and speak against our enemies; speak deliverance to us, and disappointment to them." God's speaking is his acting; for with him saying and doing are the same thing.

n. He here gives an account of the grand alliance of the neighbouring nations against Israel,

which he begs of God to break, and blast the projects of. Now observe here,

1. Against whom this confederacy is formed; it is against the Israel of God, and so, in effect, against the God of Israel. Thus the psalmist takes care to interest God in their cause, not doubting but that, if it appeared that they were for God, God would make it to appear that he was for them, and then they might set all their enemies at defiance; for who then could be against them.'' "Lord," says he, '' they are thine enemies, and they hate thee. All wicked people are God's enemies, (the carnal mind is enmity against God,) but especially wicked persecutors; they hated the religious worshippers of God, because they hated God's holy religion, and the worship of him. This was that which made God's people so zealous against them—that they fought against God; They are confederate against thee, V. 5. Were our interest only concerned, we could the better bear it, but when God himself is struck at, it is time to cry, Help, Lord! Keep not thou sile?ice, 0 God. He proves that they are confederate against God, for they are so against the people of God, who are near and dear to him, his son, his first-born, his portion, and the lot of his inheritance; he may truly be said to fight against me, that endeavours to destroy my children, to root out my family, and ruin my estate. "Lord," says the psalmist, " they are thy enemies, for they consult against thy hidden ones." Note, God's people are his hidden ones; hidden, (1.) In respect of secrecy; their life is hid ivith Christ in God; the world knovjs them not; if they knew them, they would not hate them as they do. (2.) In respect of safety; God takes them under his special protection, hides them in the hollow of his hand; and yet, in defiance of God and his power, and promise to secure his people, they will consult, and ruin them, and cast them down from their ejccellericy, (Ixii. 4.) and so make a prey of those whom the Lord has set apart for hiinself iv. 3. They resolve to destroy those whom God resolves to preserve.

2. How this confederacy is managed; the Devil is at the bottom of it, and therefore it is carried on, (1.) With a great deal of heat and violence; Thine enemies make a tumult, x'. 2. The heathen rage, ii. 1. The nations are angry. Rev. xi. 18. They are noisy in their clamours against the people, whom they hope to run down with their loud calumnies; tliis comes in as a reason why God should not keep silence: "The enemies talk big, and talk much; Lord, let them not talk all, but do thou speak to them in thy wrath," ii. 5. (2.) With a great deal of pride and insolence; They have lifted up the head; in confidence of their sticcess, they are so elevated, as if they could overtop the Most High, and overpower the Almighty. (3.) With a great deal of art and policy; They have taken crafty counsel, XK 3. The subtlety of the old serpent appears in their management, and they contrive, by all possible means, tliough ever so base, ever so bad, to gain their point. Thev -d-mprofound to make slaughter. (Hos. V. 2.) as if they could outwit Infinite Wisdom. (4.) With a great deal of unanimity; whatever separate clashing interest they haA^e among themselves, against the people of God they consult with one consent, {v. 5.) nor is Satan's kingdom divided against itself To push on this unholy war, they lay their heads together, and their honis, and their hearts too. Tas est et ab hoste doceri — Even an enemy may instruct. Do the enemies of the church act with one consent to destroy it? Are the kings of the earth of one mind to give their power and honour to the beast? And shall not the church's friends be unanimous in serving her interests? If Herod and Pilate are made friends, that they may

PSALMS, LXXXni.

join in crucifying Christ, surely Paul and Barnabas, raul and Peter, will soon be made friends, that they may join in preaching Chi'ist.

3. What it is that is aimed at in this confederacy; they consult not like the Gibeonites to make a league with Israel, that they might strengthen themselves l)y such a desirable'alli;incc, wh'ch had been their wisdom: they consult, not only to chp the Avings ( f Israel, to recover their new conquests, and check the progress oi their victoricus arms; nc;t only to keep the balance even between them ;.nd Israel, and to prevent their power frcm growing exorbitant; this w.U not serve; it is no less th:in the utt-r ruin and extirpiition of Israel that they de-sig-n; (v. 4.) " Come, let us cut them off from bchtg a nation, as they cut off the seven nations (f Canaan; let us leave them mather root nor branch, but lav their country so perfectly waste, that the name 'of Israel may be no more in remembrance, no not in history;" for with them they would destroy their Bibles, and burn all their records. Such is the enmitv of the sei-pent's seed against the seed of the woman. It is the secret wish of wicked men, that the church of God might not have a being in the world, that there might be no such thing as religion among mankind; having banished the sense 0^ it out of their own hearts, they would gladly see the whole earth as well rid of it; all its laws and ordinances abolished, all its restraints and obligations shaken off, and all that preach, profess, or pi-actise it, cut off; this they would bring it to, if it were in their power; but he that sits in heaven shall laugh at them.

4. Who they are that are drawn into this confederacy; the nations that entered into this alliance are here mentioned, [y. 6--8.) the Edomites and Ishmaelites, both descendants from Abraham, lead the van, for the apostates from the church have beeri its most bitter and spiteful enemies, witness Julian. These were allied to Israel in blood, and yet in alliance against Israel. There are no bonds of nature so strong, but the spirit of persecution has broken through them; The brother shall betray the brother to death. Mo;ib and Ammon were the children of righteous Lot; but as an incestuous, so a degenerate, race. Tlie Philistines were long a thom in Israel's side, and very vexatious; how the inhabitants of Tyre, who, in David's time, were Israel's firm allies, come in among their enemies, I know not, but that Assur, that is, the Assyrian, also is joined with them, is not strange, or that (as the word is) they were an arm to the children of Lot. See how numerous the enemies of God's church have always been; Lord, hoiv are they increased that trouble it! God's heritage was a s])eckled bird, all the birds round about tvere against her; (Jer. xii. 9.) which highly magnifies the power of God in preserving to himself a church in the world, in despite of the combined force of eaith and hell.

9. Do unto them as unto the Midianites ; ris to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Ki-son ; 10. tVhirh perished at En-dor: they became as dune; for the earth. 11. Make llieh' nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb; yea, all their princes as Zebah and Zalmunna: 12. Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession. 13. O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. 14. As the fire burn-eth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire, 15. So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid

with thy storm. 16. Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord. 17. Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let tiiem be put to shame, and perish: 18. That yneji may know tiiat thou, whose name alone is JE-HO\'AH, art the Most High over all the earth.

The psalmist here, in the name of tlie church, prays for the destruction ( f those confederate forces, and, in God's name, fere tells it; for this, prayer, that it might be so, ameunts to a prophecy that it shall be so; and this prophecy reaches to all the enemies of the gpsj^el-church; whoever they be that oppose the kingdi m of Christ, here they may read their doom.

The prayer is, in short, that these enemies, who were confederate against Israel, might be defeated in all their attempts, and that they might prove their own ruin, and so God's Israel might be preserved and perpetuated. Now this is here illustrated,

L By some precedents; let that be their punishment which has been the fate of others who have formerly set themselves against God's Israel. The defeat and discomfiture of former combinations may be pleaded in prayer to God, and improved for the encouragement of our own faith and hope; because God is the same still that ever he was, the same to his people, and the same against his and their enemies; with him is no variableness.

1. He prays that their armies might be destroyed as the armies of former enemies had been; (v. 9, 10. J Bo to them as to the Midianites; let them be routea by their own fears; for so the Midianites were, more than by Gideon's 300 men. Do to them as to the army under the command of Sisera, who Avas general under Jabin king of Canaan, which God discomfited (Judg. iv. 15.) at the brook Kishon, near to which was Endor; they became as dung on the earth, their dead bodies were thrown like dung, laid in heaps, or spread, to fatten the ground; they were trodden to dirt by Barak's small, but victorious, army; and this was fitly made a precedent here, because Deborah made it so to af-tertimes when it was fresh; (Judg. v. 31.)^ So let all thine enemies perish, 0 Lord, that is. So they shall perish.

2. He prays that their leaders might be destroyed as they had been formerly; the common people would not have been so mischievous, if their jM-inces had not set them on, and therefore they are particularly prayed against, v. 11, 12. Observe, (1.) What their malice was against the Israel cf God; thev said. Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in 'possession, (j'. 12.) the pleasant places (.f God, so the word is, bv which we may undei'stimd the land of Canaan, which was a pleasant land, and was Immanuel's land; or, the temple, which was indeed God's pleasant place; (Isa. Ixiv. 11.) or, (as Dr. Hammond suggests,) the pleasant pastures, which tlicse Arabians, who traded in cattle, did, in a particular manner, seek after. The princes and nobles aimed to enrich themselves bv this war; ; nd their armies must be made as dung for the earth, to serve their covetousness and their ambition. (2.) What their lot should be; they shall be made like Oreb and Zeeb, two princes of the Midianites, Avho, when their forces were routed, were taken in their flight by the Ephraimitcs, and slain; (Judg. vii. 25.) and, like Zeba and Zalmunna, whom Gideon himself slew, Judg. viii. 21. " Let these enemies of ours be made as easy a prey to us, as they were to the conquerors then." We may not prescribe to God, but we may pray to God" that he will deal

PSALMS, LXXXIV.

449

with the enemies of his church in our days, as he did with tliose in the days of our fatlicrs.

II. He illustrates it by some similitudes, and prays,

1. That God would make them like a wheel, (t. 13.) that they might be in continual motion, unquiet, unsettled, and giddy, in all their counsels and resolves; that they mig;ht roll down easily and speedily to their own ruin. Or, as some think, that they might be broken by the judgments of God, as the corn is broken, or beaten out, by the wheel which was then used in tlireshing. Thus, when a wise king scattereth the ivicked, he is said to bring the tvheel over them, Prov. xx. 26. They that trust in God liave their hearts fixed; they that fight against him are unfixed, like a wheel.

2. That they might be chased as stubble, or chaff, before the fierce wind. The wheel, though it continually turn round, is fixed on its own axis; but let them have no more fixation than the light stubble has, which the wind hurries away, and nobody desires to save it, but is willing it should go, Ps. i. 4. Thus shall the wicked be driven away in his wickedness, and chased out of the world.

3. That they might be consumed, as wood by the fire, or as briers and thorns, as fem or furze, upon the mountains, by the flames, v. 14. When the stubble is driven by the wind, it will rest, at last, under some hedge, in some ditch or other; but he prays that they might not only be driven away as stubble, but burnt as stubble. And this will be the end of wicked men, (Heb. vi. 8.) and particu-larl}' of all the enemies of God's church. The red-dition of these comparisons we have; (x^. 15.) So persecute them with thy temjiest, persecute them to their utter ruin, and make them afraid with thy storm. See how sinners are made miserable; the storm of God's wrath raises terrors in their own hearts, and so they are made completely miserable. God can deal witli the proudest and most daring sinner that has bid defiance to his justice, and can make liim afraid as a gi-asshopper. It is the torment of devils, that they tremble.

III. He illustrates it by the good consequences of their confusion, v. 16. • 18. He prays here that God, having filled their hearts with terror, would thereby fill their faces with shame, that they might be ashamed of their enmity to the people of God, (Isa. xxvi. 11.) ashamed of their folly in acting both against Omnipotence itself, and their own tnie interest. They did what they could to put God's people to shame, but the shame will, at length, return upon themselves.

Now, 1. The beginning of this shame might be a means of their conversion; "Let them be broken and baffled in their attempts, that they ?nay seek thy name, O Lord. Let them be put to a st;;nd, that they may have both leisure and reason to pause a little, and consider who it is that they are fighting against, and what an unequal match they are for him, and may, therefore, humble and submit themselves, and desire conditions of peace. Let them be made to fear thy name, and perhaps that will bring them to seek thy name." Note, That which we should earnestly desire and beg of God for our enemies and persecutors, is, that God would bring them to repentance, and we should desire their abasement in order to this; no other confusion to them, than what may be a step toward their conversion.

2. If it did not prove a means of their conversion, the perfecting of it would redound greatly to the honour of God; if they will not be ashamed and repent, let them be put to shame and perish; if they will not be troubled and turned, which would soon put an end to all their trouble, a happy end, let them be troubled for ever, and never have peace; this will be for God's glory; (t. 18.) that other men may know and own, if thev themselves will not.

Vol. III.—3 L

that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH,'{t\i'eX incommunicable, though net ineffable, name,) art the Most High over all the earth. God's triumi)hs over his and his church's enemies, will be incontestable proofs, (1.) That he is, according to his name Jehovah, a self-existent, self-sufficient. Being, that has all power and perfection in himself. (2.) That he is the most high God, sovereign Lord of all, above all gods, above all kings, above all that exalt themselves, and pretend to be high. (3.) That he is so, not only over the land of Israel, but over all the earth, even those nations of the earth that do not know him, or own him, for his kingdom ndes over all. These are great and unquestionable tiiiths, but men will hardly be persuaded to know and believe them; therefore the psalmist prays that the desti-uction of some might be the conviction of others. The final ruin ot all God's enemies, in the gi-eat day, will be the effectual proof of this, laefore angels and men; when the everlasting shame and contempt to which sinners shall rise, (Dan. xii. 2.) shall redound to the everlasting honour and praise of that God to whom vengeance belongs.

PSALM LXXXIV.

Though David's name be not in the title of this psalm, yet we have reason to think he was tiie penman of it, because it breathes so much of his excellent spirit, and is so like to the 63d psalm, which was penned by him; it is supposed that David penned this psalm when lie was forced, by Absalom's rebellion, to quit his city, which he lamented his absence from, not so much because it was the royal city, as because it was the holy citv, witness this psalm, which contains the pious brcalhinffs of a gracious soul after God, and communion with hiin. Though it be not entitled, yet it may litly be looked upon asj^a psalm or sonp- for the sabbath-day, the day of our solemn assemblies. The psalmist here with great devotion expresses his affection, I. To the ordinances of God; his value for them, (v. 1.) his desire toward them, (v. 2, 3.) his conviction of the happiness of those that did enjoy Ihem, (V. 4.. 7.) and his placing of his own happiness so very much in the enjoyment of them, v. 10. 11. To the God of the ordinances; his desire toward him, (v. 8, 9.) his faith in him, (v. 11.) and his conviction of the happiness of those that put their confidence in him, v. 12. In singing this psalm, we should have the same devout affections working toward God, that David had, and then the singing of it will be very pleasant.

To the chief musician upon Gittith. A psalm for the sons of Korah.

1. XTO W amiable are thy tabernacles, O JOL Lord of hosts ! 2. My soul long-eth, yea, even fainteth, for tlie courts of the Lord ; my hearf and my flesh crieth out for the living God. 3. Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God. 4. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. 5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the \ya.ys of the??!, 6. Who passing through the valley of Baca, make it a well": the rain also filleth the pools. 7. They go from strength to strength ; ever?/ one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

The psalmist here, being by force restrained from waiting upon God in public ordinances, by the want of them is brought under a more sensible conviction than ever of the worth of them. Obsen^e,

I. The wonderful beauty he saw in holy institu

PSALMS, LXXXIV.

tions; {v. 1.) Hoiv amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! Some think tliat he htre calls God the Lord of hosts, that is, in a special manner of the angels, the heavenly hosts, because of the presence of the angels in God's sanctuary; they attended tlie Shechinah, and were (as some think) signified by the cheinibim; God is the Lord of these hosts, and his tabernacle is: it is spoken of as more than one, (thy tabernacles,) because there were divers courts in which the people attended, and because the tabernacle itself consisted of a holy place, and a most holy. How amiable are these! How lovely is the sanctuary in the eyes of all that are tnaly sanctified! Gracious souls see a wonderful, an inexpressible, beauty in holiness, and in holy work. A tabernacle was a mean habitation, but the disadvantage of external circumstances makes holy ordinances not at all the less amiable, for the beauty of holiness is spiritual, and their glory is within.

n. The longing desire he had to return to the enjoyment of public ordinances, or rather of God in them, V. 2. It was an entire desire; body, soul, and spirit, concurred in it, he was not conscious to himself of any rising thought to the contrary; it was an intense desire; it was like the desire of the ambitious, or covetous, or voluptuous. He longed, he fainted, he cried out, importunate to be restored to his place in God's courts, and almost impatient of delay. Yet it was not so much the courts of the Lord that he coveted, but he cried out, in prayer, for the living God himself. Oh that I might know him, and be again taken into communion with him! 1 John 1, 3. Ordinances are empty things, if we meet not with God in the ordinances.

ni. His grudging the happiness of the little birds that made their nests in the buildings that were adjoining to God's altars, x>. 3. This is an elegant and surprising expression of his affection to God's altars; The sparrow has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself. These little birds, by the instinct ajid direction of nature, provide habitations for themselves in houses, as other birds do in the woods, both for their own repose, and in which to lay their young; some such David supposes there were in the buildings about the courts of God's house, and wishes himself with them. He would rather live in a bird's nest nigh God's altars, than in a palace at a distance from them. He sometimes wished for the wings of a dove, on which to fly into the wilderness; (Iv. 6.) here for the wings of a sparrow, that he might fly undiscovered into God's courts; and, though to watch as a s/iarrow alone upon the hoitse-tofi, is the description of a ve^y melancholy state and spirit, (cii. 7.) yet David would be glad to take it f'jr his lot, provided he might Idc near God's altars. It is better to be serving God in solitude, than serving sin with a multitude. The word for a sparrow signifies any little bird, and (if I may offer a conjecture) perhaps, when, in David's time, music was introduced so much into the sacred service, both voc;d and instrumental, to complete the harmony, they had singing-birds in cages hung aljout the courts of tlie tabernacle, (for we find the singing of birds taken notice of to the glory of God, civ. 12.) and David en\ies the happiness of these, and would gladly change places witn them. Observe, David envies the happiness not of those birds that flew over the altars, and had only a transient view of Cxod's courts, but of those that had nests for themselves there; David will not think it enough to sojourn in God's house as a way-faring man that turns aside to tarry for a night, but let this be his rest, his home, here he will dwell. And he takes notice that these birds not only have nests for themselves there, but that there they lay their young; for those who have a place in God s courts themselves, cannot but desire that their children also may have in God's

house, and within his w.;lls, a pl?cG and a name, that th'jy may feed their kids beside the shepherds' tents. Some give another sense cf this verse; "Lord, by thy providence tlvu hast furnished the birds with nests and resting-places, agreeable to their nature, and to them they have free recourse; but thine altar, which is mj^ nest, my resting-jilace, which I am desirous of as ever the wandering bird was of her nest, I cannot have access to. Lord, wilt thou prcjvide better for thy birds than for thy babes? As a bird that wanders from, her nest, so am I, now that I wander from the place of God's altars, for that is my place; (Prov, xxvii. 8.) I shall never be easy till I return to my place again. ' Note, They whose souls are at home, at rest, in God, cannot but desire a settlement near his ordinances. There were two altars, one for sacrifice, the other for incense, and David, in his desire of a place in God's courts, has an eye to both, as we also must, in all our attendance on God, have an eye both to the satisfaction and to the intercession of Christ. And, lastly. Observe how he eyes God in this address; Thou art the Lord of hosts, my Ki72g, and my God. Where should a poor dis tressed subject seek for protection but with his king.' Ayid should not a people seek unto their God? My King, my God, is Lord of hosts; by him and his altars let me live and die.

IV. His acknowledgment of the happiness both of the ministers and of the people that had liberty of attendance on God's altixrs; " Blessed are they; oh when shall I return to the enjoyment of that blessedness.'"'

1. Blessed are the ministers; the priests and Le vites, who have their residence about the tabernacle, and are, in their courses, employed in the service of it; {v. 4.) Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, that are at home there, and whose business lies there. He is so far from pitying them as confined to a constant attendance, and obliged to pei"petual seriousness, that he would sooner envy them than the greatest princes in the world. There are those that bless the covetous, but he blesses the religious. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; (not because they have good wages, a part of every sacrifice for themselves, which would enable them to keep a good table, l)ut because they have good work;) i/iey will be still praising thee; and if there be a heaven upon earth, it is in praising God, in continually praising him. Apply this to his house above; blessed are they that dwell there, angels and glorified saints, for they rest not day or night from praising God. Let us therefore spend as much of our time as may be in that blessed work in which we hope to spend a joyful eternity.

2. Blessed are the people, the inhabitants of the country, who, though they do not constantly dwell in God's house, as the priests do, yet have liberty of access to it, at the times appointed for their solemn feasts, the three great feasts, at which all the males were obliged to give their attendance", Deut. xvi. 16. David was so far from reckoning this an imposition, and a hardship put upon them, that he envies the happiness of those who might thus attend, i'. 5--7.

Those whom he pronoxmces blessed, are here described;

(1.) They are such as act in religion from a rooted principle of dependence upon God, and devoted-ness to him; Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, who makes thee his Strength, and strongly stays himself upon thee; who makes thy name his strong Tower, into which he runs for sa'fet}-, Prov. xviii. 10. Happy is the man whose hope is in tht Lord his God, Ps. xl. 4.—cxlvi. 5. Those are truly ha])py, who go forth, and go on, in the exercises or religion, not in their own strength, (for then the work is sure to miscarry,) but in the strength of the

PSALMS, LXXXIV.

451

j^race of Jesus Christ, from whom all om* sufficiency is. David wished to return to God's tabernacles again, that there he might strengthen himself in the Lord his God for service and suft'ering.

(2.) They are such as have a love for holj- ordinances, in luhusc heart are the ways of them, that is, who, having placed their happiness in God as their Endj rejoice in all the ways that lead to him, all tliose means by which their graces are strengthened, and their communion with him kept up. They not only walk in these ways, but they have them in their hearts, they lay them' near their hearts; no care or conctrn, no pleasure or delight, lies nearer than this. Note, Those who have the new Jenisalem in their eye, must have the ways that lead to it in theii heart, must mind them, their eyes must look straight forward in them, must ponder the paths of them, must keep close to them, and be afraid of turning aside to the right hand or to the left. If we make God's promise our strength, we must make (iod's word our rule, and walk by it.

(3.) They are such as will break through difficulties and discouragements, in waiting upon God in holy ordinances, x'. 6. When they c -me up out of the country to worship at the feasts, their way lies through many a dry and sandy valley, (so some, ) in which thev are I'eady to pei'ish for thirst; but, to guard against that inconvenience, they dig little pits to recei^^e and keep the rain water, which is ready to them and others for their refreshment. \\"hen they make the pools, the rain of heaven fills them; if we be ready to receive the grace of God, that grace shall not be wanting to us, but shall be sufficient for us at all times; their way lay through man}' a weeping valley, so Baca signifies, that is, as others understand it, many watery vallies, which, in wet weather, when ^/ze rain filled thefiools, either through the rising of the waters, or through the dirtiness of the way, wereunpassable; but, by draining and trenching, them, they made a road through them for the i)enefit of those who went up to Jenisalem. Care should be taken to keep those roads in repair that lead to church, as well as those that lead to market. But all this is intended to show, [1.] That they had a good will to the journey. When they were to attend the solemn feasts at Jeinisalem, they would not be kept back by bad weather, or bad ways, nor make those an excuse for staying at home. Difficulties in the way of duty are designed to try our resolution; and he that obsen<es the vjind shall not sow. [2.] That they made the best of the way to Zion, contrived and took pains to mend it where it was bad, and bore, as well as they could, the inconveniences that could not be removed. Ovu* way to heaven lies through a valley of Baca, but even that way may be made a well, if we make a due improvement of the comforts God has provided for the pilgrims to the heaveiily city.

(4.) They are such as are still pressing forward till they come to their journey's end, at length, and do not take up short of it; {y. 7. ) They go from strength to strength; their company increases by the accession of more out of every town they pass through, till they become very numerous; those that were near staid till those that were further rff called on them, saying, Come, and let its go to the house of the Lord; ^cxxii. 1, 2.) that they might go together in a body, m token of their mutual love. Or, the particular persons, instead of being fatigued with the tediousness of their journey, and the difficulties they met with, the nearer they came to Jerusalem, were the more livelv and cheerful, and so went stronger and stronger. Job xvii. 9. Thus it is promised that they that wait on the Lord, shall renew their strength, Isa. xl. 31. Even where they are weak, there they are strong. They go from virtue to virtue; (so some;) it is the same word that is used

for the virtuous woman; they that press forward in their Christian course, sliall find Gc d adding grace to their graces, John i. 16. They shall be changed from glory to glory, (2 Cor. iii. 18.) from one degree of glorious grace to another; till, at length, every o/,e of them afifiears before God in Zion, to give glcry to him, and receive blessings from him. Note, They Avho grow in grace, shall, at last, be perfect in glory. The Chaldee reads it. They go from the house of the sanctuary to the house of doctrine; and the ftains which they have taken about the law shall afi-fiear before God, whose majesty dwells i?i Zion. We must go from one duty to another, from prayer to the word, from practising what we have leanied to learn more; which, if we do, the benefit of it will appear, to God's glory, and our own everlasting comuirt.

8. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer : give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah. 9. Bc-liold, O God, our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed. 10. For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness 11. For the Lord God is a sun and shield : the Lord will give grace and glory: no good t/dng will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 12. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

Here,

I. The psalmist prays for audience and accept -ance with God, not mentioning particularly what he desired God would do for him; he needed to say no more, when he had professed such an affectionate esteem for the ordinances of God, which now he was restrained and banished from; all his desire was, in that profession, plainly before God, and his longing, his groaning, wei-e not hid from him; therefore he prays, (v. 8, 9.) only that God would hear his prayer, and give ear, that he would behold his condition, behold his good affection, and look upon his face, which way it was set, and how his countenance discovered the longing desire he had toward God's courts; he calls himself (as many think^ God's anointed, for David was anointed by him, and anointed for him. In this petition, 1. He has an e^'e to God, under several of his glorious titles. As the Lord God of hosts, who has all the creatures at his command, and thei'efore has all power both in heaven and in earth; as the God of Jacob, a God in covenant with his own people, a God who never said to the praj-ing seed of Jacob, Seek ye jne, in vai?i; and as God our Shield, who takes his people under special protection, pursuant to his covenant with Abraham their father, (Gen. xv. 1.^ Tearnot, Abraham, lam thy Shield. When David could not be hid in the secret of God's tabernacle, (Ps. xxvii. 5.) being at a distance from it, yet he hoped to find God his Shield ready to him, wherever he was. 2. He has an eye to the Mediator; for of him I rather understand those words. Look upon the face of thy Messiah, thine Anointed One; for of his anointing David spake, xlv. 7. In all our addresses to God, we must desire that he would look upon the face of Christ, accept us for his sake, and be well-pleased with us in him; we must look with an eye of faith, and then God will v.ith an e}'e of favour look upOTi the face of the Anointed, who docs show his face, v,'hcn v>'e, without him, dare not show ours.

II. He pleads his love to God's ordinances, and his dependence u]Drn God himself.

1. God's courts were his choice, v. 10. A veiy great regard he had for holy ordinances, he valued

PSALMS, LXXXV.

them above any thing else, and he expresses his value for them, (1.) By preferring the time of God's wor-sliip before all other time; A day spent in thy courts, in attending on the services of religion, wholly abstracted from all secular affairs, is better than a thousand, not than a thousand in thy courts, l)ut any where else in this world, though in tlie midst of all the delights of the children of men. Better than a thousand, he does not say days, you may sujjply it with years, with ages, if }'ou will, and yet David will set his hand to it. "A day in thy courts, a sibbath-day, a holy-day, a feast-day, though but one day, would be very welcome to me; nay," (as some of the rabbins paraphrase it,) "though I were to die for it the next day, yet that would be more sweet than years spent in the business and pleasure of this world. One of these days shall, with its pleasure, chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, to shame, as not worthy to be compared." (2.) By preferring the place of worship before any other place; I had rather be a door-keeper, rather be in the meanest place and office, in the house of my God, than dwell in state, as master, in the tents of wickedness. Obsei'%'e, He calls even the tabernacle a house, for the presence of God in it made even those curtains more stately than a palace, and more strong than a castle. It is the house of my God; the covenant-interest he had in God as his God, was the sweet string on which he loved dearly to be harping; the-)', and they only, who can, upon good ground, call God theirs, delight in the courts of his house. I would rather be a porter in God's house, than a prince in those tents where wickedness reigns; rather lie at the threshold, so the word is; that was the beggar's place. Acts iii. 2. " No matter," (says David,) " let that be my place rather than none." The Pharisees loved syna- ! gogues well enough, provided they might have the uppermost seats thei-e, ( Matth. xxiii. 6.) that they might make a figure; holy David is not solicitous about that, if he may but be admitted to the threshold, he will say. Master, it is good to be here. Some read it, I would rather be fixed to apost in the house of my God, than live at liberty in the tents ofwick-i-dness, alluding to the law concerning servants, who, if they would not go out free, were to have their ear Dored to the door-post, Exod. xxi. 5, 6. David loved hi.» master, and loved his work, so well, that he desired to be tied to this sen-ice for ever, to be mrire free to it, but never to go out free from it, preferring .londs to duty far before the greatest liberty to sin. Such a superlative delight have holy hearts in holy duties; no satisfaction in their account comparable to that in commvinion with God.

2. God himself was his Hope, and Joy, and all. Therefore beloved the house of his God, 1)ec;.use his expectation was from his God, and there he u;;ed to communicate himself, 7'. 11. See (l.)What God s, and will be, to his people. The Lord God is a Sun and Shield; we are here in darkness, hv\t if God DC our God, he will be to us a Sun, to enlighten and enliven us, to guide and direct us; we are here in danger, but he will be to us a Shield, to secure us from the fiery darts that fly thick about us; with his favour he will compass us as with a shield. Let us therefore always walk iti the light of the Lord, and never throw ourselves out of his protection, and we shall find him a Sun to supply us with all good, and a Shield to shelter us from all evil. (2. ) What he does, and will, bestow upon them; Tne Lord will give grace and glory. Grace signifies both the good will of God towards us, and the good work r:f God in us; glory signifies both the honour which he now puts upon us, in giving us the adoption of sons, and that which he has prepared for us in theinheri-rince of sons. God will give them grace in this \\'orld as a preparation for glory, and glory in the ')thcr world as the perfection of gi-ace; noth arc

God's gift, his free gift. And as, on the one hand, wherever God gi\ts grace, he will give glory, (for grace is gloiy begun, and is an earnest of it,) so, on the other hand, he will give glory hereafter to none to whom he does nr,t give grace now, or who receive his grace in vain. And if God will give grace and glory, whicli are the two great things that concur tO make us happy in both worlds, we may be sure that 710 good thi?ig will be withheld from them that walk uprightly. (3.) It is the character of all good people, that they walk upiightly, that they worship God in spirit and in truth, and have their conversation in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity; and such may be sure that God will withhold no good tfiingfrom them, that is requisite to their comfortable passage thrtugh this world; make sure grace and glc>ry and other things shall be added; this is a comprehensive promise, and is such an assurance of the present comfort cf the saints, that, whatever they desire, and tl\ink they need, they may be sure, that, either Infinite Wisdom sees it is not good for them, or Infinite Goodness will give it them in due time. Let it be our care to walk uprightly, and then let us trust God to give us every thing that is good for us.

Lastly, He pronounces them blessed, who put their confidence in God, as he did, v. 12. They are blessed, who have the liberty of ordinances, and the privileges of God's house. But though we should be debarred from them, yet we are not therefore debarred from blessedness, if Ave trust in God. If we cannot go to the house of the Lord, we may go bv faith to the Lord of the house, and in him we shaD be happy, and may be easy.

PSALM LXXXV.

Interpreters are (generally of opinion that this psalm was penned after the return of the Jews out of their captivitj in Babylon, when they still remained under some tokens of God's displeasure, which they here pray for the removal of. And nothing appears to the contrary, but that it might be penned then, as well as P.s. cxxxvii. They are the public interests that lie near the psalmist's heart here, and the psalm is penned for the preat confrretration. The church was here in a deluge; above were clouds, below were waves, every thinpr was dark and dismal; the church is like Noah in the ark, between life and death, between hope and fear; being so, I. Here is the dove sent forth in prayer. The petitions are, against sin and wrath, (v. 4.) and' for mercy and grace, v. 7. The pleas are taken from former favours, (v. I.. 3.) and present distresses, v. 5, 6. II. Here is the dove returning with an olive-branch of peace and good tidings; the psalmist expects her return, (v. 8.) and then recounts the favours to God's Israel, which, by the spirit of prophecy, he gave assurance of to others, and, by the spirit of faith, he took the assurance of to himself, v. 9. . 13. In singing this psalm, we may be assisted in our pravers to God both for his church in general, and for the land of our nativity in particular. The former part will be of use to direct our desires; the latter lo encourage our faith and hope in those prayers.

To the chief musician. A psalm for the sons of Korah.

1."!' ORD, thou hast been favourable unto _1^ thy land : thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. 2. Thou hast forgiven the iniciuity of thy people ; thou hast covered all their sin. Selah. 3. Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of tiiine anger. 4. Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. 5. Wilt thou be angiy with us for ever ? wilt thou draw out thine angerto all generations ? 6. Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may re-

PSALMS, LXXXV.

453

joice in thee? 7. Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.

The church, in affliction and distress, is here, by direction from God, making her appUcation to God; so ready is God to hear and answer the prayers of his

Eeople, that, by his Spirit in the word, and in the eart, he indites their petitions, and puts words into their mouths. The people of God, in a very low and weak condition, are here taught how to address themselves to God.

I. They are to acknowledge with thankfulness the great thmgs God had done for them; {v. 1--3.) " Thou hast done so and so for us and our fathers." Note, The sense of present affliction should not drown the remembrance of former mercies; but even then when we are brought very low, we must call to remembrance past experiences of God's goodness, which we must take notice of, with thankfulness, to his praise. They speak of it here with pleasure, 1. That God had showed himself propitious to their land, and had smiled upon it as his own; " Thou hast been J'avuurable to thy land, as thine, with distinguishmg favours." Note, The favour of God is the spring-head of all good, and the fountain of happiness, to nations, as well as to particular pei'-sons. It was by the f ivour of God that Israel got, and kept possession of, Canaan; (xliv. 3.) and if he had not continued very favourable to them, they had been ruined many a time. 2. That he had rescued them out of the hands of their enemies, and restored them to their liberty; " Thou hast brought back the cafitixnty of Jacob, and settled those in their own land again, that had been driven out, and were strangers in a strange land, prisoners in the land of their oppressors." The captivity of Jacob, though it may continue long, will be brought back in due time. 3. That he had not dealt with them according to the desert of their provocation; {y. 2.) " Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy fieofile, and not punished them as in justice thou mightest. Thou hast covered all their sin." When God forgives sin he covers it; and when he covers the sin of his people, he covers it all. The bringing back of their captivity was then an instance of God's favour to them, when it was accompanied with the pardon of their iniquit3\ 4. That he had not continued his anger against them so far, and so long, as they had reason to fear; (f. 3.) " Having covered all their sin, thou hast taken away all thy wrath;" for when sin is set aside, God's anger ceases; God is pacified, if we are purified. See what the pardon or sin is; Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy fieofile, that is, " Thou hast turned thine anger from wax-ing hot, so as to consume us in the flame of it. In compassion to us, thou hast not stirred up all thy wrath; but, when an intercessor has stood before thee in the gap, thou hast turned away thine anger."

II. They are taught to pray to God for grace and mercy, in reference to their present distress; this is inferred from the former; " Thou hast done well for our fathers; do well for us, for we are the children of the same covenant. 1. Thev pray for converting grace; " Turn us, 0 God of our salvation, in order to the turning of our captivity; turn us from iniquity; turn us to thyself, and to our duty; turn us, and we shall be turned. All those whom God will: save, sooner or later he will turn. If no conversion, no salvation. • 2. They pray for the removal of the tokens of God's displeasure which they were under; " Cause thine anger towards us to cease, as thou didst many a time cause it to cease in the days of cur fathers, when thou didst take away thy wrath from them." Observe the method, "First turn us to thee, and then cause thine anger to turn from us." When we are reconciled to God, then, and not till then, we may expect the comfort of his being recon-

ciled to us. 3. They pray for the manifestation of God's goodwill to them; (x'. 7.) " Show us thy mercy, 0 Lord; show thyself merciful to us: net only have mercy on us, but let us have the comfortable evidences of that mercy; let us know that thou hast mercy on us, and mercy in store for us." 4. They pray that God would, graciously to them, and gloriously to himself, appear on their behalf; "Grant us thy salvation: grant it by thy promise, and then, no doubt, thou wilt work it by thy providence." Not^, The vessels of God's mercy ai-e the heirs of his salvation; he shows mercy to "those to whom he grants salvation; for salvation is of mere mercy.

III. They are taught humbly to expostulate with God concei-ning their present troubles, v. 5, 6. Where observe, 1. Whatthey dread and deprecate; " Wilt thou be angi'y with us for ex'cr? We are undone if thou art, but we hope thou wilt not. Wilt thou draw out thine anger unto all generations? No; thou art gracious, slow to anger, and swift to show mercy, and wilt not contend for ever. Thou wast not angry with our fathers for ever, but didst soon turn thyself from the fierceness cf thy wrath; why then wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Are not thy mercies and compassions as plentiful and powerful as ever they were? Impenitent sinners God will be angrv with for ever; for, what is hell but the wrath of God drawn out unto endless generations? But shall a hell upon earth be the let cf thy people?" 2. What they desire and hope for; "Wilt thou not mnve us again; {jv. 6.) revive us with comforts spoken to us, revive us with deliverances wrought for us? Thou hast been favourable to thy land fci-merly, and that revived it; wilt thou not again be favourable, and so revive it again?" God had granted to the children of the captivity some reviving iii their bondage, Ezra ix. 8. Their return cut cf Babylon was as life from the dead, Ezek. xxxvii. 11, 12. Now, Loi'd, (say they,) wilt thou not revive us again, and fiut thy hand again the second time to gather us in? Isa. xi. 11. Ps. cxxvi. 1, 4. Rex'ire thy tvork in the midst of the years, Hab. iii. 2. " Revive us again," (1.) " That thy people may rejoice; and so we shall have the comfort of it," Ps. xiv. 7. Give them life, that they may have joy. (2.) " That they may rejoice in thee; and so thou wilt have the glory of it." If God be the Fountain of all our mercies, he must be the Centre of all our joys. %

8. I will hear what God the Lord will speak : for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. 9. Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. 10. Mercy and tmth are met together ; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 11. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. 12. Yea, the Lord shall give that ichich is good: and our land shall yield her increase. 13. Righteousness shall go before him, and shall set us in the way of his steps.

We have here an answer to the prayers and ex postulatirns in the foregoing verses.

I. In gener.il, it is an answer of peace; this the psalmist is soon aware cf, {v. 8.) for he stands upon his watch-tower to hear what God will say unto him, as the prophet, (Hab. ii. 1, 2.) / will hear what God the Lord will s/ieak. This iijtimates, 1. The stilling rf his passions, his grief, his fear, and the tumult of his spirit; " Compose thyself, O my soul, in an humble silence to attend upon God, and

•154

PSALMS, LXXXV.

wait liis motions. I have spoken enough, or too much; now 1 w,ll hear what God will speak, and wjlcome his holy will; JVhat saith my Lord unto his servant'^" If we would have God to hear what we say to him liy prayer, we must be ready to hear what he says to us by his word. 2. The raising of his expectations; now that he has been at prayei', he looks for something \'cry great, and very kind, from the God that hears prayer. When we have prayed, we should look after our prayers, and stay t(jr'an answer. Now, observe here, (1.) What it is that he promises himself from God, in answer to his prayers; He luill s/iea/cpeace to his /leo/ile, mid 10 his saints. There are a people in the world who are God's people, set apart for him, subject to him, and who shall be saved by him. All his people are his saints, sanctified by his grace, and devoted to liis glory; these may sometimes want peace, when without' are fightings, and within are fears; but, sooner or later, God will speak peace to them; if he do not command outward peace, ytt he will suggest inward ])eacc; speaking that to their hearts Ij)' his Spirit, which he has spoken to their ears by his word and ministers, and making them to hear joy and gladness. (2.) What use he makes of this expectation, [l.j He tikes the comfort of it; and so must we; " / will hear what God the Lord luill speak, hear the-assurances he gi'. es of peace, in answer to prayer." When God speaks peace, we must not be deaf to it, but with all humility and thankfulness receive it. [2.] He cautions the saints to do the duty which this calls for; But let them not turn attain to folly; for it is on these terms, and no other, tiiat peace is to be expected. To those, and those only, peace is sp )ken, who turn from sin; but if they return to it again, it is at their peril. All sin is folly, but especially b.ickslicUng; it is egregious folly to turn to sin after we have seemed to turn from it, to turn to it after Ciod has spoken peace; God is for peace, but, when he speaks, such are for war.

II. Here are the particulars of this answer of peace; he doubts not but all will be well in a little time, and therefore gi\es us tlie pleasing prospect of the flourishing estate of the church in the five last verses of the psalm, which describes the peace and prosperity that God, at length, blessed the children of the captivity with, when, after a great deal of toil and agitation, at length they gained a settlement * in their own land. But it may be taken, 1. As a pi-omise also to all who fear God and work righteousness, that they shall be easy and happy. 2. As a prophecy of the kingdom of the Messiah, and the blessings with which that kingdom should be enriched. Here is,

(1.) Help at hand; {y. 9.) " Surely his salvation is ?iig/i, ni.u;h to us, nigher than we think it is; it will soon be effected, how great soever our difficulties and distresses are, when Crod's time is come, and that time is not fir off." When the tale li bricks is doubled, then Moses comes. It is nigh, to all who fe;ir him; when trouljle is nigh, salvation is nigh; for God is a very present Help in time of trouble to all who are his; whereas salvation is far from the wicked, cxix. 155. This may fitly be ajj-plied to Christ the Author of etenial salvation: it was the comfort of the Old Testament saints, that though tliey li\ed n.)t to see tliat redemption in Jerusalem which they waited for, yet they were sure it was nigh, and would be welcome, to all that feir God.

(2.) Honour secured; " That glory may dwell in our land, that we may have the worship of God settled and estalilislied among us; for that is the glory of a land. When tliat goes, Jchabod — the glory is departed; when th;t stiys, glory dwells." This may refer to the Messiah, who was to be the Glory of liis people Israel, and who came and dwelt

among them, (John i. 4.) for which reason theii land is called Immanuel's land, Isa. \iii. fc'.

(3.) Graces meeting, and happily embracing; {v. 10, 11.) JMercy and truth, righteousness a.\ct peace, kiss each other. This may be understoi d, [1.] Of tlic reformation of the people and of the government, in the administration of which all those graces she uld be conspicuous and commanding. The iiilers and ruled shall all be merciful and time, righteous and peaceable; when there is no ti-uth noi mercy, all goes to ruin, Hos. iv. 1. Isa. lix. 14, 15. But when these meet in the management of all affairs, when these gi-v e ;iim, when these give law, when there is such plenty of truth, that it sprouts up like the grass of the earth, and of nghteousness, that it is showered dc^wn like rain from heaven, then things go well. Wlien in every cc ngress mercy and trtith meet, in every embrace righteousness and peace kiss, and ccmmc n honesty is indeed common, then glory dwells in a land, as the sin of reigning dishonesty is a reproach to any people. [2. ] Of the return of God's favour, and the ccntinuance of it thereupon. When a people return to God, and adhere to him, in a way of duty, he will return to them, and abide with them, in a way of mercy. So some understand this, Man's truth, and God's mercy, man's righteousness and God's peace, meet together. If God finds us tiTje to him, to cne another, to f urselves, we shall find him merciful. If we make conscience of righteousness, we shall have the comfort of peace. If truth spring out of the earth, that is, (as Dr. Hammond expounds it,) out of the hearts of men, the proper soil for it to grow in, righteousness, Gcd's mercy, shall look down from heaven, ps the sun does upon the world, when it sheds its influence on the productions of the earth, and cherishes them. [3.] Of the harmony of the divine attributes in the Messiah's undertaking. In him, who is both cur Sahation and our Glory, mercii and truth are met together; God's mercy and tnitli, and his righteousness and peace, have kissed each other; that is, the great aff'air of our salvation is so well contrived, so well concerted, that God may ha\e nurcy upcn poor sinners, and be at peace with them, without any wrong to his ti-uth and righteousness. He is ti-ue to the threatening, and just in his government, and yet pardons sinners, and takes th.cm into covenant with himself. Christ, ns RIediator, brings heaven and earth together again, whicli sin had set at variance; through him truth .springs out of the earth, that truth which God desires in the inward part, and then righteousness looks down fi-om heaven, for God is just, and the Justifier of them ivhich beliex'e in Jesus; or it may dem te, that, in the kingdom of the Messiah, these graces sh;dl flourish iuid prevail, and have a universal crmmand.

(4.) Great plenty of every thing desirable; (f. 12.) The Lord shall give that wh ch is good, every thing that he sees to be good for us; all g( (xl comes from God's goodness; and when mercy, truth, and righteousness, have a sovereign influence on men's hearts and lives, all good may be expected; if we thus seek the righteousness of God's kingdom, other things shall be added; Matth. \\. 33. When the glory of the gospel dwells in our land, then it shall yield its increase, for soul-])rospcrity will either bring c utward prosperity along with it, or sweeten the want of it. See Ps. Ixvii. 6.

(5.) A sure guidance in the good way; (t. 13.) The righteousness of his jjromise which'he has made to us, assuring us of happiness—the righteousness of sanctification, that good work which he has wrought in us, these shall go before him to prepare his way, bi^th to raise our expectations of his favour, and to qualify us for it; and this shall go before us also, and be our guide to set us in the way of hiit steps, that is, to encourage our hopes, and guide our

PSALMS, LXXXVL

455

B

practice, that we may go forth to meet hini when lie is coming towards U3 in ways cf mercy. Christ, the Sun of righteousness, shull bring us to God, and put us into the way that leads to him; John Baptist, a pi-eacher of righteousness, shall go before Christ, to prepare his way. Righteousness is a sure guide both in meeting God, and in following him.

PSALM LXXXVL

This psalm is entitled a prayer of David; probably it was not penned upon any particular occasion, but was a prayer he often used himself, and recommended to others for their use, especially in a day of affliction. Many think that David penned this prayer as a type of Christ, who in the days of his flesh offered up strong cries, Heb. v. 7. David, in this prayer, (according to the nature of that duty,) I. GivesglorytoGod, V. 8..10,1-2,13. II. Seeks for grace and favour from God; that God would hear his prayers, (v. 1, 6, 7.) preserve and save him, and be merciful to him; (v. 2, 3, 16.) that he would give him joy, and grace, and strength, and put honour upon him, v. 4, 11, 17. He pleads God's goodness, (v. 5, 15.) and the malice of his enemies, v. 14. In singing this, we must, as David did, lift up our souls to God with application.

^ prayer of David. OW down thine ear, O Lord, hear me; for I am poor and needy. 2. Preserve my soul, for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. 3. Be merciful unto me, O Lord : for I cry unto thee daily. 4. Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 5. For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. 6. Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. 7. Li the day of my trouble I will call upon thee : for thou wilt answer me.

This psalm was published under the title of a }i rayer of David: not as if Da\'id sung all his prayers, but mto some of his songs he inserted prayers; for a psalm will admit the expressions of any pious and devout affections. But it is observAble how very plain the language of this psalm is, and how little there is in it of poetical flights or figures, in comparison with some other psalms; for the flourishes of wit are not the proper ornaments of prayer.

Now here we may obser\'e,

I. The petitions he puts up to God. It is ti-ue, prayer accidentally may preach, but it is most fit that (as it is in this prayer) every passage should be directed to God, for such is the nature cf prayer as it is here descriljed, {v. 4.) Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift ufi my soul, as he had said, xxv. 1. In all parts of prayer, the soul must ascend upon the wings of faith and holy desire, and be lifted up to God, to meet the communications of his grace, and in an expectation raised veiy high of great things from him.

1. He begs that God would give a gracious audience to his prayers; (v. 1.) Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me. When God hears our prayers, St is fitly said that he bo%vs down his ear to them, for it is admirable condescension in God that he is pleased to take notice of such mean creatures as we are, and such defective prayers as ours are. He repeats this again; {y.6.) ^'Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer, a favourable car, though it be whispered, though it be stammered, attend to the voice ■jf my supplications. " Not that God needs to ha\ e his aftections stirred up by any thing that we can "<iy; but thus we must express our desire of his fa\our. The Son of Da\id spake it with assurance

and pleasure; (John xi. 41, '^'2.) Father, Ithankthci that t/icu hunt heard me; and J know that thou hearest me alway.

2. He begs tiiat Ciod would take him under his special protection, and so be the Author of his sal \atioii; (X'. 2.) Preserx'e my soul, save thy strz'unt. It was David's soul tiiat was God's servant; for these only serve God acceptably that seii'e him ivitn their spirits. David's concern is about his soul; if we understand it tf his natural life, it teaches us;, That the best self-preser\ ation is to commit cur-selvLS to God's keei)ing, and by faith and prayer to make our Creator our Preser\ er. But it may be understood of his spiritual life; the life cf the scul as distinct from the body; " Preserve my scul frcni that one evil and diingerous thing to souls, from sin; preserve my soul, and so save me." All those whom God will save he does preser\ e, and will, to his hea\ enly kingdom.

3. He begs that God would look upon him with an eye of pity and compassion; (v. 3.) Be jnerciful to me, 0 Lord. It is mercy in God to pardcn cur sins, and to help us out of our distresses; both these are included in this prayer, God be merciful to me. "Men show no mercy, we ourselves deserve no mercy, but, Lord, for mercy sake, be merciful unto me."

4. He begs that God would fill him with inward comfort; [y. 4.) Rejoice the soul of thy servant. It is God only that can put gladness into the heart, and make the soul to rejoice, and then, and not till then, the joy is full: as it is the duty of those who are God's servants to serine him with gladness, so it is their privilege to hi:filled with joy and peace in believing; and they may in faith pray, not only that God will preserve their souls, but that he will rejoice their souls, and the joy of the Lord will be their strength. Observe, W hen he prays, Rejoice my soul, he adds. For unto thee do I lift up my soul. Then we may expect comfoit from God, when we take care to keep up our communion with God; prayer is the nurse of spiritual joy.

II. The pleas with which he enforces these peti tions.

1. He pleads his relation to God and interest in him; " 1 hcu art my God, to whom I have devoted mjself, and on whom I depend, and I am thy servant, {v. 2.) in subjection to thee, and therefore looking for protection from thee."

2. He pleads distress; " Hear me, for I am poor and needy, therefore I want thy help, therefore none else will hear me." God is the poor man's King, whose glory it is to save the souls of the needy; they who are poor in spirit, who see themselves empty and necessitous, are most welcome to the God ofall grace.

3. He pleads God's good will towards all that seek him; {v. 5.) "To thee do I lift up my soul in desire and expectation; for thou, Lord, art good;" and whither should beggars go but to the door of the good housekeeper? The goodness of God's nature is a great encouragement to us in all our addresses to him. His goodness appears in two things, giving and forgiving. (1.) He is a sin-pardoning God; not only he can forgive, but he is ready to forgive; more read}' to forgi\e than we are to repent. I said, 1 will confess, and thou forgavest, xxxii. 5. (2.) He is a prayer-hearing God; he is plenteous in mercy, ^'el•y full, and very free, both rich and liberal unto all them that call upon him; he has wherewithal to supply all their needs, and is open-handed in granting that supply.

4. He pleads God's good work in himself, by which he had qualified him for the tokens of his favour. Three things were wrought in him by di-^-jj^P grace, which he looked upon as earnests of all gocd.

PSALMS, LXXXVl.

(1.) A conformity to God; {v. 2.) lam holy, therefore preserve my soul; for thc;se wiu.m the Spirit sanctifies he will preserve. He d.ics \v.x say this in pride and vain-glory, but with Immbiethunkfulness to God; / am one whom thou favourci<t, so the margin reads it, whom thou hast set afiart for thyself; if God has begun a good work of grace in us, we must own that the time was a time of love; then was I in his eyes as one that found favour; and whom God hath taken into his favour he will take under his protection, jill his saints are in thy hand, Deut. xxxiii. 3. Observe, I am needy, {y. 1.) yet I am holy; {v. 2.) holy and yet needy; poor in the world, but rich in faith. Those who preserve their purity in their greatest poverty may assure themselves that God will preserve their comforts, will preserve their souls.

(2.) A confidence in God; Save thy servant that trusteth in thee. They that are holy must, nevertheless, not trust in themselves, or in their own righteousness, but only in God and his grace. They that trust in God may expect salvation from him.

(3.) A disposition to communion with God; he hopes God will answer his prayers, because he had inchned him to pi-ay. [1. ] To be constant in prayer; I cry unto thee daily, and all the day, v. 3. It is thus our duty to pray always, without ceasing, and to continue instant in prayer; and then we may hope to have our prayers heard, which we make in time of trouble, if we have made conscience of the duty at other times, at all times. It is comfortable if an affliction finds the wheels of prayer a-going, and that they are not then to be set a-going. [2.] To be inward with God in prayer; to lift u/i his soul to him, V. 4. Then we may hope that God will meet us with his mercies, when we in our prayers send forth our souls as it were to meet him. [3.] To be, in a special manner, earnest with God in prayer, when he was in affliction; {y. 7.) " In the day of my trouble, whatever others do, / will call u/ion thee, and commit my case to thee, for thou wilt hear and answer me, and I shall not seek in vain, as those did who ci'ied, 0 Baal, hear us; but there was no voice, nor any that regarded, 1 Kings xviii. 29.

8. Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord ; neither are there any works like unto thy works. 9. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worsliip before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. 10. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou r//Y God alone. 11. Teach me thy way, O Lord ; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. 12. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart; and I will glorify thy name for evermore. 13. For great is thy mercy toward me; and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. 14. O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my »oul, and have not set thee before them. 15. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious; long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. IG. O turn unto me, and ha\e mercy upon me: give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thy handmairl. 17, Show me a token for good; that they which hale me

may see it^ and be ashamed; because thou Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

David is here going on in his prayer.

I. He gives glory to God; for we ought in our prayers to praise him, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory, to him, with the most humble and reverent adorations.

1. As a being of unparalleled perfection, such a one, that there is none like him, nor any to be compared with him, v. 8. Among the gods, the false gods, whom the heathens worshipped, the angels, the kings of the earth, among them all, there is none like unto thee, 0 Lord; none so wise, so mighty, so good; neither are there any works like unto thy works: which is an undeniable proof that there is none like him; his own works praise him, and the best way we have of praising him, is, by acknowledging that there is none like him.

2. As the Fountain of all being, and the Centre of all praise; (x'. 9.) " Thou hast made all nations, made them all of^ one blood, they all derive their being from thee, and have a constant dependence on thee, and therefore they shall come ana worshifi before thee, and glorify thy name." This was in part fulfilled in the multitude of proselytes to the Jewish religion in the days of David and Solomon, but was to have its full ac'comphshment in the days of the Messiah, when some out of every kingdom and nation should be effectualh' broughl in to praise God, Rev. vii. 9. It was l)y Christ that God made all nations, for without him was not any thing made that was made, and therefore, through Christ, and by the power of his gospel and grace, all nations shall be brought to worship before God, Isa. Ixvi. 23.

3. As a Being infinitely great; {v. 10.) "Therefore all nations shall worship before thee, because as King of nations thou art great, thy sovereignty absolute and incontestable, thy majesty terrible an3 insupportable, thy power universal and irresistible, thy riches vast and inexhaustible, thy dominion b'undlcss and iniquesti(;nablc; and, for the proof c f this, thou doest wondr'ous things, which all natif ns admire, and whence they might easily infer that thou art God alone, not only none like thee, but none beside thee." Lotus always entertain great thoughts of tljis great God, and be filled with holy admiration of this God who doeth wonders; and let him alone have our hearts, who is Gcd alone.

4. As a Being infinitely good. Man is bad, very wicked and vile; {v. 14.) no mercy is to be expected from him; but thou, 0 Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, v. 15. This is that attribute by which he proclaims his name, and by which we are therefore to proclaim it, Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. It is his goodness that is over all his works, and therefore should fill all our praises; and this is our comfort, m reference to the wickedness of the world we live in, that, however it be, God is good. Men are barl)arous, but God is g acious; men are false, but God is faithful. God is not only Compassionate, but full of compassion, and in him mercy rejoiceth against judgment. He is long-suffering towai'ds us, though we forfeit his favour, and provoke him to anger, and he \s plenteous in mercy and truth, as faithful in performing as he was free in promising.

5. As a kind Friend and bountiful Benefactor t& him. We ought to praise God as good in himself, but we do it most feelinglv, when we obscr\e how good he has been to us. This therefore the psalmist dwells upon with most pleasure, x<. 12, 13. He had said, (t. 9.) ^// nations shall praise thee, 0 Lord, and glorify thy name. It is some satisfaction to a good man, to thmk that others shall praise and glorify (iod, but it is liis greatest care and pleasure to do it himself. "\\'hatever others do, (says David,) "/ will praise thee, 0 Le^d 7ny God, no*^ ';nly as

PSALMS, LXXXVII.

457

the Lord, but as my God; and I will do it with all mine heait; I will be ready to do it, and cordial in it; I will do it with cheerfulness and hveliness, with a sincere regard to thy honour; for / nvill glorify thy name, not for a time, but for evermore. I will do it as long as I live, and hope to be doing it to eternity." With good i-eason does he resolve to be thus particular in praising God, because God had sliowed liim particular favours; For great is thy mercy toward me.

The fountain of mercy is inexhaustibly full, the streams of mercy are inestimably rich; when we speak of God's mercy to us, it becomes us thus to magnify it. Great is thy mercy toward me. Of the greatness of God's mercy, he gives this instance. Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell; from death, from so great a death, as St. Paul, (2 Cor. i. 10.) from eternal death, so even some of the Jewish writers understand it. David knew he deserved to have been cast off for ever into the lowest hell for his sin in the matter of Uriah; but Nathan assured him that the Lord had taken away his sin; and by that word he was delivered from the lowest hell, and herein God's mercy was great toward him. E\'en the best saints owe it, not to their own merit, but to the meixy of God, that they are saved from the lowest hell: and the consideration of that sliould greatly enlarge their hearts in praising the mercy ot God, which they are obliged to glorify for evermoi'e. So glorious, so gracious, a rescue from everlasting misery, justly requires the return of everlasting praise.

IL He prays earnestly for mercy and grace from: God. He complains of the restless and implacable malice of liis enemies against him; {v. 14.) "Lord, be thou for me; for tlicre are many against me." He then takes notice of their character; they were

S"oud men, that looked with disdain upon poor avid. (Many are made persecutors by their pride.) 1 hey were violent men, that would carry all bet-_!re them by f jrce, right or wrong; they were terrible, formidable, men, (so some,) that did what they cciuld to frighten all about them. He notices their number; there are assemblies of them, they were men in authority, and met in councils and courts; or men for conversation, and met in clubs. But, being assembled, they were the more capable of doing mischief. He notices tlieir enmity to David: "They I'ise up against me in open rebellion; they not only plot, but tliey put their plots in execution as far as they can; and the design is not only to depose David, but to destroy him; they seek after my life to slay me, after my soul to damn me, if it lay in their power." And, lastly. He notices their distance and estrangement from God, which were at the bottom of their emiiity to David; " They have not set thee before them; and what good can be expected from those that have no fear of God before their eyes? Lord, appear against them, for they are thine enemies as well as mine."

His petitions are,

1. For the operations of God's ^"ace in him, v. 11. He prays that God would give him, (1.) An understanding heart, that he would inform and instruct him concerning his duty; " Teach me thy way, O Lord, the way that thou hast appointed me to walk in; wlien I am in doubt concerning it, make it plain to me what I should do, let me hear thy voice, saying, This is the way," Isa. xxx. 21. David was well-taught in the tilings of God, and yet was sensible he needed further instruction, and many a time could not tinist his own judgment; Teach me thy way, I will walk in thy truth. One would think it should be. Teach me thy truth, and I will walk in thy way; but it comes all to one, it is the way of truth that God teaches, and that we must choose and walk in, Ps. cxix. 30. Christ is the Way and

Vol. III.—3 M

the Truth, and we must both learn Christ and walk in him. We cannot walk in God's way and truth, unless he teach us; and, if we expect he should teach us. we must resolve to be governed by his teachings, Isa. ii. 3. (2.) An upright heart; " iJnite my heart to fear thy name; make me sincere in religion; a hypocrite has a double heart, let mine be single, and entire for God; not divided between him and the world; not straggling from him." Our hearts are apt to wander, and hang loose; their powers and faculties scatter after a tliousand foreign things; we have therefore need of God's grace to unite them, that we may serve God with all that is within us, and all little enough to be emplo)-ed in his service. "Let my heart be fixed for God, and firm and faithful to him, and fervent in serving him, that is an united heart."

2. For the tokens of God's favour to him, x'. 16,17. Three things he here prays for, (1.) That God would speak peace and comfort to him; " O turn unto me, as to one thou lovest, and hast a kind and tender concern for; my enemies turn against me, my friends turn from me. Lord, do thou tuni to me, and have mercy upon me; it will be a comf(-rt to me to know that thou pitiest me." (2.) That Gcxl would work deliverance for him, and set him in safety; "Give me thy strength; put strength into me, that I may help mjself, and put forth thy strength for me, that 1 may be saved out of the hands of those that seek my ruin." He pleads relation; "I am thy servant; I am so by birth, as the son of thine handmaid, born in thy house, and therefore thcu art my rightful Owner and Proprietor, from whom I may expect protection. / am thine, save me. " The children of godly parents, who were betimes dedicated to the Lord, may plead it with him; if they come under the discipline of his family, tliey are entitled to the privileges of it. (3.) That God would put I'eputation on him; "Show me a token for good; make it to appear to others as well as to myself, that thou ail doing me good, and designing further good for me. Let me have some unquestionable illustrious instances of thy fa\our to me, that they ivhich hate me may see it, and be ashamed of their enmity to me, as they will have reason to be, when they perceive that thou. Lord, hast holfien me, and comforted me; and that therefore they have been striving against God, opposing one whom he owns, and that they have been striving in vain to min and vex one whom God himself has undertaken to help and comfort." The joy of the saints shall be the shame of their persecutors.

PSALM LXXXVII.

The forejToing psalm was very plain and easy, but in this are things dark and hard to be understood. It is an encomium of Zion, as a type and figure of the jjospel-church, to which what is here spoken is very applicable. Zion, for the temple's sake, is here preferred, I. Before the rest of the land of Canaan, as being crowned with special tokens of God's favour, v. 1. .3. II. Before any other place or country whatsoever, as being replenished with more eminent men, and with a greater plenty of divine blessings, v. 4. .7. Some think it was penned to express the joy of God's people when Zion was in a flourishing state; others think it was penned to encourage their faith and hope when Zion was in ruins, and was to be rebuilt, after the captivity; though no man cared for her; {Jer. xxx. 17.) This is Zion whom no 7nan seeketh after; yet God had done great things for her, and spoken glorious things of her, which should all have their perfection and accomplishment in the gospel-church; to that therefore we must have an eye, in singing this psalm.

^ fisalm or song for the sons of Korah.

l."¥nf^IS foundation ?'s in the holy moun-_OL tains. 2. The Lord loveth the

gates of Zion more than all the dwellings

PSALMS, LXXXVII.

of Jacob. 3. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.

Some make the first words of the psalm to be part of the title; it is a psalm or song, whose subject is the holy mountains; the temple built in Zion upon mount Moriah. That is the foundation of the argument, or beginning of the psalm. Or, we may suppose the psalmist had now the tabcraacle or temple in \iew, and was contemplating the glories of it, and at length he breaks out into this expression, which has reference, though not to what he had written before, yet to what he had thought of; every one knew what he meant wlien he had said thus abnaptly, Its fomidation is in the holy ?tiou7i-tains.

Three things are here observed, in praise of the temple.

1. That it was founded on the holy mountains, v. 1. The church lias a foundation, so that it cannot sink or totter; Christ himself is the Foundation of it, which God has laid. The Jerusalem above is a city that has foundations. The foundation is upon the mruntains; it is built high, the mountain of the Lord^s house is established upon the to/i of the 7nountains, Isa. ii. 2. It is built firm; the mountains are rocky, and on a rock the church is built. The world is founded upon the seas; (xxiv. 2.) which are continually ebbing and flowing, and are a very weak foundation; Babel was built in a plain, where the ground was rotten; but the church is built upon the everlasting mountains, and the peipctual hills; for sooner shall the mountains depart, and the hills be removed, than the covenant of Go<l's peace shall be disannulled, and on that the church is built, Isa. liv. 10. The foundation is upon the holy mountains. Holiness is the strength and stability of the church, that is it which will support it, and keep it from sinking; not so much that it is built upon mountains, as that it is built upon holy mountains; upon the promise of God, for the confirming of which he has sworn by his holiness; upon the sanctification of the Spirit, which will secure the happiness of all the saints.

(2.) That God had expressed a particular affection for it; (y. 2.) The Lord loveth the gates of Zion, of the temple, of the houses of doctrine, (so the Clialdee,) more than all the dwellings of Jacob, whether in Jemsalem, or any where else in the country. God had said concerning Zion, This is my rest for euer, here ivill I dwell; there he met his people, and conversed with them, received their homage, and showed them the tokens of his favour, and therefore we may conclude how well he loves those gates. Note, (1.) God has a love for the dwellings of Jacob, has a gracious regard to religious families, and accepts their family-worship. (2.) Yet he loves the gates of Zion better, not only better than any, but better than all, of the dwellings of Jacob. God was worshipped in the dwellings of Jacob, and fa-mih-worship is family-duty, which must by no means l)e neglected; yet, when they come in competition, public worship (cap^em/ian'ozis— other things being et/ual) is to be preferred before private.

3. That there was much said concerning it in the word of Ciod; (-y. 3.) Glorious things are spoken of thee, 0 city of God. We are to judge of things and ])ersons by the figure they make, and the estimate put ui)on them, in and bv tlie scripture. Many base things were spoken of the city of God l)y the enemies cf it, to render it mean and odious, but by him wliose judgment we are sure is according to trutli, gl'>rious thin^^s are spoken of it; God said of the temple, Afine eyes and mine heart shall be there fier/ietually; I have sanctified this house, that my name may be there for n.>cr, 2 Chron. vii. 16. Beautiful for situation is mount Zion, Ps. xlviii. 2.

These are glorious things. Yet more glorious things are spoken of the gospel-church; it is the spouse of Christ, the purchase of his blood, it is a peculiar people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Let us not be ashamed of the church of Christ in its meanest condition, nor of any that belong to it, nor disown our relation to it, though it be turned ever so much to our reproach, since such glorious things are spoken of it, and not one iota or tittle of what is said shall fall to the ground.

4. I will make mention of Rahab and ]3abylon to them that know me; behold, Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia: this man was born there. 5. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was bora in her; and the Highest himself shall establish her. 6. The Lord shall count, when he writeth u]) tiie people, that this man was born there. Selah. 7. As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

Zion is here compared with other places, and preferred l)efore them; the church of Christ is more glorious and excellent than the nations of the earth.

1. It is owned that other places have their glories; (f. 4.) "/ will make mention of Hahab,'^ that is, "Egypt, and Babylon, to them that know me, and are about me, and with whom I discourse about public affairs; behold Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia," or rather Arabia; we shall observe that this man was bom there; here and there one famous man, eminent for knowledge and virtue, may be produced, that was a native of these countries; here and there one that becomes a proselyte, and a worshipper of the tnie God. But some give another sense of it; that it is a prophecy or promise of bringing the Gentiles into the church, and cf uniting them in one body with the Jews. God says, ^'I will reckon Egypt arid Babylon with them that know me. I will reckon them my people as much as Israel, when they shall receive the gospel of Christ, and own them as born in Zion, bora again there, and admitted to the privileges of Zion as freely as a tnie-bom Israelite." They that were strangers and foreigners, become fellow citizens with the saints, Eph. ii. 19. A Gentile convert shall stand upon a level with a native Jew; compare Isa. xix. 23* •25. The Lord shall say. Blessed be Egypt my people, and ./Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

2. It is proved that the glory of Zion outshines them all, upon many accounts; for,

(1.) Zion shall produce many great and good men tliat shall be famous in their generation, -v. 5. Of Zion it shall Ije said by all her neighbours, that thi,H and that inan was born in her, many men of renown for wisdom and piety, and especially for acquaintance with the words of God and the visions of the Almighty. Many prophets and kings, who should be greater favourites of Heaven, and greater blessings to the earth, than ever were bred in Egypt or Baijylon. The worthies of the church far exceeded tiiose of heathen nations, and their names will shine brighter than in peipetual records, ji man, a 7na?2 was born in her; by which some understand Christ, that Man, that Son of man, who is f lirer than the children of men, he was bom at Bi thlehem near Zion, and was the Glory of his peo-]5le Israel. The greatest honour that ever was put ui)cn the Jewish nation, was, that of them, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, Rom. ix. 5. Or this also may be applied to the conversion of the Gen-

PSALMS, LXXXVIII.

450

tiles; Of Zion it shall be said, that the law which went forth out of Zion, the gospel of Christ, shall be an instrument to beget many souls to God, and the Jerusalem that is from above shall be acknowledged the mother of them all.

(2.) Zion's interest shall be strengthened and settled by an almighty power. The Highest himself shall undertake to establish her, who can do it effectually; the accession of proselytes out of divers nations, shall be so far from occasioning discord and division, that it shall contribute greatly to Zion's strength; for God himself, having toundcd her upon an e\ crlasting foundation, whatever con\'ulsions and revolutions there are of states and kingdoms, and however heaven and earth may be shaken, these are things which cannot be shaken, but must remain.

(3.) Zion's sons shall be registered with honour; (x^. 6.) The Lord shall count, tvhen he writes up, the people, and takes a catalogue of his subjects, that this man was born there, and so is a subject by birth, by the first birth, being born in his house— bv the second birth, being born again of his Spirit. When God comes to return with the children of men, that he may render to every man according to his works, he shall observe who was bom in Zion, and consequently enjoyed the privileges of God's sanctuary, to whom pertained the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the service, of God, Rom. ix. 4.—iii. 1, 2. For to them much was given, and therefore of them much will be required, and the account will be accordingly; five talents must be improved by those that were intrusted with five. / know thy works, and where thou dtvellest, and where thou wast born. Selah. Let those that dwell in Zion mark this, and Uve up to their profession.

(4.) Zion's songs shall be sung with joy and triumph. As well the singers, as the players on in-straments, shall be there to praise God, x'. 7. It was much to the honour of Zion, and is to the honour of the gospel-church, that there God is served and worshipped with rejoicing; his work is done, and done cheerfully; see Ixviii. 25. All 7ny springs are in thee, O Zion: so God says; he has deposited treasures of grace in his holy ordinances, there are the springs from which those streams take rise, which make glad the city of our God, xlvi. 4. So the psalmist says, reckoning the springs, from which his dry soul must be watered, to lie in the sanctuary', in the word and ordinances, and in the communion of saints; the springs of the joy of a carnal worldling lie in wealth and pleasure, but the springs of the joy of a gi-acious soul lie in the word of God and prayer. Christ is the true Temple; all our springs are in him, and from him all our streams flow; it pleased the Father, and all believers are well pleased with it too, that in him should all fulness dwell.

PSALM LXXXVIII.

This psalm is a lamentation; one of the most melancholy of aU the psalms; and it does not conclude, as usually the melancholy psalms do, with the least intimation of comfort or joy, but, from first to last, it is mourning? and woe. It is not upon a public account that the psalmist here complains, (here is no mention of the afflictions of the church,) but only upon a personal account, especi-allj trouble of mind, and the ffrief impressed upon his s])irits, both by his outward afflictions, and by the remembrance of his sins, and the fear of Gx)d's wrath. It is reckoned among the penitential psalms, and it is well when our fears are thus turned into the right channel, and we take occasion from our worldly grievances to sorrow after a godly sort. In this psalm, we have, I. The great pressure of spirit that the psalmist was under, V. 3..6. II. The wrath of God, which was the cause of that pressure, v. 7, 15..17. III. The wickedness of his friends, v. 8, 18. IV. The application he made to God by prayer, v. 1, 2, 9, 13. V. His humble expostu-'•tlions and pleadings with God, v. 10, 12, 14. Those

who are in trouble of mind may sing this psalm feelingly; those that are not ought to sing it thankfully, blessing God that it is not their case.

A song or psalm for the sons ofKorah. To the chief musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.

1. ^\ LORD God of my salvation, I have \3 cried day and night before thee. 2. Let my prayer come before thee: inchne thine ear unto my cry ; 3. For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draweth nigh unto the* grave. 4. I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength : 5. Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand. 6. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. 7. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afHicted vie with all thy waves. Selah. 8. Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto tliem: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth. 9. Mine eye mourneth by reason of afidiction: Lord, I have called daily upon thee; I have stretched out my hands unto thee.

It should seem, by the titles of this and the following psalm, that Heman was the penman of the cne, and Ethan of the other. There were two cf these names, who were sons of Zerah the son cf Judah, 1 Chron. ii. 4, 6. There were two ethers famed for wisdom, (1 Kings iv. 31.) where, to magnify Solomon's wisdom, he is said to be wiser than He-man and Ethan. Whether the Heman and Ethan, who were Levites and precentors in the songs of Zion, were the same, we are net sure, nor which of these, nor wliether any of these, were the penmen of these psalms; there was a Heman that was one of the chief singers, who is called the king's seer or prophet, in the words of God; (1 Chron. xxv. 5.) it is probable tliat this also was a seer, and yet could see no comfort for himself, an instmctor and comforter of others, and yet himself putting comfort away from him.

The very first words of the psalm are the only words of comfort and support in all the psalm. There is nothing about him but clouds and darkness; but, before he begins his complaint, he ccdls God the God of his salvation, which intimates, both that he looked for salvation, bad as things were, and that he looked up to God for the salvation, and depended upon him to be the x'Vuthor cf it.

Now here we have the psalmist,

1. A man of prayer, one that gave himself to prayer at all times, but especially now that he was in affliction: for is any afflicted? Let him pray. It is his comfort, that he had prayed, it is his complaint, that, notwithstanding hisprayer, he was still m affliction. He was, (1.) Very earnest in prayer; "I have cried unto thee, {v. 1.) and have stretched out ?ny hands mito thee, {y. 9.) as one that would take hold on thee, ;ind even catch at the mercy, with a holy fear of ccming short and missing of it!" (2.) He was ^ery frequent and constant in prayer; "I have called "upon thee daily, \v. 9.) niiv,'day and night," v. 1. For thus men ought always to pray, and not to faint; God's own elect cry day and night to him; not only morning and evening, beginning every day and every night with prayer, but

PSALMS, LXXXVIII.

spending the day and night in prayer. This is indeed praying always; and tl\en we shall speed in prayer, when we continue instant in prayer. (3.) He directed his prayer to God, and from him expected and desired an answer; (x". 2.) "Let my prayer come before thee, to be accepted of thee, not before men, to be seen of them, as the Pharisees' prayers." He does not desire that men should hear them, but, "Lord, incline thou thine ear unto my cry, for to that I refer myself, give what answer to it thou pleasest."

2. He was a man of sori'ows, and therefore some make liim, in this psalm, a type of Christ, whose complaints on the cross, and sometimes before, were much to the same purport with this psalm. He cries out, {y. 3.) My soul is full of troubles; so Christ said, A''oTJ is my soul troubled; and, in his agony. My soul is exceeding ^orrouful, like the psalmist's here, even unto death, for he says. My life draws nigh unto the grave, Hcman was a very wise man, and a good man, a man of God, and a singer too, and one may therefore suppose him to be a man of a cheerful spirit, and yet now a man of a sorrowful spirit, troubled in mind, and upon the brink of despair. Inward trouble is the sorest trouble, and that which, sometimes, the best of God's saints and servants have been severely exercised with. The spirit of man, of the greatest of men, will not always sustain the infirmity, but will droop and sink under it; ivho then can bear a wounded spirit?

3. He looked upon himself as a dying man, whose heart was ready to break with sorrow; (x'. 5.) "Free among the dead, one of that ghastly corporation; like the slain that lie in the grave, whose rotting and perishing nobody takes notice of, or is concerned for; nay, whom thou rememberest no more, to protect or provide for the dead bodies, but they become an easy prey to corruption and the worms, they are cut off from thy hand, which was once employed in supporting them, and reaching out to tlum; but now there ib no more occasion for it, they are cut off from it, and cut off by it;" (for God ivill not stretch out his hand to the grave. Job XXX. 24.) "thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, as low as possible, my condition hnv, mv spirits low, in darkness, in the deep, {v. 6.) sinking, and seeing no way open of escape, brought to the I ist extremitv, and ready to gi\e up all for gone." Thus greatly may good men be afflicted, and such dismal apprehensions may they have concerning their afflictions, and such dark conclusions may the\' sometimes be ready to make concerning the issue of them, through the power of melancholy and the weakness of faith.

4. He complained most of God's displeasure against him, which infused tlie wormwood and the gall into the affliction and the misery; {v. 7.) Thif •wrath lies hard upon 7ne: could he have discerned the favour and love of God in his affliction, it had lain light upon him; but it lay hard, very hard, upon him, so that he was ready to'sink and faint under it. The impressions of this wrath upon his spirits, were God's waves with which he afflicted him, wliich rolled upon him, one on the neck of another, so that he scarcely recovered from one dark thought, before he was oppressed with another; these waves beat against him with noise and fury; not some, but all, of God's waves were made use of in afflicting him, and bearing him down. Even the children of' God's love may sometimes apprehend themselves children of wrath, and no outward trouble can lie so hard upon them as that apprehension.

5. It added to this affliction, that his friends deserted him, and made themselves strange to him. When we are in trouble, it is some comfort to ha\c thoseal)out us, that love us and sjmpathize with us, but this good man had none such; which gives him

I occasion not to accuse them, pr charge them with treachery, ingratitude, and inhumanity, but to complain to God, with an eye to his hand in this part of the ..ffliction; (v. 8.) Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me. Providence; had removed them, or rendered them incapable of being ser\'ice-able to him, or alienated their affections from him, for every creature is that to us (and no more) that God makes it to be; if our old acquaintance be shy of us, and those we expect kindness from prove unkind, we must bear that with the same patient submission to the divine will that we do other afflictions, J0I3 xix. 13. Nay, his 'friends were not only strange to him, but even hated him, because he was poor and in distress; " Thou hast made me an abomination to them; they are not only shy of me, but sick of me, and I am looked upon by them, not only with contempt, but with abhon-e'nce." Let none think it strange concerning such a trial as this, when Heman, who was so famed for wisdom, was yet, when the world frowned upon him, neglected, as a vessel in which is no pleasure.

Lastly, He looked upon his case as helpless and deplorable; " lam shut up, and I cannot come forth, a close prisoner, under the arrests of divine wrath, and no way open of escape." He therefore lies down and sinks under his troubles, because he sees not any probability of getting out of them. For thus he bemoans himself; (x'. 9.) Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction; sometimes giving vent to grief by weeping gives some ease to a troubled spirit. Yet weeping must not hinder praying; we must sow in tears; Mine eye mourns, but / cry unto thee daily; let praters and tears go together, and they shall be accepted together; I have heard thy prayers, I have seen thy tears.

10. Wilt thou show wonders to the dead ? shall the dead arise and praise thee ? Selah.

11. Shall thy lovine;-kindness be declared in the grave ? or thy faithfulness in destruction ?

12. Shall thy wonders be known in the dark ? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness ? 13. But unto thee have I cried, O Lord ; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. 14. Lord, why easiest thou oft" my soul ? uihy hidest thou thy face from me ? 15. I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: ichile I suffer thy terrors I am distracted. 16. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off. 17. They came round about me daily like water, they compassed me about together. 18. Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.

In these verses,

I. The psalmist expostulates with God conccming the present deploraole condition he was in; (x*. 10*-12.) •' Wilt thou do a miraculous work to the dead, and raise them to life gain? Shall.those that are dead and Ijuricd rise uj) to praise thee? N(% they leave it to their children to rise up in their rooms to praise God, none expects that they should do it; and wherefore should they rise? Wherefore should they live, but to praise God? The life we are born to at first, and the life we hope to rise to at last, must thus be spent. But shall thy loving-kindness to thy people be declared in the grave, either by those, or to those, that lie buried there? And thy faithfulness to thy promise, shall that be told in destiiiction;

PSALMS, LXXXVIU.

4Gl

shall thy wonders be wrought in the dark, or known there; and thy righteousness in the grave, which is the land of forgetfulness, where men remember nothing, nor are themselves remembered? Departed souls may indeed know God's wonders, and declare his faithfulness, justice, and loving-kindness, but deceased bodies cannot; they can neither receive God's favours in comfort, nor return them in praise." Now we will not supjjose these expostulations to be the language of des])air, as if he thought God could not help him, or would not, much less do they bespeak any disbelief of the resurrection of the dead at the last da\-; but he thus pleads with God for speedy relief;'" Lord, thou art good, thou art faithful, thou art righteous; these attributes of thine will be made known in my deliverance, but, if it be not hastened, it will come too late; for I shall be dead, and past relief, dead, and not capable of receiving any comfort, \ cry shortly." Job often pleaded this. Job vii. 8.—X. 21.

II. He resolves to continue instant in prayer, and the more so because the deliverance Was deferred; iv. 13.) '■'■Unto thee have I cried many a time, and tound comfort in it, and therefore I will continue to do so; in the morning shall my firayer prevent thee." Note, Though our prayers be not answered immediately, )^et we must not therefore give over praying, because V/i(? vision is for an alifwinted time, and at the end it shall s/ieak, and not lie. God therefore delays the answer, that he may try our patience and perseverance in prayer. He resolves to seek God early, in the morning, when his spirits were lively, and before the business of the day began to crowd in; in the morning, after he had been tossed with cares, and sorrowful thoughts in the silence and solitude of the night; My prayer shall prevent thee. Not as if he could wake sooner to pray, than God to hear and answer, for He neither slumbers iior sleeps; but it intimates that he would be up earlier than ordinary to pray; would prevent, that is, go before his usual hour of prayer. The greater cur afflictions are, the more solicitious and serious we should be in prayei*. "My prayer shall present itself before thee, and be betimes with thee, and shall not stay for the encouragement of the beginning of mercy, but reach out towards it with faith and expectation, even before the day dawns." God often prevents our prayers and expectations with his mercies, let us prevent his mercies with our prayers and expectations.

III. He sets down what he will saj- to God in prayer.

1. He will humbly reason with God concerning the abject afflicted condition he was now in; (t. 14.) "Lord, ivhy castest thou off my soul? What is it that provokes thee to treat me as one abandoned? Show me ivherefore thou contendest tvith me." He speaks it with wonder that God should cast off^ an old servant; should cast off one that was resolved not to cast him off"; "No wonder men cast me off"; but, Lord, why dost thou, whose gifts and callings are without repentance? ll^iy hiclest thou thy face, as one angry at me, that either hast no favour for me, or wilt not let me know it." Nothing gi'ieves a child of God so much as God's hiding his face from him, nor is there any thine he so much dreads as God's casting off" his soul. Ii the sun be clouded, that darkens the earth; but if the sun should abandon the earth, and quite cast it off", what a dungeon would it be!

2. He will humbly repeat the same complaints he had before made, until God have mercy on him. Two things he represents to God as his grievances.

(1.) That God was a Terror to him; I suffer thy terrors, v. 15. He had continual frightful apprehensions of the wrath of God against him for his

sins, and the consequences of that wrath. It teiTifief. him to think of God, and of falling into his hands appearing before him to receive his doom from him. He sweat and trembled at the apprehension of God's displeasure against him, and the terror of his majesty. Note, Even those that are designed for God's favours may yet, for a time, suffer his terrors. The spirit of adoption is first a spirit of bondage to fear. Poor Job complains of the terrors of God setting thejnselves in array against hi?n, Job vi. 4. The psalmist here cxpUiins himself, and tells us what he means by God's terrors, even his fierce wrath. Let us see what dreadful impressions those terrors made upon him, and hew deep thev wounded him. [1.] They had almost taken away his life; "lam so afflicted with them, that I am ready to die, and" (as the word is) " to give iip the ghost. Thy terrors have cut me off" v. 16. What is hell, that external excision, by which damned sinners are for ever cut off" from God and all happiness, but God's terrors fastening and preying upon their guilty consciences? [2.] Thev had almost taken away the use of his reason; When I suffer thy terrors, I am distracted; that sad eff"ect the terrors of the Lord have had upon many, and upon some good men, who have thereby been put quite out of the possession of their own souls; a most piteous case, and which ought to be looked upon with great compassion. [3.] This had continued long; From my youth tip, I suffer thy terrors; he had been from his childhocd afflicted with melancholy, and trained up in sorrow under the discipline of that school. It we begin our days with trouble, and the days of our mouniing have been prolonged a great while, let us n( t think it strange, but let tribulation work patience. It is observable that Heman, who became eminently wise and good, was afflicted and ready to die, and suff"ercd God's terrors, from his youth up; thus many have found it was good for them to bear the yoke in their youth, that sorrow has been much better f(;r them than laughter would have been, and that, being much afflicted, and often ready to die, when they were young, they have, by the grace of God, got such an habitual seriousness, and weanedness trcm the world, as have been of great use to them p.U their days. Sometimes those whom God designs for eminent services, are prepared for them by exercises of this kind. [4.] His affliction was new extreme, and worse than evei'. God's terrors nc^v came round about him, so that from all sides he was assaulted with variety of troubles, and he had no comfortable gale from any point of the compass. They brake in upon him together like an inundation of water; and this daily, and all the day; so that he had no rest, no respite, not the least breathing time, no lucid intervals, nor any gleam of hope. Such was the calamitous state of a very wise and good man; he was so surrounded with terrors, that he could find no place of shelter, nor lie any where unde r the wind.

(2.) That no friend he had in the world was a comfort to him; (x'. 18.) Lover and friend hast thou put far from me; some are dead, others at a distance, and perhaps many unkind. Next to the comforts of religion are those of friendship and society; therefore to be friendless is (as to this hfe) almost to be comfortless; and to those who have had friends, but have lost them, the calamity is the more grievous; with this the psalmist here closes his complaint, as if this were it that completed his woe, and gave the finishing stroke to this melancholy piece. If our friends are put far from us by scattering providences, nay, if by death our acqu:iintance are removed into darkness, we have reason to look upon it as a sore affliction, but must acknowledge and submit to the hand of God in it.

PSALMS, LXXXIX.

PSALM LXXXIX.

Many psalms that bccriri with complaint and prayer, end with joy and praise, but this bcffins with joy and praise, and ends with sad complaints and petitions; for the psalmist first recounts God's former favours, and then with the consideration of them aggravates the present grievances. It is uncertain when it was penned; only, in general, that it was at a time when the house of David was woefujly eclipsed; some think it was at the time of the captivity of Babylon, when king Zedckiah was insulted over, and abused, by Nebuchadnezzar, and then they make the title to signify no more than that the psalm was set to the tune of a song of Ethan the son of Zerah, called Maschil: others suppose it to be penned by Ethan, who is mentioned in the story of Solomon, who, outliving that glorious prince, thus lamented the great disgrace done to the house of David in the next reign by the revolt of the ten tribes. I. The psalmist, in the joyful, pleasant, part of the psalm, gives glory to God, and takes comfort to himself and his friends. This he does more briefly, mentioning God's mercy and truth, (v. 1.) and his covenant; (v. 2.. 4.) but more largely in the following verses, wherein, 1. He adores the glory and perfection of God, V. 5..14. 2. He pleases himself in the happiness of those that are admitted into communion with him, V, 15.. 18. 3. He builds all his hope upon God's covenant with David, as a type of Christ, v. 19.. 37. II. In the melancholy part of the psalm, he laments the present calamitous state of the prince and royal family; (v. 38.. 45.) expostulates with God upon it, (v. 46.. 49.) and then concludes with prayer for redress, v. 50, 51. In singing this psalm, we must have high thoughts of God, a lively faith in his covenant with the Redeemer, and a sympathy with the afflicted parts of the church.

Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

1. T WILL sing of tlie mercies of the JL Lord for ever: with my mouth will 1 make known thy faithfulness to all generations. 2. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever : thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. 3. I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, 4. Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

The ps-.ilmist h'ls a very s:id compliint to make nf the deplorable condition of the family of Da\id at this time, and yet he begins the psalm with songs of praise; for we must, in every thing, in every state, give thanks; thus we must glorify the Lord in the fire. ^Ve think, when we are in trouljle, that we get ease by complaining; but we do more, we get joy, by praising. Let our complaints, therefore, be turned into thanksgivings; and in these verses we find that which will be matter of praise and thanksgiving for us in the worst of times, whether upon a personal or a public account.

1. However it be, the everlasting God is good and true, v. 1. Though we may find it hard to reconcile present dark providences with the goodness and truth of God, yet we must abide by this principle. That God's mercies are inexhaustible, and his truth inviolable; and these must be the matter of our joy and praise; " ItjUI sing of the mercies of the Lord for eT.>er; sing a praising song to God's honour, a pleasant song for my own solace, and Maschil, an instructing song, for the edification of others." We maybe for ever singing God's mercies, and yet the subject will not be drawn dry. We must sing of God's mercies as long as we live, train up others to sinij of them when we are gone, and hope to be singing of them in heaven, world without end; and this is singing of the mercies of the Lord for exier. With 7ny mouth, and with my peli, (for bv tint also do we speak,) will I make knoivn thy faithfulness to all generations; assuring posterity, from my own observation and experience, that Gcd

is true to every Avond that he has spoken, that they may learn to fiul their trust i7i God, Ixxviii. 6.

2. However it be, the everlasting covenant is firm and sure, v. 2-•4. Here we have,

(1.) The psalmist's faith and hope; "Thingsnow look black, and threaten the utter extirpation of the house of David; but I have said, and I have warrant from the word of God to say it, that mercy shall be built up for ever." As the goodness of God's nature is to be the matter of our song, {v. 1.) so much more the mercy that is built for us in the covenant; it is still increasing, like a house in the building up, and shall continue our rest for ever, like a house Iniilt up. It shall be built up for ever; for the everlasting habitations we hope for in the new JeiTisalem are of this building. If mercy shall be built for ever, then the tabernacle of i)avid, which is fallen down, shall be raised out of its ruins, and built u/i as in the days of old, Amos ix. 11. Therefore mercy shall be built up for ever, because thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. Though our expectations are, in some particular instances, disappointed, }et God's promises are not disannulled; they are established in the very heavens, that is, in his eternal counsels; they are above the changes of this lower region, and out of the reach of the opposition of hell and earth. The stability of the material heavens is an emblem ot the truth of God's word; the heavens mn.y be cloud ed by vapours arising out of the earth, but they can not be touched, they cannot be changed.

(2.) An abstract of the covenant upon which this faith and hope are built; / have said it, says the psalmist, for God hath sworn it, that the heirs of promise might be entirely satisfied of the immutability of his counsel. He brings in God speaking, {v. 3.) owning, to the comfort of his people, "i have ?nadp a covenant, and therefore will make it good." The covenant is made with David, the covenant of royalty is made with him, as the father of his family, and with his seed through him, and for his sake; r^presenting the covenant of grace made with Christ as Head of the church, and with all believers as his spiritual seed. David is here called God's chosen, and his servant; and, as God is not cliangeable to recede from his own choice, so he is not unrighteous to cast off one that served him. Two things encourage the psalmist to build his faith on this covenant; [1.] The ratification of it; it was confirmed Avith an oath; The Lord has swo-m, cnid he will not rejient. [2.] The pei-pctuity of it; the blessings of the covenant Avere not only secured to David himself, but Avere entailed en his family; it Avas promised that his family should continue; Thy seed will I establish for ex'er, so that David shall not want a son to reign; (Jcr. xxxiii. 20, 21.) and that it should continue a roA'al family; / will build uji thy throne to all gejierations, to all the generations of time. This has its accomplishment only in Christ, of the seed of David, Avho lives for ever, to Avhom God has given the throne of his father David, and of the increase of Avhose govem-ment and peace there shall be no end. Of this covenant the psalmist will return to speak more largely, v. 19, &c.

5. And the heavens shall praise thy won dors, O LiORD; thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. G. For who in the heaven can be compared unto me Lord? ?/7w among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord ? 7. God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the snintsl and to be had in reverence of all ihc.m that arc about him. 8. OLord Got'

PSALMS, LXXXIX.

-163

)f hosts, who is a sirong Lord hke unto '.hee^ or to thy faithfuhiess round about thee? 3. Thou rulest the raging of the sea : when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. 10. Thou hast broken Jlahab in pieces, as one that is slain: thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm. 11. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: os for the world, and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. 12. The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name. 13. Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, a7id high is thy right hand. 14. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

These verses are full of the praises of God. Observe,

I. Where, and by wliom, God is to be praised.

1. God is praised by the angels above; The heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord; {v. 5.) that is, "the glorious inhabitants of the upper world continually celebrate thy praises:" Bless the Lord, ye his angels, ciii. 20. The works of God are wonders even to them that are best acquainted, and most intimately conversant, with them; the more God's works are known, the more they are admired and praised. This should make us love heaven, and long to be there, that there we shall have nothing else to do than to praise God and his wonders.

2. God is praised by the assemblies of his saints on earth; fpraise waits for him in Zion;) and though they fall so far short of the praises of angels, yet God is pleased to take notice of them, and accept of them, and reckons himself honoured by them. " Thy faitlifulness, and the tiiith of thy promise, that rock on which the church is built, shall be praised in the congregation of the saints, who owe their all to that faithfulness, and whose constant comfort it is that there is a promise, and that he is faithful who has promised." It is expected from God's saints on earth tliat they praise him; who should, if they do not? Let every saint praise him, but especially the congregation of saints; when they come together, let them join in praising God; tlie more the better, it is the more like heaven. Of the honour done to God by the assembly of the saints, he speaks again; {v. 7.) God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints; saints should assemble for religious worship, that thev may publicly own their relation to God, and may stir up one another to give honour to him, and, iii keeping up commvmion with God, may likewise mauitain the communion of saints. In religious assemblies, God has promised the presence of his grace, but we must also, in them, have an eye to his glorious presence, that the familiarity we are admitted to may not breed the least contempt; for he is terrible in his holy places, and therefore greatly to be feared. A holy awe of God must fall upon us, and fill us, in all our approaches to God, even in secret, to which somethnig may very well be added by the solemnity of public assembli'es. God must be had in reverence of all that are about him, that attend him continually as his servants, or approach him upon any particular errand. See Lev. X. 3. Those only serve God acceptably who serve him with reverence and godly year, Heb. xii. 28.

II. WTiat it is to praise God; it is to acknowledge ntni to be a Being of unparalleled perfpction, such

a one that there is none like him, nor any to be compared with him, v. 6. If there be an}' beings tliat can pretend to vie with God, surely they must be found among the angels; but they are all infinitely short of him; Who in the heaven can be coin-pared with the Lord, so as to challenge any share of the reverence and adoratir n which are due to him only, or to set up in rivalship with him for the homage of the children of men? The}^ are sons of the might)^, but which of tliem can be likened unto the Lord? Nobles are princes' peers; some parity there is between them, but none between God and the angels; they are not his peers. To whom ivill ye li/ccTi me, or shall I be ecjual? saith the Holy ■ One, Isa. xl. 25. This is insisted on again, {v. 8.) Who is a strong Lord I'ke unto thee? No angel, no earthly ])otentate, whatsoever, is comparable to God, or has an arm like him, or can thunder with a voice like him. Thy faithfulness is roimd about thee; that is, "thine angels, who are round about thee, attending thee with their praises, and ready to go on thine errands, are all faithful." Or rather, " In every thing thou doest, on all sides, thou ap-provest thyself faithful to thy word, above whatever prince or potentate was." Among men, it is too often found that those who are most able to break their word are least careful to keep it; but God is both strong and faithful; he can do every thing, and yet will never do an unjust thing.

III. What we ought, in our praises, to give God the glory of. ScA^eral things are here mentioned.

1. The command God has of the most ungovernable creatures; {v. 9.) TIiou rulest the raging of the sea, than which nothing is more frightful or threatening, nor more out of the power of man to give check to; it can swell no higher, roll no further, Ijeat no harder, continue no longer, nor do any more hurt, than God suffers it. " When the waves thereof arise, thou canst immediately hush them asleep, still them, and make them quiet, and turn the storm into a calm." This coming in here as an act of omnipotence, what manner of man, then, was the Lord Jesus, whom the wi?ids and seas obeyed?

2. The victories God has obtained over the enemies of his church; his i-uling the raging of the sea, and quelling its billows, was an emblem of this; {v. 10.) Thou hast broken Rahab; many a proud enemy, so it signifies; Egypt in particular, which is sometimes called Rahab; broken it in pieces, as one that is slain, and utterly unable to make head again." The head being broken, thou hast scattered the remainder with the arm of thy strength." God has more ways than one to deal with his and his church's enemies; we think he should slay them immediately, but sometimes he scatters them, that he may send them abroad to be monuments of his justice, lix. 11. The remembrance of the breaking of Egypt hi pieces is a comfort to the church, in reference to the present power of Babylon; for God is still the same.

3. The incontestable property he has in all the creatures of the upper and lower world; {y. 11, 12.) " Men are honoured for their large possessions; but the heavens are thine, O Lord, the earth also is thine; therefore we praise thee, therefore we tnist in thee, therefore we will not fear what man can do against us. The world and the fulness thereof, all the riches contained in it, all the inhabitants of it, both the tenements and the tenants, they are all thine; for thou hast fojinded them." And the Founder mn.y justly claim to be the Owner. He specifies, (1.) The remotest parts of the world, the ncrth and south, the countries that lie under the two poles, which are uninhabited and little known; " Tlmu hast created them, and therefore knowest them, takest care of them, and hast tributes of praise from them." The north is said to be hung over

PSALMS, LXXXIX.

the empty place; yet what fulness there is there, God is the owner of it. (2.) The highest paits of the world; he mentions the two highest hills in Canaan; " Tabor and Herman" (one lying to the west, the other to the east,) "these shall rejoice in thy name, for they are under the care of thy providence, and they produce offerings for thine altar." The little hills are said to rejoice in their own fruit-fulness, Ixv. 12. Tabor is commonly supposed to be that high mountain in Galilee, on the top of which Christ was ti'ansfigured; and then, indeed, it might be said to rejoice in that voice which was there heard, This is my beloved Son.

4. The power and justice, the mercy and tnith, with which he governs the world, and rules in the affairs of the children of men, v. 13, 14. (1.) God is able to do every thing; for he is the Lord God Almighty. His arm, his hand, is mighty and strong, both to save his people, and to destroy his and then-enemies; none can either I'esist the force, or bear the weight, of his mighty hand. High is his ri^ht hand, to reach the highest, even those that set their nets among the stars; (Amos ix. 2, 3. Obad. iv.) his right hand is exalted in what he has done, for in thousands of instances he hiis signalized his power, cxviii. 16. (2.) He never did, nor ever will do, any thing that is either unjust or unwise; for righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. None of all his dictates or decrees ever vai'ied from the niles of equity and wisdom, nor could ever any charge God witli unrighteousness or folly. Justice and judgment are the preparing of his throne, (so some,) the establishment of it, so others; the preparations for his government in his counsels from eternity, and the establishment of it in its consequences to eternity, are all justice and judgment. (3.) He always does that which is kind to his people, and consonant to the word which he has spoken; " Mercy and truth shall go before thy face, to prepare thy way, as harbingers to make room for thee; mercy in promising, ti-uth in performing; ti-uth in being as good as thy word, mercy in being better." How praiseworthy are these in great men, much more in the great God, in whom they are in perfection!

15. Blessed z.s the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. 16. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. 17. For thou art the glory of their strength; and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted. 18. For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our King.

The psalmist, having largely showed the blessedness of the God of Israel, here shows the blessedness of the Israel of God. As there is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, so, happy art thou, O Israel, there is notie like u?ito thee, O people, especially as a type of the gospel-Israel, consisting of all true believers, whose happiness is here described.

1. Glorious discoveries are made to them, and glad tidings of good brought to tliem; they hear, they kno7u, the joyful sound, i>. 15. This may allude, (1.) To the shout of a victorious army, the shout of a king, Numb, xxiii. 21. Israel has the tokens of God's presence with them in their wars; the sound of the going in the top of the mulberry-trees was indeed a. joyful sound, (2 Sam. v. 24.) and they often returned making the earth ring with their songs of triumph; these were joyful sounds. It may allude, (2.) To the sound that was made over the sacrifices, and on the solemn feast-day,

Ixxxi. !• '3. This was the happiness of Israel, that they had among them the free and open professicn of God's holy religion, and abundance of joy in their sacrifices. It may allude, (3.) To the sound of the jubilee-tmmpet; a joyful sound it was to servants and debtors, to wliom it proclaimed release. The gospel is indeed a joyful sound; a sound of victory, of liberty, of communion with God, and the sound of abundance of ruin; blessed are the people that hear it, and know it, and bid it welcome.

2. Special tukens of God's favour are granted them; " They shall nvalk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance; they sliall govern themselves by thy conduct, guided by thine eye; and they shall delight tiienisclves in thy ccnsclations; they shall have the fa\()ur of God, they shall know that they have it, and it shall be c( ntinual matter of joy and rejoicing to them; they shall go through all the exercises of a holy life under the powerful influences of (lod's kn ing-kindness, which shall make their duty pleasant to them, and make them sincere in it, aiming at this, as their end, to be accepted of the Lord.^' We then walk in the light of the Lord when we fetch all our comforts from Gcd's favour, and are very careful to keep ourselves in his love.

3. They never want matter for joy; blessed are God's people, for, in his name, in all that whereby he has made himself known, if it be not their own fault, they shall rejoice all the day. They that rejoice in Christ Jesus, and make God their exceeding Joy, ha\e enough to balance their grievances, and silence their griefs; and therefore their joy is fii 1, (1 John i. 4.) and constant; it is their duty to rejoice evermore.

4. Their relation to God is their honour and dignity; they are happy, for they are high. Surely in the Lord, in the Lord Christ, they ha-ve righteousness and strength, and so are recommended by him to the divine acceptance; and therefore in him shall all the seed of Israel glory, Isa. xlv. 24, 25. So it is here, -u. 16, 17. (1.) " In thy righteousness shall they be exalted, and not in any righteousness of their own." We are exalted out of danger, and into honour, purely by the righteousness of Christ, which is a clothing both for dignity and for defence. (2.) " Thou art the Glory of their strength," \\\2X is, "thou art their Strength, and it is their gloiy that thou art so, and what they glory in." Thanks be to God, who always causes Jis to triumph. (3.) " In thy favour, which, through Christ, we hope for, our horn shall be exalted;" the honi denotes beauty, plenty, and power; these they have who are made accepted in the Beloved. What greater preferment are men capable of in this world than to be God's favourites?

5. Their relation to God is their protection and safety; {v. 18.) ^' For our shield is of the Lord," so the margin; " and our kincf isfrorn the Holy One of Israel. If (iod be our Ruler, he will be our Defender; and who is he, then, that can harm us?" It was the happiness of Israel that God himself had the erecting of their bulwarks, and the nominating of their king, so some take it; or rather, that he was himself a Wall ofjire round about them, and, as a Holy One, the Author and Centre of their holy religion; he was their King, and so their Glory in the midst of them. Christ is the Holy One cf Israel, that Holy Thing; and in nothiiig was that peculiar people more i)lessed than in this, that He was bom King of the Jews. N<5W this accovmt of the blessedness of God's Israel comes in here as that to which it was hard to reconcile their present calamitous state.

19. Then thou spakest in vision to thy Holy One, and saidst,! have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted mie chosen

PSALMS, LXXXIX.

oui of the people. 20. I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: 21. With whom my hand shall be established; mine arm also shall strengthen him. 22. The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him. 23. And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. 24. But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him; and in my name shall bis horn be exalted. 25. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. 26. He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation. 27. Also I will make him my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth. 28. My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. 29. His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. 30. If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments ; 31. If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; 32. Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. 33. Nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. 34. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 35. Once have I sworn by my holiness, that I will not lie unto David. 36. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. 37. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

The covenant God made with David and his seed was mentioned before; (x^. 3, 4.) but in these verses It IS enlarged imon, and pleaded with God, for favour to the royal family, now almost sunk and mined-yet certainly it looks at Christ, and has its accomplishments in him much more than in David; nay some passages here are scarcely applicable at all to David, but must be understood of Christ only who IS therefore called David our King; (Hos. iii. 5.) and veiy great and precious promises they are which are here made to the Redeemer, which are strong foundations for the faith and hope of the redeemed to build upon. The comforts of our redemption flow from the covenant of redemption all our springs are in that, Isa. Iv. 3. I ivill make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David, Acts xiii. 34. Now here we have ^account of those sure mercies. Obsem-e,

I. What assurance we have of the tnith of the promise, which may encourage us to build upon it We are here told, 1. Hoav it was spoken; (v. 19 ) Xnou sfiakest in vision to thy Holy One. God's promise to Da\ad, which is especially referred to here, was spoken in vision to Nathan'the prophet 2 Sam. vn. 12..ir. Tlien when the Holi One of Israel was their Xing, (v. 18.) then he appointed Uavid to be his \iceroy. But to all the prophets, tnose holy ones, he s/iake in vision concerning Christ and to him himself especiallv, who had lain in his tiosom n-om ctcrnitv, and wks made perfectly ac-VOL. III.—3N

465

quainted with the whole design of redemption, Matth. XI. 27 2. How it was sworn to, and rati-tiecl; {v.o5.) Once have I sworn by my Holiness, that dariing attribute. In swearing by his Holiness, he sware by himself, for he will as soon cease to be as be otherwise than holy. His swearing once is enough, he needs^ not swear again, as David did; (1 ham. XX. 17.) for his word and oath are two immutable things. As Christ was made a Priest, so he was made a King, by an oath; (Heb. vii. 21.) tor his kingdom and priesthood are both unchanre-able. '^

n. The choice made of the person to whom the promise is given, v. 19, 20. David was a king of God smvn choosing, so is Christ, and therefore both are called God's kings, Ps. ii. 6. David wasmiglity a man of courage, and fit for business; he was chosen out of the people; not out of the princes, but the shepherds, God found him out, exalted him, and laid help upon him, and ordered Samuel to anoint him^^ But this is especially to be applied to Christ; 1. He IS one that is mighty, every way qualified for the gi-eat work he was to undertake, able to save to the uttermost; mighty in strength, for he is the Sm ot Uod; mighty in love, for he is able experimcr-tally to compassionate those that are tempted He IS the mighty God, Isa. ix. 6. 2. He is chosen out of the fieo/ile, one of us, bone of our bene, that takes part with us of flesh and blocd; being ordained tor men, he is taken from aint ng men, that his terror might not make us afraid. 3. God has found him. He is a Saviour of God's own providing, fop the salvation, from first to last, is purely the Lord's doing; he has found the rajisom. Job xxxiii 24 V\ e could never have found a person fit to undertake this great work, Rev. v. 3, 4. 4. God has laid helfi tifion him; not only helped him, but treasured up help in him for us; laid it as a charge upon him to help fallen man up again, to help the chosen reiTHiant to heaven; In me is thy help, Hcs. xiii 9 5. He has exalted him, by constituting him the Pro^ pht^, Priest, and King, of his church; clothing him with power, raising him from the dead, and setting: hini at his own right hand. Whom God choose! and uses he will exalt. 6. He has anointed him, has (juahfied him for his cfiicc, and so ccnfimed him in It, by giving him the Spirit, not by measure but without measure, infinitely above his fellows' He is called Messiah, or Chri'st, the Anointed 7 In all this he designed him to be his own sen-ant for the accomplishing of his eternal pui-pose, and'the advancement of the interest of his kingdom amcn|

III. The promises made to this chosen one, to David in the ty-pe, and the Son of David in the antitype, in which not only gracious, but glorious things are spoken of him. giuncus,

1. With reference to himself, as king and God's servant: and what nriakes for him, makfs for all his loving siibjects. It is here promised,

(1.) 1 hat God would stand by him and strengthen him in his undertaking; (v. 21.) With him Tnv hand not only shall h.^t shall \e estabUsZdZ promise; shall be so established, that he shall by it be estabhshed and confirmed in all his offices, so that none of them shall be undermined and overthrown, thougli by the man of sin they shall all be usurped and fought against Christ had a great deal of hard work to do, and hard usage to go throi^gh,but He that gave him commission gave himfcrces sufficient ror the execution of his commission; ^' Mme arm also shall strengthen him to break through and bear up under all his difficulties. ISO good work can miscarn- in the liand of

/o^'^^^^'"^ himself undertakes to strengthen.

(2.) That he should be victorious ever hi^ ene-nues, that tbcy shcvild' not encroach upon him;

PSALMS, LXXXIX.

{v. 22.) T/ie son of wickedness shall not exact iifion him, nor afflict him. He that at first brake the peace would set himself against liim that undertook to make peace, and do what he could to blast his design; but he could only reach to bruise his heel, further he could not exact uprn liim or afflict him. Christ became a Surety for our del)t, and thereby Satan and death thought to l^a^■c gained advantage against him; but he satisfied the demands of God's justice, and then they could not exact upon him; The firince of this ivorld cometh, but he has nothing in me, John xiv. 30. Nay, they not only shall not prevail against him, 1)ut they shall fall before him; {-v. 23.) I will beat down his foes before his face; the prince of this world shall DC cast out, principalities and powers s])oilcd, and he shall be the Death of death itself, and the Destruction of the grave, Hos. xiii. 14. Some apply tliis to the niin which God brought upon the Jewisli nation, that persecuted Christ, and put him to death. But all Christ's enemies, who hate him and will not have him to reign over them, shall be brought forth, and slain before him, Luke xix. 27.

(3.) That he should be the great Trustee of the covenant between God and mer,; that God would be gracious and true to him, and, in him, be gi*a-cious and time to us; {v. 24.) My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him. They were with David; God continued merciful to him, and so approved himself faithful; thev were with Christ; God made good all his promises to him. But tliat 'is not all: God's mercy to us, and his faithfulness to us, are with Christ; he is not only pleased with him, but with us in him; and it is in him that all the promises of God are yea and amen. So that, if ajiy poor sinners hope for benefit by the faithfulness ■aiwi mercy of God, let them know it is with Christ, it IS lodged in his hand, and to him they must apply themselves for it; {v. 28.) My mercy will I kee'fi for him, to be disposed of by him for ex'ermore; in the chanfieJ of Christ's mediation all the streams of divine goodness will for ever nm. Therefore it is the 7nercy of our Lord Jesus Christ which we look for unto eternal life, Jude 21. John xvii. 2. And as the m-rcv of Grd flews to us through him, so the promise of "God is, througli him, firm to us; My cm'cnant shall stand fasi'-i'ith him, l)oth tlie coA-e-nant of redemption mule with him, and tlie cove-mnt of grace made with us in kirn. The newcove-nant is t'herefjrc alv/avs new, and firmly established, because it is lodged in the liands of a Mediator, Heb. viii. 6. The covenant stands ta*it, because it stands upon this l)aKis. And this redtnjwls to the everl.isting honour of the L'^rd Jesus, that to him the gro'it cause between (yod and man is entirely referred, and the Father has committed all judgment to him, that all ?nen inight honour him; (John y. 22, 23.) therefore it is here said, In my nuinc shall his horn he exalted; this shall be his glory, that Grid's name is in him, (Exod, xxiii. 21.) and that he acts in (iod's name; As the Father gave me c6m7nandment,so I do.

(4.) That liis kingdom should be gi-eatly eii-larired; {v. 25.) I will set his hand ijithe.iea; he shall liave the dominion of the seas, and the isles of the sea, and his right hand in the rivers, the inland countries that are watered with rivers. David's kingdom extended itself to the gi-eat sea, and the Red sea, to the river of Eg)'pt, and the river Euphrates. But it is in the kingdom of the Messiah that this has its full accomi)lishment, and shall liave mnre and more, when the kingdoms of this world shall become as the kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Christ, (Rev. xi. 15.) and the isles shall wait for his law.

(5.) That he should o^vn God as his Father, and ' i"d would own hjjn as his Son, his Fii-st-bom, v. 26,

27. This is a comment upon these words ni Nathan's message ccnctniing Solomon: (for he also was a type of Clirist as well as David;) / ly/// bt his Father, and he shall be iny Son, (2 Sam. vii. 14.) and the relation sliall be owned on both sides. [1. j He shall cry unto me. Thou art my Father. It is proljalile that Solomon did so; but we arc sure Christ did so, in the days of his flesh, wlieu he offered up strong cries to God, and called him holy F'ather, righteous Father, and taught us to address ourselves to liim as our Father in heaven. Christ, in his agony, cried unto God, 77^0?^ art my F'ather, (Matth. xxvi. 39, 42.) Omy F''ather, and, upon the cross. Father, forgive them; Father, into thy hands I co7nmend my sfiirit. He looked upon him likewise as his (iod, and therefore he perfectly obeyed him, and suljmitted to his will in his whole undertaking; (he is my Cod and your God, John xx. 17.) and as the Rock of his salvation, who Avould bear him up, and bear him out, in his undertaking, and make him more than a Conquei'or, even a complete Saviour, and therefore, with an undaunted resolution, he en.-clured the cross, desjiising the shame, for he kncAV ne should be both justified and glorified. [2.^ / will make him my F'irst-bom. I see not how this can be applied to David; it is Christ's prerogative to be the First-born of eatery creature, and, as such, the Heir of all things. Col. i. 15. Heb. i. 2, 6. When all fiower was given to Christ both in heaven and in earth, and all ildngs were delivered unto him by the Father, then God made him his First-born, and far higher, more gi'eat and honourable, than the kings of the earth, for he is the King of kings, angels, authorities, and /lowers, being made subject to him, 1 Pet. iii. 22.

2. With reference to his seed. God's covenants always took in the seed of the covenanters, this docs so; {y. 29, 36.) His seed shall endure for ex'er, and with it his throne; now this will be differently understood, according as we apply it to Christ or David.

(1.) If we apply it to David, by his seed we are to understand his successors, Solomon and tlie following kings of Judah, who descended from the loins of David; it is su])posed that they might degenerate, and not walk in the spirit and steps of their fatlier David; in such a case they must expect to come under divine rebukes, such as the liouse of David was at this time under, v. 38. But let tliis encourage tliem, that, though they were cori'ected, they should not lie abandoned or disin-lierited. This refers to that part of Nathan's message, (2 Sam. vii. 14, 15.) If he commit inicjuity, I will chasten him, Init my mercy shall not depart from him. Thus far David's seed and throne did endure for ever, that, notwithstanding the wickedness of many of his posterity, who were the scan-d.als of his house, yet his family continued, and continued in the imjjerial dignity, a very long time; that, as long as Judah continued a kingdom, David's posterity were kings of it, and the royalty of that kingdom was never in any other family, as that of the ten tribes was, in Jeroboam's first, then in Baa-sha's, 8cc,; and that the family of David continued a family of distinction till that Son of David came wtiose throne should endure for ever, see T.uke i. 27, 32..r.-ii. 4, 11. If David's posterity, in after-times, should forsake God and their duty, and revolt to the ways of sin, God would bring desolating judgments upon them, and niin the family; and yet "he would not take away his loving-kindness from David, nor bi-eak his covenant with him, for, in the Messiah, ^v1lO should come out of his loins, all these premises shall have their accomplishment to the full. Thus, when the Jews were rejected, the apostle shows that God's covenant with Abraham was not broken, because it was fulfilled in his spin-

PSALMS, LXXXIX.

467

tual seed, the heirs of the righteousness of faith, Rom. xi. 7.

(2.) If we apply it to Christ, by his seed we are to understand his subjects, all believers, his spiritual seed, the children which God has given him, Heb. ii. 13. This is that seed which shall be made to endure for e\ev, and liis throne in the midst of them, in the church, in the heart, as the days of hea-ven. To the end Christ shall have a people in the world to serve and honour him; He shall see his seed, he shall /irolong- his days. This holy seed shall endure for ever in a glorified state, when time and days shall be no more; and thus Christ's throne and kingdom shall be peipetuated; the kingdom of his grace shall continue through all the ages of time, and the kingdom of his glory to the endless ages of eternity.

[1.] The continuance of Christ's kingdom is here made doubtful by the sins and afflicticns of his subjects; their iniquities and calamities threaten the ruin of it, Tixis case is licre put, that we may not be offended when it comes to be a case in fact, but that we may reconcile it with tlie staliility of the covenant, and be assured of that notwithstanding.

First, It is here supposed that there will be much amiss in the subjects of Christ's kingdom. His children may forsake God's law, {v. 30.) by omissions, and break his statutes, {y, 31.) by commissions. There are spots, wliich are the spots of God's children, Deut. xxxii. 5. Many cori"uptions there are in the bowels of the church, as well as in the hearts of those who are membei"s of it, and these corruptions break out.

Secondly, They are here told that they must smart for it; (r. 32.) / ivill visit their transgression with a rod, their transgression sooner than that of others; yoii only have I knowii, and therefore I will fiunish vou, Amos iii. 2. Their being related to Christ, shall not excuse them from being called to an account. But observe what affliction is to God's people, 1. It is but a rod, not an axe, not a sword; it is for correction, not for destruction. This denotes gentleness in the affliction, it is the rod of men, such a rod as men use in con-ecting their children; and it denotes a design of good in and by the affliction, such a rod as yields the peaceable fniit of righteousness. 2. It is a rod in the hand of God; (/ will visit them;') he who is wise, and knows what he does, gracious, and will do what is best. .3. It is a rod which they shall never feel the smart of, but when there is great need; If they break my law, then I will visit their transgression with the rod, but not else. Then it is requisite that God's honour be vindicated, and that they be humbled and reduced.

[2. J The continuance of Christ's kingdom is made certam by the inviolable promise and oath of God, notwithstanding all this; {v. 33.) .A^enertheless, ?ny kindness will I not totally and finally take from hirn. First, "Notwithstanding their provocations, yet my covenant shall not be broken." Note, Afflictions are not only consistent with covenant-love, hut to the people of God they flow from it. Though David's seed be chastened, it docs not follow that they are disinherited; they may be cast down, but they are not cast off. God's favour is continued to his people, 1. For Christ's sake; in him the mercy is laid up for us, and God says, / will not take it from him; (i». 33.) / will not .lie unto David, v. 35. We are unworthy, but he is worthy. 2. For the covenant's sake; Mi/ faithfulness shall not fail, my covenant will I not break. It was supposed that tliey had broken God's statutes, firofancd and polluted them, so the word signifies, "But," says God, " I will not break, I will not profane and pollute, my covenant;" it is the same word. That which is said and sworn, is, that God will have a

church in the world, as long as sun and mcni endure, x^. 36, 37. The sun and moon are faithful witnesses in heaven of the wisdom, power, and goodness, of the Creator, and shall continue wh.ie time lasts, which they are the measurers of; but tlie seed of Christ shall be established for ever, as lights of the world while the world stands, to shine in it, and when it is at an end, they shall be established lights, shining in the firmament of the Father.

38. But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed. 39. Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant; thou hast piofaned his cro\\ n, by casting it to the ground. 40. Thou hast broken down all liis hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin. 41. All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours. 42. Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice. 43. Thou liast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle. 44. Thou hast made his gloiy to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground. 45. The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah. 46. How long, Lord? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire? 47 Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain? 48. What man is he that liveth,and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave ? Selah. 49. Lord, where are thy former loving-kindnesses, ivhich thou swarest unto David in thy truth? 50. Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; ho)D I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people; 51. Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed. 52. Blessed he the Lord for evermore. Amen, and amen.

In these verses, we have,

I. A very melancholy complaint of the present deplorable state of David's family, which the psalmist thinks hard to be reconciled to the covenant God made with David. Thou saidst thou wouldest not take away thy loving-kindness, but thou hast cast off. Sometimes, it is no easy thing to reconcile God's providences with his promises, ^nd yet we are sure they ai^e reconcilable, for God's works fulfil his word, and never contradict it.

1. David's house seemed to have lost its interest in God, which was the greatest strength and beauty of it. God had been pleased with his anointed, but now he was wro^A with him; {y. 38.) had entered into covenant with the family, but now, for aught he could perceive, he had made void the covenant, not broken some of the articles of it, but cancelled it, V. 39. We misconstnie the rebukes of Providence, if we think they make \oid the covenant. When the great Anointed One, Christ himself, was upon the cross, God seemed to have cast him off, and was wroth with, and yet did not make void hib.

PSALMS, LXXXIX.

covenant with him, for that was established for ever.

2. The honour of the house of David was lost, and laid in the dust; Thou hast profaned /lin crown, (which was always looked upon as sacred,) by casting it to the ground, to be trampled en, xk 39. T7iou hast made his glory to cease, (so uncertain is all earthly glory, and so soon docs it wither,) and thou hast cast his throne down to the ground, not only dethroned the king, but put a period to the kingdom, v. '44. If it were penned in Rehoboam's time, it was true as to the greatest part of the kingdom, five parts of six; if in Zedekiah's time, it was more remarkably tru- of the poor rcm;:indLr. Note, Thrones and crowns arc ttttcring things, and are often laid in the dust, but there is a crown of gloiy reserved for Christ's s])irilual seed, which fadeth not away.

3. It was exposed, and made a prey to all the neighbours, who insulted over that ancient and honourable family; {v. 40.) IViou hast broken down all his hedges, all those things that were a defence to them, and particularly that hedge of protection which they thought God's covenant and promise had made about them, and thou hast made rcen his strong holds a ruin, so that they were rather a reproach to them than any shelter. ^11 that pass by the way spoil him, {y. 41.) and make an easy prey of him; see Ixxx. 12, 13. The enemies talk insolently; He is a reproach to his neighbours, who triumph in his fall from so great a degree of lionour. Nay, every one helps forward the calamity, (x*. 42.) " Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries, not only given them power, but mclined them to turn their power this way." If the enemies of the church lift up their hand against it, we must see God setting up their hand, for they could have no power, unless it were given them, from above. But when God does permit them to do mischief to his church, it pleases them; " Thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice; and is this for thy glory, that those who hate thee, shall have the pleasure to sec the tears and troubles of those that love thee?"

4. It was disabled to help itself; {v. 43.) " Thou hast turned the edge of his sword, and made it blunt, that it cannot do execution as it has done; and (which is worse) thou hast turned the edge of his spirit, and taken off his courage, and hast not made him to stand as he used to do in the battle." The spirit of men is what the Father and Former of spirits makes them, nor can we stand with any strength or resolution, further than God is pleased to uphold us. If men's hearts fail them, it is God that dispirits them, but it is sad with the church, when these cannot stand who should stand up for it.

5. It was upon the brink of an inglorious exit; {v. 45.) The days ofhisyouth hast thou shortened; it is ready to be cut off, like a young man in the flower of his age. This should intimate that it was penned in Rehoboam's time, when the house of David was but in the days of its youth, and yet waxed old, and began to decay already. Thus it was covered with shame, and it was turned very much to its reproach, that a family, which, in the first and second reign, looked so great, and made such a figure, should, in the third, dwindle and look so little as the house of David did in Rehoboam's time. But it may be ;ip-plicd to the captivity in Babylon, which, in comparison with what was expected, was but the day of the youtli of that kingdom. However, the kings then had remarkably the day of their xjouth shortened, for it was in the days of their youtli, wlien they were about thii'ty years old, that" Jehoiachim and Zedekiah were carried captives to Babylon.

From all this complaint let us leam, (1.) What work sin makes with families, noble royal families, ^vith families in which religion has been uppermost;

when posterity degenerates, it falls into disgi-ace and iniquity stains their glory. (2.) How apt we are to place the promised honour and happiness of the church in something external, and to think the promise fails, and the covenant is made void, if we be disappointed of that; a mistake which we now are inexcusable if we fall into, since our Master has so expressly told us that his kingdom is not of this world. II. A veiy pathetic expostulation with God upon this. Four things they plead with God for mercy.

1. The long continuance of the trouble; (x'. 46.) How lorig, 0 Lord, wilt thou hide, thyself? For ever? That which grieved them most, was, that God himself, as one displeased, did not appear to them by his prophets to comfort them, did not appear for them by his providences to deliver them, and that he had kept them long in the dark; it seemed an eternal night, when God was withdrawn; Thou hidest thyself for ever. Nay, God net only hid himself from them, but seemed to set himself against them; "Shall thy wrath burn like Jive? How long shall it burn? Sliall it never be put out? What is hell, but the wrath of God, burning for ever? And is that the lot of thine anointed?"

2. The shortness of life, and the certainty of death; "Lord, let thine anger cease, and return thou, in mercy to us, remembering how short my time is, and how sure the period of my time. Lord, since my life is so transitory, and will, ere long, be at an end, let it not be always so miserable, that I should rather choose no being at all than such a being." Job pleads thus, ch. x. 20, 21. And, probably, the

Esalmist here urges it in the name of the house of lavid, and the present prince of that house, the days of whose youth were shortened, v. 45.

(1.) He pleads the shortness and vanity of life; (v. 47.) Remember how short my time is, how transitory I am, say seme; therefore vmable to bear the power of thy wrath, and therefore a proper object of thy pity. Wherefore hast thou made all men in vain? or. Unto what yanitij hast thou created all the sons of Adam? Now, this may be understood either, [1.] As speaking a great ti-uth. If the ancient loving-kindnesses spoken of, {y. 49.) be forgotten, (those relating to another life,) man is indeed made in vain; considering man as mortal, if there were not a future state on the other side, we might be ready to think that man was made in vain, and was in vain endued with the noble powers and faculties of reason, and filled with such vast designs, and desires; but God would not make man in A'ain, therefore. Lord, remember those loving-kindnesses. Or, [2.] As bespeaking a strong temptation that the psalmist was in. It is certain, God has not made all men, nor any man, in vain, Isa. xlv. 18. For, First, If we think that God has made man in vain, because so many liavc short lives, and long afflictions, in this world, it is true that God has made them so, but it is not true that therefore they are made in vain. For those whose days are few and full of trouble, may yet glorify God, and do some good, may keep their communion with God, and get to heaven, and then thev are not made in vain. Secondly, If we think that God lias made men in vain, because the most of men neither serve him, nor enjoy him, it is true, that, as to themselves, they were made in vain, better for them had they not been born, than not to be bom again; but it was not owing to God that they were ma'de in vain, it was owing to themselves; nor are they made in vain as to him; for he has vuide all things for himself, even the wicked for the day of evil, and those whom he is not glorified by, he will be glorified ttpon.

(2.) He pleads the universality and unavoidable-ness of death; {v. 48. "JVhat ?nan" (what strong man, so the word is) "is he that liveth, and shall not see death? The king himself, of the house of

PSALMS, XC.

469

David, is not exempted from the sentence, from the stroke: Lord, since he is under a fatal necessity of dying, let not his whole life be made tiius miserable. Shall he deliver his soulfroin the hand of the grave? No, he shall not when his time is come. Let him not, therefore, be delivered into the hand of the grave, by the miseries of a dying life, till his time is come." We must learn here, that death is the end of all men; our eyes must shortly be closed to see death; there is no discharge from that war, nor will any bail be taken to save us from the prison of tl\e grave. It concerns us, therefore, to make sure a happiness on the other side of death and the grave, that, nvhen ive fail, ive may be received into ever-lastijig habitations.

3. The next plea is taken from the kindness God had for, and the covenant he mude with, his servant David; {y. 49.) ''Lord, ivhere are tliy former lov-ing^kindnesses, which thou showtdst, nay, which thou swarest, to David in thy truth? Wilt thou fail of doing what thou hast promised? Wilt thou undo what thou hast done? Art not thou still the same? Why then may not we have the benefit of the former sure mercies ot David?" God's un-changeableness and faithfulness assure us that God will not cast off those whom he has chosen and covenanted with.

4. The last plea is taken from the insolence of the enemies, and the indignity done to God's anointed; {y. 50, 51.) "Remember, Lord, the reproach, and let it be rolled away from us, and retin-ned upon our enemies." (1.) They were God's servants that were reproached, and the abuses done to them reflected upon their Master, especially since it was for serving him that they wei'e reproached. (2.) The reproach cast upon God's servants was a very grievous burthen to all that were concerned for the honour of God; " / bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people, and am even overwhelmed with it; it is what I lay much to heart, and can scarcely keep up my spirits under the weight of." (3.) "They are thme enemies who do thus reproach us; and wilt thou not appear against them as such?" (4.) They have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed. They reflected upon all the steps which the king had taken in the course of his administration, tracked him in all his motions, that they might make invidious remarks upon every thing he had said and done. Or, if we may apply it to Christ, the Lord's Messiah, they I'eproached the Jews with his footsteps, the slowness of his coming. They have reproached the delays of the Messiah; so Dr. Hammond. They called him. He that should come; but, because he was not yet come, because he did not now come to deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, when they had none to deliver them, they told them he would never come, they must give over looking for him. The scoffers of the latter days do, in like manner, reproach the footsteps of the Messiah, when they ask, Where is the promise of his coming? 2 Pet. iii. 3, 4. The reproaching of the footsteps of the anointed, some refer to the seipent's bruising of the heel of the Seed of the woman; or, to the sufferings of Christ's followers, who tread in his footsteps, :md are reproached for his name's sake.

Lastly, The psalm concludes with praise, even after this sad complaint; {v. 52.) Blessed be the Lord for evermore, Amen, and amen. Thus he confronts the reproaches of his enemies; the more others blaspheme God, the more we should bless him. Thus he connects his own complaints, chiding himself for quarrelling with God's providences, and questioning his promises; let both these sinful passions be silenced with the praises of God. Howe^ver it be, yet God is good, and we will never think hardly of him; God is tnie, and we will never dis-

trust him. ' Though the glory of David's house be stained and sullied, this shall be our comfort, that God is blessed for ever, and his glory cannot be eclips-ed. If we would have tlie comfort of the stability of God's pi-omise, we must give him tlie praise of it; in blessing God, we encourage ourselves. Here is a double Amen, according to the double signification Amen; so it is, God is blessed for ever. Amen; be it so, let Gcd be blessed fcr ever. He began the psalm with thanksgiving, before he made his complaint; (f. 1.) and now he concludes it with a dcxology. They who give God thanks for what he has done, may give him thanks also for what he ivill do; God will follow those Avith his mercies, who, in a I'ight manner, follow him with their praises.

PSALM XC.

The foretroing psalm was supposed to be penned as late as the captivity in Babylon; this, it is plain, was penned as early as the dehverance out of Egypt, and yet they are put close together in this collection of divine songs. This psalm was penned by Moses, (as appears by the title,) the most ancient penman of sacred writ. We have upon record a praising song of his, (Exod. xv.) which IS alluded to, {Rev. xv. 3.) and an instructing song of his, Deut. xxxii. But this is of a different nature from both, for it is called a prayer. It is supposed that this psalm was penned upon occasion of the sentence passed upon Israel in the wilderness for their unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion, that their carcases should fall in the wilderness, that they should be wasted away by a series of miseries for 38 years together, and that none of them that were then of age should enter Canaan. This was calculated for their wanderings in the wilderness, as that otiier song of Moses [Deut. xxxi. 19, 21.) was for their settlement in Canaan. We have the story to which this psalm seems to refer, J^itmb. xiv. Probably, Moses penned this prayer, to be daily used, either by the people in their tents, or, at least, by the priests in the tabernacle service, during their tedious fatigue in the wilderness. In it, I. Moses comforts himself and his people with the eternity of God, and their interest in him, v. 1,2. II. He humbles himself and his people with the consideration of the frailty of man, V. 3..6. III. He submits himself and his people to the righteous sentence of God passed upon them, V. 7. ..II. IV. He commits himself and his people to God by prayer for divine mercy and grace, and the return of God's favour, v. 12.. 17. Though it seems to have been penned upon this particular occasion, yet it is very applicable to the frailty of human life in general, and, in singing it, we may easily apply it to the years of our passage through the wilderness of this world, and it furnishes us with meditations and prayers very suitable to the solemnity of a funeral.

A prayer of Moses, the man of God. l.TT ORD, thou hast been our dwelUng-JLJ place in all generations. 2. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. 3. Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. 4. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. 5. Thou earnest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass ivhich groweth up. 6. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.

This psalm is entitled a prayer of Moses; where, and in what volume, it was presen-ed from Moses'v> time till the collection of psalms was begoin to be made, is uncertain; but, being divinely Inspired, it was imder a special protection: pei-haps it was

PSALMS, XC.

written in the book of Jasher, or the book of the wars of the Lord. Moses taught the people of Israel to pray, and put words into their mouths, which they might make use of in turning to the Lord. Moses is here called the man of God, because he was a prophet, the father of the prophets, and lui eminent type of the great Prophet. In these verses, we are taugnt,

1. To give God the praise of his care concerning his people at all times, and concerning us in our days; {y. 1.) Lord, thou hast been to us a Habitation, or Divellin^-filace; a Refuge, or Help, in all generations. Now that they were fallen under God's displeasure, and he threatened to abandon them, they plead his former kindnesses to their ancestors. Canaan was a land of pilgrimage to their fathers the patriarchs, who dwelt there in tabernacles; but then God was their Habitation, and, wherever they went, they were at home, at rest, in him. Egypt had been a land of bondage to them for many jears, but even then God was their Refuge; and m him that poor oppressed people lived, and were kept in being. Note, True believers are at home in God, and that is their comfort, in reference to all the toils and tosses they meet with in this world. In him we may repose and shelter ourselves, as in OUT- Dwelling-Place.

2. To give God the glory of his eternity; Oy. 2.) Before the mountains ivere brought forth, before he made the highest part of the dust of the world, (as it is expressed, Prov. viii. 26.) before the earth fell in travail, or, as we may read it, before thou hast formed the earth and the world, that is, before the beginning of time, thou hadst a being, ex>en from exwrlasting to ei.<erlasting thou art God; an eternal God, whose existence has neither its commencement nor its period with time, nor is measured by the successions and revolutions of it; but who art the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, without beginning of days, or end of life, or change of time. Note, Against all the grievances that ai-ise from our own mortality, and the mortality of our friends, we may take comfort from God's immortality; we are dying creatures, and all our comforts in the world are dying comforts, but God is an ever-living God, and they shall find him so, who have him for theirs.

3. To own God's absolute sovereign dominion ever man, and his irresistible, incontestable, power to dispose of him as he pleases; (y. 3.) Thou turn-est man to destruction, with a word's speaking, when thou pleasest, to the destruction of the body, of the earthly house; and thou sayest. Return, ye children of men. (1.) When God is, by sickness, or other afflictions, turning men to destruction, he does thereby call men to return unto him, that is, to repent of their sins, and live a new life. This God ■fieaketh once, yea, twice, " Return unto me, from whom ye have revolted," Jer. iv. 1. (2.) When God is threatening to turn men to destruction, to bring them to death, and they have received a sentence of death within themselves, sometimes he wonderfully recovers them, and says, as the old Translation reads it, yigain thou sayest. Return to life and health again. For God kills, and makes alive again, brings down to the grave, and brings up. (3.) When God turns men to destruction, it is according to the general sentence passed upon all, which is this, '* Return, ye children of men, one as well as another; return to your first ])rinciples, let the body return to the earth us it was, (dust to dust, (Jen. iii. 19.) and let the soul return to God who gave it," Eccl. xii. 7. (4.) Tliough God turns all men to destruction, yet he will again say, RetJim, vp children of men, at the general resurrection, when, though a man dies, yet he shall live again; iUid then shalt thou call, and I will answer; (Job xiv. U, 15.) thou shalt bid me return, and 1 shall

retum. The body, the soul, shall both return an.l unite again.

4. To acknowledge the infinite disproportion there is between God and men, v. 4. Some of the patriarchs lived near a thousand years; Moses knew It very well, and had recorded it; but what is their long life to God's eternal life? A thousand years, to us, are a long period, which we cannot expect to survive; or, ii we could, it is what we could not retain the remembrance of; but it is, in thy sight, as yesterday, as one day, as that which is freshest in mind; nay, it is but as a watch of the night, which was but three hours. (1.) A thousand years are nothing to God's eternity, they are less than a day, than an hour, to a thousand years; betwixt a minute and a million of years there is some proportion, but betwixt time and eternity there is none. The long lives t)f tlie patriarclis were nothing to God, not so much as the life of a child f that is bom and dies the same day) is to theirs. (2.) All the events of a thousand years, whether past or to come, are as present to the Eternal Mind, as what was done yesterday, or the last hour, is to us, and more too. God will say, at the great day, to those whom he has turned to destruttion. Return, arise ye dead. But it might be objected against the doctrine of the resurrection, that it is a long time since it was expected, and it is not yet come. Let that be no difficulty, for a thousand years in God's sight are but as one day. JVullum tempus occurrit Regi— To the King all periods are alike. To this purport these words are quoted, 2 Pet. iii. 8.

5. To see the frailty of man, and his vanity, even at his best estate, (v. 5, 6.) look upon all the children of men, and we shall see, (1.) That their life is a dying life; Thou carriest them away as with a flood, that is, they are continually gliding down the stream of time into the ocean of eternity; the flood is continually flowing, and they are carried away with it; as soon as we are bom, we begin to die, and every day of our life carries us so much nearer death; or we are carried aAvay violently and irresistibly, as Avith a flood of waters, as with an inundation, which sweeps away all before it; or, as the old world was carried away with Noah's flood. Though God promised not so to drown the world again, yet death is a constant deluge. (2.) That it is a dreaming life. Men are carried away as with a flood, and yet they are as a sleep; they c( nsider net their own frailty, nor are aware how near they approach to an awful eternity. Like men asleep, they imagine great things to themselves, till death wakes them, and puts an end to the pleasing dream. Time passes unobserved by us, ?s it does with men asleep; and, when it is over, it is as nothing. (3.) That it is a short and transient life, like that of the grass, which grows up and flourishes in the morning, looks green and pleasant, but in the evening the mowers cut it down, and it immediately withers, ch'-inges its colour, and loses all its beauty. Death will change us shortly, perhaps suddenly; and it is a great change that death will make with us in a little time. Man, in his prime, does but flourish as the grass, which is weaK, and low, and tender, and exposed; and which, when the winter of old age comes, will Avither of itself: but he may be mown down bv disease or disaster, as the grass is, in the midst of summer. Jllflesh is as grass.

7. For we are consumed by thine anger and by thy wrath Are we troubled. 8 Thou hast set our iniciuities before thee, our secret .w?.s in the h£i;ht of thy countenance. 9. For all our da\'s are passed away in thy wrath; \\c spend our years as a tale that is

PSALMS, XC.

-7]

told. 10. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they he fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow: for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11. Who know-eth the power of thine anger ? even according to thy fear; so is thy wrath.

Moses had, in the foregoing verses, lamented the frailty of human life in general; the children of men are as a sleep, and as the grass; but here he teaches the people of Israel to confess before God that righteous sentence of death which they were under in a special manner, and which by their sins they had brought upon themselves; their share in the common lot of mortality was not enough, but they are, and must hve and die, under peculiar tokens of God's displeasure: here they speak of themselves; We Israelites are co7isu?ned and troubled, and our days are passed away.

1. They are here taught to acknowledge the wrath of God to be the cause of all their miseries; IVe are consumed, nve are troubled, and it is by thhie anger, by thy wrath; (y. 7.) our days are passed away in thy wrath, v. 9. The afflictions of the saints often come purely from God's love, as Job's; but the rebukes of sinnei-s, and of good men for their sins, must be seen coming from the anger of God, who takes notice of, and is much displeased with, the sins of Israel. We are too apt to look upon death as no more than a debt owing to nature; whereas it is not so; if the nature of man had continued in its primitive purity and rectitude, there had been no such debt owing to it; it is a debt to the justice of God, a debt to the law. Siji entered into the world, and death by sin. Are we consumed by decays of nature, the infirmities of age, or any chronical disease? We must ascribe it to God's anger.

'Are we troubled by any surprising stroke? That also is the fruit of God's wrath, which is thus revealed from heaven against the ungodliness and

\ unrighteousness of men.

^ 2. They are taught to confess their sins, which had provoked the wrath of God against them; {y. 8.) Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, even our secret sins. It was not without cause that God was angry with them; he had said. Provoke me not, and I will do you no hurt; but they had provoked him, and will own that, in passing this severe sentence upon them, he justlv punished thtm; (1.) For their open contempts of him, and the daring affronts they had given him; Thou hast set our iniquities before thee. God had herein an eye to their unbelief and murmuring, their distinasting of his power, and their despising of the pleasant land: these he set before him, when he passed that sentence on them; those kindled the nre of God's wrath against them, and kept good things from them. (2.) For their more hidden departures from him; " Thou hast set our secret sins, those which go no further than the heart, and which are at the bottom of all the overt acts, thou hast set these in the light of thy countenance; thou hast discovered these, and brought these also to the account, and made us to see them, who before overlooked them." Secret sins are known to God, and shall be reckoned for. Those who in heart return into Egypt, who set up idols in their heart, shall be dealt with as re-volters or idolaters. See the folly of those who go about to co\er their sins, for they cannot cover them. 3. They are taught to look upon themselves as dying and passing away, and not to think either of a long life, or of a pleasant one; fnrthe decree gone forth against them was irreversible; {v. 9.) .411 our days are likely to be passed away in thy wrath.

under the tokens of thy displeasure; and. .icugl) we are not quite deprived of the i-esidue (f cui years, yet we are likely to spetid them as a tale that is told. The 38 years, which, after this, they were away in the wilderness, were not the subject cf the sd'crcd history, for little or nothing is recorded ei that which happened to them from the 2d year to the 40th. Aftei- they came out of Egypt, their time was perfectly trifled away, and was not worthy to be the subject of a history, but only of a tale that .s told; for it was cnly to pass away time, like telling stories, that they spent these years in the wilderness; all that while, they were in the ccnsuniiiig, and an'ther gencraticn was in the raising. Whm they came out cf Egypt, the/'e was not one feeble per'so?! among the tribes, (cv. 37.) but now they were all feeble. Their joyful prospect cf a prosperous glorious life in Canaan was turned into the mehvncholy prospects of a tedious inglorious death in the wilderness; so that their whole life was now as impertinent a thing as ever any winter-tale was. That IS applicable to the state of every one of us in the wilderness of this world; We spend our years, we bring them to an end, each year, ,and all, at last, asa tale that is told; as the breath of our mouth in winter, (so some,) which soon disappears; as a thought, (so some,) than which nothing more quick; as a word, which is soon spoken, and then vanishes into air; or, as a tale that is told. The spending of our years is like the telling of a tale. A year, when it is past, is like a tale when it is told. Some of our years are as a pleasant story, others as a tragical one; most mixt, but all short and transient: that which was long in the doing may be told in a shcit time. Our years, when they are gone, can no more be recalled than the word that we have spoken can. The loss and waste of our time, which imply our fault and folly, may be thus complained of: we should spend our years, like the despatch of business, with cai-e and industry; but, alas! we do spend them like the telling of a tale, idle, and to little purpose, carelessly, and without regard.

Every year passed as a tale that is told; but what was the number of them? As they were vain, so they were few, {v. 10.) 70 or 80 at most, which may be understood, either, (1.) Of the hves of the Israelites in the wilderness; all those that were numbered when thej,- came cut of Egypt, above 20 years (^Id, were to die witiiin 38 years; they numbered those cnly that were able to go forth to war, most cf whcm, we may suppose, were between 20 and 40, who therefore must have all died before 80 years eld, and many before 60, and, perhaps, much sooner, wliich was far short of the years cfthe lives of then- fathers. And those that lived to 70 or 80, yet, being under a sentence of consumption, and a melanchcly despair of ever seeing through this wilderness-state, their strength, their life, was nothing but labour and sorrow, which otherwise wculd have been made a new life, bv the joys cf Canaan. See what work sin made. Or, (2.) To the lives of men in general, ever since the days of Moses. Before Moses, it was usual for men to live about 100 years, or near 150; but since, 70 or 80 is the common stint, which few exceed, and multitudes never come near. We reckon those to have lived to the age of man, and to have had as large a share of life as they had reason to expect, who live to be 70 years old; and how short a time is that compared with eternity! Moses was the first that committed divine revelation to writing, which, before, had been transmitted by tradition; now also both the world and the church were pretty well peopled, and therefore there were not now the same reasons for men's living long that there had been. If, by reason of a strong constitution, some reach to 80 years, yet their strength then is what they have httle joy cf, it dees but serve to

PSALIVIS, XC.

jjvolong their misery, and make their death the more tedious; for even their strength then is labour and sorrow, much more their weakness; for the years are come which they liave no pleasure in. Or, it may be taken tiius: Our years are 70, and the years of some, by reason of strength, are 80; but the breadth of our years, (fur so the latter words signify, rather than strength,) the ivhole extent of them, from infancy to old age, is but labour and sorrow. In the sweat of our face we must eat bread, our whole life is toilsome and troublesome; and, perhaps, in the midst of the years we count upon, it is soon cut off, and we Jiy away, and do not live out half our days.

4. They ai'e taught by all this to stand in awe of the wrath of God; {v. 11.) Who knoivs the power of thine anger? (1.) None can perfectly comprehend it. The psalmist speaks as one afraid of God's anger, and amazed at the greatness of the power of it; who knows how far the power of God's anger can reach, and how deep it can wound? The angels that sinned knew experimentally the power of God's anger; damned sinners in hell know it; but which of us can fully comprehend or describe it? (2.) Few do seriously consider it as they ought. Who knows it, so as to improve the knowledge of it? Those who make a mock at sin, and make light of Christ, surely do not know the power of God's anger. For, according to thy fear, so is thy wrath; God's wrath is egual to the apprehensions which the most thoughtful serious people have of it; let men have ever so great a dread upon them of the wrath of God, it is not greater than there is cause for, and than the nature of the thing deserves. God has not in his word represented his wrath more terrible than really it is; nay, what is felt in the other world is infinitely worse than what is feared in this world. Who among us can dwell with that dcvour-ingjire?

12. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply onr hearts unto wisdom. 13. Return, O L 'RD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. 14. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 15. Make us glad according to the days lohertin thou hast afflicted us, and the j^ears wherein we have seen evil. 16. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. 17. And let the beauty of the IjOrd our God be upon us : and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

These are the petitions of thil prayer, grounded upon the foregoui.e: meditations and acknoAvledg-ments. Is any afflicted? Let him learn thus to firay.

Four things thej are here directed to pray for.

1. For a sanctified vise of the sad dispensation they were now under. Being condemned to have our days shortened, "Lord, teach us to number our days; (v. 12.) Lord, give us grace duly to consider how few they are, and how little a while we have to live in this world." Note, (1.) It is an excellent art rightly to riumber our days, so as not to be out in our calculation, as he was who counted upon many years to come, when, that night, his soul was required of him. We must live under a constant apprehension of the shortness and uncertainty of life, and the near ai)proach of death and eternity. We must so number our days, as to compare our work with them, and mind it accordingly with a

double diligence, as those that have no time to trifle. (2.) Those that would learn this arithmetic, must pray for divine instruction, must go to God, and beg of him to teach them by his Spirit to put them upon considering, and to give them a good understanding. (3.) We then number our days to good purpose, when thereby our hearts are inclined and engaged to true wisdom, that is, to the practice of serious godliness. To be religious is to be wise; this is a thing to which it is necessary that we apply our hearts, and the matter requires and deserves a close application, to which frequent thoughts of the uncertainty of our continuance here, and the certainty of our removal hence, will very much contribute.

2. For the* turning away of God's anger from them; that, though the decree was gone forth, and was past revocation, there was no remedy, but they must die in the wilderness; "Yet return, O Lord, be thou reconciled to us, and let it repent thee concerning thy servants; (y. 13.) send us tidings of peace to comfort us again after these heavy tidings. How long must we look upon ourselves as under thy wrath, and when shall we have some token given us of our restoration to thy favour? We are thy servants, thy people; (Isa. Ixiv. 9.) when wilt thou change thy way towards us?" In answer to this prayer, and upon their profession of repentance, (Numb. xiv. 39, 40.) God, in the next chapter, proceeded with the laws concerning sacrifices, (Numb. XV. 1, &c.) Avhich was a token that it repented him concerning his servants, for if the Lorcl had been pleased to kill them, he would not have showed them such things as these.

3. For comfort and joy in the returns of God's favour to them, v. 14, 15. They pray for the mercy of God, for they pretend not to plead any merit of their own; Have mercy upon us, 0 God, is a praj-er we are all concerned to say Jlme?! to. Let us pray for early mercy, the seasonable communications of dii ine mercy; that God's tender merries may speedily prevent us, early in the morning cf our days, when we are young and flourishing, v. 6. Let us pray for the ti'ue satisfaction and happiness which are to be had only in the favour and mere}' of God; iv. 6, 7. A gracious soul, if it may but be satisfied of God's loving-kindness, will be satisfied with it, abundantly satisfied; will take up with that, and will take up with nothing short of it. Two things are pleaded to enforce this petition for God's mercy,

(1.) That it would be a full fountain cf futur-" joys; "0 satisfy us with thy mercy, net only tha, we may be easy and at rest within ourselves, 'whicl. we can never be, while we lie under thy wrath; but that we may rejoice and be glad, nf t only for a j time, upon the first indications of thy favour, but all '' our days, though we are to spend them in the wilderness." With respect to those that make God their chief Joy, as their joy may be full, (1 John i. 4.) so it may be constant, even in this vale cf tears; it is their own fault if they are net glad all their days, for his mercy will furnish them with joy in tribulation, and nothing can separate'them from it. (2.) That it would be a sufficient balance to their former griefs; "Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us; let the da\s of our joy in thy favour be as many as the days cf our pain for thy displeasure have been, and as pleasant as those have been gloomy. Lord, thou uscst to set the one over against the other; (Ercl. vii. 14.) do so in our case; let it suffice that we have dinink so long of the cup of trembling, now put into our hands the cup of salvation." God's people I'eckon the returns of God's loving-kindness a sufficient recompense for all their troubles.

4. For the progress of the work of God among them notwithstanding, v. 16, 17. (1.) That he

PSALMS, XCI.

473

would manifest himself in carrying it on; "Let thy work afifiear upon thy servants; let it appear that thou hast wrought upon us, to bring us home to thyself, and to fit us for thyself." God's servants cannot work for him, unless he work upon them, and work in them, both to will and to do: and then we may hope the operations of God's providence will be apparent for us, when the operations of his grace are apparent ufion us. "Let thy work appear, and in it thy gloiy will appear to us and those that shall come after us." In praying for God's grace, God's glory must be our end; and we must therein have an eye to our childi-en as well as to ourselves, that they also may experience God's glory appealing upon them, so as to change them into the same image, from glory to glory. Perhaps, in this prayer, they distinguish between themselves and their children, for so God distinguished in his late message to them; (Numb. xiv. 31.) Your carcases shall fall in this luilderness, but your little ones will I bring into Canaan; "Lord," say they, "let thy TJork apjiear upon us, to reform us, and bring us to a better temper, and then let thy glory appear to our children, hi performing the promise to them which we have forfeited the benefit of " (2.) That he would countenance and strengthen tliem in car-rving it on, in doing their part towards it. [1.] That he would smile upon them in it; Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; let it appear that God favours us; let us have God's ordinances kept up among us, and the tokens of God's presence with his ordinances; so some. We may apply this

f)etition both to our sanctification, and to our conso-ation; Holiness is the beauty of the Lord our God; let that be upon us in all we say and do; let the gi-ace of God in us, produce the light of good works, make our faces to shine; that is the comeliness God puts upon us, and those are comely indeed who are so beavitified. And then let divine consolations put gladness into our hearts, and a lustre upon our countenances, and that also will be the beauty of the Lord upon us, ;.s our God. [2.] That he would succeed them in it: Establish thou the'work of our hands upon us. God's working upon us, (y. 16.) does not discharge us from using our utmost endeavours in sem'ing him, and working out our salvation. But, when we have done all, we must wait upon God for the success, and beg of him to prosper our handy vjorks, to give us to compass what we aim at for his gl^'iy. We are so unworthy of divine assistance, and yet so utterly insufficient to bring any thing to pass without it, that we have need to be earnest for it, and to repeat the request; Yea, the work of our hands, establish thou it, and, in order to that, establish us in it.

PSALM XCI.

Some of the ancients were of opinion that Moses was the penman, not only of the foresjoing psalm, which is expressly said to be his, but also of the eight that next follow it; but that cannot be, for Ps. xcv. is expressly said to be penned by David, and long after Moses, Heh. iv. 7. It is probable that this psalm also was penned by David; it is a writ of protection for all true believers, not in the name of king David, or under his broad seal, he needed it himself, especially if the psalm was penned, as some conjecture it was, at the time of the pestilence, which was sent for his numbering of the people, but in the name of the King of kings, and under the broad seal of Heaven. Observe, I. The psalmist's own resolution to take God for his Keeper, (v. 2.) from which he gives both direction and encouragement to others, v. 9. 1[. The promises which are here made, in God's name, to all those that do so in sincerity. 1. They shall be taken under the peculiar care of Heaven, v. 1,4. 2. They shall be delivered from the malice of the powers of darkness, (v. 3, 5, 6.) and tJiat liv a distinguishins preservation, v. 7, 8. 3. They shall be the charge of the holy angels, v. 10.. 12. 4. They shall triumph over their enemies, v. 13. 5. They shall be the special favourites

Vol. hi.— 3 O

of God himself, v. 14..16. In singing this, wc must shelter ourselves under, and then solace ourselves in, the divine protection. Many think, that to Christ, as Mediator, these promises do primarily belong, (/so. xlix. 2.) not because to him the Devil applied one of these promises, [Matth. iv. 6.) but because to him they are very applicable, and, coming through him, they are more sweet and sure to all believers.

1. TTE that dwelleth in the secret place XI of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2. J will say of the Lord, He is my refuge, and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt tliou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day. 6. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day. 7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand ; hut it shall not come nigh thee. 8. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and see the reward of the wicked.

In these verses, we ha\'e,

L A great trvith laid down in general. That all those who live a life of communion with God, afe constantly safe under his protection, and may therefore preserve a holy serenity, and security of mind, at all times; {xk 1.) He that dwells, that sits down, in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty; he that by faith chooses God for liis Guardian shall find all that in him which he needs or can desire. Note, 1. It is the character of a ti-ue belie\er, that he dwells in the secret place of the most High; he is at home in God, returns to God, and reposes in him as his Rest; he acquaints himself with inside religion, and makes heart-work of the service rf God; worships within the vail, and loves to be alone with God, to converse with him in solitude. 2. It is the privilege and comfort of those that do so, that they abide under the shadow of the Almighty; he shelters them, and comes between them and every thing that would annoy them, whether storm or sunshine. They shall n?t only have an admittance, but a residence, under God's protection; he will be their Rest and Refuge for ever.

II. The psalmist's comfortable application of this to himself; (x". 2.) I will say of the Lord, whatever others say of him, "He is my Refuge; I choose him as such, and confide in him. Others made idols their refuge, but I will say of Jehovah, the time and living God, He is my Refuge: any other is a refuge of lies. He is a Refuge that will not fail me; for he is my Fortress and Strong-hold." Idolaters called their idols Mahuzzim, their most strong-hold; (Dan. xi. 39.) but therein they deceived themselves; those only secure themselves that make the Lord their God their Fortress. There being no reason to question his sufficiency, fitly does it follow, In him will I trust. If Jehovah be our God, our Refuge, and our Fortress, what can we desire, which we may not be sure to find in him? He is neither fickle, nor false, nor weak, nor mortal; he is God and not man, and therefore there is no danger of beine: disappointed in him. TVe know whom we have triinted.

i SALMS, XCl.

III. The great encouragement he gives to others to do likewise; not only from his own experience of the comfort of it, (for in that there might be a fallacy,) but from the truth of God's promise, in which there neither is, nor can be, anv deceit; {v. 3,4, &c.) Surely he shall deliver thee. Those who have themselves found the comfort of making God their Refuge, cannot but desire that others may do so. Now here it is promised,

1. That believers shall be kept from those mischiefs which they are in imminent danger of, and which would be fatal to them; (v. 3.)from thesnare of the foivler, which is laid unseen, and catches the unwary prey on a sudden; and from the noisome fiestilence, which seizes men unawares, and against which there is no guard. This promise protects, (1.) The natural hfe, and is often fulfilled in our preservation from those dangers which are very threatening, and very near, while yet we ourselves are not apprehensive of them, any more than tlie bird is of the snare of the foivler. We owe it, more than we are sensible, to ' the care of the Di\'ine Providence, that we have been kept from infectious diseases, and out of the hands of the wicked and unreasonable. ^2.) The spiritual life, which is protected bv Divine Grace from the temptations of Satan, which are as the snares of the fr.vler, and from the contagion of sin, which is the noisome fiestilence. He that has given gi*ace to be the glory of the soul, will create a defence upon all that glory.

2. That God himself will be their Protector; they must needs be safe who have him for their Keeper, and successful for whom he undertakes; {v. 4.) He shall cover thee, shall keep thee secret, (xxxi. 20.) and so keep thee safe, xxvii. 5. God protects believers, ^1.) With the greatest tenderness and affection; intimated in that. He shall cover thee with his feathers, under his wings, which alludes to the hen gathering her chickens under her wings, Matth. xxiii. 37. By natural instinct, she not only protects them, but calls them under that protection, when she sees them in danger; not only keeps them safe, but cherishes them and keeps them warm. To this the great God is pleased to compare his care of his people, who are helpless as the chickens, and easily m ide a prey of, but are invited to tinist under the wings of the divine promise and providence, which is the periphrasis of a proselyte to the true religion, that he is come to trust under the wings of the God of Israel, Ruth ii. 12. (2.) With the greatest power and efficacy; wings and feathers, though spread Wjith the greatest tenderness, are yet weak, and easily broken through, and therefore it is added. His truth shall be thy shield and buckler, a strong defence. God is as willing to guard his people as the hen is to guard the chickens, and as able as a man of war in armour.

3. That he will not only keep them from evil, but from the fear of evil, v. 5, 6. Here is, (1.) Great danger supposed, the menticm of it is enough to frighten us; night and day we lie exposed, and those that are apt to be timoi-ous, will, in neither period, think themselves safe. When we are retired into our chambers, our beds, and have made all as safe as we can about us, yet there is terror by night, from thieves and robbers, winds and storms, beside those things that are the creatures of fancv and imagination, which are often most frightful of all; we read of fear in the night, Cant. iii. 8. There is aXsoa/iesti-lence that walketh in darkness, as that was which slew the first-boni of the Egyptians, and the army of the Assyrians. No locks or bars can shut out diseases, while we carry about with us in our liodics the seeds of them. But surely in thi.' day-time, when we can look about us, we arc n-^'t so niuch in danger; yes, there is an arrow that flieth by day too, and yet tties unseen; there is a destruction that wasteth at high-

noon, when we are awake, and have all our friends about us; even then we cannot secure ourselves, nor can they secure us. It was in the day-time that that pestilence wasted which was sent to chastise David for numbering the people, on occasion of which some think this psalm was penned. But, (2.) Here is great security promised to believers in the midst of this danger: " Thou shalt not be afraid, God by his grace will keep thee from disquieting distrustful fear, (that fear which hath tonnent,) in the midst of the greatest dangers. W^isdom sliall keep thee from being causelessly afraid, and faith shall keep thee from being inordinately afraid. Thou shalt not be afraid of the arrow, as knowing that, though it may hit thee, it cannot hurt thee; if it take away the i natural life, }ct it shall be so far from doing any prejudice to the spiritual life, that it shall be its perfection." A believer needs not fear, and therefore should not fear, any arrow, because the point is off, the poison is out; 0 death, where is thy sting? It is also under divine direction, and will hit where God appoints, and not otherwise. Every bullet has its commission. Whatever is done, our heavenly Father's will is done; and we have no reason to be afraid of that.

4. That they shall be preserved in common calamities, in a distinguishing way; (v. 7.) " \\'hen death rides in triumph, and diseases rage, so that thousands and ten thousancfs fall, fall by sickness, or fall by the sword in battle,/a// at thy side, at thy right hand, and the sight of their fall is enough to frighten thee, and if they fall by the pestilence, their falling so near thee may be likely to infect thee; yet it shall not come nigh thee, the death shall not, the fear of death shall not." Those that preserve their purity in times of general cori-uption, may tinist God with their safety in times of general desolation. When multitudes die round about us, though thereby we must be awakened to prepare for our own death, yet we must not be afraid with any amazement, nor make ourselves subject to bondage, as many do all their lifetime, through fear of death, Heb. ii. 15. The sprinklmg of blood secured the first-bom of Israel, when thousands fell. Nay, it is promised to God's people, that they shall have the satisfaction of seeing, not only God's promises fulfilled to them, but his threatenings fulfilled upon those that hate them; {y. 8.) Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the just reward of the wicked, which perhaps refers to the destruction of the first-bom of Egj'pt bv the pestilence, which was both the punishment ot the oppressors and the enlargement of^the oppressed; this Israel saw, when they saw themselves unhurt, untouched. As it will aggravate the damnation of sinners, that with their eyes they shall behold and see the reward of the righteous, (Luke xiii. 28.) so it will magnify the salvation of the saints, that with their eyes they shall behold and see the destruction of the wicked, Isa. Ixvi. 24. Ps. Iviii. IQ.

9. Because ihou hast made the Lord, inhich is my refuge, eve7i the Most Hijsh, thy habitation, 10. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. 14, Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will J deliver him: 1 will set him on high, because he hath

PSALMS, XCI.

475

known my name. 15. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I loill be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16. With long hfe will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

Here are more promises to the same pui-port with those in the foregoing verses, and they are exceeding great and precious, and sure to all the seed.

1. The psalmist assures believers of divine protection, from his own experience; and that which he says is the woi'd of God, and what we may rely upon.

Observe, 1. The character of those who shall have the benefit and comfort of these promises; it is much the same with that, v. 1. They are such as make the 7nost High their Habitation, {i). 9.) as are continually with God, and rest in him, as make his name both their Temple and their strong Tower, as dwell in love, and so dwell in God. It is our duty to be at home in God, to make our choice of him, and then to live our life in him as our Habitation; to converse with him, and delight in him, and depend upon him; and then it shall be our privilege to be at home in God; we shall be welcome to him as a man to his own habitation, without any let, hindrance, or molestation, from the arrests of the law, or the clamours of conscience; then too we shall be safe in him, shall be kept \x\. perfect peace, Isa. xxvi. 3. To encourage us to make the Lord our Habitation, and to hope for safety and satisfaction in him, the psalmist intu-nates the comfort he had had in doing so; " He whom thou makest thy Habitatioii is my Refuge; and I have found him firm and faithful, and in him there is room enough, and shelter enough, both for thee and me." In my father's house there are many mansions, one needs not crowd another, much less crowd out another.

2. The promises that are sure to all those who have thus made the most High their Habitation.

(1.) That, whatever happens to them, nothing shall hurt them; {v. 10.) " There shall no rvilbefall thee; though trouble and affliction befall thee, yet there shall be no real evil in it, for it shall come from the love of God, and shall be sanctified; it shall come, not for thy hurt, but for thy good; and though, for the present, it be not joyous but grievous, yet, in the end, it shall yield so well, that thou thyself shalt own no ex'il befell thee. It is not an cv\\, an only evil, but there is a mixture of good in it, and a product of good by it. Nay, not thy person only, but thy dwelling, shall be taken under the divine protection; there shall no plague come nigh that; nothing to do thee or thine any damage." JSfihil accidere bono viro mali potest — J\ro evil can befall a good man. Seneca de Providcntia.

(2.) That the angels of light shall be serviceable to them, V. 11, 12. This is a precious promise, and speaks a gi'eat deal both of honour and comfort to the saints, nor is it ever the worse for its being quoted and abused by the Devil in tempting Christ, Matth. iv. 6. Observe,

[1.] The charge given to the angels concerning the saints. He who is the Lord of the angels, who 5ave them their being, and gives laws to them, whose they are, and whom they were made to ser\'e, he shall give his angels a charge over thee; not only over the church in general, but over every particular believer. The angels keep the charge of the Lord their God; and this is the charge they receive from him. It denotes the great care God takes of the saints, in that the angels themselves shall be charged with them, and employed for them. The charge is, to keep thee in all thy ways; here is a limitation of the promise; They shall keep thee in thy Tjays, that is, " as long as thou keepest in the way of Ihy duty;" they that go out of the way, put them-

selves out of God's protection; this word the Devii left out, when lie quoted it to enforce a temptation, knowing how much it made against him. But obsei-ve the extent of the promise; it is to keep thee in all thy ways; even where there is no apparent danger, yet we need it, and where there is the most imminent danger, we shall have it. Wherever the saints go, the angels are charged with them, as the servants are with the children.

[2.] The care which the angels take of the saints, pursuant to this charge; They shall bear thee up in their hands, which denotes both their great ability and their great affection. They are able to bear up the saints out of the reach of danger, and they do it with all the tenderness and affection wherewith the nurse carries the little child about in her arms; it speaks us help/ess, and them helpful. They ai-e condescending in their ministrations; they keep the feet of the saints, lest they dash them against a stone, lest they stumble and fall into sin and into trouble.

[3.] That the powers of darkness shall be triumphed over by them; (y. 13.) Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the Devil is called a roaring lion, the old serpent, the red dragon; so that to this promise the apostle seems to refer in that, (Rom. xvi. 20.) The God of peace shall tread Satan under your feet. Christ has broken the serpent's head, spoiled our spiritual enemies, (Col. ii. 15.) and through him %ve are more than conquerors; for Christ calls us, as Joshua called the captains of Israel, to come and set our feet on the necks of vanquished enemies. Some think that this promise had its full accomplishment in Christ, and the miraculous power which he had over the whole creation, healing the sick, casting out devils, and particularly putting it into his disciples' commission, that they shculd take up serpents, Mark xvi. 18. It may be applied to that care of the Divine Providence by which we are preserved from ravenous noxious creatures, {The ivild beasts of the field shall be at peace vjith thee. Job v. 23.) na)-, and have ways and meansof taming them. Jam. iii. 7.

II. He brings in God himself speaking words of comfort to the saints, and declaring the mercy he has in store for them, v. 14--16. Some make this to be spoken to the angels as the reason of the charge given them concerning the saints, as if he had said, " Take care of them, for they are dear to me, and I have a tender concern for them."

And now, as before, we must observe,

1. To whom these premises do belong; they are described by three characters. (1.) They are such as know God's name. His nature we cannot fully know; but by his name he has made himself known, and with that we maist acquaint ourselves. (2.) They are such as have set their love upon him; and they who rightly know him, will love him, will place their love upon him, as the only adequate Object of it, will let out their love toward him with pleasure and enlargement, and will fix their love upon him with a resolution never to remove it to any rival. (3.) They are such as call upon him, as by prayer keep up a constant correspondence with him, and in eveiy difficult case refer themselves to him.

2. What the promises are, which God makes to the saints.

(1.) That he will, in due time, deliver them out of trouble; I ivill deliver him, {y. 14.) and again, {c. 15.) denoting a double deliverance; living and dying; a deliverance in trouble, and a deliverance cut of trouble. If God proportions the degree and continuance of our troubles to our strength, if he keeps us from offending him in our troubles, and makes rur death our discharge, at length, from all our troubles, then this promise is fulfilled. See xxxiv. 19. 2 Tun. iii. 11.—iv, 18.

PSALMS, XCII.

(2.) That he will, in the mean time, be with them in troxMe, v. 15. If he does not immediately put a period to their afflictions, yet they shall have his gracious presence with them in their troubles; he will take notice of their sorrows, and know their souls in adversity; will visit them graciously by his word and Spirit, and converse with them, will take their part, will support and comfort them, and sanctify their afflictions to them, which will be the surest token of his presence with them in their troubles.

(3.) That herein he will answer their prayers; He shall call ujion me; I will pour upon him the spirit of prayer, and then I will answer, answer by promises, (Ixxxv. 8.) answer by providences, bringing in seasonable relief, and answer by graces, strengthening them with strength in their souls, (cxxxviii. 3.'} thus he answered Paul with grace sufficient, 2 Cor. xii. 9.

(4,) That he will exalt and dignify them; I will set him 07i high, out of the reach of trouble, above the stormy re^on, on a rock above the waves, Isa. xxxiii. 16. They shall be enabled, by the grace of God, to look down upon the things of this world with a holy contempt and indifference, and to look up to the things of the other world with a holy ambition and concern; and then they are set on high. Itvill honour him; those are truly honourable whom God puts honour upon, by taking them into covenant and communion with himselr, and designing them for his kingdom and glory, John xii. 26.

(5.) That they shall have a sufficiency of life in this world; (v. 16.) With length of days will I satisfy him; [1.] They shall live long enough; they shall be continued in this world till they have done the work tliey were sent into this world f^.r, and are ready for heaven; and that is long enough. Who would wish to li\'e a day longer than God has some work to do, either by him or u/io?i him? [2.] They shall think it long enough, for God Dy his grace shall wean them from the world, and make tliem willing to leave it. A man may die young, and yd die full of days, safur dieruin — satisfied with living. A wicked worldly man is not satisfied, nf) not with long life: he still cries, Give, give: but he that lias his treasure and heart in another world, has soon enough of this, he wculd not live always.

(6.) That they shall have an eternal life in the other W(;rld: this crowns the blessedness; / will show hhu my salvation; show him tlie ATess'ah, so some; good old Simeon was then satisfied with long life, when he could say, Mine eyes have seen thy salvation; nor was there any greater joy to the Old Testament saints, than to see Christ's day, though at a distance. More probably, the salvation may denote the better country, that is, the heavenly, which the patriarchs desired and souglit; he will show him that, bring him to that blessed state, the felicity of which consists so much in seeing that face to face which we here see through a glass darkly; and, in the mean time, he will give liim a pr. spect 'jf it. All these promises, some think, point primarily at Christ, and had their accomplishment in his resurrection and exaltation.

PSALM XCII.

t is a groundless opinion of some of the Jewish writers, {who are usually free of their conjectures,) that this psalm was penned and sung b)- Adam in innocencv, on ihe first sabbath. It is inconsistent with the psalm itself, which speaks of the workers of iniquity, when as yet sin had not entered. It is probable that it was penned by David, and, beinp calculated for the sabbath-dav, I. Praise, the business ofthc sabbath, is here recommended, V. 1..3. II. God's works, which gave occasion for the sabbath, are ^-ere celebrated as srreat and unsearchable in pcneral, V. 4. 6. In particular, with reference to llie works both of providence and redemption, the psalmist sings unto

God both of mercy and judgment, the ruin of sinners and the joy of sai;its, three times counlerchanged. 1 'I'he wicked shall perish, (v. 7.) but God is eternal, v. 8 2. God's enemies shall be cut off, but David shall be ex altcd, V. 9, 10. 3. David's enemies shall be confounded (y. 11.) but all the righteous shall be fruitful and flourishing, V. 12.. 15. In sinking this psalm, we must take pleasure in giving to God the glory due to his name, and triumph in his works.

A fisalm or song for the sabbath-day.

1. WT is a good thing to give thanks untc; M. the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: 2. To show forth thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfuhiess every night, 3. Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery ; upon the harp with a solemn sound. 4. For thou, Lord, hast made me glad tiirough thy work; I will triumph in the works of thy hands. 5. O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. 6. A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.

This psalm v>ras appointed to be sung, at least, it usually was sung, in the house of the sanctuary on the sabbath-day, that day of rest, which was an instituted memorial of the work of creation, cf God's rest friim that work, and the continuance of it in his providence; for the Father worketh hitherto. Note, 1. The sal)bath day must be a day not only of holy rest, but of holy work; and the rest is in order to the work. 2. The proper work of the sabbath is praising God; cAxry sabbath-day must be a thanks giving-day; and the other services of the day must be in order to this, and therefore must by no means thiiist this into a cf rner. One of the Jewish writers r< fi.-rs it to the kingdom cf the Messiah, and calls it, .4 fisalm or song for the age to come, which shall be all sabbath. Believers, thrcugh Christ, enjoy that sabbatism which renm'ns for the fieople of God, (Heb. iv. 9.) the beginning of the everlasting sab-l)ath.

In these verses,

I. We are called upon and encouraged to praise Ciod; {v. 1«'3.) It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. Praising God is good work; it is good in itself, and good for us; it is cur duty, the rent, the tribute, we are to pay to our great Lord; we are unjust if we withhold it; it is our privilege that we are admitted to praise God, and have hope to be accepted in it; it is good, for it is pleasant and prfifitable; work that is its own wages; it is the work of angels, the work of heaven. It is good to give thanks for the mercies we have received, for that is the way of fetching in further mercy; it is fit to sing to his name, who is Most High, exalted above all blessing and praise. Now obsei-ve here,

1. How we must praise God; we must do it bv showing forth his loving-kindness and his faithfulness. Being convinced of his glorious attributes and perfections, we must show them forth, as those tliat are greatly affected with them ourselves, and desire to affect others with them likewise. We must show forth, not only his greatness and majesty, his holiness and justice, which magnify him, and strike an awe upon us, but his loving-kindness and liis faithfulness; for his goodness is his gloiy, ^Exod. xxxiii. 18, 19.) and by these he proclaims his name. His mercy and truth are the great supports of our faith and hope, and the great encouragements of our love and obedience; these, therefore, we must show forth as our pleas in prayer, and the matter of our joy.

PSALMS, XCIJ.

477

This was then done, not only by singing, but by music joined with it, ufion an histrument of ten strings; {y. 3.) but then it was to be with a solemn sound, not that which was gay, and apt to dissipate the spirits, but that which was grave, and apt to fix them.

2. When we must praise God; in the morning, and every riight, not only on sabbath-days, but every day; it is that which the duty of every day requires; we must praise (jod, not only in public assemblies, but in secret, and in our families; showing forth, to ourselves and those about us, his loving-kindness and faithfulness. We must begin and end every day with praising God; must give him thanks every morning, when we are fresh, and before the business of the day comes in upon us; and, every night, when we are again composed and retired, and are recollecting ourselves; we must give him thanks every morning for the mercies of the night, and every night for the mercies of the day; going out and commg in, we must bless God.

II. We have an example set before us in the psalmist himself, both to move us to, and to direct us in, this work; {y. 4.) Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work. Note, 1. Those can best recommend to others the duty of praise, who have themselves experienced the pleasantness of it. " God's works are to be pra.ised, for they have many a time rejoiced my heart; and therefore, whatever others may think of them, I must think well, and speak well, of them." 2. If God has given us the joy of his works, there is all the reason in the world wliy we should give him the honour of

hem. Has he made our hearts glad? Let us then i.iake his praises glorious. Has God made us glad, through the works of his providence for us, and of his grace in us, and both through the great work of I'edemption?

(1.) Let us then thence fetch encouragement for our faith and hope; so the psalmist does; / ivill triumph in the works of thy hands. From a joyful remembrance of what God has done for us, we may raise a joyful prospect of what he will do, and triumph in the assurance of it, triumph over all opposition, 2 Thess. ii. 13, 14.

(2.) Let us thence fetch matter for holy adorings and admii-ings of God; {y. 5.) 0 Lord, how great are thy works! Great beyond conception, beyond expression! The products of great power and wisdom, of great consequence and importance; men's works are nothing to them. We cannot comprehend the greatness of God's works, and therefore must reverently and awfully wonder at them, and even stand amazed at the magnificence of them. "Men's works are little and trifling, for their thoughts are shallow; but. Lord, thy works are great, and such as cannot be measured; for thy thoughts are very deep, and such as cannot be fathomed." God's counsels as much exceed the contrivances of our wisdom, as his works do the efforts of our power. His thoughts are above our thoughts, as his ways are above our ways, Isa. Iv. 9. Oh the depth q/" God's designs! Rom. xi. 33. The greatness of God's works should lead us to consider the depth of his thoughts, that counsel of his own will, according to which he doeth all things. What a compass his thoughts fetch, and to what a length thev reach!

III. We are admonished not to neglect the works of God, by the character of those who do, v. 6. They are fools, they are brutish, who do not know, who do not understand, how great God's works are, svho will not acquaint themselves with them, or give him the glory of them; they regard not the work ofthe^ Lord, nor consider the operation of his hands; (xxviii. 5.) particularly, they understand not the meaning of their owii prosperity, which is spoken

of; {v. 7.) they take it as a pledge of their happiness, whereas it is a preparative tor their i-uin. If there are so many who know not the designs of Providence, nor care to know them, those who through grace are acquainted with them, and love to be so, have the more reason to be thankful.

7. When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed forever: 8. But thou, Lord, art most \n^\ for evermore. 9. For, lo, thine enemies, O Lord, for, lo, thine enemies shall }>erish all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered, 10. But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of a unicorn : I shall be anointed with fresh oil. 11. Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies; and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me. 12, The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree ; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age ; they shall be fat and flourishing ; 15. To show that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

The psalmist had said, (y. 4.) that from the works of God he would take occasion to triumph; and here he does so.

I. He ti'iumphs over God's enemies, {v. 7, 9, 11.) triumphs in the foresight of their destruction; not as it would be the misery of his felLw-creatures, but as it would redound to the honour of God's justice and holiness.

He is confident of the ruin of sinners,

1. Though they are flrurishing; (t. T. ) When the wicked spring as the grass in spring, (so num.e-rous, so thick-sown, so green, and growing so fast,) and all the workers of iniquity do flourish in pomp and power, and all the instances of outward prosperity, are easy and many, and succeed in their entei-prises, one would think that all this was in order to their being happy, that it was a certain evidence of God's favour, and an earnest of something as good or better in reserve: but it is quite cthei--wise; it is, that they shall be destroyed for ever. The very prosperity of fools shall slay them, Prov. i. 32. The sheep that are designed for the slaughter are put into the fattest pasture.

2. Though they are daring, v. 9. They are thine enemies, and impudently avow themselves to be so; they are contrary to Gcd, and they fight against God; they are in rebellion against his cro%vn and dignity, and therefore it is easy to fc rtsee that they shall perish; for who ever hardened his heart against God, and prospered? Note, All the impenitent workers of iniqviity shall be deemed tmd taken as God's enemies, and as such they shall perish and be scattered. Christ reckons those his enemies that will not have him to reign over them; and they shall be brought forth and slain before him. The workers of miquity are now associated, and closely linked together, in a combination against God and religion; but they shall be scattered, and disabled to help one another against the just judgment of God. In the world to come, they shall be separated from the congregation of the righteous; so the Chal • dee, Ps. i. 5.

PSALMS, XCII.

the psalmist, and, upon that account, he might be tempted to fear them, yet he triumphs over them; (x'. 11.) '^ Mine eye shall see my desire on inine enemies that rise ufi against me; I shall see them not only disabled to do me any further mischief, but reckoned with for the mischief they have done me, and brought either to repentance or i-uin:" and this was his desire concerning them. In the Hebrew it is no more than thus, Mine eye shall look on mine enemies, and mine ear shall hear of the wicked. He does not say what he shall see, or what he shall hear, but he shall see and hear tliat in which God will be glorified, and in which he will therefoi-e be satisfied. This perhaps has reference to Christ, to his victory over Satan, death, and h, 11, the destruction of those that persecuted and crucified him, and opposed his gospel, and to the final ruin of the impenitent at the last day. They tiiat rise up against Christ will fall before him, and be made his footstool. II. He triumphs in God, and his glory and grace.

1. In the glory of God; {y. 8.) ''But thou, O Lord, art Most High for evermore. The workers of iniquity, who fight against us, may be high for a time, and'think to carry all before them with a high hand, but thou art High, Most High for evermore; their height will be humbled and iM-ought down, but thine is everlasting." Let us not, therefore, fear the pride and power of evil men, nor be discouraged by their impotent menaces, for the moth shall eat them up as a garment, but God's righteousness shall be for ever, Isa. li. 7, 8.

2. In the grace of God; his favour, and the fruits of it.

(1.) To himself; {v. 10.) "Thou, O Lord, that art thyself Most High, shalt exalt my horn. " The great God is the Fountain of honour, and he, being high for evermore, himself will exalt his people for ;ver, for he is the Praise of all his saints, cxlviii. 14. The wicked are foi-bidden to lift ufi the horn, (Ixxv. 4, 5.) but those that serve God and the interest of his kingdom with their honour and power, and commit them to him to keep them, to raise them, to use them, and to dispose of them, as he pleases, may hope that he will exalt their horn as the horn of an unicorn, to the greatest height, either in this world or the other; My horn shalt thou exalt, when thine enemies fierish; for then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, tvhen the ivicked shall be doomed to shame and everlasting contemf^t. He adds, I shall be anointed nvith fresh oil, which bespeaks a fresh confirmation in his office to which he had been anointed, or abundance of plenty, so that he should have fresh oil as often as he pleased, or renewed comforts to revive him when his spirits drooped; grace is the anointing of the Spirit; when this IS given to help in the time of need, and is received, as there is occasion, from the fulness that is in Christ Jesus, we are then anointed with fresh oil. Some read it, When I grow old, thou shalt a?ioint me with fresh oil. My old age shalt thou exalt with rich mercy; so the Seventy. Compare v. 14. They shall bring forth fruit in old age. The comforts of God's Spirit, and the joys of his salvation, shall be a refreshing oil to the hoary heads that are found in the nvay of righteousness.

(2.) 'i'o all the saints. They are here represented as trees of righteousness, Isa. Ixi. 3. rs. i. 3. Observe,

[1.] The good place thev ai'e fixed in; they are filanted in the house of the Lord, v. 13. The trees of righteousness do not grow of themselves, they ■M'it filanted, not in common soil, l)ut in paradise, /// the house of the Lord. Trees are not planted in a house; but God's trees are said to be jihinted in his house; l)ecause it is from his grace, by liis word and Spirit, that tlicy receive all the si)) and virtue that keep t'.iem ali\e, and make them fniitful. Thev

fix themselves to holy ordinances, take root in them, abide by them, put thcmsehes under the divine protection, and bring forth all their fruits to God's honour and glory.

[2.] The good plight they shall be kept in. It is here promised.

First, That they shall grow, v. 12. Where God gives true grace, he will give more grace; God's trees shall grow higher, like the cedars, the tall cedars in Lebanon; they shall grow nearer heaven> and, with a holy ambition, shall aspire toward the upper world: they shall grow stronger, like the cedars, and fitter for use. He that has clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.

Secondly, That they shall flourish, both in the credit of their profession, and in the comfort and joy of their own souls. Thev shall be cheerful themselves, and respected by all about them. They shall flourish like the fialm-t'ree, which has a stately body, (Cant. vii. 7.) and large boughs. Lev. xxiii. 40. Judg. iv. 5. Dates, the fruit of it, are very pleasant, but it is especially alluded to here, as Seine evergreen. The wicked flourish as the grass, {y. 7.) whicli is soon withered, and the righteous as the palm-tree, which is long-lived, and which the winter does not change. It has been said of the palm-tree. Sub pondere crescit —77/e more it is pressed down, the more it grows; so the righteous flourish under their burthens; the more they are afflicted, the more they multiplv. Being planted in the house of the Lord, there their root is, they flourish in the courts of our God, there their branches spread. Their life is hid with Christ in God. But their light also shines before men. It is desirable that those who have a place, should have a name, in God's house, and within his walls, Isa. Ivi. 5. Let good Christians aim to excel, that they may be eminent and may flourish, and so may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour, as flourishing trees adorn the courts of a house. And let those who flourish in God's courts give him the glory of it; it is by viitue of this promise. They shall be fat and flourishing. Their nourishing without is from a fatness within, from the roo^ and fatness of the good olive, Rom. xi. 17. Without a living principle of grace in the heart, the profession will not be long flourishing; but where tnat is, the leaf also shall not wither, Ps, i. 3. The trees of the Lord are full of sap, civ. 16. See Hos. xiv. 5, 6.

Thirdly, That they shall be fniitful; were there nothing but leaves upon them, they would not be trees of any value; but they shall still bring forth fruit, the products of sanctification, all the instances of a lively devotion and a useful conversation, good works, by which God is glorified, and others are edified. These are the flints of righteousness, in which it is the privilege, as well as the duty, of the righteous to abound; and it is the matter of a promise, as well as the matter of a command. It is promised that they shall bring forth fniit in old age. Other trees, when they are old, leave off bearing, but in God's trees the strength of grace does not mil with the strength of nature. The last days of the saints are sometimes their best days, and their last work their best work. This indeed shows that they are upright; perseverance is the surest evidence of sincerity, nut it is here said, to show that the Lord is upright, {v. 15.) that he is tnie to his promises, and faithful to every word that he has spoken, and that he is constant to the work whicli he lias begun. As it is by the ])romiscs that bflicvers first partake of a divine nature, so it is by tlie promises tliat that divine nature is preserved and kept up; and therefore the ])ower it exerts is an evidence tliat the Lord is upright, and so he will sh'iw himself t:v7/( an upright man, xviii. 25. This the psalmibt triumphs in; "//r is my Rock, ar.o

PSALMS, XCIII.

479

there is no unrighteousness in him. I have chosen him for my Rock on which to build, in the clefts of which to take shelter, on the top of which t > set my feet. I ha\e found him a Rock, strong and steadfast, and his word as firm as a rock. I ha\'e found" (and let every one speak as he finds) " that there is no unrighteousness in him." He is as able, and will be as kind, as his word makes him to be. All that ever tnisted in God found him faithful and all-sufficient, and none were ever made ashamed of their hope in him.

PSALM XCIIL

This short psalm sets forth the honour of the kingdom of God among men, to his glory, the terror of his enemies, and the comfort of all his loving subjects. It relates both to the kingdom of his providence, by which he upholds and governs the world, and especially to the kingdom of his grace, by which he secures the church, sanctifies and preserves it. The administration of both these kingdoms is put into the hands oi the Messiah, and to him, doubtless, the prophet here bears witness, and to his kingdom, speaking of it as present, because sure; and because, as the Eternal Word, even before his incarnation, he was Lord of all. Concerning God's kingdom glorious things are here spoken. I. Have other kings their royal roues? So has he, v, 1. II. Have they their throne? So has he, v. 2. III. Have they their enemies whom they subdue and triumph over? So has he, v. 3, 4. IV. Is it their honour to be faithful and holy? So is it his, v. 5. In singing this psalm, we forget ourselves, if we forget Christ, to whom the Father has given all power both in heaven and in earth.

1. ^I^HE Lord reigiieth; he is clothed JL with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, whereivith he hath girded himself: the world also is established, that it cannot be moved. 2. Thy throne is established of old: thou «r/from everlasting. 3. The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. 4. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, i/ea, than the mighty waves of the sea. 5. Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becom-eth thy house, O Lord, for ever.

Next to the being of God, there is nothing that we are more concerned to believe and consider than God's dominion; that Jehovah is God, and that this God reigns; (v. 1.) not only that he is King, of right, and is the 0\\Tier and Proprietor of all persons and things, but that he is King, in fact, and does direct and dispose of all the creatures and all their actions, according to the counsel of his own will. This is celebrated here, and in many other psalms: The Lord reigns. It is the song of the gospel-church, of the glorified church; (Rev. xix. 6.) Hallelujah, the Lord God omnijiotent reigns. Here we are told how he reigns.

1. The Lord reigns gloriously; -He is clothed tvith majesty. The majesty of earthly princes, compared with God's terrible majesty, is but like the glimmerings of a glow-worm compared with the brightness of the sun when he goes forth in his strength. Are the enemies of God's kingdcm great and formidable? Yet let us not fear them, for God's majesty will eclipse theirs.

2. He reigns powerfully; He is not only clothed with majesty, as a prince in his court, but he is clothed with strength, as a general in the camp. He has wherewithal to support his greatness, and to make it truly formidable. See him not only clad in robes, but clad in armour; both strength and honour ,ire his clothing. He can do evei-y thing, and with him nothing is impossible. (1.) \Vith this power

he has girded himself; it is not derived from any other, nor does the executing of it depend upon any other, but he has it of himself, and with it does whatsoever lie pleases. Let us not fear the power of man, which is borrowed and bounded, but fear him who has power to kill, and cast into hell. (2.) To this power it is owing that the world stands to this day. The world also is established; it was so at first, by the creating power of God, when he founded it upon the seas; it is so still, by that Providence which upholds all things, and is a continued creation; it is so established, that though he has hanged the earth upon nothing, (Job xxvi. 7.) yet it canriot be moved; all things continue to this day, according to his ordinance. Note, The preserving of the powers of nature, and the course of nature, is what the God of nature must have the glory of; and we, wlio have the benefit thereof daily, are very careless and ungrateful, if we give him not the glory of it. Though God clothes himself with majesty, yet he condescends to take care of this lower world-and to settle its affairs; and if he estabhshed th« world, much more will he establish his church, tha> it cannot be moved.

3. He reigns eternally; {v. 2.) Thy throne is established of old. (1.) God's right to rule the woHd is founded in his making it; he that gave being to it, I'.o doubt, may gi\ e law to it, and so his title to the government is incontestable; Thy throne is established, it is a title without a flaw in it; and it is ancient, it is established of old, from the beginning of time, before any other rule, principality, or power, was erected; as it will contmuc, when all other rule, principality, and power, shall be put down, 1 Cor! XV. 24. (2.) The whole administration of his go \ernment was settled in his eternal counsels, before all worlds; for he doeth all according to the purpose: which he purposed in himself. The chariots ot Providence came down from between the mountains of brass, from those decrees which are fixed as the everlasting mountains; (Zech. vi. 1.) Thou art from er>erlasting, and therefore thy throne is established of old; because God himseu was from everlasting, his throne and all the determinations of it were so too; for in an Eternal Mind there could not but be eternal thoughts.

4. He reigns triumphantly, v. 3, 4. We have here, (1.) A threatening storm supposed; The floods have I/fed tip, O Lord, (to God himself the remonstrance is made,) the floods have lifted up their voice, which speaks terror; nay, they have lifted up their ivaves, which speaks real danger. It alludes to a tempestuous sea, such as the wicked are compared to, Isa. Ivii. 20. The heathen rage, (Ps. ii. 1.) and think to i-uin the church, to overwhelm it like a deluge, to sink it like a ship at sea. The church is said to be tossed with tempests, (Isa. liv. 11.) and the floods of ungodly mai make the saints afraid, Ps. xviii. 4. We may apply it to the tumults that are sometimes in our own bosoms, through prevailing passions and frights, which put the sr ul mto disorder, and are ready to overthrow its graces and comforts, but, if the Lord reigns there, even the winds and seas shall obey him. (2.) An immoveable anchor cast in this storm; {v. 4.) T/ie Lord himself is mightier. Let this keep our minds fixed. [1.] That God is on high, above them, which denotes his safety; they cannot reach him; (xxix. 10.) it denotes also his sovereignty; they are ruled by him, they are overruled, and, wherein they rebel, overcome, Exod. xviii. 11. [2.] That he is mightier, does more wondrous things thsn the noise of many waters; they cannot disturb his rest or rule; they cannot defeat his designs and purposes. Observe, The power of the church's enemies is but as the noise of many waters; there is more rf sound than substance in it; Pharaoh king of Egypt is but

PSALMS, XCIV.

a noise, Jei. xlvi. 17. The church's friends are commonly worse frightened than hurt; God is mightier than this noise; he is mighty to preserve his people's interests from being ruined by these many waters, and his people's spirits from being terrified by the noise ot them. He can, when he pleases, command peace to the chui'ch, (Ixv. 7.) peace in the soul, Isa. xxvi. 3. Note, '1 he unlimited sovereignty and irresistilile power of the gi-eat Jehovah are very encouraging to the people of God, in reference to all the nf)ises and hurries they meet with in this world, Ps. xlvi. 1, 2.

5. He reigns in tinith and h(.>liness, v. 5. (1.) All his promises are inviolably faithful; T/iy teatbnonies are very sure. As God is able to protect his church, so he is true to the promises he has made of its safety and victory. His word is past, and all the saints may rely upon it. Whatever was foretold concerning the kingdom of the Messiah, would certainly have its accomplishment in due time. Those testimonies upon which the faith and hope of tlie Old Testament saints was built, wei'e very sure, and would not fail them. (2.) All his people ought to be conscientiously pure; Holiness becomes thy house, 0 Lord, for ever. God's church is his house; it is a hoW house, cleansed from sin, consecrated by God, and employed in his service. The holiness of it is its beauty; nothing better becomes the saints than conformity to Gocl's image, and an entire devoted-ness to his honour; and it is its strength and safety. It is the iioliness of God's house tiiat secures it against the many waters, and their noise; where thci'e is purity, there shall l)e peace. Fashions change, and what is becoming at one time, is not at another; 1)ut holiness always becomes God's house and family, and those who belong to it; it is perpetually decent; and nothing so ill becomes the worshippers of the holy God as unholiness.

PSALM XCIV.

This psalm was penned when the church of God was under hatches, oppressed and persecuted; and it is an appeal to God, as the .ludgc of heaven and earth, and an address to him, to appear for his people against liis and their enemies. Two things this psalm speaks, I. Conviction and terror to the persecutors, {v. 1..1I.) showing them their danger and folly, and arguing with them. II. Comfort and peace to the persecuted, (v. 12. .23.) assuring them, hoth from God's promise, and from the psalmist's own experience, that their troubles would end well, and God would, in due time, appear to their joy, and the confusion of those who set themselves against them. In singing this psalm, we must look abroad upon the pride of oppressors with a holy indignation, and the tears of the oppressed with a holy compassion; but, at the same time, look upward to the righteous Judge, with an entire satisfaction, and look forward, to the end of all these things, with a pleasing hope.

1. /^ LORD God, to whom vengeance \J belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show thyself. 2. Lift np thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. 3. Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? 4. FIoio long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of ini(|uity boast themselves? 5. They break in j)ieces thy people, O Lord, and afflict tliy heritage: G. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. 7. Yet they say, The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. 8. Understand, ye brutish among (lie people; and, 1/e fools, when will ye be wise? 9. He

that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye; shall he not see? 10. He that chastisetli the heathen, shall not he correct? he tliat teacheth man knowledge, shall not he knoiD? 11. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

In these verses we have,

I. A solemn nppeal to God against the cruel oppressors of his people, v. 1,2. This speaks terror enough to them, iliat they have the prayers of God's people against them, who cry day and night to him to avenge them of their adversaries; and shall not he avenge them speedil}'? Luke xviii. 3, 7. Observe here,

1. The titles they give to God, for the encouraging of their faith in this appeal; O God, to ivhom vengeance belongeth; and thoii Judge of the earth. We may with boldness appeal to him; for, (1.) He is Judge, supreme Judge, Judge alone, from whom every man's jtulgmcnt proceeds. He that gi\cslaw, gives sentence upon every man, according to his works, by the rule of that law. He has jji'cpared his throne for judgment. He has indeed appointed magistrates to be avengers under him; (Rom. xiii. 4.) but he is the Avenger in chief, to whom even magistrates themselves arc accountable; his throne is the last refuge (the dernier resort, as the law-speaks) of oppi-esscd innocency. He is universal Judge, not of this city or country only, but Judge of the earth, of the whole earth: none are exempt from his jurisdiction; nor can it be alleged against an appeal to him in any court, that it is coram non judice — before a person ?20t Judicially cjiialijied. (2.) He is just; as he has authority to avenge wrong, so it is his nature, and property, and honour. This also is implied in the title here given to him, and repeated with such an emphasis, 0 God, to ivho?n vengeance belongs, who wilt not suffer might always to prevail against right. This is a good reason why we must not avenge ourselves, because God has said, Vengeance is mine; and it is daring presumption to usui-p his prerogative, ;md step into his throne, Rom. xii. 19. Let this alarm those who do wrong, whether with a close hand, so as not to be discovered, or with a high hand, so as not to be controlled, There is a God, to whom vengeance belongs, who will certainly call them to an account; and let it encourage those who suffer wrong to bear it with silence, committing themselves to him who judges righteously.

2. What it is they ask'iof God; (1.) That he would glorify himself, and get honour to his own name. Wicked persecutors tliought God was withdrawn, and had forsaken the earth; "Lord," say they, "show thyself; make them known that thou art, and that thou art read)' to shoii' thyself, strong on the behalf of those luhose hearts are u/iright with thee. " The enemies thought Ciod was conquered, because his people were; "Lord," say they, "Ift u/i thyself, be thou exalted in thy oron strength. Lift up thyself, to be seen, tq I)e feared; and sufTer net thy name to be trampled upon and nui down." (2.) That he would mortify the opi^ressors; Nrnder a reward to the firoud; that is, "Reckon with \<Tn for all their insolence, and the injuries they have done to thy people." These prayers are pi-ophe-cies, which speak terroi- to all the sons c f violence. The righteous God will deal with them according to their merits.

II. An humble complaint to God of the pride and cruelty of the ojjprcssors, and an expostulation with him concerning it, v. '?>"(S. Where observe,

1. The character of the enemies they complain against; they are wicked, they are workers of iniquity, they are bad, veiy bad, themselves, and

PSALMS, XCIV.

48]

therefore they hate and persecute those whose goodness shames and condemns them. Those are wicked indeed, and ivorkcrs of the ivorst iniquity, lost to all honour and virtue, who are cniel to the innocent, and hate the righteous.

2. Their haughty barbarous carriage which they complain of. (1.) They are insolent, and take a pleasure in magnifying themselves. They talk high, and talk big, they triumph, they speak loud things, they l)oast themselves, as if their tongues were their own, and their hands too, and they were accountable to none for what tlicy say or do, and as if the day wei-e their own, and they doubted not but to carry the cause against God and religion. They that speak highly of themselves; that triumph and boast, are apt to'speak hardly of others; but there will come a day of reckoning for all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against God, his truths, and ways, and people, Jude 15. (2.) They are impious, and take a pleasure in running down God's people because they are his; (t'. 5.) " T/iey break in pieces thy fieofile, 0 Lord; break their assemblies, their estates, their families, their persons, in pieces, and do all they can to afflict thine heritage, to grieve them, to crush them, to run them down, to root them out." God's people are his heritage; there are those that, for his sake, hate them, and seek their ruin. This is a very good plea with God, in our intercessions for the church; " Lord, it is thine, thou hast a property in it, it is thine heritage, tliou hast a pleasure in it, and out of it the rent of thy glory in this world issues. And wilt thou suffer these wicked men to trample upon it thus?" (3.) They are inhuman, and take a ]:)leasure in wronging those that are least able to help themselves; (t». 6.) they not only oppress and impoverish, but t/iey slay, the nvidoiv and the stranger; not only neglect the fatherless, and make a prey of them, but murder them, because tliey are weak and exposed, and sometimes lie at their mercy. Those whom they should protect from injury, they are most injurious to; perhaps, because God has taken them into his particular care. Who would think it possil)le that any of the children of men sliould be thus barbarous?

3. A modest pleading with God concerning the continuance of the persecution; "Lord, how long shall they do thus?" And again, Hoiv long? When shall this wickedness of the wicked come to an end?

III. A charge of atheism exhibited against the persecutors, and an expostulation with tliem upon that charge.

1. Their atheistical thoughts are here discovered; {v. 7. ) yet they say, The Lord shall not see. Though the cry of their wickedness is very great and loud, though they rebel against the light of nature, and the dictates of their own consciences, yet they have the confidence to say, " The Lord shall not see; he will not only wink at small faults, but shut his eyes at great ones too;" or they think they have managed it so artfully, under colour of justice and reli-^on, perhaps, that it will not be adjudged murder. The God of Jacob, though his people pretend to have such an interest in him, does not regard it, either as against justice, or as against his own people; he will never call them to an account for it: thus denying God's government of the world; bantering his covenant with his people, and setting the judgment to come at defiance.

2. They are here ci^nvicted of folly and absurdity; he that says, either that Jehovah the living God shall not see, or that the God of Jacob, shall not regard, the injunes done to his people, JVabal is his name, and folly is with him; and yet here he is fairly reasoned with, for his conviction and conversion, to prevent his confusion; {-u. 8.) " Understand, ye brutish among the people, and let reason guide

Vol. III.—3 P

you." Note, The atheistical, thou§;h they set up

for wits, and philosophers, and politicians, yet are really the brutish among the people; if they would but understand, tl.ey would believe. God, by the prophet, speaks, as if he though^ the time long till men would be meUj and show themselves so by understanding and considering; " Ye fools, when will ye be ipise, so wise as to know that God sees and regards all you say and do, and to speak and act accordingly, as those that must give account?" Note, None are so bad, but means are to be used for the reclaiming and i-eforming of them; none so brutish, so foolish, but it should be tried whether they may not yet be made wise; while there is life, there is hope.

To evidence thi folly of those that question God's omniscience and justice, the psalmist argues,

(1.) From the works of creation, (v. 9.) the formation of human bodies, which, as it proves that there is a God, proves also that God has, infinitely and transcendently in himself, all those perfections that are in any creature. He that planted the ear, (and it is planted in the head, as a tree in the ground,) shall he not hear? No doubt, he shall, more and better than we can. He that formed the eye, (and how curiously it is formed above any pan of the body anatomists know, and let us know by their dissections,) shall he not see? Could he give, would he give, that perfection to a creature which he has not in himself? Note, [3.] The powers of nature, are all derived from the God of nature. See Exod. iv. 11. [2.] By the knowledge of ourselves we may be led a great way toward the knew- , ledge of God; if, by the knowledge of our own bodies, and the organs of sense, so as to conclude, that, if we can see and hear, much more can CJcd; then certainly by the knowledge of our own souls and their noble faculties. The gods of the heathen had eyes and saw not, ears and heard not; our God has no eyes or ears, as we have, and yet we must conclude he both sees and hears, because we have our sight and hearing from him, and are accountable to him for our use of them.

(2.) He argues from the works of providence, X'. 10. He that chastises the heathen for their polytheism and idolatry, shall not he much more coiTcct his own people for their atheism and profaneness? He that chastises the children of men for oppressing and wronging one another, shall not he correct those that profess to be his own children, and call themselves so, and yet persecute those that f.re really so? Shall not we be under his correcticn, under whose government the world is? Does he regard, as King of nations, and shall he not much more regard, as the God of Jacob? Dr. Hammond gives another very probable sense of this; He that instructs the nations, that is, gives them his law, shall not he correct, shall not he judge them according to that law, and call them to an account for their violations of it? In vain was the law given, if there will not be a judgment upon it. And it is true that the same word signifies to chastise and to instruct, because chastisement is intended for instruction, and instruction should go along with chastisement. • ^

(3.) He argues from the works of grace; He that teaches man knowledge, shall he not know? He not only, as the God of nature, has given the light ot reason, but, as the God of grace, has given the light of revelation, has showed man what is tine wisdom and understanding; and he that does this, shall he not know? Job xxviii. 23, 28. The flowing of the streams is a certain sign of the fulness of the fountain. If all knowledge is from God, no drubt, all knowledge is in God. From this general doctrine of God's omniscience, he net only confutes the atheists, who said, " The Lord shall not sce^ (x'. 7.)

PSALMS, XCIV.

lie will not take cognizance cf waat wc do;" but awakens us all to consider, that God will take cognizance even of what we think; {v. 11.) T/ic J^ord knows the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. [ 1. ] He knows those thoughts in particular, concerning God's conniving at the wickedness of the v/icked, and knows them to be vain; and laughs at the foUy of those, who by such fond conceits buoy themselves up in sin. [2.] He knows all the thoughts of the children of men, and knows them to be, for the most part, vain; that the imaginations cf "the thoughts of men's hearts are evil, only evil, and that continually. Even in good thoughts there is a fickleness and mconstancy, which may well be called vanity. It concerns us to keep a strict guard upon our thoughts, because God takes particular notice of them. Thoughts are words to God, and \ ain thoughts are provocations.

12. Blessed is the man whom thou chas-tenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of tliylaw; 13. That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked. 14. For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance: 15. But judgment shall return unto righteousness; and all the upright in heart shall follow it. IG. Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity ? 17. Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence. 18. When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up. 19. In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul. 20. Shall the throne of iniquity have fel-lowshij) with thee, which frameth mischief by a law.? 21. They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood. 22. But the Lord is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge. 23. And he shall biing upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; ijea., the Lord our God shall cut them off.

The psalmist, having dcmunced tril)ulation to them that trouble (iod's peopk-, liere assures tliem That arc troubled of rest. S->e 2 Tlicss. i. 6, 7. He speaks comfort to suffering saints, from God's promises and his own experience.

I. From Ciod's promises, which are such as not onl)' save tl\em from being miserable, but secure a liil)])iness to them; (x'. 12.) Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest. Here he looks above the instruments of trouble, and eyes the hand of God, which gives it another name, and puts quite another colour upon it. The aiemies break in pieces Ciod's peoj)le, \y. 5.) they aim at no less; but the truth of the matter is, that God by them chastens his people, as the father the son in whom he delights, and the persecutoi-s are only the rod he makes use of. Howbeit they mean not so, neither doth their heart thitik 80, Isk. x. 5--7. Now it is here promised,

1. That God's people shall get good by their sufferings; when he chastens them, he will teacli them, and blessed is the man who is thus taken un-*4er a divine discipline; for none teaches like God.

Note, (1.) Tiie afflictions of the saints are fatherly

I chastenings, designed for our instruction, reforraa-tii n, and improvement. (2.) When the teachings of the word and Spirit go jdong with the rebukes of Pro\idence, they then both bespeak men blessed,

: and help to m<;k"e them so; for then they are marks cf ad(4ni(<n, and means of sanctification. \\'htn we arc chastened, we must pray to be taught, and looK

; into the law as the best expositor of ?ro\ idence. It is nc.t the chastening itself thu. „oes good, but the teaching that goes along with it, and is the ex-

j position cf it.

2. That they should see through their sufferings; {v. 13.) That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity. Note, (1.) There is a rest remaining for tlie people of God after the days of their adversity, which, though they may be many and long, shall be numbered and finished in due time, and shall not last always. He that sends the trou-I)le will send the rest, that he may comfort them according to the time that he has afflicted them. (2.) God therefore teaches his people by their troubles, that he may prepare them for deliverance, and so give them rest from their troubles; that, being reformed, they might be relieved, and the affliction, having done its work, may be removed.

3. That they shall see the iiiin of these that are the instruments of their sufferings; which is the matter of a promise, not as gratifying any passion of theirs, but as redounding to the glory of God; Until the pit is digged, or rather, while the pit is in digging, for the wicked, God is ordering peace for them at the same time that he is ordaining his arrows against the persecutors.

4. That though they may be cast down, yet certainly they shall not be cast off, v. 14. Let God's suffering people assure themselves of this, that, whatever their friends do, God will not cast them off, nor throw them out of his covenant or out of his care; he will not forsake them, because they are his inheritance, which he will not quit his title to, nor suffer himself to be disseised of. St Paul comforted himself with this, Rom. xi. 1.

5. That, bad as things are, they shall mend, and though they are now out of course, yet they shall return to their due and ancient channel; {y. 15.) Judgment shall return unto righteousness; the seeming disorders of Pro\idence (for real ones there never were) shall be rectified. God's judgment, his government, looks sometimes as if it were at a distance from righteousness, wliile the wicked prosper, and the best men meet with the worst usage; but it shall return to righteousness again, either in this world, or, at the furthest, in the Judgment of the great day, which will set all to rights. Then all the ufiright in heart shall be after it; they shall follow it with their praises, and with entire satisfaction; they shall return to a prosperous and flourishing condition, and shine forth out of obscurity; they shall accommodiite themselves to the dispensations of Divine Providence, and with suitable affections attend all its motions. They shall lualk after the Lord, Hos. xi. 10. Dr. Hammond thinks this was most eminently fulfilled in the desti-uction of Jerusalem first, and afterward of heathen Rome, the crucifiers of Christ, and persecutors of Christians, and the rest which the churches had thereby; Then judgment returned even to righteousness, to mercy and goodness, and favour to God's people, who, then, were as much countenanced as, oefore, they had been trampled on.

li. From liis own experiences and observations.

1. He and his friends had been oppressed by cruel and imperious men that had power in their hands, and abused it by abusing all good people with it. They were themselves evil-doers, and workers of iniquity; (v. 16.) they abandoned them-

l^ALJVIS, XCIV.

483

selves to all manner of impiety and immorality, and then their throne was a throne of inicjuity, v. 20. Their dignity served to put a reputation upon sin, and their authoi'ity was employed to support it, and to bring about tlieir wicked designs. It is pity that ever a throne, which should be a terror to evildoers, and a protection and praise to them that do well, shoidd be the seat and shelter of iniquity. That is a throne of iniquity which, by the policy of its council, frames mischief, and by its sovereignty enacts it, and turns it into a law. Iniquity is daring enough, even when human laws are against it, which often prove too weak to give an effectual check to it; but how insolent, how mischievous, is it when it is backed by a law! Iniquity is not the better, but much the worse, for being enacted by law; nor will it excuse those that practise it, to say, that they did but do as they wore bidden. These workers of iniquity, having framed mischief by a law, take care to see the [aw executed; for they gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, who dare not keefi the statutes of Omri, nor the laiv of the house of Ahab; and they condemned the innocent blood for violating their decrees. See an instance in Daniel's enemies; they framed mischief by a law, when they obtained an impious edict against prayer, (Dan. vi. 7. ) v/hich when Daniel would not obey, they assembled together against him, {y. 11.) and condemned his innocent blood to the lions. The best benefactors of mankind have often been thus treated, under colour of law and justice, as the worst of malefactors.

2. The oppression they were under bore very hard upon them, a.nd oppressed their spirits too. Let not suffering sdnts despair, though, when they lire persecuted, they find themselves perplexed and cast down; it was so with the psalmist here; His soul had almost dwelt in silence; (t». 17.) he was at his wit's end, and knew not what to say or do; he was, in his own apprehension, at his life's end, ready to drop into the gra\'e, that land of silence. St. Paul, in a like case, received a sentence of death within himself 2 Cor. i. 8, 9. He said, ^'Mii foot aUhfieth; (x\ 18.) I am going irretrievablv, there is no remedv, I must fall, I shall one day fierish by the hand of Saul; my hope fails me, I do not find such firm tooting for my f;iith as I have sometimes found." See Ps. lxxiii.2. He had a multitude of perplexed entangled thoughts within him concerning the case he was in, and the construction to be made of it; and concerning the course he should take, and what was likely to be the issue of it.

3. In this distress, they sought for help and succour, and some relief. (1.) They looked about for it, and were disappointed; {v. 16.) " Jl'ho will rise uf2 for me against the evil-doers ? Have I any friend w\v\ in love to me, will appear for me? Has justice any friend who, in a pious indignation at unrighteousness, will plead my injured cause?" He looked, but there was none to save, there was none to uphold. Note, When on the side of the oppressors there is power, it is no marvel if the oppressed have no comforter, none that dare own them, or speak a good word for them, Eccl. iv. 1. When St. Paul was brought before Nero's throne of iniquity, no man stood by him, 2 Tim. iv. 16. (2.) Tliey looked U]( for it, V. 20. They humbly expostulate with God; "Liord,shall the throne of iniquity have fellow-shi/i with thee? Wilt thou countenance and support these tyrants in their wickedness? We know thou wilt not." A throne has fellowship with God, when it is a throne of justice, and answers the end of the irecting of it; for bv him kings reign, and wlien they reign for him, their judgments are his, and he owns them as his ministers, and whoever resists them, or rises up against them, shall receive to themselves damnation; but when it becomes a

throne of iniquity, it has no longer fellowship with God. far be it from the just and holy God, that he should be the Patron of unnghteousness, even in princes and those that sit in thrones; yea, though they be the thrones of the house of David.

_ 4. They found succour and relief in Gpd, and in him only; when other friends failed, in him they had a faithful and powerful Friend; and it is recommended to all God's suffering saints to trast in him.

(1.) God helps at a dead lift; {v. 17.) "Whenl had almost dnvelt in sile?2ce, then the Lord was my Helji, kept me alive, kept me in heart; and unless I had made him my Helji, by putting my trust in him, and expecting relief from him, \ could never have kept possession of my own soul;»but living by faith in him has kept my head above water, has given me breath, and something to say."

(2.) God's goodness is the great support of sinking spirits; [y. 18.) " When I said. My foot slips into sin, into rain, into despair, then thy mercy, O Lord, held me up, kept me from falling, and defeated the design cf those who consulted to cast mc down from mine excellency," Ixii. 4. We are beholden not only to God's power, but to his pity, fcr spiritual supports; I'hy jnercy, the gifts of thy mercy, and my hope in thy mercy, held me up. God's right hand sustains his people, when they look on their riglit hand and on their left, and there is none to uphold; and we are then prepared for his gracious supports, when we are sensible of our own weakness and inability to stand by our own strength, and come to God, to acknowledge it, and to tell him how our foot slips.

(3.) Divine consolations are the effectual relief of troul)led spirits; {y. 19.) ''In the multitude of my thoughts within me, which are noisy like a multitude, crowding and justhng one another like a multitude, and very unruly and ungovernable; in the multitude cf my sorrowful, solicitous, timorous, thoughts, thy comforts delight my soul; and they are never more delightful than when they come in so seasonably to silence my unquiet thoughts, and keep my miiid easy." The world's comforts give but little delight to the soul, when it is hurried with melancholy thoughts, they are songs to a heavy heart; but God's comforts will reach the soul, and not the fancy only, and will bring with them that peace and that pleasure which the smiles of the world cannot gi\'e, and which the frowns of the world cannot take awav.

5. God is, and will be, as a righteous Judge, the Patron and Protector of right, and the Punisher and Avenger of wrong; this the psalmist had both the assurance of and the experience ot.

(1.) He \n]\ right the injured; (y. 22.) "When none else will, or can, or dare, shelter me. The Lord is my Defence, to preser\e me from the evil of my troubles, from sinking under them, and being ruined by them; and he is the Hock of 7ny refuge, in the clefts of which I may take shelter, and on the top of which I may set my feet, to be out of the reach of danger." God is his people's Refuge; to whcm they may flee, in whom they are safe, and may be secure; he is the Rock of their refuge, so strong, so firm, impregnable, immoveable, as a rock: natural fastnesses sometimes exceed artificial fortifications.

(2.) He will reckon with the injurious; (v. 23.) He shall render to them their ovjn iniquity; he shall deal with them according to their deserts; and that very mischief which they did and designed against God's people, shall be brcugiit upon themselves: it follows, He shall cut them off in their wickecbiess. \ man cannot be more miserable than his own wickedness will make him, if God visit it upon him: it will cut him in the remembrance of it; it will cut him off in the recompense of it. This the psalm

PSALMS, XCV

concludes with the triumphant assurance of; Yea, eke Lord our God, who takes our part, and owns us for his, shall cut them off from any fellowship with him, and so shall m.ike them completely mise-1 able, and their pomp and power shall stand them in no stead.

PSALM XCV.

For the expounding of this psalm we may borrow a great deal of light from the apostle's discourse, {Heb. iii. and iv.) where it appears both to have been penned by David, and to have been calculated for the days of the Messiah; for it is there said expressly, [He.h. iv. 7.) that the day here spoken of, {v. 7.) is to be uiidarstood of the gospel-day, in which God speaks to us by his Son, in a voice which we art^concerned to hear, and proposes to us a rest beside that of Canaan. In siniring psalms, it is intended, I. That, we should make melody unto the Lord: this we are excited to do, and assisted in doinfr, being called upon to praise God, (y. 1, '2.) as a great God, (v. 3- .5.) and as our gracious Benefactor, v. 6, 7. II. That we should teach and admonish ourselves, and one another; and we are taught and warned to hear GoWs voice, (v. 7.) and not to harden our hearts, as the Israelites in the wilderness did, (v. 8,9.) lest we fall under God's wrath, and fall short of his rest, as they did, v. 10, 11. This psalm must be sung with a holy reverence of God's majesty, and a dread of his justice, with a desire to please him, and a fear to offend him.

1. ^^ COME, let us sing unto the Lord; \-f let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 2. Let us come before his presence with thanks£;iving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. 3. For the Lord is a great God, and a gi-eat King above all gods. 4. In his hand ai^e the deep places of the earth; the strength of the hills is his also. 5. The sea is his, and he made it; and his hands formed the dry land. 6. O come', let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. 7. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

The psalmist here, as often elsewhere, stirs up himself and others to praise God; for it is a duty which ought to be performed with the most lively affections, and which we liave great need to be excited to, being very often backward to it, and cold in it. Observe,

1. How God is to be praised. 1. With holy joy and delight in him. The praising song must be a Joyful noise; {v. 1.) and ag:un, t. 2. Spiritual joy IS the heart and soul of thankful praise. It is the will of God, (such is the condescension of his grace,) that when we give glory to him, as a Being infinitely perfect and blessed, we should at the same time, rejoice in him, as our Father and King, and a God in covenant with us. 2. With humlile reverence andaholy awe of him; (v. 6.) "Let us worship, and honv down, and kneel before him, as becomes those who know what an infinite distance there is between us and God, how much we are in danger of his wrath, and in need of his mercy." Though bodily exercise, alone, profits little, yet certainly it is our duty to glorify God with our bodies by the outward expressions of reverence, seriousness, and humility, in the duties of religious worship. 3. We must praise God with our voice; we must speak forth, sing forth, his ]n'aises out of the abundance of a heart filled with love, and joy, and thankfulness; Sing to the Lord, make a noise, a joyful noise to him, with psalms; as those who are ourselves much affected with his greatness and goodness, are for-

ward to f;wn oursehes so, are desirous to be more and more affected therewith, and would willingly be instniment:tl to kindle and inflame the same pious and devout affection in others also. 4. We must praise God in concert, in the solemn assemblies; " Come, let us sing; let us join in singing to the Lord; not others without me, nor I alone, but others with me. Let tis come together before his presence, in the courts of his house, where his people are wont to attend him, and to expect his manifestations of himself." Whenever we come into God's presence, we must come with thanksgiving that we are admitted to such a favour; and whenever we have tlianks to give, we must come before God's presence, set ourselves before him, and present ourselves to liim in the ordinances which he has appointed.

II. Why God is to be praised, and what must be the matter of our praise; we do net want matter, it were well if we did not want a heart. We must praise God,

1. Because he is a great God, and Sovereign Lord of all, t>. 3. He is great, and therefore greatly to be praised. He is infinite and immense, and has all perfection in himself. (1.) He has great power; he is a great King above all gods; above all deputed deities, all magistrates, to whom he said, Ye are gods; he manages them all, and serves his own purposes by them, and to him they are all accountable; above all counterfeit deities, all pretenders, all usurpers; he can do that which none of them can do; he can, and will, famish and vanquish them all. (2.) He has great possessions. This lower world is here particularly specified; we reckon those great men who have large territories, which they call their own against all the world, which yet are a very inconsiderable part of the universe; how how great then is that God whose the whole earth is, and the fuhiess thereof I not only under whose feet it is, as he has an incontestable dominion over all the creatures, and a propriety in them, but in whose hand it is, as he has the actual directing and disposing of all; (r. 4.) even the deep places of the earth, which are out of our sight, subteri'aneous springs and mines, are in his hand; and the height of the hills, which are out of our reach, whatever grows or feeds upon them, /* his also. This may be taken figuratively; the meanest of the children of men, who are as the low places of the earth, are not beneath his cognizance; and the greatest, who are as the strength of the hills, are not above his control. Whatever strength is in any creature, it is derived from God, and employed for him; (t*. 5.) The sea is his, and all that is in it; (the waves fulfil his word;) it is his, for he made it, gathered its waters, and fixed its shores; the dry land, though given to the children of men, is his too, for he still reserved the prcj)ertv to himself; it is his, for Ma hands formed it, when his word made the dry land appeal-. His being the Creator of all makes him, witliout disi)ute, the Owner of all. . This being a gospel psalm, we may veiy well suppose that it is the Lord Jesus whom' we are here taught to praise; he is a great God; the Mighty God is one of his titles, and God over all, blessed for eT.>ermore; as Mediator, he is a great King above all gods; by him kings reign; and angels, principalities, and powers, are subject to him; by him, as the Eternal Word, all things were made, (John i. 3.) and it was fit he should be the Restorer and Reconciler of all, who was the Creator of all. Col. i. 16, 20. To liim all power is given l)oth in heaven fcnd in earth, and into his hand all things are delivered. It is he that sets one foot on the sea, and the other on the earth, as sovereign Lord rf both; (Rev. x 2.) and then-fore to him we must sing our songs of praise, Tud before him we must worship and bovi down.

PSALMS, XCV.

485

2. Because he is our God; not only has a dominion over us, as he has over all the creatures, but stands in special relation to us; (x'. 7.) He is our God, and therefore it is expected we should praise him: who will, if we do not? What else did he make us for, but that we should be to him for a narne and afiraise?

(;i.) He is our Creator, and the Author of our oeing; we must kneel before the Lord our Maker, V. 6. Idolaters kneel before gods which they themselves made; we kneel before a God who made us and all the world; and who is therefv:)re cur rightful Propi-ietor; for his we are, and not our own.

(2.) He is our Saviour, and the Authcr of our blessedness. He is here called the Rock of our salvation; {-V. 1.) not onlv the Founder, but the very Foundation, of that Work of wonder, m whom it is built. That Rock is Christ; to him therefore we must sing our songs of praises, to him that sits ujion the throne, and to the Lamb.

(3.) We are therefore his, under all possible obligations; we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand; all the children of men are so; they are fed and led by his providence, which cares for them, and conducts them, as the shepherd the sheep. We must praise him, not only because he made us, but because he preserves and maintains us, and our breath and ways are in his hand. All the church's children are in a special manner so; Israel are the people of his pasture, and t'^e sheep of his hand; and therefore he demands their homage in a special manner. The gospel-church is his flock, Christ is the great and good Shepherd of it; we, as Christians, are led by his hand into the green pastures, by him we are protected and well-provided for, to his honour and service we are entirely devoted as a peculiar people, and therefore to him must be glory in the churches, (whether it be in the world or no,) throughout all ages, Eph. iii. 21.

To-day, if ye will hear his

voice, 8. Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9. When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. 10. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: 11. Unto whom I sware in my wrath, that they should not enter into my rest.

The latter part of this psalm, which begins in the middle of a verse, is an exhortation to these that sing gospel-psalms to live gospel-lives, and to hear the voice of God's word; otherwise, how can they expect that he shovdd hear the voice of their prayers and praises?

Obser\^e,

1. The duty required of all those that are the fieople of Christ's past we, and the sheep of his hayid. He expects that they hear his voice, for he has said, My sheep hear my voice, John x. 27. JVe are his people, siy they. Ai'e you so? Then hear his voice. If you call him Master, or Lord, then do the things which he says, and be his willing,obedient people. Hear the voice of his doctrine, of his law, and, in both, of his Spirit; hear and heed; hear and yield. Hear his voice, and not the voice of a stranger. If ye will hear his voice; some take it as a wish. Oh that ye would hear his voice! That ye would be so wise, and do so well for yourselves; like that, If thou hadst known; (Luke xix. 42.) that is, Oh that thou hadst known! Christ's voice must be heard to-

day; this the Apostle lays much stress upon, apply • ing it to the gospel-day. While he is speaking to you, see that you attend to him, for this day of your opportunities will not last always; improve it therefore, while it is called to-day, Heb. iii. 13, 15. Hearing the voice of Christ is the same with believing; To-day, if by faith you accept the gosj^el cfier, well and good, but to-morrow it may be too late. In a matter of such vast importance, nothing more dangerous than delay.

II. The sin they are warned against, as inconsistent with the believing obedient ear required, and that is, hardness of heart. If ye will hear his voice, and profit by what you hear, then do not harden your hearts; for the seed sown en the rock never brough!. any fruit to perfection. The Jews therefore belie\-ed not the gospel of Christ, because their hearts were hardened; they were not convinced cf the evil of sin, and of tlieir dangeV by reason of sin, and therefore they regc;i-ded not the oiFer of salvation; they would not bend to the yoke of Christ, nor yield to liis demands; and, if the sinner's heart be hardened, it is his own act and deed, (he hardening it himself,) and he alone shall bear the blame for ever.

III. The example they are warned by; which is that of the Israelites in the wilderness; "Take heed of sinning as they did, lest you be shut cut of the everlasting rest, as they were out cf Canaan." Be not, as your fathers, a stubborn and rebellious ge-neration,\y.y.\\\\. 8. Thus here, Harden not your heart, as you did, that is, your ancestors, in the'provocation, or in Meribah, the place where they quarrelled with God and Moses, (Exod. xvii. 2.-7.) and in the day of temptation in the wilderness, v. 8. So often did tliey pro^•oke God by their distrusts and murniurings, that the whole time of their continuance in the wilderness might be called a day of temptation, or Massah, the other name given to"that place, (Exod. xvii. 7.) because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or is he not? This was in the wilderness, where they cruld not help themselves, but lay at God's mercy, and where God wonderfully helped them, and gave them such sensible proofs of his power, and tokens of his favour, as never any people had before or since. Note, 1. Days of temptation are days of provocation: IK thing is more oflfensive to God than disbehef of his promise, and despair of the performance of it, because of some difficulties that seem to lie in the way. 2. The more experience we have had of the power and goodness of God, the greater is our sin, . if we distrust him. What, to tempt him in tlie wilderness, where we live upon him! This is as ungrateful as it is absurd and unreasonable. 3. Hardness of heart is at the bottom of all our dis-tnists of God, and quarrels with him. That is a hard heart which receives not the impressions of divine discoveries, and conforms not to the intentions cf the divine will, which will not melt, which will not l)end. 4. The sins of others ought to be warnings to us not to tread in their steps. The murmu'-ings of Israel were written for our admonition, 1 Cor. X. 11.

Now here observe,

(1.) The charge drawn up, in God's name, against the unbelieving Israehtes, v. 9, 10. God here, many ages after, complains of their ill conduct toward him, with the expressions of high resentment. [1.] Their sin was unbelief: they tempted God and provoked him; they questioned whether they might take his word, and insisted upon further security, before they would go forward to Canaan, by sending spies; when those discouraged them, they protested against the sufficiency of the divine power and promise, and would make a captain, and return into Egypt, Numb. xiv. 3, 4. This is called rebel

■186

PSALMS, XCVJ.

lion, Deut. i. 26, 32. [2.] The aggravation of this sin was, that they saw God's work; they saw what he had done for them in bringing them out of Egypt; nay, what he was now doing for them every ilay, this day, in the bread he rained from heaven for them, and the water out of the rock that followed tliem, than which they could not have more unques-tii'nable evidences of^ God's presence with them: v/ith them, even seeing was not believing, because they hardened their hearts, though they had seen what Pharaoh got by hardening his heart. [3.] The causes of their sin; see what God imputed it to, It is a /leofi/e that do err in their hearts, mid they have not known my ways. Men's unbelief and distrust of God, tlieir murmurings and quarrels with him, are the effect of their ignorance and mistake. First, Of their ignorance; They have not known my ways. They saw his work, {v. 9.) and he made known his acts to thein; (ciii. 7.) and yet they did 7iot know his ways, the ways of his providence, in wliich he walked toward them, or tlie ways of his commandments, in which he wovdd have them to walk toward him; they did not know, they did not rightly understand, and therefore did not approve of, these. Note, The reason why people slight and forsake the ways of God, is, because they do not know them, ^^co/k//!/. Of their mistake; They do err in their heart; they wander out of the way, in heart they turn b ick. Note, Sins are errors, practical errors, errors in heart; such there are, and as f it:d as errors in the head. When the corrupt affections pervert the judgment, and so lead the soul out of the ways of duty and obedience, there is an error of the he: it. [4.] God's resentment of their sin; Forty years lojigwas Iffrieiwd with this generation. Note, The sins of God's professing people do not only anger him, but grieve him, especially their distrust of him; and God keeps an account how often, (Numb. xiv. 22.) and how long, they grieve him. See the patience of God toward provoking sinners; he was grieved with them 40 years, and yet those years ended in a triumphant entrance into Canaan, made by the next generation. If our sins have grieved God, surely they should grieve us, and nothing in sin should grieve us so much as that.

(2.) The sentence past upon them for their sin; (v. 11.) " Unto whom I sware in my wrath. If they shall enter into my rest, then say I am changeable and unti'ue:" see the sentence at large. Numb. xiv. 21, 8cc. Observe, [1.] Whence this sentence came; fi-om the wrath of God; he swore soleinnly in his wrath, his just and holy wrath; but let not men therefore swear profanely in their wrath, their sinful bnitish wrath. God is not suljject to such passions as we are; but he is said to be angry, very angry, at sin and sinners, to show the malignit)" of sin, and the justice of God's government. That is certainly an evil thing, which deserves such a recompense of revenge as may be expected from a provoked Deity. [2.] What it was; That they should not enter into his rest, the rest which he had prepared and designed for them, a settlement for them and theirs; that none of them who were enrolled when they came out of Egypt, should be found written in the roll of the living at their entering into Canaan, but Caleb and Joshua. [3.] How it was ratified; I sivore it. It was not only a purpose, but a decree; the oath showed the immittabi-Uty of his counsel; the Lord swore, and will not re-ftent: it cut off the thought of any reserve of mercy. God's threatenings arc as sure as his promises.

Now this case of Israel may be applied to those of their posterity, that lived in David's time, when this psalm was penned; let them hear God's voice, and not harden their hearts as their fathers did, lest, if they were stiff-necked like them, God should be

provoked to forbid them the privileges of his tempK at Jerusalem, of which he had said. This is my rest: but it nmst be applied to us Christians, because so the apostle applies it. There is a spiritual and eternal rest set before us, and promised to us, of which Canaan was a type; we are all (in profession, at least) bound for this rest; yet many that seem to be so, come short, and shall never enter into it. And what is it that ])uts a bar in their door.^ It is sin, it is unbelief, that sin against the remedy, against our appeal. They that, like Israel, distrust God, and his power and goodness, and prefer the garlick and onions of Egypt before the milk and honey of Canaan, will justly l)e shut out from his rest: so shall their doom be, themselves have decided it. Let us therefore fear, Heb. iv. 1.

PSALM XCVI.

This psalm is part of that which was delivered into the hand of Asaph and his brethren; (1 Chron.x\i. 7.) by which it appears, both that David was the penman of it, and that it has reference to the bringing up of the ark to the city of David. Whether that long psalm was made first, anil this afterward taken out of it, or this made first, and afterward borrowed to make up that, is not certain; bi>t this is certain, that, though it was sung at the translation of the ark, it looks further, to the kingdom of Christ, and is designed to celebrate the glories of that kingdom, especially the accession of the Gentiles to it. Here is, I. A call given to all people to praise God, to worship him, and give glory to him, as a "reat and glorious God, V. 1..9. fl. Notice given to all people of God's universal government and judgment, which ought to be the matterof universal joy, V. 10.. 13. In singing this psalm, we ought to have our hearts filled with great and high thoughts of the ^lory of God and the grace of the gospel, and with an entire satisfaction in Christ's sovereign dominion, and in the expectation of the judgment to come.

1. ^^ SING unto the Lord a new song; \^ sing unto the Lord all the earth.

2. Smg unto the Lord, bless his name: show forth his salvation from day to da}-.

3. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. 4. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised : he is to be feared above all gods. 5. For all the gods of the nations ewe idols: but the Lord made the heavens. 6. Honour and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in liis sanctuary. 7. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength; 8. Give unto the Lord the glory chie 2nito his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. 9. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him all the earth.

These verses will be best expounded by pious and devout affections working in our souls toward God, with a high veneration for his majesty and transcendent excellency. The call here given us to praise God is very lively, the expressions are raised and repeated, to all which the echo of a thankful heart shoidd make agreeable returns. We are here required to hcnciu' God,

I. With songs, v. 1, 2. Three times we are here called to sing unto the Lord; sing to the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the begin-ning, when the jnorning stars sang together, is now, in the church militant, and ex-er shall be, in the church triumpliant. We have reason to do it often, and we have need to be (ften reminded cf it, and stirred up to it. Sing unto the Lord,ihat'is, "Bless his name, speak weU of him, that you may bring

PSALMS, XCVl.

487

others to think well of him." 1. &>?_§• a new song, an excellent song, the product of new affections, clothed with new expressions. We speak of nothing more despicable than an old song, but the newness of a song recommends itj for tliere we expect something surprising. A new song is a song for new favours, for those compassions which are new every morning. A new song is a New Testament song, a song of praise for the new covenant, and the precious privileges of that covenant. A new song is a song tliat shall be ever new, and shall never wax old or vanish away; it is an everlasting sc ng, that shall never be anticjuatcd, or out of date. 2. Let all the earth sing this sorig, not the Jews onl\', to whom hitherto the service of God had been appropriated, who could not sing the LorcVs song i?i (would not sing it to"^ a strange land; but let al/ t/ie earth, all that are redeemed from the earth, learn and sing this new song, Rev. xiv. 3. This is a prr^-phecy of the calling of the Gentiles; all the earth shall liave this new song put into their ?nouths, shall have both cause and call to sing it. 3. Let the subject-matter of this song be his salvation; the great salvation which was to be wrought out by the Lord Jesus; that must be showed forth as the cause of this joy and praise. 4. Let these songs be sung constantly, and not only in the times appointed for the solemn feasts, but from day to dav; it is a subject that can ne\er be exhausted. Let day unto day utter this speech, that, under the influence of gospel-devotions, we may daily exemplify a gospel-conversation.

II. With sermons, {v. 3.) Declare his glory among the heathen, even his wonders among all jieo-file. 1. Salvation by Christ is here spoken of as a work of wonder, and that in which the glory of God shines very bright; in showing forth that salvation, we declare God's glory as it shines in the face of Christ. 2. This salvation was, in the Old Testament times, as heaven's happiness is now, a glory to be rex'ealed; but, in the fulness of time, it wa's declared, and a full discovery made of that even to babes, which propliets and kings desired and wished to sec, and might not. 3. Wliat was then discovered was declared only among the Jews, but it is now declai-ed among the heathen, among all people; the nations which long sat in darkness now see this great light. The apostles' commission to preach the gospel to every creature, is copied from this here; Declare his glory among the heathen.

III. With religious services, v. 7"9. Hitherto, though in every nation they th-^it feared God, and wrought righteousness, were accepted of him, yet instituted ordinances were the peculiarities of the Jewish religion: but, in gospel-times, the kindreds of the people shall be invited and admitted into the service of God, and be as welcome as ever the Jews were. The court of the Gentiles shall no longer ])c an outward court, but shall be laid in common with the court of Israel. All the earth is here summoned to fear before the Lord, to worship him according to his appointment. In every place incense shall be offered to his name, Mai. i. 11. Zech. xiv. 17. Isa. Ixvi. 23. This indeed spake mortification to the Jews, but withal it gave a prospect of that which would redound very much to the glory of God, and to the happiness of mankind.

Now observe how the acts of devotion to God are here described. 1. We must give unto the Lord; not as if God needed any thing, or could receive any thing, from us or any creature, which was not his own before; much less be benefitted by it; but we must, in cur best affections, adorations, and services, return to him what we have received from him, and do it freely, as what we give; for God loves a cheerful giver. It is debt, it is rent, it is tribute, it is •vhat nmst be paid, and, if not, will be recovered,

and yet if it come from holy love, God is pleased tu accept it f.s a gift. 2. We 'must acknowledge Gf il to be the sovereign Lord, and pay homage to him accordingly; (v. 7.) Give unto the Lord glory and strength, glory and empire, or dominion, so "seme. As a king, he is clothed with robes of glory, and girt with the girdle of power, and we must subscribe to both; Thiiie is the kingdom, and therefore thine is the power and the glory. " Give the glory to God, do not take it to yourselves, nor give it to any creature." 3. We must give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name, that is, to the disco^•cry he has been pleased to make of himself to the children ef men. In all the acts of religious worship, this is that which we must aim at, to lunc ur G( d, to pay him some of that reverence which we owe him as the best of beings, and the Fountain of cur b.,ing. 4. We muat bring an offering into his courts. We must bring ourselves in the first place; the offering up of the Gentiles, Rom. xv. 16. We must offlr up the sacrifices of praise continually, (Heb. xiii. 15.) must otten appear before God in public worship, and never appear before him empty. 5. We must worship him in the beauty of holiness, in the solemn assembly where divine institutions are religiously observed, the beauty of which is their holiness, that is, their conformity to the rale: we must worship him with holy hearts, sanctified by the grace of God, devoted to the glory of God, and purified from the pollutions of sin. 6. We must/cor before him; all the acts of worship must be pei-formed from a principle of the fear of God, and with a holy awe and re^■erence.

In the midst of these calls to praise God, and give glory to him, glorious things are here said of him, l:)oth as motives to praise and matter of praise.

The Lord is great, and therefore greatly to be praised, (v. 4.) and^o be feared; great and honourable to liis attendants, great and terrible to his adversaries. Even the new song proclaims God great as well as good; for his goodness is his glory; and when the everlasting gospel is preached, this is it, Fear God, and give glory to him. Rev. xiv. 6, 7.

(1.) He is great in his sovereignty over all that pretend to be deities; none dare vie with him; He is to be feared above all gods, all princes, who were often deified after their deaths, and even while they lived were adored as petty gods; or rather, all idols, the gods of the nations, v. 5. All the earth being called to sing the new song, they must be convinced that the Lord Jehovah, to whose honour they must sing it, is the One only living and true God, infinitely above all rivals and pretenders: he is great, and they are little; he is all, and they are nothing: so the word used for idols signifies; for we know that an idol is ?iothing in the world, 1 Cor. viii. 4.

(2.) He is great in his right, even to the noblest part cf the creation; for it is his own work, and derives its being frcm him: The Lord made the heavens, and all their hosts; they are the work of his fingers, (viii. 3.) so nicely, so curiously, are they made. The gods of the nations were all made gods, the creatures of men's fancies; but our God is the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars, those lights of heaven, which they imagined to be gcds, and worshipped as such.

(3.^ He is great in the manifestation of his glory both m the upper and lower world; among his angels in heaven, and his saints on earth; {y. 6.) Splendour and majesty are before him, in his immediate presence above, where the angels cover their faces, as unable to bear the dazzling lustre of his glory. Strength and beauty are in his sajictuai-y, both that above and this below. In God there is every thing that is awful, and yet eveiy thing that is amial)le. If we attend him in his sanctuary, we shall behold his beauty, for God is Love, and experience his

PSALMS, XCVII.

strength, for he is our Rock. Let us therefore go forth, in his strength, enamoured with his beaiity.

10. Say among the heathen, i/iat the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall, not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously. 11. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. 12. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice 13. Before the Lord : for he Cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

We hive here instructions given to those who were to preach the gospel to the nations, what to preach; or to these who had themselves received the gospel, wliat account to give of it to their neighbours, what to say among the heathens; and it is an illustrious prophecy of the setting up of the kingdom of Christ upon the ruins of the Devil's kingdom, which began immediately after his ascension, and will continue in the doing till the mystery of God be finished.

1. Let it be told that the Lord reigns, the Lord Christ reigns, that King whom God determined to set upon his holy hill of Zion. See how this was first said among the heathen by Peter, Acts x. 42. Some of the ancients added a gloss to this, which by degrees crept into the text, The Lord reigneth from the tree; so Justin Martyr, Austin, and others, quote it; meaning the cross, when he had this title written over him. The King of the Jews. It was because he became obedient to death, even the death of the cross, that God exalted him, and gave him a . name above every name, a throne above every throne. Some of the heathen came betimes to inquire after him that was born King of the Jeivs, IVIatth. ii. 2. Now let them know that he is come, and his kingdom is set up.

■2. Let it be told tliat Christ's government will be the world's happy settlement; The world also shall he established, that it shall not be tnoved. The natural world shall be established; the standing of the world, and its stability, are owing to the mediation of Christ. Sin had given it a shock, and still threatens it; but Christ, as Redeemer, upholds all things, and prcser\es the course of nature. The world of mankind shall be established, shall be preserved, till all that belong to the election of grace are called in, though a guilty provoking world. The Christian religion, as fir as it is embraced, shall establish states and kingdoms, and preser\"e good order among men. The church in the world shall be es-tablislied, (so some,) that it camiot be moved, for it is built ufion a rock; and the gates of hell shall never fireiiail against it; it is a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

3. Let them be told that Christ's government will be incontcstalily just and righteous; He shall Judge the fieofile righteojislu, {v. 10.) judge the world with righteousness and with his truth, v. 13. Judging is here put for niling; and though this may l)e extended to the general judgment of the world at the last dav, which will be /;? righteousness, (Acts xvii. 31.) yet it refers more immediately to Christ's first coming, and the setting up of his kingdom in the world by the gospel. He says himself, For judgment am I come into this world; (John ix. 39.-^xii. 31.) and declares that all judgment was committed to him, John v. 22, 27. His ruling and judging with righteousness and truth, signify, (1.) That all the laws and ordinances of his kingdom

shall be consonant to the rules and principles of eternal truth and equity, that is, to the rectitude and purity of the divine nature and will. (2.) That all his administrations rf government shall be just and faithful, and according to what he has said. (3.) That he shall rule in tlie hearts and consciences of men by the commanding power of ti-uth, and the Spirit of righteousness and sanctification. \\'hen Pilate asked our Saviour, Art thou a king? he answered. For this cause came I iiito the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth; (John xviii. 37.) for he i-ules l^y truth, commands men's wills by informing their judgments aright.

4. Let them be told that his coming draws nigh; that this King, this Judge, standeth before the door; for he cometh, for he cometh. Enoch, the seventh frcm Adam, said so. Behold, the Lord cometh^ Jude 14. Between thiS' and his first coming the revolutions of many ages intervened, and yet he came at the set time, and so sure will his second coming be; though it is now long since it was said. Behold, he comes in the clouds, (Rev. i. 7.) and he is not yet come. See 2 Pet. iii. 4, &c.

5. Let them be called upon to rejoice in this honour that is put upon the Messiah, and this great ti-ust that is to be lodged in his hand; (t. 11, 12.) Let heaven and earth rejoice, the sea, the field, and all the trees of the wood. The dialect here is poetical; the meaning is, (1.) That the days of the Messiah will be joyful days, and, as far as his grace and government ai'e submitted to, will bring joy along with them; we have reason to give that place, that soul, joy, into which Christ was admitted. See an instance of both; (Acts viii.) when Samaria received the gospel, there was great joy in that city; (v. 8.) and when the eunuch wns baptized, he went on his way rejoicivg, v. 39. (2.) That it is the duty of every cne of us to ])id Christ and his kingdom welcome; for though they crme conquering and to conquer, yet they ccme peaceably. Hosanna, Blessed is he that cometh; and again, Hosanna, Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, Mark xi. 9, 10. Not'rnly lei the daughter of Zion rejoice that her King comes, (Zech. ix. 9.) but let all rejoice. (3.) That the whole creation will have reason to rejoice in the setting up of Christ's kingdom, even the sea, rnd the field; for as by the sin of the first Adiim the wlirle creation was made subject to vanity, so by the grace of the second Adam it shall, some Avay or (thcr, first or last, be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious 'liberty of the children of God, Rom. viii. 20, 21. (4.) "That there will, in the first place, he joy in heaven, joy in the presence of the angels of God; for when the First-begotten was brought into the world, they sang their .anthems to his praise, Luke ii. 14. (5.) That God will graciously accept the holy joys and praises rf all the hearty well-wishers to the kingdom of Christ, be their capacity ever so mean. The sea can but roar, and how the'trees of the wood can show that they rejoice, I know not; but he that searches the heart knows nvhat is the mind of the Spirit, and understands the language, the broken language, of tlie weakest.

PSALM XCVIL

This psalm dwells tipon the same subject, and is set to the same tunc, with the forefrompr psalm. Christ is the Alpha and the Omopa of both; they are both penned, and are both to be sunpr, to his honour; and we make no-thincr of thorn, if we do not, in them, make melody ivith our hearts to the I-ord Jesus. He it is that rcijrns, to the joy of all mankind; (v. 1.) and his povernment speaks, I. Terror to his enemies; for he is a Prinre of inflexible justice, and irresistible power, v. 2- .7. II. Comfort to his friends and loyal subjects; arising from his sovereigD dominion, the care he takes of his people, and the provision he makes for them, v. 8..12. In singinp thi«

PSALMS, XCVII.

489

psatm, we must be affected with the glory of the exalted-Retleemer, must dread the lot of his enemies, and think ourselves happy, if we are of those that Zeiss the Son.

1. ^'T^HE Lord reigneth, let the earth re-1_ joice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. 2. Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. 3. A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. 4. His lightnings en-hghtened the world: the earth saw, and ti-embled. 5. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. 6. The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory. 7. Confounded be all they that serve gi-aven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him all ije gods.

What was to be said among the heathen in the foregoing psalm, {v. 10.) is here said again, (x*. 1.) and is made the subject of this psalm, and of psalm xcix. The Lord reigns; that is the great truth here laid down. The Lord Jehovah reigns; he that made the .world governs it; he that gave being gives motion and power, gives law and commission, gives success and event; every man's judgment proceeds from the Lord, from his counsel and providence, and in all affairs, both public and private, he performs the thing which he himself has appointed. The Lord Jesus reigns; the pi'ovidential kingdom is twisted in with the mediatorial, and the administration of both is in the hand of Christ; who therefore is both the Head of the church, and Head over all tJiirigs to the church.

The kingdom of Christ is so constituted, that,

L It may be matter of joy to all; and it will be so, if it be' not their own fault. Let the earth rejoice, f:r hereby it \s established; (xcvi. 10.) it is honoured and enrichea, and, in part, rescued from the vanity which by sin it is made subject to. Not only let the people of Israel rejoice in him, as King of the Jews, and the daughter of Zion, as her King, but let all the earth rejoice in his elevation; for the kingdoms of the world shall, more or less, sooner or later, become his kingdoms: let the multitude of isles, the many or great isles, be glad thereof. This is applicable to our country, which is a great isle, and has many belonging to it; however, it speaks comfort in general to the Gentiles, whose countries are called the isles of the Gentiles, Gen. x. 5. There is enough in Christ for the multitude of the isles to rejoice in; for though many have been made happy in him, yet still there is room.

All have reason to rejoice in Christ's government.

1. In the equity of it. • There is an incontestable justice in all the acts of his government, both legislative and judicial; sometimes indeed clouds and darkness are round about him, his dispensations are altogether unaccountable, his ivay is in the sea, and his fiath in the great waters; we are not aware of what he designs, what he drives at; nor is it fit that we should be let into the secrets of his government; there is a depth in his counsels which we must not pretend to fathom; but still righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne; a golden tliread of justice runs through the whole web of his administration. In this he resides, for it is his habi-Uition. In this he rules, for it is the habitation of his throne. His com?nandments are, and will be, all righteous. Righteousness and judgment are the basis of his throne;, {so Dr. Hammond,) for there-

VoL. III.—3Q

fore his throne is for ever and ever, because his sceptre is a right scefitre, xlv. 6. The throne is established in righteousness. Evgn the heavens declare his righteousness; (y. 6.) it is as conspicuous and as illustrious as the heavens themselves. The angels of heaven will declare it, who are employed as messengers in the administration of his government, and therefore know more of it than any of his creatures. His righteousness is incontestable; for who can contradict or dispute what the heavens declare? 1. 6.

2. In the extent of it in the upper and lower world.

(1.) All the men on earth are under his government; either he is served by them, or he serves himself by them. All the fieofile see his glory, or may see it. The glory of God, in the face of Christ, was made to shine in distant countries, among many people, more or less, among all people; the gospel was preached, for aught we know, in all languages, Acts ii. 5, 11. Miracles were wrought in all nations, and so all the people saw his glory. Have they not heard? Rom. x. 18.

(2.) All the angels in heaven are so; perhaps we should not have found this truth in those words, (x*. 7. ) worship him all ye gods, if we had not been directed to it by the inspired apostle, who, from the Septuagint version of those words, makes the Messiah to be introduced into the upper world, at the ascension, with this charge, (Heb. i. 6.) Let all the angels of God worship him; which helps us to a key to this whole psalm, and shows us that it must be applied to the exalted Redeemer, who is gone into heaven, and is on the right harul of God; which intimates that all power is given him both in heaven and earth; angels, authorities and powers being made subject unto him, 1 Pet. iii. 22. This speaks the honour of Christ, that he has such worshippers; and the honour of all good Christians, that they have such fellow-worshippers.

II. Christ's government, though it may be matter of joy to all, will yet be matter of terror to some, and it is their own fault that it is so, v. 3«'5, 7. Observe,

1. When the kingdom of Christ was to be set up in the world, after his ascension, it would meet with many enemies, and much opposition would be given to it. He that reigns to the joy of the whole earth, yet, as he has his subjects, so he has his enemies, (v. 3.) that not only will not have him to reign over them, but would not have him to reign at all; that not only will not enter into the kingdom of heaven themselves, but do all they can to hinder those that are entering, Matth. xxiii. 13. This was fulfilled in the enmity ot the unbelieving Jews to the gospel of Christ, and the violent persecution which in all places they stirred up against the preachers and professors of it. These enemies are here called hills, {v. 5.) for their height and strength, and immoveable obstinacy. They were the princes of this world that crucified the Lord of glory, 1 Cor. ii. 8. Ps. ii. 2.

2. The opposition which the Jews gave to the setting uj) ot Christ's kingdom turned to their own ruin. Their persecuting of the apostles, and forbidding them to speak to the Gentiles, filled up their sin, and brought wrath upon them to the uttermost, 1 Thess. ii. 15, 16. That wrath is here compared, (1.) To consuming fire which goes before him, and burns up his enemies, that have made themselves like chaff and stubble, and have set the briers and thorns before him in battle, Isa. xxvii. 4. This fire of divine wrath will not only bum the rubbish upon the hills, but will even melt the hills themselves like wax, v. 5. When our God appears as a con-suminiz: Fire, even rocks will be wax before him, Th(' most resolute and daring opposition will be baffled at the presence of the Lord. His very pr©-

PSALMS, XCVIl.

sence is enough to shame and sink it, for he is the Lord of the whole earth, by whom all the children of men are manaeeable, and to whom they are accountable. Men nate and persecute God's people, because they think him absent, that the Lord has forsaken the earth; but when he manifests his presence, they melt. (2.) To am sizing lig-htnings, (y. 4. ) which strike a terror upon many. The judgments of God brought upon the enemies of Christ's kingdom, were such as all the world took notice of with terror; The earth saw and trembled, and the ears of all that heard were made to tingle. This was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nations by tlie Romans, about forty years after Christ's resurrection, which, like fire, wholly destroyed that people, and, like liglitning, astonished all their neighbours; (Dcut. xxix. 24.) but tlie heavens declare God's righteousness in it, and all the people, to this day, see his glory, in those lasting monuments of his justice, the scattered Jews.

3. Idolaters also would be put to confusion by the setting up of Christ's kingdom; {v. 7.) Co?ifou>ided be all they who serve graven images, the Gentile world, who did service to them that by nature are no gods, (Gal. iv. 8.) who boast themselves of idols as their protectors and benefactors. Did they that served idols boast of them, and shall the servants of the living God distrust him, or be ashamed of him? Let them be ashamed that serve graven images. (1.) This is a prayer for the conversion of the Gentiles, that those who have been so long serving dumb idols mav be convinced of their error, ashamed of their folly, and may, by the power of Christ's gospel, be brought to serve the only li\ ing and tnie God, and may be as much ashamed of their idols as ever they were proud of them. See Isa. ii. 20, 21. (2.) This is a prophecy of the ruin of those that would not be reformed and reclaimed fi'om their idohitry; they shall be confounded by the destruction of paganism in the Roman empire, which was fulfilled about three hundred years after Christ, so much to the terror of idolaters, that some think it was the revolution under Constantine that made even the mighty men say to the rocks. Fall on us, and hide us, Rev. vi. 15, 16. This prayer and prophec}' are still in force against antichristian idolaters, wlio may here read their doom; Confounded be all they that worship graven images. See Jer. xlviii. 13.

8. Sion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced, because of thy judgments, O Lord. 9. For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth; thou art exalted far above all gods. 10. Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. 11. Light is sown for the rigiiteous, and gladness for tiie upright in heart. 12. Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

The kingdom of the Messiah, like the pillar of cloud and fire, as it has a dark side toward the Eg\'ptians, so it has a bright side toward the Israel of God. It is set up in spite of o])i)osition; and then the earth saw and trembled, (i>. 4.) l)Ut Zion heard, and was glad, very glad, to hear of the conversion of some, and of the confusion of otliers, that is, the conquest of all tliat stood it out against Christ. He-joice greatly, 0 daughter of Zion; for, behold, thi/ king comes unto thee, Zcch. ix. 9. And not Zion only, where the temple was, but even the daughters of

Judah, rejoiced; the common people, the inhabitants of the villages, they shall triumph in Christ's victories. The command {v. 1.) is. Let the earth rejoice; but it is only the sons of Zion and the daughters cf Judah that do rejoice. All should bid the kingdom of the Messiah welcome, but few do. Now here observe,

I. The reasons that are given for Zion's joy in the government of the Redeemer. The faithful servants of God may well rejoice and be glad;

1. Because (iod is glorified, and whatever n dounds to his honour is very much his people's pleasure. They rejoice because of thy judgments, 0 Lord; which ma)- take in both the judgments of his mouth, and tlie judgments (f his hand, the word of his gospel, and his works wrcught for the pnpagat ing of it, miracles and marvellous providences; for in these we must own, " YV/ow, Lord, art high above all the earth; {v. 9.) thcu hast manifested thy sovereignty in the kin;^dom of nature, and thy ctmmand of all its powc rs, and thy dominion over all nations, over all hearts; thou art exalted far above all gods; all deputed gods, that is, princes; all counterfeit gods, that is, idols. The exaltation of Christ, and the advancement of God's glory among men thereby, are the rejoicing of all the saints.

2. Because care is taken for their safety. Those tliat pay allegiance to Christ, as a King, shall be sure of his protection; princes are the shields of the earth, Christ is so to his subjects, they may put their trust under his shadow, and rejoice in it; tor, {y. 10.) He preserves the souls of the sairits; he preserves their lives as long as he has any work for them to do, and wonderfully delivers them many a time out of the hand of the wicked, their persecutors that thirst after their blood; ior precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. But something more is meant than their li\ es; for they that will be his disciples must be willing to lav down their lives, and not indent for the securing oi them. It is the immortal soul that Christ preserves, the inward man, which may be renewed more and more when the outward man decays. He will preserve the souls of his saints from sin, from apostasy, and despair, under tlieir greatest trials; he will deliver them out of the hands of the wicked one that seeks to devour them; he will preserve them safe to his heavenly kingdom, 2 Tim. iv. 18. They have therefore reason to be glad, being thus safe.

3. Because provision is made for their comfort; those that rejoice in Christ Jesus, and in his exalta tion, have fountains of joy treasured up for them, which will be opened sooner or later; (x^. 11.) Light is sown for the righteous, that is, gladness for tlie upright in heart. The subjects ot Christ's kingdom are bid to expect tribulation in the world; they must suffer by its malice, and must not share in its mirth; yet let them know, to their comfort, that light is sown for them, it is designed and prepared fortliem; what is sown will come up again in due time; though, like a winter seedness, it may lie long under the clods, and seem to be lost and buried, yet it will return in a rich and plentiful increase, (iod's goodness shall be sure of a harx<est in the appointed weeks. They that sow in tears, shall, without fail, reap in joy, cxxvi. 5, 6. Christ told his disciples, at parting, (John xvi. 20.) You shall be sorrowful, but i/our sorrow shall be turned into joy. Gladness is sure to the upright in heart, to those only that are sincere in religion. The joy of the hypocrite is but for a rnoment. There is no serenity without a lasting sincerity.

II. The rules that are given for Zion's joy.

1. Let it be a pure and holy joy; "Ye that love the Lord Jesus, that love his appearintc and kingdom, that love his word and his exaltation, see that ye hate evil, the evil of sin, every thing that is ofTen-

PSALMS, XCVIII.

491

sive to him, and will throw you out of his favour." Note, A ti-ue love to God will show itself in a real hatred of all sin, as that abominable thing which he hates. The joy of the saints should likewise confirm their antipathy to sin, and divine comforts should put their mouths out of taste for sensual pleasures.

2. Let the joy terminate in God; {v. 12.) Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; let all the streams of comfort, which flow to us in the channel of Christ's kingdom, lead us to the Fountain, and oblige us to rejoice i?i the Lord. All the lines of joy must meet in him as in the Centre. See Phil. iii. 3.—iv. 4.

3. Let it express itself in praise and thanksgiving; Give thanks at the rertiembrance of his holiness. Whatever is the matter of cur rejoicing, ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving; and particularly the holiness of God. They that hi\te sin tliemselves, are glad that God does so, in hopes thnt therefore he will not suffer it to have dominion over them. Note, (1.) We ought to be much in the remembrance of God's holiness, the infinite purity, rectitude, and perfection, of the divine nature. We must be ever mindful of his holy covenant, which he has confirmed with an oath by his holiness. (2.) We ought to give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness; not only give him the glory of it as it is an honour to him, but give him thanks for it as it is a favour to us; and an unspeakable favour it will be, if, through grace, we ^yh partakers of his holiness. It is God's holiness, which, above all his attributes, the angels celebrate; (Isa. vi. 3.) Holy, holy, holy. Sinners tremble, but saints rejoice, at the remembrance of God^s holiness, Ps. xxx. 4.

PSALM XCVIIL

This psalm is to the same purport with the two foregoing psalms; it is a prophecy of the kingdom of the Messiah, the setting of it up in the world, and the bringing of the Gentiles to it. The Chaldee entitles it a prophetic psalm. It sets forth, I. The glory of the Redeemer, v. 1.. 3. H. The joy of the redeemed, v. 4.. 9. If we in a right manner give to Christ this glorj-, and upon right grounds take to ourselves this joy, in sniging this psalrn, we sing it with understanding. If they who saw Christ's day at a distance, and in the promise only, must rejoice and triumph thus, much more reason have we to do so, who see these things accomplished, and share in the better things provided for us, Heb. xi. 40.

A fisalm.

1. i~\ SING unto the Lord a new song; \j' for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory. 2. The Lord hath made known his salvation : his righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the heathen. 3. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

We are here called upon again to sing unto the L'yrd a new song, as befcre, xcvi. 1. "Smg a most excellent song, the best song you have." Let the song of Christ's love be like Solomon's on that subject, a song of songs. A song of praise for redeem-'ng love is a new song, such a song as had not been •Jing before; for this is a mystery which was hid trom ages and generations. Converts sing a new iong, very different from what they had sung; they change their wonder, and change their joy, and therefore change their note. If the grace of God uut a new heart into our breasts, it will therewith put a new song into our mouths. In the new Jerusalem there will be new songs sung, that will be new to eternity, and never wax old.

Let this new song be sung to the praise of God, in consider.tticn of these four things:

1. The wonders he has wrought; He has done marvellous things, v. 1. Note, The work of our salvation by Christ is a work of wonder. If we take a view of all the steps of it, from the contrivance of it, and the counsels of God concerning it before all time, to the consummation of it, and its everlasting consequences when time shall be no more, we shall say, God has in it done marvellous things; it is all his doing, and it is marcellous in our eyes. The more it is known, the more it will be admired.

2. The conquests he has won; His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him the victory. Our Redeemer has surmounted all the difficulties that lay in the way of our redemption, has broken through them all, and was not discouraged by the services or sufferings appointed him. He has subdued all the enemies that opposed it, has gotten the victory over Satan, disarmed him, and cast him out of his strong holds, has spoiled jirincipalities and powers, (Col. ii.^ 15.) has taken the prey from the mighty, (Isa. xlix. 24.) and given death his death's wound; he has gotten a clear and complete \ictor\', not only for himself but for us also, for we thixmgh him are more than conquerors. He got this victory by his own power, there was none to help, none to uphold, none that durst venture into the service; but his right hand and his holy arm, which are therefore always stretched out with good success, because they are never stretched out'but in a good cause; these have gotten him the victory, have brought him relief or deliverance. God's power and faithfulness, called here his right hand and his holy arm, brought relief to the Lord Jesus, in raising him from the dead, and exalting him personally to the right hand of God; so Dr. Hammond.

3. The discoveries he has made to the world of the work of redemption. Wiiat he has wrought for us he has revealed to us, and both bv his Son; the gospel-revelation is that on which the gospel-kingdom is founded; The word which God sent. Acts x._36. The opening of the sealed book is that which is to be celebrated with songs of praise, (Rev. V. 8.) because by it was brought to light the mystery which had long been hid in God. Observe, (1.) The subject of this discovery; his salvation and his rightecusness, v. 3. Righteousness and salvation are often put together, as Isa. Ixi. 10.—xlvi. 13.—li. 5, 6, 8. Salvation denotes the redemption itself, and righteousness the way in which it was wrought, by the righteousness of Christ. Or, the salvation includes all our gospel-privileges, and the righteousness all our gospel-duties; both are made known, for God has joined them together, and we must not separate them. Or, righteousness is here put for the way of our justification by Christ, which IS revealed in the gospel to be by faith, Rom. i. 17. (2.) The plainness of this discovery; he has openly showed it, not in types and figures as under the law, but it is written as with a sun-beam, that he that runs may read it. Ministers are appointed to preach it with all plainness of speech. (3.) The extent of this discoverv; it is made in the sight of the heathen, and not of the Jews only; Ml the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God; fcr to the Gentiles was the word of salvation sent.

4. The accomplishment of the prophecies and the promises of the Old Testament, in this; {x>. 3.) He has remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel. God had mercy in store for the seed of Abraham, and had given them many and great assurances of the kindness he designed them in the latter days; and it was in pursuance of all those, that he raised up his Son Jesus to be not only a Light to lighten the Gentiles, but the Glory ofh'is people Israel, for he sent him, in the first place, to

PSALMS, XCIX.

bless them. God is said, in sending Christ, to p.er-form the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember the holy coveriant, Luke i. 72. It was in consideration of that, and not of their merit.

4. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth; make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. 5. Sing unto the Lord with the harp ; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. 6. With trumpets, and sound of cornet, make a joyful noise before the Lord the King. 7. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 8. Let the floods clap tlip.ir hands: let the hills be joyful together 9. Before the Lord : for he cometh to judge tlie earth : with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

The setting up of the kingdom of Christ is here represented as a matter of joy and praise.

1. Let all the childi'en of men rejoice in it, for they all have, or may have, benefit by it. Again and again we are here called upon by all ways and means possible to express our joy in it, and give God praise for it; Make a joyful noise, as before, xcv. 1, 2. Make a loud noise, as those that are affected with those glad tidings, and are desirous to affect others with them; Rejoice and sing- firaise; sing Hosanna; (Mutth. xxi. 9.) sing Hallelujahs, Rev. xix. 6. Let him be welcomed to the throne, as new kings are, with acclamations of joy and loud shouts, till the earth ring again, as when Solomon was proclaimed, 1 Kings i. 40. And let the shouts of the crowd be accompanied with the singer^ and filayers on instruments, (Ps. Ixxxvii. 7.—Ixviii. 25.) as is usual in such solemnities. (1.) Let sacred songs attend then-w King; "Sing/iruisf, singiuith the voice of a psalm. Express your j<iy; thus proclaim it, thus excite it yet more, and thus propagate it among others." (2.) Let these be ass sted with sacred music, not only with the soft and gentle melody of the haip, but, since it is a vict(,rious King, whose glory is to be celebrated, who gees forth conquering and to conquer, let him be pro'claimcd with the martial sound of the ti-umpet and cornet, V. 6. Let all this joy be directed to Ciod, and expressed in a solemn religious manner; Make a joyful noise to the Lord, v. 4. Sing to the Lord; {v. 5. ) do it before the Lord, the King, v. 6. Carnal mirth is an enemy to this holy joy. When Da\ id danced liefore the ark, he pleaded that it -.uas before the Lord; and the piet)' and devotion of the intention not only vindicated what he did, Ijut cnnmiend-ed it. We must rejoice before the Lord, whenc\er we draw near to him, (Dcut. xii. 12.) liefnre the Lord Jesus, and before him, not only as the Sni'ur, but as the King, the King of kings, the church's King, and our King.

2. Let the inferior creatures rejoice in it, v. 7» -9. This is to the same purport with what we had before; (xcvi. 11-'13.) Let the sea roar, and let that be called, not as it u^ed to be, a dreadful noise, but a joijful noise; for the coming of Christ, and the salvation wrought out by him, have qviitc altered the property c)f the troubles and terrors of this world, so that when the floods lift up their voice, lift up their waves, we must not construe that to t)e the sea roaring against us, but rather rejoicing ivith us. Let the floods express tlieir joy, as men do when they clap their hands; und let the hills that tremble for fear, before Ciod, when he came down to give the law at mount Sinai, dance for joy, before him, when his gospel is preached, and that

word of the Lord goes forth from Zion in a stil. small voice; Let the hills he joyful together bejore. the Lord. This intimates that the kingaom of Christ would be a blessing to the whole creation; but that, as the inferior creatures declare the glorv of the Creator, (xix. 1.) so they declare the glorv of the Redeemer, for by him all things not only subsist in their being, huX consist in their order. It intimates likewise, that the children of men would be wanting in paving their due respects to the Redeemer, and therefore that he must look for his honour from the sea and the floods, which would shame the stupidity and ingratitude cf mankind. And perhaps respect is here had to the ueiv heavens and the new earth, which we yet, according to his promise, look for; (2 Pet. iii. 13.) and this second mention of his coming, after the like, (Ps. xcvi.) may principally refer to his second coming, when all these things shall be so dissolved as to be refined; then shall he come Xo judge the world with righteousness. In the prospect of that day all that are sanctified do I'ejoice, and even the sea, and the floods, and the hills, would rejoice, if they could. One would think that Virgil had these psalms in his eye, as well as the oracles of tlie Cumcan Siliyl, in his fourth eclogue, where he cither ignorantly, or basely, applies to Asinius PoUio the ancient pn pliccies, which at that time were expected to be fulfilled; for he lived in the reign of Augustus Cxsar, a little before our Saviour's birth. He owns they looked for the birth of a child from heaven, that should be a gi-eat blessing to the world, and restore the golden age.

Jam nova progi nics ca.'lo dcmittilur alto— A new raco descends I'lom the lofty sky ;

and that should take away sin;

Tc duce, si qua manent sceleris vestigia nostri, Iirita perpetuii solvent forniidine terras— Thine influence shall efface every stain of corruption, And free the world from alarm.

Many other things he says of this long-looked-for child, which Ludovicus Vives, in his notes on that eclogue, thinks applicable to Christ; and he concludes, as the psalmist here, with a prospect of the rejoicuig of the whole creation herein:

Aspice, venturo la;tentur ut omnia sa"clo— See, how this promis'd age makes all rejoice.

And if all rejoice, why should not we.''

PSALxM XCTX.

Still we are celebrating the plories of the kingdom of God among men, and are called upon to praise him, as in the foregoing psalms; but those psalms looked forward to the times of the gospel, and prophesied of the graces and comforts of those times; this psalm seems to dwell more upon the Old Testament dispensation, and the manifestation of God's glory and grace in that. The Jews were not, in expectation of the Messiah's kingdom and the evangelical worsliip, to neglect the divine regimen they were then tiiider, and the ordinances that were then given them, but in them to see God reigning, and to worship before him according to the law of Moses. Prophecies of good things to come, must not lessen our esteem of good thin<rs present. To Israel indeed pertained the promises, which they were bound to'believe; but to them pertained also the giving of the law, and the service of God, which they were also bound dutifully and conscientiously to attend to, Rom. i.\. 4. And tliis they are called to do, in this psalm; where yet there is much of Christ, for the government of (he church was in the hands of the Eternal Word before he was incarnate; and, besides, the ceremonial services were types and figures of evangelical worship. The people of Israel are here required to praise and exalt God, and to worship liefore him, in consideration of these two things: I. The happy constitution of the govertuiient they were under, both in sacred and civil things, v. 1..6. II. Some instances of the happy administration ol it, v. 6- .9. In singing this psalm, we must set ourselves to exalt the name of God, as it is made known to us in the gospel, which we have much more reason to do than they hid who lived under the law.

PSALMS, XCIX.

493

J'^HE Lord reigneth; let the; people tremble: he sjtteth between the clie-mbims; let the eartii be moved. 2. The Lord is great in Zioa, and he is high above all people. 3. Let them praise thy great an;! terrible name ; >/' it is holy. 4. The king's strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish equity : thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob. 5. Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.

The foundation of all religion is laid in this truth, That the Lord reigns. God governs the world by his providence, governs the churcli by his grace, and both by his Son. We are to believe not only that the Lord lives, but that the Lord reigm. This is the triumph of the Christian church, and here it was the ti-iumph of the Jewish church, that Jehovah was their King; and hence it is inferred, Let the fieofik tremble, that is, (1.) Let even the subjects of this kingdom tremble; foi the Old Testament dispensation had much of terror in it: at mount Sinai, Israel, and even M -ses himself, did exceedingly fear and quake; and then God was terrible tn his holy places; even when he appeared in his people's behalf, he did terrible things. But we are not now come to that mount that burned ivithfire, Heb. xii. 18. Now that the Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice: then he I'uled more by the power of holy fear, now of holy love. (2.) Much more let the enemies of this kingdom tremble; for he will either bring them into obedience to his golden sceptre, or crusii them with his iron rod. The Lord reigns, though the fieojile be stirred with indignation at it; though they fret away all their spirits, their rage is all in vain, he will set his King upon his holy hill of Zion, in despite of them; (ii. !• -iS.) first, or last, he will make them tremble, Rev. vi. 15, 8cc. The Lord reigns, let the earth be moved. Those that submit to him, shall be established, and not moved; f xcvi. 10.) but they that oppose him will be moved. Heaven and earth shall be shaken, and all nations; but the kingdom of Christ is wh it cannot be moved; th° things which cannot he shaken, shall remain, Heb. xii. 27. In these is continuance, Isa. Ixiv. 5. God's kingdom, set up in Israel, is here made the subject of the psalmist's praise.

1. God presided in the affairs of religion; He sit-teth between the cherubims, {v. 1.) as on his throne, to give law by the oracles thence delivered; as on the mercy-seat, to receive petitions. This was the honour of Israel, that they had among them the Shechinah, or special presence of God, attended by the holy angels: the temple w is the royal palace, and the Holy of holies was the presence-chamber. The Lord 'is great in Zion; {v. 2.) there he is known and praised, (Ixxvi. 1, 2.) there he is served as great, more than any where else; he is high there above all fieofile; as that which is high is exposed to view, and looked up to, so in Zion the perfections of the divine nature appear more conspicuous and more illustrious than anv where else. Therefore let them that dwell in Zion, and worship there, firaise thii great and terrible name, and give thee the glory due unto it, for it is holy. The holiness of God's name makes it truly great to his friends, and terrible to his enemies', v. 3. T'his is that which they above adore. Holy, holy, holy.

2. He was all in all, in their civil government, v. 4. As in Jenisalem was the testimony of Israel, whither the tribes went up, so there were set thrones of judgment, (cxxii. 4, 5.") their government was a theocracy: he raised up David to nile over them,

(and some think this psalm was penned u]jon occasion of his quiet and h..ppy settlement ia the throne,) and he is the king whose strength loves judgment. He is strong, all his strength he has from God, and his strength is not abused for the support of any wrong, as the power of great princes otten is, but it loves judg7nent; he does justice with his power, and does it with delight; and herein he was a type of Christ, to whom God would give the throne of his father David, to do judgment and justice. He has power to crush, but his strength loves judgmait; he does not rule with rigour, but with moderation, with wisdom, and with tenderness. The people of Israel had a good king; but they are here taught to look up to God, as him by whom their king reigns; Tho'j, dost establish equity; God gave them those excellent laws by which they were governed; and thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob; h." not only by his immediate providences ofte" exei.u-ted and enforced his own laws, but '.ook care for me administration of justice among them by civil mae:--trates, who reigned by him, and by him did decret justice. Their judges judged for God, and their judgment was his, 2 Chron. xix. 6.

Putting these two things together, we see what was the happiness of Israel above any other people, as Moses had described it, (Deut. iv. 7, 8.) that they had God so nigh unto the?n, sitting between the chei-ubims, and that they had statutes andjudg-me.nts so righteous, by which equity was establislied, and God himself ruled in Jacob; from which he infers this command to that happy people; {v. 5.) ''Exalt ye the Lord our God, ana worship at his footstool; give him the glory of the good government you are under, as it is now established, both in church and state." Note, (1.) The greater the public mercies are, which we have a share in, the more we are obliged to bear a part in the public homage paid to God: the setting up of the kingdom of Christ, especially, ought to be the matter of our praise. (2.) When we draw nigh to God, to worship him, our hearts must be filled with high thoughts of him, and he must be exalted in our souls. (3.) The more we abase ourselves, and the more prosti-ate we are before God, the; more we exalt him. We must worship, at his footstool, at his ark, which was as the footstool to the mercy-seat between the cheruliims; or, we must cast ourselves down upon the pavement of his courts; and good reason we have to be thus reverent,/or he is holy; and his holiness should strike an awe upon us, as it does on the angels themselves, Isa. vi. 2, 3.

6. Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name : they called upon the Lord, and he answered them. 7. He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them. 8. Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God : thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions. 9. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill: for the Lord our God is holy.

The happiness of Israel in God's government is here further made out by some pailicular instances of his administration, especially with reference to those that were, in their day, the prime leaders, and most active useful governors, of that people, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, in the former of whom the theocracy or divine government liegan, (for they were employed to form Israel into a people,) and in the last of whom that form of government, in a great

PSALMS, C.

measure, ended; for when the people rejected baimiel, and urged him to resign, they are said to reject (iod hinKtlf, that he should not'be so imme-diite y their King as he had been, (1 Sam. viii. 7.) for now thjy would have a king, like all the nations. Moses, as well as Aaron, is said to be among his prieats, for he executed the priest's office till Aaron was settled in it, and he consecrated Aaron and his sons; therefore the Jews call him the Priest of the priests. Now concerning these three chief rulers observe, I. The intimate communion they had with God, and the wonderful favour to which he admitted them. None of all the nations of the earth could produce three such men as these, that had such an intercourse with Hea\en, and whom God knew by name, Exod. xxxiii. 17.

Here is, (1.) Their gracious observance of God: no kingdom had men that honoured God so as these three men of tlie kingdom of Israel did. They honoured him, [I. ] By their prayers. Samuel, though not am.mg his priests, yet was among them that called on his na7ne; and for this they were all famous. They called upon the Lord; they relied not on their own wisdom or virtue, but in every emergency had recourse to God, toward him was their desire, and on him tlieir dependence. [2. ] By their obedience; They kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them; they made conscience of their duty; and m every thing made God's word and law their rule, as knowing, that, unless they did so, they could not expect their prayers should be answered, Prov. xxviii. 9. Moses did all according to the pattern showed him; it is often repeated, According to all that God coinmanded Moses, so did he: Aaron and Samuel did likewise. Those were the greatest men and most honourable, that were most eminent for keeping God's testimonies, and conforming to the i-ule of his word.

(2.) God's gracious acceptance of them; He cin-swered them, and granted them the things which they called upon him for: they all wonderfully prevailed with God in prayer; niiracles were wrought at their special instance and request; nay, he not only condescended to do that for them which they desired, as a prince for a petitioner, but he communed with them as one friend familiarly converses with another; {v. 7.) He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar. He often spake to Samuel, from his childhovxl the word of the Lord came to him, and, probably, sometimes he spake to him by a bright cloud ovei-shadowing him: however, to Moses and Aaron he often spake out of the famous cloudy pillar, Exod. xvi. 10. Numb. xii. 5. Israel are now reminded of this, for the confirming of their faith, that though they had not every day such sensible tokens of God's presence as the cloudy pillar v>^as, yet to them that were their first founders, and to him that was their ^reat refonncr, God was pleased thus to manifest himself.

2. The good offices they did to Israel. They interceded for the people, and for them also they ob-cained many an answer of peace. Moses stood in the gap, and Aaron between the living and the dead; and when Israel was in distress, Samuel cried unto the Lord for them, 1 Sam. vii. 9. This is here re-fen-ed to; (x". 8.) Thou answeredst them, 0 Lord our God, and, at their prayer, thou wast a God that forgavest the people they prayed for; and though thou tookest vengeance of their inve?2tions, yet thou didsi not cut them dft" from l^eing a people, as their sin deserved. " 77^0?^ nuast a God that was pro/ii-tiousfor them, (so Dr. Hammond,) for their sakes, and spai'cdst the people at their request, then, wlien thou wast about to take vengeance of their inventions, when thy wrath was so highly provoked against them, that it was just ready to break in upon

them, to their utter overthrow." These were some of the many remarkable instances (f Gcd's dcnii-nion in Israel, mure than in any other nation, tor which the people are again called upon to praise God; {y. 9.) Exalt the Lord our God, on account of what he has done for us formei*ly, as well as of late, and worship at his holy hill of Zion, on which he has now set his temple, and will shortly set hia King, (ii. 6.) the former a type of the latter: there, as the centre of unity, let all God's-Israel meet, with their adorations,/or the Lord our God is holy, and appears so, not only in his holy law, but in his hoi) gospel.

PSALM C.

It is with good reason that many sing this psalm very frequently in their religious assemblies, for it is very proper both to express, and to excite, pious and devout aifections toward God in our approach to him in holy ordinances: and if our hearts go along with the words, we shall make melody in it to the Lord. The Jews say it was penned to be sung with their thank-oHerings; perhaps it was; but we say that as there is nothing in it peculiar to their economy, so its beginning with a call to all lands to praise God, plainly extends it to the gospel-church. Here, I. We are called upon to praise God, and rejoice in him, v. 1, 2, 4. II. We are furnished with matter for praise; we must praise him, considering his being and relation to us, (v. 3.) and his mercy and truth, v. 5. These are plain and common things, and therefore the more fit to be the matter of devotion.

A psalm of praise.

AKE a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. 2. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before his presence with singing. 3. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves: we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts witli praise : be thankful unto him, ajid bless his name. 5. For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting ; and his truth en-dureth to all generations.

Here,

I. The exhortations to praise are very importunate: the psalm does indeed answer to the title, A psalm of praise; it begins with that call which of late we have several times met with, {v. 1.) Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands, or all the earth, all the inhaliitants of the earth. When all nations shall be discipled, and the gospel preached to every creature, then this summons will oe fully answered to. But if we take the foregoing psalm to be (as we have opened it) a call to the Jewish church to rejoice in the administration of God's kingdom, which they were under, (as the four psalms before it were calculated for the days of the Messiali,) this psalm, perhai)s, was intended for proselytes, that came over out of all lands to the Jews' religion. However, we have here,

1. A strong invitation to worship God; not that God needs us, or any thing we have or can do, but it is his will that we should serve the Lord, should devote ourselves to his sei'S'ice, and employ ourselves in it; and that we should not only serve him in all instances of obedience to his law, but that we should co7ne before his presence in the ordinances which he has appointed, and in which he has i)ro-miscd to manifest himself, {v. 2.) that we should enter into his gates, and into his courts, {v. 4.) that we should attend u])on him among liis servants, and keep there where he keeps court. In all acts ot religicus worship, whether in secret or in our fami

PSALMS, CI.

l.es, we come into God's presence, and serve him; but it is in public worship especially that we enter i?Uo his gates, and into his courts. The people were not permitted to enter into the holy place, there the priests only went in to minister; but let the people be thankful for their place in the courts of God's house, to which they were admitted, and where they gave their attendance.

2. Great encoui'agi'ment given us, in woi'shipping God, to do it cheerfully; {y. 2.) Serve the Lord ivith gladness. This intimates a prediction that in gospel-times there should be special occasion for joy; and it prescribes this as a rule of worship; Let God be served ivith gladness. By holy joy we do really serve God; it is an honour to him to rejoice in him; and we ought to ser\'e him with holy joy. Gospel-worshippers should be joyful worshippers; if we serve God in upriglitness, let us serve him with gladness; we must be willing and fjrward to it; glad when we are called to^o ufi to the house of the Lord, (cxxii. 1.) looking upon it as the comfort of our lives to have communion with God; and we must be pleasant and cheerful in it, must say, It is good to be here; approaching to God in e\ery duty, as to God our exceeding ^oy, xliii. 4. We must come before his presence ivith singing, not only songs of joy, but songs of praise; (x*. 4.) Enter into his gates ivith thanksgiving. We must not only comfort ourselves, but glorify God with our joy, and let him have the praise of that which we have the pleasure of. Be thankful to him, and bless his name; that is, (1.) We must take it as a favour to be admitted into his service, and give him thanks that we have libei'ty of access to him, that we have ordinances instituted, and opportunity continued of waiting upon God in those ordinances. (2.) We must intermix praise and thanksgiving with all our services; this golden thread must run through every duty, (Heb. xiii. 15.) for it is the work of angels. In everxj thing give thanks; in every ordinance, as well as in every providence.

II. The matter of praise, and motives to it, are very important, v. 3, 5. Know ye what God is in himself, and what he is to you. Note, Knowledge is the Mother of devotion, and of all obedience: blind sacrifices will never please a seeing God. " Know it; consider and apply it, and then you will Ije more close and constant, more inward and serious, in the worship of him." Let us know then these seven things concerning the Lord Jehovah, with whom we have to do, in all the acts of religious worship:

1. That the Lord he is God, the only living and true God; that he is a Being infinitely perfect, self-existent, and self-sufficient, and the Fountain of all being; he is God, and not a man as we are. He is an eternal Spirit, incomprehensible and independent; the first Cause, and last End. The heathen worshipped the creature of their own fancy; the workmen made it, therefoi-e it is not God; we worship him that made us and all the world; he is God, and all other pretended deities are vanity and a lie, and such as he has triumphed over.

2. That he is our Creator; It is he that has made us, and not ive ourselves. I find that I am, but cannot say, I am that I am, and therefore must ask, Whence am I.'' Who made me? Where is God my Maker? And it is the Lord Jehovah. He gave us being, gave us this being; he is both the Former of our Ijodies, and the Father of oui", spirits. We did not, we could not, make oui'selves; it is God's prerogative to be his own Cause, our being is derived and depending.

3. That therefore he is our rightful Owner. The Mazorites, by altering one letter in the Hebrew, read it. He made us, and his ive are, or to him ive belong. Put both the readings together, and we .earn, that because God made us, and not ive our-

495

selves, therefore we are not our own, but his. He has an incontestable right to, and property in, us and all things. His we are, to be actuated by his power, disposed of by his will, and devoted to his honour and glory.

4. That he is our sovereign Ruler; We are his /leo/ile or subjects, and he is c ur Prince, our Rector or Governor, that gives law to us as moral agents, and will call us to an account for what we do. The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver; we are not at liberty to do what we will, but must always make conscience of doing as we are bidden.

5. That he is cur bountiful Benefactor; we are not only his sheep, whom he is entitled to, but the sheep of his pasture, whom he takes care of; the flock of his feeding, so it maybe read; therefore the sheep oj his hand; at his disposal, because the sheep ojf his pasture, xcv. 7. He that made us maintains us, and gives us all good things richly to enjoy.

6. That he is a God of infinite mercy and goodness; (z). 5.) The Lord is good, and therefore does good; his lyiercy is everlasting; it is a fountain that can never be drawn dry; the saints, who are now the sanctified vessels of mercy, will be, to eternity, the glorified monuments of mercy.

7. That he is a God of inviolable truth and faithfulness; His truth endures to all generations, and no word of his shall fall to the ground as antiquated or revoked; the promise is sure to all the seed, from age to age.

PSALM CL

David was certainly the penman of this psalm, and it has in it the grenuine spirit of the man after God's own heart; it is a solemn vow which he made to God, when he took upon him the charge of a family and of the kingdom. Whether it was penned when he entered upon the government, immediately after the death of Saul, as some think, or when he began to reign over all Israel, and brought up the ark to the city of David, as others think, is not material; it is an excellent plan or model for the good government of a court, or the keeping up of virtue and piety, and, by that means, good order, in it: but it is applicable to private families; it is the householder's psalm. It instructs all that are in any sphere of power, whether larger or narrower, to use their power so as to make it a terror to evil-doers, but a praise to them that do well. Here is, I. The general scope of David's vow, V. 1,2. II. The particulars of it, that he would detest and discountenance all manner of wickedness, (v. 3.. 5, 7, 8.) and that he would favour and encourage such as were virtuous, v. 6. Some think this may fitlyjje accommodated to Christ, the Son of David, who governs his church, the city of the Lord, by these rules, and who loves righteousness, and hates wickedness. In singinff this psalm, families, both governors and governed, should teach and admonish, and engage themselves and one another to walk by the rule oflt, that peace may be upon them, and God's presence with them.

A psalm of David.

1. "1" WILL sing of mercy and judgment* -1- unto thee, O I^ord, will I sing. 2. 1 will behave mj-self wisely in a perfect way. O! when wilt thou come unto me ? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. 3. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside, it shall not cleave to me. 4. A fro-ward heart shall depart from me; I will not know a wicked j9er5on. 5. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath a high look and a proud heart will not I suffer. 6. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may

PSALMS, CI.

dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. 7. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house ; he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. 8. 1 will early destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord.

David here cuts out to himself and others a pattern botli of a good magistrate, and a good master of a family; if these were careful to discharge the duty of their place, it would contiibute very much to a universal reformation. Observe,

I. The chosen subject of the psalm; {v. 1.) I will sing of mercy and judgment; that is, 1. Of God's mercy and judgment, and then it looks back upon the dispensations of Providence that had respected him since he was first anointed to be king; during which time he had met with many a rebuke, and much hardship, on the one hand, and yet, on the other hand, had many wonderful deliverances wrought for him, and favours bestowed upon him; of these he will sing unto God. Note, (1.) God's providences concerning his people are commonly mixed— mercy and judgment; God has set the one over-against the other, and appointed them April-days, showers and sun-shine. It was so with David and his family; when there was mercy in the return of the ark, there was judgment in the death of Uzzah. (2.) When God in his providence exercises us with a mixture of mercy and judgment, it is our dutv to sing, and sing unto him, both of the one and of the other; we must be suitably affected with both, and make suitable acknowledgments to God for both. The Chaldee paraphrase of this is observable; If thou bestoivest mercy ufion me, or If thou bring any judgment ufion me, before thee, U Lord, ivill Ising my hymns for all. Whatever our outward condition is, whether joyful or sorrowful, still we must give glory to God, and sing praises to liim; neither the laughter of a prosperous condition, nor the tears of an afflicted condition, must

Eut us out of tune for sacred songs. Or, 2. It may e understood of David's mercy and judgment; he would, in this psalm, promise to be merciful, and just, or wise, for judgment is often put for discretion. To do justly, and love mercy, is the sum of our duty; these he would covenant to make con-scienqi of in that place and relation to which God had called him; and this, in consideration of the various providences of God that had occurred to him. Famity-mercies, and family-afflictions, are both of them calls to family-religion. David puts his vow into a song or psalm, that he might the better keep it in his own mind, and frequently repeat it, and that it might the better be communicated to others, and preserved in his family, for a pattern to his sons and successors.

II. The general resolution David took up to conduct himself carefully and conscientiously in his colirt, V. 2. We have here, 1. A good purpose concerning his conversation—concerning his conversation in general, how he would behave himself in eveiy thing; he would live by rule, and not at large, not walk at all adventures; he would, though a king, by a solemn covenant, bind himself to his good behaviour—and concerning his conversation in his family particularly, not only how he would walk when he appeared in public, when he sat in the throne, but how he would walk within his house, where he was more out of the eye of the world, but where he still saw himself under the eye of God. It is not enough to put on our religion when we go abroad, and appear before men; but we must govern ourselves by it in our families. Those that are

in public stations are not thereby excused from care in governing their families; nay rather, they are more concerned to set a good example of ruling their own houses well, 1 Tim. iii. 4. When Da\ id had his hands full of public affairs, vet he returned to bless his house, 2 Sam. \\. 20. He resolves, (1.) To act conscientiously, and with integrity, to walx in a fierfvct way, in the way cf God's commandments, that is a perfect way, for the law of thp Lord is perfect. This he will walk in, with a per feet heart, with all sincerity, not dissembling eithet with Gcd or men. When we make the wc rd of God cmr rule, and are niled by it, the gloi)- cf God cur end, and aim at it, then we walk in a perfect way, with a perfect heart. (2.) To act considerately, and with discretion; I will behave myself wisely; I will understand, or instruct jnyself in a perfect way; so some. I will walk circumspectly Note, We must all resolve to walk by the rules of Christian piiidence, in the ways of Christian piety. We must never turn aside out of the perfect way, under pretence of behaving ourselves wisely; but, while we keep to the good way, we must be wise as serpents. 2. Here is a good prayer; O when wilt thou come unto me! Note, It is a desirable thing, when a man has a house cf his own, to have God come to him, and dwell with him in it; and those may expect God's presence, that walk with a perfect heart, in a perfect way. If we ccmpure the account which the historian gives of David, (1 Sam. xviii. 14.) we shall find how exactly it answers iiis

Eui-pose and prayer, and that neither was in \ain. ►avid, as he pui-posed, behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and, as he prayed, the Lord was with him.

III. His particular resolution to practise no evil himself; {xk 3.) " I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes; I will not design or aim at any thing but what is for the glory of God, and the public welfare." He will never have it in his eye to enrich himself by impoverishing his subjects, or enlarge his own prerogative by encroaching on their property. In all our worldly business, we must see that that be right and good which we set our eyes upon, and not any forbidden fruit; and that we never seek that which we cannot have without sin. It is the character of a good man, that he shuts his eyes from seeing evil, Isa. xxxiii. 15. "Nay, I hate the works of them that turn aside from the paths of equity; (Job xxxi. 7.) not only I avoid it, but I abhor it, it shall not cleave to me. If any blot of injustice should come on my hands, it shall be washed off" quickly." \

IV. His further resolution not to keep bad ser•■ \'ants, nor to employ those about him that were vicious. He will not countenance them, nor show them any favour, lest thereby he should harden them in their wickedness, and encourage others to do like them. He will not converse with them himself, nor admit them into the company of his other servants, lest they sliould spread the infection of sin in his family. He will not confide in them, nor put them in power under him; for the)" who hated to be reformed would certainly hinder every thing that is good.

When he comes to mention particulars, he does not mention drunkards, adulterers, murdci'crs, or blasphemers; such gross sinners as these lie Avas in no danger of admitting into his house; nor did he" need to covenant particularly against having fellowship with them; but he mentions those sinners who were less scandalous, but no less dangerous, and in reference to whom he needed to stand upon his guard with caution, and to behave himself wisely.

1. He will have nothing to do with spiteful malicious people, who are ill-natured, and will bear a grudge a great while, and care not what mischief

PSALMS, CII.

497

they do to those they have a pique against; {z>. 4.) *' A froivard heart, one that dehghts to be cross and perverse, shall depart from me, as not fit for society, the bond of which is love. / toill not hioiv, " that is, "I will have no acquaintance or conversation, if I can help it, with such a wicked person; for a little of the leaven of malice and wickedness will leaven the whole Uiinp."

2. Nor with slanderers, and those who take a pleasure in wounding their neighbour's reputation sccretlv; (xk 5.) " Whono firivily slanders his neighbour, either raises, or spreads, false stories, to the prejudice of his good name, him will J cut off ivon\ my family and court." Many endeavour to raise tliemselves into the favour of princes by unjust represent itions of persons and things, which they tJiink will please their prince; If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are nvicked, Prov. xxix. 12. But David will not only not hearken to them, but will prevent the preferment of those that hope thus to curry favour with him; he will punish not only those that falsely accuse one another in open court, but those that privily slander one another. I wish David had remembered this vow, in the case of Me-phibosheth and Ziba.

3. Nor with haughty, conceited, ambitious, people; none do more rnischief in a family, in a court, m a church, for only by firide comes contentio7i; "Therefore, him that has a high look, and a proud heart, will I riot suffer; I will have no patience with them that are still grasping at all preferments, for it is certain that they do not aim at doing good, but only s'-t aggrandizing themselves and their families." God resists the proud, and so will David.

4. Nor with false deceitful people, that scruple not to tell lies, or commit frauds; (x'. 7.) " He that ivorketh deceit, though he may insinuate himself into my family, yet, as soon as he is discovered, he shall.not dwell luithin my house." Some great men know how to serve their own purposes by such as are skilful to deceive, and they are fit tools for them to work by; but David will make use of no such as agents for him; He that tells lies, shall not tarry in my sight, but shall be expelled the house with indignation. Herein David was a man after God^s own heart, for a proud look and a lying tongue are things Avhich God hates; and he was also a type of Christ, who will, in the great day, banish from his presence all that love and make a lie. Rev. xxii. 15.

V. His resolution to put those in tnist vmder him that were honest and good; {v. 6.) Mine eyes shall he upon the faithful in the land. In choosing his servants, and ministers of state, he kept to the land of Israel, and would not employ foreigners; none shall be prefen-ed but tnie-born Israelites, and those such as were Israelites indeed, the faithful in the land, for even in that land there were those that were unfaithful. These faithful ones his eyes shall be upon, to discover them and find them out, for they were modest, did not crowd into the city to court preferment, but lived retired in the land, in the country, out of the way of it. Those are commonly most fit for places of honour and tiust that are least fond of them; and therefore wise princes will spy out such in their recesses and privacies, and take them to dwell with them, and act under them. He that walks in a perfect way, that makes conscience of what he says and does, he shall serve mej the kingdom must be searched for honest men to make courtiers of; and if any man is better than another, he must be prefciTed. This was a good resolution of David's; but either he did not keep to it, ot- else his judgment was imposed upon, when he made Ahithophel his right hand. It should be the care and endeavour of all masters of families, for their own sakes and their children's, to take such

Vol. III.—3 R

servants into their families "as they have reason to hope fear God. The Son ot David has his eyes upon tJie faithful in the land; his secret is with them, and they shall dwell with him. Saul chose servants for their goodliness, (1 Sam. viii. 16.) but David for their goodness.

Lastly, His resolution to extend his zeal to the reformation of the city and countiy, as well as of the court; {v. 8.) " I will early destroy all the wicked of the land, all that are discovered and convicted; the law shall have its course against them." He would do his utmost to destroy all the wicked, so that there might be none kft that were notoriously wicked. He would do it early; he would lose no time, and spare no pains, he would be forward and zealous in promoting the reformation of manners and suppression of vice; and those must rise betimes that will do any thing to purpose in that work. That which he aimed at, was, not only the securing of his own government, and the peace of the country, but the honour of God in the purity of his church. That I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord: not Jerusalem only, but the whole land was the city of the Lord: so is the gospel-church. It is the interest of the city of the Lord to be purged from wicked doers, who both blemish it and weaken it; and it is therefore the duty of all to do what they can, in their places, toward so good a work, and to be zealously affected in it. The day is coming when the Son of David shall cut off all wicked doers from the New Jerusalem, for there shall not enter into it any that do iniquity.

PSALM CII.

Some think thai David pt-nned this psahn at <he time of Absalom's rebellion; others that Daniel, Nehemiah, or some other prophet, penned it for the use of the church, when it was in captivity in Babylon, because it seems to speak of the ruin of Zion, and of a time set for the re-buildinor of it, which Daniel understood by books, Dan. ix. 2. Or perhaps the psalmist was himself in great affliction, which he complains of in the beginning of this psalm, but (as in Ps. Ixxvii. and elsewhere) he comforts himself under it with the consideration of God's eternity, and the church's prosperity and perpetuity, how much soever it was now distressed and threatened. But it is clear, from the application of v. 25, 26. to Christ, [Heh. i. 10.. 12.) that the psalm has reference to the days of the Messiah, and speaks either of his affliction, or of the afflictions of his church for his sake. In the psalm we have, I. A sorrowful complaint, which the psalmist makes either for himself or in the name of the church, of great afflictions, which were very pressing, v. 1. . 11. II. Seasonable comfort fetched in against these grievances, 1. From tlieeternity of God,v. 12,24,27. 2. From a believing prospect of the deliverance which God would, in due time, work for his afflicted church, (v. 13 .. 22.) and the continuance of it in the world, v. 28. In singing this psalm, if we have not occasion to make the same complaints, yet we may take occasion to sympathize with those that have, and then the comfortable part of this psalm will be the more comfortable to us in the singing of it.

A prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, andpoiireth out his complaint before the Lord.

1. TTEAR my prayer, O Lord, and let -OL my cry come unto thee. 2. Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call, answer me speedily. 3. For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as a hearth. 4. My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread. 5. By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin. 6.1 am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the

PSALMS, CII.

desert. 7. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house-top. 8. Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me. 9. For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingle 1 my drink with weeping; 10. Because of thine indignation and thy vv rath : for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down. 11. My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.

The title of this psalm is very observable: it is a firayer of the afflicted; it was composed by one that was himself afnicted, afflicted ivitli the church, and for it; on those that are of a public spirit, afflictions of that kind lie heavier than any other. It is calculated for an afflicted state, and is intended for the use of others that may be in the like distress; for ivhatsnever things ivere nvritten before time, were written designedly for our use. The whole word of God is of use to direct us in prayer; but here, as often elsewhere, the Holy Ghost has drawn up our petition for us, has put words into our mouths; (Hos. xiv. 2.) Take with you words. Here is a prayer put into the hands of tlie afflicted; let them setj'not their hands, but their hearts, to it, and present it to God. Note, 1. It is often the lot ot the best saints in this world to be sorely afflicted. 2. Even good men may be almost overwhelmed with their afflictions, and may be ready to faint under them. 3. Whei our state is afflicted, and our spirits overwhelmfd, it is our duty and interest to pray, and by prayer to fiour out our comfilaints before the Lord; which intimates the leave God gives us to he free with him, and the liberty of speech we have before him, as well as liberty of access to him; it intimates, also, what an ease it is to an afflicted spirit to unburthen itself by an humble representation of Its grievances and griefs.

Such a representation we have here; in which,

I. The psalmist humbly begs of God to take notice of his affliction, and of his prayer in his affliction, V. 1, 2. When we pray in our affliction, 1. It should be our care that Gcd would graciously hear us; for, if our prayers be not pleasing to God, they will be to no purpose to ourselves. Let this therefore be in our eye, that fuu- prayer may come unto God, even to his ears, (xviii. 6.) and, in order to that, let us lift up. the firayer, and our souls with it. 2. It may be our hope that God will gr.iciously hear us, because he has H])pointed us to seek him, and has promised we shall not seek liim in vain. If we put up ^.firauer in faith, we may in faith sav. Hear my firayer, 0 Lord; (1.) " Manifest thyself ?o me; hide not thy face from me in dis])leasure, when I am in trouble. If thou dost not immediately free me, yet let me know that thou favovu'cst me; if I see not the operations of tliy hand for me, yet let me see the smiles of thy face upon me." God's hiding his f ice is trouble enoush to a good man, even in his prosperity; (xxx. 7.) ThoiL didst hide thy face, and I was troubled; but if, when we are in trouble, (iod hides his face, the case is sad indeed. (2.) "Manif'.-st thyself /br me; not only hear me, Init answer me; grant me the deliverance I am in want of, and in pursuit of; answer me speedily, even in the day when I call." When troubles press hard upon us, God gives us leave to be thus pressing in pravcr, yet with humility and patience.

II. He makes a lamentable complaint of the low C'^nditi'.n to which he was reduced by his afflictions.

1. His body was macerated and emaciated, and he was become a perfect skeleton, nothing but skin and bones. As prosperity and joy are represented

by making fat the bones, and the bones flourishing like an herb, so great trouble and grief are here represented by the contrary; Aly bones are burnt an a hearth, {v. 3.) they cleave to my skin, {v. 5.1 nay, my heart is smitten, and withered like grass; (v. A. ^ it touches the vitals, and there is a sensible decay there. I am withered like grass, {x\ 11.) scorched with the burning heat of my troubles. If we be thus brought low by bodily distempers, let us not think it strange; the bod\^ is like ^rass, weak, and of the earth, no wonder then that it withers.

2. He was very melancholy, and of a sorrowful spirit. He was so taken up with the thoughts of his troubles, that he forgot to eat his bread; {v. 4.) he had no appetite to his necessaiy food, nor coula he relish it. When God hides his face from a soul, the delights of sense will be sapless things. He was always sighing and groaning, as one pressed above measure, {v. 5.) and this wasted him, and exhausted his spirits; he affected solitude, as melancholy people do; his friends deserted him, and were shy of him, and ho cared as little for their company; (v. 6, 7.) "lam like a fielican of the wilderness, or a bittern, (so some,) that make a doleful noise; / am like an owl, that aflFects to lodge in deserted rained buildings; / watch, arid am as a s/iarroiv ufion the house-tofi. I live in a garret, and there spend my hours in poring on mv troubles and bemoaning myself." Those who do thus, when they are in sorrow, humour themselves indeed; but they prejudice themselves, and know not what they do, nor what advantage they hereby give to the tempter. In affliction, we should sit alone, to consider our ways, (Lam. iii. 28.) but not sit alone, to indulge an inordinate grief.

3. He was evil spoken of by his enemies, and all manner of evil was said against him. When his friends went off from him, his foes set themselves against him; (t. 8.) Mine enemies refiroach me all the day; designing thereby both to create vexation to himself, (for an ingenuous mind regrets reproach,) and to bring an odium upon him before men. \Mien they could not otherwise reach him, they shot these arrows at him, even bitter words; in this the}' were unwearied, they did it all the day, it was a continual dropping. His enemies were veiy outrageous; They are mad against me, and very obstinate and implacable; They are sworn against me; as the Jews that l)ound themselves with an oath that they would kill Paul; or. They have sworn against me as accusers, to take away my life.

4. He fasted and wept under the tokens of God's displeasure; {x>. 9, 10.) " I have eaten ashes like bread; instead of eating my bread, I have laid down in dust and ashes, and I have mingled my drink with weefiing; when I should have refi-eshed myself with dnnking, I have only eased mvself with weeping." And what is the matter? H'e tells us; {v. 10.) Because of thy wrath. It was not so much the trouble itself that troubled him, as the wrath of God wlVich he was under the apprehensions of, as the cause of the trouble. This, this was the wormwood and the gall, in the affliction and the miserv; Thou hast lifted me up, and cast me doivn; as tha't which we cast to the gi'ound, with a design to dash it to pieces, we lift up first, that wt may throw it down with the more violence; or, "Thou hast formerlv lifted me up in honour, and joy, and uncommon prosperity; but the remembrance of that aggravates the present grief, and makes it the more grievous." We must eye the hand of God both in lifting us up, and casting us down, and say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord, who.both gives and takes away." 5. He looked upon himself as a dying man. My days are consumed like smoke, {y. 3.) whicii vanishes" away quicklv. Or, They are consumed in smoke, of which nothing remains'

PSALMS, CIl.

490

they are like a shadow that declines, {v. 11.) like the eM-ning-shadow, or a forerunner of approaching night. Now all this, though it seems to speak the ps ilmist's personal calamities, and therefore is properly a prayer for a particular person afflicted, yet is supposed to be a description of the afflictions of the church of God, with which the psalmist syn^athizes, making public grievances his own. The mystical body of Christ is sometimes like the psalmist's body here, withered aniS.parched, nay, like dead and dry bones. The church sometimes is forced i?ito the wilderness, seems lost, and gives up herself for gone, under the tokens of God's displeasure.

12. But thou, O Lord, shalt endure for ever, and thy remembrance unto all generations. 13. Thou shalt arise, a?id have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. 14. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. 15. So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. 16. When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. 17. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. 18. This shall be written for the generation to come; and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. 19. For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth; 20. To hear the groaning of the prisoner, to loose those that are appointed to death ; 21. To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem ; 22. When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.

Many exceeding great and precious comforts are here thought of, and mustered up, to balance the foi-egoing complaints; for unto the upright there arises light in the darkness, so that though they are cast down, they are not in despair. It is bad'with the psalmist himself, bad with the people of God; but he has many considerations to revive himself with.

I. We are dying creatures, and our interests and comforts dying, but God is an cvcrliving, everlasting, God; (•?'. 12.) "My days ar" like a shadoiv; there is no remedy, night is coming upon me; but thou, O Lord, shalt endure for ex'er. Our life is transient, but thine is permanent; our friends die, but thou our God diest not; what threatened us cannot touch thee; our names will be written in the dust, ;md buried in oblivion, but thy remembrance shall be unto all generations, to the end of time, nay, to eternity, thou shalt be known and honoured." A good man loves God better than himself, and therefore can balance his own sorrow and death with the pleasing thought of the unchangeable blessedness of the Eternal Mind. God endures for ex^er, his church's faithful Patron and Protector; and his honour and perpetual remembrance being very much bound up in her interests, we may be confident that thev shall not be neglected.

II. Poor Zion is now in distress, but there will come a time for her relief and succour; (t. 13.) Thou shalt arise, and have mercy u/ion Zion; the

hope of deliverance is built upon the goodness 11 God; " Thou wilt have mercy upori Zion; for sht-is become an object of thy pity;" and upon tiie powt i-of God, "Thou shalt arise and have mercy, shalt stir up thyself to do it, shalt do it in contempt of all the opposition made by the church's enemies;" the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. That which is very encouraging, is, that there is a time set for the deliverance of the church, which not only will come some time, but will come at the time appointed, the time which Infinite Wisdom has appointed, and therefore it is the best time; at the time which Eternal Tinith has fixed it to, and therefore it is a certain time, and shall not be forgotten or further adjourned. At»the end of 70 years, the time to favour Zion, by delivering her from the daughter of Baljylon, was to come, and at length it did come.

Zion was now in ruins, that is, the temple that was built in the city of David; the favouring of Zion is the building of the temple up again, as it is explained, V. 16. This is expected from the favour of God; that will set all to rights, and nothing but that, and therefore Daniel prays, (Dan. ix. 17.) Cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary, which is desolate. The building up of Zion is as great a favour to any people as they can desire. No blessing more desirable to a ruined state than the restoring and re-establishing of their church privileges.

Now this is here wished for, and longed for,

1. Because it would be a great rejoicing to Zion's friends; (x>. 14.) Thy servants take pleasure even in the stones of the temple, though they were thrown down and scattered, and favour the dust, the very rubbish and iniins, of it. Observe here, that when the temple was mined, yet the stones of it were to be had for a new building, and there were those who encouraged themselves with that, for they had a f.u'our even for the dust of it. Those who tnily love the church of God, love it when it is in affliction as well as when it is in prosperity; and it is a good ground to hope that God will favour the rains of Zion, when he puts it into the heart of his people to f ivour them, and to show that they do so by their prayers and by 'their endeavours; as it is also a good plea with God for mercy for Zion, that there are those who are so affectionately concerned for her, and are waiting for the salvation of the Lord.

2. Because it would have a good influence upon Zion's neighbours, v. 15. It will be a happy means perhaps of their conversion, at least, of their conviction; for so the heathen shall fear the name of tlie Lord, shall haA'e high thoughts of him and his people, and even the kings of the earth shall be affected with his glory; they shall have better thoughts of the church of God than they have had, v/hen God by his providence thus puts an honour upon it; they shall be afraid of doing any thing against it, when they see Gcd taking its part; nay, they shall say. We will go with you, for we have seen that God is with you, Zecli. viii. 23. Thus it is said, (Esth. viii. 17.) that many of the people of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.

3. Because it would redound to the honour of Zion's God; {v. 16.) JVhen the Lord shall build up Zion: they fke it for granted it will be done, f r God himself has undertaken it, and he shall tlicn ap/iear in his glory; and, for that reason, all that have made his glory their highest end desire it and prav for It. Note, The edifying of the church will be the glorifying of God, and therefore we may be assured it will be drne in tlie set time. They that prav in faith, Father, glorify thy name, may receive the same iniswer to that prayer which was given to Christ himself by a voice from heaven, I have both glorified it, and I will glorify it yet again, though now for a time it may be eclipsed.

PSALMS, CIL

slighted, and no notice taken of them, but they will be reviewed, and greatly encouraged; (x". 17.) He xvill regard the prayer of the destitute. It was said, {v. 16.) tliat God will apfiear in his glory, such a glory as kings themselves shall stand in awe of, V. 15. When great men appear in their glory, they are apt to look with disdain upon the po(.r that apply themselves to them; but the great God will not do so. Observe, 1. The meanness cf the jjeti-tioners; they are the destitute: it is i.w elegant word tliat is here used, which signifies the heatli in the wilderness, a low shnib, or bush, like- the hyssop of t!ie wall. They are supposed to be in a Lvv and broken state, enriched with spiritual l)lcssings, but destitute of temporal good things; tlie po(;r, the weak, the desolate, the stri])t; thus variously is the word rendered; or it may signiify that low and broken spirit which God Ijr'ks fjr in all thit draw nigh to him, and which he will gr:'.ciixisly lock upon. This will bring them to their knjes; destitute peo-

f)le should be praying people, 1 Tim. v. 5. 2. The avour of God to them, notwithstanding tlieir meanness; He will regiird their pr lycr, and will look at it, will peruse their petition, (2 Chron. vi. 40.) and he loill not despise their prayer. More is implied than is expressed: he will value it, and be well pleased with it, and will return an answer of peace to it, which is the greatest honour that can ])e put upon it. But it is thus expressed, because others despise their praying; they themselves fear God will despise it; and he was thought to despise it, while their affliction was prolonged, and their prayers lay unanswered. When we consider our own meanness and vileness, our darkness and deadness, and the manifold defects in our prayers, we have cause to suspect that our prayers will be received with disdain in heaven; but we are here assured of the contrary, for we have an Ad\'ocate with the Father, and are under grace, not under the law.

This instance of God's favour to liis ])raving people, though they are destitute, will be a lasting encouragement to prayer; (t'. IS.) This shall be written for the generation to come, that none may despair, though they l)e destitute, nor think tlieir prayers forgotten, because they have not ;;n answer to them immediately. The experiences cf others should be our encouragements to seek uiito (i(,"d and trust in him. And, if we liave tlie comf it of tlie experiences of others, it is fit that we should give' God the glory of them; The people which shall be created shall praise the Lord for what he lias done both for them and fi r their predecessors; many that are now unboni, by reading the history of the church, shall be wrouglit upon to turn ]n-(iselvtes. The people that shall lie created i-.ne w by divine grace, that are a kind of first-fruits of his creatures, shall praise the Lord for his answers to thcii- prayers when they were more destitute.

IV. The prisoners under condemnation unjustlv, seem as sheep ap])ointcd for the slaughter, l)ut cafe shall be taken for their discharge; (i-. 19, 20.) Ciod has looked down from the height of his sanctuarii, from heaven, where he has prepared his throne, that high place, that holy place; thence did the Lord behold the earth, for'it is a place of prospect, and nothing on* this earth is, or can be, hid from his all-seeing eye; he looks down, not to take a view of the kingdoms of the world and the glory of tliem, but to do acts of grace, to hear the groaning of tlie prisoners; (which we should desire to l)e out of the hearing of;) and not only to hear them, but to lielp them, to loose those that are appointed to death, then when there is but a step between them and it. Some understand it of the release of the Jews out of their captivity in Babylon; God heard their groan-i?ig there, as he did when they were in Egypt, (Exod. iii. 7, 9.) and came down to deliver them.

God takes notice not only of the prayers of his afflicted people, which are the language of grace, but even of their groans, which are the language of nature. See the di\ ine pity in hearing the prisoners' groans, and the divine power in loosing the prisoners bonds, even when they arc appointed to death, and j are pinioned and double-shackled. W"e have an I instance in Peter, Acts xii. 6.

Such instances as these of the divine condescension and compassion, will help, 1. To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and to make it appear that he answers his name which he himself pro claimed, The Lord God, gracious and merciful, and this declaration rf his name in Zion shall be the matter of his praise in Jerusalem, -v. 21. If God by his providences declare his name, we must by cur acknowledgments of them declare his praise, which (ught to be the echo of his name. God will discharge his people that were prisoners and captives in Babylon, that they may declare his name in Zion, the place he has chosen to put his name there, and his praise in Jenisalem, at their return thither; in the land of their captivit)' they could not sing the songs of Zion, (cxxxvii. 3, 4.) and therefore God brought them again to Jerusalem, that they might sing them there. For this end, God gives liberty from bondage; Bring my soul out of prison, that 1 may praise thy name; (cxlii. 7.) for this, he gives life from the dead; Leir my soul live, and it shall praise thee, cxix. 175. 2. They will help to draw in others to the worship of God; (v. 22.) IVheri tlie people of God are gathered together at Jerus:ilem, (as they were, after their return out of Babylon,) many out of the kingdoms joined with them to serve the Lord. This was fulfilled, (Ezra vi. 21.) where we find that not only the children of Israel that were come out of captivity, but many that had separated themselves from thein among the heathen, didA'er/i the feast of unleavened bread with joy. But it may look ruitlier, at the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ in the latter days. Clirist has proclaimed liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were bound, that they may declare the name of the Lord in the gospel-church, in which Jews and Gentiles shall unite.

23. He weakened ray strength in the \vay; he shortened my days. 24. I said, O my God, take me not away in tlie midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. 25. Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 26. They shall perish, hut thou shalt endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture slialt thou change them, and they shall be changed: 27. But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. 28. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be estabhshed before thee.

We may here obsei*ve,

I. The imminent danger that the Jewish church was in, of being quite cxtiipated and cut off by the captivity in Baliylon; {x'. 23.) He weakened my strength in the way. The>- were for many ages in the way to the performance of the great promise made to their fathers concerning the Messiah, longing as much for it as ever a traveller did to l)e at his jouniev's end; the legal institutions led them in the wav; but when the ten tribes were lost in Assyria, and the two almost K;st in Babylon, the strength of

PSALMS, cm.

.001

that nation was weakened, and, in all appearance, its day shortened, for they said, Our hofie is lost, we are cut off"for our parts, Ezek. xxxvii. 11. And then what comes of the promise, that Shiloli should arise out of Judah, the star out of Jacob, iind the Messiah out of the family of David? If these fail, the promise fails. This the psdlmist speaks of as in his own person, and it is very applicable to two of the common afflictions of this time. 1. To be sickly; bodily distempers soon weaken our strength in the wa7/,'make the keepers of the house to tremble, and tl\e strong men to bow themselves. 2. To be shortlived; where the former is felt, this is feared; when, in the midst of our days, according to a course of nature, our strength is weakened, what can we expect but that the number of our months should be . cut off in the midst; and what should we do but provide accordingly? We must own Ciod'^j hand in it, for in his hand our strength and time arc; ar.d must reconcile it to his love, for it lias often been the lot of those that have used their strength well, to have it weakened; and of those that could very ill be spared, to have their days shortened.

II. A prayer for the continuance of it; {v. 24.) " O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days; let not this poor church be cut off in the midst of the days assigned it by the promise; let it not be cut off till the Messiah is come. Destroy it not, for that blessing is in her," Isa. Ixv. 8. She is a criminal, but, for the sake of that blessing which is in her, she pleads for a reprieve. This is a prayer for the afflicted, and which, with submission to the will of God, we may in faith put up, that God would not take us away in the ?nidst of our days, but that, if it be his will, he would spare us to do him further service, and to be made riper for heaven.

III. A plea to enforce this prayer, taken from the eternity of the Messiah promised, x*. 25 ••27. The apostle quotes these verses, (Heb. i. 10^^12.) and tells us; He saith this to the Sd?i, and in that exposition we must acquiesce. It is very comfortable, in reference to all the changes that pass over tlie church, and all the dangers it is in, that Jesus Christ is the sa?ne yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Thy years arc throughout all generations, and cannot be shortened. It is likewise comfortable, in reference to the decay and death of our own bodies, and the removal of our friends from us, that God is an everlasting God, and that therefore, if he be ours, in him we may have everlasting consolation. In this plea observe how to illustrate the eternity of the Creator; he compares it with the mutability of the creature; for it is God's sole prerogative to be unchangeable.

1. God tnade the world, and therefore had a being before it from eternity; the Son of God, the Eternal Word, made the world. It is expressly said, yill things were made by him, and without him was 7iot any thirig made that was made; and therefore the same was in the beginning, from eternity, with God,?Ln6.was Gorf, John i. l"3. Col. i. 16. Eph. iii. 9. Heb. i. 2. Earth and heaven, and the hosts of both, include the universe and its fulness, and these derive their being from God by his Son; (v. 25.) " Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth, that is founded on the seas, and on the ^floods, and yet it abides; much more shall the church, which is built u/io/i a rock. The heavens are the work of thy hands, and by thee are all their motions and influences directed;-" God is therefore the Fountain, not only of all being, but of all power and dominion. See how fit the great Redeemer is to be inti-usted with all power, both in heaven and in earth, since he himself, as Creator of both, perfectly knows both, and is entitled to both.

2. God will unmake the world again, and therefore shall have a being to eternity; (y. 26, 27. ) They

shall fierish, for thou shall change them bv the same almighty power that made them, and therefore, no doubt, thou shalt endure; thou art the sa77ie. God and the world, Christ and the creature, are i-ivals for the innermost and uppermost place in the soul of man, the immortal soul; now what is here said, one would think, were enough to decide the controversy immediately, and to determine, as for God and Christ. For,'(1.) A portion in the creature is fading and dying; They shall fierish, they will not last so long as we shall last; the day is coming when the earth and all the works that are therein shall be burnt up; and then what will become of those that have laid up tlicir treasure in it; Heaven and earth shall %vax old as a garment; not by a gradual decay, but, when the set time comes, they shall be set aside like an old garment that we ha\e no more occasion for; As a vesture shalt thoxi change them, and they shall be changed; not annihilated, but altered, it may be, so that they shall not be at all the same, but new heavens and a new earth. See God's sovereign dominion over heaven and earth; he can change them as he pleases, and when he pleases, and the constant changes they are subject to, in the revolutions of day and night, summer and winter, are earnests of their last and final change, when the heavens and time shall be no more. (2.) A portion in God is pei-petual and everlasting; Thou art the sa7ne, subject to no change; and thy years have no end, v. 27. Christ will be tlie same in the performance that he was in the promise; the same to his chiych in captivity that he was to his church at liberty. Let not the church fear the weakening of her strength, or the shortening of her days, wliile Christ himself is both her Strength and her Life; he is the same, and has said. Because 1 live, ye shall live also. Christ came in the fulness of time, and set up his kingdom in spite of the power of the Old Testament Babylon, and he will keep it up in spite of the New Testament Babylon.

IV. A comfortable assurance of an answer to this prayer; {v. 28.) The children of thy servants shall continue; since Christ is tl\e same, the church shall continue from me generation to another; from the eternity of the Head, we may infer the perpetuity of the body, though often weak and distempered, and even at death's door. They that hope to wear out the saints of the Most High will be mistaken. Christ's servants shall have children; those children shall ha\"e a seed, a succession, of pi'ofessing people; the church, as well as the world, is under the influence of that blessing, Be fruitful and multiply. These children shall co7itinue, not in their own persons, by reason of death, but in their seed, which shall be established before God, that is, in his service, and Ijy his grace; the entail of religion shall not be cut off while the world stands, but, as one gener ition of good people passes awav, another shall come, and thus the throne of Christ'shall endure.

PSALM cm.

This psalm calls more for devotion than exposition; it is a most excellent psalm of praise, and of general use. The psalmist, I. Stirs up himself and his own soul to praise God, (v. 1, 2.) for his favour to him in particular, (v. 3. .5.) to the church in freneral, and to all good men, to whom he is, and will be, just, and kind, and constant, (v. 6.. 18.) and for his government of the world, v. 19. II. He desires the assistance of the hoi}' angels, and all the works of God, in praising him, v. 20.. 22. In singing this psalm, we must in a special manner get our hearts affected with the goodness of God, and enlarged in love and thankfulness.

A psalm of David.

LESS the Lord, O my soul; and

all that is within me, bless his holy

name. 2. Bless the Lord, O my soul.

PSALMS, cm.

Mnd forget not all his benefits: 3. Who for- ] giveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; 4. Who redeemelh thy hfe from destruction; who crowneth thee ^^'ith loving-kindness and tender mercies; 5. Who satistieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

David is here communing with liis own lieai't, and he is no fool that thus talks to himself, and excites liis own soul to that which is good. Observe,

I. How he stirs up himself to the duty of praise, V. 1, 2. 1. It is the Lord tiiat is to be blessed and spoken well of, for he is the Fountain of all good, whatever are the channels or cisterns; it is to his n ime, his holy name, that we are to consecrate our praise, g-i-ving thanks at the reme7nbrance of kin holiness. 2. It is the soul that is to be employed in blessing God, and all that is vjithin us. We make nothing of our religious performances, if wc do not make lijaiS.-wrjrk of them; if that vv'aich is unthin us, nay, if all that is within us, be not engaged in tliem. The work requires the inward man, the wliole man, and all little enough. 3. In order to our return of praises t) God, there must be a grateful remembrance of the mercies we have received from him; Forget not all his benefits. If we do not give thanks for them, we do forget them; and that is unjust as well as unkind; since in all God's favours there is so much til It is memorable; " O my scul, to thy shame be it s]) )ken, thou hast forgotten majiy of his benefits; l)ut surely thou wilt not forget them all, for thou siiouldest not have forgotten any.''

II. How he furnishes himself with abundant matter for praise, and that which is very affecting; " Come, my soul, consider what God has done for thee."

1. " He has pardoned thv sins, {v. 3.) he has forgiven, and does forgive, all thine iniquities." This is mentioned first, because, by the pardon of sin, that is taken away which kept good things from 113, and we are restored to the favour of God, which bestows good things on us. Tl\ink what the provocation was, it was iniquity, and yet pardoned; how many tlie provocations were, and yet all pardoned; He has forgiven all our tres/iasses. It is a continued act; he is still forgiving, as we are still sinning and repenting.

2. "He has cured thy sickness." The corruption of nature is the sickness of the soul, it is its disorder, and threatens its death; this is cured in sanc-tification; when sin is mortified, the disease is healed; though comphcated, it is all healed. Our crimes were capital, but God saves our lives by jvardoningthem; our diseases were mortal, Init God saves our lives by healing them. These two go together, fur as for God, lus work is perfect, and not done by h dves; if God take away the guilt of sin by ])ardoning mei-cv, he will break the power of it by renewing grace. Where Christ is made Righteousness to any soul, he is made Sanctification, 1 Cor. i. 30.

3. " He has rescued thee from danger." A man may be in peril of life, not only by his crimes, or his diseases, but by the power of his enemies; and therefore here also we experience the divine goodness; JVho redeemeth thy life from destruction, {v. 4.) from the destroyer; froni hell, so the Clialdee; from the second death. The redemption of the soul is precious, wc cannot compass it, and therefore are tlie more indebted to divine grace that has wrought it out to him who has obtained eternal redemption for tis. See Jolj xxxiii. 24, 25.

4. " He has not only saved th6e from death and ruin, but has made thee truly and completely happy, with honour, pleasure, and long life."

(1.) " He has given thee true honour and great

honour; no less than a crown; He crowns thee with his loving-kindness and tender mercies;" and what greatei- dignity is a poor s(.ul capable of, than to be advanced into tlie love and favour of God? This honour have all his saints. What is the crown of glory but God's favour?

(2.) " He has given thee true pleasure; He satisfies thy mouth ivith good things;" {y. 5.) It is only the favour and gi-ace of God, that can give satisfaction to a soul, can suit its capacities, supply its needs, and answer to its desires; nothing but divine Avisdom can undertake \.o fill its treasures; (Prov. viii. 21.) other things will surfeit, but not satiate, Eccl. vi. 7. Isa. Iv. 2.

(3.) "He has given thee a prospect and pledge of long life; Thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." The eagle is long-lived, and, as naturalists say, wlien she is near 100 years old, casts all her feathers, (as indeed she changes them in a great measure eveiy year at moulting time,) and fresh ones come, so that she becomes young again. When God, by the graces and comforts of his Spirit, recovers his pe< pie from their decays, and fills them with new life and joy, which is to them an earnest of eternal life and jov, then they may be said to return to the days of their youth. Job xxxiii. 25.

6. The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. 7. He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. 8. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. 9. He will not always chide; neither will he keep his anger for ever. 10. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 13. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. 14. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. 15. As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flou-rislieth: 16. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall knovk' it no more. 17. But the mercy of the Lord is fi'om everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children ; 18. To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

Hitherto the psalmist had only looked back upon his own experiences, and thence fetched matter for praise; here he looks abroad, and takes notice of his favour to others also, for in them we shoidd rejoice, and give thanks for them; all the saints beinj, fed at a common table, and sharing in the same blessings.

I. Ti-uly Ciod is good to all; (r. 6.) He executes righteousness and judgment, not only for his own pecple, but for all that are o/ifiressed; for, even in common providence, he is tlie Patron of wronged innocencv, and, one way or other, will plead the cause of those that are injured airainst their oppres sors. It is his hcmour to humble the proud, and help the helpless.

PSALMS, cm.

501

II. He is in a special manner good to Israel, to t;very Israelite indeed, that is of a clean and upright heart.

1. He has revealed himself and his grace to us; {v. 7. ) He made knoivn his ways unto Moses, and by him his acts to the children of Israel; not only by his rod to those who then lived, but by his pen to succeeding ages. Note, Divine revelation is one of the first and greatest of divine favours with which the church is blessed; for God restores us to himself by revealing himself to us, and gives us all good by giving us knowledge. He has made known his acts and his ways, his nature, and the methods of

. his dealing with the children of men, that they may know both what to conceive of him, and what to expect from him; so Dr. Hammond. Or, by his ways we may understand his firecepts, the way which he requires us to walk in; and by his acts, or designs, (as the word signifies,) his promises and purposes as to what he will do with us. Thus fairly does God deal with us.

2. He has never been rigorous and severe with us, but always tender, full of compassion, and ready to forgive.

(1.) It is in his nature to be so; {y. 8.) The Lord is merciful and gracious; this was his way which he made known unto Moses at mount Horeb, when he thus proclaimed his name, (Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7.) in answer to Moses's request, (cA. xxxiii. 13.^ I beseech thee, show me thy way, that I may know thee. It is my way, says God, to pardon sin. [1.] He is not soon angry, x^. 8. He is slow to anger, not extreme to mark what we do amiss, nor ready to take advantage against us. He bears long with those that are very provoking, defers punishing, that he may give space to repent, and does not speedily execute the sentence of his law. He could not be thus slow to anger, if he were not plenteous in mercy, the very Father of mercies. [2.] He is not long angry; for, (t'. 9.) He will not always chide, though we always offend, and deserve chiding. Though he signify his displeasure against us for our sins, by the rebukes of Providence, and the reproaches of our own consciences, and thus cause grief, yet he will have compassion, and will not always keep us in pain and terror, no not for our sins, but, after the spirit of bondage, will give the spirit of adoption. How unlike are those to God, who always chide, who take every occasion to chide, and never know when to cease! Wliat would become of us, if God should deal so with us? He will not keefi his anger for ever, against his own people, but will gather them with everlasting mercies, Isa. liv. 8.—Ivii. 16.

(2.) We have found him so; we, for our parts, must own that he has not dealt with us after our sins, V. 10. The scripture says a great deal of the mercy of God, and we may all set to our seal, that it is true, that we have experienced it. If he had not been a God of patience, we had been in hell long ago; but he has not rewarded us after our iniquities; so they will say who know what sin deserves. He has not inflicted the judgments which we have merited, nor deprived us of the comforts which we have forfeited; which should make us think the worse, and not the better, of sin; for God's patience sJiould lead us to repentance, Rom. ii. 4.

3. He has pardoned our sins; not only mine iniquity, (t". 5.) hut our transgressions; (v. 12.) though It is of our own benefit, by the pardoning mercy of God, thnt we are to take the comfort, yet of the benefit others have by it we must give him the glory. Observe, (1.) The transcendent riches of God's mercy; {v. 11.) ^s the heaven is high above the earth, (so high, that the earth is but a point to the vast expanse,) so God's mercy is above the merits of those that fear him most: so much above and beyond them, that there is no proportion at all between

them; the greatest perfonnances of man's duty cannot demand the least tokens of God's favour as a debt, and tlicrefore all the seed of Jacob will join with him in owning themselves less than the least of all God's mercies. Gen. xxxii. 10. Observe, God's mercy is thus great toward them that fear him, not toward them that trifle with him. We must fear the Lord and his goodness. (2.) The fulness cf his pardons, an evidence cf the riches of his mercy; {v. 12.) As far as the east is from the west, (whicii two quarters of the world arc of greatest extent, because all known and inhabited, and therefore geographers that way reckon their longitudes,) so far has he removed cur transgressions from us, so that they shall never be laid to rur charge, nor rise up in judgment against us. The sins of believers shall be remembered no more, shall net be mentioned unto them, they shall be sought for, and not found. If we thoroughly forsake them, God will thoroughly forgive them.

4. He has pitied our sorrows, v. 13, 14. Observe, (1.) Whom lie pities; the7n that fear him, all good people, who in this world may bcccme objects of pity on account of the gi-ievances to which they are not only born, but born again. Or it may be understood of those who have net yet received the spirit of adoption, but are yet trembling at his word; those \\Q pities, Jer. xxxi. 18, 20. (2.) How he pities; as a father pities his children, and docs them good as there is occasion. God is a Father to them that fear him, and owns them f;ir his children, and he is tender of them us a father. The father pities his children that are weak in knowledge, and in-stinicts them; pities them when thev are frrward, and bears with them; pities them when they are sick, and comforts them; pities them (Isa. Ixvi. 13.) when they are fallen, and lieii)s tluni up again; pities them when they have offended, and, upon their submission, forgives them; pities thini when they are wronged, and riglits them; tlms the Lord pitieth them that fear him. (3.) \^''hy he pities; for he knows our frame. He has reason to know cur frame, for he framed us; and, having himself made man of the dust, he remembered that lie is dust, net only by constitution, but by sentence; Dust thou art. He considers the fra.ilty of our l^rdics, and the felly of our souls, how little we can do, and expects ac-coi'dingly from us, how little we can bear, and lays accordingly upon us; in all which appears the tenderness of his compassion.

5. He has perpetuated his covenant-mercy, and thereby provided relief for cur frailty, v. 15-.IS. See here,

(1.) How short man's life is, and of what uncertain continuance; the lives even cf great men and good men are so; and neither their greatness noi their goodness can alter the property of them; As for man, his days are as grass, which grows cut of the earth, rises but a little way above it, and soon withers, and returns to it again. See Isa. xl. 6, 7. Man, in his best estate, seems somewhat more than grass, he flourishes and looks i^ay; yet then he is but like a flower of the field, which, though distinguished a little from the grass, will wither with it. The flower of the garden is commonly moi-e choice and valuable, and, though in its ov/n nature witlier-ing, will last the longer for its being sheltei-ed by the garden wall, and the gardener's care; but the flower of the field (to which life is here ce mpared} is n-1 only withering in itself, but exposed to the cold blasts, and liable to be crept and trod en bv the beasts of the field. Man's life is not only wastiiig cf itself, but its period may be anticipated by a thousand accidents. When the flower is in its perfection, a blasting wind, unseen, unlooked for, passes over it, and it is gone; it hangs the heael, drops the leaves, dwindles into the gi'ound again, aiid the place ihereoj.

PSALMS, cin.

which was proud of it, novf knovjs it no more. Such a thing is mm: (iod considers it, and pities him; let him consider it himself, and be humble, dead to this world, and thoughtful of another.

(2.) How long and lasting God's mercy is to his people; {v. 17, 18.) it will continue longer than their lives, and will survive their present state. Observe,

[ 1. ] Tlie description of those to whom this mercy belongs; they are such as fear God, such as are truly religious, from principle. First, They live a life of faith; for they kecfi God's covenant, having taken hold of it, thev keep hold of it, fast hold, and will not let it go. They keep it as a treasure, keep it as their portion, and would not for all the world

Eait with it, for it is their hfe. Secondly, They ve a life of obedience; they remember his commandments to do them, else they do not keefi his covenant. Those only shall have the benefit of God's promises that make conscience of his precepts. See who they are that have a good memory, as well as a good understanding, (cxi. 10.) those that remember God's commandments, not to talk of them, but to do them, and to be ruled by them.

[2. ] The continuance of the mercy which belongs to such as these: it will last them longer tiian their lives on earth, and therefore they need not be troubled though their lives be short, since death itself will be no abridgment, no infringement, of their bliss. God's mercy is better than life, for it will outlive it; First, To their souls, which are immortal, tn them the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting; from everlasting in the covmcils of it, to everlasting in the consequences of it; in their election before the world was, and their glorification when this world shall be no more; for they are predestinated to the inheritance, (Eph. i. 11.) and look for the mercy of the Lord, the Lord Jesus, unto eternal life. Secondly, To their seed, which shall be kept up to the end of time: (cii. 28.) His righteousness, the ti-uth of his promise, shall be unto children's children; provided they tread in the steps of their predecess( rs' piety, and kec/i his covenant, as they did, then shall mercy be preserved to them, even to a thousand generations.

19. The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth overall. 20. Bless the Lord, ye his angels, tliat excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. 21. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of Iiis that do his pleasure. 22. Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.

Here is,

\. The doctrine of universal providence laid down, T. 19. He has secured the happiness of his peculiar people by promise and covenant, but the order of m uikind, and the world in general, he secures by common providence. The J.ord has a throne of his own, a throne of glory, a throne of government; he that made all, rules all, and both by a woi-d of power; he has prepared his throne, has fixed and established it that it cannot be shaken; he has fore-jrdanied all the measures of his government, and docs all according to the counsel of his own will. He has prepared it in the heavens, above us, and out of sight; for he holds back the face of his throne, and f-prrads a cloud upon it, (Job xxvi. 9.) vet can him-f. If judge through the dark cloud, Job xxii. 13. Hvncc the heavens are said to rule, (Dan. iv. 26.) and wc are led to consider this Ijy the innuence which e\'en the visible heavens have upon this earth, their

domijiion. Job xxxviii. 33. Gen. i. 16. But though God's throne is in heaven, and there he keeps his court, and thither we are to direct to him, {Our Father ivhich art in heaven,) yet his kingdom rules over all. He takes cognizance of all the inliabitants, and*all the affairs, of this lower world, and disposes all persons and things according to the counsel of his will, to his own glory; (Dan. iv. 35.) His kiyigdom rules over all kings, and all kingdoms, and from it there is no exempt jurisdiction.

II. The duty of universal praise inferred fiom it: if all are under God's dominion, all must do him homage.

1. Let the holy angels praise him; {v. 20, 21.) Bless the Lord, ye his angels; and again. Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts, ye ministers of his. David had been stirring up hmiself and others to praise God, and here, in the close, he calls upon the angels to do it: not as if they needed any excitement of ours to praise God, they do it continually; but thus he expresses his high thoughts of God as worthy of the adorations of the holy angels; thus he quickens himself and others to the duty, with this consideration, That it is the work of angels; and comforts himself, in reference to his own weakness and defect in the performance of this duty, with this consideration, That there is a world of holy angels who dwell in God's house, and are still praismg him. In short, the blessed angels are glorious attendants upon the blessed God. Observe, (1.) How well qualified they are for the post they are in. They are able; for they excel in strength; they are mighty in strength, so the word is: they are able to bring great things to pass, and to abide in their work without weariness. And they are as willing as they are able; they are willing to knoiv their work; for they hearken to the voice of his word; they stand expecting commission and instiiictions from their great Lord, and always behold his face, (Matth. xviii. 10.) that they may take the first intimation of his mind. They are willing to do tlnir work; they do his commandijjents, {y. 20.) they do his pleasure, [y. 21.) they dispute nrt any divine commands, but readily address themselves to the execution of them: nor do they delay, 1)ut fl}- swiftly. They do his commaiidments at hearing; or, as soon as they hear the voice of his word; so Dr. Hammond. To obey is better than sacrifice; fc:r angels obey, but do not sacrifice. (2.) What their sci-vice is; they are his angels, and ministers of his; liis, for he made them, and made them for himself; his, for he employs them, though he does not need them; his, for he is their Owner and Lord, they belong to him, and he has them at his beck. All the creatures are his servants, but not as the angels that attend the presence of his glory. Soldiers, and senmen, and all good subjects, serve the king, but not as the courtiers do, the ministers of state, and those of the household. [1.] The angels occasionally serve God in this lower world; they do his commandments, go on his errands, (Dan. ix. 21.) fight his battles, (2 Kings vi. 17.) and minister for the good of his people, Heb. i. 14. [2.] They continually praise him m the "upper world; they began betimes to do it, ^Job xxxviii. 7.) and it is still their business, from which they rest not day or night. Rev. iv. 8. It is God's glory, that he has such attendants, but more his glory, that he neither needs them, nor is benefitted by them.

2. Let all bis works praise him; {v. 22.) all, in all places of his dominion; for, because they are his works, they are under his dominion; and they were made, and are iniled, that they may be unto him for a name and a praise. All his vjorks, that is, all tlie children of men, in all parts of the world, let them all praise God; yea, and the inferior creatures too, which are God's works :ilso, let them praise him objectively, though they cannot actually do it; (cxlv. 10.) yet all this shall not excuse David from

PSALMS, CIV.

505

doing it, hut rather excite him to do it the more cheerfully, that he may bear a part in this concert; fur he concludes. Bless the Lord, O my soul, as he began, -v. 1. Blessing God, and giving him glory, must be the alpha and the omega of all our services. He began with Bless the Lord, O my soul; and, when he had penned and sung this excellent hymn to his honour, he does not say, Now, O my soul, thou hast blessed the Lord, sit down and rest thee, but, Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, yet more and more. When we have done ever so much in the service of God, yet still we must stir up ourselves to do more. God's praise is a subject that will never be exhausted, and therefore we must never think this work done till we come to heaven, where it will be for ever in the doing.

PSALM CIV.

It is very probable that this psalm was penned by the same hand, and at the same time, as the former; for as that ended, this begins, with Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and concludes with it too. The style, indeed, is somewhat different, because the matter is so: the scope of the foregoing psalm was to celebrate the goodness of God, and his tender mercy and compassion, to which a soft and sweet style was most agreeable: the scope of this is to celebrate his greatness and majesty, and sovereign dominion, which ought to be done in the most stately lofty strains of poetry. David, in the former psalm, gave God the glory of his covenant-mercy and love to his own people, in this, he ^ives him the glory of his works of creation and providence, his dominion over, and his bounty to, all the creatures. God is there praised as the God of grace, here as the God of nature. And this psalm is wholly bestowed on that subject; not as Ps. xix. which begins with it, but passes from it to the consideration of the divine law; nor as Ps. viii. which speaks of this but prophetically, and with an eye to Christ. This noble poem is thought, by very competent judges, greatly to excel, not only for piety and devotion, (that is past dispute,) but for flight of fancy, brightness of ideas, surprising turns, and all the beauties and ornaments of expression, any of the Greek or Latin poets upon any subject of this nature. Many great things the psalmist here gives God the glory of, I. The splendour of his majesty in the upper world, V. 1..4. II. The creation of the sea, and the dry land, v. 5. . 9. III. The provision he makes for the maintenance of all the creatures according to their nature, (v. 10.. 18.) and again, v. 27, 28.

IV. The regular course of the sun and moon, r. 19 .. 24.

V. The furniture of the sea, v. 25, 26. VI. God's sovereign power over all the creatures, v. 29 .. 32. And, lastly, he concludes with a pleasant and firm resolution to continue praising God; (v. 33.. 35.) with which we should heartily join, in singing this psalm.

1. "13 LESS the Lord, O my soul. O _|J Lord my God, thou art ver^^great;

thou art clothed with honour and majesty :

2. Who coverest thyself with light as ivith a garment; who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain ; 3. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters; who maketh the clouds his chariot; who walketh upon die wings of the wind; 4. Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire; 5. Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. 6. Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. 7. At thy rebuke they fled; at tlie voice of thy thunder they hasted away, ft. They go up by the mountains ; they go down by the valleys unto the place which tliou hast founded for them. 9. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over, that they turn not again to cover the earth.

Vol. III.—3 S

When we are addressing ourselves to any religious service, we must stir ufi ourselves to take hold on God in it; (Isa. Ixiv. 7.) so David does here. " Come, my soul, where art thou? What art thou thinking of? Here is work to be done, good work, angels' work; set about it in good earnest, let all thy powers and faculties be engaged and employed in'it; Bless the Lord, O my soul.

In these verses,

I. The psalmist looks up to the divine glory shining in the upper world, of which, though it is one of the things not seen, faith is the evidence. With what reverence and holy awe does he begin his meditation with that acknowledgment, O Lord my God, thou art very great! It is the joy of the saints, that he who is their God is a gi-eat God; the grandeur of the prince is the pride and pleasure of all his good subjects. The majesty of God is here ^t forth by divers instances, alluding to the figure which great princes in their public appearances covet to make, their equipage, compared with his, (even of the eastern kings, who most affected pomp,) is but as the light of a glow-worm, compared with that of the sun when he goes forth in his strength. Princes appear great,

1. In their robes: and what are God's robes.^ Thou art clothed ivith honour and majesty, v. 1. God is seen in his works, and these bespeak him infinitely ^vise and good, and all that is great. Thou coverest thyself ivith light, as nvith a garment, v. 2. God is light, (1 John i. 5.) the Father of lights; (Jam. i. 17.) he dwells in light, (1 Tim. vi. 16.) he clothes himself with it. The residence of his glory is in the highest heaven, that light which was created the first day, Gen. i. 3. Of all visible beings, light comes nearest to the nature of a spirit, and therefore with that God is pleased to cover himself, that is, to reveal himself under that similitude, as men are seen in the clothes with which they cover themselves; and so only, for his face cannot be seen.

2. In their palaces, or pavilions, when they take the field: and what is God s palace, and his pavilion? He stretches out the heavens like a curtain; (x>. 2.) so he did at first, when he made the firmament, which in the Hebrew has its name from its being expanded or stretched out, Gen. i. 7. He made it to divide the waters as a curtain divides between two apartments: so he does still; he now stretches out the heavens like a curtain, keeps them upon the stretch, and they continue to this day according to his ordinance. The regions of the air are stretched out about the earth, like a curtain about a bed, to keep it warm, and drawn between us and the upper world, to break its dazzling light; for though God covers himself ivith light, yet, in compassion to us, he makes darkness his /lavilion; thick clouds are a covering to him. The vastness of this pavilion may lead lis to consider how great, how very great, he is, that Jills heaven and earth. He has his chambers, his u/i/2er rooms, so the word signifies, the beams whereof he lays in the wafers, the waters that are above the firmament, {v. 3.) as he has founded the earth upon the seas and floods, the waters beneath the firmament Though air and water are fluid bodies, yet, by the divine power, they are kept as tight and as firm in the place assigned them, as a chamber is with beams and rafters. How great a God is he, whose presence-chamber is thus reared, thus fixed!

3. In their coaches of state, and their stately horses, which add much to the magnificence of their entries: but God makes the clouds his chariots, in which he rides strongly, swiftly, and far above cut of the reach of opposition, when at any time he will act by uncommon providences in the government of this world. He descended in a cloud, as in a chariot, to mount Sinai, to give the law, and to mount Tabor,

PSALMS, CIV.

to proclaim the gospel, (Matth. xvii. 5.) and he walks (a gentle pace indeed, yet stately) ufioji the •wings of the wind. See xviii. 10, 11. He commands the winds, directs them as he pleases, and serves his own purposes by them.

4. In tlieir retinue or train of attendants: and here also God is \er}' great; for {-v. 4.) he maketh his angels sfiirits. Tliis is quoted by the apostle, (Heb. i. 7.) to pi-ove the pi-e-eminence of Christ abo\e the angels. The angels are here said to be his angels and his vii-nisters, for they are under his dominion, and at his disposal; they are winds, and a flame of fire, that is, they a])pearcd in wind and fire, so some; or, they are as swift as winds, and pure as flames; or he maketh them s/iirits, so the apostle quotes it. They are spiritual beings; and, whatever vehicles they may have proper to their nature, it is ceitain they h..ve not bodies, as we have. Being spirits, they are so much the further removed from the incumbrances of the humim nature, and so much the nearer allied to the glories of the divine nature. And they are bright and quick, and ascending as fire, as aflame of flre. In Ezekiel's vision, they ran ;ind returned like a flash of lightning, Ezek. i. 14. Thence they are called ierafihim, burners. Whatever they are, thev arc what God made them, what he still makes them; they derive their being from him, having the being he gave them, dre held in being by him, and he makes what use he pleases of them.

II. He looks down, and looks about, to the power of God shining in this lower world. He is not so taken up with the glories of his court, as to neglect even the remotest of his territories; no, not the sea and dry land.

1. He has founded the earth; {v. 5.) though he has hung it iifion nothing, (Job xxvi. 2.) fionderibus librata suis — balanced by its own weight; yet it is as immovealjle as if it had been laid upon the surest foundations. He has built tlie earth upon her basis, so that though it has received a dangerous shock by the sin of man, and the mahce of hell strikes at it, yet it shall not be removed for ever, that is, not till' the end of time, when it must give way to the new earth. Dr. Hammond's paraphrase of this is worth noting. " God has fixed so strange a place for the earth, that, being a heavy body, one would think it should fall every minute; and yet, which way soever we would imagine it to stir, it must, contrary to the nature of such a bodv, fall upwards, and so can have no possible ruin but by tumbling into heaven."

2. He has set bounds to the sea; for that also is his. (1.) He brought it within bounds in the creation.

At first, the eaith, which, being the more ])onder-ous body, would subside of course, was covered with the deep, {v. 6.) the waters were above the mountains; and so it was unfit to be, as it was designed, a habitation for man; and therefore, on tlie tliird day, God said. Let the waters under the heaven be gathered unto one filace, and let the dry land a/i-/lear, Cien. i. 9. This command of (iod is here called his rebuke, as if he gave it because he was dis])l eased that the earth was thus covered with water, and not fit for man to dwell on. Power went along with this word, and therefore it is also called here the voice of his thunder, which is a mighty voice and jiroduces strange effects, v. 7. At thy re-duke as if they were made sensible that they were out of their, ])Vir'e, they fled, they hasted away; (they called, and not in vain, to the recks and mountains to cover then);) as it is said, on another occasion, (Ixxvii. 16.) The waters saw thee, 0 God, the waters savj thee, they were afraid. Even those fluid bodies received the im])ression of God's terror. But was the hard di.s/ileasfd ai^ainst the rivers? No, it was for the salvation of his fieofile, Hab. iii. 8, 13. So here God reb iked the waters for man's sake, to

prepare room for him; for men must not be made m the fishes of the sea, (Hab. i. 14.) they must have air to breathe in. Immediately, therefore, with aU speed, the waters retired, 17. 8. They go over h''l and dale, (as we say,) go up. by the mountains, an.l down by the valleys; they will neither stop at the former, nor lodge in the latter, but make the best of their way to the place which thou hast founded for them, and there they make their bed. Let the obsequiousness even ot the unstable waters teach us obedience to the word and will of God: for shall man alone of all the creatures be obstinate? Let tlieir retiring to, and resting in, the place assigned them, teach us to acquiesce in the disposals of that wise i)rr)\'idence which appoints us the bounds of our habit tifn.

(2.) He keeps it within bounds, {v. 9.) The waters are fjrbidden to pass over the limits set them; the\- may not, and therefore they do not, turn again to cover the earth. Once tliey did, in Noah's flood, because God bade them, but never since, because he forl^ids them, having jn'omised not to drown the world again. God himself glories in this instance of his power, (Job xxxviii. 8, Sec.) and uses it as an argument with us to fear him, Jer. v. 22. This, if duly considered, would keep tlic world in awe of the Lord and his goodness. That the waters cf the sea would soon cover the earth, if God did not I'cstrain them.

10. He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. 11. They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst. 12. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, irhich sing among the branches. 13. He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. 14. He causeth tlie grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth; 15. And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread ivhich strengtheneth man's heart. 16. The trees of the Lord are full of sap: the cedars of Lebanon, w hich he hath planted; 17. Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir-trees are her house. 18. The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the conies.

Having given glory to God, as the powerful Protector of this earth, in saving it from being deluged, here he comes to acknowledge him as its bountiful Benefactor, who provides conveniences for all the creatures.

I. He provides fresh water for their drink; He sends the springs into the valleys, v. 10. There is water enough indeed in the sea, that is, enough to drown us, but not one drop to refresh us, be we ever so thirsty, it is all so salt; and therefore God has graciously provided water fit to drink. Naturalists dispute about the origin of fountains; but, whatever are their second causes, here is their first Cause; it is God that sends the springs into the l)i-ooks, which walk by easy steps between the hills, and receive increase from the rain-water that descends from them. Tliese give drink, not only to man, and those creatures that are immediately useful to him, but to ex'ery beast of the field; (f. 11.) for where God has given life, he provides a livelihood, and takes cai'e

PSALMS, CIV.

of all the creatures; even the wild asses, though un-tameable, and therefore of no use to man, are welcome to quench their thirst; and we have no reason to grudge it them, for we are better provided for, i though born like the wild ass's colt. We have reason to thank God for the plenty of fair water with wliich he has provided the iial^itable part of his earth, which otherwise would not be habitable. That ought to l)e reckoned a great mercy, the want of which would be a great affliction: and the more comm.m it is, the greater mercy it is; Usus communis acjuaruni — Water is for common use.

II. He provides food convenient for them, both f )r man and beast; the heavens drop, fatness; they hear the earth, but God hears thein, Hos. ii. 21. He waters the hills from his chambers, {y. 13.) from those chambers spoken of, {y. 3.) the beams of which he lays in the waters, those store-chambers, the clouds that distil the fruitful sliowers. The hills that are not watered by the rivers, as Egypt was by Nile, are watered by the rain from heaven, which is called the river of God, (Ixv. 9.) as Canaan was, Ueut. xi. 11, 12. 1 hus the earth is satisfied with the fruit of his works; either with the rain it drinks in, (the earth knows when it has enough, it is pity that any man should not,) or with the products it brings forth. It is a satisfaction to the earth to bear the fnait of God's works for the benefit of man, for thus it answers the end of its creation. The food which God brings forth out of the earth, (y. 14.) is the fruit of his works, Avhich the earth is satisfied with. Observe how various and how valuable its products are; for the cattle there is grass, and the beasts of prey, that live not on grass, feed on those that do. For man there is herb, a better sort of grass, (and a dinner of herbs and roots is not to be despised,) nay, he is furnished with wine, and oil, and bread, v. 15.

We may observe here, concerning our food, that which will help to make us botli humble and thankful. 1. To make us humble, let us consider that we have a necessary dependence upon God for all the supports of this life; we live upon alms, we are at his finding, for our own hands are not sufficient for us: that our food comes all out of the earth, to remind us whence we ourselves were taken, and whither we must return; and that, therefore, we must not think to live by bread alone, for that will feed the body only, but mvist look into the word of God for the meat that endures to eternal life; and, further, that we are in this respect fellow-commoners with the beasts: the same earth, the same spot of ground, that brings grass for the cattle, brings corn for man. 2. To make us thankful, let us consider, (1.) That God not only provides for us, but for our servants: the cattle that are of use to man are particularly taken care of; grass is made to grow in great abundance for them, when the young lions, that are not for the sen'ice of man, often lack, and suffer hunger. (2.) That cur food is nigh us, and ready to us: having our habitation on the earth, there we have our storehouse, and depend not on the merchant-shifts that bring food from afar, Prov. xxxi. 14. (3.) That we have even from the products of the earth, not only for necessity, but for ornament and delight; so good a Master do we serve. [1.] Does nature call for something to support it, and repair its daily decays? Here is bread, which strengthens man's heart, and is therefore called the staff of life; let none who have that complain of want, [2.] Does nature go further, and covet something pleasant? Here is wine, that makes glad the heart, refreshes the spirits, and exhilarates them, when it is soberly and moderately used; that we may not only go through our business, but go through Jt cheerfully. It is pity that that should be abused to overchai'ge the heart, and unfit men for their i

507

duty, which was given to revive their heart, and quicken them in their duty. [3.] Is nature yet more humoursome, and does it crave something "for ornament too? Here is that also out of the earth; oil to make the face to shine, that the countenance may not only be cheerful but beautiful, and we may be the more acceptable to one another.

Nay, the Divine Providence not onlv fumishcs annnals with their proper food, but vegetables also with theirs; {v. J6.) The trees of the Lord are full o/ safi; not only men's trees, which thev take care of, and have an eye to, in their orcliards,' and parks, and other enclosures, but God's trees, which grow in the wildernesses, and are taken care of only by his providence, they are full of sa/i, and want no nourishment; even the cedars of Lebanon, an open forest, though they are high and bulky, and require a great deal of sap to feed them, have enough trom the earth; they are trees which he has planted, and which therefore he will protect and pi-oA'ide for. We may apply tins to the trees of righteousness, which are the planting of the Lord, planted in his vmeyard; these are full of sap; for what God plants he will water; and they that are planted in the house of the Lord shall Jlourish in the courts of our God, xcii. 13.

III. He takes care that they shall have suitable habitations to dwell in. To men God has given discretion to build for themselves, and for the cattle that are serviceable to them; but there are some creatures which God more immediately provides a settlement for.

1. The birds. Some birds, by instinct, make their nests in the bushes near rivers; (t;. 12.) By the springs that rim among the hills, some of the fowls of heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. They sing, according to their capacity, to the honour of their Creator and Benefactor; and their singing mav shame our silence. Our heavenly Father feeds them, (Matth. vi. 26.) and therefore they are easy and cheerful, and take no thought for the morrov/. The birds being made tOT?!/ above the earth, (as we find. Gen. i. 20.) they make their nests on high, in the tops of trees; {y. 17.") it should seem as if nature had an eye to this in planting the cedars of Lebanon, that thev might be receptacles for the birds. Those that flv heavenward shall not want resting-places. The stork is particularly mentioned; the fir-trees, which are veiy high, are her house, her castle.

2. The lesser sort of beasts; {v. 18.) The wild goats, having neither strength nor swiftness to secure themselves, are guided by instinct to the high hills, which are a refuge to them; and the rabbits, which are also helpless animals, find a shelter in the rocks, where they can set the beasts of prey at defiance. Does God provide thus for the inferior creatures, and will he not himself be a Refuge and Dwelling-Place to his own people?

19. He appointeth the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. 20. Thou makest darkness, and it is night, wherein al the beasts of the forest do creep forth. 21 The young Hons roar after their pre}^ and seek their meat from God. 22. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. 2.3. Man goeth forth unto his work, and to his labour, until the evening. 24. O Lord, how manifold are thy \\'orks! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches; 25. So is this great and wide sea,

PSALlMS, CIV.

\vh?rein are things creeping innumerable, bo.h small and great beasts. 26. There go the. ships; there is that leviathan, iv/iom thou hast made to play therein. 27. These wait all upon thee, that thou mayest give t/iem tJieir meat in due season. 28. That thou givest them, they gather: thou openest thy hand, they are filled with good. 29. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; thou takest away their breath, they die, and re-tu n to their dust. 30. Thou sendest foith thy spirit, they are created; and thou re-newest the face of the earth.

We are here taught to praise and magnify God,

1. For the constant revolutions and succession of day and night, and tlie dominion of sun and moon over them. The lieathen were so affected with the light and influence of the sun and moon, and their serviceabkness to the earth, tliat they worshipped them as deities; and therefore the scripture tiikes all occasions to sliow that the gcds they worshipped are the creatui-es and servants of the true God; (y. 19.) He afifiointed the 7110011 for seasons, for the measuring of the months, the directing of the seasons for the business of the husbandman, and the governing of the tides. The full and change, the increase and decrease, of the moon, exactly observe the appointment of the Creator; so does the sun, for he keeps as punctually to the time and place of his going down as if he were an intellectual being, and knew what he did.

God herem consults the comfort of nian. • 1. The shadows of the evening befriend the re-pwse of the night; {v. 20.) Thou makcst darkness, and it is night, which, though black, contriliutes to the beautv cf nature, and is as a foil to the light of the day; and under the protection of the night ali the beasts of the forest creep forth to feed, which they are afr.:id t) do in the diy, God ha\ ing ]nit the fear and dread of man upon every beast of the earth, (Gen. ix. 2.) which contributes as mucli tJ man's safety as to his honour. See how nearly allied they are to the disposition of the wild beast, '\\\\o v.Hiit for the twilight, (Job xxiv. 15.) and ha\ e fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; and compare to this the danger of ignorance and melancholy, which are both as darkness to the soul; when, cither of those ways, it is night, then all the beasts of the forest creep forth, Satan's temptations then nssaultus, and have advantage against us. Then the young lions roar after their prey; and, as naturalists tell us, their roaring terrifies the timorous beasts, so that thev have not strength or spirit to outrun them, which otherwise they might do, and so they iK'Come an easy prey to them. They are said to seek their meat 'from' God, because it is not prepared for them Dy the care and forecast of man, iKit more immediately by the providence of God. The roaring of the yoimg lions, hke the crying of the young ravens,' is intei-preted, asking their meat of God. Does God i)ut this construction upon the I'.nguage of mere nature, even in venomous creatures, and shall he not much more interpret favourably the language of grace in his own people, though it be weak and broken groanifigs which cannot be uttered?

2. The light of the morning befriends the Inisiness of the day; {v. 22, 23.) The sun arises, (for, as he knows his going down, so, thanks be to God, he knows his rising again,) and then the wild beasts

jc1;ik» themselves to their rest, even they have 5iimi society among them, for they gather them-ifli'is together, and lay them down in their dens, whicli is a great mercy to the children of men, that

while they are abroad, as become honest travellers, between sun and sun, care is taken that they shall not be set upon by wild beasts, for they are then drawn out of the field, and the sluggard shall have no oppoi-tunity to excuse liimself from the business of the day, with this. That there is a lion in the way. Therefore, then /nan goes forth to his work and to his labour; the beasts of prey creep forth with fear, man goes forth with boldness, as one that has dominion. The beasts creep forth to spoil and do mischief, man goes forth to work and do good. There is the work of every day, which is to be done in its day, which man must apply to every morning, for the lights are set up for us to work by, not to play by; and which we must stick to till evening; it will be time enough to rest when the night comes, in which no man can work.

II. For the replenishing of the ocean; {v. 25, 26.) As the earth is full of God's riches, w^ell-stocked with animals, and those well provided foi', so that it is seldom that any creature dies merely for want of food; so is this great and wide sea, which seems a useless part of the globe, at least, not to answer the room it takes up; yet God has appointed it its place, and made it serviceable to man, both for navigation, (there go the ships, in which goods are conveyed to countries vastly distant, speedily, and much cheaper than by land-carriage,) and also to be his storehouse for fish; God made not the sea in vain, any more than the earth, he made it to be inherited, for there are things swimming innumerable, both small and great anittials, whicli sen'e for man's dainty food. The whale is particularly mentioned in the history of the creation, (Gen. i. 21.) and is here called the Leviathan, as Job xli. 1. He is made to play in the sea; he has nothing to do, as man has, who goes forth to his work; he has nothing to fear, as the beasts have, that lie down in their dens; and therefore he plays with the waters. It is pity that anv of the children of men, who have nobler powers, and were made for nobler purposes, should live as if they were sent into the world, like Leviathan into the waters, ttiplay therein; spending all their time in pastime. The Leviathan is said to play in the waters, because he is so well armed against all assaults, that he sets them at defiance, and laughs at the shaking of a spear. Job xli. 29.

III. For the seasonable and plentiful provision which is made for all the creatures, v. 27, 28. 1. God is a bountiful Benefactor to them; he givea them their meat; he opens his hand, and they are filled with good. He supports the armies both of heaven and earth; even the meanest creatures are not below his cognizance. He is open-handed in the gifts of his bounty, and is a great and good Housekeeper that provides for so large a family. 2. They are patient expectants from him. They all wait'upon him; they seek their food, according to the natural instinct Gcd has put into them, and in the proper seastn for it; and affect not any other food, or at any ether time, than nature has ordained, they do their part for the obtaining of it; what God

i gives them they gather, and expect iiot that Providence should put it into their mouths; and what they gather they are satisfied with; they are filled witii good; thev desire no more than what God sees fit for them, which may shame our murmunngs and discontent, and dissatisfaction with our lot.

IV. For the absolute j)ower and sovereign dominion which he has over all the creatures, by which every species of each is still continued, though the individuals of each are daily dying and dropping off. See here, 1. All the creatures perishing; (r. 29.) Thou hidest thy face, withdrawcst thy supporting power, thv supplying bounty, and they are troubled immediately. Every creature has as necessary a dependence upon God's favours a? every saint is

PSALMS, CIV.

o09

sensible he has, and therefore says with David, (Ps. XXX. 7.) Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. God's displeasure against this lower world f r the sin of man is the cause of all the vanity and burthen which the whole creation groans under. Thou takest away their breath, which is in thy hand, and then, and not till then, they die and return to their dust, to their first principles. The spirit of the beast, which goes downward, is at God's command, as well as the spirit of a man, which goes upward. The death of cattle was one of the plagues of Egypt, and is particularly taken nrtice of in the drowning of the world. 2. AH preserved notwithst uiding, in a succession; {v. 30.) Thou sendest forth thy s/iirit, they are created; the same spirit, the same divine will and power, by which they were all created at first, still preserves the se>eral sorts of creatures in their being, and place, and usefulness; so that, though one generation of them passes away, another comes, and from time to time they are created; new ones rise up instead of the old ones, and this is a continual creation. Thus the face of the earth is renewed from day to day by the light of the sun, which beautifies it anew every morning; from year to year by the products of it, which enrich it anew every spring, and put quite another face upon it from what it had all winter. The world is as full of creatures as if none died, for the place of those that die is filled up. This (the Jews say) is to be applied to the resurrection, which every spring is an emblem of, when a new world rises out of the ashes of the old one.

In the midst of this discourse the psalmist breaks out into wonder at the works of God; (v. 24.) 0 Lord, how manifold are thy works! They are numerous, they are various, of many kinds, and many of every kind; and yet in wisdo?n hast tliou made them all. When men undertake many works, and of different kinds, commonly some of them are neglected, and net done with due care; but God's works, though many, and of very diiferent kinds, are all made in wisdom, and with the greatest exactness; there is not the least flaw '^r defect in them. The works of art, the more closely they are looked upon with the help of microscopes, the more rough they appear; the works of nature throvigh these glasses appear more fine and exact. They are all made in wisdom, for they are all m:\de to answer the end they were designed to serve, the good of the universe, in order to the glory of the universal Monarch.

31. The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works. 32. He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; he toucheth the hills, and they smoke. 33. I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 34, My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord. 35. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord.

The psalmist concludes this meditation with speaking,

1. Praise to God, which is chiefly intended in the psalm.

(1.) He is to be praised, [1.] As a gi-eat God, and a God of matchless perfection; The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever, v. 31. It shall endure to the end of time, in his works of creation and providence; it shall endure to eternity, in the felicity and adorations of saints and angels Man's

glory is fading, God's glory is everlasting; creatures change, but with the Creator there is no vanable-ness. [2.] As a gracious God; The Lord shall rejoice i?i his work's. He continues that complacency in the products of his own wisdom and goodness which he had when he sa%u every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was veiy good, and rested the seventh day. We often do that which, upon the review, we cannot rejoice in, but are displeased at, and wish undone again, blaming our own management. But God always rejoices in his works, because they are all done in wisdom. We regret our bounty and beneficence, but God never does; he rejoices in the works of his grace, his gifts and callings are without repentance. [3.] As a God of almighty power; {y. 32.) He looks on the earth, and it trembles, as unable to bear his frowns; trembles, as Sinai did, at the presence of the Lord. He touches the hills, and they smoke. The volcanoes, or burning mountiins, such as /Etna, are emblems of the power of God's wrath fastening upon proud unhumbled sinners. If an angry look and a touch have such effects, what will the weight of his heavy-hand do, and the operations of his outstretched arm.'' Who knows the power of his anger'/ Who then dares set it at defiance? God therefore rejoices in his works, because they are all so observant of him; and he will in like manner take fdeasure in them that fear him, and that tremble at his word. (2.) The psalmist will himself be much in praising him; {v. 33.) " I will sing unto the Lord, unto my God, will praise him as Jehovah, the Creator, and as my God, a God in covenant with me, and this not now only, but as long as I live, and while I have my being." Because we have our life and being from God, and depend vipon him for the support and continuance of it, as long as we live and have our being, we must continue to praise God; and when we have no life, no being on e:irth, we hope to have a better life and better being in a better world, and there to be doing this work in a better manner, and in better company.

2. Joy to himself; {v. 34.) My meditation of him shall be' sweet; it shall be fixed and close, it shall be affecting and influencing, and therefore it shall be sweet. Thoughts of God will then be most pleasing when they are most powerful. Note, Divine meditation is a very sweet duty to all that are sanctified. "/ will be glad in the Lord, it shall be a pleasure to me to praise him; I will be glad of all opportunities to set forth his glory; and I will rejoice in the Lord always, and in him only." All my joys shall centre in him, and in him they shnllbefull. •

3. Terror to the wicked; {v. 35.) Let the sinners be consunied out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. (1.) They that oppose the God of power, and fight against him, will certainly be consumed: npne can prosper that harden themselves against the Almighty. (2.) They that rebel against the light of siich' convincing evidence of God's being, and refuse to serve him, whom all the creatures serve, will justly be consumed. They that make that earth to groan under the burthen of their impieties, which God thus fills with his riches, deser^-e to be consumed out of it, and that it should spue them out. (3.) They that heartily desire to praise God themselves, cannot but have a holy indignation at those that blaspheme and dishonour him, and a lioly satisfaction in the prospect of their destruction,' and the honour that God will get to himself upon them. Even this ought to be the matter of their praise; " While sinners are consumed out of the earth, let my soul bless the Lord that I am not cnst away with the workers of iniquity, but dis-ting-uished from them by the special grace of God. » When the wicked are no more, I hope to be praising

MO

PSALMS, CV.

God world without end: and therefore Praise ye the Lord; let all about me join with me in praising jod. Hallelujah; sing praise to Jehovah. This .s the first time tliat we mc^t with Hallelujah; and it comes in here upon occasion of the destruction of the wicked; and the last time we meet with it is upon the like occasion; when the New Testament Babylon is consumed,1his is the burthen of the song, Hallelujah, Rev. xix. 1, 3, 4, 6.

PSALM CV.

Some of the psalms of praise are very short, others verj' long, to teach us, that, in our devotions, we should be more observant how our hearts work than how the time passes; and neither overstretch ourselves, by coveting- to be lon^, noroverstint ourselves, by coveting-to be short, but either the one or the other, as we find in our hearts to pray. This is a long psalm; the general scope is the same with most oC the psalms, to set forth the glory of God, but the subject matter is particular. Every time we come to the throne of grace, we may, if we please, furnish ourselves out of the Word of God (out of the history of the New Testament, as this out of the history of the Old) with new songs, with fresh thoughts—so copious, so various, so inexhaustible, is the subject. In the foregoing psalm, we are taught to praise God for his wondrous work of common providence with reference to the world in general; in this, we are directed to praise him for his special favours to his church. We find the eleven first verses of this psalm in the beginning of that psalm which David delivered to Asaph to be used (as it should seem) in the daily service of the sanctuary, when the ark was fixed in the place he had prepared for it; by which it appears both who penned it, and when, and upon what occasion, it was penned, J Chron. xvi. 7, &c. David by it designed to instruct his people in the obligations they lay under to adhere faithfully to their holy religion. Here is the preface, (v. 1. .7) and the history itself in several articles. I. God's covenant with the patriarchs, v. 8..11, II. His care of them while they were strangers, V. 12.. 15. HI. His raising up Joseph to be the shepherd and stone of Israel, v. 16 .. 22. IV. The increase of Israel in Egvpt, and their deliverance out of Egypt, V. 23. . 38. V. "^The care he took of them in the wilderness, and their settlement in Canaan, v. 39 . . 45. In singing this, we must give to God the glory of his wisdom and power, his goodness and faithfulness; must look upon ourselves as concerned in the affairs of the Old Testament church, botli because to it were committed the oracles of God, which are our treasure, and out of it Christ arose, and these things happened to it for ensamples.

1. /^ GIVE thanks unto the Lord; call VF upon his name; make known his deeds among the people. 2. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. 3. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. 4. Seek the Lord, and his strength; seek his face evermore. 5. Rememher his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; G. O ye seed of Abraham

I his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.

i' 7. He M the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

Our devotion is here warmly excited; and we arc stirred up, that we mav stir up ourselves to praise God. •

Observe, I. The duties we are here called to, and they are many; Ijiit the tendency of them all is to give unto (iod the glory due unto his name. (1.) We must ifive tJuuiks to him, as one who has al-

* ways been our l)ountiful Benefactor, and I'cquires only that we give him thanks for his fa\ours; poor returns for rich receivings. (2.) Call upon his

, name; as < ne whom you depend upon for further favours. Praying for further mercies is accepted

as an acknowledgment of frrmcr mercies; Deciuise he has inclined his ear nnto me, therefore ivill IcaL u/ion him. (3.) Make knoivn his deeds, {v. 1.) that others may join with you in praising him. Talk ye of all his vJ07idrous works, {y. 2.) as we talk of things that we ave full cf and much affected with, and desire to fill others with. God's W( ndrous works ought to l^e tlic subject of cur familiar dis-1 courses with our families and friends, and we should j talk of them as ive sit in the house, and as we go by I the way; (Deut. vi. 7.) not merely for enteitain-j ment, but for the exciting of devotion, and the en-I couraging of our own and others' faith and hope ir I God. Even sacred things may be the matter of common talk, provided it be with due reverence. (4.) Sing psalms to God's honour, as those that re-; joice in him, und desire to testify that joy for the ! encouragement of others, and to transmit it to posterity, as memorable things anciently were handed down by songs, when writing was scarce. (5.) Glory in his holy name; let those that are disposea to glory n< t boast of their own accomplishments and achievements, but of their acquaintance with God, and their relation to him, Jer. ix. 23, 24. Praise ye his holy name, so seme; bvit it comes all to one, for in glorying in him we give glory to him. (6.) Seek him; place your happiness in him, and then pursue that happiness in all the ways that he has appointed. Seek the Lord and his strength, that is, the ark of his strength; seek him in the sanctuary, in the way wherein ne has appointed us to seek him. Seek hia strength, tliat is, his grace, the strength of his Spirit, to work in you that which is good, which we cannot do but by strength derived from him, for which he will be inquired of. Seek the Lord, ana be strengthened; so divers ancient versions read it. They that would be strengthened in the inward man, must fetch in strength from God by faith and prayer. Seek his strength, and then seek his face; for by his strength we hope to prevail with him for his favour, as Jacob did, Hos. xii. 3. " Seek hia face er'ermore; seek to have his favour to eternity, and therefore continue seeking it to the end of the time of your probation. Seek it wliile you live in this world, and )0u shall have it while you live in the other world, and even there shall be for ever seeking it, in an infinite progression, and yet be for ever satii^fied in it." (7.) Let the hearts of those rejoice that do^eek him, {tk 3.) for they have chosen well, are well fixed, and well employed, and they may be sure that their labour will not be in vain; for he will not onl)' be found, but he will be found the Rewarder of those that diligently seek him. If those have reason to rejoice that seek the Lord, much more those that have found him. 2. Some arguments to quicken us to these duties, (1.) Consider both what he has said, and what he has done, to engage us for ever to him; you will see yourselves under all possible obligations to give thanks to him, and call upon his name, if you remember the wonders which should make deep and durable impressions upon you; the -wonders of his providence which he has wrought for you, and those who are gone before you, the mari'elloua works that he has done, which will be had in everlasting remembrance with the thoughtful and with the grateful; the wonders of his law, which he has written to you, and intmsted you with; thejiidgmnits of his mouth, as well as the judgments cf his hand, v. 5. (2.) Consider the relation you stand in to him; (t. 6.) Ye are the seed of .Abraham his servant; you are bom in liis house, and being thereby entitled to the privilege c^f his servants, protection and provi-si;:n, vou are also bound to do the duty of servants, to ;ittend your Master, consult his honour, obey his command's, and do what you can to advsmce his interests. You are the children of Jacob his chosen.

PSALMS, CV.

$1!

and are choseri and belo~ued for the fathers' sake, ana therefore ought to tread in the steps of those wiiose honours you inherit. You are the children of god;y parents, do not degenerate; you are God's cliurch" upon earth, and if you do not praise him, who should?

(3.) Consider y^our interest in him; He is the Lord our God, xk 7. We depend upon him, are devoted to him, and from him our expectation is. Should not a people seek unto their God, (Isa. viii. 19.) and praise their God? Dan. v. 4. He is Jehovah, our God; he that is our God is self-existent and self-sufficient, has an irresistible power and incontestable sovereignty. His judtfments are in all the earth; he governs the whole world in wisdom, and gives law to all nations, even to those that know him not. The earth is full of the proofs of his power.

8. He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word icliicli he commanded to a thousand generations: 9. Wliich covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; 10. And coniirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant; 11. Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance: 12. When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it. 13. When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people, 14. He suffered no man to do them wrong; yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; 15. Sayings Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

16. Moreover, he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.

17. He sent a man before them, even Joseph, icho was sold for a servant; 18. Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he w^as laid in iron; 19. Until the time that his word came; the word of the Lord tried him. 20. The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. 21. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance; 22. To bind his princes at his pleasure, and teach his senators wisdom. 23. Israel also came into Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. 24. And he increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their enemies.

We are here taught, in praising God, to look a great way back, and to give him the glory of what he did for his church in former ages, especially when it was in the founding and forming, which those in its latter ages enjoy the benefit of, and therefore should give thanks for. Doubtless we may fetch as proper matter for praise from the histories of the gospels, and the acts of the apostles, which relate the birth of the Christian church, as the psalmist here does from the histories of Genesis and Exodus, which relate the birth of the Jewish church; and our histories greatly outshine theirs.

Two things are here made the subject of praise;

I. God's promise to the patriarchs, that great promise, that he would give to their seed the land of Canaan for an inheritance, Avhich was a tA-pe of the premise of eternal life made in Chinst to all believers.

In all the marvellous works which God did for Israel,

he remembered his covenant, {v. 8.) and he will remember it Jhr ex'er; it is the ivord ivhich he com-manded to a thousand generations. See here the power of the promise; it is the word which he commanded, and which will take effect: see the peipe-tuity of the promise; it isctmmanded to a thousand generations, and the entail cf it shall not be cut off. In the parallel place it is expressed as cur duty; (iChron. xvi. 15.) Be ye 7nindful always of his covenant. God will not forget it, and therefore we must not. The promise is here called a cove?iant, because there was something required on man's part as the condition of the pi-omise. Observe, 1. The persons with whom this covenant was made—with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, grandfather, father, and son, all eminent believers, Heb. xi. 8, 9. 2. The ratifications of the covenant; it was made sure by all that is sacred. Is that sure which is swoi:n to? It is his oath to Isaac and to Abraham. See to whom God snuare by himself, Heb. vi. 13, 14. Is that sure which is passed into a laiv'^ He confirmed the same for a law, a law never to be repealed. Is that sure which is reduced to a mutual contract and stipulation? This is confirmed/or an euerlasting covenant, inviolable. 3. The covenant itself; Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, v. 11. The patriarchs had a right to it, not l)y providence, but by i:)romise; and their seed should be put in possession of it, not by the common ways of settling nations, but by miracles; God will give it them himself, as it were with his own hand; it shall be given them as their lot, which God assigns them, and measures out to them; as the lot of their inheritance, a sure title, by virtue of their birth; it shall come to them by descent, not by purchase; by the favour of God, and not any merit of their own. Heaven is the inheritance we have obtained, Eph. i. 11. And this is the promise which God has promised us, (as Canaan was the promise he promised them,) even eter-nal life, 1 John ii. 25. Tit. i. 2.

II. His providences concerning the patriarchs, while they were waiting for the accomplishment of this promise; which represent to us the care God takes of liis people in this world, while they are yet on this side the heavenly Canaan; for these things hajifiened unto them for examples, and encouragements to all the heirs of promises that live by faith as they did.

1. They were wonderfully protected and sheltered, and (as the Jewish masters express it) gathered under the wings of the Divine Majesty. This is accounted for, V. 12' -15. Where we may obsers^e,

(1.) How they were exposed to injuries from men. To the three renowned patriarchs, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, God's promises were very rich; again and again he told them he would be their God; but his performances in this world were so little proportionable, that, if he had not prepared for them a city in the other world, he would have been ashamed to have been called their God, (see Heb. xi. 16.) because he was always generous; and yet, even in this world, he was not wanting to them, but, that he might appear to do imcommon things for them, he exercised them with uncommon trials. [ 1. ] They were few, very few: Abraham was called alone; (Isa. li. 2.) he had but two sons, and one of them he cast out; Isaac had but two, and one of them was forced for many years to nin his country; Jacob had more, but some of them, instead o£ being a defence to him, exposed him, when (as he himself pleads. Gen. xxxiv. 30.) he was but few in number, . ^ and therefore might easily be destroyed by the natives, he and his house. God's chosen are but a littlr flock, few, very few; and yet upheld. [2.] Th^y were strangers, and therefore were the more likely to be abused and to meet Avith strange usage, and

PSALMS, CV.

ihe less able to help themselves. Their rehgion made them to be looked upon as strangers, (1 Pet. iv. 4.) and to be hooted at SLSs/ieckled birds, Jer. xii. 9. 1 hough the whole land was theirs by promise, yet they were so far from producing and pleading their grant, that they confessed the7nselvesstrangers in it, Heb. xi. 13. [3.] They were unsettled; {v. 13.) They went from one nation to another, from one part of that land to another, (for it was then in the holding and occupation of divers nations. Gen. xii. 8.—xiii. 3, 18.) nay, from one kingdom to another fieofile, from Canaan to Eg}pt, from Egypt to the land of the Phihstines, which could not l>ut weaken and expose them; yet they were forced to it by famine. Note, Though frequent removals are neither desirable nor commendaljle, yet sometimes there is ajust and necessar}- occasion for them, and they may be the lot of some of the best men.

. (2.) How they were guarded by the special providence of God, the wisdom and power of wliich were the more magnified bv their being so many ways exposed, v. 14, 15. They were not able to help themselves, and yet, [1.] No men were suffered to wrong them, but even those that hated them, and would gladly have done them a mischief, had their hands tied, and could not do what they would. This may refer to Gen. xxxv. 5. where we find that the terror of God (an unaccountable restraint) was UJ1071 the cities that were round about thein, so that, though provoked, they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. [2. ] Even crowned heads, that did offer to wrong them, were not only checked and chidden for it, but controlled and baffled; He refiroved kings for their sakes, in dreams and visions, saying, " Touch not mine anointed, it is at your peril if you do, nay, it shall not be in your power to do it; do 7ny firophets no harm." Pharaoh king of Egypt was plagued, (Gen. xii. 17.) and Abi-melech king of Gerar was shaqoly rebuked, (Gen. XX. 6.) for doing wrong to Abraham. Note, First, Even kings themselves are liable to God's rebukes, if they do wrong. Secondly, God's prophets are his anointed, for they have the unction of the Spirit, that oil of gladness, 1 John ii. 27. Thirdly, They that offer to touch God's prophets, with design to harm them, may expect to hear of it one way or other. God is zealous for his prophets; whoso touches them, touches the apple of his eye. Fourthly, Even they that touch the prophets, nay, that kill the prophets, (as many did,) cannot do them any harm, any real harm. Lastly, God's anointed prophets are dearer to him than anointed kings themselves. Jeroboam's hand was withered when it was stretched out against a-prophet.

2. They were wonderfully provided for and supplied. And here also, (1.) They were reduced to great extremity; even in Canaan, the land of promise, he called for a farnine, v. 16. Note, All judgments are at God's call, and no place is exempt from their visitation and jurisdiction, when God sends them forth with commission. To try the faith of the patriarchs, God brake the whole staj^of bread, even in that good land, that they might plainly see God designed them a better country than that was. (2.) God gi-aciously took care for their relief. It was in obedience to his precept, and in dependence upon his promise, that they Were now sojourners in Canaan, and therefore he c'f-uld not in honour suffer any evil thing to Ijefall tliem, or any good thing to be wanting to them. As he restrained one Pharaoh from doing them wrong, so he raised uj) another to do them a kindness, by preferring and intrusting Joseph, of whose .story wc have here an abstract. He was to be the shepherd and stone of Israel, and to save that \\o\y seed alive, Gen. xlix. 24.—^1. 20. In order to this,

[1.] He was humbled, greatly humbled; (v. 17,

18.) God sent a man before them, even Joseph; many years before the famine began, he was ^ent before.them, to nourish them in the famine; so Aast are the foresights and forecasts of Pro\ idcnce, ynd so long its reaches. But in what character d'4 he go to Egypt, wlio was to pi'ovidc for the reception of the chui-ch there? He went not in quality of an ambassad(;r, no, nor so much as a factor or commissary; but he was sold thitlier for a servajit, a slave for term of life, without any prospect of being ever set at liberty. This was low enough, and, one would think, set him far ent ugh from any pnbability of being great; and yet he was brought Ic wer, he wa« made a prist n^r, \v. 18.) His fet they hurt with fetters, l^eing unjustly charged with a crime no less heinous than a rape upon his mistress; the iron entered into his soul, was very painful to him; and the false accusation, which was the cause of his imprisonment, did in a special manner grieve him, and went to his heart; yet all this was the way to his preferment.

[2.] He was exalted, highly exalted; he continued a prisoner, neither tried nor bailed, until tht time appointed of God for his release, (f. 19.) when his word came, his interpretations of dreams came to pass, and the report thereof came to Pharaoh's ears by the chief butler; and then the word of the Lord cleared him; tlie power God gave him to foretell things to come, rolled away the reproach his mistress had loaded him with; for it cculd not be thought that God would give such a power to so bad a man as he was represented to be. God's word tried him, tried his faith and patience, and then it came in power to give command for his release. There is a time set when God's word will come for the comfort of all that tnist in it, Hab. ii. 3. ^t the end, it shall speak, and not lie. God gave the word, and then the king sent and loosed him; for the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. Pharaoh, finding him to be a favourite of heaven. First, Discharged him from his imprisonment; {v. 20.) he let him go free. God has often, by wonderful turns of providence, pleaded the cause of oppressed innocency. Secondly, He advanced him to the highest posts of honour, v. 21, 22. He made him lord high chamberlain of his household; {he made him lord of his house;) nay, he put him into the office of lord treasurer, the ruler of all his substance. He made him prime minister of state, lord president of his council, to command his princes at Tiis pleasure, and teach them wisdom; generid of his f(<rces; JJccordin^ to thy word shall all my people be ruled. Gen. xh. 40, 43, 44. He made him Icrd chief justice, to judge even his senators, and punish those that were disobedient. In all this, Joseph was designed to be, 1. A father to the church that then was, to save the house of Israel from perishing by the famine. He was made great, that he might do good, especially in the household of faith. 2. A figure (f Christ that was to come; who, because he humified himself, and took upon liim the form of a servant, wi.s liighly exalted, and has all judgment committed to him.

Joseph being thus sent before, and jjut into a capacity of maintaining all his father's house, Israel also came into Egypt, {v. 23.) where he and all his were very honourably and comfortably provided foi many years. Thus the New Testament cluu-cli has a place provided for her, even in the wilderness, where she is nourished for a time, times, and half a time;JR(:v. xii. 14.) verily she shall be fed.

3. They were wonderfully multijilied, according to the promise made to Abraham, that his seed should be as the sand of the sea for multitude, v. 24. In Egypt he increased his people greatly; they multiplied like fishes, so that in a little <;ime thev became stronger than their enemies, and foi-miclable to them. Pharaoh took notice of it, (Excd. i. 9.)

PSALMS, CV.

513

The children of Israel are more and mightier than jx>e; when God pleases, a little one shall become a thousand: and God's promises, though they work slowly, work surely.

25. .He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants. 26. He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron whom he had chosen. 27. They showed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. 28. He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word. 29. He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish. 30. The land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings. 31. He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts. 32. He gave them hail for rain, owr/flaming fire in their land. 33. He smote their vines also, and their fig-trees; and brake the trees of their coasts. 34. He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and that without number, 35. And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground. 36. He smote also all the first-born in their land, the chief of all their strength. 37. He brought them forth also with silver and gold; and there was not one feeble person among their tribes. 38. Egypt was glad when they departed ; for the fear of them fell upon them. 39. He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light in the night. 40. The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. 41. He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river. 42. For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant. 43. And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness; 44. And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people; 45. That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the Lord.

After the history of the patriarchs, follows here the histoiy of the people of Israel, when they grew into a nation.

I. Their affliction in Egypt; {v. 25.) He turned the heart of the Egyptians, who had protected them, to hate them, and deal subtilly with them. God's goodness to his people exasperated the Egyptians against them; and tnough their old antipathy to the Hebrews (which we read of. Gen. xliii. 32.—xlvi. S4.) was laid asleep for a while, yet now it revived with more violence than ever: formerly they hated them, because they despised them, now because they feared them. They dealt subtilly with them,-set all their politics on work, to find out ways and means to weaken them, and waste them, and prevent their growth; they made their burthens heavy, and their lives bitter, and slew their male children as soon as they were bom. Malice is crafty to destroy: Satan has the serj^ent's subtilty, with his venom. It was God that turned the hearts of the Eg\'ptJans against them; for every creature is that VOL. III.—3 T

to us that he makes it to be, a friend or an enemy. Though God is not the Author of the sins of men, yet he serves his own purposes by them.

II. Their deliverance out of Egypt, that work of wonder, which, that it might never be forgotten, is put into the preface to the ten commandments. Observe,

1. The instruments employed in that deliverance; {■V. 26.) He sent Moses his sen^ant en this errand, and joined Aaron in commission with him. Moses was designed to be their lawgiver and chief magistrate, Aaron to be their chief priest; and therefore, tliat they might respect them the more, and submit to them the more cheerfully, God made use of them as their deliverers.

2. The mearis of accomplishing that deliverance; these were the plagues of Egypt. Moses and Aaron obsen^ed their orders, in summoning them just as God appointed them, and they rebelled not against his ivord, {v. 28.) as Jonah did, who, when he was sent to denounce God's judgments against Nineveh, went to Tarshish. Moses and Aaron were not mo\'ed, either with a foolish fear of Pharaoh's wrath, or a foolish pity of Egypt's misery, to relax or retard any of the plagues which God ordered them to inflict on the Egyptians, but stretched froth their hand to inflict them as God appointed. They that are intrusted to execute judgment, will find their remissness construed into a rebellion against God's word. The plagues of Egypt arc here called God's signs, and his wonders; [v. 27.) they were not only proofs of his power, but tokens of his wrath, and to be looked upon with admiration and holy awe. Thet/ showed the words of his sig>2s, so it is in the original; for every plague had an exposition going along with it; they were not, as the common works of creation and providence, silent signs, but speaking ones, and they spake aloud. They are all, or most, of them here specified, though not in the order in which they were inflicted.

(1.) The plagues of darkness, v. 28. This was one of the last, though here mentioned first. God sent darkness, and, coming with commission, it came with efficacy; his command made it dark. And then they, that is, the people of Israel, rebelled not against dod's woT'd, a command which some think was given them to circumcise all among them that had not been circumcised; in doing which, the three days' darkness would be a protection to them. The Old Translation follows the Septuagint, and I'eads it, They were not obedient to his word; which may be applied to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, who, notwitlistanding the terror of this plague, would not let the peofile go; but there is no ground for it in the Hebrew.

(2.) The turning of the river Nilus (which they idolized) into blood, and all their other waters, which slew their fish; {x>. 29.) and so they were deprived, not only of their drink, but the daintiest of their meat, Numb. xi. 5.

(3.) The frogs, shoals of which their land brought forth, which poured in upon them, not only in such numbers, but with such fury, that they could not keep them out of the chambers of their kings and great men, whose heart? had been full of vermin, more nauseous, and more noxious—contempt of, and enmity to, both God and his Israel.

(4.) Flies of divers sorts swarmed in their air, and liceintheirclothes, T'. 31. Exod. viii. 17, 24. Note, God can make use of the meanest, and weakest, and most despicable, animals, for the punishing and humbling of proud oppressors, to whom the impo-tency of the instrument cannot but be a great mortification, as well as an undeniable conviction of the divine omnipotence.

(5.) Hail-stones shattered their trees, even the strongest timber trees in their coasts, and killed theii

PSALMS, CV.

vines, and their other fruit trees, v. 32, 33. Instead 01 rain to cherish their trees, he gave them hail to crush them, and with it thunder and lightning, to that degree, that the Jire ran alonff u/ion the ground, as if it had been a stream of kindled brimstone, Exod. ix. 23.

{6.) Locusts and caterpillars destroyed all the herbs which were made for the service of man, and ate the bread out of their mouths, v. 34, o5. See what variety of judgments God has, wli^erewith to plague proud oppressors, that Avill not let his people go. God did not bring the same plague twice, but, when there was occasion for another, it was still a new one; for he has many arrows in his quiver. Locusts and caterjjillars are God's armies; and, how weak soever they are singly, he can raise such numbers of them as to make them formidable, Joel i. 4, 6.

(7.) Having mentioned all the plagues, but those of the murram and boils, he concludes with that which gave the conquering stroke, and that was the death of the Jirst-bom, v. 36. In the dead of the night, the joys and hopes of their families, the chief of their strength, and flower of their land, were all stinick dead by the destroying angel. They would not release God's first-bom, and therefore God seized theirs by way of reprisal, and thereby forced them to dismiss his too, when it was too late to retrieve their own; for when God judges, he will overcome, and they will certainly sit down losers at last, that contend with him.

3. The mercies that accompanied this delive-i-ance. In their bondage, (1.) They had been impoverished, and yet they came out rich and wealthy. God not only brought them forth, but he brought them forth with silver and gold, t'. 37. God im-powered them to ask and collect the contributions of their neighbours, (which were indeed but part of payment for the service they had done them,) and niclined the E^:^■ptians to furnish them with what they asked. Their wealth was his, and therefore he might, their liearts were in his hand, and therefore he could, give it to the Israelites. (2.) Their lives had been made bitter to them, and their bodies and spirits broken by their l)ondage; and yet, when God brought them forth, there was not one fcebU' person, none sick, none so much as sickly, among their tribes. They went out that very night that the l)laguc swept away all the first-boni of Egypt, and yet they came out all in good health, and Ijrought not with them any of the diseases of Egypt. Surely never was the like, that among so many thousands tlicre was nnt one sick! So f dse was the representation which the enemies of the Jews, in after ages, gave of this matter, that they were all sick of a leprosy, or some loathsome disease, and that therefore tlie Egyptians thrust them out of their land. (3.) They had l)een trampled upon, and insulted over; and yet they were brought out with honour; {x<. 38.) Jigy/it was glad when they departed; for God had so wonderfully owned them, and pleaded their cause, that the fear of Israel fell upon them, and they owned themselves baffled and overcome. God can and will make Ivis church a burthensome storie t) all that heave at it, and seek to displace it, so that they shall think themselves happy, that get out of its way; (Zech. xii. 3.) when God judges, he will overcome. (4.) They had spent their days in sorrow and in sighing, by reason of their bondage; but now he Ijrought them forth with joy and gladness, v. 43. When Eg],'pt's cry for grief was loud, their firstborn l:)eing all slain, Israel's shouts for joy were as loud; both when they looked back upon the land of slavery out of which they were rescued, and when they looked forward to the pleasant land to which tlicy were hastening. God now put a new song into their mouth.

4. The special care God took of them in the wil-demtss. (1.) For their shelter; beside the canopy of hea\en, he pro\ ided them another heavenly canopy; he spread a cloud for a covering, {v. 39.) which was to thi.m not only a screen and umbrella, but a cloth of state. A cl( ud was often God's pavilion, (xviii. 11.) and now it was Israel's; for they also were his hidden ones. (2.) For their guidance and refreshment in the dark, he appointed a pillar oi Jire to give light in the night, that they might never be at a loss. Note, God graciously provides against all the grievances of his people, and furnishes them with convenient succours for every condition, for day and night, till they come there where it will be all day to eternity. (3.) He fed them both with necessaries and dainties. Sometimes he furnished their tables with wild fowl; (x'. 40.) The people asked, and he brought quails; and when they were not thus feasted, vet they were abundantly satisfied with the bread of heaven; those are curious and covetous indeed, who will not be so satisfied. Man did eat eagles' food, and that constantly, and on free cost. And as every bit they ate, had miracle in it, so had eveiy drop they drank; He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out, v. 41. Common providence fetches waters from heaven, and bread out of the earth; but for Israel the Divine Power brings bread from the clouds, and water from the rocks: so far is the God of nature from being tied to the laws and courses of nature. The water did not only gush out at once, but it ran like a river, plentifully and constantly, and attended their camp in all their removes; hence they are said to have the rock follow them; {1 Cor. x. 4.) and, which increased the miracle, this river of God (so it might be truly called) ran in dry places, and yet was not dinink in and lost, as one would expect it should have been, by the sands of the desert of Arabia. To this that promise alludes, / will give rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen, Isa. xliii. 19, 20.

5. Their entrance, at length, into Canaan; {v. 44.) He gave them the lands of the heathen; put them in possession of that which they had long been put in hopes of; and what the Canaanitcs had taken pains for, God's Israel had the enjoyment of; they inherited the labour of the people, and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. The Egyptians had long inherited their labours, and now they inherited the labours of the Canaanitcs. Thus sometimes one enemy of the church is made to pay another's scores.

6. The reasons why God did all this for them.

(1.) Because he would himself perform the promises of the word, x'. 42. They were unworthy and unthankful, yet he did those great things in their favour, becatise he remembered the word of his holiness (his covenant) with Abraham his servant, and he would not suffer one iota or tittle of that to fall to the ground. See Deut. vii. 8.

(2.) Because he would have them to perform the precepts of the word, to bind them to which was the greatest kindness he could put upon them. He put them in possession of Canaan, not that they might live in plenty and pleasure, in ease and honour, and might make a fi^re among the nations, but that they might observe his statutes and keep his laws; that, being foi-med into a people, they might be under God's immediate government, and revealed religion might be the basis of their national constitution; that, having a good land given them, they might out of the profits of it bring sacrifices to God s altar; and that, God having thus done them good, they might the more cheerfullv receive his law, concluding that also designed for their good, and might be sensible of their obligations in gratitude tc live in obedience to him. We are therefore made, maintained, and redeemed, that we may live in obedience to the will of God; and the hallelujah,

PSALMS, CVI.

51b

with which the psalm concludes, may be taken both as a thankful acknowledgment of God's favours, and as a cheerful concurrence with this great intention of them. Has God done so much for us, and yet does he expect so little from us? Praise ye the Lord.

PSALM CVI.

We must give glory to God by making confession, not ohly of his goodness, but our own badness, which serve as foils to each other: our badness makes his goodness appear the more illustrious, as his goodness makes our badness the more heinous and scandalous. The fore-goini^ psalm was a history of God's goodness to Israel; this IS a history of their rebellions and provocations, and yet it begins and ends with Hallelujah; for even sorrow for sin must not put us out of tune for praising God. Some think it was penned at the time of the captivity in Babylon, and the dispersion of the Jewish nation thereupon, because of that prayer in the close, v. 47. I rather think it was penned by David at the same time with the foregoing psalm, because we find the first verse and the tw.0 last m that psalm which David delivered to Asaph, at the bringing up of the ark to the place he had prepared for it; (1 Chron. xvi. 34. .36.) Gather us from among the heathen; for we may suppose that in Saul's time there •was a great dispersion of pious Israelites, when David was forced to wander. In this psalm, we have, I. The preface to the narrative, speaking honour to God, (v. 1,2.) comfort to the saints, (v. 3.) and the desire of the faithful toward God's favour, v. 4, 5. II. The narrative itself of the sins of Israel, aggravated by the great things God did for them, an account of which is intermixed. Their provocations at the Red sea; (v. 6. .12.) lusting; (v. 13..15.) mutinying; (v. 1G..18.) worshipping the golden calf; (v. 19 .. 23.) murmuring; (v. 24. .27.) joining themselves to Baal-peor; (v. 28.. 31.) quarrelling with JMoses; (v. 32, 33.) incorporating themselves with the nations of Canaan, v. 34. .39. To which is added an account how God had rebuked them for their sins, and yet saved them from ruin, v. 40.. 46. III. The conclusion of the psalm with prayer and praise, v. 47,48. It may be of use to us to sing this psalm, that, being put in mind by it of our sins, the sins of our land, and the sins of our fathers, we may be humbled before God, and yet not despair of mercy, which even rebellious Israel often found with God.

1. ~pR AISE ye the Lord. O give thanks MT unto the Lord ; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. 2. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LoRn ? icho can show forth all his praise? 3. Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. 4. Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bear-est wito thy people: O visit me with thy salvation ; 5. That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.

We are here taught,

1. To bless God; {v. 1, 2.) Praise ye the Lord, that is, (1.) Give him thanks for his goodness, the manifestation of it to us, and the many instances of it He is good, and his mercy endures for ever; let us therefore own our obligations to him, and make him a return of our best affections and services. (2.) Give him the glory of his greatness; his mighty acts, proofs of his almighty power, wherein he has done great things, and such as w^ould be opposed. Who can utter these? Who is worthy to doit? Who is abl" to do it? They are so many, that they cannot be numbered, so mysterious, tliat they c;tn-not be described; when we have said the most we can of the mighty acts of the Lord, the one half is not told, still there is more to be said; it is a subject that cannot be exhausted. We must shoiv forth 'lispraise; we may show forth some of it, but ivho

can show forth all? Not the angels themselves. This will not excuse us in not doing what we c;:n, but should quicken us to do all we can.

2. To bless the people of God, to call and count them happy; {y. 3.) They that keep judgment are blessed, tor they are fit to be employed in praisint^-God. God's people are they whose principles arc sound; they keep judgment, they adhere to the rules of wisdom and religion, and their practices are agreeable; they do righteousness, are just to God, and to all men; and herein they are steady and constant; they do it at all times, in all manner of conversation, at every turn, in every instance, and herein perse\ ering to the end.

3. To bless ourseh es in the favour of God, to place our happiness in it, and to seek it, accordingly, with all seriousness; as the psalmist here, x'. 4, 5. (1.) He has an eye to the loving-kindness cf God, as the fountain of all happiness; "Remember me, 0 Lord, to give me that mercy aiwi grace which I stand in need of, with the ja-vour which thou bearest to thy jieople." As there are a people in the world who are in a peculiar manner God's* people, so there is a peculiar favour which God bears to that people, which all gracious sculs desire an interest in; and we need desire no more to make us liappy. (2.) He h;is an eye to the salvation of God, the great salvation, that of the soul, as the foundation of happiness; O visit me with thy salvation. "Afford me (says Dr. Hammond) that pardon and that grace which I stand in need of, and can liope for from none but thee." Let that salvation be my portic^n for ever, and the pledges of it my present comfort. (3.) He has an eye to the blessedness of the righteous, as that which includes all good; {v. 5.) " lyiat I may see the good of thy chosen, and be as happy as thy saints are; and happier I do not desire to be." God's people are here called his chosen, his nation, his inheritance; for he has set them apart for himself, incoi-porated them under his own government, is served by them, and glorified in them. Tlie chosen people of God have a good which is peculiar to them, which is the matter botli of their gladness, and of their glorying; which is their pleasure, and their praise. God s people have reason to be a cheerful people, and to boast in their God all the day long; and they who have that gladness, that glory, need not envy any of the children of men their pleasure or pride. The gladness of God's nation, and the glory of his inheritance, are enough to satisfy any man; for they have everlasting joy and glory at the end of them.

6. We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. 7. Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red Sea. 8. Nevertheless, he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known. 9. He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. 10. And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them.., and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 11. And the waters covered their enemies; there was not one of them left. 12. Then be-heved they his words; they sang his praise.

Here begins a penitential confession of sin, which was in a special manner seasonable, now that the

PSALMS, CVI.

church was in distress; for thus we must justify God in all that he brings upon us, acknowledging that therefore he has done right, because we have done nvickedly: and the remembrance of former sins, notwithstanding which God did not cast off his people, is an encouragement to us to hope that though we are justly corrected for our sins, yet we shall not be utterly abandoned.

I. God's afflicted people here own themselves guilty before God; {-v. 6.) " JVe have sinned with our fathers, like our fathers, after the similitude of their transgi-ession. We have added to the stock of hereditary gniilt, and filled up tlie measure of our fathers' iniauity, to augynent yet the fierce anger of the Lord" Numb, xxxii. 14. Matth. xxiii. 32. And see how they lay loads upon themselves, as becomes penitents; " We have committed iniquity, that which IS in its own nature sinful; and ive have done wickedly; we have sinned with a high hand, presumptuously." Or, this is a confession, not only of their imitation of, but their interest in, their fathers' sins; IVe have sinned with our fathers, for we were in their loins, and we bear their iniquity. Lam. v. 7.

II. They bewail the sins of their fathers, when they were first formed into a people; which, since children often smart for, they are concerned to sorrow for, even further than to the third and fourth generation. Even we now cught to take occasion, ifrom the history of Israel's rebellions, to lament the pravity and perverseness of man's nature, and its un-aptness to be amended by the most probable means. Observe here,

1. The strange stupidity of Israel in the midst of the favours God bestowed upon them; {v. 7.) They understood not thy wonders in Egypt. They saw them, but they did not rightly apprehend the meaning and design of them. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have understood. They thought the plagues of Egypt were intended for their deliverance, whereas they were intended also for their instruction and conviction, not only to force tliern out of their Egyptian slavery, but to cure them of their inclination to Eg\^:)tian idolatry, by e\ idcncing the sovereign power and dominion of the God of Israel above all gods, and his particular concern for them. We lose the benefit of pro\ idences for want of understanding them. And as their understandings were dull, so their memories were treacherous; though one would think such astonishing events should never have been forgotten, yet they remembered them not, at least, they^ remembered not the 7nultitude of God's mercies in them. Therefore God is distrusted, because his favours are not remembered.

2. Their perverseness, arising from this stupidity; They firovoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea. The provocation was, despair of deliverance, (because the dariger was great,) and wishing thev had I)een left in Egypt still, Exod. xiv. 11, 12. Quarrelling with God's providence, and questioning his power, goodness, and faithfulness, are as great provocations to him as any Avhatsoever. The ])lace aggravated the crime; it was at the sea, at the Red sea, when they were newly come out of Eg)'pt, and the wonders God had wrought for them were fresh in their minds; yet they reproach him, as if all that power had no mercy in it, but that he brought them out of Egypt on purj^ose to kill them in the wilderness. They never lay at God's mercy so immediately as in their passage through the Red sea, j-et

' there they aflFront it, and provoke his wrath.

3. The great salvation God wrought for them, notwithstanding their provocations, t. 8"11. (l.j lie forced a passage for them through the sea; lie ?•• buked the Red sea for standing in their way and ' :tarding their march, aiid it was dried up immediately; as in the creation, at God s rebuke the wa-

ters Jied, civ. 7. Na}-, he not only prepared them a way, but, by the pillar of cloud and fire, he led them into the sea, and, by the conduct of Moses, led them througli it as readily as through the wilderness; he encouraged them to take those steps, and subdued their fears, when those were their most dangerous and threatening enemies. See Isa. Ixiii. 12-'14. (2.) He inteiposed between them and their pursuers, and prevented tliem from cutting them off, as they designed. The Israelites were all on foot, and the Egyptians had all of them chariots and horses, witli which they were likely to overtake them quickly, but God saved them from the hand of him that hated them, Pharaoh, who never loved them, but now hated them the more for the plagues he had suffered on their account; from the hand of his enemy, which Avas just ready to seize them, God redeemed them, {y. 10.) iritei-posing himself, as it were, in the pillar of fire, between the persecuted and the persecutors. (3.) To complete the mercy, and turn the deliverance into a victory, the Red sea, which was a lane to them, was a grave to the Egyptians; {y. 11.) The waters covered their enemies, so as to slay them, but not so as to conceal their shame; for, the next tide, they were thrown up dead upon the shore, Exod. xiv. 30. There was not one of them left alive, to bring tidings of what was become of the rest. And why did God do this for them? Nay, why did he not cover them, as he did their enemies, for their unbelief and mul-muring? He tells us, {y. 8.) itw&s for hisname''s sake; though they did not deserve this favour, he designed it; and their undeservings should not alter his designs, nor' break his measures, or make him withdraw his promise, or fail in the perfoi*mance of it. He did this for his own glory, that he might make his mighty power to be known, not only in dividing the sea, but in doing it notwithstanding their provocations. Moses prays, (Numb. xiv. 17,19.) Let the power of my Loi-d be great, and pardon the iniquity of this people. The power of the God of grace, in pardoning sin and sparing sinners, is as much to be admired as the power of the God of nature in dividing the waters.

4. The good impression this made upon them for the present; (x*. 12.) Then believed they his words, and acknowledged that God was with them of a truth, and had, in mercy to them, brought them out of Egypt, and not with any design to slay them in the wilderness; then they feared the Lord, and his servant Moses, Exod. xiv. 31. Then they sang his praise, in that song of Moses penned on this great occasion, Exod. xv. 1. See in what a gracious and merciful way God sometimes silences the unbehef of his people, and turns their fears into praises; and so it is written. They that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn docti:ine, Isa. xxix. 24.

13. They soon forgat his works; they waited not ior his counsel; 14. But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. 15. And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into tlieir soul. 16. They envied Moses also in th'^ cainp; and Aaron the saint of the Lord. 17. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abi-ram. 18. And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame bumt up the wicked. 19. Tliey made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image. 20. Thus they changed tlieir glory into the similitude of an

PSALMS, CVI.

517

ox that eateth grass. 21. They forgat God their savioui-, which had done great things in Egypt; 22. Wondrous works in the land of Ham, j,nd terrible tilings by the Red Sea. 23. Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them. 24. Yea, they despised the pleasant land; they believed not liis word; 25. But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord : 26. Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness: 27, To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands. 28. They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. 29. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions; and the plague brake in upon them. 30. Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. 31. And that was counted unto him for righteousness, unto all generations for evermore. 32. They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: 33. Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.

This is an abridgment of the history of Israel's provocations in the wilderness, and of the wrath of God against them for those provocations: and this abridgment is abridged by the apostle, with application to us Christians; (1 Cor. x. 5, &c.)for these things were written for our admortition, that we sin not like them, lest we suffer like them.

I. The cause of their sin, was, disregard to the works and word of God, v. 13. 1. They minded not what he had done for them; They soon forgat his works, and lost the impressions they had made upon them. They that do not improve God's mercies to them, nor endeavour in some measure to render according to the benefit done unto them, do indeed forget them. This people soon forgat them; God took notice of this; (Exod. xxxii. 8.) They have turned aside quickly. They made haste, they forgat his works, so it is in the margin; which some make to be two several instances of their sin. They made haste, their expectations anticipated God's promises; they expected to be in Canaan shortly, and, because they were not, they questioned whether they should ever be there, and quarrelled with all the difficulties they met with in their way: whereas he that belier>eth doth not make haste, Isa. xxviii. 16. And withal, they forgat his works, which were the undeniable evidences of his wisdom, power, and goodness, and denied the conclusion as confidently as if they had never seen the promises proved. This is mentioned again; (v. xxi. 22.) They forgat God their saviour; they forgat that he had been their saviour: those that forget the works of God, forget God himselfj who makes himself known by his works. They forgat what was done but a few days before, which we may suppose they could not but talk of, even then, when, because they did not make a good use of it, they are said to forget it: it was what God did for them in Egi/fif, in the land of Ham, and by the Red Sea, things which we at this distance cannot, or should not, be

unmindful of. They are called ^reat things, (for though the great God does nothing mean, yet he does some things that are in a special manner great,) wondrous works, out of the common road of Providence, therefore observable, therefore memorable, and terrible things, awful to them, and dreadful to their enemies, and yet soon forgotten; even miracles that were seen, passed away with them as tales that are told. 2. They minded not what God had said to them, nor would they depend upon it; They waited not for his coimse'l, did not attend his word, though they had Moses to be his mouth to them; they took up resolves about which they did not consult him, and made demands without calling upon him. They would be in Canaan directly, and had not patience to tarry God's time; the delay was in-toltrable, and therefore the difficulties were looked upon as insuperable. This is explained, {v. 24.) They believed not his word, his promise that he would make them masters of Canaan; and {v. 25.) They hearkened not to the voice of the Lord, who gave them counsel which they would not wait for, not only by Moses and Aaron, but by Caleb and Joshua, Kumb. xiv. 6, 7, &c. Those that will not wait for God's counsel, shall justly be given up to their own hearts' lusts, to walk in their own counsels.

II. Many of their sins are here mentioned, together with the tokens of God's displeasure which they fell under for those sins.

1. They would have flesh, and yet would not believe that God could give it them; (v. 14.) They lusted a lust, (so the word is,) in the wilderness; they had bread enough and to spare, yet nothing would serve them but they must have Jlesh to eat. They were now supported entirely by miracles, so that this was a reflection upon the wisdom and goodness of their Creator: they were also, in all proba-l)ility, within a step of Canaan, yet had no patifence to stay for dainties till they came thither; they had flocks and herds of their own, but they will not kill them; Ciod must give them flesh, as he gave them bread, or they will never give him credit, or their good word: they did not only wish for flesh, but they lusted exceedingly after it. A desire, even of lawful things, when it is inordinate and violent, becomes sinful; and therefore this is called lusting after evil things, (1 Cor. x. 6.) though the quails, as God's gift, were good things, and were so spoken of, Ps. cv. 40. Yet this was not all; They tempted God^ in the desert, where they had such experience of his goodness and power, and questioned whether he could and would gratify them herein. See Ixxviii. 19, 20.

Now, how did God show his displeasure against them for this? We are told how; {v. 15.) He gave them their request, but gaN^e it them in anger; and with a curse, for he sent leanness into their soul; he filled them with uneasiness of mind, and terror of conscience, and a self-reproach, occasioned by their bodies being sick with the surfeit, such as sometimes drunkards experience after a great debauch. Or this is put for that great plague with which the Lord smote them, while the flesh was yet between their teeth, as we read, Numb. xi. 35. It was the consumption of the life. Note, (1.) What is asked in passion, is often given in wrath. (2.) Many that fare deliciously every day, and whose bodies are healthful and fat, have at the same time leanness in their souls: no love to God, no thankfulness, no appetite to the bread of life, and then the soul must needs be lean. Those wretchedly forget themselves, that feast their bodies, and starve their souls. Then God gives the good things of this life in love, when with them he gives grace to glorify him in the use of them; for then the soul delights itself in fatness, Isa. Iv. 2

PSALMS, CVI.

2. They quarrelled with the government which God had set overthem, both in church and state; (x". 16.) They envied Moses his authority in the camp, as generalissimo of the armies of Israel, and chief-justice in all their courts; they en\aed Aaroii his powe-r, as saint of the Lord, consecrated to the office of High-Priest; and Korah would needs put in for the pontificate, while Uathan and Abiram, as princes of the tribe of Reuben, Jacob's eldest son, would claim to be chief magistrates, by the so-niuch-admired right of primogeniture. Note, They are preparing ruin for themselves, who envy those whom God has put honour upon, and usurp the dignities they were never designed for. And justly will cjntempt be poured upon them who put con-teinpt upon any of the saints of the Lord.

How did God show his displeasure for this? We are told how, and it is enough to make us tremble; {v. 17, 18.) we have the story. Numb. x\i. 32, 35. (1.) They that flew in the face of the civil authority were punished by the earth, which o/iened and swallowed them uji, as not tit to go upon God's ground, because they would not submit to G(;d's government. (2.) They that would usurp the ecclesiastical authority, in things pertaining to God, suffered the vengeance of Heaven, iovjire came out from the Lord, and consumed them; and the pretending sacrificers were themselves sacrificed to divine justice. The flame burnt uji the wicked; for though they vied with Aaron, the saint of the Lord, for holiness, (Numb. xvi. 3, 5.) yet God adjudged them wicked, and, as such, cut them off, as, in due time, he will destroy the man of sin, that wicked one, notwithstanding his proud pretensions to holiness.

3. They mide, and worshipped, the golden calf, and this in Horeb, tliere where the law was given, and God had expressly said, Thou shall neither make any graven image, nor bow down to it; they did both; They made a ccdf a?id worshi/i/ied it, v. 19. Herein they bid defiance to, and put an affront upon, the two great lights which God has made to rule the little world; (1.) That of human reason; for they changed their glory, their God, at least, the manifestation of him, which always had been in a cloud, (either a dark cloud or a bright one,) without any manner of visible similitude, into thesi?nili-tude of Apis, one of the Egyptian idols, art ox that eateth grass, than which nothing could be more grossly and scandalously absurd, v. 20. Idolaters are perfectly besotted, and put the greatest disparagement possible, both upon God, in representing him by the image of a beast, and upon tliemselves, in worshipping it when they have done so. That which is here said to be the changing of their glory, is explained by St. Paul, (Rom. i. 23.) to be tlie changing of the glory of the incorruptible God. (2.) That ot divine revelation, which was afforded to them, not only in the words God spake to them, but in the works he wrought for them, wondrous works, which spake aloud that the Lord Jehovah is the only true and living God, and is alone to be worshipped, V. 21, 22.

For this, God showed his displeasure by declaring the decree, that he would cut them off from being a people, as they had, as far as lay in their power, in effect cut him off from being a God; he s/iake of destroying thein, {t.>. 23.) and certainly he had done it, if Moses his chosen had not stood before him i?i the breach, {v. 23.) if he had not seasonably intcr-l)osed to deal with God as an advocate, about the breach or ruin God was about to devote them to, and wonderfully prevailed to turn away his wrath. See here the mercy of God, and how easily his an-per is turned away, even from a pro\'oking people. See the power of prayer, and the interest which God's chosen have in heaven. See a type of Christ,

God's Chosen, his Elect, in ivhom his soul delights; who stood before him in the breach \.otum away his wrath from a provoking world, and ever lives, for this end, making intercession.

4. They gave credit to the report of the evil spies concerning the land of Canaan, in contradiction to the promise of God; {-u. 24.) They despised the pleasant land; Canaan was a pleasant land, Deut. yiii. 7. They undervalued it, when they thought it not worth venturing for, no, not under the guidance of God himself, and therefore were for making a captain, and returning to Egypt again. They believed not God's word concerning it, but murmured in their tents, basely charging God with a design upon them, in bringing them thither, that they might become a prey to the Canaanites, Numb. xiv. 2, 3. And when they were reminded of God's power and promise, they were so far from hearkening to that voice of the'Lord, that they attempted to stnne those who spake to them. Numb. xiv. 10. The heavenly Canaan is a pleasant land; a promise is left us of entering into it, but there are many that despise it, that neglect and refuse the offer of it, that prefer the wealth and pleasure of this world before it, and grudge the pains and hazards of this life to obtain that.

This also was so displeasing to God, that he lifted up his hand against them, in a way of threatening, to destroy them in the wilderness, nay, in a way of swearing, for he sware in his wrath that they should not enter into his rest; (xcv. 11. Numb. xiv. 28.) nay, and he threatened that their children also should be overthrown and scattered, (y. 26, 27.) and the whole nation dispersed and disinherited; but Moses prevailed for mercy for their seed, that they might enter Canaan. Note, Those who despise God's fa^'ours, and paiticularly the pleasant land, forfeit his favours, and will be shut out for ever from the pleasant land.

5. They were guilty of a great sin in the matter of Peor; and this was tlie sin of the new generation, when they were within a step of Canaan; (t. 28.) They joined themselves to Baal-peor, and so were entangled both in idolatiy and in adultery, in coi-po-ral and in spiritual whoredom, Numb. xxv. l-.j They that did often partake,of the altar of the living God, now ate the sacrifices of the dead, of the idols of Moab, that were dead images, or dead men canonized or deified; or sacrifices to the infernal deities, on the behalf of their dead friends. Thus they provoked God to anger with their inventions, {v. 29.) in contempt of him and his institutions, his commands, and his threatenings. The iniquity of Peor was so great, that, long after, it is said, They were not cleansed from it. Josh. xxii. 17.

God testified his displeasure at this, (1.) By sending a plague among them, which in a little time swept away 24,000 of those impudent sinners. (2.) By stirring up Phinehas to use his power as a magistrate, for the suppressing of the sin, and checking the contagion of it. He stood up, in his zeal for the Lord of hosts, and executed judgment upon Zimri and Cozbi, sinners of the first rank, g.enteel sinners; he put the law in execution upon them, and this was a service so pleasing to God, that upon it the plague was stayed, v. 30. By this, and some other like acts of public justice on that occasion, (Numb, xxv. 4, 5.) the guilt ceased to be national, and the general controversy was let fall; when the proper officers did their duty, God left it to them, and did not any longer kecp'the work in his own hands by the plague. Note, National justice prevents national judgments. But Phinehas herein signalizing himself, a special mark of honour was put upon him, for what he did was counted to him for righteousness to all generations, {v. 31.) and, in recompense of it, the priesthood was entailed on his familv. He

PSALMS, CVI.

519

shall make an atoneinent by offering up the sacrifices, who had so bravely made an atonement (so some read it, v. 30.) by offering up the sinners. Note, It is the honour of saints to be zealous against sin.

6. They continued their murmurings to the very last of their wanderings; for in the fortieth year they angered God at the waters of strife, (v. 32.) which refers to that story, Numb. xx. 3--5. And that which aggravated it now, was, that it went ill with Moses for their sakcs; for though he was the meekest of all the men in the earth, yet their clamours at that time were so pee\'ish and provoking, that they put him into a passion, and, being -■now grown very old, and off his guard, he spake unadvisedly with his lips, {v. 33.) and not as became him on that occasion; for he said in a heat, Hear now, ye rebels, must we fetch water out of this rock for you? I This was Moses's infirmity, and is written for our admonition, that we may leam, when we are in the midst of provocation, to keep our mouth as with a bridle, (xxxix. 1««3.) and to take heed to our spirits, that the\ admit not resentments too much; for, when the spirit is provoked, it is much ado, even for those that have a great deal of wisdom and grace, not to speak unadvisedly. But it is charged upon the people as their sin; They provoked his spirit with that with which they angered God himself Note, We must answer not only for our own passions, but for the provocation which, by them, we give to the passions of others, especially of those, who, if not greatly provoked, would be meek and quiet.

God shows his displeasure against this sin of theirs by shutting Moses and x\aron out of Canaan, for their misconduct upon this occasion; by which, (1.) God discovered his resentment of all such intemperate heats, even in the dearest of his servants. If he deals thus severely with Moses for one unadvised word, what does their sin deserve, who had spoken so many presumptuous wicked words? If this was done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry? (2.) God deprived them of the blessing of Moses's guidance and government, at a time when they most needed it, so that his death was more a punishment to them than to himself It is just with God to remove those relations from us that are blessings to us, when we are peevish and provoking to them, and grieve their spirits.

.34. They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the Lord commanded them: 35. But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. 36. And they served their idols; which were a snare unto tliem. 37. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, 38. And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons, and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. 39. Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions. 40. Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. 41. And he gave them into the hand of the heathen ; and they that hated ihem ruled over them. 42. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. 43. Many

times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity. 44. Nevertheless, he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry: 45. And he remembered for ihem his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies. 46. He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives. 47. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, cmd to triumph in thy praise. 48. Blessed he the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, x\men. Praise ye the Lord.

Here,

I. The narrative concludes with an account cf Israel's conduct in Canaan, which was of a piece with that in the wilderness, and God's dealings with them, wherein, as all along, both justice and mcrcv appeared.

1. They were very provoking to God. The miracles and mercies which settled them in Canaan, made no more deep and durable impressions uprn them than those which fetched them cut cf Egypt; for by the time they were just settled in Canaan, they con-upted themselves, and forso( k God. Observe the steps of their apostasy.

(1.) They spared the nations which God had doomed to destruction; {y. 34.) when they had got the good land God had promised them,'tluy had no zeal against the wicked inhabiti.nts, whom the Lord commanded them to extirpate, pretending pity; but so merciful is God that no man needs to be in anv case more compassionate than he.

(2.) When they spared them, they promised themselves, that, notwithst^'.nding tliis, 'they would not join in any dangerous affinity with them; but the way of sin is down-hill; omissions make wav frr C07«missions; when they neglect to destroy the heathen, the next news we hear is. They were mingled among the heathen, made Icagiies with them, and contracted an intimicy witli them, so that they learned their works, v. 35. That which is rotten will sooner corrupt that which is sound, than be cured or made sound by it.

(3.) When they mingled with them, and learned some of their works that seemed innocent diversions and entertainments, yet they tliought thev would never join with them in their worship; but, bv degrees, they learned that too; {v. 36.) They served their idols, in the same manner, and with the same rites, that they served them; and they became a snare to them; that sin drew on manv more, and brought the judgments of God upon them, which they themselves could not but be sensible of, and yet knew not how to recover themselves.

(4.) When they joined with them in some of their idolatrous services, which they thought had least harm in them, they little thought that ever thev should be guilty of that barbarous and inhuman piece of idolatry, the sacrificing of their living children to their dead gods; but they came to that at last; {y. 37, 38.) in which Satan triumphed over his worshippers, and regaled himself m blood and slaughter; They sacrificed their sons a?id daughters, pieces of themselves, to devils, and added murder, the most unnatural murder, to their idolatrv; one cannot think of it without horror; They sheA innocent blood, the most innocent, for it was infant blood, nay, it was the blood of their sons and their daughters. See the power of the spirit that works

PSALMS, CVII.

in the children of disobedience, and see his malice. The beginning of idolatry and superstition, like that of strife, is as the letting f )nh of water, and there is no \nlLiny which they that venture upon it can be sure they shall stop short of, foi- God justly ,:five6' them up. to a reprobate mind, Rom. i. 28.

Their sin was, in part, their own punishment; for by it, [1.] They wronged their country; T/ie land was polluted nvith blood, v. 38. That pleasant land, that holy land, was rendered uncomfortable to themselves, and unfit to receive those kind tokens of God's favour and presence in it, which were designed to be its honour. [2. ] They wronged their consciences; (v. 39.) They tvent a whoring' with their own inventions, and so debauched their own minds, and were defiled with their own works, and rendered odious in the eyes of the holy God, and perhaps of their own consciences.

2. God brought his judgments upon theni; and what else could be expected; For his name is Jealous, and he is a jealous God.

(1.) He fell out with them for it, {y. 40.) he was angrv with them; The wrath of God, that consuming fire, was ki7idled agaijist his people; for from them he took it worse than from the heathen that never knew him; nay, he was sick of them, he abhorred his own inheritance, which once he had taken pleasure in; yet the change was not in him, but in them. This is the worst thing in sin, that it makes us loathsome to God; and the nearer any are to God in profession, the more loathsome are they, if they rebel against him, like a dunghill at our door.

(2.) Their enemies then fell upon them, and, their Defence being departed, made an easy prev of them; {v. 41, 42.) He gave them into the hands of the heathen. Observe here how the punishment answered to the sin, They inhiglcd themselves with the heathen, and learned their works; from them thev willingly took the infection ^ f sin, and therefore God justly made use of them as the instiniments of their correction. Sinners often see themselves ruined by those by whom they have suffered themselves to be deba'uclied. Satin, who is a tempter, will be a tormentor. The heathen hated them; apostates lose all the love on (iud's side, and get none on Satan's; and when they tli ;t hated them ruled over them, and they were brought in subjection under them, no marvel that they oppressed them, and nded them with rigour; and thus God made them know the difference between his service and the service of the kings of the countries, 2 Chron. xii. 8.

(3.) When God granted them some relief, yet they went on in their sins, and their troubles also were continued, v. 43. This refers to the days of the Judges, when God often raised up deliverers, and wrought deliverances for them, and yet they relapsed to idolatrv, and provoked God with their counsels, their idolatrous inventions, to deliver them up to some other oppressor, so that at last they were brought very low for their inirniity. Those that by sin disparage themselves, and will not by repentance humljle themselves, arc justly deb ised, and humbled, and brought low, bv the judgments of God.

(4.) At length they cried unto Ciod, and God returned in favour to'them,T. 44--46. They were chastened for their sins, but not destroved, cast down, hut nnt cast off; God appeared ff.r them, [1.] As a God of m''rcy,who looked upon their grievances, regarded their affliction, beheld when distress was 7i/ion them; so some; who looked over tlieir complaints, for he heard their cry with tender compassion, (Exod. iii. 7.) and overlooked their provocations; for thou<j:h he had said, and had reason to say it, t)iat he would destroy them, yet he repented according to the multitude of his inercies, and reversed

the sentence; though he is not a man that he shoiild repent, so as to change his mind, yet he is a gracious God, who pities us, and changes his way. [2.] As a God of truth, who remembered for them his covenant, and made good every word that he had spoken; and therefore, bad as they were, he would not break with them, because he would not break his own promise, [3.] As the God of power, who has all hearts in his hand, and turns them which way soever he pleases. He made them, to be pitied, even of those that carried them'captives, and had hated them and iniled them with rigour. He not only restrained the remainder of their enemies* wrath, that it should not utterly consume tliem, but he infused compassion even into their stony hearts, and made them relent, which was more than any art of man could have done with the utmost force of rhetoric. Note, God can change lions into lambs, and, ivhen a man's ways please the Lord, will make even his enemies to pity him, and be at peace with him. When God pities, men shalL Tranquillus Dens tranquillat omnia — ./i God at peace with us makes every thing else at peace. II. The psalm concludes with prayer and praise.

1. Prayer for the completing of his people's deliverance; even then when the Lord brought back the captivity of his people, still there was occasion to pray. Lord, tia-n again oi/r captivity; (cxxvi. 1, 4.) so here, {v. 47.) Save us, O Lord our God, and gather usfroin among the heathen. We may sup>-pose, that many who were forced into foreign countries, in the times of the Judges, (as Naomi was, Ruth i. 1.) were not returned in the beginning of David's reign, Saul's time being discouraging, and therefore it was seasonable to pray. Lord, gather the dispersed Israelites/ro?H among the heathen, to give thanks to thy holy name; net only that they may have cause to give thanks, and hearts to give thanks, but that they may have opportunity to do it in the courts of the Lord's house, from which thev were now banished, and so may triumph in thy praise, over those that had, in scorn, challenged them to sing the Lord's song in a strange land.

2. Praise for thelieginning and progress of it; {y. 48.) Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. He is a blessed God from eternity, and will be so to eternity, and so let him be praised by all his worshippers. Let the priests say this, and then let all the people say, Ainen, Hallelujah, in token of their cheerful concurrence in all these prayers, praises, and confessions. According to this rubric or directoiy, we find, that, when this psalm (or at least the closing verses of it) was sung, all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord by saying, Hallelujah. By these two comprehensive words, it is very proper, in religious assemblies, to testify their joining with their ministers in the prayers and praises which, as their mouth, they oner up to God, according to his will, saying Amen to the prayers, and Hallelujah to the praises.

PSALM CVIL

The psalmist, having in the two foregoing; psalms celebrated the wisdom, power, and goodness,'of God, in his dealings with his church inparticiilar, here observes some of the instances of his providential care of the children of men in general, especially in their distresses; for he is not only King of saints, but King of nations, not only the God of Israel, but the God of the whole earth, and a common Father to all mankind. Though this may especially refer to Israelites in their personal capacity, yet there were those who pertained not to the commonwealth of Israel, and yet vtere worshippers of the true God; and even those who worshipped images had some knowledge of a supreme ^itmen,to whom, when they were in earnest, they looked above all their false gods. And of these, when they prayed in their distresses, God took a particular care. I. He specifies some of the most common calamities of human life, and shows how God sue cours those that labour under them, in answer to their

PSALMS, CVII.

521

prayers. 1. Banishment and dispersion, v. 2..9. 2. Captivity and imprisonment, v. 10.. 16. 3. Sickness and distemper of body, V. 17..22. 4. Danger and distress at sea, V, 23. .32. These are put for all similar perils, in which those that cry unto God have ever found him a very present Help. II. He specifies the varieties and vicissitudes of events concerning nations and families; in all which, God's hand is to be eyed by his own people, with joyful acknowledgments of his goodness, v. 33. .43. When we are in any of these or the like distresses, it will he comfortable to sing this psalm, with application; but if we be not, others are, and have been, of whose deliverance it becomes us to give God the glory, for we are members one of another.

1. d^ GIVE thanks unto the Lord, for he \^ is good; for Iiis mercy enduretli for ever. 2. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, vv^hom lie hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; 3. And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.

4. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.

5. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. 6. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. 7. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. 8. Oh that men would praise tfie Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 9. For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

Hcix; is,

I. A i^eneral call to all to give thanks to God, v. 1. Let all that sing this psalm, or pray it over, set

. themselves herein to give thanks to the Lord; and those th it have not any special matter for praise, may furnish themselves with matter enough from God's universal goodness; in the fountain/z*? is good, in the streams his mercy endures for ever, and never fails.

II. A particular demand hereof from the redeemed of the Lord; which may well be applied spiritually to those that have an interest in the great Redeemer, and are saved by him from sin and hell. They have, of all people, most reason to say that God is good, and his mercy everlasting; these are the children of God that were scattered abroad, whom Christ died to gather together in one, out of all lands, John xi. 52. Matth. xxiv. 31. But it seems here to be meant of a temporal deliverance, wrought for them when in their distress they cried unto the Lord, -o. 6. Is any afflicted? Let him firay. Does any pray? God will certainly hear and help. When troubles arrive at an extreme, that is man's time to cry; those who but whispered prayer before, then cry aloud; and then it is God's time to succour; in the mount he will be seen.

1. They were in an enemy's country, but God wrought out their rescue; He redeerned them from thehand of the enemy, {y. 2.) nothy might or power, it may be, (Zech. iv. 6.) nor by firice or reward, (Isa. xlv. 13.) but by the spirit of God working on the spirits of men.

2. They were dispersed as outcasts; but God gathered them out of all the countries whither they were scattered in the cloudy and d irk day, that they might n>^ain be incorporated, v. 3. See Dent. xxx. 4. Ezek. xxxiv. 12. God knows those that are his, and where to find them.

.". They were bewildered, had no road to travel in,

Vol. III.—3 U

I no dwelling-place to rest in, v. 4. When they were redeemed out of the hand of the enemy, and gathered out of the lands, they were in danger of perishing in their return home through the dry and barren deserts. They nvajidered in the ivilderness, where there was no trodden path, no company, but a solitary way; no lodging, no conveniences, no accommodations, no inhabited city where they might have quarters of refreshment. But God led them forth by the right way, {v. 7. ) directed them to an inn, nay, directed them to a home, that they might go to a city of habitation, which was inhabited; nay,' which tliey themselves should inhabit. This may refer to poor travellers in general, those particularly, whose waylay through the wilds of Arabia, where' ^e may suppose they were oft^n at a loss; and yet many in that distress were wonderfully relieved,' so that few perished. Note, We ought to take nc tice cf the good hand of God's providence over us in cur journies, going out, and coming in, directing us in our way, and providing for us places, both to bait in, and rest in. Or (as some think) it has an eye to the wanderings of the children of Israel in the Avildcrness for 40 years; it is said, (Deut. xxxii. 10.) God led them about, and yet here he led them by the right way. God's way, though to us it seems about, will appear, at last, to have been the right way. It is applicable to our condition in this world; we are here as in a wilderness, have here no continuing city, but dwell in tents as strangers and pilgrims: but we are under the guidance of his wise and good providence, committing ourselves to which, we shall be led in the right way to the city that has fowidatioris.

4. They were ready to perish f( r hunger; {v. 5.) Their soul even fainted in them, spent with the fatigues of their journey, and ready to drop down for want of refreshment. They that have constant plenty, and are, every day, fed to the full, know not what a miserable case i't is to be hungry and thirsty, and to have no supply. This was sometimes the case of Israel in the wilderness, and perhaps of other poor travellers; but God's providence finds out ways to satisfy the longing soul, and Jill the hungry soul with goodness, v. 9. Israel's wants were seasonabl}- supplied, and many have been wonderfully relieved when they were ready to perish. Tlie same God that has led us. has fed us, all our life long, unto this day; has fed us with food convenient; has provided food for the soul, and filled the hungry soul with goodness. They that hunger and thi?-st after righteousness, after God, the living God, and communion with him, shall be abundantly replenished with the goodness of his house, both in gi-ace and glory.

Now for all this, they who recei\e mercy are called upon to return thanks; (x-. 8.) Oh that men (it is meant especially of those men whom God has graciously reheved) wow/rf/2ra/s(? the Lord for hia goodness to them in particular, and for his wonderful works to others of the children of men. Note, (1.) God's works of mercy are wonderful works,' works of wonderful power, considering the weak ■ ness, and of Avondertul grace, considering tlie ur-worthincss, of those he shows mercy to. (2.) It is expected of those who receive mercy from God, that they return praise to him. (3.) We must acknowledge God's goodness to the children of men, as well as to the children of God: to others as well as to ourselves.

10. Such as sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron ; 11. Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the "counsel of the Most High; 12. Therefore he brought doun their heart with labour; they fell down, and there icas none to help.

PSALMS, evil.

13. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. 14. He brought them our of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. 15. Oh that men would praise the Lord foi his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men ! 16. For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

We are to take notice of the eoodness of God toward prisoners and captives. Observe,

1. A description of this affliction. Prisoners are said to sit in darkness, {y. 10.) in dark dungeons, close prisoners. It intimates that they are desolate and disconsolate, they sit m the shadow of death; which intimates not only great distress and trouble, but great danger. Prisoners are many times appointed to die; they sit despairing to get out, but resolving to make the best of it. They are bound in affliction, and many times in iron, as Joseph. Thus sore a calamity is imprisonment, which should make us prize liberty, and be thankful for it.

2. The cause of this affliction; {v. 11.) It is, because they rebelled against the words of God. Wilful sin is rebellion against the words of God; it is a contradiction to his ti"uths, and a violation of his laws. They contemned the counsel of the Most High, and thought they neither needed it, nor could be the better for it; and they that will not be counselled, cannot be lielped. They that despise prophesying, that regard not the admonitions of tlieir own consciences, nor the just reproofs of their friends, contemn the counsel of the Most High, and for this they are bound in affliction, both to punish them f ir, and to reclaim them from, their rebellions.

3. The design of this affliction, and that is, to bring down their heart, {v. 12.) to humble them for sin, to make them low in their own eyes, to cast down every high, proud, aspiring, thought. Afflicting providences must be improved as humbling providences; and we not only lose the benefit of them, but thwart God's designs, and walk contrary to him, in them, if our hearts be unhumbled and unbroken, as high and hard as ever under them. Is the estate brought down with labour, the honour sunk? Are those that exalted themselves fallen down, and is there none to help them? Let this bring down the spirit to confess sin, to accept the punishment of it, and humbly to sue for mercy and grace.

4. The duty of this afflicted state, and that is, to pray; {v. 13.) Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, though betore perliaps they had neglected him. Prisoners have time to pray, who, when they were at liberty, could not find time; they see they have need of God's help, who foi-merly thought they could do well enough without him. Sense will make men cry when they are in trouble, but grace will direct them to cry unto the Lord, from whom the affliction comes, and who alone can remove it.

5. Their deliverance out of the affliction; They cried unto the Lord, and he saved them, v. 13. He brought them out of darkness into light, welcome light, and then douoly sweet and pleasant; brought them out of the shadow of death to the comforts of life; and their liberty was to them life from the de.id, V. 14. Were they fettered? He brake their bands asunder. Were they imjirisoned in strong castles? He brake the gates'of brass, and the bars of iron, wherewith those gates were made fast, he did nf)t put back, but cut in sunder. Note, Wlien God will work deliverance, the greatest difficulties I that lie in the way shall be made nothing of.' Gates I

of brass, and bars of iron, as thej^ cannot keep hini out from his people, (he was with Joseph in the prison,) so they cannot keep them in, when tlie time, the set time, for their enlargement is come.

6. The return that is required from those whose bands God has loosed; {y. 15.) Let them praise the Lord for his goodness, and take occasion from their own experience of it, and share in it, to bless him for that goodness which the earth is full of, the world and they that dwell therein.

17. Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted : 18. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and tliey draw near unto the gates of death. 19. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble ; he saveth them out of their distresses. 20. He setit his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. 21. Oh that men would praise the Lord /or his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 22. And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

Bodily sickness is another of the calamities of this life, which gives us an opportunity of experiencing the goodness of God in recovering us; and ot that the psalmist speaks in these verses, where we may observe,

1. That we, by our sins, bring sickness upon ourselves, and then it is our duty to pray, v. 17.. 19.

(1.) It is the sin of the soul that is the cause of sickness; we bring it upon ourselves both meritoriously and efficiently; Fools, because of their transgression, are thus afflicted; they are thus corrected for the sins they have committed, and thus cured of their evdl inclinations to sin. If Ave knew no sin, we should know no sickness; but the transgression of our life, and the iniquity of our heart, make it necessary. Sinners are fools, they wrong themselves, and all against their own interests; not only their spiritual, but their secular, interest. They prejudice their bodily health by their intemperance, and endanger their lives by indulging their appetites. This their way is their folly, and they need the rod of correction to drive out their foolishness that is bound up in their heart.

(2.) The weakness of the body is the effect of sickness; {v. 18.) when people are sick, their soul abhors all majiner of meat; they not only have no desire to eat, nor power to digest it, but they nauseate it, and their stomach is turned against it: and here they may read their sin in their punishment; they that doated most on the meat that perisheth, when they come to be sick, are sick of it, and the dainties they loved arc loathed; what they took too much of, now they can take nothing of, which commonly follows upon the overcharging of the heart with surfeiting and dmnkenness. And when the stomach is gone the life is as good as gone; They draw near unto the gates of death; they are, in their own apprehension, and m the apprehension of all about them, at the brink of the grave, as ready to be turned to destruction.

(3.) Then is a proper time for prayer; Then they cry unto the Lord, v. 19. Is any sick? Let him pray; let him be prayed for: prayer is a salve for every sore.

2. That it is by the power and mercy of God that we are recovered from sickness, and then it is our duty to be thankful. Compare with this Job xxxiii. 18, 28.

PSALMS, CVII.

523

(I.) When those that are sick call upon God, he returns them an answer of peace. They cry unto him, and he saves them out of their distresses; {v. ] 9.) he removes their griefs, and prevents their rears. [1.] He does it easily; He sent his ivord and healed them, v. 20. This may be applied to the miraculous cures which Christ wrought when he was upon earth, by a word's speaking; he said. Be clean, Be whole, and the work was done; it may also be applied to the spiritual cures which the Spirit of grace works in regeneration; he sends his word, and lieals souls; convinces, converts, sanctifies, them, and all bv the word. In the common instances of recovery from sickness, God in his providence does but speak it, and it is done. [2.] He docs it effectually; he delivereth them out of their destructions, that they shall neither be destroyed, nor distressed with the fear of being so. Nothing is too hard f )r that God to dn, who kills and makes alive again, brings down to tlie grave, and raises up; who turneth man almost to destruction, tuid yet saith, Return.

(2.) When those that have been sick are recovered, they must return to God an answer of praise; {y. 21, 22.) Let all men firaise the Lord for his goodness, and let them particularly, to whom God has thus granted a new life, spend it in his service; let them sacrifice with thanksgiving; not onl}' bring a thank-offering to the altar, but a thankful heart to God. Thanksgivings are the best thank-offerings, and shall please the Lord better thim an ox or bullock. And let them declare his works with rejoicing, to his honour, and for the encouragement of others. The living, the living, they shall praise him.

23. They that go down to tlie sea in ships, that do business in great waters; 24. These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. 25. For he com-mandeth,and raiseth the stormy wind, which hfteth up the waves thereof. 26. They mount up to the lieaven, they go down again to tlie depths; their soul is mehed because of trouble. 27. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. 28. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. 29. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 30. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. 31. Oh that ?«e/i would praise the Lord for his goodness, and^or his wonderful works to the children of men! 32. Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

The psalmist here calls upon them to give glory to God, who are delivered from dangers at sea. Though the Israelites dealt not much ip merchandise, yet their neighbours the Tynans and Zidonians did, and for them perhaps this part of the psalm was especially calculated.

1. Much of the power of God appears at all times in the sea, x'. 23, 24. It appears to them that go down to the sea in shi/is, as mariners, mer-cliants, fishermen, or passengers, that do business m great watem; and surely none will expose themselves thei'e but those that have business; among all Solomon's pleasant things, we do not read of any

pleasure-boat he had; but those that go on business, lawful business, may, in faith, put themselves under the divine protection. These see the works of the Lord, and his ivonders, which are the more surprising, because most are bom and bred upi.n land; and what passes at sea is new to them. The deep itself is a wonder, its vastness, its saltness, its ebbing and flowing. The great variety of living creature's in the sea is wonderful. Let those that go to sea, by all the wonders they observe there, be led to consider and adore the infinite perfections of that God whose the sea is, for he made it, and manages it. 2. It especially appeai-s in storms at sea, which are much more terrible than at land. Observe here, (1.) How dangerous and dreadful a tempest at sea is. Then wonders begin to appear in the deep, when God cominands and raises the strong wind, which fulfils his word, cxlviii. 8. He raises the winds, as a prince by his commission raises forces. Satan pretends to be the. prince of the power of the air; but he is a pretender; the powers of the air are at God's command, not at his. When the wind becomes stoiTny, it lifts up the waves of the sea, x'. 25. Then the ships are kicked like tennis-balls on the tops of the waves; they seem to moiuit up to the heavens, and then couch again, as if they would go down to the depths, v. 26. A stranger, who had never seen it, would not think it possible for a ship to live at sea, as it will in a storm, and ride it out, but would expect that the next wave would bury it, and it would never come up again: and yet God, who taught man discretion to make ships that should so strangely keep above water, does by his special providence preserve them, that they answer the end to admiration. When the ships are thus tossed, the soul of the seaman 7nelts because of trouble; and when the storm is very high, even tliose that are used to the sea, can neither shake off nor dissemble their fears, but they reel to and fro, the tossing makes them giddy, and they stagger and are sick, it may be, like a drunken man; the whole ship's crew are in confusion, and quite at their wit^s end, {v. 17. ) not knowing what to do more for their own preservation; all their wisdom is swallowed up, and they are ready to give up themselves for gone, Jonah i. 5, &c.

(2.) How seasonaljle it is at such a time to pray. They that go to sea must expect such perils as are here described, and the best preparation they can make for them, is, to make sure a liberty of access to God by prayer, for theri they will cry unto the Lord, V. 28. We have a saying, "Let them that would learn to pray, go to sea;" I say. Let them that will go to sea, learn to pray, and accustom themselves to pray, that they may come with the more boldness to the'throne of grace when they are in trouble. Even heathen mariners, in a stomi, cried every man to his god; but they that have the Lord for their God, have a present and powerfiil Help in that and every other time of need, so that Avhen they are at their wit's end, they are not at their faith's end.

(3.) How wonderfully God sometimes appears for those that are in distress at sea, in answer to their pravers; He brings them out of the danger; and, [1.] The sea is still; He makes the storrn a calm, v. 29. The winds fall, and only by their soft and gentle murmurs serve to lull the waves asleep again', so that the surface of the sea becomes smooth and smiling. By tliis Christ proved himself to he mere than a man, that even the winds and the seas obeyed him. [2.] The senmen are made easy; They are glad, because they be quiet; quiet from the noise, quiet from the fear, f f evil. Quietness sifter a storm is a very desirable thing, find sensibly pleas;int. [3.] The voyatre Ijecomcs prosperous and successful; so he brings them to their desired haven, v. 30. Thus he carries his people safe through all tlie storms

PSALxMS, CVII.

and tempests that they meet with in their voyage heaven-ward; and lands them, at length, in the desired hiirbour.

(4.) How justly it is expected that all those who have had a safe passage over the sea, and especially who have been delivered fronl remarkable perils at sea, should acknowledge it with thankfulness, to the glory of God. Let them do it privately, in their closets and families. Let them praise the Lord for his goodness to themselves and others, v. 31. Let them do it publicly, {y. 32.) in the congregation of the peofile, and in the assembly of the elders; there let them erect the memorials ot their deliverance, to the honour of God, and for the encouragement ot others to trust him.

33. He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the water-springs into dry ground; 34. A fruitflil land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein. 35. He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into water-springs. 36. And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation; 37. And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase. 38. He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly, and suffereth not their cattle to decrease. 39. Again, they are diminished, and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow. 40. He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way. 4L Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh hvii families like a flock. 42. The righteous shall see it, and rejoice; and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. 43. Whoso is wise, and will observe these things,even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.

The psalmist, having given God the glory of the providential reliefs granted to persons in distress, Iiere gives him the glory of the revolutions of providence, and the surprising changes it sometimes makes in the affairs of the children of men.

L He gives some instances of these revolutions;

1. Fniitful countries are made barren, and barren countries are made fruitful. Much of the comfort of this life depends upon the soil in wliich our lot is cast. Now, (1.) The sin of mui has often marred the fruitfulness of the soil, and made it unserviceable, X'. 33, 34. Land watered with rivers is sometimes turned into a ivilderness, and that which had been full of \wa.tcr-s/irings, now has not so much as \va.ter-strea7ns; it is ttirned into dry and sandy ground, that has not consistency and m lis-ture enough to produce any thing valuable. Many a fruitful land is turned into saltness, not so much from naturid causes as from the just judgment of God, who thus punishes the wickedness of them that dwell therein: as the vale of Sodom became a salt sea. Note, If the land be bad, it is because the inhabitants are so. Justly is the ground made unfruitful to them that bring not forth fniit unto God, but serve Baal with their corn and wine. (2.) The goodness of God has often mended the barrenness of the soil, and turned a wilderness, a land of drought, into water-springs, v. 35. Tl\e huid of Canaan, which was once the glory of all lands for fruitfulness, is said to be, at this day, a fmitless, useless.

worthless, spot cf ground, as was foretold, Deut. xxix. 23. This land cf ours, which formerly was much of it an uncultivated desert, is now full of all good things, and 7«ore abundant honour is given to that part which lacked. Let the plantations in America, and the colonies settled there, compared with the desolations of many countries in Asia and Europe, that formerly were famous, expound this.

2. Necessitous families are raised and enriched, while prosperous families are impoverished, and go to decay. If we look abroad in the world, (1.) We see many gi-eatly increasing, whose beginning was small, and whose ancestors were mean, and made no figure, v. 36- '38. Those that were hungry, are made to dwell in fniitful lands; there they take root, gain a settlement, and prepare a city for habitation for themselves and theirs after them. Providence puts good land under their hands, and they build upon it. Cities took rise from rising families. But as lands will not serve for men without lodgings, and therefore they must prepare a city of habitation, so lodgings, though ever so convenient, will not serve witht ut lands, and therefore they must sow the fields, and plant vineyards; {x>. 37.) for the king himself is served of the field. And yet the fields, though favoui'ed with water-springs, will not yield fruits of increase, unless they be sown; nor will vineyards be had, unless they be planted; man's industry must attend God's blessing, and then God's blessing will crown man's industry. The fruitfulness of the soil should engage, for it does encourage, diligence; and, ordinarily, the hand of the dilige?it, by the blessing of God, makes rich, v. 38. Ne blesses them also, so that they are, in a little time, multiplied greatly, and he diminishes not their cattle. As in the beginning, so still it is, by the blessing of God, that the earth and all the creatures increase and multiply; (Gen. i. 22.) and we depend upon God for the increase of the cattle as well as for tne increase of the ground. Cattle would decrease many ways, if God should but permit it, and men would soon suffer by it. (2.) We see many that have thus suddenly risen, as suddenly sunk and brought to nothing; {y. 39.) Again they are minished and brought low by adverse providences, and end their days as low as they began them; or their families after them lose as fast as thev got, and scatter what they heaped together. Note, Worldly wealth is an uncertain thing; and often those that are filled with it, ere they are aware, grow so secure and sensual with it, that, ere they are aware, they lose it again. Hence it is called deceitful riches, and the mammoyi of unrighteousness. God has many ways of making men poor; he can do it by oppression, affliction, and sorroiv, as he tempted Job, and brought him low.

3. Those that are high and great in the world, are abased, and those that were mean and despicable, are advanced to honour, v. 40, 41. We have seen, (1.) Princes dethroned and reduced to straits. He /loured contempt upon them, e\en among those that have idolized them. Them that exalt themselves God will abase; and, in order thereunto, will infatuate; he makes them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way. He baffles those counsels by which they thought to support themselves, and their own power and pomp, and drives them headlong, so that they know not what course to steer, or what measure to take. We met with this before, Job xii. 24, 25. (2. ) Those of low degree advanced to the posts of honour; {v. 41.) Yet setteth he the poor on high, raiseth from the dust, to the throne of glory, 1 Sam. ii. 8. Ps. cxiii. 7, 8. Those that were afflicted, and trampled on, are not onlv delivered, but set on high out of the reach of their troubles, above their enemies, and have dominion over those to whom they had been in sub-

PSALMS, CVITI.

525

jection. That which adds to their honour, and strengthens them in their elevation, is, the niuki-tude of their children; He maketh him families like a flock of sheep, so numerous, so useful, so sociable with one another, and so meek and peaceable. He that sent them meat, sent them mouths, Hapfiy is the man that has his quiver filled with arrows, for he shall boldly sp.eak ivith the enemy in the gate, cxxvii. 5. God is to be acknowledged both in setting up families, and in building them up. Let not princes be envied, nor the poor despised, for God has manv ways of changing the condition of both.

II. He makes same improvement of these remarks; such surpi'ising turns as these, ai-e of use,

1. For the solacing of saints; they observe these dispensations with pleasure; (x'. 42.)' The righteous shall see it, and rejoice in the glorifying of God's attributes, and the nAanifesting of his dominion over the children of men. It is a great comfort to a good man to see how God manages the children of men, as the potter does the clay, so as to serve his own purposes by them; to see despised virtue advanced, and impious pride brought low to the dust; to see it evinced beyond dispute, that verily there is a God that Judges in the earth.

2. For the silencing of sinners; ^11 iniquity shall sto/i her mouth; it shall be a full conviction of the filly of atheists, and of those that deny the Divine Providence; and, foi'asmuch as practical atheism is at the bottom of all sin, it shall in effect stofi the mouth of all iniquity. When sinners see how their punishment answers to their sin, and how justly God deals with them in taking away from them those gifts of his which they had abused, they shall not have one word to say for themselves; for God will be justified, he will be clear.

3. For the satisfying of all concerning the divine goodness, {x>. 43.) Whoso is wise, and nviII observe these things, these various dispensations of Divine Providence, eveii they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. Here is, (1.) A desirable end proposed; and that is, rightly to understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. It is of great use to us, in religion, to be fully assured of Cxod's goodness; to be experimentally acquainted and duly affected with it; that his loving-kindness may be before our eyes, xxvi. 3. (2.) A proper means prescribed for attaining this end; and that is, a due observing of God's providence. We must lay up these things, mind them, and keep them in mind, Luke ii. 19. (3.) A commendation of the use of this means, as an instance of time wisdom; TVhoso is wise, let him by this both prove his wisdom, and improve it. A prudent observation of the providences of God .will contribute very much to the accomplishing of a good Christian.

PSALM CVIIL

This psalm begins with praise, and concludes with prayer, and faith is at work in both. I. David here gives thanks to God for mercies to himself, v. I.. 5. II. He prays to God for mercies for the land, pleading the promises of God, and putting them in suit, v. 6.. 13. The former part is taken out of Ps. Ivii. 7, &c. the latter out of Ps. ix. 5, &c. and both with very little variation; to teach us, that we may in prayer use the same words that we have formerly used, provided it be with new affections. It intimates likewise that it is not only allowable, but sometimes convenient, to gather some verses out of one psalm, and some out of another, and to put them together, to be sung to the glory of God. In singing this psalm, we must ■give glory to God, and take comfort to ourselves.

.d song or fisahn of David.

GOD, my heart is fixed; 1 will sing

and give praise, even with my glory.

Awake, psalteiy and harp; I myself will

awake early. 3. I will praise thee, O Lord. among the people: and I will sing praises unto th(^e among the nations. 4. For thy mercy is great above the heavens, and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds. 5. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; and thy glory above all the earth:

We may here learn to praise God from the example of one. who was master of the art.

1. We must praise God with fixedness of heart; our heart must be employed in the duty, (else we make nothing of it,) and engaged to the duty; {v. 1.) O God, my heart is fixed, and then / ivill sing and give praise. Wandering straggling thoughts must be gathered in, and kept close to the business; for they must be told that here is work enough for them all.

2. We must praise God with freeness of expression; I will praise him ivith my glory, with my tongue; our tongue is our glory, and never more so than when it is employed m praising God. When the heart is inditing this good matter, our tongue must be as the pen of a ready writer, xlv. 1. David's skill in music was his glory, it made him famous, and this should be consecrated to the praise of God; and therefore it follows. Awake, my psaltery and harp. Whatever gift we excel in, we must praise God with.

3. We must praise God with fervency of affection, and must stir up ourselves to do it, that it may be done in a lively manner, and not carelessly; {v. 2.^ Awake, psaltery and harp; let it not be done with a dull and sleepy tune, but let the airs be all lively. / myself will awake early to do it, with all that is within nie, and all little enough. Warm devotions honour God.

4. We must praise God publicly, as those that are not ashamed to own our obligations to him, and our thankful sense of his favours, but desire that others also may be in like manner ;.ffccted with the divine goodness; {v. 5.) I will praise thee pmong the people cf the Jews; nay, / will sing to thee among the nations of the earth. Whatexer company we are in, we must take all occasions to speak well of God; and we must not be shy cf singing psalms, though our neighbours hear us; for it looks like being ashamed of our Master.

5. We must, in our praises, magnify the mercy and ti-uth of God in a special manner; {v. 4.) mercy in promising, truth in performing. The heavens are vast, but the mercy of God is more capacious; the skies are high and bright, but the truth of God is more eminent, more illustrious. We cannot see further than the heavens and clouds; whatever we see of God's mercy and truth, there is still more to be seen, more reserved to be seeA in the other world.

6. Since we find ourselves so defective in glorifying God, we must beg of him to glorify himself, "to do all, to dispose all, to his own glory, to get himself honour, and make himself a name; (x'. 5.) Be thou exalted, 0 God, above the heavens, higher than the angels themselves can exalt thee with their praises; and let thy glory he spread over all the earth. Father, glorify thine own name; thou hast glorified it, t^lorify it again. It is to be cur first petition, Hallowed be thy name.

6. That thy beloved may be delivered, save imth thy right hand, and answer me. 7. God hath spoken in his holiness, I will rejoice; I will dinde Shechem. .ind mete out the valley of Succoth. 8. Gilead z>

PSALMS, CIX.

5^6

mine; Manasseh w mine; EjDhraim also w the strength of my head; Judah is my lawgiver ; 9. Moab is my washpot; over Edom will 1 cast out my shoe; over Philistia will [ triumph. 10. Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom? 11. fViit not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts? 12. Give us help from trouble: for vain w the help of man. 13. Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

We may here learn how to pray as well as praise.

1. We must be public-spirited in prayer, and bear upon our hearts, at the throne of grace, tlie concerns of the church of God, t'. 6. It is God's beloved, and therefore must be ours; and therefore we must prav for its deliverance, and reckon we are answei-edj if God grant what we ask for his church, though he delay to give us what we ask for om--selves. Save thy church, and thou ansiverest me; I hive what I would have. Let the earth be filled with God's glory, and the jirayers of David are ended; (Ixxii. 19, 20.) he desires no more.

2. We must, in prayer, act faith upon the power and promise of God; upon his power. Save ivith thy right hand, which is mighty to save; and upon his promise, God has sjioken in his holiness, in his holy word, to which he has sworn by his holiness, and therefore / ivill rejoice, v. 7. What lie has promised he will perform, for it is the word both of his truth and of his power. An active faith can rejoice in what God has said, though it be not yet done; for with him saying and doing are not two things, whatever they are with us.

3. We must, in prayer, take the comfort of what God lias secured to us and settled upon us, th(Aigh we are not yet put in the possession of it. Gvd had promised David to give him, (1.) The hearts ( f liis-subjects; and therefore he surveys the se\cval parts of the country as his own already, Shcchem and Succoth, Gilead and Manassch, Ej^hralm and Judah, they are all my own, v. 8. With such assurance as this we may speak of tlie pci-formance of what God has promised to the Son of David; he will, without fail, give him the heathen for his inheritance, and the utmost Jiarts of the earth for his possession; for so has he spoken in his holiness; nay, of all the particular persons that were given him, he will lose none; he also, as David, shall liave the hearts of his subjects, John vi. 37. And, (2.) The necks of his enemies; these are promised, and_ therefore David looks upon Moab, and Edom, and' Philistia, as his own already; (r. 9.) Over Philistia will I triumph, which explams Ix. 8. Philistia, triumph thou because of me; which some think should be read, O my soul, triumph thou over Philistia. Thus the exalted Redeemer is set down at God's right hand, in a full assurance that all his enemies shall in due time be made his footstool, though all things are not yet put under him, Heb. ii. 8.

4. We must take encouragement from the l:)egin-ning of mercy, to pray and ho])e for tlie perfecting of it; (v. 10,' 11.) "Who will bring me into the strong cities, that are yet unconqucred? Who will make me master of tlie country of Edom, whicli is vet unsubdued?" The question, probably, was to b ■ del)ated in liis privy council, or a council of war, Whit methods they should take to subdue the Edomites, and to reduce that countrv? but he I brings it into his prayers, and leaves it in God's !

hands. Wilt not thou, 0 God? Certainly thou wilt. It is prob:ible that he spake with the "more assu ranee concerning the conquest of Edom, because of the ancient oracle concerning Jacob and Esau, tliat the elder should seTi>e the younger, and the blessing of Jacob, by which he was made Esau's loi'd, Gen. xxvii. 37.

5. We must not be discouraged in prayer, nor beaten off from our hold of God, though rro\idence has, in some instances, frowned upcn us; " Though tliou hast cast us off, yet tlicu wilt now go forth with our hosts, V. 11. 'l^\\o\i\M\\x. co7nfort us again, ixittv the time tliat thou hast afflicted us. " Adverse events are sometimes intended for the trial of the constancy of our faith and prayer, which we ought to persevere in, whatever difficulties we meet with, and not to faint.

6. We must seek help from God, renouncing all confidence in tlie creature; {y. 12.) '^ Lord, give us help from trouble, prosper our designs, and defeat tlie designs of our enemies against us." It is not unseasonable to talk of trouble at the same time that we talk of triumplis, especially when it is to quicken praver for help from Heaven: and it is a good plea, Vain is the help of man. "It is really so, and therefore we are undone if thou do not help us; we apprehend it to be so, and therefore depend upon thee for help, and have the more reason to expect it."

7. We must depend entirely upon the favour and grace of God, both for strength and success in our work and warfare, v. 13. (1.) We must do cur part, but we can do nothing of ourselves, it is only through God that we shall do valiantly. Blessed Paul will own that even he can do riothing, nothing to purpose, but through Christ strengthening him, Pliil. iv. 13. (2.) When we have acquitted ourselves ever so Avell, yet we cannot speed by any merit or might of our own; it is God himself that treads down our eneinies, else we, with all our valour, cannot do it. Whatever we do, whatever we gain, God must have all the glory.

PSALM CIX.

Whether David penned this psalm when he was persecuted by Saul, or when his son Absalom rebelled against him, or upon occasion of some other trouble that was given him, is uncertain; and whether the particular enemy he prays against, was Saul, or Doeg, or Ahithophel, or some other not mentioned in the story, we cannot determine; but it is certain that in penning it he had an eye to Christ, his suflerings, and his persecutors, for that imprecation (v. 8.) is applied to Judas, Actsi. 20. The rest of the prayers here against his enemies were the expressions, not of passion, but of the Spirit of prophecy. I. He lodges a complaint in the court of heaven for the malice and base ingratitude of his enemies, and with it an appeal to the righteous God, v. 1 . . 5. II. He prays against his enemies, and devotes them to destruction, v. 6.. 20. HI. He prays for himself, that God would help and succour him in his low condition, v. 21.. 29. IV. He concludes with a joyful expectation that God would appear for him, v. 30, 31. In singing this psalm, we must comfort ourselves with the believing foresight of the certain destruction of all the enemies of Christ and his church, and the certain salvation of all those that trust in God, and keep close to him.

To the chief musician. A psalm of David. 1. XT OLD not thy peace, O God of my JLX praise; 2. For the mouth of the wicked, and the mouth of the deceitful, are opened against me: the}' have spoken against me^^ ith a lying tongue. .3. Tliey compassed UK' about also with ^^olds of hatred, and fought against me without a cause. 4 For my love they are my adversaries: but

PSALMS, CIX.

527

I give viyselfiinto prayer. 5. And the}^ have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

It is the unspeakable comfoit of all good people, that, whoever is against them, God is for them, and to him they may apply themselves as to one tliat is pleased to concern himself for them. Thus David here.

1. He refers himself to God's judgment; {v. 1.) " Hold not thy peace, but let my sentence come forth from thy presence, xvii. 2. Dehiy not to give judgment upon the appeal made to thee." God saw what his enemies did against him, but seemed to connive at it, and to keep silence; "Lord," says he, "do not always do so." The title he gives to God, is obsei'vabL-, " O God of my praise; the God in wliom / glory, and not m any wisdom or strength of my own; from whom I have every thing that IS my praise; the God whom I have praised, and will pr;use, and hope to be for ever praising." He calls God the God of his mercy, (lix. 10.) here the God of his praise; forasmuch as God is the God of our 7nercies, we must make him the God of our praises; if all is of him and from him, all must be to him and for him.

2. He complains of his enemies, showing- that they were such as it was fit for the righteous God to ap-

f)ear against. (1.) They were very spiteful and ma-icious; they are wicked, they delight in doing mischief, (v. 2.) their words are words of hatred, v. 3. They had an implacable enmity to a good mm, because of his goodness. " They open their mcuths against me to swallow me up, and fight against me to cut me off, if they could." (2.) They were notorious liars; now a liar is one of the seven things which the Lord hates. "They arc deceitful in their protestations and professions of kindness, while at the same time they speak against me behind my back, ivith a lying tongue." They were equally false in their flatteries and in tlieir calumnies. (3.) They were both politic and restless in their designs; '* They compassed me about on all sides, so that, which way soever I looked, I could see nothing but what made against me." (4.) They were unjust; their accusations of him, and sentence against him, were all groundless; " They have fought against me ivithout a cause, I never gave them any provocation;" nay, which was worst of all, (5!) They were very ungrateful, and rewarded him evil for good, V. 5. Many a kindness he had done them, and was upon all occasions ready to do them, and yet he could not work upon them to abate their malice against him; but, on the conti'ary, the)^ were the more exasperated, because they could not provoke him to give them some occasion against him; (x", 4.) I'''or my love they are my adversaries. The more he endeavoured to gratify them, the more they hated him. We may wonder that it is possible that any should be so wicked; and yet, since there have been so many instances ot it, we should not wonder if any be so wicked against us.

3. He resolves to keep close to his duty, and take the comfoit of that; But I give myself unto prayer, {y. 4.) I prayer, so it is in the original; " I am for prayer, I am a man of prayer, I love prayer, and prize prayer, and practise prayer, and make a business of prayer, and am in my element when I am at prayer. A good man is made up of prayer, gives himself to prayer, as the apostles, Actsvi. 4. When David's enemies falsely accused him, and misrepresented him, he applied himself to God, and by prayer com.mitted his cause to him. Though they were his adversaries for his love, yet he continued to pray for '.^lem; if others are abusive and injuriovis to us, yet let not us fail to do our duty to them, nor sm against the Lord in ceasing to pray for them, 1 Sam.

xii. 23. Though they hated and persecuted him fox. his religion, yet he kept close to it; they laughed at him for his devotion, but they could not laugh him out of it: Let them say what they will, 1 give myself unto prayer. Kow, herein David was a type of Christ, who was compassed about with words of hatred and lying words; whose enemies not only persecuted him without cause, but for his love and his good works; (John x. 32.) and ytt he gave himself to prayer, to pray for them; Father, forgive them.

6. Set thou a wicked man over him; and let Satan stand at his right hand. 7. When he shall be judged, let him be condemned; and let his prayer become sin. 8. Let his days be few : and let another take his office. 9. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. 10. Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg : let them seek tJteir bread also out of their desolate places. 11. Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the stranger spoil his labour. ] 2. Let there be none to extend mercy unto him; neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children. 13. Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out. 14. Let the iniquity of l)is fathers be remembered with the LoKD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. 15. Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the eaith. 16. JBe-cause that he remembered not to show mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart. 17. As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him; as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. 18. As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones. 19. Let it be unto him as the garment ichich covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually. 20. Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul.

David here fastens upon some one particular person that was worse than the rest of his enemies, and the ringleader of them; and, in a devout and pious manner, not from a principle of malice and revenge, but in a holy zeal for God, and against sin, and with an eye to the enemies of Christ, particularly Judas Avho betrayed him, whose sin was greater than Pi late's that condemned him, (John xix. 11.) he im precates and predicts his destniction, foresees and pronounces him completely miserable, and such a one as our Saviour calls him, A son of perdition. Calvin speaks of it as a detestable piece of sacrilege, common in his time among Franciscan friars and other monks, that, if any one had malice against a neighbour, he might hire some of them to curse him every day, which he would do in the words of these verses; and particularly he tells of a lady in France, who, being at variance with her own and only son, hired a parcel of friars to curse him in these words. Greater impiety can scarcely be

PSALMS, CIX.

•imagined than to vent a devilish passion in the language of sacred writ; to kindle strife with coals snatched from God's altar, and to call for fire from heaven with a tongue set on fire of hell.

I. The imprecations here ai'e very terrible; woe, and a thousand woes, to that man against whom God says Amen to them: and they are all in full force against the implacable enemies and persecutors of God's church and people, that mill not refient, to

five him glory. It is here foretold concerning this ad man,

1. That he should be cast and sentenced as a criminal, with all the dreadful pomp of a trial, conviction, and condemnation; {v. 6, 7.) Set thou a wicked man over him, to be as crael and oppressive to him as he has been to otliers; for God often makes one wicked man a scourge to another, to spoil the spoilers, and to deal treacherously with those that have dealt treacherously. Set the nvicked one over him, so some; that is, Satan, as it follows; and then it was fulfilled in Judas, into whom Satan entered, to hurr}^ him into sin first, and then into despair. Set his own wicked heart over him, set his own conscience against him, let that fly in his face. Let Satan stand on his right hand, and be let loose against him to deceive him, as he did Ahab to his destructicn, and then to accuse him and resist him, and then he is certainly cast, having no interest in that Advocate who alone can say, The Lord rebuke thee, Satan; (Zech. iii. 1, 2.) when he shall be judged at men's bar, let not his usual arts to evade justice do him any service, but let his sin find him out, and let him be condemned; nor shall he escape before God's tribunal, but be condemned there when the day of inquisition and recompense shall come. Let his jirayer become sin, as the clamours of a condemned malefactor not only find no acceptance, but are looked upon as an affront to the court. The prayers of the wicked are now become sin, because soured with the leaven of hypocrisy and malice; and so they will in the great day, because then it will be too late to cry. Lord, Lord, often to us. Let every thing be turned against him and improved to his disadvantage, even his prayers.

2. That, being condemned, he should be executed as a most notorious malefactor. (1.) That he should lose his life, and the number of his months be cut off in the midst, l)y the sword of justice; Let his days be few, or shortened, as a condenmed criminal has but a few days to live; {v. 8.) such bloody and deceit/ill men shall not live out half their days. (2.) That, consequently, all his places should be disposed of to others, and they should enjoy his preferments and employments; Let another take his office. This St. Peter applies to the fiUijig up of Judas's room in the ti-uly sacred college of the apostles, by the choice of Matthias, Acts i. 20. Those that mismanage their tmsts will justly have their office taken from them, and given to those that will approve themselves faithful. (3.) That liis family should be beheaded and beggared; that his wife should be made a widow, and his children fatherless, by his untimely death, x'. 9. Wicked men, by their wicked courses, bring ruin upon their wives and children, whom they ought to take care of and provide for. Yet his children, if, when they lost their lather, they had a comi)etency to live upon, might still subsist in comfort; but thc'V shall be vagabonds, and shall beg; they shall not have a house of their own to live in, nor any certain dwelling-place, nor know where to have a meal's meat, but shall creep out of their desolate places with fear and trembling, like beasts out of tlieir dens, to seek (heir bread, {v. 10.) because they arc conscious to themselves that all mankind have reason to hate them for their father's "sake. (4.) I'hat his estate should be ruined, as the estates of malefactors are confiscated; (y. 11.)

Let the extortioner, the officer, seize all that he hcu, and let the stranger, who Avas nothing akin to his estate, spoil his labour, either for his crimes or for his debts. Job v. 4, 5. (5.) That his posterity should be miserable. Fatherless children, tluugh they have nothing (jf thtir own, yet scmetimes are well provided f r by the kindness of those whom God inclines to pity them; but this wicked man having never showed mercy, there shall be none to extend mercy to him, hy favouring his fatherless children, when he is gone, v. 12. The children cf wicked parents often fai-e the worse for their parents' wickedness this way; the bowels of nun's ccmpassicn are shut up from them, which yet ought net to be; for why should children suflfer for th>.t whicli was net their fault, but their infelicity? (6.) That his memory should be inf.;mf us, and buried in oblivicn and disgrace; {v. 13.) Let h,sposterity be cut off; let hia end be to destruction, so Ur. Hanimc nd; and in the next generation let their name be blotted out, or remembered with contempt and indignatif n, and {v. 15.) let an indelible mark cf disgr ce be left upon it.

See here what hurries s' me to sliameful deaths, and brings the families and estates cf others to iniin; makes them and theirs despicable and odicus, and entails poverty, and shame, and misery, uprn their posterity; it is sin, that mischievcus destructive thing. The learned Dr. Hammond applies this to the final dispersion and desolation of the Jewish nation for their crucifying Christ: their princes and people were cut off, their country laid waste, their posterity made fugitives and vagabonds.

II. The gi'ound of the se imprecations bespeaks them very just, though they sound very severe.

1. To justify the imprecations of vengeance upon the sinner's posterity, the sin of his ancestors is here brought into the account, {v. 14, 15.) the iniquity of his fathers, and the sin of his mother. These God often visits, even upon the children's children, and is not unrighteous therein: when wickedness has long run in the blood, justly does thfe curse run along with it. Thus all the innocent blood that had been shed upon the earth, from that of righteous Abel, was required from that persecuting generation, who, by putting Christ to death, Jilled up the measure of their fathers, and left as long a train of vengeance to follow them as the train of guilt was that went before them, which they themselves agreed to by saying. His blood be upon us, and on our children.

2. To justify the imprecations of vengeance upon the sinner himself, his own sin is here charged upon him, which called aloucf for it.

(1.) He had loved ciiielty, and therefore give him blood to drink; {v. 16.)'He remembered not to show mercy, remembered net those c( iisiderations which would have induced him to show mercy; remembered not the objects of compassirn that had been presented to him; but persecuted the poor, whom he should have protected and relicAed; and slew the broken in heart, whom he should have comforted and healed. Here is a barbarous man indcctl, not fit to live.

(2.) He had loved cursing, and therefore let the curse come upon his head, v. 17--19. These that were out of the reach of his cruelty, he let fly at with his curses, which were impotent and ridiculous; but they shall return upon him. He delighted not in blessing; he tock no pleasure in wishing well to others, nor in seeing others do well; he wruld give no body a good word or a good wish, much less would he do any body a good tuni; and so let all good be far from him. He clothed himself with cursing; he was proud of it as an oniamcnt, that he could frighten all about him with the curses he was liberal of; he confided in it as armour, which would I secure him from the insults of those he feared. And

PSALMS, CIX.

let him have enough of it Was he fond of cursing? Let God's curse come into his dowels like water, and swell him as with a dropsy, and let it soak like oil into hio bones. The word of the curse is quick and powerful, and divides between the Joints and the marrow: it works powerfully and effectually; it fastens on the soul; it is a piercing thing, and there is no antidote against it. Let it compass him on every side as a garment, v. 19. Let God's cursing him be his shame, as his cursing his neighbour was his pride; let it cleave to him as a girdle, and let him never be able to get clear of it. Let it be to him like the waters of jealousy, which caused the belly to swell and the thigh to rot. This points at the utter ruin of Judas, and the spiritual judgments which full on the Jews for crucifying Christ. The psalmist concludes his imprecations with a ten-ible Amen, which signifies not only, " I wish it may be so," but "I know it shall be so;" Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from, the Lord, v. 20. And this will be the reward of all the adversaries of the Lord Jesus: his enemies, that will not have him to reign over them, shall be brought forth and slain before him. And he will one day recompense tribulation to them that trouble his people.

21. But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy name^s sake: because thy mercy is good, dehver thou me. 22. For I aw. poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. 23. I am gone Uke the shadow when itdechneth: I am tossed up and down as the locust. 24. My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh faileth of fatness. 25. I became also a reproach unto them: when tliey looked upon me they shaked their heads. 26. Help me, O Lord my God: O save me according to thy mercy; 27. That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou. Lord, hast done it. 28. Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice. 29. Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame; and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle. 30. I will greatly pmise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude. 31. For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.

David, having denounced God's wrath against his enemies, here takes God's comforts to himself, but in a very humble manner, and without boasting.

1. He pours out his complaint before God concerning the low condition he was in, which probably gave advantage to his enemies to insult over him; " I am poor and needy, and therefore a proper object of pity, and one that needs and craves thy help." (1.) He was troubled in mind; (x". 22.) My heart is troubled within me; not only broken with outward troubles, which sometimes prostrate and sink the spirits, but wounded with a sense of guilt; and a wounded sfiirit who can bear? who can heal? (2.) He apprehended himself drawing near to his end; I arn gone like the shadow when it declines; as good as gone already. Man's life, at best, is like a shadow, sometimes it is like the evening shadow, the presage of night approaching, like the shadow lohen it declines. (3.) He Avas unsettled; tossed up and

Vol. hi.— 3 X

529

down like the locust; his mind fluctuating and unsteady, still putting him upon new counsels; his outward condition far from any fixation, but still upon the remove, hunted like a partridge on the mountains. (4.) His body was wasted, and almost worn away; {y. 24.) My knees are weak through fasting; either forced fasting, for want of food when he was persecuted, or for want of appetite when he was sick; or voluntary fasting, when he chastened his soul either for sin or affliction, his own or others, XXXV. 13.—Ixix. 10. ''My Jiesh fails of fatness; it has lest the fatness it had, so tJEiat I am become a skeleton, nothing but skin and bones." But it is better to have this leanness iu the body, while the soul prospers and is in health, than, like Israel, to have leanness sent into the soul, while the body is feasted. (5.) He was ridiculed and reproached bv his enemies; {y. 25.) his devotions and his afflictions they made the matter of their laughter; upon botli those accounts, God's people have been exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that were at ease. In all this David was a type of Christ, who in lus humiliation was thus wounded, thus weakened^ thus reproached; he was also a type of the church, which is often afflicted, tossed with tempests, and not comforted.

2. He prays for mercy for himself, in general, (t^. 21.) "Do thou for me, O God the Lord; appear for me, act for me." If God be for us, he will do for us, will do more abundantly far us than we are able either to ask or think. He does not prescribe to God what he should do for him, but rtfcrs himself to his wisdom; "Lord, do for me what seenis good in thine eyes. Do that which thtti knowest will be for me,' really ftir me, in the issue for me, though, for the present, it may seem to make against me." More particularly, he pi-ays, {v. 26.) " Help me, O Lord my God, O save me. Help me under my trouble, save me cut of my trouble: save me from sin, help me to do my duty." He prays, (v. 28.) Though they curse, bless thou. Here, (1.) He despises the causeless curses of his enemies; Let them curse. He said of Shimei, So let him curse. They can but show their malice; they can do him no m'ore mischief than the bird by wandering, or the swallow by flying, Prov. xxvi. 2. (2.) He values the blessing'of'^God as sufficient to balance their curses; Bless thou, and then it is no matter though they curse. If God bless us, we need not care who curses us; for how can they curse ivhom God has not cursed, nay, whom he has blessed? Numb.xxiii. 8. Men's curees are impotent, God's blessings are omnipotent; and those whom we unjustly curse, may in faith expect, and pray for. God's blessing, his special blessing. When the Pharisees cast out the poor man for confessing Christ, Christ found him, John ix. 35. When men, without cause, say all tlie ill they can of us, and wish all the iUs they can to us, we may with comfort lift up our heart to God in this petition. Let them curse, but bless thou. He prays, {v. 28..) Let thy sei-vant rejoice. They that know how to value God's blessing, let them but be sure of it,, and they wiU be glad of it.

3. He prays that his enemies might be ashamed^ (t'_. 28.) clothed with shame; {v. 29.) that they might cover themselves with their own confusioii; that they might be left to themselves to do that which would expose them, and marsifest their follvi before all men; or rather, that they might be disappointed in their designs and entci-priscs against David, and thereby might ho. flpled' with shame, as the adversaries of the Jews were, Neh. vi. 15. Nay, this he prays, tliat they might be brought to repentance, which is the chief thing we should beg of God for our enemies: sinners, indeed, bring shame upon themselves, but they are trae penitents

PSALMS, CX

. that take shame to themselves, and cover themselves ivith their oivn confusion.

4. He pleads God's glory, the honour of his name; Do for me, for thy name^s sake, {y. 21.) especially the honour of his goodness, by which he has proclaimed his name; " Deliver me, because thy mercy is good; it is what thou thyself dost delight in, and it is what I do depend upon. Save me, not according to my merit, for I have none to pretend to, but according to thy mercy; let that be the fountain, the reason, the measure, of my salvation."

Lastly, He concludes the psalm with joy, the joy of faith; joy, in assurance that his present conflicts would end in triumphs. (1.) He promises God that he will praise him; {v. 30.) ^' Invillgreatly Jiraise the' Lord, not only with my heart, but ivith my Tnouth; I will praise him, not in secret only, but among the multitude." ■ (2.) He promises himself that he shall have cause to praise God; {v. 31.) He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, nigh to him, a present Help: he shall stand at his right hand, as his Patron and Advocate, to plead his cause against his accusers, and to bring hrni off; to save him from those that condemn his soul, and would execute it, if they could. God was David's Protector in his sufferings, and was present also with the Lord Jesus in his, stood at his right hand, so that he was not m.oved, (xvi. 8.) saved his soul from those that pretended to be the judges of it, and received it into his own hands. Let all those that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to him.

PSALM CX.

This psalm is pure gospel; it is only, and wholly, concerning- Christ, the Messiah, promised to the fathers, and expected hy them. It is plain that the Jews of old, even the worst of them, so understood it, however the modern JJcws have endeavoured to pervert it, and to rob us of it; for when the Lord Jesus proposed a question to the Pharisees upon the first words of this psalm, where he takes it for granted that David, in spirit, callsChrist his Lord, though he was his Son, they chose rather to say nothing, and to own themselves gravelled, than to miike it a question whether David does indeed speak of the Messiah or no; for they freely yield so plain a truth, though thej- foresee it will turn to their o^vn disgrace, Multh. Kxii. 41, &c. Of him therefore, no doubt, the prophet here speaks, of him, and of no other man. Christ, as our Redeemer, evecutes the office of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, with reference both to his humiliation and his cxallatton; and of e ich of these we have here an account. I. His prophetical office, v. 2. \\. His priestly office, v. 4. HI. His kingly office, v. 1, 3,

6, 6. IV'. His estates of humiliation and exaltation, v.

7. In singing this psalm, we must act faith upon Christ, submit ourselves entirely to him, to his grace and so-vernmetit, and triumph in him as our Prophet, Priest, and King, by whom we hope to be ruled, and taught, and saved, for ever; and as tlie Prophet, Priest, and King, of the whole church, who shall reign till he has put down all opposing rule, principality, and power, and delivered up the kingdom to God the Father.

A psalm of David.

1. ^'¥^HE Lord said unto my Lord, Sit JL thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. 2. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. 3. Thy people shall he willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast (he dew of thy youth. 4. The Lord hath swom, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Some have called this psalm David's creed, almost all the articles of the Christian faith being

found in it: the title calls it David's psaim: foi, in the bcheying foresight of the Messiah, he both pi-aised God and solaced himself; mucli more may ■we, in singing it, to whom that is fulfilled, and therefore more clearly revealed, which is here foretold

Glorious things are here spoken of Christ, and such as oblige us to consider how great he is.

I. He is David's Lord; we must take special notice of this, because he himself does; (Matth. xxii. 43.) David, in spirit, calleth him Lord. And as tlie apostle proves the dignity of Melchizedek, and in liim of Christ, by this, that so great a man as Abraham has paid him tithes, (Heb. vii. 4.) so we may by this prove the dignity of the Lord Jesus, that David, that great man, called him his Lord: by him that king acknowledges himself to reign, and to him to be acceptable as a servant to his Lord. Some think he calls him his Lord, because he was the Lord that was to descend from him; his Son, and yet his Lord. Thus his immediate mo-tl>er calls him her Saviour; (Luke i. 47.) even his parents were his subjects, his saved ones.

n. He is constituted a sovereign Lord by the counsel and decree of God himself: The Lord, Jehovah, said unto hi?n. Sit as a king. He receives of the Father this honour and glory; (2 Pet. i. 17.) from him who is the Fountain of honour and power, and takes it not to himself. He is therefore rightful Lord, and his title is incontestable; for what God has said cannot be gainsaid. He is therefore everlasting Lord; for what God has said shall not be unsaid. He will certainly take and keep possession of that kingdom which the Father has committed to him, and none can hinder.

ni. He was to be advanced to the highest honour, and intrusted with an absolute sovereign power, both in heaven and in earth; Sit thou at tny right hand. Sitting is a resting posture: after his services and sufferings, he entered into rest from all his labours. It is a ruling posture; he sits to give law, to give judgment: it is a remaining posture; he sits like a king for ever; sitting at the right hand of God denotes both his dignity and his dominion, the honour put upon him, and the tiiists reposed in him, by the Father. All the favours that come from God to man, and all tlie service that comes from man to God, pass through his hand.

IV. All his enemies were in due time to be made his footstool, and not till then; but then also he must reign in the glory of the Mediator, though the work of the Mediator Avill be, in a manner, it an end. Note, 1. Even Christ himself has enemies that fight against his kingdom and subjects, his honour and interest, in the world: there are those that will not have him to reign over them, and thereby they join themselves to Satan, who will not have him to reign at all. 2. These enemies will be tnade his footstool; he will subdue them, and triumph over them; he will do it easily, as easily as we put a footstool in its proper place, and such a propriety there will be in it; he will make himself easy by the doing of it, as'a man that sits with a footstool under his feet; he will subdue them in such a way as shall be most for his hon(xir, and their perpetual disgrace; he will tread down the wicked, Mai. iv. 3. 3. God the Father has undertaken to do it; I will make them thy footstool, who can do it. 4. It will not be done inunediately. All liis enemies are now in a chain, but not vet made his footstool: this the apostle observes, (Heb. ii. 8.) JVe see not yet all things put under him. Christ himself must wait for the completing of his victories and triumphs. 5. He shall reign till it is done; and all their might and malice shall not give the least disturi^ance to his government. His sitting at God's right hand is a pledge to him of his set- ,

PSALMS, ex.

531

ting his feet, at last, on the necks of all his enemies.

V. That he should have a kingdom set up in the world, beginning at Jerusalem; {v. 2.) " T/ie Lord shall send the rod or sceptre of thy strerigth out of Zion, by which thy kingdom shall be erected, maintained, and administered." The Messiah, when he sits on the right hand of the Majesty in the he? .rens, will have a church on earth, and will have an eye to it; for he is King- iifion the holy hills of Zion, (ii. 6.) in opposition to Mount Sinai, that frightful mountain on which the law was given, Heb. xii. 18, 24. Gal. iv. 24, 25. The kingdom of Christ took i-ise from Zion, the city of David; for he was the Son of David, and was to have the throne of his father David. By the rod of his strength, or his strong rod, is meant his everlasting gospel, and the power of the Holy Ghost going along with it; the report of the word, and the arm of the Lord accompanying it, (Isa. liii. 1. Rom. i. 16.) the gospel coming in word, and in power, and in the Holy Ghost, 1 Thess. i. 5. By the word and Spirit of God, souls were to be reduced first, and brought into obedience to God, and then ruled and governed according to the will r f God. This strong rod God sent forth; he poured out the Spirit, and gave both commissions and qualifications to them that preached the word, and ministered the Spirit, Gal. iii. 5. It was sent out of Zion, for there the Spirit was given, and there the preaching of the gospel among all nations must begin, at Jeinisalem. See Lvike xxiv. 47, 49. Out of Zion must go forth the law of faith, Isa. ii. 3. Note, The gospel of Christ, being sent of God, is inighty through God to do wonders, 2 Cor. x. 4. It is the rod of Christ's strength. Some make it to allude not only to tlie sceptre of a prince, denoting the glory of Christ shining in the gospel, but to a shepherd's crook, his rod and staff, denoting the tender care Christ takes of his church; for he is both the great and good Shepherd.

VI. That his kingdom, being set up, shall be maintained and kept up in the world, in despite of all the oppositions of the power of darkness. 1.' Christ shall rule, shall give laws, and govern his subjects by them; shall perfect them, and make tliem easy and happy; shall do his own will, fulfil his own counsels, and maintain his own interests among men. His kingdom is of God, and it shall stand; his crown sits fast on his head, and there it shall flourish. 2. He shall i-ule in the midst of his eiiemics. He sits in heaven in the midst of his friends; his throne of glory there is surrounded with none but faithful worshippei's of him, Rev. v. 11. But he rules on earth in ttie midst of his enemies, and his throne of government here is surrounded with those that hate him, and fight against him. •Christ's church is a lily among thorns, and his disciples are sent forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: he knows where they dwell, even where Satan's seat is; (Rev. ii. 13.) and this redounds to his honour, that he not only keeps his ground, but gains his point, notwithstanding all the malignant policies and powers of hell and earth, which cannot shake the rock on which the church is built. Great is the truth, and will prevail.

VII. That he should have a great number of subjects, who should be to him for a name and a praise, v. 3.

1. That they should be his own people, and such as he should have an incontestabfe title to. They are given to him by the Fatlicr, who gave them their lives and beings, and to whom their lives and beings were forfeited; Thine they were, and thou

favest them me, John xvii. 6. They are redeemed y him; he has purchased them to be to himself a peculiar people. Tit. ii. 14. They are his by right, antecedent to their .consent; he had much

people in Corinth before they were converted, Acts xviii. 10.

2. That they should be a willing people, a people of willingness; alluding to servants that choose theij service, and are not brought like captives to it; they love their masters, and would not go out free: or there may be an allusion to soldiers that are volunteers, and not pressed men; '' Hei-e am I, send me;" or to sacrifices that are free-will offej'ings, and not offered of necessity; we present ourselves living sacrifices. Note, Christ's people are a wil ling people. The conversion of a soul consists in its being willing to be Christ's, coming under his yoke, and mto his interests, with an entire compliancy and satisfaction.

3. I'hat tliey should be so in the day of his powers In the day of thy muster, so seme; When thcu art enlisting soldiers, thou shalt find a multitude of volunteers forward to be listed; let but the standard be set up, and the Gentiles will seek to it, Isa. xi. 10.—Ix. 3. Or, When thou art drawing them tut to battle, they shall be willing to follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes. Rev. xiv. 4. Li the day of thine armies, so some; W''hen the first preachers of the gospel were sent forth, as Christ's armies, to reduce apostate men, and to i-uin the kingdom of apostate angels, then all that are thy people shall be willing; that will be thy time of setting up thy kingdom. Li the day of thy strength, so we take it. There is a general power which goes along with the gospel to all, proper to make them willing to be Christ's people, arising from the supreme authority of its great Author, and the intrinsic excellency of the things themselves contained in it, beside the undeniable miracles that were wrought for the confirination of it. And there is also a particular power, the power of the Spirit, going along witli the power of the word, to the people of Christ, which is effectual to make them willing. The former leaves sinners without matter of excuse, this leaves saints without matter of boasting. Whoever are willing to be Christ's people, it is the free and mighty grace of God that makes them so.

4. Tiiat they should be so iti the beauty of holiness; that is, (1.) They shall be allured to him by the beauty of holiness; they shall be charmed into a subjection to Christ by the sight given them of his beauty, who is the holy Jesus, and the Beauty of the church, which is the holy nation. (2.) They shall be admitted by him into the beauty of holiness, as spiritual priests, to minister in his sanctuaiy; for by the blood of Jesus we have boldness to enter into the . holiest. (3.) They shall attend upon him in the beautiful attire or ornaments of grace and sanctifica-tion. Note, Holiness is the livery of Chiist's family, and that which becomes his house for ever. Christ's soldiers ar? all thus clothed; these are the colours they wear: the armies of heaven follow him in fine linen, clean arid white. Rev. xix. 14.

5. That he should have great numbers of people devoted to him; the multitude of the people is the honour of the prince, and that shall be the honour of this prince; From the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth, abundance of young converts, like the drops of dew in a summer's morning. In the early days of the gospel, in the morning of the New Testament, the youth of the church, great numbers flocked to Christ, and there wei'e multitudes that believed; a remnant of Jacob, that was as a dew from the Lord^ Mic. v. 7. Isa. Ixiv. 4, 8. Or thus, '■'From the vjomb of the morning, frora their verv childhood, thou hast the dew of thy people's youth, their hearts and affections when they are young; it is thy youth, because it is dedicated to thee." The dew of the youth is a numei-ous,.illustrious, hopeful, show of young people flocking to Christ, which would be to the world as dew to the

PSALMS, ex.

fjrdund, to make it fruitful. Note, The dew of our )outh, even in the morning of our days, ought to be consecrated to our Lord Jesus.

6. That he should be not only a King, but a Pi-iest, f. 4. The same Lord that said, Sit thou at my right handy aware, and vjill not refient. Thou art a firiest, that is. Be thou a priest; for by the word of his oath he was consecrated. Note, (1.) Our Lord Jesus Christ is a Priest; lie was appointed to that office, and faithfully executes it; he is ordained for men iJi things fiertaining to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin, (Heb. v. 1.) to make atonement fir our sins, and to recommend our services to God's acceptance. He is God's Minister to us, and our Advocate with God, and so is a Mediator between us and God. {2. ) He is a Priest for ex>er; he was designed for a rnest, in God's eternal counsels; he was a Priest to the Old Testament saints, and will be a Priest for all believers to the end of time, Heb. xiii. 8. He is said to be a Priest for ever; not only because we are never to expect any other dispensation of grace than this by the priesthood of Christ, but because the blessed fruits and consequences of it will remain to eternity. (3.) He is made a Priest with an oath, which tlie apostle argues, to prove the pre-eminence of his priesthood above that of Aaron, Heb. vii. 20, 21. The Lord has sworn, to show that in the commission there was no implicit reserve of a power of revocation; for he will not repent, as he did concerning Eli's priesthood, 1 Sam. ii. 30. This was intended for the honour of Christ, and the comfort of Christians: the priesthood of Christ is confirmed by the highest ratifications possible, that it might be an unshaken foundation for our faith and hope to build upon. (4.) He is a Priest, not of the order of Aaron, but of that of Melchizedek, which, as it was prior, so it was, upon many accounts, superior, to that of Aaron, and a more lively representation of Christ's priesthood: Melchizedek was a firiest upon his throne, so is Christ, (Zech. vi. 13.) King of righteousness, and King of peace: Melchi-z_'dek had no successor, nor has Christ, his is an unchangeable priesthood. The apostle comments largely upon these words, (Heb. vii.) and builds on them his discourse of Christ's priestly office; which he shows was no new notion, but built upon this most sure word of prophecy. For, as the New Testament explains the Old, so the Old Testament c^nfirms the New, and Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega of both.

5. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. G. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries. 7. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

Here we have our great Redeemer,

L Conquering his enemies, {v. 5, 6.) in order to tlie making of them his footstool, v. 1. Our Lord Jesus will certainly bring to nought all the opposition nride to his kingdom, and bring to iniin all those v/ho make that opposition, and persist in it. He will Ije too hard for those, whoever they may be, that fight against him, against his subjects, and the interest of his kingdom, among men, either by persecutions or by pen'erse disputings. Observe here,

1. The Conqueror; 77^^ Zorrf, ./:/f/ona/; the Lord Jesus, he to whom all judgment is committed; he shall make his own part good against his enemies; The Lord at thy right hand, 0 church, so some; that is, the Lord that is nigh unto his people, and a vei-y present Help to them, that is at their right hand, to strengthen and succour them, shall appear

for them against his and their enemiet. See cix. 3 " He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, xvi. 8 Some observe, that, when Christ is said to do his work at the right hand of his church, it intimates, that if we would have Christ to appear for us, we must bestir ourselves, 2 Sam. v. 24. Or rather, j^' thy right hand, 0 God, reierring to v.l. in the dig nity and dominion to which he is advanced. Note, Christ's sitting at the right hand of Gcd speaks as much terror to his enemies, as happiness to his people.

2. The time fixed for this victory; in the day of his wrath; that is, the time appointed for it; when the measure cf their iniquities is full, and they are ripe for ruin. When the day of his patience is expired, then the day of his wrath comes. Note, (1.) Christ has wrath of his own, as well as grace. It concerns us to Zeiss the Son, for he can he angry, ii. 12. And we read of the lu^rath of the Lamb, Rev. N-i. 16. (2.) There is a day of wrath set, a year cf recompenses for the controversy of Zion, the year of the redeemed. The time is set for the destruction of particular enemies, and when that time is come, it shall be done, how unlikely soever it may seem: but the great day of his wrath will be at the end of time. Rev. vi. 17.

3. The extent of this victory. (1.) It shall return very high; He shall strike through kings. The greatest of men, that set themselves against Christ, shall be made to fall before him; though they be kiji^s of the earth, and rulers, accustomed to carry their point, they cannot carry it against Christ, they do but make themselves ridiculous by the attempt, ii. 2- -5. Be their power among men ever so despotic, Christ will call them to an account; be their strength ever so great, their policies ever so deep, Christ will be too hard for them; and above them, wherein they deal proudly. Satan is the prince of this world. Death the king of terrors, and we read of kings that make war with the Lamb; but they shall all be brought down and broken. (2.) It shall reach very' far. The trophies of Christ's victories will be set up among the heathen, and in many countries, wherever any of his enemies are, not his eye only, but his hand, shall find them out, (xxi. 8.) and liis wrath shallyb//ott> them. He will plead with all nations, Joel iii. 2.

4. The equity of this victory; He shall judge among them. It is not a military execution, which IS done in fuiy, but a judicial one; before he condemns and slays, he will judge; he will make it appear that they have brought this ruin upon themselves, and have themselves rolled the stone which returns upon them, that he may he justified when he speaks, and the heavens may declare his righteousness. See Rev. xix. 1, 2.

5. The effect of this victory; it shall be the complete and utter ruin of all his enemies. He shall strike them through, for he strikes home, and gives an incurable wound; he shiill wound the heads, wliich seems to refer to the first promise of the Messiah, (Gen. iii. 15.) that he should bruise the serpent^s head. He shall wound the heac. of his enemies; (Ps. Ixviii. 21.) some read it. He shall wound him that is the head over many countries; either Satan, or Antichrist, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth. He shall make such dcstnicti'm of his enemies, that he shall fll the places with the dead bodies. The slain of "the Lord shall be man^■. See Isa. xxxiv. 3, &c. Ezek. xxxix. 12, 14. Rev. xiv. 20.—xix. 17, 18. The filling of the valleys (for so some read it) with dead bodies, ])erhaps, denotes the filing of hell (which is sometimes compared to the valley of Hin no?n, Isa. xxx. 33. Jer. vii. 32.) with damned soul.-i for that will be the portion of tliose that persist in their enmity to Christ. .

PSALMS, CXI.

635

II. We have here the Redeemer saving his friends and comforting them, (y. 7. ) for their benefit. 1. He shall be humbled; He shall drink of the brook in the nvay, that bitter cup which the Father put into his hand. He shall be so abased and impoverished, and withal so intent upon his work, that he shall drink, puddle-water out of the lakes in ttie highway; so some. The wrath of God, running in the channel of the curse of the 1 iw, was the f>,rook in the way, in the way of his undertaking, which he must go through; or which ran in the way of our salvation and obstnicted it, which Liy between us and heaven. Christ drank of this brook, when he was made a Curse for us, and therefore, when he entered upon his suffering, he ivent over the brook Kidron; (John xviii. 1.) he drank deep of this black brook, (so Kidron signifies,) this bloodv brook, so drank of the brook in the ivay, as to t ike it cut of the way of our redemption and salvation.

2. He shall be exalted; Therefore shall he lift iifi the head. When he died, he bowed the head; (John xix. 30.) but he soon lifted ufx the head by his own power in his resurrection. He lifted uji the head as a Conqueror, yea, more than a Conqueror. This denotes not only his exa/tation, but liis exw/taticn; not only his elevation, but his triumph in it; (Col. ii. 15.) Having spoiled firincifialities and powers, he made a show of them. David spake as a type of him in this, (Ps. xxvii. 6.) JVow shall my head be lifted up above rnine enemies. His exaltation was the reward of his humiliation; because he humbled himself, therefore God also has highly exalted him, Phil. ii. 9. Because he drank of the brook in the way, therefore he lifted up his own head, and so, lifted up the heads of all his faithful followers, who, if they suffer with him, shall also reign with him.

PSALM CXI.

This, and divers of the psalms that follow it, seem to have been penned by David for the service of the church in their solemn feasts, and not upon any particular occasion. This is a psalm of praise, the title of it is Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord; intimating that we must address ourselves to the use of this psalm, with hearts disposed to praise God. It is composed alphabetically, each sentence beginning with a several letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in order exactly; two sentences to each verse, and three a piece to the two last. The psalmist, exhorting to praise God, \. Sets himself for an example, v. 1. II. Furnishes us with matter for praise from the works of God. 1. The greatness of his works, and the glory of them. 2. The righteousness of them. 3. The goodness of them. 4. The power of them. 5. The conformity of them to his word of promise. 6. The perpetuity of Ihem. These observations are intermixed, V. 2.. 9. in. He recommends the holy fear of God, and a conscientious obedience to his commands, as the most acceptable way of praising God, v. 10.

l.ipRAISE ye the Lord. I will praise JL the Lord with mi/ whole heart in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. 2. The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that hav e pleasure therein. 3. His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever. .^. He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: thf" Lord is gracious, and full of compassion. 5. He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.

The title of the psalm being Hallelujah, the psalmist (as every author ought to have) has an eye ro his title, and keeps to his text.

I. He resolves to praise God himself, v. 1. What

duty we call others to, we must oblige and excite ourselves to; nav, whatever others do, whethei they will praise God or no, we and our houses must determine to do it, we and our hearts; for such is the psalmist's resolution here. / will praise the Lord with my whole heart. My heart, my whole heart, being devoted to his honour, shall be employed in this work; and this in the assembly, or secret, of the upright, in the cabinet council, and in the congregation of Israelites. Note, We must praise God both in private and in public, in lesser and greater assemblies, in our own families and in the courts of the Lord's house; but in both it is most comfortable to do it in concert with the upright, who will heartily join in it. Private meetings for devotion should be kept up as well as more public and promiscuous assemblies.

2. He recommends to us the works of the Lord, as the proper subject of our meditations when we are praising him—the dispensations of his providence toward the world, the church, and particular persons.

(1.) God's works are very magnificent; great like himself, there is nothing in them that is mean or trifling: they are the products of infinite wisdom and power, and we must say this upon the first view of them, before we come to inquire more particularly into them, that the works of the Lord are great, V. 2. There is something in them sui-prising, and that strikes an awe upon us. All tlie works of the Lord are spoken of as one; (%'. 3.) it is his work, such is the beauty and harmony of Providence, and so admirably do all its dispensations centre in one design; it was cried to the wheels, 0 wheel, Ezek. x. 13. Take all together, and it is honourable and glorious, and such as bccrmes him.

(2.) They are entertaining and exercising to the inquisitive; sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. Note, [1. J All that ti-uly love God have pleasure in his works, and reckon all well that he does; nor do their thoughts dwell upon any subject with more delight than on the works of' Gcd, which the more they are looked into, the more they give us of a pleasing surprise. [2. ] They that have pleasure in the works of God will not take up with a superficial transient view of them, but will diligently search into them and observe them. In studying both natural and political history, we should have this in our eye, to discover the greatness and glory of God's works. [3.] These works of God, that are humbly and diUgently sought into, shall be sought out; they that seek shall find; (so seme read it;) they are found of all them that have pleasure in them, or found in all their parts, designs, purposes, and several concernments; (so Dr. Hammond;) fcr the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, XXV. 14.

3. Thev are all just and holy; His righteousness endures for ever. Whatever he does, he never did, nor ever will, do any wrong to any of his creatures; and therefore his works endure for ever, (Eccl. iii. 140 because the righteousness of them does.

4. They are admirable and memorable, fit to be registered and kept on record. Much that we do is so trifling that it is not fit to be spoken of or told again; the greatest kindness is to forget it; but notice is to be taken of God's works, and an account to be kept of them; {v. 4.) He has made his wonderful works to be remembered; he has done that which is worthy to be remembered, which cannot but be remembered; and he has instituted ways and means for the keeping of some of them in remembrance, as the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt by the passover. He has made him a mernorim by hit wonderful works; so some read it: see Isa. Ixiii. IT By that which God did with his glorious arm., hi made himself an ex'erlasting name.

PSALMS, CXI.

5. They are kind; in them the Lord shows that he is gracious and full of compassion. As of the works of creation, so of the works of Providence, we must say, Tliey are not only all very great, but all very good. Dr. Hammond takes this to be the name which God has made to himself by his wonderful works, the same with th^t whicli lie proclaimed to Moses, The Lord God is gracious and merciful, Exod. xxiv. 6. God's pardoning sin is the most wonderful of all his works, and which ouglrt to be remembered to his glory. It is a further instance of his gi-ace and compassion, that he has given meat to them that fear him, v. 5. He gives them their daily bread, food convenient for them: so he does to others by common providence; but to them that fear him he gives it by covenant, and in pursuance of the promise; for it follows, He nvill be ever mindful of his covenant; so that they can taste covenant-love even in common mercies. Some refer this to the manna with which God fed his people Israel in the wilderness. Others to the spoil they got from tlie Egyptians when they cume out with great substance, according to the promise, Gen. XV. 14. When God brake the heads of the leviathan, he gave him to be meat to his fieofile, Ps. Ixxiv. 14. He has given prey to them that fear him; so the margin has it, not only_ fed them, but enriched them, and given their enemies to be a prey to them.

6. They are eanicsts of what he will do, according to his promise: He ivill ez'er be mindful of his covenant, for he has ever been so; and as he never did, so he never will, let one jot or tittle of it fall to the ground. Though God's people have their infirmities, and are often unmindful of his commands, yet he ivill ever be mindful of his covenant.

6. He hath showed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen. 7. The works of his hands are verity and judgment: all his commandments are sure. 8. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. 9. He sent redemption unto his people; he hath commanded his covenant for ever; holy and reverend is his name. 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

We are taught to give glory to God,

1. For the great things he has done for his people, for his people of Israel, of old and of late; He has showed his fieo/ile the power of his works, {v. 6.) in what he has wrought for them; many a time he has given proofs of his oninipotcncc, and showed them what he can do, and that there is nothing too hard for him to do. Two things are specified, to show the power of his works.

(1.) The possession God gave to Israel in the land of Canaan, that he might give them, or in giving them, the heritage of the heathen. This he did in Joshua's time, when the seven nations were subdued; and in Da\id's time, when the neighbouring nations were many of them brought into subjection to Israel, and became tributaries to Da\ id. Herein God showed his sovereignty, in disj)osing of kingdoms as he jileases, and his might, in making good liis disposals. If God will make the iieritage of the heathen to Ik- t1ic heritage of Israel, who cm eitlier arraign his counsel, or stay his hand''

(2.) The many dehverances which he wrought for* his people, when by their iniquities they had

sold themselves into the hand of their enemies; (v, 9.) He sent redemption unto his people; not only out of Egypt at first, but often afterward; and these redemptions were typical of the great redemption, which in the fulness of time was to be wrought out by the Lord Jesus, that redemption in Jenisalem which so many waited for.

2. For the stability both of his word and of his works, which assure us of the great things he will do for them. '

(1.) What God has done shall never be undone. He will not undo it himself, and men and devih-cannot; (x^. 7.) The works of his hand are verity and judgment; {v. 8.) they are done in truth ana, uprightness; all he does is consonant to the eternal rules and reasons of equity, all according to the counsel of his wisdom, and the purpose of his will; all well done; and therefore there is nothing to be altered or amended, but it is firm and unchangeable. Upon the beginning of his works we may depend for the perfecting of them; work that is true will last, will neither go to decay, nor sink under the stress that is laid upon it.

(2.) What God has said shall never be unsaid; jlll his commandments are sure; all straight, and therefore all steady. His purposes, the rule of his actions, shall all have their accomplishment; Has he spoken, and shall he not make it good? No doubt, he shall; whether he commands light or darkness, it is done as he commands. His precepts, the rule of our actions, are unquestionably just and good, and therefore unchangeable, and not to be repealed. His promises and threatenings are all sure, and will be made good; nor shall the unbelief of man make either the one or the other of no effect. They are established, and therefore they stand fast for ever and ever, and tlie scripture cannot be broken. The wise God is never put upon new counsels, nor obliged to take new measures, either in his laws or in his providences. All is said, as all is done, in truth and uprightness, and therefore it is immutable. Men's follv and falsehood make them unstable in all their ways, but infinite wisdom and tiiith for ever ex elude retraction and revocation; He has commanded his covenant for ever. God's covenant is crm-manded, for he has made it as one that has an incontestable authority to prescribe both what we must do, and what we must expect, and an unques tionable ability to perform both what he has promised in the blessings of the covenant, and what lie has threatened in the curses of it, cv. 8.

3. For the setting up and establishing of religion among men. Because holy and reverend is his 7iame, and the fear q/" him is the beginning of wisdom, therefore his praise endureth for ever; he is to be everlastingly praised.

(1.) Because the discoveries of religion tend so much to his honoiy. Review what he has made known of himself in his word and in his works, and you will see, and say, that God is great, and greatly to be feared; for his name is holy, his infinite purity and rectitude appear in all that whereby he has made himself known, and because it is holy, therefore it is reverend, and to be thought of, and mentioned, with a holy awe. Note, What is holy, is reverend; tlic angels have an eve to God's holiness when they cover their faces before him, and nothing is more man's honour than his sanctification. It is in his holy places that God appears most terrible, Ixviii. 35. Lev. X. 3.

(2.) Because the dictates of religion tend so much tn man's ha])piness. We have reason to praise God, that the matter is so well contrived, that our reverence of him, and obedience to him, arc as much our interest as thiy are our dutv.

[1.] Our reverence of him is so; The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It is not only

PSALMS, UXIl.

535

reasonable that we should fear God, because his name is reverend, and his nature holy, but it is advantageous to us. It is wisdom, it will direct us to speak and act as becomes us, in a consistency with ourselves, and for our own benefit. It is the head of wisdom, that is, as we read it, it is the beginning ofnvisdom; men never begin to be wise, till tliey begin to fear God; all true wisdom takes its rise from true religion, and has its foundation in it; or, as some understand it, it is the chief wisdom, and the most excellent: the first in dignity. It is the principal wisdom, and the principle of wisdom, to worship God, and give honour to him, as our Father and Master. They manage well who idways act under the government of his holy fear.

[2.] Our obedience to him is sn; A good understanding have all they that do his commandments. Where the fear of the Lord rides in the heart, there will be a constant conscientious care to keep his commandments; not to talk of them, but to do them; and such have a good understanding; First, They are well understood, their obedience is graciously accepted as a plain indication of their mmd, that they do indeed fear God. Compare Prov. iii. 4. So shalt thou Jind favour and good understanding. God and man will look upon those as meaning; well, and approve of them, who make conscience of their duty, though they have their mistakes; what is honestly intended shall be well ta-Ven. Secondly, They understand well. 1. It is a sign that they do understand well. The most obedient are accepted as the most intelligent; those understand themselves and their interests best, that make God's law their i-ule, and are in every thing ruled by it. A great understanding they have, that know God's commandments, and can discourse learnedly of them; but a good understanding have thev that do them, and walk according to them. 2. It is the way to understand better; A good understanding are they to all that do them; the fear of the Lord, and the laws of that give men a good understanding, and are able to make them ivise unto salvation. Zf any man will do his will, he shall know more and more clearly of the doctrine of Christ, John vii. 17. Good success have all they that do them, so the margin; according to what was promised Joshua, if he would observe to do accord-mgto the law, (Josh. i. 8.) Then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and shalt have good success. We have reason to praise God, to praise him for ever, for putting man into sucli a fair way to happiness. Some apply the last words rather to the good man who fears the Lord, than to the good God; His firaise eyidures for ever: it is not of men, perhaps, but it is of God; (Rom. ii. 29.) and that praise which is of God endures for ever, when the praise of men is withered and gone.

PSALM CXIL

This psalm isj^composed alphabetically, as the foririter is, and is (like the former) entitled, Hallelujah, though it treats of the happiness of the saints, because it redounds to the glory of God, and whatever we have the pleasure of, he must have the praise of. It is a comment upon the last verse of the foregoing psalm, and fully shows how much it is our wisdom \o fear God, and do his com-man-dinents. We have here, I. The character of the righteouSj v. 1. II. The blessedness of the righteous. 1. There is a blessedness entailed upon their posterity, V. 2. 2. There is a blessing conferred upon themselves. (1.) Prosperity outward and inward, v. 3. (2.) Comfort, V. 4. (3.) Wisdom, v. 5. (4.) Stability, v. 6.. 8. (5.) Honour, v. 6, 9. III. The misery of the'wicked, v. 10. So that good and evil are set before us, the blessing and the curse. In singing this psalm, we must not only teach and admonish ourselves and one another to answer to the characters here given of the happy, but comfort and encourage ourselves and one another with the privileges and comforts here secured to the holy.

RAISE ye the Lord. Blessed 7s tlie man t/tat feareth the Lord, that dehghteth greatly in his commandments. 2. His seed shall be mighty upon the earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. 3. Wealth and riches shall be in his house; and his righteousness endureth for ever. 4. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is giacious, and full of compassion, and righteous. 5. A good man showcth favour, and lendpth: he v\ ill guide his ahkirs with discretion.

The psalmist begins with a call to us to praise God, but immediately applies himself to praise the people of God; for wliatever glory is acknowledged to be on them, it comes frcm God, and must return to him; as he is their Praise, so they are his. We have reason to praise the Lord, that there are a people in the world who fear him and serve him, and that they are a happy people; both which are owing entirely to the grace of God.

Now here we have,

1. A description of these who are here pronounced blessed, and to whom these premises are made.

(1.) They are well-principled with pious and devout affections. Those have the privileges of God's subjects, not who cry, Lord, Lord, but who are indeed well-affected to his government. [1.] They are such as stand in awe (A Gc d, and have a constant reverence for his majesty, and dtftrtnce to his will. The happy man is he that fars the Lord, V. 1. [2.] They are such as t; ke a pleasure in their duty. He that fears the Lord, as a Father, with the disposition of a child, net (f a sla^■e, delights greatly in his co?nn!and?)ients, is wtll-pleased with them, and with the equity and goodness of them, they are written in liis heart, it is his choice to be under them, and he calls thtm an easy, a pleasant, yoke; it is liis delight to be scarcliiiig into, and conversing with, God's commandments, by reading, hearing, and meditati' n, Ps. i. 2. He delights net only in God's promises, but in his precepts, and thinks himself happy, under God's gx veniment, as well as in his favour. It is a pleasure to him to be found in the way of his duty, and he is in his element when he is in the service of G( d. Herein he delights greatly, more than in any of the employments and enjoyments of this world. And what he does in religirn is done from principle, because he sees amiableness in religion, and advantage by it,

(2.) They are honest and sincere in their professions and intentions. They are called the upright, {y. 2, 4.) who are really as good as they seem to be, and deal faithfully both with God and man. There is no true religion without sincerity; that is gospel-perfection.

(3.) They are both just and kind in all their dealings; He is gracious, full of compassion, and righteous, {v. 4.) dares not do any wrong to any man, but does to every man all the gcod he can, <md that from a principle of compassirn and kindness. It was said of God, in the foregoing psalm, {v. 4.) He is gracious, and full of compassion; and here it is said of the good man, that he is so; for herein we must be followers of God, as dear children; be merciful as he is. He is full of compassion, and yet righteous; what he does good with, is wliat he came honestly bv; God hates.robbery for biinit-of-ferings, and so does he. One instance is given of his beneficence; (i'. 5.) He shows favour, and lends. Sometimes there is as much charity in lending as in giving, as it obliges the borrower both to

PSALiMS, CXII.

incUistry and honesty. He is gracious, and lends; ,^xxxvii. 26.) he does it from a right pniiciple, not ■«s the usurer lends f(r his own advant.ige, nor merely out of generosity, but out of pure cluirity: he does it in a right manner, not grudgingly, but pleasantly, and with a cheerful countenance.

2. The blessedness that is here entailed upon those that answer to these characters; Happiness, all happiness, to t/ie man that feareth the Lord. Whatever men think or say of them, God says that they are blessed; and his saying so makes them so.

(1.) The posterity of good'men shall fare the better for his goodness; {v. 2.) His seed shall be mighty on earth; perhaps he himself shall not be so great in the world, nor make such a figure, as his seed after him shall, for his sake. ReUgion has been the raising of many a family, if not so as to advance it high, yet so as to fix it firmly. When good men themselves are happy in heaven, their seed perhaps are considerable on earth, and will themselves own that it is by virtue of a blessing descending from them. The generation of the upright shall be blessed: if they tread in their steps, they shall be the more blessed for their relation to them; beloved for the Father's sake; (Rom. xi. 28.) for so runs the covenant; / nvill be a God to thee, and to thy seed; (Gen. xvii. 7.) while the seed of evil-doers shall never be renowned; (Isa. xiv. 20.) Let the children of godly parents value themselves upon it, and take heed of doing any thing to forfeit the blessing entiiled upon the generation of the upright.

(2.) They shall prosper in the world, and especially their souls shall prosper, v. 3. _ [1.] They shall be blessed with outward prosperity, as far as is good for them; Wealth arid riches shall be in the upright man's house, not in his heart; for he is none of those in whom the love of money reigiis; perhaps not so much in his hand, (for he only begins to raise the estate,) but in his house; his family shall grow rich when he is gone. But, [2.] That which is nuich better, is, tliat they shall be blessed with spiritual blessings, which are the true riches! His -vealth shall be in his house, for he must leave that to others; but his righteousness he himself shall have the comfort of to himself, it endures for ever. Grace is better than gold, for it will outh.st it. He shall have wealth and riches, and yet shall keep up his religion, and in a prosperous condition, shall still hold fast his integrity, which many, who kept it in the storm, throw off and let go in the sunshine. Then worldly prosperity is a blessing, when it does not make men cool in their piety, but they still persevere in thit; and when this endures in the family, and goes along with the wealth and riches, and the heirs of the f tther's estate inherit his virtues too, tliat is a happy family indeed. However, the good man's righteousness endures for ever, in the crown of righteousness which fades not away.

(S!) They shall have comfort in affliction; {v. 4.) Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness. It is here implied, that good men may be in affliction, the promise does not exempt them from that, they shall have their share in the common calamities of human life; but, when they sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a Light to them, Mic. vii. 8. They shall be supported and comforted under their troubles; their spirits shall be lightsome when their outward condition is clouded; Sat lucis intus — There is light enough within. Surrounded by Es>p-tian darkness, the Israelites had light in their dwellings. They shall be, in due time, and perhaps when they least expect it, delivered out of their troubles; when the night is darkest, the day dawns; nay, at evening time, when night was looked for, it shall be light.

(4.) They shall have wisdom for the management of ^ their con'vems, v. 5. He that does good with

his estate, shall, thrcmgh the providence of God, increabe it, not by miracle, but by liis pi-udence; He shall guide his affairs with discretion; and his God instructs him to discretion, and teaches him, Isa. xxviii. 26. It is part cf the character of a good man, that he will use his discretion in managing his affairs, in getting and saving, that he may have to give. It may be understood of the affairs of his charity; He shows favour and lends; but then it is with discretion, that his charity may not be misplaced; he gives to proper objects what is proper to be given, and in due time and proportion. And it is part of the promise to him who thus uses discretion, that God will give him niore. They who most use their wisdom, see most of their need of it, and ask it of God, who has promised to give it liberxilly. Jam. i. 5. He will guide his'^ords with judgment; so it is in the original; and there is nothing in which we have more occasion for wisdom, than in the government of the tongue; blessed is he to whom God gives that w isdom.

6. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. 7. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. 8. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies. 9. He hath dispersed: he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever: his horn shall be exalted with honour. 10. The wicked shall see ?V, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away; the desire of the w icked shall perish.

In these verses we have,

1. The satisfaction of saints, and their stability. It is the happiness of a good man, that he shall r.ot be moved for e~ver, v. 6. Satan and his instruments endeavour to move him, but his foundation is firm, and he shall never be moved; at least, 720/ moved for ever; if he be shaken for a time, yet he settles again quickly.

(1.) A good man will have a settled reputaticn, and that is a great satisfaction. A good man shall have a good name, a name for good things, with God and good people. The righteous shall be in e^'er-lasting remembrance; {v. 6.) in this sense, his righteousness (the memorial of it) endures for e-ver, v. 9. There are those that do all they can to sully his reputation, and to load him with reproach; but his integrity shall be cleared up, and the honour (f it shall survive him. Seme, that have been eminently righteous, are had in a lasting remembrance, en earth; wherever the scripture is read, their goc/d deeds are told for a memorial of them. And the memory of many a good man, that is dead and gone, is still blessed; but'in heaven their remembrance s-hall be truly everlasting, and the honour-of their righteousness shall there endure for ever,with the reward of it, in the crown of glory that fades not away. They that are forgotten on earth, and despised, are remembered there, and honoured, and their righteousness found unto praise, and honour, ajid glory; (1 Pet. i. 7.) then, at furthest, shall the horn of a good man be exalted with honour, as that of the unicorn when he is a conqueror. Wicked men, now in their pride, //// Jip their hoT^s on high, but they shall all be cut off, Ixxv. 5, 10. The godly, in their humility and numiliation, have defiled their horn in the dust; (Job xvi. 15.) but the dav is coming when it shall be exalted with honour. That which shah especially tuni to the honour cf good men, is, their

PSALMS, CXIII.

537

liberality and bounty to the poor; He has dispersed, he has gwen to the poor; he has not suftered his charity' to run all in one channel, or directed it to some few objects that he had a particular kindness for, but he has dispersed it, given a portion to seven, and also to eight, has sonvn beside all waters, and by thus scattering he has increased: and this is his righteousness, which endures for ever. Alms are called righteous, not because they will justify us by making atonement for our evil deeds, but because they are good deeds, which we are bound to perform; so that, if we are not charitable, we are not just; we withhold good from those to whom it is due. The honour of this endures for ever, for it shall be taken notice of in the great day; I was an hungry, and ye gave me meat. This is quoted as an inducement and encouragement to charity, 2 Cor. ix. 9.

(2.) A good man shall have a settled spirit, and that is a much greater satisfaction than the former; for so shall a man have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. Surely he shall not be moved, whatever happens, not moved either from his duty, or from his comfort; for he shall not be afraid, his heart is established, v. 7, 8. This is a part both of the character, and of the comfort, of good people. It is their endeavour to keep their minds stayed upon God, and so to keep them calm, and easy, and undisturbed; and God has promised them both cause to do so, and grace to do so. Observe, [ 1. ] It is the duty and interest of the people of God, not to be afraid of evil tidings; not to be afraid of hearing bad news; and when they do, not to be put into confusion oy it, and into an amazing expectation of worse and worse; but, whatever happens, whatever threatens, to be able to say, with blessed Paul, A'one of these things move me, neither will I fear, though the earth be moved, xlvi. 2. [2.] The fixedness of the heart is a sovereign remedy against the disquieting fear of evil tidings. If we keep our thoughts composed, and ourselves masters of them, our wills resigned to the holy will of God, our temper sedate, and our spirits even, under all the unevennessof Providence, we are wel'-fortified against the agitations of the timorous. [3.] Trusting in the Lord is the best and surest way of fixing and establishing the heart. By faith we must cast anchor in the promise, in the word of God, and so return to him, and repose in him as our Rest. The heart of man cannot fix any where, to its satisfaction, but in the truth of God, and there it finds firm footing. [^4. ] They whose hearts are established by faith, will patiently wait till they have gained their point; He shall not be afraid, till he see his desire upon his enemies, till he come to heaven, where he shall see Satan, and all his spiritual enemies, trodden under his feet, and, as Israel saw the Egyptians, dead on the sea-shore. Till he look upon his oppressors, so Dr. Hammond; till he behold them securely, and look boldly in their faces, as being now no longer under their power. It will complete the satisfaction of the saints, when they shall look back upon their troubles and pressures, and be able to say with St. Paul, when he had recounted the persecutions he endured, (2 Tim. lii. 11.) But out of them all the Lord delivered me.

2. The vexation of sinners, v. 10. Two things shall fret them. (1.) The felicity of the righteous; The wicked shall see the righteous in prosperity and honour, and shall be grie-oed. It will vex them to see their innocency cleared, and their low estate regarded, and those whom they hated and despised, and whose ruin they sought, and hoped to see, the favourites of Heaven, and advanced to have dominion over thein; (xlix. 14.) this will make them gnash with their teeth, and pine away. This is often fulfilled in this world. The happiness of the saints is the envy of the wicked, and that envy is the rottetiness of their bones. But it will most fully

Vol. III.—3 Y

be accomplished in the other world, when it shall make danmed sinners gnash with their teeth, to see Abraham afar off, ana Lazarus in his bosom; to see all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and themselves thrust out. (2.) Their own disappointment; The desire of the wicked shall perish; their desire was wholly to the world and the flesh, and they ruled over them; and therefore, when these perish, their joy is gone, and their expectations from them are cut off, to their everlasting confusion; their hope is as a spider's web.

PSALM CXIII.

This psalm begins and ends with Hallelujah; for, as many others, it is designed to promote the great and good work of praising God. I. We are here called upon, and urged, to praise God, v. 1..3. II. We are here furnished with matter for praise, and words are put into our mouths; in singing which, we must, with holy fear and love, give to God the glory of, 1. The elevations of his glory and greatness, v. 4, 5. 2. The condescensions of nis grace and goodness, (v. 6 .. 9.) w hich very much illustrate one another, that we may be duly affected with both.

1. T>RAISE ye the Lord. Praise, O ve Jr servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. 2. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. 3. From the rising of the sun, unto the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised. 4. The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. 5. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, 6. Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth I 7. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; 8. That he may set him with princes, eveji with the princes of his people. 9. He maketh the barren woman to keep house, to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.

In this psalm,

I. We are exhorted to give glory to God, to give him the glory due to his name. The invitation is very pressing; Praise ye the Lord, and again, and again, Praise him, praise him; blessed be his name, for it is to be praised, v. l-.S. This intimates, 1. That it is a necessary and most excellent duty, greatly pleasing to God, and has a large room in religion. 2. That it is a duty we should much abound in, in which we should be frequently employed and enlarged. 3. That it is work which we are very backward to, and which we need to be engaged and excited to by precept upon precept, and line upon line. 4. That those who are much in praising God themselves, will court others to it, both because they find the weight of the work, and that there is need of all the help they can fetch in, (there is employment for all hearts, all hands, and all little enough,) and because they find the pleasure of it, which they wish all their friends may share in.

Observe, (1.) From whom God has praise; fnm his own people; they are here called upon to praise God, as those that will answer the call. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord. They have most reason to praise him; for they that attend him as his servants know him best, and receive most of his favours, and it is their business to praise him; that is the work required of them as his servants; it is easy pleasant work to speak well of their Master, and do him what honour they can; if they do not who should?

PSALMS CXIII.

feome understand it of the Levites; but if so, all Christians are a royal priesthood, to show forth the praises of him that has called them, 1 Pet. ii. 9. The angels are the servants of the Lord; they need not be called upon by us to praise God, yet it is a com-foit to us that they do it better than we can. (2.) From whom he ought to have praise: [1.] From all ages; {v. 2.) from this time forth for ex'ermore; let not this work die with us, but let us be doing it in a better world, and let those that come after us be doing it in th.is. Let net our seed degenerate, but let God be praised through all the generations of time, and not in this only. vVe must bless the Lord in oui- da\-, by saying, with the psalmist, Blessed be his 7iaine ?iow and always.

[2.] From all i^]a.ccs; fro?)i the risi?iff of the sun to the going down of the same, throughout the habitable world; let all that enjoy the benefit of the sun rising, (and those that do so must count upon it tliiit the sun will set,) give thanks for that light to tlie Father of lights. God's name is to be praised; it ought to be praised by all naticns; for in every place, from East to West, there appear the manifest proofs and products of his wisdom, power, and goodness; and it is to be lamented that so great a part of mankind are ignorant of him, and give that praise to others which is due to him alone. But perhaps there is more in it; as the former verse ga\ e us a glimpse of the kingdom of glory, intimating that God's name shall be blessed for ever, (when time shall be no more, that praise shall be the work of heaven,) so this verse gives us a glimpse of the kingdom of grace in the gospel-dispensation of it, when the church shall no longer Ijc confined to the Jewish nation, but shall spread itself all the world o\er, when in every filace spiritual incense shall be offered to our God; "(Mai. i. 11.) then, from the rising to the setting of the stui, the Lord's name shall be firaiscd, l)y some in all countries.

II. We are here directed what to give him the glor\- of.

1." Let us look up with an eye of faith, and see how high his glory is in the upper world, and mention that, to his praise, v. 4, 5. We are, in our praises, to exalt his name, for he is high, his glory IS high. (1.) High a^oi'f all nations; their kings, though ever so pompous; their people, though ever so numerous. Whether it be true of an earthly king or no, that though he is major singulis — greater thcin iyjdividuals, lie is minor universis — less than the whole, we will not dispute; but we are sure it is not true of the King of kmgs. Put all the iiations together, and he is above them all; they are before him as the dro/i of the bucket, and the small dust of the balance, Isa. xl. 15, 17. Let all the nations think and speak highly of God, for he is high above them all. (2.) High above the heavens; the throne of his glory is in the highest heavens; wdiich should raise our hearts in praising him, Lam. iii. 41. His glory is above the heavens, above the angels;_ he is above what they are, their brightness is nothing to his; above what they do, for they are under his command, and do his pleasure; and abo\e what even they can speak him to be. He is exalted above all blessing and praise, not only all ours, but all theirs. We must therefore say, with holy admiration, Jllio is like unto the Lord our God? Who of all the princes and potentates of the earth? Who of all the bright and blessed spirits above? None can eciual him, none dare compare with him. Ciod is to be ])raised, as transcendently, incomparabh', and infinitely great; for he dwells on high, and from on high sees all, and mles all, and justly attracts all praise to himself.

2. Let us look roxuid with an eye of observation, and see how extensive his goodness is in the lower world, and mention that to his praise. He is a God

who eocalts himself to dwell, who humbles himself in heaven, and in earth. Some think there is a transposition, He exalts himself to dwell in heaven he humbles hiinself to behold on earth: but the sense is plain enough, as we take it; only observe, God is said to exalt hi?nself, and to humble himself, both are his own act and deed; as he is self-existent, so he is both the Fountain of his own honour, and thr Spring of his own grace; God's condescending goodness appears,

(1.) In the cognizance he takes of the world be low him; his glory is above the 7iations, and above the heavens, and yet neither is neglected by him; God is great, yet he despises riot any. Job xxxvi. 5. He humbles himself to behold all his creatures, all his subjects, thrugh he is infinitely above them. ^ Considering the infinite pcifecticn, sufficiency, and felicity, of the divine nature, it must ]jc acknowledged as an act of wonderful ccndescensicn, that God is pleased to take into the the ughts of his eternal counsel, and into tlic hand of his universal providence, both the armies cflieaven and the inhabitants of the earth; (Dan. iv. 35.) even in this dcminicn h.e humbles himself. [1.] It is crndescension in him to behold the tilings in heaven, to support the beings, direct the motions, and accept the praises and services, of the angels themselves; fir he needs them not, nor is benefitted by them. [2.] Much more is it condescension in him to behold the things that are in the earth, to visit the srns of men, and regard them, to order and overrule their affairs, and to take notice of what they say and do, that he may fill the earth with his goodness, and so set us an example of stooping to do good, cf taking notice of, and concerning ourselves abcut, cur inferiors. If it be such condescension for God to belicld things in heaven and earth, what an amazing condescension was it for the Son of God to ccme from heaven to earth, and take our nature uprn him, that he might seek and save them that were lost! Here indeed he humbled himself.

(2.) In the particular favour he sometimes shows to the least and lowest of the inhabitants of this lesser lower world. He not only beholds the great things in the earth, but the meanest, and those things which great men commonly overlook. Nor does he only behold them, but does wonders for them, and things that are very sui-prising, cut of the common road of Providence, and chain of causes; which shows that the world is governed, not by a course of nature, for that would always iim in the same channel, but by a God of naturej who delights in doing things we looked not for.

[1.] "'Those that have been long des])icable, are sometimes, en a sudden, made honourable; {v. 7, 8.) He raises up the poor out of the dust, that he may set him with princes. First, Thus God does sometimes magnify himself, and his own wisdom, power, and sovereignty; when he has some great work to do, he chooses to employ those in It that wei-e least likely, and least, thought of for it, by themselves or others, to the highest post of honour: Gideon is fetched from threshing, Saul from seeking the asses, and David firm keeping the sheep; the apostles are sent from fishing X.ohe Jishera of men. The treasure of the gospel is put into earthen vessels, and the weak and foolish ones of the world pitched upon to be preachers of it, to confound the wise and mighty, (1 Cor. i. 27, 28.) that the ex-cellencv of the power may be of God, and all may see that j^rcmotirn comes from him. Secondly, Thus God does sometimes reward the eminent piety and patience of his people who have long R-roaned under the burthen of ])overty and disgrace. When Joseph's virtue was tried ar.d manifested, he was raised mm the prison-dust, and set with princes. They that are wise will obserxe such returns of

PSALMS, CXIV.

539

Pro^'idence, and will understand by them the loving-kindness of the Lord. Some have applied this to the work, of redemption by Jesus Christ, and not unfit!}'; for through him poor fallen men are raised out of the dust, (one of the Jewish rabbins applies it to the resurrection of the dead,) nay, out of the dunghill of sin, and set among /27-inces, among angels, those princes of his people. Hannah had sung to this purport, 1 Sam. h. 6»-8.

[2. ] Those that have been long barren, are sometimes, on a sudden, nvdda^ fruitful, v. 9. This may look back to Sarah and Rebecca, Rachel, Hannah, and Samson's mother, or forward to Elizabeth; and many such instances there ha\e been, in which God has looked on the affliction of his handmaids, and taken away their reproach. He ynakes the barren nooman to keep, house, not only builds up the family, but thereby finds the heads of the family something to do. Note, They that have the comfort of a family, must take the care of it; bearing children and guiding the house are put together, 1 Tim. V. 14. When iioA sets the barren in a family, he expects that she look ivell to the ways of her household, Prov. xxxi. 27. She is said to be a joyful mother of children, not only because, even in common cases, the pain is forgotten, for Joy that a man-child is born into the world, but there is particular joy when a child is born to those that have been long childless, (as Luke i. 14.) and therefoi'e there ought to be particular thanksgiving; Praise ye the Lord. Yet, in this case rejoice with trembling; for, though the sorrowful mother be m ide joyful, the joyful mother may be made sorrowful again, if the children be either remo\ ed from her, or imbittered to her. This therefore may be ap-

Elied to the gospel-church among the Gentiles, the uilding of which is illustrated by this similitude, (IsH. liv. 1.) Sing, 0 bar7-en, thou that didst not bear: (G J. iv. 27.) for which we (who, being sin-r.ers of the Gentiles, are children of the desolate) ha\'e reason to say, Praise ye the Lord.

PSALM CXIV.

The deliverance of Israel out of Egypt gave birth to their church and nation, which were then founded, then formed; that ivork of wonder ougrht therefore to be had in everlasting remembrance. God gloried in it, in the preface to the ten commandments, and/fos. xi. 1. Out of Egypt have I called my son. In this psalm, it is celebrated in lively strains of praise; it was fitly therefore made a part of the great Hallelujah, or song of praise, which the Jews were wont to sing at the close of the passover-supper. It must never be forgotten, I. That they were brought out of slavery, v. 1. II. That God set up his tabernacle among them, v. 2. III. That the sea and Jordan were divided before them, v. 3, 6. IV. That the earth shook at the giving of the law, when God came down on mount Sinai, v. 4, 6, 7. V. That God gave them water out of the rock, v. 8. In singing this psalm, we must acknowledge God's power and goodness in what he did for Israel, applying it to the much greater work of wonder, our redemption by Christ, and encouraging ourselves and others to trust in God in the greatest straits.

1. "VIlTHEN Israel \\ent out of Egfpt, T T the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, 2. Judah was his sanc-tuaiy, and Israel his dominion. 3. The sea saw it, and fled; Jordan was driven back. 4. The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. 5. What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest ? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back? 6. Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, hke lambs ? 7. Tremble, thou ea rth, at the presence of the Lord, at the

presence of the God of Jacob; 8. Which turned the rock iyito a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.

The psalmist is here remembering the days of old, the years of the right hand of the Most High, and tlie wonders which their fathers told them of; (Judg. vi. 13.) for time, as it does not wear out the guilt of sin, so it should not wear out the sense of mercy.

Let it never be forgotten,

1. That God brought Israel out of the house cf bondage with a high ha?id and a stretched out arm. Israel went out of Egypt, v. 1. They did not steal out clandestinely, nor were they driven out, but fairly went out, marched out with all the marks of honour: they went out from a barbarous people, that had used them barbarously, from a people of a strange language, Ixxxi. 5. The Israehtes, it seems, preserved their own language pure among them, and cared not for learning the language ot their oppressors. By this distinction from them, they kept up an earnest of their deliverance.

2. That he himself framed their civil and sacred constitution; (t'. 2.) Judah and Israel were his sanctuary, his dominion. When he delivered them out of the hand of their oppressors, it was that they 7night sen'e him, both in holiriess and in righteousness, in the duties of religious worship, and in obedience to the moral law, in their whole conversation. Let my people go, that they may serce me. In order to this, (1.) He setup his sanctuary among tliem, in which he gave them the special tokens ot his ])rL'sence with them, and promised to receive thcii- homage and tribute. Happy the people that li.ive God's sanctuary among them; (see Exod. xx\. S. Ezek. xxxvii. 26.) much more they that, like Judah here, are his sa7ictuaries, his living temples, en whom Holiness to the Lord is written! (2.) He set up his do7ni7iion among them, was himselt their Lawgiver, and their Judge; and their government was a theocracy; The Lord was their King. AH the world is God's dominion, but Israel was so in a peculiar manner. What is God's sanctuary must be his dominion; those only have the privileges of his house that submit to the laws of it; and for this end Christ has redeemed us, that he might bring us into God's ser^ ice, and engage us for ever in it.

3. That the Red sea was divided before them at their coming out of Egypt, both for their rescue, and the ruin of their enemies; and the river Jordan, when they entered into Canaan, for their honour, and the confusion and terror of their enemies; (t. 3.) The sea saw it, saw there that Judah was God's sanctuary, and Israel his dominion, and thereft re fled; for nothing could have been more awful. This was it that drove Jordan back, and was an invincible dam to his streams; God was at the head cf that people, and therefore they must give way to them, must make room for them; they must retire, contrary to their nature, when God speaks the word. To illustrate this, the psalmist asks, in a poetical strain, (v. 5.) What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thoujleadest? and furnishes the sea with an answer; {v. 7.) it was at the presence of the Lord. This is designed to express, (1.) The reality of the miracle, that it was not by any power of nature, or from any natural cause, but it.was at the presence of the Lord, who gave the word. (2.) The mercy of the miracle; What ailed thee? Was it in a frolic? Was it only to amuse men? No, it was at the presence of the God of Jacob; it was in kindness to the Israel of God, /or the salvatio7i of that chcscn people, that God was thus displeased against the rivers, and his wrath was against the sea, as the prophet speaks, Hab. iii. 8--IS. Isa. li. 10.—IxiiL

PSALMS, CXV.

11, &:c. (3.) The wonder and sui-prise of the mi-r :ch. W ho would have thought of such a thing? Sh 11 the course of nature be changed, and its fun-diiii'. ntal laws dispensed with, to serve a tuni fcir (t ni's Israel? Well may the dukes of Edom be amazed, and the mif(hty men of Moab tremble, Exod. XV. \5. (4.) The honour hereby put upon Israel, who are taught to triumph over the sea, and Jordan, as unable to stand before them. Note, There is no sea, no Jordan, so deep, so broad, but, when God's time is come for the redemption of his people, it shall be divided and driven back, if it stand in their way. Apply this, [1.] To the planting of the Christian church in the woi-ld. What ailed Satan and the powers of darkness, that they trembled and truckled as they did? Mark i. 34. v. 7. What ailed the heathen oracles, that they were silenced, struck dumb, struck dead? What ailed their idolatries and witchcrafts, that they died away before the gospel, and melted like snow before the sun^ What ailed the persecutors and opposers of the gospel, that they gave up their cause, to hide their guilty heads, and call to rocks and mountains for shelter? Rev. vi. 15. It was at the presence of the Lord, and that power which went along with the gj^spel. [2.] To the work of grace in the heart. What turns the stream in a regenerate soul? What ails the lusts and corruptions, that they fly back, th it the prejudices are removed, and the whole man become new? It is at the presence of God's Spirit that imaginations are cast down, 2 Cor. x. 5.

4. That the earth shook and trembled, when God cime down on mount Sinai to give the law; {y. 4.) The mountains sk'fified like rams, and then the little hills might well be excused if they skipped like lambs, either when they are frightened, or when tiiey sport themselves. The same power th it fixed the fluid waters, and made them stand still, shook the stable mountains, and made them tremble; i'V all the powers of nature are under the check of the God of nature. Mountains and hills are, before God, but like rams and lambs; even the bulkiest and the most rocky are as manageable by him as they are by tlie shepherd. The trembling of the m'lunt lins before the Lord may shame the stupidity and obduracy of the children of men, who are not moved at the discoveries of his glorv. The psalmist asks the mount lins and hills, What ailed them to skip thus? He answers for them, as for the seas, It was at the presence of the Lord, before whom, not only those mountains, but the earth itself, may well tremble, {y. 7.) since it has l.iin under a curse for man's sin. See Ps. civ. 32. Isa. Ixiv. 3, 4. He that made the hills and mountains to skip thus, can, when he pleases, dissipate the strength and spirit of the proudest of his enemies, and make them tremble.

5. That God supplied them with water out of the rock, which followed them through the dry and sandy deserts. Well may the earth and all Its inhabitants tremble before that God who turned the rock into a standing water; (v. 8.) and whatcuinot he do, who did that? The same almighty jxnver that turned waters into a rock to be a wall to Israel, (Exod. xiv. 22.) turned the rock into waters to be a well to Israel: as they were protected, so they were provided for, by miracles, standing miracles; for such was the standing water, that fountain of waters into which the rock, the flinty rock, was tumed, and that Rock was Christ, 1 Cor. x. 4. For he is a Fountain of living waters to his Israel, from whom they receive grace for grace.

PSALM CXV.

Many ancient translations join this psalm to that which goes next before itj the Septuatrinl particularly, and the vulpar Latin; but it is, in the Hebrew, a distinct psalm. In it, we are taught to give glory, I. To God, and not to

ourselves, v. 1. II. To God, and not to idols, ^ 2 .. 8, We must give filory to Goii, 1. By truslin^nii him, andii his promise and blessing', v. 9 . . 15. 2. By blessing him V. 16.. 18. Sume think this psalm was penned upon occasion of some great distress and trouble that the churck of God was in, when the enemies were insolent an< threatening, in which case the church does not so much pour out her complaint to God, as place her confidence in God, and triumph in doing so; and with such a holy triumph we ought to sing this psalm.

1. I^TOT unto us, O Lord, not unto us, Jl^ but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. 2. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God ? 3. But our God is in the heavens; he hath done whatsoever he pleased. 4. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. 5. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes hav^e they, but they see not; 6. They have ears, but they hear not; noses have they, but they smell not; 7. They have hands, but they handle not; feet have they, but they walk not; neither speak they through their throat 8. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

Sufficient care is here taken to answer both the pretensions of self, and the reproaches of idolaters.

I. Boasting is here for ever excluded, x'. 1. Let no opinion of our own merits have any room either in our prayers or in our praises, but let both centre in God's gl< ry. 1. Have we received any mercy, gone thrrugh any service, or gained any success.^ Wc must not assume the glory of it to ourselves, but ascribe it wholly to God. We must not imagine that we do any thing for God by our own strengtJi, or deserve any thing from God by our own righteousness; but all the good we do is done by the power of his grace, and all the good we have is the gift of his mere mercy, and therefore he must have all the ])raise. Say not, The power of my hand has gotten me this wealth, Deut. viii. 17. Say not, For my righteousness the Lord has done these great and kind things for me, Deut. ix. 4. No, all our songs must be sung to this humble tune, A'ot vnto us, 0 Lord, and again, A'ot unto us, but to thy name, let all the glory be given; for whatever good is wrought in us, or wrought for us, it is for his mercy, and his truth's sake, because he will glorify his mercy, and fulfil his promise. All our crowns must be cast at the feet of him that sits upon the throne, for that is the proper place for them. 2. Are we in pursuit of any mercy, and wrestling with Grd for it? We must take < ur encouragement, in prayer, from God only, and have an eye to his glory more than to rur own benefit in it. " Lord, do so and so for us; not that we may have the credit and comfort of it, but thal'thv mercy and tnith may ha\e the glory of it." This must be our iiighest and ultimate end in cui prayers, and therefore it is made the first petition in the Lord's prayer, as that which gtiides all the rest; Hallowed be thyjtame; and, in order to that, Gix't us our daily bread, &c. This also nnist satisfy us, if our prayers be not answered in the letter of them; Whatever becomes of us, unto thy name give glory. See John xii. 27, 28.

II. The reproach of the heathen is here for ever silenced, and justly retorted.

1. The psalmist complains of the reproach of the heathen: (t. 2.) W/ierefore should they say, JiTiere is now their God? (1.) "Why do they say so? Do they not know that our God is every where by hit

PSALMS, CXV.

541

providence, and always nigh to us by his promise and grace?" (2.) "Why does God permit them to say so? Nay, why is Israel brought so low, that they have some colour for saying so? Lord, appear for our relief, that thou mavest vindicate thyself, and glorify thine own name.'

2. He gives a direct answer to their question; (v. 3.) " Do they ask where is our God? We can tell where he is. (1.) "In the upper world is the presence of his glory; Our God is in the heavens, where the gods of the heathen never were; in the heavens, and therefore out of sight; but, though his majesty be unapproachable, it does not therefore follow that his being is questionable." (2.) "In the lower world are the products of his power; He has done whatsoever he fileased, according to the counsel of his will; he has a sovereign dominion, and a universal uncontrollable influence. Do you ask where he is? He is at the beginning and end of eviery thing, and not far from any of us."

3. He returns their question upon themselves. They asked, Where is the God of Israel? because he is not seen. He does in effect ask. What are the gods of the heathen? because they are seen.

(1.) He shows that their gods, though they ai"e not shapeless things, are senseless things. Idolaters, at first, worshipped the sun and moon, (Job xxxi. 26.) which was bad enough, but not so bad as that which they were now come to, (for evil men grow worse and worse,) which was the worshipping of images, v. 4. The matter of them was silver and gold, digged out of the earth; {Man found them floor and dirty in a mine, Herbert;) proper things to make money of, but not to make gods of. The make of them was from the artificer; they are creatures of men's vain imaginations, and the works of men's hands, and therefore can have no divinity in them. If man is the work of God's hands, (as certainly he is, and it was his honour that he Avas made in the image of God,) it is absurd to think that that can be God which is the work of men's hands; or that it can be any other than a dishonour to God to make him in the image of man. The argument is irrefragable; The workman made it, and therefore it is not God, Hos. viii. 6. These idols are represented here as the most ridiculous things, a mere jest, that would seem to be something, but were really nothing; fitter ior a toy-shop than a temple; for children to play with than for men to pray to. The painter, the carver, the statuary, did their part well enough; they made them with mouths and eyes, ears and noses, hands and feet, but they could put no life into them, and therefore no sense. They had better have worshipped a dead carcase (for that had life in it once) than a dead image, which neither has life, nor can have. They sfieak not, in answer to those that consult them; the crafty priest must do it for them. In Baal's image there was no voice, neither any that answered. They see not the prostrations of their worshippers before them, much less their burthens and wants. They hear not their prayers, though ever so loud; they smell not their incense, though ever so strong, ever so sweet; they handle not t\\e. gifts presented to them, much less have they any gifts to bestow on their worshippers; they cannot stretch forth their hands to the needy. They walk 7iot, they cannot stir a step for the relief of those that apply to them. Nay, they do not so much as breathe through their' throat; they have not the least sign or symptom of life, but are as dead, after the priest has pretended to consecrate them, and call a deity into them, as they were before.

(2.) He thence infers the sottishness of their worshippers; {v. 8.) they that make them images show their ingenuity, and doubtless are sensible men; but fhey that make them gods, show their stupidity

and folly, and are like unto them, as sensekss block ish things; they see not the invisible things cf tli:: true and living God in the works of creation; thty hear not the voice of the day and the night, whi;;ji in every speech and language declare his glory, xix. 2, 3. By worshipping these foolish puppet's, they make themselves more apd more foclish like them, and set themsehes at a greater distance from every thing that is spiritual, sinking themselves deeper into the mire ot sense; and withal they provoke God to give them up to a reprobate mind, a mind void of judgment, Rom. i. 28. They that trust in them act veiy absurdly and very unreasonably; are senseless, helpless, useless, like thtm; and they will find it so themselves, to their own confusion. We shall know where cur God is, and so shall thev, to their cost, when their gods are gone, Jer. X. 3'.-11. Isa. xliv. 9, 8cc.

9. O Israel, trust thou in the Lord ; he « is their help and their shield. 10. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord ; he u their help and their shield. 11. Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; he is their help and their shield. 12. The Lord hath been mindful of us; he will bless us: he will bless the house of Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron. 13. He will bless them . that fear the Lord, both small and great. 14. The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children. 15. You ctre blessed of the 1^^ ;Rd, which made heaven and earth. 16. The heaven, even the heavens, ffre the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men. 17. The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence. 18. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord.

In these verses,

I. We are earnestly exhorted, all of us, to repcse our confidence in God, and not suffer our confidence in him to be shaken by the heathen's insulting over us, upon the account of cur present distresses. It is folly to tnist in dead images, but it is wisdom to trust ni the living God, for he is a Help and a Shield to those that do trust in him; a Help to funiish them with, and forward them in, that which is good, and a Shield to fortify them against, and pn -tect them from, every thing that is evil. Therefore, 1. Let Israel trust in the Lord; the bodycf the people, as to their public interests, and even' particular Israelite, as to his own private ccncem, let them leave it to God to dispose of all for them, and believe he will dispose of all for the best, and will be their Help and Shield. 2. Let the priests, the Lord's ministers, and all the families rf the house of .4aron, trust in the Lord; {v. 10.) thty are most maligned and struck at by the enemies, and therefore of them God takes particular care. They ought to be examples to others of a cheerful confidence in God, and a faithful adherence to him, in the worst of times. 3. Let the proselytes, who are not of the seed of Israel, but fear the Lord, who worship him, and make conscience of their duty to him, let them trust in him, for he will not fail nor forsake them, xf. 11. Note, Wherever there is an awful fear of God, there may be a cheerful faith in him: they that reverence his word, may relv upon it.

PSALMS, CXV.

an 1 t^ond reason is given us why we should stay ourselves upon him with an entire satisfaction. Consider,

1. What we have experienced; {v. 12.) T/ie Lord /las' been 7nindf'ul of us, and never unmindful; has been so constantly, has been so remarkalily, upon special occasions. He has been mindful of our case, our wants and burthens; mindful of our prayers to him, his promises to us, and the covenant-relation between him and us. All our comforts are deri\red from God's thoughts to us-ivard; he has been ^nindfiil of us, though we have forgotten him. Let this engage us to tnist in him, that we have found him faithful.

2. What we may expect. From what he has done for us, we may infer. He will bless us; he that has been our Helji and our Shield, will be so; he that has remembered us in our low estate, will not forget us; but lie is still the same, his power and

.goodness the same, and his promise inviolalile; so that we have reason to hope that he who has delivered, and does, will yet deliver. Yet this is not all; he will bless us; he has promised tliat he will; he has pronounced a lilessing upon all his people, (iod's l)lessing us is not only speaking good to us, but doing well for us; those whom he blesses, are blessed indeed. It is particularly promised that he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the com-mnnw alth, will bless his people in their ci\il interests; he will bless the house of ylaron, the church, the ministry; will bless his people in their religious concerns. The priests were to bless the people, it was their office; (Numb. vi. 23.) but God blessed tliem, and so blessed their blessings. Nay, {v. 13.) he will bless them that far the Lord, though they l^e not of tlie house of Israel, or the house of Aaron; for it was a tnith, before Peter perceived it, That, in ex'ery nation, he that fears God is accepted of him, and blessed. Acts x. 34, 35. He will bless them, both small and great, both young and old; God has Ijlessings in store for them that are go id betimes, and for them that are old discijjles; both those that are poor in the world, and those that make a figure. The greatest need his blessing, and it shall not be denied to the meanest that fear him. Botli the weak in grace and the strong shall De blessed of God, the lambs and the sheep of his flock.

It is promised, {y. 14.) The Lord shall increase you. Whom God blesses he increases; that was one of the earliest and most ancient blessings. Be fruitful, and multifilij. God's blessing gives an uicrease; increase in number, building up the family; increase in wen 1th, adding to the estate and honour; especially an increase in spiritual blessings, with the increasings of God. He will bless you with the increase of knowledge and wisdom, of grace, holiness, and joy; those are blessed indeed, whom (iod thus increases, who are made wiser and better, and fitter for God and heaven. It is promised that this shall be, (1.) A constant continual increase; ^'He shall increase you more and more; so that, as long as you live, you shall be still increasing, till you come to perfection, as the shining light," Prov.'iv. 18. (2.) An hereditary increase"; " You and your children; you in your children." It is a comfort to parents to see their children in-cr?asing in wisdom and strength. There is a l)less-ing entailed upon the seed of those that fear (iod, even in tlinr infancy. For, (t. 15.) You are blessed of the Lord, you and your children arc so; all that ^r^ the7n shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Loirl has blessed, Isa. lix. 9. Thev that are the blessed of the Lord have encou-vvr'TO-nt enough to trust in the Lord, as their Hrl/i and Sljirld.^i^v it is he tha* made heaven and earth; therefore his blessings arf free, for he needs not any I

thing himself; and therefore they are rich, for he has all things at command for us, if we fear him and tnist in him. He that ?nade heaven and earth, can doubtless make those happy that trust in him, and will do it.

III. We are stirred up to praise God by the psalmist's example, who concludes this psalm with a resolution to persevere in his praises.

1. God is to be praised; {v. 16.) He is greatly to be praised; for, (1.) His glory is high. See how stately his palace is, and the throne he has prepared in the heavens; The heaven, even the heavens are the Lord's; he is the rightful Owner of all the treasures of light and bliss in the upper and better world, and is in the full possession ot them, for he is himself infinitely bright and happy. (2.) His goodness is large, for the earth he has given to the children of men, ha\ing desigmed it, when he made it, for then* use, to find them with meat, drink, and lodging. Not Init that still he is Prcprietor in chief; the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; but he has let out that \ineyard to these unthankful husbandmen, and from them he expects the rents and services: for though he has given them the earth, his eye is upon them, and he will call them to render an account how they use it. Calvin complains tliat profane wicked people, in his days, perverted this scripture, and made a jest of it', which some in our days do, arguing, in banter, that God, ha\ing given the earth to the children of men, will no more look after it, nor after them upon it, but they may do what they will with it, and make the I)est of it as their portion; it is as it were thrown like a prey among them, Let him seize it that can. It is pity that such an instance as this gives of God's bounty to man, and such a pi*oof as arises from it of man's obligation to God, should be thus abused. From the highest heavens, it is certain God beholds all the children of men; to them he has given the earth; but to the children of God heaven is given.

2. The dead are not capable of praising him, {y. 17.) nor any that go into silence. The soul indeed li\es in a state of se])aration from the body, and is capal)le of praising God; and the souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burthens of the flesh, do praise God, are still praising him; for they go vip to the land of perfect light and constant lousiness; but the dead body cannot praise Gcd; death ])uts an end to our glorifying God in this world of trial and conflict, to all our services in the field; the grave is a land of darkness and silence, where there is no work or device. This they plead with God, for deliverance out of the hand of their enemies, "Lord, if they prevail to cut us off, the idols will cany the day, and there will be nc ne to praise thee, to" bear thy name, and to bear a testimony against the worshippers of idols." The dead praise not the Lord, so as we do in tlie business and for the comforts of this life. See Ps. xxx. 9.— Ixxxviii. 10.

3. Therefore it concerns us to praise him; (t. 18.) But we, we that are alive, will bless the Lord; we and those that shall come after us will do it, from this time forth and for eiiermore, to the end of time; we and those we shall remove to, from this time forth, and to eternity. The dead praise not the Lord, therefore we will do it the more dili-gently. (1.) Others are dead, and an end is thereb) ])ut to their service, and thereftn-e we will hn- out cui'selves to do so much the more for God, that we ma\' fill up the gap. Moses my servant is dead, now therefore, Joshua, arise. (2.) We ourselves must shortly go to the land of silence: but tvhile we (\(^ live, we will bless the Lord, will imju'ove oui t'me, : nd work that work (f him that sent us inti the world to praise him, before the night comes,.

PSALMS, CXVI.

543

and because the night comes ivherein no man can work. The Lord will bless us; {v. 12.) he will do well for us, and thcvLfore iveivill bless him, we will speak well of him. Poor returns for such receivings! Nay, we will not only do it ourselves, but will engage others to do it; Fraise the Lord; praise him with us, praise him in ycur places, as we in ours; praise him when we are gone, that he may be pnused for evermore. Hallelujah.

PSALM CXVL

This is a thanksgiving psalm; it is not certain whether David penned it upon any particular occasion, or upon a general review of the many gracious deliverances God , had wrought for him, out of six troubles and seven, which deliverances draw from him many very lively expressions of devotion, love, and gratitude; with the like pious affections our souls should be lifted up to God, in singing it. Observe, I. The great distress and danger that the psalmist was in, which almost drove him to despair, V. 3, 10, 11. II. The application he made to God, in that distress, v. 4. III. The experience he had ot • '.God's goodness to him, in answer to prayer; God heard him, (v. 1, 2.) pitied him, (v. 5, 6.) delivered him, v. 8. - IV. His care respecting the acknowledgments he should • make of the goodness of God to him, v. 12. 1. He will J love God, v. 1. 2. He will continue to call upon him, V. 2, 13, 17. 3. He will rest in him, v. 7. 4. He will walk before him, v. 9. 5. He will pay his vows of thanksgiving, in which he will own the tender regard God had to him, and this publicly, v. 13.. 15, 17.. 19. Lastly, He will continue God's faithful servant to his life's end, v. 16. These are such breathings of a holy soul as bespeak it very happy.

\.~W LOVE the Lord, because he hath JL heard my voice and my supphcations. 2. Because he hath incHned his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. 3. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. 4. Then called I upon the name of the Lord : O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. 5. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. 6. The Lord preserveth the simple: 1 was brought low, and he helped me. 7. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. 8. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, a7id my feet from falling. 9. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

In this part of the psalm, we have,

I. A general account of David's experience, and his pious resolutions, (y. 1, 2.) whirji are as the contents of the whole psalm, and give an idea of it.

1. He had experienced God's goodness to him, in answer to prayer; He has heard my voice and my su/i/ilications. David, in straits, had humbly and earnestly begged mercy of God, and God had heard him, had graciously accepted his prayer, taken cognizance of his cause, and granted him an answer of peace. He has inclined his ear to mc; this intimates his readiness and willingness to hear prayer; he lays his ear, as it were, to the mouth of prayer, to hear it, though it be but whispered in ^roanings that cannot be uttered. He hearkens and hears, iew viii. 6. Yet it implies, also, that it is wonderful condescension in God to hear prayer; it is bowing his ear. Lord, what is man, that God should thus stoop to him!

2. He resolved, in consideration thei'eof, to devote nimself entirely to God, and to his honour.

(1.) He will love God the better. He begins the

ps;ilm somewhat abruptly, with a prcfcssirn cf that which his heart was full of; / love the Lord; (as xviii. 1.) and fitly does he begin with this, in compliance with the first and great commandment, and with God's end in all the gifts of his bounty to us. " I love him only, and nothing beside him, but what I love for him. God's love of compassion towards us justly requires our love of complacency in him.

(2.) He will love prayer the better; Therefore I will call ufion him. 'Y\\q experiences we have had of God's goodness to us, in answer to prayer, are great encouragements to us to continue prajing; we have sped well, notwithstanding cur unworthiness and our praying infirmities, and therefore why may we not.-" God answers prayer, to m; kc us love it, and expects this from us, in return for his favour. Why should we glean in any other field, when we have been so well treated in this.'' Nay, I will call ufion him as long as I live; Hebrew, In my days; every day, to the last day. Note, As long as we continue living, we must continue praying: this breath we must breathe till we breathe our last, because then we shall take our leave of it, and till then we have continual occasion for it.

n. A more partictilar narrative of God's gracious dealings with him, and the good impressions thereby made upon him.

1. God, in his dealings with him, showed himself a good God, and therefore he bears this testimony to him, and leaves it upon record; (x". 5.) " Gracious is the Lord, and righteous. He is righteous, and did me no wrong in afflicting me; he is gracious, and was ver\' kind in supporting and delivering me." Let us all speak of God as we have found; and have we c\ er found him otherwise than just and good.' No, our God is merciful, merciful to us; and it is of his mercies that we are not consumed. Review David's experiences.

(1.) He was in great distress and trouble; (y. S.) the sorrows of death compassed me; that is, such sorrows as were likely to be his death, such as were tiiought to be the very pangs of death; perhaps the extremity of bodily pain, or tro\ible of mind, is called here the pains of hell; terror of conscience arising from sense of guilt. Note, The sorrows of death are great sorrows, and the pains of hell great pains. Let us therefore give diligence to prepare for the former, that we may escape the latter. These com.-passed him on every side, they arrested him, gat hold upon him, so that he could not escape; without were fightings, within were fears. " I found trouble and sorrow; not only they found me, but I found them." Those that are melancholy have a great deal of sorrow of their own finding, trouble which they create to themselves, by indulging fancy and passion; this has sometimes been the infirmity of good men. When God's providence makes our condition bad, let us not by our own imprudence make it worse.

(2.) In his trouble he had recourse to God by faithful and fervent prayer, v. 4. He tells us that he prayed; Then called I upon the na?ne of the Lord: then, when he was brought to the last extremity, then he made use of this, not as the last remedy, but as the old and only remedy, which he had foiuid a salve for every sore. He tells us what his prayer was; it was short, but to the purpose; " OLord, /beseech thee deliver my soul; save me from death, and save me froin sin, for that is it that is killing to the soul." Both the humility and the fervenc}- of his praver are intimated in these words, O Lord, I beseech thee; when we come to the throne of grace, we must come as beggars for an alms, for necessary food. The following words, (x'. 5.) Gracious is the Lord, may be taken as part of his prayer, as a plea to enforce his request and encourage his faith and hope; " Lord, deliver my soul, for thou art gracioun

PSALMS, CXVI.

and merciful, and that only I depend upon for relief.'

(3) God, in answer to iliis prayer, came in with seasonable and effectual relief.. He found by experience that God is gracious and merciful, and in his compassion fireserves the simple, v. 6. Because they are simple, sincere, and upriijht, and without guile, therefore God preserves tlicni, as he preserved Paul, who had his conversation in the world, not with fleshly ivisdmyi, but in simfilicity and godly sincerity. Though the)' are simple, weak, and helpless, who cannot sliift for themselves, men of no deptli, no design, yet God preserves them, because they commit themselves to him, and have no confidence in tlieir own sufficiency. Thf)se who by faith put themselves under God's protection shall be safe.

Let David speak, his own experience.

[1.1 God supported him under his troubles; "/ was brought low, was plunged into the depth of misery, and then he lielfied me; helped me both to bear the worst, and to hope the best; helped me to pray, else desire had failed; helped me to wait, else faith had failed. I was one of the simple ones whom God preserved; the poor man who cried, and the Lord heard him," xxxiv. 6. Note, God's people are never brought so low, but that everlasting arms are under them, and they cannot sink who are sustained. Nay, it is in the time of need, at the dead lift, that God chooses to help, Deut. xxxii. 36.

[2.] God saved him out of his troubles; {y. 8.) T/iou hast delivered; which means either the preventing of the distress he was ready to fall into, or the recovering of him from the distress he was already in. God graciously delivered, First, His soul from death. Note, It is God's great mercy to us that we are alive; and the mercy is the more sensible, if we have been at death's door, and yet have been spared and raised up, just turned to destruction and yet ordered to return; that a life so often forfeited, and so often exposed, should yet be lengthened out, is a miracle of mj:'rcy. The deliverance of the soul from spiritual and eternal death is especially to be acknowledged by all those who are now sanctified, and shall be shortly glorified. Secondly, His eyes from tears; that is, his heart from inordinate grieL It is a great mercy to be kept either from the occasions of sorrow, the e\'il that causes grief, or, however, fr<^m being swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. When God comforts those that are cast down, looses the mourner's sackcloth, and girds them with gladness, then he delivers their eyes from tears, which yet will not be perfectly done tdl we come to that world where God shall wifie away all tears from our eyes. Thirdly, Wis feet from falling, from falling into sin, and so into misery. It is a great mercy, when our feet are almost gone, to have God hold us by the right hand, (Ixxii. 2, 23.) so that, though we enter nito temptation, we are not overcome and overthrown by the temptation. Or, *« Thou hast delivered my feet from falling into the grave, when I had one foot there already."

2. David, in his returns of gratitude to God, showed himself a good man. God had done all this for him; and therefore,

(1.) He will live a life cf delight in God; (x-. 7.) Return unto thy rest, Ornysoul, [1.] "Repose thyself and l)e easy, and do not agitate thyself so with distrustful disquieting fears, as tliou hast sometimes done. Quiet thyself, and then enjoy thyself; God has dealt kindly with thee, and therefore thou need-est not fear that ever he will deal hardly with thee." [2.] "Repose thvself in God. Return to him as thy Rest, and seek not for that rest in the creature, •which is to be had in him only." God is the soul's Rest; in him only it can d'^'ell at ease; to him therefore it must retire, and rejoice in him. He has dealt bountifully with us; he has provided sufficiently for

our comfort and refreshment, and encouraged us to come to him for the benefit of it, at all times, upon all occasions; let us therefore be satisfied with that. Return to that rest which Christ gives to the weary and heavy-laden, Matth. xi. 28. Return to thy Noah; his name signifies rest, as the dove, when she found no rest, returned to the ark. I know no word more proper to close our eyes with at night, when we go to sleep, nor to close them with at death, that long sleep, than thi.s, Return to thy Rest, 0 my toul.

(2.)He will live a life of (levotedness to God ; (i;. 9.) / will walk before the Lord in the land of the living, that is. in this world, as long as I continue to live in it. Note, [1.] It is our great duty to walk before the Lord, to do all we do as becomes us in his presence., and under his eye; to approve ourselves to him, as a holy God, by conformity to him as onr sovereign Lord, by subjection to his will, and, as a God all-sufficient, by a cheerful confidence in him. I am the Almighty God, walk before me, Gen. xvii. 1. We must walk worthy of the Lard unto all well-pleasing. [2.] The consideration of this, that we are in the land of the living, should engage and quicken us to do so. We are spared and continued in the land of the living, by the power, and patience, and tender mercy, of our God, and therefore must make conscience of our duty to him. The land of the living is a land of mercy, which we ought to be thankful for; it is a land of opportunity, which we should improve. Canaan is called the land of the living, (Ezek. xxvi. 20.) and they whose lot is cast in such a valley of vision, are in a special manner concerned to set the Lord always befjre them. If God has delivered our soul from death, we must walk before him. A new life must be a new life indeed.

10. I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afiflicted. 11. I said in my haste, AH men are liars. 12. What shall I render unto the Lord /or all his benefits toward me ? 13. I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. 14. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people. 15. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. 16. O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds. 17. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. 18.1 will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people, 19. In the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord.

The Septuagint and some other ancient versions make these verses a distinct psalm sepsirate from the former; and some have called it the Martijr's fxsalm, I suppose for the sake of t. 15. Three thmgs here David makes confession cf: I. Hisfaitli; (x'. 10.) / bellex^ed, therefore have I spoken. Which is quoted by the apostle, (2 Cor. iv. 13.) with application to himself and his fellow-ministers, who, though they suffered for Christ, were not ashamed to own him. David believed ihe being, providence, and promise, of (iod, particularly the assurance God had given him by Samuel, that he should exchange his crook for a sceptre: a great deal of hardship he went through, in the be

PSALMS, CXVl.

645

lief of this, and thererore he spake, spake to God by

f)rayer, {y. 4.) by praise, x'. 12. Those that be-ieve in God will address themselves to him. He •ipake to himself; because he believed, he said to ais soul, Return to thy Rest. He spake to others, told his friends what his hope was, and what the ground of it, though it exaspci-ated Saul against him, and he was greatly afflicted f3r it. Note, They that believe with the heart must confess with the mouth, for the glory of God, the encouragement of others, and to evidence their own sincerity, Rom. x. 10. Acts ix. 19, 20. They that live in hope of the kingdom of glory must neither be afraid nor ashamed to own their obligation to him that purchased it for tliem, Matth. x. 22.

n. His fear; (x^. 11.) I was greatly afflicted, m\A then I said in my haste, (somewhat rashly and inconsiderately, in my amazement, so some; when I was in consternation; in my jlight, so others; when Saul was in pursuit of me,) All men are liars; all with whom he had to do, Saul and all his courtiers; his friends, who, he thought, would have stood by him, deserted him and disowned him, when he fell into disgr ice at court. And some think it is especially a reflection on Samuel, who had promised him the kingdom, but deceived him; for, says he, I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul, 2 Sam. xxvii. 1. Observe, 1. The faith of the best of saints is not perfect, nor always alike strong and active. David beliex'ed, and sfiake nvell, (y. 10.) but now, through unbelief, he spake amiss. 2. When we are under great and sore afflictions, especially if they continue long, we are apt to grow weary, to despond, and almost to despair of a good issue. Let us not therefore be harsh in censuring others, but carefully watch over ourselves when we are in trouble, xxxix. 1 • • 3. 3. If good men speak amiss, it is in their haste, through the surprise of a temptation, not deliberately and with premeditation, as the wicked man, who sits in the scat of the scornful; (Ps. i. 1.) sits, and speaks against his brother, 1. 19, 20. 4. What we speak amiss in haste, we must by repentance unsay again, (as David, xxxi. 22.) and then it shall not be laid to our charge. Some make this to be no rash word of David's. He was greatly afflicted, and forced to fly, but he did not tnist in man, nor make flesh his arm. "No," he said, "a// men are liars; as men of low degree are vanity, so men of high degree are a lie, and therefore my confidence was in God only, and in him I cannot be disappointed." In this sense the apostle seems to make it; (Rom. iii. 4.) Let God be true, and every man a liar, in comparison with God. All men are fickle and inconstant, and subject to change; and therefore let us cease from men, and cleave to God.

III. His gratitude, v. 12, &c. God had been better to him than his fears, and had graciously delivered him out of his distresses; and, in consideration hereof,

1. He inquires what returns he shall make; {y. 12.) What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me'^ Here he speaks, (1.) As one sensible of many mercies received from God; all his benefits. This psalm seems to have been penned upon occasion of some one particular benefit, (x'. 6, 7.) but in that one he saw many, and that one brought many to mind; and therefore now he thinks of all God's benefits towai-d him. Note, When we speak of God's mercies, we should magnify them, and speak highly of them. (2.) As one sohcitous and studious how to express his gratitude, What shall I render unto the Lord? Not as if he thought he could render any thing proportionable, or as a valuable consideration, for what he had received; we can no more pretend to give a recompense to God, than we can to merit any favour from him; but he desired t<^ render something acceptable,

Vol. III.— 3Z

something that Gcd would be pleased with as the acknowledgement of a grateful mind. He asks God, What shall I render? Asks the priests, asks his friends, or rather, asks himself, and communes with his own heart about it. Note, Having received many benefits from Gcd, we are concerned to inquire, What we shall render?

2. He resolves what returns he will make.

(1.) He will in the most devout and solemn manner offer up his praises and prayers to God, v. 13, 17.

[1. ] " / will take the cup oj salvation; I will cffer the drink-offerings appointed by the law, in token cf my thankfulness to God, and rejoice with my friends in God's goodness to me;" this is called the cup of deliverance, because drunk in memory of the deliverance. The pious Jews had sometimes a cup of blessing, at their private meals, which the master of the family drank first of, with thanksgiving to God, and all at his table drank with him. But seme understand it not of the clip that he would present to God, but of the cup that God would put into his hand. / will receive. First, The cup of affliction. Many good interpreters understand it of that cup, that bitter cup, which is yet sanctified to the saints, so that to them it is a cup of salvation, Phil. i. 19. This shall turyi to my salvation; it is a means cf spiritual health. David's sufferings were typical cf Christ's, and we, in ours, have communion with his, and his cup was indeed a cup of salvation. " Gcd, having bestowed so many benefits upon me, whatever cup he shall put into my hands, I will readily take it, and not dispute it; welcome his holy will." Herein David sptke the language of the Sen of David; (John xviii. 11.) The cup that my Father has given me, shall Inot take it, and drink it? Secondly, The cup of consolation; " I will receive the benefits God bestows upon me as fi'om his hand, and taste his love in them, as that which is the portion not only of 77wie inheritance in the other world, but cf my cup in this."

[2. ] / will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving; the thank-offtxings which God required, Lev. vii. 11, 12, &c. Note, These whose hearts are truly thankful, will express it in thank-offerings. We must first give our ownselves to God, as living sacrifices, (Rom. xii. 1. 2 Cor. viii. 5.) and then lay out of what we have, for his honour, in works of piety and charity; doing good and communicating are sacrifices with which God is well-pleased, (Hcb. xiii. 15, 16.) and this must accompany cur giving thanks to his name. If God has been bountiful to us, the least we can do, in return, is, to be bountiful to the poor, Ps. xvi. 2, 3. Why should we offer that to God which cost us nothing?

[3. ] I will call upon the name of the Lord. This he had promised, (v. 2.) and here he repeats it, (z>. 13.) and again, x'. 17. If we have received kindness from a man like ourselves, we tell him that we hope we shall never trouble him again; but God is pleased to reckon the prayers of his people an honour to him, and a delight, and no trouble; and therefore, in gratitude for former mercies, we must seek to him for further mercies, and continue to call upon him.

(2.) He will always entertain good thoughts of God, as very tender of the lives and comforts of his people; (y. 15.) Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints; so precious, that he will not gratify Saul, .or Absalom, or any of David's enemies, with his death, how eamestlv soever they desire it. This tnith David had comforted himself with, in the depth of his distress and danger; the event having confirmed it, he comforts others with it, who might be in like manner exposed. Gcd has a peo pie, even in this world, that are his saints, his mer ciful ones, or men of mercy; that have received mercy from him, and show mercy for his sake.

PSALMS, CXVU.

The saints of God are mortal and dying; nay, there are those that desire their death, and lab(jur all they can to hasten it, and sometimes prevail to be the death of them; but it is/irecious in the sight of the Lord; their life is so, (2 Kings i. 13.) tlicir blood is so, Ps. Ixxii. 14. God often wonderfully prevents the death of his saints, where there is but a step between them and it; he takes special care about their death, to order it for the best, in all the circumstances of it; and whoever kills them, how light soever they may make of it, they shall be made to pay dear for it, wh^n inquisiti;>n is made for the blood of the saints, Matth. xxiii. 35. Though no man lays it to heart, when tlie righteous /lerish, God will make it to appear that lie lays it to heart. This should make us willing to die, to die for Christ, if we are called to it, that our death shall be registered in heaven; and let that be precious to us which is so to God.

(3.) He will oblige himself to be God's servant all his days. Having asked, What shall I render? Here he surrenders himself, which was jyiore than all burnt-offerings and sacrifice; {y. 16^ O Lord, truly I am thy servant. Here is, [1.] The relation in which David professes to stand to God; "lam thy servant; I choosje to be so, I resolve to be so, I will live and die in thy service." He had called God's people, who are dear to liim, his saints; but, when he comes to apply it to himself, he does not say. Truly I am thy saint; (that looked too high a title for himself;) but, / a7n thy serx^ant. David was a king, and yet he glories in this, that he was God's servant. It is no disparagement, but an honour, to the greatest kings on earth, to be the servants of the God of heaven. David does not here compliment with God, as it is conimrn ami^ng men to sdy, / am your scri'ant. Sir; No, Lord, I am truly thy se7i>ant, thou knonvcst all things, thou knoivest that I am so. And lie repeats it, as th;it which he took pleasure in the thcughts of, and which he was resolved to abide by; •' / am thy sei-\'ant, I am thy servant. Let others serve what master they will, truly I am thy scj-x'ant." [2.] The ground of that relatic)n: two wavs men came to be servants, First, By birth; " Lord, I was born in thy house, I am the so?i of thijic handmaid, and therefore thine." It is a great niLTcy f) be the children of godly parents, as it obliges us to dut}', and is pleadible with God for mercy. Secondly, By redemption. He that procured tlie release of a captive took him for his servant. ''Lord, thou hast loosed 7ny bonds, those sorrows of death that compassed me, thou hast discharged me from them, and therefore / a?n thy sei-oaiit, and entitled to thy protection, as well as obliged to tliy work." The very bonds Tjhich thou hast loosed shall tie me faster unto thee. Patrick.

(4.) He will make conscience of paying his vows, and making good what he had promised; not only that he would oifer the sacrifices of praise, which he h.ad vowed to bring, but perform all his other engagements to God, which he had laid himself under in the day of his affliction; {v. 14.) / ivill jiay my voii's; and again, {v. 18.) now in the presence of all his fieofile. Note, Vows are deljts tliat must be paid, for it is better not vow, than vow and not pay. He will pay his vows, [1.] Presently; he will not, like sorry debtors, delaj' the payment of them, or beg a day; but, " I vnW pay them now," Eccl. V. 4. [2.] Publicly; he will not luiddle up his praises in a comer, "but what service he has to do for God, he will do it iyi the presence of all his profile; not for ostentation, but to show that lie was not ashamed of the service of God, and that others might be invited to join with him. He will pay his vows, in the courts of the tabernacle, where there Wiis a cloud of Israelites attending, in the midst of

Jerusalem, that he might bring devotion into more reputation.

PSALM CXVII.

This psalm is short and sweet; I doubt the reason ivhy ive sing it so often as we do, is, for the shortness of it; but, if we rightly understood and considered it, we should sing it oftener for the sweetness of it, especially to us sinners of the Gentiles, on whom it casts a very favourable eye. Here is, I. A solemn call to all nations to praise God, v. 1. II. Proper matter for that praise suggested, v. 2. We are soon weary indeed of well doing, if, in singing this psalm, we keep not up those pious and devout afiections with which the spiritual sacrifice of praise ought to be kindled and kept burning.

1. J^ PRAISE the Lord, all ye nations: \y praise him, all ye people. 2. Foi his merciful kindness is great toward us and the truth of the Lord endiireth for ever Praise ye the Lord.

There is a great deal of gospel in this psalm. Thi apostle has furnished us with a key to it, (Rem. xv. 11.) where he quotes it as a proof that the gospel was to be preached to, and would be entertained bv, the Gentile nations, which yet was so great a stumbling-block to the Jews. Why should that offend them, when it is said, and they themselves had often sung it, Pxaise the Lord, all ye Gentiles, mid laud him, all ye people. Some of the Jewish writers confess that this psalm refers to the kingdom of the Messiah; nay, one of them has a fancy that it consists of two verses, to signify that in the days of the Messiah God should be glorified by two sorts of people; by the Jews, according to the law of Moses, and by the Gentiles, according to the seven precepts of the sons of Noah, which yet should make one church, as these two verses make one psalm. We have here,

1. The vast extent of the gospel-church, v. 1. For many ages, in Judah only was God known, and his name praised. The sons of Levi and the seed of Israel praised him, but the rest of the nations Jiraised gods of wood and stone, (^Dan. v. 4.) while there Wiis no devotion at all paid, at least, none openly that we know of, to the living and true God. But here all nations are called upon to praise the Lord, which could not be applied to the ()ld Testament times, both because this call was not then given to any of the Gentile nations, much less to all, in a langiiage ttiey understood; and because, unless the people of the land became Jews, and were circumcised, they were not admitted to praise God with them. But the gospel of Christ is ordered to be preached to all nations, and by him the partition-wall is taken down, and those that were afar oj^are made riigh. This was the mysteiy which was hid in prophecy for many ages, but was at length revealed in the accomplishment. That the GerJiles should befellow-heirs, Eph. iii. 3, 6. Obsen-e here,

(1.) Who shoidd be admitted into the church; alt natio?is, and allpeople. The original words are the same that are used for the heathen that rage, and the people that imagiiie against Christ; (ii. 1.) they that had been enemies to his kingdom should become his willing subjects. The gospel of the kingdom was to be preached to all the world, for a witness to all nations, Matth. xxiv. 14. Mark xvi. 15. Jll nations shall be called, and to soine of all nations the call shall be effectual, and they shall be discipled.

(2.) How their admission into the church is foretold; by a repeated call to praise him. The tidings of the gospel, being sent to all nations, should give them cause to praise God; the institution of gospel-ordinances would give them leave and opportunity to praise God; and the power of gospel-grace would give them liearts to praise him. Those are highly

i

PSALMS, CXVTIl.

547

favoured whom God invites by his word, and inclines by his Spirit, to praise him, and so makes to be to him for a 7iame and a praise. See Jer. xiii. 11.

2. The unsearchable riches of gospel-grace, which are to be the matter of our praise, "v. 2. In the gospel, those celebrated attributes of God, his mercy and his truth, shine most bright in themselves, and most comfortably to us: and the apostle, where he quotes this psalm, takes notice of these as the two great things for which the Gentiles should glorify God, (Rom. XV. S, 9.) for the truth of God, and for his mercy. We, that enjoy the gospel, have reason to firaise the Lord, (1.) For the power of his mercy; His merciful kindness is great toward us: it'mstrong, so the word signifies; it is mighty for the pardon of mighty sins, (Amos v. 12.) and for the working out of a mighty salvation. (2.) For the perpetuity of his truth; The truth of the Lord endures for ever. It was mercy, mere mercy to the Gentiles, that the gospel was sent among them; it was merciful kindness prevailing toward them above their deserts; and in it the truth of the Lord, of his promise made unto the fathers, e>idures for ex<er; for though the Jews were hardened and expelled, yet the promise took its effect in the believing Gentiies, the spiritual seed of x\braham. God's mercy is the fountain of all our comforts, and his truth the foundation of all our hopes, and therefore for both we must praise the Lord.

PSALM CXVIII.

It is probable that David penned this psalm when he had, after many a storm, weathered his point at last, and gained a full possession of the liingdom to which he had been anointed. He then invites and stirs up his friends to join with him, not only in a cheerful acknowledgment of God's goodness, and a cheerful dependence upon that goodness for the future, but in a believing expectation of the promised Messiah, of whose kingdom and his exaltation to it his were typical: to him, it is certain, the prophet here bears witness, in the latter part of the psalm: Christ himself applies it to himself, {Mallh. xxi. 42.) and the former part of the psalm may, fairly, and without forcing, be accommodated to him and his undertaking. Some think it was first calculated for the solemnity of the bringing of the ark to the city of David, and was afterward sung at the feast of tabernacles. In it, I. David calls upon all about him to give to God the glory of his goodness, V. 1. .4. II. He encourages himself and others to trust in God, from the experience he had had of God's power and pity in the great and kind things he had done for him, v. 5 .. 18. III. He gives thanks for his advancement to the throne, as it was a figure of the exaltation of Christ, v. 19 . . 23. IV. The people, the priests, and the psalmist himself, triumph in the prospect of the Redeemer's kingdom, v. 24 . . 29. In singing this psalm, we must glorify God for his goodness, his goodness to us, and especially his goodness to us in Jesus Christ.

1. ^n^ GIVE thanks unto the Lord ; for ^J^ he is good; because his mercy e?i-dureth for ever. 2. Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. 3. Let the house of Aaron no\\' say, that liis mercy endureth for ever. 4. Let them now that fear the Lord say, that his mercy endureth for ever. 5. I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord ans\^'ered me, and set me in a large place. 6. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? 7. The Loud taketh ray part with them that help mo: ihercfore shall J see my desire upon them that hate me. 8. It is better to trust in the Lotid, than to put confidence in man: 9. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.

10. All nations compassed me a}K)ut: but in the name of the Lord v/ill I destroy them,

11. Tiiey compassed me about; yea, the} compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. 12. They compassed me about like l)ees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. 13. Tiiou hast thiust sore at me, that I might fall: but the Lord helped me. 14. The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. 15. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doeth vahantly. 16. The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. 17. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. 18. The Lord hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death.

It appears here, as often elsewhere, that David had his heart full of the goodness of God; he loved to think of it, loved to speak of it, and was very solicitous that God might have the praise of it, and others the comfort of it. The more our hearts are impressed with a sense of God's goodness, the more they will be enlarged in all manner of obedience. In these verses,

I. He celebrates God's mercy in general, and calls upon others to acknowledge it, from their own experience of it; {v. 1.) 0 give thanks unto the Lord, for he is not only good in himself, but good to you, and his mercy endures for ever, not only in the everlasting Fountain, God himself, but in the never-failing streams of that mercy which shall run parallel with the longest line of eternity, and in the chosen vessels of mercy, who will be everlasting monuments of it. Israel, and the house of Aaron, and all that fear God, were called upon to trust in God; (cxv. "9>-n.) here they are called upon to confess that his mercy endures for ever, and so to encourage themselves to trust in him: (r. 2-•4.) priests and people, Jews and proselytes, must all own God's goodness, and all join in the same thankful song; if they cm say no more, let them say this for him, that liis mercy endures for ever, that they have had experience of it all their days, and confide in it for good things that shall last for ever. The praises and thanksgivings of all that truXy fear the Lord, shall be as pleasing to him as those of the house of Israel, or the house of Aaron.

II. He preserves an account of God's gracious dealings with him in particular, which he communicates to others, that they might thence fet'ch both songs of praise, and supports of faith, and both ways (iod would have glory. David had, in his time, waded through a great deal of difficulty, which gave him great experience of God's goodness.

Let us therefore observe here,

1. The great distress and danger that he had been in, which he reflects upon, for the magnifying ot God's goodness to him in his present advancement. There arc nnny who, when they are lifted up, care not for hearing or speaking of their former depressions; l}ut David tjkes all occasions to remember his own lov/ estate. He was in distress, {y. 5.) greatly straitened and at a loss: there were many th it hated him; {v. 7.) ana that could not but be a grief to one of an ingenuous spirit, that strove to gain tlie good affections of all. jill nations compassed me about, v. 10. All the nations adjacent to

PSALMS, CXVIIl.

i.-.i>.<.l set themsehes to give disturbance to David, when he was newly come to the throne, Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, Ammonites, &c. We read of his enemies round about; they were confederate against him, and thought to cut off all succours from him. This endeavour of his enemies to sm-round him is repeated; (7j. 11.) They compansed me about, yea, they comfiassed me about, which intimates that t'ley were vii-ulent and violent, and, for a time, prevalent, in their attempts against him, and that, when put into disorder, they rallied again, and pushed on their design. They compassed me about like bees, s ) numerous were they, so noisy, so vexatious; they c ime flying upon him, came upon him in swarms, set upon him with their mahgant stings; but it was to their own destruction, as tlie bee, they say, loses hn" life with her sting, Animamque in vulnere (lonit — She lays doiv/i he?- life in the luound. Lord, lioiv are they increased that trouble ?ne!

Two ways David was brought into trouljle; (1.1 By the injuries that men did him; {v. 13.) Thou (O Ciiemy) hast thrust sore at me, with many a desperate push, that 17nig/it fall into sin and into ruin. Thrusting, thou hast thrust at me, (so the word is,) so that I was ready to fall. Satan is the great enemy tiiat thrusts sore at us by his temptations, to cast us d iwn from our excellency, that we may fall from our God, and from our comfort in him; and, if God had not upheld us by his grace, his thiiists had been fatal to us. (2.) By the afflictions which God laid upon him; {tj. 18.) The Lord has chastened me sore. Men thrust at him for his r/rstruction, God chastened him for his mstruction; they thrust at him with the malice of enemies, Gnd chastened him with the love and tenderness of a Father. Perhaps he refers to the same trouble which G( d, the Author of it, de-■iigned for his profit, that by it he might fiartake of his holiness; (Heb. xii. 10, 11.) hcwbeit, men, who ■verethe instruments of it, meant not so, neither did /heir hearts think so, but it was in their heart to cut off and destroy, Isa. x. 7. What men intend for Lie greatest mischief, God intends for the greatest ;;ood, and it is easy to s?.}" whose counsel shall stand. (r(xl will sanctify tlie trouble to his people, as it is Ills chastening, and secure the good lie designs; and he will guard them against the troubles, as it is the • ncmies thrusting, and secure them from the evil they design, and then we need not fear.

This account which David gives of his troubles is \ ciy applicable to our Lord Jesus; many there were that hated him, hated him without a cause; they comfiassed him about, Jews and Romans surrounded 1; m; they thrust sore at him; the Devil did so when ho tempted him, his persecutors did so when they r viled him; nay, the Lord himself chastened him s ire, bruised him, and put him to grief, that by his strifies we might be healed.

2. The favour God vouchsafed to him in his distress. (1.) God heai'd his prayer; {v. 5.) " He ansvjcred 7i!i' with enlargements, lie did more for me tlian I WIS able to ask; he enlarged my heart in prater, 'i\v] yet gave more largely than I desired." He an-'ruered me, and set me in a large filace, (so we read it,) where I had room to bestir myself, room to en-j >)• myself, and room to thrive; aiid the large place w:is the more comfortable, because he was broiiglit to it out of distress, iv. 1. (2.) God bafHed the designs of his enemies against him; They are quenched as the fire of thorns, {y. 12.) which burns furiously for a while, makes a great noise and a gi'cat blaze, but is presently out, and cannot do the mischief that it tlireatened: such was the fuiy of David's enemies; sucli is the laughter of the fool, like the crackling of tinrns under a fiot, (Eccl. vii. 6.) and such is the an;>er of the fool, which therefore is not to be feared, anv more than his laughter is to be envied, but lioth »o l)c pitied. They thnist sore at him, but the Lord

helped him, {-v. 13.) helped him to keep his feet, and maintain his ground. Our spiritual enemie? had long before this been our ruin, if God had not been our Helper. (3.) God preserved his life when there was but a step between him and death; (y. 18.) " He hath chastened me, but he has not given me over unto death, for he has not given me over to the will of niv enemies." To this St. Paul seems to refer, (2 Cor. vi. 9.) As dying, and behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed. We ought not therefore, when we are chastened sore, immediately to despair of life, for God sometimes, in appearance, turns men to destruction, and yet saith. Return; saith unto them. Live.

This also is applicable to Jesus Christ; God answered him, and set him iji a large place, quenched the fire of his enemies' ra^e, which did but consume themselves, for through death he dest7-oyed him that had the power of death; he helped him through his undertaking; and thus far he did not give him over unto death, that he did not leave him in the grave, nor suffer him to see corruption. Death had no dominion over him.

3. The improvement he made of this favour. (1.) It encouraged him to ti-ust in God: from his own experience he can say, It is better, more wise, more comfortable, and more safe; there is more reason for it, and it will speed better, to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man, yea, though it be in princes, v. 8, 9. He that devotes himself to God's guidance and government, with an entire dependence upon God's wisdom, power, and goodness, has a better security to make him easy, than if all the kings and potentates of the earth should undertake to protect him.

(2.) It enabled him to triumph in that trust. [1. J He triumphs in God, and in his relation to him, and interest in him; (x*. 6.) " The Lord is on my side. He is a righteous God, and therefore espouses my rightcfus cause, and will plead it." If we are on God's side, he is on ours; if we be for him and with him, he will be for us and with us; (y. 7.) " The Lord takes my part, and stands up for me, with them that help me. ' He is to me among my helpers, and so one of them; he is all in all, both to them and me, and without him I could not help myself, nor could any friend I have in the world help me." Thus, (f. 14.) " The Lord is my Strengtn, and my Song; I make him so; withcut him t am weak and sad, but on liim I stay myself as my Strength, both for dcang and sviflTei'ing; and in him I solace myself as my Song, liy which I both express my joy, and ease my grief; and, making him so, I find him so: he strengthens my heart with his graces, and rejoices my heart with his comforts." If God be our Strength, he must be our Song; if he work all our works in us, he must have all praise and glory from us. God is sometimes the Strength of his people, when he is not their Song; they have spiritual supports, when they want spiritual delights; Init if he be both to us, we have abundant reason to triumjih in him; for if he be our Strength and our Song, he is become net only our Saviour, but our Salvation; for his Ijcing rur Strength is our protection to the salvation, and his being our Song is an earnest and foretaste ( f the salvatirn.

[2.1 He triumphs over his enemies; now shall his head be lifted up above them; for.

First, He is sure thev cannot hurt him; "God is for me, and then I will not fear what man can do against me," v. 6. He can set them all at defiance, and is not disturbed at any of their attempts. "They can do nothing to me, l)ut what God permits them to do; they can do me no real damage, for they cannot separate between me and God, they cannot do any thing but what God can make l.o work for my good. The (nemy is a man, a depend

PSALMS, CXVIII.

,49

ing creature, whose power is limited, and subordinate to a higher power, and therefore I will not fear him." W/io art thou, that thnu shouldcfst be afraid of a man that shall die? Isa. li. 12. The ajiostle quotes this, with application to all Christians; (Hel). xiii. 6.^ they may boldly sav, as baldly as Dax id himself, The I^ord is my iJelJur, I will not fear what man shall do unto me; let him do his worst.

Secondly, He is sure that he sliall be too hard for them at last; "I shall see my desire nfion them that hate me; (t. 7.) I shall sec them defeated in their designs against me; nay. In the name of the Lord I will destroy them; (t'.'10>-12.) I trust in the name of the Lord that I shall destroy thom; and in his name I will go forth against them, depending on his strength, by wari'ant from him, ;ind with an eje to his, glory, not confiding in m}self, or taking vengeance for myself." Thus he went forth against Goliath, in the name of the God of Israel, 1 Sam. xvii. 45. David says tliis as a t}"])e of Christ, who triumphed over tlie powers of darkness, destroyed them, and 7nade a show of them o/ienUj.

[3.] He triumphs in an assurance of the continuance of his comfort, his victory, ;ind liis life. _ First, Of his comfoit; {y. 15.) The voice of rejoicing and salvatioji is in the tabernacles of the righteous, and in mine particularly, in my family. The dwellings of the righteous in this world ai-e but tabernacles, mean and moveable; here we have no city, no continuing city. But these tabernacles are more comfortable to them than the palaces of the wicked are to them; for in the house where religion rules, 1. There is salvation; safety from evil, earnests of eternal salvation, whic]\ is come to this house, Luke xix. 9. 2. Whei'e there is sah^ation, there is cause for rejoicing, for continued joy in God. Holy joy is called the joy of salvation, for in that there is abundant matter for joy. 3. Where there is rejoicing, there ought to be the voice of rejoicing, praise, and thanksgiving. Let God be served with joyful-ness and gladness of heart, and let the voice of that rejoicing be heard daily in our families, to the glory of God, and the encouragement of others.

Secondly, Of his victory; The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly, {y. 15.) and is exalted; for (as some read it) it has exalted me. Tlie right hand of God's power is engaged for his people, and it acts vigoi'ously for them, and therefore \'ictorious-ly. For what difficulty can stand before the divine valour? We are weak, and act but cowardly for ourselves; but God is mighty, and acts valiantly for us, with jealously and resolution, Isa. Ixiii. 5, 6. There is spirit, as well as strength, in all God's operations for iiis people. And when God's right hand doeth valiantly for our sahation, it ought to be exalted in our praises.

Thirdly, Of his life; {v.\7.) '' I shall not die hy the hands of my enemies that seek my life, but live, and declare the works of the Lord; I shall live a monument of God's mercy and power; his works shall be declared in me, and I will make it the business of my life to praise and magnify God, looking upon that as the end of my preservation." Note, It is not worth while to live for any other pui-pose than to declare the works of God, for his honour, and the encouragement of others to serve him and trust in him. Such as these were the triumphs of the Son of David, in the assurance he had of the_ success of his undertaking, and that the good pleasure of the Lord should firos/ier in his hand.

19. Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go in to them, and I \v\\\ praise the Lord ; 20.This gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter. 21.1 will praise thee; for thou hast heard me, and art be-

come my salvation. 22. The stone icliicti the builders refused is become the head sto//e of tlie coiner. 23. This is the Lord's doing • it is marvellous in our eyes. 24. This ^5 the day w/iich the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 25. Savc^ now, I beseech thee, O Lord : O Lord, 1 beseech thee, send now prosperity. 26. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lo kd: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. 27. God is the Lord, which hatli showed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. 38. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee; t/tofi Ctrl my God, I will exalt thee. 29. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good : for his mercy endureth for evei.

We have here an illustrious prophecy of the humiliation and exaltation of our Lord Jesus, his sufferings, and the glory that should follow. Peter thus applies it directly to the chief priests and scribes; and none of them could charge him with misapplying it. Acts i v. 11. Now observe here,

I. The preface with which this precious prophecy is introduced, v. 19'-21. 1. The psalmist desires admission into the sanctuary of God, there to celebrate the glory of him that cometh in the name of the Lord; Ojien to me the gates of righteousness. So the temple-gates are called, because they were shut against the uncircumcised, and forbade the stranger to come nigh; as the sacrifices there offered are called sacrifices of righteousness. Those that would enter into communion with God in holy ordinances, must become humble suitors to God for admission. And when the gates of righteousness are opened to us, we must go into them, must enter into the holiest, as far as we have leave, and firaise the Lord. Our business within God's gates, is, to praise God; therefore we should long till the gates of hea\'en be opened to us, that we may go into them to dwell in God's house above, where we shall be still praising him. 2. He sees admission granted him; (t. 20.) This is the gate of the Lord, the gate of his appointing, into which the righteous shall enter; as if he had said, " The gate you knocked at is opened, and you are welcome. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. " Some by this gate understand Christ, by whom we are taken into fellowship with God, and our praises are accepted; he is the Way; there is no coming to the Father but by him; (John xiv. 6.) he is the Door of the sheep; (John x. 9.) he is tine Gate of the temple, by whom, and by whom only, the righteous, and they only, shall enter, and come into God's righteousness, as the expression is, Ixix. 27. The psalmist triumphs in the discovery, that the gate of righteousness, which had been so long shut, and so long knocked at, was now at length opened. 3. He promises to give thanks to God for this favour; {v. 21.) I will praise thee. They that saw Christ's day at so great a distance, saw cause to praise God for the prospect; for in him they saAv that God had heard them, had heard the prayers of the Old Testament saints, for the coming of tlie Messiah, and would be their Salvation.

II. The prophecy itself, v. 22, 23. This mf y have some reference to David's preferment; he was the stone whom Saul and his courtiers rejected, but was by the wonderful providence of God ad\'ancerl to be the head-stone of the building; but its principal reference is to Christ: and here we have,

1. His humiliation; he is the Stone which the bxiileers refused} he is the Stone cut out of the mout:

PSALMS, CXVIll.

tain laith'-jut hands, Dan. i:. S4. He is a stone, not onlv for strength, and firmness, and duration, but ! for life, in the building of the spiritual temple; and yet a./ireciciuj' Strme; (1 Pet. ii. 6.) for the foundation of the g^-spel-church must be sapfihires, Isa. ,. liv. 2. This Stone was rejected by the builders, by the rulers and people of the Jews; (Acts iv. 8, 10, 11.) they refused to own him as the Stone, the Mes-sL-ih promised; they would not build their faith upon him, nor join themselves to him; they would make no use of him, but go on in their building wthout him; thev denied him in the firesence of Pilate, (Acts iii. 13.) when they said. We have no king but Caenar. They trampled upon this Stone, threw it among the , mbbish out of the city; nay, thev stumbled at it- | This was a disgrace to Christ, out it proved the ;; rain of those that thus made light of him. Rejecters j of Christ are rejected of God.

2. His exaltation; he /« become the Head-stone of jl the corner; he is advanced to the highest degree ij b-ith of honour and usefulness, to be above all, and | all in alL He is the chief Comer-stone in the ,. f-jundation, in whom Jew and Gentile are united, I' that they mny be built up one holy house. He is |l the chief TopHStcne in the comer, in whom the : b:rilding is completed, and who must in fdl things hive the pre-eminence, as the Author and Finisher i^f our faith. Thus highly has God exalted him, b'caune he humbled hirr&elf; and we, in compliance w!th God's design, must make hi^ri the Foundation , of our hope, the Centre of our unity, and the End cf our li\^ng. To me to li-ve is Christ.

3. The hand of God in all this; This is the Lord's ! doing, it is from the Lord, it is with the Lord; it is ';. t'le product of his counsel, it is his contrivance; both jj tie humiliation and the exaltation of the Lord Jesus ■. were his work, Acts ii. 23.—^iv. 27, 28. He sent !l him, sealed him, his h ind went with him through- |! mt his whole undertaking, and from first to last he j: ■"^id his Father's will; and this ou.^ht to be marvellous in our eyes. Christ's name is Wonderful; and [I the redemption he wrought out is the most amazing | ff all God s works of wonder; it is what the angels i desre to look into, and will be arlmiring to eternity;;] much more ought we to admire it, who owe cxir .all t • it. Without controversy, great is this mystery of godliness.

in. The joy wherewith it is entertained, and the acxlamations which attend this prediction.

1. Let the day be solemnized to the honour of ("rod with great'jov; (r. 24.) This is the day the lyjrd has made. The whole time of the g<^<spel-<lis-psnsati'^m, that accefited time, that day of salvation, is what the Lord has made so; it is a continual f.ast, which ought to be kept with joy. Or it may very fitly be understvjd of the Chnsti^.n sabbath, which we sanctify in remembrance of Christ's resurrection, when the rejected Stone began to be ex-:-lted; and so, (1.) Here is the df/Ctrine of the Christian sabbath; // is the day 'johlch the Lord has Tiadf, has made remarkable, made holv, has distinguished it from other days; he has made it f r man; it is therefore called the Jy/rd's dau, for it !i':ars his im ige and superscriyjti'^m. (2.) The duty '^.f the sabbath; the work (li the day, that it is to Ik; done in his day; We will rejoice and be glad in it; '1 >t only in the institution of the day, that there is s ich a day appointc;d, but in the occasion of it, Christ's becoming the Head of the comer. This wc ought to rej'^nce in, b^jth as his honour and our advantage. Sabbath days must be rejfncing davs,

nd then they are Vj us as the days of heaven. Jsee •vhat a gowl Master we serve, who, having insti-t'lted a day for his servicx-, appoints it to be spent ir. holy joy.

2. Let the exalted Redeemer be met, and attended, with joyful hosannas, v. 25, 26. [

(1.) Let him have the acclamatiwis of the people, as is usual at the inauguration of a prince; kl every one of his loyal subjects shout for joy; Save no-iv, J beseech thee, 0 Lord. This is like Fivat Bex — Long live the King, and speaks a heart)- joy fcr his accession to the crown, an entire satisfaction in his government, and a zealous affection to the interests and honour cf it. Hosanna signifies, Saxe nov:, 1 beseech thee. [1.] "Lord, save me, 1 beseech thee, Itt this Saviour be my Saviour, and, in order to that, my Ruler; let me be taken under his protection, and owned as one of his willing subjects. His enemies are my enemies; Lord, I beseech thee, save me from them. Send me an interest in that prosperity which his kingdom brings with it to all those that entertain it. Let my scul prosper and be in health, in that peace J:nd righteousness which his government brings, Ixxii. 3. Let me have victory over these lusts that war against my soul, and let divine grace go on in my heait, conquering, and to conquer." [2.] "Lord, prtierve him, 1 beseech thee, even the Saviour himself, and send him prosperity in all his undertakings; give success to his gospel, and let it be mighty through God, to the pulling down of strong-holds, and reducing souls to their allegiance to him. Let his name be sanctified, his kingdom come, his will be done;" thus let prayer be made for him continually, Ixxii. 15. On the Lord's day, when we rejoice and are glad in his kingdom, we must pray for the advancement of it more and more, and its establishment upon the ruins of the Devil's kingdom. When Christ made his public entry into Jerusalem, he was thus met by his well-wishers, (Matth. xxi. 9.) Hosanna to the Son of David; long live King Jesus; let him reign for ever. (2.^ Let the priests, the Lord's ministers, do their

gart m this great solemnity, v. 26. [l.J Let them less the prince with their praises; Blessed is he that Cometh in the name of the Lord. Jesus Christ is he that cometh; o i»^ifj.ti'.i, he that was to come, and is yet to come again, Rev. i. 8. He comes in the name of the Lord, with a commission from him, to act for him, to do his will, and to seek his gloi-); and therefore we must sav. Blessed be he that cometh; we must rejoice that fie is cr^me, we must speak well of him, admire him, and esteem him highly, as one we are eternally obliged tr,; call him blessed Jesus, blessed for ever, xlv. 2. We must bid him welcf me into our hearts, saA'ing, " Come in, thou blessed cf the Lord; come in by thy grace and Spirit, and take possession of me for thine own." v\'e must bless his faithful ministers that come in his name, and receive them for his sake, Isa. Iii. 7. John xiii. 20. We must pray for the enlargement and edification of his church; for the ripening of things for his secf.nd coming; and then, tnat he who has said. Surely I come quickly, would even so come. [2.] Let them bless the peoyjle with their prayers; iVe have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. Christ's ministers are not only waminted, but appointed, to pronounce a blessing, in Iris name, upon all his loyal subjects that love him and his government in sincerity, Eph. vi. 24. We assure you that, in and thrrmgh Jesus Christ, you are blessed; for he came to bless you; "You are blessed out of the house of the Lord with spiritual blessings in heavenly places, (E,ph. i. 3.) and thereff>re have reasT/n to bless him who hath thus blessed you."

3. Let sacrifices of thanksgiving be offered to his honour, who offered for us the great atoning sacrifice, V. 27. Here is, (].) The privilege we enjoy by Jesus ("hrist: God is the Lord which has showed us light; Cj<A is Jehovah, is known bv that name, a (if/I performing what he has promised, and perfecting what he has begiin, Exfid. vi. 3. He hat showed us light, he has given us the knowledge nx

PSALMS, ex [X.

551

himself and his will; he has Mned vpcn vs, so some; has lavcoired us, and lifted up upon us the light of his cC'Untenance; he has given us occasion for joy and rejoicing, which is light to the scul, by giving us a prospect of everlasting hght in heaven. Th£ day ':vkich the Lord bus made brings light with h, true hght. [2.) The duty which this privilege calls for; Bind the sacrifice ^ith cords, that, being killed, the blood of it may be sprinkled u/icn the horns of the altar, according to the law; or perhaps it was the custom (though we read not cf it elsewhere) to bijid the sacrifice to the horns of the altar, while things were getting ready for the sld\-ing cf it. Or this may have a pecuhar significancy here; the sacrifice we are to offer to Gcd, in gratitude for redeeming love, is, ourselves, not to be slain upcn the altar, but living sacrifices, (Rom. xii. 1.) to be bound to the altar; spiritual sacrifices of prayer and | praise, in which our hearts must be fixed and eji-

faged, as the sacrifice was bound n'ith cords to the or728 of the altar, not to start baci-Lastly, The psalmist concludes with his own thankful acknowledgments of di\ine grace, in which he calls upon others to join with him, i'. CS, 29. (1.) He wiU pniise Gkxi himself, and endeavour to exalt him in his own heart, and in tlie hearts cf others, ! and this because of his covenant-relation to him, and j interest in him; " Thou art my God, on whom I \ depend, and to whom I am devoted, who cwnest me, and art owned by me; and therefore / ?r/// i firaise thee." (2.) He will have all about him to ' dve thanks to God for these glad tidings cf great ; Wto all people, that there is a Redeemer, even ■} Christ the jLord; in him it is that God is good to j man, and that his mercy endures for ez-er; in him ' the covenant of grace is made, and in Mm it is made j sure, made good, and made an everlasting covenrjit. He concludes this psalm as he began it; (■:■. 1.) for God's gloiy must be the alpha and omega, the be-cnning and the end, of all our addresses to him. IIallo\ved be thy narne, and thine is the glory. And tliis fitly closes a prophecy of Christ. The rjigels give thanks for man's redemption. Glory to God in the highest, (Luke ii. 14.) tor there is 072 earth fieace, to which we must echo with our hosannas, as tliey did, Luke xix. 38. Peace in hecn'en to us through Christ, and therefore Glory in the highest.

PSALM CXIX.

This is a psalra b_v itself, like none of the rest, it excels them all, and shines brijrhtest in this constellation. It is much longer than any of them; more than twice as lonsr as any of ihem. It is not making long prayers that Christ censures, but making them for a pretence: which intimate* that they are in "ihemselre* good and commendable. It seems to me to be a collection of David's pious and devout ejaculations, the short and sudden breathings and elevations of his soul to God, which be wrote down as they occurred, and, toward the latter end of his time, a"aihered out of his day-book, where they lay scattered, added to them manv like words, and di-g&sted them into this psalm, in wliich there is seldom any coherence between the verses, but, like Solomon's proverbs, it is a chest of gold rings, not a chain of gold links. And we may not onlv learn, by the psalmist's esample, to accustom ourselves to such pious ejacu- 1 lauons. which are an excellent means of maintaining constant communion with God, and keeping the heart I in frame for the inore solemn exercises of religion, hut | we must make use of the psalmist's words, both lor the 1 exciting, and for the expressing, of our devout affections^ I what some have s.iid ot this psalm is true. He that sbaU \ read it con^tiJeralfly, it trill (ith^r trarm him or shame hinu i

I. The composition of it is singular, and very exact. It is ', • divided into twenty-two psrt<, according to the number I of the letters of the Hebrew alph.-»bet, and each part ! ccnsi-ts of ei^h; verges; all the versos of the fi'.^t part ' besrinninsr with Aleph, all the verses of the second with ' Beth, and so on, w ithout any flaw, throughout the whole 1 psalm. Archbishop Tillcttson says. It seems to have ' more of poetical skill and number in it, than we at this ;

distance can essDy understand. Some hare called it the saints' alphabet; and it were to be wished we had it a^ ready in our memorie-s, as the very Jeliers of our alphabet, as ready as our A B C. Periiaps the penman found it of use to himself to observe this method, 95 it oblired him to seek for Lhoujht-, ai;d search fur i. e

might fill up the quoti 01 every part; and ' :

was to begin with might lead him to a w&rd ■• . ;

suggest a good sentence; and ail little enoua^ 10 raise any thing that is good in the barren soil of cur hearts. However, it would^ be of use 10 the learners, a help to them, both in committing it to c^emory, and in calling it to mind ujwn occasion; by the letter the first word would be got, and that would bring in the whole verse; thus young f)eople would the more easily learn it by heart, and retain it the better even in old' ag-e. If anV censure it as childish and trifling, because acrostics are now quite out of fashion, let them know thai the royal psalmist despises their censure; be is a teacher of babes, and if this method may be beneficial to them, he can easily stoop to it; if this be to be vile, he rrill be x^et --r-r riU, II. The general scope and design of it is to : e

law, and make it honourable; to set forth :': , -

and usefulness of divine revelation, and to r-. ^ :t

to us, not only for the entertainment, but for the ct-vem-ment, of ourselves, by the psalmist's own example, who sp>eaks by exj^rience of the benefit of it, aisd of the good impressions made upon him by ii; for which he praises God, aj.d earnestly prays, from first to last, for U.e continuance of God's grace with bjni, to dirt-it and quicken him in the way of his duty. There are ten several wortls by which divine revelation is called in this psalm; and they are synonymous, each of them cxprtsiivt: of the whole compass of it, (both that which tdis us what Gud expects from us, and that which tells what w«r maj expect from him,) and of the system of religion which is founded upon it, and guided by iL The thinirs coi:taiiicd in the scripture, and drawn from it, are here called, 1. God's lav, because they are cnacteo by him as cur Sovereign, t. His troy, because they are the rule both of his providence and of our ot>edieiice. S. His textimotiies, because they are solemnly declared to the «<-r;o. st-d attested beyond contradiction. 4. His cc;-. because given wiUi authority, and (:.s the n lodged with us as a trust, o. His ^rtcc.-. prescribed to us, and not left indifferent. 6. Kis if crrt, or jayjjie, because it is the declaration of his mi;.d, ai"*! Christ, the essential Eternal Word, is - ■ v., 7.

His judg^menis, because framed in it .. . and

because by them we must both ii:d£i . . '.. S,

His righteousness, because it i^ .

and the rule and standard cf . -

stat>iits, because they arc TiSed - - ,-, - >.'

perpetual cbliiration. 10. His iJi.-i'!, or jaiiryttiness, because the principles upon which the divine law is built are eternal truths. And I think there is but one verse, (it is T. lii.) in all this io:ig psalm, i:: which tJiere is not one or other of the.se ten words; only in Uirce or four they are used concerning God's providence, cr David's practice, as v. 75, 54, Itl: and, t. 132. they are called God's name. The creat esteem and affection D;ivid had for the word of God, is the more admirable, considering how little he had of it, in comparison with what we hare; no more perhaps, in writing, than the first books 0;' Moses, which were but the dawninc of this day; w.-jvi-. may shame us who enjoy the full discoveries of divine revelation, and yet are so cold towards it. In singin» this psalm, there is work for ail the devout affections of a sanctified soul; so copious, so various, is the matter of it. We here find that in which we must give glory to God, both as our Ruler and great Benefactor; that in which we are to t>=ach and admonish ourselves and one another; (so many are the instructions which we here find about a relidous life;) and that in which we are to comfort and encourage ourselves and one another; so many are the sweet exfvriences of one that lived such a life. Here is something or other to suit the case of every Christian. Is any afilicud? Is any merry? Each wiJ. find that here which is proper for them. And it is so far from being a tedious rtpetjtion of the sxme thing, aa may seem to those who look over it cursorily, that, if we duly meditate upon it, we shall find almost evcr>' verse has a new thought, and something in it very lively. .\nd this, as manv other of David's psalms, teaches us to be sententious in our devotions, both alone, and wher others join with us; for^ ordinarily, llie affections, espe-ciallv of weaker Christians, are more likely to be raiseti and kept by short expressions, the sense cf which lies ip a little rooin, than by long and laboured periods.

b5'2

PSALMS, (JXIX.

1. ALEPH.

BLESSED are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the IjORD. 2. Blessed m^e they that keep his teslijnonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. 3. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.

The psalmist here shows that godly people are h;ippy people: they are, and shall be, blessed indeed. Felicity is the thing we all pretend to aim at and pursue; he docs not say here wherein it consists; it is enough for us to know what we must do and be, that we may attain to it, and that we are !\ere told.; All men would be happy, but few take the right way; God has here laid before us the right way, which we may be sure will end in happiness, though it be strait and naiTOW. Blessednesses are to the righteous; all manner of blessednesses.

Now observe the characters'of the happy people. They are happy,

1. Who make the will of God the rule of all their actions, and govern themselves, in their whole crn-versation, by that i-ule; they ivalk in the law of the Lord, V, 1. God's word is a law to them, not only in this or that particular instance, but in the whdle course of their conversation; they walk within the hedges of that law, which thty dare n; t brc;'.k tlirough, by doing any thing it forbids; and thty walk m the paths of that law, which thc^" will not trifle in, hu.t firess forward in them toward the mark, taking every step l)y rule, and never walking at all adventures. This is ivalklng in God's waya, {y. 3.) the ways which he has marked out to us, and has appointed us to walk in. It will not serve us to make religion the subject of our discoursL*, but we must make it the rule of our walk; we must walk in his ways, not in the way of the world, or of our own hearts. Job xxiii. 10, 11.—xxxi. 7.

2. Who are upright and honest in their religion; Undejiled in the way; not only who keep themselves pure from the pollutions of actual sin, unspotted from the world, but who are habitually sincere in their intentions; in whose spirit there is no guile; who are really as good as they seem to be, ancl row the same way as they look.

3. Who are true to the tinist reposed in them, as God's professing people. It was the honour of the Jews, that to them were committed the oracles of God; and blessed are they who preserve pure and entire that sacred deposit; -uho keep his testimonies r.s a treasure of inestimable value, keep them as the apple of their eye, so keep them as to carry the comfort of tliem themselves to another world, and leave tlie knowledge and profession of them to those who shall come after them in this world. Tliey who would walk in the law of the Lord must keep his testimonies, his truths: those will not long make conscience of good practices, who do not adhere to good principles. Or, his testimonies may denote liis covenant; the ark of the covenant is called the ark of the testimony; those do not keep covenant with God who do not keep the commandments of God.

4. Who have a single eye to God as their chief Goo<l and highest End in all they do in religion; {v. 2.) They seek him with their whole heart. They do not seek themselves and their own things, but God only; this is that which they aim at, that God may be glorified in their obedience, and that they may be happy in God's acceptance. He is, and will be, the Rewarder, the Reward, of all those

. who thus seek him diligentlu, seek him with the heart; for that is it that God looks at and requires; and with the whole heart; for if the heart be divided between him and the world, it is faxiltv. I

5. Who carefully avoia all sin; {v. 3.) They do no iniquity; they do not allow themselves in any sin, they do not commit it as those do who are the servants of sin; they do not make a practice cf it, do not make a trade of it; they are conscious to themselves of much iniquity that clegs them in the ways of God, but not of that iniquity which draws them out of those ways. Blessed and holy are they who thus exercise themselves to have always cons'ciencet void of offence.

4. Thou hast commanded U8 to keep thy precepts diligently. 5. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes 1 6. Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.

We are here taught,

1. To own ourselves under the highest obligations to walk in God's law. The tempter would possess men with an opinion that they are at their liberty ^ whether they will make the word of God their inile * or no, that though it may be good, yet it is not so necessary as they are made to believe it is. He taught our first parents to question the command; Hath God said, ye shall not eat ? And therefore we are concerned to be well established in this; {v. 4.) Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts, to make religion our inile; and to keep them diligently,

to make religion our business, and to mind it carefully and constantly. We iire bound, and must obey at (ur peril.

2. To look up to God for wisdom and grace to do so; (x>. 5.) Oh that my ways were directed accordingly ; not only that all events concerning us may be so orda-ed and disposed by the providence of God, as not in any thing to be a hinderance to us, but a ftir-tlierance rather, in the service of God, but that our hearts may be so guided and influenced by the Spirit of God, that we may not in any thing transgress God's commandments: not only that cur eyes maybe directed to behold God's statutes, but our hearts directed to keep them. See how the desire and prayer of a good man exactly agree witli the will and command of a good God; "Thru wculdest have me keep thy precepts, and. Lord, I fain wculd keep them." This is the will of God, even oursanctiji-cation; and it should be our will.

3. To encourage ourselves in the wa\- of our duty, with a prospect of the comfort we shall find in it, V. 6. Note, (1.) It is the undoubted character of every good man, that he has a respect to all God's cotnmandments. He has a respect to tlie command, eves it as his copy, aims to cor.ft rm to it, is sorry wherein he comes short; and what lie d( es in religion, he does with a conscienti( us regard to the command, because it is his duty. He luis respect to ah the commamhnents, one as well as anrtlipr, because they are all backed with the same ;iuthority, (Jam. ii. 10, 11.) and all levelled at the same end, the glorifying of God in our happiness. Those who have a sincere respect to any command will have a gene-ral respect to every command; to the commands of both testaments and both tables; to the prohibitions and the precepts; to those that concern both the inward and the outward man, both the head and the heart; to those that forbid the most pleasant and gainful sins, and to those that require the most difficult and hazardous duties. (2.) Those who'have a sincere respect to all God's commandments, shall not be ashamed; not only they will thereby be kept from doing that which will tuni to their shame, but they shall have confidence toward God, and bold ness of access to the throne of his grace, 1 John iiL 21. They shall have credit before men, their honesty will be their honour; and they shall have clearness and courage m their own souls, thev shaL

PSALMS, CXIX.

553

fi(t» be ashamed to retire into themselves, nor to re-Hoc.t upon themselves, for their hearts shall not condemn them. David speaks this witli application to himself; they that are upright may take the comfort of their uprightnessj " As, if I be wicked, woe to me; so, if I be sincere, it is well with me."

7. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. 8. I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.

Here is,

1. David's endeavour to perfect himself in his religion, and to make himselt (as we say) master of his business. He hopes to learn God's righteous judgments; he knew much, but he was still press-mg forward, and desired to know more, as knowing this, that he had not ijet attained; but, as far as perfection is attainable in this life, he reached towards it, and will not take up short of it. As long as we live, we must be scholars in Christ's school, and sit at liis feet; but we should aim to be head-scholars, and to get into the highest form. God's judgments are all righteous, and therefore it is desirable not only to learn them, but to be learned in them, ?« ghty in the scrifitures.

2. The use he would make of his divine learning. He coveted to be learned in the laws of God, not Uiat he miglit make himself a name and interest among men, or fill his own head with entertaining speculations, but, (1.) That he might give God the glory of his learning; I will praise thee, ivhen I haue learned thy judgments; intimating, that he could not learn, unless God taught him; and that divine instructions are special blessings, which we have reason to be thankful for. Though Christ keeps a free school, and teaches without money and without price, yet he expects his scholars should give him thanks both for his word and for his Spirit; surely it is a mercy worth thanks, to be taught so gainful a calling as religion is. Those have learned a good lesson who have learned to praise God, for. that is the work of angels, the work of heaven. It is an easy thing to praise God in word and tongue; but those only are well learned in this mystery who have learned to/2ra/se him ivith u/irightness of heart, are inward with him in praising him, and sincerely aim at his glory in the course of their conversation, as well as in the exercises of devotion. God accepts only the praises of the upright. (2.) That he might himself come under the government of that learning; When I shall have learned thy righteous judgments, I will keefi thy statutes. We cannot keep them, unless we learn them; but we learn them in vain, if we do not keep them. Those have well learned God's statutes who are come up to a full resolution, in the strength of his grace, to keep them.

3. His prayer to God, not to leave him; " 0 forsake me not; leave me not to myself, withdraw not thy Spirit and grace from me, for then / shall not keep thy statutes." Good men see themselves undone if God forsakes them; for then the tempter will be too hard for them. " Though thou seem to forsake me, and threaten to forsake me, and dost, for a time, withdraw from me, yet let not the desertion be total and final; for that is hell. 0 forsake me not utterly; for woe unto me, if God departs from me.".

2. BETH.

9. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way ? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.

Here is, 1. A weighty question asked; By what means may the next generation be made better than this? Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his

Vol. III.—4 A

way? Cleansing implies that it is polluted. Beside the original con-uption we all brought into the world with us, (from which we are not cleansed mito this day,) there are many particular sins which young people are subject to, by which they defile their way; youthful lusts; (2 Tim. ii. 22.) these render their way offensive to God and disgraceful to themselves. Young men are concerned to cleanse their way—to get their hearts renewed, and their lives reformed; to make clean, and keep clean, from the corruption that is in the world through lust, that they ma^ have both a good conscience and a good name. \ ew young people do themselves inquire by what means they ma}' recover and preserve their purity; and therefore David asks the question for them.

2. A satisfactory answer given to this question. Young men may effectually cleanse their way, by taking heed thereto according to the word of God; and it is the honour of the woi-d of God, that it has such power and is of such use both to particular persons, and to communities, whose happiness lies much in the virtue of their youth. (1.) Young men must make the word of God their rule, must acquaint themselves with it, and resolve to conform themselves to it: that will do more toward the cleansing of young men, than the laws of princes, or the morals of philosophers. (2.) They must carefully apply that rule, and make use of it; they must take heed to their waj-, must examine it by the word of God, as a touchstone and standard; must rectify what is amiss in it by that regulate r, and steer by that chart and compass. God's word will not do without our watchfulness, and a constant regard both to it and to our way, that we may compare them together. The ruin of young men is either living at large, or by no rule at all, or choosing to theniselves false rules; let them ponder the path of their feet, and walk by scripture rules; so their way shall be clean, and they shall have the comfort and credit of it here and for ever.

10. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

Here is, 1. David's experience of a good work God had wrought in him, which he takes the comfort of, and pleads with God; " Iharve sought thee, sought to thee as my Oracle, sought after thee as my Happiness, sought thee as my God; for should not a people seek unto their God? If I have not yet found thee, I have sought thee, and thou never saidst. Seek, in vain, nor wilt say so to me, for / have sought thee with my heart, with my whole heart; sought thee only, sought thee diligently."

2^ His prayer for the preservation of that work; " Thou that hast inclined me to seek thy precepts, never suffer me to wander from them." The best are sensible of their aptness to wander; and the more we have found of the pleasure there is in keeping God's commandments, the more afraid we shaU be of wandering from them, and the more earnest we shall be in prayer to God for his grace to prevent our wanderings.

11. Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Here is, 1. The close application which David made of the word of God to himself; he hid it in hia heart, laid it up there, that it might be ready to him whenever he had occasion to use it: he laid it up as that which he valued highly, and had a warm regard for, and which he was afraid of losing and bemg robbed of. God's word is a treasure worth laying up, and there is no laying it up safe but in our hearts; if we have it only m our houses an3

PSALMS, CXIX.

hands, enemies may take it from us; if only in our heads, our memories may fail us; but if our hearts l>e delivered into the mould of it, and the impressions of it remain on our souls, it is safe.

2. The good uses he designed to make of it; that J might not si?i against thee. Good men are afraid of sin, and are in care to prevent it; and the most effectual way to prevent it, is, to hide God's word in our liearts, that we may answer every temptation, as our Master did, with. It is written; may oppose God's precepts to the dominion of sin, his promises to i*s allurements, and his threatenings to its menaces.

12. Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes.

Here, 1. David gives glory to God; *' Blessed art thou, O Lord. Thou art mfinitely happy in the enjo} uient of thyself, and hast no need ot me or my services; yel thou art pleased to reckon thyself honoured by" them; assist me, therefore, and then accept me.'"' In all our prayers we should intermix praises.

2. He asks grace from God; " Teach me thy statutes; give me to know and do my duty in every thing. Thou ai't the Fountain of all blessedness; (!) let me have this drop from that Fountain, this blessing from that Blessedness; Teach me thy statutes, that I may know how to bless thee, who art a blessed God, and that I may be blessed in thee."

13. With my Ups have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. 14. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much asm all riches. \b. 1 will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 16. I will flelight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

Here, 1. David looks back with comfort upon the respect he had paid to the word of _God. He had the testinion\- of his conscience for him;

(1.) That he had edified others with what he had been taught out of the word of God; {y. 13.) IVith my Ills have I declared all the judgmerits of thy mouth. This he did, not only as a king in making orders, and giving judgment, according to the word of God, nor only as a prophet by his psalms, but in his common discourse. Thus he showed how full he was of the word of God, and what a holy pride* he took in his acquaintance with it; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth sfieaks. Thus he did good with his knowledge; he did not hide God's word from others, but hid it for them; and, out of that good treasure in his heart, brought forth good things, as the householder out of his store, things new and old. They whose hearts are fed with the bread of life, should with their lips feed many. He had prayed, {v. 12.) that God would teach him; and here he pleads, "Lord, I have endeavoured to make a good use of the knowledge thou h.ist given me, therefore increase it;" for to him that has shall be give/.

(2.) That he had entertained himself with it; " Lord, teach me thy statutes; for I desire no greater pleasure than to know and do them, v. 14. _ I have rejoicea in the way of thy commandments, in a constant e\ en course of obedience to thee; not only in the speculations and histories of thy word, but in the prccejjts of it, iind in that patli of serious godliness which the)' chalk out to me. / have rejoiced in this, as much as in all riches; as much as ever any worldling rejoiced in the increase of his wealth. In the way of God's commandments I can truly say,

. • The U80 of tho term pride, in a favourublo leaac., Iiiu already been pointed rut an an inudveitency.— Ed.

Soul, take thine ease." In true religion there is all riches, the unsearchable riches of Christ.

2. He looks forward with a holy resolution never to cool in his affection to the word of God; what he does, that he will do, 2 Cor. xi. 12. They that hsve found pleasure in the ways of God, are likely t«> proceed and persevere in them.

(1.) He will dwell much upon them in his thoughts; (x". 15.) I will meditate in thy prece/its. He not only discoursed of them to others, (many do that only to show their knowledge and authority,) but he communed with his own heart about them, and took pains to digest in his own thoughts what he had declared, or had to declare, to ethers. Note, God's words ought to be very much the subject ol our thoughts.

(2.) He will have them always in his eye; Iwi/i have res/iect unto thy ways, as the traveller has to his road, which he is in care not to miss, and always aims and endeavours to hit. We do not meditate on God's precepts to good purposes, unless we have respect to them as (Air rule, and our good thoughts produce good works, and good intentions in them.

(3.; He will take a constant pleasure in commu nion with God, and obedience to him. It is not fo> a season that he rejoices in this light, but I will still, I will for ever, delight myself in thy statutes; not only think of them, but do them with delight, v. 16. David took more delight in God's statutes than \v the pleasures of his court, or the honours of his camp; more than in his sword or in his hui-p: when the law is written in the heart, duty becomes a delight.

(4.) He will never forget what he has learned ot the things of God; " / will not forget thy word; not only I will not quite forget it, but"l will be mindful of it, when I have occasion to use it." They that meditate in God's word, and delight in it, are in no great danger of forgetting it.

3. GIMEL.

17. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that T may live, and keep thy word.

We are here taught,

1. That we owe our lives to God's mercy. David

firays. Deal bountifully with me, that I may live. t was God's bounty that gave us life, that gave us this life; and the same bounty that gave it continues it, and gives all the supports and comforts of it; if withheld, we die; or, which is equivalent, our lives are embittered, and we become weary of them. If God deals in strict justice with us, we die, we perish, we all peiish; if these forfeited lives be preserved and prolonged, it is because God deals bountifully with us, according to his mercy, not according to our deserts. The continuance of the most useful life is owing to God's bounty, and on that we must have a continual dependence.

2. That therefore we ought to spend our lives in God's service. Life is therefore a choice mercy, because it is an opportunity of obeying God in this world, where there are so few that do glorify him; and this David had in his eye; "Not that I may live and grow rich, live and be merr)'; but that I may live and keep thy word, may obsen'e it m>self, and transmit it to those that shall come after, wliich, the longer I Uve, the better I shall do."

18. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

Observe here,

1. That there are wondrous things in God's law, which we are all concenied, and should covet, to behold; not only strange things, which are very suiprising and unexpected, but excellent things, which are to be highly esteemed and valued, and

PSALMS, CXIX.

555

things which were long hid from the wise and prudent, but are now revealed unto babes. If there were wonders in the law, much more in the gtspt.!, where Christ is all in all, whose name is Wonderful. Well may we, who are so nearly interested, desire to behold these wondrous things, when the angels tliemselves reach to look into them, 1 Pet. i. 12.

2. Those that would see the wondrous things of God's law and gospel, must beg of him to open their eyes, and to give tliem an understanding. We are by nature blind to the things of God, till his grace cause tlie scales to fall from our eyes; and even those hi whose hearts God has said, Let there be light, h.i\\Q yet need to be further enlightened, and must still pray to God to open their eyes yet more and more, that they who at first saw men as trees walking, ma)' come to see all things clearly: and the niore God opens our eyes, the more wonders we see in the word of God which we saw not before.

19. I am a stranger in the earth; hide not thy commandments from me.

Here we have,

1. The acknowledgment which David makes of his own condition; I am a stranger in the earth. We all are so, and all good people confess themselves to be so; for heaven is their home, and the world is but their inn, the land of their pilgrimage. David was a man that knew as much of the world, and was as well known in it, as most men. God built him a house, estabhshed his throne; strangers submitted to him, and people that he had not knowu served him; he had a name like the names of the ereat men, and yet he calls himself a stranger. We are all strangers on earth, and must so account ourselves.

2, The request he makes to God thereupon; Hide not thy cominandments from me; he means more; "Lord, show thy commandments to me; let me never know the want of the word of God, but, as long as I live, give me to be growing in my acquaintance with it. I am a stranger, and therefore stand in need of a guide, a guard, a companion, a comforter; let me have thy commandments always in view, for they will be all this to me, all that a poor stranger can desire. / aiii a stranger here, and must be gone shortly; by thy commandments hit me be prepared for my removal hence."

20. My soul breaketh for the longing that

it hath unto thy judgments at all times.

David had prayed that God would open his eyes, {y. 18.) and open the law; {y. 19.) nowhere he pleads the earnestness of his desire for knowledge and grace, for it is the fervent prayer that avails much.

1. His desire was importunate; My soul breaketh for the longing it hath to thy judgrnents; or, as some read it, " It is taken up., and wholly emfiloy-ed, in longing for thy judgments; the whole stream of its desires mns in this channel. I shall think myself quite broken and undone, if I want the word of God, the direction, converse, and comfort, of it."

2. It was constant; at all times; it was not now and then, in a good humour, that he was so fond of the word of God; but it is the habitual temper of every sanctified soul to hunger after the word of God, as ',ts necessary food, which there is no living without.

21. Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.

Here is, 1. The wretched character of wicked people. The temper of their minds is bad; they are proud, they magnify themselves above others; and_ yet that is not all; they magnify themselves against God, and set up their wills in competition

I with, and opposition to, the will of God, as if their licaits, and tongues, and all, were their own. 'Inhere is something of pride at the bottom of every wilfui sin, and the tenor of their laws is no better; They do err from thy commandments, as Israel, that did always err in their hearts; they err in judgment, and embrace principles contrary to thy conimand-rnents, and then no wonder that they err in practice, and wilfully turn aside c ut of the good' way. This is the effect of their pride; for they say, Whaf is the Almighty, that we should sei-ve him? As Pharaoh, Who is the Lord?

2. The wretched case of such. They are certainly cursed, for God resists the proud; and they that throw off the commands of the law lay themselves under its curse; (Gal. iii. 10.) and he that now beholds them afar off, will shortly say to them. Go, ye cursed. The proud sinners bless themselves, God curses them; and though the most direful effects of this curse are reserved for the other world, yet they are often severely rebuked in this world: Providence crosses them, vexes them, and, wherein they dealt proudly, God shows himself above them: and these rebukes are earnests of worse. David took notice of the rebukes proud men were under, and it made him cleave the more closely to the word of God, and pray the more earnestly that he miglit not err from God's commandments. Thus saints get good by God's judgments on sinnei-s.

22. Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.

Here, 1. David prays against the reproach and contempt of men; that they might be removed, cr, as the word is, rolled, from off him. This intimates that they lay upon him, and that neither his greatness nor his goodness could secure him from 'being libelled and lampooned: some despised him, and endeavoured to make him mean, others reproached him, and endeavoured to make him odious. It has often been the lot of those that do well, to be ill-spoken of. It intimates that they lay heavy upon him. Hard and foul words do not indeed break bones, and yet they are very grievous to a tender and ingenuous spirit; therefore David prays, "Lord, remove them from me, that I may not be thereby either driven from my duty, or discouraged in it.'"' God has all men's hearts and tongues in his hand, and can silence lying lips, and raise up a good name that is trodden in the dust; to him we may appeal as the Assertor of light and Avenger of wrong, and may depend on his promise, that he will clear up our righteousness as the light, xxxvii. 6. Reproach and contempt may humble us and do us good, and then it shall be removed.

2. He pleads his constant adherence to the word and way of God; For f have kept thy testimonies. He not only pleads his innocency, that he was unjustly censured, but, (1.) That he was jeered for well-doing; he was despised and abused for his strictness and zeal in religion: so that it was for God's name's sake that he suffered reproach, and therefore he could with the more assurance beg of God to appear for him. The reproach of God's people, if it be not i-emoved now, Avill be turned into the greater honour shortly. (2.) That he was not jeered out of well-doing; "Lord, remove it from me, for I have kept thy testimonies notwithstanding." If in a day of trial we still retain our integrity, we may be sure it will end well.

23. Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.

See here, 1. How David was abused even ov great men, who should have known better his cha'

PSALMS, CXTX.

racter and his case, and have been more generous; Princes did sit, sit in counsel, sit in judgment, and sfieak against me. What even princes say is not always right; but it is sad when judgment is thus turned to wormwood, when those that should be the protectors of the innocent are their betrayers. Herein David was a type of Christ, for they were the princes of this world that vilified and crucified the Lord of glory, 1 Cor. ii. 8.

2. What method he took to make himself easy under these abuses; he jneditated in God's statutes, went on in his duty, and did not regard them; as a deaf man, he heard not: when they spake against him, he found that in the word of God which spake for him, and spake comfort to him, and then none of these things moved him. They that have pleasure in communion with God, may easily despise the censures of men, even of princes.

24. Thy testimonies also are my delight,

ind my counsellors.

Here David explains his meditating in God's st-itutf s, {v. 23.) which was of such use to him when princes sat and spake agaifJst him.

1. Did the affliction make him sad? The Avord of God comforted him, and was his delight, more his delight than any of the pleasures either of court or c imp, of city or country. Sometimes it proves that the comforts of the word of God are most pleasant to a gracious soul then when other comforts are im-bittered.

2. Did it pei-plex him? Was he at a loss what to do when the princes spake against him? God's statutes were his counsellors, and they_counselled him to bear it patiently, and commit his cause to God. God's testimonies will be the best counsellors, both to princes and private persons; They are the men of my counsel; so the word is. 1 here will be tound more safety and satisfaction in consulting them than in the multitude of other counselU-rs. Observe here, Those that would have God's testimonies to be their delight, must take them for their counselors, and be,advised by them; and let those that

take them for their counsellors in close walking, ::ake them for their delight in comfortable walking.

4. DALETH.

25. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.

Here is, 1. David's complaint. We should have thought his soul soaring to heaven; but he says himself. My soul not only rolls in the dust, but cleaves to the dust; which is a complaint, either, (1.) Of his corruptions, his inclination to the world and tlie body, (both which are dust,) and that which follows upon it, a deadness to holy duties; when he would do good, evil was present t'vith him. God intimnted that Adam was not only mortal, but sinful, when he said. Dust thou art, Gen. iii. 19. David's complaint here is like St. Paul's, of a body ofdcith that he carried about with him. The remainders of in-dwelling corruption are a very grievous burthen to a gracious soul. Or, (2.) Of his afflictions, either trouble of mind or outward trouble; iv'thout were fightings, nvithinnvere fears, and b'th together brouglit him even to the dust of death, (xxii. 15.) and his soul clave inseparably to it.

2. His petition for relief, and his plea to enforce that petition; '* Quicken thou me according to thy word. By thy providence put life into my aff'airs, by thy grace put life into my affections; cm-e me of my spiritual deadness, and make me lively in my devotion." Note, When we find ourselves dull, we must go to God, and beg of him to quicken us; he iias an eye to God's word as a means of quickening, /'for the words which God speaks, they are s/iirit

and they are life to those that receive them,) and as an encouragement to hope that Gcd wc.uld quicken him, having promised grace and comfort to all the saints, and to David in particular. God's word must be our guide and plea in every prayer.

26. I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes. 27. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall 1 talk of thy wondrous works.

We have here,

1. The great intimacy and freedom that had been between David and his God. David had opened his case, opened his very heart to God; " / have declared my ways, and acknowledged thee in them all, have taken tl\ee along with me in all my designs and enterprises." Thus Jejihthah uttered all his words, and Hezekiah spread his letters before the Lord. "/ have declared my ways, my wants, and liurthens, and troubles, that I meet with in my way; or my sins, my by-ways, I have made an ingenuous confession of them, and thou heardest me, heardest jjaticntly all I had to say, and tookest cognizance of my case." It is an unspeakable comfort to a gracious soul to think with what tenderness all its complaints are received by a gracious God, 1 John V. 14, 15.

2. David's earnest desire of the continuance of that intimacy; not by visions and voices from heaven, but by the word and Spirit in an ordinarj' way; Teach ?ne thy statutes, that is. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts. When he knew God had heard his declaration of his ways, he does not say, "Now, Lord, tell me my lot, and let me know what the event will be;" but, "Now, Lord, tell me my duty, let me know what thou wouldest have me to do, as the case stands." Note, Those who in all their ways acknowledge God, may pray in fiith that he will direct their steps in the right way. And the sm-est way of keeping up our communion witli God, is, by learning his statutes, and walking intelligently in the way of his precepts. See 1 John i. 6, 7.

3. The good use he would make of this, for the honour of God and the edification of others; " Let me have a good understanding of the way of thy precepts, give me a clear, distinct, and methodical, knowledge of divine things; so shall I talk, with the more assurance, and more to the pui-pose, of thy wondrous works." We can talk with a better grace of God's wondrous works, the wonders of I)rovidence, and especially the wonders of redeem ing lo\c, when we understand the Avay of God's pre cepts, and walk in that way.

28. My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word. 29. Remove from me the way of lying; and grant me thy law graciously.

Here is, 1. David's representation of his own griefs; My soul melteth for heaviness, which is to the same purport with v. 25. My soul cleaveth to the dust. Heaviness in the heart of man makes it to melt, to drop away like a candle that wastes. The penitent soul melts in sorrow for sin, and even the patient soul may melt in the sense of affliction, and It is tlien its interest to pour out its soul before God.

2. His request for God's grace.

(1.) That God would enable him to bear his affliction well, and graciously support him under it; " Strengthen thou me with strength in my soul, according to thy word, which, as the bread of life, strengthens man's heart to undergo whatever God is pleased to inflict. Strengthen me to do the duties, resist the temptations, and bear up under the

PSALMS, CXIX.

657

burthens, of an afflicted state, that the spirit mav not fail. Strengthen 7ne according to that word. f Deut. xxxiii. 25.) As thy day, so shall thy strength

(2.) That God would keep him from using any unlawful, indii'ect, means for the extricating of himself out of his troubles; (x". 29.) Remove from me the way of lying. David was conscious to himself of a proneness to this sin; he had, in a strait, cheated Ahimelech, (1 S.im. xxi. 2.) and Achish, v. 13. and ch. xxvii. 10. Great difficulties are gi-eat temptations to palliate a lie with colour of a pious fraud, and a necessary self-defence; therefore David prays, tliat God would prevent him from falling into this sin any more, lest he siiould settle in the way of it. A course of lying, of deceit, and dissimulation, is that which every good man dreads, and which we are all concerned to beg of God by his grace to keep us from.

(3.) That he might always be under the conduct and protection of God's government; Grant me thy law graciously; grant me that to keep me from the way of lying. David had the law written with his owit hand; for the king was obliged to transcribe a copy of it for his own use; (Deut. xvii. 18.) but he pi'ays that he might have it written in his heart; for then, and then onl)', we have it indeed, and to good purpose. "Grant it me more and moi'e." They that know and love the law of God, cannot but desire to know it more, and love it better. Grant it me graciously; lie begs it as a special "token of God's favour. Nrite, Wc ought to reckon God's law a grant, a gift, an unspeakable gift, to value it, and pray for it, and to give thanks for it accordingly. The divine code of institutes and precepts is indeed a charter of privileges; and God is truly gracious to those wiioni he makes ti-uly gracious by giving them his law.

30. I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before vie. 31. I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame. 32. I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.

1. That those who will make any thing to purpose of their religion must first make it their serious and deliberate choice: so D.ivid did; / have chosen the way of truth. Note, (1.) The way of serious godliness is the way of truth; the principles it is founded on are of eternal truth, and it is the only true way to happiness. (2.) We must therefore choose to walk in this way, not because we know no other way, but because we know no better; nay, we know no other safe and good way. Let us choose that way for our way, which we will walk in, though it be narrow.

2. That those who have chosen the way of truth must have a constant regard to the word of God as the rule of their walking; Thxj judgments have I laid before me; as he who leams to write lays his copy before him, that he may write according to it, as the workman lays his model and platform before him, that he may do his work exactly. As we must have the word in our heart, by an habitual conformity to it, so we must have it in our eye, by an actual regard to it upon all occasions, that we may' walk accurately and by rule.

3. That those who make religion their choice and rule are likely to adhere to it faithfully; "I have stuck to thy testimonies with an unchanged affection, a.nd an unshaken resolution; stuck to them at all times, through all trials. I have chosen them, and therefore / have stuck to them." Note, The choos-,ing Christian is likely to be the steady Christian;

those that are Chiistians by chance tack about, if the wind turn. •

4. That those who stick to the word of God mav in faith expect and pray for acceptance with God; for David means that, when he begs, "Lord, Jiut me not to shame; never leave me to do that by which I shall shame myself, and do thou not reject my services, which will put me to the greatest confusion. "

5. That the mere comfort God gives us, the more duty he expects from us, v. 32. Here we have, (1.) His resolution to go on vigorously in rr-ligicn; I will run the way of thy co7nmandments. Those that are going to heaven should make haste thitlier, and be still pressing forward. It concerns us to redeem time and take pains, and to go on in our business with cheerfulness; we then run the way of our duty when we are ready to it, and pleasant in it, and lay aside every weight, Heb. xii. 1. (2.) His dependence upon God tor grace to do so; " I. shall then abound in thy works, when thou shalt enlarge my heart." God, by his Spirit, enlarges the hearts of his people, Avhen he gives them wisdom ; for that is called largeness of heart, 1 Kings iv. 29. When he sheds abroad the love of God m the heart, and puts gladness there. The joy of our Lord should be wheels to our obedience.

5. HE. 33. Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes, and I shall keep it iinto the end. 34. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law ; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.

Here, 1. David prays earnestly that God himscll woidd be his Teacher; he had prophets, and wise men, and priests, about him, and was himself well-insti-ucted in the law of God, yet he begs to be taught of God, as knowing that none teaches like him. Job xxxvi. 2?. Observe here, (1.) What he desires to be taught; not the notions or language of God's statutes, but the way of them; " The way of applying them to myself, and goveining myself by them; teach me the way of my duty which thy statutes prescribe, and in every doubtful case let me know what thou wouldest have me to do, let me hear the word behind me, saying. This is the way, walk in it," Isa. xxx. 21. (2.) Hotv he desires to be taught; in such a way as no man could teach him; Lord, give me understanding. As the God of nature, he has given us intellectual powers and faculties; but here we are taught to pray, that, as the God of grace, he would give us understanding to use those powers and faculties about the great things which belong to our peace, which, through the corruption of nature, we are averse to; Give me understanding, an enlightened imderstanding; for it is as good to ha\e no understanding at all as not to have'it sanctified. Nor will the spirit of revelation in the word answer the end, unless we have the spirit of wisdom in tlie heart. This is that which we are indebted to Christ for; for the Son of God is come, and has given us understariding, 1 John v. 20.

2. He promises faithfully that he would be a good scholar; if God would teach him, he was sure he should learn to good pui-pose; "I shall keefi thy law, which I shall never do unless I be taught of God, and therefore I earnestly desire that I maybe taught." If God, by his Spirit, gives vis a right and good understanding, we shall be, (1.) Constant in our obedience; "/ shall keep it to the end, to thf end of mv life, which will be the surest proof of sincerity." It will not avail the traveller to keep the wav for a while, if he do not keep it to the end of his journey. (2.) Cordial in cur obedience

PSALMS, CXIX.

I shall observe it nvith my whole heart, with pleasure and delight, an^ with vigoui' and rcsohition. That way which the whole heart goes, the whole man i^oes; and that sliould be the way of God's commandments, for the keeping of them is the whole of man.

35. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. 36. Inchne my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.

He liad before prayed to God to enlighten his understanding, that he might know his duty, and not mistake concerning it; here he prays to God to bow his will, and quicken tlie active powers of his I soul, that lie might do his duty; for it is God that •works in us both to will and to do, as well as to understand, what is good, Phil. ii. 13. Both the good head and tlie good heart are from the good grace of God, and both are necessary to every good work. Observe here,

1. The grace he prays for; (1.) That God would make him able to do his duty; "Make inc to go, strengthen me for every good work." Since we are not sufficient of ourselves, our dependence must be upon the grace of God, f )r from him all our sufficiency is. God puts his Spirit within us, and so causes us to tualk in his statutes; (Ezek. xxxvi. 27.) and tliis is that wliicli David liere begs. (2.) That God would make him willing to do it, and would, by his grace, subdue the aversion he naturally had to it; ^'Incline my heart to thy testiinonies, to those things which thy testimonies pi'escribe; not only make me willing to do my duty, as tliat which I must do, and therefore am concerned to make the best of, but make me desirous to do my duty, as that which is agreeable to the new nature, and really advantageous to me." Duty is then done with delight, when the heart is inclined to it: it is God's grace that inclines us, and the more backward we nnd ourselves to it, the more earnest we must be for that gt-ace.

2. The sin he prays against, and that is, covetousness; "Incline my heart to kee/i thy testimonies, and restrain and mortify the inclination there is in me to covetousness. " That is a sin which stands opposed to all God's testimonies; for the love of money is such a sin as is the root of much sin, of all sin: those therefore thai would have the love of God rooted in them, must get the love of the world rooted out fif them; for the friendship, of the world is en?nitywith God. See in what way God deals with men; not by compulsion, but he draws with the cords of a man, working in them an inchnation to tliat which is good, and an aversion to that which is evil.

3. His plea to enforce this prayer; " Lord, bring me to, and keep me in, the way of thy commandments, for therein do I delight; and therefore I pray thus earnestly for grace to walk in tliat way. Tlioii hast wrought in me this delight in the way of tliy commandments; wilt thou not work in me an aliility to walk in them, and so crown thine own work?"

37. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.

Here, 1. David prays for restraining grace, that he might be prevented and kept b;'.ck from that which would hinder him in tlie way of Ids dvity;

Turn avjay mine eyes from beholding vanitii. Tlie lionours, ]ileasures, and profits, of tlie world, are the vanities, the aspect and prospect of which draw )nultitudes awa>^ from the paths of religion and god-.iness; the eye, when fastened on these, infects the heart with the love of them, and so it is alienated from God and divine things; and therefore, as we

mjjht to make a covenant with our eyes, and lay

a charge upon them, that they shall not wander after, much less fix upon, that which is dangerous, (Job xxxi. 1.) so we ought to pray that God by his providence would keep \anity out of v.\.\y sightj and that by his grace he would keep us from being enamoured with the sight of it.

2. He prays for co/;straining grace, that he might not only be kept from every thing that Avouid obstruct iii^ progress heaven-ward, but might have tliat grace which was necessary to forward him in that progress; "Quicken thou me in thy way; quicken me to redeem time, to improve opportunity, to press forward, and to do e\ery duty with livehness and fervency of spirit." Beholding vanity deadens us, and slackens our pace; a traveller that stands gazing upon every object that presents itself to his view, will not rid ground; but if our eyes be kept from that which would divert us, our hearts will be kept to that which will excite us.

38. Establish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.

Here is, 1. The character of a good man, which is the work of God's grace in him; he is God's servant, subject to his law, and employed in his work, that is, dei'oted to his far, given up to his direction and disposal, and taken up with liigh thoughts of him, and all those acts of devotion which have a tendency to his glory. Those are tiidy God's servants, who, though they liave their infirmities and defects, are sincerely devoted to the fear of God, and have all their aflfections and motions governed by that fear; they are engaged and addicted to religion.

2. The confidence that a good man has toward God, in dependence upon the word of his grace to him. The}' that are God's servants may, in faith and with humble boldness, pray that God would establish his word to them, that he would fulfil his promises to them in due time, and in the mean time give them an assurance that they shall be fulfilled-vVh;it God has ])romised we must pray for; we need not be so aspiring as to ask more; we need not be so modest as to ask less.

39. Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good.

Here, 1. David prays against reproach, ?.s before, V. 22. David was conscious to himself that he had done that which might give occasio7i to the enemies of the I^ord to blaspheme, which would blemish his own reputation, and turn to the dishonour of his family; now he prays that God, who has all men's hearts and tongues in his hands, would be pleased to prevent this, to deliver him from all his transgressions, that he might not be the reproach of the foolish, which h*i feared; (xxxix. 8.) or he means that reproach wnich his enemies unjustly loaded him with. Let their lying lips be put to silence.

2. He pleads the goodness of God's judgments; "Lord, thou sittest in the throne, and thy judgments arc right and e-oorf, just and kind, to those that are wronged, and therefore to thee I appeal from the unjust and unkind censures of men. '^ It is a small thing to be judged of man's judgnu>nt, while he that judges us is the Lord. Or thus, " Th> word, and ways, and thy holy religion, are very good, but the reproaches cast on me will fall on them; therefore. Lord, turn them away; let not religi<in be wounded through my side."

40. Behold, 1 have longed after thy precepts : quicken me in thy righteousness.

Here, 1. David professes the ardent affection he had to the word of God; "/ have longed after thy precepts; not only loved them, and delighted in what I have already attained, but I have ean.cstjv

PSALMS, CXIX.

55:*

desired to know them more, and do them better; and am s^till pressing forward toward perfection." Tastes of the sweetness of God's precepts will but set us a longing after a more intimate acquaintance with them. He appeals to God concerning this passionate desii'e after his precepts; "Behold, I nave thus lo\'ed, thus longed; thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I am thus affected."

2. He prays for grace to enable him to answer this profession. " Thou hast wrought in me this languishing desire, put life into me, that I may prosecute it; quicken me in thy righteousness, in thy righteous ways, according to thy righteous promise. ' Where God has wrought to will, he will work to do, and where, he has wrought to desire, he will satisfy the desii'e.

6. VAU.

41. Let thy mercies come also unto me,

O Lord, even thy salvation, according to

thy word. 42. So shall I have wherewith

to answer him that reproacheth me: for I

trust in thy word.

Here is, 1. David's prayer for the salvation of the Lord. "Lord, thou art my Saviour, I am miserable in myself, and thou only canst make me happy; let thy sahation come to me; hasten temporal salvation to me from my present distresses, and hasten me to the eternal salvation, by giving me the necessary qualifications for it, and the comfoitable pledges and foretastes of it."

2. David's dependence upon the gi'ace and promise of God for that salvation. These are the two pillars on which our hope is built, and they will not rail us. (1.) The grace of God; Let thy mercies come, ex'en thy salvation: our salvation must be attributed purely to God's mercy, and not to any merit of our own. Eternal life must be expected as the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, Jude 21. "Lord, I have by faith thy mercies in view; let me hv prayer prevail to have them come to me." (2.) The promise, of God; "Let it come according to thy word, thy word of promise: I trust in thy word, and therefore may expect the performance of the promise." We are not only allowed to trust in God's word, but our trasting in it is the condition of our benefit by it.

3. David's expectation of the good assurance which that grace and promise of God would give him; " So shall I have wherewith to arfswer hi?n that reproaches me for my confidence in God, as if it would deceive me." When God saves those out of their troubles who trusted in him, he effectually silences those who would have shamed that counsel of the floor, (xiv. 6.) and their reproaches will be for ever silenced, when the salvation of the saints is completed; then it will appear, beyond dispute, that it was not in vain to trust in God.

43. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments. 44. So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.

Here is, 1. David's humble petition for the tongue of the learned, that he might know how to speak a word m season for the glory of God; Take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth. He means, " Lord, let the word of truth be always in my mouth, let me have the wisdom and courage which are necessary to enable me both to use my knowledge for the instruction of others, and, like the good householder, to bring out of my treasury things new and old, and to make profession of my faith whejiever I am called to it." We have need to

pray to God, that we may never be afraid or ashamed to own his truths and ways, nor deny him before men. David found that he was sometimes at a loss, the word of truth was not so ready to him as it should have been, but he prays, " Lord, let it not be taken utterly from me; let me always have so much of it at hand as will be necessary to "the due discharge of my duty."

2. His humble profession of the heart of the upright, without which, the tongue of the learned, however it may be serviceable to others, will stand us in no stead. (1.) David professes his confidence in God; " Lord, make me ready and mighty in the scriptures, for I have hoped in those judgments of thy mouth, and if they be not at hand, my support and defence are departed from me." (2.) He professes his resolution to adhere to his duty in the strength of Gcd's grace; " So shall I keep'thy law continually. If I have thy word not only in my heart, but in my mouth, I shall do all I should do, stand comjjlete in thy whole will." Thus shall the man of God be perfect, thoroughly furnished for every good word aiid work, 2 Tim. iii. 17. Col. iii. 16. Observe how he resolves to keep God's law, [1.] Continually, without trifling; God must be served in a constant course ( f obedience every day, and ;dl the day long. [2.] For "ver and ever, without backsliding; we must never be weary of welldoing. If we serve him to the end of our time on e:iith, we shall be serving him in heaven to the endless ;>ges of ttcrnity; so shall we keep his law for ever and ever. Or thus, " Lord, let me have the word of truth in 7ny mouth, that I may commit that sacivd dcfiosit to the rising generation, (2 Tim. ii. 2.) and by tlicm it may be transmitted to succeeding ages; so shall thy law be kept for ever and ever, from one generation to another," according to that promise, (Isa. lix. 21.) My word in thy mouth shall not depart out of the mouth of thy seed, nor thy seed's seed.

45. And I will walk at liberty: fori seek thy precepts. 46. I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. 47. And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. 48. My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.

We may observe in these verses,

1. What David expei-ienccd of an affection to the law of God; " I seek thy precepts, v. 45. I desire to know and do my duty, and consult thy word accordingly; I do all I can to understand what the will of the Lord is, and to discover the intimations of his mind. I seek thy precepts, for / have loved them, V. 47, 48. I not only give consent to them as good, but take complacency in them as good for me." All that love God, love his government, and therefore love all his commandments.

2. What he expected from this. Five things he promises himself here in the strength of God's grace.

(1.) That he should be free and easy in his duty; " / will walk at liberty, freed from that which is evil, not hampered with the fetters of my own corruptions, and free to that which is good, doing it net by constraint, but willingly." The service vi sin is perfect slavery, the service of God is perfect liberty. Licentiousness is bondage to the greatest of tyrants, conscientiousness is freedom to the meanest of prisoners, John viii. 32, 36. Luke i. 74, 75.

(2.) That he should be bold and courageous in his duty: I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings. Before David came to the crown, kings

PSALMS, CXIX.

were sometimes his jua^es, as Saul, and Achish; but, if he were called before them to give a reason of the hope that was in him, he would sfieak of God's testhno7iies, and profess to build his hope upon them, and malce them his council, his guards, his crown, his all. We must never be afraid to own our religion, though it should expose us to the wi-ath of kings, but speak of it as that which we will live and die by, like tlie three children before Nebuchadnezzar, Dan. iii. 16. Acts iv. 20. After David canie to the ci'own, kings were sometimes his companions, they visited him, and he returned their visits; but he did not, in complaisance to them, talk of every thing but religion, for fear of aifronting them, and making his conversation uneasy to them: no, God's testimonies shall be the principal sul)ject of his discoui-se with the kings, not oiilv to show that he was not asliamed of his religion, but to instruct them in it, and bring them over to it. It is good for kings to hear of God's testimonies, and it will adorn the conversation of princes themselves to speak of them.

(3.) That he should be cheerful and pleasant in nis duty; (v. 47.) "/ =ry/// delight myself in thy commandments, in conversing with them, in conforming to them; I will never be so well pleased with myself, as when I do that which is pleasing to God." The more delight we take in the service of God, the nearsr we come to the perfection we should aim at.

(4.) That he should be diligent and vigorous in his duty; Itoill lift iifi my hands to thy commandments; which denotes not only a vehement desire toward them, (cxliii. 6.) "I will lay hold of them as one afraid of missing them, or letting them go;" but a close application of mind to the observance of them; " I will lay my hands to the command, not only praise it, l)ut practise it; nay, I will lift up my hands to it, I will put f )rth all the strength I have to do it." The hands that hang down, through sloth and discouragement, shall be lifted ufi, Heb. xii. 12.

(5.) That he should be thoughtful and considerate in his duty; {v. 48.) "/ will meditate in thy statutes; not only entertain myself with thinking of them, as matters of speculation, but contrive how I may obserxe them in the best manner." By this it will appear that we tnily love God's commandments, if we apply both our minds and our hands to them.

7. ZAIN.

49. Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.

Two things David here pleads with God, in prayer for that mercy and grace which he hoped for, according to the word, by which his requests were guided.

1. That God had given him the promise on which he hoped; "Lord, I desire no more than that thou wouldest remember thy word unto thy servant, and do as thou hast said;" (see 1 Chron. xvii. 23.) "Thou art wise, and therefore Avilt perfect what thou hast purposed, and not change thy counsel. Thou art faithful, and therefore wilt .perform what thou hast promised, and not break thy word." Tjiose that make God's promises their portion may with humble boldness make them their plea. "Lord, is not that the word which thou hast spoken; and wilt not thou make it good.>" Gen. xxxii. 9. Exod. xxxiii. 12.

2. That God, who had given him the promise in the word, had by his grace wrought in him a hope in that promise, and enabled him to depend upon It, and had raised his expectations of great things from it. Has God kindled in us desires towards

spiritual blessings more than toward any temporal good things; and will he not be so kind as to satisfy those desires? Has he filled us with hopes of those blessings; and will he not be so just as to accomplish these hopes? He that did by his Spirit work faith in us, will, according to our faith, work for us, and will not disappoint us.

50. This is my comfort in my affiction : for thy word hath quickened me.

Here is David's experience of benefit by the word:

1. As a means of his sanctificatien; " Thy word hath quickened me. It made me alive when I was dead in sin; it has many a tFme made me lively when I was dead in duty; it has quickened me to that which is good, when I was backward and averse to it; and it has (juickcncd me in that which is good, when I was cold and indifferent."

2. Therefore as a means of his consolation, then when he was in affliction, and needed something to support him; "Because thy word has quickened me at other times, it has comforted me then." The word of God has much in it that speaks comfort in affliction; but those only may apply it to themselves who have experienced in some measure the quickening power of the word. If through grace it makes us holy, there is enough in it to make us easy, in all conditions, under all e\'ents.

51. The proud have had me greatly in derision ; yet have I not decHned from thy law.

David here tells us, and it will be of use to us to know it,

1. That he had been jeered for his religioi. Though he was a man of honour, a man of great prudence, and had done eminent services to his country, yet, because he was a devout conscientious man, the proud had him greatly in derision, they ridiculed him, bantered him, and did all they coulci to expose him to contempt; they laughed at him for his praying, and called it cant; for his seriousness, and called it mo/iishuess; for his strictness, and called it needless /ireciseness. They were the proud that sat in the scorner's seat, and valued themselves on it.

2. That yet he had not been jeered out of his religion; "They have done all they could to make me quit it for shame, but none of these things move me; / have not declined from thy law for all this; but, if this be to be vili " (as he said when Michal had him greatly in d .ision,) '^I will be yet more vile." He not only ha -. not quite forsaken the law, but had not so much as declined from it. We must never shrink from any duty, nor let slip an oppor tunity of doing good, for fear of the reproach of men, or their reyilings. The traveller goes on his way, though the dogs bark at him. Those can bear but little for Christ, that cannot bear a hard word for him.

52. I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord; and have comforted myself.

When David was derided for his godliness, he not only held fast his integrity, but,

1. He comforted himself:'he not only bore reproach, but bore it cheerfully; it did not disturb his peace, nor break in upon the repose of his spirit in God. It was a comfort to him to think that it was for God's sake that he bore reproach, and that his worst enemies could find no occasion against him, savt only in the ynatters of his God, Dan. vi. 5. They that are derided for their adherence to God's law, may comfort themselves with this, that the reproach of Christ will prove, in the end, greater riches to them than the treasures of Egypt.

PSALMS, CXIX.

561

v!. That which he comforted himself with, was, the ivmemljrance of God's judgments of old, the providences of God concerning his people formerly, both in mercy to them, and in justice against tl\eir persecutors. God's judgments of old, in our owii early days, and in tlie days of our fathers, are to be remembered by us for our comfort and en-ouragement in the way of God, for he is still the same.

53. Honor hath taken hold upon me, because of the wicked that forsake thy law.

Here is, 1. The character of wicked people; he means tliose that are openly and grossly wicked; ViXQy forsake thy lavj. Every sin is a transgression of the law, but a course and way of wilful and avowed sin is downright forsaking it and throwing it off.

2. The impression which tlie wickedness of the wicked made upon David; it frightened him, it put him into an amazement: he trembled to think of the dishonour thereby done to God, the gratification thereby given to Satan, and the mischiefs thereby done to the souls of men. He dreaded the consequences of it, both to the sinners themselves, (and cried out, 0 gather not my soul with sinners, let mine enemy be as the wicked,) and to the interests of God's kingdom among men, which he was afraid would be hereby sunk and iniined. He does not say, ^^Horror has taken hold on me, because of their cruel designs against me," but "because of the contempt they put on God and his law." Sin is a monstrous horrible thing in the eyes of all that are sanctified, Jcr. v. 30.—xxiii. 14. Hos. vi. 10. Jer. ii. 12.

54. Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.

Here is, 1. David's state and condition; he was in the house of his /lilgrimage, which may be understood either as his peculiar trouble; he was often tossed and hurried, and forced to fly; or as his lot, in common with all; this world is the hotise of our fiilgrimage, tlie hovise in which we are pilgrims; it is our tabernacle, it is our inn; we must confess ourselves strangers and fiilgrims iifion earth, who are not at home here, nor must be here long. Even David's palace is but the house of his fiilgrimage.

2. His comfort in this state; " Thy statutes have been my songs, with which I here entertained myself; as travellers are wont to divert the thoughts of their weariness, and take off something of the tediousness of their journey, by singing a pleasant song now and then. David was the sweet singer of Israel, and here we are told whence he fetched his songs; they were all borrowed from the Avord of God; God s statutes were as familiar to liim as the songs which a man is accustomed to sing; and he conversed with them in his pilgrimage solitudes. They were as pleasant to him as songs, and put gladness into his heart, more than they have that chant to the sound of the viol, Amos vi. 5. Is any afflicted t\\en^ Let him sing over God's statutes, and try if he cannot so sing away sorrow, Ps. cxxxviii. 5.

55. I have remembered thy name, O Lord, in the night, and have kept thy law. 56. This I had, because I kept thy precepts.

Hei'e is, 1. The converse David had-with the word of God; he kept it in mind, and upon every occasion he called it to mind. God's name is the discovery he has made of himself to us in and by his* word. This is his memorial unto all generations, and therefore we should always keep it in memory; remember it in the night, upon a waking bed, when we are communing with our own hearts. When

Vol. III.—4 B

others were sleeping, David was remembering God's name, and, by repeating that lesson, increasing his acquaintance with it; in the night of affliction, this he called to mind.

2. The conscience he made of confonning to it The due remembrance of God's name, which is prefixed to his law, will have a great influence upon our observance of the law; I remembered thy name in the night, and therefore was careful to keep, thy lanv all day. How comfortable will it be in the reflection, if our own hearts can witness for us, that we have thus remembered God's name, and kept his law!

3. The advantage he get by it; {v. 56.) This I had, because J kefit thy precepts. Seme understand this indefinitely; This I had; I liad that which satisfied me, I had every thing that is comfortable, because I kept thy precepts. N(te, All that have made a business of religion will own that it has turned to a good account, and that they have been unspeakable gainers by it. Others refer it to what goes immediately before; "I had the comfort of keeping thy law, because I kept it." Note, God's work is its own wages: a heart to obey the will of God is a most valuable reward of obedience; and the more we do, the more we may do, and shall do, in the service of God; the branch that bears fiiiit is made more fruitful, John xv. 2.

8. CHETH.

57. Thou art my portion, O Lord: 1 have said that I would keep thy words.

We may hence gather the character of a godly man.

1. He makes the favour of God his felicity; Thou art my Portion, O Lord. Others place tlicir happiness in the wealth and honours of this world; their portion is in this life, they look no further, they desire no more, these are their good things; (Luke xvi. 25.) but all that are sanctified take the Lord for the Portion of their inheritance and their Cup, r.nd nrthing less will satisfy them. David can appeal to G(d in this matter; "Lord, thou know-cst that I have chosen thee for my Portion, and depend upon thee to make me happy."

2. He makes the law of God his nde; "/ have said, that I would keep thy .words; and what I have said, by thy grace I will do, and will abide by it to the end." Note, Those that take God for their Portion, must take him for their Prince, and swear allegiance to him; and, having promised to keep his word,^ w^ must often put ourselves in mind of our promise, xxxix. 1.

58. I entreated thy favour with mp whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.

David, having in the foregoing verse reflected upon his covenants with God, here reflects upon his prayers to God, and renews his petition. Obsei've,

1. What he prayed for; having taken God for his Portion, he entreated his favour, as one that knew he had forfeited it, was unworthy of it, and yet undone without it, but for ever happy if he could obtain it. We cannot demand God's favour as a debt, but must be humble supplicants ifor it, that God will not only be reconciled to us, but accept us, and smile upon us. He prays, "Be merciful to me, in the forgiA'eness of what I have done amiss, and in giving me grace to do better for the future."

2. How he prayed; nvith his whole heart; as one that knew how to value the blessing he prayed for: the gracious soul is entirely set upon the favour cf God, and is therefore importunate for it; I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

PSALMS, UXIX.

merciful to me, according to thy zvord. I desire thy 1 mercy promised, and depend upon the promise for it." 1 hey that are governed by the precepts of the word, and are resolved to keep them, {y. 57: ) may plead the promises of the word, and take the comfort of them.

59. I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. 60. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.

David had said he would keep God's word, {v. 57. ) and it was well said; now here he tells us how and in what method he pursued that resolution.

1. He thought o?i his ways; he thought beforehand what he should do, pondering the path of his feet, (Prov. iv. 26.) tliat he might walk surely, and not at all adventures; he thought after what he had done, reflected upon his life past, and recollected the paths he had walked in, and the steps he had taken. The word signifies a fixed, abiding, thought. Some make it an allusion to those who work cm-broidery, who are very exact and careful to cover the least flaw; or, to those who cast up their accounts, who reckon with themselves. What do I owe? What am I worth? / thought not on my wealth, (as the covetous man, xlix. 11.) but on my ways; not what I have, but what I do: what we do will follow us into another world, when what we have must be left behind. Many are critical enough in their remarks upon other people's ways, who never think of their own; but let every man prove his own work.

2. He turned his feet to God's testimonies; he determined to make the word cf God his rule, ?.nd to walk bv that rule. He turned from the by-paths to which he had turned aside, and returned to God's testimonies: he turned not only his eye to them, but his feet; his affections to the love cf God's word, and his conversation to the practice of it. The bent and inclinations of his soul were toward God's testimonies, and his conversation was governed by them. Penitent reflections must produce pious resolutions.

3. He did this immediately, and without demur; (x;. 60.) I made haste, arid delayed not. When we are under convictions of sin, we must strike while the iron is hot, and nr't think to defer the prosecution of them, as Felix did, to a more corivenient season; when we are called to duty, we must lose no time, but set about it to-day, wliile it is called to-day.

Now, this account, which David here gives of himself, mav refer to his constant practice every day; he reflected en his ways at night, directed his feet to God's testimonies in the morning, and what his hand found to do that was good, he did it without delav; or it may refer to his first acquaintance with God and religion, when he began to throw off" the vanitv of childhood and youth, and to remember his Creator; that blessed change was, by the grace of God, thus wrought. Note, (1.) Conversion begins in serious consideration, Ezek. xviii. 28. Luke XV. 17. (2.) Consideration must end in a sound conversion. To what purpose have we thought on our wavs, if we do not turn our feet with all speed to God's testimonies?

61. The bands of the wicked have robbed me: hit I have not forgotten thy law.

Here is, 1. The malice of David's enemies against him; they were wicked men, who hated him for his godliness; thcie were bands or troops of them con-ifederate against him; tliey did him all the mischief they could, they robl)ed iiim; having endeavoured to take away his good name, {y. 51.) they set upon lii.s goods, and spoiled him of them, either by plun-

der in time of war, or by fines and confiscatioris under colour of law. Saul (it is likely) seized his eflfects; Absalom his palace; the Amai.ekites rifled Ziklag. W^orldly wealth is what we mav be robbed of. David, though a man of war, could nor keep his own. Thieves break through and steal.

2. The testimony of David's conscience for liint, that he had held fast his religion when he was stript of every thing else, as Job did, when the bands ( ." the Chaldeans and Sabeans had robbed him; But I have not forgotten thy law. No care or gi-ief should drive God's word out of cur minds, or hinder ovu' comfortable relish of it, and converse with it. Nor must we ever think the worse of the ways of God for any trouble we meet with in those ways, nor fear being losers by our religion at last, however we may be losers for it now.

62. At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee, because of thy righteous judgments.

Though David is, in this psalm, much in prayer, yet he did not neglect the duty of thanksgivmg; for those that pray much will have much to give thanks for.

See, 1. How much God's hand was eyed in his thanksgivings; he does not say, " / will give thanks, because of thy favours to me, which I have the comfort of," but, "Because of thy righteous judgments; all the disposals of thy providence in wisdom and equity, which thou hast the gloiy of." We must give thanks for the asserting of God's honour, and the accomplishing of his word in all he does in the government of the world.

2. How much David's heart was set upon his thanksgivings; he would rise at midnight, to give thanks to God. Great and good thoughts kept him awake, and refreshed him, instead of sleep; and so zealous was he for the honour of God, that, when others were in their beds, he was upon his knees at his devotions. He did not affect to be seen of men in it, but gave thanks in secret, where our heavenly Father sees. He had praised God in the courts of the Lord's house, and yet he will do it in his bed-chamber. Public worship will not excuse us from secret worship. When David found his heart affected with God's judgments, he immediately offered up those affections to God, in actual adorations, not deferring, lest they should cool. Yet oljserve his reverence; lie did not lie still and give thanks, but rose out of his bed, perhaps, in the cold and in the dark, to do it the more solemnly. And see what a good husband he was of time; when he could not lie and sleep, he would rise and pray.

63. I «77i a companion of all them that fear

thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.

David had often expressed the great love he had to God, here he expresses the great love he had to the people of God; and observe,

1. Why he loved them; not so much because they were his best friends, most firm to his interest, and most forward to seiwe him, but because they were such as feared God, and kept his precepts, and so did him honour, and helped him to support his kingdom among men. Our love to the saints is then sincere, when we love them for the sake of what we see of God in them, and the service they do to him.

2. How he showed his love to them; he was a companion of them. He had not only a spiritual communion with them in the same faith andhope, i)ut he joined with them in holy ordinances in the courts of the Lord, where rich and poor, prince and peasant, meet together; he sympathized with them in their joys and sorrows, (Heb. x. 33.) he conversed familiarly with them, communicated his cxpc

PSALMS, CXIX.

663

riences to them, and consulted theirs. He net only took such to be his companions as did fear God, but he vouchsafed himself to be a companion with all, with any, that did so, wherever he met with them. Though he was a king, he would associate with the poorest of his subjects that feared Gcd, Ps. xv. 4. Jam. ii. 1.

64. The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy statutes.

Here, 1. David pleads that God is good to all the creatures, according to their necessities and capacities; as t^ie heaven is full of God's glory, so the earth is full of his mercy, full of the instances of his pitv and bounty. Not only the land of Canaan, where Gcd is known and worshipped, but the whole earth, in many parts of wliich he has no homage paid him, is full of his mercy: not only the children of men upon the earth, but even the inferior creatures, taste of (iod's goodness; his tender mer-cits are over all his 'ivories.

2. He therefore prays that God would be good to hiin according to his necessity and capacity; " Teach me thy statutes. Thou feedest the young ravens that cry, with food proper for them; and wilt thou not feed me with spiritual food, the bread of life, which my soul needs and craves, and cannot subsist without? The earth is full of thy mercy; and is not heaven too? Wilt thou not then give me spiritual blessings in heavenly places?" A gracious heart will fetch an argument from any thing, to enforce a

f)etition for divine teaching. Surely he that will not et his birds be unfed, will not let his children be untaught.

9. TETH.

65. Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according unto thy word. 66. Teach me good judgment and knowledge : for I have believed thy commandments.

Here, 1. David makes a thankful acknowledgment of God's gracious dealings with him all along; Thou hast dealt well with thy servant. However God has dealt with us, we must own he has dealt tvell with us, better than we deserve; and all in love, and with design to work for our good. In many instances, God has done well for us, beyond our expectations; he has done well for all his servants; never any of them complained that he had used them hardly. Thou hast dealt well with me, not only according to thy mercy, but according to thy word. God's favours look best when they are compared with the promise, and are seen flowing from that fountain.

2. Upon these experiences he grounds a petition for divine instruction; ^^ Teach me good judgment and knowledge, that, by thy grace, I may render again, in some measure, according to the benefit done unto me." Teach me a good taste, (so the word signifies,) a good relish, to discern things that differ, to distinguish between truth and falsehood, good and evil; for the ear tries words, as the mouth tastes meat. We should pray to God for a sound mind, that we may have spiritual senses exercised, Heb. v. 14. Many have knowledge, who have little judg-_ ment; they who have both, are well fortified against the snares of Satan, and well furnished for the service of God, and their generation.

3. This pctitirn is backed with a plea; "For I have believed thy comniand?nents; received them, and consented to- them that they are good, and submitted to their government; therefore. Lord, teach me." Where God has given a good heart, a good head too may in faith be prayed for.

67. Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy word.

David here tells us what he has experienced,

1. Of the temptutions of a prosperous condition; " Before I was afflicted, while I lived in peace and plenty, and knew no sorrow, / went astray from God and my duty." Sin is going astray; and then we are most apt to wander frc m^God, when we are easy and think curselves at home in the world. Prcsperity is the unhappy occasion of much iniquity; it m;ikes people conceited of themselves, indulgent of the flesh, forgetful cf God, in love with the world, and deaf to the reproofs of the word. See XXX. 6. It is good for us, when we are afflicted, to remember how, and wherein, we went astray, before we were afflicted, that we may answer the eiid of the affliction.

2. Of the benefit of an afflicted state; " JVow havr I kefit thy word, and so have been recovered from rny wanderings." God often makes use of afflictions as a means to reduce those to himself who ha\c wandered from him. Sanctified afflictions humble us for sin, and show us the vanity of the world; they soften the heart, and open the ear to discipline. The prodigal's distress brought him to himself first, and then to his father.

68. Thou art good, and doest good: teach me thy statutes.

Here, 1. David praises God's goodness, and gives him the glory of it; Thou art good, and doest good. All who have any knowledge of God, and dealings with him, will own that he does good, and therefore will conclude that he is good. The streams of God's goodness are so numerous, and I'un so full, so strong, to all the creatures, that we must conclude the fountain that is in himself to be inexhaustible. We cannot conceive how much good our God does eveiy day, much less can we conceive how good he is. Let .us acknowledge it with admiration, and with holy love and thankfulness.

2. He prays for God's grace, and begs to be under the guidance and influence of it; Teach 7ne thy statutes. "Lord, thou doest good to all, art the bountiful Benefactor of all the creatures; this is the good I beg thou wilt do to me,—Insti-uct me in my duty incline me to it, and enable me to do it. Thou art good, and doest good; I^ord, teach ?ne thy statutes, that I may be good, and do good, may have a good heart, and live a good life. It is an encouragement to poor sinners to hope that God will teach them his way, because he is ^oorf and upright, xxv. 8.

69. The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart. 70. Their heart is as fat as grease : hit I delight in thy law.

David here tells us how he was affected as to the proud and wicked people that were about him.

1. He did not fear their malice, nor was he by it deterred from his duty; They have forged a lie against me; thus they aimed to take away his good name: nay, all we have in the world, even life itself, may be brought into danger by those who make no conscience of forging a lie. They that were proud, envied David's reputation, because it eclipsed them: and therefore did all they could to blemish him: they took a pride in trampling upon him: thev therefore persuaded themselves it was no sin to tell a deliberate lie, if it might but expose him to con tempt. Theu" wicked wit forged lies, invented stories, which there was not the least colour for, to serve their wicked designs. And what did David do, when he was thus belied? He will bear it patiently; he will keep that precept which forbids

PSAJ.MS, CXIX

him to render railing for railing, and will with all his heart sit down silent. He will go on in his duty with constancy and resolution; "Letthem say what they will, / noill keep thy firecefits, and not dread their reproach."

2. He did not envy their prosperity, noi- was he by it allured from his duty; Their heart is as fat as grease. The proud are at ease; (cxxiii. 4.) they are full of the world, and the wealth and pleasures of it; and this makes them, (1.) Senseless, secure, and stupid; they are past feeling; thus the phrase IS used, (Is:i. vi. 10.) Make the heart of this people fat. They are not sensible of the touch of the word c£ God, or his rod. (2.) Sensual and voluptuous; " Their eyes stand out vjith fatness; (Ps. Ixxiii. 7.) tiioy roll themselves in the pleasures of sense, and t -ke up with them as their chief good; and mucli gjxi may it do them, I would not change conditions With them; / delight in thy law; I build my security upon the promises of God's word, and ha\e pleasure enough in communion with God, infinitely preferable to all their delights." The children of God, who are acquainted with spiritual pleasures, need not envy the children of this world their carnal pleasures.

1\. It is good for me that I have been afflicted ; that I might learn thy statutes.

See here, 1. That it has been the lot of the best saints to be afflicted. The proud and the wicked live in pomp and pleasure, while David, though he kept close to God and his duty, was still in afflic-:ion. Waters of a full cup are wrung out to God's people, Ixxiii. 10.

2. That it has been the. advantage of God's peo-!)le to be afflicted. David could speak experimen-idUy; It was good for me; many a good lesson he lad learnt by his afflictions, and many a good duty le had been brought to, which otlierwise had l)een mlearnt and undone. Therefore God visited him ..'ith affliction, that he might learn God's statutes; nd the intention was answered, the afflictions iiad .: )ntributed to the improvement of his knuwledge nd grace. He that chastened him taught him. tVie rod and reproof give wisdom.

72. The law of thy mouth is better unto ae than thousands of gold and silver.

This is a reason why David reckoned, that, when by his afflictions he leanied God's statutes, an:l the profit did so much balance the loss, he was really a g liner by them; for God's law, which he gr,t acquaintance with by his affliction, was bette}-\o him th ui all the gold and silver which he lost b}' his affliction.

1. David had but a little of the woi-d of God, in comparison with what we have, yet sec how liigldy h-- valued it; how inexcusable then are we, who li ive both the Old and New Testament complete, aiiil yet account them as a strange thing! Oljserve, Therefore he valued the law, because it is the law of God's mouth, the revelation of his will, and ratine <1 by his authority.

2. He had a great deal of gold and silver, in comparison with what we have, yet see how little lie values it; his riches increased, and yet lie did not set his heart upon them, but upon the word of God. That was better to him, yielded him better pleasures, and better maintenance, and a better inheritance, than all the treasures he was master of. rhose that have read, and believe, David's Psalms uid Solomon's Ecclesiastes, cannot but prefer the word of God far before the wealth of this world.

10. JOD.

73. Thy hands have made me, and fa-

shioned me: giv( me understandhig, tiiat 1 may learn thy commandments.

Here, 1. David adores God as the God of nature, and the Author of his being; Thy hands have made me and fashioned me, Job x. 8. Eveiy man is as truly tlie work of God's hands as the first man was, Ps. cxxxix. 15, 16. "Thy handt have not only niade me, and given me a being, otherwise I had never been, but fashioned me, and given me this being, this noble and excellent being, endued with these powers and faculties;" and we must own that we HTQ fearfully and wonderfully viade^

2. He addresses himself to God as the God of grace, and begs he will be the Author of his new and better being. Gcd made us to serve him and enjoy him; but by sin we have made ourselves unable for his senicc, and indisposed for the enjoyment of him; and we must have a new and divine nature, otherwise we had the human nature in vain; therefore David pravs, " Loi'd, since thou hast made me by thy power for thy glory, make me anew by thy grace, that I may answer the ends of my creation, and live to some pui-pose; give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments." The way in which God recovers and secures his interest in men, is, by giving them an understanding; for by that door he enters into the soul, and gains possession of it.

74. They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.

Here is, 1. The confidence of this good man in the hope of God's salvation; / have hoped in thy word; and I have not found it in vain to do so; it has not failed me, nor have I been disappointed in my expectations from it. It is a hope that maketh not ashamed; but is present satisfaction, and fruition i at lust.

I 2. The concurrence of other good men with him

I in tlie joy of that salvation; "They that fear thee,

' will be glad when they see me relieved by my hope

in thy word, and delivered according to my hope."

j The comforts which some of God's children have

I in God, and the favours they have received from

I him, should be matter of joy to others of them. St.

Paul often expressed the hope that for God's grace

to him thanks would be rendered by many, 2 Cor.

i- 11.—iv. 15. Or it may be taken more generally;

good people are glad to see one another; they are

especially pleased with those (and, as I may say,

proud of^ them) who are eminent for their hope in

God's word.

75. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.

Still David is in affliction, and, being so, he owns, 1. That his sin was justly corrected; / know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, are righteous ness itself. However God is pleased to afflict us, he does us no wrcng, nor can we charge him with any iniquity, but must acknowledge that it is less than we have deserved. We know that God is holy in his nature, and wise and just in all the acts of his government, and therefore we cannot but know, in the general, tliat his judgments are right, though, in some particular instances, there may be difficulties whicli we cannot easily resolve.

2. That God's promise was graciouslv performed. The former may silence us under our afflictions, and forbid us to repine, but this mav satisfy us, and enable us to rejoice; for afflictions are in the covenant, and therefore they are not onlv not meant for our hurt, but they are really intended for

PSALMS, CXIX.

56o

our good; "In faithfulness thou hast afflicted me, pursuant to the great design of my salvation." It is easier to own, in general, that GoA's judgments are right, than to own it when it comes to be our own case; but David subscribes to it with application, " Even my afflictions are just and kind."

76. Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant. 77. Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live : for thy law is my delight.

Here is, 1. An earnest petition to Ciod for his favour. They that own the justice of God in their afflictions, (as David had done, v. 75.) may, in faith, and with humble boldness, be earnest for the mercy of God, and the tokens and fruits of that mercy, in their affliction. He prays for God's merciful kindness, {y. 76.) his tender mercies, v. 77. He can claim nothing as his due, but all his supports under his affliction must come from mere mercy and compassion to one in misciy, one in want. "-Let these come to me," that is, "the evidence of them; clear it up to me, that thou hast a kindness for nie, and mercy in store; and lit the effects of them come; let them work my relief and deliverance."

2. The benefit he promised himself from God's loving-kindness; " Let it come to me for my comfort; (v. 76.) that will comfort me, when nothing else will; that will comfort me, whatever irrieves me." Gracious sovds fetch all their comfort from a gracious God, as the Fountain of all happiness and joy; "Let it come to me, that I may live, that I may be revived, and my life may be made sweet to me, for I have no joy of it while I am under God's displeasure. In his favour is life, in his frowns are death." A good man cannot live, with any satis-f.iction, any longer than he has some tokens of God's favour to him.

3. His pleas for the benefits of God's favour. He pleads, (1.) God's promise; "Let me have thy kindness, according to thy ivord^ unto thy servant; the kindness which thou hast promised, and because thou hast promised it." Our Master has passed his word to all his servants, that he will be kind to them, and they may plead it with him. (2.) His own confidence and complacency in that promise; "Thy law is my delight; I hope in thy word, and rejoice in that hope." Note, Those that delight in the law of God, may depend upon the favour of God, for it shall certainly make them happy.

78. Let the proud be ashamed ; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: hut I will meditate in thy precepts. 79. Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies.

Here David shows,

1. How little he valued the ill-will of sinners. There were those that dealt perversely with liim,that were peevish and ill-conditioned toward him, that soue;ht advantages against him, and misconstrued all he said and did. Even those that deal most fairly may meet with those that deal perv rsely. But David mattered it not, for, (1.) He knew it was without cause, and that for his love they were his adversaries. The causeless reproach, like the curse causeless, may be easilv slighted; it does not hurt as, and therefore should not move us. (2.) He could pray, in faith, that they might be ashamed of it, God's deahng favourably with him might make them ashamed to think that they had dealt perversely with him. "Let them be ashamed; let them De brought either to repentance or to iniin." (3.) He could go on in the way of his duty, and find

comfort in that. " However they deal with me, J will meditate in thy jirecefits, and entertain myself with them."

2. How much he valued the good-will of saints, and how desirous he was to stand right in their opinion, and keep up his interest in them, and communion with them: Let those that fear thee, turn to me. He does not mean so much that they might side with him, and take up arms in his cause, as that they might love him, and pray for him, and associate with him. Good men desire the friendship and society of those that are good. Some think it intimates, that, when David had been guilty of that foul sin in the murder of Uriah, though he was a king, they that feared God grew strange to him, and turned from him, for they were ashamed of him; this troubled him, and therefore he prays. Lord, let them turn to me again. He desires especially the company of those that were not only honest, but intelligent, that have known thy testimojiies, have good lieads as well as good hearts, and whose con\'ersation will be edifying. It is desirable to have an intimacy with such.

80. Let my heart be sound in thy statutes, that T be not ashamed.

Here is, 1. David's prayer for sincerity, that his heart might be brought to God's statutes, and that it might be sound in them, not rotten and deceitful; that he might not rest in the form of godliness, but be acquainted with, and subject to, the power of it; that he might be hearty and constant in religion, and that his soul might be in health.

2. His dread of the consequences of hypocrisy; that I be not ashamed. Shame is the portion of hypocrites, either here, if it be repented of, or hereafter, if it be not; "Let my heart be sound, that I fall not into scandalous sin, tliat I fall not quite off from the ways of God, and so shame myself. Let my heart be sound, that I may come boldly to the throne of grace, and may lift up my face without spot at the great day."

11. CAPH.

81. My soul fainteth for thy salvation; hut I hope in thy word. 82. Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?

Here we have the psalmist,

1. Longing for help from heaven; My soul faints, mine eyes fail. He longs for the salvation of the Lord, and for his word, that is, salvation according to the word. He is not thus eager for the creatures of fancy, but for the objects of faith; salvation from the present calamities under which he was groaning, and the doubts and fears which he was oppressed with. It may be understood of the coming of the Messiah, and so he speaks in the name of the Old Testament church; the souls of the faithful even fainted to see that salvation of which the prophets testified; (1 Pet. i. 10.) their eyes failed for it. Abraham saw it at a distance, and sq did others, but at such a distance that it put their eyes to the stretch, and they could not steadfastly see it. David was now under prevailing dejections, and, having been long so, his eyes cried out. When wilt thou comfort me? Comfort me with thy salvation, '-';•«-fort me with My worcf. Obsei've, (1.) The adiva-tion and consolation of God's people are secured to them by the word, which will certainly be fulfilled in its season. (2.) The promised salvation and comfort mav be, and often are, long-deferred, so that they are ready to faint and fall in the expecta tion of them. (3.) Though we think the time lone, ere the promised salvation and comfort come, yel we must still keep our eye upon it, and resolve to

PSALiMS, CXIX.

take up with nothing short of it. " Thy salvation, thy word, thy comfort, are what my heart is still upon.'' 2. Waiting for that help; assured that it will come, and tarrying till it doth come; But I hope in thy vjord; and, but for hope, the heart would break. When the eyes fail, yet the faith must not; for the vision is for an appointed time, and at the ciid it shall speak, and shall not lie.

83. For I am become like a bottle in the smoke, yet do I not forget thy statutes.

David begs God would make haste to comfort him.

1. Because his affliction was great, and therefore he was an object of God's pity; Lord, make haste to help me, for I am become like a bottle in the smoke, a leathern bottle, which, if it hung any while in the smoke, was not only blackened with soot, but di-ied, and parched, and shrivelled up. David was thus wasted by age, and sickness, and sorrow. See how affliction will mortify the strongest and stoutest of men! David had been of a ruddy countenance, as fresh as a rose; but now he is withered, his colour is gone, his cheeks are furrowed. Thus does man's beavity consume under God's rebukes, as a moth frettmg a garment. A bottle, when it is thus wrinkled with the smoke, is thrown by, and there is no more use of it. Who will put wine into such old bottles? Thus was David, in his low estate, looked upon as a despised, broken, vessel, and as a vessel in which there was no pleasure. Good men, when they are drooping and melancholy, sometimes think themselves more slighted than really they are.

2. Because, though his affliction was great, yet it had not dnven him from his duty, and therefore he was within the reach of God's promise; Yet do I not forget thy statutes. Whatever our outward condition is, we must not cool in our affLCtinn to the word of God, nor let that slip out of our minds; no care, n 1 grief, must crowd that out. As some drink and forget the law, (Prov. xxxi. 5.) so others weep and forget the law; but we must, in every condition, both prosperous and adverse, have the things of God m remembrance; and, if we be mindful of God's statutes, we may pray and hope that he will be mindful of our sorrows, though for a time he seems to forget us.

84. How many are the days of thy servant ? when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me ?

Here, 1. David prays against the instnimcnts of his troubles, that God would make liaste to execute judgment on those that ])ersecuted him. He prays not for power to avenge himself, (he bore no malice to any,) but that God would take to himself the vengeance that belonged to him, and would repay, (Rom. xii. 19.) as the God that sits in the throne, judging right. There is a day coming, and a great and terrible day it will be, when God will execute judgment on all the proud pci"se''ut(5rs of his people; tribulation to them that troubled them; Enoch foretold it, (Jude 14.) whose ])ro])lK'cy perhaps David here h^d an eye to; and that day we are to look for, and pray for the hastening of; Come, Lord Jesus, come quiekly.

2. He pleads the long continuance of his trouble; •' How many are the days of thy sen'ant? The days of my life are hut few" so some; " therefore let them not all be miserable; and therefore make haste to appear for me against my enemies, before I go hence, andshal/ be seen no more." Or rather, *'lhe days of my affliction are majiy, thou seest. Lord, how many they be; when wilt tliou rettirn in mercy to me-* Sometimes, for the elerts' sake, the days nf trouble are shortened. Oh let the days of my

trouble be shortened; I am thy servant; and there fore, as the eyes of a servant are to the hand of his master, so are mine to thee, until that thou have mercy on me."

85. The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law. 86. All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me. 87. They had almost consumed me upon earth: but I forsook not thy precepts.

David's state was herein a type and figure of the state Ijoth of Christ and Christians, that he was grievously persecuted: as there are many of his psalms, so t\iere are many of the verses of this psalm, which complain of this, as those here. Where observe,

1. The account he gives of his persecutors, and their malice against him. (1.) They were/irowrf, ;ind in their pride they persecuted him, glorying in this, that they could trample upon one who was so much cried up, and hoping to raise themselves on his ruins. (2.) They were unjust; they persecuted him ivrongpilly; so far was he from giving them any provocation, that he had studied to oblige them; but/or his love they were his adversaries. (3.) They were spiteful; they digged pits for him; which showed that they were deliberate in their designs against him, and that what they did was of malice prepense: it intimates likewise, that they were subtle and crafty, and had the sei-pent's head as well as the serpent's venom; that they were industrious, and would refuse no pains to do him a mischief; and treacherous, laying snares in secret for him, as hunters do to take wild beasts, xxxv. 7. Such has been the enmity of the serpent's seed to the seed of the woman. (4.) They herein showed their enmity to God himself; the pits they digged for him were not after God's law; he means, they Avere very much against his law, which forbids to devise evii to our neighbour, and has particularly said. Touch not 7nine anointed. The law appointed, that if a man digged a pit which occasioned any mischief, he slK'uld answer for the mischief, (Exod. xxi. 33, 34.) much more, when it was digged with a mischievous design. (5.) They carried on their designs airainst him so far, that they had almost consumed him upon earth; they went near to ruin him and all his interests. It is possible that those who shall shortly be consummate in heaven, may be, for the present, almost consumed on earth; and it is of the Lord's mercies, (and, considering the malice of their enemies, it is a miracle of mercy,) that they are not quite consjimed. But the bush in which God is, thrugh it bums, shall not be bunit up.

2. His application to God in his persecuted state. (1.) He acknowledges the tnith and goodness of his religion, though he suffered; "However it be, all thy commandments are faithful, and therefore, whatever I lose for my observance of them, I know I shall not lose by it." True religion", if it be worth any thing, is worth every thing, and therefore worth suffering for. " Men are false, I find them so; men of low degree, men of high degree, are so, there is no trusting them; but all thy commandmnits are faithful, on them I may rely." (2.) He begs that (iod"would stand by him, and succour him; "They persecute me, help thou me; help me under my troubles, that I may bear them patiently, and as becomes me, and may still hold fast my integrity, and in due time help me out of my troubles." God help me, is an excellent comprehensive prayer; it is pity that it should ever be used lightly, and as a by-word.

3. His adherence to his dutv, notwithstanding all the malice of his persecutors; {v. 87.) But I forsook not thy precepts. That which they aimed at, was.

PSALMS, CXIX.

567

to frighten him from the ways of God, but they could not prevail; he would sooner forsake all that was dear to him in this world, than forsake the ■word of God; would sooner lose his life, than lose tlie comfort of doing his duty.

88. Quicken me after thy loving-kindness ; so sliali I keep the testimony of thy mouth.

Here is, 1. David in care to be found in the way of his duty; his constant desire and design are, to keep the testimony of God's mouth, to keep to it as his rule, and to keep hold of it as his confidence and portion for ever. This we must keep, whatever we lose.

2. David at prayer for divine grace to assist him therein; ^^ Quicken me after thy loving-kindness; make me alive, and make me lively, so shall J keefi thy testimonies; implying, that otherwise he should not keep them. We cannot pi'oceed, nor persevere, in the good way, unless God quicken us, and put life into us; we are therefore here taught to depend upon the grace of Ciod for strength to do every good work, and to depend upon it as grace, as purely the fruit of God's favour. He had prayed before, Quicken me in thy righteousness; {v. 40.) but here. Quicken me after thy loving-kindness. The surest token of God's good-wiU toward us, is his good work in us.

12. LAMED.

89. For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. 90. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations; thou hast estabhshed the earth, and it abideth. 91. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.

Here, 1. The psalmist acknowledges the un-cliangeableness of the word of God, and of all his counsels. • 'For ever, 0 Lord, thy word is settled. Thou art for ever thyself, so some read it; thou art the same, and with thee there is no variableness, and this is a proof of it. Thy word, by whicli the heavens were made, is settled there in the abiding products of it;" or the settling of God's word in lieaven, is opposed to the changes and revolutions that are here upon earth. Alljiesh is grass; but the word of the Lord eiidures for ex<er. It is settled in heave?i, in the secret counsel of God, which is hid in himself, and is far above out of our sight, and is immoveable, as mountains of brass. And his revealed will is as firm as his secret will; as he will fulfil the thoughts of his heart, so no word of his shall_/a// to the ground; ior it ioWows h-re. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations; the promise is sure to every age of the church, and it cannot be antiquated by track of time. The promises that look ever so far forward shall be performed in their season.

2. He produces, for proof of it, the constancy of the course of nature; Thou hast established the earth, and it abides; it is what it was at first made, and where it was at first placed, poised with its own weight, and, notwithstanding the convulsions in its own bowels, the agitations of the sea that is interwoven with it, and the violent concussions of the atmosphere that surrounds it, remains unmoved. "Thetf (the heavens and the earth, and all the hosts of both) "co7itinue to this day according to Uiine ordinances; they remain in the posts wherein thou hast set them, they fill up the place assigned them, and answer the purposes for which they were intended." The stability of the ordinances of day and night, of heaven and earth, is produced, to prove the perpetuity of God's covenant, Jer. xxxi. 35, 36. —xxxiii. 20, 21. It is by virtue of God's promise to Noah, (Gen. vih. 22.) that day and iiight, sum-

mer and wintrr, cbscrve a steady course. "They have contiiraed to this day, and shall still continue to the end < f time, acting according to the ordinances which were at first given tliem; for all are thy servants, they do tliy will, and set forth thy glory, and in both are thy servcmts." All the creatures are, in tlieir places, and according to their capacities, serviceable to their Creator, and answer the ends of their creation; and shall man be the only rebel, the only revolter from his allegiance, and the only unprofitable burthen of the earth?

92. Unless thy law had been my delight, 1 should then have perished in mine affliction.

Here is, 1. The great distress that David was in; he was in affliction, and ready to perish in his affliction; not likely to die, so much as likely to despair: he was ready to give up all for gone, and to lock upon himselt as cut off from God's sight; he therefore admires the goodness of God to him, that he had not perished, that he kept the possession of his own soul, and was not driven out cf his wits by his troubles, but especially that he was enabled to keep close to his God, and was net driven off from his religion by them. Though we are not kept from affliction, yet, if we are kept frcm perishing in our affliction, we have no reason to say, We have cleansed our hands in vain; or. What jircf.t is it that we have served God?

2. His support in this distress. God's law was his delight, (1.) It had been so formerly, and the remembrance of that was a comfort to him, as it afforded him a good evidence of his integrity. (2.) It was so now in liis affliction; it afibrdtd him abundant matter of comfort, and from these fountains < f life he drew living waters, when the cisterns of the creature were broken or dried up. His ccnvt i-se with God's law, and his meditations on it, were his delightful entertainment in solitude and sorrow. A Bil)le is a pleasant companion at any time, if we piease.

93. I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened m 3.

Here is, 1. A very good resolution; "Twill nex>er forget thy precepts, but will always ret?.m a remembrance of, and regard to, thy word as my itile." It is a resolution t\jr peipetuity, never to be altered. Note, The best evidence of our love to the word of God, is, never to forget it. We must resolve t!iat, we will never, at any time, cast off our religi( n, ;.nd never, upon any occasion, l;iy aside our religio' , but that we will be constant to it, and presevere ii it.

2. A very good reas n for it; "For by thei i thou hast quickened me; not only they arc quickening, but," (1.) "They have been so to me, I have ft unci them so." Those speak best of the things of God who speak by expenence, who can s?.y, that by the word the spiritual life has been begun in them, maintained and strengthened in them, excited and comforted in them. (2.) "Thou hast made them so;" the word of itself, without the grace of God, would not quicken us; ministers can but prophesy upon the dry bones, they cannot put life into them; but, ordinarily, the grace of God works by the word, and makes use of it as a means of quickening; and this is a good reason why we should never forget it, but should highly value what God has put such honour upon, and dearly love what we have found such benefit by, and hope still to find. See here what is the best help for bad memories, namely, good affections; if we are quickened by the word, we shall never forget it; nay, that word that does really quicken us to, and in, our duty, is not forgotten; though the expressions be lost, if the /mpression^j remain, it is well.

PSALMS, CXIX.

94. I am tliine; save ine; for I have sought ihy precej3ts.

Here, 1. D.ivid claims relation to God; "/ am ' thine, devoted to thee, and owned by thee, thine in covenant." He does not say, T/iou art ?nine, {nsDr. Manton observes,) though that follows of course, because that were a higher challenge; but, I am thine, expressing himself in a more humble and dutiful way of resignation; nor does he say, / am thus, but, / am thine, not pleading his own good property or qualification, but God's propnety in him; "Ia?n thine, not my own, not the world's."

2. He proves his'claim; *'Ihave sought thy precepts, I have carefully inquired concerning my duty, and diligently endeavoured to do it." This will be the best evidence that we belong to God; all that are his, though they have not found perfection, are seeking it.

3. He improves his claim; ^'Iam thine; save me, save me from sin, save me from ruin." Those that have, in sincerity, given up themselves to God, to be his, may be sure that he will protect thern, and preserve them to his heavenly kingdom, Mai. iii. 18.

95. The wicked have waited for me, to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies.

Here, 1. David complains of the malice of his enemies; The ivicked (and none but such would be enenaies to so good a man) have waited for me, to destroy me; they were very cruel, and aimed at no less than his destruction; they were \ery crafty, and sought all opportunities to do him a mischief; and they were confident, they expected, (so some read it,) that they should destroy him, they thought themselves sure of their prey.

2. He comforts himself in the word of God, as his protection; "While they are contriving my destruction, / consider thy testimonies, which secure to me my salvation." "God's testimonies are then likely to be our support, when we consider them, and dwell in our thoughts upon them.

96. I have seen an end of all perfection : but thy commandment is exceeding broad.

Here we have David's testimony, from his own experience,

1. Of the vanity of the world, and its insufficiency to make us happy; I have seen an end of all perfection. Poor perfection which one sees an end of! Yet such are all those things in this world which pass for perfections. David, in his time, had seen Goliath, the strongest, overcome; Asahel, the swiftest, overtaken; Ahithophel, the wisest, befooled; Absalom, the fairest, deformed; and, in short, he had seen an end of perfection, of all perfection; he saw it by faith, he saw it by observation, he saw an end of the perfection of the creature, both in respect of sufficiency, it was scanty and defective, (there is that to be done for us which the creature cannot do,) and, in respect of continuance, it will not last our time, for it will not last to eternity, as we must. The glory of man is but as the flower of the grass.

2. Of the fulness of the word of God, and its sufficiency for our satisfaction; But thy commandment is broad, exceeding broad. The word of God reaches to all cases, to all times. The divine law lays a restraint upon the whole man, is designed to sanctify us wholly. There is a great deal required and forbidden in every commandment. The divine promise (for that also is commanded) extends itself to all our burthens, wants, and grievances, and has that in it which will make a portion and happiness for us when we have seen an end of all perfection.

13. MEM.

97. O how love I thy law ! it is my meditation all the day.

Here is, 1. David's inexpressible love to the word of God; 0 how love I thy law! He protests his affection to the word of God with a holy vehemency; he found that love to it in his heart, which, considering the con-uption of his nature, and the temptation of the world, he could not but wonder at, and at that grace which had wrought it in him. He not only loved the promises, but loved the law, and delighted in it after the inner man.

2. An unexceptionable evidence of this. What we love, we love to think of; by this it appeared that David loved the word of God, it was his meditation. He not only read the book of the law, but digested what he read in his thoughts, and was delivered into it as into a mould: it was his meditation, not only in the night, when he was silent and solitary, and had nothing else to do, but in the day, when he was full of business and company; nay, and all the day some good thoughts were interwoven with his common thoughts; so full was he of the word of God.

98. Thou, through thy commandments, hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. 99. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. 100. 1 understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.

We have here an account of David's learning, not that of the Egyptians, but of the Israelites indeed.

1. Tlie good method by which he got it. In his youth, he minded business in tlie country, as a shepherd; from his youth, he minded business in the court and camp; which way, then, could he get any great stock of learning? He tells us here how he came by it; he had it from God as the Author; Thou hast made me wise: all true wisdom is from God. He had it by the word of God, as the means; bv his co?nmandments and his testimojiies. These are able to mafce us wise to salvation, and to furnish the man of God for every good work. (1.) These David took for his constant companions; '* They are rt>er with me, ever in my mind, ever in my eve." A good man, wherever he goes, cames his Bible along with him, if not in his hands, yet in his head and in his heart. (2.) These he took frr the delightful subject of his thoughts; they were his medi' tation, not only as matters of speculation for his entertainment, as scholars meditate on their notions, but as matters of concern, for his right management, as men of busin'\ss think of their business, that they may do it in the best manner. (3.) These he took for the commanding iiilcs of all his actions; I keep thy precepts; I make conscience of doing my dutv in everv thing. The best way to improve in knowledge is, to abide and abound in sill the instances of serious godliness; for, // any man do his will, he shall know of the doctrine of Christ, shall know more and more of it, John vii. 17. The love of the truth prei^ares for the light of it; the pure in heart shall see God liere.

2. The great eminency he attained to in it. By studying and practising God's commandments, and making them his nile, he learnt to behave himself wisehi in all his ways, 1 Sam. xviii. 14. (1.) He outwitted his enemies; God, by these means, made him Aviser to baffle and defeat their designs against him than thev were to lay them. Heavenly wisdom will carry the point, at last, against camal policy. By keeping tlie commandments, we securt

PSALMS, CXIX.

569

God on our side, and make him our Friend, and therein are certainly wiser than those that make him their Enemy: .by keeping the commandments, we preserve to ourselves that peace and quiet of mind which our enemies would rob us of, and so are wise for ourselves, wiser than they are for themselves, for this world as well as for the other. (2.) He outstript his teachers, and had more understanding than all of them. He means either those who would have been his teachers, who blamed his conduct, and undertook to prescribe to him: by keeping Ciod's commandments, he managed his matters so, that it appeared, in the event, he had taken the right measures, and they had taken the wrong. Or, he may mean those who should have been his teachers, the priests and Levitcs, who sat in Moses's chair, and whose lips ought to have kept knowledge, but who neglected the study of the law, and minded their honours and revenues, and the formalities only of their religion; and so David, who conversed much with the scriptures, by that means became more intelligent than they. Or, he may mean those who had been his teachers when he was young; he built so well upon the foundation which they had laid, that, with the help of his Bible, he became able to teach them, to teach them all. He was not now a babe that needed milk, but hads/2/-ritual sejises exercised, Heb. v. 14. It is no reflection upon our teachers, but rather an honour to them, to improve so as really to excel them, and not to need them. By meditation we preach to ovn*-selves, and so we come to understand more than our teachers, for we come to understand our own hearts, which they cannot. (3.) He outdid the ancients; either those of his day, he was young, like Elihu, and they were very old, (but his keeping of God's precepts taught him more wisdom than the multitude of their years, Job xxxii. 7, 8.) or those of former days: he himself quotes the proverb of the ancients; (1 Sam. xxiv. 13.) but the word of God gave him to understand things better than he could do by tradition, and all the learning that was handed down from preceding ages. In short, the written word is a sui-er guide to heaven than all the doctors and fathers, the teachers and ancients, of the church; and the sacred writings kept, and kept to, will teach us more wisdom than all their writings.

101. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep thy word.

Here is, 1. David's care to avoid the ways of sin; " I have refrained my feet from the evil ivaijs they were ready to step aside into; I checked myself, and drew back, as soon as I was aware that I was entering into temptation." Though it was a broad way, a green way, a pleasant way, and a way that many walked in, yet, being a sinful way, it was an evil way, and he refrained his feet from it, foreseeing the end of that way. And his care was universal; he shunned every c\\\ way. By the nvords of thy lifis I have ke/it me from the /laihs of the destroyer, xvii. 4.

2. His care to be found in the way of duty; That I might keep thy word, and never transgress it. His abstaining from sin was, (1.) An evidence that he did conscientiouslv aim to kee/i God's word, and had made that his inile. (2.) It was a means of his keeping God's word in the exercises of religion; for we cannot, with any comfort or boldness, attend on God in holy duties, so as in them to keep his word, while we are under guilt, or in any by-way.

102. I have not departed from thy judgments : for thou hast taught me.

Here is, 1. David's constancy in his religion. He Had not departed from God's judgments; he had

Vol. III.—4 C

I not chosen any other mle than the word of God, nor I had he wilfully deviated from that nale. A constant adherence to the ways of God, in trying times, will be a good evidence of our integrity.

2. The cause of his constancy; " For thou hast taught me, they were divine instructions that 1 learned; I was satisfied that the doctrine was of God, and therefore I stuck to it." Or rather, "It was divine grace in my heart that enabled me tc receive those instnictions." All the saints ai'e taught of God, foi he it is that gives the understanding; and those, and those only, that are taught of Gcd, will continue to the end in the things that they have learned.

103. How sweet are tliy words unto my taste ! Yea., siceetcr than honey to my mouth ! 104. Through thy precepts I get understanding: tlierefore I hate eveiy false way.

Here is, 1. The wonderful pleasure and delight which Da\ id took in the word of God; it was sweet to his taste, sweeter than honey. There is such a thing as a spiritual taste, an inward savour and I'clishof divine things; such an evidence of them to ourselves, by experience, as we cannot give to others. We have heard him ourselves, John iv. 42. To this scripture-taste the word of God is sweet, very sweet, sweeter than any of the gratifications of sense, even those that are most delicious. David speaks as if he wanted words to express the satisfaction he took in the discoveries of the divine will and grace no pleasure was cf mparable to it.

2. The unspeakable profit and advantage he gained by the word ot God; (1.) It helped him to a good head; " Through thy precepts I get understanding, to discei'n between truth and falsehood, good ?.nd evil, so as not to mistake either in the conduct of my own life, or in advising others." (2.) It helped him to a good heart; " Therefore, because I have got understanding of the truth, / hate every false way, and am steadfastly resolved not to turn aside into it." Observe here, The way of sin is a false way, it deceives, and will niin, all that walk in it; it is the wrong way, and yet it seems to a man right, Prov. xiv. 12. It is the character of every good man, that he hates the way of sin, and hates it because it is a false way; he not only refrains his feet from it, {y. 101.) but he hates it, has an antipathy to it, and a dread of it. Those who hate sin as sin, will hate all sin, hate every false way, because every false way leads to dcstructirn. And the more understanding we get by the word of God, the more rooted will our hatred of sin be; for, to depart from evil, that is understanding; (Job xxviii. 28.) and the more ready we are in the scriptures, the better furnished we are with answers to temptation. 14. NUN,

105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Observe here, 1. The nature of the word of God, and the great intention of giving it to the world; it is a lamp and a light, it disco\ers to us that, concerning God and ourselves, which otherwise we could not have known; it shows us what is amiss, and will be dangerous; it directs us in our work and way, and a dark place indeed the world would be without it; it is a lamp which we may set up by us, and take into our hands for our own partirular use, Prov. vi. 23. The commandment is -a l:;mp kept burning with the oil of the Spirit; it is like the Ismps in the sanctuary, and the pillar of fire, to Israel,

2. The use we should make of it. It must be not only a light to our eyes, to gratify them, and fill our heads with speculations, but a light to our feet aiul

PSALMS, CXIX.

to our fiath, to direct us in the right ordering of our conversation; both in the choice of our way in general, and in the particular steps we take in that way; that we may not take 2l false way, nor a false step in the right way. We are theri truly sensible of God's goodness to us in giving us such a lamp and light, when we make it a g-uide to our feet, our path.

106. I have sworn, and I will perform f/, thai I will keep thy righteous judgments.

Here is, 1. The nv-tion David had of religion; it is, kef/ling God's rig/ilcous judgments. God's com-in mds are his judgments, the dictates of infinite wisdom. They are righteous judgments, consonant to the eternal niles ot equity, and it is our duty to keep them carefully.

2. The obligation he here laid upon himself to be religious, binding himself, by his own promise, to that which he was already bound to by the divine precept, and all little enough. " I have sworn, I have lifted up my hand to the Lord, and I cannot go back; and therefore must go forward, I will perform it." Note, (1.) It is good for us to bind ourselves with a solemn oath to be religious. We must swear to the Lord as subjects swear allegiance to their sovereign, promising fealty, appealing to God concerning our sincerity in this promise, and owning ourselves liable to the curse, if we do not perform it. (2.) We must often call to mind the vows of God that are upon us, and remember that we have swoni. (3.) We must make conscience of performing unto the Lord our oaths; (an honest man will be as good as his word;) nor have we sworn to our own hurt, but it will be unspeakably to our hurt, if we do not perform.

107. I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O Lord, according unto tiiy word.

Here is, 1. The presentation David makes of the sorrowful condition he was in; J am afflicted very much, afflicted in spirit; he seems to mean that especially: he laboured under many discouragements; without were fightings, within were fears: this is often the lot of the best saints, therefore think it not strange if sometimes it be ours.

2. The recourse he has to God in this condition; he prays for his gi-ace, " Quicken me, O Lord; m ike me lively, make me cheerful, quicken me, by afflictions, to greater dihgence in mv work: quicken 7ne; deliver me out of my afflictions, which will be as life from the dead." He pleads the promise of God, guides his desires by it, and grounds his hopes upon it; Quicken me according to thy word. David resolved to perform his ])romises to God, (x". 106.) and therefore could, with humble boldness, beg of God to make good his word to him.

108. Accept, I beseech thee, the free-will-offerings of my mouth, O Lord, and teach me thv judgments.

Twv things we are here taught to pray f"r, in reference to our religious performances.

1. Acceptance of them; this w^ must aim at in all we do in religion, that, whether present or absent, we mav be accepted of the Lord. That which David here eaniestlv prays fcr the acceptance of, is, the free-will-ojfrrings, not of his ])urse, but nf his mouth, his prayers and praises; the calves of our li/is, (Hos. XIV. 2.) the fruit of our lips, (Heb. i. 15.) these are the spiritual off"erings which all Christians, as spiritual ])riests, must offer to Ciod; and they must be free-will-offerings, for we must off"cr them abundantly and cheerfully; and it is this willing mind that is accepted. The more there is of freeness and willingness in the service of God, the more pleasing it is to him.

2. Assistance in them; Teach me thy judgmertit,. We cannot offer any thing to God, which we have reason to think he will accept of, but what he is pleased to instiiict us in the doing of; and m e must be as earnest for the grace of God in us, as loi the favour of God towards us.

109. My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law. 110. The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet ] erred not from thy precepts.

Here is, 1. David in danger of losing his life. There is but a step between him and death, for the wicked have laid a snare for him; Saul did so many a time, because he hated him for his piety. Wherever he was, he found some design or other laid against him to take away his life, for that was it they aimed at; wliat they could not eff'ect by open force, they hoped to comj^ass by treachery, which made him say. My soul is continually in my hand: it was not so with him, only as a mari, (so it is ti-ue of us all; wherever we are, we lie exposed to the strokes of death, what we carry in our hand, is easily snatched away from us by vi(5lcnce, or, if sandy, as our life is, it easily of itself slips through our lingers,) but as a man of war, a soldier, who often jeoparded his life in the high places of the field; and especially as a man after God's own heart, and, as such, hated and persecuted, and always delivered to death, (2 Cor. iv. 11.) killed all the day long.

2. David in no danger of losing his religion, notwithstanding this. Thus, in Jeopardy every hour, and yet constant to God and his duty, none of these things move him: for, (1.) \ie^ does not forget the law, and therefore he is likely to persevere. In the multitude of his cares for his own safety, he finds room in his head and heart for the word of God, and has that in his mind as fresh as ever; and, where that dwells richly, it will be a well of living water. (2.) He has not yet erred from God's precepts, and therefore it is to be hoped he will not. He had stood many a shock, and kept his ground, and surely that grace which had helped him hitherto would not fail him, but would still prevent his wanderings.

111. Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart. 112. I have inclined my heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end.

The psalmist here, in a most affectionate manner, like an Israelite indeed, resolves to stick to the word of God, and to live and die by it

1. He resolves to portion himself in it, and there to seek his happiness, nay, there to enjoy it; " Thy testimonies, the truths, the ])romises, of thy worcf, have I taken as a heritage for ever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart." The present delight he took in them was aii evidence that the good things contained in them were, in his account, the best things, and the treasure which he set his heart unon. (1.) He expected an etemal hajjpiness in God s testimonies; the covenant God had made with him was an everlasting covcn;mt, and therefore he took it as a heritage for ex>er. If he could not yet say. They are my heritage, yet he could say, "I have made c/io/cr "of them for my heritage, and will never take up with a portion in this life," xvii. 14, 15. God's testimonies are a heritage to all that have received the Spirit of adoption; for, if children, then heirs; they are a heritage for n<er, and that no earthly heritage is; (1 Pet. i. 4.) all the saints accept therh as such, take up with them, live upon them, and can therefore be content with but little of this world.

PSALMS, CXIX

571

(2.) He enjoyed a present satisfaction in them; They are the rejoicing of my heart, because they (vill be my heritage for ever. It requires the heart of a good man to see his portion in the promise of God, and not in tlie possession of this world.

2. He resolves to govern himself by it, and thence to take his measures; / have ijiclined my heart to do thy statutes. They that would have the blessings of God's testimonies, must come under the bonds of his statutes. We must look for comfort onlv in the way of duty, and that duty must be done, (1.) With full consent and complacency; " I have, by the grace of God, inclined my heart to it, and conquered the avei'sion I had to it." A good man brings his heart to his work, and then it is done well. A gracious disposition to do the will of God is the acceptable principle of all obedience. (2.) With constancy and perseverance. He would perform God's statutes always, in all instances, in the duty of every day, in a constant course of holy walking,' and this to the end, without weariness. This is following the Lord fully.

15. SAMECH.

113. I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.

Here is, 1. David's dread of the risings of sin, and the first beginnings of it; I hate va.m thoughts. He does not mean that he hated them in others, for there he could not discern them, but he hated them in his own heart. Every good man makes conscience of his thoughts, for they are words to God: vain tlioughts, how light soever most make of them, are sinful and hurtful, and therefore we should account them hateful and dreadful, for they not only divert the mind from that which is good, but open the door to all evil, Jer. iv. 14. Though David could not say that he was free from vain thoughts, yet he could say that he hated them; he did not countenance them, or give them any entertainment, but did what he could to keep them out, at least to keep them under. The evil I do, I allau not.

2. David's delight in the rule of duty; but thy law do I love, which forbids those vain thoughts, and thi-eatens them. The more we love the law of God, the more we shall get the mastery of our vain tlioughts, the more hateful they will be to us, as being contrary to the whole law, and the more watchful we shall be against them, lest they draw lis from that we love.

114. Thou art my hiding-place and my shield: I hope in thy word.

Here is, 1. God's care of David to protect and defend him, which he comforts himself with, when his enemies were very malicious against him; Thou art my Hiding-filace, and my Shield. David, when Saul pursued him, often betook himself to close places for shelter. In war, he guarded himself with his shield, now God Avas both these to him; a Hiding-place to preserve him from danger, and a Shield to preserve him in danger, his life from death, and his soul from sin. Good people are safe under God's protection. He is their Strength and their Shield, their Helfi and their Shield; their Sun and their Shield; their Shield and their great Beward; and here, their Hiding-place and their Shield. The)-may by faith retire to him, and repose in him as their Hiding-place, where they are kept in secret. They may by faith oppose his power to all the might and malice of their enemies, as their shield to quench every fiery dart.

2. David's confidence in God; he is safe, and therefore he is easy, under the divine protection. " I hope in thy word, which has acquainted me with thee, and assured me of thy kindness to me."

They who depend on God's promise shall have the benefit of his power, and be taken under his special protection.

115. Depart from me, ye evil-doers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.

Here is, 1. David's firm and fixed resolution to live a holy life; Iivill keep the commandmeyits of my God. Bravely resolved! like a saint, like a sol-, dier; for true courage consists in a steady resolution! against all sin, and tor all duty. Those that would keep God's commandments, must be often renewing their, resolutions to do so; " I ivill keep them: whatever others do, this I will do; though I be singular, though all about me be evil-doers, and desert me; whatever I have done hitherto, I will for the future walk closely with God. They are the commandments of God, of my God, and therefore I will keep them. He is God, and may command me; my God, and will command me nothing but what is for my good."

2. His farewell to bad company, pursuant to this resolution; Depart from me, ye evil-doers. Though David, as a good magistrate, was a terror tr evil-doers, yet there were many such, even abou court, intruding near his person; these he here ab dicates, and resolves to have no conversation witi them. Note, They that resolve to keep the commandments of God, must have no society with evil doers; for bad company is a great hindrance to a holy life. We must not choose wicked people for cur companions, nor be intimate with them; we must not do as they do, nor do as they would have us do, Ps. i. 1. Eph. V. 11.

116. Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope. 117. Hold thou me up, and 1 shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.

Here, 1. David prays for sustaining grace; for this grace sufficient he besought the Lord twice; Uphold me, and again. Hold thou me up. He sees himself, not only unable to goon in his duty by any strength of his own, but in danger of falling into sin, unless he was prevented by divine grace; and therefore he is tluis earnest for that grace to uphold him in his integrity, (xli. 12.) to keep him from falling, and to keep him from tiring, that he might neither turn aside to evil-doing, nor be weary of welldoing. We stand no longer than God holds us, and go no further than he carries us.

2. He pleads earnestly for this grace.

(1.) He pleads the promise of God, his dependence upon the promise, and his expectation from it; " Uphold me, according to thy word, which word I hope in; and if it be not performed, I shall be made ashamed of my hope, and be called a fool for my credulity." But they that hope in God's word may be sure that the word will not fail them, and therefore their hope will not make them ashamed.

(2.) He pleads the great need he had of God's grace, and the great advantage it would be of to him; Uphold me, that I may live; intimating, that he could not live without the grace of God; he should fall into sin, into death, into hell, if God did not hold him up; but, supported by his hand, he shall live; his spiritual life shall be maintained, and be an earnest of eternal life. Hold me up, and I shall be safe; out of danger, and out of the fear of danger. Our holy security is grounded on divine supports.

yo.j ile pleads his resolution, in the strength of this grace, to proceed in his duty; "Hold me nti. and then I ivill have respect unto thy statutes cot. tinually, and never turn my eyes or feet aside from them." I ivill employ myself, so some; I ivill de-

PSALMS, CXIX.

light myself, so others, in thy statutes. If God's right hand uphold us, we must, in his strength, go on in our duty, both with diligence and with pleasure.

118. Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood. 119. Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies. 120. My flesh trem-bleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.

Here is, 1. God's judgments on wicked people, on tliose that wander from his statutes, that take their measures from other mles, and will not have God to reign o\'er them. All departure from God's statutes is certainly an error, and will prove a fatal one. These are the wicked of the earth; they mind earthly things, and lay up their treasures in the earth,' and live in pleasure on the earth, and are strangers and enemies to heaven and heavenly things. Now, see how God deals with them, that you mav neither fear them, nor envy them. (1.) He treads them all down; he brings them to ruin, to utter ruin, to shameful ruin; he makes them his footstool. Though they are ever so high, he can bring them low; (^Amos ii. 9.) he has done it many a time, and he will do it, for he resists the proud, and will triumph over those that oppose his kingdom. Proud persecutors trample upon liis people, but, sooner or later, he will trample upon them. (2.) He fiuts them all away like dross. Wirked people are as dross, which, though it be mingled with the good metal in the ore, and seems to be i^f the same subst mce with it, must be separated from it. And, in God's account, they are worthless tilings, the scum and refuse of the earth, and no more to be C'mpared with the righteous, than dross with fine gold. There is a day coming which will put tliem away from among the righteous, (Matth. xiii. 49.) so that they shall have no place in their congregation; (Ps. i. 5.) which will put them away into everlasting fire, the fittest place f ir the dr^^ss. Sometimes, in this world, the wicked are, by the censures of the church, or the sword of the magistrate, or the judgments of God, put away as dross, Prov. XXV. 4, 5.

2. The reasons of these judgments. God casts them off, because they err from his statutes; they that will not submit to the c mmands of the word, shall feel the curses of it. And because their deceit is falsehood, because they deceive thcmsehes by setting up false rules, in opposition to God's statutes, which they err from; and because they go about to deceive others with their hypocritical pretences of good, and their crafty projects of mischief. Their cunning is falsehood, so Dr. Hammond. The utmost o^ their policy is treachery and perfidiousness; this the God of truth hates, and will jjunish.

3. The improvement David made of these judgments; he tDok notice of them, and received instruction from them. The ruin of the wicked helped to increase, (1.) His love to the word of God; " I see what comes of sin; therefore I love thy testimonies, which warn me to take heed of those dangerous courses, and keep, me from the paths of the destroyer." We see the word of God fulfilled in his judgments nn sin and sinners, and therefore we should love it. (2.) His fear of the wrath of God; My Jlcsh trembles for fear of thee. Instead of insulting over those who fell under God's displeasure, he humbled himself. What we read and hear of the judgments of God upon wicked people, should make us, [1.] To revircnce his terrible majesty, and to stand in awe of him; IVho is able to stand before this holy Lord God? 1 Sam. vi, 20. [2.] To fear lest we offend him, and becoms obnoxious to

his wratli. Good men have need to be restrained from sin by the terrors of the Lord; especially when judgment begins at the house of God, and hypocrites are discovered, and put away as dross.

16. AIN. 121. I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors. 122, Be surety for thy servant foi- good: let not the proud oppress me.

David here appeals to God,

1. As his Witness, that he had not done wrong; he could truly say, " I have done judgment and justice; I ha\ e made conscience of rendering to all their due, and have not, by force cr fraud, hindered any of their right." Tate him as a king, he executed judgment and justice to all his people; (2 Sam. viii. 15.) take him in a private capacity, he could appeal to Saul himself, that there was no evil or transgression in his hand, 1 Sam. xxiv. 11. Note, Honesty is the best policy, and will be cur rejoicing in the day of evil.

2. As his Judge, that he might not be wronged; he, having done justice for others that were oppressed, begs that Gcd would do him justice, and avenge him of his ad\xrsaries; " Be surety for thy servant for good; undertake for me against those that would run me down, and ruin me." He is sensible that he cannot make his part good himself, and therefore begs that God would appear for him. Christ is our Suret\ witli God; and, if he be so. Providence shall be our Surety against all the world; who, or what, shall harm us, if God's power and goodness be engaged for our protection and rescue ? He does not j)rescribe to God what he should do for him; only let it be for good, in such way and manner as infinite \Msd()m sees best; only let me not be left to mine oppressors. Though David had done judg-ment and justice, yet he had many enemies; but, having God for his Friend, he hoped they should not have their will against him; and in that hop>e he prayed again, Let not the proud oppress me. David, < ne of the best of men, was oppressed by the jjroud, whom God beholds afar off: the condition, therefore, rf the persecuted is better than that of the persecutors, and will appear so at last.

123. Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy lighteousness.

David, being oppressed, is here waiting and wishing for the salvation of the Lord, which would make him easy.

1. He cannot but think that it comes slowly; Mi7ie eyes fail for thy salvatioii. His eyes were towards it, and had been long so: he looked for help from heaven, and we deceive ourselves if we look for it any other way; but it did not come so soon as he expected, so that his eves began to fail, and he was sometimes ready to despair, and to think that, because the salvation did not come when he looked for it, it would never come'. It is often the infirmity even of good men, to be weary of waiting God's time, when their time is elapsed.

2. Yet he cannot but hope that it comes surely. for he expects the word of God's righteousness, and no other salvation than what is secured by that word, which cannot fall to the ground, beciuise it is a word of righteousness. Though our eyes fail, yet God's word does not, and therefore those that build upon it, though now discouraged, shall in due time see his salvation.

124. Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes 125. I <-/?« thy servant, give me understanding, that I may know thy teiitimonies.

PSALMS, CXIX.

573

Here is, 1. David's petition for divine instructiun; " Teach me thy statutes; give me to know all my duty; when I am in doubt, and know not for certain what is my duty, direct me, and make it plain to me; now that I am afflicted, oppressed, and mine eyes ready to fail for thy salvation, let me know what my duty is, in this condition." In difficult times, we should desire more to be told what we must do, than what we may expect; and should pray more to be led into the knowledge of scripture-precepts than of scripture-prophecies. If God, Avho gave us his statutes, do not teach us, we shall never learn them. How God teaches, is implied in the next petition. Give me understanding, a renewed understanding, apt to receive divine light, that I may know thy testirnonies. It is God's prerogative to give an understanding, that understanding, without which we cannot know God's testimonies. Those who know most of God's testimonies desire to know more, and are still earnest with God to teach them, never thinking they know enough. 2. His pleas to enforce this petition. (1.) He pleads God's goodness to him; Deal with me according to thy mercy. The best saints count this their best plea for any blessing, " Let me have it according to thy mercy;" for we deserve no favour from God, nor can we claim any as a debt, but we are then most likely to be easy, when we cast ourselves upon God's mercy, and refer ourselves to it. Particularly, when we come to him for instnic-tion, we must beg it as a mercy, and reckon that in being taught we are well dealt with. i

(2.) He pleads his relation to God; "/ am thy I servant, and have work to do for thee, therefore I teach me to do it, and to do it well." The servant I has reason to expect, that, if he be at a loss about his work, his master should teach him, and if it i were in his power, give him an understanding. ' "Lord," says David, "I desire to serve thee, show me how." If any man resolve to .do (iod's will as his servant, he shall be made to know his testimonies, John vii. 17. Ps. xxv. 14.

126. ft is time for thee. Lord, to work; for they have made void thy law.

Here is, 1. A complaint of the daring impiety of the wicked; David, having in himself a holy indignation at it, humbly represents it to God. '* Lord, there are those that have made void thy law, have set thee and thy government at defiance, and have done what in them lay to cancel and vacate the obligation of thy commands. They that sin through infirmity transgress the law, but presumptuous sinners do,' in effect, make void the law, saying, JVho is the Lord? What is the Almighty, that'we should fear him? It is possible a godly man may sin against the commandment, but a wicked man would sin away the commandment, would repeal God's laws, and enact his own lusts. This is the sinfulness of sin, and the malignity of the carnal mind.

2. A desire that God would appear for the vindication of his own honour. ''It is time for thee, Lord, to work, to do something for the effectual confutation of atheists and infidels, and the silencing ci those that set their mouth against the heavens." j God's time to work, is, when vice is become most I n\rmg, and the measure of iniquity is full. Mw i tinll I arise, saith the Lord. Some read it, and the I orieinal will bear it, it is time to work for thee, O j Loid; it is time for every one in his place to appear on the Lord's side, against the threatening growth of profaneness and immorality. We must do what we can for the support of the sinking interests of religion, and after all, we must beg of God to take the work into his own hands.

f 27 Therefore I love thy commandments

above gold, yea, above fine gold. 128. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.

David nere, as often in this psalm, professes thf; great love he had to the word and law of God; and, to evidence the sincerity of it, observe,

1. The degree of his love. He loved his Bible better than he loved his money; above gold, yea, above fine gold. Gold, fine gold, is what most men set their hearts upon; nothing charms them and dazzles their eyes so as gold does; it is fine gold, a fine thing in their eyes; they, will venture their souls, then- God, their all, to'get and keep it: but David saw that the word of God answers all purposes better than money does; for it enriches the soul toward Gcd, and therefore he loved it better than gold; for it had done that for him which gold could not do,.and would stand him in stead when the wealth of the world would fail him.

2. The ground of his love. Therefore he loved all God's commandments, because he esteemed them to be right, all reasonable and just, and suited to the end for which they were made. They are all as they should be, and no fault can be found with them; and therefore we must love them, because they bear God's image, and are the revelations of his will. If we thus consent to the law, that it is good, we shall delight in it after the inner man.

3. The fruit and evidence of this love; He hated evei~y false way. The way of sin being directly contraiy to God's precepts, which are right, is a false way, and therefore they that have a love and esteem for God's law, hate it, and will not be reconciled to it.

17. PE. 129. Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.

See here, hoAV David was affected toward the word of God.

1. He admired it, as most excellent in itself; Thy testimonies are wonderful. The word of God gives us admirable discoveries of God, and Christ, and another world; admirable proofs of divine lo\ e and grace. The majesty cf the style, the puritv of the matter, the harmony of the parts, are all wonderful; its effects upon'the consciences of men, both for conviction and comfort, are wonderful; and it is a sign that we are not acquainted with God's testimonies, or do not understand them, if we do not admire them.

2. He adhered to it, as of constant use to him; " Therefore doth my soul keep them, as a treasure of inestimable value, which I cannot be without." We do not keep them to any purpose, unless cur souls keep them; there they'must be deposited as the tables of the testimony in the ark, there they must have the innermost and uppermost place. They that see God's word to be admirable, will prize it highly, and preserve it carefullv, as that which they promise themselves great things from.

130. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.

Here is, 1. The great use for which the word cf God was intended; to give light, that is, to give understanding; to give us to understand that whicli will be of use to us in our travels through this world; and it is the outward and ordinary means bv which the Spirit of God enlightens the understanding of all that are sanctified. God's testimonies are not only wonderful, for the greatness of them, but useful, as a light in a dark place.

2. Its efficacy for this purpose; it a<lmirably ar

hlA

PSALMS, CXIX.

swera the end; for, (1.) Even the entrance of God's ivord gives light. If we begin at the beginning, and take it before us, we shall find, that the very first verses of the Bible gi\-e us surprising, and yet satisfying, discoveries of the origin of the universe, about which, without that, the world is utterly in the dark. As soon as the word of God enters into us, and has a place in us, it enlightens us; we find we begin to see, when we begin to study the word of God. The very first principles of the oracles of God, the plainest truths, the milk appointed for the babes, bring a great light into the soul, much more will the soul be illuminated by the sublime mysteries that are found there. The exposition or explication of thy word giveth light; then it is most profitable, when ministers do their part m giving the sense, Neh. iii. 8. Some understand it of the New Testament, which is the opening or unfolding of the Old, which would give light concerning life and immortality. (2.) It would give understanding even to the simfile, to the weakest capacities; for it shows us a way to heaven, so plain, that the waijfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

131. I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.

Here is, 1. The desire David had toward the word of God; / longed for thy commandments. When he was under a forced absence from God's ordinances, he longed to be restored to them again; when he enjoyed ordinances, he greedily sucked in the word of God, as new-born babes desire the milk. When Christ is formed in the soul, there are gracious longings, unaccountable to one that is a stranger to the work.

2. The degree of that desire, appearing in the expression of it; / ofiened my mouth, and panted; as one, overcome with heat, or almost stifled, pants for a mouthful of fresh air. Thus strong, thus earnest, should our desires be toward God, and the remembrance of his name, xlii. 1, 2. Luke xii. 50.

132. Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.

Here is, 1. David's request for God's favour to himself; " Look graciously upon me; let me have thy smiles, and the light of thy countenance; take cognizance of me and my affairs, and be merciful to 7ne; let me taste the sweetness of thy mercy, and receive the gifts of thy mercy." See how humble his petition is; he asks not for the operations of God s hand, only for the smiles of his race; a good look is enough; and for that he does not plead merit, but implores mercy.

2. His acknowledgment of his favour to all his people; jis thou usest to do unto those that love thy na me. Which speaks, either, (1.) A plea for mercy; "Liord, I am one of those that love thy name, love thee and thy word, and thou usest to be kind to those that do so; and wilt thou be worse to me than to others of thy people?" Or, (2.) A description of the favour and mercy he desired; that which thou usest to bestow on those that love thy name, which thou bearest to thy chosen, cvi. 4, 5. He desires no more, no better, than neighbour's fare, and he will take up with no less; common looks and common mercies will not serve, but such as are reserved for those that love him; which are such as eve has not seen, 1 Cor. ii. 9. Note, The dealings of God with them that love him, are such, that a nnn needs not desire to be anv better dealt with, for he will muke them ti-uly aiid eternally ha])])y. And as long as God deals with us no otherwise than

as he uses to deal with those that love him, we have no reason to complain, 1 Cor. x. 13.

133. Order my steps in thy word: and

let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

Here David prays for two great spiritual blessings, and is, in this verse, as earnest for the good work of God in him, as, in the verse before, for the good-will of God toward him. He prays,

1. For direction in the paths of duty; " Order my steps in thy ivord; having led me into the right way, let eveiy step I take in that way be under the conduct of thy grace." We ought to walk by rule; all the motions of the soul must not only be kept within the bounds prescribed by the word, so as not to transgress them, but carried out in the paths prescribed by the word, so as not to trifle in them. And therefore we must beg of God, that, by his good Spirit, he would order our steps accordingly.

2. For deliverance from the power of sin; " L,et not iniquity have dominion over me, so as to gain my consent to it, and that I should be led captive by it." The dominion of sin is to be dreaded and deprecated by every one of us; and if in sincerity we pray against it, we may receive that promise as an answer to the prayer, (Rom. vi. 14.) Sin shall not have dominion over you.

134. Deliver me from the oppression of man : so will I keep thy precepts.

Here, 1. David prays that he might live a quiet and peaceable life, and might not be harassed and discomposed by those that studied to be vexatious; " Deliver me from the oppressioji of man; man, whom God can control, and whose power is limited; let them know themselves to be but men, (ix. 20.) and let me be delivered out of the hands of unreasonable men.

2. He promises that then he would live in all godliness and honesty. Let me be delivered out ot the hands of my enemies, that I may serve God without fear; so will I keep thy precepts." Not but that he would keep God's precepts, though he should be continued under oppression; but so ShaJ: I keep thy precepts more cheerfully, and with more enlargement of heart, my bonds being loosed." Then we may expect temporal blessings, when we desire them with this in our eye, that we may sen'e God the better.

135. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.

David here, as often elsewhere, Avrites himself God's servant, a title he gloried in, though he was a king: now here, as became a good servant,

1. He is very ambitious of his Master's favour, accounting that his happiness and chiefest good. He asks not for com and wine, for,silver and gold, but, " Make thy face to shine upon thy senmnt; let me be accepted of thee, and let me know that I am so. Comfort me with the light of thy countenance in every cloudy and dark day; if the world frown upon me, yet do thou smile."

2. He is very solicitous about his master's work, accounting that his business and chief concem; t>us he would be instructed in, that he might do it, and do it well, so as to be accepted in the doing of it; Teach me thy statutes. Note, We must pray as earnestly for grace as for comfort. If God hides his face from us, it is because we have been care less in keeping his statutes; and therefore, that wc mav be qualified for the returns of his favour. Aft must pray for wisdom to do our duty.

136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.

PSALMS, I.X1X.

5?:.

Here we have David in sorrow,

1. It is a great sorrow; to that degree, that he weeps rivers of tears; commonly, where there is a gracious heart, there is a weeping eye; in conformity to Christ, who was a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief David had prayed for comfort in God's favour; {v. 135.) now he pleads that he was qualified for that comfort, and hud need of it, fir he was one of them that mourned in Zion, and they that do so shall be comforted, Isa. Ixi. 3'.

2. It is godlv sorrow. He wept not for his troubles, though they were many, but for the dishonour to God, Because they kecji not thy law. Either, because 7nine eyes keep, not thy laiv, so some. The eye is the inlet and outlet of a great deal of sin, and therefore it ought to be a weeping eye. Or rather, they, those about me, v. 139. Note, The sins of sinners are the sorrows of saints. We must mourn for that which we cannot mend.

18. TZADDI.

137. Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upriglit are thy judgments. 138. Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and veiy faithful.

Here is, 1. The righteousness of God, the infinite rectitude and perfection of his nature: as he is what he is, so he is what he should be, and in every thing acts as becomes him; there is nothing wanting, nothing amiss, in God: his will is the eternal rule of equity, and he is righteous, for he doeth all according to it.

2. The righteousness of his government. He rules the world by his providence, according to the principles of justice, and never did, nor ever can, do any wrong to any of his creatures; Ujtri^ht are thy judgments, the promises and threatcnmgs are executions of both. Every word of God is pure, and he will be true to it; he perfectly knows the merits of every cause, and will judge accordingly.

3. The righteousness of his commands, which he has given to be the i-ule of our obedience; " Thy \ testimonies that thou hast commanded, which are backed with thy sovereign authority, and to which thou dost require our obedience, are exceeding righteous and faithful: righteousness and faithfulness itself." As he acts like himself, so his law requires that we act like ourselves, and like him; that we be just to ourselves and to all we deal with, true to all the engagements we lay ourselves under both to God and man. That which we are commanded to practice is righteous; that which we are commanded to believe is faithful. It is necessary to our faith and obedience that we be convinced of this.

139. My zeal hath consumed me: because mine enemies have forgotten thy word.

Here is, 1. The great contempt which wicked men put upon religion; Mine enemies have forgotten thy words. They have often heard them, but so little did they heed them, that they soon forgot them, they willingly forgot them; not only, through carelessness, let them slip out of their minds, but contrived how to cast them behind their backs. This is at the bottom of all the wickedness of the wicked, and particularly of their malignity and enmity to the people of God; they ha\ e forgotten the words of God, else those would gi\'e,check to their sinful courses.

2. The great concern which godly men show for religion. David reckoned those his enemies who forgot the words of God, because they were enemies to religion, which he had entered into a league with, offensive and defensive. And therefore his zeal even consumed him, when he observed their impie-

ties. He conceived such an indignation at their wickedness as preyed upon his spirits, ate them uji (as Christ's zeal, John ii. 17.) swallowed up all inferior considerations, and made him forget himself. ]My zeal has pressed or constrained me; so Dr. Hammond reads it. Acts xviii. 5. Zeal against sin should constrain us to do what we can against it in our places, at least, to do so much the more in religion ourselves. The worse others are, the better we should be.

140. Thy word is very pure: thei'eforf thy servant loveth it.

Here is, 1. David's great affection for the word cl God; Thy servant loves it. Every good man, bein^ a servant of God, loves the word of God, because it lets him know his Master's will, and directs him in his Master's work. Wherever there is grace, thei-e is a wai-m attachment to the word of God.

2. The ground and reason of that affection; lie saw it to be x'erz//2wre, and therefore he loved it. Our love to the word of God is then an evidence of our love to God, when we love it for the sake of its purity; because it bears the image of God's holiness and is designed to make us partakers of his hohness. It commands purity; and as it is itself refined from all corinipt mixture, so, if we receive it in the light and love of it, it will refine us from the dross of wordliness and fleshly-mindedness.

141. I am small and despised; yet do not I forget thy precepts.

Here is, 1. David pious, and yet poor, /fe was a man after God's own heart, one whom the King of kings did delight to honour, and yet small and despised, in his own account, and m the account of many others. Men's real excellency cannot always secure them from contempt; nay, it often expose? them to the scorn of some, and always makes then* low in their own eyes. God has chosen the foolish things of the ivorUl, and it has been the common lot of his people to be a despised people.

2. David poor, and yet pious; small and despised for his strict and serious godliness; yet his conscience can witness for him, that he did not forget God's precepts. He will not throw off his religion, though it exposed him to contempt, for he knew that was designed to try his constancy. When we are smalt and despised, we have the more need to remember God's precepts, that we may have them to support us under the pressures of a low condition.

142. Thy righteousness w an everlastmg righteousness, and thy law is the truth.

Observe, 1. That God's word is righteousness, and it is an everlasting righteousness; it is the rule of God's judgment, and it is consonant to his counsels from eternitv, and will direct his sentence for eternity. The word of God will judge us, it will judge us in righteousness, and by it our everlasting state will be determined. This should possess us with a very great reverence for the word of God, that it is righteousness itself, the standard of righteousness, and it is everlasting in its rewards and punishments.

2. That God's word is a law, and that law is tnith. See the double obligation we are under to be governed bv the word of God; we are reasonable creatures,' and as such we must be ruled by truth, acknowledging the force and power of it.' If the principles be tnie, the practices must be agreeable to them, else we do not act rationally. \Ne are creatures, and therefore subjects, and must be ruled bv our Creator; and whatever he commands we are bound to obey as a law. See how these obligations are here twisted, these cords of a man: here is truth brought to the understanding, there to sit chief, and

R76

PSALMS, CXIX.

direct the motions of the whole man. But, lest the authority of that should become weak through the flesh, here is a law to bind the will, and bring that into subjection. God's truth is a law, (John xviii. 37.) and God's /aw is the truth; surely we cannc;t break such words as these asunder.

143. Trouble and anguish have taken hold on nie; yet thy commandments are my delights. 144. The righteousness of tliy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live.

Tliese two verses are almost a repetition ot the two foregoing verses, but witli improvements.

1. He again professes his constant adherence to God and his duty, notwithstanding the many difficulties and discouragements he met with. He had said, (x*. 141.) I am small and despised, and yet adhere to my duty; here he finds himself not only mean, but miserable, as far as this world could make him so. Trouble and anguish have laid hold on me; trouble without, anguisli within; they surprised him, they seized him, they held him. Sorrows are often the lot of saints in this vale of tears; they are in heaviness through manifold temptations. There he had said. Yet do I not forget thy precepts; here he cai'ries his constancy much higher; Yet thy commandments are ?ny delights. All this trouble and anguish did not put his mouth out of taste for the comforts of the word of God, but he could still relish them, and find that peace and pleasure in them, which all the calamities of this present time could not deprive him of. There are delights, variety of delights, in the word of God, which the saints have often the sweetest enjoyment of, when they are in trovible and anguish, 2 Cor. i. 5.

2. He again acknowledges the everlasting righteousness of God's word as before; (y. 142.) The righteousness of thy testimonies is ex'erlasting, and cannot be altered; and when it is admitted in its power into a soul, it is there an abiding principle, a well of living water, John iv. 14. We ought to meditate much and often upon the equity and the eternity of the word of God. Here he adds, by way of inference, (1.) His prayer for grace; Give me understanding. Those that know much of the word of God, should still co\et to know more; for there IS more to be known. He does not say, '* Give me a further revelation," but. Give me a further understanding; what is revealed, we should desire to understand, and what we know, to know better; and we must go to God foi a heart to know. ^2.) His Qope of g' ry; " Give me this renewed understand-ng, ari hen I shall live; shall live for ever, shall je eternally happy, and shall be comforted, for the )reseTit, in the prospect of it." This is life eternal, 0 know God, John xvii. 3.

19. KOPH. 145. 1 cried with mi/ whole heart; hear 'ne, O Lord : I will keep thy statutes. 146. cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep ny testimonies.

Hei'e is, 1. David's good prayers, by which he ^ought to God for mercy; these he mentions here, ' ot as boasting of them,' or trusting to any merit in 'hem, but reflecting upon them with comfort, that ne had taken the appointed way to comfort. Ol)-serve here, (1.) That he was inward with God in prayer, he jirayed with his heart; and the prayer IS acceptalilc no further than the heart goes along with it. Lip-labour, if that be all, is lost labour. (2.) He was importunate with God in prayer; he cried, as one in earnest, with fervour ot affection.

and a holy vehemence and vigour of desire. He cried with his whole heart; all the powers of his scul were not only engaged and employed, but exerted to the utmc St, in his prayers. 7%ew we are lilely to speed, when we thus strive and wrestle in prayer. (3.) That he directed his prayer to God; I cried unto thee. "Whither should the child go but *o his father, when any tiling ails him? (4.) That '.he great thing he prayed for was salvation; Save :ne. A short prayer; f r we mistake, if we'think we shall be heard for cur much speaking; but a com prehensive prayer; "Not only rescue me frcm.i-uin, but make me happy." \\'e need desire no mi re than God's salvation, (1. 23.) and tlie things (hat accompany it, Htb. vi. 9. (5.) That he was eamtSi! for an answer; i.ntlnot only locked up in his prayers, but looked up after them, to see what became c( them; (Ps. v. 3.) "Lord, hear me, and let me know that thou hearest me."

2. David's good purposes, by which he bound himself to duty, when he was in the pvu'suit ot mercy. "Iwill keep thy statutes; I am reswlved that by thy grace I will;" for, if we turn away oin ear from hearing the law, we cannct expect an answer of peace to our prayers, Prov. xxviii. 9. This puipose is used as a humble plea; {v. 146.) " Save me from my sins, my con-uptions, my temptations, all the hindrances that lie in my way; that I may keep thy testimonies." We must cry for salvation, not that we may have the ease and comfort of it, but that we may have an opportunity cf serving God the more cheerfully.

147. I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried : J hoped in thy word. 148. Mine eyes prevent the 7?/g-^/-watches, that ] might meditate in thy word.

David goes on here to relate how he had abounded in the duty of prayer, much to his comfort and advantage: he cried unto God, offered up to him his pious and devout affections with all seriousness. Observe,

1. The handmaids of his devotion. The two great exercises that attended his prayers, and were helpful to them, were, (1.) Hope in God's word, which encouraged him to continue instant in prayer, though the answer did not come immediately; "I cried, and hoped that at last I should speed, because the vision is for an appointed time, and at the end it shall speak, and not lie. I hoped in thy word, which I knew would not fail me." (2.) Meditation in God's word. The more intimately we ci nverse with the word of God, and the more we dwell upon it in our thoughts, the better able we shall be to speak to God in his own language, and the bi ttcr we shall know what to pray for as we ought. Reading the word will not serve) but we must meditate in it.

2. The hours of his devotion; he prevented the dawning of the morning; nay,and the night-watches. See here, (1.) That David was an early riser, which perhaps conl\-ibuted to his emincncy. He was none of those that say. Yet a little sleep. (2. ) That he began the dav with God; the first thmg he did in the morning, before he admitted any business, was, to pray; when his mind was most fresh, and in the best frame. If our first thoughts in the morning be of God, it will help to keep us in his fear all the da^ long. (3.) That his mind was so full of God, and the cares and delights of his religion, that a little sleep served histum; even in the night-watches, when he waked from his first sleep, he would rather meditate and pray, than turn him and go to sleep again. He esteemed the words of God's mouth more than his necessary repose, which we can as ill spare as our food. Job xxiu. 12. (4.) That he wouM redeem time for religious exercises; he was full oi

PSALMS, CXIX.

577

busitjcss all day, but that will excuse no man from secret devotion; it is better to take time from sleep, us David did, than not to find time for prayer. And Hiis is our comfort, when we pray in the night, that we can never come unseasonably to the throne of grace; for we may have access to it at all hours. Baal may be asleep, but Israel's God never slumbers, nor are there any hours in which he may not be spoken with.

149. Hear my voice, according unto thy loving-kindness: O Lord, quicken me according to thy judgment.

Here, 1. David applies himself to God for grace and comfort, with much solemnity. He begs of God to hear his voice; " Lord, I have something to say to thee; shall I obtain a gracious audience?" Well, what has he to say? What is his petition, and what is his i-equest? It is not long, but it has much in a httle; "Lord, quicken me; stir me up to that which is good, and make me vigorous and lively, and cheerful in it. Let habits of grace be drawn out into act."

2. He encourages himself to hope that he shall obtain his request; for he depends, (1.) Upon God's loving-kindness; "He is good, therefore he will be good to me, who hope in his mercy. His lovmg-kindness manifested to me will help to quicken me, and put life into me." 2. Upon God's judgment, that IS, his wisdom; " He knows what I need, and what is good for me, and therefore will quicken me." Or his promise, the word which he has spoken, mercy secured by the new covenant; Quicken me, according to the tenor of that covenant.

150. They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law. 151. Thou art near, O Lord ; and all thy commandments are truth.

Here is, 1. The apprehension David was in of danger from his enemies. (1.) They were very malicious, and industrious in prosecuting their malicious designs; they follow after ?nisc/iief, any mischief they could do to David or his friends; they would let slip no opportunity, nor let fall any pursuit, that might be to his hurt. (2.) They were very impious, and had no fear of God before their eyes; They are far from thy law; setting themselves as far as they can out of the reach of its convictions and commands. The persecutors of God's people are such as make light of God himself; we may therefore be sure that God will take his people's pait against them. (3.) They followed him close, and he was just ready to fall into their hands; They draw nigh, nigher than they were; so that they got ground of him: they were at his heels, just upon liis back. God sometimes suffers persecutors to prevail very far against his people, so that, as David said, (1 Sam. Jcx. 3.) There is but a ste/i between them and death. >*erhaps this comes in here as a reason why David was so earnest in prayer, v. 149. God brings us nto imminent perils, as he did Jacob, that, like him, we may wrestle for a blessing.

2. The assurance David had of protection with God; " T7iey draw nigh to destroy me, but thou art near; O Lord, to save me; not only mightier than they, and therefore able to help me against them, but nearer than they, and therefore ready to help." It is the happiness ol the saints, that, when trouble is near, God is near, and no trouble can separate between them and him. He is never far to seek, but he is within our call, and means are within his call, Deut. iv. 7. ^11 thy commandments are truth. The enemies thought to defeat the promises <Tod had made to David, but he was sure it was out

Vol. III.' 4 D

of their power, they were inviolably true, and would be infallibly performed.

152. Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.

This confirms what he had said in the close of the foregoing verses, ^11 thy co7nmandments are truth; he means the covenant, the word which God has commanded to a thousand generations. This is firm, as true as ti-uth itself For,

1. God has founded it so; he has framed it for a perpetuity; such is the constitution of it, and so well ordered is it in all things, that it cannot but be sure. The promises are founded for ever, so that, when heaven and earth are passed away, every iota and tittle of the promise shall stand firm, 2 Cor. i. 20.

2. David had found it so; both by a work of God's grace upon his heart, (begetting in him a full persuasion of the truth of God's word, and enabling him to rely upon it with a full satisfaction,) and by the works of his providence on his behalf, fulfilling the promise beyond what he expected. Thus he kneiv of old, from the days of his youth, ever since he began to look toward God, that the word of God is what one may venture one's all upon. This assurance was confirmed by the observations and experiences of his own life, all along, and of others that had gone before him in the ways of God. All that ever dealt with God, and trusted in him, will own that they have found him faithful.

20. RESH.

153. Consider mine affliction, and deliver me; for I do not forget thy law. 154. Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word.

Here, 1. David prays for succour in distress. Is any afflicted'^ Let him firay; let him pray as David docs here. (1.) He has an eye to God's pity, and prays, "Consider mine affliction; take it into thy thoughts, and all the circumstances. cf it, and sit not by as one unconcerned." God is never unmindful of his people's afflictions, but he will have us to fiut him in remembrance, (Is;i. xliii. 26.) to spread our case before him, and then leave it to his compassionate consideration to do in it as in his wisdom he shall think fit, in his own time and way. (2.) He has an eye to God's power, and prays. Deliver me; and again, ^'Deliver me; consider mv troubles, and bring me out of them." God has promised deliverance; (1. 15.) and we may prav for it, with submission to his will, and with regard to his gloiy, that we may serve him the better. (3.) He has an eye to God's righteousness, and prays, " Plead my cause; be thou my Patron and Advocate, and take me for thy client." David had a just cause, but his adversaries were many and mighty, and he was in danger of being run down by them; he therefore begs of God to clear his ii.tegritv, and silence their false accusations. If God do not plead his people's cause, who will? He is righteous, and they commit themselves to him, and therefore he will do it, and do it effectually, Isa. li. 22. Jer. 1. 34. (4.) He has an eye to God's gi-ace, and prays, " Quicken me; Lord, I am weak, and unable to bear my troubles; my spirit is apt to droop and sink. O that thou wouldest revave and comfort me, till the deliverance is wrought!"

2. He pleads his dependence upon the word of God, and upon his guidance; Quicken, rind deliver me, according to thy word of promise; for I do not forget thy precepts. The closer we cleave to the woi'd of God, both as our rule, and as our stay, the more assurance we may have of deliverance m due time.

PSALMS, CXiX.

155. Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes.

Here is, 1. The description of wicked men; they do not only not do God's statutes, but they do not so much as seek them; they do not acquaint themselves with them, nor so much as desire to know heir duty, or in the least endeavour to do it. Those ire wicked indeed, who do not think the law of God worth inquiring after, but are altogether regardless of it, being resolved to live at large, and to walk in the way of their heart.

2. Their doom; Salvation i& far from them. They cannot upon any good grounds promise themselves temporal deliverance. Let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. How can they expect to seek God's favour with success, when they are in adversity, who never sought his statutes, when they were in prosperity? But eternal salvation is certainly far from them. They flatter themselves with a conceit that it is near, and that they are going to heaven; but they are mistaken, it is far trom them, they thrust it from them, by thrusting the Saviour from them; it is so far from them, that they cannot reach it, and the longer they persist in sin,' the fuilher'it is; nay, while salvation is far from them, damnation is near; it slumbers not; Behold, the Judge stands before the door.

156. Great are thy tender mercies, O Lord; quicken me according to thy judgments.

Here, 1. David admires God's grace; Great are thy tender mercies, 0 Lord. The goodness of God's nature, as it is his glory, so it is the joy of all the saints; his mercies are tender, for he is full of compassion; they are many, they are great, a fountain that c-.tn never be exhausted; he is rich in mercy to all that call upon him. He had spoken of the misery of the wicked, {v. 155.) but God is good notwith-standmg; there were tender mercies sufficient in God to have saved them, if they had not des/iised (he riches of those mercies. They that are delivered from the sinner's doom, are bound for ever to own the greatness of God's mercies which delivered them.

2. He begs for God's grace, reviving, quickening, grace, according to his judgments, according to the tenor of the new covenant, that established rule by which he goes in dis])cnsing tliat grace. Or, according to his manner, his custom or usage with those that love his name, v. 132.

157. Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies.

Here is, 1. David surrounded with difficulties and dingers; Many are my fiersecutors and mine ene-jnies. When Saul, the king, was his persecutor and enemy, no n.arvel that many more were so; multitudes will follow the pernicious ways of abused authority. David, being a public person, had many enemies, Ijut withal he had many friends, who loved him and wished him well, let him set the one over against the other. In this, David was a type both oiF Christ and his church. The enemies, the persecutors of both, are many, very many.

2. David established in the way of his duty, notwithstanding; " Yet do I not decline from thy testimonies, as knowing that, while I adhere to them, God is for me; and then no matter who is against me." A man who is steady in tl\e way of liis duty, though he may have many enemies, needs fear none.

158. I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.

Here is, 1. David's sorro .v for the wickedness of the wicked. Though he conversed much at home^ yet sometimes he looked abroad, and could not but see the wicked walking en every side. He beheld the transgressors, those whose sins were open be fore all men, and it grie\ed him to see them disho nour God, serve Satan, debauch the world, and ruin their own souls; to see the transgressor^ s<i numerous, so daring, so very impudent, and so in dustrious to draw unstable souls into their snares. All this cannot but be a grief to those who have any regard to the glory of God, and the welfare of mankind,

2. The reason of that sorrow. He was grieved, not because they were vexatious to him, but be cause they were provoking to God; They kept not thy word. They that hate sin truly, hate it as sin, as a transgression of the law ofOod, and a violation of his word.

159. Consider how I love thy precepts'. quicken me, O Lord, according to thy lov ing-kindness.

Here is, 1. David's appeal to God conceming his love to his precepts; "Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love them; consider it then, and deal with me as thou usest to deal with those that love thy word, which thou hast magnified above all thy name." He does not say, " Consider how I fuljfil thy precepts;" he was conscious to himself", that in many things he came short; but, "Consider how I love them." Our obedience is then only pleasing to God, and pleasant to ourselves, when it comes from a principle of love.

2. His petition thereupon; "Quicken me, to do my duty with vigour; revive me, keep me alive; not according to any merit of mine, though I love thy word, but according to thy loving-kindness;'" to that we owe our lives, nay, that is better than life itself. We need not desire to be quickened any further than God's loving-kindness will quicken us.

160. Thy word is true from the beginning : and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

David here comforts himself with the faithfulness of God's word, for the encouragement of himself and others to rely upon it

1. It has always been found faithful hitherto, and never failed any that ventured upon it. It is true from the begimiing. Ever since God began to reveal himself to the children of men, all he said was time, and to be trusted. The church, from its beginning, was built upon this rock. It has not gained its validity by track of time, as many governments, whose best plea is prescription and long usage. Quod initio non valet, tractu temfioris convalescit — That which, at first, wanted validity, in the progress of time, acquired it. But the beginning of God's word was true, so some read it; his government was laid on a sure foundation* And all, in every age, that have received God's word in faith and love, have found every saying in it faithful and well worthy of all acceptation.

2. It will be found faithful to the end, because righteous. Every one of the judgments endures for ever unalterable, and of perpetual obligation; adjusting men's everlasting doom.

21. SCHIN.

161. Princes have persecuted me without

a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of

thy word.

David here lets us know,

1. How he was discouraged in his duty by the

PSALMS, CXIX.

579

fear of man; Princes fiersecuted him. They looked upon him as a traitor and an enemy to the government, and under that notion sought his hfe, and bid him go serve other gods, 1 Sam. xxvi. 19. It has been the common lot of the best men to be persecuted; and the case is the worse, if princes be the persecutors, for they have not only the sword in their hand, and therefore can do the more hurt, but the}' have the law on their side, and can do it with reputation and a colour of justice. It is sad that the power which magistrates have from God, and should use for him, should ever be employed against him. But, 77ia?~i>el not at the matter, Eccl. v. 8. It was a comfort to David, that, when princes persecuted him, he could truly say it was without cause, he never gave them any provocation.

2. How he was kept to his duty, notwithstanding, by the fear of God; " They would make me stand in awe of them and their word, and do as they bid me; but my heart stands in awe of thy ivord, and I was resolved to please God, and keep in with him, whoever is displeased, and falls out with me." Every gracious soul stands in aive of the word of God, of the authority of its precepts, and the terror of its threatenings; and to those that do so, nothing appears, in the power and wrath of man, at all formidable. We ought to obey God rather than men, and to make sure of God's favour, though we throw ourselves under the frowns of all the world, Luke xii. 4, 5. The heart that stands in awe of God's word, is armed against the temptations that arise from persecution.

162. I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoih

Here is, 1. The pleasure David took in the word of God. He rejoiced at it, rejoiced that God had made such a discovery of his mind, that Israel was blessed with that light, when other nations sat in darkness; that he was liimself let into the understanding of it, and had had experience of the power of it. He took a pleasure in reading it, hearmg it, and meditating on it, and every thing he met with in it was agreeable to him. He had just now said, that his heart stood in awe of his word, and yet here, that he rejoiced in it; the more reverence we have for the word of God, the more joy we shall find in it.

2. The degree of that pleasure, as one that finds great s/ioil. This supposes a victory over the enemy. It is through much opposition that a soul comes to this, to rejoice in God's word. But, besides the pleasure and honour of a conquest, there is great advantage gained by the plunder of the field, which adds much to the joy. By the word of God we become more than conquerors, that is, unspeakable gainers.

163. I hate and abhor lying; hut thy law do I love.

Love and hatred are the leading affections of the soul; if those be fixed right, the rest move accord--ingly. Here we have them fixed right in David.

1. He had a rooted antipathy to sin, he could not endure to think of it; I hate and abhor lying; which may be taken for all sin, inasmuch as by it we deal treacherously and perfidiously with God, and put a cheat upon ourselves. Hvpocrisy is lying; false doctrine is lying; breach of faith is lying. Lying, in commerce or conversation, is a sin, which every good man hates and abhors, hates and drubly hates, because of the seven things wluch the Lord hates, one is a hjing tongue, and another is a false witness that speaks lies, Prov. vi. 16. Every man hates to nave a lie told him; but we should more hate telling a lie, because by the former we only receive an

affront from men, by the latter we give an affront to God.

2. He had a rooted affection to the word of God; Thy law do I love. And therefore he abhorred lying, for lying is contrary to the whole law of God; and the reason why he loved the law of God, was, because of the truth of it. The more we see of the amiable beauty of tnith, the more we shall see of the detestable deformity of a lie.

164. Seven times a day do I praise thee: because ot" thy righteous j udgments.

David, in this psalm, is full of complaints, yet those did neither justle out his praises, nor put him out of tune for them; whatever condition a child of God is in, he does not want matter for praise, and therefore should not want a heart. See here,

1. How often David praised God; Seven times a day, very frequently; not only every day but often every day. Many think that once a week will serve, or orice or twice a day, but Da^'id would praise God sex^en times a day at least. Praising God is a duty which we should very much abound in.

We must praise God at every meal, praise him upon all occasions, in every thing give thanks. We should paise God sex'en times a day, for the subject can never be exhausted, and our affections should never be tired. See i'. 62.

2. What he praised God for; because of thy righteous judgments. We must praise God for his precepts, which are all just and good, for his promises and threatenings, and the perfoiTnance of both in his providence. We are to praise God even for our afflictions, if through grace we get good by them.

165. Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

Here is an account of the happiness of good men, who are governed by a principle of love to the word of God, that make it their rule, and are iniled by it.

1. They are easy, and have a holy serenity: none enjoy themselves more than they do; Great peace have they that love thy law, abundant satisfaction in doing their dut\-, and pleasure in reflecting upon it. The work of righteousness is peace, (Isa. xxxii. 17.) such peace as the world can neither give nor take away. They maybe in great troubles without, and yet enjoy great peace within; sat lucis intus — abundance of internal light. They that love the world have great vexation, for it does not answer their ex pectation; they that love God's word have grea peace, for it outdoes their expectation, and in it they have sure footing.

2. They are safe, and have a holy security; .A'c thing shall offend them; nothing shall be scandal, snare, or stumbling-block, to them, to entangle them either in guilt or grief. No event of providence shal. be either an invincible temptation or an intolerable affliction to them, but their love to the word of Goc" shall enable them both to hold fast their integrity and to preserve their tranquillity. They will make' the best of that which is, and not quarrel with an\ thing that God does. A''othing shall offend or hur: them, for every thing shall work for good to them, and therefore shall please them, and they reconcile themselves to it. They, in whom this holy love reigns, will not be apt to perplex themselves witl needless scruples, or to take offence at their bre thren, 1 Cor. xiii. 6, 7.

166. Lord, I have hoped for thy salvj' tion, and done thy commandments.

Here is the whole duty of man; for we are taught,

1. To keep our eye upon God's favour as our end;

"Lord, I have hoped for thy salvation, not only

temporal but eternal salvation. I have hoped for

PSALMS, CXIX.

that as my happiness, and laid up my treasure in it; I have hoped tor it as thine, as a happiness of thy preparing, thy promising, and which consists in being with thee. Hope of this lias raised me above tlie world, and borne me up under all my burthens in it." 2. To keep our eye upon God's word as our rule, rhave done thy commandments; I have made conscience of conforming myself to thy \n\\ in every tiling. Observe here how God has joined these two t'>gether, and let no man put them asunder. We cannot, upon good grounds, hope for God's salvation, unless we set ourselves to do his commandments, Rev. xxii. 14. But those that sincerely endeavour to do his commandments, ought to keep up a good iiope of the salvation; and that hope will both engage and enlarge the heart in doing the commandments. 'I'he more lively the hope is, the more lively the obedience will be.

167. My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly. 168. I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.

David's conscience here witnesses for him,

1. That his practices were good. (1.) He loved Gid's testimonies, he loved them exceedingly. Our love to the word of God must be a sujierlative love; we must love it better tlian the wealth and pleasure of this world: and it must be a victorious love, such as will subdue and moitify our lusts, and extirpate carnal affections. (2.) He' kept them, his soul kept them; bodily exercise profits little in religion, we must make heart-work of it,or we make nothing of it. The soul must be sanctified and renewed, and delivered into the mould of the word; the soul must be emjilov-ed in glorifying God, for he will be worshipped in the spirit. We must keep both the precepts and the testimonies, the commands of God by our obedience to them, and his promises by our reliance on tiiem.

2. That he was governed herein by a good principle; " Therefore I have kept thy precepts, because by faith I have seen thine eye always upon me, all my ways are before thee; thou knowcst every step I take, and strictly observest all I say and do. Thou dost see and accept all that I say and do well; thou dost see and ait displeased with all I say and do amiss." Note, The consideration of this, tliat God's eye is upon us at all times, should make us very careful in every thing to keep his commandments. Gen. xvii. 1.

22. TAU. 169. Let my cry come near before thee, O Lord : give me understanding according to thy word. 170. Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word.

Here is, 1. A general petitirn for audience repeated; Let my cry come near befoi'c thee; and again. Let my sufifilication come before thee. He calls his prayer his cry, which denotes the ftr\( ncy and vehemence of it; and liis supplication, which denotes the humility of it; we must come to God as beggars come to our doors for an alms. He is concerned that his prayer might come before God, might come near before him, that he might have v:race and strength by faith and fervency to lift up his prayers; that no guilt might interjiose to shut •lut his prayers, and to separate between him and God, and that God would graciously receive his prayers and take notice of them. His prayer, that 'lis supplication might come before God, implies a deep sense of his unworthiness, and a holy fear that his praycv shoidd come short or miscarry, as not fit tr) come belore God ; nor would any of our prayers

have had access to God, if Jesus Christ had not ai)-proached to him as an Advocate for us.

2. Two particular requests, which he is thus earnest to present. (1.) That God, by his grace, would give him wisdom to conduct himself well under his troubles; Give me understanding; he means that wisdom of the pnident, which is, to understand his way; " Give me to know thee and myself, and my duty to thee." (2.) That God, by his providence, would rescue him out of his troubles, Deliver me; with the temptation make a way to escape, 1 Cor. X. 13.

3. The same general plea to enforce these requests, according to thy word. This directs and limits his desires; "Lord, give me such an understanding as thou hast promised, and such a deliverance as thou hast promised, I ask for no other." It also encourages his taith and expectation; " Lord, that which I pray for is what thou hast promised, and wilt not thou be as good as thy word?"

171. My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.

Here is, 1. A great favour which David expects from God, that he will teach him his statutes. This he had often prayed for in this psalm, and urged his petition for it with various arguments; and, now that he is drawing toward the close of the psalm, he speaks of it as taken for granted. They that are humbly earnest with God for his grace, and resolve with Jacob that they will not let him go unless he bless them with spiritual blessings, may be humbly confident that they shall, at length, obtain what tliey are so importunate for. The God cf Israel will grant them those things which they request of him.

2. The grateful sense he promises to have of that favour; My lips shall utter praise when thou hast taught me. (1.) Then he shall have cause to praise God. Those that are taught of God have a gi-eat deal of reason to be thankful, for this is the foundation of all these spiritual blessings, which are the best blessings, and the earnest of eternal blessings. (2.) Then he shall know how to praise God, and have a heart to it. All that are taught of God are taught this lesson; when God opens the understand ing, opens the heart, and so opens the lips, it is that the mouth may show forth his praise. We have learned nothing to purpose, if we have not learned to praise God. (3.) Therefore he is thus importunate for divine instructions, that he might praise God. They that pray for God's grace, must aim at God's glory, Eph. i. 12.

172. My tongue shall speak of thy word : for all thy commandments are righteousness.

Observe here, 1. The good knowledge David had of the word of God; he knew it so well, that he was ready to own, with the utmost satisfaction, that all God s commandments are not only righteous, but righteousness itself, the rule and standard of ligh tcousncss. 2. The good use he resolved to make of that knowledge; My tongue shall speak of thy word; not only utter praise for it to the glory ot God, but disccurse of it for the instruction and edification of others; as that which he was himself full of, (for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak,) and as that which he desired others also might oe filled with. The more we see of the righteousness of God's commandments, the more industrious we should be to bring others acquainted with them, that they may be ruled by them. We should always make the word of God the governor of our discourse, so as never to transgress it by sinful speaking, or sinful silence; and we should often make it the subject-matter of our discourse, that it may feed many, and minister grace to the hearers.

PSALMS, CXX.

btil

173. Let thy hand help me: for I have chosen thy precepts. 174. I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord ; and thy law is my delight.

Here, 1. David prays that divine grace would work for him; Let thine hand help me. He finds his own hands are not sufficient for him, nor can any creature lend him a helping hand to any purpose; therefore he looks up to God in hf>pes thatthe hand that had made him would help him; f r if the L-.rd do not help us, whence can any creature help us? All our help must be expected from God's hand, from his power and his bounty.

2. He pleads what divine grace had already wrought in him, as a pledge of further mercy, being a qualification for it. Three things he pleads;

(1.) That he had made religion his serious and deliberate choice; "/ have chosen thy precefits. I took them for my inile, not because I knew no other, but because, upon trial, I knew no better." Those are good, and do good indeed, who are good and do good, not by chance, but by choice; and those who have thus chosen God's precepts, may depend upon God's helping hand in all their services, and under all their suiferings.

(2.) That his heart was upon heaven; / have longed for thy salvation. David, when he was got to the throne, met with enough in the world to court his stay, and to make him say, " It is good to be here;" but, still he was looking further, and longing for something better in another world. There is an eternal salvation which all the saints are longing for, and therefore pray that God's hand would help them forward in their way to it.

(3.) That he took pleasure in doing his duty; " Thy laiv is my delight. Not only I delight in it, but it is my delight, the greatest delight I have in this world." Those that are cheerful in their obedience may in faith beg help of God to carry them on in their obedience: and those that expect God's salvation must take delight in his law, and their hopes must increase their delight.

175. Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee -, and let thy judgments help me.

David's heart is still upon praising God; and therefore, 1. He prays that God would give him time to praise him; "Let 7ny soul live, and it shall praise thee; let my life be prolonged, that I may live to thy gloiy." The reason why a good man desires to live, is, that he may praise God in the land of the living, and do something to his honour. Not, "Let me live and serve my country, live and provide for my family;" but, "Let me live, that, in doing this, I may praise God here in this world of conflict and opposition." ^^^len we die, we hope to go to a better world to praise him; and that is more agreeable for us, but here there is more need of us. And therefore one would not desire to live any longer than we may do God some service here. Let my soul live; let me be sanctified and comforted; these are the life of the soul, and then it shall praise thee. Our sovds must be employed in praising God, and therefore we must ]jray for grace and peace, that we may be fitted to praise God.

2. He prays that God would give him strength to praise him; "Let thy judgments helji me; let all prdinances and all providences" (both are God's judgments) "further me in glorifying God; let them be the matter of my praise, and let them help to fit me fn- that work.'

176. I have gone astray like a lost sheep: seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

Here is, 1. A penitent confession; / have gont astray, or wander up and down like a lost sheefi. Ai unconverted sinners are like lost sheep, (Luke xv. 4.) so weak unsteady saints are like lost sheep, Matth. xviii. 12, 13. We are apt to wander like the sheep, and very unapt, when we have gone astray, to find tlie way again. By going astray we lose the comfort of the green pastures, and expose oursehes to a thovisand mischiefs.

2. A believing petition; Seek thy servant, as the good shepherd seeks a wtmdering sheep to bring it back again, Ezek. xxxiv. 12. " Lord, seek me, as I used to seek my sheep when they went astray;" for David had been himself a tender shepherd. " Lord, own me for one of thine; for though I am a sti'ay sheep, I have thy mark; concern thyself for me, send after me by the word, and conscience, and providences; bring me back by thy grace." Seek me, that is, Fii^d me; for God never seeks in vain. Turn me, and I shall be turned.

3. An obedient plea; "Though I ha\'e gone astray, yet I have not wickedly departed, / do not forget thy commandments. " Thus he concludes the psalm with a penitent sense of his own sin, and a believing dependence on God's grace. With these a de\'out Christian will conclude his duties, will conclude his life; he will live and die, repenting and praying. Observe here, (1.) It is the character of good people, that they do not y&r^e^ God's commandments, being well-pleased with their convictions, and well-settled in their resolutions. (2.) Even those who, through grace, are mindful of their duty, cannot but own that they have in many instances wandered from it. (3.) Those that have wandered from their duty, if tliey continue mindful of it, may with a humble confidence, commit themselves to the carr of God's grace.

PSALM CXX.

This psalm is the first of those fifteen which are here put tog-ether under ihe title of songs of degrees. It is well that it is not material what the meanintr of that title should be, for nothing' is offered toward the explication of it, no, not by the Jewish writers themselves, but what is conjectural. These psalms do not seem to be composed all by the same hand, much less all at the same time. Four of them are expressly ascribed to David, and one said to be desicrnedfor Solomon, and perhaps penned by him; yet Ps.cxxvi. and cxxix. seem to be of a much later date; some of them are calculated for the closet, (as cxx, cxxx.) some for the family, {as cxxvii, cxxviii.) some for the public assembly, (as cxxii, cxxxiv.) and some occasional, as cxxiv. cxxxii: So that, it should seem, thev had not this title from the author, but from the publisher. Some conjecture that they are so called from their sin<ju-lar excellency; as the song of songs, so the song of degrees, is a most excellent song, in the highest degree. Others, from the tune they were set to, or the musical instruments they were sung to, or the raising of the voice in singing them. Some think they were sung on the fifteen steps or stairs, by which they went up from the outward court of the temple to the inner; others, at so many stages of the people's journey, when they returned out of captivity. I shall only observe, 1. That thev are all short psalms, (all but one very short, three of them have but three verses a piece,) and that they are placed next to Ps. cxix. which is by much the longest of all. Now as that was one psalm divided into many parts, so these were many psalms, which, being short, Avere sometimes sung altogether, and made, as it were, one psalm, observing only a pause between each; as many steps make one pair of stairs. 2. That, in the composition of them, we frequently meet with the figure they call climax or an ascent: the preceding word repeated, and ther rising to something further, as cxx. With lihn that haled peace, I peace, cxxi. From wlience cometh my help, my help cometh. He that keepeth thee, shall not slumber, he that keepeth Israel, cxxii. Within tliy gates, 0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem is builded. cxxiii. Until he that have mercy upon Its, Have mercy upon us. And the like in most of them, if not all. Perhaps for one of these reasons they are called songs of degrees.

This psalm is supposed to have been penned by David upon

PSALMS, CXX.

occasion of Doeg's accusing him and the priests to Saul, because it is like Ps. Hi. which was penned on that occasion; and because the psalmist complains of his being driven out of the congregation of the Lord, and his beiiii,' forced among barbarous people. 1. He pravs to God to deliver him from the mischief designed him by false and malicious tongues, v. 1, 2. II. He threateiis the judgments of God against such, v. 3, 4. III. He complains of his wicked neighbours that were quarrelsome and vexatious, v. 5 .. 7. In singing this psalm, we may comfort ourselves in reference to the scourge of the tongue, when at any time we fall unjustly under the lash of it, that better than we have smarted for it. ji song of degrees.

1. XN my distress I cried unto the Lord, A and he heard me. 2. Dehver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue. 3. What shall be given unto thee, or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue ? 4. Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.

Here is,

1. Deliverance from a false tongue obtained by prayer; David records his own experience of this.

(1.) He was brought into distress, into great distress, by lying tips, and a deceitful tongue. There were those that sought his rum, and had almost effected it by lying. [1.] By telling Hes to him. They flattered him with prcfessirns and protestations of friendship, and promises of kindness and service to him, that they miglit the moi-e securely, and without suspicion, carry on their designs against him, and might have an opportunitv, by Iietraying liis counsels, to do him a mischief They smiled in his face and kissed him, tlien wlien they were aiming to smite him under the fifth rib.' The most dangerous enemies, and those which it is most hard to guard against, are such as carry on their malicious designs under the colour of friendship. The Lord deliver every good man from such lying lips. [2.] By telling lies of him. They fjrged false accusations against him, and laid to'/lis charge things that he knew not.

This has often been the lot not only of the innocent, but of the excellent, ones of the earth, who have been greatly distressed by lying lips, and have not only had their names blackened and made odious by calumnies in conversation, but their lives, and all tliat is dear to them in this world, endangered by false-witness bearing in judgment. David was herein a type of Christ, who was distressed by lying lips and deceitful tongues.

(2.) In this distress he had recourse to God by faithful and fervent prayer; I cried unto the Lord. Having no fence agamst false tongues, he appealed to him who has all men's hearts in his hand, who has power over the consciences of bad men, and can, when he pleases, bridle their tongues. His prayer was, " Deliver my soul, 0 Lord, from lying lifis, that my enemies may not by these cursed methods work my ruin." He that had prayed so earnestly to be kept from lying, (cxix. 29.) and hated it so heartily m himself, (t. 163.) might with the more confidence pray to be kept from being belied by others, and front tlic ill consequences of it.

(3.) He o!)tained a gracious answer to this prayer; God_ heard him; so that his enemies, though they carried their designs very far, were baffled at last, and could not prevail to do him the mischief they intended. The God of truth is, and will be, the Protector of his people from lying lips, xxxvii. 6.

2. The doom of a f dse tongue foretold Ijy faitli, v. 3, 4. As God will preserve his people from this mischievous generation, so he will reckon with their enemies, xii. 3, 7. The threatening is addressed to the sinner himself, for the awakening of his con-

science, if he have any left; " Consider w/^c^ s/^a// be given unto thee, and ivhat shall be done unto thee, by the righteous Judge of heaven and earth, thou false tongue." Surely sinners durst not do as they do, if they knew, and would be persuaded to think, what will be in the end thereof. Let liars consider what shall be given to them; Shar/i arrows of the Almighty, with coals of juniper; they will tall and lie for ever under the wrath of Gcd, and will be made miserable by the tokens of his displeasure, which will fly swiftly like arrows, and will strike the sinner ere he is aware, and when he sees not who hurts him. This is threatened against liars, (Ixiv. 7.) God shall shoot at them with an arrow, suddenly shall they be wounded. They set God at a distance from them, but from afar his arrows can reach them. They are sharp arrows, and arrows of the mighty, the Almighty; for they will pierce through the strongest ai-mour, and strike deep into the hardest heart. The terrors of the Lord are his arrows, (Job vi. 4.) and his wrath is compared to burning coals of juniper, which do not flame or crackle, like thorns under a pot, but have a vehement heat, and keep fire very long; some say a year round, even when they seem to be gone out. This is the portion of the false tongue; for all that love and make a lie shall have their portion in the lake that burns eternally. Rev. xxii. 15.

5. Wo is me that I sojourn in Mcsech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedarl 6. My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. 7. I am. for peace: but, when I speak, they are for war.

The psalmist here complains of the bad neighbourhood into which he was driven; and some apply the two foregoing verses to this; What shall the deceitful tongue give, what shall it do to those that lie open to it.' What shall a man get bv living among such malicious deceitful men? Nothing but sharp, arrows, and coals of juniper, all the mischiefs of a false and spiteful tongue, Ivii. 4. Woe is me, says David, that I am forced to dwell among such, that I sojourn in Mesech and Kedarl Not that Da^•id dwelt in the country of Mesech or Kedar; we never find him so far off from his own native countr)-; but he dwelt among rude and barbai-ous people, like the inhabitants of Mesech and Kedar: as when we would descriloe an ill neighbourhood, we say. We dwell among Turks and heathens: this made him cry out, Woe is me!

1. He was forced to live at a distance from the ordinances of God. WTiile he was in banishment, he looked upon himself as a sojourner, never at home but when he was near God's altars; and he cries out, " Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged, that I cannot get home to my resting-place, but am still kept at a distance!" So some read it. Note, A good man cannot think himself at home while he is banished from God's ordinances, and has not them within reach. And it is a great grief to all that love God, to want the means of grace, and of communion with God: when they are under a force of that kind, they cannot but cry out, as David here. Woe is me!

2. He was forced to live among wicked people, who were, upon many accounts, troublesome to him. He divelt in the tents of Kedar, where the shepherds were probably in an ill name for being litigious, like the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot. It is a very grievous burthen to a good man to be cast into, and kept in, the company of those whom he hopes to be for ever separated from; (like Lot in Sodom; 2 Pet. ii. 8.) to dwell long with such is grievous indeed, for they are thorns, vexing, and scratching, and tearing, and who will show the old enmity that

PSALMS, CXXJ.

bQti

IS I'l the seed of the serfient, against the seed of the woyian. Those that David dwelt with, were such as not only hated him, but hated peace, and proclaimed war with it; who might write on their weapons of war, not Sic sequimur fiacem — Thusive aim at fieace, but Sic fiersequimur — Thusive/lerse-cuie. Perhaps Saul's court was the Mescch and Kedar in which David dwelt, and Saul was the man he means that hated peace, whom David studied to oblige, and could not; but the more service he did him, the more exasperated he was against him.

See here, (1.) The character of a very good man in David, who could truly say, though he was a man of war, / am for fieace, for living peaceably with all men, and unpeaceably with none. I fieace, so it is in the original; "I love peace, and pursue peace; mv disposition is to peace, and my delight IS in it. I pray for peace, and strive for peace, will do any thing, submit to any thing, part with any thing, in reason, for peace. / am for fieace, and have made it to appear t\iat I am so " The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then fieaceable.

(2.) The character of the worst of bad men in David's enemies, who would pick quarrels with those that were most peaceably disposed; '' When I sfieak, they are for nvar; and the more forward frr war, the more they find me inclined to peace." He spake with all the respect and kindness that could be; proposed methods of accommodation, spake reason, spake love; but they would not so much as hear him patiently, but cried out, " To arms, to arms;" so fierce and implacable were thev, and so bent to mischief. Such were Christ's enemies: f r hip. love they were his adversaries, and fnr his good words and good works they stoned him. If we meet with such enemies, we must not think it strange, nor love peace the less for our seeking it in vain. Be not overcome of evil, no not of such evil as this, but, even when thus tried, still try to overcome evil with good.

PSALM CXXI.

Some call this the soldier^s psalm, and think it was penned in the camp, when David was jeoparding his life in the high-places of the field, and thus trusted God to cover his head in the day of battle. Others call it the traveller's psaiin, (for there is nothing in it of military dangers,) and think David penned it when he was going- abroad, and designed it, pro vehiculo—for the carriage, for a good man's convoy and companion in a journey or voyage. But we need not thus appropriate it; wherever we are, at home or abroad, we are exposed to danger more than we are aware of; and this psalm directs and encourages us to repose ourselves and our confidence in God, and bv faith to put ourselves under his protection, and commi't ourselves to his care, which we must do, with an entire resignation and satisfaction, in singing this psalm. I. David here assures himself of help from God, v. 1, 2. II. He assures others of it, v. 3.. 8.

j1 song of degrees.

1.

I WILL lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence Cometh my help. 2. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. 3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5. The Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is tJiy shade upon thy right hand. 6. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 7. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 8. The Lord shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in, from this time forth, and even for evermoi'e.

This psalm teaches us,

I. To stay cursehes upon God as a God of power, and a God all-sufficient for us. David did so, and found the benefit of it. 1. We nmst not rely up.i. creatures, upon men and means, instmmcnts and second causes, nor make flesh cur arm: " Shall I lift ufi mine eyes to the hills? (so seme read it.) " Does my help come from thence? Shall 1 depend upon the powers of the earth; upon the strength of the iiills; upon princes and great men, who, hk'! hiUs, fill the earth, and mount their heads toward heaven? No; in vain is salvation hofied for from hills and mountains, Jer. iii. 23. 1 never expect help to come from tliem, my confidence is in (.jod only." We must lift ufi our eyes above the hills, so some read it; we must look beyond instruments to God, who makes them thiit to us whicli they are. 2. We must see all cur help laid up in-Gou, in his power and goodness, his providence and grace; and from him we must expect it to come; "My helfi comes from the Lord; the help I desire is what he sends, and from him 1 expect it in his own way and time. If he do not help, no creature can help; if he do, no creature can hinder, can hurt." 3. We must fitch in help from God, by faith in his premises, and a due regard to all his institutions; " I will Ift ufi mine eyes to the hills;" (probably he means the hills on which the temple was built, mount Moriah, and the holy hill of Zion, where the ark of the covenant is, the oracle, and the altars;) " I will have an eye to the special presence of God in his church, and with liis people, (his presence by promise,) and net only to his cmmon presence.'' When he was at a distance, he would look toward the sanctuary; (xxviii. 2.—xlii. 6.) from thence cometh cur helf'i, frcm the wrrd and prayer, from the secret of his tabernack. My helfi cometh from the Lord, so the word is, {x . 2.) from before the Lord, or frorn the sight and fire-sence of the Lord. "Which (says Dr. Hammond) may r^fir to Christ incarnate, with whose humanity the Deity being inseparably united, God is always present with him, and through him with us, for whom, sitting at God's right hand, he constantly maketh intercession." Christ is called the angel of hisfiresence, that saved his people, Isa. Ixiii. 9. 4. We must encourage our confidence in God with this, that he made heaven and earth, and he who did that can do any thing. He made the world out of nothing, himself alone, by a word's speaking, in a little time, and all very good, veiy excellent and beautiful; and therefore, how great soever our straits and difficulties are, he has power sufficient for our succour and relief. He that made heaven and earth

I is sovereign Lord of all the hosts of both, and can make use of them as he pleases for the help of his people, and restrain them when he pleases from hurting his people.

II. To comfort ourselves in God, when our difficulties and dangers are greatest. It is here promised, that if we put cur trust in God, and keep in the way of cur duty, we shall be safe under his protection, so that no real evil, no mere e\ il, shall happen to us, nor any affliction, but what God sees good for us, and will do us good by.

1. God himself has undertaken to be cur Protector; The Lord is thy Keeper, v. 5. Whatever charge he gives his angels to keep his people, he has not thereby discharged himselt, so that wliether every particular saint has an angel for his guardian or no, we are sure he has God himself for his Guardian. It is infinite wisdom that contrives, and infinite power that works, the safety of those that ha\e put themselves under God's protection. Those must needs be well kept, that have the Lord for their Keeper. If, by affliction, *ey be made his prisoners, yet still he is their Keeper.

PSALMS, CXXIl.

2. The same that is the Protector of the church in general, is engaged for the pi'eservation of every paiticular believer; the same wisdom, the same power, the same promises. He that kecjieth Israel, {x<. 4.) in thy Kee/ier, v. 5. The Sheplierd rf the nock is the Shepherd of every sheep, and will take care, tliat not one, even of the little ones, shall perish.

3. He is a wakeful, watchful. Keeper; " He that keejicth hrael, that keepeth thee, O Israelite, shall neither slumber nor sleep; he never did, or ever will, f;)r he is never weary; he not only does not sleep, but he does not so much as slumber; he has not the least inclination to sleep."

4. He not only protects those whom he is the Keeper of, but he refreshes them; He is their Shade. The comparison has a great deal of gracious condescension in it; the eternal Being who is infinite Substance, is what he is, in order that he may speak sensilile comfort to his people, promises to be their Umbra —their Shadow, to keep as close to them as the shadov/ does to the body, and to shelter them from the scorching heat, as the shadow of' a great rock in a weary land, Isa. xxxii. 2. Lnder this shadow they maj' sit with delight and assurance. Cant. ii. 3.

5. He is always near to his people for their protection and refreshment, and never at a distance; he is their Keefier and Shade on their right hand; so that he is never far to seek. The right hand is the working hand; let them but turn themselves dexterously to their duty, and they shall find God ready to them, to assist them, and give them success, Ps. xvi. 8.

He is not only at their right hand, but he will also kee/i the feet of his saints, 1 Sam. ii. 9. He will have an eye upon them in their motions; he will not suffer thy foot to be inoved. God will provide that his people shall not be tempted above what they are able, shall not f dl into sin, though they may be very near it, (Ixxiii. 2, 23.) shall not t^U into trouble, though there be many endeavouring to undermine them by fraud, or overthrow them by force. He will keep them from l)eing frighten-f.d, as we are when we slip or stumble, and are I'eady to fall.

7. He will protect them from all the malignant Influences of the heavenly bodies; (t'. 6.) The sun ?.hall not smite thee, with his heat by day, nor the moon, with her cold and moisture, by night. The s!in and moon are great blessings to mankind, and yet (such a sad change has sin made in the creation) even the sun and moon, though worshipped by a great part of mankind, are often instruments of hurt and distemper to human bodies; God by them often smites us; l)ut his favour shall intei^pose so, fhat they sliall not damage his people. He will keep them flight and day, (Isa. xxvii. 3.) as he kept Israel in the wilderness by a fiillarofcloud by day, which screened them from the heat of the sun, and of fire by night, which probably diffused a gentle warmth over the whole cam]), that thev might not he prejudiced by the cold and damp of the right; tlieir father Jacob having com])lained, (Cicn. xxxi. 40.) that by day the drought consumed him, nnd the frost by night. It may lie understood figu-rately; " Thou shalt not be hurt either by the open assaults of thine enemies, which are as visible r.s the scorching beams of the sun, or bv their secret Treacherous attempts, which are like the inscnsil)le insinuations of the cold by night."

8. His protection will make them safe in cverv respect; "The Lord shall fireserve thee from all roil, the evil of sin, and the evil of troubh'. He «!haU prevent the evil tliou fearest, and sliall sanctify, remove, or lighten, the evil thou feelest. He will keep thee f#)in doing evil, (2 Cor. xiii. 7.) and 80 far from suffering evil, that, whatever affliction

happens to tnee, there shall be no evil in it. Evm that which kills, shall not hurt."

9. It is the spiritual life especially that God will take under his protection; He shall fireserve thy soul. All sovds are his; and the soul is the man, and therefore he will with a peculiar care preserve them, that they be not defiled by sin, and disturbed by affliction. He will keep them, by keeping us in the possession of them; and he wiU preserve them from perishing eternally.

10. He Avill keep us in all our ways; " He shall fireserve thy going out and coining in. Thou shalt be under his protection in all thy joumies and voya ges, outward-bound or homewai'd-bound, as he kept Israel in the wilderness, in their removes and rests. He will prosper thee in all thy affairs at home and abroad, in the beginning and in the conclusion of them. He will keep tliee in life and death, thy going out and going on while thou livest, and thy coming in when thou diest; going out to thy labour in the morning of thy days, and coming home to thy rest when the evening of old age calls thee in," civ. 23.

11. He will continue his care over us yrowz thia time forth and even for evei'more. It is a protection for life, never out of date. " He will be thy Guide even unto death, and will then hide thee in the grave, hide thee in heaven. He will fireserve thee in his heavenly kingdom." God will protect his church and his saints always, even to the end of the world. The Spirit, who is their Preserver and Comforter, shall abide with them for ever.

PSALM CXXIL

This psalm seems to have been penned by David for the use of the people of Israel, when they came up to Jeru salem, to worship at the three solemn feasts. It was ip David's time that Jerusalem was first chosen to be the city where God would record his name. It being-a new thinfr, this, among other means, was used to bring the people to be in love with Jerusalem, as the Holy city, though it was but the other day in the hands of the Je-busites. Observe, I. The joy with which they were to go up to Jerusalem, v. 1,2. II. The great esteem they were to have of Jerusalem, v. 3 .. 5. III. The great concern they were to have for Jerusalem, and the prayers they were to put up for its welfare, v. 6.. 9. In singing this psalm, we must have an eye to the gospel-church, which is called the Jenisalem that is from above.

A song oj ...grees of David.

1. ~f A\'AS glad when they said unto me, JL Let us go into the house of the Lord.

2. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. 3. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together: 4. Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lo.ho, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord. 5. For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.

Here is, 1. The pleasure which David, and other pious Israelites, took in a])i)roaching to, i.nd attend-mg upon, God in public ordinances, x<. 1, 2.

(1.; The in\itation to them was very welcf)mc. David was himself glad, and would have every Israelite to say that he was glad, when he was called upon to go ufi to the house of the Lord. Note, [1.] It is the will of God that we should worship him in conceit; that many sliould join together to wait upon him in public ordinances. We ought to worshii) God in our own houses, but that is net enough, we must go into the house of the Lord, to ])ay our liomage to him there, and not forsake the asscm bli-ng ourselves together. [2.'J \Ve should not only agree with one another, l)Ut excite and stir up one another, to go to worship God in public. Lc*

PSALMS, CXXII.

685

y^ ifo>; not, " Do you go and pray for us, and we wfll stay at home; but, We will go also; (Zech. viii. 21.) not, "Do you go before, and we will follow at our leisure;" or, " We will go first, and you shall come after us;" but, "' I^et us go together, for tae honour of God, and for our mutual edification and encouragement." We ourselves are slow and backward, and others are so too, and therefore we should tlius quicken and sharpen one ancAher to that which is good, as iron sharpens iron. [3.] They that rejoice in (rod will rejoice in calls and opportunities to wait upon him. David himself, though he had as little need of a spur to his zeal in religious exercises as any, yet was so far from taking it as an aifront, that he was glad of it as a kindness, when he was called upon to go up to the house of the Lord, with the meanest of his sul)jects. We should desire our Christian friends, when they have any good work in hand, to call for us and take us along with them.

(2.) The prospect of them was very pleasing. They speak it with a holy triumph; {y. 2.) Our feet shall stand ivithin thy gates, O Jerusalem. They that came out of the country, when they found the journey tedious, comforted themselves with this, that they should be in Jerusalem shortly, and that would make amends for all the fatigTies of their travel. We shall stand there as servants; it is desirable to have a place in Jerusalem, though it be among those that stand by, (Zech. iii. 7.) though it be the door-keeper's place, Ps. Ixxxiv. 10. We have now got a resting-place for the ark, and where it is there will we be.

2. The praises of Jerusalem, as xlviii. 12.

(1.) It is the beautiful city, not only for situation, out for building. It is built into a city, the houses not scattered, but contiguous, and the streets fair and spacious. It is built uniform, compact together, the houses strengthening and supporting one another. Though the city was divided into the higher and lower town, yet the Jebusites being driven out, and it being entirely in the possession of God's people, it is said to l:)e compact together. It was a type of the gospel-church, which is compact together in holy love and Christian communion, so that it is all as one city.

(2.) It is the holy city; (x'. 4.) it is the place where all Israel meet one another; Thither the tribes go up, from all parts of the country, as one man, under the character of the tribes of the Lord, in obedience to his command. It is the place appointed for their general rendezvous; and they come together, [1.] To receive instruction from God; they come to the testimony of Israel, to hear what God has to say to them, and to consult his oracle. [2. ] To ascribe the glory to God, to give thanks to the name of the Lord; which we have all reason to do, especially those that have the testimony of Israel among them. If God speak to us by his word, we have reason to answer him by our thanksgivings. See on what errand we go to public worship, to give than/cs.

(3.) It is the royal city; (x'. 5.) There are set thrones of judgment; therefore the people had reason to be in love with Jerusalem, because justice was administered there by a man after God's own heart. The civil interests of the people were as well secured as their ecclesiastical concerns; and very happy they were in their comts of judicature, which were erected in Jerusalem, as with us in" Westminster-hall. Observe, What a goodly sight it was to see the testimony of Israel and the thrones of judgment such near neighbours; and they are good neighbours, which may greatly befriend one another. Let the testimony of Israel direct the thrones of judgment, and the thrones of judgment protect the testimony of Israel.

Vol. III.—4 E

6. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. 7. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. 8. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say. Peace be within thee. 9. Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.

Here,

1. David calls upon others to wish well to Jerusalem, V. 6, 7. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for the welfare of it, tor all good to it, particularly for the uniting of the inhabitants among themselves, and their preservation from the incursions of enemies. This we may truly desire, that in the peace thereof we may have pcact; and this we must earnestly pray for, for it is the gift of God, and for it he will be inquired of. Those that can do nothing else for the peace of Jerusalem, can pray for it, which is something more than showing their goodwill, it is the appointed way of fetching in mercy. The peace and welfare of the gospel-church, par-ticvdarly in our land, is to be earnestly desired and prayed for by every one of us.

Now,'( 1.) We are here encouraged in our prayers for Jerusalem's peace: They shallJirosper that love thee. 'We must pray for Jerusalem, not out of custom, or for fashion's' sake, but out of a principle of love to God's government of man, and man's worship of God: and in seeking the public welfare, we seek our own; for so well does God love the gates of Zion, that he will love all those that do love them; and therefore they cannot but prosper; at least their souls shall prosper by the ordinances they so dearly love.

(2.) We are here directed in cur prayers for it, and words are put into our mouths, v. 7. Peace be within thy nvalls. He teaches us to pray, [1.] For all the inhabitants in general; all within the walls, from the least to the greatest. Peace be in thy fortifications, let them never be attacked; or, if they be, let them never be taken, but be an effectual security to the city. [2.] For the princes and rulers especially; Let prosperity be in the palaces of the great men that sit at the "helm, and have the direction of public affairs; for if they prosper, it will be well f;5r the pulilic. The poorer sort are apt to envy the jjrosperity of the palaces, but they are here taught to pray for it.

2. He resolves, that, whatever cthc rs do, he will approve himself a faithful friend to Jerusalem; (1.) In his prayers; " I will now say, now I see the tribes so cheerfully resorting hither to the testimony of Israel, and the matter settled, that Jerusalem must be the place where God will record his name, now I will say. Peace be within thee." He did not say, "Let others pray for the public peace, the priests and the prophets, whose business it is, and the people, that have nothing else to do, and I will fight for it, and nile for it:" No; "I will pray for it too." (2.) In his endeavours, with which he will second his prayers; " / will, to the utmost of my \)OwcY, seek thy good." Whatever lies within the sphere of our activity to do for the public good, we must do it, else we are not sincere in praying for it.

Now it might be said. No thanks to David to be so solicitous for the welfare of Jenisalem, it was his own city, and the interests of his family were lodged in it. It is true; yet he professes that was not the reason why he was in such care for the welfare of Jerusalem; but it proceeded from the warm regard he had, [1.] To the communion of saints: It \sfor mil brethren and companions^ sakes, that is, ur the sake of all true-hearted Israelites, whom I look

PSALMS, CXXlll.

upon as my brethren, (so he calls them, 1 Chron. xxviii. 2.) and who have often been mv companions in the worship of God, which hath knit my lieait to them. [2.] To the ordinances of God: Ht hud set his affection to the house of his God; (1 Chron. xxix. 3.) lie took a great pleasure in public woi«hip, and for that reason would pray for tlic good of Jerusalem. Then our concern for the public welfare is right, when it is the effect cf a snicere love to God's institutions and his faithful worshippers.

PSALM CXXIIL

This psalm was pennea at a time when the church of God was brought low and trampled upon; some think it was when the Jews were captives in Babylon; thoug^h that was not the only time that they were insulted over by the proud. The psalmist begins as if he spoke for himself only, (v. 1.) but presently speaks in the name of the church. Here is, I. Their expectation of mercy from God, V. 1, 2. II. Their plea for mercy with (Jod, v. 3, 4. In singing it, we must have our eye up to God's favour, with a holy concern, and then an eye down to men's reproach, with a holy contempt.

jl song of degrees.

1. "I'TNTO thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou vJ that (Iwellest in the heavens. 2. Behold,as the eyes of servants/oo/: untothe hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes ?i'ait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us. 3. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. 4. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, mid with the contempt of the proud.

We have here,

I. The solemn profession which God's people make of faith and hope in God, x;. 1, 2. Observe,

1. The title here given to God; O thou that divell-est in the heavens. Our Lord Jesus has taught us, in prayer, to have an eye to God, as our Father in heaven; not tliat he is confined there, but there especially he manifests his glory, as the King in his cnurt. Heaven is a place of prospect, and a place of power; he that dwells there, thence beholds all the calamities of his people, and from thence can send to save them. Sometimes God seems to have forsaken the earth, and the enemies of God's people ask. Where is noiv your God? But then they can say with comfort, Otir God is in the heavens. O thou that sittest iri the heavens, so some; sittest as Judge there; for the Lord has pre/iared his throne in the heavens, and to that throne injured innocency may appeal.

2. The regard here had to God; the psalmist himself lifted up his ryes to him. The eyes of a good man are ever toivard the Lord; (xxv. 15.) in every prayer we lift up our soul, the eye of our soul, to God; especially in tnmble, which was the case here. The eyes of the peojjle nvaited on the Lord, V. 2. We find mercy coming toward a people, when the eyes of jnan, as of all the tribes of Israel, are toivard the Lord, Zech. ix. 1. The eyes of the body are heaven-ward. Os honiini sublime dedit — To man he gave an erect mien, to teach us which way to direct the eyes of the mind. Our eyes wait on'the Lord; the eye of desire and prayer; the begging eye, and the eye of dependence; hope and expectation; the longing eye. Our eyes must wait upon God as the Lord, and our God, until that he have mercy u/ion jis. We desire mercy from him, we hope he will show us mi rev, and we will crn-tinue our attendance on him till it come.

This is illustrated (x". 2.) by a similitude; Our eyes are to Gcxi, as the eyes of a servant, or handmaid, to the hand of their rnaster and mistress. The eyes of a servant are, (1.) To his master's directing hand, expecting that he will appoint him his work, and cut it out for him, and show him how he must do it; Lord, what wilt thou have me to doi-' (2.) To his suppl}ing hand. Servants look to theii master, or their mistress, for their portion of meat in due season, Prov. xxxi. 15. And to God must wi; look for daily bread, fcr grace sufficient; frcm him we must receive it thankfully. (3.) To his assisting hand. If the servant cannot do his work himsell, where must he look for help but to his master.* And in the strength cf the Lord G(;d we must go forth and go on. (4.) To his protecting hand. If the servant meet with opposition in his work, if he be questioned for wliat he dr^es, if he be wronged and injured, who shruld bear him rut and right him, but his master that set him on work? The people of God, when they arc persecuted, may appeal totheii Master, We are thine, save us. (5.) To his correcting hand. If the servant have provoked his master to beat him, he does not call for help against his master, but locks at the h:ind tliat strikes him, till it shiill say, "It is enf^ugh, I will not contend for ever." The peo])le of God were now under his rebukes; and whither sliould they turn but to him that smote them? Isa. ix. 13. To whrm should tliey make supplication but to their Judge.-' They will not do as riagar did, who ran away from her mistress, when she put some hardships upon her, (Gen. xvi. 6.) but they submit themselves to, ?nd humble themselves under, God's mighty hand. (6.) To his rewarding hand. The servant expects his wages, his well-done, from his master. Hypccrites have their eye to the world's hand, thence they have their reward; (Matth. vi. 2.) but tnie Christians have their eye to God as their Rewarder.

II. The humble address which God's people present to him in their calamitous condition, {v. 3, A.) wherein,

1. They sue for mercy; not prescribing to Gcd what he shall do for therh, nor pleading any merit of their own, why he should do for them, but. Have mercy ufion us, O Lord, have mercy ufion us. We find little mercy with men, their tender mercies are cruel, there are cruel mockings; but this is rur comfort, that with the Lord there is mercy, and we net d desire no more to relieve us, and make us easy, than the mercy of God. Whatever the troubles of the church are, God's mercy is a sovereign remedy.

2. They set forth their grievances; We are exceedingly filled with contempt. Reproach is the wound, the burthen, they complain of. Observe, (1.) Who were reproached; "We, who have our eyes up to thee." Those who are owned of God are often despised and tram])led on by the world. Some translate the words which we render, those that are at ease, and the proud, so as to signify the persons that are scorned and contemned. "Our soul is troubled to see how those that are at peace, and the excellent ones, are scorned and despised." The saints are a peaceable people, and yet are abused; (xxxv. 20.) the excellent ones of the earth, and yet undervalued. Lam. iv. 1,2. (2.) Who did reproach them; taking the words as we read them, thev were the epicui-es who lived at ease, carnal, sensua'l, people, Job xii. 5. The scoffers are such as walk after their own lusts, and serve their own Ixllies: and the proud, such as set God himself at defiance, and had a high opinion of themselves; thev trampled on God's people, flunking they mngnificd themselves by vilifying them. (3.) To what degree they were reproached; We are filled, we are surfeited with it; Our soul is exceedingly filled with it. The enemie? thought they could never jeer them enough, nor say

PSALMS, CXXTV.

587

vi.ough to make them despicable; and they could Ml t bvit lay it to heart; it was a sword in their bones, P?. xlii. 10. Note, [1.] Scorning and ccntempt have been, and are, and are likely to be, the lot of GikI's people in this world. Ishmael mocked Isaac, which IS called/zfrsecw^/«^ him; and so it is now. Gal. iv. 29. [2.] In reference to the scorn and contempt of men, it is matter of comfort, that there IS mercy with God; mercy to our good names when they are barbarously used: Hear, 0 our God, for %ve are desfiised.

PSALM CXXIV.

David penned this psalm (we suppose) upon occasion of some great deliverance which God wrought for him and his people from some very threatening danger, which was likely to have involved them all in ruin; whether by foreign invasion, or intestine insurrection, is not certain: whatever it was, he seems to have been himself much affected, and very desirous to affect others, with the goodness of God, in making a way for them to escape: to him he is careful to give all the glory, and takes none to himself, as conquerors usually do. I. He here magnifies the greatness of the danger they were in, and of the ruin they were at the brink of, v. 1. .5. II. He gives God the glory of their escape, (v. 6, 7.) compared with V. 1, 2. ill. He takes encouragement from thence to trust in God, v. 8. In singing this psalm, beside the application of it to any particular deliverance wrought for us and our people, in our days and the days of our fa-. thers, we mav have in our thoughts the great work of our redemption by Jesus Christ, by which we were rescued from the powers of darkness.

A song of degrees of David.

r. TTF it had not been the Lord who was

JL on our side, now may Israel say; 2.

If it had not been the Loud who was on

our side, when men rose up against us; 3.

Then they had swallowed us up quick,

when their wrath was kindled against us:

4. Then the waters had overwhelmed us,

the stream had gone over our soul: 5. Then

tlie proud waters had gone over our soul.

The people of God, being here called upon to praise God fcr their deliverance, are to take notice,

1. Of the malice of men, by which they were reduced to the very brink of ruin. Let Israel say, that there was but a step between them and death: the more desperate the disease appears to have been, the more does the skill of the Physician appear in the cure.

Observe, (1.) Whence the threatening danger came; Men rose up. against us; creatures of our own kind, and yet bent upon our ruin: Homo homini lufius — Man is a ivolfto man. No marvel that the red dragon, the roaring lion, should seek to swallow us up; but that men should thirst after the blood of men, Absalom after the blood of his own father; that a woman should be drunk with the blood of saints, is what, with St. John, we may wonder at with great admiration. From men we mav expect humanity, yet there are those whose tender mercies are cruel. But what was the matter with these men? Why, their ivrath ivas kindled against us; {y. 3.) something or other they were angry at, and then no less would serve than the dcsti-ucticn of those they had crnceived a displeasure ; gainst. Wrath is cruel, arid anger is outrageous. Their wrath was kindled as fire ready to consume us; thev were proud; and the ivicked in his pride doth persecute the poor. They were daring in their attempt, they rose up against zis; rose in rebellion, with a resolution to swallow us up alive. (2.) How far it went, and how fatal it had been if it had gone a little further; "We had been devoured as a lamb hy a lion; not only slain, but swallowed up, so that

there should have been no relics of us remaining; swallowed up with so much haste, ere we were aware, that we should have gone down ahve to the pit. We had been deluged as the low grounds by a land-flood, or the sands by a high spring-tide." This similitude he dwells upon, with the ascents, which bespeak this a song of degrees, cr risings, like the rest. The waters had overwhelmed us. What of us? Why, the stream had gone over our souls, our lives, our comforts; all that is dear to us. What waters? Why, the proud waters. Gcd suffers the enemies of his people sometimes to prevail very far against them, that his own power may appear the more illustrious in their deli\ erance.

2. Of the goodness of Gcd, by which they were rescued from the very brink of ruin; " The Lord was on our side; and if he had not been sc, we had been undone." (1.) "God was on our side; he took our part, espoused our cause, and appeared for us: he was our Helper, and a very present Help, a Help on our side, nigh at hand. He was with us; not only for us, but among us, and Commander in chief of our forces." (2.) That God was Jehovah; there the emphasis lies. " If it had not been Jehovah himself, a God of infinite power and perfection, that had undertaken our deliverance, cur enemies had overpowered us." H-appy the people, thei-efore, whose God is Jehovah, a God all-sufficient. Let Israel say this, to his honour, and resolve never to forsake him.

6. Blessed be the Loud, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. 7. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. 8. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Here tlie psalmist further magnifies the great deliverance God had lately wrought for them.

1. That their hearts might be the more enlarged ^ in thankfulness to him; {v. 6.) Blessed be the Lord. God is the Author of all our deliverances, and therefore he must have the glory of them. We rob him

of his due, if we do not return thanks to him. And we are the more obliged to praise him, because we had such a narrow escape. We were delivered, (1.) Like a lamb out of the very jaws cf a beast of prey; God has not given us as a prey to their teeth; intimating, that they had no power' against God's people, but what was given them from above. They could not be a prey to their teeth, unless Gcd gave them up, and therefore they were rescued, because God would not suffer them to be i-uined. (2.) Like a bird, a little bird, (the word signifies a sparrow,) out of the snare of the fowler. The enemies are very subtle and spiteful; they lay snares for God's people, to bring them into sin and trouble, and to hold them there. Sometimes they seem to have prevailed so far as to gain their point; God's per pie are taken in the snare, and are as unable to help themselves out as any weak and silly bird is; and then is God's time to appear fcr their relief, when all other friends fail; then Gcd breaks the snare, and tuiTis the dounsel of the enemies into foclishness; The snare is broken, and so we are delivered. Isaac is saved when he lay ready to be sacrificed. Jeho-vah-jireh; in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

2. That their hearts, and the hearts of others, might be more encouraged to trust in God in the Hke dangers; (x'. 8.) Our help is in the name of the. Lord. David had directed us (cxxi. 2.) to depend upon God for help as to cur personal concerns; My help is in the name of the Lord; here, as to the concerns of the public; Our help is so. It is a comfort to all that lay the interests of God's Israel near their hearts, that Israel's Gcd is the same that made

PSALMS, CXXV.

the world, and therefore will have a church in the world, and can secure th it church in the times of the greatest danger and distress. In him tlierefore let the church's friends put tlieir confidence, and they shall not be put to confusion.

PSALM CXXV.

This short psalm may be summed up in those words of the prophet, (ha. iii. 10, 11.) Say ye to the righteous, It shall he well with him. Woe to the ivicked, it shall be ill loith him. Thus are life and deilh, the blessing and tlie curse, set before us often in the psalms, as well as in the law and the prophets. I. It is certainly well with the people of God; for, 1. They have the promises of a good God, that they shall be fixed, (v. I.) and safe, (v. 2.) and not always under the hatches, v. 3. 2. They have the prayers of a good man, which shall be heard for them, V. 4. 11. It is certainly ill with the wicked, and particularly with the apostates, v. 5. Some of the Jewish rabbins are of opinion that it has reference to the days of the Messiah; however, we that are members of the gospel-church may certainly, in singing this psalm, take the comfort of these promises, and the more so, if we stand in awe of the threatening.

A sojig of degrees.

1. P^l-IEY that trust in the Lord shall he JL as mount Zion, lukich cannot be re-(noved, but abideth for evei'. 2. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the L'JRD is round about his people from henceforth, even for ever. 3. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of die righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.

Here are three very precious promises made to the people of God, which, tliough they are designed to secure the welfare of the church in general, may be applied by particular believers to themselves, as otlier promises of tliis nature may.

Here is, 1. The character of God's people to whom these promises belong. Many cidl tliem-§elves God's pjople who have no part nor lot in this matter. Bat those shall have the benefit of tliem, and may tike the comfort of tliem, (1.) Who are righteous, {v. 3.) righteous before God, righteous to God, and righteous to all men; for his s-.ke jvistified and sanctified. (2.) Who trust m the Lord, who depend upon his care, and devote themselves to his honour. All that deal witli God must deal upon trust, and he will give comfort to those only that give credit to him, and make it to appear they do so, by quitting other confidences, and venturing to the ul;-most for God. The closer our expectations are confined to God, the higher our expectations may be 1 aised from him.

2. The promises themselves.

(1.) That their hearts shall he established by faith: those minds shall be truly stayed that are stayed on God; They shall he as mount Zion. The church in general is called mount Zion; (Heb. xii. 22.) and it shall in this respect be like mount Zion, it shall be built upon a rock, and its interests sliall be so well secured, that the gates of hell shall not firevail against it. The staljility of the church is the satisfaction of all its well-wishers. Particular persons, who trust in God, shall be established; (Ps cxii. 7.) their faith shall be their fixation, Is;;. vii. 9. T/ieij shall be as mount Zion, which is firm, as it is a mountain supported by providence, much more as a holy mountain supported hy pi'omise. [!."] They cannot be removed h\ tlie prince of the power of the air, nor by all his suhtletj' and sti-ength. They cannot be removed from their integrity, nor trom their confidence in God. [2. ] They abide for ever in that grace which is the earnest of their ever-lasiing c "intinuance in glor)-.

(2.) That, committing themselves to God, thtv sli .11 be safe, under his prctccti- n, firm all tlie insults of their enemies. As Jerusalem had a natuml fastness and f irtification in the mountains that iverc round about it, v. 2. (those mountains not onlj-sheltered it from winds and tempests, and broke th<' force of them, but made it also very difficult of a( cess for an enemy,) such a defence is God's provi dence to his people! Observe, [1.] The compass of it; The Lord is round about his people on every side; there is no gap in the hedge of protection which he makes round about his people, at which the enemy, who goes about them, seeking to do them a mischief, can find entrance. Job i. 10. [2.] The continuance of it; from henceforth even for ever. Mountains may moulder and come to nought, and rocks be removed out of their place, (Job xiv. 18.) but God's covenant with his people cannot be broke?!, (Isa. liv. 10.) nor his care (f thtm cease. Tlieir being said to stand fast /o?- ex<er, {v. 1.) and here to have God round aboilt them for ex'er, inti-niates, that the pr( mises (f the stability and security of God's people will have their full accomplishment in their everlasting state. In heaven tliey shall stand fast for ever, shall be as/iillajs in the temple of our God, and go no more out; (Rev. iii. 12.) and there God himself, with his gloiy and favour, will be round about tliem for ever.

(3.) That their troubles sh;.ll last no longer than tVieir strength will Rtr\e to bear them u]) under tliem, V. 3. (1.) It is supposed that the rod of the Tjicked may come, may fall, upon the lot of the righteous. The rod of their power may oppress them, the rod of tlieir anger may vex and tomient them. It may fall upon their persons, their estates, their liberties, their families, their names, any thing that falls to their lot; only it cannot reach their sculs. (2.) It is promised, that, though it may come upon their lot, it shall not rest there, it shall not continue so long as the enemies design, and as the peo-jile of God fear, but (Jed will cut the work short in righteousness; so short, that even nvith the temptation he will make a way for them to escape. (3.) It is considered as a reason of this promise, that, if the trouble shoulel continue o\er-long, the righteous themselves wruld be in temptation to put forth their hands to iniquity, to join with wicked people in their wicked practices; to say as they say, anel do as they do. There is danger lest, being long persecuted for their religion, at length they grow weaiy of it, and willing to give it up; being kept long in expectation ef promised mercies, they begin to distrust the promise, and to think of casting Qod oflF, upon suspicion of his having cast them off. See Ixxiii. 13, 14. Note, God considers the frame cf his people, and will proportion their trials to their strength, by the care of his providence, as well as their strength to their trials, by the power of his grace. Oppression makes a wise inan mad, especially if it continue long; tliercfe re for the elects' sake the d;»ys shall I^e shortened, that, whatever goes with their lr«t in this world, they maynct lose their lot among the chosen.

4. Do good, O Loud, unto t/iose that be good, and to theiji that are upright in their hearts. ^. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: b?it peace shall be upon Israel.

Here is,

1. The prayer the psalmist puts up for the happiness of those that are sincere and constant; {v. 4.) Do good, O Lord, unto those that are good. This teaches us to pray for all good people, to make sufi

PS\LMS, CXXVI.

hllcat'ion for all saints; and we may pray in faith loi- them, being assured that those who do well shall cert-.inly be well dealt with. They that arc as they shjuld be, shall be as they would be, provided they be ufiright in heart, that tliey be really as good as thvy seem to be; with the ufiright God ivill show himself upright. He does not say, Do good, O L.jrd, to them that are perfect, that are sinless and spotless; but, to them that are sincere and holiest. (tc d's jn-omises should quicken our prayers. It is comf jrt ible wishing well to those for whom God has engaged to do well.

2. The prospect he has of the ruin of hypocrites and deserters; he does not pray for it, / have not desired the woeful day, thou knoivest, but he predicts it; As for those who, having known the way of righteousness, for fear of the rod of the wicked, basely turn aside out of it to their wicked ways, use indirect ways to prevent trouble, or extricate themselves out of it; or those who, instead of I'eforming, grow worse and worse, and are more obstinate and dai'ing in their impieties, God shall send them away, cast them out, and lead them forth, with the workers of iniquity, he shall appoint them their portion with the worst of sinners. Note, (1.) Sinful ways are crooked ways; sin is the pen'erting of that which is right. (2.) The doom of those who turn aside to those crooked ways, out of the right way, will be the same with theirs who have all along Walked in them; nay, and more grie\ous, for if any place in hell be hotter than another, that shall be the portion of hypocrites and apostates. God shall lead them forth, as prisoners are led forth to execution. Go, ye cursed, into everlasting fire; and these shall go away, all their former righteousness shall not be mentioned unto them. The I-ist words. Peace upon Israel, may be taken as a prayer; God preserve his Israel in peace, when his 'udgments are abroad reckoning with e\il-doers. 'Jft read them as a promise. Peace shall be upon Israel; that is, [1.] When those wlio have treacherously deserted the ways of God meet with their own destiiicticn, those who faithfully adhere to them, though they may have trouble in tlieir way, tlieir end sh ill be peace. [2.] The destruction of those who walk in crooked ways will contribute to the peace and safety of the church; when Herod was cut f;fF, the word of God grew. Acts xii. 23, 24. [3.] The peace and happiness of God's Israel will be the vexation, and will add much to the torment, of those who perish in their wickedness, Luke xiii. 28. Isa. Ixv. 13. Aly servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed.

PSALM CXXVI.

It was with reference to some great and surprising deliverance of the people of God out of bondage and distress, that this psalm was penned; most likely their return out of Babylon in Ezra's time. Though Babylon be not mentioned here, as it is, (Ps. cxxxvii.) their captivity there was the most remarkable captivity, both in itself, and as their return out of it was typical of our redemption by Christ. Probably, it was penned by Ezra, or some of the prophets that came up with the first. We read of singers of the children of Asaph, that famous psalmist who returned then, Erra ii. 41. It being a song of ascenls, in which twice the same things are repeated with advancement, (v. 2, 3. and v. 4, 5.) it is put here among the rest of the psalms that bear that title. I. Those that were returned out of captivity are here called upon to be thankful, v. 1. -3. II. Those that were yet remaining in captivity are here prayed for, (v. 4.) and encouraged, v. 5, 6. It will be easy, in singing this psalm, to apply it either to any particular deliverance wrought for the church, or our own land, or to the great work of our salvation by Christ.

A song of degrees.

I. 'V^T'HEN the Lord turned again the ▼ T captivity of Zion, we were hke

1^

5R9

thorn that dream. 2. Then was our motith filled with laughter, and our tongue v\ith singing: then said they among the heathtm. The Lord hath done great things for th(>m 3. The Lord hath done grejit things for us. whereof we are glad.

While the people of Israel were captives in Ba bylon, their hai-ps were hung upon tlie wilL w-trees, for then God called to weeping and mturnint-, tlicn he mourned unto them, and they lamented.; but, now that their captivity is turned, they i esume their harps; Providence pipes to them, ancl tlu) (knee. Thus must we accommodate ourselves to all the dispensations of Providence, and be suitably affected with them. And the harps are ncNtr mere rnelodiously tunable than after such a melanchcly disuse. The long want cf mercies greatly sweetens their return.

Here is, 1. The deliverance Gcd had wrought forthem; He turned again the captivity of Zion. It is possible that Zion may be in captivity for the punishment of her degeneracy; but her captivity shall be turned again, when the end is answered, and the work designed by it is effected. Cynis, f(,T reasons of state, proclaimed liberty to Grd's c: p tiyes, and yet it was the Lord's donig, nccf rdine f his word many years before. God sent them ii.t-captivity, not as'dross is put into the fire to be crn-sumed, but as gold to be refined. Observe, The release of Israel is called the turning again of tlu captivity of Zion, the holy hill, where God's taber nacle and dwelling-place were; for the restoring <■' their sacred interests, and the reviving of the public exercise of their religion, were the most valuable advantage of their return out of captivity.

2. The pleasing sui-prise that this was to them They were amazed at it; it came so suddenly, tha at first they were in confusion, not knowing what t. make of it, nor what it was tending to; " \^'e■ though ourselves like men that dream, we thought it toe good news to be tiiie, and began to questi(n whether we were well awake or no, and whether it was not still," (as sometimes it had been to the prrphets,) " only a representation of it in vision;" as St. Peter for a while thought his deUverance was, Acts xii. 9. Sometimes the people of God are thus prevented with the blessings of his goodness before they are aware. We were like them that are recovered to health, so Dr. Hammond reads it; such a com-

j fertable happy change it was to us, as life from the dead, or sudden ease from exquisite pain; we thought ourselves in a new world. And the surprise of it put them into an ecstasy and transport rf joy, that they could scarcely contain themselves within the bounds of decency in the expressirns of it; Onr mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Thus they gave vent .to their joy, gave glory to their God, and gave notice to all alx iit them what wonders God had wrought for them. They that were laughed at now laugh, and a new song is put into their mouths. It was a laughter cf joy in God, not scorn of their enemies.

3. The notice which their neighbours took cf it; They said among the heathen, Jehovah, the Gcd cf Israel, has done great things for that pecple, such as our gods cannot do for us. The heathen had observed their calamity, and had triumphed in it, Jer. xxii. 8, 9. Ps. cxxxvii. 7. Now thev could not but observe their deliverance, and admire that. It put a reputation upon those that had been scorned and despised, and made them lookconsidei-able; besides, it turned greatly to the honour of God, and extorted from those that set up other gods in competitioi with him, an acknowledgment oifhis wisdom, power and providence.

PSALMS, CXXVIl.

4. The acknowledgments which they themselves (iiade of it, x'. 3. The heathen were but spectators, ajid spake of it only as matter of news; they had no part or lot in the matter; but the people of God i])ake of it as sharers in it. (1.) With application; '' He has done great things for us, things that we are interested in, and have advantage by." Thus It is comfortable speaking of the redemption Christ has wrought out, has wrought out for us, who loved "le, and gave himself for me. (2.) With affection; whereof we are glad'. Tlie heathen were amazed at it, and some of them angry, but we are glad. While Israel went a whoring from their God, joy was forbidden them; (Hos. ix. 1.) but now that the iniquitv of Jacob was purged by the captivity, and their sin taken away, now God makes them to rejoice. It is the repenting reforming people that are, and shall be, the rejoicing people. Observe here, [1.] God's appearances for his people are to be looked upon as great things. [2.] God is to be eved as the Author of all the great things done for the church. [3.] It is good to observe how the church's deliverances are for us, that we may rejoice in them.

4. Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. 5. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall, doubtless, come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves 7Dith him.

These verses look forward to the mercies that were yet wanted; they that were come out of captivity were still in distress, e\en in their own land, (NeK. i. 3.) and many yet remained in Babylon. And therefore they rejoiced with trembling, and bare upon their hearts the grievances that were yet to be redressed. We have here,

1. A prayer for the perfecting of their deliverance; {v. 4.) *' Turn again our cafitivity. Let those that are returned to their own land be eased of the burthens which they are yet groaning under. Let those that remiun in Babylon have their hearts stirred up, as ours were, to take the benefit of the liberty granted." The beginnings of mercy are encouragements to us to pray for the completing of it. And while we are here in this world, there will still be matter for prayer, even then when we are most furnished with matter for praise. And when we are free, and in prosperity ourselves, we must not be unmindful of our brethren that are in trouble and under restraint. The bringing of those that were yet in captivity, to join with their brethren that were returned, would be as welcome to both sides as streams of water in those countries, which, lying fir south, were parched and dry. As cold water to a thirsty soul, so would this good news be from tliat far.country, Prov. xxv. 25.

2. A promise for their encouragement to wait for it, assuring them that though they had now a sorrowful time, yet it would end well. But the promise is expressed generally, that all the saints may comfort themselves with this confidence, that their seedness of tears will certainly end in a harvest of joy at last, v. 5, 6.

(1.) Suffering saints have a seedness of tears. They are in tears often, they share in the calamities of hum tn life, and commonly have a greater share in them than others. But they sonv in tears; they do the duty of an afflicted state, and so answer the intentions of the providences they are vmder. Weeping must not hinder sowing; when we suffer ill we must be doing well. Nay, as the ground is by the ' rain prepared for the seed, and the husbandman sometimes chooses to sow in the wet, so we must

improve times of affiictirn, as disposing us to repen tance, and prayer, and humiliation. Nay, there are tears which are themselves the seed'that we must sow; tears of sorrow for sin, our own and others; tears of sympathy with the afflicted church; and tears of tenderness in jjrayer and under the word. These are precious seed, such as the husbandman sows when corn is dear, and he has but little for his family, and therefore wetps to part with it, yet buries it under ground, in expectation of recei\ing it again with advantage. Thus does a good man sow in tears.

(2.) They shall have a harvest of joy. The troubles (i the saints will not last always, but, when they have done their work, shall have a happy period. The captives in Babylon were long sowing in tears, but at length they were brought forth with joy, and then they reaped the benefit of their patient suffering, and brought their sheaves with them to their own land, in their experiences of the goodness of God to them. Job, and Joseph, and David, and many others, had harvests of joy after a sorrowful seedness. They that sow in the tears of godly sorrow, shall reap in the joy of a sealed pardon and a settled peace. Those that sow to the spirit, in this vale of tears, shall of the spirit reap life ex<erlasting, and that will be a joyful harvest indeed. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be for ever comforted.

PSALM CXXVIL

This is a family-psalm, as divers before were state-poems, and church-poems. It is entitled (as we read it) /or So-lomon, dedicated to him by his father. He having a house to build, a city to keep, and seed to raise up to his father, David directs him to look up to God, and to depend upon his providence, without which all his wisdon(i, care, and industry, would not serve. Some take it to have been penned by Solomon himself, and it may as well be read, a song of Solomon, who wrote a great many; and they compare it with his Ecclesiastes, the scope of both beinp; the same, to show the vanity of worldly care, and how necessary it is that we keep in with God. On him we must depend, I. For wealth, v. 1, 2. II. For heirs to leave it to, v. 3..5. In singing this psalm, we must have our eye up unto God for success in all our undertakings, and a blessing upon all our comforts and enjoyments, because every creature is that to us which he makes it to be, and no more.

^ song of degrees for Solomon.

1. in XCEPT the Lord build the house, JLIa they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the w^atch-man waketh hut in vain. 2. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows : for so he giveth his be-[ loved sleep. 3. Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord : and the fruit of the I womb is his reward. 4. As arrows are in I the hand of a mighty man : so -are children i of the youth. 5. Happy is the man that j hath his quiver full of them : they shall not j be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

We are here taught to have a continual regard to the Divine Providence in all the concerns of this life. S-"lomon was cried up for a wise man, and would be a])t to k'an to his own understiinding and forecast, and therefore his father teaches him to look higher, and to take God along with him in his undertakings. He was to be a man of business, and therefore David instnicted him how to manage his business under the direction of his religion; pa

PSALMS, CXXVIII.

rents, in teaching- their children, should suit their exhortations to thtir condition and occasions.

We must have an eye to Ciod,

I. In all the affairs and business of the family, e\'en of the royal f imily, for king's houses are no longer safe than while God jjrotects them. We must depend upon God's blessing, and not our own contrivance,

1. For the raising of a family; Excefit the Lord build the house, by his providence and blessing, they labour in vain, though ever so ingenious, that build it. We may understand it of tae material house, except the Lord bless the building; it is to no purpose for men to build, any more than for the builders of Babel, who attempted it in defiance of heaven, or Hiel, who built Jericlu/ under a curse. If the model and design be laid in pride and vanity, or if the foundations be laid in oppression and injustice, (Hab. ii. 11, 12.) God certainly does not build there; nay, if God be not acknowledged, we have no reason to expect his blessing, and withcut liis blessing all is nothing. Or rather, it is to Ije understood of the making of a family considerable, that was mean; men labour to do this by advantageous matches, offices, employments, purchases; but all in vain, unless God build up the family, and raise the floor out of the dust. The best laid project fails, unless God crown it with success: see Mai. i. 4.

2. For the security of a family or a city; for these are specified; if the guards of the city cannot secure it without God, much less can tlie good man of the house save his house from being broken up. Except the Lord keep the city from fire, from enemies, the watchmen, who go about the city, or patrol upon the walls of it, though they neither slumber nor sleep, wake but in vain, for a raging fire may break out, the mischief of which the timeliest discoveries may not be able to prevent. The guard may be slain, 01 tht city betrayed and lost by a thoui-ind accidents, which the most watchful sentinel, or most cautious governor, could not v)bviate.

3. For the enriching of a family; that is a work of time and thought, but cannot be eflFected wittiout the favour of Providence, any more than that which is the product of one happy turn; "It is in x'ain for you to rise up. early and sit ufi late, and so to deny yourselves your bodily refreshments, in tlie eager pursuit of the wealth of the world." Usuall}', those that lise early do not care for sitting up late, nor can those that sit up late easily persuade themselves to rise early; but there are some so hot upon the world, that they will do both, will rob their sleep to pay their cares; and they have as little comfort in their meals as in their rest, they eat the bread of sorrows. It is part of our sentence, that we eat our bread in the sweat of our face; but those go further, all their days they eat in darkness, Eccl. v. 17. They are continually full of care, which imbitters their comforts, and makes their lives a burthen to them. All this is to get money, and all in vain, except God prosper them, for riches are not always to men of understanding, Eccl. ix. 11. They that love God, and are beloved of him, have their minds easy, and live very comfortably, without this ado. Solomon was called Jedidiah, Beloved of the Lord; (2 Sam. xii. 25.) to him the kingdom was promised, and then it was in vain for Absalom to rise up early, to wheedle the people, and for Adonijah to make such a stir,,and to say, / ivill be king; Solomon sits still, and, being beloved of the Lord, to him he gives sleep and the kingdom too. Note, (1.) Inordinate excessive care about the things of this world, is a vain and fiTiitless thing; we weary ourselves for vanity, if we have it, and often wearv ourselves in vain for it, Hag. i. 6, 9. (2.) Bodily sleep is God's gift to his beloved. We owe it to his goodness that nur sleep is safe, (Ps. iv. 8.) that it is sweet, Jer.

591

xxxi. 25, 26. Then God gives us sleep, as he gives it to his beloved, when with it he gives us grace to lie down in his fear, i^ lur souls returning to him, and reposing in him as oui Rest,) and when we awake, to be still with him, and to use the refreshment we have by sleep in his service. He gives his beloved sleep, quietness, and contentment of mind, a com fortable enjoyment of what is present, and a com fortable expectation of what is to come. Our care must be to keep ourselves in the love of God, and then we may be easy, whether we have little or much of this world.

II. In the increase of the family; he shows, 1. That children are God's gift, v. 3. If children are withheld, it is God tliat withholds them (Gen. XXX. 2.) if they are given, it is God that gives them; (Gen. xxxiii. 5.) and they are to us what he makes them, comforts or crosses. Solomon multiplied wives, contrary to the law, but we never read of more than one son that he had; for those that desire children, as an heritage from the Lord, must receive them in the way that he is pleased to give them, by lawful marriage to one wife; (Mai. ii. 15.) therefore one, that he might seek a seed of God. But they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increa-^i. Children are a heritage, and a reward; and are so to be accf unted blessings, and not burthens; for he that sends mouths will send meat, if we trust in him. Obed-edom had eight sons, for the Lord blessed him because he had entertained the ark, 1 Chron. xxvi. 5. Children are a heritage for the Lord, as well asfro?n him; they are my children, (says God,) which thou hast borne unto me; (Ezek. xvi. 20.) and then tliey are most our honour and comfort, when they are accounted to him for a generation.

L. That they are a good gift, and a great support and defence to a family; jis arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, who knows how to use them for his own s;ifcty and advantage, so are children of the youth, children born to their parents when they are young, winch are the strongest and most healthful children, and are grown up to serve them by the time they need their service. Or rather, children who are themselves young; they are instraments of much good to their parents and fiimilies, which may fortify themselves with them against their enemies. The family that has a large stock of children, is like a quiver full of arrows, of different sizes we may suppose, but all of use one time or other; children of different capacities and inclinations may be se\^eral ways ser\iceable to the family. He that has a numerous issue may boldly sfieak with his enemy in the gate in judgment; in battle he needs not fear, having so many good seconds, so zealous, so faithful, and in the vigour of youth, 1 Sam. ii. 4, 5. Observe here. Children of the youth are arrows in the hand, which, with prudence, may be directed aright to the mark, God's glory, aiid the service of their generation; but afterward, when they are gone abroad into the world, they are arrows out of the hand, it is too late to bend them then. But these arrows in the hand too often prove arrows in the heart, a constant grief to their godly parents, whose gray hairs they bring with sorrow to the grave.

PSALM CXXVIIL

This, as the former, is a psalm for families. In that, we were taup^hl that the prosperity of our families depends upon the blessing of God; in this, we are tauo-ht that the only way to obtain that blessing- which will make our families coinforlable, is, to live in the fear of God, and in obedience to him. They that do so, in general, shall be blessed, v. 1, 2, 4. In particular, I. Thev shall'be prosperous and successful in their employm"ents. v. 2. II. Their relations shall be agreeable, v. 3.' III. They shall live to see their families brought up, v. 6. IV. They shall have the satisfaction of seeing the church of God in a flourishing condition, v. 5, 6. We must sing this psalm in the firm belief of this truth. That religion and

PSALMS, CXXVUI.

piety are the best friends to outward prosperity, giving God the praise that it is so, and that we have found it so, and encouraging ourselves and others with it.

A song of degrees.

1. "OLESSED is every one that feareth _IJ the Loud; that vvalketh in his ways.

2. For thou shalt eat the labour ofthy hands: happy shah thou he, and // shall be well with thee. 3. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thy house: thy children like olive-plants round about thy table. 4. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. 5. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jeriisalem all the days of thy life. 6. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.

It is here showed that s^ndlincss has the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

I. It is here again and a;-; lin Uiid down as an undoubted trutli, that they who are truly holy are truly hafifiy. Thfv whose blessed state we are here assured of, are such as fear the Lord, and walk in his ways; such as have a deej) reverence cf God upon their spii-its, and evidence it by a regular and constant conformity to his will. Where the fear of God is a commanding principle in the heart, the tenor of the conversation Avill be accordingly; and in vain do we pretend to be of those that fear God, if we do not make conscience both of keeping to his ways, and not trifling in them or drawing back. Such are blessed, (t. 1.) and shall be blessed, xi. 4. God blessed them, and his pronouncing them blessed makes them so. They are blessed now, they shall be blessed still, and for ever. This blessedness, arising from this blessing, is here secured, 1. To all the saints universally; Blessed is every one that .fears the Lord, whoever he be; in every nation, he that fears (iod, and works righteousness, is accepted of him, and therefore is blessed. Whether he be high or low, rich or poor, in the world, if religion rule him, it will protect and enrich him. 2. To such a saint in particular; thus shall the man be blessed; not only the nation, the church in its public capacity, but the particular person in his private interests. 3. We are here encouraged to apply it to ourselves; {x>. 2.) "Hapfiy shalt thou be; thou mayest take the comfort of the promise, and expect the benefit of it, as if it were directed to thee by name, if thou fear God, and walk in his ways. Happy shalt thou be; that is, It shall be well with thee; wh;itever befalls thee, good shall be brought out of it; it shall be well with thee while thou livest, better when thou diest, and best of all to eternity." It is asserted, (v. 4.) with a note commanding attention. Behold, thus shall the ?nan be blessed; behold it by faith in the promise; l:)chold it by observation in the performance of the promise; behold it with assurance that it shall be so, ['••: God is faithful; and with admiration that it should be so, for we merit no favour, no lilessing, from iiim.

II. Particular promises are here made to godly people, which they may de])cnd upon, as far as is for God's glory and their good; and that is enough.

1. That, by the blessing of God, they shall get anhonest livelihood, and live comfortably upon it. It is not jjromised that thev shall live at ease, without care or pain^, but. Thou shalt eat the labour of' thy hands. Here is a double ]iromise, (1.) That they shall have something to do, (for an idle life is a miserable uncomfortable life,) and shall have health and strength, and capacity of mind, to do it, ajid shall not be forced to be beholden to others for ne-

cessary food, and to live, as the disabled poor do, upon the labours of other people. It is as much a mercy, as it is a duty, with quietness to work ana eat our own bread, 2 Thess. iii. 12. (2.) That the) shall succeed in their employments, and they and theirs shall enjoy what they get; others shall net come and cat the bread out of their mouths, not shall it be taken from them either by oppressive rulers or invading enemies; God will not blast it and blow upon it, as he did; (Hag. i. 9.) and his blessing will make a little go a great way. It is very pleasant to enjoy tlie fruits of our own industry; as the sleep, so the food, of a labouring man is sweet.

2. That they shall have abundance of comfort in their family-relations. As a wife and children are very much a man's care, so, if by the grace of Gcd they are sucli as the)- should be, they are very much a man's deliglit, as much as any creature-comfoit. (1.) The wfe shall be as a vine by the sides of the house, not only as a spreading vine, which sen"es for an ornament, but as a fruitful vine, which is fv'.r profit, and with the fiiiit whereof both Ciod and man are honoured, Judg. ix. 13. The vine is a weak and tender j^lant, and needs to be sujjported and cherished, but it is a very \aluuble plant, and some think (because all the products of it were prohibited to the Nazarites) it was the tree of knowledge itself. The wife's place is the husband's house; there her business lies, and that is her castle; W/iere is Sarah thy wife? Behold, in the tent; where should she be else.'' Her place is by the sides of the house, not under foot to be trampled on, nor yet upon the house-top to domineer: it she be so, she is but as the grass ufion the house-top, in the next psalm; but on the side of the house, being a rib nut of the side of the man; she shall be a loving wife, as the vine, which cleaves to the house-side, an obedient wife, as the vine, which is pliable, and grows as it is directed-She shall be fniitful as the vine, not only in children, but in the fruits of wisdom, and righteousness, and good management, the branches of which run over the wall, (Gen. xlix. 22. Ps. Ixxx. 11.) like a fruitful vine, not cumbering the ground, or bringing forth sour grapes, or grapes of Sodom, but good fruit. (2.) The childre7i shall be as olive-plants, likely in time to be olive-trees, and, though wild by nature, yet grafted into the good olive, and partaking of its root and fatness. Rem. xi. 17. It is pleasant to parents, who have a table spread, though Ixit with ordinary fare, to see their children round about it; to have many children, enough to surro\md it, and those with them, and not scattered, rr the parents forced from them; Job makes it one of the first instances of his former prosperity, tliat his children were about him. Job xxix. 5. Parents love to have their children at table, to keep up the pleasantnes-s of the table-talk; to have them ni health, craving food, and not physic; to have them like olive-plants, straight and green, sucking in the sap of their good education, and likely in due time to be serviceable.

3. That they shall ha\e those good things which God has promised, and which they pray U r; 1'he Lord shall bless thee out of Zion, where the ark of the covenant was, and where the pious Israelites attended with their devotions. Blessings out of Zion are the best blessings, which flow, n( t from common providence, but from special grace, Ps. xx. 2.

4. That they shall live long, to enjoy the comforts of the rising generations; "Thou shalt see thy children's children, as Joseph, Cien. 1. 23. Thy family shall be built up and continued, and thou shalt have the pleasui-e of seeing it" Children's children, if they be good children, are the crown of old men, (Prov. xvii. 6.) who are apt to be fond of their grand-children.

5. That they shall see the welfare of God'} church, and the land of their nativity, which ever*

PSALMS, CXXIX.

693

man n-ho fears God is no less concemed tor than fjr tlie prosperity of his own family. "Thou sh .It be blessed in ^Zion's blessing, and wilt think thyself so. Thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem as'long as thou livcst, though thou livest long; and shalt not have thy private comforts allayed and im-bittered by public troubles." A good man can have little comtort in seeing his children's children, unless withal he see peace upon Israel, and have hopes of transmitting the entail of religion pure and entire to those that shall come after him, for that is the best inheritance.

PSALM CXXIX.

This psalm relates to the public concerns of God's Israel. It is not certain when it was penned, probably when they were in captivity in Babylon, or about the time of their return. I. They look back with thankfulness for the former deliverances God had wrought for them and their fathers, out of the many distresses they had been in from time to time, v. 1. -4. II. They look forward with a believing praver for, and prospect of, the destruction of all the enemies of Zion, v. 3. .8. In singing this psalm, we may apply it both ways to the Gospel Israel, which, like the'Old Testament Israel, has weathered many a storm, and is still threatened by many enemies.

A song of degrees.

1. ll/|~Ai\Y a time have they afflicted me IvJL from my youth, may Israel now say ; 2. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth; yet they have not prevailed against me. 3. The ploughers ploughed upon my v ack; they made long their furrows. 4. Tlu Lord is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.

The cliurch of God, in its several ages, is here spoken of, or rather, here speaks, as one single person, now old and gray-headed, but calling to remembrance the former days, and reflecting upon the times of old. And, upon the review, it is found,

1. That the church has been often greatly distressed bv its enemies on earth; Israel may now say, " I am the people that has been oppressed more than any people, that has been as a sfieckled bird,

flecked at by all the birds round about," Jer. xii. 9. t is true, they brought their troubles upon themselves by their sins, it was for them tliat God punished them; but it was for the peculiarity of their covenant, and the singularities of their religion, that their neighbours hated and persecuted them. For these, many a time have they afflicted me from my youth. Kote, God's people have always had many enemies; and the state of the church, from its infancy, has frequently been an afflicted state. Israel's youth was in Egypt, or in the times of the Judges, then they were afflicted, and from thenceforward more or less. The gospel-church, ever since it had a being, has been at times afflicted; and it bare this yoke most of all in its youth, witness the ten persecutions which the primitive church groaned under, v. 3. The ploughers filoughed ufion my back. We read (cxxv. 3.) of the rod of the wicked upon the lot of the righteous, where we rather expected the plough, to mark it out for themselves; here we read of the plough of the wicked upon the back of the righteous, where we rather expected to find the rod. But the metaphors in tliese places may be said to be crossed; the sense, however, of both is the same, and is too plain, that the enemies of God's people have all along used them verv barbarously. They tare them as the husbandm'?.n tears the ground with his ploughshare, to pull tlicm to pieces, and get all they could out of them, and so to wear out the saints of the Most High,

Vol. hi— 4 F

as the ground is worn out that had been long tilled, tilled (as we saj) quite cut of heart. When God permitted them to plcugh thus, he intended it for his people's good, that, their fallow ground being thus broken up, he might sow the seeds of his grace upon them, and reap a harvest of good fruit from them: howbeit, the enemies meant not so, neither did their hearts think so; (Isa. x. 7.) they made long their furrows, never knew when to have done, aiming at nothing less than the destruction of the church. Many, by the furrows they made on the backs cf God's people, understand the stripes they gave them. The cutters cut upon my back, so they i-ead it. The saints have often had trials of cruel scourgings, (probably the captives had,) and cruel mockings, (for we read of the scourge, or lash of the tongue, Heb. xi. 36.) and so it was fulfilled in Christ, who gave his back to the smiters, Isa. 1. 6. Or it may refer to the desolations they made of the cities of Israel; Zion shall, fur your sake, be ploughed as a field, Mic. iii. 12.

2. That the church has been always graciously delivered by her Friend in heaven.

(1.) The enemies' projects have been defeated; they have afflicted the church, in hopes to ruin it, but they have not gained their point; many a storm it has weathered, many a shock, and many a brunt, it has borne, and yet is in being; They have not prevailed against me. One would wonder how this ship has lived at sea, when it has been tossed with tempests, and all the waves and billows have gene over it. Christ has built his church upon a rock, and the gates of hell have net prevailed against it, nor ever shall.

(2.) The enemies' power has been broken; God has cut asunder the cords of the wicked; has cut their gears, their traces, and so spoiled their ploughing; has cut their scourges, and so spoiled their lashing; has cut the bands of union, by which tliey were combined together; has cut the bands cf captivity, in which they held God's people. God has many ways of disabling wicked men to do the mischief they design against his church, and shaming their counsels.

These words. The Lord is righteous, may refer either to the distresses or to the deliverances cf the church. [1-] The Lord is righteous, in suffering Israel to be afflicted. This the people of God were always ready to own, that, how unjust soever their enemies were, God was just in all that was brought upon them, Neh. ix. 33. [2.] The Lord is righteous, in not suffering Israel to be ruined; for he has promised to preserve it a people to himself, and he will be as good as his word. He is righteous in reckoning with their persecutors, and rendering to them a recompense, 2 Thess. i. 6.

5. Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion: 6. Let them be as the grass upon the house-tops, which with-ereth afore it groweth up; 7. Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand, nor he that bindeth sheaves, his bosom. 8. Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the Lord he upon you: we bless you in the name of the Lord.

The psalmist, having triumphed in the defeat cf the many designs that had been laid as deep as hell to rtiin the church, here concludes his psalm as Deborah did her song, So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord, Judg. v. 31.

1. There are many that hate Zion,. that hate Zion's God, his worship, and his worshippers, that have an antipathy to religion and reltgteos people.

I'SALMS. CXXX.

that seek the ruin of b'-th, and do what they can, that God may not have a church in the world.

2. We ought to pray that all their attempts against the church may be frustrated, that in them they may be confounhtd, and turned back witli shame, as those that have not been able to bring to pass their entei-prisc and expectation; Let thtm all oe confounded, is as much as, Tliey shall be all confounded. The confusion imprecated, and predicted, is illustrated by a similitude; while God's people shall flourish, as the loaded palm-tree, or the green and fruitful oUve, their enemies shall wither as the grass ufion the house-top. As men, they are not to be feared, for they shall be made as grass, Isa. li. 12. But, as they are enemies to Zion, they are so certainly marked for ruin, that they may be looked upon with as much contempt as the grass on the house-tops, which is little, and short, and sour, and good for nothing.

(1.) It perishes quickly, it withers before it grows u/i to any maturity, having no root; and the higher its place is, which perhaps is its pride, the more it is exposed to the scorching heat of the sun, and consequently the sooner does it wither. It withers before it is plucked up, so some read it. The enemies of God's church wither of themselves, and stay not till they are rooted out by the judgments of God.

(2.) It is of no use to any body; nor are they any thing but the unprofitable burthens of the earth; nor will their attempts against Zion ever ripen or ccme to any head; nor, whatever they promise themselves, will they get any more by them than the husbandman does by the grass on his house-top. Their harvest will be a heap in the day of grief, Isa. xvii. 11.

3. No wise man will pray God to bless the mowers or reapers, n. 8. Observe, (1.) It has been an ancient and laudable custom not only to salute, and wish a good day to, strangers and travellers, but particularly to pray for the prosperity of harvest-labourers. Thus Boaz prayed for his reapers, (Ruth ii. 4.) The Lord be with you. We must thus acknowledge God's providence, testify our good-will to our neighbours, and commend their industry, and it will be accepted of God ;is a jiious ejaculati'c n, if it comes from a devout and upright heart. (2.) Religious expressions, Ijeing sacred things, must never be made use of in light and ludicrous actions. Mowing the grass on the house-top would be a jest, and therefore those that h ive a reverence for the name of God will not prostitute to it the usual forms of salutation, which sa\ourcd of devotion; for holy things must not be jested with. (3.) It is a dangerous thing to let the church's enemies ]ia\'e our good wishes in their designs ;igainst tiie church. If we wish them God speed, we are partakers of their eznl deeds, 2 John xi. When it is said, None will bless them, and show them req^ect, more is implied, namely, that all wise and good people will cry out shame on them, and lx;g of G(xl to defeat them; and woe to those that have the prayers of the saints against them. T cursed his habitation. Job V, 3»

PSALM CXXX.

This psalm relates not to any temporal concern, cither personal or public, but it is wholly taken up in the afJairs of the soul. It is reckoned one of the seven penitential psalms, which have sometimes been made use of by penitents, upon their admission into the church; in sin^ring it, we are all concerned to apply it to ourselves. The psalmist here expresses, I. His desire toward God, v. 1, 2. \\t His repentance before God, v. 3, 4. HI. His at-tendance upon God, v. 6, 6. IV. His expectations from God, *. 7. 8. And as in water face answers to face, so does the neart of one humble penitent to another.

A song of degrees.

^UT of the deptlis have 1 cried unto

tbee, O J.jORd. 2. Lord, lioar my

voice; let thine ears be attentive to tlie voice of ni}^ supplications. .3.^ If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand ? 4. But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

In these verses, we are taught,

1. Whatever condition we are in, though ever so deplorable, to continue calling upon God, v. 1. The best men may sometimes be in the depths, in great trouble and affliction, and utterly at a loss what to do; in the depths of distress, and almost in the depths of despair; the spirit low and dark, sinking and drooping, cast down and disquieted. But, in the gi'eatest depths, it is our privilege that we may cry unto God, and be heard. A prayer may reach the heights of heaven, though not out of the depths of hell, yet out of the depths of the greatest trouble we can be in, in this world; Jeremiah's, out of the dungeon, Daniel's, out of the den, and Jonah's, out of the fish's belly. It is our duty and interest to cry unto God, for that is the likeliest way both to prevent our sinking lower, and to recover us out of^the horrible pit, and miry clay, xl. 1, 2.

2. Wiiile we continue calling upon God, to assure ourselves of an answer of peace irom him; for this is that which David in faith prays for, (v. 2.) Lord, hear my voice, my complaint and prayer, and let thine ears be atttnti-ve to the voice both of my afflictions and of my supplications,

3. We are taught to humble ourselves before the justice of God, as guilty in his sight, and unable to answer him for one of a thousand of our offences; {v. 3.) If thou. Lord, shouldest mark ini-c/uities, 0 Lord, who shall stand? His calling Gcd Lord twice, in so few words, Jah and jldonai, is very emphatical, and intimates a very awful sense of God's glorious majesty, and a dread of his wrath. Let us learn here, (1.) To acknowledge our iniquities, that we cannotjustif)^ ourselves before God, or plead not guilty. There is that which is remarkable in our iniquities, and is liable to be animadverted upc n. (2.) To own the power and justice of >God, which is such, that, if he should be extreme to mark what we do amiss, there were no hopes of coming off". His eye can discover enough in the best man to ground a condemnation upon; and if he proceed against us, we have no way to help ourselves, Ave cannot stand, but shall certainly be cast. If God deal with us in strict justice, we are undone; if he make remarks upon our iniquities, he will find them to be many and great; greatly aggravated, and very provoking: and then, if he should proceed accordingly, he would shut us out from all hope of his favour, and shut us up under his wrath; and what could we do to help ourselves? We could not make our escape, nor resist, or bear up under, his avenging hand. (3.) Let us admire God's patience and forbearance; we were undone if he should mark iniquities, and he knows it, and therefore bears with us. It is of his mercy that we are not consumed by his wrath.

4. We are taught to cast ourselves upon the par-idoning mercy of God, and to comfort ourselves with that, when we see ourselves obnoxious to his justice, V, 4. Here is, (1.) God's ^race discovered, and pleaded with him, by a penitent sinner; But there is forgiveness with thee. It is our unspeakable comfort, in all our approaches to God, that there is forgiveness with him, for that is what we need. He has put himself into a capacity to pardon sin, he hag declared himself gracious and merciful, and ready to forgive, Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. He has promised to forgive the sins of those that do repent, Never any that dealt with him found him implaca ble, but easy to be entreated, and swift to shrw

PSALMS, CXXXI.

595

mercy. With us there is iniquity, and therefore it is well for us that with him there is forgiveness. There is a /ii~ofiitiation with thee, so some read it Jesus Christ is the great Propitiation, the Ransom which God has found; he is ever with him, as Advocate for us, and through him we hope to obtain forgiveness. (2.) Our duty designed in that discovery, and inferred from it; There is forgiveness with thee, not that thou mayest be made l)old witli, and presumed upon, but that thou mayest be feared; in general, that thou mayest.be worshipped and served by the children of men, who, being sinners, could have no dealings with God, if he were not a Master that could pass by a great many faults. But this encourages us to come into his service, tiiat we shall not be turned off for every niisdeme;tnour; no, not for any, if we truly repent. This dots in a special manner invite those who have sinned to repent, and return to the fear of God, that he is gracious and merciful, and will receive them upon their re-

Eentance; (Joel ii. 13. Matth. iii. 2.) and particu-irly, we are to have a holy awe and re\erence of God's pardoning mercy; (Hos. iii. 5.) They shall fear the Lord, and his goodness; and the7i we may expect the benefit or the forgiveness that is with God, when we make it the object of our holy fear.

5. I wait for the Lord, my soul cloth wait, and in his word do J hope. 6. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning; Isay^ more than they that watch for the morning. 7. Let Israel hope in the Lord : for with the Lord ^ there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. 8. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Here, 1. The psalmist engages himself to trust in God, and to wait for him, v. 5, 6. Observe, (1.) His dependence upon God, expressed in a climax, it being a song of degrees, or ascents: " I wait for the Lord; from him I expect relief and comfort, believing it will come, longing till it does come, but patiently bearing the delay of it, and resohing to look for it from no other hand. JMy soul doth ivait; I wait for him in sincerity, and not in ])rofession only. I am an expectcmt, and it is for the Lord that juy soul waits, for the gifts of his grace, and the operations of his power." (2.) The ground of that dependence; I?i his word do Iho/ie. We must hope tor that only, which he has promised in his word, und not for the creatures of our own fancy and imagination; and we must hope for it, because he lias promised it, and not from any opinion of our own merit. (3.) The degree of that dependence; 7nore than they that watch for the morning; who are, [1.] Well assured that the morning will come; and so am I, that God will return in meixy to me, according to his promise; for God's covenant is more firm than the ordinances of day and night, for they shall come to an end, but that is everlasting. [2.] Very desirous that it would come. Sentinels that keep guard upon tlie walls, they that watch with sick people, and travellers that are abroad upon t'leir journey, long before day, wish to see the (' iwning of the day; but more earnestly does this good man long for the tokens of God's favour, and •"he visits of his grace; and more readily will he be ^ware of his first appearances than they are of day. Dr. Hammond reads it thus: " Afi/ soul hastens to the L-ird, froin the guards the morning, the f'uards in the morning;" and gi.es this sense of it, I'To thee I daily betake myself, early in the morning, addressing my prayers, and m.v very soul, be-

fore thee, at the time that the priests offer their morning sacrifice."

2. He encourages all the people of God, in likf' manner, to depend upon him, and trust in him; Let Israel ho/ie in the Lord, and wait for him; not only the body of the people, but every good man, who surnames himself by the name of Israel, Isa. xli\. 5. Let all that devote themselves to God cheerfully stay themselves upon him, (y. 7, 8.) for two reasons: (1.) Because the light of nature discovers to us that there is mercy with him, that the God of Israel is a merciful God, and the Father of mercies. Mercy is with him; not only inherent in his nature, but it is his delight, it is his darling attribute; it is with him in all his works, in all his counsels. (2.) Because the light of the gospel discovers to us that there is redemjition with him, contrived by him, and to be wrouglit out in the fulness of time; it was in the beginning hid in God. See here, [1.] The nature of this redemption; it is redemption from sin, from all sin; and therefore can be no other than that eternal redemption which Jesus Christ became the Author of; for it is he that saves his people from their sins, (jNIatth. i. 21.) that redeems them from all iniquity, (Tit. ii. 14.) and turns away ungodliness from Jacob, Rom. xi. 26. It is he that redeems us both from the condemning, and from the commanding, power of sin. [2. ] The riches of this redemption; it is plenteous redemption; there is an all sufficient fulness of merit and grace in the Redeemer enough for all, enough for each; enough for me, says the believer. Redemption from sin includes redemption from all other evils, and there is ?l plenteous redemption. [3.] The persons to whom the benefits of this redemption belong; He shall redeem Israel; Israel according to the spirit; all those who are in covenant with God, as Israel was, and who are Israelites indeed, in whom, is no guile.

PSALM CXXXI.

This psalm is David's profession of humility; humbly made, with thankfulness to God for his grace, and not in vain-glory. It is probable enough that (as most interpreters suggest) David made this protestation in answer to the calumnies of Saul and his courtiers, who represented David as an ambitious aspiring man, who, under pretence of a divine appointment, sought the kingdom, in the pride of his heart. But he appeals to God, that, on the contrary, I. He aimed at nothing high or great, v. 1. II. He was very easy in every condition which God allotted him; (v. 2.) and therefore, III. He encourages all good people to trust in God as he did, v. 3. Some have made it an objection against singing David's psalms, that there are many who cannot say. My heart is not hmighly, 4-c. It is true there are; but we may sing it for the same purpose that we read it, to teach and admonish ourselves, and one another, what we ought to be; with repentance that we have come short of being so, and humble prayer to God for his grace to make us so.

A song of degrees of David. 1. T ORD, my heart is not haughty, nor JLd mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. 2. Surely 1 have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. 3. Let Israel hope in the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.

Here are two things which will be comforts to us: I. Consciousness of our integrity. This was Da vid's rejoicing, tliat his heart could witness for him, that he had walked humbly with his God, notwith standing the censures he was under, and the temp-' tations he was in.

1. He aimed not at a high condition, nor was he

PSALMS, CXXXII.

desirous of making a figure in the world, but, if God had so ordered, could have been well content ti) spend all his days, as he did the beginning of them, in the sheep-folds. His own brother, in a passion, charged him with pride, (1 Sam. xvii. 28.) but the charge was groundless and unjust; God, who searches the heart, kncvV,

(1.) That he had no conceited opinion of himself, or his own merits; Lord, my heart is ?iot haughty. Humble saints cannot think so well of themselves as others think of them; are not in love with their own shadow, nor do they magnify their own attainnients or achievements. The love of God, reigning in the heart, will subdue all inordinate self-love.

(2.) That he had neither a scornful nor an aspiring look; " My eyes are ?iot lofty, either to look with envy upon tliose that are abo\e me, or to look with disdain upon those that are below me." Where there is a proud heart, there is commonly a proud look; (Prov. vi. 17.) but tlie humble publican will not so much as lift up his eyes.

(3.) That he did not employ himself in things above his station; in things too great or too high for him. He did not employ himself in studies too high; he made God's word his meditation, and did not amuse himself with matters of nice speculation or doubtful disputation, or covet to be wise above what is written. To know God and our duty, is learning sufficiently high for us. He did not employ himself in affairs too gi-eat; he followed his ewes, and never set up for a politician; no, nor for a soldier; for, when his brethren went to the wars, he stayed at home to keep the sheep. It is our wisdom, and will be our praise, to keep within our sphere, and not to intrude into things which we have not seen, or meddle with that which does not belong to us. Princes and scholars must not exercise themselves in matters too great, too high, for men: and those in a low station, and of ordinary capacities, must net pretend to that which is out of their reach, and which they were not cut out for. Those will fall under due shame, that affect undue honours.

2. He was well-reconciled to every erudition that God placed him in; {v. 2.) I have behaved and cjuieted myself as a child that is iveaned of his mother. As he had not proudly aimed at the kingdom, so, since God had appointed him to it, he had ,not behaved insolently towards any, nor been restless in his attempts to get the crown before the time set; but, (1.) He had been as humble as a little child about the age of a weaning, as manageable and governable, and as far from aiming at high things; as entirely at God's disposal, as the child at the disposal of the mother or nurse; as far from taking state upon him, thovigh anointed to be king, or valuing himself upon tlie prospect of his future advancement, as a child in the arms. Our Savic-ur has taught us humility by this comparison; (Matth. xviii. 3.) we must become as little children. (2.) He had been as indifferent to the wealth and honour of this world as a child is to the breast, wlicn it is thoroughly weaned from it. / have levelled ajid (juietea myself, (so Dr. Hammond reads it,) as a child that is iveaned. This intimates that our hearts are naturally as lesirous of worldly things as the !)abe is of the breast, and in like manner relish them, cry for them, are fond of them, play with them, and cannot live without them. But, by the grace of God, a soul that is sanctified is weaned from those things. Providence puts wormwocid u])on the breast, and that helps to wean us. The child is perhaps cross and fi-etful while it is in the weaning, and thinks itself undone when it has lost the breast; but in a day or two it is forgotten, the fret is over, and it accommodates itself well enough to a new way of feeding; cares no longer for milk, but can !)ear strong meat. Thus does a gracious soul quiet

itself under the loss of that which it loved, and disappointment in that which it hoped for, and is easy whatever happens; lives, and lives comfortably, upon God and the covenant-grace, when creatures prove dry breasts. When our condition is not to our mind, we must bring our mind to cur condition; and then we are easy to ourselves, and all about us; then our sculs are as a weaned child.

II. Confidence in God; and this David recommends to all the Israel of God, no doubt from his own experience of the benefit of it; (y. 3.) Let Israel ho/ie in the Lord, and let them continue to do •io, from henceforth and for ever. Though David could himselt wait patiently and quietly for the crcjwn designed him, yet perhaps Israel, the people whose darling he was, would be ready to attempt s' mething in favour of him before the time; he tliorefore endeavours to quiet them too, and bids them hope m the Lord, that they should see a happy change of the face of affairs m due time. Thus it is good to hope, and quietly to wait, for the salvation of the Lord.

PSALM CXXXII.

It is probable that this psalm was penned by Solomon, to be sung- at the dedication of the temple which he built according to the charge his father gave him, 1 Cfiron. xxviii. 2, &c. Having fulfilled his trust, he begs of God to own what he had done. I. He had built this house for the honour and service of God; and when he brings the ark into it, the token of God's presence, he desires God himself would come and take possession of it, v. 8.. 10. With these words Solomon concluded his prayer, 2 Chron. vi. 41, 42. II. He had built it in pursuance of the orders he had received from his father, and therefore his pleas to enforce these petitions refer to David. 1. He pleads David's piety towards God, v. 1..7. 2. He pleads God's promise to David, v. 11. . 18. The former introduces his petition, the latter follows it as an answer to it. In singing this psalm, we must have a concern for the gospel church, as the temple of God, and a dependence upon Christ, as David our King, in whom the mercies of God are sure mercies.

^ song of degrees.

1. T ORD, remember David, a7id all his JLji afflictions; 2. How he sware unto the Lord, ajid vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob; 3. Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; 4. I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, 5. Until I find out a place for the Lord, a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. 6. Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah; we found it in the fields of the wood. 7. We will go into his tabernacles; we will worship at his footstool. 8. Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou and the ark of thy strength. 9. Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy. 10. For thy servant David's sake turn not away the face of thine anointed.

In these verses, we ha\e Solomon's address tc God for his favour to him and to his government, and his acceptance of his building a house to God's name. Observe,

I. What he pleads: two things.

1. That what lie had done was in pursuance of the pious vow which his father David had made to build a house for God. Solomon was a wise man, yet pleads not any merit of his own; " I am not worthy, for whom thou shouldest do this; but. Lord, rcme7nber David, with whom thou madcst the '■o-

PSALMS, CXXXIl.

if) 7

venant;" (as Moses prayed, Exod. xxxii. 13. Re-member Abraham, the first trustee of the covenant;) " remember all his afflictions, all the truubl'-. s of his life, which his being anointed was the occasicji of;" or, his care and concern about the ark, and what an uneasiness it was to him that the ark was in curtains, 2 Sam. vii. 2. Remember all his humility and meekness; so some read it; all that picas and devcut affection with which he had made the foUcwing vow. Note, It is not amiss for us to put God in mind cf our predecessors in profession, of tlieir afflictions, their services, and their sufferings; of God's covenant with them, the experiences they have liad cf his goodness, the care the}- took cf, and the many prayers they put up for, those that should come after them. We may ^pply it to Christ, the Son cf David, and to all his afflictions; " Lord, remember the covenant made with him, and the satisfaction made by him; Remember all his offerings, (Ps. xx. 3.) all his sufferings."

He especially pleads the solemn vow that David had made as soon as ever he was settled in his government, and before he was well settled in a house of his own, that he would build a house for God. Observe,

(1.) Whom he bound himself to; to the Lord, to the mighty God of Jacob. Vows are to be made to God, who is a Party as well as a Witness. The Lord is the mighty One of Jacob; Jacob's God, and a mighty One, whose power is engaged for Jacob's defence and deliverance. Jacob is weak, but the God of Jacob is a mighty One.

(2.) What he bound himself to do; toJind out a place for the Lord, for the ark, the token of his presence. He had observed in the law frequent mention of the /ilace that God would choose to put his name there, to which all the tribes should resort. When he came to the crown, there was no such place, Shiloh was deserted, and no other place was pitched upon, for want of wliich the feasts of the Lord were not kept with due solemnity. "Well," says David, "I will find out such a place for the general rendezvous of all the tribes, a place of habitation for the mighty One of Jacob, a place for the ark, where there shall be room both for the priests and people to attend upon it."

(3.) How intent he was upon it; he would not settle in his house; nay, he would not sleep in his bed, till he had brought this matter to some head, V. 3, 4. The thing had been long talked of, and nothing done, till at last David, when he went out one morning about public business, made a vow, that before night he would come to a resolution in this matter, and would determine the place either where the tent should be pitched for the reception of the ark, at the beginning of his reign, or rather, where Solomon should build the temple, which was not fixed till the latter end of his reign, just after the pestilence with which he was punished for numbering the people; (1 Chron. xxii. 1.) Then David said. This is the house of the Lord. And perhaps it was upon occasion of that judgment that he made this vow, being apprehensive that one of God's controversies with him was for his dilatoriness in this matter. Note, When needful work is to be di;ne for God, it is good for us to task ourseh es, and tie ourselves to a time, because we are apt to put off. It is good in the morning to cut out work for the day, binding ourselves that we will do it before we sleep, only with submission to Providence; for we know not ivhat a day may bring forth. Especially in the great work of conversion to God; we must be thus solicitous, thus zealous; we have good reason to resolve that we will not enjoy the comforts of this life, till we have laid a foundation for hopes of a better. 2. That it was in pursuance of the expectations of the people of Israel, v. 6, 7. (1.) They were in-

quisitive after the ark; for they lamented its obscu rity, 1 Sam. vii. 2. Thev heard of it at Ephraiah. at Shiloh, in the tribe of Ephraim, there tliey were told it had been, but it was gene; thev found it at last in the fields of the wood, in Kirjath-jeanm, which signifies the city of woods. Thence all Israel fetched it, with great solemnity, in the beginning cf David's reign, (1 Chrcn. xiii. 6.) so that in building this house for the ark. Sole mon had gratified all Israel; they needed not to go about to seek the ark any more, they now knew where to find it. (2.) They were resolved to attend it; " Let us but have a ccn-vcnient place, and we will go into his tabernacle, to pay our homage there; we will worship at his footstool, as subjects and supplicants; which we neglected to do, for want of such a place, in the days of Saul," I Ciiron. xiii. 3. II. W'hat he prays for, v. S--10.

1. That God would vouchsafe, not only to take possession cf, but to take up his residence in, this temple which he had built. A7-ise, 0 Loi-d, into thy rest, and let this be it, thou, even the ark of thy strength, the pledge of thy presence, thy mighty presence.

2. That God would give grace to the ministers of the sanctuary to do their duty; Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness: let them appear righteous both in then- administrations and ni their conversations, and let both be according to the mle. Note, Righteousness is the best omament of a minister. Holiness towards God, and goodness towards all men, are habits for ministers, of the necessity of wliich there is no dispute. " They are thy priests, and will therefore discredit their" relation to thee, if they be not clothed with lighteousness."

3. That the people of God might have the comfort of the due administration of holy ordinances among them; Let thy saints shout for joy; they chd so when the ark was"brcught into the city of Da\id; (2 Sam. vi. 15.) they will do so when the priests are clothed with righteousness. A faithful ministry is the jcy of the saints; it is the matter of it; it'is a friend and a furtherance to it; we are helpers cf your Joy, 2 Cor. i. 24.

4. Tliat Solomon's own prayer, upon occasion of the dedicating of the temple, might be accepted oi God; " Tu7m not away the face of thine anointed; deny me not the things I have asked of thee; send me not away ashamed. He pleads, (1.) That he was the anointed of the Lord, and this he pleads as a type of Christ, the great Anointed, who, m his intercession, urges his designation to his office. He is God's An(-inted, and therefore the Father hears him always. (2.) That he was the son of David; " For his sake do not deny me;" and this is the Chnstian's plea; " For the sake of Christ," (our David,) " in whom thou art well-pleased, accept nie." He is David, whose name signifies beloved; and we are made accepted in the Beloved. He is God's Servant, whom he upholds, Isa. xiii. 1. \^'e ha\ e no merit of cur own to plead, but, for his sake, in whom there is a fulness of merit, let us find favour. When we pray for the prosperity of the church, we may with great boldness, for Christ's sake, who purchased the church with his own blood; let both ministers and people do their duty.

11. The Lord hath sworn in truth untc David, he will not turn from it, Of the fruil of thy body will I set upon thy throne. 12. If thy children will keep my covenant, and my testimony that I shall teach them, their childien also shall sit upon thy throne for evermore. 13. For the Lord hath chosen Zion : he hath desired it for his habitation

PSALiMS, XXXII.

14. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; lor I have desired it. 13. I will abundantly bless her provision: 1 will satisfy her poor with bread. 16. I will also clothe her priests with salvation; and her saints shall shout aloud lor joy. 17. There will 1 make the horn ol'David to bud : 1 have ordained ;i lamp for mine anointed. 10. His enemies will 1 clothe with shame; but upon himself .'••hall his crown llourish.

These are precious promises, coiijirmed by an 'jath, that the heii's of them might have stroni^ consolation, Heb. vi. 17, 18. It is all one wliether we take them as pleas urged in the jjrayer, or as answers rctunied to the prayer; believers know how to nrake use of the promises both ways; with them to speak to God, and in them to hear what G(-d the r^nrd will speak to us. Tliese promises relate to the establishment bntli in churcli and state, both to the throne of the liouse of David, and to the testimony of Israel fixed on mount Zion. The promises concerning Zion's hill are as applicable to the gcspel-church, as these concerning David's seed are to Christ; and therefi re both pleadable by us, and very comfortable to us. Here is,

1. The choice (iod made of David's house, and Zion hill. IV-tli w^re ( f divine appointment.

1. God chose David's family for the royal family, and confirmed his choice l)y an oath, v. 11, 12. D ivid, being a type of Clirist, was made king with an oatli. The Lord hath sivorn, and will not rvjient, will not turn from it. Did David swear to the Lord, that he would find him a house? (x'. 2.) The L^'rd sware to David that he v/ould Ijuild him a liouse; for God will lie behind with none of his people in aflfections or assurances. Tlie promise made to David refers, (1.) To a long succession of kings tluit sliould descend fi-om his loins; Of the fniit of thii body ivill I net ujion thy throne, which was fulfilled in Solomon; David himself lived to see it with great satisfaction, 1 Kings i. 48. I'he crown was also entailed conditionally upon his heirs for ever; If thy chfldrrn, in folh wing ages, ii'ill keep my covenant, and my tentimony that I nhall teach them; God himself eiigages to teach them, and he did his part; thev had Moses and the prophets, and all he expects, IS, that they should keep what he taught tliem, and keep to it, and then, their children shall iit ufion thy throne fjr evermore. Kings are before CJod upon their good behaviour, and their commis-iiion from him runs cjuamdiu sc bene i^csficrint — durini^ good behaviour. The issvie of this was, th it they did not keep (iod's covenant, and so tlie entail was at length cut off, and the scefitre departed from Judah 1)V degrees. (2.) To an everlasting Successor, a King that should descend from his loins, of the increase ofvjhose government and /leace there shall be tio end. St. l-'eter applies this to Christ, nay, he tells us, that D.ivid himself so understood it; (Acts ii. 30.) He knew that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise u/i Christ

c sit on his throne; and in the fulness i-f time he did so, and gave him the throne of his father David, Luke i. 32. He did fulfil the condition of the i)ro-misc, he kept (iod's covenant and his testimony, did his Fathei-'s will, and in all things pleased him, and therefore to him, and h:« '-piritual sec'd, tlie i)ro-mise shall be made good; he, and the children Ciod h IS given him, all believers, shall sit ufion the throne for e^^ermort. Rev. iii. 21.

2. (rod chose Zion hill for the holy hill, and confirmed his choice by the delight he took in it, v. 13, 14. He chose the mount Axon which he loved;

(Ixxviii. 68.) he chcse it for the habitation of his ark, and said of it, T/iis is my rest for ever, and not my residence f(<r a time, as bhiloh was. Zion was the city (,f Da\ id, he chose it for the royal city, because God chose it for the holy city. G( d said. Here will I dwell, and therefore David said. Here will I dwell, fir he adhered to liis piinciple, It is good for me to be luar to God. Zion nmst be here 1 looked upon as a type of the gospel-church, which is called mount Z.ion, (Heb. xii. 22.) and in it what is here said (if Zion has its full acc(<mplishment. Zion was long since ])loughed as a field, but the church of Christ is the house of the living God, (1 Tim. iii. 15.) and it is his rest for ever, and shall be blessed with his presence always, even to the end of the world. The delight God takes in his churcli, and the continuance of his presence with his chuich, are the comfort and joy of all its mem-bei's.

II. The choice blessings God has in store for Da-vid's house, and Zion hill. Whom God chooses he will bkss.

1. God, having chosen Zicn hill, promises to bless that, (1.) With the blessings of the life that now is; for godliness )ias the promise of them, x'. 15. The earth shall yii Id her mcrease; where religion is set up, there shall be priAisicn, and in blessing God will bless it; (Ixvii. 6.) he will surely and abundantly bless it. And a little provision, with an abundant blessing upon it, will be more sei-viceable, as well as more comfortable, than a great deal without that blessing. God's people have a special blessing upon common enjoyments, and that blessing j)uts a peculiar sweetness into them. Nay, the promise goes further; I will satisfy her poor with oread. Zion has her own poor to keep; and it is promised that God will take care even of them. [1.] By his providence they shall be kept from wanting, they shall have proMsit n enough. If there be scarcity, the poor are the first that feel it, so that it is a sure sign of plenty if they have sufficient. Zion's poor shall not want, for God has oljligcd all the sons of Zion to be charital)le to the poor, according to their ability, and the church must t;ike care that they be noi neglected, Acts vi. 1. [2.] By his grace, they shall be kept from complaining; though they have but diy breail, yet they shall be satisfied. Zitm's poor have, of all others, reason to be content with a little of this world, because they have better things ])repared for tliem. And this may be understood spiritually of the j)rovisi( n that is made for the soul, in the word ;!nd ordinances; God will abundantly bless that for the nourishment of the new man, and satis-fy the poor in spirit with the bread of life. What God sanctifies to us, we shall and may be satisfied with.

(2.) With the blessings of the life that is to come, things pertaining to godliness; {v. 16.) which is an ansvver to the prayer, x'. 9. [1.] It was desired tliatthe priests might be clothed with righteousness; it is here jjromised that God will cloth}- them with salvation; not only save them, but make tin ni and their administrations instnimental for the salvation of l^is people; they shall both save themselves a?id th^^e i/iat hear them, and add those to the church that shall be saved. Note, Wliom God clothes with righteousness he will clothe with salyati( ii; we must ])ray fi r righteousness, and then with it Gvd will give salvation. [2.] It was desired that the saints niiglit shout for joy; it is j^romiscd that they shall shout aloud forjoif. God gives more than we ask, and when he gives salvation he will give an abundant jov.

2. (i'od, having chosen David's family, here promises to bless that also with suitable blessings.

(1.) Growing power; There, in Zi' n, will I make th'' horn of David to bud, v. 17. The royal dig

PSALiMS, CXXXIII.

599

nity shall increase more and more, and constant additions be made to the lustre of it. Christ is the Horn of salvation, denoting a plentiful and powerful salvation, which God has raised up, and made to bud, in the house of his servant David. David had promised to use his power for God's glory, to cut off the homs of the wicked, and to exalt the horns of the righteous; (Ixxv. 10.) in recompense for it, God here promises to make his horn to bud, for to them that have power, and use it well, mcn-e

shall be given. , . , , , r

(2 ) Lasting honour; J have ordained a lavi/ijor mine anointed. Thou wilt light my candle; (xviii. 28 ) that lamp is likely to bum bright which C/od ordains. A lamp is a successor; for, when a lamp is almost out, another may be hghted Ijv it: it is a succession; for bv this means David shall not want a man to stand 'before God. Christ is the Lamp and the Light of the world.

(3 ) Complete victory; His encinies, who Ir.ive formed designs against him, ivill I clothe with shame, when they shall see their designs baftied. Let the •enemies of all good governors expect to be clothed with shame, and especially the enemies (;f the Lord Jesus and his government, who shall rise, in the o-reat day, to everlasting shame and contemfxt. ° (4.) Universal prosperity; U/ion himselj shall his '•roivn flourish; his government shall l:)c more and more his honour. This was to have its full accomplishment in Jesus Christ, whose crown of honour and power shall never fade, nor the flowtrs of it wither. The crowns of earthly princes endure not to all generations, (Prov. xxvii. 24.) l)ut Christ's crown shall endure to all eternity, and the crowns reserved for his faithful subjects are such as fade not away.

PSALM CXXXIII.

This psalm is a brief encomium on unity and brothcil.v love, which, if we did not sec the miseries of discord among men, we should think needless; but we cannot sav to°o much, it were well if we could sa^' enough, to persuade people to live together in peace. b>omc conjecture that David penned it upon occasion of the union between the tribes, when thev all met unanniiouslv to make him king. It is a psalm of general use to all societies, lesser and larger, civil and sacred. Here is 1. The doctrine laid down of the happiness of brotherly love. V. 1. II. The illustration of that doctrine, in two similitudes, v. 2, 3. III. The proof of it, in a <j;ood reason given for it; (v. 3.) and then we are left to make the j applfcation, which we ought to do in singing it, provok- | ino- ourselves and one another to holy love. The contents of this psalm, in our Bibles, are short, but very proper; it is the benefit of the communion of samls. , A song of degrees of David. 1. "OEHOLD, how sood and how i^lea-' JJ sant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2. It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, em/ Aaron's beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments; 3. As the dew of Hermon, and as the deiv that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, everi life for evermore.

Here see, 1. What it is that is commended; brethren's dwelling together in unity; not onlv not quarrelling, and devouring one another, but delighting in each other with mutual ciuleai-ments, and promoting each other's welfare with mutual services. Sometimes it is chosen, as the best expedient for preserving peace, that brethren should live asunder and at a distance from each other; that indeed may prevent enmity and strife, (Gen. xiii.

9.) but the goodness and pleasantnes's are,/or bre thrcn to dwell together, and so to dwell in unity; tu dwell even as one, so some read it; as having one heart, one soul, one interest. David had many sons by many wives; probably, he penned this psalm for their instniction, to engage them to lo\e one another; whicli, if they had done, much of the mischief that arose in his family had been hapi)ily pre\ ented. The ti'il)es of Israel had long had separate interests, during the govcriunentof the Judges, and it was often of bad conseciuence; but now that they were united under one common head, he would have them sensible how much it was likely to be for their advantage; especially since now the ark was fixed, and with it the i)lace of their rendezvous fi-r public worship, and the centre of their unity. Now let them live in love.

2. How commendable it is; Behold, how gdod and honv pleasant it is! It is good in itself, agreeable to the will of (iod, the conftjrmity of earth to he-aven. It is good for us, for our Ik nour and comfort; it is pleasant and pleasing to God and all good men; it brings constant delight to those who do thus live in unity. Behold, honv good! We ci'niK.t con-cei\'e or express the goodness and ])leasuntness of it. heholcl, it is a riive thing, and theref; re admirable. Behold, and wonder that there should be so much goodness and })leasantness among men, so much of heaven on this earth! Behold, it as an amiable thing, which will attract our hearts.^ Behold, it as an exemplary thing, which, where it is, is to be imitated by us with a holy ( mnl.lit n.

3. H(W the pieasaiuness of it is illustrated. (1.) I It is fiMgTant as the holy anointing oil, which was ' stri ngly ])erfuined, and 'diffused its ((Uurs, to the great (U light < i' all the by-standers, when it w;.s poured uptn the head of Aaron, or his successt r the high j)r-icst, so plentifully, that it ran down the face, even tc the collar or binding of the garment, V. 2. [1.] This was holy ointment; such must our brothcrlv love be, with a pure heart, devoted to (iod. We must love them that are begotten,/or his sake that begat, 1 John v. 1. [2.] This ointment was a composition made up by a divine dispensatory; God appointed the ingredients and the (luantitie's. Thus lielievers are taught of God to love one another; it is a grace of his working in us. [3.] It was very precious, and the like to it was not to be made for anv common use. Thus holy love is, in the sight of Ciod, of great price; and that is precious indeed, which is so in God's sight. [4.] It was grateful, both to Aaron himself and to all about him; so is holy love; it is like ointjnent and Jierfume which rejoice the heart. Christ's love to mankind wiis part of that oil of gladness with which he was anointed above his fellows. ^ [5.] Aarc II and his s( ns were not admitted to minister unto the Lord till they were anointed with this ointment, nor are our services acceptable to God without this holy love; if we have it not, we are no-thinir, 1 C( r. xiii. 1, 2.

(2.) It is fructifving; it is profitable as well as pleasing; it is as the dew; it brings abundance of blessings along with it, as numeiv us as the drops of dew. It cools the scorching heat of men's passions, as the evening dews cool the air and rofrcsh the earth. It contributes very much to our fniitfulness in every thing that is good, it moistens the heart, and makes it tender and fit to receive the good seed of the word; as, on the contrary, rnalice and bitterness unf\\. us to receive it, 1 Pe't. ii. 1. It is as the devj of Hermon, a common hill; for brf therly love is the" beautv and benefit "f civil societies; and as the dew that descciided upon the mountains of'/Arsn, a holy hill, for it contributes greatly to the fruitful-ness 'of sacred societies. Both Hermon and Zr n will wither without this dew. It is said (i the dew

PSAL^iVi^, CXXXIV, cxxxv.

that It tarrieth not for man, nor -ivaitethfor the sons I of men, Mic. v. 7. Nor should our love to our brethren stay for thtirs to us, tluit is pulilican's love; but should go l)<.fure it, th it ib di\ine l(.\e.

4. The proof of the excellency of brotherly love. Lovingpeoplc arc blessed people. For,

(1.) They are blessed of God, and therefore blessed indeed. There, where brethren dwell together in unity, the Lord commands the blessing, a conipli-cated blessing, including all blessings. It is God's prerogative to command the blessings, man can but beg a blessing. Blessings, according to the promise, are commanded blessings, for he has commanded his covenant for ever. Blessings that take effect, are commanded blessings, for he sjieaks and it is done.

(2.) They are everlastingly blessed. The blessing which God commands on them that dvvell in love, is, life for evermore; that is the blessing of blessings. They that dwell in love, not only dwell in God, but do already dwell in heaven. As the perfection of love is the blessedness of heaven, so the sincerity of love is the earnest of that blessedness. They that live in love and peace, shall have the God of love and peace with them now, and they shall be with him shortly, with him for ever, in the world of endless love and peace. How good then is it, and how pleasant!

PSALM CXXXIV.

This is the last of the fifteen sort^s of degrees; and if they were at any time sung all together in the tcniple-service, it is fitly made the conclusion of them, for the design of it is, to stir up the ministers to go on with their work in the night, when the solemnities of the day were over. Some make this psalm to be a dialogue. I. In the two first verses, the priests or Levites, who sat up all night to keep the watch jf the house of the Lord, arc called upon to spend their time while they were upon the sjuard, not in idle talk, hut in the acts of devotion. II. In the last verse, they who ivere thus called upon to praise God, pray for him that gave them the exhortation, either the'high priest, or the captain of the guard. Or thus; they who did that service, did mutually exhort one another, and pr:iy for one another. In sinking this psalm, we must both stir up ourselves to give glory to God, and encourage ourselves to hope for mercy and grace from him.

yl song of degrees.

BEHOLD, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord. 2. Lift up your hands in the saitctnary, and bless the Lord. 3. The L^ord, that made heaven and earth, bless thee out of Zion.

This psalm instnicts us concerning a two-fold blessing:

1. Our blessing God; that is, s])eaking well of him, which here we are taught to do, v. 1, 2.

(1.) It is a call to the Levites to do it; they were the servants of the Lord l)y office, appointed to minister in holy things; they attended the sanctuary, and kept the charge of the house of the Lord, Numb. iii. 6, &c. Some of them did by night stand in the house of the Lord, to guard the holy things of the temple, that they might not be profaned, and the rich things of the temple, that they might not be plundered. While the ark was in curtains, thei-e was the more need of gtiards upon it. They attended likewise to see that neither the fire on the altar, nor the lamps in the candlestick, went out. Prol)ably, it was usual for some devout and pious Israelites to sit up with them; we read of one that defiarted 7iot from the temfile night or day, Luke ii. 37. Now "these are here called upon to bless the Lord. Thus they must keep themselves awake by keeping themselves employed; thus they must re-

deem time for licly exercis'^"- and how can we spend our time better tlian in praising Gcd.^ It would be an excellent ])iece cf good husbandry, to fill up the \ acuncies of time with pious meditations and ejaculaticius; and surely it is a veiy modest and reasonable demand to converse with God when we have nothing else to do. They who stood in the house of the Lord, must remember where they were., and that holiness and holy work became that" house. Let them therefore bless the Lord; let them all do it in concert, or each by himself; let them lift up. their hands in the doing of it, in token of their lifting up of their hearts. Let them lift ufi their hands in holiness, so Dr. Hammond reads it; or in sancti-fication; as it is fit when they lift them up in the sayictuary; and let them remember, that when they were appointed to wash before they went in to minister, they were thereljy taught to lift up holy hands in prayer and praise.

(2.) It is a call to us to do it, who, as Christians, are made priests to our God, and Levites, Isa. Ixvi. 21. We are the seii'unts of the Lord, we have a place and a name in his house, in his sanctuary, we stand before him to minister to him, even by night we are under his eye, and have access to him. Let us therefore bless the Lord, and again bless him; think and speak of his glory and goodness; let us lift u[i our hands in prayer, in praise, in vows; let us do our work with diligence and cheerfulness, and an elevation of mind. This exhoitation is ushered in with Behold', a note commanding attention. Look about you. Sirs, when you are ip God's presence, and c(jnduct yoursehes accordingly.

2. (iod's blessing us, and that is doing well for us, wliich we are here taught to desire, v. 3. Whethei it is t!ie watchmen's blessing their captain, '^r the Le\itLs' blessing the high priest, or whoever 'vas their chief, as many take it, because it is in the s'lu • gular number, The Lord bless thee; or Avhether the l)lessing is jn'onounced by one upon many, Tlie Lord bless thee, each of you in particular, thee and thee: you that ;.re blessing God, the Lord bless you; is not material. We may learn, (1.) That we need desire no more to make us hajip}', than to be l^lessed of the Lord, for those whom he l^lesses are blessed indeed. (2.) That l)lessings out of Zion, spiritual-blessings, the blessings of the co\ enant, and of communion with God, are the l^est blessings, which we should be most earnest for. (3.) It is a great encouragement to us, when we come to God for a blessing, that it is he who made heaven arid earth, and therefore has all the blessings < f b(.th at his dis-jjosal, the upper and nether springs. (4.) We ought to beg these blessings, not onl}- for rairselvcs, but for others also; not only. The Lord bless me, but. The Lord bless thee; thus testifx ing our belief of the fulness of divine blessings, that tliere is enough for others as well as for us, and (ur g(( d will also to others. We must i)ray fi'r tliem tliat exhort us. Though the less is blessed of the greater, (Hi. 1). vii. 7. ) yet the greater must be prayed fc r liv the less.

PSALM CXXXV.

This is one of the Hallelujah psalms; this is the title of it, and that is the Jlmen of it, both its al|)hii and its omega. 1. It begins with a call to praise (uul, pariiculnrly a call to the servants of the Lord to praise him, ;is in tiic foregoing psalm, v. 1 ..3. II. It goes on to furnijli us with matter for praise. God is to be praised, 1. As the God of Jacob, v. 4. 2. .\s the God of gods,' v. 5. 3. As the God of the whole world, v. 6, 7. 4. As a terrible God to the enemies of Israel, v. 8.. 11. 5. As a uracious God to Israel, both in what he had done for iheni, and what he would do, v. 12. .14. 6. .\s the only livin^j (iod, ail other gods being vanity and a lie, v. 15. . 18. III. It concludes with another exhortation to all persons concerned to praise God, V. 19.. 21. In singing this psalm, our liearts must be filled, as well as our mouths, with the high praises of God.

PSALMS, CXXXV.

601

t "OHAISE ye the Lord. Praise ye the X name of the Lord ; praise him^ O ye servants of the Lord. 2. Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, 3. Praise the Lord ; for the Lord /^ good: sing praises unto his name ; for it is pleasant. 4. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.

Here is,

1. The duty we are called to; to praise the Lord, to praise his name; praise him, and again praise liim. We must not only thank him for what he has done for us, but praise him for what he is in himself, and has done for others; take all occasions to speak well of God, and to give his truths and ways a good word.

2. The persons that are called upon to do this; the servants of the Lord, the priests and Levites that stand in his house, and all the devout and pious Israelites that stand m the courts of his house to worship there, -u. 2. They have most reason to praise God, who are admitted to the privileges of his house; and they see most reason, who there behold his beauty, and taste his bounty; from them it is expected, for to that end they enjoy their places. Who should praise him, if they do not?

3. The reasons why we should praise God.

(1.) Because he whom we are to praise is good; and goodness is that which every body will speak well of. He is good to all, and we must give him the pi'aise of that; his goodness is his glory, and we must mike mention of it to his glory.

(2.) Because the work is its own wages; Sing praises to his name, for it is pleasant. It is best done with a cheerful spirit, and we shall have the pleasure of having done our duty. It is a heaven upon earth to be praising God; and the pleasure of that should quite put our mouths out of taste for the pleasures of sin.

(3.) Because of the peculiar privileges of God's peojDle; {y. 4.) The Lord hath chosen Jacob to himself, and therefore Jacob is bound to praise him; for therefore God chose a people to himself, that they might be unto him for a name and a praise; (Jer. xiii. 11.) and therefore Ja.coh has abundant matter for praise, being tlms dignified and distinguished. Israel is God'apieculiar treasure above all people; (Exod. xix. 5.) they are his Segullah, a people appropriated to him, and that he has a delight in, p7-e-cious in his sight, and honourable. For this distinguishing, surprising, favour, if the seed of Jacob do not praise hmi, they are the most unworthy, ungrateful, people under tlie sun.

5. For I know that the IjORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. 6. Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and ail deep olaces. 7. He caused the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings for the rain: he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries. 8. Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast. 9. rVko sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharoah, and upon all his servants. 10. \Mio smote great nations, and slew mighty kings; 11. Sihon king of theAmorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan : 12. And

Vol. hi.— 4 G

gave their land for a heritage, a heritage unto Israel his people. 13. Thy name, O Lord, endnreth for ever; and thy memorial, O Lord, throughout all generations. 14. For the Lord will judge his people, and he will repent himself concerning his servants.

The psalmist had suggested to us the goodness of God, as the proper matter of our cheerful praises; here he suggests to us the greatness of God, as the proper matter of our aivful praises; and on this he

I IS most large, because this we are less forward to

' consider.

I. He asserts the doctrine of Gcd's greatness; {-V. 5.) The Lord is great; great indeed, who knows no limits of time or place. He asserts it with assurance, "I know that he is so; know it not cnlyby observation of the proofs of it, but by belief of the revelation of it. I know it; I am sure of it, I know it bv my own experience of the divine greatness working on my soul." He asserts it with a holy defiance of all pretenders, though they should join in confederacy against him; he is not only above any god, but above all gods, infinitely above thtm, betwixt him and them there is no comparison.

II. He proves him to be a great Gcd, by the greatness of his power, v. 6. 1. He has an absolute power, and may do what he will; Whatsoex>er the Lord pleased, that did he, and none could control him, or say unto him. What doest thou? He does what he pleases, because he pleases, and gives not account of any of his matters. 2. He has an almighty power', and can do what he will; if he will work, none shall hinder. 3. This absolute almighty power is of universal extent; he doeth what he wili in heaven, in earth, in the seas, and in all the deep places that are in the bottom of the sea or the bowels of the earth. The gods of the heathen can do nothing; but our God can do anything, and does do everv thing.

III. He gives instances of his great power.

1. In the kingdom of nature, v. 7. All the powers of nature pi-ove the greatness of the God of nature, from whom they are derived, and on wliom they depend. The chain of natural causes was not only framed by him at first, but is still preserved by him. (1.) It is by his power that exhalations ai-e drawn up from the terraqueous globe; the heat < f the sun raises them, but it has that power from God, and therefore it is given as an instance of tlie gioiy of God, that nothing is hid from the heat of the sun, xix. 6. He causes the vapours to ascend (not only unhelptd, but unseen, by us) frcm the e;\rth, frrm the ends of the earth, 'that is, from the seas, by which the earth is surrounded. (2.) It is he who, out of those vapours so raised, forms the rain, so that the earth is no loser by the vapours it sends up, for they are returned with advantage in ft-uitml showers. (3.) Out of the same vapours (such is his wonderful power) he makes lightnings for the rain, by them he opens the bottles of heaven, and shakes the clouds, that they may water the earth. Here are fire and water thoroughly reconciled by Divine Omnipotence. They come together, and yet the water does not quench the fire, nor the fire lick up the water, as fire from heaven did when God pleased, 1 Kings xviii. 38. (4.) The same exhalations, to serve another pm-pose, are converted into winds, which blow where they list, from what point of the compass they will, and we are so far frrm directing them, that we cannot tell whence they come or whither they go, but God brings them'out of his treasuries with as much exactness and design as a prudent prince orders money to issue out of his exchequer.

PSALxMS, CXXXVl.

2. In the kingdoms of men; and here he mentions the great things God had formerly done for his people Israel, which were proofs of God's greatness as well as of his goodness, and confirmations of ihc truth of the scriptures of the Old Testament, which began to be vv'ncten by Moses, the person emplo}'ed in w.^rkiag those miracles. Oljserve God's soxereign doniini n, and irresistible power, (1.) I" bringing Israel (.ut of Egypt, humbling Pharaoh by many |)ligues, and so forcing him to let them go. These plagues are called tokens mid rjonders, because they cunc not in the common course of pro\idence, but th.re was something miraculous in each of them. Tliev vvei-e seyit ujwn Fliaraoh and all liissen'unts, his subjects; but the Israelites, whom God claimed for his servants, his sons, his first-born, liis free-born, were exempted from them, and no plague came nigh their dwelling. The death of the first-bo]-n, both of men and cattle, was the heaviest of all the plagues, and that which gained the point. (2.) In destro\ing the kingdoms of Canaan before them, V. 10. They that were in possession of the land designed for Israel, had all possible advantages for keeping possession; the people were numerous, and w.irhkc, and confederate against Israel; they were great nations. Yet if a great nation has a meek and mean-spirited prince, it lies exposed; but these great nations had mighty kings, and yet they were all smitten and slain; Sihon and Og, and all the kingdoms of Canaan, v. 10, 11. No power of hell or earth can prevent the accomplishment of the promise of God, when the time, the stt time, for it, IS come. (3.) In settling them in the land of promise. He that gives kingdoms to whomsoexer he pleases, gave Canaan to be a heritage to Israel his people. It came to them l3\' inheritance, for their ancestr-i's had the promise of it, though not the possession; and it descended as an inheritance to their seed. This was done long before, yet (iod is now praised for it; and with good reason, for the children were n )W enjoying the Ijcnefit of it.

IV. He triumi)hs in the perpetuity of God's glory and grace. 1. Of his glory; {v. 13.) Thy name, O God, endures for ex'er. God's manifestations of himself to his people have everlasting fruits and consequences. What God doeth, it shall be for ever, Eccl. iii. 14. His name endures for ever, in the constant and everlasting ])raises of his people; his memorial endures, has endured hitherto, and shall still endure throughout all genei-ationsof the church. This seems to refer to Exod. iii. 15. where, when God h::d called himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he adds, Tliis is my name for exier, and this is my memorial unto all generations. God is, and will t)e, always the same to his church, a gracious, faithful, wonder-working God; and his church IS and will he, the same to him, a thankful, praising, people; and thus his name f^f/zarsyb/'n-er. 2. Of his grace; he will be kind to his people. (1.) He will plead their cause against others that contend with them; he will judge his people, he will judge for them, and will not suffer tliem to be iim down. (2.) He will not himself contend for ever with them, but will repent himself concerning his servants, and not proceed in his controversy with them, he will be entreated for them, or he will lie comforted concerning them; he will return in wavs of mercy to them, and will delight to do them good. This verse is taken from the song of Moses, Deut. xxxii. 36.

15. The idok of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. IG. They have moutlis, but they speak not; eves have they, l)ut they see not; 17. They have ears, but they hear not; neither

is there ani/ breath ui their mouths. 18 They that make tiiem are like unto them so is every one that trusteth in them. 19 Bless the Lord, O house of Israel: bless tlie Lord, O house of Aaron: 20. Bless-the Lord, O house of Levi: ye that feai the Lord, bless the Lord. 21. Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, which dvvelleth at Jemsalem. Praise ye the Lord.

The design of these verses is,

1. To arm the people c^f God against idolatry and all false worships, b\' showing wliat sort of gods they were that the heathen worshipped, as we had it before, ex v. 4, &;c. (1.) They were gods cf their own making; being so, they cculd have no power but what their makers gave them; and then, what power could their makers recei^ e from them? The miages were the nvoi-k of meyi's hands, and the deities that were supposed to inform them, were as much the creatures ct men's fancy imd imaginaticii (2.) They had the shape cf animals, but could net perform the least act, no net ( f the animal life. The)' could neither see, ncr hear, nor speak, nor so much as breathe; and therefore to make them with eyes, and ears, and ?nouths, and nostrils, was such a jest, tliat one would wonder how reasonable creatures Ct uld suffer themselves to be so imposed upon, as to expect any good from such mcck-deities. (3.) Their worshippers were therefore as stupid and senseless as they were: both those that made them to be worshipped, and those that trusted in them when they were made, v. 18. The worshipping of such gods as were the objects of sense, and senseless, made the worshippers sensual and senseless. Let our worshipping of a God that is a Spirit, make us spiritual and wise.

2. To stir up the people of God to ti-ue devoticn in the worship of the trae God, i<. 19*'21. The more deplorable the condition of the Gentile nations that worship idols is, the more are we bound to thank God that we know better. Therefore, (1.) Let us set om'selves about the acts of devotion, and employ ourselves in them; Bless the Lord, and again, and again, bless the Lord. In the parallel place, (cxv. 9*-11.) by way of inference, from the impotency of idols, the duty thus pressecl upon us, is, to trust in the Lord; here, to bless }iim; by putting our ti-ust in God, we give gloiy to liim, and they that depend upon God shall not want matter of thanksgiving to him. All persons that knew Gcd are here called to praise him: the house of Israel, the nation in general; the house of Aaron, and the house of Levi, the Lord's ministers that attended in his sanctuary; and all others that feared the I^ord, though they were not of the house of Israel. (2.) Let God have the glory of all; Blessed be the Lord. The ti'il)Ute of praise arises out of Zion; all God's works do praise him, but his saints bless him; and they need not go far to pay their tribute, for he dwells in Jerusale?n, in his church, which they are members of, so that he is always nigh unto them to receive their homage. The condescensions of his grace, in dwelling with men upon the earth, call for our grateful and thankful retunis, and c ur repeated Hallelujahs.

PS\LM CXXXVl.

The scope of this psalm is the same with that of the foregoing psalm, but there is somelhincr very singular in the composition of it; for the latter half of "each verse is the same, repealed throughout the psalm,./or his mercy en-Jurethjor ever, and yet no vain repetition. It is allowed that such burlhens,'or keejuugs, as we call ihem, add very much to the beauty or a sonij, and help to make i*

PSALMS, CXXXVl.

603

movinsr and affecting; nor can any verse contain more vveighty matter, or more worthy to be thus repeated, than this, that GoWs mercy endurttk for ever; and the repetition of it here twenty-six times, inlimules, 1. That God's mercies to his people are thus rcijcated and drawn, as it were, ivith a continuandu from the beginning to the end, with a progress and advance in infiiiitum. 2. That in every particular favour we ought to talie notice of the mercy of God, and to take notice of it as enduring still, the same now that it has been, and enduring for ever, tiie same always that it is. 3. That the everlasting continuance of the mercy of God is very much his honour, and that which he glories in, and very much the saints' comfort, and that which they glory in. It is that which therefore our hearts should be full of, and greatly affected with, so that the most frequent mention of it, instead of cloying us, should raise us the more, because it will be the subject of our praise to all eternity. This most excellent sentence, that God^s mercy eaduretk for ever, is magnified above all the truths concerning God, not only by the repetition of it here, but by the signal tokens of divine acceptance with which God owned the singing of it, both in Solomon's time, (2 Chron. v. 13. when they sang these words, for his mercy enduretli for ever, the house was filled with a cloud,) and in Jehoshaphat's time; (when they sang these words, God gave them victory, 2 Chron. xx. 21, 22.) which should make us love to sing, His mercies sure do still endure, eternally. We must praise God, I. As great and good in himself, v. 1. .3. II. As the Creator of the world, v. 5 . . 9. III. As Israel's God and Saviour, v. 10.. 22. IV. As our Redeemer, V. 23, 24. V. As the great Benefactor of the whole creation, and God overall, blessed for evermore, v. 25, 26.

GIVE thanks unto the Lord; for

he is good: for his mercy endureth 'or ever. 2. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy cndartth for ever. 3. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy cndureth for ever. 4. To him who alone doedi great wonders: for his mercy endtireth for ever. 5, To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy en-dureth for ever. 6. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endure th for ever. 7. To him that made great lights: for his mercy cndureth for ever: 8. The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endnreth for ever: 9. The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endur-eth for ever.

The duty we are here again and again called to, is, to give thanks, to offer the sacrijice of firaise continually, not the fruits of our ground or cattle, but the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his iiame, Heb. xiii. 15. We are never so eumestl}- called upon to pray and repent, as to give thanks; for it is the will of God that we should abound most in the most pleasant exercises of religit n, in that which is the work of heaven.

Now here observe,

1. Whom we must give thanks to; to him that we receive all good from, to the Lord, Jehovah, Israel's God, (y. 1.) the God of gods, the God whom angels adore, from whom magistrates derive their pow er, and by whom all pretended deities are and shall be conquered; {v. 2.) to the Lord of lords, the Sovi-reign of all sovereigns, the Stay and Supporter of all supports, x". 3. In all (ur adorations, we must have an eye to God's excellency as transcendent, and to his power and dominion as incontesta-bly and uncontrollably supreme.

2. What we must give thanks for; not as the Pharisee, that made all his thanksgivings terminate in his own praise; God, I thank thee, that I am so and so J but directing them all to God's glory.

(1.) We must give thanks to God for his goodness ;;nd mercy; {v. 1.) Give thanks to the Lord, nut only because lie docth good, but because lie is good; all the streams must be run up to the fountain; not only because he is merciful to us, but because his mercy endures for ever, and will be drawn out to those that shall come after us. We must give thanks to God, not only for that mercy which is now handed out to us here on earth, but fur th^it which shall endure for ever in the glories and jo} s of heaven.

(2.) We must give God thanks for the instances of his power and wisdom. In general, (v. 4.) he alone doeth great wonders. The contrivance is wonderful, the design being laid by infinite wisdom; the performance wonderful, being put in execution by infinite power. He alone doeth marvellous things; none besides can do such things, and he doeth them without the assistance or advice of any other.

More particularly, [1.] He made the heavens, and stretched them out, and in them we not only see his wisdom and power, but we taste his mercy in their benign influences; as long as the heavens endure, the mercy of God endures in them, v. 5. [2.] He raised the earth out of the waters, when he caused the dry land to appear, that it might be fit to be a habitation for man, and therein also his mercy to man still endures; {v. 6.) for the earth hath he given to the children of men, and all its products. [3.] Having made both heaven and earth, he settled a correspondence between them, nctvs'ith-standing their distance, by making the sun, mocn, :uk1 stars, which he placed in the firmament cf heaven, to shed their light and influences upon this earth, v. 7"9. These are called the great lights, because they appear so to us, for, C)therwise, astronomers tell 'us, that the moon is less than many of the stars, but, being nearer to the earth, it seems much greater. They are said to rule, not only because they govern the seasons of the year, but because they are useful to the world, and benefactors are the best rulers, Luke xxii. 25. But the empire is divided; one rules by day, the other by night, (at least, the stars,) and yet all are subject to God's direction and disposal. Those rulers, therefore, which the Gentiles idolized, are the world's servants, and God's subjects; Sun, stand thou still, and thou, moon.

10. To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn : for his mercy enduretli for ever: 11. And biought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever: 12. With a strong hand, and with a stretched-out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever. 13. To him which divided the Red Sea into parts: for his xwexQ-y endureth for ever: 14. And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever: 15; But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea : for his mercy endureth for ever. 16. To him which led his people through the wilderness : for his mercy endureth for ever. 17. To him which smote gi-eat kings: for his mercy endureth. for ever: 18. And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever: 19. Sihon khig of the Amorites : for his mercy endureth for ever: 20. And Og the king of Bashan : for his mercy endureth for ever: 21. And gave their land for a

G04

PSALISIS, CXXXVII.

heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever: 22. Even a heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever.

The great things God did for Israel, when he first formed them into a people, and set up his kingdom am .ngthem, are here mentioned, as often elsewhere ill the Psalms, as instances brth of the power of G .d, and of the particular kinchicss he had for Israel. See cxxxv. 8, &c.

1. He brought them out of Egypt, v. 10.-12. Th.tt was a mercy which endured long to them, and our redemption by Christ, which was typified by that, does indeed endure for ever, for it is an eternal redemption. Of all the plagues of Egypt, none is mentioned but the death of the first-born, because thit was the conquering plague; by that, God, who, in all the plagues, distinguished tlie Israelites from thj Egyptians, brought them at last from among them; not by a wile, but with a strong hand, and an arm stretched out to reach for, ^md do great things. These miracles of mei'cy, as they proved Moses's commission to give law to Israel, so thev laid Israel under lasting ob.igations to obey tliat law, Exod. XX. 2.

2. He forced them a way through the Red sea, wliich obstructed them at their first setting out. Bv the power he has to control the common course of nature, he divided the sea into tnvo parts, between which he opened a path, and made Israel to pass between the parts, now that they were to enter into covenant with him; see Jer. xxxiv. 18. He not only di^ided tlie sea, but gave his people courage to go through it when it was divided; which was an instance of God's power over men's hearts, as the f )rmer >.f his power over the waters. And, to make it a miracle of justice as v/ell as mercy, the sauie Red sea that was a lane to the Israelites, was a grave to their pursuers. There he shook off" Pharaoh and his host.

3. He conducted them through a vast howling wilderness; (r. 16.) there he led them and fed them; their camp was victu died and fortified by a constint series ot miracles for forty years; though they loitered and wandered there, tliey were not lost. And in this, the mercy of God, and the constancy of that mercy, were the more observable, because they often provoked him in the wilderness, and grieved him in the desert.

4. He destroyed kings before them, to make room for them; {v. 17, IS.) not dep( sed and banished them, but smote and slew them; in whicli appeared liis wrath against them, but Ids merc\', his never-f tiling mercy, to Israel. And that wliich magnified it, was, that they were great kijigs and farnous kings, yet God subdued them as easily as if they had l^een the least, and weakest, and meanest, of the children of men. They were wicked kings, a \d then their grandeur and lustre would not secure tl em from the justice of God. The more great and famous they were, the more did Ciod's merc^' to Israel appear in giving such kings for them. Si-hon and C)g are particularly mentioned, because they were the two first that were conquered on the other side Jordan, v. 19, 20. It is good to enter into the detail of God's favours, and not to view them in X\\'i gross; aiid in each instance to observe, and own, that God's mercy endureth for ex<er.

5. He ])ut them in possession of a good land, x'. 21, 22. He, whose the earth is, and the fulness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein, took land from one people and gave it to another, as pleased him. The ini(/uiti/ of the Jmorites luas now full, and therefore it was taken from them; Israel was his servant, and though thev had been provoking in the wilderness, yet he intended to have

some service out of tliem, for to them fiei'tained thv service of God. As ne said to the Egypth.ns, Let my fieo/ile go, so tc the Canaanitet, Let my people in, that they may ser\e nie. In this, God's jnercy to them endureth for e-L>cr, because it was a figure of the heavenly Canaan, tlie mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

23. Who remembered us in our low estate : for his mercy endureth for cner : 24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever. 25. Who giveth food to all flesh : for his mercy endureth for ever. 2G. O give thanks unto the God of heaven : for his mercy endureth for ever.

God's everlasting mercy is here celebrated,

1. In the redemption of his church; {v. 23, 24.) in the many redemptions wrought for the Jewish church, out of the hands of their oppressors; ^vhen, in tlie years of their servitude, their estate was very low, God remembered them, and raised them up saviours, the judges, and David, at length, by whom God gave them rest from all their enemies; but especially in the great redemption cf tlie miiversal church, of which these were types, we have a great deal of reason to say, '^ He' remembered us, the children of men, in our low estate, in cur lost estate, for his mercy endureth for ever: he sent his Son to redeem us from sin, and death, and hell, and all cur spiritual enemies; for his mercy endureth for ever; he was sent to redeem us, and not the angels that sinned; for his mercy endureth for ever."

2. In the provision he makes for all the creatures; {v. 25.) He gives food to all flesh. It is an instance of the mercy of God's providence, that, wherever he has given life, he gi\esfood agreeable and sufficient; and he is a good Housekeeper, that provides for so large a family.

3. In all his glories, and all his gifts; {v. 26.) Give tlianks to the God of heaven; this denotes him to be a glorious God, and the glory of his mercy is to be t iken notice of in our praises; the riches of his glory are displayed in the vessels of his mercy, Rom. ix. 23. It also denotes him to be the great Benefactor, ybr every good and perfect gift is from above, from the Father of lights, the God of heaven; and we sliould trace every stream to the fountain; this and that particular mercy may perhaps endure but a while, but the mercy that is m God endures for ever; it is an inexhaustible fountain.

PSALM CXXXVII.

There are divers psalms which are thought to have been penned in the latter days of the Jewish church, when prophecy was near expiririp, and the canon of the Old Testament ready to be closed up; but none of them np-pears so plainly to be of a late date as this, which was penned when the people of God were captives in Babylon, and there insulted over by their proud oppressors; probably it was to^vard the latter end of their captivity; for now they saw the destruction of Babylon hastening on apace, (v. 8.) which would be their dischar-je. It is a mournful psalm, a lamentation; and the Septiiacint makes it one of the lamentations of Jeremiah, naming him for the author of it. Here, I. The meliuicholv captives cannot enjoy themselves, v. 1, 2. II. They cannot humour their proud oppressors, V. 3, 4. III. They cannot forget Jerusalem, v. 5, 6. IV. They cannot forgive Edom and Babylon, v. 7. .9. In singing this psalm, we must be much affected with the concernments of the church, especially that part of it that is in affliction, laying the sorrows of God's people near our hearts, comforting ourselves in the prospect of the deliverance of the church, and the ruin of its enemies, in due time, but carefully avoiding all personal anmosities, and not mLx ing the leaven of malice willi our sacrifices.

PSALMS, CXXXVIl.

605

I. "O Y the rivers of Babylon there we sat 33 down ; yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. 2. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 3. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us o?ie of the songs of Zion. 4. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land ? 5. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 6. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; ii I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

We have here the daughter of Zion covered with a cloud, and dwelling with the daughter of Babylon; the people of God in tears, but sowing in tears. Observe,

I. The mournful posture they were in, as to their affairs, and as to their spirits.

1. They were posted by the rivers of Babylon, in a strange land, a great way from their own country, whence they were brought as prisoners of war; the land of Babylon was now a house of bondage to that people, as Egypt had been in their beginning. Their conquercjrs quartered them by the rivers, with design to employ them there, and keep them to work in their gallies; or perhaps they chose it as the most melancholy place, and therefore most suitable to their sorrowful spirits. If they must build houses there, (Jer. xxix. 5.) it shall not be in the cities, the places of concourse, but by the rivers, the places of solitude, where they might mingle their tears with the streams. We find some of them by the river Chebar, (Ezek. i. 3.) others by the river Ulai, Dan. viii. 2.

2. There they sat down to indulge their grief, by poring on their miseries. Jeremiah had taught them under this yoke to sit alone, and keep silence, and fiut their mouths in the dust. Lam. iii. 28, 29. We sat down, as those that expected to stay, and were content, since it is the will of God that it must be so.

3. Thoughts of Zion drew tears from tlieir eyes: and it was not a sudden passion of wet ping, such as we are sometimes put into bv a trouble tliat surprises us, but they were deliberate tears; we sat down and wep.t, tears with consideration. We wcfit when we remembered Zion, the lioly hill on which the temple was built. Their affection to God's house swallowed up their concern for their own houses. They remembered Zion's former glory, and the satisfaction they had in Zion's courts. Lam. i. 7. Jerusalem remembered, in the days of her misery, all her pleasant thinf^s which she had in the days of old, Ps. xlii. 4. They remembered Zion's present desolations, and favoured the dust thereof, which was a good sign that the time for God to favour it was not far off, cii. 13, 14.

4. They laid by their instruments of music; {y. 2.) We hanged our harfis upon the willows. (1.) The harps they used for their own diversion and entertainment; these they laid aside, both because it was their judgment that they ought not to use them now that God called to weeping and mourning, (Isa. xxii. 12.) and their spirits were so sad, that they had no hearts to use them; they brought their hai-ps with them, designing perhaps to use them for the alleviating of their gner, but it proved so great, that it would not admit the experiment; music makes some people melancholv; J^s vinegar upon nitre, so is he that sings songs to a heavy heart. (2.) The 'arps they used in God's worship, the Levites

haips; these they did net throw away, hoping they might yet again have occasic n to use tlun, t.,i ugli they had no jjresent use for thtni; Gcd liad eat them cut ether work, b\^ turning their fasting into mouthing, and their songs i?ito lamentations, Anns viii. 10. Every thing is beautiful in its season. They did not hide their harps in the 'Aishes, or the h( 1-lows of the rocks; but hung them up in view, that the sight (f them might afi'ect them with tliis deplorable change. Yet perhaps they were faulty in doing this; for praising Gcd is never i,ut (f season, it is his will that we should ai every thing give thanks, Isa. xxiv. 15, 16.

II. The abuses which their enemies put upon them when they were in this melcuchcly conditic n, V. 3. They had canned them cnvay captive fn ni their own land, and then wasted them in the land of their captivity, took what little they had from them; but this was not enough; to complete their woes, they insulted over tliem, they required of us mirth and a song. Now, 1. This was very barbarous and inhuman; even an enemy, in misery, is to be pitied, and not trampled upon. It argues a base and sordid spirit to upbraid those that are in distress eitlicr with their former joys or with their present griefs, or to challenge those to be merry, who, we know, are out of tune for it; this is aekling affliction to the afflicted. 2. It was very profane and impious; no songs would serve them but the so7igs of Zion, with which God had Ijeen honoured; so that in this demand they reflected upon God himself; as Belshaz-zar when he drank wine in temple-bowls. Their enemies rnocked at their sabbaths, Lam. i. 7.

III. The patience wherewith they boi"e their abuses, v. 4. They had laid by their harps, and would not resume them, no not to ingratiate themselves with these at whose mercy they lay; they would not answer those fools according to their folly. Profane scoffers are not to be humoured, nor pearls cast before swine. David prudently kept silence erven from good, when the wicked were before him, who, he knew, would ridicule what he said, and make a jest of it, Ps. xxxix. 1, 2. The reason they gave is very mild and pious; How shall we sing the LorcVs song in a strange land? They do net say, " How shall we sing, when we are so much in sorrow.-"' If that had been ;ill, they might perhaps have put a force upon themselves, so far as to oblige their masters with a song; but, "It is the Lord's song, it is a sacred thing, it is peculiar to tlie temple-service, and therefore we dare not sing it in the land of a stranger, among idolaters. We must not serve common mirth, much less profane mirth, with any thing that is appropriated to God, who is sometimes to be honoured by a religious silence as well as by religious speaking.

IV. The constant affection they retained for Jerusalem, the city of their solemnities, even no-\v that they were in Babylon. Though their enemies banter them for talking so much of Jerusalem, and even doting upon it, their love to it is not in the least abated; it is what they may be jeered for, but will never be jeered out of, v. 5, 6. Observe, 1. How these pious captives stood affected to Jeiiisalem; (1.) Their heads were full of it; it was always in their minds, they remembered it, they did net forget it, though they had been long absent from it: many of them had never seen it, nor knew any thing of it but by report, and by what they had read in the scripture, yet it was gra\en upon the palms of their hands, and even its ruins Avere continually before them, which was an evidence of their faith in the promise of its restoration in due time. In their daily prayers, they opened their windows toward Jenisalem; and how then could they forget it? (2.) Their hearts were full of it; W\e\ preferred it above their chief joy, and therefore they remembered Jt.

PSALMS, CXXXVIIl.

and could not forget it. What we love, we love to think, of. They that rejoice in God, do, for his sake, make Jerusalem their joy, and prefer it before that, whatever it is, which is the head of their joy, which is dearest to them in this world. A godly man will prefer a public good before any private satisfaction or gratification whatsoever.

2. How steadfastly they resolved to keep up this affection, which they express by a solemn imprecation of mischief to themselves if they should let it fall; "Let me be for ever disabled, either to sing or play on the hai-p, if I so far forget the religion of my c.ountrv as to make use of my songs and harps for the pleasing' of Bab\lon's srns, or the praising of Babylon's gods. Let my right hai^d forget her art," (which the hand of an exjiert nuisician never can, unless it were withered,) " nay, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I have not a good word to say for Jerusalem, wherever I am." Though they dare not sing Zion's songs among the B ibvlonians, yet they cannot forget them, but as soon as ever the present restraint is taken off, they will sing them as readily as ever, notwithstanding the long disuse.

7. Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase zV, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. 8. O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be that reward-eth thee as thou hast served us. 9. Happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

The ])ious Jews in Babylon, having afflicted themselves with the thoughts of the ruins of Jerusalem, h'.-re please themselves with the prospect of the ruin of her impenitent, implacable, enemies; but this, not from a spirit of revenge, but from a holy zeal for the glory of God and the honour of his kingdom.

1. The E'domites will certainly be reckoned with, and all others that were accessaries to the destruction of Jcnisalem, that were aiding and abetting, that helfied forivard the afflktnnu (Zech. i. 15.) .'.nd triumphed in it; that mid, in the day of Jerusalem, the day of her judgment, " Rase'it,'rase it to the foundations; down with it, down with it, do not leave one stone upon another." Thus they made the Chaldean army more furious, who were already so enraged that they needed no spur. Thus they put shame upon Israel, who would be looked upon as a people worthy to be cut off, when their next neighbovn-s had such an ill-will to them. And all this was a fruit of the old enmity of Esau against Jacob, because he got the birth-right and the-blessing, and a branch of that more ancient enmity be-*.ween the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent; J.ord, remember t\\i:m, says the psalmist; which i» an appeal to his justice against them. Far be it ^rom us to avenge ourselves, if ever it should be ill our power, but we will leave it to him who has said, Vengeance is 7nine. Note, They that are glad at calamities, especially the calamities of Jerusalem, shall not go unpunished. They that arc . onfederate with the persecutors of good people, ivnd stir them up, and set them on, and are jjleased with what they do, shall certainly be called U) an .iccount for it another day, and God will remember it against them.

2. Bahvlon is the principal, and it will come to her turn too to drink of the cup of tremblings, the very dregs of it; {v. 8, 9.) O daughter of Babylon, ])r.iud :ind secure as thou art, we know well, by the -f-riptnves of truth, thou art to be destroyed; or, as Dr. H tmmnnd reads it, nvho art the destroyer. The destroyers shall be destroyed; (Rev. xiii. 10.) and

perhaps it is with reference to this, that the man of sin, the head of the New Testament Babylon, is called a son of fierdition, 2 Thess. ii. 3. Ihe dc struction of Babylon being foreseen as a sure destruc tion, thou art to be destroyed. It is spoken of, (1.) As a just destruction; she shall be paid in her own coin; " Thou shalt be served as thou hast served us; as barl^arously used by the destroyers r.s we have been by thee." See Kev. xviii. 6. Let not those expect to find mercy, who, when they had power, did not sliow mercy. (2.) As an utter destruction; the very little ones of Babylon, when it is taken by storm, and all in it put to the sword, shall be dashed to pieces, by the enraged and merciless conqueror. None escape, if these little (ines perish. Those are the seed ot another generation; so that, if they be cut off, the ruin will be not only total, as Jerusalem's was, but final. It is sunk like a millstone into the sea, never to rise. (3.) As a destruction which should reflect honour upon the instruments of it. Happy shall they be that do it; for thev are fulfilling God's counsels; and tiierefore he calls Cyrus, who did it, his sej-x'ant, his she/iherd, his. anointed, (Isa. xliv. 28.—xl\-. 1.) and the soldiers, that were employed in it, hh sanctified ones, Isa. xiii. 3. They are making way for the enlargement of God's Israel, and happy they who are uny way serviceable to that. The fall cf the Nev Testament Babylon will be, the triumph of all the. -oi-ints, Rev. xix. 1.

PSALM CXXXVIIl.

It does not appear, nor is it n-aterial to inquire, upon what

occasion David penned tliis psalm; but in it, I. He looks

back with thankfulness upci the experiences he had had

of God's goodness to him, v. 1.. 3. II. He looks forward

with comfort, in hopes, 1. That others would go on to

praise God like him, v. 4, 5. 2. That God would go on

to do good to him, v. 6.. 8. In singing this psalm, we

must in like manner devote ourselves to God's praise and

glory, and repose ourselves in his power and goodness.

A psalm of David.

1. T WILL praise thee with my whole

JL heart; before the gods will I sing

praise unto thee. 2. I will worship to\^ards

thy holy temple, and praise thy name for

thy loving-kindness, and for thy truth: for

thou hast magnified thy word above all tliy

name. 3. In the day when i cried thou

answercdst me, and sir iugthcnedst me

uith strength in my soul. 4. All the kings

of the earth shall prai,* thee, O Lord,

when they hear the wt^rds of thy mouth.

5. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the

Lord ; for great is the gloiy of the Lord.

I. How he would praise God; compare cxi. 1.

1. He will praise him with sincerity and zeal; 7i>ith my heart, ivith my whole heart; with that which is within me, and with all that is within nie; with uprightness of intention, and fervency of aflcc-tion; inward /?npressions agreeing with outward expressions.

2. With freedom and boldness; Before the i;ods will I sing /iraise unto thee; before the princes,

! and judges, and great men; either those of other nations, that visited him, or thtse ot his own nation, that attended on him. E\ en in their presence, he will net only praise God with his heart, which we may do by jiious tjaculations in laiy comnany, but will si'ng praise, if there be occasion. Note, Praising (iod is work which the greatest of men need not be ashamed of; it is the work rf angels, the work cf heaven. Before the angels, so some understand it, in religirus assemblies, where there

PSALMS, CXXXVlll.

607

13 d special presence of angels, 1 Cr.r. xi. 10. 3. In tlie way that God had appointed; 1 will worship toward thy holy temfile. 1 he priests only went into the temple, the people, at the nearest, did but worship towards it, and that they might do at a dis-t mce. Christ is our Temple, and toward him we must look with an eye of faith, as Mediator between us and Gi.d, in all our praises of him. Heaven is food's holy temple, and thitherward we must lift up our eyes, in all our addresses to God; Our Father in heaven.

II. What he would praise God for.

1. For the fountain of his comforts;_/b7- thy loving-kindness, and for thy truth; for thy goodness, and fir thy promise; mercy hid in thee, and mercy revealed by thee that God is a gracious God in himself, and'has engaged to be so to all those that trust in him. For thou hast magnified thy word, thy promise, which is truth, above all thy name. God has made himself known to us many ways, in creation and providence, but most clearly by his word. The judgments of his mouth are magnified even above those of his hand, and greater things are done by them. The wonders of grace exceed the wonders of nature; and what is discovered of God by revelation, is much greater than what is discovered by reason. In what God had done for David, his faithfulness to his word appeared more illustrious, and redounded more to his glory, than any other of his attributes. Some good interpreters understand it of Christ, the essential Word, and of his gospel, which are magnified above all the discoveries God had iK'fore made of himself to the fathers. He tliat ma^^nified the law and made that honourable, magnifies the gospel much more.

2. For the streams flowing from that fountain, in which he himself had tasted that the Lord is gracious, V. 3. He had been in affliction, and he remembers, with thankfulness, (1.) The sweet communion he then had with God. He cried, he prayed, and prayed earnestly, and God answered him, gave him to understand that his ])rayer was accepted, and should \\ ive a gracious return in due time. The intercourse between God and his saints is carried on by his promises and their i)rayers. (2.) The sweet communications lie tlien had from God; Thou strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. This was the answer to his prayer, for God gives more than good words, xx. 6. Observe, [1.] It was a speedy answer; in the day when I cried. Note, Those that trade with heaven by prayer, grow rich by quick returns; while we are yet s/ieaking, God hears, Isa. Ixv. 24. [2.] It was a spiritual answer; God gave him strength in his soul, and that is a real and valuable answer to the prayer of faith in the day of affliction. If God gives us strength in our souls, to bear the burthens, resist the temptations, and do the duties, of an afflicted state; if he strengthen us to keep hold of himself by faith, to maintain the peace of our own minds, and to wait with patience for the issue, we must own that he has answered us, and we ai-e bound to be thankful.

III. What influence he hoped that his praising God would have upon others, v. 4, 5. David was himself a king, and therefore he hoped that kings would be wrought upon by his experiences, and his examples, to embrace religion; and if kings became religious, their kingdoms would be eveiy way better. Now, 1. This may have reference to the kings that were neighbours to David, as Hiram and others;

riiey shall all praise thee; when they visited David, and, after his death, when they sought the presence of Solomon, (as all the Icings of the earth arc exprcsslv said to have done, 2 Chron. ix. 23.) they readily joined in the worsliip of the God of Israel. 2. It may look further to the calling of the Gentiles, and the discipling of all nations, by the gospel

of Christ, of whom it is said, that ah kings shall fall down before him, Ps. Ixxii. 11. Now it is here .foretold, (l.j That the kings of the earth shall heai the words of God. All that came near David should hear them from him, cxix. 46. in the latter days, tlie preachers of the gospel -aould be sent into all the world. (2.) That the'.; they shall praise God, as all those have reason to do that hear his word, and receive it in the light and love of it, Acts xiii. 48. (3.) That they shall sing in the ways of the Lord; in the ways of his providence and grace toward them; they shall rejoice in God, and give glory to him, however he is pleased to deal with thtni in the ways of their duty and obedience to him. N(<te, They that walk in the ways of the Lord have reason to sing in those ways, to go on in them with a great deal of cheerfulness, for they are ways of pleasantness, and it becomes us to be pleasant in them; if we are so, great is the glory of the Lord. It is very much for the honour of God that kings should walk in his ways, and that all those who walk in them should sing in the,m, and so proclaim to all the world that he is a good Master, and his work its own wages.

6. Though the Lord he high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. 7. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me; thou shalt stretch forth thy hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. 8. The Lord will perfect that ichich concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endurath for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

David here comforts himself with three things.

1. ThefivourGod bears to his humble people; (x'. 6.) Though tlie Lord be high, and neither needs any ot his ere :turcs, nor can be benefitted by them, yet has he rei/iect unto the lowly; smiles upon them as well pleased with them, overlooks heaven and earth to cast a gi',:cii us look upon them, (Isa. Ivii. 15.—Ixvi. 1.) and, snrncr or later, he will put honour upon them, while he knows the firoud afar off; knows t]iem, but disowns them and rejects them, how proudly soever they pretend to his favour. Dr. Hammond makes this to be the sum of that gospel which the kings of the earth shall hear and welcome—that penitent sinners shall be accepted of God, but the impenitent cast out; witness the instance of the Pharisee and the Publican, Luke xviii,

2. The care God takes of his afflicted, oppressed, people, V. 7. David, though a great and good man, expects to walk in the midst of trouble, but encourages himself with hope, (1.) That God would comfort him; "When my spirit is ready to sink and fail, thou shalt rexn've me, and make me easy and cheerful under my troubles." Divine consolations have enough in them to revive us even when we walk in the midst of troubles, and are ready to die away for fear. (2.) That he woidd protect him, and plead his cause; " Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand, though not against mine enemies, to destroy them, yet against the wrath of mine ene mies, to restram that, and set bounds to it. (3.) That he would in due time work deliverance for him; Thy right hand shall save me. As he has one hand to stretch out against his enemies, so he has another to save his own people. Christ is the Right Hand of the Lord, that shall save all those who serve him.

3. The assurance we have, that, whatc\'er good work God has begun in and for his people, he will perform it; {y. 8.) The Lord will perfect that

G08

PSALMS, CXXXIX

which concerns me, (1.) That which is most needful for me; and he knows best what is so. V^care careful and cumbered about many things that do not concern us, but he knows what are the things that really are of consequence to Ub, (Matth. vi. 32.) and he will order them for the best. (2.) That which we arc most concerned about. Every good man is most concerned about his duty to God, and his happiness in Gcd; that the former may be faith-'ully done, and the latter effectually secured; and if indeed these are the things that our hearts are most upon, and concerning which we are most sr li-citous, there is a good work begun in us, and lie that has begun it will perfect it, we may be confident he will, Phil. i. 6. Observe, [1.] What ground the psalmist builds this confidence upon; Thy mercy, O Lord, endures for ever. This he had made very much the matter of his praise, (xiii. 6.) and therefore he could here with the more assurance make it the matter of his hope. For, if we give God the glorv of his mercy, we may take to ourselves the com'foit of it. Our hopes that we shall persevere, must be founded, not upon our own strength, for that will fail us, but upon the mercy of God, for that will not fail. It is well pleaded, "Lord, thy mercy endures for ex'er; let me be for ever a monu-• ment of it." [2. ] What use he makes of this confidence; it does not supersede, but quicken, prayer; he turns his expectation into a petition; Forsake not, do not let go, the ivork of thine own hands. Lord, I am the work of thine own hands, my soul is so, do net forsake me; my concerns are so, do not lay by thv care of them." Whatever good there is in lis, it is the work of God's own hands; he works in us both to will and to do; it will fail if he forsake it; but his glory, as Jehovah, a perfecting God, is so much concerned in the progress of it to the end, that we may in faith pray, "Lord, do not forsake it." Whom he loves he loves to the end; and as for God, his work is perfect.

PSALM CXXXIX.

Some of the Jewish doctors are of opinion that this is the most excellent of all the psalms of David; and a very pious devout meditation it is, upon the doctrine of God's omniscience, which we should therefore have our hearts fixed upon, and filled with, in sinfjiiig this psalm. I. This doctrine is here asserled, and fully laid down, v. 1..6. II. It is confirmed by two arguments. 1. God is every where present, therefore he knows all, v. 7.. 12. 2. He made us, therefore he knoivs us, v. 13. . 16. III. Some nferences are drawn, from this doctrine. 1. It may fill us with pleasin<r admiration of God, v. 17, 18. 2. With a holy dread and detestation of sin and sinners, v. 19. .22. 3. With a holy satisfaction in our own integrity, concerning which we may appeal to God, v. 23, 24. This great and self-evident truth. That God knows our hearts, and the hearts of all the children of men, if we did but mix faith with it, and seriously consider it, and apply it, would have a great influence upon our holiness, and upon our comfort.

To the chief musician. A psalm of David.

1. £\ LOllD, thou hast searched me, and Vt known me. 2. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising; thou un-derstandcst my thought afar off. 3. Thou compusscst my path and my lying down, and art acquainted wj?/A all my ways: 4. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LiORr>, thou knowest it altogether. 5. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thy hand upon me. 6. S?ich knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, 1 cannot attuDi unto it.

David here lays down this great doctrine, That the God with whom we have to do has a perfect knowledge of us, and that all the motions and ac tions, both of our inward and of our outward man, are naked and open before him.

1. He la\s down this doctrine in the way of an address to Gcd; he says it to him, acknowkdging it to him, and gi\ing him the glory of it. Divine truths look full as well when tiiey are prayed over, as when they are preached ovir; and much better than when they aix disputed over. When we speak of God to liim himself, we shall find cursches ccn-ceiTied to spc.ik with the utmost degree both of sincerity and reverence, which will be likely to make the inipressions the deeper.

2. He lays it down in a way of ap];lication to himself; not, " Thou liast known all," but, "Thcu hast known me; that is it which I am mcst crncerned to believe, and which it will be most pn fitaljle for me to consider." Then we know these things ft r cmr good, when we knew them for ourselves, J( b v. 27. When we acknowledge, "Lord, all souls are thine," we must add, "My scul is thine; th( u that hatcst all sin hatest my sin; thcu art good to all, gocd to Israel, art good to me." So here, " Thoic hast searched vie, and known me; known me ;s thoroughly as we know that which we have mr st dili- . gently and exactly searched int(\" David was a king, and the hearts of kings are unsearchable to their subjects, (Prov. xxv. 3.) but they are net so to their Sovereign.

3. He descends to particulars; "Thou knowest me wherever I am, and whatever I am doing; me, and all that belongs to me." (1.) "Thou knowest me and all my motions, my down-sitting to rest, my up-rising to work; with what temper cf mind I compose myself when I sit down, and stir up myself when 1 rise up; what my soul reposes itself in, as its stay and support, what it aims at, and reaches toward, as its felicity and end. Then knowest me when I come home, how I walk before my hcuse, and when I go abroad, en what errands I go." (2.) "Thou knowest all my imaginations; nothing is more close and quick than thought, it is always unknown to others, it is often unobserved bj- rurselves, and yet thou understandeht my thoughts afar off. Though my thoughts be ever so foreign ;ind distant from one another, thou understandest the chain of them, and canst make out their connexion, when so many of them slip my notice, that I myself cannot." Or, " Thou understandest them afar off, e\ en before I think them, and long after I have thought them, and have myself forgotten them." Or, " Thou understandest them from afar, from the height of heaven thou seest into the depths rf the heart," xxxiii. 14. (3.) "Thou knowest me and all my designs and undertakings; thou compassest every particular//a///; thou siftest or winnowest my path," (so some,) "so as thorruglily to distinguish between the good and evil of what I do;" as by sifting we separate between the corn and the chaff. All our actions are ventilated by the judgment cf God, xvii. 3. God takes notice of every step we take, every right step, and eveiy by-step. He is acquainted with all our ways, intimately acquainted with them, he knows what rule we walk l)y, what end we walk toward, what company we walk with. (4.) " Thou knowest me in all my retirements; thou knowest ?ny lying down; when I am withdrawn from all company, and am reflecting upon what has passed all day, and composing myself to rest, thcu Knowest what I have in my heart, and with what thoughts I go to bed." (5.) "Thou knowest me, and all I say; {x>. 4.) There is not a word tn 7ny tongue, not a vain word, not a good Avord, but thou knowest it altogether; knowest what it meant, from what thought it came, and with what design it w^is

PSALMS, CXXXIX.

609

uttered. There is not a word at my tongue's end, ready *o be spoken, yet checked and kept in, but tUou knowest it." IV/ien there is not a nvord in my tongue, O Lord, thou knowest all; so some read it; for thoughts are words to God. (C.) "Thou knowest me in every part of me; Thou hast beset me be-'<.ind and before, so that, go which way I will, I am ander thine" eye, and cannot escape it. Thou hast I'aid thine hand ufion me, and I camiot run away trom thee." Wherever \vc are, we are under the eye and hand of God. Perhaps, it is an allusion to the physician's laying his hand upon his patient, to leel how his pulse beats, or what temper he is in. (iod knows us, as we know not only what we see, but what we feel, and have our hands upon. All his saints are in his hand.

4. He speaks of it with admiration; {v. 6.) Jt is too wonderful for me; it is high; (1.) •'Thou hast such a knowledge of me, as 1 have not of myself, nor can liave. I cannot take notice of all my own thoughts, nor make such a judgment of myself as thou makest of me." (2.) " It is such a knowledge as I cannot comprehend, much less describe. That thou knowest all things I am sure, but how I cannot tell." We cannot by searching find out how God searches and finds out us; nor do we know how we are known.

7. VVhitlier shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall 1 flee from thy presence ? 8. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9. //" I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10. Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; evei:wthe night shall be light about me. 12. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the dark-nefss and the light are both alike to thee. J3 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. 14. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully ana? wonderfully made: marvellous r/re thy works; and that my soul knoweth light well. 15. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, a7id curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect; and in thy book all mj/ members were written, which in coni;inuance were fashioned, when as yet there ?ras none of them.

It is of great use to us to know the certainty of the things wherein we have been instructed, that we may not only believe them, but be able to tell why we believe them, and to give a reason of the hope that is in us. David is therefore sure that God perfectly knows him and all his ways.

1. Because he is always under his eye. If God is omnipresent, he must needs be omniscient; but he is omnipresent; this supposes the infinity and immensity of his being, fram which follows the vibiquity of his presence; heaven and eartli include the whole creation, and the Creator fills l)otli; (Jer. xxiii. 24.) he not only knows both, and governs botli, hut he fills both. _ _ Every part of the creation is under God's intuition and influence. David here acknow-

Voi.. HI.—4 H

ledges this also with i.pplication, and sees himself tlius open bef( re Gcd.

1. No flight can remove us out of God's presence; " Whither shall I go from thy S/iirit, from thy presence, from thy spiritual presence, from thyself, who art a Spirit?" God is a S/iirit, and therefoi-e it is folly to think that because we cannot see him, he cannot see us; Whither shall I flee from thy fire-sence? Not that he desired to go away from God; no, he desired nothing more than to be near him; but he only puts the case, '' Suppose I should be so foolish as to think of getting out of thy sight, that I might shake off the awe of thee; suppose I should think of revolting from my obedience to thee, or of disowning a dependence on thee, and of shifting for myself; alas, whither can I go?" A heathen could say, Quocunqtie teflexeris, ibi Deum videbis occu-rentem tibi — Whithersoever thou tumest thyself, thou wilt see God meeting thee. Seneca.

He specifies the most remote and distant places, and counts upon meeting God in them. (1.) In heaven; ^'If I ascend thither, as I hope to do shortly, thou art there; and it will be mv cternid bliss to be with thee there." Heaven is a vast large place, replenished with an innumerable company, and yet there is no escaping God's eye there in any corner, or any crowd. 'Fhe inhabitants of that world have as necessary a dependence upon God, and lie as open to his strict scrutiny, as the inhabitants cf this. (2.) In hell; \n Sheol; which may be understood of tlie depth of the earth, the very centre ot it. Sliould we dig as deep as we can under ground, and think to hide ourselves there, we should be mistaken; God knows that path which the Aulture's eye never saw, and to him the earth is all surface. C)r it may be understood of the' state of the dead. Wlien we are remo^■ed out of the sight of all living, yet net out of the siu,lit of the living God; from Ins eye, we cannot hide us in tlie gi'ave. Or, of the place of the danuied; If I make my bed in hell, (an unccmfortalile place ti; mak" ■. bed in, where tliere is no rest day or night, yet th(;usands will make their bed for ever in those flames,) behold, thou art there, in thy power and justice. God's wrath is the fire which will there burn everlastingly. Rev. xiv. 10. (3.) In the remotest corners of tins world, "If I take the wings of the morning, the rays of tlie morning light, (called the wings of the sun', Mai. iv. 2.) than which nothing is more swift, and flee upon them to the uttermost parts of the sea, or cf the earth; (Job xxxviii. 12, 13.) should I flee to the utmost distant and obscure islands, (the ultima Thule, the Terra incognita,) I should find thee there; there shall thy hand lead me, as far as I go, and thy right hand shall hold me, that I can go no fur ther, that I cannot go out of thy reach." '^God soon arrested Jonah, when he Jied to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

2. No veil can hide us from God's eye, no, not that of the thickest darkness, v. 11, 12. "If I say, Yet the darkness shall cover me, when nothing else will, alas! I find myself deceived, the curtains ot the evening will stand me in no more stead than th' wings of the morning; eveii the night shall be light about me. That which often favours the escape oi a pursued criminal, and the retreat of a beaten ai-my, will do me no kindness in fleeing from thee." When God divided between the light and darkness, it was with a reservation of this prerogative, that to himself the darkness and the light sliould still b( both alike. The darkness darkeneth 7iot from thee, for there is no darkness or shachiw of death where the workers of iniquity may hide tliemscives. No li}T)ocritical mask or disguise, how s]XTio.is soc\er, can save any person or action from ajijjearing in n tru<i light before God. Secret haunts of sin arc as open be -fore jod as the most open and barefaced villajiies.

GIO

PSALMS, CXXXIX.

II. Because he is the work of his hands: lie that framed the engine knows all the motions of it; Ciod made us, and therefore, no doubt, he knows us; he saw us when we were in the forming, and can we be hid from him now that we are formed? This argument he insists upon; (v. 13''16.) " T/iou hast hossessed my reins; thou art Master of my most secret thoughts and intentions, and the innermost recesses of my soul; thou not only knowest, but go-vernest, them, as we do tiiat which we have possession of; and the possession thou hast of my reins is a rightful possession, for tliou coveredst me in my moilier'o womb, thou madest me; (Job x. 11.) thou madest me a secret; the stml is concealed from all about us; Who knows the things of a man, save the sfiirit of a man?" 1 Cor. ii. 11. Hence we read of the hidden man of the heart. But it was God himself that thus covered us, and therefore he can, when he pleases, discover us; when he hid us from all the world, he did not intend to hide us from himself.

Concerning the formation of man, of each of us;

1. The glory of it is here given to God, entirely to him; for it is he that has made us, and not we ourselves. I will praise thee, the Author of my being; my parents were only the instruments of it. It was done, (1.) Under the divine inspection; My substance, when hid in the womb, nay, when it was yet but in fieri — in the forming, an unshapen embryo, was not hid from tnec, thine eyes did see my substance. (2.) By the divine operation. As the eve of God saw us then, so his hand wrought us; we were his work. (3.) According to tlie divine model; In thy book all my members were ivritten. Eternal wisdom formed the plan, and by that almighty power raised the noble structure.

2. Glorious things are here said concerning it. The generation of man is to be considered with the same pious veneration as his creation at first. Consider it, (1.) As a great marvel, a great miracle we might call it, but that it is done in the ordinary course of nature. We are fearfully and wonderfully made; we may j\istly be astonislied at the admirable contrivance of these li\ing temples, the composition of every part, and the liarmony of all together. (2.) As a great mystery; a mystery of nature; My soul knows right well thut it is marvellous, but how to describe it for any one else I know not; for / was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the womb, as in the lowest parts of the earth; so privately, and so far out of sight. (3.) Asa great mercy; that all our members/■« continuance were fashioned, according as thev were written in the book of God's wise counsel, when as yet there was none of them; or, as some read it, ami none of them was left out. If any of our members had been wanting in God's book, they had been wanting in our bodies, but, through his goodness, we have all our limits and senses, the want of any of which might have made us burthens to ourselves. See what reason we have then to praise God for our creation, and to conclude that he who saw our substance when it was unfashioned, sees it now that it is fashioned.

17. How precious also are tliy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! 18. 7/" I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. 19. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart h'om me, therefore, ye bloody men. 20, For they speak against thee wickedly, cind thine enemies take thynnme in vain. 21. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and

am not T grieved \Aith those that risi up against thee l 22. I hate them with per/«.!Ct hatred; 1 count them mnie enemies. 23. Search me, O God, and know my heart; i-y me, and know my thoughts; 24. And ?€e if there be mnj \\icked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Here the psalmist makes application of the df.4 trine of Goers omniscience, divers ways.

1. He acknowledges, with wonder and thankful ness, the care God had taken of him all his days, V. 17, 18. God, who knew him, thought of him, and his thoughts toward him were thcughts of love: thoughts of good, and not of ex'il, Jer. xxiv. 11. God s omniscience, which might justly have watched over us to do us hurt, has been employed for us, and has watched over us to do us good, Jer. xxxi. 28. God's counsels concerning us and our welfare have been, (1.) Precious, to admiration; How precious are they! They are deep in themselves, such as cannot be fathomed and comprehended. Providence has had a vast reach in its dispensations concerning us, and has brought things about for our good, quite beyond our contrivance and foresight. They are dear to us; we must think of them with a great deal of reverence, and yet with pleasure and thankfulness. Our thoughts concerning God must be delightful to us above any other thoughts. (2.) Numerous, to admiration; How great is the sum of them! We cannot conceive how many God's kind counsels have been concerning us; how many good turns he has done us; and what variety of mercies we have received from him. Jf we would count them, the heads of them, much more the particulars of them, they are more in number than the sand, and yet every one great and very considerable, xl. 5. We cannot conceive the multitude of God's compassions, which are all new every moniing. (3.) Constant at all times; "When /a7roX-eeveiy morning, lam still with thee, under thine eye arid care, safe and easy under thy protection." This bespeaks also the continual devout sense David had of the eye of God upon him; When I awake, I a?n with thee, in my thoughts; and it would help to keep us in the fear of the Lord all the day long, if, when we awake in the morning, our first thoughts were of him, and we did then set him before us.

2. He concludes from this doctrine, that ruin will certainly be the end of sinners. God knows all the wickedness of the wicked, and therefore he will reckon for it; "Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, 0 God; for all their wickedness is open before thee, however it may be artfully disguised and coloured over, to hide it from the eye of the world. However thou suffer them to prosper for a while, su7rly thou wilt slay them at last. Now observe, (1.) The reason why God will punish them; because they daringly affront him, and set him at defiance; {v. 20.) They speak against thee wickedly; they set their mouth against the heavens, (Ixxiii. 9.) and shall be called to account for the hard speeches they have spoken against him, Jude 15. They arc Ids enemies, and declare their enmity by taking his name in vain; as we show our contempt of a min, if we make a by-word of his name, and never nun-tion him but in a way of jest and banter. These that profane the sacred fomis of swearing or praying, by using them in an impertinent, irreverent, manner, take God's name in vain, and thereby show themselves'enemies to him. Some make it to be a description of hypocrites; "I'hey sj)eak of tlvee for mischief; they talk of God, pretending to pietv, but it is with some ill design, for a cloak of maliciousness; and, being enemies to God, while they pi*ctend friendship, they ^a^<?his name in vain, they

PSALMS, CXL.

611

swear falsely." (2.) The use David maJces of this prospect which he has of the ruin of the wicked. [1.] He defies them; '■'■Dep.art from me, ye bloody men; ye shall not debauch me, for I will not admit your friendship, nor have fellowship with you; and you cannot destroy me, for, being under God's protection, he shall force you to depart from me." [2. ] He detests them; {v. 21, 22.) "Lord, thou know-est the heart, and canst witness for me; do not I hate them that hate thee, and for that reason, because they hate thee? Therefore I hate them, because I love thee, and hate to sec such affronts and indignities put upon thy blessed name. Am not I grieved with those that rise uji against thee, grieved to see their rebellion, and to foresee their ruin which it will certainly end in?" Note, Sin is hated, and sinners lamented, by all that fear God. ''Ihate them, I hate the work of them that turn aside," (as he explains himself, ci. 3.) " with a sincere and perfect hatred; I count them that are enemies to God as etietnies to me, and will not have any intimacy with them," lix. 8.

3. He appeals to God concerning his sincerity, v. 23, 24.

(1.) He desires that as far as he was in the wrong, God would discover it to him. Tliey that are upright, can take comfort in God's omniscience as a A'ltness of their uprightness, and can with a humble confidence beg of him to search and try them, to liscover them to themselves, (for a good man desires to know the worst of himself,) and to discover them to others. He that means honestly could wish he had a window in his breast, that any man may look into his heart; "Lord, 1 iiope I am not in a wicked way, but see if there be any wicked way iti me, any corrupt inclination remaining; let me see it; and root it out of me, for I do not allow it."

(2.) He desires that, as far as he was in the right, he might be forwarded in it, which he that knows the heai't knows how to do effectually; Lead jne i?i the way everlasting. Mote, [1.] The way of godliness is an everlasting way, it is everlastingly true and good; pleasing to God, and profitable to us; and will end in everlasting life. It is the way of antiquity, so some; the good old way. [2.] AH the saints desire to be kept and led in this way, that they may not miss it, turn out of it, or tire in it.

PSALM CXL.

This and the four following psalms are much of a piece, and the scope of them the same with many that we met with in the bcdnning- and middle of the book of Psalms, thouorh with out few of late. They were penned by David (as it should seem) when he was persecuted by Saul; one of them is said to be his prayer when he %oas in the cave, and it is probable that all the rest were penned about the same time. In this psalm, I. David complains of the malice of his enemies, and prays to God to preserve him from them, v. 1 . . 5. II. He encourages himself in God, as his God, v. 6, 7. III. He prays for, and prophesies, the destruction of his persecutors, v. 8.. 11. IV. He assures all God's afflicted people that their troubles would in due time end well, (v. 12, 13.) with which assurance we must comfort ourselves and one another in singing this psalm.

To the chief musician. A Jisalm of David.

l."r|ELIVER me, O Lord, from the \3 evil man: preserve me from the violent man; 2. Which imagine mischiefs in their heart: continually are they gatliered togetherybr war. 3. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison IS under their lips. Selah. 4. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man, who have piurr>o«5ed to overthrow my goings. 5. The

proud have hid a snare for me, and cords: they have spread a net by the way-side: they have set gins for me. Selah. 6. J said unto the Lord, Thou art my God:

! hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord.

I 7. O God the Lord, the stryigth of my

\ salvation; thou hast covered my head in

: the day of battle.

I In this, as in other things, David was a type of ! Christ, that he suffered before he reigned, he was I'humbled before he was exalted; and that as there were many who loved and valued him, and sought to do him honour, so there were many who hated j and envied him, and sought to do him mischief, as appears by these verses, where, I 1. He gives a character of his enemies, and paints them out in their own colours as dangerous men, i whom he had reason to be afraid of, but wicked ' men, whom he had no reason to think the righteous , God would countenance. There was one that seems j to have been the ringleader of them, whom he calls I the evil man, and the man of violences; {v. 1, 4.) probably he means Saul. The Chaldee paraphrast {v. 9.) names both Doeg and Ahithophel; but between them there was a great distance of time. Violent men are evil men. But there were many beside this one, who were confederate against David, who are here represented as the genuine offspring and seed of the serpent. For, (1.) They are very subtle, crafty to do mischief; they have imagined it, {v. 2.) have laid the scheme with all the art and cunning imaginable. They have fiur-jiosed and plotted to overthrow the $'^ings of a good man, {y. 4.) to draw him into sin and trouble, to ruin him, by blasting his reputation, crushing his interest, and taking away his life. For this purpose they have, like mighty hunters, hid a snare, and sfiread a net, and set gins, {v. 5. ) that their designs against him, being kept undiscovered, might be the more Hkely to take effect, and he might fall into their hands ere he was aware. Great persecutors have often been great politicians, which has indeed made them the more formidable; but the Lord preserves the simple without all those arts. (2.) They are very spiteful; as full of malice as Satan himself; They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent, that infuses his venom with his tongue; and there is so much malignity in all they say, that one would think there was nothing under their lips but addeis' poison, V. 3. With their calumnies, and with their counsels, they aimed to destroy David, but secretly, as a man is stung with a serpent, or a snake in the grass. And they endeavoured likewise to infuse their malice into others, and to make them seven times more the children of hell than themselves. A malignant tongue makes men like the old serpent; and poison in the lips is a certain sign of poison in the he:irt. (3.) They are confederate; they are m my of them; but they are all gathered together against me for war, v. 2. They who can agree in nothing else, can agree to persecute a good man. Herod and Pilate will unite in this, and in this thev resemble Satan, who is not divided against himse!r, all the devils agreeing in Beelzebub. (4.) They are proud, {v. 5.) conceited of themselves, and confident of their success; and herein also they resemble Satan, whose reigning, i-uining, sin, was pride. The pride of persecutors, though at present it be the terror, yet may be the encouragement, of the persecuted, for the more haughty they are, the faster are they ripening for ruin. Pride goes be fore destructiofi.

2. He prays to God to keep him from them, and from being swallowed up by them; "Lord, deliver

PSALMS, CXL.

me, lireserve me, keep, me; [y. 1, 4.) kt them net prevail to take away my life, my reputution, m\- interest, my comfort, and to prevent my coming to the tiirone. Keefi vie from donig as they df, or as tliey would have me do, or as they promise themselves I shall do." Note, The more malice appears in our enemies against us, the more earnest we should be in prayer to Gjid to take us under his protectic;n. In him believers may count upon a security, and may enjoy it and themselves with a holy serenity. Tliose are safe whom God preserves. It he be tor i.s, who can be against us?

3. He triumphs in God, and thereljy, in effect, he triumphs over his persecutors, v. 6, 7. When his enemies sharpened their tongues against him, did lie shai-pen his against them? No; adders' fiohon was wider their lijis, but grace was poured into his lips, witness what he liere said unto the Lord, tor to him he looked, to him he directed himself, when he saw himself in so much dinger through the malice of his enemies: and it is well for us that we have a God to go to. He comforted himself, (1.) In his interest in God; "/ said, Thou art my God; and if my God, then my Shield and mighty Protector." In troublous danger'!us times, it is good to claim relation to God, and by faith to ketp hold of him. (2.) In his access to God. This comforted him, that he was not only taken into coven .nt witli God, but into communion with lnim, that he had leave to speak to him, ;ind might expect an answer of peace from him, and could say, witli a humble confidence. Hear the voice of my nu/i/ilications, O Lord. (3.) In the assurance he had < f help from God, and happiness in him; "0 God the Lord, Jehovah, Adonai; as Jehovah, thru art self-existent and self-sufficient, an infinitcl}' pci-tlct Being; as Adonai, thou art my Stay and' Support, my Ruler and Governor; and therefore the Strength of my salvation, my strong Saviour; nay, not only my Saviour, but my Salvation itself, from whom, m whom, my salvation is; not only a strong Saviour, but the very Sti'ength of my salvation, on whom the stress of my hope is laid; all in all to make me hajjpy, and to preserve me to my happiness." (4.) In the experience he had had formerly of God's care of him; Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. As he pleaded with Saul, that, for the service of his country, he many a time jeoparded his life in the high places of the field, so he pleads with God, that, m those services. He had wonderfully protected him, and provided liim a better liclmet for the securing of his head, than Goliath's was; "Lord, thou hast kept me in the day of battle with tlie Philistines, suffer me not to fall by the treachci'ous intrigues of false-hearted Israelites." God is as able to presei've his people from secret fraud as from open force; and the experience we have had of liis power and care, in dangers of one kind, may encourage us to trust in him, and depend upon him, in dangers of another nature; for nothing can sIk rten the Lord's right hand.

8. Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; further not his wicked device, lest they exalt themselves. Selah. 9.^4.5/or the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover tliem. 10. Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again. 11. Let not an ';vil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow///w. 12. I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of tlic afflicted, and the right of

the poor. 13. Surely tliC righteous shall give thanks unto thy name; the upright shall dwell in thy presence.

Here is the l^elieving foresight David had,

I. Of tlie shame and confusion cf persecutors.

1. Their disappointment; this he prays for, {y, 8.) that their lusts might not be gratified, their lust of ambition, envy, and revenge; ''Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked, but fnistrate them; let them not sec the iiiin cf my interest, which they so earnestly wish to see; but hear the voice of my su/i/tlications." He prays that their prrjects might not take effect, l)ut be blasted; "O further not his wicked device; let not Pro^ idencc favour any of his designs, but cross them; suffer 720; his wicked device to proceed, but chain his wheels, and stoj) him in the career of his pursuits." Thus we are to pray against the enemies of God's people, that they may not succeed in any cf their enterprises. Such was David's prayer against Ahithcphel, that God would tuni his ccunsels into foolishness. The plea is, lesi they exalt themselves; value themselves upon their success, as if it were an evidence that God favcured them. Proud men, when they prosper, are made prouder, grow more impudent against Gr d, and insolent aganist his pec pie, and therefore, "Lord, do not prosper them.

2. Their dcstniction. This he prays for, (as we read it,) l^ut some choose to read it rather as a prophecy; and the original will bear it. If we take it as a prayer that proceeds from a spirit cf prophecy, which comes all to one, he foretells the ruin,

(1.) Of his own enemies; "As for those that coin-pass me about, and seek my niin," [1. J "The mischief of their own lips shail cover their heads; {v. 9.) the evil they have wished to me shall c( me up* n themselves; their curses shall be blown back mto their own faces; and the very designs wliich they have laid against me shall turn to their own loiin, ' vii. 15, 16. Let those that make mischief, by slandering, tale-bearing, misrepresenting their neighbours, and spreading ill-natured characters and stories, dread the consequence of it, and think how sad their conditirn will be, when all the mischief they liave been accessary to shall t^e made to return upon themselves. [2.] The judgments of God shall fall upon them, compared here to bmmivg coals, in allusion to the destnicticn of Sodom: nay, as in the deluge, the waters from above, and those from beneath, met for the drowning of the world, both the windows of lieaven were opened, and the fountains of the great deep were broken up; so here, to complete the ruin of the enemies of Christ rnd his kingdom, they sliall not only have burning coalu cast upon them from above, (Job xx. 23.—xxvii. 22.) but the)- themselves shall be cast into the fire beneath; both heaven and hell, the wi-ath of God tlie Judge, and the rage of Satan the tormentor, shall concur to make tlum miserable. And the fire they shall be cast into is not a furnace of fire, out of which perh;i])s the)' might escape, but a deep pit, out of winch thc\- cannot rise. Tophet is said to be deep and large, Isa. xxx. 33.

(2.) Of all others that are like them, v. 11. fl.] F.vil s/ieakers must expect to be shaken, fir they shall ne\er be established in the earth. What is got by fraud and falsehood, by calumny and unjust hc-cusation, will not prosper, will not last. Wealth gotten l)y vanity will l)e diminished. Let not such men as Doeg think to reign long, fi;r his doom will be theirs, ii. 5. A lying tongue is but for a moment, l)ut tlie Up of truth shall be established for e\<er. [2. ] Evil Doeg must expect to be destroyed. Kvil shall hunt the violent man, as the blood-hrund hunts the murderer to discover him, as the lien hunts his prey to tea.r it to pieces: mischievous men

PSALMS, CXLI.

613

will be brought to light, and brought to i\iin, the de-stiniction appointed shall run them down and overthrow them. Evil pursues sinners.

II. Here is his foresight of the deliverance and comfort of the persecuted, v. 12, 13. 1. God will do t/ie?n justice, in delivering them, who, being wronged, commit themselves to him; "Iknow that the Lord will maintain the just and injured caune of his afflicted people, and will not suffer might always to prevail agamst right, though it be' but the right of the poor, who have but little tliat they can pretend aright to." God is, and will l)e, the patron of oppressed innocence, much more of persecuted piety; they that knew him cannot but know this. 2. They will do him justice, (if I may so speak,) in ascribing the glory of their QLliver.aice to him; "Surely the righteous (jvho m ike consxience of rendering to God his due, as well as to men theirs) shall give thanks unto thy name, when thty find their cause pleaded with jealousy, and prosecuted with effect. The closing words, The n/iright shall dwell in thy presence, denote God's favour to them; "Thou shalt admit them to dwv.ll in thy presence, in grace here, in glory hereafter, and it shall be their safety and happiness," their duty to God; They shall attend upon thee as servants that keep in the presence of their masters, both to do them honour, and to recei\'e their commands. This is ti-ue thanksgiving, even tlianksliving; and this use we should make of all our deliverances, we should serve God the more closely and cheerfully.

PSALM CXLI.

David was in distress when he penned this psalm; pursued, it is most likely, by Saul, that violent man. Is any distressed? Let him pray; David did so, and had the comfort of it. I. He prays for God's favourable acceptance, V. I, 2. II. For his powerful assistance, v. 3, 4. III. That others mi^ht be instrumental of good to his soul, as he hoped to be to the souls of others, v. 5,6. IV. That he and his friends being now brought to the last extremity, God would graciously appear for their relief and rescue, v. 7.. 10. The mercy and grace of God are as necessary to us as they were to him, and therefore we should be humbly earnest for them in singing this psalm.

A psalm of David.

1 T ORD, I cry unto thee: make haste JLi unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. 2. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. 3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my hps. 4. In-chne not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity : and let me not eat of their dainties.

Mercy to accept what we do well, and grace to keep usfrom doing ill, are the two things which we are here taught by David's example to pray to God for.

1. David loved prayer, and he begs of God that his prayers might be heard and answered, v. 1, 2. David cried unto God; his crying denotes fervency in prayer, he prayed as one in earnest; his crying to God denotes faith and fixedness in prayer. And what did he desire as the success of his prayer? (1.) That God would take cognizance'of it; " Give car to my voice; let me have a gracious audience." They that cry in prayer may hope to be heard in prayer, not for their loudness, but their liveliness. (2.) That he would visit him up n it; Make haste unto me. Those that know how to value God's gracious presence will l)e imp^rtunrite for it, and liumbly impatient of delays. He that believes does

not make haste, but he that prays may be earnest with God to make haste. (3.) That he would be well-pleased with him in it; well-pleased with his praying and the lifting tip of his hands in prayer; which denotes both the elevation and enlargement cf his desire, and the out-goings of his hope and expectation; the lifting up of the hand signifying the lifting up of the heart, and being used instead cf lifting up the sacrifices which were heaved and waved before the Lord. Prayer is a spiritual sacrifice, it is tlie offering up of the scul and its best affections to God; now he prays tliat this may be set forth and directed before God, as the incense which was daily burnt upon the golden altar, and as the evening sacrifice, which he mentions, rather than tlie morning sacrifice, perhaps because tiiis was an evening prayer, or with an eye to Christ, who, in tlie evening of the world, and in the evening of the day, was to offtr up himself a Sacrifice of atonement, and establish the spiritual sacrifices of acknowledgment, having abolished all the carnal ordinances of the law. They that pray in faith may expect it will please God better than an ox or bullock. David was now banished from God's court, and could not attend the sacrifice and incense, and therefore begs that his prayer might be instead of them. Note, Prayer is of a sweet-smelling savour to God, as incense, which yet had no savour without fire; nor has prajxr without the fii'e of holy love and fervour.

2. David was in fear of sin; and he begs of God that he might be kept from sin, knowing that his prayers would not be accepted, unless he took care to watch against sin; we must be as earnest for God's grace in us, as for his favour towards us.

(1.) He prays that he might not be surprised into any sinful words; {xk 3.) "Set a watch, 0 Lord, before my mouth, and, nature having made my lips to be a door to my words, let grace keep that door, that no word may be suffered to go out, which may any way tend to the dishonour of God, or the hurt of others." Good men know the evil of tongue-sins, and how prone they are to them; when enemies are provoking, we are in danger of carrying our resentments too far, and of speaking unadvisedly, as Moses did, though the meekest of men; and therefore they are earnest with God to prevent their speaking-amiss, as knf)wing that no watchfulness or resolution of their own is sufficient for the governing of their tongues, much less of their hearts, without the special grace rf God. We must keep our mouth as with a bridle; but that will not serve, we must pra\- to God to keep them. Nehemiah prayed to the Lord then when he set a watch, and so must we, for without him the watchman waketh but in vain.

(2.) Tliat he might not be inclined to any sinful practices; {v. 4.) "Incline not mine heart to any ei.nl thing; whatever inclination there is in me to sin, let it be not only restrained, but mortified, by divine grace." The example of those about us, and the provocations of those against us, are apt to stir up, and draw out, cornipt inclinations; we are ready to do as others do, and to think that if we received injuries, we may return them; and therefore we have need to pray that we may never be left to ourselves to practise any wicked work, either in confederacy with, or in opposition to, the men that work iniquity. While we live in such an evil world, and carry about with us such evil hearts, we have need to pray that we may neither be drawn in by any allurement, nor driven en by any provocation, to do any sinful thing.

(3.) That he might not be insnared by any sinful pleasures; "Let me not eat of their dainties. Let me not join with them in their feasts and sports, lest thereby I he inwiglcd into their sins." Better is a dinner of herbs out of the way of 'emptation, than a

PSALMS, CXLl.

stalled ox in it. Sinners pretend to find dainties in sin; stolen waters are sweet, forbidden fiuit is pleasant to the eye: but they that consider how soon the dainties of sin will turn into wormwood and gall, how certainly it will, at last, bite like a serpent, and sting like a7i adder, will dread those dainties, and pray to God bv his providence to take them out of their sight, and by his grace to turn them against them. Good men will pray against even the sweets of sin.

5. Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let liim reprove me; it shall he an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall he in their calamities. G. When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet. 7. Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth. 8. But mine eyes ai-e unto thee, O God the Lord : in thee is my trust, leave not my soul destitute. 9. Keep me from the snare which they have laid foi- me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity. 10. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape.

Here, 1. David desires to be told of his faults; his enemies reproached him with that which was false, which he could not but complain of; yet, at the same time, he desires his friends would reprove him for that which was really amiss in him, particularly if there was any thing that give the least colour to those reproaches; {v. 5. ) Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness. The righteous God; so some. " I will welcome the rebukes of his providence, and be so far from quarrelling with them, that I will receive them as tokens of love, and improve them as means of grace, and will pray for those that are the instruments of my trouble." But it is commonly taken for the reproofs given by righteous men; and it best becomes those that are themselves righteous, to reprove the unrighteousness of others, and from them it will be best taken. But if the reproof be just, though the reprover be not 10, Ave must make a good use of it, and learn obedience by it. We are here taught how to receive the reproofs of the righteous and wise. (1.) We must desire to be reproved for whatever is amiss in us, or is done amiss by us; " Lord, put it into the heart of the righteous to smite me and reprove me. If my own heart does not srnite me, as it ought, let my friend do it; let me never fall under that dreadful judgment of being let alone in sin." (2.) \\^e must account it a piece of friendship; we must not only bear it patipntlv, but take it as a kindness; for reproofs of instruction are the way of life, (Prov. vi. ?'l.) are means of good to us, to bring us to re])en-t.mce for the sins we have committed, and to pix-vent relapses into sin. Though reproofs cut, it is in order to a cure, and tlierefore mucli more desirable than the kisses of an enemy, (Prov. xxvii. 6.) or the song of fools, Eccl. vii. 5. David blessed Cxod for Abigail's seasonable admonition, 1 Sam. xxv. 32. (3.) We must reckon ourselves lielped and healed by it; it shall be as an excellent oil to a wound, to mollify it, and close it up; it shall not break my bead, as some reckon it to do, who could as well bear to ha\e their heads broken, as to be told of their faults; but, says David, " I am not of that mind; it is my si'i that has broken my head, that has l)roken my bones, Ps. li. 8. The reproof is an excellent oil, to cure the bruises sin has given me. It

shall not break my head, if it may but help to break my heart." (4.) We must requite the kindness of those that deal thus faithfullj-, thus friendly, with us, at least by o\xv firayers for them in their calamities, and hereby we must show that we take it kindly. Dr. Hammond gives quite another residing of this verse; '^Reproach will bruise me that am righteous, and rebuke me; but that poisonous oil shall not break my head, shall not destroy me, shall not do me the mischief intended, for yet my prayer shall be in their mischiefs, that God would preserve ine from them, and my pra)'er shall not be in vain."

2. David hopes his persecutors will, some time or other, bear to be told of tlieir faults, as he was willing to be told of his; {y. 6.) " When their Judges" (Saul and his officers, who judged and condemned David, and would themselves be sole judges) " ai-e overthrown in stony places, among the rocks in the wilderness, then they shall hear my words, for they are sweet." Some think this refers to the relentings that were in Saul's breast, when he said with tears, Is this thy voice, my son David? 1 Sam. xxiv. 16.—xxvi. 21. Or, we may take it more generally; even judges, gi'eat as they are, may come to be overthrown; those that make the greatest figure in this world do not always meet with level smooth ways through it. And those that slighted the word of God before, will relish it, and be glad of it, when they are in affliction, for that opens the ear to insti-uction. When the world is bitter, the word is sweet. Oppressed innocency cannot gain a hearing with those that live in pomp and pleasure, but when they come to be overthrown themselves, they will have more compassionate thoughts of the afflicted.

3. David complains of the great extremity to which he and his friends were reduced; {v. 7.) Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, out ct which they are thrown up, so long ha^e we been dead, or into which they are ready to be thrown, so near are we to the pit; and they are as little regarded as chips among the hewers of wood, which are thrown in neglected heaps, .ds one that cuts and cleaves the earth; so some read it, alluding to the ploughman who tears the earth in pieces with his ploughshare, cxxix. 3. Can these dry bones live?

A. David casts himself upon Gcd, and depends upon him for deliverance; "But mine eyes are unto thee; {v. 8.) for, when the case is ever so deplorable, thou canst redress all the grievances, from thee I expect relief, bad as things iire, and in thee is m trust." Those that have their eye towa " ~ may have their hopes in him.

5. He prays that God would succour and relieve him as his necessity required. (1.) That he would comfort liini; "Leave ?wt 7ny soul desolate and destitute; still let me see where my help is." (2.) That he would prevent the designs of his enemies against him; {v. 9.) "Keep me froin being taken in the snare they have laid for me; give mc to discover it, and to evade it." Be the gin placecl with ever so much subtlety, God can, and will, secure his people from being taken in it. (3. J That God would, in justice, tuni the designs of his enemies upon themselves, and, in mercv, deliver him from being i-uin- $ cd by them; {v. lO."^ Let the wicked fall into their own net, the net which, intentionally, they procured for me; but which, meritoriously, they jjrepared for themselves. A''ec lex est justior ulla quam riecia artifices arte perire sua — A''o law can be more just than that the architects of destruction should perish by their own contrivances. All that are bound over to God's justice are held on the cords of their own iniquity. But let me at the same time obtain a dis charge. The entangling and ensnaring of the wick ed sometimes ])rove the escape and enlargement of the righteous.

my od,

PSALMS, CXLII.

eii>

PSALM CXLIL

This psalm is a prayer, the substance of which David offered up to God, when he was forced by Saul to take shelter in a cave, and which he afterwards penned in this form. Here is, I. The complaints he makes to God, (v. 1, 2.) of the subtlety, strength, and malice, of his enemies, (v. 3, 6.) and the coldness and indifference of his friendsj v. 4. II. The comfort he takes in God, that he knew his case, (v. 3.) and was his Refuge, v. 5. III. His expectation from God, that he would hear and deliver him, V. 6, 7. IV. His expectation from the righteous, that they would join with him in praises, v. 7. Those that are troubled in mind, body, or estate, may, in singing this psalm, (if they sing it in some measure with David's spirit,) both warrant his complaints, and fetch in his comforts.

Maschil of David.

1.

A prayer ivhen he ivas in the cave.

the Lord with

CRIED unto tne i^ord vvitn m} with my voice unto the Lord

voice

did 1 make my supphcation. 2. I poured out my complaint before him : I showed before him my trouble. 3. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knowest my path: in the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.

Whether it was in the cave of Adullam, or that of En-gedi, that David prayed this prayer, is not material; it is plain that he was in distress; it was a great disgrace to so great a soldier, so great a courtier, to be put to such shifts for his own safety; and a great terror to be so hotly pursued, and every moment in expectation of death; yet then he had such a presence of mind, as to praj- this prayer, and, wherever he was, still he had his religion about him. Prayers and tears were his weapons, and when he durst not stretch forth his hands against his prince, he lifted them up to his God. There is no cave so deep, so dark, but we may out of it send up our prayers, and our souls in prayer, to God. He calls this prayer Maschil, a psalm of instruction, because of the good lessons he had himself learnt in the cave, learnt on his knees, which he desired to teach others.

In these verses, observe,

1. How David complained to God, v. 1, 2. WHien the danger was over, he was not ashamed to own (as great spirits sometimes are) tlie fright he had been in, and the application he had made to God. Let not men of the first rank think it any diminution or disparagement to them, when they are in affliction, to cry to God, and to cry like children to tlieir parents, when any thing frightens them. David floured out his complaint, which denotes a free and full complaint; he was large and particular in it. His heart was as full of his grievances as it could hold, but he made himself easy by pouring them out before the Lord; and this he did with gTeat fervency, He cried unto the Lord ivith his voice, with the voice of his mind, (so some think,) for, being hid in the cave, he durst not speak with an audible voice, lest that should ha\e discovered him: but mental prayer is vocal to God, and he hears the gi'oanings which cannot, or dare not, be uttered, Rom. viii. 26. Two things David laid open to God, in this complaint;

(I.) His distress; he exhibited a remonstrance or memorial of his case; / showed before him my trouble, and all the circumstances of it. He did not prescribe to God, nor shoiv him his trouble, as if God did not know it without his showing, but, as one that put a confidence in God, desired to keep up communion with him, and was willing to i-efer hmiself entirely to him, he unbosomed himself to him, humbly laid the matter before him, and then

cheerfully left it with him. We are apt to show our trouble too much to ourselves, aggravating it, and poring upon it, which does us no service; whereas, by showing it to God, we might cast the care upon him who careth for us, and thereby ease ourselves. Nor should we allow of any complaint to ourselves, or others, which we cannot with the due decency and sincerity of devotion make to God, and stand to before him.

(2.) His desire. When he made his complaint, he ?nade his supplication; {v. 1.) not claiming relief as a debt, but humbly begging it as a favour. Complainants must be su]:)plicants, for God will be sought unto.

2. What he complained of; "In (he ivay ivhereiri I walked, susj^ecting no danger, have they firivily laid a snare for me, to entrap mc." Suul "gave Mi-clial his daughter to David, on piupose that she might be a snare to him, 1 Sam. xviii. 21. This he complains of to God, that every thing was done with a design against him. If he hud gone out of his way, and met with snares, he might have thanked himself; but, when he met with them in the way of his duty, he miglit with humble boldness teil God of them.

3. What comforts him in the midst of these ccm-plaints; (x-. 3.) "■'When my spirit vjas overwhelmed within me, and ready to sink under the burthen of grief and fear, when I was quite at a loss, and ready to desj^air, then thou knowest iny path, then it was a^ pleasure to me to think that thou knowest it. Thru knowest my sincerity, the right path which I have walked in, and that I am not such a one as my persecutors represent me; thou knowest also my condition in all the particulars ( f it; when my spirit was so overwhelmed that I could not distinctlv show it, this comforted me, that thou knowest it. Job xxiii. 10. Thou knowest it, thou didst protect, preserve, and secure, it," Ps. xxxi. 7. Deut. ii. 7.

4. I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there. ?vas no man that would know me: refuge failed nie; no man cared for my soul. 5. I cried unto thee, O Lord: J said. Thou art my refuge, anel my portion in the land of the living. 6. Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors: for tliey are stronger than L 7. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.

Tlie psalmist here tells us, for our instniction, 1. How he wns disowned and deserted by his friends, v. 4. When he was in favour at court, he seemed to have a great interest, but when he was made an outlaw, and it was dangerous for any body to h irbour him, (witness Ahimelech's fate,) then no man would know him, but every bodv was shv of him. He looked on his right hand for an advocate, (cix.31.) seme friend or other to speak a good word for liim. But, since Jonathan's appearing for him had like to h-ive cost him his life, nobody was.willing to venture in defence of his innocency, but all were ready to say they knew nothing of the matter. He looked round to see if any would open their doors to him, but refuge failed him, none of all his old friends would give hmi a night's lodging, or direct him to any place of secrecy and safety. How many good men have been deceived by such swallow-friends, who are gone when winter comes! David's life was exceeding precious, and yet, when he was unjustly proscribed, Jio man cared for it, nor would move a hand for the protection of it. Herein he was a type

PSALMS, CXLIII.

': Christ, who, in his sufferings for us, was forsaken '■ f all men, even of his own disciples, and trod the wine-priiss alone, for there was none to help, 7ione to ufihold, Isa. Ixiii. 5.

2. How he then found satisfaction in God, v. 5. Lovers and friends stood aloof from him, and it was in vain to call to them; "But," said he, "/ cried unto thee, O Lord, who knowest me, and carcst for me, when none else will, and wilt not fail me nor forsake me, when men do;" for God is constant in liis love. David tells us what he said to God in the cave, " Thou art rny Refuge and my Poj-tion in the land of the living; 1 depend upon thee to be so, my Refuge to save me from being miserable, my Portion to make me happy. The cave I am in is but a poor refuge; Lord, thy name is the strong tower tliat / run into. Thou art 7ny Refuse, in whom alone I shall think myself safe. The crown I am in hopes of is but a poor portion; I can never think myself well-provided for, till I know that the Lord is the Portion of mine inheritance and of my cup." Those who in sincerity take the Lord for their God, shall find him all-sufficient both as a Refuge and as a Portion, so that, as no evil shall hurt them, so no s;ood sliall be wanting to them; and they may hum-blv claim their interest; *' Lord, thou art my Refuge and my Portion, every thing else is a refuge of lies, and a portion ot no value. Thou art so in the land of the living, while I live, and have my being, whether in this world, or in a better." There is en .ugh in God to answer all the necessities of this present time; we live in a world of dangers and wants; but what danger need we fear, if God is our Refuge, or what ivants, if he be our Portion? Heaven, which alone deserves to be called the land of the living, will be to all believers both a refuge and a portion.

3. How, in this satisfaction, he addressed himself ti God; iy. 6, 7.) "Lord, give a gracious ear to my cru, the cry of my affliction, the cry of my supplication, for / am brought very lonv, and if tluu help ms not, I shall be quite sunk. Lord, deliver me from my persecutors; either tie their hands or turn their hearts, break their power or blast tht ir projects, restrain them or rescue me, for they are stronger than I, and it will lie thine honour to t ike part with the weakest. Deliver me from them, cr I shall be ruined by them, for I am not yet myself a match for them. Lord, bring my soul out of firison; not only bring me safe out of this cave, but bring me out of all my perplexities." We may apply it spiritually; the souls of good men are often straitened by doubts and fears, cramped and fettered, through the weakness of faith and the prevalency of corruption. And it is tlien their dut}- and interest to apply themselves to God, and beg of him to set them at liberty, and to enlarge their hearts, that they may run the way of his commaiidments.

4. How much he expected his deliverance would redound to the glory of God. (1.) By his own thanksgivings, into which his present complaints would then be turned; "Bring my soul out of prison, not that I may enjoy myself and my friends, and live at ease, no, nor that I may secure my countr)', but, that I may praise thy name. " This we should have &n eye to, in all our prayers to God foi- deliverance out of trouble, that we may have occasicni to praise God, and may live to his praise. This is the greatest comfort of temporal mercies, that they furnish us with matter, and give us opportunity, for the excellent duty of praise. (2.) By the thanksgivings of many on his behalf; (2 Cor. i. 11.) "When I am enlarged, the righteous shall compass me about, for my cause they shall make thee a crown of praise. So the Chaldee. They shall flock about

. me to congratulate me on my ddivemnee, to hear my expenences, and to receive (Maschil) instruc-

tions from me; they shall compass me, to join with me ill my thanksgivings, because thou shall have dealt bountifully with me." Note, The mercies of others ought to be. the matter of our praises to God; and tlie praises of others, on our behalf, ought to be both desired and rejoiced in by us.

PSALM CXLIIL

This psalm, as those before, is a prayer, and full of complaints of the great distress and danger he was in, probably when Saul persecuted him. He did not only pray in that atHiction, but he prayed very much, and very often, not the same over again, but new thoughts. In this psahn, I. He complains of his troubles, through the oppression of his enemies, (v. 3.) and the weakness of his spirit under it, which was ready to sink, notwithstanding the likely course he took to support himself, v. 4, 5. if. He prays, and prays earnestly, v. 6. 1. That God would hear him, v. 1, 7. 2. That he would not deal with him according to his sins, v. 2. 3. That he would not hide his face from him, (v. 1.) but manifest his favour to him, v. 8. 4. That he would guide and direct him in the way of his duty, f v. 8, 10.) and quicken him in it, v. 11. 5. That he would deliver him out of his troubles, V. 9, 11. 6. That he would in due time reckon with his persecutors, v. 12. We may more easily accommodate this psalm to ourselves, in the singing of it. because most of the petitions in it are for spiritual blessings, (which we all need at all times,) mercy, and grace.

A psalm of David.

1. TTEAR my prayer, O Lord ; give eai XI to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.

2. And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. 3. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground: he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead. 4. Therefore is my spirit over-win Ifiied \\ ithin me: my heart within me is desolate. 5. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works: I muse on the work of thy hands. 6. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.

Here, 1. David humbly begs to be heard; (-z'. 1.) not as if he questioned it, but he earnestly desired it, and was in care about it, for, having directed his prayer, he looked up to see how it sped, Hub. ii. 1. He is a supplicant to his God, and he begs that his requests might be granted; Hear my /irayer, give ear to my supplications: he is an appellant against his persecutors, and he begs that his case might be brought to hearing, and tlvit Gcxl would c-i\-e judgment upon it, in his faithfulness and righteousness, as the Judge of right and wrong. Or, "Answer my petitions in thy faithfulness, accordmg to the promises thou hast made, which thou wilt be just to." We have no righteousness of our own to plead, ;:nd therefore must plead God's righteousness, the word of promise, which he has freely given us, and caused us to hope in.

2. He humbly begs not to be proceeded against in strict justice, x-." 2. iHc seems here, if n(^t to correct, yet to explain, his plea, (v. 1.) Deliver me in thy righteousness; "I mean, says he, "the righteous promises of the gospel, not the righteous threaten-ings <f the law; if 1 be answered according to the righteousness of this broken covenant of innocency, I am quite undone;" and therefore, (1.) His petition is, " Enter not into judgmer:t with thy servant; do not deal with me in strict justice, :\s I deserve to be dealt with." In this prayer, we must rwn ourselves

PSALMS, CXLIIl.

617

to be God's servants, bound to obey him, accountable to him, and sohcitous to obtain his favour, and we must approve ourselves to him; we must acknowledge that in many instances we have offended him, and have come shqrt of our duty to him; that he might justly inquire into our offences, and proceed against us for them according to law; and that, -f he should do so, judgment would certainly go against us, we have nothing to move in arrest or mitigation of it, but execution would be taken out and Hwarded, and then we ai-e ruined for ever. But we must encourage ourselves with a hope that there is mercy and forgiveness with God, and be earnest with him for the benefit of that mercy. Enter not into judgment loith thy servant, for thou hast already entei'ed into judgment with thy Son, and laid upon him the iniquity of us all. Enter not into Judgment ivith thy servant, for thy servant enters into'judgment with himself; and if nve tvill judge ourselves, ive shall not be judged. (2.) His plea is. In thy sight shall no man living be justified upon those terms, for no man can plead innocency nor any righteousness of his own, either that he has not sinned, or that he does not deserve to die for his sins, or that he has any satisfaction of his own to offer; nay, if God contend with us, we are not able to an-s%ver him for one of a thousand, Job ix. 3.—xv, 20. David, before he prays for the removal of his trouble, prays for the pardon of his sin, and depends upon mere mercy for it.

3. He complains of the prevalency of his enemies against him; {y. 3.) "Saul, that great enemy, has persecuted my soul, sought my life, with a restless malice, and has carried the persecution so far, tliat he has already smitten it down to the ground; though I am not yet under ground, I am struck to the ground, and that is next door to it; he has forced me to dwell i?i darkness, not only in dark ca^'es, but in dark thoughts and apprehensions, in the clouds of melancholy, as helpless and hopeless as those that have been long dead. Lord, let me find mercy with thee, for I find no mercy with men. Tliey condemn me: but. Lord, do not thou condemn me. Am not I an object of thy compassion, fit to be appeared for; and is not mine enemy an object of thy displeasure, fit to be appeared against?"

4. He bemoans the oppression of his mind, occasioned by his outward troubles; {v. 4.) Therefore is my sfiirit ovei-powered and overwhelmed within me, and I am almost plunged in despair; when without are fightings, within are fears, and those fears greater tyrants and oppressors than Saul himself, and not so easily outrun. It is sometimes the lot of the best men to have their spirits for a time almost overwhelmed, and their hearts desolate, and doubtless it is their infirmity. David was not only a gi'eat saint, but a great soldier, and yet even he was sometimes ready to faint in a day of adversity. Howl, fir-trees, if the cedars be shaken.

5. He applies himself to the use of proper means for the relief of his trouliled spirit. He had no force to muster up against the oppression of the enemy, but if he can keep possession of nothing else, he will do what he can to keep possession of his own soul, and to preserve his inward peace. In order to this, (1.) He looks back, and remembers the days of old, {y. 5.) God's former appearances for his afflicted people, and for him in particular. This^has been often a relief to the people of (iod in their straits, to think of the wonders which their fathers told them of, Ixxvii. 5, 11. (2.) He looks round, and takes notice of the works of God in the visible creation, and the providential government of the •world; / meditate on all thy works. Many see them, but do not see the footsteps of God's wisdom, power, and goodness, in them, and therefore do not receive the benefit they m'ght by them, because

Vol. hi. —4 I

they do not meditate upon them; they do not dwell on that copious, curious, subject, but soon quit it, as if they had exhausted it, when they ha\'e scarcely touched upon it. / muse on, or, as some read it, / discourse of, the operation of thy hands; how great, how good, it is! The more we consider the power of God, the less we shall fear the face or force of man, Isa. li. 12, 13. (3.) He looks up with earnest desires toward God and liis favour; [y. 6.) / stretch forth my hands unto thee, as one begging an alms, and big with expectation to receive something great, standing ready t; lay hold on it, and bid it welcome; " My_ soul thirsteth after thee, it is to thee, (so the word is,) entire for thee, intent on thee, it is as a thirsty land, which, being parched with excessive heat, gapes for ruin; so do I need, so do I crave, the support and refreshment of divine consolations under mine afflictions, and nr.thing else will relieve me." This is the best course we can take when our spirits are overwhelmed; and justly do they sink under their load, who will not take such a ready way as this to ease themselves.

7. Hear me speedily, O liORD ; my spirit faileth: liide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. 8. Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. 9. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies : I fly unto thee to hide me. 10. Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. 11. Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble. 12. And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.

Da\-id hei'e tells us what he said when he stretched forth his hands unto God; he begins not only as one in earnest, but as one in haste; " Hear me sfieedily, and defer no longer, for my spirit faileth. I am just ready to faint; reach the cordial, quickly, quickly, or I am gone." It was not a haste of unbelief, but of vehement desire and holy love; Make haste, O God, to helji me.

Tliree things David here prays ff.r;

I. The manifestations of God's favour toward him; that God would be well pleased with him, and let him know that he was so; this he prefers before anv good, iv. 6. 1. He dreads God's frowns; "Lord, hide not thy face from me; Lord, be not angry with me; do not turn from me, as we do from one we are displeased with; Lord, let me not be left under the apprehensions of thine anger, or in douljt concerning thy fa\our; if I Iwve thy favour, let it not be hidfrom me." Those that have the tnith of grace, cannot but desire the evidence of it. He pleads the wretchedness of his case, if God withdrew from him; "Lord, let me not lie under thy wrath, for then I am like them that go down to the flit, down to the grave; I am a dead man, weak, and pale, and ghastly; thy frowns are worse than death; or down to hell, the bottomless pit." Even those who through grace are delivered from going down to the pit, may sometimes, when the terrors of the Almighty set themselves in aiTay against them, look like those who are going to the pit. Disconsolate saints have sometimes cried out of the wrath of God, as if they had been damned sinners, Job \\. 4. Ps. Ixxxvih. 6. 2. He entreats God's favou'^;

PSALMS, CLXIV.

(%'. 8.) Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning. He cannot but think that God has a kindness foi- him, that he has some kind things to say to him, some good words and comfortable words; but the present hurry of his affairs, and tumult of his s])irits, drowned those pleasing whispers; and therefore he begs, "Lord, do not only speak kindly to me, but cause me to hear it, to hear Joy and gladness," \\. 8. God speaks to us by his word, and by liis providence, and in both we should desire and endeavour to hear his loving-kindness, (cvii. 43.) that we may set that always before us; '^Cause me to hear it in the morning, every morning; let my waking thoughts be of God's loving-kindness, that the sweet relish of that may abide upon my spirits all the day long." His plea is, "For in thee do I trust, and in thee only; I look not for comfoit in any other." It is a usual thing for God's goodness to be wrought for those ivho trust in him, (xxxi. 8.) who by faith draw it out.

II. The operations of God's grace in him. Those he is as earnest for, as for the tokens of God's favour to liim, and so should we be. He prays; 1. That he might be enlightened with the knowledge of God's will; and this is the first work of the Spirit, in order to his other works; for God deals with men as men, as reasonable creatures. Here are three petitions to this effect. (1.) Cause me to know the ivay wherein I should walk. Sometimes, those that are much in care to walk right are in doubt and in the dark which is the right way. Let them come boldly to the throne of grace, and beg of God, l)y his word, and Spirit, and providence, to show them the way, and prevent their missing it. A good man does not ask what is the way in which he must walk, or in which is the moiit fileasant walking, but what is the right way, the way in which he s/iould walk. He pleads, ''I lift u/i my soul unto thee, to he moulded and fashioned according to thy will." Me did not only importunately, but impartially, desire to know his duty; and those that do so shall be taught. (2.) " Teach me to do thy will; not only show me what thy will is, but teach me how to do It, how to turn my hand dexterously to my duty." It is tlie desire and endeavour of all God's faithful servants to know and do his will, and to stand complete in it. He pleads, " Thou art my God, and therefore m}- Oracle, by whom I may expect to be advised; my God, and therefore my Ruler, whose will I desire to do." If we do in sincerity take God for our God, we may depend upon him to teach us to do his will, as a master does his servant. (3.) Lead me into the land of uprightness, into the communion of saints, that pleasant land of the upriglit; or, into a settled course of holy living, which will lead to heaven, that land of uprightness, where holiness will be in perfection, and he that is holy shall be holy still. We should desire to be led, and kept •safe, to heaven, not only because it is a land of blessedness, but because it is aland of uprightness; it is the perfection of grace. We cannot find the way that will bring us to that land, unless God show us; nor go in that way, unless he take us by the hand and lead us, as we lead, those that are weak, or lame, or timorous, or dim-sighted; so necessary is the grace of God, not only to put us into the good wa)% but to keep us, and caiTy us on, in it. The plea is, " Thy Spirit is good, and al)le to make me good;" good and willing to help those that are at a loss. 1 et thy good Sjiirit lead me, so some read it. They that have the Lord for their God have his S])irit for their Guide; and it is l)oth their character and their privilege that they are led by the Spirit.

2. He prays that he might be enlivened to do his will; (t'. 11.) " Quicken me, O Lord; quicken my graces, that they may l^e active, quicken my devotions, tliat they may be lively, quicken me to my

duty, and quicken me in it, and this for thy name*a sake." The best saints often find themselves dull, and dead, and slow, and therefore pray to God to quicken them.

III. The appearance of God's providence for him; that < iod would, in his own way and time, 1. Give him rest from his troubles; {v. 9.) " Deliver me, 0 Lord, from mine enemies, that they may not have their will against me; for I fly unto thee to hide me; I trust to thee to defend me in my trouble, and therefore to rescue me out of it." Preservations are pledges of salvation, and those shall find God their Hiding-Placc, who by faith make him such. He explains himself, {v. 11.) "For thy righteousness-sake, bring my soul out of trouble; for thy promise-sake, nay, for thy mercy-sake," (for some by righteousness understand kindness and goodness,) " do not only deliver me from m)' outward trouble, but frcm the troul)le of my soul, the trouble that threatens to overwhelm my spirit. Whatever trouble I am in. Lord, let not my heart be troubled," John xiv. 1. 2. That he would reckon with those that were the instruments of his trouble; (v. 12.) "Of thy mercy to me, ctit off 7nine enemies, that I may be no longer in fear of them; and destroy all them, whoever thty be, how numerous, how powerful, soever, who afflict 7ny soul, and create vexation to that; for I am thy senmnt, and am resolved to continue such, and therefore may expect to be owned and protected in thy service.'* This prayer is a prophecy of the utter destruction of all the impenitent enemies of Jesus Christ and his kingdom, who will not have him to reign over them, who grieve his Spirit and afflict his soul, by afflicting his people, in whose afRictions he is afflicted.

PSALM CXLIV.

The four preceding psalms seem to have been penned by David before his accession to the crown, when he was persecuted by Saul; this seems to have been penned after, when he was still in trouble, (for there is no condition in this world privileged with an exemption from trouble,) the neighbouring nations molesting him and giving him disturbance, especially the Philistines, 2 Sam. V. 17. In this psalm, 1. He acknowledges, ivith triumph and thankfulness, the great goodness of God to him in advancing him to the government, v. 1. .4. II. He prays to God to help him against the enemies who threatened him, (v. 5. .8.) and again, v. 11. III. He rejoices in the assurance of victory over them, v. 9, 10. IV. He prays for the prosperity of his own kingdom, and pleases himself with the hopes of it, v. 12.. 15. In singing this psalm, we may give God the glory of our spiritual privileges and advancements, and fetch in help from him against our spiritual enemiesj we may pray for the prosperity of our souls, of our families, and of our land; and, in the opinion of some of the Jewish writers, we may refer the psalm to the Messiah and his kingdom.

A psalm of David.

1. ipLESSED be the Lord my strength, _I3 which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: 2. My goodness, and my fortress; my liigh tower, and my dehverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust, who subdueth my people under me. 3. Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him 1 or the son of man, that thou makest account of him ? 4. Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that pass-eth away. 5. Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. 6. Cast forth lightning and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows and destroy them. 7. Send thy hand from

'■T-

PSALMS, CXLIV.

619

above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children; 8. Whose mouth speaketh vanity; and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

Here,

I. David acknowledgeshis dependence upon God, and his obligations to him, v. 1, 2. A prater for further mercy is fitly begun with a thanksgiving for former mercy; and when we are waiting upon God to bless us, we should stir up ourselves to bless him.

He gives to God the glory of two things:

1. What he was to h\m; Blessed be the Lord my Rock, (x". 1.) 7Jiy Goodness, my Fortress, -v. 2. He has in the covenant engaged himself to be so, and encouraged us, accordingly, to depend upon him; all the saints, who by faith have made him theirs, have found him not only to answer, but to outdo, their expectations. David speaks it here as the matter of his trust, and that which made him easy; as the matter of his triumph, and that which made him glad, and in which he gloried. See how he multiplies words to express the satisfaction he had in God, and his interest in him. (1.) " He is my Strength, on whom I stay, and from whom I have power both for my work and for my warfai'e; my Rock to build on, to take shelter in." Even when we are weak, we may be strong in the Lord, and in thefioiver of his might. (2.) « 'My Goodness; not only good to me, but my chief Good, in whose favour I place my felicity, and who is the Author of all the goodness that is in me, and from -vhom comes every good and perfect gift." .{o.) "My Fortress, and my high Tower, in whom I think myself as safe as ever any prince thought himself in a castle or strong-hold.", David had formerly shel ■ tered himself in strong-holds at En-gedi, (1 Sam. xxiii. 29.) which perhaps were natural fastnesses. He had lately m.ide himself master of the stronghold of Zion, which was fortified by art, and he d%velt in the fort; (2 Sam. v. 7, 9.) but he depends not on these." "Lord," says he, "thou art my Fortress, and my high Tower." The divine attributes and promises are fortifications to a believer, far exceeding those either of nature or art. (4.) My Deliverer, and, as it is in the original, very emphatically, my Deliverer to me; "not only a Deliverer I have interest in, but who is always nigh unto me, and makes all my deliverances turn to my real benefit." (5.) "My Shield, to guard me against all the malignant darts that mine enemies let fly at me; not only my Fortress at home, but my Shield abroad in the field of battle." Wherever a believer proes, he carries his protection along with him. Fear not, Abraj)i, I am thy Shield.

2. What he had done for him. He was bred a shepherd, and seems not to have been designed by his parents or himself for any thing more. But, (1.) God had made him a soldier; his hands had been used to the crook, and his fingers to the hai-p, but God taught his hands to war, and his fingers to jight, because he designed him for Israel's champion; and what God calls men to, he either finds them, or makes them, fit for. Let the men of war give God the glory of all their military skill; the same that teaches the meanest husbandman his art, teaches the greatest general his. It is pity that any, whose fingers God has taught to fight, should fight against him or his kingdom among men. Those have special reason to acknowledge God with thankfulness, who prove to be qualified for services which they themselves never thought of. (2.) God had made him a sovereign prince, had taught him to wield the sceptre as well as the sword, to rule as well as fiejht, the harder and nobler art of the two; He •^vhdueth my fieofile under me. The providence of

God is to be acknowledged in making people subject to their prince, and so preserving the order and benefit of societies. There was a special hand of God inclining the people of Israel to be subject to David, pursuant to the promise God had made him: and it was typical of that great act of divine grace, the bringing of souls into subjection to the Lord Jesus, and making them willing in the day of his power.

II. He admires God's condescension to man, and to himself in particular; {v. 3, 4.) "Lord, what is man, what a poor little thing is he, that thou taktst knowledge of him! that thou makest account oj him! that he falls so much under thy cognizance and care, and that thou hast such a tender regard to any of that mean and worthless race, as thou hast had to me!" Considering the many disgraces which the human nature lies under, we have reason to admire the honours God has put upon mankind in general, (the saints especially, some in a particular manner, as David,) and upon'tlie Messiah, (to whom those words are applied, Heb. ii. &.)^\\\o^s?i^ therefore highly exalted, because he humbled himself to be found in fashioji as a man, and therefore has authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of jnan. A question to this purport David asked, (Ps. viii. 4.) and there he illustrated the wonder by the consideration of the great dignity God has placed man in; (ii. 5.) Thou hast crowned hi>n with glory and honour. Here he illustrates it by the consideration of the meanness and mortality of man, notwithstanding the dignity put upon him; [y. 4.) Man is like to vanity, so frail is he, so weak, so helpless, compassed about with so many infirmities, and his continuance here so very short and uncertain, that he is as like as may be to vanity itself. Nay, he is vanity, he is so at his best estate. His days have little substance in them, considering how many of the tlioughts and cares of an immortal soul are employed about a poor dying body: they are as a shadow, dark and flitting, transitory, and finishing with the sun, and, when that sets, resolving itself into all sliadow. They are as a shadow that passeth away, and there is no loss of it. David puts himself into tlie number of those that are thus mean and despical)le.

III. He begs of God to strengthen him, and give him success against the enemies that invaded him, V. 5 • • 8. He does not specify who they were that he was in fear of, but says. Scatter them, destroy them. God knew whom he meant, though he did not name them. But afterward he describes them; (x'. 7, 8.) " They are strange children, Philistines, aliens, bad neighbours to Israel, heathens whom we,are bound to be strange to, and not to make any leagues with, and who therefore cany it strangely towards us." Notwithstanding the advantages with Avhich Gcd had blessed David's arms against them, they were still vexatious and treacherous, and men tliat one could put no confidence in; one cannot take their word, for their mouth speaketh vanity; nay, if they give their hand upon it, or offer their hand to help you, there is no trusting them; for their right hand is a right hand of falsehood: against such as these we cannot defend ourselves, but may depend on the God of truth and justice, who hates falsehood, to defend us from them.

1. David prays that God would appear, that he would do something extraordinary, for the conviction of those who preferred their dunghill-deities before the God of Israel; (x'. 5.) " Bow thy heavens, 0 Lord, and make it evident that they are indeed thine, and that thou art the Lord of them, Isa. Ixiv. x. Let thy providence threaten mine enemies, and look black upon them, as the clouds do on the earth, when thev are thick, and hang very" low, big with a storm. Fight against th'^se that fight against us, so

PSALxMS, CXLIV.

that it may visibly appcp.r thou art for us. Touch the mountains, our strong and stately enemies, and let them smoke. Show thyself by the ministiy of thy angels, as thou didst upon mount Sinai."

2. That he would appear against his enemies; that he would fight from heaven against them, as sometimes he had done, by lightnings, which are his arrows, his fiery darts, against which the hardest steel is no armour of proof; so penetrating is the force of lightning: that he himself would shoot these arrows, who, we are sure, never misses his mai'k, but hits where he aims.

3. That he would app-ar for him, -v. 7. He begs for their destraction, in order to his own deliverance, and the repose of his people; " Send thy hand, thy power, fro7n above, fur that way we look, for help; rid me, and deliver me out &/"these great tvatcrs that are readv to overflow me." God's time to help his people is when thev are sinking, and all other helps fail.

9.1 will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a })saltery, and an instrument of ten strings, \\ ill I sing praises unto thee. 10. // is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who deli veretii David his servant from the hurtful sword. 11. Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand h a right hand of falsehood : 12. That our sons 7/1(11/ be. as plants grown up in tlieir youth; that our daughters mai/ be as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: 13. That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store; that our sheep may bring fortli thousands and ten thousands in our streets: 14. That our oxen i/iai/ be strong to labour; that there be no-breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets. 15. Ha[)py is that people that is in such a case: ijea, happy /,v that people whose C4od is the I^ord.

The method is the s ime in this latter part of the ps dm, as in the former; he first gives glory to (iixl, and then begs mercy from him.

I. He praises God for tlie experiences he had had of his goodness to him, and the encouragements lie irad to expect further mercy from him, x'. 9, 10. In the midst of his complaints concerning the power and treachery of his enemies, here is a holy exultation in his God; / will sing a new song- to thee, O Ciod; a song of praise for new n\ercies, for those compassions that are new every morning. Fresh favours call for fresh returns of thrrnks; nay, we must i)raise CVod for the mercies we hoj)e for by his promise, as well as those we have received by liis providence, 2 Chron. xx. 20, 21. He will join music with his songs of praise, to express and excite his holy joy in God; he will praise Ciod ufion a fisaltery of ten strings, in the best manner, thinking :dl little enough to set forth the praises of God. He tells us what this new song shall be; (x'. 10.) /; is he tliat giveth salvation unto kings. This intimates, 1. 'I'hat preat kings cannot save themselves without him. Kings have their life-guards, and have armies at command, and all the means of safety that can be devised; but, after all, it is God that gives them their salvation, and secures them by those means, which lu" could do, if there were occasion, without them, xxxiii. 16. Kings are the protectors of their penplc, but it is God that is their Vrotector. How much service do

they owe him, then, with their power, who gives them all their salvation! 2. That good kings, who are his ministers for the good of their subjects, shall be protected and saved by him. He has engaged to give salvation to tliose kings that are his subjects, and rule for him; witness the great things he had done for David his servant, whom he had many a time delivered from, the hurtful sword, to which Saul's malice, and his own zeal for the senice of his country, had often exposed him. This may refer to Christ the Son of David, and then it is a new song indeed, a New Testament song; God delivered him from the hurtful sword, upheld him as his ser-\'ant, and Ijrought him off a Conqueror over all the powers of darkness, Isa. xlii. 1.—xlix. 8. To him he gave salvation, not for himself only, but for us, rais-mg him up to Ije a Horn of salvation.

II. He prays for the continuance of God's favour.

1. Tliat he miglit be delivered from the public enemies,'!'. 11. Here he repeats his prayer and plea, X'. 7, 8. His persecutors were still of tne same character, false and perfidious, and who would certainly over-reach an honest man, and be too hard for him; "Therefore, Y.oyA, Ao \.\\on deliver me from them, for tliey are a strange sort of people."

2. That he might see the public peace and prosperity ; "Lord, let us have victory, that we may have quietness; which we shall never have while our enemies have it in their power to do us mischief." Da\id, as a king, here speaks the earnest desire he had of the welfare of his people; wherein he was a type of Christ, who provides effectually for the good of his chosen. W'e have here,

(1.) The particular instances of that public prosperity which Da\id desired for his people.

[1.] A hopeful progeny; (x'. 12.) " That our sons and our daughters maybe in all respects such as we could wish." He means not those only of his own family, but those of his subjects, that are the seed of the next generation. It adds much to the comfort and happiness of parents in this woi'ld, to see their cliildren promising, and likely to do well. First, It is pleas:int to see our sons as plants grown u/i in their youth, as olive plants, (cxxviii. 3.) the /ilanting of the Lord; (Isa. Ixi. 3.) to see them as plants, not as weeds, not as thorns; to see them as plants growing great, not withered and blasted; to see them of a healthful constitution, a quick capacity, a towardlvdisjjosi^-ion, and especially of a pious inclination, likely to bring forth fruit unto' God in their day; tosectlicm/w ^/2w-!/o?;r//,their growing time, increasing in every tiling that is good, growing wiser and better, till thev grow strorjg in spirit. Secondly, It is no less desirable to see our daughters as comer-stones, or corner-pillars, poli.shed after the similitude of a palace or temple. Bv dauL-hters families are united and connected, to tluir mutual strength, as the parts of a building are by the conier-stones; and when they are graceful and beautiful both in body and mind, they are then ])olished aft..-r the similtudeof a nice and curious structure, ^^'hen we see our daughters well established and stayed with wisdom and discretion, as corner-stones are fastened in the building, when we see them by faith united to Christ, as the chief Conier-stone, adorned with the graces of God's S))irit, which are the j)or!shing of that which is naturally nmgh, and becomenvomen professing godliness, when we see them purified and consecrated to God as living temples, we think ourselves happy in them

[2.] Great plenty. Numerous families increase the care, perhaps more than the comfort, where there is not sufficient for their maintenance; and therefore he prays for a gi'owing estate with a growing family. First, That their store-houses might be well replenished with the fi-uits and products of the earth; That our garners may be full,Wke those of the good householder, who brings out of them

PSALMS, CXLV.

6?!

things new and old; those things that are best new, he has in that state; those that are best when they are kept, he has in that state; that we may have in them all manner of stores, for ourselves and our friends; that, living plentifully, we may live not luxuriously, for then we abuse our plenty, but cheerfully and usefully; that, having abundance, we may be thankful to God, genei'ous to our friends, and charitable to the poor; otherwise, what profit is it to have our garners full? Jam. v. 3. Secondly, That their flocks might greatly increase; That our sheefi may bring forth thousands, and ten thousands, in our folds. Much of the wealth of their country consisted in their flocks; (Prov. xxN-ii. 26.) and of Jurs too, else wool would not be, as it is, a staple Commodity. The increase of cur cattle is a blcss-3ig in which God is to be acknowledged. Thirdly, That their beasts designed for senace might be fit for it; That our oxen may be strong to labour in the plough; that they may be fat and Jieshy, so some; in good working case. We were none of us made to be idle, and therefore we should pray for bodily health, not that we may be easy and take our pleasures, but that we may be strong to labour, that we may do the work of our place and day, else we are worse than the beasts; for when the}' are strong, it is for labour.

[3.] An unintemipted peace. First, That there be no war; no breaking in of invaders, 720 going out of deserters. Let not our enemies bi'euk in upon us; let us not have occasion to march out against them. War brings with it abundance of mischiefs, whether it be offensive or defensive. Secondly, That there be no oppression or faction, 720 comfilaining in our streets; that the people may have no cause to complain, either of their government or of one another; nor may be so peevish as to complain without cause. It is desirable thus to dwell in quiet habitations.

(2.) His reflection upon this description of the prosperity of the nation which he so much desired; {y. 15.) Hapfiy are the fieofile that are in such a case; but it is seldom so, and never long sc; yea, ha/i/iy are the fieo/ile whose God is the Lord. The relation of a people to God as theirs, is here spoken of, either, [1.] As that which is the fountain whence all those blessings flow. Happv are the Israelites, if they faithfully adhere to tlie Lord as their God, for they may expect to be in such a case. National piety commonly brings national prosperity; for nations, as such, in their national capacity, are cupable of rewards and punishments only in this life. Or, [2.] As that which is abundantly preferable to all these enjoyments. The psalmist began to say, as most do, Hafxfiy are the people that are in such a case; they are blessed that prosper in the world; but he immediately corrects himself. Yea, rather, happy are the people whose God is the Lord, who have liis favour and love and grace, according to the tenor of the covenant, though they have not abundance of this world's goods. As all this, and much more, cannot make us happy unless the Lord be our God, so, if he be, the want of this, the loss of this, nay, the reverse of this, cannot make us miserable.

PSALM CXLV.

The five foreisfoing psalms were all of a piece, all full of prayers; this, and the five that follow it to the end of the book, are all of a piece too, all full oC praises; and though this only is entitled DavicTs psalm, 3-et we have no reason to think but that they were all his, as well as all the foregoing prayers. And it is observable,!. That after five psalms of prayer, follow six psalms of praise; for those that are much in prayer, shall not want matter for praise; and those that have sped in prayer, must abound in praise. Our thanksgivings for mercy, when we have received it, should even exceed our supplications for it, when we were in pursuit of it. David, in the last of his besrging psalms, had promised to praise God, (csliv. 9.) and here

he performs his promise. 5. That the book of Psalms concludes with psahiis of praise, all praise, for praise is the conclusion of the whole matter, it is that in which all the psalms centre. And it intimates, that God's people, toward the end of their life, should abound muuii in praise, and the rather, because, at the end of their life, they hope to remove to the world of everlasting praise; and the nearer they come to heaven, the more they should accustom themselves to the work of heaven. This is one of those psalms which are composed alphabetically, (as Ps. XXV. and xxxiv, ice.) that ii might be the more easily committed to memory, and kept in mind. The Jewish writers justly extol this psalm as a star of the first magnitude in this bright constellation; and some of them have an extravagant saying concerning it, not much unlike some of the popish superstiiioiis. That whosoever will sing this psalm constantly three times a daj, shall certainly be happy in the world to come. In this psalm, I. David engages himsell'and others to praise God, V. 1, 2, 4. . 7, 10 . . 12. II. He lastens upon those things that are proper matter for praise; God's greatness, (v. 3.) his goodness, (v. 8, 9.) the proofs of both in the administration of his kingdom, (v. 13.) the kingdom of providence, (v. 14..16.) the kingdom of grace; (v. 17 . . 20.) and then he concludes with a resolution to continue praising God, (v. 21.) with which resolution our hearts must be filled, and in which they must be fixed, in singing this psalm.

David's'psalm of pra'se.

1. y WILL extoi thee, my God,0 King;

X. and 1 will bless thy name for ever and

ever. 2. Every day will I bless thee, and

1 will praise thy name for ever and ever.

3. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

4. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

5. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. 6. x\nd meji shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts : and I will declare thy greatness 7. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. 8. The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. 9. The Lord is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works.

The entitling of this, David's psalm of praise, may intimate not only that he was the penman of it, but that he took a particular pleasure in it, and sung it often; it was his companion wherever he went. In the former part of the psalm, God's glorious at-triljutes are praised, as, in the latter part of the psalm, his kmgdom and the administration of it. Observe,

I. WTio shall be employed in giving glory to God.

1. Whatever others do, the psalmist will himself be much in praising God. To this good work he here excites himself, engages himself, and has his heart much enlarged in it. What he does, that he •will do, ha\ing more and more satisfaction in it; it was his duty, it was his delight Observe, (1.) How he expresses the work itself; / will extol thee, and bless thy name; (v. 1.) "I will speak well of thee, as thou hast made thyself known, and will therein express my own high thoughts of thee, and endeavour to raise the like in others." ^^'hen we speak honourably of God, this is graciously interpreted and accepted as an extolling of him. Again, {v. 2.) I will bless thee, I will praise thy name; the repetition intimates the fervency of his affection to this work, the fixedness of his purpose to abound in it, and the frequencv of his performances therein.

PSALMS, CXLV.

Agiini, (v. 5.) Ituhl sfieak of thine honour; and, (y. 6.) / will declare thy greatness. He would give glory to God, not only in his solemn de\^otions, but in his common conversation. If the heart be full of God, out of the abundance of that the mouth will speak, with reverence, to his praise, upon all occasions. What subject of discourse can we find more noble, more copious, more pleasant, useful, and un-r;xceptionable, than the glory of God? (2.) How lie expri.sses his resolution to persevere in it. [1.] He will be constant to this work; Every day will I bless thee. Praising God must be our daily work. No day must pass, though e\er so busy a day, though ever so sorrowful a day, without praising God: we ought to reckon it the most needful of our daily employments, and the most delightful of our daily comforts. God is evcrj- day blessing us, doing well for us; there is therefore reason that we should be every day blessing him, speaking well of him. [2.] He will continue in it; / will bless thee for ever and ever, (y. 1.) and again, v. 2. This intimates, Fi7-st, That he resolved to continue in this work to the end of his life, throughout his ever in this world. Secondly, That the psalms he penned should be made use of in praising God by the church to the end of time, 2 Chron. xxix. 30. Thirdly, That he hoped to be praising God to all eternity in the other world. They that make it their constant work on earth, shall have it their everlasting bliss in heaven.

2. He doubts not but others also would be forward to this work. (1.) " They shall concur in it now; they shall join with me in it; when / declare thy g^reatness, men shall sfieak of it, {v. 6.) they shall abundantly utter it," {v. 7.) ov/wur it out, a's the word is; they shall praise God with a eracirais fluency, better than the most curious oratorv. David's zeal would provoke many, and it has done so. (2.) "They shall keep it up, when I am gone, in an uninten-upted succession; {v. 4.) One geyieration shall praise thy works to another. " The generation that is gone off shall tell them to that which is rising ' up, shall tell what they have seen in their davs, and what they have heard from their fathers; thev shall fully and particularly declare thy mighty acts; (Ixxviii. 3.) and the genei-ation that isVising up shall follow the example of that which is going off; so that the death of God's worshippers shall be no diminution of his worship; for a new generation shall rise up in their room to carry on that good work, ' more or less, to the end of time, when it shall be left to that world to do it in, in which there is no succession of generations. II. What we must gi\e to God the glory of. 1. Of his greatness, and his great works. We must declare, Great is the Lord, his presence infinite, his power irresistible, his brightness insupportable, liis majesty awful, his dominion boundless, and his sovereignty incontestable; and therefore there is no dispute, but Great is the Lord, and, if great, then greatly to be praised, with all that is within us, to the utmost of our power, and with all the circumstances of solemnity imaginable. His greatness indeed cannot be comprehended, for it is unsearchable; who can conceive, or express, how great God is? But then it is so much the more to be praised; when we cannot, by searching, find the bottom, we must sit down at the brink, and adore the deptli, Rom. xi. 33. God is great, for, (1.) His majesty is glorious in the upper world, above the heavens, where he has set his glory; and when we rtre declaring liis greatness, we nnist not fail to s/ieak ■jf the glorious honour of his inajesty, the splendour of the glory of his majesty, v. 5. How bright lie sliines in t)\e upper world, so as to dazzle the eyes of the angels themsehes, and oblige tliem to cover their faces, as unable to bear the lustre of it! (2.)

His works are wondrous in this lower world; the preservation, maintenance, and government, of all the creatures, speak the Creator very great. When therefore we declare his greatness, we must observe the unquestionable proofs of it, and must ded^.re his mighty acts, {y. ^.) sfieak of his wondrous works, {v. 5.) the might of his terrible acts, v. 6. We must see God acting and working in all the af fairs of this lower world; various instruments art-used, but in all events God is the supreme Director; it is he that performs all things. Much of his powei is seen in the operations of his providence; they art-mighty acts, such as cannot be paralleled by the strength of any creature; and much of his justice; they are ternble acts, awful to saints, dreadful tc sinners. These we should take all occasions to speak of, observing the finger of God, his hand, his arm, in all, that we may marvel.

2. Of his goodness; this is his glory, Exod. xxxiii. 19. It is what lie t;lories in, (Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7.) and it is what we must give him the glory of; They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy grea, goodness, v. 7. Ciod's goodness is great goodness, the treasures of it can never be exhausted, nay, they can never be lessened, for he ever will be as rich in mercy as he e\ er was. It is memorable goodness, it is what we ought always to lay before us, always to have in mind, and preserve the memorials of; for it is-worthy to be had in everlasting remembrance: and the memory we have of God*s goodness we should utter, we should abundantly utter, as those who are full of it, very^ full of it, and desire that others may be acquainted and affected with it. But, whenever we utter God's great goodness, we must not forget, at the same time, to sing of his righteousness; for as he is gracious in rewarding those that serve him faithfully, so he is righteous in punishing those that rebel against him. Impartial and inflt xible justice is as surely in God as inexhaustible goodness; and we must sing of both together, Rom. xi. 22.

(1.) There is a fountain of goodness in God's nature; (r. 8.) The Lord is gracious to those that serve him, he is full of compassion to those that need him, slow to anger to those that have offended him, and of great mercy to all that seek him, and sue to him. He is ready to give, and ready to for-give, more ready than we are to ask, than we are to repent.

f 2.) There are streams of goodness in all the dispensations of his providence, v. 9. As he is good, so he does good; he is good to all, to all his creatures, from the highest angels to the meanest worm; to all but devils and damned sinners, that have shut themselves out from his goodness. His tender mercies are over all his works. [1.] All his works, all his creatures, receive the fruits of his merciful care and bounty; it is extended to them all, he hates nothing that he has made. [2.] The works of his mercy outshine all his other works, and declare him more than any of them. In nothing will the glory of God be for ever so illustrious, as in the vessels of mercy ordained to glory. To the divine goodness will the everlasting hallelujahs of all the saints be sung.

10. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord ; and thy saints shall bless thee. 11. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of (hy power; 12. To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. 13. Thy kingdom fs an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion cnrhirrf/i thronghout all generations. 14. The Lord upholdeth all that fail.

PSALMS, CXLV.

62.?

?nd raiseth up all those that be bovved down. 16. The eyes of ail wait upon tliee ; and thou givest them their meat in due season. 16. Thou openest thy hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. 17. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. 13. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. 19. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him : he also will hear their cry, and will save them. 20. The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. 21. My • mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord : and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

The greatness and goodness of him who is o/itimus et maximus — the best and greatest of beings, were celebrated in the former part of the psalm; here, in these verses, we are taught to give him the glory of his kingdom, in the administration of which his greatness and goodness shine so clear, so very bright. Observe, as before,

I. From whom the tribute of praise is expected; (x". 10.) ylll God^s ■7vo}'f:s shall/i7-aise him; they all minister to us matter for praise, and so praise iiim according to their capacity; even tliose that i-efuse to give him honour, he will get him honour upon; but his saints do bless him, not only as they have peculiar blessings fron. him, which other creatures have not, but as they praise him actively, while kis other works praise him only objectively. They bless him, for they collect the rent and tribute of praise from the inferior creatures, and pay it into the treasury above, ylll God's works do/iraise him, as the beautiful building praises the builder, or the well-drawn picture praises the painter; but his saihts bless hmi, as the children ot prudent tender parents rise up and call them blessed. Of all God's works, the saints, the workmanship of his grace, the first-fruits of his creatures, have most reason to bless him.

II. For what this praise is to be given; They shall sfieak of thy kingdom. The kingdom of God among men is a thing to be often thought of, and often spoken of. As, before, he had magnified God's greatness and goodness in general, so, here, he magnifies them with application to his kingdom. Consider then,

1. The greatness of his kingdom; it is great indeed, for all the kings and kingdoms of the earth are under his control. To show the greatness of God's kingdom, he observes, (1.) The pomp of it. Would we by faith look within the veil, we should see, and, believing, we should speak of, the gloi'y of his kingdom, {v. 11.) the glorious majesty q/it, {v. 12.) for he has prepared his tlirone in the heavens, and it is high and lifted up, and surrounded with an innumerable company of angels. The courts of Solomon and Ahasueiiis were magnificent; but, compared with the glorious majesty of God's kingdom, they were but as glow-worms to the sun. The consideration of this should strike an awe upon us in all cur approaches to God. (2.) The power of it; When they sfieak of the glory of God's kingdom, they must talk of his fiower, the extent of it, the efficacy of it, his power, by which he can do any thing, and does every thing he pleases; {y. 11.) and, as a proof of it, let them make known his mighty acts, (y. 12.) that the sons of men may be invited to yield themselves his willing subjects, and so put themselves under the protection of sucli a mighty Poten-

tate. (3.) Thepci-petuityof it, f. 13. The thrones of earthly princes totter, and the flowers of then crowns wither, monarchies come to an err' out. Lord, thy kingdom is a7i everlasting kingdom. God will govern the world to the end of time, when the Mediator, who is now inti-usted with the administra tion of his kingdom, shall deliver it up to God, even the Father, that he may be all in all to eternity. His dominion endures throughout all generations, for he himself is etemal, and his counsels unchangeable and uniform; and Satan, who has set up a kingdom in opposition to him, is conquered and in a chain.

2. The goodness of his kingdom. His royal style and title are, The Lord God, gracious and merci-ful; and his government answers to his title. The goodness of God appears in what he does.

(1.) For all the creatures in general; {y. 15, 16.) ^& provides food for all flesh, and therein appears his everlasting mercy, cxxxvi 25. All the creatures live upon God, and as they had their being from him at first, so from him they have all the supports of their being, and on him they depend for the continuance of it. [1.] The eye of their exp'ic-tation attends upon him; The eyes of all wait on thee. The inferior creatures kideed have not the knowledge of God, nor are capable of it, and yet they are said to wait upo?i God, because they seek their food according to the instinct which the God of nature has put into them, (and they sow not, neither do they reap, Matth. vi. 26.) and because they take wliat the Grd of nature has provided for them", in the time and way that he has appointed, and are content with it. [2.] The hand of his bounty is stretched out unto them; Thou givest them their meat in due season; the meat proper for them, and in the prf;pcr time, when they need it; so that none of the creatures, ordinarily, perish for want of food, no not in tlie winter. Thou openest thy hand {reely and liberally, a7id satisfiest the desire of every living thing; except some of the unreasonable children of men, that will be satisfied with nothing, but are still complaining, still crying. Give, give.

(2.) For tlie children of men in particular, whom he governs as reasonable creatures.

[1.] He docs none of them any wrong, for, (y. 17. ) The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and not unrighteous in any of them; he is holy, and acts like himself, with a perfect rectitude m all his works. In all the acts of government he is just, injurious to none, but administering justice to aH. The ways of the Lord are equal, though ours are unecjual. In giving laws, in deciding controversies, in recompensing services, and punishing offences, he is incontestably just, and we are bound to own it.

[2.] He does all of them good, his own people in a special manner. Fiist, He supports those that are sinking, and it is his honour to help the weak, v. 14. He upholds all that fall, in that, though they fall, they are not utterly cast down. Many of the children of men are brought very low by sickness and other distresses, and seem ready to drop ™|^™ into the grave, and yet Providence wonderfully up- ^H holds them, raises them up, and says. Return, xc. ^|

3. If all had died, who once seemed dying, the worlel would have been very thin. Many of the children of God, who have been ready to fall into sin, to fall into despair, have experienced his goodness in preventing their falls, or recovering them speedily by his graces and comforts, so that, though they fell, they were not utterly cast down, xxxvii. 24. If those who are bowed down by oppression and affliction, be raised up, it was God that raised them. And with respect to all those that are heavy-laden under the burthen of sin, if they come to Christ by faith, he will ease them, he will raise

&24

PSALMS, CXLVl.

thi:in. Secondly, He is very ready to hear and answer the prayers of his people, v. 18, 19. In this appears the grace of his kingdom, that his subjects lii've not only liberty of petitioning, but all the encouragement that can be to petition. 1. The grant is very rich, that God will be 7ngfi to all that call %ipon him; he will be always within call of thtir prayers, and they shall always find themselves within reach of his help. If a neighbour tliat is near is better than a brother afar off, (Prov. xxvii. 10.) much more a God that is near. Nay, he will not only be 7tigh to them, that they may have the satisfaction of being heard, but he will fulfil their desires; they shall have what they ask, and find what they seek. It was said, {v. 16.) that he satisfies the desire of every living thing; much more ivill he fulfil the desire of them that fear him; for he that reeds his birds will net starve his babes. He ivill hear their call, ajid will save them; that is, hearing them to purpose, as he heard David, that is, saved himfrom the hoiii of the unicorn, xxii. 21. 2. The proviso is very reasonable; he will hear and help us, (1.) If WQ fear him, if we worship and serve him with a holy aAve of him; for, otherwise, how can we expect that he should accept us? (2.) If we call u/ion him in truth; for he desires that in the inward part. We must be faithful to God, and sincere in our professions of dependence on him, and devotedncss to him. In all devotions, inward /mpressions must be answeraljle to the outward expressions, else they are not performed in truth. (3.) He takes Mf7?T under his special protection who have a confidence and complacency in him, v. 20. The Lord preserves all them that love hi7n; they lie exposed in this world, but he, by preserving them in their integrity, will effectually secui'e them, that no real evil shall befall them.

3. If any are destroyed, they may thank themselves; All the wicked he will destroy, but they have, by their wickedness, fitted themselves for destruction. This magnifies his goodness in the protection of the righteous, that with their eyes they shall see the reward of the wicked, (xci. 8.) and God will, by this means, preserve his people, even by destroying the wicked that would do them a mischief.

Lastly, The psalmist concludes, (1.) With a resolution to give glory to God himself; {v. 21.) My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord. When we have said what we can, in praising God, still there is more to be said, and therefore we must not only begin our thanksgivings with this pui-pose, as he did, {y. 1.) but conclude them witli it, as he does here, because we shall presently have occasion to begin again. As the end of one niercy is the beginning of another, so should the end of our thanksgiving be. While I have breath to draw, my mouth shall still speak God's praises. (2.) With a call to others to do so too; Let all flesh, all mankind, bless his holy name for ever and eve7: Some of mankind shall be blessing God for ever; it is pity but that they should be all so engaged.

PSALM CXLVL

This, and all the rest of the psalms that follow, bewin and end with Hallelnjjah, a vvord which puts much ol God's praise into a little compass; for in it we praise him by his name Jah, the contraction of Jehovah. In this excellent psalm of praise, I. The psalmist engages himself to praise God, v. 1, 2. II. He engages others to trust in him, which is one necessary and acceptable way of praising him. 1. He shows why we should not trust in men, V. 3, 4. 2. Why we should trust in God, v. 5. Because of his power in the kingdom of nature, (v. 6.) his dominion in the kingdom of providence, (v. 7.) and his grace in the kingdom of the Messiah, (v. 8, 9.) that everlasting kingdom, (v. 10.) to which many of the Jewish writers refer this psalm, and to which therefore we should nave an eye in the singing of it.

l.T>RAISE ye the Lord. Praise the Jl Lord, O my soul. 2. While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while T have any being. 3. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. 4. His breath goeth forth, he retmneth to his earth, in that veiy day his thoughts perish.

David is supposed to have penned this psalm; and he was himself a prince, a mighty prince; as such, it might be thouglit,

1. That he should be exempted trcm the service of praising God, that it was enough for him to see that his priests and peejile did it, but that he needed not to do it liimself in his own person. Michal thought it a disparagement to him to dance before the ark; but he was so far from being of this mind, that he will himself be first and foremost in the work, V. 1, 2. He thinks his dignity is so far from excusing him from it, tliat it rather obliged him to lead in it; and that it was so far from lessening him, that it really magnified him; there fore he stirs up himself to it, and to make a business of it; Praise the Lord, O my soul; and resolves to abide by it; "I will praise him with my heart, I will sing praises to hun with my mouth. Herein I will have an eye to him as the Lord, infinitely blessed and glorious in himself, and as my God, m covenant with me." Then praise is most pleasant, when, in praising God, we have an eye to him as ours, whom we have an interest in, and stand in relation to. "This I will do constantly while I live, every day of my life, and to my life s end; nay, I will do it while I have any being, for when I have no being on earth, I hope to have a being in heaven, a better being, to be doing it better. That which is the great end of our being, ought to be our great employment and delight while we have any being; "In thee must cur time apd powers be spent."

2. It might be thought that he himself, having been so great a blessing to his country, should be adored, according to the usage of the heathen na tions, who deified their heroes; that they should all come and trust in his shadow, and make him their stay and strong hold. "No," says David, ''Put not your trust i?i princes, {v. 3.) not in me, nor in any other; do not repose your confidence in them, do not raise your expectations from them. Be not too sure of their sincerity, some have thought they knew better how to reign by knowing how to dissemble; be not too sure of their constancy and fidelity, it is possible they may both change their minds and breaK their words." But though we suppose them wise and good as David himself, yet we must not be too sure of their ability and continuance, for they are sons of Adam, weak and mortal. There is indeed a Son of man in whom th(!re is help, in whom there is salvation, and who will not fail those that trust in him. But all other sons of men are like the man they are sprung of, who, being in honour, did not abide.

(1.) We cannot be sure of their ability; evt~n the power of kings may be so straitened, cramped, and weakened, that they may not be in a cj»i)acity to do that for us which we expect. David h mself owned, (2 Sam. iii. 39.) / «;« this day wtak, though anointed king. So that in the son of man there ia often no help, no salvation; he is at a loss, at his wit's end, as a man astonished, and then, though a mighty man, he cannot save, Jer. xiv. 9.

(2.) We cannot be sure of their continuance. Suppose he has it in his power to help us while he lives, yet he may be suddenly taken oft" when we

PSALMS, CXLVl.

625

expect most from him; {v. 4.) His breath goeth forth, so it does every moment, and comes back again, but that is an mtimation that it will shortly 1,0 for good and all, and then he returns to his earth. ^( he earth is his, in respect of his original as a man, the earth out of which he was taken, and to which therefore he must return, according to the sentence, Gen. hi. 19. It is his, if he be a worldly man, in respect of choice, his earth which he has chosen for his portion, and on the things of which he has set his affections. He shall go to his own place. Or I'ather, it is his earth, because of the property he has in it; and, though he has had large possessions on earth, a grave is all that will remain to him. IVie earth God has give?! to the children of men, and great striving there is about it, and, as a mark of their authority, menca// their lands by their own names. But, after a while, no pai't of the earth will be their own, but that in which the dead body shall make its bed, and that shall be theirs while the earth remains. But when he returns to his earth, in that very day his thoughts perish; all the projects and designs he had of kindness to us, vanish and are gone; and he cannot take one step further in them; all his purposes are cut off and buried with him. Job xvii. 11. And then what comes of our expectations from him? Princes are mortal, as well as other men, and therefore we cannot have that assurance of help from them, which we may have from that Potentate who hath immortality. Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils, and will not be there long.

5. Happy is he that hnth the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God; 6. Which made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein w; which keep-eth truth for ever; 7. Which executeth judgment for the oppressed; which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners. 8. The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous. 9. The Lord preserveth the strangers, he reheveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turn-8th upside down. 10. The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.

The psalmist, having cautioned us not to tnist in princes, (because, if we do, we shall be miserably disappointed,) here encourages us to put our confidence in God, because, if we do so, we shall be happily secured. Hafifiy is he that has the God of Jacob for his Help, that has an interest in his attributes and promises, and has them engaged for him; and whose hope is in the Lord his God. Those shall have God for their Help, 1. Who take him for their God, and serve and worship him accordingly. 2. Who have their hope in him, and live a life of dependence upon him; who have good thoughts of him, and encourage themselves in him, when all other supports fail. E\ery believer may look upon him as tlie God of Jacob, of the church in general, and therefore may expect relief from him, in reference to public distresses, and as his God in particular, and therefore may depend upon him in all fiersonal wants and straits. We must hope, (1.) n the providence of God, for all the good things we need, which relate to the life that now is. (2.) In the grace of Christ, for all the good things which relate to the life that is to come. To this especially the learned Dr. Hammond refers this and the fol-

VoL. III.—4 K

lowing verses, looking upon the latter pait of this psalm to have a most visible remarkable aspect toward the eternal Son of God in his incarnation. He quotes one of the rabbins, who says of v. 10. that it belongs to the days of the Messiah. And that it does so, he thinks will appear by comparing v. 7, 8. with the characters Christ gives of the Messiah; (Matth. xi. 5, 6.) The blind receive their sight, the lame walk; and the closing words there, Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me, he thinks may very well be supposed to refer to v. 5. Happy is the Tnan that hopes in the Lord his God, and who is not offended in him.

Let us take a view of the mighty encouragements here given us to hope in the Lord our God.

1. He is the Maker of the world, and therefore has all power in himself, and the command of the powers of all the creatui'es, which, being derived trom him, depend upon him; {y. 6.) He made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and thei'efore his arm is not shortened, that it cannot save. It is very applicable to Christ, by whom God made the world, and without whom was not any thi7ig ?nade that was made. It is a great support to faith, that the Redeemer of the world is the same that was the Creator of it, and therefore has a goodwill to it, a perfect knowledge of its case, and power to help it.

2. He is a God of inviolable fidelity. We may venture to take God's word, for he keepeth truth for eiier, and therefore no word of his shall fall to the ground; it is true fro7n the begimiing, t nd therefore time to the e?id. Our Lord Jesus is the Amen, the faithful Witness, as well as the Le-gimiing, the Author and Principle, of the creation of God, Rev. iii. 14. The keeping of Gcd's truth for ever is committed to him, for all the promises are in him yea and amen.

3. He is the Patron of injured innoce7icy; He pleads the cause of the oppressed, and (as we read it) he executes judgment for them. He often doc s it in his providence, righting those that suffer wrrng, and clearing up their integritv; he will do it in the judgment of the great day. The Messiah came to rescue the children of men out of the hands of Satan the great oppressor, and, all judgment being committed to him, the executing of judgment upon persecutors is so among the rest, Jude 15.

4. He is a bountiful Benefactor to the necessitous; He gives food to the hungry; so God does in an ordinary way for the answering of the cravings of nature; so he has done sometimes in an extraordinary way, as when ravens fed Elijah; so Christ did more than once, when he fed thousands miraculously with that which was intended but for one meal or two for his own family; this encourages to hope in him as the Nourisher of our souls with the bread ofhfe.

5. He is the Author of liberty to those that were bound; The Lord looseth the prisoners. He brought Israel out of the house of bondage in Egypt, and afterward in Babylon. The miracles Christ wrought, in making the dumb to speak, and the deaf to hear, with that one word, Ephphatha, Be opened, his cleansing of lepers, and so discharging them from their confinement, and his raising the dead out oi their graves, may all be included in this one cf loosing the prisoners; and we may take encouragement from those, to hope in him for that spiritual liberty which he came to proclaim, Isa. Ixi. 1, 2.

6. He gives sight to those that have been Icng deprived of it; The Lord can open the et/es of the blind, and has often given to his afflicted people to see that comfort which before they were not aware of; witness Gen. xxi. 19. and the prophet's servrnt, 2 Kings vi. 17. But this has special reference to Christ; for since the world b gan, was it not heard

PSALMS, CXLVIl.

that any man opened the eyes of one that ivas born blind, till Christ did it, (John ix. 32.) and thereby encouraged us to hope in him for spiritual illumination.

7. He sets that straight that wos crooked, and makes those easy that were pained and ready to sink; he raises them that ai-e bowed down, by comforting and supporting them under their burthens, and, in due time, removing their burthens. This was literally performed by Chnst, when he made a poor woman straight, that had been bowed together, and could in no ivise lift up. herself; (Luke xiii. 12.) and he still does-it by his grace, giving rest to them that were weary and heavy-laden, and raising up with his comforts those that were humbled and cast down by convictions.

8. He has a constant kindness for all good people; The Lord loveth the righteous, and they may, with the more confidence, depend upon his power when they are sure of his good-will. Our Lord Jesus showed his love to the righteous, by fulJiUing all righteousness.

9. He has a tender concern for those that stand in special need of his care; The Lord preserveth the strangers. It ought not to pass without remark, that the name Jehovah is repeated here five times in five lines, to intimate that it is an almighty power (that of Jehovah) that is engaged and exerted for the relief of the oppressed; and that it is as much the glory of God to succour them that are in misery, as it is to ride on the heavens by his name Jah, Ixviii. 4. (1.) Strangers are exposed, and are commonly destitute of friends, but the J^rd preserveth them, that they be not iim down and mined. Many a poor stranger has found the benefit of the divine protection, and been kept alive by it. (2.) iVidoivs and fatherless children, that have lost the head of the family, who took care of the affiiirs of it, often fall into the hands of those that make a prey of them, that will not do them right, nay, that will do them wrong; but the Lord relieveth the7n, and raiseth up friends for them. See Exod. xxii. 22, 23. Our Lord Jesus came into the world to help the helpless, to receive Gentiles, strangers, into his kingdom, and that with him poor sinners, that are as fatherless, may find ?nercy, Hos. xiv. 3.

10. He will appear for the destruction of all those thit oppose his kingdom, and oppress the faitliful subjects of it; the way of the wicked he turneth upside down, and therefore let us hope in him, and not be afraid of the fury of the oppressor, as though he were ready to destroy. It is the glory of the Mes-si ih, that he will subvert all the counsels of hell and earth, that militate against his church, so that, having him for us, we need not fear any thing that can be done against us.

11. His kingdom shall continue through all the revolutions of time, to the utmost ages of eternity, v. 10. Let this encourage us to trust in God at all times, that the Lord shall reign for ever, in sjiite of all the malignity of the powers of darkness, even thy God, 0 Zion, unto all generations. Christ is set King on the holy hill of Zion, and his kingdom shall continue in an endless glory. It cannot be destroyed by an invader, it shall not be left to a successor, either to a succeeding monarch, or a succeeding monarchy, but it shall stand for even It is matter of unspeakable comfort, that the Lord reigns as Zion's God, as Zion's King, that the Messiah is Head over all things to the church, and will be so while the world stands.

PSALM CXLVIl.

This is another psalm of praise: some Ihink it was penned afler the return of the Jews from their captivity: but it is so much of apiece with Ps. cxlv. that I rather think it was penned by David, and what is said, v. 2, 13. may Tell enough be applied to the first building and fortifying

of Jerusalem in his time, and the gathering in of those that L^^ jetn outcasts in Saul's time. The Septuasinf divides it into two; and we may divide it into the first and second part, but both of the sam'' .mport. I. AVe I are calleJ upon lo praise God, V. 1, ., 12. II. Wearefui j nishedwunniatter for praise, for God is to be glorified, 1 As the God of nature, and so he is very great, v. 4, 5, f I 9, 15.. 18. 2. As the God of grace, comforting his peo-I pie, V. 3, 6.. 11. 3. As the God of Israel, Jerusalem, and Zion, settling their civil state, (v. 2, 13, 14.) and especially settling religion among them, v. 19, 20. It is easy, in singing this psalm, to apply it to ourselves, both as to personal and national mercies, were it but as easy to do it with suitable afiections,

1. T^R AISE ye the Lord : for it is good to 3l sing praises unto our God ; lor it is

pleasant; and praise is comely. 2, The Lord doth build up Jerusalem : he gather-eth together the outcasts of Israel. 3. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. 4. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. 5. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding w infinite. 6. The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground. 7. Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God; 8. Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who preparcth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. 9. He giveth to the beast his food, and to the yoimg ravens which cry. 10. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse; he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. 11. The Lord taketh pleasure in ihem that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

Here,

I. The Quty of praise is recommended to us. It is not without reason, that we are thus called to it again and again; Praise ye the Lord, {v. 1.) and again, (t. 7.) Si?ig unto the Lord with thanksgiving, sing praise upon the harp to our God, let all our praises be directed to him, and centre in him; for it IS good to do it; it is our duty, and therefore good in itself; it is our interest, and therefore good for us; it is acceptable to our Creator, and it answers the end of our creation. The law for it is holy, just, and good, the practice of it will turn to a good account. It is good; for, 1. It is pleas;int; holy joy and delight are required as the principle of it, and that is pleasant to us as men; giving glory to God is the design and business of it, and that is pleasant to us as saints that are devoted to his honour. Praising God is work that is its own wages, it i§ heaven upon earth, it is what we should be in, as in our element

2. It is comely, it is that which becomes us as reasonable creatures, much more as people in covenant with God. In giving honour to God, we really do ourselves a great deal of honour.

II. God is recommended to us as the proper Object of our most exalted and enlarged praises, upon several accounts.

1. The care he takes of his chosen people, v. 2. Is Jerusalem to be raised out of small beginnings? Is it to be recovered out of its ruins? In both cases, The Lord builds up Jerusalem. The gospel-church, the Jerusalem that is from above, is of liis building; he framed the model of it in his own counsels, he founded it by the preaching of his gospel, he adds to it daily such as shall be saved, and so increases it.

PSALMS, CXLVIl.

627

fie will build it up unto perfection, build it up as high as heaven. Ai-e any of his people outcasts? Have they made themselves so by their own folly? He gathers them by giving them repentance, and bringing them again into the communion of saints. Have they been forced out by war, famine, or persecution? He opens a door for their return; many that were missing, and thought to be lost, are brought back, and they that were scattered in the cloudy and dark day are gathered together again.

2. The comforts he h;is laid up for true penitents, V. 3. They are broken in heart, and wounded, humbled, and troubled, for sin, inwardly pained at the remembrance of it, as a man is, that is sorely wounded. Their very hearts are not only pricked, Dut rent, under the sense of the dishonour they have done to God, and the injury they have done to themselves, by sin. To those whom God heals with the consolations of his Spirit, he speaks peace; assures them that their sins are pardoned, and that he is reconciled to them, and so makes them easy, pours the balm of Gilead into their bleeding wounds, and then binds them up, and makes them to rejoice. They who have had experience of this need not be called upon to praise the Lord, for, when he brought them out of the horrible pit, and set their feet ufion a rock, \\eput a new song in their moutJis, xl. 2, 3. And, for this, let others praise him also.

3. The sovereign dominion he has over the lights of heaven, v. 4, 5. The stars are innumerable, many of them being scarcely discernible with the naked eye, and yet he counts them, and knows the exact number of them, for they are all the work of his hands, and the instniments of his providence; their bulk and power are very great, but he calkth them all by their names, which bespeaks his dominion over them, and the command he has them at, to make what use of them he pleases. They are his servants, his soldiers, he musters them, he marshals them, they come and go at his bidding, and all their motions are under his direction. He mentions this as one instance of many, to show that great is our Lord, and of great power; he can do what he ])leases, and of his understanding there is no co/n-putation, so that he can contrive every thing for the best. Man's knowledge is soon drained, and you have his utmost length; hitherto his wisdom can reach, and no farther; but God's knowledge is a depth that can never be fathomed.

4. The pleasure he takes in humbling the proud and exalting them of low degi'ee; (f. 6.) The Lord lifts up the meek, who abase themselves before him, and whom men trample on; but the wicked, who carry it insolently toward God and scornfully toward all mankind, who lift up themselves m pride and folly, he casteth down to the ground, sometimes by very humbling providences in this world, at furthest in the day when their faces shall be filled with everlasting shame. God proves himselt to be God, by looking on the proud, and abasing them. Job xl. 12.

5. The provision he makes for the inferior creatures. Though he is so great as to command the stars, he is so good as not to forget even the fowls, V. 8, 9. Observe in what method he feeds man and beast. (1.) He covereth the heaven with clouds, which darken the air, and intercept the beams of the sun, and yet in them he prepareth that rain for the earth which is necessary to its fruitfulness. Clouds look melancholy, and yet without them we could have no rain, and consequently no fmit. Thus afflictions, for the present, look black, and dark, and impleasant, and we are in liea\iness because of them, as sometimes, when the sky is overcast, it makes us dull; but they are necessary, for from these clouds of affliction come those showers that make the harvest to yield the perceable fruits of

righteousness, (Heb. xii. 11.) which should help to reconcile us to them. Observe the necessary dependence which the earth has upon the heavens, which directs us en eaitli to depend on God in heaven. All the rain, with which the earth is watered, is Ov God's preparing. (2.) By the rain which distils on the earth, he ?nakes grass to grow upon the Tnountains, even the high mountains, which man neither takes care of, nor reaps the benefit of. The mountains, which are not watered with the springs and rivers, as the vallies are, are yet watered so that they are not barren. (3.) This grass he gives to the beast for his food, the beasts of the mountains, which run wild, which man makes no provision for. And even the young ravens, which, being forsaken by their old ones, c7-y, are heaixl by him, and ways are found to feed them, so that they are kept from perishing in the nest.

6. The complacency he takes in his people, v. 10, 11. In times when great things are doing, and there are great expectations of the success of them, it concerns us to know (since the issue proceeds from the Lord) whom, and what, God will delight to honour and crown with victory. It is not the strength of armies, but the strength of grace, that God is pleased to own. (1.) Not the strength of armies; not in the cavalry,_/br he delighteth not in the strength of the horse, the war-horse, noted for his courage; (Job xxxix. 19, &c.) nor in the infantry, for he taketh no pleasure in the legs of a man; he does not mean the swiftness of them for flight, to quit the field, but the steadiness of them for charging, to stand the ground. If one king, making war with another king, goes to God to pray for success, it will not avail him to plead, " Lord, I have a gallant army, the horse and foot in good order, it is pity that they should suffer any disgrace;" for that is no argument with God, Ps. xx. 7. Jehoshaphat's was much better. Lord, we have no might, 2 Chron. xx. 12. But, (2.) God is pleased to own the strength of grace; a serious and suitable regard to God, is that which is, in the sight of God, of great price in such a case. The Lord accepts of, and takes pleasure in, those that fear him, ana that hope in his mercy. Observe, [ 1. ] A holy fear of God and hope in God, not only may consist, but must ( oncur. In the same heart, at the same time, there must be both a reverence of his majesty, and a complacency in his goodness; both a believing dread of his wrath, and a believing expectation of his favour. Not that we must hang in suspense between hope and fear, but we must act under the gracious influences of hope and fear. Our fear must save our hope from swelling into presumption, and ovir hope must save our fear from sinking into despair; thus must we take our work before us. [2.] We must hope in God's mercy, his general mercy, even then when we cannot find a particular promise to stay ourselves upon. A humble confidence in the goodness of God's nature is very pleasing to him, as that which turns to the glory of that attribute which he most glories in. Every man of honour loves to be trusted.

12. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. 13. For he hath strengtn-eiied the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee. 14. He maketh peace in thy borders, and fiUeth thee vvitr the finest of the wheat. 15. He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly. 16. He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes. 17. He casteth forth his ice Uke morsels: who can stand before his coW

PSAl^iMS, CXLVIl.

13. He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow. 19. He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto fsrael. 20. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for A/s judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lokd.

Jerasalem, and Zion, the hcly city, the holy hill, are here called upon to praise God, -v. 12. For v/here should praise be offered up to God, but wliere his altar is? Where may we expect that glory should be given to him, but in the beauty of holiness? Let the inhabitants of Jerusalem praise the Lord in their own houses; let tlic priests and Le-vites, who attend in Zion, the city of their solemnities, in a special inanner, praise the Lord. They have more cause to do it than others, and they lie under greater obligations to do it than others; for it is their business, it is their profession. ''Praise thy God, 0 Zion: he is thine, and therefore thou art bound to praise him; his being thine includes all happiness, so that thou canst never want matter Cor praise."

Jerusalem and Zion must praise God,

L For the prosperity and flourishing estate of their civil interests, i'. 13, 14. 1. For the common safety; they had gates, and kept their gates barred in times of danger; but that would not have been an effectual security to tliem, if God had not strengthened the bars of their gates, and fortified their fortifications. The most probable means we can devise for our own preservation will not answer the end, unless God give his blessing with them; we must, therefore, in the careful and diligent use of those means, depend upon him for that blessing, and attribute the undisturbed repose of rur land, more to the wall of fire, than to the wall of water, round about us, Zech. ii. 5. 2. For the increase of their people; this strengthens the bars of the gates as Wmch as any thing; He hath blessed thy children within thee, with that first and great blessing, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the land. It IS a comfort to parents to see their children blessed of the Lord, (I^a. Ixi. 9.) and a comfort to the generation that is going off, to see the rising generation numerous and hopeful; for which blessing God must be blessed. 3. For the public tranquillity, that they were delivered from tlie terrors and desolations of war; He maketh peace in thy borders, by putting an end to the wars that were, and preventing the wars that were threatened and feared. He makes peace within thy borders, in all parts of the country, by composing differences among neighbours, that there may De no intestine broils and animosities; and upon thy borders, that they may not be attacked l)y invasions from abroad. If there be trouble any where, it is in the borders, the marches of a country, the frontier-towns lie most exposed, so that if tViere be peace in the borders, there is a universal peace, a mercy we can never be enough thankful for. 4. For great plenty, the common effect of peace; Yicjilleth thee with the finest of the wheat; wheat, the most valuable grain, the tat, the finest of that, and a fulness thereof. What would they more? Canaan abounded with the best wheat, (Deut. xxxii. 14.) and exported it to the countries abroad, as appears, Rzek. xxvii. 17. The land of Israel was not enriched with precious stones or spices, but with the finest of the wheat, with bread, which strengthens man's heart; that made it the glory of all lands, and for that God was praised in Zion.

II. For the wonderful instances of his power in the weaifier, particularly the winter-weather; he that protects Zion and Jenisalcm is that God of

power from whom all the powers of nature are derived, and en whom they depend, and who produces all the changes of the seasons, which, if tney were not commcn, would astonish us.

1. In general, whatever alterations there are in this lower world, (and it is that world that is subject to continual changes,) they are produced by the will, and power, and providence, of God; {y. 15.) He sendeth forth his commandments u/ioji earth, as one that has un incontestable authonty to give orders, and innumerable attendants ready to carry his orders, and put them in execution. As the world was at first made, so it is still upheld and governed, by a word of almighty power; God speaks, and it is done, for all are his scnants. That word takes effect, not only surely, but speedily; his word runneth very swiftly, for nothing can oppose or retard it. As the lightning, which passes through the air in an instant, such is the word of God's providence, and such the word of his grace, when it is sent forth with commission, Luke xvii. 24. Angels, who cany his word, and fulfil it, fly swiftly, Dan. ix. 21.

2. In particular, frosts and thaws are both of them wonderful changes, and in both v>re must acknowledge the word of his power.

(1.) Frosts are from God; with him are the treasures of the snow a7id the hail, (Job xxxviii. 22, 23.^ and out of these treasures he draws as he pleases [l.] He giveth snow like wool; it is compared to wool for its whiteness, (Isa. i. 18.) and its softness; it falls silently, and makes no more noise than the fall of a lock of wool, it covers the earth, and keeps it warm like a fleece of wool, and so promotes its fruitfulness. See how God can work by contraries, and bring meat out of the eater, can warm the earth with cold snow. [2.] He scattereth the hoar-frost, which is dew congealed, as the snow and hail are rain .congealed; this looks like ashes scattered upon the grass, and is sometimes prejudicial to the products of the earth, and blasts them as if it were hot ashes, Ps. Ixxviii. 47. [3.] He casteth forth his ict like morsels, which may be understood either of large hail-stones, which are as ice in the air, or of the ice which covers the face of the waters, and when it is broken, though naturally it was as drops of drink, is now as morsels of meat, or crusts of bread. [4.] When we see the frost, and snow, and ice, we feel it in the air; Who can stand before his cold? The beasts cannot, they retire into dens, (Job xxxvii. 8.) they are easily conquered then, 2 Sam. xxiii. 20. Men cannot, but are forced to take the benefit of fires, or furs, or both, and all little enough where and when the cold is in extremity. We see n't the causes when we feel the effects; and therefore we must call it his cold, it is of his sending, and therefore we must bear it patiently, and be thankful for warm houses, and clothes, and beds, to reheve us against the rigour of the season, and must give him the glory of his wisdom and sovereignty, his power and faithfulness, which appear in the winter-weather, which sh;dl not cease more than summer, Gen. viii. 22. And let us also infer from it, If we cannct stand before the cold of his frosts, how can we stand before the heat of his wrath''

(2.) Thaws are from God; when he pleases, (v, 18.) he sendeth out his word, and melteth them; the frost, the snow, the ice, are all dissolved quickly, in order to which he causes the wind, the south wind, to blow, and the waters, which were frozen, fl'>w again as they did beff're. We are scon sensible of the change, but we see not the causes of it, but must resolve it into the will of the First Cause. And in it we must take notice, not only of the power of God, that he can so suddenly, so inscnsilily, make such a great and universal alteration in the temper of tht: air, and the face of the earth; (what cannot he do, that doeth this every winter, perhaps often even'

PSALMS, CXLVIII.

629

winter?) but also of the goodness of God; hard weather does not always continue, it would be sad if it should; he does not contend for ever, but renews the face of the earth. As he remembered Noah, and released him, (Gen. viii. 1.) so he remembers the earth, and his covenant with the earth. Cant. ii. 11, 12. This thawing word may represent the gospel of Christ, and this thawing wind the Spirit of (Mirist, (for the Spirit is compared to tlie wind, John iii. 8 ) both ai-e sent for the melting of frozen souls; (converting grace, like the thaw, softens the heart Ihat was hard, moistens it, and melts it into tears of repentance; it warms good affections, and makes them to flow, which, before, were chilled and stopped up. The change which the thaw makes is universal, and yet gradual; it is very evident, and yet how it is done is unaccountable: such is the change wrought in the conversion of a soul, when Gcd's word and Spirit are sent to melt it, and restore it to itself.

III. For his distinguishing favour to Israel, in giving them his word and ordinances, a much more valuable blessing than their peace and plenty, {xk 14.) as much as the soul is more excellent than the body. Jacob and Israel had God's statutes and judgments among them; they were under his peculiar government, the municipal laws of their nation were of his framing and enacting, their constitution was a theocracy; they had the benefit of di\ine revelaticn, the great things of God's law were written to them; they had a priesthood of divine institution for all things pertaining to God, and prophets for all extraordinary occasions. No people besides went ujjon sure grounds in their religion. Now this was, 1. A pre\ enting mercy; they did not find out God's statutes and judgments of themselves, but God showed his word unto Jacob, and by that word he made known to them his statutes and Judgments. It is a great mercy to any people to have the word of God among them; faith comes by hearing and reading that word, that faith without which it is impossible ti please God. 2. A distinguishing mercy, and upon that account the moi-e obliging; He hath not dealt so with every nation, not with uiiy nation; and as for his judgments, they have not known them, nor are likely to know them till the Messiah come, and take down the partition-wall between Jew and Gentile, that the gospel may be preached to every creature. Other nations had plenty of outward good things; some nations were very rich, others had pompous powerful princes, and polite literature, but none were blessed with God's statutes and judgments as Israel were; let Israel therefore praise the Lord in the observation of these statutes; Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not to the world? Even so. Father, because it seemed good in thine eyes.

PSALM CXLVIII.

This psalm is a most solemn and earnest call to all the creatures, accordincr to their capacity, to praise their Creator, and to show forth his eternal power and Godhead, the invisible thing^s of which are manifested in the things that are seen. Thereby the psahnist designs to express his great affection to the duty of praise: he is highly satisfied that God is praised, is very desirous that he may be more praised, and therefore does all he can to engage all about him in this pleasant work, yea, and all who "shall come after him, whose hearts must be very deiid and cold, if they be not raised and enlarged, in praising God, by the lofty flights of divine poetry which we find in this psalm. I. He calls upon the higher house, the creatures that are placed in the upper world, to praise the Lord, both those that are intellectual beings, and are capable of doing it actively, (v. 1^2.) and those that are not, and are therefore capableofdomgitonly objectively, V. 3. .6. II. Recalls upon the lower house, the creatures of this lower world, both those that can only minister matter of praise, (v. 7.. 10.) and those that, being endued with reason, lire capable of offering up this sacrifice, (v. 11.. 13.)

especially his own people, who have more cause to do it, and are more concerned to do it, than anv othe. V. 14.

RAISE ye the Lord. Praise ye tho Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights. 2. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. 3. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. 4. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. 5. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created. C. He hath also estab-hshed them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.

We, in this dark and depressed world, know but little of the world of light and exaltation, and, conversing within narrow confines, can scarcely admit any tolerable conceptions of the vast regions above. But this we know,

I. That there is above us a world of blessed angels, by whom God is praised, an innumerable company df them; Thousand thousands minister unto hitn, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before him; and it is his glory that he has such attendants, but much more his glory that he neither needs them, nor is, nor can be, any way benefitted by them. To that bright and happy world the psalmist has an eye here, v. 1, 2. In general, to the heavens, to the heights; the heavens are the heights, and therefore we must lift up our souls above the world, unto God in the heavens, and on things above we must set our affections. It is his desire that God may be praised from the heavens, that thence a praising frame may be transmitted to this world in whicli we live, tliat from the inhabitants of that world wc may learn this blessed work. It is his delight to think that God is praised in the heights; that, while we are so cold, and low, and flat, in praising God, there are those above who are doing it in a better manner, and that, while we are so often inteniipted in this work, they rest not day nor night from it. In particular, he had an eye to God's angels, to his hosts, and calls upon them to praise God. That God's angels are his hosts, is plain enough; as soon as they were made, they were listed, armed, and disciplined; he employs them in fighting his battles, and they keep ranks, and know their place, and observe the word of command as his hosts. But what is meant by the psalmist's calling upon them, and exciting them to praise God, is not so easy to account for. I will not say. They do not heed it; because we find that to the jirinci-fialities and powers is known by the church the manifold wisdom of God; (Eph. iii. 10.) but I will say, They do not need it, for they are continually praising God, and there is no deficiency at all in their performances; and therefore, when, in singing this psalm, we call upon the angels to praise God, (as we did, ciii. 20.) we mean, that we desire Gcd may be praised by the ablest hands and in the best maimer; that we are sure it is fit he should be so; that we are pleased to think he is so; and that we have a spiritual communion with those that dAvell in his house above, and are still praising him; and that we are come by faith, and hope, and holy love, to the irinumerable company of angels, Heb. xii. 22.

IT. That there is above us not only an assembly of blessed spirits, but a system of vast bodies too, and those bright ones, in which God is praised, which m:iy give us occasion (as far as we know any thing of them) to give to God the glory not only of

PSALiMS, CXLVIII.

their beiag, out of their beneficence to mankind. Observe,

1. What these creatures are that thus show us the way in praising God, and, whenever we look up and consider the heavens, furnish us with mattcr for his praises. (1.) There are the sun, moon, and stars, which continually, either day or night, present themselves to our view, as looking-glasses, in which we may see a faint shadow (for so I must call it, not a resemblance) of the glory of him that is the Father of lights, v. 3. The greater lights, the sun and moon, are not too great, too bright, to praise him; and the praises of the lesser lights, the stars, shall not be slighted. Idolaters made the sun, moon, and stars, their gods, and praised them, worshipping and serving the creature, because it is seen, more than the Creator, because he is not seen; but we, who worship the true God, make them only our fellow-worshippers, and call upon them to praise him with us, nay, as Levites to attend us, who, as priests, offer the spiritual sacrifice. (2.) There are the heavens of heavens above the sun and stars, the seat of the blessed; from the vastness and brightness of these unknown orbs abundance of glory redounds to God, for the heavens of heavens are the Lord's, (cxv. 16.) and yet thei/ cannot contain him, 1 Kings viii. 27. The learned Dr. Hammond understands here, by the heavens of heavens, the upper regions of the air, or all the regions of it, as Ps. Ixviii. 33. We read of the heaven of heavens, whence God sends forth his voice, and thai a mighty voice, meaning the thundtr. (3.) There are the waters that be above the heavens, the clouds that hang above in the air, where they are reserved against the day of battle and ivar. Job xxxviii. 23. We have reason to praise God, not only that these waters do not drown the eaith, but that they water it and make it fruitful. The Chaldee paraphrase reads it, Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that depend o/i the word of him which is above the heavens; for the key of the clouds is one of the keys which God has in his hand, wherewith he opens, and none can shut, he shuts, and none can open.

2. Upon what account we are to give God the glory of them; Let them firaise the name of the Lord; let us praise the name of the Lord for them, and observe what constant and fresh matter for praise may be fetched from them. (1.) Because he made them, gave them their powers, and assigned them their places; He commanded them (great as they are) out of nothing, and they were created at a word's speaking. God created, and therefoi'e may command; for he commanded, and so created; his authority must always be acknowledged and acquiesced in, because he once spake witli such authority. (2.) Because he still upholds and preserves them in their beings and posts, their powers and motions; {v. 6.) He hath established them for ever and ever, to the end of time; a short ever, but it is their ever; they shall last as long as there is occasion for them. He hath made a decree, the law of creation, which shall not pass; it was enacted by the wisdom of God, and therefore needs not be altered; by his sovereignty and inviolable fidelity, and therefore cannot be altered. All the creatures that praised God at first for their creation, must praise him still for their continuance. And we have reason to praise him, that they are kept within the bounds of a decree; for to that it is owing that the waters above the heavens have not a second time drowned the earth.

7. Praise the Lord from the earth, ye ch-agons, and all deeps. 8. Fire and hail; inow and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word: 9 Mountams, and all hills; fruitful

trees, and all cedars: 10. Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl: 11. Kings of the earth, and all people ; princes, and all judges of the earth: 12. Both young men and maidens; old men and children : 13. Let them praise the name of the Lord : for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven. 14. He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord.

Considering that this earth, and the atmosphere that sui-rounds it, are the very sediment of the uni verse, it concerns us to inquire after those considerations that may be of use to reconcile us to oui place in it; and 1 know none more likely than this, (next to the visit which the Son of God once made to it,) that even in this world, dark and as bad as it is, God is praised; Praise ye the Lord from the earth, v. 7. As the rays of the sun, which are darted directly from heaven, reflect back (though more weakly) from the earth, so should the praises of God, with which this cold and infected world should be warmed and perfumed.

1. Even those creatures that are not dignified with tile powers of reason are summoned into this concert, because God may be glorified in them, v. 7-' 10. Let the dragons or whales, that sport themselves in the mighty waters, (civ. 26.) dance before the Lord, to his glory, who largely proves his own omnipotence, by his dominion over the leviathan or whale. Job xli. 1, 8cc. All deeps, and their inhabitants, praise God; the sea, and the animals there; the bowels of the earth, and the animals there. Out of the depths God may be praised as well as prayed unto. If we look up mto the atmosphere, we mee' with a great variety of meteors, which, being a kino of new productions, (and some of them unaccountable,) do, in a special manner, magnify the power of the great Creator. There -axe fiery meteors, lightning is fire, and there are other blazes sometimes kindled, which may be so called; there are watery meteors, hail and snow, and the vapours of wliich they are gendered; there are airy meteors, stormy winds; we know not whence they come, ncr whither they go; whence their mighty force comes, nor how it is spent; but this we know, that, be they ever so strong, so stormy, they fulfil God's word, and do that, and no more than he appoints them; and by this Christ showed liimself to have a di\ ine power, that he commanded eveti the winds and the seas, and they obeyed him. Those that will not fulfil God's word, but rise up in rebellion against it, show themselves to be more violent and headstrong than even the stormy winds, for they fulfil it. Take a view of the surface of the earth, {v. 9.) and tneie are presented to our view the exalted grounds, mountains, and all hills; from the barren tops of some of which, and the fruitful tops of others, we may fetch matter for praise; there are the exalted plants, some that are exalted by their usefulness, as the fruitful trees of various kinds, for the fnnts of which God is to be praised; others by their staleli-ness, as all cedars, those trees of the Lord, civ. 16. Cedars, the high trees, are not the fruitfiil trees, yet they had their use evfn in God's temple. Pass we next to the animal kingdom, and tliere we find God glorified, even by the beasts that jiin wild, and all cattle that are tame and in the service of man, v. 10. Nay, even the creeping things are not sunk so low, nor do the fiying fowl soar so high, as not tc be called upon to pravv. the Lord. Much .if the

PSALMS, c:^ix.

631

VI Mlom, power, and goodness, of the Creator, appears in the several capacities and instincts of the cieatures, in the provision made for them, and the uje made of them. When we see all so very strange, and all so very good, surely we cannot but acknow-ledg..' God with wonder and thankfulness.

2. Mucli more, those creatures that are dignified with the powers of reason, ought to employ them in praising God. Kingn of the earth and all fieofile, v. 11, 12. (1.) God is to be glorified in and for these, as in and for the inferior creatures, for their hearts. are in the hand of the Lord, and he makes what ' use he pleases of them. God is to be praised in tlie order and constitution of kingdoms, the /2ars im/ie-rans — the fiart that commands, and the/icrs subdita — the part that is subject; kings of the earth, and all fieofile. It is by him that kings i-eign, and people are subject to them; the princes and judges of the earth have their wisdom and their commission from him, and we, to whom they are blessings, ought to bless God for them. God is to be praised also in the constitution of families, for he is the Founder of them; and for all the comfort of relations, the comfort that parents and children, brothers and sisters, have in each other, God is to be praised. (2.) God is to be glorified by these. Let all manner of persons praise God. [1.] Those of each rank, high and low; the praises of kings, and princes, and judges, are demanded; those on whom God has put honour, must honour him with it; and the power they are intrusted with, and the figure they make in the world, put them in a capacity of Ijriiiging more gloiy to God, and doing him more service, than others. Yet the praises of the people are expected also, and God will graciously accept of them; Christ despised not the hosannas of the multitude. [2.] Those of each sex, young men and maidens, who make merry together, let them turn it into this channel, let the mirth be sacred, that it may be

Sure. [3.] Those of each age; old men must still ring forth this fruit in old age, and not think that either the gravity or the infirmity of their age will excuse them from it; and children too must begin betimes to praise God; even out of the mouths of babes and sucklings this good work is perfected. A good reason is given {y. 13.) why all these sliould praise the name of the Lord, because his narjie alone is excellent, and worthy to be praised; it is a name above every name; no name, no nature, but his, has in it all excellency. His glory is above both the earth and the heaven, and let all the inhabitants both of earth and heaven praise him, and yet acknowledge his name to be exalted far above all blessing and praise.

3. Most of all, his own people, that are dignified with peculiar privileges, must in a peculiar manner give glory to him, v. 14., Observe, (1.) The dignity God has put upon his people, even the dhildren of Israel, typical ot the honour reserved for all true believers, who are God's spiritual Israel. He exalts their horn, their brightness, their plenty, their power. The people of Israel were, in many respects, honoured aoove any other nation, for to them pertained the adoption, the glory, and the covenants, Rom. ix. 4. It was their own honour, that they were a people near unto God, his Segullah, his peculiar treasure; they were admitted into his courts, when a stranger that came nigh must be put to death. They had him nigh to them iji all that which they called upon him for. This blessing is now come upon the Gentiles, through Christ, for they that were afar off, by his blood are made nigh, Eph. ii. 13. It is the greatest honour that can be put upon a man, to be brought near to God, the nearer the better; and it will be best of all, when nearest of all in the kingdom of glory. (2.) The duty God expects from them in consideration of

this; Let those whom God honours, honour him; Praise ye the Lord. Let him be the Praise of all his saints, the Object of their praise; for he is <i Praise to them. He is thy praise, and he is thy God, Deut. X. 21. Some by the horn of his people und* rstand David, as a type of Christ, whom God has exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, who is indeed the Praise of all his saints, and will be so tor ever; for it is through him that they are a people near to God.

PSALM CXLIX.

The foregoin^psalm was a hymn of praise to the Creator this to the Redeemer. It is a psalm of triumph in tht God of Israel, and over the enemies of Israel. Probably, it was penned upon occasion of some victory which Israel was blessed and honoured with. Some conjecture that it was penned wlien David hud taken the strong--liold uf Zion, and settled his government there. But it looks further, to the kingdom of the Messiah, who, in the chariot of the everlasting gospel, goes forth conquering and to conquer. To him, and his graces and glories, we must have an eye, in singing this psalm, which speaks,

I. Abutidance of joy to all the people of God, v. 1 .. 5.

II. Abundance of terror to the proudest of their enemies, V. 6 .. 9.

1. "OR AISE ye the Lord. Sing unto the 3l. Lord a new song, and his praises in the congregation of saints. 2. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. 3. Let them praise liis name in the dance : let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. 4. For the Lord taketh pleasure hi his people : he will beautify the meek witli salvation. 5. Let die saints be joyful in glory : let them sing aloud upon their beds.

We have here,

I. The calls given God's Israel to praise, ylll his works were, in tlie foregoing psalm, excited to praise hhn; but liere his saints in a particular manner are required to l)less him. Observe then,

1. A\'ho are called upon to praise God. Israel in general, the body of the church, (f. 2.) the children of Zion particularly, the inhabitants of that holy hill, who are nearer to God than other Israelites; th^'se that have the word and ordinances of God near them, that are not put to travel far to them, arc justly expected to do more in praising God than ethers. All true Christians may call themselves the children of Zion, for in faith and hope we are come unto mount Zion, Heb. xii. 22. The saints must praise God, saints in profession, saints in power, for this is the intention oi their sanctifica-tion; they are therefore devoted to the glory of God, and renewed by the grace of God, that they may be unto him for a name and a praise.

2. What must be the principle of this praise; and that is, holy joy in God; Let Israel rejoice, and the children of Zion be joyful, and the saints be joyful in glory. Our praises of God should flow from a heart filled with delight and triumph in God's attributes, and our relation to him. Much of the power of godliness in tlie heart consists in making God our chief Jov, and solacing ourselves in him; and our faith in Christ is described by our rejoicing in him. We then give honour to God, when we take pleasure in him. We must be joyful in glory, in him as our Glory, and in the interest we have in him; and let us look upon it as our glory to be of those that rejoice in God.

3. What must be the expressions of the prais'". V\'"e must, by all proper ways, show forth the praises

.32

PS.^MS, CXLTX.

cf God; Si?2g to the Lord. We must entertain curselves, and proclaim his name, by shjcpngpraises unto him, {v. 3.) singing aloud, [v. 5.) for we s-hould sing psalms with all our heait, as those that are not only not ashamed of it, but are enlarged in it. We must sing a new song, newly composed ipon every special occasion; smg with new affec-• ions, which make the song new, though the words hive been used before, and keep them from growing threadbare. Let God be praised in the dance IV, th timbrel and harfi; according to the usage of the Old Testament church very early, (Exod. xv. 20.) where we find Gcd praised with timbrels and dances. They who from hence urge the use of music in I'eligious worship, must by the same rule introduce dancing, for they went together, as in Da-\id'3 dancing before the ark, and Judg. xxi. 21. But whereas many scriptures in the New Testament keep up singing as a gospel-ordinance, none provide for the keeping up of music and dancing; the gospel-canon for psalmody, is, to sing with the spirit and xvith the understanding.

4. What opportunities must be taken for praising God; none must be let slip; but particularly, (1.) We must praise God in public, in the solemn assembly, {y. 1.) in the congregation of sai?its; the more the better, it is the more like heaven. Thus God's name must be owned before the world; thus the service must have a solemnity put upon it, and we must mutually excite one another to it. The principle, end, and design, of our coming together in religious assemblies, is, that we may join together in praising God. Other parts of the service must be in order to this. (2.) We must praise him in private. Let the saints be so transported with their joy in God, as to sing aloud upon their beds, when they awake in the night, full of the praises of God, as David, cxix. 62. When God's Israel are brought to a quiet settlement, let them enjoy that with thankmlnessto God; much more may triie believers, that are entered into God's rest, and find repose in Jesus Christ, sing aloud, for joy of that. Upon their sick-beds, their death-beds, let them sing the praises of their God.

II. The cause given God's Israel for praise. Consider,

1. God's doings for them. They have reason to rejoice in God, to devote themselves to his honour, and employ themselves in liis service; for it is he that made them. He gave us our being as men, and we have reason to praise him for that, for it is a noble and excellent being. He gave Israel their being as a people, as a church; made them what they were, so much different from other nations; let that people therefore praise him, for he formed them for himselt, on purpose that they might shoiv forth his praise, Isa. xliii. 21. Let Israel rejoice in his Makers, so it is in the original; for God said, Let us make man; and in this, some think, is the mystery of the Trinity.

2. God's dominion over them. This follows upon ,the former: if he made them, he is their King; he that gave being, no doubt, may give law; and this ought to be the matter of our joy and praise, that we are under the conduct and protection of such a wise and powerful King. Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter of Zion, for behold, thy King coineth, the King-Messiah, whom God has set upon his holy hill of Zion; let all the children of Zion be joyful in him, and go forth to meet him with their hosannas, Zech. ix. 9.

3. God's delight in them. He is a King that rules by love, and therefore to be praised; for the Lord takes pleasure in his people, in their services, in their prosperity, in communion with them, and m the communications of his favour to them. He that is infinitely happy in the enjoyment of himself.

and to whose fidelity no accession can be made, yel graciously condescends to take pleasure in his pen-pie, cxlvii. 11.

4. God's designs concerning them. Beside the present complacency he has in them, he has pre pared for their future glory; He will beautifi, th( meek, the humble, and lowly, and contrite in heart, that tremble at his word, and submit to it, that an* patient under their afflictions, and show all meeknes& towards all meji. These, men vilify and asperse, but God will justify them, and wipe off their reproach, nay, he will beautify them, they shall appear not only clear, but comely, before all the world, with the comeliness that he puts upon them. He will beautify them with salvation; with temporal salvations; when God works remarkable deliverances for his people, they that had been among the pots, become as the wings of a dove covered with silver, (Ixviii. 13.) but especially with eternal sal vation. The righteous shall be beautified in that day, when they shine forth as the sun. In the hopes of this, let them now, in the darkest day, sing a new song.

6. L,ei the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; 7. To execute vengeance upon the heathen, I and punishments upon the people ; 8. To bind their liings w ith chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; 9. To execute upon them the judgment written : this honour have all his saints. '^ Lord.

Praise ye the

The Israel of God are here represented triumphing over their enemies, which is both the matter cf their praise, (let them give to God the glory of those triumphs,) and the recompense of their praise; they that are truly thankful to God for their tranquillity, shall be blessed with victory. Or it may be taken as a further expression cf their praise; {v. 6.) Let the high praises of God be m their mouth, and then, in a holy zeal for his honour, let them take a two-edged sword in their hand, to fight his battles against the enemies of his kingdom.

Now this may be applied,

I. To the many victories which God blessed his people Israel with over the nations of Canaan, and other nations that were devoted to destruction. These began in Moses and Joshua, who, when they taught Israel the high praises of the Lord, did withai put a two-edged sword in their hand; David did so too, for as he was the sweet singer cf Israel, so he was the captain of their hosts, and taught the children of Judah the use of the bow, (2 Sam. i. IS.) taught^ their hands to war, as God had taught his. Thus he and they went on victoriously, fighting the Lord's battles, and avenging Israel's quarrels en those tliat had oppressed them; then they executed vengeance upon the heathen, (the Philistines, Moab-ites, Ammonites, and others, 2 Sam. viii. 1, Sec.) and punishments upon the people, for all the wrong they had done to God's people, v. 7. Their kings and nobles were taken prisoners, (t'. 8.) and on some of them the judgment written was executed, as by Joshua on the kings of Canaan, bv Gidecn on the princes of Midian, by Samuel on Agag. The honour of this redounded to all the Israel of Gcd, and to him who put it upon them they return it entirely in their hallelujahs, Jehoshaphat's army had at the same time the high praises of God in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, for thej- went forth to war, singing the praises ef Gcd, and then their sword did execution, 2 Chron. xx. 23. Some apply it to the time of the Maccabees

PSALMS, CL.

63^

when the Jews sometimes gained great advantages against their oppressors. And if it seem strange that the meek should, notwithstanding that character, be thus severe, and upon kings and nobles too, here is one word that justifies them in it, it is the judgment ivritten.

They do not do it from an^ personal malice and revenge, or any bloody politics that they govern themselves by, but by commission from God, according to his direction, and in obedience to his command; and Saul lost his kingdom for disobeying a command of this nature. Thus the kings of the earth, that shall be employed in the destruction of the New-Testament Babylon, will but execute the judgment written. Rev. xvii. 16, 17. But, since now no such special commissions can be produced, this will by no means justify the violence either of subjects against their princes, or of princes against their subjects, or both against their neighbours, under pretence of rehgion; for Christ never intended that his gospel should be propagated by fire and SAVord, or his righteousness wrought by the wrath of man. When the high praises of God are in our mouth, with them we should have an olive-branch of peace in our hands.

2. To Christ's victories, by the power of his gospel and grace over spiritual enemies, in which all believers are more than conquerors. The word of God is the two-edged sword, (Heb. iv. 12.) the sword of the Spirit, {Y,t^\y. vi. 17.) which it isnot enough to have in our armoury, we must have it in our hand also, as our Master had, when he said. It is written. Now, (1.) With this two-edged sword the first preachers of the gospel obtained a glorious victory over the power of darkness; vengeance was executed upon the gods of the heathen, by the conviction and conversion of those that had been long their worshippers, and by the consternation and confusion of those that would not repent; (Rev. vi. 15.) the strong-holds of Satan were cast down; (2 Cor. x. 4, 5.) great men were made to tremble at the word, as Felix; Satan, the god of this world, was cast out, according to the judgment given against him. This is the honour of all Christians, that their holy religion has been so victorious. (2.) With this two-edged sword believers fight against their own corruptions and, through the grace of God, subdue and mortify them; the sin that had dominion over them is crucified; self, that once sat king, is bound with chains, and brought into subjection to the yoke of Christ; the tempter is foiled and bruised under their feet; This honour have all the saints. (3.) The complete accomplishment of this will be in the judgment of the great day, when the Lord shall come with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment ufion all, Jude, x*. 14, 15. Vengeance shall then be executed upon the heathen, (Ps. ix. 17.) and punishments, everlasting punishments, upon the people: kings and nobles, that cast away the bands and cords of Christ's government, (ii. 3.) shall not be able to cast away the chains and fetters of his wrath and justice. Then shall be executed the judgment written, for the secrets of men shall be judged according to the gospel. This honour shall ail the saints have, tliat, as assessors with Christ, they shall judge the world; (1 Cor. vi. 2.) in the prospect of that, let them praise the Lord, and continue Christ's faithful servants and soldiers to the end of their lives.

PSALM CL.

The first and last of the psalms have both the same number of verses, are both short, and very memorable: but the scope of them is very different; 'he first psalm is an elaborate instruction in our duty, to prepare us for the comforts of our devotion; this is all rapt-ure and transport, and, perhaps, was penned on purpose to be the conclusion of those sacred songs, to show what is the design ■'^OL. IM—4L

of them all, and that is, to assist us in praising God. The psalmist had been himself full of the praises of God, and here he would fain fill all the world with them: again and again he calls, Praise the Lord, praise him, praise him, no less than thirteen times in these six short verses. He shows, I. For what, and upon what account. God is to be praised, v. 1, 2. II. How, and with what expressions of joy, God is to be praised, v. 3. . 5. III. Who must praise the Lord; it is every one's business, V. 6. In singing this psalm, we should endeavour to get our hearts much affected with the perfections of God, and the praises with which he is, and shall be, for ever attended, throughout all ages, world without end.

1. XJRAISE ye the Lord. Piaise God in JL his sanctuary : piaise him in the firmament of his power. 2. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. 3. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. 4. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. 5. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals. 6. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

We are here with the greatest earnestness imaginable, excited to praise God; if, as sonae suppose, it was primarily intended for the Levites, to stir them up to do their office in the house of the Lord, as singers and players on instruments, yet we must take it as speaking to us, who are made to ovir God spiritual priests. And the repeated inculcating of the call thus, intimates that it is a great and necessary duty, a duty which we should be much employed, and much enlarged, in; but which we are naturally backward to, and cold in, and therefore need to be brought to, and held to, by precept upon precept, and line upon line. Observe here,

1. Whence this tribute of praise arises, and out of what part of his dominion it especially issues. _

It comes, (1.) From his sanctuary; praise him there: let his priests, let his people that attend there, attend him with their praises. Where should he be praised, but there where he does, in a special manner, both manifest his glory, and communicate his grace? Praise God upon the account of his sanctuary, and the privileges which we enjoy by having that among us, Ezek. xxxvii. 26. Praise God in his holy ones, so some read it: we must take notice of the image of (iod, as it appears on those that are sanctified, and love them for the sake of that image; and, when we praise them, we must praise God in them. (2.) From the firmament of his power; Praise him, because of his power and glory which appear in the firmament; its vastness. Its brightness, and its splendid furniture; and because of the powerful influences it has upon this earth. Let them that have their dwelling in the firmament of his power, even the holy angels, lead "in this good work. Some, by the sanctuary, as well as by the firmament of his power, understand the highest heavens, the residence of his glory; that is indeed his sanctuary, his holy temple, and there he is praised continually, in a far better manner than we can praise him. And it is a comfort to us, when we find we do it so poorly, that it is so well done there.

2. Upon what account this tribute of praise is due: upon many accounts; particularly, (1.) The works of his power; {v. 2.) Praise him for his ntighty acts; for his mightinesses, so the wordis; for all the instances of his might, the power of his providence, the power of his grace; what he has done in the

PSALMS, CL.

cre-ition, government, and redemption, of the world; for the children of men in general, for his own church and children in particular. (2.) The glory and majesty of his behig; Praise liUn accor-dhig to hin excellent greatness, according to the multitude oj his magnificence; (so Dr. Hammond reads it;) not that our praises can bear any proportion to God's greatness, for it is infinite; but, because he is greater than we can express or conceive, we must raise our conceptions and expressions to the highest degree we can attain to. Be not afraid of saying too much in the praises of God, as we often do in praising even great and good men; Deus non fiatitur hyjierbolum — We cannot speak hyperbolically of God; all the danger is of saying too little; and therefore, when we have done our utmost, we must own, that though we have praised him in consideration of, yet not in proportion to, his excellent greatness.

3. In what manner this tribute must be paid; with all the kinds of musical instruments that were then used in the temple-service, v.o--5. It is well that we are not concerned to inquire what sort of instruments each of these was; it is enough tliat they were well known then: our concern is, to know, p.) That hereby is intimated how full the psalmist's heart was of the praises of God, and how desirous he was that this good work might go on. (2.) That in serving God we should spare no cost or pains. (3.) That the best music in God's ears is devout and pious affections; non musica chordula, sed cor — not a melodious string, but a melodious heart. Praise God with a strong faith; praise him with holy love and delight; praise him with an entire confidence in Christ; praise him with a believing triumph over the powers of darkness; praise him with an earnest desire toward him, and a full satisfaction in him; praise him by universal respect to all his commands; praise him by a cheerful submission to all his disposals; praise him by rejoicing in his love, and solacing yourselves in his great goodness; praise him by promoting the interests of the kingdom of his grace; praise him by a lively hope and expectation of the kingdom of his glory. (4.) That various instruments being used in praising God, it sliould yet be done with an exact and perfect harmony; they must not hinder, but help, one another. The New-Testament concert, instead of this, is, nvith one mind, and one mouth, to glorify, Rom XV. 6.

4. Who must pay this tribute; (v. 6.) Let every thing that has breath firaise the Lord. He began with a call to those that had a place in his sanctuary, and were employed in the temple-ser\ice; but he concludes with a call to all the children of men, in prospect of the time when the Gentiles should be taken into the church, and in e~i'ery place, as acceptably as at Jci'usalem, this incense should be offered, Mai. i. 11. Some think that in every thing that has breath, here we must include the inferior creatures, (as Gen. vii. 22.) all in whose nostrils •mas the breath of life. They praise God according t>j their capacity: the singing ot birds is a sort of

praising Gcd. The brutes do in effect say to man, " We would praise God if we could, do you do it for us." John in vision heard a song of praise from eT.'ery creature which is in heaven, and on the earthy. and under the earth. Rev. v. 13. Others thii.k that the children of men only are meant; for into them God has in a more peculiar manner breathed the breath of life, and they are become living souls Gen. ii. 7. ' Now that the gospel is ordered to be preached to e~i'ci~y creature, to every human crea ture, it is required that every human creature praise the Lord. What have we our breath, our spirit, for, but to spend it in praising God; and how cai we spend it better? Prayers are called our breath ings. Lam. iii. 56. Let every one that breathes toward God in prayer, finding the benefit of that, breathe forth his praises toe. Having breath, let the ])raises of God perfume cur breath; let us be in this work as in cur element; let it be to us as the air we breathe in, which we could not live without Having our breath in our nostrils, let us consider that it is still going forth, and will shortly go, and not return. Since therefore we must shortly breathe our last, while we have breath let us praise the Lord; and then we shall breathe our last with comfort, and, when death runs us out of breath, we shall remove to a better state, to breathe God's praises in a freer better air.

The three first of the five books of psalms (according to the Hebrew division) concluded with Jmen and Jmen; the fourth with Amen, Hallelujah; but the last, and in it the whole book, concludes only with Hallelujah, because the six last psalms are whollv taken up in praising God, and there is not a word of complaint or petition in them. The nearer good Christians come to their end, the fuller they should be of the praises of God. Some think that this last psalm is designed to represent to us the work of glorified saints in heaven, who are there continually praising God. And musical instruments, here said to be used, are no more to be understood literally than the gold, and pearls, and precious stones, which are said to adorn the New Jerusalem, Rev. xxi. 18, 19. But as those intimate that the glories of heaven are the most excellent glories, so these intimate that the praises the saints offer there are the most excellent praises. Prayers will there be swallowed up in everlasting praises; there will be no intermission in praising God, and yet no weariness. Hallelujahs for ever repeated, and yet still new songs. Let us often take a pleasure in thinking what glorified saints are doing in heaven, what those are doing whom we have been acquainted with on earth, but are gone before us thither; and let it not only make us long to be among them, but quicken us to do this part of the will of God on earth, as they do it that are in heaven. And therefore let us spend as much of our time as may be in this good work, because in it we hope to spend a joyful eternity. Hallelujah is the word there; fRev.'xix. 1, 3.) let us"echo to it now, as those that hope to join in it shortly. Hallelujah, firaise ye the Lord.

AN

EXPOSITION,

WITH

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS,

OF THE

PROVERBS.

We have now before us,

I. A new Author, or Penman rather, or Pen, (if you will,) made use of by the Holj Ghost, for making known the mind of God to us, writing as moved by the Finger of God, so the Spirit of God is called; and that is Solomon, through his hand came this book of Scriptuie, and the two that follow it, Eccle-siastes and Canticles, a Sermon and a Song. Some think he wrote Canticles when he was very young, Proverbs in the midst of his days, and Ecclesiastes when he was old. In the title of his song, he only writes himself Solomon, perhaps, because he wrote it before his accession to the thrcne, being filled with the Holy Ghost when he was young. In the title of his Proverbs he writes himself the son of David, king of Israel, for then he ruled over Israel. In the title of his Ecclesiastes he wiitcs himself the son of David, king of Jerusalem, because then, perhaps, his influence was grown less upon the distant tribes, and he confined himself very much in Jei-usalem. Concerning this author we may observe, 1. That he was a king, and a king's son. The penmen of scripture, hitherto, were most of them men of the first rank in the world, as Moses and Joshua, Samuel and David, and now Solomon; but, after him, the inspired writers were generally poor prophets, men of no figure in the world, because that dispensation was approaching in which God would choose the iveak and foolish things of the world to confound the wise and mighty, and the poor should be employed to evangelize. Solomon was a very rich king, and his dominions very large, a king of the first magnitude, and yet he addicted himself to the study of divine things, and was a prophet, and a prophet's son. It is no disparagement to the greatest princes and potentates in the world to insti-uct those about them in religion and the laws of it.

2. That he was one whom God endued with extraordinary' measures of wisdom and knowledge, in answer to his prayers at his accession to the throne; his prayer was exemplary. Give me a wise and an understanding heart; the answer to it was encouraging, he'had that, and all other things were added to him. Now here we find what good use he made of the wisdom God gave him; he not only governed himself and his kingdom with it, but he gave rules cf wisdom to others also, and transmitted them to posterity. Thus must we trade with the talents with which.we are trusted, according as they are.

3. That he was one who had his faults, and in his latter end turned aside from those good ways of God which in this book he had directed others in. We have the story of it, 1 Kings xi. and a sad story it is, that the penman of such a book as this should apostatize as he did; tell it not in Gath; but let those who are most eminently useful take warning, by this, not to be proud or secure; and let us all leam net to think the worse of good instructions, though we have them from those who do not themselves altogether live up to them.

II. We have here a new way of writing, in which divine wisdom is taught us by Proverbs, or short sentences, which contain their whole design within themselves, and are not connected with one another. We have had divine laws, histories, and songs, and now divine proverbs; such various methods has Divine Wisdom used for our instruction, that, no stone being left untunied to do us good, we may be inexcusable if we perish in our folly. Teaching by proverbs was, 1. An ancient way of teaching, it was the most ancient way among the Greeks; the seven wise men of Greece had each of them some one saying that they valued themselves upon, and that made them famous: these sentences were inscribed on pillars, and had in great veneration, as that which was said to come down from heaven; ^4 c<slo descendit, yiZ^i a-id-vrh — Know thyself, is a precefit which came down from heaven. 2. It wis a plain and easy way of teaching, which cost neither the teachers nor the learners much pains, nor put their understandings or their memories to the stretch. Long periods, and arguments far-fetched, mus-t be laboured both by him that frames them and by him that takes them; while a proverb, which carries both its sense and its evidence in a little compass, is quickly apprehended and subscribed to, and is easily retained. Both David's devotions and Solomon's instnictions are sententicus,_ which may reoom mend that way of expression to those who minister about holy things, both in praying and preaching. 3. It was a very profitable way of teaching, and served admirably well to answer the end. The word Mashal, here used for a proverb, comes from a word that signifies to rule, or have dominion, because of the commanding power and influence which wise and weighty sayings have upon the children ot men; he that teaches by them, dominatur in concionibus — rules his auditory. It is easy to obsen-e how the world is governed by proverbs; ^s saith thefiroverb of the ancients, (1 Sam. xxiv. 13.) or, as

PROVERBS, 1.

the vulgar express it, As the old saying is, goes very far with most men in forming their notions and fixing their resolves. Much of the wisdom of the ancients had been handed down to posterity by proverbs; and some think we may judge of the temper and character of a nation by the complexion of its vulgar proverbs. Proverbs in conversation are like axioms in philosophy, maxims in law, and postu-lata in the mathematics, which nobody disputes, but every one endeavours to expound, so as to have them on his side. Yet there are many cormpt proverbs, which tend to debauch men^s minds and harden them in sin. The Devil has his proverbs, and the world and the flesh have their proverbs, which reflect reproach on God and religion, (as Ezek. xii. 22.—xviii. 2.) to guard us against the corrupt influences ol which, God has his proverbs, which are all wise and good, and tend to make us so. These proverbs of Solomon were not merely a collection of the wise sayings that had been formerly delivered, as some have imagined, but were the dictates of the Spirit of God in Solomon. The very first of them, (ch. i. 7.) agrees with what God said to man in the beginning, (Job xxviii. 28.) Behold, the fear of the Lo7-d, that is wisdom; so that, though Solomon was great, and his name may serve as much as any man's to recommend his writings, yet behold, a greater than Solomon is here. It is God, by Solomon, that here speaks to us; I say, to us; for these proverbs were written for our learning, and when Solomon speaks to his son, the exhortation is said to speak to us as children, Heb. xii. 5. And as we have no book so useful to us in our devotions as David's psalms, so have we none so serviceable to us, for the right ordering of cur conversations, as Solomon's proverbs, which, as David says of the ccm-mandments, are exceeding broad, containing, in a little compass, a complete body of divme ethics, politics, and economics, exposmg every vice, recommending every virtue, and suggesting niles for the government of ourselves in every relation and condition, and every turn of conversation. The learned Bishop H ill has drawn up a system of moral philosophy cut of Solomon's Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The nine first chapters of this book are reckoned as a preface by wav of exhortation to the study and practice of wisdom's lules, and caution against those thmgs th; t would hinder therein. We have then the first volume of Solomon's proverbs; {ch. x.-xxiv.) after that, a second volume; {ch. xxv.-xxix.) and then Agur's propliecy, {ch. xxx.) and Lemuel's, ch. xxxi. The scope of all is one and the same, to direct us so to order our conversation aright, as that in the end we may see the salvation of the Lord. The best comment on those rules is to be raled by them.

PROVERBS, I.

CHAP. I.

Those who read David's psalms, especially those toward the latter end, would be tempted to think that religion is all rapture, and consists in nothing but theecstacies and transports of devotion; and doubtless there is a time for them, and, if there be a heaven upon earth, it is in Ihemr but, while we are on earth, we cannot be wholly taken up with them, we have a life to live in the flesh, must have a conversation in the world, and into that we must now be taught to carry our religion, which is a rational thing, and very serviceable to the conduct of human life, and tends as much to make us discreet as to make us devout, to make the face shine before men in a prudent, honest, useful, conversation, as to make the heart burn toward God in holy and pious affections. In this chapter, we have, I. The title of the book, showing the general scope and design of it, v. 1. .fi. II. The (irst principle of it recommended to our serious consideration, v. 7..9. III. A necessary caution against bad company, v. 10.. 19. IV. A faithful and lively representation of wisdom's reasonings with the children of men, and the certain ruin of those who turn a deaf ear to those reasonings, v. '20 .. 33.

l.nnHE proverbs of Solomon, the son of X. David, king of Israel; 2. To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3. To receive the instiTiction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; 4. To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. 5. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels; 6. To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

We have here an introduction to this book, which some think was prefixed by the collector and pul)-lisher, as Ezra; but it is rather supposed to have been penned by Solomon himself, who, in the beginning of his book, proposes his end in writing it, that he might keep to his business, and closely pursue that end. We are here told.

L Who wrote these wise sayings; {v. 1.) they are the proverbs of Solomon. 1. His name signifies peaceable, and the character both of his spirit and of his reign answered to it; both were peaceable. D tvid, whose life was full of troubles, wrote a book of devotion; for. Is any afflicted? Let him pray. Solomon, who lived quietly, wrote a book of instruction, for when the churches had rest, they were edfied. In times of peace, we should leani ourselves, and teach others, that which, in troublous tim-^s, both they and we must practise. 2. He was the son of David; it was his honour to stand related to that good man, and he reckoned it so with good reason, for he fared the better frr it, 1 Kings xi. 12. He had been blessed with a good education, and many a good prayer had been put up for him, (Ps. Ixxii. l.)the effect of both which appeared in his wisdom and usefulness. The generation of the upright are sometimes thus blessed, that they are made blessings, eminent blessings, in their day. Christ is often called the Son of David, and Solomon was a type of him in this, as in other things, that he opened his mouth in parables or proverbs. 3. He was king of Israel; a king, and yet it was no disparagement to him to be an instructor of the ignorant, and a teacher of babes; king of Israel, that people among whom God was known, and his name was great; among them he learned wisdom-, and to them he comnuniirated it. All the earth sought to Solomon to hear his wisdom, which excelled all men's; (1 Kings iv. 30.—x. 24.) it was an honour to Israel, that their king was such a dictator, such an oracle. Solomon was famous for apophthegms; every word he said had weight in it, and something that was surprising and edifying; his servants, who attended liim, and heard his wisdom, had, among them, collected 3000 proverbs of his, which they wi-ote in their day-books, but these were of his own writing, and do not amount to near a thousand; in these, he was divinely inspired. Some think, that, out of those other proverbs of his, which were not so inspired, the apocrv])hal books of Ecclcsiasticus, and the Wisdom of Solomon wei-e compiled, in which are many excellent sayings, and of great use; but, take all' together, they are far short of this book.

PROVERBS, ].

637

The Roman emperors had each of them their symbol or motto, as many now have with their coat of arms. But Solomon had many weighty sayings, not, as theirs, borrowed from others, but all the product of that extraordinary wisdom which God had endued him with.

II. For what end they were written; (yj. 2.-4.) not to gain a reputation to the author, or strengthen his interest among his subjects, but for the use and benefit of all that in every age and place will govern themselves by these dictates, and study them close.

This book will help us,

1. To form right notions of things, and to possess our minds with clear and distinct ideas of them; tliat we may know wisdom and instruction; that wisdom which is got by instruction, by divine revelation; may know both how to speak and act wisely ourselves, and to give instruction to others.

2. To distinguish between truth and falsehood, good and evil; to fierceive the ivords of understanding; to apprehend them, to judge of them, to guard against mistakes, and to accommodate what we arc taught to ourselves, and our own use, that we may discern things that differ, and not be imposed upon, and may afifirove things that are excellent, and not lose the benefit of them, as the apostle prays, Phil. i. 10.

3. To order our conversation ainght in every thing, V. 3. This book will give, that we may receive, the instruction of wisdom, that knowledge which will guide our practice injustice, judgment, and equity, (v. 3.) which will dispose us to render to all their due, to God the things that are God's, in all the exercises of religion, and to all men what is due to them, according to the obligations which, by relation, office, contract, or upon any other account, we lie under to them. Note, Those are truly wise, and none but those, who are universally conscientious; and the design of the scripture is, to teach us that wisdom. Justice in the duties of the first table, judgment in those of the second table, and equity, that is, sincerity, in both; so some distinguish them.

III. For whose use they were written, v. 4. They are of use to all, but are designed especially, 1. For the simfile, to give subtilty to them. The instructions here given are plain and easy, and level to the meanest capacity; the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein; and those are likely to receive benefit by them who are sensible of their own ignorance, and their need to be taught, and are therefore desirous to receive insti-uction; and those who receive those instructions, in their light and power, though they be simple, will hereby be made subtle, graciously crafty to know the sin they should avoid, and the duty they should do, and to escape the tempter's wiles. He that is harmless as the dove, by observing Solomon's rules, may become wise as the servient; and he that h^is been sinfully foolish, when he begins to govern himself by" the word of God, becomes graciously wise. 2. For young people, to give them knowledge and discretion. Youth is the learnmg age, catches at instructions, receives impressions, and retains what is then received; it is therefore of great consequence that the mind be then seasoned well, nor can it receive a better tincture than from Solomon's proverbs. Youth is rash, and heady, and inconsiderate: man is born like the wild ass's colt; and therefore needs to be broken by the restraints, and managed by the rules, we find here. And if young people will but take heed to their ways, according to Solomon's proverbs, they will soon gain the knowledge and discretion of the ancients. Solomon had an eye to postei'ity in writing this book, hoping by it to season the minds of the rising generation with the generous principles of wisdom and vii'tue.

IV. What good use may be made of them, v. 5, 6,

Those who ai . young and simple may by them be made wise, and are not excluded fnm Srlemon's school, as they were from Plato's. But is it c nly for such? No; here is not only milk for babes, but strong meat for strong men. This book will not cnly make the foolish and bad wi,st and good, but the wise and good wiser and belter; and thiugh the simple and the young man may perl); ps slight those instructions, and not be the Ixtttr f( r tfuni, yttthe wise mari will hear; wisdom will be justified by her own children, though n<;t by the chiklr. n sitting in the market-place. Note, E\en wise men must hear, and not think themselves too wiht to karn. A wise man is sensible of his own defects, {Plurima igno-ro, sed ignorantia7n 7nea7n non igntro — I a7n ignorant of many things, but not ofymj ow?i ignoi-ance,^ and therefore is still pressing forward, that he may increase in learning, may knew more, ;.nd know it better, more clearly and distinctly, and may know better how to make use cf it. As long as we live, we should strive to increase in all useful learning. It was a saying of one of the greatest < f tlie rabbins. Qui non auget scientiam, amittit de ea — If our stock of knowledge be not increasing, it is wastirig; and they that would increase in learning must study the scriptures; those fierfect the man of God.

A wise man, by increasing in learning, is not only profitable to himself, but to others also.

1. As a counsellor, ji man of understanding in these precepts cf wisdom, by comparing them with one another, and with his own observations, shall by degrees attai7i unto wise counsels, he stands fair f( r preferment, and will be consulted as an oracle, and intrusted with the conduct of public affairs; he shall ccme to sit at the helm, so the word signifies. Note, Industry is the way; to honour; and those whrm God has blessed with wisdom must study to do good with it, according as their sphere is. It is more dignity, indeed, to be counsellor to the prince, but it is more charity to be counsellor to the poor, as Job was with his wisdom, (Job xxix. 15.) I was eyes to the blind.

2. As an interpreter; {v. 6.) to understand a proverb. Solomon was himself famous for expounding riddles, and resolving hard questions, which was, of eld, the celebrated entertainment of the eastern princes; witness the solutions he gave to the knots with which the queen of Sheba thought to puzzle him. Now, here he undertakes to furnish his readers with that talent, as far as would be serviceable to the best purposes. They shall understa7id a proverb, even the i7iterp7-etation, without which the proverb is a nut uncracked; when they hear a wise saying, though it be figurative, they shall take the sense of it, and know how to make use of it. The words of the wise are sometimes dark sayings. In St. Paul's epistles there was that which was hard to be understood; but to those who, being well versed in the scriptures, know how to co7npare spiritual things with spiritual, they will be easy and safe. So that, if you ask them. Have ye understood all these things? they may answer. Yea, Lord. Note, It is a credit to religion, when men of honesty are men of sense; all good people, therefore, should aim to be intelligent, and run to and fro, take pains in the use of means, that their knowledge may be increased.

7. The fear of the Lord is the beginnine; of knowledge: hut fools despise wisdom and instruction. 8. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 9. For they shall he an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

Solomon, having undertaken to teach a young ma7. knowledge and discretion, here lays down two gen*.

PROVERBS, I.

ral rules to be observed in order thereunto, and those are, to fear God, and honour his parents; which two fundamental laws of morality Pythagoras begins his golden verses with, but the former of them in a wretchedly corrupted state; Primtnn, deos imrnor-tales cole — fiarentesque honora — First nvorship the immortal gods —and honour your parents.

To make young people as they should be,

I. Let them have regard to God as their Supreme; (x'. 7.) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; it is the firincifml part of knowledge, so the margin; it is the head of knowledge; that is, 1. Of all things that are to be known, this is most evident, that God is to be feared, to be revei'enced, served, and worshipped; tliis is so the beginning of knowledge, that those know nothing who do not Know this. 2. In order to the attaining of all useful knowledge, this is most necessary, that we fear God; we are not qualified to profit by the instmctions that are given us, unless our minds be possessed with a holy reverence of God, and every thought witliin us be brought into obedience to him. If any man do his will, he shall knoxv of his doctiine, John vii. 17. 3. As all our knowledge must take rise from the fear of God, so it must tend to it as its perfec-tirn and centre. Those know enough who know how to fear God, who are careful in every thing to please him, and fearful of offending him in any thing; this is the alpha and omega of knowledge.

To confirm this truth, that an eye to God must both direct and quicken all our pursuits of knowledge, he observes. Fools (atheists who have no regard to God) despise wisdom and iristruction; having no dread at all of God's wrath, nor any desire of his favour, they will not give you thanks for telling them what they may do to escape his wrath, and obtain his favour. They who say to the Almighty, Depart from us, who are so far from fearing him, that they set him at defiance, can excite no sui-prise if they desire not the knowledge of his ways, but despise that instruction. Note, Those are fools who do not fear God, and value the scriptures; and, though they may pretend to be admirers of wit, they are really strangers and enemies to wisdom.

II. Let them have regard to their parents, as their superiors; {v. 8, 9.) My son, hear the inst7-uc-tion of thy father. He means, not only that he would have his own children to be observant of him, and of what he said to them, nor only that he would have his pupils, and those who came to him to be taught, to look upon him as their father, and attend to his precepts with the disposition of children; but that he would have all children to be dutiful and respectful to their parents, and to conform to the virtuous and religious education which they give them, according to the law of the fifth commandment.

1. He takes it for granted, that parents will, with all the wisdom they have, instruct their children, and, with all the authority they have, give law to them for their good. They are reasonable creatures, and therefore we must not give them law without instruction; we must draw them with the cords of a man, and when we tell them what they must do, we must tell them why. But they are corrupt and wilful, and therefore'with the instniction there is need of a law. Abraham will not onlv catechize, but command, his household. Both tlic father and the mother must do all they can for tlie <ood education of their children; and all little enough.

2._ He charges children both to receive, and to I etain, the good lessons and laws their parents give them.

(1.) To receive them with readiness; "Hear the instruction of thy father; hear it, and heed it; hear it, and bid it welcome, and be thankful for it, and subscribe to it."

(2.) To retain them with resolution; •« Forsakp not their law; think not that, when thou art grown up, and no longer under tutors and goveniors, thoU mayest live at large; no, the law of thy mother was according to the law of thy God, and therefore it must ne^•er be forsaken; thou wast trained up in the way in which thou shouldest go, and therefore when thou art old, thou must not depart from it." Some observe, that whereas the Gentile ethics, and the laws of the Persians and Romans, provided only that children should pay respect to their father, the divine law secures the nonour of the mother also.

3. He recommends this as that which is very graceful, and will put an honour upon us; " The instiiictions and laws of thy parents, carefully observed and lived up to, shall be anomammt of grace unto thy head, [y. 9.) such an ornament as is, in the sight of God, of great price, and shall make thee look as great as those that wear gold chains about their necks." Let di\'ine tnaths and commands be to us as a coronet, or a collar of SS, which are badges of first-rate honours; let us value them, and be ambitious of them, and then they shall be so to us. Those are truly Aaluable, and shall be valued, who value themselves more by their virtue and piety than by their worldly wealth and dignity.

10. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. 11. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk pri-vil}^ for the innocent without cause: 12. Let us swallow them up alive, as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: 13. We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: 14. Cast in thy lot among us; let us .all have one purse. 15. My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: 16. For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood: 17. (Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird :) 18. And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their oian lives. 19. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

Here Solomon gives another general rule to young people, in order to their finding out, and keeping in, the paths of wisdom, and that is, to take heed of the snare of bad company. David's psalms begin with this caution, and so do Solomon's proverbs; ^or nothing is more destructive both to a lively devotion and to a regular conversation; {y. 10.) My son, whom I love, and have a tender concern for, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. This is good ad-\ice for parents to give their children, when they send them abroad into the world; it is the same that St. Peter gave to his new converts, (Acts ii. 40.) Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Observe, 1. How industrious wicked people are to seduce others into the paths of the destroyer; they will entice; sinners love company in sin; the angels that fell were tempters almost as soon as they were sinners. They do not threaten or argue, but entice with flattery and fair speech; with a bait they draw the unwarv young man to the hook. But they mistake, if they think, that, by bringing otliers to paitake with them in their guilt, and to be lioiind, as it were, in the liond with them, they shall have the less to pnv themselves; for they will have so much the more to answer for. 2. How cautious

PROVERBS, I.

639

young people shouM be that they be net seduced by them; " Consent thou not; and then, though they entice thee, they cannot force thee. Do not say as they say, nor do as they do, or would have thee to do; have no fellowship with them."

To enforce this caution,

I. He represents the fallacious reasonings which sinners use in their enticements, and the arts of wheedling which they have, for the beguiling of unstable souls. He specifies highwaymen, who do what they can to draw others into their gang, -v. 11- • 14. See here what they would have the young man to do; " Come ivith us, {v. 11.) let us have thy company;" at first, they pretend to ask no more; but the courtship rises higher, v. 14. " Cast in thy lot among us; come in partner with us, join thy force to ours, and let us resolve to live and die together; thou shalt fare as we fare; and let us all have one /lurse, that what we get together we may spend merrily together;" for that is it they aim at.

Two unreasonable unsatiable lusts they propose to themselves the gratification of, and therewith entice their prey into the snare.

1. Their cruelty. They thirst after blood, and hate those that are innocent and never gave them any provocation, because, by their honesty and industry, they shame and condemn them; ^' Let us therefore lay wait for their blood, and lurk firivily for them; they are conscious to themselves of no crime, and consequently apprehensive of no danger, but travel unarmed; therefore we shall make the more easy prev of them. And, Oh how sweet it will be to swallow them up alive!" v. 12. These bloody men would do this as greedily as the hungry lion devours the lamb. If it be objected, " The remains of the murdered will betray the murderers;" they answer, " No danger of that, we will swallow them whole as those that are bui'ied." Who could imagine that human nature should degenerate so far, that it ever should be a pleasure to one man to destroy another!

2. Their covetousness. They hope to get a good booty by it; {v. 13.) "We shall ymrf all precious substance by following this trade; what though we venture our necks by it, we shall ^11 our houses with spoil." See here, (1.) The idea they had of worldly wealth. They call it precious substance; whereas it is neither substance, nor precious; it is a shadow, it is vanity, especially that which is got by robbery, Ps. Ixii. 10. It is as that which is not, which will give a man no solid satisfaction. It is cheap, it is common; yet, in their account, it is precious, and therefore they will hazard their lives, and perhaps their souls, in pursuit of it. It is the ruining mistake of thousands, that they over-value the wealth of this world, and look on it as precious substance. (2.) The abundance of it, which they promised themselves; We shall7?// our houses with it. Those who trade with sin promise themselves mighty bargains, and that it will turn to a vast account. All this will I give thee, (says the tempter;) but they only dream that they eat; the housefuls dwindle into scarcely a handful, like the grass on the house-tops.

II. He shows the pemiciousness of these ways, as a reason why we should dread them; (xk 15.) " My son, walk thou not in the way with them; do not associate with them; get, and keep, as far off from them as thou canst, refraiji thy foot from their path, do not take example by them, nor do as they do." Such is the corruption of our nature, that our foot is very prone to step into the path of sin, so that we must use necessary violence upon ourselves to refrain our foot from it, and check ourselves, if at any time we take the least step towards it. Consider,

1. How pernicious their way is in its own nature; (v. 16.) Their feet run to evil, to that which is displeasing to God and hurtful to mankind, for they

make haste to shed blood. Note, The way of sin is down-hill; men not only cannot stop themselves, but, the longer they continue in it, the faster they ran, and make haste in it, as if they were afraid they should not do mischief enough, and were I'esolved to lose no time. They said they would proceed leisurely, (Let us lay wait for blood, v. 11.) but thou wilt find they are all in haste, so much has ^a-t'dn filled their hearts.

2. How pernicious the consequences of it will be. They are plainly told that this wicked way will certainly end in their own destruction, and yet they persist in it. Herein, (1.) They are like the silly bird, that sees the net spread to take her, and yet it is in vain; she is decoyed into it by the bait, and will not take the warning which her own eyes gave her, V. 17. But we think ourselves of more value than many sparrows, and therefore should have more wit, and act with more caution. God has made us wiser than the fowls of heaven; (Job xxxv. 11.) and shall we, then, be as stupid as they? (2.) They are worse than the birds, and have not the sense which we sometimes perceive them to have: for the fowler knows it is in vain to lay his snare in the sight of the bird, and therefore he has arts to conceal it. But the sinner sees ruin at the end of his way; the murderer, the thief, see the jail and the gallows before them, nay, they might see hell before them, their watchmen tell them they sliall surely die, but it is to no purpose; they rash into sin, and rush on in it, like the horse into the battle. For really the stone they roll will turn upon themselves, V. 18, 19. They lay wait, and lurk privily, for the blood and lives of others, but it will prove, contrary to their intention, to be for their own blood, their own lives; they will come at length, to a shameful end; and, if they escape the sword of the magistrate, yet there is a divine Nemesis that pursues them. Vengeance suffers them not to live. Their greediness of gain hurries them upon those practices which will not suffer them to live out half their days, but will cut off the number of their months in the midst. They have little reason to be proud of their property in that which takes away the life of the owners, and then passes to other masters; and what is a man profited, though he gain the A^orld, if he lose his lite? for then he can enjoy the world no longer; much less if he lose his soul, and that be drowned in destruction and perdition, as multitudes are by the love of money.

Now, though Solomon specifies only the temptation to rob on the highway, yet he intends hereby to waiTi us against all other evils which sinners entice men to; such are the ways of the drunkards and unclean, they are indulging themselves in those pleasures which tend to their ruin, both here and for ever; and, therefore, consent not to them.

20. Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets; 21. She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22. How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity, and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 23. Turn you at my reproof; behold, 1 wall pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto 3'ou. 24. Because T have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my liand, and no man regarded; 25. But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof; 26. I also will laugli at

PROVERBS, I.

your calamity; I will mock when your fear Cometh. 27. When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whiilwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you; 28. Then shall they call upon me, but 1 will not answer; tiiey shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29. For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord : 30. They would none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof: 31. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

Solomon, having showed how dangerous it is to hearken to the temptations of Satan, here shows how dangerous it is not to hearken to the calls of God, which we shall for ever rue the neglect of. Observe,

I. By whom God calls to us; by wisdom. It is wisdoin that crieth without. The word is plural, wisdoms, for, as there is infinite wisdom in God, so there is the manifold wisdo7n of God, Eph. iii. 10. God speaks to the children of men by all the kinds of wisdom, and as in every will, so in every word, of God there is a counsel. 1. Human understanding is wisdo77i, the Ught and 1 iw of nature, the powers and faculties of reason, and the office of conscience. Job xxxviii. 36. By these God speaks to the children of men, and reasons with them; T/ie sfiirit of a tnan is the candle of the Lord; and, wherever men go, they may hear a voice behind them, saying, This is the way; and the voice of conscience is the voice of God, and not always a still small voice, but sometimes it cries. 2. Civil governinent is wisdom; it is God's ordinance, magistrates are his vicegerents. God, by David, had said to the fools. Deal not foolishly, Ps. Ixxv. 4. In the o/ien'ing- of the gates, and in the places of concourse, where courts were kept, the judges, the wisdom of the nation, call to the wicked people, in God's name, to repent and reform. 3. Divine revelation is wisdom; all its dictates, all its laws, are wise as wisdom itself. God does, by the written word, by the law of Moses, which sets before us the blessing and the curse, by the priests' lips which keep knowledge, by his servants the prophets, and all the ministers of this word, declare his mind to sinners, and give them warning as plainly as that which is proclaimed in the sti'eets or courts of judicature by the criers. God, in his word, not only opens the case, but argues it with the children of men. Come notv, and let us reason together, Isa. i. 18. 4. Chi-ist himself is Wisdom, is Wisdoms, for in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and he is the centre of all divine revelation, not only the essential Wisdom, l)ut the eternal Word, by whom God speaks to us, and to wliom he has committed all judginent; he it is, therefore, who here both pleads with sinners, and passes sentence on them; he calls himself Wisdom, Luke vii. 35.

II. How he calls to us, and in what manner. 1. Very publicly, that whosoever hath ears to hear may hear, since all are welcome to take the benefit of what is said, and all are concerned to hear it. The rules of wisdom are published without in the

streets, not in the schools only, or in the palaces of princes, but in the chief places of concourse, among the common people, that pass and repass in the opening of the gates, and in the city. It is comfortable casting the net of the gospel there where there is a multitude of fish, in hopes that then seme will be enclosed. This was fulfilled in our Lord Jesus, who taught openly in the temple, and in crowds of people, and in secret said nothing, (John xviii. 20.) and charged his ministers to/2roc/<72?;2 his gospel 072 the house-top, Mattli. x. 27. God says, (Isa. xlv. 19.) I have not spoken ill seci-et. There is 710 speech or language where wisdom's voice is not heard. Truth seeks not ccrners, nor is virtue ashamed of itself. 2. Very pathetically; she cnes, and again she cries, as cne in earnest; Jesus stood and cried. She utters her voice, she utters her words with all possible clearness and affection. God is desirous to be heard and heeded.

III. What the call of God and Christ is.

1. He reproves sinners for their folly, and their obstinate persisting in it, v. 22. Observe, (1.) Who they are that Wisdom here reproves and expostulates with. In general, they are such as are simple, and therefore might justlv be despised; such as love simplicity, and therefore might justly be despaired of; but we must us the means even with those that we have little hopes of, because we know not what divine grace may do. Three sorts of persons are here called to; [1.] Simple ones that love simplicity. Sin is simplicity, and sinners are simple ones; they do foolishly, xtvy foolishly; and the condition of those is very bad, who love simplicity, are fond of their simple notions of good and evil, their simple prejudices against the ways of God, and are in their element when they are doing a simple thing, sporting themselves in their own deceivings, and flattering themselves in their wickedness. [2.] Scomcrs that delight in scorning. Proud people that take a pleasure in hectoring all about them; jovial people that banter all mankind, and make a jest of every thing that comes in their way. But scoffers at religion are especially meant, the worst of sinners, that scorn to submit to the ti-uths and laws of Christ, and to the reproofs and admonitions of his word, and take a pride in ninning down every thing that is sacred and serious. [3.] Fools that hate knowledge. None but focls hate knowledge; those only are enemies to religion that do not understand it aright. And they are the worst of fools that hate to be instructed and reformed, and have a rooted antipathy to serious godliness. (2.) How the reproof is expressed. " How long will ye do so?" This implies, that the God of heaven desires the conversion and reformation of sinners, and not their ruin; that he is much displeased with their obstinacy and dilatoriness; that he waits to be gracious, and is willing to reason the case with them.

2. He invites them to repent, and become wise, V. 23. And here, (1.) The precept is plain; Turn you at my reproof. We do not make a right use of the reproofs that are gi\en us for that which is evil, if we do not tuni from it to that which is good; for this end the reproof was given. Turn, return to your right mind; tuni to God, turn to your duty, turn and live. (2.) The promises are very encouraging. They that love simplicity find themselves under a moral imiiotcncv to change their own mind and way, they cannot tiim by any power of their own; to this God answers, "Behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you; set yourselves to do what you can, and the grace of God shall set in with you, and work in you both to will and to do that good which, without that grace, you could not do." Help thyself, and God will help thee; stretch forth thn withered hand, and Christ will strengthen and heal it. [1.] The Author of this grace is the Spirit, awl

PROVERBS, 1.

641

that IS promised; / iviU pour out my Spii-it unto you, as oil, as water; you shall have the Spirit in abundance, rivers of living water, io\\n vii. 38. Our lieavenly Father will give the Holy S/iirit to them that ask hitn. [2. ] The means of this grace is the word, which, it we take it aright, will turn us; it is tlicrcfore promised, " / will make known my words unto you, not only speak them to ycu, out make them known, give you to understand them." Note, Special grace is necessary to a sincere conversion. But that grace shall never be de-i\ied to any that honestly seek it, and submit to it.

3. He reads the doom of those that continue obstinate against all these means and methods of grdce. It is large and very terrible, v. 24'«32. Wisdom, having called sinners to return, pauses a while, to see what effect the call has, hearkens and hears; but they speak not aright, (Jer. viii. 6.) and therefore she goes on to tell them what will be in the end hereof.

(1.) The crime is recited, and it is highly provoking.

See what it is for which judgment will be given against impenitent sinners in the great day, and you will say they deserve it, and the Lord is righteous in it. It is, in short, rejecting Christ, and the offers of his grace, and refusing to submit to the terms of his gospel, which would have saved them both from tlie curse of the laiu of God, and from the dominion ol" the lavj ofs'ni.

[1.] Christ called to them, to Avarn them of their danger; he stretched out his hand to offer them mercy, nay, to liave helped them out of their miserable condition, stretched out his hand for them to take hold of but they refused, and no man regarded; some were careless, and never heeded it, nor took notice of what was said to them; others were wilful, and, though they covdd not avoid hearing the will of Christ, yet they gave him a flat denial, they refused, v. 24. They were in love with their folly, and would not be made wise. They were obstinate to all the methods that were taken to reclaim them. God stretched out his hand in mercies bestowed upon them, and, when those would not work upon them, in corrections, but all were in vain, they regarded the operations of his hand no more than the declai-ations of his mouth.

[2.] Christ reproved and counselled them; not only reproved them for what they did amiss, but counselled them to do better, (those are reproofs of instruction, and evidences of love and good-will,) but they set at nought all his counsel, as not worth heeding, and would none of his refiroof; as if it were below them to be reproved l^y him, and as if they had never done any thing that deser\-ed reproof,-y. 25. This is repeated; {v. 30.) "They would none of my counsel, but rejected it with disdain; they called reproofs reproaches, and took them amiss; (Jer. vi. 10.) nay, they despised all my reproof, as if it were all a jest, and not worth taking notice of." Note, Those are marked for ruin that are deaf to reproof and good counsel.

[3.] They wei-e exhorted to submit to the government of right reason and religion, but they rebelled against l)oth. First, Reason should not rule them, for they hated kiiowledge, {v. 29.) hated the light of divine truth, because it discovered to them the evil of their deeds, John iii. 20. Tliey hated to be told that which they could not 'bear to know. Secondly, Religion should not nde them, for they did not choose the fear of the Lord, but chose to walk in the way of their heart, and in the sight of their eyes. They were pressed to set God always before them, but they chose rather to cast him and his fear behind their backs. Note, Those who do not choose the fear of the Lord, show that they have no knowledge.

Vol. III.— 4 M

(2.) The sentence is pronounced, and it is cer tainly ruining. They that will not submit to God's government will certainly perish under his wrath and curse, and the gospel itself will not relieve them. They would not take the benefit of God's mercy when it was offered them, and therefore justly fall as victims to his justice, ch. xx'ix. 1. The threat eninsjs here will have their full accomplishment in the judgment of the great day, and the eternal misery of the impenitent, of which yet there are some earnests in present judgments.

[1.] Now sinners are in jjrosperity, and secure; they live at ease, and set sorrow at defiance. But, First, Their calamity will come, {v. 26.) sickness will come, and those diseases which they shall apprehend to be the very arrests and harbingers of death. Other troubles will come, in mind, in estate, which will convince them of their folly in setting God at a distance. Secondly, Their calamity will put them into a great fright. Fear seizes them, and they apprehend that bad will be worse. When public judgments are abroad, the sinners in Zion are afraid, fearfulness surpi'ises the hypocrites, death is the 'king of terrors to them; (Job xv. 21, &c.—xviii. 11, gcc.) this fear will be their continual torment. Thirdly, According to their fright will it be to them. Their/raj- shall come; the thing they were afraid of shall befall them, it shall come as desolation, as a miglity deluge, Ijearing down all before it; it shall be their destruction, their total and final destruction, and it shall come as a whirlwind, which suddenly and forcibly drives awav all the chaff. Note, Those that will net admit the fear cf God, lay themselves open to all other fears, and their fears will not prove causeless. Fourthly, Their fright will then Ije turned into desjjair; Dis-ti-ess and anguish shaft come ti/i07i them, for, being fallen into the pit they were afraid of, thev shall see no way to escape, x-. 27. Saul cries out, '(2 Sam. i. 9.) Anguish is co>ne upon me; and in hell there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth for anguish; tribulation arid anguish to the soul of the sinner, the fruit of the iridignation and ivrath of the righteous God, Rom. ii. 8, 9.

[2.] Now God pities their folly, but he will then laugh at their calamity; {y. 26.) " I also vt'ill laugh at your distress, even as you laughed at my counsel." They that ridicule religion will thereby but make themselves ridiculous before all the world. The righteous will laugh at them, (Ps. Iii. 6.) for God himself will. It intimates that they shall be for ever shut out of God's compassions; they have so long sinned against mercy, that they have now quite sinned it away; his eye shall not spare, neither will he have pity. Nay, his justice being glorified in their niin, he will be pleased with it, though now he would rather they should turn and live. Ah, 1 will ease me of mine adversaries.

[3.] Now God is ready to hear their prayers, and to meet them with mercy, if they wculd but seek to him for it; but then the door will be shut, and thev shall cry in vain; {x\ 28.) " Then shall they call upon ?ne, when it is too late. Lord, Lord, open to us. They would then glndly be beholden to that mercy which now they reject and make light of; but I will not answer, because, when I called, thev would not answer;" all the answer then will be. Depart from me, I know you not. This has been the case of some even in this life, as of Saul, whom God answered not by Urim or prophets; bnt, ordinarily, while there is life, there is room for pra\-er, and hope of speeding; and therefore this must refer to the inexorable justice of the last judgment. Then those that slighted God will seek him earhi, earnest ly, but in vain; they shall not find him, because they sought him not when he might be found, Isa. Iv. 6. The rich man in hell begged, but was denied.

G42

PROVERBS, li.

[4. ] Now they are eager upon their own way, and fend of their own devices; but then they will have enough of them, {v. 31.) according to the proverb. Lei men drink as they breiv; they shall eat the fruit of their own way, their wages shall be according to their work, and, as was their choice, so shall their doom be. Gal. vi. 7, 8. Note, First, There is a natural tendency in sin to destruction, Jam. i. 15. Sinners are certainly miserable, if they do but eat the fruit of their own way. Secondly, They that perish must thank themselves, and can lay no blame upon any other. It is their own device, let them make their boast of it. God chooses their delusions, Isa. Ixvi. 4.

[5. ] Now they value themselves upon their worldly prosperity; but then that shall help to aggravate their ruin, v. 32. First, They are now proud that they can turn away from (iod, and get clear of the restraints of religion; but, that very thing shall slay them, the remembrance of it shall cut them to the heart. Secondly, They are now proud of their own security and sensuality; but the ease of the simfile (so the margin reads it) shall slay them; the more secure they are, the more certain and the more dreadful will their destruction be, and the firosfieri-ty of fools shall help to destroy them, by puffing them up with pi'ide, gluing their hearts to the world, furnishing them with fuel for their lusts, and hardening their hearts in their evil ways.

4. He concludes with an assurance of safety and happiness to all those that submit to the insti-uctions qf wisdom; {v. 33.) " Whoso hearkeneth unto me, and will be ruled by me, he sliall," (1.) " Be safe; he shall dwell under the special protection of Heaven, so that nothing shall do hin\ any real hurt." (2.) "He shall be easy, and have no disquieting apprehensions of danger; he shall not only be safe from evil, but quiet from the fear of it." Though the earth be removed, yet shall not they fear. Would we be safe from evil, and quiet from the fear of it? let religion always rule us, and the word of God be our counsellor. That is the way to dwell safely in this world, and to be quiet from the fear of evil in the other world.

CHAR 11.

Solomon, having foretold the destruction of those Avho are obstinate in their impiety, in this chapter applies himself to those who are willing to be taufjht; and, 1. He shows them, that, if they would diliffcnlly use the means of knowledn;e and grace, they should obtain of Uod the knowledge and grace which they seek, v. 1 .. 9. H. He shows them of what unspeakable advantage it would be to them. 1. It would preserve them from the snares of evil men, (v. 10. . 15.) and of evil women, v. 16 . . 19. in. It would direct them into, and keep them in, the way of good men, v. 20. . 22. So that, in this chapter, we are taught both how to get wisdom, and how to use it wheti we have it, that we may neither seek it, nor receive it in vain.

1. ]%/f^Y son, if thou wilt receive my words, JlyA and hide my commandments with thee; 2. So that thou inchne thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thy heart to understanding; 3. Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding ; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as /b-" hid treasures; 5. Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God: 6. For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth Cometh knowledge and understanding ; 7. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk

uijrightly. 8. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. 9. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; j/ca, every good path.

Job had asked, long before this. Where shall wisdom be found? Whence cometh wisdom'/ Job xxviii. 12, 20. He had given this general answer, {v. 23.) God knoweth the filace of it ; but Solomon here goes further, and tells us both where we may find it, and how we may get it.

We are here told,

I. What means we must use, that we may obtain wisdom.

1. We must closely attend to the word of God, for that is the woi*d of wisdom, which is able to make us wise unto salvation, v. 1, 2. (1.) We must be convinced that the words of God are the fountain and standard of wisdom and understanding, and that we need not desire to be wiser than they will make us. We must incline our ear, and afi-fily our hearts to them, as to wisdom and tinder-standing itself: many wise things may be found in human compositions, but divine revelation, and true religion built upon it, are all wisdom. (2.) We must, accordingly, receive the word of God with all readiness of mind, and bid it welcome, even the commandments as well as the promises, Avithout murmviring or disputing. Sfieak, Lord, for thy servant hears. (3.) We must hide them with us, as we do our treasures, which we are afraid of being robbed of. We must not only receive, but retain, the word of God, and lodge it in our hearts, that it may be always ready to us. (4.) We must incline our ear to them; we must lay hold on all opportunities of hearing the word of God, and listen to it with attention and seriousness, as those that are afraid of letting it slip. (5.) We must apply cur hearts to them, else inclining the ear to them will stand us in no stead.

2. We must be much in prayer, v. 3. We must cry after knowledge, as one that is ready to perish, for hunger begs hard for bread; faint desires will not prevail, we must be importunate, as those that know the worth of knowledge, and our own want of it. We must cry, as new-born babes, after the sincere milk of the word, 1 Pet. ii. 2. We must lift up our voice for understanding, lift it up to heaven; from thence "these good and perfect gifts must be expected, Jam. i. 17. Job xxxviii, 34. We must give our xwice to understanding, so the word is; speak frr it, vote for it; submit the tongue to the command of wisdom; we must consecrate our voice to it; having applied our heart to it, we must em-plov our voice in seeking for it. Solomon could write /irobatum est, upon this method; he prayed for wisdom, and so obtained it.

3. We must be willing to take pains; {v. 4.) we must seek it as silver, preferring it far before all. tlie wealth of this woi-ld, and labouring in search of it as those who dig in the mines, who undergo great toil, and run great hazards, with indefatigable in-dustrv, and invincible constancy and resolution, in pursuit of the ore; or as those who will be rich, rise up earh', and sit up late, and turn every stone to get money, and fill their treasures. Thiis diligent must we be in the use of the means of knowledge, following on to know the Lord.

II. What success we may hope for Jn the use of these means; our labour shall not be in vain; for, 1. We shall know how to maintain our acquaintance and communion with God; " Thou shalt understand the fear of the Lord; {y. 5.) thou shalt know how to worship him aright, shalt be led into the meaning and mystery of eveiy ordinance, and be enabled to

PROVERBS, II.

643

answer the end of its institution." Thou shallJiiid the knowledge of God, which is necessary to our fearing him ainght. It cc nccrns us to understand how much it is our interest to know (Jnd, and to evidence it b)^ agreeable affections tcjward him, and adorations of him. 2. We shall know how to carry It aright towards all men; (t^. 9.) "Thou shalt understand, by tlie word of God, righteousness, and judgment, and equity; shalt learn those principles of justice and charity, and fair dealing, which shall guide and govern thee in the whole course of thy conversation, shall make thee fit for every relation, every business, and faithful t.) every trust. It shall give thee not only a right notion of justice, but a disposition to practise it, and to render to all their due; for those th.it do not justly, do not rightly understand it." This will lead them into every good path, for the scripture will 7nake the man of God perfect. Note, Those ha\'e the best knowledge who know their duty, Ps. cxi. 10.

III. What ground we have tc hope for this success incur pursuits of wisdom; we nmst take cur encouragement herein from God only, v. 6. . 8.

1. God has wisdom to bestow, v. 6. The Lord not only is wise himself, but he gives ':visdo?n, and that is'moi-e than the wisest men in the world can do, for it is God's prerogative to open the understanding. All the wisdom that is in any creature is his gift, his free gift, and he gi\-es it lilxn-ally, (Jam. 1. 5.) has given it to many, and is still giving it; to him, theretore, let us apply ourselves for it.

2. He has blessed the world with a revelation of his will. Out of his mouth, by the law and the prophets, by the written word, and by his ministers, both which are his mouth to the children of men, come knowledge and undej-standing; such a discovery of truth and good, as, if we admit and receive the impressions of it, will make us truly knowing and intelligent. It is both an engagement, and an encouragement, to search after wisdom, that we have the scriptures to search, in which we may find it if we seek it diligently.

3. He has particularly provided that good men, who are sincerely disposed to do his will, shall have tli.it knowledge and understanding which are necessary for them, John \ii. 17. Let them seek, and they shall find it, let them ask, and it shall be given tiiem, v. 7, 8. Observe here, (1.) Who they are that are thus favoured. They are the righteous, on whom the image of God is renewed, which consists in righteousness; and those who ivalk uprightly, who are honest in their dealings l)oth with God and man, and make conscience of doing their duty as far as they know it. They are his saints, devoted to his honour, and set apart f)r his service. (2.) What it is that is provided for them. [1.] Instruction. The means of wisdom are given to all, but wisdom itself, sound wisdom, is laid 2t/i for the righteous, laid up in Christ their Head, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and who is made of God to ics Wisdom. The same that is the Spirit of revelation in the word, is a Spirit of wisdom in the souls of them that are sanctified; that wisdom of the pinident, which is to understand his way; and it is sound wisdom, its foundations firm, its principles solid, and its products of lasting advantage. [2.] Satisfaction. Some read it. He lays up substance for the righteous, not only substantial knowledge, but substantial happiness and comfort. Prov. viii. 21. Riches are things that are not, and they that have them only fancy themselves happy; but what is laid up, in the promises and in heaven, for the righteous, will make them truly, thoroughly, and eternally, happy. [3.] Protection. Even they who walk uprightly may be brought into danger, for the trial of their faith, but God is, and will be, a Buckler to them, so that no-

thing that happens to them, shall do them any real hurt, or possess them with any terrific apprehensions; they are safe, and they shall think themselves so. Fear not, Abraham, I am thy Shield. It is tlicir way, the paths of judgment in which they walk, that the Lord knows, and owns, and takes care of. [4. ] Grace to persevere to the end. If we depend upon God, and seek to him for wisdom, he will uphold us in our integrity, will enable us to keep the paths of judgment, however we may l)e tempted to turn aside out of them; for he presej-ves the way of his saints, that it be not pen'erted, and so preserves them in it safe and blameless to his heavenly kingdom. The assurances God has given us of his grace, if duly improved, will excite and quicken our endeavours in doing our duty, JVork out your salvation, for God works in you.

10. When wisdom entereth into thy heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul, 11. Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee; 12. To deliver thee from the way of the evil man.^ from the man that speaketh froward things; 13. Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness ; 14. Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; 15. Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: 16. To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; 17. Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. 18. For her house inclineth unto dcatli, and her paths unto the dead; 19. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life : 20. That thou mayest walk in the way of good men., and keep the paths of the righteous. 21. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall i emain in it. 22. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

The scope of these verses is to show, 1. What great advantage true wisdom will be of to us; it will keep us from the paths of sin, which lead to ruin, and will therein do us a greater kindness than if it enriclicd us with all the wealth of the world. 2. Wliat good use we should make of the wisdom God gives us; we must use it for our own guidance in the paths of ^'irtue, and for the arming of us against temptations of every kind. 3. By what rules we may tiy ourselves, whether we have this wisdom or no; this tree will be known by its fiiiits; if we be truly wise, it will appear by our care to avoid all evil company and evil practices.

This wisdom will be of use to us,

I. For our preservation from evil, from the evil of sin, and consequently from the evil of trouble that attends it. In general, (t;. 10, 11.) "When wisdom has entire possession of thee it will keep thee." And when has it an entire possession of us. 1. When it has dominion over us; when it not only fills the head with notions, but enters into the heart. and has a commanding power and influence upon that; when it is upon the throne there, and gives law to the affections and passions; when it enters into the heart, as the leaven into the dough, to diffuse its relish there, and to change it into its own image; then it is likely to do us good. 2. When

PROVERBS, II.

we have knowledge in it: when knowledge becomes fileasant to the soul; "When thou beginnest to relish it as the most agreeable entertainment, and art subject to its rules, of choice, and with satisfaction; when thou callest the practice of virtue, not a slavery and a task, but liberty and pleasure, and a life of serious godliness, the most comfortable life a man can live in this Avorld, then thou wilt find the benefit of it." Though its restnants should be in iome respects unpleasant to the body, yet even those must be pleasant to the soul. When it is come to this, witn us, discretion shall /iresei-ve us, and keep us. God keeps the way of his saints, (v. 8.) by giving them discretion to keep cut of harm's way, to keep themselves, that the wicked one touch them not. Note, A principle of grace reigning in the_ heart, will be a powerful preservative both against corruptions witiiin and temptations without, Eccl. ix. 16, 18. More particularly, wisdom will preserve us,

(1.) From men of corrupt principles; atheistical, profane men, v/ho make it their business to de-Dauch young men's judgments, and instil into their minds prejudices against rehgion, and arguments for vice. "It will deliver thee from the way of the evil man; {v. 12.) and a blessed deliverance it will be, as from the very jaws of death, from the way in which he walks, and in which he would persuade thee to walk." The enemy is spoken ot as cne, (x;. 12.) aixevil 7nan, but afterward as many; {v. 13.) there is a club, a gang, of them, that are in confederacy against religion, and join hand in hand for the support of the devil's kingdom and the interests of it.-

[1.] They have a spirit of contradiction to that which is good; they speak froward things; they say all they can against religion, both to sliow their own enmity to it, and to dissuade others from it. They are advocates for Satan, they plead for Baal, and pervert the right ways of the Lord. How peevishly will profane wits argue for sin; and with what frowardness will they carp at the word of God! Wisdom will keep us either from conversing with such men, or at least from being ensnared by them.

[2.] They are themselves apostates from that which is good, and such are commonly the most malicious and dangerous enemies religion has; witness Julian; {v. 13.) They leave the paths of uprightness, which they were trained up in, and had set out in; shake off the influences of their education, and break off the thread of their hopeful beginnings, to walk in the ways of darkness, in those wicked ways, which hate the light, in which men are led bUndfold by ignorance and error, and which lead men into utter darkness. The ways of sin are ways of darkness, uncomfortable and unsafe; what fools are they that leave the plain, pleasant, liglit-some, paths of uprightness, to walk in those ways! Ps. Ixxxii. 5. iJohnii. 11.

[3.] They take a pleasure in sin; both in committing it themselves, and in seeing others commit it; (v. 14.) They rejoice in an opportunity to do evil, and in the accomplishment and success'of any wicked project. It is sport to a fool to do mischief; nor is any sight more grateful to them, than to see the frowardness of the wicked; to see those that are hopeful drawn into the wa)'s of sin, and then to see them hardened and confirmed in those ways. They are pleased if they can discern that the devil's kingdom gets ground; (see Rom. i. 32.) such a height of impiety are they arrived at.

[4.] They are i-esolute in sin; {v. 15.) Their ivays are crooked, a great manv winding;s and turn-iiigs to escape the pursuit of their convictions, and break the force of them; some slv excuse, some subtle evasion or other, their deceitful heaits fur-

nish them with, for the strengthening of their hand* in their wickedness; and, in the crooked mazes oi that labyrinth, they secure themselves from the arrests of God's word and their own consciences; for they are froward in their paths, they are resolved to go on in them, whatever is said against it. Every wise man will shun the company of such as these.

(2.) From women of coiTupt practices. The former lead to spiritual wickedness, the lusts of the uns^anctified mind; these lead to fleshly lusts, which defile the body, that living temple, but withal war against the soul. The adulteress is here called the strange woman, because no man that has any wisdom or goodness in him, will have any acquaintance with her; she is to be shunnt-d by every Israelite, as if she were a heathen, and a stranger to that sacred commonwealth. As?rG«^e wo?72g;z indeed! utterly estranged from all principles of reason, virtue, and honour.

It is a great mercy to be delivered from the allurements of the adulteress, considering,

[1.] How false she is. Who will have any dealings Avith those that are made up of treacherj'.-' '^\\c\%-d. strange %voman; io\. First, She is false to him whom she entices; she speaks fair, tells him how much she admires him above any man, and what a kindness she has for him; but i\\& flatters with her words, she has no true affection for him; nor any desire of his welfare, any more than Deli lah had of Samson's; all she designs, is, to pick his pocket, and gratify a base lust of her own. Secondly, She is false to her husband, and violates the sacred obligation she lies under to him; he was the guide of her youth, by marrying him she chose him to be so, and submitted herself to his conduct, with a promise to attend him only, and forsake all others; but she has foisaken him, and therefore it cannot be thought that she should be faithful to any one else; and whoever entertains her is partaker with her in her falsehood. Thirdly, She is false to God himself; she forgets the covenant of her God, the marriage covenant, {v. 17.) to which God is not only a witness, but a party, for he having instituted the ordinance, both sides vow to him to be true to each other. It is not her husband only that she sins against, but her God, who therefore will judge tvhoreniongers and adulterers, because they despise the oath, and break the covenant, Ezekiel xvii. 18. Mai. ii. 14.

[2. ] How fatal it will prove to those that fall in league with her, v. 18, 19. Let the suflTerings of others be our v/arnings; take heed of the sin of whoredom; for, First, The ruin of those who are guilty of it is certain and unavoidable, if they do not repent. It is a sin that has a direct tendency to the killing of the soul, the extinguishing of all good affections and dispositions in it, and exposing of it to the wrath and curse of God, and the sword of his justice. They that live in forbidden pleasures are dead while they live. Let disci-etion preserve every man, not only from the evil woman, but from the evil house, for the house inclines to death, it is in the road that leads directly to eternal death; and her paths unto Rephaim, to the giants, so some read it, the sinners of the old world, who, living in luxury and excess of rict, were cut down out of time, and their foundation overthrown with a flood. Our Lord Jesus deters us from sinful pleasures, with the consideration of everlasting t'-rnicnts which follow them, where the worin dies not, nor is the fire quenched. See Matth. v. 28, 29. Secondly, Their repentance and recovery are extremely hazardous; none, or next to none that go unto her, return again. It is very rare that any who are caught in this snare of the devil i-ecover themselves, so much is the heart hardened, and the mind blinded, by the deceitful-ness of this sin. Having once lost their hold of the

PROVERBS, 111.

■ 64i

K'lhs of life, they know not how to take hold of them again, but are perfectly besotted and bewitched with those base lusts.

Many learned interpreters think that this caution agiinst the strange nvoinan, beside the literal sense, is to be understood figuratively, as a caution, 1. Against idolatry, w]\ich is sjjiritual whoredom. Wisdom will keep thee from all familiarity w-ith the worshippers of images, and all inclination to join with them, which liad for many ages been of sucli pei-nicious consequence to Israel, and proved so to Solomon himself. 2. Against the debauching of the intellectual powers and faculties of tlie soul, b}' the lusts and appetites of the body. Wisdom will keep thee from being captivated by the carnal mind, and from subjecting tlie spirit to tlie dvaninion of the flesh, that notorious adulteress which forsakes its guide, violates the covenant of our God, which inclines to death, and whicli, when it has got an undisturbed dominion, makes the case of the soul desperate.

II. This wisdom will be of use to guide and direct us in that whicli is good; {v. 20.) That thou mayest zvalk in the ivay of good men. We must therefore 'avoid the way of the e-i>il man, and the strange =ivo-7nan, that we may walk in good ways; we must therefore cease to do evil, that we may leaim to do nvell. Note, 1. There is a way which is peculiarly the way of good men, the way in which good men, as such, and as far as tliey have really been such, have always walked. 2. It will be our wisdom to walk in that way, to ask f )r the good old way, and walk therein, Jer. vi. 16. Heb. vi. 12.—xii. 1. And »ve must not only walk in that way awhile, but we must keep it, keep in it, and never turn aside out of it: The paths of the righteous ai-e the paths of hfe, which all that are wise, having taken hold of, will keefi their hold of; "That thou mayest imitate those excellent persons, tlie patriarchs and prophets, (so Bishop Patrick paraphrases it,) and be preserved in the paths of those righteous men who t" lUowed after them."

We must not only choose our way in general, by the good examples of the saints, but must also take dii-ections from them in the choice of our particular paths; observe the track, and go forth by the footsteps of the flock.

Two reasons are here given why we should thus choose.

(1.) Because men's integrity will be their establishment, V. 21. It will be the establishment, [1.] Of their persons; The upright shall dwell in the land, peaceably and quietly, as long as they live: md their uprightness will contribute to it, as it set-'.les their minds, guides their counsels, gains them ^he good-will of their neighbours, and entitles them to God's special favour. [2.] Of their families; The fierfect, in their posterity, shall remain in it. They ihall dwell and remain for ever in the heavenly Ca-laan, of which the earthly one was but a type.

(2.) Because men's iniquity will be their destruc-ton, V. 22. See what comes of the wicked, who hoose the way of the evil man; they shall be cut !jf, not only from heaven hereafter, and all hopes •»f that, but /ro7n the earth now, on which they set iheir affections, and in which they lay up their treasure. They think to take root in it, but they and their families shall be rooted out of it, in judgment to them, but in mercy to the earth. There is a day coming, which shall leave them neither root nor branch, Mai. iv. 1. Let that wisdom then enter into \ our hea7'ts, and be pleasant to our souls, which will keep us out of a way that will end thus.

CHAP. HI.

Thii chapter is one of the most excellent in all this book; b jth for argument to persuade us to be religious, and for

direction therein. I. We must be constant to our duty, because that is the way to be happy, v. 1. .4. II. We must live a life of dependence upon God, because that is the way to be safe, v. 5. III. We must keep up the fear ol God, because that is the way to be heakhful, v. 7, 8. IV. We must serve God with our estates, because that is the way to be rich, v. 9, 10. V. We must bear afflictions well, because that is the way to get good by them, v. 11, 12. VI. We must take pains to obtain wisdom, because that is the way to gain her, and to gain by her, v. 13. .20. yil. We must always govern oursel.ves by the rules of wisdom, of right reason and religion, because that is the way to be always easy, v. 21..26. VIII. We must do all the good we can, and no hurt, to our neighbours, because, according as men are just or unjust, charitable or uncharitable, humble or haughty, accordingly they shall receive of God, v. 27. .35. From all which it appears what a tendency religion has to make men both blessed and blessings.

1. ]%/f Y son, forget not my law; but let JLV A thy heart keep my commandments:

2. For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 3. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee; bind them about thy neck; \\'rite them upon the table of thy heart: 4. So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5. Trust in the Lord with all thy heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

We are here taught to live a life of communion with God; and without controversy great is this mystery of godliness, and of great consequence to us, and as is here showed, will be of unspeakable advantage.

I. We must have a continual regard to God's precepts, v. 1, 2.

We must, 1. Fix God's law, and his commandments, as our rule, by which we will in every thing be i-uled, and to which we will yield obedience. 2. We must acquaint ourselves with them; for we cannot be said to forget that which we never knew.

3. We must remember them so that they may be ready to us whenever we have occasion to use them.

4. Our wills and affections must be subject to them, and must in every thing conform to them. Not only our heads, but our hearts, must keep God's com-mandynents; in them, as in the ark of the testimony, both the tables of the law must be deposited.

To encourage us to submit ourselves to all the restraints and injunctions of the divine law, we are assured, v. 2. that it is the certain way to long life and prosperity. (1.) It is the way to be long-iived. Gnd's commandments shall add to us length of days; to a good useful life on earth, they shall add an eternal life in heaven, length of days for ever ayid ever, Ps. xxi. 4. God shall be our Life, and the Length of our days, and that will be indeed long life, with an addition. But, because length of days may possibly become a burthen and a trouble, it is promised, (2.) That it shall prove the way to be easy too, so that even the days of old age shall not be evil days, but days in which thou shalt have pleasure; Peace shall they be continually adding to thee. As grace increases, peace shall; and of the increase of Christ's government and peace, in the heart as well as in the world, there shall be no end. Great and growing peace have they that love the law.

II. We must have a continual regard to God's promises, which go along with his precepts, and are to be received, and retained with them; {v. 3.) "Let not mercy and truth forsake thee; God's mercy in promising, and his truth in performing; du not forfeit those, but live up to them, and preser\'e

PROVERBS, III.

thine interest in them; do not forget these, but live upon them, and take the comfort of them; bind them about thy neck, as the most graceful ornament." It is the greatest honour we are capable of in this world, to have an interest in the mercy and truth of God. " Write them upon the table of thine heart, as dear to thee, thy portion, and most delightful entertainment; take a pleasure in applying them, and thinking them over." Or it may be meant of the mercy and truth which are our duty; piety and sincerity; charity toward men, fidelity toward God. Let these be fixed and commanding principles in thee.

To encourage us to do this, we are assured, (x". 4.) that this is the way to recommend ourselves both to our Creator and fellow-creatures; So shalt thou find favour, and good understanding. 1. A good man seeks the favour of God, in the first place, is ambitious of the honour of being accepted of the Lord, and he shall find thatfa\our, and with it a good understanding; God will make the best of him, and put a favourable construction upon what he says and does. He shall be owned as one of Wisdom's children, and shall have praise with God, as one having that good understa?iding which is ascribed to all them that do his co?nmandments. 2. He wishes to have favour with men also, (as Christ had, Luke ii. 52.) to be accepted of the multitude of his brethren; (Esth. X. 3.) and that he shall have, they shall understand him aright, and in his dealings with them he shall appear to be prudent, shall act intelligently and with discretion. He shall have good success, so some translate it; the common effect of good understanding.

III. We must have a continual regard to God's providence, must own and depend upon it in all our affairs, both by faith and prayer.

1. By faith. We must repose an entire confidence m the wisdom, power, and goodness, of God, assuring ourselves of the extent of his providence to all the creatures and all their actions. We must therefore trust in the Lord with all our hearts; (v. 5.) we must believe that he is able to do what he will, wise to do what is best, and good, according to his promise, to do what is best for us, if we love him and serve him. We must, with an entire submission and satisfaction, depend upon him to perform all things for us, and not lean to our own understanding; as if we could, by any forecast of our own, without God, help ourselves, and bring our affairs to a good issue. Those who know themselves, cannot but find their own understanding to be a broken reed, which, if they lean to, it will certainly fail them. In all our conduct, we must be diffident of our own judgment, and confident of God's wisdom, power, and goodness, and therefore must follow Providence, and not force it. That often proves best which was least our own doing.

2. By prayer; (t. 6.) In all thy ways acknowledge God. We must not only in our judgment believe that there is an overi-uling hand of God, ordering and disposing of us and all our affairs, but we must solemnly own it, and address ^ourselves to him accordingly. We must ask his leave, and not design any thing but what we are sure is lawful. We must ask his advice, and beg direction from him, not only when the case is difficult, (when we know not what to do, no thanks to us that we have our eyes up to him,) but in every case, be it ever so

Elain. We must ask success of him, as those who now the race is not to the swift; we must refer ourselves to him, as one from whom our judgment proceeds, and patiently, and with a holy indiffer-ency, wait his awai-d. Ifi all our ways that pi'ove direct, and fair, and pleasant, in which we gain our point to our satisfaction, we must acknowledge God with thankfulness. In all our ways that prove cross and uncomfortable, and that are hedged up with

thorns, we must acknowledge God with submission. Our eye must be ever towards God, to him we must, in every thing, make our requests known, as Jeph-thah uttered all his words before the Lord in Miz-peh, Judg. xi. 11.

For our encouragement to do this, it is promised, " He shall direct thy paths; so that thy way shall be safe and good, and the issue happy at last. Note, They that put themselves under a divine guidance, shall always have the benefit of it. God will givi them that wisdom which is profitable to direct, so that they shall not turn aside into the by-paths of sin, and then will himself so wisely order the event, that it shall be to their mind, or (which is equiva . lent) for their good They that faithfully follow the pillar of cloud and fire, shall find, that, though it may lead thtm about, it leads them the right way, and will bring them to Canaan at last.

7. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. 8. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 9. Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase: 10. So shall thy barns be fiIlea with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. 11. My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: 12. For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

We have before us three exhortations, each of them enforced with a good reason.

I. We must live in a humble and dutiful subjection to God and his goveniment; (x". 7.) " Fear the Lord, as your sovereign Lord and Master; be loiled in every thing by your religion, and subject to the divine will. This must be, 1. A humble subjection; Be not wise in thine own eyes. Note, There is net a greater enemy to the power of religion, and the fear of God in the heart, than conceitedness of cur own wisdom. They that have an opinion of their own sufficiency, think it below them, and a disparagement to them, to take their measures from, much more to hamper themselves with, religion's rules. 2. A dutiful subjection; I ear the Lord, and depart from ex'il; take heed of doing any thing to offend him, and to forfeit his care. To/for the Lord, so as to depart from ez'il, is true wisciom and understanding; (Job xxviii. 28.) those that have it are truly wise, but self-denyingly so, and not wise in their own eyes.

For our encouragement thus to live in the fear of God, it is here promised {v. 8.) that it shall be as serviceable even to the outward man as our necessary food; it will be nourishing, it shall be health to thy navel; it will be strengthening, it shall be marrow to thy bones. The prudence, temperance, and ' sobriety, the calmness and composure of mind, and the good government of the appetites and passions, which religion teaches, tend very- much not only to the health of the soul, but to a good habit of body, which is very desirable, and without which our other enjoyments m this world are insipid. Envy is the rottenness of the bones, the son-ow of the world dries them, but hope and joy in God are marrow to them.

II. We must make a good use of our estates, and that is the way to increase them, v. 9, 10. Here is,

1. A precept which makes it our duty to scT^ve God with our estates; Honour the Lord with thy substance. It is the end of our creation and redemption to honour God, to be to him for a name and a praise; we are no other way capable of serving him

PROVERBS, 111.

647

than in his honour. His honour we must show forth, and the honour we have for him. We must honour him, not only with our bodies and sfiirits, which are his, but with our estates too, for they also are his; we and all our appurtenances must be devoted to his gloiy. Worldly wealth is but poor substance, yet, such as it is, we must honour God with it, and then, if ever, it becomes substantial. We must honour God, (1.) With our increase. Where riches increase, we are tempted to honour ourselves, (Deut. viii. 17.) and to set our hearts upon the ^ world; (Ps. Ixii. 10.) but the more God gives us, the more we should study to honour him. It is meant of the increase of the earth, for we live upon annual products, to keep us in constant dependence on God. (2.^ With all our increase; as God has prospered us m every thing, we must honour him. Our law will allow a prescription for a modus decimandi —a modus of tithing, but none de .non deciinando—for being exxused from flaying tithes. (3.) Jl'/th the Jirst-fruits of all, as Abel, Gen. iv. 4. This was the law, (Exod. xxiii. 19.) and the prophets, Mai. iii. 10. God, who is the nrst and best, must have the first and best of every thing; his light is pri' r to all other, and therefore he must be served first. Note, It is our duty to make our worldly estates serviceable to our religion; to use them, and the interest we have by them, for the promoting of religion; to do good to the poor with what we have, and abound in all works of piety and charity, devising liberal things.

2. A promise, which makes it our interest to serve God with our estates; it is the way to make a little much, and much more; it is the surest and safest method of thriving; So shall thy bams be filled with filenty. He does not say, thy bags, but, thy barns; not, thy wardrobe replenished, but, thy presses; God shall bless thee with an increase of that which is for use, not for show or ornament; for spending and laying out, not for hoarding and laying up. They that do good with what they have, shall have more to do more good with. Note, If we make our worldly estates serviceable to our religion, we shall find our religion very serviceable to the prosperity of our worldly affairs. Godliness has the /iromise of the life that now is, and most of the comfort of it. We mistake, if we think that giving will undo us, and make us poor; no, giving for God's honour will make us rich. Hag. ii. 19. What we gave we have. III. We must conduct ourselves aright under our afflictions, v. 11, 12. This the apostle quotes, (Heb. xii. 5.) and calls it an exhortation, which sfieaks unto us as unto children, with the authority and affection of a father. We are here in a world of troubles. Now observe,

1. What must be our care when we are in affliction; we must neither despise it, nor be weary of it. His exhortation before, was to those that are rich and in prosperity, here, to those that are poor and in adversity. (1.) We must not despise an affliction, be it ever so light and short, as if it were not worth taking notice of; or as if it were not sent on an errand, and therefore required no answer. We must not be stocks and stones, and Stoics, under our afflictions; insensible of them, hardening ourselves imder them, and concluding we can easily get through them without God. (2.) We must not be wearv of an affliction, be it ever so heavy and long, not faint under it, so the apostle renders it; not be cbspirited, dispossessed of our own souls, or driven to despair, or to use any indirect means for our relief, and the redress of our grievances. We must not think that the affliction either presses harder, or continues longer, than is meet; nor conclude that deliverance will never come, because it does not come so soon as we expect it.

2. What will be our comfort when we are in af-

fliction. (1.) That it is a divine correction; it is the chastening of the Lord; which, as it is a reason why we should'submit to it, (for it is folly to contend with a God of incontestable sovereignty, and irresistible power,) so it is a reason why we shculd be satisfied in it; for we may be sure that a God of unspotted purity does us no'wrtng, and that a Gnd of infinite goodness means us no hurt. It is front God, and therefore must not be despistd; fur a slight put upon the messenger, is an affront to him that sends him. It is from God, and therefore we must not be weary cf it, for he knows cur fr<.;nic, both what we need, and what we ct;n bear. (2.^ That it is a fatherly correction; it comes not from his vindictive justice as a Judge, but his witie affection as a Father. The fatht r c( rrects the son whon. he loves, nay, and because he loves him, i>nd desires he may be wise and good. He delights in that in his son, which is amiable and agreeable, and therefore corrects him for the preycnticn and cure cf that which would l)e a deformity to him, and an allay to his delight in him. Thus God hath said, ./Is majiy as I love, I rebuke and chasten, Rev. iii. 19. This is a great comfort to God's children under their afflictions, [1.] That they not only consist with, but flow from, covenant-love. [2.] That they are so far from doing them any real hurt, that, by the grace of God working with them, they do a great deal of good, and are happy means of theii sanctification.

13. Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding: 14. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof tiian fine gold. 15. She is more precious than rubies; and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared to her. 16. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. 17. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths «re peace. 18. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her; and happy is every one that retaineth her. 19. The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. 20. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

Solomon had pressed us earnestly to seek dih-gently for wisdom, {ch. ii. l,8cc.) and had assured us that we should succeed in our sincere and constant pursuits. But the question is. What shall we get by it when we have found it? Prospect of advantage is the spring and spur cf industry; he therefore shows us how much it will be to our profit, laying this down for an unquestionable tixith, Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, that true wisdom which consists in the knowledge and love cf God, and an entire conformity to all the intentions of his ti-uths, providences, and laws. Now observe,

I. What it is io find wisdom, so as to be made happy by it.

1. We must get it; he is the happy man, who, having found it, makes it his own, gets both an interest in it, and the possession of it; who draws out understanding; so the word is; (1.) W^ho derives it from God; having it not in himself, he draws it with the bucket of prayer from the Fountain of all wisdom, who gives liberally. (2.) Who takes pains for it, as he does who draws ore out of the mine; if it does not come easily, we must put

■^4'

PROVERBS. 111.

t.nc move strength to draw it. (3.) Who improves in It; who having some understanding, draws it out by growing in knowledge, and making five t dents ten. (4.) Who does good with it; who draws out from the stock he has, as wine from the vessel, and communicates to others, for their instruction, things new and old. That is well got, and to good purpose, that is thus used to good purpose.

2. We must trade for it. We read here of the merchandise of wisdom; which uitimates, (1.) That we must make it our business, and not a by-business; as the merchant bestows the main of his thoughts and time upon his merchandise. (2.) That •we must venture all in it, as a stock in ti-ade, and be willing to pait with all for it. This is that pearl of great price, which, when we have found it, we must wiUingly sell all for the purchase of, Matth. xiii. 45, 46. Buy the truth; (Prov. xxiii. 23.) he does not say at what rate, because we must buy it at any rate, rather than miss it.

3. We must lay hold on it, as we lay hold on a good bargain when it is offered us, which we do the more carefully, if there be danger of having it taken out of our hands. We must ajjprehend with all our might, and put forth our utmost vigour in the pursuit of it; lay hold on all occasions to improve in it, and catch at the least of its dictates.

4. We must retain it; it is not enough to lay hold on wisdom, but we must keep our hold, hold it fast, with a resolution never to let it go, but to i)ersevere in the ways of wisdom to the end. We must sus-tairi it, so some read it; must embrace it with all our might, as we do that which we would sustain. We must do all we can to support the declining interests of religion in the places where Ave live.

II. Wh^t the happiness of those is who do find it.

1. It is a transcendent happiness, more than can be found in the wealth of this world, if we h.id ever so much of it, v. 14, 15. It is not only a surer, but a more gainful, merchandise to trade for wisdom, for Christ, and grace, and spiritual blessings, than for silver and gold, and i'uImcs; suppose a man to have got these in abundance, n ly, to have all the things he can desire of this world; and who is it that ever had that? (1.) All this would not purchase heavenly wisdom; no, it would utterly be contemned; it cannot be gotten for gold. Job xxviii. 15, &c. (2.) All this would not countervail the want of heavenly wisdom, nor be the ransom of a soul lost by its own folly. (3.) All this would not make a man half so happy, no not in this world, as they who have true wisdom, though they have none of all these things. (4.) Heavenly wisdom will procure that for us, and secure that to us, which silver, and gold, and rubies, will not be the purchase of.

2. It is the true happiness; for it is inclusive of, and equivalent to, all those things which are supposed to make men happy, x>. 16, 17. Wisdom is here represented as a l)ri'ght and bountiful queen, reaching forth gifts to her faithful and loving subjects, and offering them to all that will submit to her government.

(1.) Is length of days a blessing? Yes, the most valuable; life includes all good, and therefore she offers that in her right hand. Religion puts us into the best methods of prolonging life, entitles us to the promises of it, and though our days on earth should be no more than our neighbour's, yet it will secure to us e\'erlasting life in a better world.

(2.) Are riches and honour accounted blessings? They are so, and them she reaches out with her left hand. For as she is ready to embrace those that submit to her with both arms, so she is ready to give out to them with both hands. They shall have the wealth of this world, as far as Infinite Wisdom sees good for them; the true riches, how-

ever, by which men are rich toward God, are secured to them; nor is there any honour, by birth or preferment, comparable to that which attends religion; it makes the righteous more excellent than hia neighbour, recommends men to God, commands respect and veneration with all the sober part oi mankind, and will in the other world make those that are now buried in obscurity \.o shine forth as the sun.

(3.) Is pleasui'e courted as much as any thing? It is so, and it is certain that true piety has in it the greatest time pleasure. Her ways are ways of pleasantness; the ways in which she has directed us to walk, are such as we shall find abundance of delight and satisfaction in. All the enjoyments and entertainments of sense are not comparable to the pleasure which gracious souls have in communion with God and doing good. That which is the only right way to bring us to our journey's end, we must walk in, fair or foul, pleasant or unpleasant; but the way of religion, as it is the right way, so it is a pleasant way, it is smooth and clean, and strewed with roses. All her paths a?-e peace. I'here is not only peace in the end, I)ut peace in the way; not only in the way of religion m general, but in the particular j i)aths of that way, in all her paths, all the several I act,,, instances, and duties, of it. One does not im-i bitter what the other sweetens, as it is with the allays of this world; but they are all peace, not only sweet, but safe; the saints enter into peace on this side heaven, and enjoy a.present sabbatism.

3. It is the happiness of paradise; {v. 18.) She is a tree of life. True grace is that to the soul which the tree of life would have been, frcm which our first parents were shut out for eating of the forbidden tree; it is a seed of immortality, a well of living water springing up to life eternal. It is an earnest of the New Jeiiisakm, in the midst of which is the tree of life. Rev. xxii. 2.—ii. 7. Thev that feed and feast on this heavenly wisdom, shall not only be cured by it of every fatal malady, but sliall find an antidote against age and death; they sliall eat and live for ex>er.

4. It is a participation of the happiness of God himself, for wisdom is his everlasting glory and blessedness, v. 19, 20. This should make us in love with the wisdom and understanding which God gives, that the Lord by wisdom founded the earth, so that it cannot be removed, nnr can ever fail of answering all the ends of its creation, to which it is admirably and unexceptionably fitted; by understanding he has likewise established the heavens, and directed all the motions of them in the best manner. The heavenly bodies are vast, vet there is no flaw in them; numerous, yet no disorder in them; the motion rapid, vet no wear or tear; the depths of the sea are broken up, and thence come the waters beneath the fimiamcnt, and the clouds drop down the dews, the waters from above the firmament; and all this by the divine wisdom and knowledge; therefore happy is the jnan that finds wisdom; for he will therel)y be thoroughly furnished for every good word and work. Christ is that XA'^isdom by whom the worlds were made, and still consists, hap])y therefore arc tliey to whom he is made of God IVisdom, for he has wherewithal tn make good all the foregoing promises of long life, riches, and honcur; for all the wealth rf heaven, earth, and seas, are his.

21. My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion. 22. So shall they he life unto thy soul, and srace lo thy neck. 23. Then =halt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. 24. When thou lies

PROVERBS, III.

fi4?

ilown, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt he down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. 25. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it Cometh. 26. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

Solomon having pronounced them happy, who not only lay hold on wisdom, but retain her, here exhorts us therefore to retain her, assuring us that we ourselves shall have the comfort of doing so.

I. The exhortation is, to have religion's rules always in view, and always at heart, x'. 21. 1. To have them always in view; *' Aly son, let thevi not defiart from thine eyes; let not thine eyes ever depart from them to wander after vanity. Have them always in mind, and do not forget them; be ever and anon thinking of them, and conversing with them, and never imagine that thou hast looked upon them long enough, and that it is time now to lay them by; but, as long as thou livest, keep up, and cultivate, thine acquaintance with them. He who learns to write, must always have his eye upon his copy, and not let that be out of his sight; and to the words of wisdom must they, in like manner, have a constant respect, who will walk circumspectly. 2. To have them always at heart; for it is in that treasury, the hidden man of the heart, that we must keefi sound nvisdom and discretion, keep to the principles of it, and keep in the ways of it. It is wealth that is worth keeping.

II. The argument to enforce this exhortation, is taken from the unspeakable advantage which wisdom, thus kept, will be of to us.

1. In respect of strength and satisfaction; "It will be /ife to thy soul; (i). 22.) it will quicken thee to thy duty, when thou beginnest to be slothful and remiss, it will revive thee under thy troubles, when tl^ou beginnest to di-oop and despond. It will be thy spiritual life, an earnest of life eternal." Life to the soul is life indeed.

2. In respect of honour and reputation; It shall be grace to thy neck, as a chain of gold, or a jewel. Grace to thy jaws, so the word is; grateful to thy taste and relish, so some; it shall infuse grace unto all thou sayest, so others; shall furnish thee with acceptable words, which shall gain thee credit.

3. In respect of safety and security; this he insists upon in four verses, the scope of which is to show that the effect of righteousness, (which is the same with wisdom here) is quietness and assurance for ever, Isa. xxxii. 17. Good people are taken under God's special protection, and therein they may have an entire satisfaction. They are safe, and may be easy,

(1.) In their motions by day, t^ 23. "If our religion be our companion, it will be our convoy; Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely; the natural life, and all that belongs to it, shall be under the protection of God's providence; the spiritual life, and all its interests, under the protection of his grace, so that thou shalt be kept from falling into sin or trou-ole." Wisdom will direct us into, and keep us in, the safe way, as far as may be from temptation, and will enable us to walk in it with a holy security; the way of duty is the way of safety. " We are in danger of falling, but wisdom will keep thee, that thy foot fhall not stumble at those things which are an offence and oveithrow to many, but which thou shalt know how to get over."

(2.) In their rest by night, t. 24 In our retirements, we lie exposed, and are most subject to ♦^"rights; " But keep up communion with God, and keep a good conscience, and then, what thou liest

ejp a good conscier VOL. III.—4 N

down, thou shalt not be afraid of fire, or thieves, or spectres, or any of the terrors of darkness, knowing that when we and all our friends are asleep, yet He that keeps Israel and every true-bom Israelite, neither slumbers nor sleeps; and to him thou hast committed thyself, and taken shelter under the shadow of his wings. Thou shalt lie down, and not need to sit up to keep guard; having lain down, thou shalt sleep, and not have thine eyes held waking by care and fear; and thy slee/i shall be sweet and refreshing to thee, being not disturbed by any alarms from without or from within," Ps. iv. 8.—c'xvi. 7. The way to have a good night, is, to keep a good conscience; and the sleep, as of the labouring man, so of the wise and godly man, is sweet.

(3.) In their greatest straits and dangers. Integrity and upriglitncss will preserve us, so that we need not he afraid of sudden fear, v. 25. The harms that surprise us unthought of, giving us no time to arm ourselves by consideration, are most likely to put us into confusion. But let not the wise and good man forget himself, and then he will net give way to any fear that has torment, be the alarm ever so sudden. Let him not fear the desolation of the wicked, when it co?nes; [1.] The desolation" which the wicked ones make of religion and the religious; though it comes, and seems to be just at the door, yet be not afraid cf it; for though God may make use of the wicked as instruments of his people's correction, yet he will never suffer them to he the authors of their desolation. Or rather, [2.] The desolation which wicked men will be brought into in a moment. It will cfme, ; nd timorous saints mav be apprehensive that they sluiU be involved in it; bvit let this be their comfort, that though judgments lay waste generally, at least promiscuously, vet Goii knows who are his,, and how to separate between the precious and the vile. Therefore be not afraid of that which apne:'rs most formidable, for {v. 26.) " The Lord shall be not only thy Protector to keep thee safe, but thy Confidence to keep thee secure, so that thy fort shall not be taken by thine enemies, nor insnarcd l)y tliine own fears." God has engaged to keep the feet of his saints.

27. Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. 28. Say not unto thy neig;hbour, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give -, when thou hast it by thee. 29. Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwellelh secureh^ by thee. 30. Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. 31. Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. 32. For the froward is abomination to the Lord: but his secret is with the righteous. 33. The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he bless-eth the habitation of the just. 34. Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. 35. The wise shall inherit glory; but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

Time wisdom consists in the due discharge of our duty toward man, as well as toward God, in honesty as well as piety, and therefore we have here divers excellent precepts of wisdom, which relate to our neighbour.

I. We must render to all their due, both in justice and charity, and not delay to do it; (y. 27, 28.)

PROVERBS, III.

" Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, (either for want of love to them, or through too much love to thy money,) ivhen it is in the fioiver of thine hand to do it, for if it be not, it cannot be expected; but it was thy great fault, if tliou didst, by thy extravagancies, disable thyself to do justly and show mercy, and it ouglit to be the greatest of thy griefs, if God had disabled thee; not so much that thou art straitened in thy own comforts and conveniencies, as that thou hast not wherewithal to give to those to whom it is due." IVithhold it not; this implies that it is called for and expected, but that the hand is drawn in, and the bowels of compassion are shut ufi. We must not hinder others from doing it, nor be ourselves backward to do it. " If thou hast it by thee to-day, hast it in the power of thine hand, say not to thy neighbour. Go thy way for this time, and come at a more convenient season, and I will then see what will be done; to-morrow I will give; whereas thou art not sure that thou shalt live till to-morrow, or that to-morrow thou shalt have it by thee; be not thus loatli to part with thy money upon a good account; make not excuses to shift off"a duty that must be done; nor delight to keep thy neighbour in pain and in suspense, or to show the authority which the giver has over the beggar; but readily and cheerfully, and from a principle of conscience toward God, give good to those to whom it is due;" to the lords and owners of it, so the word is, to those who, upon anv account, are entitled to it. This requires us, 1. To pay our just debts, without fraud, covin, or delay. 2. To give wages to those that have earned it. 3. To provide for our relations, and those that have dependence on us, for to them it is due. 4. To render dues both to church and state, magistrates and ministers. 5. To be ready to all acts of friendship and humanity, and in every thing to be neighbourly; for these are things that are due by the law of doing as we would be done by. 6. To be charitable to the poor and necessitous; if others want the necessary supports of life, and we have wlierewithal to supply them, we must look upon it as due to them, and not withhold it; alms are called righteousness, because tliey arc a debt to the poor; and a debt which we must not defer to pay; Bis dat, qui cito dat — He gives twice, who gives speedily.

II. We must never design any hurt or harm to any body; {v. 29.) "Devise not einl against thy neighbour; do not contrive how to do him an ill turn undiscovered, to prejudice him in his body, goods, or good name; and the rather, because he dwells securely by thee, and, having given thee no provocation, entertains no jealousy or suspicion of thee, and therefore is off his gaiard." It is against the laws both of honour and friendship to do a man an ill turn, and give him no warning; Cursed be he that smites his neighbour secretly. It is a most base, ungrateful thing, if our neighbours have a good opinion of us, that we will do them no harm, and we thence take advantage to cheat and injure them.

III. We must not be quarrelsome and litigious; {v. 30.) " Do not strive with a man without cause; contend not for that whicli thou hast no title to; resent not that as a provocation, which peradventure was but an oversight. Never trouble thy neighbour with frivolous complaints and accusations, or vexatious law-suits, when either there is no harm dcMic thee, or none worth speiiking of, or tliou mightesi right thyself in a friendly way;" law must be the last refuge; for it is not only our duty, but our interest, as much as in us lies, to live peaceably with all men. When accounts are balanced, it will be found there is little got by striving.

IV. We must not envy the prosperity of evil doers, ■V. 31. This caution is the s\me with that wliich is so much insisted on, Ps. xxxvii. " Envy not the op-

pressor; though he be rich and great, though he live in ease and pleasure, and make all about him to stand in awe ot him, yet do not think him a hap py man, nor wish thyself in his condition. Choose none of his ways, do not imitate him, nor take the courses he takes to enrich himself. Never think ot doing as he does, though thou wert sure to get by it all that he has, for it would be dearly bought.

Now, to show what little reason saints have to envy sinners, Solomon here, in the four last verses of the chapter, compares the condition of sinners and saints together, (as his father David had done, Ps. xxxvii.) sets the one over against the other, that we may see liow ha]3py the saints are, though they l)e oppressed, and how miserable the wicked are, though they l)e oppressors. Men are to be judged of as they stand with God, and as he judges ot them, not as they stand in the world's books; those are in the right wlio are of God's mind; and, if we be ot his mind, we shall see, whatever pretence one sinner may ha\e to cn\ y another, saints are so happy themselves, that they have no reason at all to envy any sinner, though his condition be ever so prosperous. For,

1. Sinners are hated of God, but saints are loved, V. 32. The froward sinners, who are continually going from-ward him, whose lives are a perverse contradiction to his will, thev are abomination to the Lord; He, that hates nothing that he has made, abhors those who have thus marred themselves; they are not only abominable in his sight, but an abomination; the righteous therefoi-e havenoiea-son to envy them, for they have his secret with them; they are his favourites, he has that communion with them which is a secret to the world, and in which they have a joy that a stranger does not intermeddle with; he communicates to them the secret tokens of his love; his covenant is with them; they know his mind, and the meanings and intentions of his providence, better than others can. Shall I hide from Abraham the thing that J do?

2. Sinners are under the curse of God, they and their houses; saints are under his blessing, they and their habitation, x*. 33. The wicked has a house, a strong and stately dwelling perhaps, but the curse of the Lord is upon it, it is in it, and though the affairs of the family may prosper, yet the very bles>s-ings are cursed, Mai. li. 2. There is leanness in the soul, when the body is fed to the full, Ps. cvi. 15. The curse may work silently and slowly; but it is as a fretting leprosy, it will consume the timber thereof, and the stones thereof, Zech. v. 4. Hab. ii. 11. The just have a habitation, a poor cottage, (the word is used for sheep-cotes,) a very mean dwelling; but God blesses it, he is continually blessing it, from the beginning of the year to the end of it. The curse or blessing of God is upon the house, according as the inhabitants are wicked or godly; and it is certain that a blessed family, though poor, has no reason to envy a cursed family, though rich.

3. God puts contempt upon sinners, but shows respect unto saints, v. 34. (1.) Those who exalt themselves shall certainly be abased; surely he scorns the scomers. Those who scorn to submit to the discipline of religion, scorn to take God's yoke upon them, scorn to be beholden to his grace, who scoff at godliness and godly people, and take a pleasure in bantering and exposing them, God will scorn them, and lay them open to scorn before all the world: he despises their impotent malice, .sits in heaven and laughs at them, Ps. ii. 4. He retaliates upon them; (Ps. xviii. 26.) he resists the p^-oud. (2.) Those who humble fhe7uselves shall be "x^lted, for he gives grace to the lowly; he works that in them which jjuts honour upon them, and for which they are accepted of God, and approved of men. Those who patiently bear contempt frcm scornful

PROVERBS, IV.

651

inf.-n shall have respect from God and all good men, and tiien they have no reason to envy the sconiers, or tn choose their ways.

4. The end of sinners will be everlasting shame, tlie end of saints endless honour, v. 35. (1.) Saints are wise men, and act wisely for themselves; for though their religion now wraps them up in obscurity, and lays them open to reproach, yet they are sure to inherit glory at last, the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; they shall have it, and have it bv inheritance, the sweetest and surest tenure; God gives them grace, {v. 34.) and therefore tliey shall inherit glory, for grace is glory, 2 Cor. iii. IS.' It is glory begun, the earnest of it, Ps. Ixxxiv. 11. (2.) Sinners are fools, for they are not only preparing disgrace for themselves, but at the same time flattering themselves with a prospect of honour, as if they took only the way to be great. Their end will manifest their folly; shame shall be their firomotion. And it will J3e so much the more their punishment, as it will come instead of their promotion; it will be all the promotion they must ever expect, that God will be glorified in their everlasting confusion.

CHAP. IV.

When the things of God are to be taught, -precept must be upon precept, and lineupon line; not only because the things themselves are of great worth and weight, but because men's minds, at the best, are unapt to admit them, and commonly prejudiced against them; and therefore Solomon, m this chapter, with a great variety of expression, and a pleasant powerful flood of divine eloquence, inculcates the same things that he had pressed upon us in the foregoing chapters. Here is, I. An earnest.exhortation to the study of wisdom, that is, of true religion and godliness, borrowed from the good instructions which his father gave him, and enforced with many considerable arguments, v. 1 .. 13. II. A necessary caution against bad company, and all fellowship with the unfruitful M'orks of darkness, v. 14 . . 19. 111. Particular directions for the attaining and preserving of wisdom, and bringing forth the fruits of it, v. 20.. 27. So plainly, so pressingly, is the case laid before us, that we shall be for ever inexcusable if we perish in our folly.

I. XTEAR, ye children, the instruction of -ffi a father, and attend to know understanding. 2. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. 3. For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in tlie sight of my mother. 4. He taught me also, and said unto me. Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. 5. Get wisdom, get understanding; forget tt not: neither decline from the words of my mouth. 6. Forsake her not, and she j'.hall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. 7. Wisdom is the principal thing: therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. 8. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. 9. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace; a crown of gloiy shall she deliver to thee. 10. Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. 11. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom ; T have led thee in the right paths. 12. When thou goest, ihy steps shall not be straitened; and when ?hou rnnnest, thou shalt not stumble. 13.

Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.

Here we have,

I. The invitation which Solomon gives to his children to come, and receive instruction from him; (y. 1, 2.) Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father. That is, 1. " Let my own children, in the first place, receive and give good heed to those instructions which I set down for the use of others also." Note, Magistrates and ministers, who are intrusted with the conduct of larger societies, are concerned to take a more than ordinary care for the good instruction of their own families; from this duty their public work will by no means excuse them. This charity must begin at home, though it must not end there; for he that has not his children in subjection with all gravity, and does not take pains in their good education, how shall he do his duty as he ought to the church of God? 1 Tim. iii. 4, 5. The children of those that are eminent for wisdom and public usefulness, ought to improve in knowledge and ^race, in proportion to the advantages they derive from their relation to such parents. Yet it may be observed, to save both the credit and the comfort of these parents whose children do not answer the hopes that arose from their education, that Reho-boani, the son of Solomon, was far from being either one of tlie wisest, or one of the best; we have reason to think that thousands have get more good by Solomon's proverbs than his own son did, to whom they seem to have been dedicated. 2. Let all ycung people, in the days of their childliood and youth, take pains to get knowledge and grace, for that is their learning age, and then their minds are formed and seasoned. He does not say, My children, but. Ye children; we read of but one son that Solcmrn had of his own. He is willing to set u]) for a schoolmaster, and to teach other people's children; for, at tliat age, there is most hope of success; the branch is easily bended when it is ycung and tender. 3. Let all that would receive instiiicticn come with the disposition of children, though they be grown persons; let all prejudices be laid aside, and the mind be as white paper; let them be dutiful, tractable, and self-diffident, and take the word as the word of a father, which comes both with authority and affection. We must see it coming from God as our Father in heaven, to whom we pray, from whom we expect blessings, the Father of our spirits, to whom we ought to be in subjection, that we may live. We must look upon our teachers as our fathers, who love us, and seek our welfare; and therefore, though the instruction cany in it reproof and correction, for so the word signifies, yet we must bid it welcome.

Now, (1.) To recommend it to us, we are told, not only that it is the instruction of a father, but that it is understanding, and therefore should be welcome to intelligent creatures. Religion has reason on its side, and we are taught it by fan- reasoning. It is a law indeed, {v. 2.) but that law is founded upon doctrine, upon unquestionable principles of truth, upon good doctrine, which is not only faithful, but worthy of all acceptation. If we admit the doctrine, we cannot but submit to the law.

(2.) To rivet it in us, we are directed to receive it as a gift, to attend to it with all diligence, to attend so as to know it, for otherwise we cannot do it, and not to forsake it, by disowning the doctrine, or disobeying the law.

II. The instructions he gives them. Observe,

1. How he came by these instructions; he had them from his parents, and teaches his children the same that they taught him, v. 3, 4. Observe, ^1.) His parents loved him, and therefore taught him; I was my father's son. David had many sons, but

PROVERBS, IV.

S jlomon v/as his son indeed, as Isaac is called, (Gen. xvii. 19.) and for the same reason, because on him , the co\enant was entailed. He was his father's darling above any of his children. God had a special kindness for'Solomon, (the prophet called him Jedidiah, because the Lord loved him, 2 Sam. xii. 25.) and, for that reason, David had a special kindness for him, for he was a man after God's own heart. If parents may ever love one child better than another, it must not be till it plainly appears that God does so. He was tender, and only beloved, in the sight of his ?nother: surely there was a manifest reason for making such a distinction, when both the parents made it. Now we see how they showed their love; they catechised him, kept him to his book, and held him to a strict disciphne. Though he was a prince, and heir-apparent to the crown, yet they did not let him live at large; nay, therefore they tutored him tlms. And perhaps David was the more strict with Solomon in his education, because he had seen the ill effects of an undue indulgence in Adonijah, whom he had not crossed in any thing, (1 Kings i. 6.) as also in Absalom. (2.) What his parents taught him he teaches others. Observe, [1.] When Solomon was grown up, he not only remembered, but took a pleasure in repeating, the good lessons his parents taught him when he was a child. He did not forget them, so deep were the impressions they made upon him. He was not ashamed of them, such a high value had he for them, nor did he look upon them as the childish things, the mean things, which, when he became a man, a king, he should put away, as a disparagement to him; much less did he repeat them, as some wicked children have done, to ridicule them, and muke his companions merry with them, priding himself that he was got clear from grave lesscins and restraints. [2.1 Though Solomon was a wise man himself, and divmely inspired, yet, when he was to te;ich wisdom, he did not tl\mk it below him to quote his father, and to make use of his words. They that would learn well, and teach well, in religion, must not affect new-found notions and new-coined phrases, so as to look with contempt upon the kn(;wle(lge and language of their predecessors; if we must keep to the good old ivay, why should we scorn the good old words? Jer. vi. 16. [3.] Solomon, having been well educated by his parents, thought himself thereby obliged to give his children a good education, t!ie same that his parents hud given him; ;.nd tliis is one way in which we must requite our parents fcjr the pains they took with us, even by showing piety at home, 1 Tim. v. 4. They taught us, not only that we may learn ourselves, but that we might teach our children, the good knowledge rf God, Ps. Ixxviii. 6. And we are false to a tnist if we do not; for the sacred deposit of religious doctrine and law was lodged in our hands, with a charge to transmit it pure and entire to those that shall come after lis, 2 Tim. ii. 2. [4.] Solomon enforces his exhortations with the authority of his father Da\id a man famous in his generation upon all accounts. Be it taken notice of, to the honour of religion, that the wisest and best men in every age have been most zealous, not only for the practice of it themselves, but for the propagating of it to others; and we should therefore continue in the things nvhich nve have learned, knowing of whom we have learfied them, 2 Tim. iii. 14.

2. What those instructions were, v. 4« • 13.

[1.] By way of precept and exhortation. David, m teaching his son, though he was a child of great capacity and quick apprehension, to show that he was in good earnest, and to affect his child the more with what he said, expressed himself with great warmth and importunitv, and inculcated the same *hing again and again. So children must be taught;

(Deut. vi. 7. ) Thou ihalt whet them diligently iifion thy children. Da\ id, though he was a man of public business, and had tutors for his son, took all this pains with him himself.

First, He recommends to him his Bible and his catechism, as the means, his father's word, (y. 4.) the words of his month, {v. 5.) his sayings, {v. 10.) all the good lessons he had taught him; and, perhaps, he means particularly the book of Psalms, many of which were Alaschils, psalms of instruction, and two of them are expressly said to be for Solomon. These, and all his other words, Solomon must have an eye to. 1. He must hear and receive them, {v. 10.) diligently attend to them, and imbibe them, as the earth drinks i?i the rain that comes often upon it, Heb. vi. 7. (jcd thus bespeaks our attention to his word. Hear, 0 my son, and receive my sayings. 2. He must hold fast the form of'sound words which his father ga\e him; {v. 4.) Let thine heart retain my words; and except the word be hid in the heart, lodged in the will and affections, it will not be retained. 3. He must govern himself by them; Keep my commandvients, obey them, and that is the way to increase in the knowledge of them, John vii. 17. 4. He must stick to them, and abide by them; '■'Decline not from the words of my mouth', {v. 5.) as feai'ing tliey will be too great a check upon thee, but take fast hold of instruction, {v. 13.) as being resohed to keep thy hold and never let it go. Those that have a gocd education, though they strive to shake it off, will find it hang about them a great while, and if it do not, their case is very sad.

Secondly, He recommends to him wisdom and understanding as the end to be aimed at in the use of these means; that wisdom which isihe /irincipal wisdom, get tliat: Quod caput est sapientidE eam acquire sapientiam — Be sure to inind that branch of wisdom which is the top branch of it, and that is the fear of God, ch. i. 7. Junius and Tremellius. A principal rf religion in the heart, this is the one thing needful: therefc re,

1. Ciet this wisdom, get this understanding, v. o. And again, " Get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding, v. 7. Pray for it, take pains Lr it, gi\ e diligence in the use of all appointed means to attain it, wait at wisdom^s gate, Prov. viii. 34. Get dominion over thy cornaptions, which are thy f Hies; get possession of wise principles, and the habits of wisdom: get it by experience, get it above all thy getting, be more in care, and take mere p^tins, to get this, than to get the wealth of this world; whatever thou forgettest, get this; reckon Jt a great achievement, and pursue it accordingly.' True wisdom is God's gift, and yet we are here commanded to get it, because God gives it to those that lab( ur f-^r it: yet, after all, we must not say. Our might, and the power of our hand, have gotten us this wealth.

2. Forget her not, {xk 5.) forsake hernot, {v. 6.) let her riot go, (t. 13.) but keep her. Those that have got this wisdom must take heed of losing it again by returning to folly; it is indeed a good part that shall not be taken from us; but then we must take heed lest we throw it from us, as those do tliat forget it first, and let it slip cut of their minds, and then forsake it, and turn cut of its good ways. That good thing which is committed to us we must keep, and not let it drop, through carelessness, nor suflcr it to be forced from us, nor suffer ourselves to be wheedled out of it; never let go such a jewel.

3. Love her, {v. 6.) and embrace her, {v. 8.) as worldly men love their wealth, and set their hearts upon it. Religion should be very dear to us, dearer than any thing in this world: and if we cannot reach tobe great masters of wisdom, yet let us be true Invers of it; and what grace we have, let us

PROVERBS, IV.

653

embrace it with a sincere affection, as those that admire its beauty.

4. '■'Exalt her; {v. 8.) always keep up high tlioughts cf religion, speak of it with value and veneration, and do all thou canst to bring it into reputation, and maintain the credit of it among men; concur with God in his purpose, which is, to magnify the law and make it honourable, and do what thou canst to serve that purpose." Let ivisdo?}i's children not only justify her, but magnify her, and prefer her before that which is dearest to them in this world. In honouring those that fear the Lord, though they ai-e low in the world, and in regarding 'Sl floor ivise man, we exalt wisdom.

[2. ] By way of motive and inducement, thus to labour for wisdom, and submit to the conduct cf it, consider,

First, It is the main matter, and that which ought to be the chief and continual care of every man in this life; {y. 7.) Wisdom is the firincifml thing; other things which we are solicitous to get, and keep, are nothing to it; it is the whole of man, Eccl. xii. 13. It is that which recommends us to God, which beautifies the soul, wliich enables us to answer the end of our creation, to live to some good pui-pose in the world, and to get to heaven at last; and therefore it is the principal thing.

Secondly, It has reason and equity on its side; {y. 11.) '' I have taught thee in the way of wisdom, ti-ue wisdom, and so it will be found to be at last; / have led thee, net in the crooked way of carnal policy, which does wrong, under colour of wisdom, but in right paths, agreeable to the eternal ruks and reasons of good and evil." The rectitude cf the divine nature appears in the rectitude r f all the di\ ine laws. Observe, David not cnly taught his son by good instructions, but led liim licth by a good example, and by applying general instructions to particular cases; so that nothing was wanting on his part to make him wise.

Thirdly, It would be much for his own advantage; " If thou be wise and good, thru shalt be so for thyself."_

1. "It will be thy life, thy comfort, thy happiness; it is what thou canst net live without;" Kee/i my commandments, and live, v. 4. That of cur Saviour agrees with this, Lf thou wilt enter into life, keefi the command7nents,Mi\t\.\\. xix. 17. It is upon pain of death, eternal death, and in prospect of life, eternal life, that we are required to be religious; " Receive wisdom's sayings, aiid the years of thy life shall be many, (f. 10.) as many in this world as Infinite Wisdom sees fit, and in the other world thou shalt live that life, the years of which shall never be numbered. Keeji her therefore, whatever it cost thee,/or she is thy life, v. 13. All thy satisfaction will be found in this;" and a soul without ti-ue wisdom and grace is really a dead soul.

2. *' It will be thy guard and guide, thy convoy and conduct, through all the dangers and difficulties of thy journey through this wilderness. Love wisdom, and cleave to her, and she shall jireseTve thee, she shall keep thee {y. 6.) fiom sin, the worst of evils, the worst of enemies; she shall keep thee from hurting thyself, and then none else can hurt thee." As we say, " Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee;" so " Keep thy wisdom, and thy wisdom will keep thee." It will keep us from straits and stumbling-blocks in the management ot ourselves and our affairs, v. 12. (1.) That our steps be not straitened when we go, that we bring not ourselves into such straits as David was in, 2 Sam. xxiv. 14. They that make God's word their inile shall walk at liljerty, and be at ease in themselves. (2.) That our feet do not stumble when we i-un. If wise and good men be put upon sudden lesolves, the certain rule of God's word, which

they goby, will keep them even thru from stumbling upon any thing that ma)- be peniicicus. Integrity and uprightness will preserxe us.

3. "It will be thyhrncur and reputation; {v. 8.) Exalt wisdom, do thou but shew thy goed-will to her advancement, and, thrugh she needs net thy service, she will abundantly recrmpense it, she shall promote thee, she shall bring thee to honour." Solomon was to be a king, but his wisdcm and \irtue would be more his honour than his crown cr pur pie; that was it for which all his ntighbcuis had him so much in veneration; and, no drubt, in his reign, and David's, wise and good men stcc d fairest for preferment. However, rcligicn will, first cr last, bi'ing all those to honour th;:t crrdially embrace her; they shall be accepted of God, rei-])ectcd bv all wise men, owned in the great day, and shall inherit everlasting glory. This he insists en, (f. 9.) " She shall give to thine head an orrtament of grace in this world, shall recommend thee both "to God and man, and in the ether world a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee; a crown that shall never totter, a crown of glory that shall never wither." That is the true honour which attends religion; A'obilitas sola est atque unica virtus — Virtue is the only nobility! David having thus recommendt d wisdom to his son, no marvel that, when God bid him ask what he would, he prayed, Lord, give v:e a wise and an understanding heart. We shruld make it appear by our prayers how well we were taught.

14. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil mcji. 15. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. 16. For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause sovie to fall. 17. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. 18. But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 19. The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble.

Some make David's instructions to Solomon, whicli began v. 4. to continue to the end of the chapter; nay, some continue them to the end of the ninth chapter; but it is more probable that Solomon begins here again, if not sooner. In these verses, ha\ing exhorted us to walk in the paths of wisdom, he cautions us against the paths of the wicked. 1. We must take heed of the ways of sin, and avoid them; e\'ery thing that looks like sin, and leads to it. 2. In order to this, we must keep out rf the ways of sinners, and have no fellowship with them. For fear of falling into wicked courses, we must shun wicked company. Here is,

I. The caution itself, v. 14, 15-.

1. We must take heed of falling in with sin and sinners; E.nter not into the paths of the wicked. Our teacher, having, like a faithful guide, showed us the right paths, {v. 11.) here warns us cf the bypaths into which we are in danger of ]3eing drawn aside. Those that have been well educated, and trained up in the way they should go, let them never tuni aside into the way they should not go; let them not so much as enter into it, no, not to make trial of it, lest it prove a dangerous experiment, and difficidt to retreat with safety. "Venture not into the company of those that are infected with the plague, no, not though thou think thyself guarded with an antidote,"

G54

PROVERBS, IV.

2. If at any time we are inveigled into an evil | way, we muat hasten out of it. " If, ere thou wast aware, th- u didst enter in at the gate, because it was wide, yet go vot on in the way of evil men. As soon as thou art made sensible of thy mistake, retire immcdiatv=-ly, take net a step more, stay not a minute longer, in the way that certainly leads to de-stimction."

3. We must dread and detest the ways of sin and sinners, and decline them with the utmost care imaginable. *' The way of evil men may seem a pleasant way and sociable, and the nearest way to the compassing of some secular end we may have in view; but it is an evil way, and will end ill, and therefore, if thou love thy God and thy soul, avoid it, pass not by it, that thoii mayest not be tempted to enter into it; and, if thou find thyself near it, turn from it, and fiass away, and get as far off it as thou canst." The manner of expression intimates the imminent danger we are in, the need we have of this caution, and the great im])ortance of it; and that our watchmen are, or should be, in good earnest in giving us warning. It intimates likewise at what a distance we should keep from sin and sinners; he does not say. Keep at a due distance, but at a great distance, the further the better; never think you can get far enough from it; escajie for thy life, look not behind thee.

II. The reasons to enforce this caution.

1. "Consider the character of the men whose way thou art warned to shun;" they are mischievous men, {v. 16, 17.) they not only care not what hurt they do to those that stand in their way, but it is their business to do mischief, and their delight, purely for mischiefs-sake. They are continually designing and endeavourmg to cause some to fall, to iniin tl\em body and soul. Wickedness and malice are in their nature, and violence in all their actions. They are spiteful in the highest degree; for, (1.) Mischief is rest and sleep to them. As much satisfaction as a covetous man his when he has got money, an ambitious man when he has got preferment, and a good man when he has done good, so much have they when they have said or done that which is injurious and ill-natured; and extremely uneasy if they cannot get their envy and re\enge gratified; as Haman, to whom every thing was unpleasant, as long as Mordecai was unhinged. It intimates, likewise, liow restless and unwearied they are in their mischievous pursuits; tliey will rather want sleej) than want t!ie pleasure nf being vexatious. (2.) Mischief is meat and drink to them, they feed and feast upon it; they eat the bread of wickedness, (tliey eat 7i/i my p.eofile as they eat bread, Ps. xiv. 4.) and drink the wine of violence, drink iniquity like water. Job XV. 16. All they eat and drink is get by rapine and oppression. Do wicked men think the time lost in which they are not doing hurt? Let good men make it as much their business and delight to do good; Amici, diem perdidi — Friends, I have lost a day. And let all that are wise, and wish well to themselves, avoid the societv of the wicked; for, [ 1. ] It is verv scandalous; for there is no disposition of mind that is a greater reproach to the human nature, a greater enemy to human society, a bolder defiance to (iod and conscience, that has more of the Devil's image in it, or is more serviceable to his interests, than a delight to do mischief, and to vex, and hurt, and ruin every body. [2.] It is very dangerous. "Shun those that" delight to do mischief, as thou tenderest thine own siifcty; for, what-f;ver friendship they may pretend, one time or other they will do thee mischief; thou wilt ruin thyself if ihoii dost concur with them, {ch. i. 18.) and they will ruin thee if thou dost not."

2. *' Consider the character of the way itself ^vhich thou art warned to shun, compared with

the right way which thcu art invited to walk, in." (1.) The way of righteousness is light; {v. 18.) The path of the Just, which they have chosen, and in which tliey walk, is as light; tlie light shijies on their ways, (Job xxii. 28.) and makes them both safe and pleasant. Christ is tlieir Way, and he is the Light. They are guided by the word cf God, and that is a light to their feet; they themselves are light in the Lord, and they walk iri the light as he is in the light. [1.] It is a shining light. Their way shines to themselves, in tlie joy and comfort of it; it shines before others in the lustre and honour of it; it shines before men, who see their good works, Matth. V. 16. riiey go on in their way with a holy security and serenity of mind, as those that walk in the light. It is as the morning-light, which shines out of obscurity, (Isa. Iviii. 8, 10.) and puts an end to the works of darkness. [2.] It is a growing light; it shines more and more; not like the light of a meteor, which socn disappears, or that of a candle, which burns dim, and burns down; but like that of the rising sun, which goes forward sinning, mounts upward shining, (irace, the guide of this way, is growing; he that has clei.n hands shall be stronger and stronger; that joy which is the pleasure of this way, that honour which is the brightness of it, and all that happiness which is indeed its light, shall be still increasing. [3.] It will arrive, in the end, at the perfect day. The light cf the day-spring will at length be noon-day light, and that is it which the enlightened soul is ]n-essing toward. The saints will not be perfect till they come to heaven, but there they shall themselves shine as the siai when he goesfJrth in his strength, Matth. xiii. 43. Theii graces and joys shall lie all consummate. Therefore it is our wisdcm to keep close to the path of the just. (2.) The way &/" sin is as darkness, v. 19. The works he liad cautioned us not to have fellowship with, are, works of darkness. What true.pleasure and satisf iction can tliey have who know no pleasure and satisfaction l)ut wliat they have in doing mischief? What sure guide have they that cast God's word beliind them? J'he way of the wicked is dark, and therefore dangerous; for they stumble, and }et know not at what they stumble; they fall into sin, but are not aware which way the temptation came, by which they were overthrown, and therefore know m t how to avoid it the next time. They fall into trouble, but never inquire wherefore God contends with them; they consider yiot that they do evil, nor what will be in the end of it, Ps. Ixxxii. 5. Job xviii. 5, 6. This is the way we are bid to shun.

20. My son, attend to my words ; incline thine ear unto my sayings : 21. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thy heart: 22. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. 23. Keep thy heart with all diligence ; for out of it are the issues of life. 24. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. 25. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. 26. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 27. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

Solomon, having warned us not to do evil, hert teaches us how to do well. It is not enough for us to shun the occasion of sin, but we must studv the j mrth,.ds of duty

PROVERBS, V.

655

1. We must have a continual regard to the word nf God, and endea\'our that it may be alwa)'s ready to us. The sa}ings of wisdom must be our principles by which we must govern ourselves, our monitors to warn us of duty and danger; and therefore, (1.) We must receive them readily; '' Incline thine car to them, {y. 20.) humljly bow to them, diligently listen to them." '1 he attentive hearing of the word of God is a good sign of a work of grace begun in the heart, and a good means of carrying it on. It is to be hoped that those are resolved to do their duty who are inclined to know it. (2.) We must retain them carefully; {v. 21.) we must lay them before us as a rule; *' Let them not defiart from thine eyes; view them, review them, and in every thing aim to conform to them." We must lodge them within us, as a commanding principle, the influences of which are diffused tliroughout the whole man; '■'■ Keeji them in the midst of thine heart, as things dear to thee, and which thou art afraid of losine." I^et the word of (iod be written in tlie heart, and that which IS written there will remain.

The reason wliy we must thus make much of the words of wisdom, is, because thev will be l)oth food and physic to us, like the tree of life. Rev. xxii. 2. Ezek. xlvii. 12. They that seek and find them, find and keep tliem, shall find in them, [1.] Food; For they are life unto those that find them, x<. 22. As the spiritual life was begun by the word as the instrument of it, so by the same word it is still nourished and maintained; we could not live without it, we may by faith live upon it. [2.] Physic. They are health to all their flesh, to the whole man, both body and soul; they help to keep bot'.i in good plight. They are health to all flesh, so the Seventy. There is enough to cure all the diseases of this distempered world. Tliey are a medicine to all their flesh, so *,he word is; to all their corruptions; for they are called flesh; to all their grievances, which are as thorns in the flesh. There is in the word of God a proper remedy for all our spiritual maladies.

2. We must keep a watchful eye, and a strict hand, upon all the motions of our inward man, xk 23. Here is, (1.) A great duty required by the laws of wisdom, and in order to our getting and preserving wisdom; Keefi thy heart ivith all diligence. God, who gave us these souls, gave us a strict charge with them; Man, woman, keefi thy heart: take heed to thy spirit, Deut. iv. 9. We must maintain a holy jealousy of ourselves, and set a strict guard, accordingly, upon all the avenues of the soul; keep our hearts from doing hurt, and getting Inirt; from being defiled by sin, and disturbed by trouble; keep them as our jewel, as our vineyard; keep a conscience void of offence; keep out b;id thoughts; keep up good thoughts; keep the affections upon right objects, and in due bounds. Keefi with all keefiings, so the word is; there are many wa}'s of keeping things—by care, by strength, by calling in help, and we must use them all in keeping our hearts; and all little enough, so deceitful are they, Jer. xvii. 9. Or, above all keepings; we must keep our hearts with more care and diligence than we keep any thing else. We must keep our eyes, (Job xxxi. 1.) keep our tongues, (Ps. xxxiv. 13.) keep our feet, (Eccl. v. 1.) but, above all, keep our hearts. (2.) A good reason given for this care; because out of it are the issues of life; out of a heart well kept will flow living issues, good products, to the glory of God, and the edification of others. C)r, in general, all the actions of the life flow from the heart, and, therefore, keeping, that is making the tree good and healing the springs. Our lives will be regular or irregular, comfortable or uncomforta-ole, according as our hearts are kept or neglected.

3. We must set a ivatch before the door of our li/is, that Ave offend not with our tongue; (x'. 24.)

Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lifis. Our hearts being naturally corrupt, out of them a great deal of corrupt communication is apt to come, and therefore we must conceive a great dread and detestation of all manner of evil words, cursing, swearing, lying, slandering, brawling, filthi-ness, and foolish talking, all which come from a froward mouth, and^ perverse lips, that will not be governed either by reason or religion, but contradict both; and which are as unsightly and ill-favoured before God, as a crooked distorted mouth drawn awry is before men. All manner of tongtie-sins we must, by constant watchfulness and steadfast resolution, put from us, -^wt far from us; abstaining from all words that have an appearance of evil, and fearing to learn any such words.

4. We must make a covenant with our eyes; "Let them look right on, and straight before thee, v. 25. Let tlie eye be fi:x;ed and not wandering, let it not rove after every thing that presents itself, for then it will be diverted from good, and insnared in evil. Turn it from beholding vanity; let thine eye be single, and not divided; let thine intentions be sincere and uniform, and look not asquint at any by-end." We must keep our eye upon our Master, and be careful to approve ourselves to him; keep our eye upon our rule, and conform to that; keep our eye u])on cur mark, the prize of the high calling, and direct all toward th t. Oculum in metam — The eye upon the goal.

5. We must act considerately in all we do; {v. 26.) Ponder the paths of thy feet; weigh it, so the word is; "Put the word of God in one scale, and wliat thou hast done, or art about to do, in the other, and see how they agree; be nice and critical in examining whether thy way be good before the Lord, and wliether it will end well." We must consider our past Avays, and examine what we have done, and our present ways, W^hat are we doing? Whither are Ave going? See that ye walk circujnsfiectly. It concerns us to consider, Avhat are the duties, and what the difficulties, what are the advantages, and Avhat the dangers, of our way, that Ave may act accordingly. " Do nothing rashly."

6. We must act with steadiness, caution, and consistency; " Let all thy ways be established, {v. 26.) and be not unstable in them, as the double-minded man is; halt not betAveen two, Ijut go on in an CA-en uniform course of obedience; turn not to the right hand, nor to the left, for there are errors on both liands, and Satan gains his point, if he prevail to draAV us aside either Avay. Be very careful to re-move thy foot from evil; take heed of extremes, for in them tliere is evil, and let thine eyes look right on, that thou mayest keep the golden mean." Those that Avould approA'e themselves Avise must ahvays be Avatchful.

CHAP. V.

The scope of this chapter is much the same Avith that of ch. 2. To write the same things, in other words, ought not to be grievous, for it is safe, PJiil. iii. 1. Here is, I. An exhortation to get acquaintance Avith, and submit to, the laws of Avisdom in general, v. I, 2. II. A particular caution against the sin of Avhoredom, v. 3.. 14. III. Remedies prescribed against that sin. 1 Conjugal love, V. 15.. 20. 3. A regard to God's omniscience, v. 21. 3. A dread of the miserable end of Avicked people, v. 22, 23. And all little enough to arm young people against those fleshly lusts Avhich Avar against the soul.

1. "]%/f Y son, attend unto my wisdom, and Iri bow thine ear to my understanding;

2. That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. 3. For the lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil

PROVERBS, V.

4. But her ena is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. 5. Her feet go down to death, lier steps take hold on hell. 6. Lest thoa shouldest ponder the path of hfe, her wa3^s are moveable, that thou canst not know tliem. 7. Hear me now, therefore, O ye children, and depart no't from the words of my mouth. 8. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house; 9. Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: 10. Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth, and thy labours be in tiie house of a stranger ; 11. And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, • 12. And say. How have 1 hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; 13. And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! 14. I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

Here we have,

I. A solemn preface to introduce the caution that follows, X'. 1, 2. Solomon here addresses himself to his son, that is, to all young men, as unto his children, whoni he has an affection for; and some influence upon. In God's name lie demands attention; for he writes by divine inspiration, and is a prophet, though he begins not with, Thus saith the Lord. " Attend, and how thine ear; not only hear what is said, and read what is written, but apply thy mind to it, and consider it diligently." To gain attention, he urges, 1. The excellency of his discourse; "It is my wisdom, it is ?ny understanding; if I undertake to teach tliee wisdom, I cannot jjrescribe any thing to be more properly called so; moral philosophy is m\' philosophy, and that which is to be learned in my school. 2. The usefulness of it; •'Attend to what I say," (1.) "That thou may est act wisely; that thou mayest regard disci-etion. Solomon's lectures are not designed to fill our heads with notions, with matters of nice speculation, or doubtful disputation, but to guide us in the government of ourselves, that we may act prudently, so as becomes us, and so as will be for our true interest. (2.) " That thou maycst speak wisely; that thy lijis may keefi knowledge, and thou mayest have it ready at thy tongue's end," (as we say,) "for the benefit of those with whom thou dost converse." The

Eriests' lips are said to kee/i knowledge; (Mai. ii. 7.) ut they that are ready and mighty in the scriptures, may, not only in their devotions, but in their discourses, be spiritual priests.

II. The caution itself, and that is, to abstain from fleshly lusts, from adultery, fornication, and all un-cleanness. Some apply this figuratively, and hy the adulterous woman here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tend to debauch men's minds and manners: or, the scn.sual appetite, to which it may as fitly as any thing be applied; but the primary scope of it is plainly to warn us against seventh-commandmcnt-sins, which youth is so prone to, the temptations to which are so violent, the examples of which are so many, and which, where admitted, arc so destructive to all the seeds of virtue in the soul, that it is not strange that Solomon's cautions against it are so very pressing, and so often repeated.

Solomon here, as a faithful watchman, gi\es fair warning to all, as they tender their lives and comforts, to dread this sin, for it will certainly be their

ruin. Two things we are here. warned to take heed of;

1. That we do not listen to the charms of this sin. It is true, the lifis of a strange woman drofi as a honeycomb; {v. 3.) the pleasures of fleshly lust are very tempting, (like the wine that gives 'its colour in the cufi, and moves itself aright,) its mouth, the kisses of its mouth, the words of its mouth, are smoother than oil, that the poisonous pill may go down glibly, and there nuiy be no suspicion of harm in it.

But consider, (1.) How fatal the ccnsequences will be; hew bitter the fi-uit which the sinner will have rf his hcncy and ril, when the end will be, [1.] The tcn-ors of Conscience; it is bitter as worm-word; {v. 4.) what was luscious in the mouth, rises in the stomach, and turns sour there; it cuts, in the reflection, like a two-edged sword; take it Avhich way you will, it wounds. Solomon could speak by experience, Eccl. vii. 26. [2.] The torments of hell. If some, that have been guilty of this sin, have repented and l^ecn saved, yet the direct tendency of the sin is to destniction of body and soul; the feet of it go down to death, nay, they take hold on hell, to pull it to the sinner, as if the damnation slumbered too long, v. 5. Those that are entangled in this sin should be reminded, that there is but a step between them and hell, and that they are ready to drop into it.

(2.) Consider how false the charms are. The adulteress flatters and speaks fair, her words are honey and oil, but she will deceive those that hearken to her; her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them; she often changes her disguise, and puts on a great variety of false colours, because, if she be rightly known, she is certainly hated. Proteus like, she puts on many shapes, that she may keep in with those whom she has a design upon. And what does she aim at with all this art and management? Nothing but to keep them from fion-dering the path of life, for she knows, that, if they once come to do that, she will certainly lose them'. Those are ignoi-ant of Satan's devices who do not understand that the great thing he drives at, in all his temptations, is, [1.] To keep them from choosing the path of life, to prevent them from being religious, and from going to heaven, that, being himself shut out from happiness, he may keep them cut from it. [2.] In order hereunto, to keep them from pondering the path of life, from considering how reasonable it is that they should walk in that path, and how much it will be for their advantage. Be it observed, to the honour of religion, that it certainly gains its point with all those that Avill but allow themselves the liberty of a serious thought, and will weigh things impartially in an even balance; and that the devil has no way of securing men in his interests, but by diverting them, with continual amusements of one kind or other, from the calm and sober consideration of the things that belong to their peace. And uncleanness is a sin that does, as much as any thing, blind the understanding, scai-the conscience, and keep people from pondering the path of life. Whoredom takes away the heart, Hos. iv. 11.

2. That we do not approach the l^crders cf tliis sin, V. 7, 8. This caution is introduced with a solemn preface; "Hear me now therefore, O ye children, whoever you are that read or hear these lines, take notice of what I say, and mix faith with it, treasure it up, and depart not from the words of my mouth, as those will do that hearken to the words of the strange woman. Do not only receive what I say, for the present merely, but cleave to it, and let it be ready to thee, and of force with thee, when thou art most violently assaulted by the temp tation." The caution itself is very pressing; " Re

PROVERBS, V.

65"

move thy way far from her; if thy way should happen to he near her, and thou shixildest have a fair pretence of being led by business within the reach of her charms, yet change thy way, and alter the course of it, rather than expose thyself to danger; comeiiot nigh the door of her house; go on the other side of the street, nay, go through some other street, though it be about. This intimates, (1.) That we ought to have a very great dread and detestation of the sin; we must fear it as we would a place infected with the plague, we nmst loathe it as camon, that we will not come near. Then we are likely to preserve our purity, when we conceive a rooted antipathy to all fleshly lusts. (2. J That we ought m-dustfiously to avoid every thmg that may be an occasion of this sin, or a step towards it. They that would be kept from harm must keep out of harm's way. Such tinder there is in the coniipt nature, that it is madness, upon any pretence whatsoever, to come near the sparks. If we thrust ourselves into temptation, we mocked God when we prayed. Lead us not into temfitation. (3.) That we ought to be jealous over ourselves with a godly jealousy, and not to be so confident of the strength of our own resolutions, as to venture upon the bnnk of sin, with a promise to ourselves, that hitherto nve will come, ana no further. (4.) That whatever is oecome a snare to us, and an occasion of sin, though it be as a right eye and aright hand, we nmstpluck it out, cut it off, and cast it from us, must part with that which is dearest to us, rather than hazard our own souls; this is our Saviour's command, Matth. V. 28..30.

The arguments which Solomon here uses to enforce this caution are taken from the same topic with those before, the many mischiefs which attend this sin.

[1.] "It blasts the reputation; thou wilt give thine honour unto others; {v. 9. ) thou wilt lose it thyself, thou wilt put into the hand of each of thy neighbours a stone to throw at thee, tor they will jdl, with good reason, ciy shame on thee, will despise thee, and trample on thee, as a foolish man." Whoredom is a sin that makes men contemptible and base, and no man of sense or virtue will care to keep company with one that keeps company with harlots.

[2.] "It wastes the times, gives the years, the years of youth, the flower of men's time, unto the cruel, that base lust of thine, which, with the utmost cruelty, wars against the soul; that base harlot which pretends an affiection for thee, but I'eally hunts for the precious life." Those years that should be given to the honour of a gi'acious God are spent in the service of a cruel sin.

[3.] "It ruins the estate; (ly. 10.) stra)igers \fi\\. be filled with thy wealth, which thou art but intrusted with as a steward for thy family; and the fruit of thy labours, which should be provision for thine own house, will be in the house of a stranger, that neither has right to it, nor will ever thank thee for it."

[4.] " It is destructive to the health, and shortens men's days; thy flesh aiid thy body will be consumed by it," V. 11. The lusts of uncleanness not only war against the soul, which the sinner neglects, and is in no care about, but they war against the body too, which he is so indulgent of, and is in such care to please and pamper; such deceitful, such foolish, such hurtful, lusts are they. Those that give themselves to work uncleanness with greediness, waste their strength, throw themselves into weakness, and often have their bodies filled with loathsome distempers, by which the number of their months is cut off in the midst, and they fall unpitied sacrifices to a cruel lust.

[5.] "It will fill the mind with hon'or, if ever

Vol. III.—4 O

conscience be awakened. Though thou art merrv now, sporting thyself in thine own deceivings, yet thou wilt certainly inourii at the last, v. 11. Thou art all this while making work for repentance, and laying up matter for vexation and torment in the reflection, when the sin is set before thee in its own colours." Sooner or later it will bring sorrow; either when the soul is humbled, and brought to repentance, or when the fiesh and body are consumed; either by sickness, when conscience flies in the sinner's face, or by the grave; when the body is rotting there, the soul is racking in the torments of hell, where the worm dies not, and. Son, remember, is the constant peal.

Solomon here brings in the convinced sinner, reproaching liimself, and aggravating his own foUy. He will then most bitterly lament it.

First, That, because he hated to be reformed, he therefore hated to be mfoiTned, and could not endure either to be taught his duty, {How have I hated not only the discipline of being instructed, but the instruction itself, though all true and good!) or to be told of his faults, My heart des/iised refiroof v. 12. He cannot but own that those who had the charge of him, parents, ministers, had done their part, they had been his teachers, they had instract-ed him, had given him good counsel and fair warning; (t;. 13.) but, to his own shame and confusion does he speak it, and therein justifies God in all the miseries that were brought upon him, he had not taken their counsel, had not obeyed their voice, for indeed he never inclined his ear to those that instructed him; never minded what they said, nor admitted the impressions of it. Note, Those who have had a good education, and do not live up to it, will have a great deal to answer for another day. And those who will not now remember what they were taught, to conform themselves to it, will be made to remember it as an aggi-avation of their sin, and, consequently, of their i-uin.

Secondly, That, b)' the frequent acts of sin, the habits of it Avere so rooted and confirmed, that his heart was fully set in him to commit it; {v. 14.) I was almost in all evil, in the jnidst of the congregation and assembly. When he came into the synagogue, or into the courts of the temple, to worship God with other Israelites, his unclean heart was full of wanton thoughts and desires, and his eyes of adultery. Reverence of the place and company, and of the work that was doing, could not restrain him, but he was almost as wicked and vile there as any where. No sin will appear more frightful to an awakened conscience, than the profanation of holy things; nor will any aggravation of sin render it more exceeding sinful than the place we are hono\ired with in the congregation and assembly, and the advantages we enjoy thereby. Zimri and Cozbi avowed their villany in the sight of Moses, and all the congregation; (Numb. xxv. 6.) and heart-adultery is as open to God, and must needs be most offensive to him, when we draw nigh to him in religious exercises. I was in all evil, in defiance of the magistrates and judges, and their assemblies; so some understand it. Others i-efcr it to the evil of punishment, not to the evil of sin; "I was made an example, a spectacle to the world; I was under almost all God s sore judgments in the midst of the congregation of Israel, set up for a mark. I stood ufi, and cried in the congregation,'" Job XXX. 28. Let that be avoided which will be thus rued at last.

15. Drink waters out of tliine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. 16. Let thy fountains be dispci-sed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets

.53

PROVERBS, V.

17. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers with thee. 18. Let thy fountain he blessed; and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. 19. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times, and be thou ravished always with her love. 20. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? 21. For the ways of man are before the eyes of the I .ORD, and he pondereth all his goings. 22. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. 23. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Solomon, having showed the great evil that there is in adultery and fornication, and all such lewd and filthy courses, here prescribes remedies against *hem.

I. Enjoy with satisfaction the comforts of lawful marriage, which was ordained for the prevention of uncleanness, and therefore ought to be made use of in time, lest it should not prove effectual for the cure of that which it might have prevented. Let none complain that God has dealt unkindly with them, in forbidding them those pleasures which they have a natural desire of, for he has graciousljMiro-vided for the regular gratification of them. Thou mayest not indeed eat of every tree of the garden, but choose thee out one, which thou pleasest, and of that thou mayest freely eat; nature will be content with that, but lust with nothing. God, in thus confining men to one, has been so far from putting any hardship upon them, that he has really consulted their true interest; for, as Mr. Herbert observes.

If God had laid all common, certainly

Man would have been the encloser.—Church-porch.

Solomon here enlarges much upon this; not only prescribing it as an antidote, but urging it as argument, against fornication, that the allowed pleasures of marriage (however wicked wits may ridicule them, who are factors for the unclean spirit) far transcend all the false forbidden pleasures of whoredom.

1. Let young men many, marry and not bum. Have a cistern, a ivell of thine own, {v. 15.) even the wife of thy youth; (v. 18.) Wholly abstain, or ived —Herb. "The world is wide, and there are varieties of accomplishments, among which thou mayest please thyself."

. 2. Let him that is married take delight in his wife, and let him be very fond of her, not only because she is the wife that he himself has chosen, and he ought to be pleased with his own choice, but because she is the wife that God in his providence appointed for him, and he ought much more to be pleased with the divine appointment; pleased with her because she is his own; Let thy fountain be blessed; {v. 18.) think thyself very happy in her, look upon her as a blessed wife, let her have thy blessing, pray daily for her, and then rejoice with her. Those comforts we are likely to have joy of, that are sanctified to us by prayer and the blessing of God. It is not only allowed us, but commanded us, to be pleasant with our relations; and it particularly becomes yoke-fellows to rejoice together and in each other. Mutual delight is the bond of mutual fidelity. It is not only taken for granted, that the bridegroom rejoices over his bride, (Isa. Ixii. 5.) but given for law, (Eccl. ix. 9.) Live joyfully with thu wife whom thou lovest, all the days of thy life.

Those take not their comforts there where God has appointed, who are jovial and merry with their companions abroad, but sour and morose with their families at home.

3. Let him be fond of his wife, and love her dearly; (f. 19.) Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe, such as great men sometimes kept tame in their houses, and played with. Desire no better diversion from severe study and business, than the innocent and pleasant conversation of thine own wife; let her lie in thy bosom, as the poor man's ewe-lamb did in his, (2 Sam. xii. 3.) and do thou repose thy head in her's, and let that satisfy thee at all times; and seek not for pleasure in any other. Err thou always in her love. If thou wilt suffer thv love to run into an excess, and wilt be doting-foncl of any body, let it be only of thine own wife, where there is least danger of exceeding. This is drinking waters, to quench the thirst of thine appetite, out of thine own cistern, and running waters, which are clear, and sweet, and wholesome, out of thine own well, V. 15. 1 Cor. vii. 2, 3. .

4. Let him take delight in his children, and look upon them with pleasure; {v. 16, 17.) "Look upon them as streams from thine own pure fountains," (the Jews are said to come forth out of the waters ofJudah, Isa. xlviii. 1.) "so that they are pieces cf thyself, as the streams are of the fountain. Keep to thine own wife, and thou shalt have," (1.) "A numerous offspring, like rivers of water, which run in abundance, and they shall be dispersed abroad, matched into other families, whereas they that commit whoredom, shall 720^ increase," Hos. iv. 10. (2.) "A peculiar offspring, which shall be only thine own, whereas the children of whoredom, that are fathered upon thee, are, probably, not so, but, for aught thou knowest, are the offspring of strangers, and yet thou must keep them. (3.) "A creditable offspring, which are an honour to thee, and which thou mayest send abroad, and appear with in the streets, whereas a spurious brood is thy disgrace, and that which thou art ashamed to own.' In this matter, virtue has all the pleasure and honour in it; justly therefore is it called wisdom.

5. Let him then scorn the offer of forbidden pleasures, when he is always ravished with the love of a faithful virtuous wife, let him consider what an absurdity it will be for him to be ravished with a strange woman, {v. 20.) to be in lovt with a filthv harlot, and embrace the bosom of a stranger ;\f\\\ch, if he had any sense of honour or virtue, he would loathe the thoughts of. " Why wilt thou be so sottish, such an enemy to thyself, as to prefer puddle-water, and that poisoned too and stolen, before pure living waters out of thine own well?" Note, K the dictates of reason may be heard, the laws of virtue will be obeyed.

II. "See the eye of God always upon thee, and let his fear rule in thine heart, v. 21. They that live in this sin, promise themselves secrecy; the eye. of the adulterer waits for the twilight. Job xxiv. 15. But to what pui-pose, when it cannot be hid from God? For, 1. He sees it; the ways of man, all his motions, all his actions, are before the ei^es of the Lord, all the workings of the heart, and all the outgoings of the life, that which is done ever so secretly, and disguised ever so artfully. God sees it in a true light, and knows it with all'its causes, circumstances, and consequences. He does not cast an eye upon men's ways now and then, but they are always actually in his view, and under his ins])ection; and darest thou sin against God in his sight, and do that wickedness under his eye, which thou durst not do in the presence of a man like tlnsclf ?" 2. He will call the sinner to an account for it; for he not only sees, but ponders, all his goings, judges concerning them, as one thr.t will shortly judge the sinner for

PROVERBS, VI.

bb'J

tliem. Every action is iveighed, and shall be brought into judgment, (Eccl. xii. 14.) Avhich is a good rea-

t son wliy we should iionder tht path of our feet, {ch.

® iv. 26.) and so judge ourselves, tluit we may not be judged.

III. *' Foresee tlie certain ruin of those that go on still in tlieir trcs])asscs." They that live in tliis sin promise themselves impunity, but they decci\e themselves, tiieir sin will find them out, v. 22, 23. The apostle gives tlie sense of these \erses in a few woi'ds; (Hel). xiii. 4.) llhoreniongern and adulterers God will judge.

1. It is u sin which men liardly shake off the power of; when the sinner is old and weak, his lusts dre strong and active, in calling to remembrance tlie days of his youth, Ezek. xxiii. 19. Tlius his own iniquities hax ing seized the wicked himself by his )wn consent, and he having \'oluntarily surrendered himself a cajjtive to them, he is held in the cords.of his own sins, and such full possession they have gained of him, that he cannot extricate himself, but, in tlie greatness of his folly, (and what gi-eater folly could tiiere l)e, than to yield himself a servant to such cruel task-masters?) he sliall^o astray, and wander endlessl}'. Uncleanness is a sin, from wliicli, when once men have plunged themselves into it, they Aery hardly and \ery rarely recover themselves.

2. It is a sin which, if it be not forsaken, men cannot possibly escape the punishment of; it will unavoidably be their ruin. As their own iniquities do arrest them in the reproaches of conscience, and present rebukes, (Jer. vii. 19.) so their own iniquities shall arrest them, and bind them over to the judgments of God; there needs no prison, no chains, they shall be holden in the cords of their own sins, as the fallen angels, being incurably wicked, are thereby reserved in chains of darkness. The sinner, who, having been ofte7i refiroved, hardens his neck, shall die at length without instruction; having had general warnings sufficient given him already, he shall have no particular warnings, but he shall die without seeing his danger before-hand, shall die because he would not receive instruction, out i?i the greatness of his folly would go astray; and so shall his doom be, he shall never find the way home again. They that ai-e so foolish as to choose

.e way of sin, are justly left of God to themselves, to go in it till they come'to that destruction which it leads to; wliich is a good reason why we should guard with watchfulness and resolution against the allurements of the sensual appetite.

CHAPTER VI.

In this chapter, we have, I. A caution against rash sure-tiship, V. 1..5. II. A rebuke to slothfulness, v. 6..II. III. The character and fate of a malicious mischievous man, V. 12.. 15. IV. An account of seven things which God hates, v. 16.. 19. V. An exhortation to make the word of God familiar to us, v. 20 . .23. VI. A repeated warning of the pernicious consequences of the sin of whoredom, v. 24..35. We are here dissuaded from sin very much by arguments borrowed from our secular interests, for it is not only represented as damning in the other world, but as impoverishing in this.

1. ^-l^Y son, if thou be surety for thy j^M^ friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, 2. Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken w ith the words of thy mouth. 3. Do this now, my son, and dehver thyself, when thou ait come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. 4. Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber

I to thine eyelids, b. Deliver thyself as a roe fiom the hand of the hunter^ and as a bird from the hand ol" the fowler.

I It is the excellency of the word of God, that it j teaches usnc;t only divine wisdom for another woi'kl, I i)ut human jnudence for tliis world, that we may I order our aff.iirs with discretion; and this is one good I nile. To avoid suretiship, because by it poverty and ' ruin are often l)r( ught into families, which take awa}' that ci nifoit in relations which he had recommended in the foi'egoing cliapter.

1. ^^'e must look upon suretiship as a snare, and decline it accordingly, v. 1, 2. "It is dangerous enough lV,i- a man to be bound for his friend, though it is one whose circumstances he is well acquainted with, and well assured of his sufficiency; but nmch more to strike the /lands with a stranger, to l^eccme sin-ety for one whom thou dost not know to be either ai)le or honest." Or the stranger here, with whom the hand is stricken, is the creditor, " the usurer to whom thou art become bound, and yet as to thee he is a stranger, thou owest him nothing, nor hast had any dealings with liim. If thou hast rashly entered into such engagements, either wheedled into them, or in hojjes to have the same kindness done for thee anothei- time; know that thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, it was easily done, with a word's speaking, it was but setting thy hand to a paper, a bond is soon sealed and delivered, and a recognizance entered into; but it will not be so easily got clear of, thou art in a snare, more than thou ai't aware of." See how little reason we have to make light of tongue-sins; if by a word of om- mouth we may become indebted to men, and lie open to their actions, by the words of our mouth we may become obnoxious to God's justice, and even so may be snared. It is false that words are but wind, they are often snares. 2. If we \ya\c been drawn into this snare, it will be our wisdom, by all means, with all speed, to get out of it, v. 3..5. "It sleeps for the present, we hear nothing of it, the debt is not demanded, the principal says. Never fear, we will take care of it. But still the bond is in force, interest is i-unning on, the creditor may come upon thee when he will, and perhaps may be hasty and severe, the principal may prove either knavish or insolvent, and then thou must rob thy wife and children, and ruin thy family, to pay that which thou didst neither eat nor drink for. And therefore deliver thyself, rest not till either the creditor give uj) the bond, or the principal give thee counter-security; when thou art come into the hand of thy friend, and he has advantage against thee, it is no time to threaten or give ill language, (that will provoke, and make ill worse,) but humble thyself, beg and pray to be discharged, go down on' thy knees to them, and give them all the fair words thou canst, engage thy friends to speak for thee, leave no stone unturned till thou hast agreed with tliine adversan', and compromised the matter, so that thy bond may not come against thee or thine. This is a care which may well break thy sleep, and let it do so till thou hast got through it. Give not sleep to thine eyes, till thou hast delivered thyself Stiive and struggle to the utmost, and hasten with all speed, as a roe or a bird delivers herself out of the snare of the fowler or hunter. Delays are dangerous, and feeble efforts will not serve. See what care God, in his word, has taken to make men good husbands of their estates, and to teach them prudence in the management of them. Godliness has ])rccepts, as well as promises, relating to the life that now is.

But how are we to understand this? We are not to tliink it is unlawful m an\' case to become surety, or bail, for another; it may be apiece of justice or charity; he that has friends may tee cause in tlus>

G60

PROVERBS, Vi

inst mce to show himself friendly, and it may be no piece of imprudence. Paul became bound for One-simus, Philemon 19. We may help a young man into business, that we know to be honest and diligent, and gain him credit by passing our words for iiim, and so do him a great kindness without any detriment to ourselves. But, (1.) It is every man's wisdom to keep out of debt as much as may be, for it is an incumbrance upon him, entangles him in the world, puts him in danger of doing wrong, or suf f.-ring wrong; the borrower is servant to the lendt,-, .iud makes himself very much a slave to the world. Christians therefore, \s\\q 2lVc bought ivith a price, should not thus, without need, make themselves ^/ie servants of men, 1 Cor. vii. 23. (2.) It is great fjUy to ent ingle ourselves with necessitous people, und to become bound for their debts, that are ever riad anon taking up money, and lading, as we say, out of one hole into another, for it is ten to one but some time or other, it will come upon us. A man ought never to be bound as surety for more than he is both able and willing to pay, and can afford to pay without wronging his family, in case the principal fail, for lie ought to look upon it as his own debt; (Ecclesiasticus viii. 13.) Be not surety above thy fiower,for if thou be surety, thou must take care to ftay it. (5.) It is a necessary piece of after-wit, if we have foolishly entangled ourselves, to get out (if the snare as fast as we can, to lose no time, spare no pains, and stick at no submission, to make ourselves safe and easy, and get our affiirs into a good posture. It is better to humble ourselves for an accommodation, than to ruin ourselves by our stiffness and haughtiness. Make sure thy friend, by getting clear from thine engagements from him; for rash suretiship is as much the bane of friendship, as that which is prudent is sometimes the bond of it. (4.) Lit us take heed lest we any way make ourselves guilty of other men's sins against God, (1 Tim. v. 22.) for that is worse, and nmch more dangerous, th m being bound for other men's debts; and if we must be in all this care to get our debts to men forgiven, much more to get our peace made with God; " Humble thyself to him, make sure of Christ thy Friend, to intercede for thee; pray earnestly that tiy sins may be pardoned, and thou mayest be delivered from going down to the pit; and it shall not I):' in vain. Give not sleep, to thine eyes, nor slum-b'-r to thine eye-lids, till this be done."

6. Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7. Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8. Provideth her meat in the summer, rmd gathereth her hod in the harvest. 9. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard ? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep ? 10. Yet a little sleep, a lit-tle slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11. So shall thy poveriy come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

Solomon, in these verses, applies himself to the ; laggard, who loves his ease, lives in idleness, minds no business, sticks to nothing, brings nothing to pass, and in a particular manner is careless in the business of religion. Slothfulness is as sure a way to poverty, th nigh not so short a way, as rash suretiship.

He speaks here to the sluggard,

I. By way of instruction, v. 6..8. He sends him to school, for sluggards must be schooled. He is to t ikc liim to school himself, for if the scliolar will t ike no pains, tlrj inast-r must take the more; the sluggard is not willing to come to school to him, ^dreaming scholars will never love wakeful teach-

ers.) and therefore he has found him out another school, as low as he can desire. Observe,

1. The master he is sent to school to; Go to the ant; to the bee, so the Seventy. Man is taught more than the beasts of the earth, and made wiser than the fowls of heaven, and yet is so degenerated, that he may learn wisdom from the meanest insects, and be shamed by them. When we observe the wonderful sagacities of the inferior creatures, we must not only give gloiy to the God of nature, who has made them thvis strangely, but receive instiiicticn to ourselves; by spiritualizing common things, we may make the things of God both easy and ready to us, and converse with them daily.

2. The application of tb.e mind, that is required in order to the learning of this master; Consider her ways. The sluggard is so, because he docs not consider; nor shall we ever leani to any pvu-pose, either by the word or the works of God, unless we set ourselves to consider. Particularly, if we would imitate others in that which is good, we must consider their ways, diligently observe what they do, that we ma\' do hkewise,'Phil. iii. 17.

3. The lesson that is to be learned. In general, learn wisdom, consider, and be wise; that is the thing we are to aim at in all our learning, not cnly to be knowing, but to be wise; in particular, learn to provide meat in summer; that is, (1.) We must prepare for hereafter, and net mind the present time only; not eat up all, and lay vip m.thine; but in gathering time treasure up for a spending time. Thus provident we must be in our worldly affairs, not with an anxious care, but with a prudent foresight; lay in for winter, fcr straits and wants that may happen, and for old age; much more in the affairs of our souls. We must pro\ide meat and feed, that which is substantial, and will stand us in stead, and which we shall most need. In the enjoyment of the means of grace, provide for the want of them; in life, for death; in time, for eternity; in the state of probation and preparation, we must provide for the state of retribution. (2.) We must take pains, and labour, in our business, yea, though we labour under inconveniencies; even in sinnmer, when the weather is hot, the ant is bus}" in gathering- food, and laying it up, and does nrt indulge her ease, nor take her pleasure, as the grasshopper, that sings and sports in the summer, and then perishes in the winter. The ants help one another; if one have a grain of corn too big for her to carry home, her neighbours will come in to her assistance. (3.) We must improve opportunities, we must gather when it is to be had, as the ant docs in summer and harvest, in the proper time. It is our wisdom to improve the season while that favours us, because that may be done then, which cannot be done at all, or not so well done, at another time. Walk while ye have the light.

4. The advantages which we have of learning this lesson above what the ant has, which will aggravate our slothfulness and neglect, if we idle away our time; she has no guides, overseers, and rulers, but does it of herself, following the instinct of nature; the more shame for us who do not in like manner follow the dictates of our own reason and conscience, thougli beside them we have parents, masters, ministers, magistrates, to put us in mind of cur duty, to check us for the neglect of it, to quicken us to it, to direct us in it, and to call us to an account about it. The greater iulps we have for working out our salvation, the more inexcusable shall we be if we neglect it.

II. By way of rei)roof, v. 9.. 11. .In these verses, 1. He expostulates with the sluggard, relniking him, and reasoning with hin ; calling him to his work, as a master does his servant that has overslept himself; " How long wilt thou sleep, O slug

PROVERBS, VI.

60!

gard ? How long would st thou sleep, if one would let thee alone? IVhen ivilt thou think it time to arise ?" Sluggards should be I'oused with a How lo72gF This is applicable, (1.) To those that are slothful in the way of work and duty; in the duties of their particular calling as men, or their general calling as Christians. "How long wilt thou waste thy time, and ivhen wilt thou be a better husband of it? How long wilt thou love thine ease, and when wilt thou learn to- deny thyself, and to take pains? How long wilt thou bury thy talents, and when wilt thou begin to trade with them? How long wilt thou delay, and put off, and trifle away, tliine opportunities, as one regardless of hereafter: and when wilt thou stir up tliyself to do what thou hast to do, which, if it be not done, thou art for e\ er undone?" (2.) To those that are secure in the way of sin and danger; "Ilast thou not slept enough? Is it not far in the day? Does not thy Master call? Are not the Philistmes upon thee? When, then, wilt thou arise?"

2. He exposes the frivolous excuses he makes for himself, and shows how ridiculous he makes himself; when he is roused, he stretches himself, and begs, as for alms, for more sleefi, more slumber; he is well in his warm bed, and cannot endure to think of rising, especially of rising to work: but observe, he promises himself and his master that he will desire but a little more sleefi, a little more slumber, and then he will get up and go to his business. But herein he deceives himself; the more a slothful temper is indulged, the more it prevails; let him sleep awhile, and slumber awhile, and still he is in the same tune; for a little more sleep, yet a little more; he never thinks he has enough, and yet, when he is called, pretends he will come presently. Thus men's great work is left undone by being put off yet a little longer, de die in diem—from day to day; and they are cheated of all their time by being cheated of the present moments; a little more sleep proves an everlasting sleep. Sleefi on now, and take your rest.

3. He gives him fair 'vaming of the fatal consequences of his slothfulness, v. 11. (1.) Poverty and want will certainly come upon those that are slothful in their business; if men neglect their affairs, they not only will not go forward, but they will go backward; he that leaves his concerns at sixes and sevens, will soon see them go to wreck and ruin, and bring his noble to ninepence. Spiritual poverty comes upon those that are slothful in the service of God; those will want oil, when they should use it, tliat provide it not in their vessels. (2.) "It will come silently and insensibly, will grow upon thee, and come step by step, as one that travels; but will without fail come at last." It will leave thee as naked as if thou wast strifit by a highwayi7ian; so Bishop Patrick. (3.) "It will come irresistibly, like an armed man, whom thou canst not oppose, or make thy part good against."

12. A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. 13. He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; 14. Fro-wardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. 15. Therefore shall his calannity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. 16. These six things doth the Lord hate; yea, seven arc an abomination unto him: 17. A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. 18. An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,

feet that be sv.-ift in running lo mischief, l ">. A false witness thai speaketh lies, and liiiij that soweth discord among brethren.

Solomon here gives us,

I. The characters cf one that is mischievous tr. man, and dangerous to be dealt with. If the slctli-ful are to be condemned, that do nothing, mutli more those that do ill, and contrive to do all tlie ill thev can. It is a 7iau'ghty person that is here spc.ktn of, Heb. A man of Belial; I think it should have been so translated, because it is a tci'm often used in scripture, and this is the explication of it. 01> serve,

1. How a man of Belial is hei'e described; he is a wicked man, that makes a trade of doing evil, especially with his tongu6, for he walks, and woi'ks his designs, with a froward mouth, {v. 12.) by lying and perverseness, and a direct opposition to God and man. He says and does eveiy thing, (1.) Very artfully, and with design; he has the subtilty of the sei-pent, and carries on his projects with a great deal of craft and management, (y. 13.) with his eyes, with his feet, with his fingers; he expresses his ma lice, when he dares not speak out, so some; or ra ther, thus he carries on his plot; those about him, whom he makes use of as the tools cf his wickedness, understand the ill meaning of a wink of his eye, a stamp of his feet, the least motion of his fingers. He gives orders for evil-doing, and yet would not be thought to do so, but hps ways of concealing what he does, so that he may not be suspected. He is a close man, and upon the reserve; those only shall be let into the secret that will do any thing he would have them to do; he is a cunning man, and upon the trick, he has a language by himself, which an honest man is not acquainted with, nor desires to be. (2.) Very spitefully, and with ill design; it is not so much ambition andf covetousness that are 1?% his heart, as downright frowardness, malice, and ill-nature. He aims not so much to enrich and advance himself, as to do an ill turn to those about him. • He is continually devising one mischief or other, purelyfor mischief's-sake; a man of Belial indeed, of the devil, resembling him not only in subtilty, but in malice.

2. Wha*-. his doom is; {v. 15.) His calamity shall come, and he shall be broken; he that devised mischief shall fall into mischief. His niin shall come, (1.) Without warning; it shall come suddenly, suddenly shall he be broken, to punish him for all the wicked aits he had to sui-prise people into his snares. (2.) Without relief; he shall be irreparably broken, and never able to piece again; he shall be broken without remedy. What relief can he expect that has disobliged all mankind? He shall come to his end, arid none shall help hi?n, Dan. xi. 45.

II. A catalogue of those things which are in a special manner odious to God, all which are generally to be found in those men of Belial, whom he had described in the foregoing verses; and the last of them (which, being the seventh, seems especially to be intended, because he says they are six, yea seven) is part of his character, that he sows discord. God hates sin, he hates every sin, he can never be reconciled to it, he liates nothing but sin. But there ai'e some sins which he does in a special manner hate; and all those here mentioned are such as are injurious to our neighbour. It is an evidence of the good-will God bears to mankind, that those sins are in a special manner provoking to him which are prejudicial to the comfort of human life and society Therefore the men of Belial must expect their ruin Xa come suddenly, and withoiit remedy, because their practices are such as the Lord hates, and are an abomination to him, v. 16. These things which

PROVERBS, VI.

God hates, it is no thanks to us to hate in others, but we must hate them in ourselves.

1. Haughtiness, conceitedness of ourselves, and contempt of others; a proud look. There are seven things that God hates, and pride is the first, because it is at the bottom of much sin, and gives rise to it. (iod sees the pride in the heart, and hates it there; but when it prevails to that degree, that the show of men's countenance witnesses against them, that they overvalue themselves, and undervalue all about thein, this is in a special manner hateful to him; for then pride is proud of itself, and sets shame at defiance.

2. Falsehood, and fraud, and dissimulation. Next to ■&. proud look, nothing is more an abomination to God than a lying- tongue; nothing more sacred than truth, nor more necessary to conversation than speaking truth; God and all good men hate and abhor lying.

3. Cruelty and blood-thirstiness. The Devil was, from the beginning, a liar and a murderer, (John viii. 44.) and therefore as a lying tongue, so hands that shed innocent blood, are hateful to God; because they have in them the Devil's image, and do him service.

4. Subtilty in the contrivance of sin, wisdom to do evil, a heart that designs, and a head that dex'ises, tvicked imaginations, that is acquainted with the depths of Satan, and knows how to carry on a covetous, envious, revengeful, plot, most effectually. The more there is of craft and management in sin, the more it is an abomination to God.

5. Vigour and diligence in the prosecution of sin; feet that are swift in running to mischief, as if they were afraid of losing time, or were impatient of delay, in a thing they are so greedy of. The policy and vigilance, the eagerness and industry, of sinners, in their sinful pursuits, may shame us who go about that which is good so awkwardly and so coldly.

6. False-witness bearing, which is one cf the greatest mischiefs that the wicked imagination can devise, and against which there is least fence. There cannot be a greater affront Jo God, (to whom in an oath appeal is made,) nor a greater injury to our neighbour, (all whose interests in this world, even the dearest, lie open to an attack of this kind,) than knowingly to give in a false testimony. There are seven things which God hates, and lying involves two of them; he hates it, and doubly hates it.

7. Making mischief between relations and neighbours, and using all wicked means possible, not only to alienate their affections one from another, but to irritate their passions one against another. The God of love and peace hates him that sows discord among brethren, for he delights in concord. Those that, by tale-bearing and slandering, by carrying ill-natured stories, aggravating every thing that is said and done, and suggestmg jealousies and evil surmises, blow the coals of contention, are but preparing for themselves a fire of the same nature.

20. My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 21. Bind them continually upon thine heart, mid tie them about thy neck. 22. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest it shall keep thee; and jvhen thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. 23. P^or t)iy commandment is a lamp, and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: 24. "^J o keep thee tiom the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a .strange woman. 25. Lust not after her

beauty in thine heart; neither let her tak(! thee with her eyelids: 26. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread; and the adulteress will hunt ibr the precious life. 27. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burnt ? 28. Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burnt ? 29. So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever touch-eth her shall not be innocent. 30. Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry: 31. But if he be found, he shall restore seven-fold; he shall give all the substance of his house. 32. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. 33. A wound and dishonour shall he get, and his reproach shall not be wiped away. 34 For jealousy is the rage of a man; therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35. He will not regard any ransom ; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

Here is,

I. A general exhortation faithfully to adhere to the word of God, and to take it for our guide in all our actions.

1. We must lock upon the word of God, both as a light, {v. 23.) and as a law, v. 20, 23. (1.) By its arguments it is a light, which our understandings must subscribe to; it is a lamp to cur eyes for discovery, and so to our feet for direction. The word of God reveals to us truths of eternal certainty, and is built upon the highest reason. Scripture-light is the sure light. (2.) By its authority it is a law, which our wills must submit to. As never such a light shone out of the schools of the philosophers, so never such a law issued from the throne of any prince; so well framed, and so binding. It is such a law as is a lamp and a hght, for it cames with it the evidence of its own goodness.

2. We must receive it as our father's commandment, and the law of our mother, v. 20. It is God's commandment, and his law. But, (1.) Our parents directed us to it, put it into our hands, trained us up in the knowledge and observance of it, its original and obligation being most sacred. We believe, indeed, not for their saying, for we have tried it ourselves, and find it to be of God; but we were beholden ^o them for recommending it to us, and see all the reason in the world to continue in the things we have learned, knowing of whom we have learned them. (2.) The cautions, counsels, and commands, which our parents gave us, agree with the word ot God, and therefore we must hold them fast. Children, when they are grown up, must remember the law of a good mother, as well as the commandment of a ^ood father, Ecclesiasticus iii. 2. The Lord has given the father honour over the children, and has confirmed the authority of the mother over the sons.

5. We must retain the word of God, and tlic good instnictions which cur parents gave us out rf It. (1.) We must never cast them off, never think it a mighty achievement (as some do) to get clear of the restraints of a good education; " AV// thy father's comynandinent, keep it still, and never forsake it." (2.) We must ne\cr lay them by, no not for a time; {y. 21.) Bind them continually, nut only

PROVtJlBS, V

ufioii thine hand, (as Moses liad directed, Dcut. vi. H.) Ijut ulion thine heart. Phylacteries upon tlie h lud were of no value at all, any further than they occasioned pious thoughts and affections in the lieait. 'r iere the word must be written, there it must be hi.!, and laid close to the conscience. Tie them about thy neck, as an ornament, a bracelet, or gold c.i.iin, about thy throat, so the word is; let them be a gtr.ird upon tliat ])ass; tie them about thy throat, t'l it no forbidden fruit may lie suffered to go in, nor m;_: e\ il word suffered to go out, through the tliroat; Hal thus a great deal of sin would be prevented. Let the word of God be always ready to us, and let U3 feel the impressions of it, as of that whicli is bound u])on our liearts, and about our necks.

4. We must make use of the word of God, and ot tlie benefit that is designed us by it. If we bind it continually upon our hearts, (1.) It will be our guide, and we must follow its direction. " IVheii t.'iou ^oest, it shall lead thee; {v. 22.) "it shall lead thee into, and lead thee in, the good and right way; sliall lead thee from, and lead thee out of, e\ery sinful, dangerous, path. It will say luitothee, when thou art ready to turn aside, This is the way, Tjulk in it. It will be that to thee that the pillar of cl )ud and fire was to Israel in tlie wilderness. Be led by that, let it be tliy laile, and then thou shalt 1)0 led by the Spirit; lie will be thy Monitor and Support." (2.) It will be our guard, and we must put ourselves under the protection of it; " When 'Jiou slee/iest, and liest exi)osed to the malignant powers of dai-kness, it shall kee/i thee;^ thou shalt be safe, and shalt think thyself so." If we govern ourselves l)y tlie precepts of the word all day, and ni ike conscience of the duty God lias commanded t) us, we may slielter ourselves under tlie i)i-omises of the word at niglu, and tike tiie comfort of the deliverances God does, an:! will, conuuand for us. (.3.) It will be our comi)anion, and we must con-x't-rse with it; " When thou aivakest m the night, aii 1 knowest not how to pass away thy waking minutes, if tliou })leasest, /; sliall talk ivith thee, and entertain thee with pleasant meditations in the ni>4ht-watches; ivhen thou aivakest in the morning, and art contriving the work of the daj", // sliall talk ivltli thee about it, and helj) thee to contrive for the best," Ps. i. 2. The word of God has something to say to us upon all occasions, if we would but enter into discourse with it, would ask it what it has to say, and give it the hearing. And it would contribute to our close and comfoitable walking with God all day, if we would begin with him in the moniing, and let his word be the suljject of our first thoughts. ll'lien I awake, I am still with thee; we are so, if the word be still with us. (4.) It will be our life; for, as the law is a lamfi, and a light, for the present, so the refiroofs of instruction are the way of life. Those reproofs of the word, which not only show us our faults, but instruct us liow to do better, aij tlie way that leads to life, eternal life. Let not faithful reproofs, therefore, which have such a direct tendency to make us happy, ever make us uneasy.

II. Here is a ])articular caution against the sin of u:\cleanness. When wt consider how much this iniquity abounds, how heinous it is in its own nature", of what pernicious consequence it is, and how c ntainly destructive to all the seeds of the spiritual life in the soul, we shall not wonder that the cautions against it are so often repeated, and so largely inculcated.

One great kindness God designed men, in giving tiieni his law, was, to preserve them frcm this sin; (ii. 24. ) "The reproofs of instruction are therefore the nvay of life to thee, because they are designed to kce/i tlifc from the evil wommi, who will be certain ('.eath to thee, fpjm being enticed by tke. flattery of

t56S

the tongue of a strange woman, who ijretends tv> love thee, but intends to ruin thee. Those that will be wrouglit upon by Hattery, make themselves a very easy prey to tlie temi)ter;'and those who would avoid tiiat snare, must take well-instnicted l•el)roof^ as great kindnesses, and be thankful to those that will deal faithfully with them, Prov. xxvii. 5, 6.

2. Tlie greatest kindness we can do ourselves, is, to keep at a distance from this sin, and to look ui)(,ii it with the utmost dread and detestation; {v. 25.) '[Lust not after her beauty, no not in thy heart, t\,v if thou dost, thou hast there already committed adultery with her. Talk not of the charms in her face, neither be thou smitten with her amorous glances: they are all snares and nets; let her not take thee with her eye-lids. Her looks are arrows and fiery darts; they wound, they kill, in another sense than what lovers mean; they call it a pleasing captivit), but it is a destroying one, it is worse than Egjptian slavery."

Divers arguments Solomon here urges to enforce this caution against the sin of whoi-edom.

(1.) It is a sin that impoverishes men, wastes their estates, and reduces lliem to beggary; {v. 26.) By ineans of a whorish womaji a imni is brought to a /liece of bread; many a man has been so, who has purchased the ruin o'f his body and soul at the expense of his wealth. The prodigal son spent his living on harlots, so that he brought himself to be fellow-comnioner with the swine. And that poverty must needs lie heavy which men bring themselves into by their own folly. Job xxxi. 12.

(2.) It threatens death, it kills men; The adulteress will hunt for the /nrcious life,Y»iY\\R\)s designedly, as Delilah did for Samson's, at least eventually, the sin strikes at the life. Adultery was l)unished, i)y the law of Moses, as a cajiital crime; the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be Jiut to death; every one knew this; those therefore who, for the gratifying of a base lust, would lay them-seh es oi)en to the law, could be reckoned no better than self-murderers.

(3.) It brings guilt upon the conscience, and debauches that. He that touches his neighbour's wife, with an immodest touch, cannot be innocent, V. 29. [1.] He is in imminent danger of adultery, as he that takes Jire in his bosom, or goes u/ion hot coals, is in danger of ht'm^ burnt. 'I he wa)' of this sin is down-hill, and those that venture ui)on the temptations to it hardly escape the sin itself. The fly tools away her life by playing the wanton with the flames. It is a deep pit, which it is madness to venture upon the brink ot. He that keeps company with those of ill fame, that goes in with them, and touches them, cannot long preserve his innocency; he thrusts himself into temptation, and so throws himself out of (iod's protection. [2.] He that commits adultery is in the high road to destrac-tion. The bold presumptuous sinner says, "I may venture upon the sin, and yet escape the punishment; I shall have peace though I go on." He might as well say, I will take fire into my boso?n, and not burn my clothes; or, I will go ujion hot coals, and not burn my feet. He that goes in to his ?ieighbour's wife, however he holds himself, God will not hold him guiltless. The fire of lust kindles the fire of hell.

(4.) It i-uins the reputation, and entails pcqjetua infamy upon that. It is a much more scandalous sin than stealing is; (i^. 30.. 33.) perhaps it is not so in the account of men, at least not in our day. A thief is sent to the stocks, to the gaol, to Bridewell, to the gallows, while the vile adulterer goes unpun ished, nay, with many, unblemished; he dares boast of his viilanies, and they are made but a jest of; but, in the account of Go<l and his law, adulter-. was much more the enoiTncus crime; and if God is

PROVERBS, Vll.

the Fountain of honour, his word must be the stand-arc! of it. [1.] As for the sin of stealing, if a man were brought lo it by extreme necessity, if he stole meat for the saLinfying of his soul ivhen he ivas hungry, thcugh that will not excuse him from guilt, yet it is such an extenuation of his crime, th it int^ii do not des/iise him, do not expose him t) ignominy, but pity him; liunger will break through stone Walls, and blame will be laid upon those that brou,ir;ht him to poverty, cr that did not relieve him; n ly, tliout^h he have not that to say in his excuse, if he be found stealing, and the evidence be ever so plain imon him, yet he shall only make restitution ^even-fold; the law of Moses appointed that lie who stole a sheep should restore four-fold, and an ox five-fold; fExod. xxii. 1.) accordingly David adjudged, 2 ham. xii. 6. But we may suppose in these cases, concerning which the law had not made provision, the judges afterward settled the penalties in proportion to the crimes, according to the equity of the law. Now, if he that stole an ox out of a man's field, must restore five-fold, it was rcason^.ble that he that stole a man's goods out of his house should restore sevenfold; for there was no law to put him to death, as is with us, for burglary, and robbery on the highway. And of this worst kind of theft Solomon here speaks; the greatest punishment was, that a man might be forced to give all the substance of his house to satisfy the law, and his blood was not attainted. But, [2.] Committing adultery is a more heinous crime; Job calls it so, and an iniquity to be punished by the judge, Jol) xxxi. 11. When Nathan would convict David of the evil of his adultery, he did it by a parable concerning the most aggravated theft, which, in Da-\id's judgment, deserved to be punished with death, (2 Sam. xii. 5.) and then showed him that his sin w IS more exceeding sinful than that. First, It is a greater reproach to a man's reason, for he can-n t excuse it, ;is a thief may, by saying that it was to satisfy his hunger, but must owii that it was to gratify a Iji-utish lust, which woidd break the hedge of God's law, not for want, but for wantonness. Therefore whoso commits adultery ivith a ivoman lacks understanding, and deserves to be stigmatized as an arrant fool. Secondly, It is more severely punished by the law of God; a thief suffered only a pecuniary mulct, but the adulterer suffered de: th. The thief s^ea/« to satisfy his soul, but the adidtrrer destroys his oivn soul, and falls an unpitied sacrifice to the justice both of God and man. Sinner, thou hast destroyed thyself. This mav be applied to the spiritual and eternal death, which is the co'nsc-quence of sin; he that does it wounds his conscience, cornipts his rational power, extinguishes all the sparks of the spiritual life, and exposes himself to the wrath of God f ^r ever, and thus destroifs his own soul. Thirdly, The infamy of it is indelible, V. 33. It will be a wound to his good name, a dishonour to his family, and, though the guilt of it may be done away by repentance, the reproach of it never Avill, but will stick to his memorv when he is gone. David's sin, in the matter of Uriah, was not only a perpetual blemish up-^n his own character, but gave occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme his name too.

(5.) It exposes the adulterer to the rage of the jealous husliand, whose honour he puts such an affront upon, V. 34, 35. He that tenches his neighbour's wife, and is familiar with her, gives him occasion f T jc;dousy, much more he that debauches her; which, if kept ever so secret, might tlien l)e discovered by the waters of jealousi/; (Numbers v. 11.) "When discovered, thou hadst better meet a bear robbed of her whelps, than the injured husband, who, in the case of adulterv, will be as severe an avenger of his own hone ur, as, in the case of

manslaughter, of his brother's blood. If thou art not afraid of the wrath of God, yet be afraid cf the rage of a inan; such jealousy is, it is stro?i<; as death, and cruel as the gi-ave. ' In the day of r'-n-geance, when the adidterer comes to be tried f r his life, the jjrosecutor will not spare »r\v jji.ins ■ r cost in the prosecution, will not nlent toward tho-, as he would, perhaps, towards one that had rr.bh. d him; he will \vX accept of any ccmmutatioi., i'v.y compositic:n, he will not regard any ransom; the i gh thou offer to bribe liim, and give him many gift ■\o pacify him, he will not rest content with an_\ thing less than the executic^n c f the law, thou niust lie stoned to death; if a 7nan would give all the sub stance of his house, it would ati ne for a theft, (t'. 31.) but nrt for adultery, in that case it w^uld utterly be contemned. S'tand in awe therefore, ana sin hot, expose not thyself to all this misery for a moment's sordid pleasure, which will be bittcmess in the end."

CHAP. VII.

The scope of this chapter, is, as of several before, fo warn young men against the lusts of the flesh. Solomon remembered of what ill consequence it tvas lo his falher, perhaps found himself, and perceived his son, addicted to it, or at least had observed how many hopeful younif men among his subjects had been ruined by those lusts, and therefore he thought he could never say enough t j dissuade men from them,'ihat every one may possess h\s vessel in sanctiftcalion and honour, andnot in tlie lusts of uncleanness. In this chapter, we have, I. A general exhortation to get our minds principled and governed by the word of God, as a sovereign antidote aganist this sin, V. 1..5. II. A particular representation of the great danger which unwary young men are in of being inveigled into this snare, v. 6. .23. III. A serious caution inferred thence, in the close, to take heed of all approaches toward this sin, r. 24.. 27. We should all pray, Lord, lead us not into tliis temptation.

1. "1%/l^Y son, keep my words, and lay up Jl.T-1_ my commandments with thee. 2 Keep my commandments, and hve; and my law as the apple of thine eye. 3. Bind them npon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. 4. Say unto Wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call Understanding f/iT/ kinswoman: 5. That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

These verses are an introduction to his warn'ng against fleslilv lusts, mtich the same with that,» b. vi. 20, 6cc. and ends, {v. 5.) as that did, {v. 24.) To keep thee from the strange woman, that is it he aims at; only there he had said. Keep thy father^s C07nmandme7it, here, (which comes all to one,) Keep my covimandments, for he speaks to us as untc sons. He s-peaks in God's name; for they are God's commandments that we are to keep, his words, his law.

The word of God must be to us,

1. As that which we are most careful cf; we must keep it as our treasure, we must lay uj. God's commandments with us, lay them up safe, that we may not be robbed of them by the wicked one; {v. 1.) We must keep it as our life; I/"ep my commanchnents, and live; (v. 2.) "Nrt only keep them, and you shall live; but, keep them as you would your life, as those that cannot live without them." It would be death to a good m;in to be deprived of the word of God, for by it he li\'es, and not by bread alone.

2. As.that which we are most tender of; Keep mi/ law as the apple of thine eye; a little thing (ffends the eye, and therefore nature has so well guarded It: we pray, with David, that Gcd wcv.ild

PROVERBS, VTl.

665

keep us as the ^ple of his eye; (Psalms xvii. 8.) that our Hves and comforts may be precious in his sight; and they shall be so, (Zech. li. 8.) if we be in like manner tender of his law, and afraid of the least violation of it. Those who reproacVi strict and circums])ect walking, as needless prcciseness, consider not that the law is to be kept as the apple of the eye, for indeed it is tlie a/i/ile of our eye, the law is light, the law in the heart is the eye of the soul.

3. As that which we are proud of, and would be CA'cr mindful of; {v. 3.) "Bind them njion thy fingers, let them be precious to thee, look upon tiiem as an ornament, as a diamond ring, as the signet on thy right hand; wear them continually as thy wedding-ring, the badge of thine espousals to God; look upon the word of God as puttmg an honour upon thee, as an ensign of thy dignity. Bind them on thy fingers, that they may be constant memorandums to thee of thy duty, that thou mayest have them always in view, as that which is graven ufion the palms of thine hands."

4. As that which we are fond of, and are ever thinking of; Write them ufion the tables of thine heart, as the names of the friends we deai'iy love, we say, are written in our hearts, het the word of God dwell richly in us, and be written there where

it will be always at hand to be read. Where sin was written, Jer. xvii. 1. let the word of God be written. It is the matter of a promise; (Heb. viii. 10.) / will write my law in their hearts, which makes the precept practicable and easy.

5. As that whicli we are intimately acquainted and conversant with; (t'. 4.) "Say unto wisdom, T/iou art my sister, whom I dearly love and take delight in; and call understanding thy kinswoman, to whom I am n-' irly allied, and for whom I have a pure affection; call her thy friend whom thou courtest." We must m ike the word of God familiar to us, consult it, and consult its honoui', and take a pleasure in conversing witli it.

6. As that which we make use of for our defence and armour, to keep us from the strange woman, from sin, tliat flattering, but destroying, thing, that adulteress; particularly from the sin of uncleanness, V. 5. Let the word of God confirm our dread of that sin, and our resolutions against it; let it discover to us its fallacies, and suggest to us answers to all its flatteries.

6. For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, 7. And beheld among the simple ones, [ discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding. 8. Passing throug!i the street near her conwr; and he went the. way to her house, 9. In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: 10. And, behold, there met him a woman, 7rith the attire of an harlot, and subtle of heart. 11. (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her liouse: 12. Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at eveiy corner.) 13. So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, 14. / /mi;e peace-offerings with me; this day have I paid my vows: 15. Therefore came 1 forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face; and 1 have found thee. 16. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved irmics, with fine linen of Egypt. 17. [ have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes,

Vol. 111.— 4P

and cinnamon. 18. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning; let us soiacf? ourselves with loves: 19. For the good man is not at home, he is gone a long journey : 20. He hath taken a bag of money with him,r/7/f/will come at the day appointed. 21. With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. 22. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks ; 23. Till a dart strike through his liver, as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

Solomcn here, to enforce the caution he had given against tlie sin of whoredom, tells a story of a young man that was i-uined, to all intents and purposes, b^ the enticements of an adulterous won^an. Such a story as tliis would serve the lewd profane poets of our age to make a play of, and the harlot, with them, wcaild be a herome; nothing would be so entertaining to the audience, nor give them so much diversion, as her arts of beguiling the young gentle-jnan, and drawing in the country-squire; her con-'^uests would be celebrated as the triumphs of wit and lo^•e, and the comedy would conclude very plea-santl)-; and every young man that saw it acted, would covet to be so picked up. Thus fools make a mock at sin. But Solomon here relates it, and all wise and good men read it, as a very melancholy story; tlie impudence of the adulterous woman is very justly looked upon, by all that have any sparks of virtue in them, with the highest indignation, and the easiness of the young man, with the tenderest compassion; and the story concludes witli sad reflections, enough to make all that read and hear it afraid of the snares of fleshly lusts, and careful to keep at the utmost distance from them. It is supposed to be a parable, or imagined case, but I doubt it was too true, and, which is worse, that, notwithstanding the warning it gives of the fatal consequences of such wicked courses, it is still too often tiiie, and the agents for hell are still playing the same game, and with like success.

Solomon was a magistrate, and, as sucli, inspected tlie manners of his subjects, looked often through his casement, that he might see with his own eyes, and made remarks upon those who little thought his eye was upon them, that he might know the lietter how to make the sword he bore a terror to evil-doers. But here he writes as a minister, a pro-pliet, wlio is by office a watchman, to give warning of the a])proach of the enemies, and especially where tlicy lie in ambush, that we may not be ignrrant of Satan's devices, but may know where to clouljle f ur t:uird. This Solomon does here, where wc mav observe the account he gives,

T. Of tlie person tempted, and how he laid himself o])en to the temptation, and therefore must thank himself if .it end in his destruction. 1. He was a young man, v. 7. Fleshly lusts are c;.lUd youthful lusts, (2 Tim. ii. 22.) nrt to ext(r.u;.te them as tricks of youth, and therefore excusrlile, but ratlier to aggi*avate them, as robljing Gcd rf t1ie first and best of our time, and, by debaucliing the mind when it is tender, laying a foundation for a bad life e\er after; and to intimate that young people ought, in a special manner, to fortify th.eir resrlu tions against this sin. 2. He was a young mnn, TO?a of understanding, that went abroad into tlie world, not principled, as he ought to have been, with wisdom and the fear of God, and so ventured to sea

PROVERBS, VII.

without ballast, without pilot, cord, or compass; he knew not how to depart trom evil, which is the best understanding, Job xxviii. 28. Those become an easy i)tey to Satan, who, when they are arrived to the stature of men, have scarcely the understanding ot" cliildren. 3. He kept bad company; he was a young man ajiiong the youths, a silly young man anions^ the simfile ones; if, being conscious of his own weakness, he had associated with those that were elder and wiser than himself, there had been hopes of him; Christ, at twelve years old, conversed with the doctors, to set young people an example of his; but if those that are simple choose such for their companions as are like themselves, simple they will still be, and hardened in their simplicity. 4. He was sauntering, and had nothing to do, but fiassed through the street, as one that knew not how to dispose of himself. One of the sins of filthy Sodom, was, abundance of idleness, Ezek. xvi. 49. He went in a starched stately manner, so (they say) the word signifies; he appeared to be a nice formal fop, the top of whose accomplishments was to dress well, and walk with a good air; fit game for that bird of prey to fly at. 5. He was a night-walker, that hated and scomed the business that is to be done by day-light, from which the evening calls men in to their repose; and, having fellowship with the unfmitful works of darkness, he begins to move in the tiuilight in the evening, v. 9. And he chooses the black and dark night as fittest for his purpose, not the moon-light nights, when he might be disco* vered. 6. He steered his course toward the fiouse of one that he thought would entertain him, and that he might be merry with; he went near her corner, the may to her house, {x>. 8.) contrary to Solomon's advice, {ch. v. 8.) Coine not nigh the door of her house. Perhaps he did not know it was the way to an infamous house, but, however, it was a way that he had no business in; and, when we have nothing to do, the Devil will quickly find us something to do. We must take heed, not only of idle days, but of idle ex'enings, lest they prove inlets into tenijitution.

ir. Of the person tempting; not a common prostitute, for she was a married wife, (f. 19.) and, for aught appears, lived in reputation among her neighbours, not suspected of any such wickedness, and yet, in the twilight of the evening, when her husband was abroad, abominably im])udent. She is here described, 1. By her dress; she had the attire of a harlot, {v. 10.) g;uidy and flaunting, to set her off" as a beauty, perhaps she was painted as Jezebel, and went with her neck and breasts bare, loose, and en deshabille. Tl\e purity of the heart will show itself in the modesty of the dress, which becomes women /irofessing godliness. 2. By her craft and management; she is subtle of heart, mistress of all the arts of wheedling, and knowing how by all her caresses to serve her own base purposes. 3. By her temper and carriage; she is loud and stubborn, talkative and self-willed, noisy and troublesome, wilful and head-strong, all tongue, and that will have her saying, right or wrong, impatient of check and control, and caimot bear to be counselled, much less reproved, by husband or parents, ministers or friends; she is a daughter of Belial, that will endure no yoke. 4. By her place; not her own house, she hates the confinement and employment of that, her feet abide not there any longer than needs must. She is all for gadding abi-oad, changing place and company; noiv is she without in the country, under pretence of taking the air, now in the streets of the city, under pretence of seeing how the market goes; she is hci'e, and there, and every where but where she should be; she lies in wait at every comer, to pick up such as she can make a prey ot Virtue is a penance to those to whom home is a prison.

III. Of the temptation itself, and the managemeu of it. She met the young spark, perhaps she kne\ him, however, she knew by his fashions that he was such a one as she wished for; so she caught him about the neck and kissed him, contrary to all the rules of modesty, {v. 13.) and waited not fcr his compliments or courtship, but, with an impudent face, invited him not only to her house, but to her bed.

1. She courted him to sufi with her; {v. 14, 15.) I have peace-offerings with me. Hereby she gives him to understand, (1.) Her prosperity, that she was compassed about with so many blessings, that she had occasion to offer peace-offerings, in token of joy and thankfulness; she was before-hand in the world, so that he needed not fear having his pocket picked. (2.) Her profession of piety; she had been to-day at the temple, and was as well respected there as any that worshipped in the courts of the Lord; she had paid her vows, and, as she thought, made all even with God Almighty, and therefore might venture upon a new score of sins. Note, The external performances of religion, if they do not harden men against sin, harden them in it, and embolden carnal hearts to venture upon it, in hopes that, when they come to count ana discount with God, he will be found as much in debt to them for their peace-offerings and their vows, as they to him for their sins. But it is sad that a show of piety should become the shelter of iniquity, (which really doubles the shame of it, and makes it more exceeding sinful,) and that men should baffle their consciences with those very things that should startle them. The Pharisees made long prayers, that they might the more plausibly carry on their covetous and mischievous designs. (3.) Her present plenty of good provisions. The greatest part of the flesh of the peace-offerings, was, by the law, returned back to the offerers, to feast upon with their friends, which (if they were peace-offerings of thanksgiving) was to be all eaten the same day, and none of it left until the morning. Lev. vii. 15. This law of charity and generosity is abused to be a colour for gluttony and excess; '♦ Come," says she, " come home with me, for I have good cheer enough, and only want good company to help me off with it." It was pity that the peace-offerings should thus become, in a bad sense, sin-offerings, and that what was designed for the honour of God should become the focd and fuel of a base lust.

But this is not all; to strengthen the temptation, [1.] She pretends to have a very great affection fcr him above any man; *♦ Therefore, because I have a good supper upon the table, I came forth to meet thee, for no friend in the world shall be so welcome to it as thou shalt, v. 15. Thou art he whom I came on purpose to seek, to seek diligently; came myself, and would not send a servant." Surely he cannot deny her his company, when she put such a value upon it, and would take all these pains to obtain the favour of it. Sinners take pains to do mischief, and are as the roaring lion himself; they gc about seeking to devour, and yet pretend they arc seeking to oblige. [2.] She would have it thought that lf*rovidence itself countenanced her choice of him for her companion; for how quickly had she found him whom she sought!

2. She courted him to lie with her; they will sit down to eat and drink, and then rise up to play, to play the wanton, and there is a bed ready for them, where he shall find that which will be, in all respects, agreeable to him; to please his eye, it is decked with coverings of ta/iestry, nnAcan'ed works, exquisitely fine, he never saw tlie like; to please his touch, the sheets are not of home-spun cloth, they are far-fetched and dear-bought, they are of fine linen of Egypt; (v. 16.) to gratify his smell, it i? perfumed with the sweetest scents, v. 17. Ccme,

PROVERBS, VII.

667

therefore, and if< ua take our Jill of love, v, 18. Of love, does she say? Of lust she means, binitish lust; but it is pity that the name of love should be thus abused; tnie love is from heaven, this is from hell; how can they pretend to solace themselves, and love one another, who are really ruining themselves, and one another?

3. She anticipates the objection which he might make of the danger of it. Is she not another man's wife, and what if her husband should catch them in adultery, in the very act, he will make them pay dear for their sport, and where will the solace of their love be then? Never fear, says she, the good man is not at home; (v. 19.) she does not call him her husband, for shejorsakes the guide of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God; but the p-oorf man of the house, whom I am weary of. Thus Potiphar's wife, when she spake of her husband, would not call him so, but he. Gen. xxxix. 14. It is therefore, with good reason, taken notice of, to Sarah's praise, that she spake respectfully of her husband, calling him Lord. She pleases herself with this, that he is not at home, and therefore she is melancholy, if she have not some company, and therefore, whatever company she has, she may be free with them, for she is from imder his eye, and he shall never know. But will he not return quickly? No, he is gone a long journey, and cannot return on a sudden; he apfiointed the day of his return, and he never comes home sooner than he says he will. He has taken a bag of money ivith him; either, (1.) To trade with, to buy goods with, and he will not return till he has laid it all out; it was pity that an honest industrious man should be thus abused, and advantage taken of his absence, when it is upon business, for the good of his family. Or, (2.) To spend and revel with; whether justly or not, she insinuates that he was a bad husband; so she would represent him, because she was resolved to be a bad wife, and must have that for an excuse; it is often groundlessly suggested, but is never a sufficient excuse. " He follows his pleasures, and wastes his estate abroad;" (says she;) " and why should not I do the same at home?"

4. Of the success of the temptation. Promising the young man every thing that was pleasant, and impunity in the enjoyment, she gained her point, v. 21. It should seem, the youth, though very simple, had no ill design, else a word, a beck, a wink, would have served, and there had not needed all this harangue; but though he did not intend any such thing, nay, had something in his conscience that opposed it, yet, ivith her much fair speech, she caused him to yield, his corruptions at length triumphed over his convictions, and his resolutions were not strong enough to hold out against such artful attacks as these, but, with the flattery of her li/is, she forced hi?n, he could not stop his ear against such a charmer, but surrendered himself her captive. Wisdom's maidens, who plead her cause, and have reason on their side, and true and divine pleasures to invite men to, have a deaf ear turned to them, and with all their rhetoric cannot compel men to come in, but such is the dominion of sin in the hearts of men, that its allurements soon prevail by falsehood and flattery.

\\^ith what i>ity does Solomon here look upon this foolish young man, when he sees him follow the adulterous woman! (1.) He gives him up for gone; alas! he is undone. He goes to the slaughter; (for houses of uncleanness are slaughter-houses to precious souls;) a dart will presently strike through his liver; going without his breast-plate, he will receive his death's wound, v. 23. It is his life, his precious life, that is thus irrecoverably thrown away; he is perfectly lost to all good, his conscience is debauched, a door is opened to all other vices, and this will

certainly end in his endless damnation. (2.) That which makes his case the more piteous, is, that he is not himself aware of his misery and danger; he goes blindfold, nay, he goes laughing, to his ruin. The ox thinks he is led to the pasture when he is led to the slaughter; the fool (that is, the drunkard, for, of all sinners, drunkards are the greatest fools, they wilfully turn themselves into fools) is led to the coiTection of the stocks, and is not sensible of the shame of it, but goes to it as if he were going to a play. The bird that hastes to the snare, looks only at the bait, and promises herself a good bit fix^m that, and considers not that it is for her life. Thus this unthinking unwary young man dreams of nothing but the pleasures he shall have in the embraces of the harlot, while really he is running headlong upon his ruin. Though Solomon does not here tell us that he put the law in execution against this base harlot, yet we have no I'eason to think but that he did, he was himself so affected with the mischief she did, and had such an indignation at it.

24. Hearken unto me now, therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth: 25. Let not thy heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths: 26. For she hath cast down many wounded; yea, marry strong ineji have been slain by her. 27. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

We have here the application of the foregoing story; " Hearken to me therefore, and not to such seducers; (r. 24.) give ear to a father, and not to an enemy."

1. " Take good counsel when it is given you. Let not thine heart decline to her ivays; {y. 25.) never leave the paths of virtue, though strait and narrow, solitary and up-hill, for the way of the adulteress, though green and broad, and crowded with company. Do not only keep thy feet from those ways, but let not so much as thy heart incline to them; never harbour a disposition this way, nor think otherwise than with abhorrence of such wicked practices as these. Let reason, and conscience, and the fear of God, ruling in the heart, check the inclinations of the sensual appetite. If thou goest in her paths, in any of the paths that lead to this sin, thou goest astray, thou art out of the right way, the safe way; therefore take heed, go not astrat/, lest thou wander endlessly."

2. " Take fair warning when it is given you." (1.) "Look back and see what mischief this sin

has done; the adulteress has been the ruin not of here and there one, but she has cast down many wounded. " Thousands have been undone, now and for ever, by this sin; and those not only the weak and simple youths, such as he was of whom we had now spoken, but many strong men have been slain by her, v. 26. Herein, perhaps, he has an eye especially to Samson, who was slain by this sin, and perhaps to David too, who, by his sin, entailed a sword upon his house, though so far the Lord took it away, that he himself should not die. These were men not only of great bodily strength, but of eminent wisdom and courage, and yet their fleshly lusts prevailed over them. Howl, fir-trees, if the cedars be shaken. Let him that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall.

(2.) " Look forward with an eye of faith, and set what will be in the end of it," v. 27. Her house, though richly decked and furnished, and called a house of pleasure, is the way to hell; and her chambers are the stair-case that gees down to the chambers of death, and everlasting darkness. The cup of formcation must shortly be exchanged for the

PROVERBS, VIll.

cup of trembling; and the flames of lust, if not quenched by repentance and mortification, will burn to the lowest hell. Therefore stand in awe, and sin not.

CHAP. Vlll.

The word of God is two-fold, and, in each sense, is wisdom; for a word without wisdom, is of little value, or wisdom without a word, is of little use. Now, I. Divine revelation is the word and wisdom of God, and so is that pure religion and undefiled, which is built upon it; and of that Solomon here speaks, recommending it to us as faithful, and well worthy of all acceptation, v. 1.. 21. God, by it, instructs, and governs, and blesses, the children of men. II. The Redeemer is the eternal Word and Wisdom, the Logos; he is the Wisdom that speaks to the children of men, in the former part of the chapter; all divine revelation passes through his hand, and centres in him; but of him as the personal Wisdom, the second Person in the Godhead, in the judgment of many of the ancients, Solomon here speaks, v. 22 .. 31. He concludes with a repeated charg« to the children of men, diligently to attend to the voice of God in his word, v. 32 .. 36.

I. TAOTH not Wisdom cry? and Under-MJ standing put forth her voice? 2.

She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. 3. She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors; 4. Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. 5. O ye simple, understand wisdom; and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. 6. Hear; for 1 will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. 7. For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. 9. They are all plain to him that understand-eth, and right to them that find knowledge. 10. Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.

II. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to4t.

The will of God, revealed to us for our salvation, is here largely represented to us, as easy to be known and understood, that none may have an excuse for their ignorance or error; and as worthy to be embraced, that none may have an excuse for their carelessness and unbelief.

I. The things revealed are easy to be known, for they belong to us and to our children; (Deut. xxix. 29.) and we need not soar up to heaven, or dive into the depths, to get the knowledge of them, (Deut. XXX. 11.) for they are published and proclaimed^in some measure by the works of creation, (Ps. xix. 1.) more fully by the consciences of men, and the eternal reasons and iiiles of good and evil, but most clearly by Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

The prospects of wisdom may easily be known; for,

1. They are proclaimed aloud; {v. 1.) Does not Wisdom cry? Yes, she cries aloud, and does not spare; (Isa. Iviii. 1.) she puts forth her voice, as one m earnest, and desirous to be heaixl. Jesus stood and cried, John vii. 37. The curses and blessings were read with a loud voice by the Levites, Deut. xx'ai. 14. And men's own hearts some-

times speak aloud to them; there are clamours of conscience, as well as Avhispers.

2. They are proclaimed fropi on high; {v. 2.) She stands in the to/i of high places; it was from the top of mount Sinai tnat the law was given, and Christ expounded it in a sermon upon tlie mount. Nay, if we slight divine revelation, we turn aivay from him that sfieaks from heaven, a high pkcc indeed, Heb. xii. 25. The adulterous woman spake in secret, the oracles of the heathen muttered, but wisdom speaks openly; ti'uth seeks no corners, but gladly appeals to the light.

3. They are proclaimed in the filaces of concourse, where multitudes are gathered together, the more the better. Jesus spake in the synagogues and in the temfile, whither t/ie Jews always resorted, John xviii. 20. Every man that passes by on the road, of what rank or condition soever, may know what is good, and what the Lord requires of liim, if it be not his own fault. There is no speech nor language where Wisdom's voice is not heard; her discoveries and directions are given to all promiscuously. He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

4. They are proclaimed there where they are most needed. They are intended for the gnide of our way, and therefore are published in the places of the path, where many ways meet, that travellers may be showed, if they will but ask, which is the right way, just then when they are at a loss; thou shalt then hear the word behind thee, saying. This is the way, Isa. xxx. 21. The foolish man knows not how to go to the city, (Eccl. x. 15.) and therefore wisdom stands ready to direct him; stands at the gates, at the entry of the city, ready to tell him where the seer's house is, 1 Sam. ix. 18. Nay, she follows men to their own houses, and cries to them at the coming in at the doors, saying. Peace be to this house; ana, if the son of peace be there, it shall certainly abide upon it. God's ministers are appointed to testify to people, both publicly, and from house to house. Their own consciences follow them with admonitions, wherever the}" go, which they cannot be out of hearing of, while they carry their own heads and hearts about with them, whicli are a law unto themselves.

5. They are directed to the children of men. We attend to that discourse in which we hear ourselves named, though otherwise we should have neglected it; therefore wisdom speaks to us; " Unto you, 0 men, I call, (y. 4.) not to angels, they need not these insti-uctions; not to devils, they are past them; not to the brute-creatures, they are not capable of them; but to you, 0 men, who are taught more than the beasts of the earth, and made wiser than the fowls of heaven. To you is this law given, to you is the word of this invitation, this exhortation, sent. My voice is to the sons of men, who are concerned to receive instruction, and to whom, one would think, it should be very welcome. It is not to you, O Jews, only, that wisdom cries, or to you, O gentlemen, or to you, O scholars; but to you, 0 men, 0 sons of men, even the meanest."

6. They are designed to make them wise; {v. 5.) they are calculated not only for men that are capable of wisdom, but for sinful men, fallen men, foolish men, that need it, and are undone without it; "0 ye simple ones, understand wisdom. Thougli you are ever so simple, Wisdom will take you for her scholars, and not only so, but, if you will be nikd by her, will undertake to give you an understanding heart." When sinners leave their sins, and become tmly religious, then the sitnplc understand wisdom.

II. The things revealed are worthy to he known, well worthy of all acceptation. We are Cfpncerncd to hear; for,

1. They are of inestimable value; they arc ex cellent things, {v. 6.) princely things, so the word is

PROVERBS, VJIl.

Though they are level to the capacity of the meanest, }c't there is that in them which will be entertainment for the greatest. They are divine and he.ivenly things, so excellent, that, in comparison with taem, all other learning is but children s pliy. Tii.n^s which relate to an eternal God, an immortal s^^ul, and an everlasting state, must needs be ex-ccllt^nt things.

2. They are of incontestable equity, and cany alon^- witii them the evidence of their own good-nts-i; tii.y are right things, {v. 6.) all in righteous-ne^f:, (v. 8.) and nothing froiuard or perverse in them. All the dictates and directions of revealed religion are consonant to, and perfective of, tlie li'jht an 1 law of nature, and there is notliing in it that puts any hardship upon us, that lays us under any uaJue restraints, unbecoming the dignity and liberty f the human nature; nothing that we h ve reason to complain of: all God's precepts concerning all things are right.

3. They are of unquestionable tnith; Wisdom's doctrines, upon which her laws are founded, are such as we may venture our immortal souls upon; M\j mouth shall s/ieak truth, (v. 7.) the whole

.ti-uth. and nothing but the truth, for it is a testimony to the world. Every word of God is true, there are not so much as pious frauds in it, nor are we imp ^sed upon in that which is told us for our good. Christ is a faithful Witness, is the Truth itself; tvic/cedness, lying, is an abominatioii to his lips. Note, Lying is wickedness, and we should not only refrain from it, but it should be an abomination to us, arid as far from what we say, as from what God s lys to us. His word to us is yea, and amen, never then let our's be yea and nay.

4. They are wonderfully accept?.ble and agreeable to those who take them aright, who understand themselves aright, have not their judgments blinded and biassed by the world and the flesh, are not under the power of prejudice, are taught of God, and whose understanding he has opened; who impartially seek knoivledge, take pains for it, and nave found it in the inquiries they have hitherto made: to them, (1.) They are all plain, and not hard to be understood. If the book is sealed, it is to those who are willingly ignorant. If our gospel is hid, it is hid to them who are lost; but to those who depart from evil, which is understanding, who have that good understanding, which they have who do the command?nents, to them they are all plain, and there is nothing difficult in them. The way of religion is a high-way, and the way-faring men, though fools, shall not err therein, Isa. xxxv. 8. They therefore do a great wrong to the common people, who deny them the use of t'ae scripture, under pretence that they cannot understand it, whereas it is plain for plain people. (2.) They are all right, and not hard to be submitted to. Those who discern things that differ, who know good and evil, readily subscribe to the rectitude of all wisdom's dictates, and, therefore, without murmuring or disputing, govern themselves by them.

III. From all this he infers, that the right knowledge of those things, such as transf n-ms us into the ima^e of them, is to be preferred before all the wealth of this world; {v. 10, 11.) Receive my instruction, and not silver. Instruction must not only be heard, but received. We must bid it welcome, receive the impressions of it, and submit to the command nf it; and this, rather than choice gold; that is, 1. We must prefer religion before riches, and look upon it, that, if we have the knowledge and fear of God in our hearts, we are really more happy, and better provided for every condition of life, than if we had ever so much silver and gold. IVis-dom is, in itself, and therefore must be, in our account, letter than rubies. It will bring us in a bet-

669

ter price, be to us a better portion; show it forth, and It will be a better ornament than jewels and precious stones of the greatest value. Whatever we can sit down and wish for of the wealth of this world, if we had it, it were not worthy to be compared with the ad\ antages that attend serious god-hness. 2. Wc must be dead to the wealth of this world, that we may the more closely and eamestlv api^ly ourselves to the business of religion. We must receive instniction as the main matter, and then be indifferent whether Ave receive silver or no; nay, we must not receive it as our portion and reward, as the rich man in his life-time received his good things.

12. I Wisdom dwell Avith Prudence, and find out knoAvledge of witty inventions. 13. The fear of tlie Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the fro-ward mouth, do I hate. 14. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. 15. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. ]6. By me princes rule, and nobles, eveji all the judges of the earth. 17. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall j find me. 18. Riches and honour are, with [ me; j/ea, durable riches and righteousness. 19. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. 20. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: 21. That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will find their treasures.

Wisdom here is Christ, in ivhom are hid all ths treasures of wisdom and knowledge; it is Christ in the word, and Christ in the heart; not only Christ revealed to us, but Christ revealed in us. It is the word of God, the whole compass of divine revelation; it is God the Word, in whom all di\ine revelation centres; it is the soul formed by the word, it is Christ fornned in the soul; it is reli^on in the purity and i)ower of it. Glorious things are here spoken of this excellent Person, this excellent thing.

I. Divine wisdom gives men good heads; {v. 12."^ I wisdom dwell with prudence, not with carnal pc^ licy, (the wisdom that is from above is contrary' to that, 2 Cor. i. 12.) but with true discretion, which serves for the right ordering of the conversation; that wisdom of the pradent, which is to understand his way, and is in all cases profitable to direct; the wisdom of the serpent, not only to guard from harm, but to guide in doing good. Wisdom dwells with prudence; for prudence is the product of re ligion, and an ornament to religion; and there are more witty inventions found out with the help of the scripture, both for the right understanding of God's providences, and for the effectual crunteiTnin-ing of Satan's devices, and the doing of good in our generation, than were ever discovered bv the leara ing of the philosophers or the politics of statesmen. We may apply it to Christ himself; he dwells with prudence, for his whole undertaking is the wisdom of God in a mystery, and in it God aboiinds towards us in all wisdom and prudence. Christ found out the knowledge of that great invention, and a costl) one it was to him, man's salvation, by his satisfaction an admirable expedient: we had found out many inventions for our ruin, he found out one for cur recovery. The covenant rf grace is so well orderei.

t)70

PROVERBS, VIII.

in all things, that we must conclude that he, who ordered it, divelt with firudence.

II. It gives men good hearts, v. 13. True religion consisting in the fear of the Lord, which is the wisdom before recommended, teaches men, 1. To hate all sin, as displeasing to God, and destnictive to the soul; The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, the evil way; to hate sin as sin, and therefore to hate every false way. Wherever there is an awe of God, there is a dread of sin, as an evil, an only evil. 2. Particularly to hate pride and passion, those two common and dangerous sins. Conceitedness of ourselves, firide and arrogancy, are sins which Christ hates, and so do all those who have the Spirit of Christ; every one hates them in others, but we must hate them in ourselves. The froward mouth, peevishness towards others, God hates, because it IS such an enemy to the peace of mankind, and therefore we should hate it. Be it spoken to the honour of religion, that, however it is unjustly accused, it is so far from making men conceited and sour, that there is nothing more directly contrary to it than pride and passion, nor which it teaches us more to detest.

III. It has a great influence upon public affairs, and the well governing of all societies, v. 14. Christ, as God, has strength and wisdom; wisdom and might are his; as Redeemer, he is the Wisdom of God, and the Power of God. To all that are his, he is made of God both Strength and Wisdom; in him they are laid up for us, that we may both know and do our duty. He is the Wonderful Counsellor, and gives that grace which alone is sound wisdom. He is Understanding itself, and has strength for all those that strengthen themselves in him. True religion gives men the best counsel in all difficult cases, and helps to make their way plain; wherever it is, it is understanding, it has strength, it will be all that to us that we need, both for services and sufferings. Where the word of God dwells richly, it makes a m2ca perfect smd. furnishes him thoroughly for every good word and work.

Kings, princes, and judges, have, of all men, most need of wisdom and strength, of counsel and courage, for the faithful discharge of the trusts reposed in them, and that they may be blessings to the people over whom they are set. And therefore Wisdom says, By me kings reign; {v. 15, 16.) that is, 1. Civil government is a divine institution, and those that are intrusted with the administration of it have their commission from Christ: it is a branch of his kingly office, that by him kings reign; from him, to whom all judgment is committed, their power is derived. They reign by him, and therefore ought to reign for him. 2. W'hatever qualifications for government any kings or princes have, they are indebted to the grace of Christ for them; he gives them the spirit of government, and they have nothing, no skill, no principles of justice, but what he endues them witli. A divine sentence is in the lifis of the king; and they are to their subjects what he makes them. 3. Religion is very much the strength and support of the civil government; it teaches subjects their duty, and so by it kings reign over them the more easily; it teaches kings their duty, and so by it kings reign as they ought; they decree Justice, while they rule in the fear of God. Those rule well whom religion rules.

IV. It will make all those happy, truly happy, that receive and embrace it.

1. They shall be happy in the love of Christ; for lie it is that says, 7 love them that love me, v. 17. Thev that Love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity shall l:)e loved of him with a peculiar distinguishing Io\t; he will love them, and manifest himself to them.

2 They shall be hai)py in the success of their

inquiries after them; " They that seek me early, seek an acquaintance wth me, and an interest in me, seek it early, seek it earnestly, seek it first before any thing else, that begin betimes in the days rf their vouth to seek me, they shall find what t ley seek;" Christ shall betheir's, and they shall be his; he never said, Seek, in vain.

3. They shall be happy in the wealth of the world, or in that which is infinitely better. (1.) Thc>- shall have as much riches and honour as Infinite Wisdom sees good for them; (x*. 18.) they are with Christ, he has them to give, and whether he will see fit tr giv( them to us must be referred to him. Religion sometimes helps to make people rich and great in this world, gains them a reputation, and so increases their estates; and the riches which Wisdom gives to htr favouites have these two advantages; [1.] That they are riches and righteousness, riches honestly got, not by fraud and oppression, but in regular ways; and riches charitably used, for alms are called righteousness. Those that have their wealth from God's blessing on their industry, and that have a heart to do good with it, have riches and righteousness. [2. ] That therefore they are durable riches; wealth gotten by vanity will soon be diminished, but that which is well-got will wear well, and will be left to the children's children; and that which is well-spent, in works of piety and charity, is set out to the best interest, and so will be durable; for the friends made by the mammon of unrighteousness, when we fail, will receive us into ex'erlasting habitations, Luke xvi. 9. It will be found after many days, for the days of eteiTiity. (2.) They shall have that which is infinitely better, if they have not riches and honour in this world; (t. 19.) "My fruit is better than gold, and will turn to a better account, will be of more value in less compass, and my revenue better than the choicest silver, will serve a better trade." \\'^e may assure ourselves, that not only Wisdom's products at last, but her incomes in the mean time, not only her fruit, but her revenue, are more valuable than the best, either of the possessions or of the reversions of this world.

4. They shall be happy in the grace of God now; that shall be their ^ide in the good way, v. 20. This is that fiiiit of wisdom which is better than gold, than fine gold, it leads us in the way of righteousness, shows us that way, and goes before us in it; the way that God would have us walk in, and which will certainly bring us to our desired end. It leads in the midst of the paths of judgment, and saves us from deviating on either hand. In medio virtus — Virtue lies in the midst. Christ by his Spirit guides believers into all truth, and so leads them in the way of righteousness, and they walk after the Sfiirit.

5. They shall be happy in the glory of God hereafter, T'. 21. Therefore Wisdom ledds in the paths of righteousness, not only that she may keep her friends in the way of duty and obedience, but that she may cause them to inherit substance, and mav/?A their treasures; which cannot be done with the things of this world, nor with any thing less than God and heaven. The happiness of those that love God, and devote themselves to his service, is substantial and satisfactory. (I.) It is substantial, it is substance itself; it is a happiness which will subsist of itself, and stand alone, without the accidental supports of outward conveniencies, spiritual and eternal thinc;s are the only real and substantial things. Jov in God is substantial joy, solid and well-grounded; tlic promises are thefr bonds, Christ is their Surety, and both substantial. They inherit substance; tlv ir inheritance hereafter is substantial, it is a weigl.t rf glory, it is substance; (Hcb. _x. 34.) all their hc];-pincss they have as heirs, it is grounded uprn their sonship. (2.) It is satisfying; it will fill nrt rr.ly tlieir hands, but their treasures; not only maintain

PROVERBS, VIII.

671

them, but make them rich. The things of this world may fill men's bellies, (Ps. xvii. 14.) but not tueir treasures; for they cannot in them secure to iritmstilves goods for many years, perhaps they may be deprived of them t/iis night; but, let the treasures of tiie soul be ever so capacious, there is enough in (iod, and Christ, and heaven, to fill them. In Wisdom's promises believers have goods laid up, not for days and years, but for eternity; her fruit therefore i,8 better than gold.

'22. The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works cf old. 23. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. 24. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. 25. Before the mountains were settled; before the hills was I brought forth : 26. While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. 27. When he prepared the heavens, I was there; when he set a compass upon the face of the depth; 28. When he established the clouds above; when he strengthened the fountains of the deep ; 29. When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment; when he appointed the foundations of the earth: 30. Then I was by him, as one brought up with him; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him : 31. Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth ; and my delights were with the sons of men.

That it is an intelligent and divine Person that here speaks, seems very plain, and that it is not meant of a mere essential property of the divine nature ; for wisdom here has personal properties and actions; and that intelligent, divine Person, can be no other than the Son of God himself, to whom the principal things here spoken of wisdom are attributed m other scriptures, and we must explain scripture by itself. If Solomon himself designed only the pi-aise of wisdom, as it is an attribute of God, by which he made the world and governs it, so to recommend to men the study of that wisdom which belongs to them, yet the Spirit of God, who endited what he wrote, carried him, as David often, to such expressions as could agree to no other than the Son of God, and would lead us into the knowledge of great things concerning him. All divine revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, and here we are told who and what he is, as God, designed in the eternal councils to be the Mediator between God and man. The best exposition of these verses we have in the four first verses of St John's gospel; Jn the beginning was the Word, &c.

Concerning the Son of God, observe here,

1. His personality, and distinct subsistence; one with the Father, and of the same essence, and yet a person of himself, whom the Lord possessed, (v, 22.) •was set ufi, (v. 23.) 7vas brought forth, (v. 24, 25.) was by him, {v. 30.) for he was the exfiress Image of his person, Heb. i. 3.

2. His eternity; he was begotten of the Father, for tf'e Lord possessed him, as his own Son, his beloved Hon, laid him in his bosom; he was brought forth as the only-begotten of the Father, and this, before all worlds; which is most largely insisted upon here. Tile^Vord was eternal, and had a being before the

world, before the beginning of time; and therefore it must follow, that it was from eternity. The Lord possessed him in the beginning of his way, of his eternal councils, for those were before his works; this way, indeed, had no beginning, for Gcd's puipcses in himself are eternal like himself, but God speaks to us in our own language. Wisdom explains her self; (t'. 23.) I was set up from ez'er-last.ng. The Son of God was, in the eternal councils of God, designed and advanced to be the Wisdom and Powei of the Father, Light and Life, and all in all, both in the creation and in the redemption of the world.

That he was brought forth as to his being-, and set up as to the divine councils concerning his office, before the world was made, is here set forth in a great variety of expressions, much the same with those by which the eternity of God himself is expressed, Ps. xc. 2. Before the mountains were brought forth, f 1.) Be/ore the earth was, and that was made in the oeginning, before man was made; therefore the second Adam had a being before the first, for the first Adam was made of the earth, the second had a being before the earth, and therefore is not of the earth, John iii. 31. (2.) Before the sea was; {v. 24.) when there were no depths in which the waters were gathered together, no fountains from which those waters might arise, none of that deep on which the Spirit of God moved for the production of the visible creation. Gen. i. 2. (3.) Before the mountains were, the everlasting mountains, y. 25. Eliphaz, to convince Job of his inability to judge of the divine counsels, asks him, (Job xv. 7.) Wast thou made before the hills? No, thou wast not: but before the hills was the eternal Word brought forth. (4.) Before the habitable parts of the world, which men cultivate, and reap the profits of, {v. 26.) the fields in the vallies and plains, to which the mountains are as a wall, which are the highest part of the dust of the world; the first part of the dust, so some; the atoms which compose the several part* of the world; the chief or principal part of the dust, so it may be read, and understood of man, who was made of the dust of the ground, and is dust, but is the principal part of the dust, dust enlivened, dust refined. The eternal Word had a being before man was made, for in him was the life of men.

3. His agency in making the world. He not only had a being before the world, but he was present, not as a spectator, but as the Architect, when the world was made. God puzzled and humbled Job, by asking him, " Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Who hath laid the measures thereof? (Job xxxviii. 4, &c.) Wast thou that eternal Word and Wisdom, which was the prime Manager of that great affair? No; thou art of j'esterday." But here the Son of God, referrine:, as It should seem, to the discourse God had with Job, declares himself to have been engaged in that which Job could not pretend to be a witness of, and a worker in, the creation of the world. By him God made the worlds, Eph. iii. 9. Heb. i. 2. "Col. i. 16. (1.) When, on the first day of the creation, in the very beghming of time, God bespoke the light, and with a word produced it, this eternal Wisdom was that almighty Word; Then/was there, when he prepared the heavens, the fountain of that light, which, whatever it is here, is there substantial. (2.) He was no less active, when, on the second day, he stretched out the firmament, the vast expanse, and set that as a compass upon the face of the depth, {v. 27.) surrounded it on all sides with that canopy, that curtain. Or, it may refer to the exact order and method with which God framed all the parts of the universe, as the workman marks out his work Avith his line and compasses. The work in nothing vai led from the plan of it formed in the eternal mind. (3.) He was also employed in the third day's work, when

PROVERBS, VIll.

the waters above the heavens were gathered together bv establidhhig the clouds above, and those under the he^^'ens b\' strengthening the fountains of the deep., which send t'ortJi those waters, {y. 28.) and by preser\"ing the l:)ounds of the sea, which is the receptacle of thosr waters, v. 29. This speaks much the honour of this eteni-il Wisdom, for by tiiis instance God proves himself a God greatly to be feared, (Jer. V. 22.) that he has placed the sand for the bound of the sea, that the dry land might continue to appear above water, fit to be a habitation for man; and thus he has appointed the foundation of the earth. How able, how fit, is the bon of God to be the Saviour of the world, wlio was the Creator of it!

4. The infinite complacency which the Father had in him, and heintlie Father; {v. 30.) I was by him, as one drought up with him. As by an eternal generation he was brought forth of the Father, so by an eterndl council he was brought up with j him; which intimates, not only the infinite love of i the Father to the Son, who is therefore called the Son of his love, (Col. i. 13.) but the mutual consciousness and good understanding that were between them, concerning the work of man's redemption, which the Son was to undertake, and about which the council of peace was between them both, Zech. vi. 13. He -wds alumnus Patris — the Pother's pupil, as I may say, trained up from eternity for that service which, in time, in the fulness of time, he was to go through with, and is therein taken under the special tuition and protection of the Father; he is my Servant who?n I uphold, Isa. xlii. 1. He did what he saw the Father do, (John v. 19.) pleased his Father, sought his glory, did according to the commandment he received from his Father, and all this as one brought up with him. He was daily his Father's Delight, {mine Elect, in whom my soul de-lighteth, says God; Isa. xhi. 1.) and he also rejoiced always before him. This may be understood, either, (1.) Of the infinite delight which the persons of the blessed Trinity have in each other, wherein consists much of the happiness of the divine nature. Or, (2.) Of the pleasure which the Father took in the operations of the Son, when he made the world; God saw every thing that the Son made, and, behold, it was very good, it pleased him, and therefore his Son was daily, day by day, dui-ing the six days of the creation, upon that account, his Delight; Exod. xxxix. 43. And the Son also did himself rejoice before him in the beauty and harmony of the whole creation, Ps. civ. 31. Or, (3.) Of the satisfaction they had in each other, with reference to the ^reat work of man's redemption. The Father delighted in the Son, as Mediator between him and man, was well pleased with what he proposed, (Matth. iii. 17.) and ?/zere/bre loved him, because he undertook to lay down his life for the sheep; he put a confidence in him, that he would go through his work, and not fail or fly off. The Son also rejoiced always before him, delighted to do his will, (Ps. xl. 8.) stuck close to his undertaking, as one that was well satisfied in it, and, when it came to the setting to, expressed as much satisfaction in it as ever, saying, Zo, / come, to do as in the volume of the book it is written of me.

5. The gi-acious concern he had for mankind, v. 31. Wisdom rejoiced, not so much in the rich products of the earth, or the treasures hid in the bowels of it, as in the habitable parts of it, for her delights were with the sons of men; not only in the creation of man is it spoken with a peculiar air of pleasure, (Gen i. 26.) JLet us make man; but in the redemption and salvation of man. The Son of God was ordained, before the world, to that great work, 1 Pet. i. 20. A remnant of the sons of men were given him to be brought, throvigh his grace, to his glorv, and those were they in whom his delights

were: his church was the habitable part of his earth, made habitable for him, that the JLord God 7night dwell even among them that had been rebelli> us; and this he rejoiced in, in the prospect of seeing his seed. Though he foresaw all the difficvdtics he was to meet with in his work, the services and sufferings he was to go through, yet, because it would issue in the glory of his I" ather, and the salvation cf those sons of men that were given him, he locked forward upon it with the greatest satisfaction imaginable, in which we have all the enccuragement we can desire to come to him, and rely upon him for all the benefits designed us by his glorious undertaking.

32. Now, therefore, hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they thnt keep 111}'ways. 33. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. 34. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. 35. For w^hoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. 36. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

We have here the application of Wisdom's discourse; the design and tendency of it, is, to bring us all into an entire subjection to the laws cf religirn, to make us wise and good; not to fill our heads with speculations, or our tongue with disputes, but to rectify what is amiss in our hearts and lives. In order to this, here is,

I. An exhortation to hear and obey the voice of Wisdom, to attend and comply with the good instructions that the word of God gives us, and in them to discern the voice of Christ, as the sheep know the shepherd's voice.

1. We must be diligent hearers of the word; for how can we believe in him of whom we have not heard? "Hearken unto me, O ye children,^' {v. 32.) "read the word written, sit under the word preached, bless God for both, and hear him in both speaking to you." liCt children in age hearken, for it is their learning age; and what they hearken to tlien, it is likely, they will be so seasoned by, as to be governed by all their days. Let children in relation hearken to God as their Father, to Wisdom as their mother, to whom they ought to be in subjection and live; let Wisdom's children justify Wisdom by hearkening to her, and show themselves to be indeed her children.

We must hear Wisdom's words, (1.) Submissively, and with a willing heart; (t. 33.) ^'Hear instruction, and refuse it not, either as that which you need not, or as that which you like not; it is offered you as a kindness, and it is at your peril if you refuse it." They that reject the counsel of God, re ject- it against themselves, Luke vii. 30. " Refuse it not now, lest you have not another offer." (2.) Constantly, and "with an attentive ear. We must hear Wisdom so as to watch daily at her gates, as beggars to receive an alms, as clients and patients to receive advice, and to wait as servants, with humility, and patience, and ready observance, at the posts of her doors. See here what a good house Wisdom keeps, for every day is dole-day; what a good school, for every day is lecture-day. \Miile we have God's works "before om- eyes, and his word in our hand, we maybe every day hearing \\'isdom, and learning instruction frorn her. Sec here whrt a dutiful and diligent attendance is required cf all ("Ihrist's disciples; they must watch at h is gates. [ 1. ] We must lay hold on all opportunities of getting knowledge and grace, and must g'.t into, and keep

PROVERBS, IX.

673

in, I constant settled course of communion with G(<(!. [2. ] We must be very humble in our attendance on divine instructions, and be glad of any place, even the meanest, so we may but he. within hearing cf them; as David, who would gladly be a doorkeeper in the house of God. [3.] We must raise our expectations of these instructions, and hearken to them witli care, and patience, and perseverance; must watch and wait, as Christ's heaixrs, that lianged on him to hear him, as the word in the original is, (Luke xix. 48.) and {cli. xxi. 38.) came early in the morning to hear him.

2. We must be conscientious doers of the work', for we are blessed only in our deed. It is not enough to hearken unto Wisdom's words, but we must kee/i her Kvays, {v. 32.) do every thing that she prescribes, keep withm the hedges of her ways, and not transgress them, keep in the tracts of her ways, proceed and persevere in them. Hear instruction, and be wise, let it be a means to make you wise in ordering your conversation. What we know, is known m vain, if it do not make us wise, v. 33.

II. An assurance of happiness to all those that do hearken to Wisdom. They are blessed {v. 32.) and again, v. 34 They are blessed that watch and wait at Wisdom's gates, even their attendance there is their happiness; it is the best place they can be in; they are blessed that wait there, for they shall not be put to wait long, let them continue to knock awhile, and it shall be opened to them. They are seeking wisdom, and they shall find what they seek; but will it make amends if they do find it? Yes, (f. 35.) Whoso Jindeth me, finds life, all happiness, all that good which he needs, or can desire. He finds life in that grace which is the principle of spiritual life, and the pledge of eternal life. He finds life, for he shall obtain favour of the Lord, and in his favour is life. If the king's tavcur is towards a wise son, much more the favour of the King of kings. Christ is Wisdom, and he that finds Christ, that obtains an interest in him, he finds life; for Christ is Life to all believers, he that has the So?i of God has life, eternal life, and he shall obtain favour of the Lord, who is well pleased with all those that are in Christ; nor can we obtain God's favour, unless we find Christ, and be found in him.

ni. The doom past upon all those that reject Wisdom and her proposals, v. 36. They are left to ruin themselves, and Wisdom will not hinder them, because they have set at nought all her counsel. 1. Their crime is very gi'eat;they sm against Wisdom, rebel against its light and laws, thwart its designs, and by their folly offend it; they sin against Christ, they act in contempt of his authority, and in contradiction to aU the purposes of his life and death. This is construed into hating Wisdom, hating Christ; they are his enemies, who will not have him to reign over them. What can appear worse than hating him who is the Centre of all beauty, and Fountain of all goodness. Love itself? 2. Their punishment will be very just, for they wilfully bring It upon themselves. (1.) They that offend Christ do the greatest wix)ng to themselves; they ni^rong their own souls, they wound their own consciences, bring a blot :ind stain upon their souls, which renders them odious in the eyes of God, and unfit for communion with him; they deceive themselves, disturb themselves, destroy themselves; sin is a wrong to the soul. (2.) They that are at variance with Christ, are in love with their own rain; They that hate me, love death; they love that which will be their death, and put that from them which would be their life. Sinners die because they will die, which leaves them inexcusable, makes their condemnation the more intolerable, and will for ever justify God when he judges. O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself

Vol. III.—4 Q

CHAP. IX.

Christ and sin are rivals for the soul of man, and here «e are told how they both make their court to it, to have the innermost and uppermost place in it. The design ortKis representation is, to set before us life and death, good and evil; and there needs no more than a fair stating ai the case, to determine us which of those to choose, and surrender our hearis to. They are both brought in, making entertainment for the soul, and inviting it to accept of the entertainment; concerning both we are told what the issue will be; and the matter being thus laid before us, let us consider, take advice, and speak our mitids. And we are therefore concerned to put a value upon our own souls, because we see there is such striving for them. I. Christ, under the name of Wisdom, invites us to accept of his entertainment, and so to enter into acquaintance and communion with him, v. 1 .. 6. And having foretold the different success of his invitation, (v. 7 . .9.) he shows, in short, what he requires from us, (v. 10.) and what he designs for us, (v. 11.) and then leaves it to our choice what we will do, v. 12. II. Sin, under the character of a foolish woman, courts us to accept of her entertainment, and (v. 13. .16.) pretends it is very charming, V. 17. But Solomon tells what the reckoning will be, V. 18. And now choose you, this day, whom you will close with.

l."Vi;rlSDOM hath builded her house, T T slie hath hewn out her seven pillars : 2. She hath killed her beasts: she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table: 3. She hath sent forth her maidens ; she crieth upon the highest places of the cit}^ 4. Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, 5. Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine ivhich I have mingled. 6. Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding. 7. He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame; and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. 8. Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. 9. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser; teach a just man, and he v^ill increase in learning. 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding. 11. For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy hfe shall be increased. 12. If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself; but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.

Wisdom is here introduced as a magnificent Queen, very great and very generous; that Word of God is this Wisdom, in which God makes known his good-will toward men; God the Word is this Wisdom, to whom the Father has committed all judgment He who, in the chapter before, showed his grandeur and glory, as the Creator of the world, here shows his grace and goodness, as the Redeemer of it. The word is plural, to Wisdoms; for in Christ are hid treasures of wisdom, and in his undertaking appears the manifold Wisdom of God in a mystery. Now, observe here,

I. The rich provision which Wisdom has made for the reception cf all those that will be her disciples. This is represented under the similitude of n sumptuous feast, whence, it is probable, cur Saviour borrowed those parables, in which he comparer the kingdom of heaven to a great supper, Matth. xxiij.

PROVERBS, IX.

2. Luke xiv. 16. And so it was prophesied of, Isa. XXV, 6. It is such a feast as Ahasucrus niide to nhovj the richen of his glorioua- kingdom. The grace of the gospel is thus set before us in the ordinance of the L.jrd's supper. To bid lier guests welcome,

1. Here is a stately palace provided, v. 1. Wisdom, nijt finding a huuse capacious enough f.;r all her guests, has built one on purpose, and, both to strengthen it, and to beautify it, she has heivn out her seven liillars, which make it to be very firm, and look very great. Heaven is the house which Wisdom has built to entertain all her guests that are called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb; that is her Father's house, where there are many mansions, and whither she is gone to prepare places for us. She has hanged the earth upon nothing, therefore in it we have no continuing city; but heaven is a city that has foundations, his pillars. The church is Wisdom's house, to which she invites her guests, supported by the power and promise of God, as by 6evenfiiUars. Probably, Solomon refers to the temple which he himself had lately built for the service of religion, and to which he would persuade people to resort, both to worship God, and to receive the instructions of Wisdom. Some reckon the schools of the propliets to be here intended.

2. Fie re is a splendid feast got ready; {y. 2.) She has killed her beasts, she has mingled her wine; plenty of meat and drink is provided, and all of the nest. She has killed her sacrijice, so the word is; it is a sumptuous, but a sacred, feast, a feast upon a sacrifice. Christ has offered up himself a Sacrifice for us, and it is hisjlesh that is meat indeed, and his blood that is drink indeed. The Lord's supper is a feast of reconciliation and joy upon the sacrifice of atonement. The wine is mingled with something richer than itself, to give it more than ordinary spirit and flavour. She has completely furnished her table with all the satisfactions that a soul can desire; righteousness and grace, peace and joy, the assurances of God's love, the consolations of the Spirit, and all the pledges and earnests of eternal life. Observe, It is all Wisdom's own doings; she has killed the beasts, she has mingled the wine; which denotes both the love of Christ, wlio makes the provision, (he does not leave it to others, but takes the doing of it into liis own hands,) and the excellency of the preparation. That must needs be exactly fitted to answer the end, which Wisdom herself has the fitting up of.

n. The gracious invitation she has given, not to some particular friends, but to all in general, to come and take part of these provisions. 1. She employs her servants to invite round about in the country; she has sent forth her maidens, v. 3. The ministers of the gospel are commissioned and commanded to give notice of the preparations which God has made, in the everlasting covenant, for all those that are willing to come up to the terms of it; and they, with maiden purity, not cori-upting themselves or the word ot God, and with an exact observance of orders, are to call upon all they meet with even in the high-ways and hedges, to come and fe.ist with Wisdom, for all things are now ready, Luke xiv. 23. 2. She herself cries ufion the highest places of the city, as one earnestly desirous of the welfare of the children of men, and grieved to see them rejecting their own meixies for lying vanities. Our Lord Jesus was himself the Publisher of his own gospel; when he had sent forth his disciples, he followed them to confirm what they said; nay, it began to be sfioken by the Lord, Heb. ii. 3. He stood, and cried, Come unto me.

We see who invites; now let us observe,

(1.) To whom the invitation is given; Whoso is simfile, and wants understanding, v. 4. If we were to make an entertainment, of all people- we should not care for much leis court, the company of such.

but rather of philosophers and learned men, that we might hear their wisdom, and whose table-talk would be improving. " Havel need of mad-men.'" But Wisdom invites such, because what she lias to give is what they most need, and it is their welfare that she consults, and aims at, in the preparation and invitation. He that is simple is invited, that lie may be made wise; and he that wants a heart, so the word is, let him come hither, and he shall have one. Her preparations are rather physic than food, designed for the most valuable and desirable cure, that of the mind. Whosoever he, be, the inA'itution is general, and excludes none that do not exclude themselves; though they be ever so foolish, yet, [1.] They shall be welcome. [2.] They maybe helped, they shall neither be despised nor despaired of. Our Saviour came, 7iot to call the righteous, but sinners; not the wise in their own eyes, who say they see, (John ix. 41.) but the simple, those who are sensible of their simplicity, and ashamed of it, and him that is willing to become a fool, that he may be wise, 1. Cor. iii. 18.

(2.) What the invitation is. [1.] We arc invited to Wisdom's house; Turn in hither. I say we are, for which of us is there that must net own the character of the invited, that are simfile, and want understanding!^ Wisdom's doors stand open to such, and she is desirous to have some conversation with them, one word for their own good, nor has she any other design upon them. [2.] We are invited to her table; {v. 5.) Come, eat of my bread, taste ot the true pleasures that are to be found in the knowledge and fear of God. By faith acted on the promises of the gospel, applying them to ourselves, and taking the comfort of them, we feed, we feast, upon the provisions Christ has made for poor souls. What we eat and drink we make our own, and lire nourished and refreshed by it, and so are our souls by the word of God; it has that in it that is rneat ajid drink to those that understand themselves.

(3.) What is rec^uired of those that may have the benefit of this invitation, v. 6. [1.] 1 hcv mxist break off from all bad company; ^'Forsake the fool ish, converse nc t with them, conform not to their ways, have no fellowship with the works of dark ness, or with those that deal in such works." The first step toward virtue, is, to shun vice, and therefore to sliun the vicious; Dejiart from me, ye evil doers. [2.] They must awake and arise from the dead; they must live, not in pleasure, (for those that do so are dead while they live,) but in the ser\ice of God; for those only that do so live indeed, live to some pui-pose. " Live not a mere animal-life, as binites, but now, at length, live the life of men. Live, and you shall live; live spiritually, and you shall live eternally," Eph. v. 14. [3.] They must choose the paths of Wisdom, and keep to them; "Go in the way of understanding; govern thyself henceforward by the rules of religion and right reason." It is not enough to forsake the foolish, but we must join ourselves with these that walk in wisdom, andi walk in the same spirit and stejjs.

III. The instructions which Wisdom gives to the maidens she sends to invite, to the ministers and others, who in their places are endeavouring to serve her interests and designs. She tells them, 1. Wliat their work must be; not only to tell in gcnen.l wliat preparation is made f( r sr.uls, and to give a general offer of it, but th y must apply thenisehes to particular persons; must tell thuii of their faults, reprove, rebuke, v. 7, 8. They must instruct them how to amend, teach, v. 9. The word of God is intended, and therefore so is the ministry of that word, /cir reproof, for correct ion, and for instruction in righteousness. 2. What difterentsorts of pcrsc«^s they would meet with, and what course they must take Avitli them, ;uid what success they migiit expect-

PROVERBS, IX.

675

(1.) They would meet with some scoimers and v)icked men, who would mock the messengers of the Lord, and misuse them, would Laugh them to scorn, that invite them to the feast of the Lord, as they did, 2 Chron. xxx. 10. would treat than n/ntefully, Matth. xxii. 6. And though they are not forbidden to invite tuose simple ones to Wisdom's house, yet they are advised not to pursue the invitation, by reproving and rebuking them; Re/irove not a scorner, cast not these fiear/s before swine, Matth. vii. 6. Thus Christ said of the Pharisees, l^et them uLone, Mdtth. XV. 14. "Do not reprove them." l1.] " Injustice to them, for they have forfeited the favour of further means, who scorn the means they have liad." They that are thus filthy. Let them be filthy still; tliat are joined to idols. Let them alone; lo, we turn to the Gentiles. [2.] *' In prudence to yourselves; because, if you reprove them," First, "You lose your labour, and so get to yourselves sAcme for the disappointment." Secondly, "You exasperate them; do it ever so wisely and tenderly, if you do it faithfully, they will hate you, they will load you with reproaches, and say all the ill they can of you, and so you will get a blot; therefore you had better not meddle with them, for your reproofs will be likely to do more hurt than good."

(2.) They would meet witli otliers who are wise, and good, and just; thanks be to God, all are not scorners. We meet with some who are so wise for themselves, so just to themselves, as to be willing and glad to be taught; and, when we meet with such, [1.] If there be occasion, we must reprove tliem; for wise men are not so perfectly wise, but there is that in them which needs a reproof; and we must not connive at any man's faults, because we have a veneration for liis wisdom; nor must a wise man think that liis wisdom exempts him from reproof, when he says or does any thing foolishly; but, the more wisdom a man has, the more desirous he should be to hive his weaknesses showed him, because a little folly is a great blemish to him that is m reputation for wisdom and honour. [2.] With our reproofs we must give them instruction, and must teach them, v. 9. [3.] We may expect that it will be taken as a kindness, Ps. cxli. 5. A wise man will reckon those his friends who deal faithfully with him ; "Rebuke such a one, and he will love thee for thy plain dealing, will thank thee, and desire thee to do him the same good turn another time, if there be occasion." It is as great an instance of wisdom to take a reproof well, as to give it well. [4.] Being taken well, it will do good, and answer the intention. A wise man will be made wiser by the reproofs and instructions that are given him; he will increase in learning., will grow in knowledge, and so grow in grace. Is one must think themselves too wise to learn, or so good that they need not be better, and therefore need not be taught. We must still press forward, and follow on to know, till we come to the perfect man. Give to a wise man, so it is in the original, give him advice, give him i-e-proof, give liim comfort, and he will be yet wiser; give him occasion, so the Seventy, occasion to show his wisdom, and he will show it, and the acts of wisdom will strengthen the habits.

IV. The instructions she gives to those that are mvited, which her maidens must inculcate upon them.

1. Let them know wherein true wisdom consists, an-1 what will be their entertainment at Wisdom's table, V. 10. (1.) The heart must be principled witli the fear of God, that is the beginning of wis-dom. A reverence of God's majesty, and a dread cf his wrath, is that fear of him which is the beginning, the first step toward true religion, Avhence all ot'.:cr instances of it take rise. This fear may, at f I .c, have torment, but love will, by degrees, cast

out the the torment of it. (2.) The head must be filled with the knowledge cf the things cf God. The kno%vledge of holy things (the word is plural) is un-derstanding; the things pertaining to the service of God, (those are called Ao/j/ things,) that pertain to cur own sanctification; reproof is called that which is holy, Matth. \\\. 6. Or the knowledge which holy men have, wliicfi was taught by the holy prophets, ( f those things which holy men sfiake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; this is understanding, it is the best and most useful understanding, will stand us in most stead, and turn to the best account.

2. Let them know what will be the advantages cf this wisdom; (x^. 11) " By me thy days shall be mul-t fiUed. It will contribute to the health cf thy body, and so the years of thy life on earth shall be increased, while men's folly and intemperance shorten their days. It will bring thee to heaven, and there thy days shall be multiplied in infinitum — to infinity, and the years of thy life shall be increased without end." There is no true wisdom but in the way of religion, and no tnie life but in the end of that way.

3. Let them know what will be the consequence of their choosing, or refusing, this fair offer, v. 12. Here is, (1.) The happiness of those that embrace it; " If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself; thou wilt be the gainer by it, not Wisdom." A man cannot be profitable to God; it is to our own good that we are thus courted: " Thou wilt not leave the gain to others," (as we do our worldly wealth when we die, which is therefore called another man's, Luke xvi. 12.) "but thou shalt carry it with thee into another world." Those that are wise for their souls, are wise for themselves, for the scul is the man; nor do any consult their own true interest, but those that are truly religious. This recommends us to God, and recovers us from that which is our folly and degeneracy; it employs us in that which is most beneficial in this world, and entitles us to that which is much more so in the world to come. (2.) The shame and i-uin of those that slight it; " If thou scomest Wisdom's proffer, thou alone shalt bear it." [1.] " Thou shalt bear the d/awze of it;" those that are good must thank God, but those that are wicked may thank themselves. It is not owing to God, he is not the Author of sin; Satan can only tempt, he cannot force; and wicked companions are but his instruments; so that all the fault must lie on the sinner himself. [2.] " Thou shalt bear the loss of that which thou scornest; it will be to thine own destruction, thy blood will be upon thine own head, and the consideration of this will aggravate thy condemnation. Son, remember that thou hadst this fair offer made thee, and thou wculd-est not accept of it; thou stoodest fair for life, but didst choose death rather.

13. A foolish woman m clamorous; she w simple, and knoweth nothing. 14. For she sitteth at the door of her house^on a seat in the high places of the city. 15. To call passengers who go right on their ways; 16. Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, 17. Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. 18. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell

We have heard what Christ has to say, to engage our affections to Gcd and gcdliness, and one would think the whole world should go after him; but here we are told how industrious t!ie tempter is to seduce unwary souls into the paths of sin, and with thf

PROVERBS, X.

rriost he gains his point, and Wisdom's courtship is not effectual. N.av observe,

1. Who is the tempter, a foolish ivoman; Folly herself, in oppositirn to Wisdom. Carnal, sensual pleasure, I take to be especially meant by X.\\\?,foolish woman; (y. 13.) for that is the great enemy to virtue, and inlet to \ ice; that defiles and debauches the mind, stupifics conscience, and puts out the sparks of conviction, more than any thing else. This tempter is here described to be, (1.) Very ignorant; she is simple, and knows nothing-, she has no sufficient, solid, reason to off"er; where she gets dominion in a soul, she works out all the knowledge of holv things, they are lost and forgotten. Whoredom, and wine, and new witie, take away the heart, they besot men, and make fools of them. (2.) V-;y importunate. The less she has to offer, that is rational, the more violent and pressing she is, and carries the day often by dint of impudence. She is clamorous &i\(\. noisy, {v. 13.) continually haunting young neople with her enticements. She sits at the door of her house, (v. 14.) watching for a prey; not as Abraham at his tent-door, seeking an opportunity to do good. She sits on a seat, {on a throne, so the word signifies) in the highfilaces of the city, as if she had authority to give law; and we were all debtors to thejiesh, to live after thejlesh; and as if she had reputation, and were in honour, and thought worthy of the high places of the city; and, perhaps, she gains upon many, more by pretending to be fashiona-l)le, than by pretending to oe agreeable. Do not all persons of rank and figure in the world," (says she) " give themselves a greater liberty than the strict laws of virtue allow; and why shouldest thou humble thyself so far as to be cramped by them?" Thus the tempter aff'ects to seem both kind and great.

2. Who are the tempted; young people who have l)cen Avell educated; these she will triumph most in l)c;ingthe ruin of. Observe, (1.) What their real character is; they are passengers that go right on their ways, (y. 15.) that have been trained up in the paths of religion and virtue, and set out very h'^pcfuUy and well; that seem determined and designed for good, and are not (as that young man, ch. vii. 8.) going the way to her house. Such as these she has a design upon, and lays snares for, and uses all her arts, all her charms, to pervert them; if they go right on, and will not look toward her, she will call after them; so urgent are these temptations. (2.) How she represents them; she calls them sim-/2le,iindwanting understanding,iind therefore courts them to her school, that they may be cured of the restraints and formalities of their religion. This is the method of the stage, (which is too close an exposition of this paragraph,) where the sober young man, that has been virtuously edr.catcd, is the fool in the play, and the plot is to m.ike him sercn times more a child of hell than his proftuie companions, under colour of polishing and refining him, and setting him up for a wit and a beau. What is justly charged upon sin and impiety, {v. 4.) that it is folly, is here very\injustly retorted upon the ways of virtue; but the day will declare who are the tools.

3. What the temptation is; (t'. 17.) Stolen waters are sweet. It is water and bread; whereas Wisdom invites to the beasts she has killed, and the wine she has mingled: however, bread and water are acceptable enough to those that are hungry and thirsty; and this is pretended to be more sweet and pleasant than common; for it la sto/e?i water, and bread eateii in secret, with a fear ef being discovered. The pleasures of prohibited lusts are i>nust(-d of as more relishing thviii tliose of prescribed love; and dishonest gain is preferred to that wliicli is justly i;otten. Now this argues, not only a b Id contem])t, l.'ut an impudent defiance, (1.) Of (iod's law, in tliat the waters are the sweeter for being stolen, and

come at by breaking through the hedge of the divine command. J^'itimur in -vetitum — We are prone to what is forbidden. T his spirit of contradictiori we have from our fii'st parents, who thought the for bidden tree of all others a tree to be desired. (2.'i Of God's curse. The bread is eaten ?>2 secret, fov fear of discovery and punishment, and the sinne," takes a pride in having so far baffled his crnvicticns, and triumphed over them, that, notwithstanding that fear, he dares commit the sin, and can make himself believe, that, being eaten in secret, it shall never be discovered or reckoned, for sweetness and pleasantness is the bait; but, by the tempter's own showing, even that is so al:)surdi and has such allays, that it is a wonder how it can ha\ e an'.- mfiuenn: upon men that pretend to rcasen.

4. An effectual antidc te against the temptation, in a few words, v. 18. He that so f;.. wants under standing, as to be drawn aside by these enticements, is led on, ignorantly, to his own inevitable niin; he knows not, v/ill not believe, does net c< nsider; the tempter will net let him knew that the dead are there, that those who live in pleasure are dead while they live, dead in trespasses and sins. Terrors attend these pleasures, like the terrors of death itselt The giants are there, Fephaim; this was it that ruined the sinners rf the (Id world; the giants that were in the earth in those days. Her guests, that are treated with these stolen waters, are not only in the highway to hell, and at the brink rf it, but they are already in the depths of hell, imder the power of sin, led captive by Satan at his will, sometimes lashed by the terrors of their own consciences, which are a hell upon earth. The depths of Satan are the depths of hell; remorseless sin is remediless ruin, it is the bottomless ])it already. Thus does Solomon show the hook; those that believe him will not meddle with the bait.

CHAP. X.

Hitherto we have been in the porch or preface to the Proverbs, here they begin; they are short, but weighty, sentences; most of them are distichs, two sentences in one verse, illustrating each other; but it is seldom that there is any coherence between the verses, much less any thread of discourse; and therefore in these chapters we need not attempt to reduce the contents to their proper heads, the several sentences will appear best in their own places. The scope of Iheiii all, is, to set before us good and evil, the blessing and the curse. Many of the proverbs in this chapter relate to the good £rovernment of the tongue, without which men's religion is vain.

]. ^T^HE proverbs of Solomon. A wise JL son maketh a glad father; but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

Solomon, speaking tons as unto children, observes here how much the comfrrt of parents, natural, political, and ecclesiastical, dt pends upon the good behaviour of those under their charge, as a reason, 1. Why parents should be careful to give their children a good education, and to train them up in the ways of religion, which, if it obtain the desired effect, they themselves will have the comfort of it, or, if not, they will have for their support under their heaviness, that they have done their duty, have done their endeavour. 2. \\'^hy children should conduct themselves wisely and well, and live up to their good education, tliat they may rejoice the hearts cf their parents, and not sadden them. Observe, (1.) It adds to the comfort of young people that are pious and discreet, tliat thereby they do something toward recom])ensing their p'arc nts for all the care and pains they Iup e taken with them, and occasion pleasure to them in the evil days of old age, when they most need it. It is the duty of parents to rejoice in their children's wisdom and well-doing, yes, though it arrive at such an cmir.ency as to ecl;]»sc

PROVERBS, X.

677

them. (2.) It adds to the guilt of those that conduct themselves ill, that thereby they grieve those whom they ought to be a joy to, and are a heaviness particularly to their poor mothers who bore them with sori'ow, but with greater sorrow see them wicked and vile.

2. Treasures of wickedness profit nothing; but rigliteousness delivereth from death. 3. The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.

These two verses speak to the same pui-port, and the latter may be the reason of the former.

1. That wealth which men get unjustly will do them no good, because God will l)last it; Treasures of TJickedness profit votlmig, (v. 2.) the treasures of wicked people; much less the treasure which they ha\e made themselves masters of by any wicked arts, by oppression or fraud; though it be ever so much, as a treasure, and laid up ever so safe, though it be hid treasure, yet it profits nothing; when profit and loss come to be balanced, the profit gained by the treasui-es will by no means countervail the lo'ss sustained by the wickedness, Matth. xvi. 26. They do not profit the soul, they will not purchase any true comfort or happiness; they will stand a man in no stead of death, or in the judgment of the great dav; and the reason is, because God casts aivay the suhstance of the wicked; {v. 3.) he takes that from them which they have unjustly gotten; he rejects the consideration of it, not regarding the rich more than the poor. We often see that scattered by the justice of God, which has been gathered together by the injustice of men. How can the treasures of wickedness profit, when, though it be counted substance, (iod casts it away, and it vanishes as a shadow?

2. That winch is honestly got will turn to a good account, for God will bless it. Righteousness delivers f-om death, that is, wealth gained, and kept, and used in a right manner; (righteousness signifies both honesty and charity;) it answers the end of wealth, which is to keep us aUve, and be a defence j to us; it will deliver from those judgments which men bring upon themselves by their wickedness; it will profit to that degi-ee, as to deliver, though not from the stroke of death, yet from the sting of it, and consequently from the terror of it. For the Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish, {y. 3.) and so their righteousness delivers from death, purely by the favour of God to them, which is their life and livelihood, and which will keep them ahve in famine. The soul of the righteous shall be kept alive by the word of Gotl, and faith in his promise, when young lions shall lack, and suffer hunger.

>/ 4. He becometh poor that dealeth ivith a

slack hand: but the hand of the diligent

maketh rich.

We are here told, 1. Who they are, who, though rich, are in a fair way to become poor; those wAo deal with a slack hand, who are careless and remiss in their business, and never mind which end goes foremost, nor ever set their hands vigorouslv to their work, or stick to it; who deal with a deceitful hand, so it may be read; those who think to enrich themselves by fraud and trickine, will, in the end, impoverish themselves, not only by bringing the curse of God on what they have, but by forfeiting their reputation with men; none will care to deal with those who deal with slight of hand, and are honest only with looking to. 2. Who they are, who, though poor, are in a fair way to become rich; those who are diligent, and honest, who are careful about their

affairs, and what their hands find to do, do it witli all their might, in a fair and honourable wa)', tlici^t: are likely to increase what they have. The hand of the acute, so some; of those who are sluip, but not sharpers; the hand of the active, so others; t!:e stirring hand gets a penny. This is tine in the affairs ot our souls, as well as in our worldly affairs; slothfulness and hjpocrisy lead to spiritual poverty, but those who are fe7-vent in spirit, serving the ^' Lord, are likely to be rich in faith, and rich in good works.

5. He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: bid he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

Here is, 1. The just praise of those who improve their opportunities, who take pains to gather and increase what they have, both for soul and body, who provide for hereafter, while provision is to be made, who gather in summer, which is gathering time; he who does so is a wise son, and it is his honour; he acts wisely for his parents, whom, if there be occasion, he ought to maintain, and he gives reputation to himself, his family, and his education.

2. The just reproach and blame of those who trifle away these opportunities; He tvho sleeps, loves his ease, idles away his time, and neglects his work, especially who sleeps in harvest, when he should be laying in for the winter, who lets slip the season of furnishing himself with that which he will have occasion, for, he is a son that causes shaine; for he is a foolish son, he prepares shame for himself when winter comes, and reflects shame upon all his friends. He who gets knowledge and wisdom in the days of his youth, gathers in sianmer, and he will have the comfort and credit of it; but he who idles away the days of his ycuth, will bear the shame of it when he is old.

6. Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.

Here is, 1. The head of the Just crowned with blessings; with the blessings both of God and man; varietv of blessings, abundance of blessings, shall descend from above, and visibly abide on the head of good men; real blessings; they shall not only be spoken well of, but done well to. Blessings shall be on their head as a coronet to adorn and dignify them, and as a helmet to protect and secure them.

2. The mouth of the wicked covered with violence; their mouths shall be stopt with shame for the violence which they have done; they shall not have a word to say in excuse for themselves; (Job v. 16.) their breath shall be stopt with the violence that shall be done to them, when their violent dealings shall return on their heads, shall be returned to their teeth.

7. The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.

Both the just and the wicked, when their days arc fulfilled, must die; between their bodies, in the gi-ave, there is no visible difference; between the souls of the one and the other, in the world of spirits, there is a vast difi'erence; and so there is, or ought to be, between their memories that survive them.

1. Good men are, and ought to be, well spoken of when they are gone; it is one of the blessings that comes upon the head of the just, even when their head is hid. Blessed men leave behind them blessed memories. (1.) It is part of the dignity of the saints, especially those who excel in virtue, and are eminently useful, that they are remembered with respect when they are dead; their good name, their name with good men, for good things, is then

t;78

PKOVERBS, X.

in a special m.inner a.s firecious ointment, Eccl. vii. 1. Those that honour God, he will thus honour, Ps. v.xii. 3, 6, 9. T/ie elders by faith obtained a good ^•r/iort, (Hob. xi. 2.) and, being dead, are yet spoken cl". (2.) It is part of the duty of the survivors; Let the memory oj the just be blessed, so the Jews read it; and observe it as a precept, not naming an eminently just man that is dead, without adding. Let his memory be blessed. We must delight in making an honouraljle mention of gcwd men that are gone; bless God for them, and for his gifts and ^•aces that appeared in tliem; and especially be toUowers of them in that vjhich is good.

2. Bad men are, and shall be, forgotten, or spoken of with contempt. When their Ijcxlies are putrify-ing in the grave, their names also shall rot. Either they shall not be preserved at all, but buried in oblivion; no good can be said of them, and therefore the greatest kindness that can be done them, will be to say nothing of them; or they shall be loathsome, and mentioned with detestation, and that nile of honour, De mortuis nil nisi bonum — Say riothing-to the disadvantage of the dead, will not protect them. Where the wickedness lias Ijeen notorious, and cannot but be mentioned, it ought to be mentioned with abhorrence.

8. The wise in h^art will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.

Here is, 1. The honour and happiness of tlie obedient; they will receive commandments; they will take it as a privilege, and really an ease to them, to be under government, which saves them the labour of deliberating, and choosing for themselves; and they will take it as a favour to be told their duty, and admonished concerning it. And it is their wisdom; they are wise in heart, who are tractaljle; and those who thus bend, thus stoop, shall stand and be estabhshed, shall jjrosper, being well-advised.

2. The shame and ruin of the disobedient, that will not be governed, nor endure any yoke; that will not be taught, nor take any advice. They are fools, "or they act against themselves and their own interest; they are commonly /irating fools, fools of lips, full of talk, l)ut full of nonsense; boasting of tliem-selves, prating spitefully against those that admonish them, (3 John 10.) and pretending to give counsel and law to others. Of all fools, none more troublesome than the prating fools, nor that more expose themselves; but they shall fall into sin, into hell, because they received not commandments. They that are full of tongue, seldom look well to their feet, and therefore stuml:)le and fall.

9. He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

We are here told, and we may dei)end upon it, 1. That men's integrity will be their security; He thai ivalks vfirightly toward God and man, is faithful to both; he that designs as he ought, and means as he says, he walks surely, he is safe under a divine protection, and easy in a holy security. He goes on his way with a huiii1)le boldness, being well armed against' the temptations of Satan, tlie troubles of the world, and the rc])roaches of men. He knows what ground he stands on, what guide he fallows, what guard he is surrounded with, and what glory he is going to, and therefore jM-oceeds with assurance and great fu-ace, Isa. xxxii. 17.—xxxiii. 1T, 16. Some understand it as ])art of tlie character of an upriglit mm, that he -valks surely, in opposition to walking at all advintures; he will not dare to do that which he is \v>\. fullv satisfied in his own conscience concerning the lawfulness of, but will see his way clear in every thing.

2. That men's dishonesty will be their shame, He that perverts his vjay, that turns aside into crooked paths, tliat disseml)ks with God and man, io( ks one way and rows another, though he may f( r a time disguise himself, and pass cun-ent, he shall be Icnowji to ha what he is; it is a thousand to one but some time or other he betrays himself; however. Ciod will discover him in tlie great day. He that perverts his nvavs, documento erit—shall be made an example oi,for warning to others; so seme.

10. He that winketh with the eye caus-eth sorrow; but a prating fool shall fall.

Mischief is here said to attend,

J. Politic, designing, self-disguising, sinners; He that winks with the eye, as if he took no notice of you, when, at the same time, he is watching an op-poitmiity to do ycu an ill turn; that makes signs to liis accomplices when to come in to assist him in executing his wicked projects, which are all carried on by trick and artifice; he causes sorrow, both to others and to himself. Ingenuity will be no excuse for iniquity, but the sinner must either repent, or do worse; either rue it, ( r l)e ruined by it.

2. Public, silly, self-exjjosing, sinners; A prating fool, whose sins go before into judgment, shall fall, as he liad said before, t'. 8. But his case is less dangerous of the two, and, though he destr( y himself, docs not create so much sorrow to otlu rs as he that winks with his eyes. I'he dog that bites is net always the dog that barks.

11. The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.

Sec here, 1. How industrious a good man is, by communicating his goodness, to do good with it ; His mouth, the outlet of his mind, is a well of life, it is a constant spring, whence issues good discourse for the edification of others, like streams that water the ground and make it fruitful, and for their consolation, like streams that quench the thirst of the weary traveller. It is like a well of life that is pure and clean, not only not poisoned, but not muddied, with any coriiipt communication.

2. How industrious a bad man is, by concealing his badness, to do hurt with it; The ?nozith of the wicked coxrers violence; disguises the designed mischief with professions of friendship, that it may be carried on the more securely and effectually; as Joab kissed and killed, Judas kissed and betrayed; this is his sin to which the punishment answers; {v. 6.) Violence covers the mouth of the wicked; what he got by violence, sliall by violence be taken from him, Job V. 4, 5.

12. Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

Here is, 1. The great mischief-maker, and that is malice; Even where there is no manifest occasion of strife, yet hatred sleeks occasion, and so stirs it up, and does the devil's work. Those are the most s])iteful, ill-naturod jjeople that can be, who take a pleasure in setting their neighbours together by the ears, l)y tale-bearing, evil surmises, and misrej^rc-sentations; blowing up the sparks of contintirn, which had lain buried, into a flame, at which, with an unaccountable ])leasure, they warm their liands.

2. The great peace-maker, and that is love, which covers all sins, the offences among nlations, which occasion discord; Love, instead of proclaiming and aggravating the offence, conceals and exttnuatcs it as far as it is capable cf being concealed and extenuated. Love will excuse the (offence wliich we give through mistake, and unadvisedly, when we ai-e able to say that there was no ill intended, but it

PROVERBS, X.

679

was an oversight, and we love our friend not-withstanding; this covers it. It will also overlook the ofttnce that is given us, and so cover it, and nuike the best of it; by this means strife is prevented, or, if begun, peace is recovered and restored 3U!ckly. The apostle quotes this, (1 Pet. iv. 8.) jjve will cover a multitude ofsiiis.

13. In tlie lips of him that hatli under-btanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of iiim that is void of understanding.

()bsevve, 1. Wisdom and grace are the lionour of good men; He t/iat has utiderstajiding, that good understanding which they have that do the commandments, ivisdom is found in his li/is, it is discovered to be there, and, consequently, that lie has within a good treasure of it, and it is derived thence fai- the benefit' of others. It is a man's honour to have wisdom, but much more to be instrumental to m.ike others wise. 2. Folly and sin are the shame of bad men; A rod is for the back of him that wants a heart; he exposes himself to the lashes of his own conscience, to the scourges of the tongue, to the censures of the magistrate, and to the righteous judgments of God. They that foolishly and wilfully go on in their wicked ways are preparing rods for tliemselves, the marks of which will he tlieir perpetual disgrace.

14. Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

Observe, 1. It is the wisdom of the wise that they treasure up a stock of useful knowledge, which will 1)L' their preservation; TVisdojn is theveiorc fou?id in their lips, {v. 13.) because it is laid up in their hearts; out of which store, like the good householder, they bring things new and old. Whatever knowledge may be at any time useful to us, we must laii it ufi, bee luse we know not l)Ut some time or other we may have occasion for it. We must continue laying up as long as we live; and be sure to lay it up safe, that it may not be to seek when we want it.

2. It is the folly of fools that they lay up mischief in their hearts, which is ready to them in all they sa\', and works terror and destruction both to others and to themselves. They love devouring words, (Ps. Hi. 4.) and these come uppermost; their mouth is near destruction, having the shar/i arrows of bitter words always at hand, to throw aljout.

15. The rich man's wealth is his strong city; the destruction of the poor is their poverty.

This may be taken two ways:

1. As a reason why we should be diligent in our business, that we may avoid that sinking, dispiriting uneasiness which attends ])o\ eity, and may enjoy the benefit and comfort whicli they have that are beforehand in the world. Taking p iins is really the way to make ourselves and om-families easy. Or, rather,

2. As a rei>resentation of tl\e common mistakes both of rich and poor, concerning their outward condition.

(I.) Rich peo])le think themselves happy because tliey are rich; but it is their mistake; The rich man''s wealth is, in his own conceit, his strong city, whereas the worst of evils it is too weak and utterly insufficient to protect them from. It will prox-e that they are not so safe as they imagine; nay, their wealth may perhaps expose them.

(2.) Poor people think themselves undone because they are poor; but it is their mistake; The destruction of the floor is their poverty; it sinks their spi-

rits, and ruins all tlieir comforts; whereas a man may live very comfortably, tliough he has but a little to live on, if he be Ijut content, and keep a good conscience, and li\ e by faitli.

16. Tiie labour of the righteous tmdetli to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.

Solomon here confirms what his father had said, (Ps. xxxvii. 16.) j1 little that a righteous man hat is better than the riches of many wiclced.

1. Perhaps a righteous man has no more than what he works hard f )r, lie eats only the labour oj his hands, but that labour tends to life; he aims at nothing but to get an honest livelihood, covets not to be rich and great, but is willing to live and maintain his family. Nor does it tend only to his own life, but he would enable himself to do good to others; he therefore labours, that he may have to give; (Eph. iv. 28.) all his business tunis to some good account or other. Or, it may be meant of his labour in religion; he takes most pains in that which has a tendency to eternal life; lie sows to the Spirit, that he may reap life everlastijig.

2. Perhaps a wicked man's wealth is fruit which he did not labour for, but came easily liy, but it tends/os/72; he maks it the food and fuel of his lusts, his pride, and luxury; he does hurt with it, and not good; he gets hurt by it, and is hardened by it in his wicked ways. The things of this world are good or evil, life or death, as they are used, and as they are that have them.

17. He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.

See here, 1. That those are in the right that do not only receive instniction, but retain it; that do not let it slip through carelessness, as most do, ncr let it go to those that would rolj them of it; that keep instruction safe, keep it pure and entire, keep it for their own use, that they may govern themselves by it, keep it for the benefit of others, that they may instruct them; they that do so are in the way of life; the way that has true comfort in it, and eternal life at the end of it.

2. That those are in the wrong, that do not only not receive instruction, but wilfully and obstinately refuse it wlien it is offered tliem; they will not be taught their duty, because it discovers their faults to them; that instniction which carries rej)roof in it, they have a particular aversion to, and certainly tliey err; it is a sign that they err in judgment, ancl have false notions of good and evil; it is a cause cf their erring hi conversation. Tlie traveller that lias missed his way, and cannot bear to be told of it, and showed the right way, must needs err still, eiT endlessly: he certainly misses the way of life.

18. He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.

Observe here, malice is folly and wickedness.

1. It is so when it is concealed by flattery and dissimulation; He is a fool, though he may think himself a i)olitician, that hides hatred with lying lips, lest, if it break out, he should l^e ashamed before men, and he should lose the opportunity of gratifying his malice. Lying lips are bad enougli, of themselves, but have a peculiar malignity in them, when they are made a cloak of maliciousness. But he is a fool who thinks to hide any thing fr< m Grd. ■

2. It is no better when it is vented in spiteful and mischievous language; He that utters slander is a fool too, for God will, sooner oi' later, bring forth

that righteousness as tlie light, which he endeavours

eao

PROVERBS, X.

to cloud, and will find an expedient to roll the reproach away.

19. In the niultitudeof words there vvant-eth not sin: but he that relVametli his hps is wise.

We are here admonished concerning the government of the tongue, that necessary duty of a Christian.

1. It is good to say little, because in the muhifude of words there wan'teth i^otsin, or sin doth not cease. Usually, they that speak much, speak much amiss; and among many words there cannot but be many idle words, which they must shortly give an account of. They that love to hear themselves talk, do not consider what work they are making for repentance; for that will be wanted, and, first or last, will be had, where there ivanteth not sin.

2. It is therefore good to keefi our mouth as with a bridle; He that refrains his lips, that often checks himself, suppresses what he has thought, and holds in that which would transpire, he is a wise man; it is an evidence of his wisdom, and he therein consults his own peace. Little said, soon amended, Amos V. 13. Jam. i. 19.

20. The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth. 21. The lips of the righteous feed many : but fools die for want of wisdom.

We are here taught how to value men, not by their wealth and prefennent in the world, but by

tlieir virtue.

1. Good men are good for something; though t'.iey may be poor and low in the world, and may not have power and riches to do good with, yet, as long as they have a mouth to speak, that will make tliem valuable and useful, and upon that account we nuist lionour them that fear the Lord, because out of the good treasure of their heart they bring forth good things. (1.) This makes them valuable; The tongue oj the just is as choice silver; tliey are sincere, freed from the dross of g"uile and evil design. God's words are compared to silver purified, (Ps. xii. 6.) for they may be relied on; and such are the words of just men. They are of weight and worth, and will enrich those that hear them with wisdom, which is better thdu choice silver. (2.) It makes them useful; The li/is of the righteous feed many; for they are full of tlie word ot God, which is the bread (if life, and that sound doctrine wherewith souls are nourished up. Pious discourse is spiritual food to the needy, to the hungry.

2. Bad men are good for nothing. (1.) One can get no good by them; The heart of the wicked is little worth; and therefore that which comes out of the abundance of his heart cannot be worth much. His principles, his notions, his thoughts, his puqjoses, and all the things that fill liim, and affect him, are worldly and carnal, and therefore of no value. He that is of the earth speaks of the earth, and neither Hndei-stunds nor relishes the things of God, John iii. ol. 1 Cor. ii. 14. Tlie wicked man pretends, that though he does not talk of religion as the just do, yet he has it within him, and thanks God that his heart is good; bathe that searches the heart here s tys the contrary, It is nothing worth. (2.) One cm do no good to them. While many are fed by the lifts of the righ'eous, fools die for want of wisdom; and fools indeed they are to die for want of that which they might so easily come by. Fools die for want of a heart, so the word is; they perish for want of consider ition and resolution; they have no heart to do any tiling f'>r their own good. While the righteous feed others, fjuls starve themselves.

22. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addcth no sorrow with it.

Worldly wealth is that which most men have their hearts very nmch upon, but they generally mistake both in the nature of the thing they desire, and in the way by which they hope to compass it; we are therefore told here,

1. What that wealth is which is indeed desirable; not having abundance only, but having it, and no sorrow with it; no discjuieting care to get and keep it; no vexation of spirit in the enjoyment of it; no tormenting grief for the loss of it; no guilt contracted by the abuse of it. To have it, and to have a heart to take the comfort of it; to do good with it, and to serve God with joyfulness and gladness cf heart in the use of it.

2. Whence this desirable wealth is to be expected; not by making ourselves drtidges to the world, (Ps. cxx\ ii. 2.) but by the blessing of God, that is it that makes rich, and adds no sorrow; what comes from the love of God has the grace of God for its crm-panion, to preserve the soul from these turbulent lusts and passions of which, otherwise, the increase of riches is commonly the incentive. He had said, (v. 4.) The hand of the diligent maketh rich, as a means; but here he ascribes it to the blessing of tlie Lord; but that blessing is upon the hand of the dili-geyit. It is thus in spiritual riches. Diligence in getting them is our duty, but.God's blessing and grace must have all the glory of that which is acquired, Deut. viii. 17, 18.

23. // is a sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.

Here is, 1. Sin exceeding sinful; It is as a laui^h-ter to a fool to do mischief; it is as natural to him, and as pleasant, as it is to a man to laugh. Wicked-7iess is his Isaac, that is the word here; it is his delight, his darling, and that in which he pleases himself. He makes a laughing matter of sin. \A'hen he is warned not to sin, from the consideration of ' the law of God, and the revelation of his wrath against sin, he makes a jest of the admonition, and laughs at the shaking of the spear; when he has sinned, instead of sorrowing for it, he boasts of it, ridicules re]Jroofs, and laughs away the convictions of his own conscience, ch, xiv. 9.

2. Wisdom exceeding wise; for it carries along with it the evidence cf its own excellency; it may be predicated of itself, and it is encomium enough"; you need say no more in praise of a man of understanding than this, " He is an understanding man, he has wisdom; he is so wise as not to do mischief, or if he has, through oversight, offended, he is so wise as not to make a jest of it." Or, to bespeak wisdom wise indeed, read it thus; jis it is a sport to a fool to do mischief, so it is to a man of vnder-stajiding to have wisdom, and to show it. Beside the future recompense, a good man has as much present pleasure in the restraints and exercises cf religion, as sinners can pretend to in the liberties and enjoyments of sin; and much more and much better.

24. The fear of the wicked, it shall rome upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted. 25. As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more : but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.

It is here said, nnd said again, to the rightecus that it shall be well with them, and to tlie wicked. Wo to them; and these are set the one o\er agains^t the other, for their mutual illustration.

1. It sliall be as ill with the wicked as thrv cas

PlIOVERBS, X.

Oft)

>t-Hi, and as well with the righteous as they can de-sir-. (1.) The wicked, it is true, buoy thL-niselves u[) sometimes in tlieir wickedness witli vain hopes v/iiich will deceive them, but ;it other times tliey Cina:)t but be haunted with just fears, and those fears .s/iall come ujiort them; the God they provoke will be every whit as terrible as they, whenthey ai e under their greatest damps, apprehend him to b-. As is lliy fear, so is tliu ivruth, Ps. xc. 11. VN'icked men fear the punishment of sin, l)ut they have not wisdom to improve their fears hv making tlieir escape, and s3 the thing they feared comes upon them, and their present terrors are earnests of their future torments. (2.) The righteous, it is true, sometimes have their fears, but their desire is toward the favour of God and a happiness in him, and that desire shall be granted. According to tlieir (aith, not according to their fear, it shall be unto Ihem, Ps. xxxvh. 4.

2. The prosperity of tne wicked shall quickly end, but the happiness of the righteous shall never eiid, -v. 23. The wicked make a great noise, hurry themselves and others, like a whirlwind which threatens to bear down all before it; but, like a whirlwind, they are presently gone, and they pass irrecoverably, they are no more; all about them are quiet and glad when the storm is over, Ps. xxxvii. 10, 36. Job XX. 5. The righteous, on tlie contrary, make no show; they lie hid, like a foundation which is low and out of sight, but they are fixed in tlieir resolution to cleave to God, established in virtue, and they shall be an everlasting foundatioji, immoveably good; he that is holy shall lie holy still, and immoveably happy; his hope is built on a rock, and therefore not shocked by the storm, Matth. vii. 24. The righteous is the fiillar of the world, so some read it; the world stands for their sakes; the holy seed is the substance thereof.

26. As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.

Observe, 1. Those that are of a slothful disposition, that love their ease, and cannot apjjly their minds to any business, are not fit to be employed, no not so much as to be sent on an err.uid, for they will neither deliver a message with any care, nor make any haste back. Such therefore are very unmeet to be ministers, Christ's messengers; he will not own the sending forth of sluggards into his harvest. 2. They that are guilty of so great an oversight as to intrust such with any affair, and put confidence in them, will certainly have vexation with them. A slothful servant is to his master as uneasy and troublesome as vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes; he provokes his passion, as vinegar sets the teeth on edge, and occasions him grief to see his business neglected and undone, as smoke sets the eyes a weeping.

27. The fear of the Lord prolongeth 4ays: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. 28. The hope of the righteous shafl be gladness: but tlie expectation of the wicked shall perish.

Observe, 1. Religion lengthens men's lives, and crowns their hopes. TVhat man is he that loves life? Let him fear God, and that will secure him from many things that would prejxidice his life, and secure to him life enough in this world, and eternal life in the ether; the fear of the Lord will add days more than was expected, will add them endlessly, will prolong them to the days of eternity. What man is he that would see good days? Let him be religious, and tlien his days shall not only be many, but happy, ^'erv happy as well as very many, for the hofie of the

Vol. III.—4 11

righteous shall be gladness, they shall have what tliey h.-pj fir, to t'leir unspeakable satisfaction. It is s jmetuing future and unseen that they place theii happiness in; (Horn. viii. 24, 25.) not what tliey have in hand, but wh it they lia\e in hope, and their hope will shortly be swallowed up in fruition, and it will be their everlasting gladness. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.

2. Wickedness sh(.rtens men's lives, and fins trates their hopes; The years of the wicked, that are spent in the pleasures of sin and the drudgery of the world, shall be shortened; Cut down the trees that cuniber tlie ground. And whatever comfort or happiness a wicked man promises himself in this world or the other, he will be frustrated; for the ex-jiectation of the wicked shall jierish; his hope shall be turned into endless despair.

29. The way of the Lord u strength to the upright; but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. 30. The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.

These two verses are to the same purport with those next before, intimating the happiness of tlie godly and the misery of the wicked; it is necessary that this be inculcated upon us, so loath are we to believe and consider it.

1. Strength and stability are entailed upon integrity; The way of the Lord, the providence of God, the way in which he walks towards us, is strength to the ufiright, confirms him in his uprightness. All Ciod's dealings with him, merciful and afflictive, serve to quicken him to his duty, and animate him against his discouragements. Or, The way of the Lord, the way of godliness, hi which he appoints us to walk, is strength to the upright; the closer we keep to that way, and the more cur heai-ts are enlarged to proceed in it, the better fitted we are both for services and sufferings. A good conscience, kept pure from sin, gives a man boldness in a dangerous time; and constant diligence in duty makes a man's work easy in a busy time; the more we do for God, the more we may do. Job xvii. 9. That joy of the Lord, which is to be found only in the way of the Lord, will be our strength, (Neh. viii. 10.) and therefore the righteous shall never be removed. Tliey that have an established virtue, have an established peace and happiness which nothing can rob them of, they have an everlasting foundation, V. 25.

2. Ruin and destniction are the certain consequences of wickedness. The wicked shall not only not inherit the earth, though they lay up their treasure in it, but they sludl not so much as inhabit the earth; God's judgments will root them out; Destruction, swift and sure destniction, shall be to the workers of iniquity; destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power. >tay, that way of the Lord, which is the strength of the upright, is consumption and terror to the workers of iniquity: the same gospel which to the one is a savour of life unto life, to the other is a savour of death unto death; the same providence, like the same sun, softens the one and hardens the other, Hos. xiv. 9.

31. The month of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out. 32. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speakcth frowardncss.

Here, as before, men are judged of, and, accord inglv, are justified, or condemned, by their words, Matth. xii. ."7.

PROVERBS, XI.

1. It is both the proof and the praise of a man's ■wisdom and goodness, that he speaks wisely and well. A good man, in his discourse, brings forth wisdom for the benefit of others. God gives him wisdom as a reward of his righteousness; (Eccl. ii. 26.) and he, in gratitude for that gift, and justice to the Giver, does good with it, and witii his wise and pious discourses edifies many. He knows what is accefitable, what discourse v/ill be pleasing to God, (for that is it that he studies more than to oblige the company,) and what will be agreeable both to the speaker and to the hearers, what will become him, and benefit them, and that he will speak.

2. It is the sin, and will be the i-um, of a wicked man, that he speaks wickedly like himself. The month of the wicked speaks frowardness, that which is displeasing to God, and provoking to those he converses with; and what becomes of it? Why, the froward tongue shall be cut off, as surely as the flattering one, Ps. xii. 3.

CHAP. XI.

1. <i FALSE balance is abomination to

J\. the Lord : but a just weight is his

dehght.

As religion toward God is a branch of universal righteousness, (he is not an honest man that is not devout,) so righteousness toward men is a branch of true religion, he is not a godly man that is not honest, nor can he expect that his devotion should be accepted; for,

1. Nothing is more offensive to God than deceit in commerce, A false balance is here put for all manner of unjust and fraudulent practices in dealing with any person, which are all an abomination to the Lord, and render those abominable to him that allow themselves in the use of sucli cursed arts of thriving. It is an affront to justice, which God is the Patron of, as well as a wrong to our neighbour, whom God is the Protector of. Men make light of such frauds, and think there is no sin in that which there is money to be got by, and, while it passes undiscovered, the)' cannot bhune themselves for it; a blot is no blot till it is hit, Hos. xii. 7, 8. But they are not the less an abomination to God, who will be the Avenger of those that defraud their brethren.

2. Nothing is more pleasing to God than fair and honest dealing, nor morfe necessary to make us and our devotions acceptable to him; A just weight is his delight. He himself goes by a just weight, and holds the scale of judgment with an even hand, and therefore is pleased with those that are herein followers of him. A balance cheats, under pretence of doing right most exactly, and therefore is the greater abomination to God.

2. /^m pride Cometh, then Cometh shame:, but with the lowly ?s wisdom.

Observe, 1. How he that exalts himself is here abased, and contempt put upon him; Wheii firide comes, then comes shame. Pride is a sin which men have reason to be themselves ashamed of; it is a shame to a man who springs out of tlie earth, who lives upon alms, depends upon God, and has forfeited all he has, to be proud. It is a sin which others cry out shame on, and look upon with disdain; he that is haughty makes himself contemptible; it is a sin for which God often brings men down, as he did Nebuchadnezzar and Herod, whose ignominy immediately attended tlieir vainglory; for God rc-msfs the proud, contradicts them, and counterworks them, in the thing they are ])roud of, Isa. ii. 11, Sec.

2. How he that humifies liimself is here exalted, and a high character is given him; as with the

proud there is folly, and will l)e shame, so with the lowbj there is wisdom, and will be hcMiour, for a man's wisdom gitins him res])ect, ;u\d makes his face to shine, before men; or if any l)e so base as 1o trample upon the hiunblc, God will give their, grace, which will be their glory. Considering how safe, and guiet, and easy, they are, that are of a humble spirit, what communion they have with God, and comfort in themselves, we will say, With the lowly is wisdom.

3. The integrity of the upright shall guide them : but the pei-verseness of transgressors siiall destroy them.

It is not only promised that God Avill guide th'-upright, and threatened that he Avill destroy tlie transgressors, but, that we may be the more fully assured of both, it is here represented as if the nature of the thing were such on both sides, that it would do it itself.

1. The integrity of an honest man will itself bi his guide, in the way of duty and the way of safety. His principles are fixed, his rule is certain, and therefore his way is plain; his sincerity keeps him steady, and he needs not tack about every time the wind turns, having no other end to drive at than to keep a good conscience. Integrity and uprightness \w\\\ preserve men, Ps. xxv. 21.

2. The iniquity cf a bad man will itself be his ruin. As the plainness of a good man will be his protection, though he is ever so much exposed, so the perverseness of sinners will be their desti'uc-tion, though they think themselves ever so well fortified. They shall fall into pits cf their own digging, ch. V. 22.

4. Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.

Note, 1. The day of death will be a day of wrath; it is a messenger of God's wrath; therefore, whtn Moses had meditated on man's mortalitj-, he takes occasion thence to admire the power of God's anger, Ps. xc. 11. It is a debt owing, not to nature, but to God's justice. After death, the judgment, and that is a day of wrath. Rev. vi. 17.

2. Riches will stand men in no stead in that day; they will neither put by the stroke, nor case the pain, much less take out the sting; what profit will this world's birth-rights be of then.'' In the day of public judgments, riches often expose men rather than protect them, Ezek. vii. 19.

3. It is righteousness only that will deliver from the evil of death; a good conscience will make deatli easy, and take off the terror of it; it is the privilege of the righteous only not to be hurt of the se cond death, and so not much hurt by the first.

5. The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. 6. The righteous ness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressoi-s shall be taken in their own naughtiness.

These two verses are, in effect, the same, and both to the same purport, with v. 3. For the truths are here .of such certainty and weight, that they cannot be too often inculcated. Let us govern r'ursclves by these principles.

1. That the ways of religion are plain and safe, and in them we may enjo)' a holy secuntv. A living principle of honesty and grace, will be, (1.) Our best direction in the right way, in e\er>' doubtful case, to say to ns, This is the way, walk in it. He that acts without a guide looks riglit on, and sees his way before him. (2.) Our best deliveranr**

PROVERBS, XL

68^

fr')m every false way; The righteousness of the upright shall be armour of pi'oof to them, to deliver tliem from the allurements of the devil and the world, and from their menaces.

2. The ways of wickedness are dangerous and destructive; The wicked shall fall into misery and ruin, by their own ivickedness, and be taken in their own naughtiness as in a snare; 0 Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself. Their sin will be their punishment; tliat very thing by which they contnved to shelter tliemselves will make against them.

7. When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.

Note, 1. Even wicked men, while they live, may keep up a confident expectation of a happiness when they die, or at least a happiness in this world. The hypocrite has his hope, in which he wraps himself as the spider in her web; the worldling expects great matters from his wealth, he calls it goods laid uji for many years, and hopes to take his ease in it, and to be merry; but in death their expectation will be frustrated, the worldling must lea\'e this world which he expected to continue in, and the hypocrite will come shoit of that world which he expected to remove to. Job xxvii. 8.

2. It will be the great aggravation of the misery of wicked people, that their hopes will sink into despair then when they expect them to be crowned with finiition. When a godly man dies, his expectations are outdone, and all his fears vanish; but when a wicked man dies, his expectations are dashed, dashed to pieces, in that very day, his thoughts perish, with which he had pleased himself, his hopes vanish.

8. The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.

As always in death, so sometimes in life, the righteous are remarkably favoured, and the wicked crossed.

1. Good people are helped out of the disti'esses which they thought themselves lost in, and their feet are set in a large room, Ps. Ixvi. 12.—xxxiv. 19. God has found out a way to deliver his people, when they have despaired, and their enemies have triumphed, as if the wilderness had shut them in.

2. The wicked have fallen into the distresses which they thought themselves far from, nay, which they have been instrumental to bring the righteous into, so that they seem to come in their stead, as a ransom for the just. Mordecai is saved from the gallows, Daniel from the lion's den, and Peter from the prison; and their persecutors coTwe in their stead. The Israelites are delivered out of the Red Sea, and the Egyptians drowned in it. So ])recious are the saints in God's eye, that he gives men for them, Isa. xliii. 3, 4.

9. An hypocrite with/izs mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall tJie just be delivered.

Hijre is, 1. Hypocrisy designing ill. It is not only t^v,> murderer with his sword, but the//i//zoc?vYe wzY/« his mouth, that destroys his neighbour, decoying Ir.m into sin, or into mischief, by the specious pretences of kindness and good will. Death and life are in the fiower of the tongue, but no tongue more f ital than the flattering tongue.

2. Honesty defeating the design, and escaping the snare; Through knowledge of the devices of Satan shall the just be delivered from the snares which the hypocrite hnsl^icl for him; seducers shall not deceive the elect. By the knowledge of G^d and the scriptures, and their own hearts, shall the

just be delivered from those that lie m wait to deceive, and so to destroy, Rem. xvi. 18, 19.

10. When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting. 11. By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

It is here observed,

1. That good men are generally well-beloved by their neighbours, but no body cares for wicked people. (1.) It is tine, there are some few that are enemies to the righteous, that are prejudiced against God and godliness, and are therefore \ excd to see good men in power and prosperity; but all indifferent persons, even those that have no great stock of religion themselves, have a good word for a good man; and therefore when it goes well with the righteous, when they are advanced, and put into a capacity of doing good according to their desire, it is so much the better for all about them, and the city rejoices. For the honour and encouragement of virtue, and as it is the accomplishment of the promise of God, we should be glad to see virtuous men prosper in the world, and brought into reputation. (2.) Wicked people may, perhaps, have here and there a well-wisher among those who are altogether such as themselves, but among the generality of their neighbours they get ill-will, they may be feared, but they are not loved, and tlierefore when they perish, there is shouting; every body takes a pleasure in seeing them disgraced, and disarmed, removed out of places of tnist and power, chased out of the world, and wishes no greater loss may come to the town, the rather because they hope the righteous may come in their stead, as they into trouble instead of the rigliteous, v. 8. Let a sense of honour there-fire keep us in the paths of virtue, that we may live desired and die lamented, and not be hissed off the stage. Job xxvii. 23. Ps. Hi. 6.

2. That there is good reason for this, because those th:it in-e bad do good, but (as saith the proverb of the ancients) wickedness proceeds from the wicked. (1.) Good ?nen are public blessings — Fir bonus est commune bomim. By the blessing of the upright, the blessings with which they are blessed, which enlarge their sphere of usefulness; by the blessings with which they bless their neighbours, their advice, their example, their prayers, and all the instances of their serviceableness to the public interest; by the blessings with which God blesses others for their sake; by these the city is exalted, and made more comfortable to the inhabitants, and more considerable among its neighbours. (2.) Wicked men are public nuisances; not only the burthens, but the plagues, of their generation; the city is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked, whose evil communications corrupt good manners, are enough to debauch a town, to ruin virtue in it, and bring down the judgment of God upon it.

12. He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace. 13. A tale-bearer re-vealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.

Silence is here recommended as an instance (f true friendship, and a preservative of it, and tlif re-fore an evidence, 1. Of wisdom, ji man of nndc standing, that has rule o\er his own.spirit", if lie be provoked, holds lis fieace, that he neither .e,i\e vent to his yiassion, n^r kindle the passion of others, h\ anv oppr-ibricus language or peevish reflections. 2. Of sincerity; He that is of a faithful spirit, tha« is

PROVERBS, X].

true, not only to his own promise, but to the interest of his friend, he conceals every matter, which, if divulged, may turn to the prejudice of his neighbour.

This prudent friendly concealment is here opposed to two very bad vices of the tongue: (1.) Speaking scornfully of a man to his face; He that is •void of wisdojn discovers his folly by this; he de-sfiises his neighbour, calls him Raca, and Thou fool, upon the least provocation, and tramples upon him as not worthy to be set with the dogs of his flock. He undervalues himself, who thus undervalues one that is made of the same mould. (2.) Speaking spitefully of a man behind his back; A tale-bearer, that carries all the stories he can pick up, time or false, from house to house, to make mischief and sow discord, he reveals secrets which he has been intrusted with, and so breaks the laws, and forfeits all the privileges, of friendship and conversation.

14. Where no counsel w, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Here is, 1. The bad omen of a kingdom's ruin; Where no counsel is, no consultation at all, but every thing done rashly, or no prudent consultation for tlie common good, but only caballing for parties, and divided interests, the fieofile fall, crumble into factions, fall to pieces, fall together by the ears, and fall an easy prey to the common enemies. Councils of war are necessary to the operations of war; two eyes sec more than one; and mutual advice is in order to mutu il assistance.

2. The good presage of a kingdom's prosperity; In the multitude of counsellors that see their need one of another, and act in concert, and with concern for the public welfare, there is safety; for what prudent methods one discerns not, another may. In our private affairs we shall often find it to our advantage to advise with many; if they agree in their advice, our way will be the more clear; if they differ, we shall hear what is to be said on all sides, and be the better able to determine.

15. He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: and he that hateth suretiship is sure.

Here we are taught,

1. In general, that we may not use our estates as we will; he that gave them to us has reserved himself a power to direct us how we shall use them; for they are not our own, we are but stewards; and fur-tlier, that God in his law consults our interests, and teaches us that charity which begins at home, as well as that which must not end there. There is a good husbandry, which is good divinity, and a discretion in ordering our affairs, which is p irt of the character of a good man, Ps. cxii. 5. Every m;ui must be just to his family, else he is not ti-ue to his stewardship.

2. In particular, that we must not enter rashly into suretiship; (1.) Because there is danger of bringing ours^^lves into trouble by it, and our families too when we arc gone; He that is surety for a stranger, for any one that asks him, and promises him to be bound for him another time, for one whose person perhaps he knows, and thinks lie knows hiscir-cumst inces, but is mistaken, he shall smart for it, Contritione conteretur — ^He shall be certainly and sadly crushed and broken by it, and pcrliaps become a bankrupt. Our Lord Jesus was Surety for us when we were strangers, nay, enemies, and he smarted for it; it pleased the Lord to bruise him. (2.) Because he that resolves against all such suretyship keeps uprn sure grounds, which a man may

do, if he take care not to launch out any furthei into business than his own credit will carry him, so that he needs not ask others to be bound for him.

16. A gracious woman retaineth honour; and strong men retain riches.

Here, 1. It is allowed that strong men retain riches; that those who bustle in the world, who are men of spirit and interest, and are able to make their part good against all who stand in their way, are likely to keep what they have, and to get more; while those who are weak are preyed upon by all about them.

2. It is taken for granted, that a gracious woman is as solicitous to presen'e her reputation, for wisdom and modesty, humility and courtesy, and all those other graces that are the time ornaments of her sex, as strong men are to secure their estates; and those women who are truly gracious, will, in like manner, effectually secure their honour by their prudence and good conduct. A gracious woman is as honourable as a valiant man, and her honour is as sure.

17. The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.

It is a common principle. Every one for himself, Proximus egomet mihi — JVone so near to me as myself Now, if this be rightly understood, it will be a reason for the cherishing of gracious dispositions in ourselves, and the crucifying of corrupt ones. We are friends or enemies to ourselves, even in respect of present comfort, according as we arc, or are not, governed by religious principles.

1. A merciful, tender, good-humoured inun, doeth good to his own soul, makes and keeps himself easy; he has the pleasure of doing his duty, and contributing to the comfort of those that are to him as his own soul; for we are members one of another. He that waters others with his temporal good things, God will water him with his spiritual blessings, which he will find to do the best good to his own soul. See Isa. Iviii. &c. If thou hide not thine eyes from thijie own flesh, but do good to ethers as to thyself; if thou do good with thine own soul, find draw that out to the hungry, thou doest good to thy own soul; for the Lord shall satisfy thy soul, pnd make fat thy bones. Some make it part of the clia-racter of a merciful man, that he will make much of himself; that disposition which inclines him to be charitable to others, will oblige him to allow himself also that which is convenient, and to enjoy the good of all his labour. We may by the soul understana the inward man, as the apostle calls it, and then it teaches us, that the first and great act of mercy, is, to provide well for our own souls the necessary supports of the spiritual life.

2. A cruel, froward, ill-natured man, troubles his own flesh, and so his sin becomes his punishment; he starves, and dies, for want of what he has, because he has not a heart to use it, either for the good of others, or for his own. He is vexatious to his nearest relations, that are, and should be, to him as his own flesh, Eph. v. 29. Envy, and malice, and greediness of the world, are the rottenness of the bones, and the consumption of the flesh.

18. The wicked worketh a deceitful work:

but to him that soweth righteousness shall

be a sure reward.

Note, 1. Sinners put a most fatal cheat upon themselves; The wicked works a deceitful work, builds himself a house upon the sand, which will deceive him when the storm comes; promises himself that by his sin which he will never gain; nay.

PROVERBS, XI.

686

It is cutting his throat when it smiles upon him. Sin deceived me, and by it slew me.

2. Saints lay up the best securities for themselves; Hl- that sows righteousness, that is good, and makes it his business to do good, with an eye to a future recompense, he shall have a sure reward; it is ni idc as sure to him as eternal truth can make it. It the seedness fail not, the harvest shall not. Gal. vi. 8.

19. As righteousness tendetk to life; so he thai pursueth evil, pursueth it to his own death.' ■

It is here showed that righteousness, not oiily by the divme judgment, will end in life, and wickedness in death, but that righteousness, in its own nature, has a direct tendency to life, and wickedness to death.

1. Ti-ue holiness is true happiness; it is a preparative for it, a pledge and earnest of it. Righteousness inclines, disposes, and leads, the soul to life.

2. In like manner, they that indulge themselves in sin are fitting themselves for destruction. The more violent a man is in sinful pursuits, the more eagerly bent he is upon his own destruction; he awakens it when it seemed to slumber, and hastens it when il seemed to linger.

20. They that are of a frovvard heart are abomination to the I^ord : but such as are upright in their way are his delight.

> It concerns us to know what God hates, and what he loves, that we may govern ourselves accordingly; may avoid his displeasure, and I'ecommend ourselves to his favour. Now here we are told,

1. That nothing is more offensive to God than hypocrisy and double-dealing, for that is signified by the word which we translate froivardness, pretending justice, but intending wrong; walking in crooked ways, to avoid discovery. Those are of a froward heart who act in contradiction to that which is good, under a profession of that which is good; and such are, more than any sinners, an abo-minatioTi to the Lord, Isa. Ixv. 5.

2. That nothing is more pleasing to God than sin-cei'ity and plain dealing; Such as are u/iright in tlieir way, such as aim and act with integrity, such as have their conversation in the world in sim/ilicity and godly sincerity, not with Jieshly wisdom, these God delights in, these he even boasts of, (Hast thou considered my servaiit Job?) and will have us to admire; Behold an Israelite indeed!

21. Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the rigliteous shall be delivered.

1. That confederacies in sin shall certainly be broken, and shall not avail to protect the sinners; Though hand Join in hand, though there are many that concur by their practice to keep wickedness in countenance, and engage to stand by one another in defending it against all the attacks of virtue and justice, though they are in league for the support and propagation of it, though wicked children tread in the steps of their wicked parents, and resolve to keep up the trade, in defiance of religion, yet all this will net protect them from the justice of God, they shall not be held guiltless; it will not excuse them to say that they did as the most did, and as their company did, they shall not be unjiunished; witness the flood that was brought upon a whole world of ungodly men. Their number, and strength, and unanimity m sin, will stand them in no stead when the day of vengeance comes.

2. That entails of religion shall certainly be blessed; The seed of the righteous, that follow the steps

of their righteousness, though they may fall into trouble, shall, in due time, be delivered. Though justice may come slowly to punish the wicked, and mercy may come slowly to save the righteous, yet both will come surely. Sometimes the seed of the righteous, though they are not themselves righteous, are deli\'ered for the sake of their godly ancestors, as Israel often, and the seed of David.

22. As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.

By discretion here we must understand religion and grace, a tnie taste and rehsh (so the word signifies) of the honours and pleasures that attend an unspotted virtue; so that a woman nvithout discretion is a wonvctn of a loose and dissolute conversation ; and then obsL rve,

1. It is taken for granted here, that beauty and comeliness of Ijody are as a jewel of gold, a thing very valuable, and, where there is wisdom and grace to giKird against the temptations of it, it is a great ornament. Gratior est fiulchro veniens de cor-jiore virtus — Virtue afipears peculiarly graceful when associated with beauty. A foolish wanton woman, of a light carriage, is fitly compared to a swine, though slie be ever so handsome, wallowing in the mire of filthy lusts, with which the mind and conscience are defiled, and, though washed, r^tuming to them.

2. It is lamented that beauty should be so abused as it is by those that have not modesty with it; it seems ill-bestowed upon them; it is quite misplaced, as a jewel in a swine's snout, with which he roots in the dunghill; if beauty be not guarded by virtue, the virtue is exposed by the beauty. It may be applied to all other bodily endowments and accomplishments; it is pity that those should have them who have not discretion to use them well.

23. The desire of tlie righteous is only good: biit the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

This tells us what the desire and expectation of the righteous, and of the wicked, are, and how they will prove; what they would have, and what they shall have.

1. The righteous would have good, only good; all they desire, is, that it may go well with all about them; they wish no hurt to any, but happiness to all; as to themselves, their desire is not to gratify any evil lust, but to obtain the favour of a good God, and to preserve the peace of a good conscience; and good they shall have, that good which they desire, Ps. xxxvii. 4.

2. The wicked would have wrath, they desire the woful day, that God's judgments may gratify their passion and revenge, may remove those that stand m their way, and that they may make an advantage to themseh'es by fishing in troubled waters; and wrath they shall have, so shall their doom be; thev expect and desire mischief toothers, but it shall return upon themselves; as they loved cursing thev shall have enough of it.

24. There is that scattereth, and yet in creaseth: and there is that withholdeth mo>-'* than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

Note, 1. A man may grow rich by prudently spending what he has; may scatter in works of piety, charity, and generosity, and yet may in crease; nay, by that means may increase, as thr corn is ina'eased, by being sown. By cheerfully using what we have, our spirits are exhilarated, and so fitted for the business we have to do; by minding which closely, what we have is increased;

PROVERBS, XL

il gams a reputation which contributes to the increase. But it is especially to be ascribed to God; he blesses the giving hand, and so makes it a getting hand, 2 Cor. ix. 10. Give, and it shall be given you.

2. A man may grow poor by meanly sparing what he has, nvitliholding more t/ian is jneet, not paying just debts, not relieving the poor, not pro\iding what is convenient for the family, not allowing necessary expenses for the preservation.of the goods; this te?ids to jioverty; it cramps men's ingenuity and industry, weakens their interest, destroys their credit, and forfeits the blessing of God: and let men be ever so saving of what they have, if God blast it, and blow upon it, it comes to nothing; afire not bloivn shall consume it. Hag. i. 6, 9.

25. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

So backward we are to works of charity, and so ready to think that giving undoes us, that we need to have it very much pressed upon us, how much it is for our own advantage to d) good to others, as before, v. 17.

1. We shall have the comfort of it in our own bosoms; The liberal soul, the soul of blessing, that prays for the afflicted, and provides for them, that scatters blessings with gracious lips and generous hands, that soul shall be made fat with true pleasure, and enriched with more grace.

2. We shall have the recompense of it both from God and man; He that waters otlicrs with the streams of his bounty, shall be also watered himself; God will certainly return it in the dews, in the plentiful showers of his blessing, which he will fiour out, till there be not room enough to receive it, Mai. iii. 10. Men that have any sense of gratitude will i return it if there be occasion; the merciful shall find mercy, and the kind be kindly dealt with. \

3. We shall be enabled still to do yet mere good; ' He that waters, ei>en he shall be as rain, so some read it; he shall be recruited as the clouds are, which return after the rain, and shall be further useful and acceptable, as the rain to the new-mown gi-ass. He that teaches shall learn, so the Chaldee reads it; he that uses his knowledge in teaching others, shall himself be taught of God; to him that has, and uses what he has, more shall be given.

26. He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.

See here, 1. What use we are to make of the gifts 01 God's bounty; we must not hoard them up merely for our own advantage, that we may be enriched liy them, but we must bring them forth for the Ijcnefit of others, that they may be supported and maintained by them. It is a sin, when com is dear and scarce, to withhold it, in hopes that it will still grow dearer, so to keep up and advance the market, when it is already so high, that the poor suflFer by it; and at such a time it is the duty of those that have stocks of com by them to consider the poor, and to be willing to sell at the market-price, to be content with moderate profit, and not aim to make a gain of God's judgments. It is a noble and extensive piece of charity, for those that have stores wherewithal to do it, to help to keep the markets low when the price of our commodities grows excessive.

2. What regard we are to have to the voice of the people; we are not to think it an indifferent thing, and not wortii heeding, wliellicr we have the ill will and word, or the good will and word, of our neighbours, thfir prayers or their curses; for here

we are taught to dread their curses, and forego our own profit ratlier than incur them; and to cfurt their blessings, and be at seme expense to purchase them. Sometimes, Vox fiofiuli vox Dei — The voice of thefieofile is the voice of God.

27. He that diligently seeketh good pvo-cureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.

Observe, 1. Those that are industrious to do tro( d in the world get themselves beloved both with Gcd and man; He that rises early to that which is good, so the word is; that seeks opportunities of serving his friends, and relieving the poor, and lays cut himself therein, lie procures favour; all abruthim love him, and speak well of him, and will be ready to do him a kindness; and, which is better than that, better than life, he has God's loving-kindness.

2. These that are industrious to do mischief are preparing ruin for themselves; it shall come unto them; some time cr other thev will be paid in their own coin. And, observe, seeking mischief, is htre set in opposition to seeking good; for those that are not doing good, are doing hurt.

28. He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

Observe, 1. Our riches will fail us when we are in the greatest need; He that trusts in them, as if they would secure him the favour of God, and be his protection and portion, he shall fall, as a man who lays his weight on a broken reed, which will not only disappoint him, but run into his hand, and pierce him.

2. Our righteousness will stand us in no stead when our riches fail us; The righteous shall then flourish as a branch, the branch of righteousness; like a tree whose leaf shall not wither, Ps. i. 3. Even in death, when riches fail men, the bones cf the righteous shall fiourish as an herb, Isa. Ixvi. 14. When those that take root in the world wither, those that are grafted into Christ, and partake cf his root and fatness, shall be fmitful and flourishing.

29. He that tvoubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

Two extremes, in the management of family affairs, are here condemned, and the ill consequences of thcni foretold.

1. Carefulness and carnal policy, on the one hand. There are those that by their extreme earnestness in pursuit of the world, their anxiety about their business, and fretfulness about their l^^sses, their strictness with their servants, and their niggardliness toward their families, trouble their own houses, and give continual vexation to all about them; while others think, by supporting factions and feuds in their families, which are really a trouble to their houses, to serve some turn for themselves, and either to get, or to save, by it; but they will both be disappointed; they will inherit the wind. All they will get by these arts will ik t only be empty and worthless as the wind, but noisy and troublesome, vanity and vexation.

2. Carelessness and want of common ])n.idence, on the other hand. He that is a fool in his business, that either minds it not, or goes awkwardly abcnit it, that has no coiUrivance and consideratic n, he not only loses his reputation and interest, but becomes a servant to the wise in heart; he is impoverished, and forced to work for his living; while those that manage wisely raise themselves, and come to have dominion over him, and others like him. It is rational, and very fit, that the fool should beseri'ant to

PROVERBS, XII.

687

thu vj'ise in heart, and, upon that account, among •ytlicrib, we are b')und to subinit our wills to the will of God, and to be subject to him, because we are fools, and he is infinitely wise.

30. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of hfe; and he that winneth souls n wise.

This shows what great blessings good men are, especially those that are eminently wise, to the places where they li\ e, and therefore how much to be valued.

1. The righteous are as trees of life; the fruits of their piety and charity, their instructions, reproofs, examples, and prayers, their interest in heaven, and their influence upon earth, are like tlie fruits of that tree, precious and useful, contributing to the support and nourishment of the spiritual life in many; they are the ornaments of paradise, God's church on earth, for whose sake it stands.

2. The wise are something more, they are as trees of knowledge, not forbidden, but commanded, knowledge. He that is wise, by communicating his wisdom, wins souls; wins upon them to bring them in love with God and holiness, and so wins them over into the interests of God's kingdom among men. The wise are said to turn inany to righteousness, and that is the same with winning souls here, Dan. xii. 3. Abraham's proselytes are called the souls that he had gotten. Gen. xii. 5. They that would win souls have need of wisdom to know how to deal with them; and they that do win souls show that they are wise.

31. Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

This, I think, is the only one of Solomon's proverbs that has that note of attention prefixed to it, Behold! wliich intimates, that it contains not only an evident truth, which may be beheld, but an eminent truth, which must be considered.

1. Some understand both parts of a recompense in displeasure; The righteous, if they do amiss, shall be punished for their offences in this world; much more shall wicked people be punished for theirs, which are committed, not through infirmity, but with a high hand. If judgment begin at the house of God, what will become of the ungodly.'* 1 Pet. iv. 17, 18. Luke xxiii. 31.

2. I rather understand it of a recompense of reward to the righteous, and punishment to sinners. Let us behold providential retributions. There are some recompenses in the earth, in this world, and in the things of this world, which prove that -verily there is a God that judges in the earth, (Ps. 1\ iii. 11.) but they ai'e not universal; many sins go unpunished in the earth, and services unrewarded, which indicates that there is a judgment to come, and that there will be more exact and full retributions in the future state. Many times the righteous are recompensed for their righteousness here in the earth, though that is not the princijjal, much less the only, reward either intended for them or intended by them; but whatever the word of God has promised them, or the wisdom of God sees good for them, they shall have in the earth. The wicked also, and the sinner, are sometimes remarkably punished in this life; nations, families, particular ])ersons. And if the righteous, who do not deserve the least reward, yet have part of tlieir recompense here on earth, much more shall the wicked, who deserve the greatest punishment, have part of their punishment on earth, as an earnest of worse to come. Therefore stand in awe, and sin not. If those have two henvens that merit none, much more shall they have two hells that merit both.

CHAP. XII.

THOSO loveth instruction lovetn knowledge: but he that hateth re proof h brutish.

We are here taught to try whether we have grace or no, by inquiring how we stand affected ti> the means of grace.

1. Th^ ise that have grace, and love it, will delight in all the instructions that are given them by way of counsel, admonition, or reproof, by the word or ])rovidence cf God; they will value a grcd tduca-tioji, and think it not a hardship, but a happiness, to be under a strict and prudent discipline. They that li)\e a faithful ministry, that value it, and sit under it with ])leasure, make it to appear that they love knowledge.

2. Those show themselves not only void of grace, but void of common sense, that take it as an affront to be told of their faults, and an imposition upon their liberty to be put in mind of their duty; He that hates rejiroof is not only foolish but brutish; like the horse, and the mule, that have no understanding, or the ox that kicks against the goad. Those that desire to live in loose families ancl societies, where they maybe under no check; that / stifle the convictions of their own consciences, and / count those their enemies that tell them the tnith, are the brutish here meant.

2. A good man obtaineth favour of the Lord : but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.

Note, 1. We are really as we are with God. Those are happy, truly happy, for ever happy, that obtain favour of the Lord, though the world frown upon them, and they find little favour with men; for in God's favour is life, and that is the fountain of all good. On the other hand, those f.re miserable whom he condemns, however men may applaud them, and cry them up; whom he condemns he condemns to the second death.

2. We arc with God as we are with men; as we have our conversation in this world. Our Father judges of his children very much by their conduct one to another; and therefore a good ma?}, that is merciful, and charitable, and does good, draws out favour from the Lord, by his prayers; but a malicious man, that devises wickedness against his neighbours, he will condemn, as unworthy of a place in his kingdom.

3. A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved

Note, 1. Though men may advance themselves by sinful arts, they cannot by such arts settle and secure themselves; though they may get large estates, they cannot get such as will aliide; A man . shall not be established by wickedness; it mav set them in high places, but they are slipperv places, Ps. Ixxiii. 18. That prosperity which is raised by sin is l)uilt on the sand, and so it will soon appear.

2. Though good men may have but little of the world, yet that little will last, and what is honestly got will wear well; The root of the righteous shall not be moved, though their branches may be shaken. These that by faith are rooted in Christ, are firmly fixed; in him their comfort and happiness are so rooted, as never to be rooted up.

4. A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rotteimess in his bones.

PROVERBS, XII.

Note, 1. He that is blessed with a good wife is as nappy as if he were upon the throne, for slie is no less than a crown to him. ^ virtuous woman, that is pious and prudent, ingenious and industrious, that is active for the good of her family, and looks well to the ways of her household, that makes conscience of her duty in every relation, a woman of s])irit, that can bear crosses without disturbance, such a one owns her husband for Iter head, and therefore she is a crown to him; not only a credit and honour to him, as a crown is an ornament, but suppoils and keeps up his autUontv' in his family, as a crown is an ensign of power. She is submissive and faithful to him, and therefore teaches his children and servants to be so too.

2. He that is plagued with a bad wife is as miserable as if he were upon the dunghill; for she is no better than rottenness in his bones, an incurable disease; moreover, she ?na/ces him ashamed. She that is silly and slothful, wasteful and wanton, passionate and ill-tongiied, ruins both the credit and comfort of her husband; if he go abroad, his head is hung down, for his wife's faults tuni to his reproach; if he retire into himself, his heart is sunk; he is continually uneasy; it is an affliction that preys much upon the spirits.

5. The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.

Note, 1. The word of God is a discemer of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and jtidges them. We mistake if we imagine that thoughts are free; no, they are under the divine cognizance, and therefore undc 1 the divine command. 2. We ought to be observers of the thoughts and intents of our own hearts, and to judge of ourselves by them; for they are the first-born of the soul that have most of its image imdisguised. Right thoughts are a righteous man's best evidences, as nothing more certainly proves a man wicked than wicked contrivances and designs. A good man may have in his mind bad suggestions, but he does not indulge them and harbour them till they are ripened into bad projects and resolutions. 3. It is a man's honour to mean honestly, and to have his thoughts right, though a word or action may be misplaced, or mistimed, or, at least, misinterpreted. But it is a man's shame to lie always at catch, to act with deceit, with trick and design; not only with a long reach, but with an overreach.

6. The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood : but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

In the foregoing verse, the thouehts of the wicked and righteous were compared, here their words, and tliose are as the abundance of the heart is.

1. Wicked people speak mischief to their neighbours; and wicked indeed are those whose words are to lie in wait for blood, their tongues are swords to those that stand in their way, to good men whom thcv hate ;ind persecute. See an instance, Luke XX.'20, 21.

2. (iood men s])eak help to their neighbours; The mouth of the upright is ready to be opened in the cause of tliose that are oppressed, {ch. xxxi. 8.) to plead for them, to witness for them, and so to deliver them, particularly them whom the wicked lie in wait for. A man may sometimes do a very good work with one good word.

7. The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.

We are here taught, as before, (v 3. i and fc/j. x. 25, 30.)

. 1. That the triumphing of the wicked is shor'i they may be exalted for awhile, Hut in a little time they are overthrown, and are not; their trouble proves their overthrow, and tliey who made a great show disappear, and tlitir place knows them no more. Turn the wicked, and they are not; they stand in such a slippery plice, that the least touch of trouble brings them .down; like the apples of So dom, which look fair, but t. ucli them, and they go to dust.

2. That tlie prospc vity tf the lighteous has a goo<l bottom, and will ciulure. Deatli will remove tliem, but their house shall stand, their families shall b»-kept up, and the generation of the upright shall br-blessed.

8. A man shall be commended accordinti

to his wisdom: but he that is of a perverse

heart shall be despised.

We are here told whence to expect a good name. Reputation is what most have a tervent regard to, and stand much upon. Now it is certain,

1. The best reputation is that which attends virtue and serious piety, and the prudent conduct cf life; A man shall be commended by all that are wise and good, in conformity to the judgment of God himself, which, we are sure, is according to truth, not according to his riches or preferments, his craft and subtlety, but according to his wisdom, the honesty of his designs, and the prudent choice of means to compass them.

2. The worst reproach is that which follows wickedness, and an opposition to that which is good; He that is of a perverse heart, that turns aside tc crooked ways, and goes on frowardly in them, shall be despised. Providence will bring him to poverty and contempt, and all that have a true sense of ho nour will despise him, is unworthy to be dealt with, and unfit to be trusted, as a bknnsh and scandal to mankind.

9. He that is despised, and hath a servani, is better than he that honoureth himself and lacketh bread.

Note, 1. It is the folly of some, that they covet to make a great figure abroad, take place, and take state, as persons of cjuality, and yet want necessaries at home, and, it their debts were paid, would not be worth a morsel of bread, nay, perhaps, pinch their bellies to put it on their backs, that they may appear very gay, because fine feathers make fine birds.

2. The condition and character of those is every way better, who content tliemselves in a lower sphere, where they are despised for the plainness oi their dress, and the meanness of their post, that they may l)e able to afford tliemselves, not only ne cessaries, but conveniencies, in their own houses, not only bread, but a servant to attend them, and take some of their work off their hands. They that con trive to live plentifully and comfortably at home, are to be .preferred before those that affect nothing so much as to appear splc-ndid abroad,tnough they have not wherewithal to maintain it, whose heiirts are un-humbled when their condition is low.

10. A righteous man regardeth the life of

his beast: but the tender mercies of the

wicked are cruel.

See here, 1. To how great a degree a gviod mu. will be merciful; he h;is not only a crmjjassion fi r the human nature under its greatest a'jasemcnts, but he regards even the life of his h ast, not only because

PROVERBS, XII.

689

it is his sei*vant, but because it is God's creature, and in conformitv to Providence, which prcsci'xief: mail and beast. The beasts that are under our cure must be provided foi", must have convenient food and rest, must in no case be abused or tyrannized .)ver. Balaam was checked for beating liis ass. 1 he law took care for oxen. Those therefore are unrighteous men that are not just to the brute-creatures; those tliat are furious and barbarous to them, evidence, and confirm in themselves, a habit of barbarity, and help to make the creation groan, Rom. viii. 22.

2. To how great a degree a wicked man will be unmerciful; e\'en his tender mercies are cruel, that natural compassion which is in him, as a man, is lost, and by the power of corruption is turned into hard-heartedness; even that which they will have to pass for compassion, is really cruel, as Pilate's resolution concerning Christ the Innocent, / will chastise him, and let him go. Their pretended kindnesses are only a cover for purposed ciTielties.

11. He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread : but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.

Note, 1. It is men's wisdom to mind their busi-less, and follow an honest calling, for that is the w&y, by the blessing of God, to get a livelihood; He that tills his land, of which he is either the owner or the occupant, that keeps to his work, and is willing to take pains, if he do not raise an estate by it, (what need is there of that?) yet he shall be satisfied with bread, shall have food convenient for himself and his family, enough to bear his charges comfortably through the world. Even the sentence of wrath has this mercy in it, Thcu shalt eat bread, though it be in the sweat cf thy face. Cain was denied this. Gen. iv. 12. Be busy, and that is the ti-ue way to keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee. Thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands.

2. It is men's folly to neglect their business; they are void of understanding that do so, for then they fall in with idle companions, and follow them in their evil courses, and so come to want bread, at least bread of their own, and make themselves burthen-some to others, eating the bread out of other people's mouths.

12. The wicked desireth the net of evil men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.

See here, 1. What is the care and aim of a wicked man; he would do mischief; He desires the net of evil men; "Oh that I were but ascvmning as such a man, to make a hand of those I deal with; that I had but his art of overreaching, that I could but take my revenge on one I have spite to, as effectually as he can!" He desires the strong-hold, or fortress, of evil men, so some I'ead it, to act securely in doing mischief, that it may not turn upon him.

2. What is the care and aim of a good man; his root yields fruit, and is his strength and stability, and that is it that he desires, to do good, and to be fixed and confirmed in doing good. The wicked desires only a net wherewith to fish for himself, the righteous desires to yield fniit for the benefit of others, and God's glory, Rom. xiv. 6.

13. The wicked is srtared by the transgression o{ his lips: but the just shall conne out of trouble.

See here, 1. The wicked entangling themselves in trouble by their folly, when God in justice leaves them to themselves; They are often snared by the

Vol. Ill—4 S

transgression of their li/is, and their thi'oats are cut with their own tongues; l)y s/ieaking evil of dignities^ they expose themselves to public justice, by giving ill language they become obnoxious to private resentments, are sued for defamation, and actions on the case for words are brought against them. Many a man has paid dear ly in this world for the transgression of his lips, and has felt the lash on his back for want of a bridle upon his tongue, Ps. liv. 8.

2. The righteous extricate themselves cut of trouble by their own wisdom, when God in mercy comes in for their succour; The just shall come out of such troubles as the wicked throw themselves headlong into. It is intimated, that the just may, perhaps, come into trouble; but though they fall, they nhall not be utterly cast down, Ps. xxxiv. 19.

] 4, A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth : and the recompense of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him.

We are here assured, for our quickening to every good word and work,

1. That even good words will turn to a good account; (j.'. lA.) A man shall be satisfied with good, he sliall gain ])resent comfort, that inward pleasure which is trulv satisfied, by the fruit of his mouth, by the good he docs with his pious discourse and prudent advice. While we are teaching others, we may ourselves leam and feed en "the bread of hfe we break to others.

2. That good works, much more, will be abundantly rewarded. The recompense of a mail's hands for all his work and labour of love, "all he has done for the glory of God, and the good of his generation, shall be rendered unto him, and he shall reap as he has sown. Or it may be understood cf tlie general rule of justice, God will render to every man according to his work. Rem. ii. 6.

15. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

See here, 1. What it is that keeps a fool from being wise; His way is right in his own eyes, he thinks he is in the right in every thing he does, and therefore asks no advice, because he does not apprehend he needs it; he is confident he knows the way, and cannot miss it, and therefore never inquires the way; The nde he goes by, is, to do that which is right iji his own eyes, to walk in the way of his heart, Quic-quid libet, licet — He makes his will his law. He is a fool that is governed by his eye, and not by his conscience.

2. What it is that keeps a wise man from being a fool: he is willing to be advised, he desires to have counsel given him, and hearkens to counsel, being diffident of ]iis own judgment, and having a vahi«; for the dii-cctions of those that are wise and good. He is wise; it is a sign he is so, and he is likelv l« continue so whose ear is always open to good advice.

16. A fool's wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame.

Note, 1. Passion is folly; ji fool is known by hit, anger, so some read it; not but that a wise man may be angry when there is just cause for it, but then he has his anger under check and direction, is lord of his anger, whereas a fool's anger lords it over him. He that,-\vhen he is provoked, breaks out into indecent expressions, in words or behaviour, whose passion alters his countenance, makes him outrageous, and forget himself, A'cibal certainly is his name, and folly is with him. A fool's indignation

PROVERBS, XII.

is known in the day, he proclaims it openly, wliat-ever company he is in; or, it is known m the clay he is provoked, he cannot defer showing his resentments. Those that are soon angry, tliat are (juickly put into a flame by the least spark, have not that ••ule which they ought to have of their own spirits.

2. Meekness is wisdom; A prudent man covers shame; (1.) He covers the passion that is in his own breast: when his s/iirit is stirred, and his heart hot ivithin him, he keeps his mouth as with a bridle, and suppresses his resentments, by smothering and stifling them. Anger is shame, and though a wise man be not perfectly frcc.frcm it, yet he is ashamed of it, rebukes it, and suffers not the evil spirit to speak. (2.) He covers the provocation that is given him, the indignity that is done him, winks at it, covers it as much as may be from himself, that he may not carry his resentments of it too far. It is a kindness to ourselves, and contributes to the repose of our minds, to extenuate and excuse the injuries and affronts that we receive, instead cf aggravating them, and making the worst of them, as we are apt to do.

17. He that speaketh truth shovveth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.

Here is, 1. A faithful nvitness commended for an honest man. He that makes conscience oi speaking truth, and representing every thing fairly, to the best of his knowledge, whether in judgment or in common conversation, whether he be upon his oath or no, he shows forth righteousness, he makes it to appear that he is govei-ned and actuated by the principles and laws of righteousness, and he promotes justice by doing honour to it, and serving the admi-nistratioji of it. (2.) A false wit?iess condemned for a cheat; he shows forth deceit, not only how little conscience he makes of deceiving those he deals with, but how much pleasure he takes in it, and that he is possessed by a lying spirit, Jer. ix. 3--5. We are all concerned to possess ourselves with a dread and detestation of the sin of lying, (Ps. cxix. 163.) and with a reigning principle cf honesty.

18. There is that speaketh hke the piercings of a sword; but the tongue of the wise is health.

The tongue is death or life, poison or medicine, as it is used.

1. There are words that are cutting and killing, that are like the piercings of a sword. Opprobrious words grieve the spirits of those to whom they are spoken, and cut them to the heart; slanders, like a sword, wound the reputation of those of whom they are uttered, and perhaps incurably; whisperings and evil surmises, like a sword, divide and cut asunder the bonds of love and friendship, and separate those that have been dearest to each other.

2. There are words that are curing and healing; The tongue of the wise is health, closing up those wounds which the backbiting tongue had given, making all whole again, restoring peace, and accommodating matters in variance, and persuading to reconciliation. Wisdom will find out proper remedies against the mischiefs that are made by detraction and evil-speaking.

19. The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

Be it observed, to the honour of truth, that sacred thing,

1. That, if truth bespoken, it will hold good, and, whoever m\\ be dis l)liged V>y it, and angry at it, yet it Avill keep its ground; great is the truth, and will pi'evail; what is true will be always true, we

may abide by it, ana need not feai Deing disprovrjc and put to shame.

2. That, if truth be denied, yet in time it wiL transpire; a lying tongue, that puts false colouif-upon things, is but for a moment, the lie will be dis proved; the liar, when he comes to be examined, will be found in several stories, and not consistent with himself, as he that speaks truth; and when he is found in a lie, he cannot gain his point, nor wil! he afterward be credited. Truth may be eclipsed, but it will come to light. Those, therefore, that make a lie their refuge, will find it a refuge of lies.

20. Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.

Note, 1. Those that devise mischief, contrive, foi the accomplishing of it, how to impose upon others: but it willprove, in the end, that they deceive themselves. They that imagine evil, under colour of friendship, have their hearts full of this and the other advantage and satisfaction which they shall gain by it, but it is all a cheat. Let them imagine it ever so artfully, deceivers will be deceived.

2. Those that consult the good of their neighbours, that study the things which make for peace, and give peaceable advice, promote healing attempts, and contrive healing methods, and, according as their sphere is, further the public welfare, will have not only the credit, but the comfort of it, joy and success, perhaps beyond their expectation. Blessed are the peace-makers.

21. There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with miscliiefl

Note, 1. Piety is a sure protection. If men be sincerely righteous, the righteous God has engaged that no evil shall happen to them; he will, liy the power of his grace in them, that principle of justice, keep them from the evil of sin; so that though they be tempted, yet they shall not be overcome by the temptation. And though they may come into trouble, into many troubles, yet to them tliose troubles shall have no e^ il in them, whatever they have to others, (Ps. xci. 10.) for they shall be oven-uled to work for their good.

2. Wickedness is as sure a destniction. They that live in contempt of God and man, and are set on mischief, with mischief they shall be filled. They shall be more and more mischievous, shall be ^filled with all unrighteousness, Rom. i. 29. Or, they shall be made miserable with the mischiefs that shall come upon them. They that delight in mischief shall have enough of it. Some read the whole verse thus. There shall no evil happen to the just, though the wicked be filled with mischief and spite against them. They shall be safe luider the protection of Heaven, though hell itself break loose upon them.

22. Lying lips are abon)ination to the Lord : but they that deal truly are his delight.

We are here taught,

1. To hate lying, and to keep at the utmost distance from it, because it is an abominatic n to the Lord, and renders those abominable, in his sight, that allow themselves in it; not onlv becavisc it is a breach of his law, but because it is destructive to human society.

2. To make conscience of truth, not rnly in our words, but in all our actions; bcTj'.use those that deal truly and sincerely, in all their dealings, are his delight, and he is well ])leased with tlieni. We delight to converse with, and make use oL those that are honest, and that we may put a confidence-

PROVERBS, XII.

691

m; such therefore let us be, that we may recommend ourselves to the favour both of God and man.

23. A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools prochiimeth Ibolishness.

Note, 1. He that is wise does not affect to proclaim his wisdom, and it is his honom- that he does not; he communicates his knowledc;e when it may turn to the edificution of othei-s, but he conceals it when the showing of it would only tend to his own commendation. Knowing men, if they be prudent men, will carefully avoid every tlung that savours of ostentation, and not take all occasions to show their learning and reading, but only t j use it for good purposes, and then let their otvn luorks firaise them. Ars est celare artsm — The fierfection of art is to conceal it.

2. He that is foolish cannot avoid proclaiming his folly, and it is his shame that he cannot; The heart of fools, by their foolish words and actions, proclaims foolishness; either they do not desire to hide it, so little sense have they of good and evil, honour and dishonour, or they know not how to hide it, so little discretion have they in the management of themselves, Eccl. X. 3.

24. The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.

Note, 1. Industry is the way to preft rment. Solomon advanced Jeroboam, because he saw that he was an industrious young man, and minded his business, 1 Kings xi. 28. Men that take pains in study and serviccableness, will thereby gain such an interest and reputation as will give them a dominion over all about them, by which means many have risen strangely. He that has he^in faithful in a few things shall be made ruler over many things. The elders, that labour in the nvord^i^nd doctritie, are worthy of double honour; and those that are dili-gen' when they are young will get that which will enable them to rule, and so to rest, when they are old.

2. Knavery is the way to slavery; The slothful and careless, or rather the deceitful, (for so the woi'd signifies,) shall be under tribute. Those that, because they will not take pains in an honest calling, live by their shifts, and arts of dishonesty, are paltry and beggarly, and will be kept under. Those that are diligent and honest, when they are apprentices, will come to be masters; but those that are otherwise are the fools which, all their days, must be servants to the wise in heart.

25. Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.

Here is, 1. The cause and consequence of melancholy. It is heaviness in the heart, it is a load of care, and fear, and sorrow, upon the spirits, depressing them, and disabling to exert themselves with any vigour in what is to be done, or courage in what is to be bonic; it makes them stoop, prostrates and sinks them. Those that are thus oppressed can neither do the duty, nor take the comfort, of any relation, condition, or conversation. Those therefore that are inclined to it should watch and pray against it.

2. The cure of it; jl good word from God, applied by faith, makes it glad; such a word as that, (says one of the rabbins,) Cast thy burthen u/ion the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; the good word of God, particulirh" the gospel, is designed to make the hearts glad that are weary and heavy-Uden, Matth. xi. 28. Ministers are to be helpers of this

joy-2G. The righteous is more excellent than

his neighbour: but the way of the wicked seduceth them.

See here, 1. That good men do well for them selves; for they have in themselves an excellent character, and they secure to themselves an excellent portion, and in both they excel other people; The righteous is more abundant than his neighbour, so the margin; he is richer, though not in this world's goods, yet in the graces and comforts of the Spirit, which are the tnie riches. There is a true excellency in religion, it ennobles men, inspires them with generous principles, makes tliem substantial; it is an excellency which is, in the sight of God, of great price, wlio is the true Judge of excellency. His neighbour may make a greater figure in the world, may be more applauded, but the righ teous man has the intrinsic worth.

2. That wicked men do ill for themselves; they walk in a way which seduces them. It seems to them to be not only a pleasant way, but the right way; it is so agreeable to flesh and blood, that they therefore flatter themselves with an opinion that it cannot be amiss, but they will not gain the point they aim at, nor enjoy the good they hope for. It is all a cheat; and therefore the righteous is wiser and happier than his neighbours, that yet despise him, and trample upon him.

27. The slothful mon roasteth not that which he look in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.

Here is, 1. That which may make us hate sloth-fulness and deceit, for the word hei-e, as before, signifies both; The slothful deceitful man has roast meat, but that which he roasts is not what he himself took in hunting, no, it is what others took pains for, and he lives upon the fruit of their labours, like the drones in the hive. Or, if slothful deceitful men have taken any thing by hunting, (as sportsmen are seldom men of business,) yet they do not roast it, when they have taken it; they have no comfort in the enjoyment of it; perhaps God, in his providence, cuts them short of it.

2. That which may make us in love with industry and honesty; that the substance of a diligent man, though it be not great, perhaps is yet precious. It comes from the blessing of God; he has comfort in it; it does him good, and his family. It is his own daily bread, not bread out of other people's mouths, and therefore he sees God gives it him in answer to his prayer.

28. In the way of righteousness is life: and in the path-way thereof there is no death.

The way of religivon is here "p-commended to us,

1. As a'straight, plain, easy, way; it is the way of righteousness; God's commands (the rule we are to walk by) are all holy, just, and good; religion has right reason and equity on its side; it is a path-wau, a way which God has'cast up for us, (Isa. xxv. 8.) it is a highway, the king's highway, the King of kings' highway; a way which is tracked before us by all the saints; the good old way, full of the footsteps of the flock.

2. As a safe, pleasant, comfortable way. (1.) There is not only life at the end, but there is life in the way; all true comfort and satisfaction. The favour of God, which is better than life; the Spirit, who is life. (2.) There is not only life in it, but so as that in it there is no death; none of that sorrow of the world which works death, and is an allay to our present joy and life. There is no end of that life that is in the way of righteousness. Here there is life, but there is death t"c. In the VJay of risrh-

PROVERBS, XIII.

rcouvxess there is life, and no death, life and immor-

t ,lit)-.

CHAP. XIII.

!. 4 WISE son heareth his father's in-

IJL struction: but a scor/ier heareth not

rebuke.

Among tlie children of the same parents, it is no 'now thing for some to be hopeful, and others the contrary; now here we are taught to distinguish,

1. There is great hope of those that have a reverence for their parents, and are wiUing to be advised and admonished by them. He is a wise son, and is in a fair way to be wiser, that hears his fa-u'ler's instruction, desires to hear it, regards it, and complies with it, and does not only give it the hearing.

2. There is little hope of those that will not so mucli as hear rebuke with any patience, but scora to suljmit to government, and scoff at those that deal tiithfuUy with tliem. How can tliosc mend a fault who will not be told of it, but count those their enemies who do them that kindness.

2. A man shall eat ^ood by the fruit of his nioutli: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.

Note, 1. If that which comes from within, out of the heart, be good, and from a good treasure, it will return with advantage. Inward comfort and satis-f.iction will be daily bread; nay, it will be a continual feast to those who delight in that communication which is to the use of edifying.

2. Violence done will recoil in the face of him that does it; The soul of the transgressors, that harbours and plots mischief, and vents it by word and deed, shall eat violence; they shall have their belly full of it. Reward her as she has rewarded thee, llev. xviii. 6. Every man shall diink as he brews, eat as he speaks; for b\- our words we must be justified or condemned; (Matth. xii. 37.) as our fi-uit is, so will our food be, Rom. vi. 21, 22.

3. He that keepeth his mouth keepeth !iis life: hut he that openelh wide his lips siiall have destruction.

Note, 1. A guard upon the lips is a guard to the soul; he that is cautious, tliat thinks twice before he speaks once, that, if he have thought evil^ lays his hand ujion his mouth to suppress it, that keeps a strong bridle on his tongue, and a strict hand on that lu'idle, he keefis his soul from a great deal l)oth of i^uilt and gi'ief, and saves himself the troul)le of many bitter reflections on liimsclf, and others upon liim.

2. There is many a one ruined Ijy an ungoverned tongue; He that ofiens wide his li/is, to let out </uod in buccam venerit — whatever comes upfiermost, that loves to l)awl, and bluster, and make a noise, and affects sucli a lil)erty of speecli as bids defiance both to (iod and man, he shall h.ax'e desti'uction. It will i)e the destruction of liis reputation, liis interest, his comfort, and his soul for ever. Jam. iii. 6.

4. The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent sliall be made fat.

Here is, 1. The misery and shame of the slothful; wz how foolish and absurd tliey are; they desire C;\e gains which the diligent get, l)ut they hate the \r\\\\s which tlie diligent take; thev covet every tiling that is to be coveted, but will do nothing that )►; to be done; and therefore it follows, they have nithing; for he that will not labour, let him hunger, and let him not eat, 2 Thess. iii. 10. The desire of

the slothful, which should be his excitement, is his torment, which should make him busy, makes him always uneasy, and is really a greater toil to him than labour would l)e.

2. The happiness and honour of the diligent; Their soul shall be made fat j they shall have abun dance, and shall Iiave tlie comfortable enjoyment of it; and tlie more, for its being the fniit ot their diligence. This is especially true in spiritual af fairs. They tluit rest in idle wislies, know not what the advantages of religion are; whereas they tha»: take pains in tlie ser\ ice of Gcd find both the plea sure and i)rofit of it.

5. A righteous j/iaji hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.

Note, 1. Where grace reigns, sin is loathsome. It is the undoubted character of every righteous ma?i, that he hates lying, all sin, for every sin is a lie, and particularly all fraud and falsehood in commerce and conversation; not only that he will not tell a lie, but he abhors it, from a rooted reigning pi-incijile of love to truth and justice, and conformity to God.

2. Where sin reigns, the man is loathsorne. If his eyes were opened, and liis conscience awakened, he would be so to liimself, lie would abhor himself, and rejient in dust and ashes: however, he is so to God and all good men; p;n-ticularly, he makes himself so by lying, than which nothirig is more detestable. And though he may think to face it cut a while, yet he will come to shame and contempt at last, and will blush to show his fi'ce, Dan. xii. 2.

6. Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness over-throweth the sinner.

See here, 1. Saints secured from ruin. Those that are upright in their way, that mean honestly in all their actions, adliere conscientiously to the sacred and eternal i-ules of equity, and deal sincerely both with God and man, their integrity will keep them from the temptations of Satan, which shall not prevail over them, the reproaches and injuries of evil men, which shall not fasten upon them, to do them any real mischief, Ps. xxv. 21.

HIc murus iihcncus esto, nil conscirc sibi—

Be this tliy brazen bulwark of defence, Still to preserve thy conscious innocence.

2. Sinners secured for ruin. Those that aie wicked, even their wickedness will lie their over-tlirow at last, and they are held in tlie cords of it in the mean time. Are tliey corrected, destroyed.'' It is their own wickedness that corrects them, that destroys them; they alone sliall bear it.

7. There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing; there- is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great ri(>hes.

' Tliis observation is applicable,

1. To men's worldly estate. The world is a great cheat; not only the things of the world, but the men of the world; all men are liars. Here is an instance in two sore evils under the sun: (1.) Some that are really poor would lie thought to be rich, and are thought to be so; they trade and spend as if they were rich, make a great bustle and a great show as if they had hid treasures, wlien perhaps, if all their debts were ])aid, they ;'.re not worth a groat. This is sin, and will lie shame; many a one hereby niins his famil}', and brings reproach upon his profession of religion. Tlicy tliat thus live above what they have, choose to be suliject to their own pride rather than to God's pro\idence, and it will end accord

PROVERBS, XIll.

G93

iiigly. (2.) Some that are really rich would be thought to be poor, and are thought to be so, because they sordidly and meanly live below what God has given them, and choose rather to bury it than to use it, Eccl. vi. 1, 2. In this there is ingratitude to God, injustice to the famil}' and neighbourhood, and uncharitableness to the poor.

2. To their spiritual state. Grace is the riches of the soul, it is true riches; but men commonly misrepresent themselves, either designedly, or through mistake, and ignorance of themselves. (1.) There are many presuming hypocrites that are really poor, and empty of grace; and yet either think thenjseh es rich, and will not be convinced of their poverty, or pretend themselves rich, and will not own their poverty. (2.) There are many timorous, trembling. Christians, that are spiritually rich, and full of grace, and yet think themselves poor, and will not be persuaded that they are rich, cv at least will not own it; by their doubts and fears, their complaints and griefs, they 777afctr themselves fioor. The former mistake is destroying at last, this is disquieting in the mean time.

8. The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.

We are apt to judge of men's blessedness, at least, in this world, by their wealth, and that they are more or less happy according as they have more or less of this world's goods; but Solomon here shows what a gross mistake it is; that we may be reconciled to a poor condition, and may neither covet riches ourselves, nor envy those that have abundance.

1. Those that are rich, if by some they are respected for their riches, yet, to balance that, by others they are envied and struck at, and brought in danger of their lives, which therefore they are forced to ransom with their riches. Slay us not, for ive have treasures in the field, Jer. xli. 8. Under some tyrants, it has been crime enough to be rich; and how little is a man beholden to his wealth, when it only serves to redeem that life which otherwise had not been exposed!

2. Those that are poor, if by some, that should be their friends, they are despised and overlooked, yet, to balance that, they are also despised and overlooked by others, that would be their enemies if they had any thing to lose; The poor hear not rebuke; are not censured, reproached, accused, nor brought into trouble, as the rich are; for nobody thinks it worth while to take notice of them. When the rich Jews were carried captives to Babylon, the poor of the land nvere left, 2 Kings xxv. 12.' Welcome nothing, once in seven years. Cantabit -vacuus coram latrone viator — ]Vhen a traveller is ?net by a robber, he will rejoice in not having much property about him.

9. The Ught of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.

Here is, 1. The comfort of good men flourishing and lasting; The light of the righteous rejoices, it increases, and makes them glad. Even their outward prosperity is their joy, and much more those gifts, and graces, and comforts, with which their souls are illuminated; these shine more and more, ch. iv. 18. The Spirit is their Light, and he gives them a fulness of joy, and rejoices to do them good.

2. The comfort of bad men withering and dying; The lamp of the tiucked burns dim and faint, it looks melancholy, like a tnper in an urn, and i"t will shortly be put'out in utter darkness, Isa. 1. 11. The light of the righteous is as that of the sun, which mav be eclipsed and clouded, but wUi continue; that

of the wicked is as a lamp of their own knidhng, which presently goes out, and is easily put out.

10. Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well-advised is wisdom.

Note, 1. Foohsh pride is the great make bate. Would you know ivhence comes wars and fightings? They come from this root of bitterness. Whatever hand other lusts may have in contention, (passion, envy, covetousness,) pride has the great hand, it is its pride that it will itself sow discord, and needs no help. Pride makes men impatient of contradiction in either their opinions or their desires, impatient of competition and rivalship, impatient of concession and receding, from a conceit of certain right and truth on their side; and hence arise quarrels among relations and neighbours, quarrels in states and kingdoms, in chui'ches and Christian societies. Men will be revenged, will not forgive, because they are proud.

2. Those that are humble and peaceful are wise and well-advised. Those that will ask and take ad\ice, that will consult their own consciences, their Bibles, their ministers, their fi-iends, and will do nothing rashly, they are wise, as in other things, so in tills, that they will humble themselves, will stoop and yield, to preserve quietness, and prevent quar rels.

11. Wealth gotteji by vanity shall be diminished : but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.

This shows that riches wear as they are won and woven.

1. That which is wen ill will never wear well, for a curse attends it, which will waste it; and the same cornipt dispositions which incline men to the sinful ways of getting, will incline them to the like sinful ways of spending; fVtalth gotten by vanity will be bestowed upon \ anity, and then it will be diminished. That which is got by such employments as are not lawful, or not becoming Christians, such as only serve to feed pride and luxury; that which is get by gaming, or by the stage, mav as truly be said to be gotten by vanity, as that which is got by fraud and lying, and will be diminished. De male cjuctsitis vix gaudet tertius hcerus — Ill-gotten wealth will scarcely be enjoyed by the third generation.

2. That which is got by industry and honesty will grow more, instead of growing less; it will be a maintenance, it will be an inheritance, it will be an abundance. He that labours, working with his hands, shall so increase, as that he shall have to give to him that needs; (Eph. iv. 28.) and, when it comes to that, it will increase yet more and more.

12. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick : but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

Note, 1. Nothing is more grievous than the disappointment of a raised expectation, though not in the thing itself bv a denial, yet in the time of it by a delay; Hope deferred makes the heart sick and languishing, fretful and pee\ish; but hope quite dashed kills the heart, and the higher the expectation was raised, the more cutting is the frustration of it. It is therefore our wisdom not to promise ourselves any gi-eat matters from the creature, nor to feed ourselves with any vain hopes from this world, lest we lay up matter for our own vexation: and what we do liope for let us prepare to be disappointed in, that, if it should prove so, it may prove the casiei let us not be hasty.

2. Nothing is more grateful than to enjoy that, at la-^t, which we have long wished and waited for;

G94

PROVERBS, XIII.

men the desire does come, it puts men into a sort of paradise, a garden of pleasure, for it is a tree of life. It will aggravate the eternal misery of the wicked, that their hopes will be frustrated; and it will make the happiness of heaven the more welcome ..0 the saints, that it is what they ha\e earnestly longed for as the crown of their hopes.

13. Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewaided.

Here is, 1. The character of one that is marked for ruin; He that despises the word of God, and has no regard to it, no veneration for it, nor will be ruled by it, certainly he shall be destroyed; for he slights that which is the only means of curing a de-sti-uctive disease, and makes himself obnoxious to that divine wrath which will certainly be his dc-sti-uction. Those that prefer the rules of carnal policy before divine precepts, and tlie allurements of the world and the flesh before God's promises and comforts, despise his word, giving the preference to those things that stand in competition with it; and it is to their own just destruction; they would not take warning.

2. The character of one that is sure to be happy; He that fears the commandment, that stands in awe of God, pays a deference to his auth(jrity, has a reverence for his word, is afraid of displeasing God, and incurring the penalties annexed to the commandment, he shall not only escape destruction, but shall be reivarded for his godly fear. In keejiing t he commandment there is great reward.

14. The law of the wise is a fountain of

life, to depart from the snares of death.

By the law of the wise and righteous, here, we may understand, either the principles and rules by which they govern themselves, or (which comes all to one) the instructions which they give to others, which ought to be as a law to all about them; and if they be so,

1. They will be constant springs of comfort and satisfaction; as a fountain of life, sending forth streams of living water; the closer we keep to those rules, the more effectually we secure our own peace.

2. They will be constant preservatives from the temptations of Satan. They that follow the dictates of this law will keep at a distance from the snares of sin, and so escape the snares of death, which they run themselves into that forsake the law of the wise.

15. Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.

If we compare not only the end, but the way, we shall find that religion has '■he advantage; for,

1. The way of saints is ple^isuit and agreeable; Good understanding gains /ai'ow/- with God and man; our Saviour grew in tliat favour, when he increased in wisdom. Those that conduct themselves prudently, and order tiieir convei'sation aright in every thing, th it serve Christ i?i righteousness, and fieace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, are accrfited of God and afxfiroved of men, Rom. xiv. 17, 18. And how comfortably will that man pass through the world, who is well-imderstood, and is therefore well-accepted!

2. Tlie way of sinners is rough and uneasy, and, ♦or that reason, unpleasant to themselves, because unacceptable to others. It is hard, hard upon others; \v!io complain of it, hard tn the sinner himself, who can have httle enjovmcnt of himself, wliile he is doing that which is disol)Uging to all mankind. The service of sin is perfect slavery, and the road to hell is strewed with the thorns and thistles that are the products of Mie curse. Sinners labour in the very fire.

16. Every prudent mem dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layelh open his folly.

Note, 1. It is wisdom to be cautious; Everypru dent discreet man does all with knowledge, (con sidering with himself, and consulting with others,) acts with deliberation, and is up^n ^he reserve; is careful not to meddle with that which he has not some knowledge of, nor to launcli out into business which he has not acquainted hini;-elf with; will not deal with those that he has not some knowledge oi, whether they may be C' nfided in. He is still dealing in knowledge, that he may increase the stock he has.

2. It is folly to be rash, as thcfool is, who is forward to talk of things he knows nothing of, and undertakes that which he is no way fit for, and so lays ofien his folly, and makes himself ridiculous. He began to build, and was not able to finish.

17. A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health.

Here is, 1. The ill consequcBces of betraying a tinist; jitvicked jnessenger, who, being sent to nego-ciate any business, is false to him that employed him, divulges his counsels, and so defeats his designs, he cannot expect to prosper, but will certainly fall into some mischief or other, will be discovered and punished; since nothing is more hateful to God and man than the treachery of those that have a confidence reposed in them.

2. The happy effects of fidelity; An ambassador, who faithfully discharges his tinist, and serves the interests of tliose who employ him, he is health, he is health to those by whom, and for whom, he is employed, heals differences that are between them, and preserves a good understanding; he is health to himself, for he secures his own interest. This is applicable to ministers, Christ's messengers and ambassadors; those that are wicked and false to Christ, and the souls of men, do mischief, and fall into mischief; but those that are faithful will find sound words to be healing words toothers and themselves.

18. Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that re-gardeth reproof shall be honoured.

Note, 1. He tliat is so proud that he scorns to be taught, will certainly be abased; He that refuses the good instruction offered him, ;'S if it were a reflection upon his honour, and an abridgment of his liberty, poverty and shame shall be to hiin; he will become a beggar, tmd live and die in disgrace; every one will despise him as foolish, and stubborn, and ungovernable.

2. He that is so humble that he takes it well to be told of his faults, shall certainly be exalted; He that regards a reproof, whoever gives it him, and will mend what is amiss when it is showed him, he gains respect as wise and candid; he avoids that which would be a disgrace to him, and is in a fair way to make himself considerable.

19. The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.

This shows the folly of those that refuse instruction, for tliey might be happy, and will not.

1. They might be hapjjy. There are in man strong desires of happiness; God has provided for the accomplishment of those desires, and that would be sweet to the soul, whei-cas the pleasures of sense ai'e grateful only to the canial appetite. 7'hr desirf. of good men toward the favour of God and spiritual blessings, brings that which is sweet to their souls;

PROVERBS, XIII.

69i

we know those that can say so by experience. Ps. iv. 6, 7.

2. Yet they will not be happy; for it is an abomination to them to depart from evil, which is necessary to their being happy. Never let those expect any thing truly sweet to their souls that will net be persuaded to leave their sins, but that roll them under their tongues as a sweet morsel.

20. He that walketh with wise vien shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

Note, 1. Those that would be good must keep good company, which is an evidence for them that they would be good, (men's character is known by the company they choose,) and will be a means of making them good, of showing them the way, and of quickening and encouraging them in it. Me that would be himself wise, must walk with those that are so, must choose such for his intimate acquaintance, and converse with them accordingly; must ask and receive instruction from them, and keep up pinus and profitable talk with them; (Eccl. viii. 9.) Miss not the discourse of the elders, for they also learned of their fathers. And (cA. vi. 35.) Beivill-ing to hear every godly discourse, and let not the parables of understanding escape thee.

2. Multitudes are brought to ruin by bad company; Jl companion of fools shall be broken, so some; shall be knoivn, so the Seventy; known to be a fool; noscitur ex socio — he is knoiun by his company. He will be like them, so some; will be made wicked, so others; it comes all to one; for all those, and those only, that make themselves wicked, will be destroyed; and those that associate with evil-doers are debauched, and so undone, and, at last, ascribe their death to it.

21. Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repaid.

Here see, 1. How unavoidable the destruction of sinners is; the wrath of God pursues them, and all the terrors of that wrath; Evil pursues them close wherever they go, as the avenger of blood pursued the manslayer, and they have no city of refuge to flee to; they attempt an escape, but in vain. Whom God pursues he is sure to overtake. They may prosper for awhile, and grow very secure, but their damnation slumbers not, though they do.

2. How indefeasible the happiness of the saints is; the God that cannot lie has engaged that to the righteous good shall be repaid; they shall be abundantly recompensed for all the good they have done, and all the ill they have suffered, in this world; so that, though many have been losers ybr their righteousness, they shall not be losers by it. Though the recompense do not come quickly, it will come in the day of payment, in the world of retribution; and it will be an abundant recompense.

22. A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

See here, 1. How a good man's estate lasts; he leaves an inheritance to his childreji's children. It is part of his praise that he is thoughtful for posterity; that he does not lay all out upon himself, but is in care to do well for those that come after him; not by withholding more .than is meet, but by a prudent and decent frugality. He trains up his children to this, that they may leave it to their children; and especially he is careful, both by justice and charity, to obtain the blessing of God upon what he has, and to entail that upon his children, without which the greatest industry and finagality will be in vain; A good man, by being good, and

doing good, by honoui-ing the Lord with his substance, and spending it in his service, secures it to his posterity; or, if he should not leave them much of this world's goods, his prayers, his instructions, his good example, will be the best entail; and the promises of the cf)venant will be an inheritance tc \\\s children's children, Ps. ciii. 17.

2. How it increases by the accession of the wealth of the sinner to it, for that is laid up for the just. If it be asked, *'^How should good men grow so rich, who ai c not so eager upon the world as ethers are, and who commonly suffer for their well-doing?" it is here answered, "God, in his providence, often biings into their hands that which wicked people had laid up for themselves." The innocent shall divide the silver, Job xxvii. 16, 17. The Israelites shall spoil the Egyptians, (Exod. xii. 36.) and eat the riches of the Gentiles, Isa. Ixi. 6.

23. Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.

See here, 1. How a small estate may be improved by industry, so that a man, by making the best of every thing, may live comfortably upon it; Much food is in the tillage of the poor, the poor farmers, that have but a little, but take pains with that little, and husband it well. Many make it an excuse for their idleness, that they have but a little to work on, a very little to be doing with; but the less compiss the field is of, the more let the skill and labour of the owner be employed about it, and it will turn to a very good acc-un't. Let him dig, and he needs not beg.

2. How a great estate may be iniined by indiscretion ; Tliere is that has a great deal, but it is destroyed and brought to nothing, ybr wa?it of judgment, prudence in the m magcment of it. Men over-build themselves, or over-buv themselves; keep greater company, or a better tabic, or more servants, than they can affird; suffer what they have to go to decay, and do not make the most of it; by taking up money themselves, or being bound for others, their estates are sunk, their families reduced, and all for want of judgment.

24. He that spareth his rod hateth his son : but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

Note, 1. To the education of children in that which is good, there is necessary a due correction of them for what is amiss; every child of ours is a child of Adam, and therefore has that foolishness bound up in its heart which calls for rebuke, more or less; the rod and reproof which give wisdom. Observe, It is his rod that must be used, the red of a parent, directed by wisdom and love, and designed for good; not the rod of a servant.

2. It is good to begin betimes with the necessary restraints of children from that which is evil, before vicious habits are confirmed. The branch is easily bent when it is tender.

3. Those really hate their chil'dren, though they pretend to be fond of them, that do not keep them under a strict discipline, and by all proper methods, severe ones when gentle ones will not serve, make them sensible of their faults, and afraid of offending. They abandon them to their worst enemy, to the most dangerous disease, and therefore hate them. Let this reconcile children to the correction their good parents give them; it is from love, and for their good, Heb. xii. 7-'9.

25. The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.

PROVERBS, XIV.

Note, 1. It is the happiness of the righteous that they shall 1ki\ e enough, and that they know when they have enough. They desire not to be surfeited, Vjut, being moderate in their desires, they are sogn satisfied. Nature is content with a little, and grace with less; enough is as good as a feast. They that feed on the bread of life, that feast on the promises, meet with alnuidant satisfaction of soul there, eat, and are filled.

2. It is the misery of the wicked, that, through the insatiablcness of their own desires, they are always needy; not only their souls sluiU not be satisfied with the world and the flesh, l)ut even their belly .shall nvant; their sensual appetite is always craving. In hell they shall be denied a drop of water.

CHAP. XIV. 1. i ,^ VERY wise woman buildeth her

house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

Note, 1. A good wife is a great blessing to a family; by a fruitful wife a family is multiplied and replenished with children, and so built up; but by a prudent wife, one that is pious, industrious, and considerate, the affairs of the family are made to prosper, deljts are paid, portions raised, provision made, the children well educated and maintained, and the family has comfort within doors and credit without; thus" is the house built. She looks upon it as her own to take care of, though she knows it is her husband's to bear rule in, Esth. i. 22.

2. Many a family is brought to ruin by ill housewifery, as well as by ill husbandry. A foolish woman, that has no fear of God, nor regard to her business, that is wilful, and wasteful, and humour-some; that indulges her ease and appetite, and is all for jaunting and feasting, cards and the play-h"usc; though she came to a plentiful estate, and to a fami-Iv beforeh md, she will impoverish and waste it, and will as certainly be the ruin of her house as if she plucked it doiun nvith her hands; and tlie husband himself, with all his care, can scarcely prevent it.

2. He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the Lord : but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.

Here are, 1. Grace and sin in their true colours. Grace reigning is a reverence of God, and gives honour to liim who is infinitely great and high, and to whom all honour is due, than which what is more becoming, or should be more pleasing, to the rational creature? Sin reigning is no less than a contempt of God; in this, more tJian in any thing, sin appears exceeding sinful, that it despises God, whom angels adore. They that despise God's precepts, and will not be ruled by them, his promises, and will not accept of them, despise God himself, and all his attributes.

2. Grace and sin in their true light. By this we may know a man that has grace, and the fear of God, reigning in him, he walks in his uprightness, he makes conscience of his actions, is faithful both to God and man, and every stop he makes, as well as every step he takes, is by rule; here is one that honours God. But, on the contrary, he that is perverse in his Tjaijs, that wilfully follows his own appetites and passions, that is unjust and dishonest, and contradicts his profession in his conversation; however he may pretend to devotion, he is a wicked man, and will be I'eckoned with as a despiser of God himself.

3. In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride : but the lips of the wise shall preserve .hem.

See here, 1. A proud fool exposing himself. Where there is pride in the heart, and no wisdom in the head to suppress it, it commonly shows itself in the words; In the mouth there is Jiride, proud boasting, proud censuring, proud scorning, proud commanding, and giving law; this is the rod, or branch, of pride; the word is used only here and Isa. xi. 1. It grows from that root of bitterness which is in the heart; it is a rod from that steiu. The root must be plucked up, or we cannot conquer this branch-or it is meant of a smiting, beating, rod; a rod of pride, which strikes others. The proud man with his tongue lays about him, and deals blows at pleasure, but it will in the end be a rod to himself; the proud man shall come under an ignominious correction by the words of his own mouth; not cut as a soldier, but caned as a servant; and herein he will be beaten with his own rod, Ps. Ixiv. 8.

2. A humble wise man saving himself, and consulting his own good; The lips of the ivise shall preserve them from doing that mischief toothers which proud men do with their tongues, and from briiiging that mischief on themselves which haughty scorners are often involved in.

4. Where no oxen are., the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

Note, 1. Tlie neglect of husbandry is the Avay to poverty; Where no oxen are, to till the ground and tread out the corn, the crib is empty, is clean, there is no straw for the cattle, and consequently no bread for the service of man. Scarcity is represented by cleanness of teeth, Amos iv. 6. Where no oxen are, there is nothing to be done at the ground, and then nothing to be had out of it; the crib indeed is clean from dung, which pleases the neat and nice, that cannot endure husbandry, because there is so much dirty work in it, and therefore will sell their oxen to keep the crib clean; but then not only the labour, but even the dung, of the ox is wanted. This shows the folly of those who addict themselves to the pleasures of the country, but do not mind the business of it; who (as we say) keep more horses than kine, mnre dogs than swine; their families must needs suffer by it.

2. Those who take pains about their ground af-e likely to reap the profit of it; those who keep that about them which is for use and service, not for state and show, more husbandmen than footmen, they are likely to thrive. Much increase is by tht strength of the ox, that is made for our ser\ ice, and is prtfitaljle alive and dead.

5. A faithful witness will not lie : but a false witness will utter lies.

In the administration of justice, much depends upon the witnesses, and therefore it is necessary to the common good that witnesses be principled as they ought to be; for,

l". A witness that is conscientious, will not dare to give in a testimony that is in the least untrue; nor, for good-will or ill-will, represent a thing otherwise than according to the best of his knowledge, whoever is pleased or displeased; and then judgment runs down like a river.

2. But a witness that will be bribed, and bi issed, and brow-beaten, ivill utter lies, (and not stick or startle at it,) with as much readiness and assurance as if it were all true.

6. A scorner seeketh wisdom, ^wdfindcth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understancleth.

Note, 1. The r^asm why some people seek v/is-dom, and don^t find it_, is,'because they do not seek it from a right principle, and in a riglit manner.

PROVERBS, XIV.

697

They ave scorners, and it is in scorn that they ask instruction, that they may ridicule what is told them, and naay cavil at it. M ny put questions to Christ, tempting him, and that they might have whereof to accus'j him, but they were never the wiser. No m:irvel, if thev who seek wisdom, as Simon Magus sought the gifts of the Holy Ghost, to serve their pride and covetousness, do not find it, for they seek amiss. Herod desired to sec a miracle, but he was a scorner, and therefore it was denied him, Luke xxiii. 8. Scorners speed not in prayer.

2. To those who understand themselves aright, who dejiart from evil, for that is understanding, the knowledge of God and of his will is easy. The parables which harden scorners in their scorning, and make divine things more difficult to them, enlighten those who are willing to learn, and make the same things more plain and intelligible and familiar to them, Matth. xiii. 11, 15, 16. The same word which to the scornful is a savour of death unto death, to the humble and serious is a savour of Ife unto life. He that understands, so as to depart from evil, (for that is understanding,) to quit his prejudices, to lay aside all corrupt dispositions and affections, will easily apprehend instruction, and receive the impressions of it.

7. Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the hps of knowledge.

See here, 1. How we may discern a fool, and discover him; a wicked man, for he is a foolish man; if we perceive not in him the lips of knoivledge, if we find there is no relish or savour of piety in his discourse, that his communication is all corrupt and corrupting, and nothing in it good and to the use of edifying, we may conclude the treasure is bad.

2. How we must decline such a one, and depart from him; Go from his presence, for thou perceivest there is no good to be gotten by his company, but danger of getting hurt by it. Sometimes the only way we have of reproving wicked discourse and witnessing against it, is, by leaving the company and going out of hearing of it.

8. The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.

See here, 1. The good conduct of a wise and good man; he manages himself well. It is not the wisdom of the learned, which consists only in speculation, that is here commended, but the wisdom of the prudent, which is practical, and is of use to direct our counsels and actions. Christian prudence consists in a right understanding of our way; for we are travellers, whose concern it is, not to spy wonders, but to get forward toward their journey's end. It is to understand our own way, not to be critics and busy-bodies in other men's matters, but to look well to ourselves, and ponder the path of our feet; to understand the directions of our way, that we may observe them; the dangers of our way, that we may avoid them; the difficulties of our way, that we mav break through them; and the advantages of our way, that we may improve them: to understand the rules we are to walk by, and the ends we are to walk toward, and walk accordingly.

2. The bad conduct of a bad man; he puts a cheat upon himself, lie does not rightly understand his wav, he thinks he does, and so misses his way, and goes on in his mistake; The folly of fools is deceit, it cheats them into their own i-uin. The folly of him that built on the sand was deceit.

9. Fools make a mock at sin : but among the righteous there is favour.

Vol. III.—4 T

See here, 1. How wicked people are hardened in their wickedness; they ina/ce a mock at sin: they make a laughing matter of the sins of others, making themselves and their companions merry with that for which they should mourn; and they make a light matter of their own sins, both when they are tempted to sin, and when they have committed it; they call ex'il good, and good evil, (Isa. v. 20.) turn it off with a jest, rush into sin, (Jer. viii. 6.) and say they shall have peace, tlu ugh they go on: thev care not what mischief they do by their sins, and laugh at tliose that tell them of it. They are advocates for sin, and are ingenicus at framing excuses for it, jFooIs make a mock at the sin-offei'ing, so some; they that make light of sin make light of Christ. They are fools that make light of sin, for they make light of that which God complains of, (Amos ii. 13.) which lay heavy upon Christ, and which they themselves will have other thoughts of shortl)^

2. How good people are encouraged in their goodness; Among the righteous there is favour; if they in any tiling offend, they presently repent, and obtain the favour of God. They have a good-will one to another; and among them, in their societies, there is mutual charity and compassion in cases of offences, and no mocking.

10. The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.

This agrees with 1 Cor. ii. 11. What man knows the things of a man, and the changes cf his temper, save the spirit of a man?

1. Every man feels most from his own burthen, especially that which is a burthen upon the spirits,

i for that is commonly concealed, and the sufferer

' keeps it to himself. We must not censure the

griefs of others, for we know not what they feel,

their stroke perhaps is heavier than their groaning.

2. Many enjoy a secret pleasure, especially in divine consolations, which others are not aware of, much less arc sharers in. As the sorrows of a peni ■ tent, so the joys of a believer, are such as a stranger does not intermeddle with, and therefore is no competent judge of.

11. The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.

Note, 1. Sin is the i-uin of great families; The house of the tvicked, though built ever so strong and high, shall be overthrown, shall be brought to poverty and disgrace, and at length be extinct. Hi« hope for lieaven, the house on which he leans, shall not stand, but fail in the storm; the deluge that comes will sweep it away.

2. Righteousness is the rise and stability even of mean families; Even the tabernacle of the upright, tliough moveable and despicable as a tent, shall flourish in outward prosperity, if Infinite Wisdom see good; at all events, in graces and comfort, which are ti-ue riches and honours.

12. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man ; but the end thereof are the ways of death.

We have here an account of the way and end of a great many self-deluded souls.

1. Their way is seemingly fair; it seems right to themselves; they please themselves with a fancy that they are as they should be, that their opinions and practices are good, and such as will hear them out. The way cf ignorance and carelessness, the' way of worldliness and earthly-mindedness, the way of sensuality a.nd flesh-pleasing, seem right to those that walk in them; much more, they imagine,

PROVERBS, XIV.

the way of hypocrisy in religion, external performances, partial reformations, and blind zeal, will bring them to heaven; they flatter themselves in their own (.yes, that all will be well at last.

2. Their end is really fearful, and the more so for their mistake; it is the ways of death, eternal death; their iniquity will certainly be their ruin, and they will perish with a lie in their right hand. Self-deceivers will prove, in the end, self-destroyers.

13. Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful ; and the end ot" that mirth is heaviness.

This shows the vanity of cai-nal mirth, and proves what Solomon said of laughter, that it is mad; for,

1. There is sadness under it. Sometimes, when sinners are under convictions, or some great trouble, they dissemble their grief by a forced mirth, and put a good face on it, because they will not seem to yield; they cry not when he binds them. Nay, when men really are merry, yet, at the same time, there is some allay or other to it; something that casts a damp upon their mirth, which all their gaiety cannot keep from their heart. Their consciences tell them they have no reason to be merry; (Hos. ix. 1.) they cannot but see the vanity of it. Spiritual joy is seated in the soul; the joy of the hypocrite is but from the teeth outward. See John XVI. 22. 2. Cor. vi. 10.

2. There is worse after this; The end of (hat mirth is heaviness; it is soon over, like the crackling of thorns under a pot: and, if the conscience be awake, all sinful and profane mirth will be reflected upon witti bitterness; if not, the heaviness will be so much the greater, when for all these thijigs God shall brinif the sinner into judgment. The sorrows of the saints will end in everlasting joys, (Ps. cxxvi. 5.) but the laughter of fools will end in endless weeping and wailing.

14. The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.

Note, 1. The misery of sinners will be an eternal surfeit upon their sins; I'he backslider in heart, who for fear of suffering, or in hope of profit or pleasure, forsakes God and his duty, shall be filled with his own ways, G6d will give him enough of them; they would not leave their brutish lusts and passions, and therefore they shall stick by them, to their everlasting terror and torment; he that is filthy shall be filthy still. Son, rejnember, shally?// them with their own ways, and set their sins in order before them. Backsliding begins in the heart, it is the evil heart of unbelief tliat departs from God; and, of all sinners, backsliders will have most terror when they reflect on their own ways, Luke xi. 26.

2. The happiness of the saints will be an eternal satisfaction in their graces, as tokens of, and qualifications for, God's pecviliar favour; A good man shall be abundantly satisfied from himself, from what God has wrought in him. He has rejoicing in himse/f alone. Gal. vi. 4. As sinners never think they have sin eno\igh till it brings them to hell, so saints never think they have grace enough till it brings them to heaven.

15. The simple believeth every word: but the prudent 77ia7i looketh well to his going.

Note, 1. It is folly to be credulous, to heed every flying report, to give ear to every man's story, though ever so improbable, to take things upon tnist from common fame, to depend upon every man's profession of friendship, and give credit to every

one that will promise payment; those are siutplc who thus believe every word, forgetting that all men, in some sense, are liars, in comparison with God, all whose words we are to believe with an implicit faith, for he cannot lie.

2. It is wisdom to be cautious; The prudent man will try before he tnists, will weigh both the credibility of the witness, and the probability of the testimony, and then give judgment as the thing ap pears, or suspend his judgment till it appears Prove all things, and believe not every spirit.

16. A wise 7na7i feareth, and departetl. from evil: but the fool rageth, arid is con fident.

Note, 1. Holy fear is an excellent guard upon every holy thing, and against every thing that is unholy. It is wisdom to depart from ez'il, from the evil of sin, and thereby trrm all other evil; and therefore it is wisdom to fear, to be jealous over ourselves with a gcdly jealousy, to keep up a dread of God's wrath, to be afraid of coming near the borders of sin, or dallying with the beginnings ot it. A wise man, for fear of harm, keeps out of harm's way, and starts back in a fright when he finds himselt entering into temptation.

2. Presumption is folly. He who, when he is warned of his danger, rages, and is co?ifident, furiously pushes on, cannot bear to be checked, bids defiance to the wrath and curse of God, and, fearless of danger, persists in his rebellion, makes bold with the occasions of sin, and plays upon the precipice, he is a fool, for he acts against his reason and his interest, and his ruin will quickly be the proof of his folly.

17. He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly ; and a man of wicked devices is hated.

Note, 1. Passionate men are justly laughed at; Men who are peevish and touchy, and are soon angry upon every the least provocation, deal foolishly, they say and do that which is ridiculous, and so expose themselves to contempt; they themselves cannot but be ashamed of it when the heat is over. The consideration of this should engage these "especially who are in reputation for wisdom and honour, with the utmost care to bridle their passion.

2. Malicious men are justly dreaded and detested, for they are much more dangerous and mischievous to all societies; A man of wicked dex'ices, Avho stifles his resentments till he has an opportunity of being avenged, and is secretly plotting how to wrong his neighbour, and to do him an ill turn, as Cain to kill Abel, such a man as this is hated by all mankind. The character of an angry man is pitiable; through the surprise of a temptation he disturbs and disgraces himself, but it is soon over, and he is sorry for it; but that of a s]5itcful revengeful man is odious, there is no fence against him, noi cure for him.

18. The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

Note, 1. Sin is the shame of sinners; The simple, who love simplicity, get nothing by it, they inherit folly, they have it by inheritance, so some. This corruption of nature is derived from our first parents, and all the calamities that attend it we have by kind: it was the inheritance tluy trans mitted to their degenerate race, an hereditary disease. They are as fond of it as a man of his inheritance, hold it as fast, and are as loath to ])ai1 with it. What they value themselves upon is really foolish; and what will be the issue of their simplicity but folly? They will for ever i-ue their own foolish choices.

PROVERBS, XIV.

699

2. Wisdom is the honour of the wise; The prudent crown themselves with knoivledge, they look upon it as their brightest ornament, and thei-e is no-tiiing they ai'e so ambitious of; they bind it to their heads as a crown, which they will by no means part with; they press toward the top and perfection of knowledge, which will crown their beginnings and l)i-ogress. They shall have the praise of it; wise he.uls shall be respected as if they were crowned lieads. They cr-own knowledge, (so some read it,) they are a credit to their profession; wisdom is not only justified, but glorified, of all her children.

19. The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

That is, 1. The wicked are oftentimes impoverished and brought low, so that they are forced to beg, their wickedness having reduced them to straits, while good men, by the blessing of God, are enriched, and enabled to give, and do give, even to the evil, for where God grants life, we must not deny a livelihood.

2. Sometimes God extorts, even from bad men, an acknowledgment of the excellency of God's people. The evil ought always to bow before the good, and sometimes they are made to do it, and (o know that God has loved them. Rev. iii. 9. They desire (heir favour, (Esth. vii. 7.) their prayers, 2 Kings, • ii. 12.

3. There is a day coming when the upright shall have the dominion; (Ps. xlix. 14.) when the foolish virgins shall come begging to the wise for oil, and shall knock in vain at that gate of the Lord at which the righteous entered.

20. The poor is hated even of his own

'leighbour: but the rich hath many friends.

This shows not what should be, but what is, the common way of the world—to be shy of the poor, and fond of the rich.

1. Few will give countenance to those whom the world frowns upon, though otherwise worthy of respect; The poor, who should be pitied, and encouraged, and relieved, is hated, looked strange upon, and kept at a distance, even by his own neighbour, who, before he fell into disgrace, was intimate with him, and pretended to have a kindness for him. Most are swallow-friends that are gone in winter. It is good having God our Friend, for he will not desert us when we are poor.

2. Every one will make court to those whom the world smiles upon, though otherwise unworthy; The rich have many friends, friends to their riches, in hope to get something out of them. There is little friendship in the world but what is governed by sell interest, which is no true friendship at all, nor what a wise man will either value himself on, or put any confidence in. Those that make the world their god, idolize them that have most of its good things, and seek their favour, as if indeed they were Heaven's favourites.

21. He that despiseth his neighbour sin-neth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.

See here how men's character and conditioij are measured and judged of, by their conduct toward their poor neighbours.

1. Those that look upon them with contempt, have here assigned them a bad character, and their condition will be accordingly. He that despises his neighbour because he is low in the world, because lie is of a mean extraction, rustic education, and malies but a mean figure, that thinks it below him to take notice of him, converse with him, or concern himself about him, and sets him with the dogs of

his flock, he is a sinner, is guilty of a sin, is in the way to worse, shall be dealt with as a sinner, unhappy is he.

2. Those that look upon them with compassion are here said to be in a good condition, according to their character. He that has mercy on the poor, is ready to do all the good offices he can to him, and thereby puts an honour upon him, happy is he; he does that which is pleasing to God, which he himself will afterward reflect upon with great satisfaction, for which the loins of the poor will bless him, and which will be abundantly recompensed in the resurrection of the just.

22. Do they not err that devise evil ? but mercy and truth shall he to them that devise good.

See here, 1. How miserably mistaken they are, that not only do evil, but devise it; Do they not err? Yes, certainly they do, every one knows it. They think that by sinning with craft and contrivance, and carrying on their intrigues with more plot and artifice than others, they shall make a better hand of their sins than others do, and come off better; but they are mistaken. God's justice cannot be out witted. They that devise evil against their neighbours greatly err, for it will certainly turn upiin themselves, and end in their own ruin; a fatal error!

2. How wisely they consult their own interest, that not only do good, but devise it; Mercy and truth shall be to them; not a reward of debt, (they will own that they merit nothing,) but a reward of mercy, mere mercy, mercy according to the promise, mercy and truth, to which God is pleased to make himself a Debtor. Those that are so liberal as to devise liberal things, that seek opportunities of doing good, and contrive how to make their charity most extensive, and most acceptable to those that need it, by liberal things they shall stand, Isa. xxxii. 8.

23. In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.

Note, 1. Working without talking, will make men rich; In all labour of the head, or of the hand, there is profit, it will turn to some good account or otlier. Industrious people are generally thriving people, and where there is something done, there IS something to be had. The stirring hand gets a penny. It is good therefore to keep in business, and to keep in action, and what our hand finds to do, to do it with all our might.

2. Talking, without working, will make men poor. Those that love to boast of their business, and make a noise about it, and that waste their time in tittle-tattle, in telling and hearing new things, like the Athenians, and, under the pretence of improving themselves by conversation, neglect the work of their place and day, they waste what they have, and the course they take, tends to penury, and will end in it. It is true in the affairs of cur souls; those that take pains in the service of God, that strive earnestly in prayer, will find profit in it. But if men's religion runs all out in talk and noise, and their praying is only the laliour of the lips, they will be spiritually poor, and come to nothing.

24. The crown of the wise is their riches: hit the foolishness of fools is folly.

Observe, 1. If men be wise and good, riches m;ike them so much the more honourable and useful. The crown of the wise is their riches; their riches make them to be so much the more respected, and give them the more authority and influence upon others. They that have wealth, and wisdom to use it, will have a great opportunity of honouring God

PROVERBS XIV.

and doing good in the world. Wisdom is good without a?i inheritance, but better with it.

2. If men be wicked and corrupt, their wealth will but the more expose them; The foolishness of fools, put them in what condition you will, is folly, and will show itself, and shame them; if they have riches, they do mischief with them, and are the more hardened in their foolish practices.

25. A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.

See here, 1. How much praise is due to a faithful witness; He delivers the souls of the innocent who are falsely accused, and their good names, which are as dear to them as their lives. A man of integrity will venture the displeasure of the greatest, to bring truth to light, and rescue those who are injured by falsehood. . A faithful minister, who truly witnesses for God against sin, is thereby instrumental to deliver souls from eternal death.

2. How little regard is to be had to a false witness; he forges lies, and yet pours them out with the greatest assurance imaginable for the destruction of the innocent. It is therefore the interest of a nation, by all means possible, to detect and punish false witness-bearing, yea, and lying in common conversation; for truth is the cement of society.

26. In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence; and his children sliall have a place of refuge. 27. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

In these two verses, we are invited and encouraged to live in the fear of God, by the advantages which attend a religious life; the fear of the Lord is htre put for all gracious principles, producing gracious practices.

1. Where this reigns it produces a holy security and serenity of mind; there is in it a strong confidence, it enables a man still to hold fast both his purity and his peace, whatever happens, and gives him boldness before God and the world. I know that I shall be justified; A''one of these things move me; such is the language of this confidence.

2. It entails a blessing upon posterity. The children of them that by faith make God their Confidence, shall be encouraged, by the promise that God will be a God to believers, and to their seed, to fly to him as their Refuge, and they shall find shelter in him. The children of religious parents often do the better for their parents instructions and example, and fare the better for their faith and prayers. Our fathers trusted in thee, therefore we will.

3. It is an overflowing, everflowing, spring of comfort and joy; it is afountaiii of life, yielding constant pleasure and satisfaction to the soul; joys that are pure and fresh are life to the soul, and quench .ts thirst, and can never be drawn dry; it is a ivell of living water that is springing up to, and is the earnest of, eternal life.

4. It is a sovereign antidote against sin and temptation. Those that have a true relish of the j)lea-sures of serious gcxUiness, will not be allui-ed by the baits of sin to swallow its hook; they have l>etter things than any it can pretend to offer, and tlure-fore it is easy to them to defxart from the snares of death, and to keep their foot from being t;iken in them.

28. In the multitude of people is the king's honour: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.

Here are two maxims in politics, which cary their own evidence with them.

1. That it is much for the honour of a king to have a populous kingdom; it is a sign that he rules well, since strangers are hereby invited to come and settle under his protection, and his own subjects live comfortably; it is a sign that he and his kingdom are, under the blessing of God, the effect of which is, being fruitful and nmltiplying. It is his strength, and makes him considerable and formidable; happy is the king, the father of his countiy, who has his quiver full of arrows, he shall not be ashamed, but shall sjieak with his enemy in the gate, Ps. cxxvii. 4, 5. It is therefore the wisdom of princes, by a mild and gentle government, by encouraging trade and husbandry, and by making all easy under them, to promote the increase of their people. And let all that wish well to the kingdom of Christ, and to his honour, do what they can in their places, that many be added to his church.

2. That when the people are lessened, the prince is weakened; /// the ivant of fieofile is the leanness of the firince; so some read it; trade lies dead, the ground lies untilled, the army wants to be recruited, the navy to be manned, and all because there are not hands sufficient. See how much the honour and safety of kings depend upon their people, which is a reason why they should rule by love, and not with rigour. Princes are corrected by those judgments which abate the number of the people, as we find, 2 Sam. xxiv. 13.

29. He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.

Note, 1. Meekness is wisdom. He rightly understands himself, and his duty and interest, the infirmities of human nature, and the constitution of human society, who is slow to anger, and knows how to excuse the faults of others as well as his own, how to adjourn his resentments, and moderate them, so as by no provocation to be out of the possession of his own soul. A mild patient man is really to be accounted an intelligent man, one that learns of Clirist, who is Wisdom itself.

2. Unbridled passion is folly proclaimed; He that is hasty of sfiirit, whose heart is tinder to every spark of provocation, that is all fire and tow, as we say, he thinks hereby to magnify himself, and make those about stand in awe of him, whereas really he exalts his own folly, he makes it known, as that which is lifted up is visible to all, and he submits himself to it, as to the government of one that is exalted.

30. A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

The foregoing verses showed how much our rejiu-tation, this, how much our health, depends on the gocdgovernmentof our passions, and the preserving of the temper of the mind.

1. A healing sfiirit, made up of love and meekness, a hearty, friendly, cheerful disposition, is the life of the flesh; it contributes to a good constitution ci body, people grow fat with good humour.

2. A irettul, envious, discontented s])irit, is its own punishment; it consumes the flesh, preys upon the animal spirits, makes the countenance pale, and is the rottenness of the bones; thev that see the prosperity (f others and are grieved, let them gnash with their teeth, and melt away, Ps. cxii. 10.

Riinipalur, quisquis rumpitur invidin— Whoever bursts for envy, let liiin burst.

31. He that oppresseth the poor reproach

PROVERBS XV.

70?

pth his Maker: but he that honourelh hhii hath mercy on the poor.

Gcd is here pleased to interest himself more than one W(,uld imagine in the treatment of the poor.

1. He reckons himself affronted in tlie injuries th.-.t are done them. Whosoever he be that wrongs a pool- man, taking advantage against him, because he is poor and cannot help himself, let him know th it he puts an affront upon his Maker. God nr ide him, and gave him his being, the s-;me that is the Auc lor ot our being, we have all one Father, one iVLtker; see how Job considered this. Job xxxi. 15. (i. d made him poor, and appointed him his lot, so th it if we deal hardly with any because they are poor, we reflect upon God as dealing hardly with th.ni, in laying them low, that they might be tram-pLd upon.

2. He reckons himself honoured in the kindnesses that are done them; he takes them as done to himself, and will show himself accordingly pleased with them; I was hungry, andye gave me meat. Those theixfore that have any true honour for God, will show it by compassion to the poor, whom he has uiidertaken in a special manner to protect and patronise.

32. The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in hjs death.

Here is, 1. The desperate condition of a wicked mm when he goes out of the world; he is driveii away in his wickedness; he cleaves so close to the wcrld, thiit he cannot find in his heart to leave it, but is driven away out of it; his soul is required, is forced from him, and sin cleaves so close to him, that it is inseparable, it goes with him into another world; he is driveji away in his wickedness, dies in his sins, under the guilt and power of them, unjustified, unsanctified; his wickedness is the stcrm in which he is hurried away, as chafl' before the wind, chased cut of the world.

2. The comfortable condition of a godly man when he finishes his course; He has hope in his death, of a happiness on the other side death, of better things in another world than ever he had in this. They have the grace of hope in them, thLugli they ha\e pain, and some dread of death; they have bef(<re them the good hoped for, e\en the blessed hope, which God, who cannot lie, has promised.

33. Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understancUng: but thai irhic/i is in tlie midst of fools is made known.

Observe, 1. Modesty is the badge of wisdom. He that is truly wise hides his treasure, so as net to boast of it, (Matth. xiii. 44.) though he does not hide his talent, so as not to trade with it. His wisdom 7-ests m his heart, he digests what he knows, and has it ready to him, iDut does not unseasonably talk of it, and make a noise with it. The heart is the seat of the affections, and thei'e wisdom must rest in the practical love of it, and not swim in the head.

2. Openness and ostentation are a mark of folly. If fools have a little smattering of knowledge, they take all occasions, though very foreigm, to produce it, and bring it in by head and shoulders. Or, the filly that is in the midst of fools is made known by then- f rwardness to talk. Many a foolish man takes more pains to show his folly than a wise man thinks it worth his while to take to show his wisdom.

34. Righteousness exaltetli a nation: but

sin is a reproach to any people.

Note, 1. Justice, reigning in a nation, puts an ho-nour upon it; A inghteotis administration of the gov-

ernment, impartial cquitv between man and man, public countenance gi\eh to religion, the general practice and profession of virtue, the protecting and preserving of virtuous men, charity and compassion to strangers, (alms are sometimes called ris^hteoiis-

a holy nation. Dent. xxvi. 19.

2. Vice, reigning in a nation, puts disgrace upon it; Sin is a reproach to any city or kingdom, and I'enders them despicable among their neighbours. The people of Israel were often instances of both parts of this observation; they were great when they were good, but when they forsook God, all about them insulted them, and trampled on tliem. It is therefore the interest and duty of princes to use their jjower for the suppression of vice and support of virtue.

35. The king's favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.

This shows, that, in a well-ordered court and government, smiles and favours are dispensed among those that are employed in public trusts, according to their merits; Solomon lets them know he will go by that itde;

1. That those who behave themselves wisely shall be respected and preferred, whatever enemies they may have, that seek to undermine them. No man's services shall be neglected to please a party or a favourite.

2. That those who are selfish and false, who betray their country, opjjress the poor, and sow discord, and thus cause shame, they shall be displaced, and banished the court, whatever friends thev may make to speak for them.

CHAP. XV.. 1. A SOFT answer turneth away wrath: ±\- but grievous words stir up anger.

Solomon, as conservator of the public peace, here tells us, 1. How the peace may be kept, that we may know how in our places to keep it; it is by "oft words. If wrath be risen like a threatening cloud, pregnant with storms and thunder, a soft answer will dispei'se it and turn it away. When men are provoked, speak gently to them, and give them good words, and they will be pacified; as the Ephraim-ites were by Gideon's mildness, (Judg. viii. 1..3.) whereas, upon a like occasion, by Jephthah's roughness, they were exasperated, and the consequences were bad, Judg. xii. 1. . 3. Reason will be better spoken, and a I'ighteous cause better pleaded, with meekness than with passion; hard arguments do best with soft words.

2. How the peace will be broken, that we, for our parts, may do nothing toward the breaking of it. Nothing stirs up an^er and sows discord, like griev-ons words, calhng toul names, as Raca, and Thou fool, upbraiding men with their infirmities and infelicities, their extraction or education, or any thing that lessens them, and makes them mean; scornful, spiteful, reflections, by which men affect to show their wit and malice, and stir up the anger of others, which does but increase and inflame their own anger. Rather than lose a jest, some will lose a friend and make an enemy.

2. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

Note, 1. A good heart, by the tongue, becomes very useful. He that has knowledge is not only to

'/02

PROVERBS, XV.

enj( y it for his own entertainment, but to use it, to Ubu it aright, for the edification ot" others; and it is the tongUL' that must make use of it in pious, profitable discourse, in giving suitable and seasonable instructions, counsels, and comforts, with all possible expressions of humility and love, and then knowledge is used aright; and to him that has, and thus uses what he has, more shall be gi\ en.

2. A \vicked heart, by the tongue, becomes very hurtful; for the mouth oj fools /lours out foolishness, which is very offensive; and the con-upi comnmni-cation which proceeds froni an evil treasure within, (the filthiness, and foolish talking, and jesting,) cor-mpts the good manners of some, and debauches them, and grieves the good hearts of others, and disturbs them.

3. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

The great truths of divinity are of great use to enforce the precepts of morality, and none more than this—That the eye of God is always upon the children of men.

1. An eye to discern all; not only from which nothing can be concealed, but by which every thing is actually inspected, and nothing ovei'looked, or looked slightly upon; The eyes of the Lord are in exiery filace; tor he not only sees all from on higli, (Ps. xxxiii. 13.) but he is every where present. Angels are full of eyes, (Rev. iv. 8.) but God is all eye. It denotes not only his omniscience, that lie sees all, but his universal providence, that he upholds and govei-ns all. Secret sins, services, and sorrows, are under his eye.

2. An eye to distinguish both persons and actions; he beholds the evil and the good: is displeased with the evil, and approves of the good, and will judge men according to the sight of his eyes, Ps. i. 6.— xi. 4. The wicked shall not go unpunished, nor the righteous unr.ewarded, for God has his eye upon both, and knows their true character; this speaks as much comfort to saints as terror to sinners.

4. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

Note, 1. A good tongue is healing; healing to wounded consciences, by comforting them; to sin-sick souls, by convincing them; to peace and love when it is broken, by accommodating differences, compromising matters in variance, and reconciling parties at variance; this is the healing of the tongue, which is a tree of life, the leaves of which have a sanative virtue. Rev. xxii. 2. He that knows how to discourse, will make the place he lives in a paradise.

2. An evil tongue is wounding; (fierverseness, passion, falsehood, and filthiness there, are a breach in the spirit;) it wounds the conscience of the evil speaker, and occasions either guilt or grief to the hearers, and both are to be reckoned breaches in the sfiirit. Hard words indeed break no bones, but many a heart has been broken by them.

5. A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.

Hence, 1. Let supeiiors be admonished to give instruction and n. jn-oof to those that are imder their charge, asthev will answer it in the day of account. They must not only instruct with the light of knowledge, but reprove with the heat of zeal; and both these must be done with the authority and affection </f a father, and musl be continued, though the desired effect be not ininediately perceived. If the instruction be despised, give rejjroof, and rebuke 'ir.uply. It is indeed against the grain with good-

humoured men to find fault, and make those about them un-^asy; but better so, than to suffer them to go on undisturbed in the way to ruin.

2. Let inferiors be admonished, not only to sub mit to instruction and reproof, (even hardships niusc be submitted to,) but to value thtm as favours, and not despise them; to make use of them f^r ihtir conduct, and always to have a regard to them; tuis will be an evidence that they are wise, and a means of making them so; whereas he that slights liis good education is a fool, and is likely to live and die one.

6. In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.

Note, 1. Where righteousness is, riches are, and the comforts of them; In the house of the righteous IS much treasure. Religion teaches men to be diligent, temperate, and just, and by these means, or-dinainly, the estate is increased; but that is not all, God blesses the habitation of the just, and that blessing makes rich without trouble. Or, if tliere be not much of this world's goods, yet, where there is grace, there is true treasure; and those who have but little, if they have a heart to be therewith con tent, and to enjoy the comfort of that little, it is enough; it is all riches. The righteous, perhaps, are not themselves enriched, but there is treasure in their house, a blessing in store, which their children after them may reap the benefit of. A wicked worldly man is only for having his belly filled with those treasures, his own sensual appetite gratified; (Ps. xvii. 14.) but a righteous man's fii-st care is for his soul, and then for his seed; to have treasure in his heart, and then in his house, which his relations and those about him may have the benefit of.

2. Where wickedness is, though there may be riches, yet there is vexation of spirit with them; In the revenues of the wicked, the great incomes they have, there is trouble; for there is guilt and a curse; there is pride and passion, and envy and contention; and those are troublesome lusts, which rob them of the joy of their revenues, and make them troublesome to their neighbours.

7. The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.

This is to the same puri)ort with v. 2. and shows what a blessing a wise man is, and what a burthen a fool is, to those about him. Only here observe further,

1. That we then use knowledge aright when we disperse it; not confine it to a few of our intimates, and grudge it to others who would make as good use of it, Ijut give a portion of this spiritual alms to seven, and also to eight; not only be communicative, but diffusive, of this good, with humility and prudence. We must take pains to spread and propagate useful knowledge; must teach some, that they may teach others; and so it is dispersed.

2'. That it is not only a fault to fiour out foolishness, but it is a shame not to disperse knowledge, not to drop some wise word or other; The heart of the foolish doeth not so; it has nothing to disperse that is good; or, if it had, has neither skill nor will to do good with it, and therefore is little worth.

8. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

Note, 1. (iod so hates wicked people, whose hearts are malicious, and their lives mischievous, that even their sacrifices are an abomination to him. God has sacrifices brought him CAen by wicked men, to stop

PROVERBS, XV.

703

the niouth of conscience, and to keep up their reputation in the world; as malefactors come to a sanc-cuary, not because it is a holy place, but because it shelters them from justice: but their sacrifices, tnough ever so costly, are not accepted of God, because not offered in sincerity, nor from a good principle; they dissemble with God, and in their conversations give the lie to their devotions, and, for that I'eason, they are an abomination to him, because they are made a cloak for sin, ch. vii. 14. See Isa. i. 11.

2. God has such a love for upright good people, that, though they are not at the expense of a sacrifice, (lie himself has provided that,) \S\€\v firayer is a delight to him. Praying graces are his own gift, and the work of his own Spirit in them, with which he is well pleased. He not only answers their prayers, but delights in their addresses to him, and in doing them good.

9. The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord: but he loveth him tliat followeth after righteousness.

This is a reason of what was said in the foregoing verse. 1. 7''he sacrijices of the wicked are an abomination to God; not for want of some nice points of ceremony, but because their way, the whole course and tenour of their conversations, is wicked, and consequently an abomination to him. Sacrifices for sin were not accepted of those that resolved to go on in sin; and were to the highest degree abominable, if intended to obtain a connivance at sin, and a permission to go on in it.

2. Therefore the prayer of the upright is his delight, because he is a friend of God, and he loves him who, though he have not yet attained, is following after, righteousness, aiming at it, and pressing towards it, as St. Paul, Phil. iii. 13.

10. Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: a7id lie that hateth reproof shall die.

This shows, that those who cannot bear to be corrected, must expect to be destroyed.

1. It is common for those who have known the way of righteousness, but have forsaken it, to reckon it a great affront to be reproved and admonished; they are very uneasy at it, they cannot, they will not, bear it; nay, because they hate to be reformed, they hate to be reproved, and hate those who deal faithfully and kindly with them. Of all sinners, reproofs are worst resented by apostates.

2. It is certain that those who will not be reproved will be mined; He thai hates reproof, and hai-dens his heart against it, is joined to his idols, let him alone; he shall die, and perish for ever, in his sins, since he would not be parted from his sins; (2 Chron. XXV. 16.) I know that God has determined to destroy thee, because thou couldest not bear to be reproved; see also ch. xxix. 1.

11. Hell and destruction are before the Lord; how much more then the hearts of the children of men?

This confirms what was said (v. 3.) concerning God's omniscience, in order to his judging of evil and good.

1. God knows all things, even those things that are liid from the eyes of all living; Hell and destruction are before the Lord; not only the centre of the earth, and its subterraneous caverns, but the irrave, and all the dead bodies which are there buried out of cur sight, they are all before (he Lord, all under his eye, so that none of them-can be lost, in" be to seek when they are to be raised again. He

knows where every man lies buried, even Moses, even those that are buried in the greatest obscurity, nor needs he any monument with a Hie jacet — Here he lies,-to direct him. The place of the damned in particular, and all their torments, which are inexpressible, the state of separate souls in general, and all their cii'cumstances, ai-e under God's eye. The word here used for destruction is .Abaddon, which is one of the devil's names. Rev. ix. 11. That destroyer, though he deceive us, cannot evade or elude the divine cognizance. God examines him whence he_ comes, (Job i. 7.) and sees thn ugh all his disguises, though he is sly, and subtle, and swift. Job xxvi. 6.

2. He knows particularly the hearts of the chil-dre?i of men. If he sees through the depths and wiles of Satan himself, much ?nore can lie search men's hearts, though they be deceitful, since they learned all their fraudulent arts of Satan. God is greater tha?: our hearts, and knows them better than we know ourselves, and therefore is an infallible Judge of every man's character, Heb. iv. 13.

12. A scorner loveth not one that reprov-eth him; neither will he go unto the wise.

A scorner is one that not only makes a jest of God and religion, but bids defiance to the methods of his conviction and reformation; and, as an evidence of that,

1. He cannot endure the checks of his own conscience, nor will he suffer it to deal plainly with him; He loves not to reprove him; so sc me read it. He cannot endure to retire into his own heart, and commune seriously with that; will not admit of any frte thought or fair reasoning with himself, nor let his own heart smite him, if he can help it. That man's case is sad who is afraid of being acquainted, and of arguing, with himself.

2. He cannot endure the advice and admonitions of his friends; He will not go unto the wise, lest they should give him wise counsel. We ought not only to bid the wise welcome when they come to us, but to go to them, as beggars to the rich man's dooi for an alms; but this the scorner will not do, for fear of being told of his faults, and prevailed with to reform.

13. A merry heart maketh a cheerfu" countenance: but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken.

Here, 1. Harmless mirth is recommended to us, as that which contributes to the health of the body, making men lively, and fit for business, and to the acceptableness of the conversation, mnking the face to shine, and rendering us pleasant to one another. A cheerful spirit, under the government of wisdom and grace, is a great ornament to religion, puts a further lustre upon the beauty of holiness, and makes men the more capable of doing good.

2. Hurtful melancholy is what we are cnutioned against, as a great enemy to us, both in our devotion and in our conversation; By sorrow of the heart. when it has got dominion, and plays the tyrant, as it will be apt to do, if it be indulged awhile, the spirit is brokm and sunk, and becomes unfit for the service of God. The sorrow of the world works death. Let us therefore weep as though we wept not, in justice to ourselves, as well as in conformity to God and his providence.

14. The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: hut the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.

Here are two things to be wondered at, 1. A wise man not satisfied with his wisdom, but still seeking the increase of it; the more he has, the

PROVERBS, XV

more he would have; The heart of him that has understanding rejoices so in the knowledge it has attained to, that it is still coveting mere; and in the use of the means of knowledge is still labouring for more; growing in grace, and in the kumvledgc of Christ. Si dixisti, Snjfficit, periisti — If you say, I have enough, you are undone.

2. A fool well satisfied with his folly, and not seeking the cure of it. While a good man hungers after the solid satisfactions of grace, a carnal mind feasts on the gratifications of ajjpetite and fancy. Vain mirth and sensual pleasures are its delight, and with these it can rest contented, flattering itself in these foolish ways.

15. All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.

See here what a great difference there is between the condition and temper of some and others of the children of men.

1. Some are much in affliction, and of a sorrowful

Sirit, and all their days are evil days, like those of i age, and days of which they say they have no pleasure in thetyi. They eat in darkness, (Eccl. v. ir.) and never eat with pleasure, Job xxi. 25. How many are the afflictions of the afflicted in this world! Such are not to be censured or despised, but pitied and prayed for, succoured and comforted. It might have been our own lot, or may be yet, merry as we are at present.

2. Otlicrs enjoy great prosperity, and are of a cheerful spirit; and they have not only good days, but have a contiriual feast; and if, in the abundance of all things, they serve God with gladness of heart, and it is oil to the wheels of their obedience, (all this, and heaven too,) then they serve a good Master. But let not such feast without fear, a sudden change may come; therefore rejoice with trembling.

16. Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith. 17. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.

Solomon had said in the foregoing verse, that he who has not a large estate, nor a great income, but a cheerful spirit, has a contiriual feast; Christian contentment, and joy in God, make the life easy and pleasant; now here he tells us what that is which is necessary to that cheerfulness of spirit, which will fiimish a man with a continual feast, though he has but little in the world; holiness and love.

1. Holiness; A little, if we manage it, and enjoy it, in the fear of the Lord, if we keep a good conscience, and go on in the way of duty, and serve God faithfully with the little we have, will be more comfortable, and turn to a better account, tha?i

freat treasure, and trouble therewith. Observe ere, (1.) It is often the lot of those that fear God to have but a little of this world; the poor receive the gospel, and poor they still are. Jam. ii. 5. (2.) Those that have great treasni-e have often trouble therewith: it is so far from making them easy, that it inci'eascs their care and huny. The abundance of the rich will not suffer them to sleep. (3.) If great treiisure bring trouble with it, it is for want of the fear of God. If those that have great estates would do their duty witli them, and then trust God with them, their treasure would not have so nnich trouble attending it. (4.) It is therefore far better, and more desiral)le, to have but little of the world, and to have it with a good conscience; to keep up communion with God, and enjoy him in it, and live b^ faith, than to have the greatest plenty, and live without (jod in the world.

2. Love; next to the fear of God, peace with all men is necessary to the ccmfr.rt of this life. (1. J If brethren dwell together in unity, if thev are friendly, and hearty, and pleasant, both in their daily meals and in more solemn entcrtaiimients, that will make a dinner of herbs a feast sufficient; though the fare be coarse, and the estate so small, that they can afford no better, yet love will sweeten it, and they may be as merry ever it as if thev had all dainties. (2.) If there be mutu;\l enmity and strife, though there be a whde (xf r dinner, a fat ox, there can be no comfr;it in it; thele:ivcn of malice, of hating and being hated, is enough to s( ur it all. Some refer it to him that makes tlie entertainment; better have a slender dinner, and be heartily welcome, than a table richly spread with a grudging evil eye.

Cum lorvo vnltu miJii cnenula nulla placebit, Cum pliicido vullu co'nula Ulla placet. The most sumpluous enlertainment, presented with a sullen brow, would offend me ; while the plainest repast, presented kindly, would delight me.

18. A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife

Here is, 1. Passion the great makebate; thence come wars and fightings; anger stinkes the fir? which sets cities and churches into a flame; A wrathful man, with his peevish passion te reflections, stirs up strife, and sets people togtthtr by the ears; he gives occasion to others to c,uarrcl, and takes the occasion that ethers give, though ever so trifling. When men carry their resentments toe far, one quarrel still products rncther.

2. Meekness the great perce-mi'ker; He that is slow to anger, not onlv prevents strife, that it be not kindled, but appeases it, if it be already kindled, brings water to the flame, unites these again that were fallen out, and by gentle methods brings them to mutual concessions, for pence sake.

19. The way of the slothful mail is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righte ous is made plain.

See here, 1. Whence those difficulties arise, which men pretend to meet with in the way cf their duty, and to be insuperable; they arise, not from any thing in the nature of tlie duty, but from the sloth-fulness of those tlu.t have really no mind to it. Those that have no heart to their wcrk, pretend that their way is hedged up with thorns, and they cannot do their work at all; as if God were a hard Master, reaping where he had not sown; at least, that their way is strewed with thorns, that they cannot do their work without a grc;it deal cf hardship and danger; and therefore they go about it with as much reluctance as if they were to go barefoot through a thorny hedge.

2. How these imaginary difficulties may be conquered; an honest desire and endeavour to do cur duty, will, by tlie grace of God, make it easy, and we shall find it strewed with roses; The way of tht righteous is made plain; it is easy to be trodden, and not rough; easy to be hit, and not intricate.

20. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.

Observe here, 1. To the praise of gocxl cliildrcn, that they are the joy of their parents, who ought tc have joy of them, having taken so much care and ])ains about them. And it adds much to the satisfaction of those that are good, if they have reason tt think that they have been a comfort to their parents in their declining years, when evil days come.

2. To the shame of wicked children, that, b? their wickedness, they put contempt upon their parents, slight their authority, and make an ill re

PROVERBS, XV.

70i

quiltal for their kindness; A foolish son des/iises his viother, that, had most sorrow with him, and perhaps liad too much indulged him, wliich makes his sin, in despising lier, the moi-e sinful, and her sorrow the more sorrowful.

21. Folly ?s joy to him that is destitute of wisdom : but a man of understanding walk-eth uprightly.

Note, 1. It is the character of a wicked man, that he takes pleasure in sin; he has an appetite to the bait, and swallows it greedily, and has no dread of the liook, nor feels from it when he has swallowed it; J^'olty is Joy to him, the folly of others is so, and his own much more; he sins, not only without regret, but with delight; not only repents not of it, but makes his boast of it: this is a certain sign of one that is graceless.

2. It is the character of a wise and good man, that he makes conscience of his duty. A fool lives at large, walks at all adventures, by no inile, acts with no sincerity or steadiness; but a man of understanding, the eyes of whose understanding are enlightened by the Spirit, (and those that ha\'e not a good understanding, ha\e no understanding,) he walks ufiright-ly, lives a sober, orderly, regular life, and studies in every thing to conform himself to the will of God; and this is a constant pleasure andyoy to him. But what foolishness remains in him, or ]orocecds from him, at any time, it is a grief to him, and he is ashamed of It. By these characters we may try ourselves.

22. Without counsel purposes are disappointed : but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

See here, 1. Of what ill consequence it is to be

Rrecipitate and rash, and'to act without advice; len's Jmr/ioses are disa/i/iointed, their measures broken, and they come short of their point, gain not tlieir end, because they would not ask counsel aliout the way. If men will not take time and pains to deliberate with themselves, or are so conhdent of iheir own judgment, that they scorn to consult with others, they are not likely to bring any thing considerable to pass; circumstances defeat them, which, with a little consultation, might have been foreseen and obviated. It is a good rule, both in pul)lic and domestic affairs, to do nothing I'ashly, and of o,nc's own head. Plusvident oculi qiiani oculiis — Many eyes see more than one. Tliat often proves best which was least our own doing.

2. How much it will be for our advantage to ask the advice of our friends; In the multitude of counsellors, (provided they lie discreet and honest, and will not give counsel with a spirit of contradiction,) fiurfioses are established. Solomon's son made no use of this proverb, when he acquiesced not in the counsel of the old men, but, because he would have a multitude of counsellors, regarding number more than weight, advised with the joung men.

23. A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!

Note, 1. Then we speak wisely, when we speak seasonably; The answer of the moutli will then be our credit and joy, when it is pertinent, and to the purjjose, and is sjioken in due season, when it is needed, and will be regarded, and, as we say, hits the joint. Many a good word comes short of doing the good it might have done, for want of being well-timed. Nor is any thing more the beauty of discourse than to have a proper answer ready ofF-.land, just when there is occasion for it, and it comes 'n well.

Vol. III.—4 U

2. If wc speak wisel\- and well, it will redound to our own comfort, and to the advantage of others; Jl man has joy by the answer of his mouth; he may take a pleasure, l)ut nray by iio means take a pride, in ha\ ing spoken so acceptably and well, that the hearers admire liim, and say, ^'^How good is it, and how much good does it do!"

24. The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.

The way of Avisdom and holiness is here recommended to us,

1. As very safe and comfortable; It is the way of life, the way that leads to eternal life, in which we shall find the joy and satisfaction which will be the life of the soul, and at the end of which we shall find the pei'fection of blessedness; be wise and live. It is the way to escajje that misery which we cannot but see ourselves exposed to, and in danger of. It is to defiart from liell beiieath, from the snares of hell, the tem])tations of Satan, and all his wiles; from the pains of hell, that everlasting destniction which our sins ha\e deserved.

2. As ver)' sul:)lime and honourable; it is above. A good man sets his ajf'cctiojis on things above, and deals in tliose tilings; his conversation is in heaven, his way leads directly tliithcr; there his treasure is, above, out of the reach of enemies, above the' clianges of this lower world. A good man is ti-uly noljle and great, his desires and designs are high, and he lives above tlie common rate of other men. It is above the capacity, and out of the sight, of foolish men.

25. The Lord will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.

Note, 1. Those that are elevated, (iod delights to a1)ase, and commonly does it in the course of his providence; The proud, that magnify themselves, liid defiance to the (iod al)ove them, and tram])le on all about them, they are such as (iod resists, and will destroy; not them only, but their houses, wliicii tliey are ])roud of, and are confident of tlie continuance and peipetuity of. Pride is the iTiin of multitudes.

2. Those that are dejected, (iod delights to support, and often does it remarkably; He will establish the border of the poor widow, which jiroud injurious men l)rcak in upon, and which the jioor widow is not herself able to defend and make good. It is the honour of (iod to protect the weak, and appear for those that are oppressed.

26. The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord : but the words of the pure are pleasant words.

The former part of this verse speaks of thoughts, the latter t^f words, but they come all to one; for thoughts are words to (iod, and words are judged of by the tlioughts fi-om which they proceed; so that,

1.' The thoughts and words of the wicked, whicli are, like themselves, wicked, Avhich aim at mischief, and have some ill tendency or other, they arc an abomination to the Lord, he is displeased at them, and will reckon for them. The thoughts of wicked men, for the most part, are such as (iod hates, and are an offence to him, who not only knows tlie heart, and all that passes and rejiasses there, but requires the innermost and uppermost place in it.

2. The thoughts and words of the fiure, Ijcing pure like themselves, clean, honest, and sincere, are jdeasant words, and pleasant tlioughts, well-pleasing to the holy (iod, who delights in purity.

PROVERBS, Xv.

It may be understood, both of their devotions to God, (the words of their mouth, the meditatums of ' their heart, in prayer and praise, are acceptable to God, Ps. xix. 14.—Ixix. 13.) and of their discourses with men, tending to edification. Both arc then pleasant, when they come from a pure, a purified, heart.

27. He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.

Note, 1. Those that are covetous entail trouble upon their famihes; He that is greedy of gai?!, and therefore makes himself a slave to the world, rises up early, sits up late, and cats the bread of carefulness, in pursuit of it; he that hurries, and puts himself and all abovit him upon the stretch, in business, frets and vexes at every loss and disappointment, and quarrels with every body that stands in the way of his profit, he troubles his own house, is a burthen and vexation to his children and servants. He that, in his greediness of gain, takes bribes, and uses unlawful ways of getting money, leaves a curse, with what he gets, to those that come after him, which, sooner or later, will bring trouble into the house, Hab. ii. 9, 10.

2. Those that are generous as well as righteous entail a blessing upon their families; He that hates gifts, that shakes his hands from holding the bribes that are thrust into his hand to pervert justice, and abhors all sinful indirect ways of getting money, that hates to be paltry and mercenary, and is willing, if there be occasion, to do good gratis, he shall live, he shall have the comfort of it, shall live in prosperity and reputation, his name and family shall live and continue.

28. The heart of the righteous studieth to answer; but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.

Here is, 1. A good man proved to be a wise man, by this, that he governs his tongue well; he tliat does so, the same is a fierfect man. Jam. iii. 2. It is part of the character of a righteous man, that, being convinced of the account he must give of liis words, and of the good and bad influence of them upon others, he makes conscience of speaking truly, (it is his heart that answers, he speaks as he thinks, and dares not do otherwise, he sfieaks the truth in his heart, Ps. xv. 2.) and of speaking pertinently and profitably, and therefore he studies to answer, that his speech may be with grace, Neh. ii. 4.—v. 7.

2. A wicked man is proved to be a fool, by this, that he never heeds what he says, but his mouth fioura out evil things, to the dishonour of Ciod and religion, his own reproach, and the hurt cf others. Doubtless that is an evil heart which thus overflows with evil.

29. The Lord is far from the wicked; but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

Note, 1. God sets himself at a distance from those that set him at defiance; The wicked say to the Almighty, Defiart from us, and he is, accordingly, far from them; he docs not manifest himself to them, has no communion with them, will not hear them, will not help them, no not in time of their need. They shall be for ever banished from his presence, and he will behold them afar oft". Defiart from me, ye cursed.

2. He will draw nigh ti those in a way of mercy who draw ni"ch ti him in a way of duty; He hears the firauer offhe ri^h^eojis, accepts it, is well-])leas-cd with it, and will grant an answer of peace to it. It is the firayer of a righteous man that avails much,

Jam. v. 16. He is nigh to them, a present Help ?'» all that they call tifion him for.

30. The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart; and a good report maketh the bones fat.

Two things are here pronounced pleasant.

1. It is pleasant to have a good prospect, to see the light of tlie sun, (Eccl. xi. 7.) and by it to see the wonderful works of God, with which this lower world is beautified and enriched; those that want the mercy, know how to value it; how would the light of the eyes rejoice their hearts! I'he consideration ot this should make us thankful for our eyesight.

2. It is more pleasant to have a good name, a name for good things with God and good people; this is as precious ointment, (Eccl. vii. 1.) it makes the bones fat, it gives a secret pleasure, and that which is strengthening. It is also very comfortable to hear (as some understand it) a good report concerning others; a good man has no greater joy than to he .r that his friends walk in the truth.

31. The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.

Note, 1. It is the character of a wise man, that he is very willing to be reproved, and therefore chooses to converse with those that, both by their words and examples, will show him what is amiss in him; The ear that can take the reproof, will love the reprover. Faithful friendly reproofs are here called the reproofs of life, not only because they are to be given in a lively manner, and with a prudent zeal, (and we must reprove by our lives as well as by our doctrine, but because, where they are well taken, they are means of spiritual life, and lead to eternal life; and (as some think) to distin^ish them from rebukes and reproaches for well-domg, which are rather reproofs of death, which we must not regard, or be mfluenced by.

2. Those that are so wise as to bear reproof well, will liereby be made wiser, {ch. ix. 9.) and come at length to be numbered among the wise men of the age, and will have both ability and authority to reprove and instruct others. They that leani well, and obey well, are likely in time to teach well, and rule well.

32. He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.

See here, 1. The folly of those that will net be taught, that refuse instruction, that will not heed it, but turn their backs upon it, or will not hear it, but turn their hearts against it. They refuse correction; margin, they will not take it, no not from God himself, but kick against the pricks. They that do so despise their own souls, they show that they have 9., low and mean opinion of them, and are in little care and concern about them, considered as rational and immortal, instiiiction being designed to cultivate reason, and prepare for the immortal state. The fundamental error of sinners, is, undervaluing their own souls, therefore they neglect to pro\ide for them, abuse them, expose them, prefer the body before the soul, and wrong the soul to please the btxly.

2. The wisdom of those that are willing, not only to be taught, but to be reproved; He that hears re. proof, and amends the faults he is reproved for, gets understanding, by which his soul is secured from bad ways, and directed in good wavs, and thereby he both evidences the value he has for his own soul, and puts ti-ue hr-no\ir ui)rn it.

PROVERBS, XVI.

707

33. TPie fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.

^ See here, how much it is our interest, as well as duty,

1. To submit to our God, and keep up a reverence for him; The fear of the Lord, as it is the begiiming of wisdom, so" it is the instruction and correction ui wisdom; the principles (f ri.ligion, closely adhered to, will improve our knowledge, rectity our mistakes, and be tlie best and surest guide of our way. An awe of God upon our spirits will put us upon the ■wisest counsels, and chastise us when we say or do unwisely.

2. To stoop to our brethren, and keep up a respect for them. Where there is humility, there is a happy presage of honour, and preparative for it. Those that humble themselves shall be exalted here and hereafter.

CHAP. XVI. 1. rj^HE preparations of the lieart in man, X- and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.

As we read this, it teaches us a great truth, that we are not sufficient of ourselves to think or sfieak any thing, of ourselves, that is wise and good, but that all our sufficiency is of God, who is with the heart and with the mouth, and works in us doth to will and to do, Phil. ii. 13. Ps. x. 17. But most read it otherwise; The firefiaration of the heart is m man, he may contrive and design this and the other; but the answer of the tongue, not only the delivering of what he designed to speak, but the issue and success of what he designed to do, is of the Lord. That is, in short,

1. Man fiurfioses; he has a freedom of thought, and a freedom of will, permitted him; let him form his projects, and lay his schemes, as he thinks best: but, after all,

2. God disfioses; man cannot go on with his business without the assistance and blessing of God, who made man's mouth, and teaches us what we shall say. Nay, God easily can, and often does, cross men's purposes, and break their measures. It was a curse that was prepared in Balaam's heart, but the answer of the tongue was a blessing.

2. All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.

Note, 1. We are all apt to be partial in judging of ourselves; All the ways of a man, all his designs, all his doings, are clean in his own eyes, and he sees nothing amiss in them, nothing for which to condemn himself, or which should make his projects prove otherwise than well; and therefore he is confident of success, and that the answer of the tongue shall be according to the expectations of the heart; but there is a great deal of pollution cleaving to our ways, which we are not aware of, or do not think so ill of as we ought.

2. The judgment of God concerning us, we are sure, is according to tinith; He weighs the s/ujits in a just and unerring balance, knows what is in us, and passes a judgment upon us accordingly, writing Tekel upon that which pissed our scale with approbation, weighed in the balance, and found wanting; and bv his judgment we must stand or fall. He not only sees men's ways, but tries their spirits, and we are as our spirits are.

3. Commit thy works unto the Lord, and

tliy thoughts shall be established.

Note, 1. It is a very desirable thing to have our thoughts established, and not tossed, and put into a

hurry, by disquieting cares and fears; to go on in an even steady course of honesty and piety, not disturbed, or put out of frame, Ijy any event or change; to be satisfied that all sliall work for good, and issue well at last, and therefore to be always easy and sedate.

2. The only way to havg our thoughts established, is, to cominit our works to the Lord. The great concerns of our souls must be committed to the grace of God, with a dependence upon, and submission to, the conduct of tliat grace; (2 Tim. i. 12.) all our outward concerns must be ctmmittLd to the providence of God, and to the so\ ereign, wise, and gracious, disposal of that providence; Roll thy works ujion the Lord, so the word is, re 11 the bui'then of thy care from tliyself upon God; lay the matter before him by prajer, make knoivn tlnj works unto the Lord, so some read it; wvX only the works of thy hand, but the workings of thy heart; and then leave it with him, b}' faith and dependence upon him, submission and resignation to him; the will of the Lord be done. We may theyi be easy, when we resolve, that whatever pleases God shall please us.

4. The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Note, 1. That God is the first Cause, he is the Former of all things and all persons, the Fountain of being; he gave every creature the being it has, and appointed it its place. Even the wicked are his creatures, though they are rebels; he gave them those powers with which they fight against hins, which aggravates their wickedness, that they will not let him that made them inile them, and therefore, though he made them, he will not save them.

2. That God is the last End. All is of him and frojn him, and therefore all is to him and for him. He made all according to his will, and for his praise; he designed to serve his own purposes by all his creatures, and he will not fail of his design: all are his servants. The wicked he is not glorified by, but he will be glorified upon. He makes no man wicked, but he made those who he foresaw wndd be wicked, yet he made them, (Gen. vi. 6.) because he knew how to get him honour upon them. See Rom. ix. 22. Or, as some understand it, he made the wicked to be employed by him as the instruments of his wrath in the day of evil, when he brings judgments on the world, fte makes some use even cf wicked men, as of other things, to be his sword, his hnnd, (Ps. xvii. 13, 14.) flagellum Dei — the scourge of God. The king of Babylon is called his servant.

5. Ever)' one tlint is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand_/om in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

Note, 1. The pride of sinners sets God against them. He that, being high in estate, is proud in heart, whose spirit is elevated with his condition, so that he becomes insolent in his conduct toward God and man, let him know, that though he admires himself, and others caress him, yet he is an abomination to the Lord; the great God despises him, the holy God detests him.

2. The power of sinners cannot secure them against God, though they strengthen themselves w-ith both hands; though they may strengthen one another with their confederacies and combinations, joining finxcs against God, they shall not escape his righteous judgment; wo unto him that strives with his Maker, ch. xi. 21. Isa. xlv. 9.

6. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged : and by the fear of the Lord me?i depart from evil.

/03

PROVERBS, XVI.

Sec here, 1. How the guilt of sin is taken away From us; by the mercy and truth of God, mercy in [jromising, "truth in performing; the mercy and truth which kiss each other in Jesus Christ the Mediator; tjy the covenant of grace, in which mercy and truth shine so bright; by our mercy and truth, as the condition of the pardon, and a necessary quahfication for it: by these, and not by the legal sacrifices, Mic. vi. 7, 8.

2. How the power of sin is broken in us; by the principles of jnercy and truth commanding in us, tlie corrupt inclinations are purged out; so we may take the former part: however, by the fear of the L-ord, and the influence of that fear, me7i depart from ex'il; they will not dare to sin against God, who keep up in their minds a holy dread and reverence c f him.

7. When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Note, 1. God can turn foes into friends, when he pleases; he that has all hearts in his hand has access to men's spirits, and power over them, working insensibly, but irresistibly, upon them, can make a man^s enemies to be at peace with him, change their minds, or force them into a feigned submission. He can slay all enmities, and bring those together that were at the greatest distance from each other.

2. He will do it for us, when we please him; if we make it our care to be reconciled to God, and to keep ourselves in his love, he will incline those that had been envious towards us, and vexatious to us, to entertain a good opinion of us, and to become our friends. God made Esau to be at peace with Jacob, Abimelech with Isaac, and David's enemies to court his favour, and desire a league with Israel. The image of God appearing upon the righteous, and his particular loving kindness to them, are enough to recommend them to the respects of all, even of those that had been most prejudiced against tJiem.

8. Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues without right.

Here, 1. It is supposed that an honest good man may have but a little of the wealth of this world, all the righteous are not rich; that a man may have but little, and yet may be honest; though poverty is a temptation to dishonesty, {ch. xxx. 9.) vet not an invincible one. A man may grow rich, for a while, by fraud and oppression, may have great reveniies, and those got, and kept, zvithout right, may have no good title to them, nor make any good use of them.

2. It is maintained that a small estate, honestly come by, which a man is content with, enjoys comfortably, serves God with cheerfully, and puts to a right use, is much better, and more valuable, than H great estate ill got, and then ill kept, or ill spent. It carries with it more inward satisfaction, a better reputation with all that are wise and good, it will last longer, and will turn to a better account in the great day, when men will be judged, not according to what they had, but what they did.

9. A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord dircrteth his steps.

Man is here represented to us,

1. As a n asonable creature, that has the faculty of contriving for himself; His heart devises his way, designs an end, and projects ways and means leading to that end, which the inferior creatures, who are governed by sense and natural instinct, cannot do. The more shame for him, if he do not devise the vfny how to please (iod, and provide for his everlasting state.

2. But as a depending creature, that is subject tc the direction and dominion of his Maker; if men devise their way, so as to make God's glory their end, and his will their rule, they may expect'that he will direct their steps by his Spirit and grace, so that they shall not miss their way, ncr come short ol their end. But, let men devise tlieir worldly affairs ever so politicly, and with ever so great a proba-biUty of success, yet God has the ordering of the event, and sometimes directs their steps to that which they least intended. The design of this is to teach us to say. If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that, (Jam. iv. 14, 15.) and to have our eye to God, not only in the great turns cf cur lives, but in every step we take; Lord, direct my way, 1 Thess. iii. 11.

10. A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.

We wish this were always true as a proposition, and we ought to make it cur prayer for kings, and all in authority, that a divine sentence may be in their lips, both in giving orders, that they may do that in wisdom, and in giving sentence, that they may do that in equity, both which are included in judgment, and that in neither their mouth may transgress, 1 Tim. ii. 1. But it is often otherwise ; and therefore,

1. It may be read as a precept to the kings and judges of the earth, to be wise and instructed; let them be just, and rule in the fear of God; let them act with such wisdom and conscience, that there may appear a holy divination in all they say or do, and that they are guided by principles supernatural; let not their mouths transgress in judgment, for the judgment is God's.

2. It may be taken as a promise to all good kings, that, if they sincerely aim at God's glory, and seek direction from him, he will qualify them with wisdom and grace above others, in proportion to the eminency of their station, and the trusts lodged in their hands. When Saul himself was made king, God gave him another spirit.

3. It was tiTie concerning Solomon, who wrote this, he had extraordinary wisdom, pursuant to the promise God made him. See 1 Kings iii. 28.

11. A just weight and balance are the Lord's ; all the weights of the bag are his work.

Note, 1. The administration of public justice by the magistrate is an ordinance of God; in it the scales are held, and ought to be held, by a steady and im-

Eartial hand; and we ought to submit to it, for the ord's sake, and to see his authority in that of the magistrate, Rom. xiii. 1. 1 Pet. ii. 13.

2. The observation of Justice in commerce between man and man is likewise a divine appointment. He taught men discretion to make scales and weights for the adjusting of right exactly between buyer and seller, that neither may be wronged; and all other useful inventions for the preserving of right are from him; He has also appointed bv his law that they be just; it is therefore a great affront to him, and to his government, to falsify, and so to do wrong, under colour and pretence of cloing right, which is wickedness in the place of judgment.

12. It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness; for the throne is established by righteousness.

Here is, 1. The character of a good king, which Solomon intended not for his own praiyc, but for instruction to his successors, his neighbours, and the vice-roys under him. A good king net only docs

PROVERBS, XVI.

700

justice, but it is an abomination to him to do otherwise; he hates the thought of doing wrong, and perverting justice; he not'only abhors the wickedness done by others, but abhors to do any himself, though, having power, he might easily and safely do it.

2. The comfort of a good king; his throne is established by righteousness. He that makes conscience of using his power aright, shall find that to be the Ijest security of his government; both as it will oblige people, make them easy, and keep them in the interests of it; and as it will obtain the blessing of God, which will be a firm basis to the throne, and a strong guard about it.

13. Righteous lips are the dehght of kings; and they love him that speaketh right.

Here is a further character of good kings, that they love and delight in those that s/ifft/t right.

1. They hate parasites and those that flatter them, and are \'ery willing that all aljout them should deal faithfully witli them, and tell them that which is true, whether it be pleasing or displeasing, both concerning persons and things," that every thing should be set in a true light, and nothing disguised, ch. xxix. 12.

2. The)' not only do righteousness themselves, but take care to employ those under them that do righteousness too; which is of great consequence to the people, who must be subject not only to the king as supreme, but to the goxernors sent by him, 1 Pet. ii. 14. A good king will therefore put those in power who are conscientious, and will say that which is righteous and discreet, and know how to speak right, and to the purpose.

14. The wrath of a kingzs as messengers of death; but a wise man will pacify it. 15. In the light of the king's countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.

These two verses show the power of kings, which is every where great, but was especially so in those eastern countries, where they were absolute and arbitrary; whom they would they slew, and whom they would they kept alive; their will was a law. We have reason to bless God for the happy constitution of the government we live under, wliich maintains the prerogative of the prince without any injury to the liberty of the subject. But here it is intimated,

1. How formidaI)le the nvrath of a king is; it is as messengers of death; the wrath of Ahasuerus was so to Haman. An angry word from an incensed prince has been to many a messetiger of death, and has struck as great a terror upon some, as if a sentence of death had been pronounced upon them. He must be a very wise man, that knows how to pacify the wrath of a king with a word fitly spoken; as Jonathan once pacified his father's rage against Ua\ id, 1 Sam. xix. 6. A prudent subject may sometimes suggest that to an angry prince, which will cool his resentments.

2. How vahialjle and desirable the king's favour IS to those that ha\'e incurred his displeasui'e; it is life from the dead, if the king be reconciled to them. To others it is a cloud of the latter rain, very refreshing to the ground. Solomon put his subjects in mind of this, that they might not do any thing to incvn- his wrath, but be careful to recommend themsebes to his fivour. We ought by it to be put in mind how much we are concerned to escape the wrath, and oljtain the favour, of the King of kings. His frowns are worse than death, and his favour better than light; and tlierefore tliey are fools, who, to escape the wrath, and ol^tain the favour, of an earthly prince, will throw themselves

out of God's fa\'our, and make themselves obnoxious to his wrath.

16. How much better is it to get wisdom than gold? and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver?

Solomon here not only asserts that it is Ijetter to get wisdom than gold, {ch. iii. 14.—viii. 19.) but he speaks it, with assurance, that it is much better, beyond expression; with admiration, How much better! amazed at the disproportion; with an appeal to men's consciences, "Judge in yourselves how much better it is;" and with an addition to the same pui-poi-t, that understanding is rather to be chosen than silver, and all the treasures of kings and their favourites.

Note, 1. Heavenly wisdom is better than wordly wealth, and to be preferred before it. Grace is more valuable than gold. Grace is the gift of God's peculiar favour; gold only of common providence. Grace is for ourselves; gold for others. Grace is for the soul and eternity; gold only for the body and time. Grace will stand us in stead in a dying hour, when gold will do us no good.

2. The getting of this heavenly wisdom is better than the getting of worldly wealth. Many take care and pains to get wealth, and yet come short of it; but grace was never denied to any that sincerely sought it. There is vanity and \ exation of spirit in getting wealth, but joy and satisfaction of spirit in getting wisdom; great peace have they that love it.

17. The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: lie that keepeth his way pre-serveth his soul.

Note, 1. It is the way of the tijiright to avoid sin, and every thing that looks like it, and leads towards it; and this is a highway marked out by authority, tracked by many that have gone before us, and in which we meet with many that keep company with us; it is easy to hit, and safe to be travelled in, like a highway, Isa. xxxv. 8. To dejiart from evil in understanding.

2. It is the care of the upright to preser\'e their own souls, that they be not polluted witii sin, and that by the troubles of the world they may not be put out of the possession cf them; especially that they may not perish for ever, Matth. xvi. 26. And it is therefore their care to keep their way, and not to turn aside out of it, on either hand, but to press toward perfection. Tliey that adhere to their dutv, secure their felicity. Keep thy way, and God will keep thee.

18. Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Note, 1. Pride will have a fall. Those that are of a haughty sfiirit, that think of themselves above what is meet, and look with contempt upon others, that with their pride affront God and disquiet others, they will be brought down, either l)y repentance or by ruin. It is the honour of God to humljle the proud. Job xl. 11, 12. It is the act of justice, that those who have lifted up themselves should be laid low. Pharaoli, Sennacherib, Nebuchidnezzar, were instances of this.. Men cannot j^unish pride, but either admire it or fear it, and therefore God will take the ])unishing of it in his own hands. Let him alone to deal with proud men.

2. Proud men are often'most ])roud, and iiisolent, and liaught\-, just before their destniction, so that it is a certain presage that they are upon tlie Ijrink of it. Wlien proud men set God's judgments at defiance, and think themselves at the gi-eatest distance from them, it is a sign that they are at the door, witness the case of Benhadad and Herod. IVhile the

PROVERBS, XVI.

Tjord was in the king's mouth, Dan. iv. 31. Therefore let us not fear the pride of others, but greatly fear it in ourselves.

19. Better it is to be of a humble spirit

with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with

the proud.

This is a paradox which the cliildren of this world cannot understand, and will not subscribe to; that it is better to be poor and humble, than to be rich and proud.

1. They tliat divide the spoil are commonly proud; they value themselves and despise otlicrs, and their mind rises with their condition; those, therefore, that are rich in this world, ha\'e need to be charged that they be not high-ininded, 1 Tim. vi. 17. I'hose that are proud, and will put forth themselves, that thrust, and shove, and scramlile, for preferment, are the men that commonly divide the spoil, and share it among them; they have the world at will, and the ball at their foot.

2. It is upon all accounts better to take our lot with those whose condition is low, and their minds brought to it, than to covet and nim to make a figure and a bustle in the world. Humility, though it should expose us to contempt in the world, yet, while it recommends us to the favour of God, qualifies us for his gracious visits, prepares us for his glory, secures us from many temptations, and preserves the quiet and repose of our own souls, is much better than that high-spiritedness, which, thougli it carry away the honour and wealth of the world, makes God a man's enemy, and the devil his master.

20. He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good; and whoso trusteth .in the Lord, happy w he.

Note, 1, Prudence gains men respect and success; He that handles a matter nvisely, that is master of his trade, and makes it to appear he understands what he undertakes, that is considerate in his affairs, and, when he speaks or writes of any subject, does it pertinently, he shall Ji7id good, shall come into good repute, and perhaps rriay make a good hand of it.

2. But it is piety only that will secure men's tnie happiness; They that handle a matter wisely, if they are proud, and lean to their own understanding, thrugh they may find some good, yet they will have no great satisfaction in it; liut he that trusts in the Lord, and not in his own wisdom, happy is he, and shall speed better at last. Some read the former part of the verse, so as to expound it of piety, which is indeed trae wisdom; he that attends to the word, the word of God, {ch. xiii. 13.) he shall find good in it, and good bv it. And whoso trusts in the Lord, in his word which he attends to, is happy.

21. The wise in heart shall be called prudent; and the sweetness of the hps increas-eth learning.

Note, 1. Thrse that have solid wisdom will have the credit of it; it will gain them reputation, and they shall he called prudent, grave, men, and a deference will lie paid to their judgmen^ Do that which is wise and good, and thou shalt have praise of the same.

2. Tliose thai with their wisdom have a happy elocution, that ileliver themselves easily and with a good grace, are communic itive of tluir wisdom, and have words at will, and good language as vvell as good sense, they increase Irarning, they diffuse and propagate knowledge to others, and do good with it, and by that means increase their own

stock. They add doctrine, improve sciences, and do service to the commonwealth of learning. To him that has, and uses what he has, more shall be given.

22. Understanding is a well-spring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.

Note, 1. There is always some good to be gotten by a wise and good man; his understanding is a well-spring of life to him, which always flows, and can never be drawn dry; he has something to say upon all occasions, that is insti-uctive, and of use to those that Avill make use of it, things new and old, to bring out of his treasure; at least, it is a sjiring of life, to himself, yielding him abundant satisfaction; within his own thouglits he entertains and edifies himself, if noi others.

2. I'here is nothing that is good to be gotten by a fool; even his instruction, his set and solemn discourses, are but folly, like himself, and tending to make others like him. When he does his best, it is but folly, in comparison even with the common talk of a wise man, who speaks better at table than a fool in Moses's seat.

23. The heart of the wise teacheth his

mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.

Solomon had commended eloquence, and the sweetness of the lips, {v. 21.) and seemed to prefer it before wisdom; but here he corrects himself, as it were, and shows that unless there be a good treasure within to support the eloquence, it is worth but little. Wisdom in the heart is the main matter.

1. That is it that directs us in speaking; that teaches the mouth what to speak, and when, and how, so that what is spoken may be proper, and pertinent, and seasonable; otherwise, though the language De ever so fine, it had better be unsaid.

2. That is it that gives weight to what we speak, and adds learning to it; strength of reason and force of argument; without which, let a thing be ever so well worded, it will be rejected, when it comes to be considered, as trifling; quaint expressions please the ear, and humour the fancy, but it is learning in the lips that must convince the judgment, and sway that; to which wisdom in the heart is necessar}^

24. Pleasant words are as a honey-comb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

The pleasant words here c( mmended must be those which the hi art of the wise teaches, and adds learning to; (v. 23.) words of seasonable advice, instniction, and comfort; wc)rds taken from God's word, for that is it which Solomon had learned from his father to acccunt sweeter than honey and the honev-comb, Ps. xix. 10. These words, to those that know hr>w to relish them,

1. Are pleasant; they are like the honey-comb, sweet to the soul, which tastes in them that the Lord is gracious; nothing more grateful and agreeable to the new man than the word of God, and those words which are borrowed frrm it, Ps. cxix. 103.

2; They are wholesome; many things arc pleasant that' are nrt pix^fitable; but these fileasant words are health to the bones, to the inward man, as well as sweet to the soul; they make the bones, which sin has broken and put f ut of joint, to rejoice. The bones are the strength of the body; and the good word of God is a means of sijirituul strength, curing the diseases that weaken us.

25. There is a way that seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death.

PROVERBS, XVI.

711

This we had before, (jch. xiv. 12.) but here it IS repeated, as that which is very necessary to be thought of;

1. By way of caution to us all to take heed of deceiving- ourselves in the great concerns of our souls, by resting in that which seems 7'ig-ht, and is not really so; and, for the preventing ofa sdf-delusion, to be impartial in self-examination, and keep up a jealousy over ourselves.

•2. By way of terror to those whose way is not right, is not as it should be, however it may seem to themselves or others, the end of it will certainly be death; to that it has a direct and certain tendency.

26. He that laboureth, laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.

This is designed to engage us to diligence, and quicken us; iv/iat our handjindsto do, to do it tvith all our might, both in our worldly business, and in the work of religion; for in the original it is. The soul that labours, labours for itself. It is heart-work which is here intended, the labour of the soul, which is here recommended to us,

1. As that which will be absolutely needful; our mouth is continually craving it of us; the necessities both of soul and body are pressing, and require constant relief, so that we must either work or starve. Both call for daily Ijread, and therefore there must be daily labour; for in the sweat of our face^we must eat, 2 Thess. iii. 10.

2, As that which will be unspeakably gainful; we know on whose errand we go; He that labours shall reap the fruit of his labour, it shall be for himself, he shall rejoice in his own work, and eat the labour of his hands. If we make religion our business, God will make it our blessedness.

27. An ungodly man diggeth up evil; and in his lips there is as a burning fire. 28. A ho-vvard man soweth strife; and a whisperer separateth chief friends.

There are those that are not only vicious themselves, but spiteful and mischievous to others, and they are the worst of men; two sorts of such are here described.

1. Such as envy a man the honour of his good name, and do all they can to blast that by calumnies and misrepresentations; They dig ufi evil, thev take a great deal of pains to find out something or other on which to ground a slander, or which may give some colour to it. If none appear above ground, rather than want it, they will dig for it, by diving into what is secret, or looking a great way back, or by evil suspicions and surmises, and forced innuen-dos. In the lips of a slanderer and backbiter there is as a Jire, not only to brand his neighbour's reputation, to smoke and sully it, but as a burning Jire to consume it. And how great a matter does a little of this fire kindle, and how hardly is it extinguished! James iii. 5, 6.

2. Such as envy a man the comfort of his friendship, and do all they can to break that, by suggesting that, on both sides, which will set those at variance that are most nearly related, and have been long intimate, or, at least, cool and alienate their affections one from another; A froivard man, that cannot find in his heart to love any body but himself, is vexed to see others live in love, and therefore makes it his business to soiv strife, by giving men base characters one of another, telling lies, and carrying ill-natured stories between cA/f/yr/ewc/s, so as to separate them one from another, and make them angry at, or at least suspicious of, one another. Those are bad men, and bad women too, that do

such ill offices; they are doing the devil's work, anc* his will their wages be.

29. A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadetli him into the way that is not good. 30. He shutteth his eyes to de^'ise froward things; moving his lips, he bringeth evil to pass.

Here is another sort of evil men described to us, that we may neither do like them, nor have any thing to do with them.

1. Such as (like Satan) do all the mischief they can bv force and violence, as roaring liens, and not only by fraud and insinuation, as subtle serpents; They are viole?7t ?nen, that do all by rapine and oppression, that shut their eyes, meditating with the closest intention and application of mind to devise froivard things, to contrive how they may do the greatest mischief to their neighbour, to do it effectually, and yet securely to themselves; and then, moving their lips, giving the word of command to their agents, they bring the evil to pass, and accomplish the wicked device; biting his lips, so seme read it, for vexation. When the ivickedplots against the Just, he gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

2. Such as (like Satan still) do all they can to entice and draw in others to join with them in doing mischief, leading them in a way that is ?iot good, neither honest, nor honourable, nor safe, but offensive to God, and which will be in the end pernicious to the sinner. Thus he aims tr iiiin some in this world by bringing them into trouble, and ethers in the ether world by bringing them into sin.

31. The hoary head is a crown of glor}', if it be found in the way of righteousness.

Note, 1. It ought to be the great care of old people to be found in the way of righteou.^ness, \he way of religion and serious godliness. Both God and man will look for them in that way; it will be expected that those that are old should be gocd, that the multitude of their years should teach them the best wisdom; let them therefore be found in that way. Death will come, the Judge is coming, the Lord is at hand; that they may be found of him in peace, let them be found in the way of righteousness, (2 Pet. iii. 14.) found so doing, Matth. xxiv. 46. Let old people be old disciples, let them persevere to the end in the way of righteousness, which they long since set out in, that they may then be found in it.

2. If old people be found in the way of righteousness, their age will be their honour. Old age, as such, is honourable, and commands respect; Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, (Lev. xix. 32.) but if it be found in the way of wickedness, its honour is forfeited, its crown profaned, and laid in the dust, Isa. Ixv. 20. Old people, therefore, if they would preserve their honcur, must still hold fast their integrity, and then their gray hairs are indeed a crown to them; they are worthy'of double honour Grace is the glory of old age.

32. He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

This recommends the grace of meekness to us, which will well become us all, particularly the hoary head, v. 31. Observe,

1. The nature of it; it is to be sloiv to anger, net easily put into a passion, nor apt to resent provocation; taking time to consider, before we suffer our passion to break out, that it may not transgress due bounds; so slow in our motions towards anger, that we may be quickly stopped and pacified. It is to

PROVERBS, XVII.

Iiave the rule of our own spirks, our appetites and affections, and all our inchuations, but particularly curpassicns, cur anger, keeping that under direction and check, and the strict government of religion and right reason. We must be lords of our atiger, as God is, Nah. i. 3. JEolus sis, affectuum tuorum

Rule your fiassions, as JEolus rules the winds.

2. The honour of it; He that gets, and keeps, the mastery of his passions, he is better than the mighty, bv^ttcr than he that by a long siege takes a city, or by a long war subdues a country. Behold, a greater than Alexander or C^sur is here! The conquest of ourselves, and our ow\ unnily passions, requires more time conduct, and a more steady, constant, and regular, management, than the obtaining of a victory over the forces of an enemy. A rational conquest is more honourable to a rational creature, than a brutal one. It is a victory that does no body any harm; no lives or treasures are sacrificed to it, but only some base lusts. It is harder, and therefore more glorious, to quash an insurrection at home, than to resist an invasion from abroad; nay, such are the gains of meekness, that by it we are more than conquerors.

33. The lot is cast into tlie lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.

Note, 1. The Divine Providence orders and directs those things which to us are perfectly casual and fortuit'^us. Nothing comes to pass by chance, nor is any event determined by a blind fortune, but every thing by the will and counsel of God. What man has neither eye nor hand in, God is intimately concerned in.

2. Wl\en solemn appeals are made to Providence by the casting of lots, for the deciding of that matter of moment, which could not otherwise be at all, or not so well, decided, God must be eyed in it, by prayer, that it may be disposed aright, (Give a /ler-fect lot, 1 Sam. xiv. 41. Acts i. 24.) and by acquiescing in it when it is disposed; being satisfied that the hand of God is in it, and that hand directed by infinite wisdom. All the disposals of Providence concerning our affairs, we must look upon to be the directing of our lot, the determining of^what we referred to God, and must be reconciled to them accordingly.

CHAP. XVII. 1. "OETTER is a dry morsel, and quiet-W^ ness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices loith strife.

These words recommend family-love and peace, as conducing very much to the comfort of human life.

1. Tliose that live in unity and quietness, not only free from jealousies and animosities, but vying in mutual endearments, and that study to make themselves easv and obliging to one another, live very comfortabiv though they are Icnv in the world, work hard, and fare hard; though tliey have but each of them a morsel, and that a dry morsel. There may be peace and quietness where there are not three meals n day, provided there be a joint satisfaction in God's providence, and a mutual satisfaction in each other's prudence. Holy love may be found in a cottage.

2. Those that live in contention, that are always jarring and brawling, and reflecting upon one another, though they liave plenty of dainties, a house full of sacrifices, live uncomfortably; they cannot expect the blessing of God upon them and what thev have, nor can th^y have any true relish of their cnjovments, much less have any peace in their own consciences. Love will sweeten a dry morsel, but strife will sour and imbittcr a house full of sacrifices.

A little of the leaven of malice ffiU. leaven ail the enjoyments.

2. A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.

Note, 1. True merit does not go by dignity. All agree, that the son in the family is more worthy than the servant; (John viii. 35.) and yet sometimes it so happens that the sei'vant is wise, and a blessing and credit to the family, when the son is a fool, and a burthen and a shame to the family. Eliezer of Damascus, though Abram could not bear to think that he should be his heir, was a stay to the family, when he was sent to get a wife for Isaac; whereas Ishmael, a son, was a shame to it, when he mocked Isaac.

2. True dignity will go by merit. If a servant be wise, and manage things well, he shall be further trusted, and not only have rule with, but rule over, a son that causes shame; for God and nature have designed that the fool shall be servant to the wise in heart. Nay, a prudent servant may perhaps come to have such an interest in his master, as to be taken in for a child's share of the estate, and to have fiart of the inheritance among the brethren,

3. The fining-pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but the Lord trieth the hearts.

Note, 1. The hearts of the children of men are subject, not only to God's view, but to his judgment; As thejining-fiot is for silver, both to prove it, and to /wprove it, so the Lord tries the hearts; he searches whether they are standard or no, and those that are he refines and makes purer, Jer. xvii. 10. God tries the heart by affliction, (Ps. Ixvi. 10, 11.) and often chooses his people in that furnace, (Isa. xlviii. 10.) and makes them choice. »

2. It is God only that tries the hearts; men may try their silver and gold with theJining-fiot and the furnace, but they have no such way of trying one another's hearts; God only does that, who' is both the Searcher and the Sovereign, of the heart.

4. A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.

Note, 1. Those that design to do ill, support themselves by falsehood and lying; j1 wicked doer gives ear, with a great deal of pleasure, to false lips, that will justify him in the ill he does, to those that aim to make public disturbances, catch greedily at libels, and false stories, that defame the government and the administration.

2. Those tliat take the liberty to tell lies, take a pleasure in hearing them told; A liar gives heed to a malicious, backbiting, tongue, that he may have something to graft his lies upon, and with which to give them some colour of ti-uth, and so to support them. Sinners will strengthen one another's hands; and those show they are bad themselves who court the acquaintance, and need the assistance, of those that are bad.

5. Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker; cmd he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.

See here, 1. What a great sin they are. guilty ot who trample upon the poor, who ridicule their wants, and the meanness of their appearance, upbraid them with it, and take advantage from their weakness to be abusive and injurious to them; they rep.roach their Maker, put a great contempt ana affront upon him, who allotted t!ie poor to the con

PROVERBS, XVII.

713

dition they are in, owns them, and takes care of iliem, and can, when he pleases, reduce us to that condition. Let those, that thus reproach their Maker, know they shaU be called to an account for it, Matth. XXV. 40, 41. Prov. xiv. 31.

2. What great danger thexj are in of falling into ^rouble themselves, who are pleased to see and hear of the troubles of others; He that is glad at calamities, that he mav be built upon the ruins of others, and regales himself witli the judgments of God when they are abroad, let him know that he shall 7iot go uniiunished; the cup shall be put into his hand, Ezek. XXV. 6, 7.

6. Children's children are the crown of

old men; and the glory of children are their

fathers.

They are so, that is, they should be so; if they conduct themselves worthily, they are so.

1. It is an honour to parents, when they are old, to leave children, and children's children, growing up, that tread in the steps of their virtues, and are likely to maintain and advance the reputation of their families. It is an honour to a man to liveso long as to see his children's children; (Ps. cxxviii. 6. Gen. 1. 23.) to see his house built up in them, and to see them likely to serve their generation according to the will of God; this crowns and completes their comfort in this world.

2. It is an honour to children to have wise and godly parents, and to have them continued to them, even after they ai-e themselves grown up and settled in the world. Those are unnatural children who reckon their aged parents a burthen to them, and think they live too long; whereas, if the children be wise and good, it is as much their honour as can be, that thereby they are comforts to their parents in the unpleasant days of their old age.

7. Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.

Two things are here represented as very absurd;

1, That men of no repute should be dictators. What can be more unbecoming than for fools, who are known to have little sense and discretion, to pretend to that which is above them, and which they never were cut out for? A fool, in Solomon's proverbs, signifies a wicked man, whom excellent speech does not become, because his conversation gives the lie to his excellent speech. What have they to do to declare God's statutes, who hate instruction? Ps. 1. 16. Christ would not suffer the unclean spirits to say that they knew him to be the Son of God. See Acts xvi. 17, 18.

2. That men of great repute should be deceivers. If it is unbecoming a despicable man to presume to speak as a philosopher or politician, and nobody heeds him, being prejudiced against his character, much more unbecoming it is for a prince, for a man of honour, to take advantage, from his character and the confidence that is put in him, to lie, and dissemble, and make no conscience of breaking his word. Lying ill becomes any man, but worst a prince; so corrupt is the modern policy, which insinuates that princes ought not to make themselves slaves to their words further than is for their interest, and Qui nescit dissimulare, nescit regnare — He who does not know hoiv to dissemble, knoivs not hotv to reign.

8. A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him "that hath it; whithersoever it turn-eth, it prospereth.

Th*- design of this observation is to show, 1. Those who have money in their hand think Ih^'v can do any thing with it. Rich men value a

Vol. III.—4 X

little money as if it were a precious stone, ana value themselves on it, as if it gave them not only ornament, but power, and every one were bound to be at their beck, even justice itself. Whithersoever they turn tliis sparkling diamond, they expect it should dazzle the eyes of all, and make them do just what they would have them do, in hopes of it. The deepest bag will carry the cause; tee high, and you may have what you will.

2. That those who have money in their eye, and set their hearts upon it, will d<:> any thing for it; j4 bride is as a ftrecious stone in the eyes of him that takes it; it has a great influence upon him, and he will l)e sure to go the way that it leads him, hither and thither, though contrary to justice, and not consistent with himself.

9. He that covereth a transgression seek-eth love; but lie that repeateth a matter se-parateth very friends.

Note, 1. The way to preserve peace among relations and neighbours, is, to make the best of every thing; not to tell others what has been said or done against them, when it is not at all necessary to their safety; nor to take notice of what has been said or done against ourselves, but to excuse both, and put the best constnictions upon them. It was an oversight, therefore overlook it; it was done through for-getfulness, therefore forget it; it perhaps made nothing of you, therefore do you make nothing of it.

2. The ripping up of faiilts is the ripping out of love, and nothing tends more to the separating of friends, and setting them at variance, than the re-fieating of matteis that have been in variance; for they commonly lose nothing in the repetition, but the things themselves are aggravated, and the passions about them revived and exasperated. The best method of peace is by an amnesty or act of oblivion.

10. A reproof entereth more mto a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.

Note, 1. A word is enough to the wise. A gentle reproof will enter not only into the head, but into the heart, of a wise man, so as to have a strong influence upon liim; for if but a hint be given to conscience, let it alone to carry it on and prosecute it.

2. Stripes are not enough for a fool, to make him sensible of his errors, that he may repent of them, and be more cautious for the future. He that is sottish and wilful is very rarely benefited by severity. David is softened with. Thou art the man; but Pharaoh remains hard under all the plagues of Egypt.

11. An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.

Here is the sin and punishment of an evil man.

1. His sin; he is an evil man indeed that seeks all occasions to rebel against God, and the government God has set over him, and to cfmtradict and quarrel with those about him. Querit jurgia — He fucks quarrels; so some. There are some that arc actuated by a spirit of opposition, that will contradict for contradiction-sake, that will go rn frowardly in their wicked ways, in spite of all restraint and check. A rebellious man seeks mischief, so srme read it, watches all opportunities to disturb the public peace.

2. His punishment; Because he will not be reclaimed bv mild and gentle methods, a cruel messenger shall be sent against him; srme dreadful judgment or other, as a messenger from Gcxl; Angels, God's messengers, shall be employed as m'yiisters of his justice against him, Ps. Ixxviii. 49. Satan,

yu

PROVERBS, XVII.

the angel of death, shall bs let loose upon him, and the messe?igers of Satan. His prince shall send a sergeant to arrest him, an executioner to cut him off. He that kicks against the pricks, is waited for of the sivord.

12. Let a bear robbed of her whelps, meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.

Note, 1. A passionate man is a brutish man. However at other times he may have some wisdom, take him in hispassion ungoverned, and he is a. fool in his folly. They are fools in whose bosom anger rests, and in whose countenance anger rages. He has put off man, and is become like a bear, a raging bear, a bear robbed of her ivhelfis; he is as fond of the gratifications of his lusts and passions as a bear cf licr whelps, (which, though ugly, are her own,) as eager in the pursuit of them, as she is in quest of her whelps when they are missing, and as full of indignation if crossed in the pursuit.

2. He is a dangerous man, falls foul on every' one that stands in his way, though innocent, though his friend, as a bear robbed of her whelps sets upon the first man she meets as a robber. Ira furor brevis est — Anger is madness while it lasts. One may more easil)' stop, escape, or guard against, an enraged beir, than an outrageous angry man. Let us therefore watch over our own passions, (lest they get head and do mischief,) and so consult our own honour; and let us avoid the company of furious men, and get out of their way when they are in their fury, and so consult our own safety. Currenti cede furori — Give filace unto wrath.

13. Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil

si 1 all not depart from his house.

A malicious, mischievous man, is here represented,

1. As ungrateful to his friends; he oftentimes is so absurd and insensible of kindnesses done him, that he renders ei.nl for good. David met with those that were his adversaries for his love, Ps. cix. 4. To render evil fjr evil is brutish, but to render evil for good is devilish. He is an ill-natured man, who, because he is resolved not to return a kindness, will revenge it.

2. As tlierein unkind to his family, for he entails a curse upon it; this is a crime so heinous, that it shall be punished, not only in his person, but in his posterity, for whom he thus treasures up wrath. The sword shall not depart from David's house, because he rewarded Uriah with evil for his good services. The Jews stoned Christ for liis good works, therefore is his blood upon tliem and upon their children.

14. The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water; therefore leave off contention before it be meddled with.

Here is, 1. The danger that there is in the beginning of strife; one hot word, one peevish reflection, one angry dem ind, one spiteful contradiction, begets another, and that a third, and so on, till it

f)roves like the cutting of a dam; when the water las got a little passage, it does itself widen the breach, 1)ears down all before it, and there is then no stopping it, no reducing it.

2. A good caution inferred thence, to take heed of the first sjjark of contention, and to put it out as soon as ever it a^jpcars. Dread the breaking of the ice, for, if once l)roken, it will break further; therefore leave it off, not only when you see the worst of it, for then it may be too late, but when you see the fir St of it; Obsta /i riu ci/i iis — Resist its ea rli'est disp la y; leave it off even before it be meddled with; leave it aff, if it were possible, before you begin.

15. He that justifieth the wicked, and he

that condemneth the just, even they ooth are abomination to the Lord.

This shows what an offence it is to God,

1. When those that are intrusted with the admi nistration of public justice, judges, juries, witnesses, prosecutors, counsel, do either acquit the guilty, or condemn those that are not guilty, or in the leasf contribute to either; this defeats the end of govern ment, which is to protect the good and punish the bad, Rom. xiii. 3, 4. It is equally provoking tc God to justify the wicked, though it be in pity, and in favorem vitae — to save life, as to conde nn the just.

2. When any private persons plead for sin and sinners, palliate and excuse wickedness, or argue against virtue and piety, and so pervert the right ways of the Lord, and confound the eternal distinctions between good and evil.

16. Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it ?

Two things are here spoken of with admiration:

1. God's great goodness to foolish man, in putting a firice into his hand to get wisdo?n, to get knowledge and grace to fit him for both worlds. We have rational souls, the means of grace, the strivings of the Spirit, access to God by prayer, we have time and opportunity; he that has a good estate, (so some understand it,) has advantages therebv of getting wisdom by purchasing instruction. Good parents, relations, ministers, friends, are helps to get wisdom. It is a price therefc re of value, a talent it is a price in the hand, in pcssession, the word is nigh thee; it is a price for getting; it is for cur own advantage, it is for getting wisdcm, the very thing which, being fools, we have most need of. \\ e have reason to wonder that God should so consider our necessity, and should intrust us with such advantages, though he foresaw we should not make a right improvement of them.

2. Man's great wickedness, his neglect of God's favour, and his own interest, which is very absurd and unaccountable; he has no heart to it, net to the wisdom that is to be got, nor to the price in the use of which it may be got. He has no heart, no skill, nor will, nor courage, to improve his advantages. He has set his heart upon other things, so that he has no heart to his duty, or the great concerns of his soul. Wherefore should a price be thrown away and lost upon one so undeserving of it?

17. A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

This bespeaks the strength of those bonds by which we are bound to each other, and which we ought to be sensible of.

1. Friends must be constant to each other at all times; that is not true friendship which is not constant, it will be so, if it be sincere, and actuated by a good principle. They that are fanciful or selfish in their friendship, will love no longer than their humour is pleased, and their interest sencd, and therefore their affections turn witli tlie wind, and change with the weather; swallow-friends, that fly to you in summer, but are gone in winter; such friends there is no loss of. But if the friendship be prudent, generous, and cordial, if I love my friend because he is wise, and viituous, and good, as long as he continues so, though he fall into poverty and disgrace, still I shall love him. _ Christ is a Friend that loves at all times; (John xiii. 1.) and we must so love him, Rom. viii. 35.

2. Relations must in a special manner be careful and tender of one another in aflliction; A brother is bom to succour a brother or sister in distress, to

PROVERBS, XVIl.

715

whom he is joined so closely by nature, tliat he may the more sensibly feel from their burthens, and be the more strongly inclined and engaged, as it were by instinct, to help them. We must often consider what we were born for, not only as men, but as in such a station and relation. iV/io knows but we ca?ne into such a family, for such a time as this? We do not answer tlie end of our relations, if we do not the duty of them. Some take it thus; ji friend that loves at all times, is born, becomes a brother in adversity, and is so to be valued.

18. A man void of undeistanding striketh hands, and becomcth surety in the presence ol" his friend.

Though he had commended friendship in adversity, (-y. 17.) yet let not any, under pretence of being generous to their friends, be unjust to their families, and wrong them; one part of our duty must be made to consist with another.

Note, 1. It is a piece of wisdom to keep out of debt as much as may be, especially to dread sure-tisliip. There may be a just occasion for a man to pass his Avord for his friend in his absence, till he come to engage himself; but to be suretij in the firesence of his friend, when he is upon the spot, supposes that his own word will not be taken, he being deemed insolvent, or dishonest; and then who can with safety pass his word for him?

2. Those that ?lyq void of understanding are commonly taken in this snare, to the prejudice of their families, and therefore ought not to be tnisted too far with their own affairs, but to be under direction.

19. He loveth transgression that loveth strife: and he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.

Note, 1. Those that are quarrelsome, involve themselves in a gi'eat deal of guilt; He that loves strife, that in liis wordly lousiness loves to go to law, m religion loves controversies, and in common conversation loves to thwart and fall out, tliat is never v.^ell but when he is in the fire, he loves traiisgres-sion; for a great deal of sin attends that sin, and the way of it is down hill. He pretends to stand up for truth, and for his honour and right, but really he loves sin, which God hates.

2. Those that are ambitious and aspiring, expose themseh es to a great deal of trouble, such as often ends in their ruin. He that exalts his gate, iDuilds a stately house, at least a fine frontispiece, that he may overtop and outsliine his neighbours, seeks his own destmctirn, and takes a deal of pains to iniin himself; he makes his gate so large, that his house and estate go out at it.

20. He that hath a froward lieart findeth no good; and he that hatli a perverse tongue falieth into mischief.

Note, 1. Framing ill designs will be of no advantage to us, there is nothing got by them; He that has a froward heart, that sows discord, and is full of resentment, cannot promise hiinself to get by it, sufficient to balance the loss of his repose and repu-t \tion, nor can he take any rational satisfaction in it; he finds no good.

2. Giving ill langirage will be a great disadvantage to us; He that has a fieii.'erse tongue, spiteful and abusive, scurrilous or backbiting, falls iiito one mischief or ether, loses his friends, provokes his enemies, and pulls trnul)le upon his own head; many d oivt lias ])aid dear for an unbridled tongue.

21. He that begctteth a fool doeth it to nis soirow; and the fatlier of a fool hath no

joy-

This speaks that very emphatically, which many wise and good men feel very sensibly, what a grievous vexatious thing it is to have a foolish wicked child. See here,

1. How uncertain all our creature-comforts are, so that we are often not only disappointed in them, but that proves the greatest cross m which we promised ourselves most satisfaction. There was joy when a maji-child was born into the world, and yet, if he prove vicious, his own father wishes he had never been bom. The name of Absalom sigTiifies his father^s peace, but he was his greatest trouble. It should moderate the desire of having children, and the delight of their parents in them, that they may prove a grief to them; yet it should silence the munnurings of the afflicted father in that case, that, if his son be a fool, he is a fool of his own begetting, and therefore he must make the best of him, and take it up as his cross, the rather, because Adam begets a son in his own likeness.

2. How unwise we are in suffering one affliction (and that of an untoward child as likely as any other) to droWn the sense of a thousand mercies; The father of a fopl lays that so nuich to heart, that he has no joy of any thing else; for this he may tliank himself; there are joys sufficient to balance even that sorrow.

22. A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Note, 1. It is healthful to be cheerful. The Lord is for the body, and has provided for it, not only meat, but medicine, and has here told us that the best medicine is a ?nerry heart; not a heart addicted to vain, carnal, sensual, mirth; Solomon himself said of that mirth. It is not medicine, but madness; it is not food, but poison; What doth it? But lie means a heart rejoicing in God, and serving him with gladness, and then taking the comfort of outward enjoyments, and particularly that of jileiisant conversation. It is a great mercy, that (iod gives us leave to be cheerful, and raw.se to be cheerful; especially if by his grace he gives us hearts to be cheerful. This does good to a inedicine, (so some read it,) it will make physic more efficient. Or, it does good as a medicine (othehoAy, making it easy, and fit for business. But, if mirth be a medicine, (understand it of diversion and recreation,) it must be used sparingly, onlv when there is occasion, nci turned into food, and it must be used medicinally, sub rejimine — as a prescribed regimen, and by rule.

2. The sorrows of the mind often contribute very much to the sickliness of the body; ji broken spirit, sunk by the burthen of afflictions, and especially a conscience wounded with the sense of guilt and fear of wrath, dries the bones, wastes the radical moisture, exhausts the very marrow, and makes the body a mere skeleton. We should therefore watch and pray against all melancholy indispositions, for they lead us into trouble as well as into temptation.

23. A wicked vian taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.

See here, 1. What an evil thing bribery is: He is a wicked man that will take a gift to engage him to give a false testimony, verdict, or judgment; when he does t, he is ashamed of it, for he takes it, v/ith all the secrecy imaginable, out cf the bosom where he knows it is laid ready for him; it is industriously concealed, and so slyly, that if he could, he would, hide it from his own conscience, ji gift is taken out of the bosom of a wicked man, so some read it; for lie is a bad man that gives bribes, as well as he that takes them.

2. \\niat a fiowerful thing it is. It is of such force, that it fieii'erts the ways of judgment. The course of iustice is not only obstructed, but turned into ir.

PROVERBS, XVIIl.

justice; and the greatest wrongs are clone, under colour of doing right,

24. Wisdom is before him that hath understanding : but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.

Note, 1. He is to be reckoned an intelligent man, that not only has wisdom, but has it ready when he has occasion for it. He lays his wisdom before him, as his card and compass which he steers by, has his eye always upon it, as he that writes has on his copy; and then he has it before him, it is not to seek, but stUl at hand.

2. He that has a giddy head, a roving, rambling fancy, will never be fit for any solid business. He is a fool, and good for nothing, whose eyes are in the ends of the earth, here, and there, and every where; any where but where they should be; who cannot fix his thoughts to one subject, nor pursue any one purpose with any tiling of steadiness. When his mind should be applied to his study and business, it is filled with a thousand things, foreign and impertinent.

25. A fooUsh son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.

Observe, 1. Wicked children are an affliction to both their parents. They are an occasion of anger to the father, (so the word signifies,) because they contemn his authority; but of sorrow and bitterness to the mother, because they abuse her tenderness. The parents, being joint-sufferers, should therefore bring mutual comfort to bear them up under it, and strive to make it as easy as they can, the mother to mollify the father's anger, the father to alleviate the mother's grief.

2. That Solomon often repeats this remark, probably, because it was his own case; however, it is a common case.

26. Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity.

In differences that happen between magistrates and subjects, (and such differences often arise,)

1. Let magistrates see to it that they never punish the just, that they be in no case a terror to good works, for that is to abuse their power, and betray that great trust which is reposed in them. It is not good, it is a very evil thing, and will end ill, whatever end they may aim at in it. When princes become tyrants and persecutors, their thrones will be neither easy nor firm.

2. Let subjects see to it that they do not find fault with the government for doing its duty, for it is wrong to strike firinces for equity; by defaming their administration, or secretly attempting to strike at them; as the ten tribes that revolted reflected upon Solomon for imposing necessary taxes. Some read it, nor to strike the ingeriuous for equity; magistrates must take heed that none suffer under them for well-doing; nor must parents/iroT70/t(? their children to wrath by unjust rebukes.

27. He that hath knowledge spareth his words; and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. 28. Even a fool when he holdeth his peace is counted wise ; and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

Two ways a man may show himself to be a wise man

1. By the good temper, the sweetness, and the sedateness, of his mind; A man of understanding is of an excellent sfiirit, a. /irecious sfiirit, so the word is; he is one that looks well to his spirit, that it be

as it should be, and so keeps it in an even frame, easy to himself, and pleasant to others. A gracious spirit is a precious spirit, and renders a man amiable, and more excellent than his neighbour. He is of a cool sfiirit, so some read it, not heated with passion, nor put into any tumult or disorder by the impetus of any corrupt affection, but even and stayed. A cool head with a warm heart is an admirable composition.

2. By the good government of his tongue.

(1.) A wise man will be of few words, as being afraid of speaking amiss; He that has knowledge, and aims to do good with it, is careful, when he does speak, to speak to the purpose, and therefore says little, that he may take time to deliberate upon it. He spares his words, because they are better spared than ill-spent.

(2.) This is generally taken for such a sure indication of wisdom, that a fool may gain the reputation of being a wise man, if he have but wit enough to hold his tongue, to hear, and see, and say little. If a fool hold his peace, men of candour will think him wise, because nothing appears to the contrary, and because it will be thought that he is making observations on what others say, and gaining experience, and is consulting with himself what he shall say, that he may speak pertinently. See how easy it is to gain men s good opinion, and to impose upon them. But when difool holds his peace, God knows his heart, and the folly that is bound there; thoughts are words to him, and therefore he cannot be deceived in his judgment of men.

CHAP. XVIII.

1.

THROUGH desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and inter-meddleth with all wisdom.

The original here is difficult, and differently understood.

1. Some take it as a rebuke to an affected singu larity; when men take a pride in separating themselves from the sentiments and society of others, in contradicting all that has been said before them, and advancing new notions of their own, which, though ever so absurd, they are wedded to, it is to gratify a desire or lust of vainglory, and they are seekers and meddlers with that which does not belong to them; lie seeks according to his desire, and intermeddles with every business, pretends to pass a judgment upon every man's matter; he is morose and supercilious; those generally are so that are opinionative and conceited, and they thus make themselves ridiculous, and are vexatious to others.

2. Our translation seems to take it as an excitement to diligence in the pursuit of wisdom. If we would get knowledge and grace, we must desire it, as thiit which we need, and which will be of great advantage to us, 1 Cor. xii. 31. We must separate ourselves from all those things which would divert us from, or retard us in, the pursuit, retire out of the noise of this v/orld's vanities, and then seek and intermeddle with all the means and instructions of wisdom; be willing to take pains, and try all the methods of improving ourselves; be acquainted with a variety of opinions, that we may prove all things, and hold fast that which is good.

2. A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.

A fool may pretend to understanding, and to seek and intermeddle with the means of it; but,

1. He has no true delight in it; it is only to please his friends, or save his credit, he does not love his book, or his business, or his Bible, or his prayers, he would rather be playing the fool with his sp';>rts; those that take no pleasure in learning or religion

PROVERBS, XVIII

717

Will make nothing to purpose of either. No progress is made in them, if they are a task, and a drudgery.

2. He hath no good design in it, only that his heart may discover itself, that he may have something to make a show with, something wherewith to varnish his folly, that he may pass off the better, because he loves to hear himself talk.

3. When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach.

This may include a double sense;

1. That wicked people are scornful people, and put coniemfit upon others; When the wicked comes mto any company, comes into the schools of wisdom, or into the assemblies for religious worship, then comes contemjit of God, of his people and ministers, and of every tiling that is said and done. You can expect no other from those that are profane than that they will be scoffers; they will be an ignominy and reproach, they will flout and jeer every thing that is serious and graxe; but let not wise and good men regard it, for tlie proverb of the ancients says. Such Tjickedness proceeds from the wicked.

2. That wicked people are shameful people, and bring contempt upon themselves, for God has said, that those roho despise him, shall be lightly esteemed. As'soon as ever sin entered, shame followed it, and smners make tliemselves despicable. Nor do they only draw contempt upon themselves, but they bring ignominy and reproach upon their families, their friends, their ministers, and all that are any way related to tbem. Those therefore who would secure their honour must retal i their virtue.

4. The words of a man's mouth are as

deep waters, and the well-spring of wisdom

as a flowing brook.

The similitudes here seem to be elegantly transposed.

1. The well-spring of wisdom is as deep waters; an intelligent knowing man has in him a good treasure of useful things, v/hich furnishes him with something to say unon all occasions, that is pertinent and profitable. This is as deep waters which make no noise, but never run dry.

2. The words of such a man's mouth are as a flowing brook; what he sees cause to speak, flows naturally from him, and with a great deal of ease, and freedom, and natural fluency; it is clean and fresh, it is cleansing and refreshing; from his deep waters there flows what there is occasion for, to water those about him, as the brooks do the low grounds.

5. It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

Tliis justly condemns those who, being employed in-the administration oi justice, pervert judgmni't,

1. By conniving at men's crimes, and protecting and countenancing them in oppression and violence, because of their dignity and wealth, or some personal kindness they have for them; Whatever excuses men mav make for it, certainly it is not good thus to accept the person of the wicked, it is an offence to God, an affront to justice, a wrong to mankind, and a real service done to the kingdom of sin and Satan. The merits of the cause must be regarded, not the person.

2. By giving a cause against justice and equity, because the person is poor, and low in the world, or not of the same party or persuasion, or a stranger of another country; this is overthrotving the righteous in judgment, who ought to be supported, and whom God will make to stand.

6. A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth callelh for strokes. 7. A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips arc the snare of his soul.

Solomon has often showed what mischief bad men do to others with their ungoverned tongues; here he shows what mischief they do to them-selves.

1. They embroil themselves in quarrels; A fool's lips, without any cause or call, enter into contention, by advancing foolish notions, which others find themselves obliged to oppcse, and so a quarrel is begun; or by giving provoking language, which will be resented, and satisfaction demanded; or by setting men at defiance, and bidding them do if they dare. Prcud and passionate men, and drunkai'ds, are fools, whose lips enter into cojitention. A wise man may, against his will, be drawn into a quarrel, but lie is a fool that of choice enters into it when he miglit avoid it, and he will repent it when it is too late.

2. 7'hey expose themselves to correction; The fool's mouth does, in effect, call for strokes; he has said that which deserves to be punished with strokes, and is still saying that which needs to be checked, and restrained with strokes, as Ananias unjustly commanded that Paul should be smitten on the mouth.

3. They involve themselves in ruin; A fool's moutli, which has been, or would have been, the destruction of others, proves at length his own destruction, perhaps from men; Shimei's mouth was his own destniction, and Adonijah's, who spake against his own head; and when a fool, by his foolish speaking, has run himself into a premunire, and thinks to bring himself off by justifying or excusing what he has said, his c/efence proves his q/"fence, and his lips are still the snare of his soul, entangling him yet more and more. However, when men b\ their evil words shall be condemned at God's ])ar their mouths will be their destruction, and it will be such an aggravation of their ruin, as will not admit one drop of water, one drop of comfort, to cool their tongue, which is their snare, and will be their tormentor.

8. The words of a tale-bearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

Tale-bearers are those who secretly carry stories from house to house, which perhaps have some tnith in them, but are secrets not fit to be told, or are basely misrepresented, and false colours put upon them, and are all told with design to blast men's reputation, to break their friendship, to make mischief between relations and neighbours, and set them at variance: now the words of such are here said to be,

1. Like as when men are wounded, so the margin reads it; they take on them to be very much affected with the miscarriages of such and such, and to be in pain for them, and pretend that it is with the greatest grief and reluctance imaginable that they speak of them, they look as if they themselves were wounded by it; whereas really they rejoice in ini-quity, are fond of the story, and tell it with pride and "pleasure. Thus their words seem; but they go down as poison irUo the innermost parts oj the belly, the pill being thus gilded, thus sugared.

2. As wounds, so tiie text reads it; as deep wounds, deadly wounds, wounds in the inner?nost parts of the belly; the veiiter medius vel infimus — The middle or lower belly, the thorax, or the abdomen, in eitfier of which Avounds are mortal. The words of the tale-bearer wound him of whom they are spoken, his credit and interest, and him to whom they are spoken, his )ove and chai-ity: they occasion sin to

m

PROVERBS, XVIIl.

him, which is a wound to the conscience; perhaps he seems to shght them, but they wound insensibly, by alienating his affections from one he ought to love.

9. He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.

Note, 1. Prodigality is very bad husbandly. Those are not only justly branded as fools among men, but will give an uncomfortable account to God of the talents they are intrusted with, who are wasters of their estates, who live above what they have, spend and give more than they can afford, and so, in effect, throw away what they have, and suffer it to run to waste.

2. Idleness is no better. He that is remiss in his work, whose hands hang down, (so the word signifies,) that stands, as we say, with his thumbs in his mouth, that neglects his business, does it not at all, or as if he did it not, he is own brother to him that is a prodigal; he is as much a fool, and in as sure and ready a way to poverty; one scatters what he has, the other lets it run through his fingers. The observation is too true, in the affairs of religion; he that is trifling and careless in praying and hearing, is brother to him that does not pray or hear at all; and omissions of duty and in duty, are as fatal to the soul as co7Kmissions of sin.

10. The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

Here is, 1. God's sufficiency for the saints; His name is a strong tower for them, in which they may take rest where they are weary, and take sanctuary when they are pursued, where they may be lifted up above their enemies, and fortified against them. Thei*e is enough in God, and in the discoveries which he has made of himself to us, to make us easy at all times; the wealth laid up in this tower is enough to enrich them, to be a continual feast, and a continuing treasure, to them; the strength of this tower is enough to protect them; the name of the Lord is all that whereby he has made himself known as God, and our God, not only his titles and attributes, but his covenant and all the promises of it; these make up a tower, a strong tower, impenetrable, impregnable, for all God's people.

2. The saints' security in God. It is a strong tower to those who know how to make use of it as such; the righteous, by faith and prayer, devotion toward God, and dc])endence on him, run into it as their city of refuge; having made sure their interest in God's name, they take the comfort and benefit of it; they go out of themselves, retire from the world, live above, dwell in God, and God in them, and so they are safe, they think themselves so, and they shall find themselves so.

11. The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as a high wall in his own conceit.

Having described the firm and faithful defence of the righteous man, (x". 10.) he here shows what is the false and deceitful defence of the rich man, that has his portion and treasure in the things of this world, and sets his heart upon them; his wealth is as much his confidence, and he expects as much from it, as a godly man from his Crod.

See, 1. How he supports himself; he makes his wealth his city, where he dwells, where he rules, with a great deal of self-complacency, as if he had a whole city under his command. It is his strong C'h.1, in which he intrenches himself, and then sets dnnger at defiance, as if nothing could hurt him. His scales are his firide; his wealth is his wall in whicli he incloses himself, and he thinks it a high -nvall wliich cannot be scaled or got over, Job xxxi. V4. Rev. xviii. 7.

2. How herein he cheats himself; it is a str'ong city, and a high wall, but it is so only in his own conceit, it will not prove to be really so, but, like the house built on the sand, it will fail the builder when he most needs it.

12. Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.

Note, 1. Pride is the presage of ruin, and ruin wil. at last be the punishment of pride; for before destruction men are commonly so infatuated by the just judgment of God, that they are mere haughty than ever; that their niin may be the sorer, and the more surprising. Or, if that do not always hold, yet, after the heart has been lifted up with pride, a fall comes, ch. xvi. 18.

2. Humility is the presage of honour, and prepares men for it, and honour shall at length be the reward of humility, as he had said before, ch. xv. 33. That has need to be often said which men are so loath to believe.

13. He that answereth a matter before he

heareth ^7, it is folly and shame unto him.

See here how men often expose themselves by that very thing by which they hope to gain applause.

1. Some take a pride in being quick; they answer a matter before they hear it, hear it cut, nay, as soon as they but hear of it. They think it is theii honour to take up a cause suddenly; and when they have heard one side, they think the matter so plain, that they need not trouble themselves to hear the other, they are already apprized of it, and masters of all the merits of the cause. Whereas, though a ready wit is an agreeable thing to play with, it is solid judgment and sound wisdom that do business.

2. Those that take a pride in being quick, commonly fall under the just reproach of being impertinent. It is folly for a man to go about to speak to a thing which he does not understand, or to pass sentence upon a matter which he is not truly and fully informed of, and has not patience to make a strict inquiry into; and if it be folly, it is, and will be, shame.

14. The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?

Note, 1. Outward grievances are tolerable as long as the mind enjoys itself, and is at ease. Many infirmities, many calamities, we ai'e liable to in this world, in body, name, and estate, v/hich a man may bear, and bear up under, if he have but good conduct and courage, and be able to act with reason and resolution, especially if he have a good conscience, and the testimony of that be for him; and if the sfiirit of a man will sustain the infirmity, much more will the spirit of a Christian, or rather the Spirit of God, witnessing and working with our spirits in a day of trouble.

2. The grievances of the spirit are of all others most heavy and hardly to be borne; these make sore the shoulders which should sustain the other infirmities. If the spirit be wounded by the disturbance of the reason, dejection under the trouble, whatever it is, and despair of relief; if the spirit be wounded bv the amazing apprehensions of God's wrath for sin, and the fearful expectations of judgment and fierv indignation, who can bear this? Wcundcd spirits cannot help themselves, nor do others know how to help them. It is therefore wisdom to keep conscience void of oftence.

15. The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seek-eth knowledge.

PROVERBS, XVIIl.

711)

Sou , 1. Those that are prudent will seek know-.edge, aiid apply their ear and heart to the pursuit (if it; their ear to attend to the means of knowledge, and their heart to mix faith with what they hear, and make a good improvement of it. Those that are prudent do not think they have prudence enough, but still see they have need of more; and the more pi'udent a man is, the more inquisitive will he be after knowledge, the knowledge of God and his duty, and the way to heaven, for that is the best knowledge.

2. Those that prudently seek knowledge, shall certainly get knowledge, for God never said to such. Seek, in vain. Seek, and ye shall find. If the ear seeks it, the heart gets it, and keeps it, and is enriched by it. We must get knowledge, not only into our heads, but into our hearts, get the savour and relish of it, apply what we know to ourselves, and expe-I'ience the power and influence of it.

16. A man's gift maketh room for him,

and bringeth him before great men.

Of what great force gifts, bribes, are, he had intimated before, ch. xvii. 8, 23. Here he shows the power of gifts, presents, made even by inferiors to those that are above them, and have much more than they have. A good present will go far,

1. Towards a man's liberty; a man's gift, if he be in prison, may procure his enlargement; there art courtiers, who, if they use their interest even for oppi'essed innocency, expect to be gi-atified for it. Or, if a mean man know not how to get access to a great man, he may do it by a fee to his servants, or a present to himself; those will make room for him.

2. Toward his preferment. It will bring him to sit among great men in honour and power. See how corrupt this woiid is, when men's gifts will do that for them which their merits will not do, though ever so gi'eat; nay, will gain that for them which they are unworthy of, and unfit for; and no wonder that those take bribes in their offices, who gave bribes for them. Fendere jura potent, emarat ille firius — He that bought law, can sell it.

17. He that is first in his own cause seem-eth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.

This shows that one tale is good till another is told.

1. He that speaks first will be sure to tell a straight story, and relate that only which makes for him, and put the best colour he can upon it, so that his cause shall appear good, whether it really be so or no.

2. The plaintiff having done his evidence, it is fit that the defendant should be heard, should have leave to confront the witnesses, and cross-examine them, and show the falsehood and fallacy of what has been alleged, which, perhaps, may make the matter appear quite otherwise than it did. We must therefore remember that we have two ears, to hear each side before we give judgment.

18. The lot causeth contentions to cease, i and parteth between the mighty.

Note, 1. Contentions commonly happen among the mighty, that are jealous for their honour and right, and stand upon the punctilios of both, and are confident of their being able to make their part good, and therefore will hardly condescend to the necessary terms of an accommodation; whereasthose that are poor are forced to be peaceable, and sit down losers.

2. Even the contentions of the mighty may be ended by lot, if they cannot otherwise be compromised, and sometimes better so than by arguments

which are endless, or concessions which they are loath to stoop to, whereas it is no disparagement to a man to acquiesce in tlie determination of the lot, when once it is referred to that. To prevent quar rels, Canaan was divided by lot; and, if lusorj lots had not profaned this way of appeal to Provi dence, perhaps it might be very well used now fc? the deciding of many controversies, both to the ho nour of God, and the satisfaction of the parties, pro vided it be done with prayer and due solemnity, this, and some other scriptures, seeming to direct to it, especially Acts i. 26. If the law is a lottery (as some have called it,) it were as wtU that a lot tery were the law.

19. A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city; and their contention? are hke the bars of a castle.

Note, 1. Great care must be taken to preven< quarrels among relations, and those that are undej special obligation to each other, not only because they are most unnatural and unbecoming, but be cause between such, things are commonly takei most unkindly, and resentments are apt to be carried too far. Wisdom and grace would indeed makf it most easy to us to forgive our relations and friends if they offend us, but corruption makes it most dif ficult to forgive them; let us therefore take heed oi disobliging a brother, or one that has been as a bro ther; ingratitude is very provoking.

2. Great pains must be taken to compromise mat ters in variance between relations, with all speed, because it is a work of so much difficulty, and, con sequently, the more honourable if it be done. Esau was a brother offended, and seemed harder to be won than a strong city, yet, by a work of God upon his heart, in answer to Jacob's prayer, he was won.

20. A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.

Note, 1. Our comfort depends A^ery much upon the testimony of our own consciences, for us, or against us. The belly is here put for the conscience, as ch. XX. 27. Now it is of great consequence to us whether that be satisfied, and wliat that is filled with, for, accordingly, will our satisfaction be, and our inward peace.

2. The testimony of our consciences will be foi us, or against us, according as we have, or have not, governed our tongues well. According as the fruit of the mouth is, good or bad, unto iniquity or unto righteousness, accordingly the character of the man is, and, consequently, the testimony of his conscience concerning him. " We ought to take as great care about the words we speak, as we do about the fruit of our trees, oi* the increase of the earth, which we are to eat; for, according as they are wholesome or unwholesome, so will the pleasure or the pain be, wherewith we shall be filled." See Bishop Patrick.

21. Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Note, 1. A man may do a great deal of good, or a great deal of hurt, both to others aiid to himself, according to the use he makes of his tongue. Many a one has been his own death by a fcul tongue, or the death of others by a false tongue; and, on the contrarv, many a one has saved his own life, or procured the comfort of it, by a prudent gentle tongue, and saved the lives of others by a seasonable testimony or intercession for them. And if by our words we must be justified or condemned, death and life

•20

PROVERBS, XIX.

arc, no doubt, in the fioiver of the tongue. Tongues were xEsop's best meat, and his worst.

2. Men's words will be judged of by the affections with which they speak; he that not only speaks aright, (which a bad man may do to save his credit, or please his company,) but loves to speak so, speaks well of clioice, and with delight, to him it will be life; and he that not only speaks amiss, (which a good man may do through inadvertency,) but loves to speak so, (Ps. lii. 4.) to him it will be death. As men love it, they shall eat the fruit of it.

22. fVhoso iindeth a wife, findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.

Note, 1. A good wife is a great blessing to a man. He that finds a wife, that is, a wife indeed, (a bad wife does not deserve to be called by a name of so much honour,) that finds a lielp meet for him, that is a wife in the original acceptation of the word, that sought such a one with care and prayer, and has found what he sought, he has found a good thing, a jewel of great value, a rare jewel, he has found that which will not only contribute more than any thing to his comfort in this life, but will forward him in the way to heaven.

2. God is to be acknowledged in it with thankfulness; it is a token of his favour, and a happy pledge of further favours; it is a sign that God delights in a man to do him good, and has mercy in store for him; for this, therefore, God must be sought unto.

23. The poor useth entreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.

Note, 1. Poverty, though many inconveniencies to the body attend it, has often a good effect upon the spirit, for it makes men humble and submissive, and mortifies their pride; it teaches them to use entreaties; when necessity forces men to beg, it tells them they must not prescribe or demand, but take what is given them, and be thankful. At the throne of God's grace we are all poor, and must use entreaties; not answer, but make application, must sue 8ub forma fiaufieris — as a fiaufier.

2. A prosperous condition, though it has many advantages, has often this mischief attending it, that it makes men proud, haughty, and imperious; The rich anstvers the entreaties of the fioor roughly, as Nabal answered David's messengers with railing. It is a very foolish humour of some rich men, especially those who have risen from httle, that they think their riches will warrant them to give hard words, and, even where they do not design any rough dealing, that it becomes them to answer roughly, whereas gentlemen ought to be gentle. Jam. iii. 17.

24. A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Solomon here recommends friendship to us, and shows,

1. What we must do, that we may contract and cultivate friendship; we must sAoto ourselves friendly. Would we have friends and keep them, we must not only not affront them, or quarrel with them, but we must love them, and make it appear that we do so, by all expressions that are endearing; by being free with them, pleasing to them, visiting them, and bidding them welcome, and especially by doing all the good offices we can, and serving them in every thing that lies in our power; that is sh0-ving otirselvesfriendly.

Si vis amari, ama— If you wish to gain affection, bestow it. Sen. Ut ameris, amabilis esto— The way to be beloved, is to be lovelyt Ovid

I 2. That it is worth while to do so, for we may promise ourselves a great deal of comfort in a true friend; A brother indeed is born for adversity, as

j he had said, ch. x\ ii. 17. In our troubles, we ex pect comfort and relief from our relations, but seme-times there is a friend that is nothing akin to us, the bonds of whose esteem and love prove stronger than

I those of natvu'e, and therefore he sticks closer than a brother, and, when it comes to the trial, will do more for us than a brrthcr will. Christ is a Friend to all believers, that sticks closer than a brother; to him therefore let them sliow themselves friendly.

CHAP. XIX. 1. "pETTER is the poor that walketh _0 in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.

Here see, 1. What will be the credit ynd comfort of a poor man, and make him more excellent than his neighbour, though his poverty may expose him to contempt, and may dispirit him. Let him be honest, and walk i?i integrity, let him keep a gocd conscience, and make it appear that he dr es so, let him always speak and act with sincerity, when he is under the greatest temptations to dissemble, ant^ break his word, and then let him value himself upon tUat, for all wise and good men will value him. Hn is better, has a better character, is in a better condition, is better beloved, and lives to better purpose, than many a one that looks great, and makts a figure.

2. What will be the shame of a rich man, notwithstanding all his pomp. If he have a shallov head, and an evil tongue, if he is perverse in his lips, and is a fool, if he is a wicked man, and gets what he has by fraud and oppression, he is a fool, and an honest poor man is to be preferred far be fore him.

2. Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it IS not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.

Two things are here showed to be of bad cons* -quence:

1. Ignorance; To be nvithout the knotvledge of the soul is not good, so some read it. Know we not our own selves, our own hearts? .^ soul without knowledge is not good; it is a great privilege that we liave souls, but if these souls have not knowledge, what the Isetter are we? If man have 7iot understanding, he is as the beasts, Ps. xlix 20. An ignorant soul cannot be a good srul. That the soul be without knowledge, is not safe, nor pleasant; what good can the soul do, or what is it good for, if it be without knowledge?

2. Rashness; He that hastes with his feet, that does things inconsiderately, and with precipitation, and will not take time to ponder the path of his feet, sins; he cannot but miss it often, and take many a false step, which those prevent that consider their ways. As well not know, as not consider.

3. The foolishness of man pei-verteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord.

We have here two instances of men's folly.

1. That they bring themselves into straits and troubles, and run themselves aground, and embar rass themselves; The foolishness of man perverts his way. Men meet with crosses and disappointments in their afliiirs, and things do not succeed as they expected and wished, and it is their own fault, and their own folly; it is their own iniquity tha* corrects them.

PROV^ERBS, XIX.

vai

2. That, when they have done so, they lay the olame upon God, and their hearts fret against him, as if he had done them wrong, whereas really they wi'ong themselves. In fretting, we are enemies to our own peace, and become selt-tormentors; in fretting against the Lord, we affront him, his justice, goodness, and sovereignty; but it is very absurd to take occasion, from the trouble which we pull upon our own heads by our wilfulness, or neglect, to quarrel with him, when we ought to blame 'ourselves, for it is our own doing. See Isa. 1. 1.

4. Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour.

Here, 1. We may see how strong is men's love of money, that they will love any man, how undeserving soever he be otherwise, if he has but a deal of money, and is free with it, so that they may hope to be the better for it. Wealth enables a man to send many presents, make many entertainments, and do many good offices, and so gains him many friends, who pretend to love him, for they flatter him, and make their court to him, but really love what he has; or rather love themselves, hoping to get by him.

2. We may see how weak is men's love of one another; He who, while he prospered, was loved and respected, if he fall into poveity, is sefiarated from his neighbour, is not owned or looked upon, not visited or regarded, is bid to keep his distance, and told he is troublesome; even one that has been his neighbour and acquaintance, shall turn his face from him, and pass by on the other side; because men's consciences tell them they ought to relieve and succour such, they are willing to have this excuse, that they did not see them.

5. A false witness shall not be unpunished ; and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.

Here we have, 1. The sins threatened; bearing false witness in judgment, and speaking lies in common conversation. Men could not arrive at such a pitch of impiety as to bear false witness, (where to the guilt of a lie is added that of perjury and injury,) if they had not advanced to it by allowmg themselves to speak untruths in jest and banter, or under pretence of doing good. Thus men teach their tongues to speak lies, Jer. ix. 5. Those that will take a liberty to tell lies in discourse are in a fair way to be guilty of the greater wickedness of false-witness-bearing, whenever they are tempted to it, though they had seemed tn detest it. They that can swallow a false word debauch their consciences, so that a false oath will not choak them.

2. The threatening itseH; they shall not go unpunished, they shall not escape. This intimates, that that which imboldens them in the sin, is, hope of impunity, and that is a sin which commonly escapes punishment from men, though the law was strict, Deut. xix. 18, 19. But it shall not escape the righteous judgment of God, who is jealous, and will not suffer his name to be profaned; we know where all liars will have their everlasting portion.

6. Many will entreat the favour of the prince; and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. 7. All the brethren of the poor do hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.

These two verses are a comment upon v. 4. and show,

1. How those that are rich and great are courted and caressed, and have suitors, and servants, in

Vol. III.—4 Y

abundance. The prince that has power in his hand, and preferments at his disposal, has his gate and his anti-chamlier thronged with petitioners, that are ready to adore him for what they can get; Many ivill entreat his favour, and think themselves happy in it. Even great men are humble supplicants tc the prince. How earnest then should we be foi tlie favour of God, which is far beyond that of any earthly prince! But, it should seem, liberality will go further than majesty itself to gain respect, for they are many that court the prince, but every man is a friend to him that gives gifts; not only those that have received, or do expect, gifts from him, will, as friends, be ready to serve him, but others also will, as friends, give him their good word. Prodigals, who are foolishly free of what they have, will have many hangers-on, who will cry them up as long as it lasts, but will leave them when it is done. Those that are pinidently generous make an interest by it, which may stand them in good stead; they are accounted benefactors, exercise an authority which may give them an opportunity of doing good, Luke xxii. 25.

2. How those that are poor and low are slighted and despised. It should not be so, we must honour all men, even under tlieir greatest abasement; men may, if they please, court the prince, and the princely, but they may not trample upon the poor, and look at them with disdain; yet so it often is. Ml the brethren of the poor do hate him, even his own relations are shy of him, because he is needv and ci'aving, and expects something from them, and because they look upon him as a blemish to their family; and then, no marvel if others of his friends, that were nothing akin to him, go far from him, to get out of his way; he pursues them'with ivords, hoping to prevail with them, by his importunity, to be kind to him, but all in vain, they have nothing for him. They pursue him with ivords, so si^me understand it, to excuse themselves from giving him any thing; they tell him that he is idle and impertinent, that he has brrught himself into poverty, and therefore ought not to be relieved; as Nabal sr.id to David's messengers, " There are many seii'arits now-a-days, that run away from their masters; and how do I know but that David may be one rf them ?" Let poor people therefore make God their Friend, pursue him with their prayers, and he will not be wanting to them.

8. He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.

Thev are here encouraged,

1. That take pains to get wisdom, to get knowledge and grace, and acquaintance with God; thev tliat do so, show that they love their own souls, and will be found to have done themselves the greatest kindness imaginable. No man ever hated his ontm flesh, but Irves that; yet many are wanting in love to their own souls, for those only love their souls, and, consequently, love themselves aright, that get wisdom, true wisdom.

2. That take care to keep it when they have got it; it is health, and wealth, and honour, and all, to the soul, and therefore he that keeps understanding, as he shows that he loves his own S07d, so he shall certainly.^nrf good, all good. He that retains the good lessons he has learnt, and orders his conversation according to them, shall find the benefit and comfort of it in liis own soul, and shall be happy here and for ever.

9. A false witness shall not be unpunished; and he that speaketh lies shall perish.

Here is, 1. A repetition of wliat was said before.

(22

PROVERBS, XIX.

^v. 5.) for we have need to ue again and again warned ■>£ the danger of the &ni of lying and false-witness bearing, since nothing is of more fatal consequence.

2. An addition to it in one word; there it was said, He that sfieaks lies shall not escape, and intimated that he shall be punished. Here it is said, His punishment shall be such as will be his destnic-tion, he shall fierish; the lies he forged against others will be his own iniin. It is a damning, destroying, sin.

10. Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.

Note, 1. Pleasure and liberty ill become a fool; Delight is not seevily for such a one. A man that has not wisdom and grace has no right or title to true joy, and therefore it is unseenily. It ill becomes those, that do not delight in God, to delight in any thing else. They know not how to use any thing, nor how to manage themselves, and therefore they do but expose themselves. It becomes ungracious fools to be afflicted, and mourn, and weep, not to laugh and be merry; rebukes are more proper for them than deliglits. Delight is seemly for a man of business, to refresh him when he is fatigued, but not for a fool that lives an idle life, and abuses his recreations. The prosperity of fools discovers their folly, and destroys them.

2. Power and honour ill become a man of a servile spirit; nothing is more unseemly than/o?* a servant to have rule over princes; it is absurd in itself, and very preposterous; for none are so insolent and intolerable as a beggar on horseback, a scrx'cint ivhen he reigns, ch. xxx. 22. It is very unseemly for one, that is a servant to sin and his lusts, to rule over and oppress those that are God's freemen, and made kings and priests to him.

11. The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

A wise man will observe these two rules about his anger;

1. Not to be over-hasty in his resentments; Discretion teaches us to defer our anger; to defer the admission of it, till we have thoroughly considered all the merits of the provocation, seen them in a true light, and weighed them in a just balance; and then to defer the prosecution of it, till there be no danger of i-unning into any indecencies. Plato said to his servant, "I would beat thee, but that I am angry." Give it time, and it will cool.

2. Not to be over-critical in his resentments. Whereas it is commonly looked upon as a piece of ingenuity to apprehend an affront quickly, it is here made a man's glory to pass over a transgression, to appear as if he did not see it; (Ps. xxxviii. 13.) or, if lie sees fit to take notice of it, yet to forgive it, and meditate no revenge.

12. The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion: but his favour is as dew upon the gi-ass.

This is to the same purport with what we had, ch. xvi. 14, 15. and the design of it is,

1. To make kings wise and considerate in dispensing their frowns and smiles; they are not like those of common pers<ins, their frowns are very terrible, and tluii- smiles verv comfortable, and therefore it concerns them to be very careful that they never frighten a good man from doing well, with their frowns, nor ever give countenance to a wicked man in doing ill, with their smiles, for then ihey abuse their influence, Rom. xiii. 3.

2 To make subjects f lithful and dutiful to their

princes. Let them be restrained from all disloyalty, by the consideration of the dreadful consequence of having the goveniment against them; and let them be encouraged in all good services to the public, by the hopes of the favour of the prince. Christ is a King, whose wrath against his enemies will he as the roaring of a lion, (Rev. x. 3.) and his favour to his own people as the refreshing dew, Ps. Ixxii. 3.

13. A foolish son is the calamity of his father; and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

It is an instance of the vanity of the world, that we are liable to the greatest griefs in those things wherein we promise ourselves th.e greatest comfort. It is as it proves. What greater temporal comfort can a man have than a good wife, and good children? Yet,

1. ji foolish son is a great affliction, and may make a man wish a thousand times he had been written childless. A son that will apply himself to no study or business, that will take no advice, that lives a lewd, loose, rakish, life, and spends what he has extravagantly, games it away, and wastes it in the excess of riot, or that is proud, foppish, and conceited, such a one is the grief of his father, because he is the disgrace, and is likely to be the ruin, of his family. He hates all his labour, when he sees to whom he must leave the fruit of it.

2. A cross, peevish wife is as great an affliction; Her contentions are continual; every day and every hour in the day, she finds seme occasion to make herself, and those about her, uneasy. Those that are accustomed to chide, never want something or other to chide at; but it is a continual dropping, that is, a continual vexation, as it is to have a house so much out of repair that it rains in, and a man cannot lie dry in it. That man has an uncomfortable life, and lias need of a great deal of wisdom and grace to enable him to bear his affliction, and do his duty, that has a sot to his son, and a scold to his wife.

14. House and riches a?^e the inheritance of fathers; and a prudent wife is from the Lord.

Note, 1. A discreet and virtuous wife is a choice gift of God's providence to a man; a wife that is prudent, in opposition to one that is contentious, V. 13. For though a wife, that is continually find ing fault, may think it is her wit and wisdom to be so, it is really her folly; a prudent wife is meek and quiet, and makes the best of every thing. If a man has such a wife, let him not ascribe it to the wisdom of his own choice, or his own management, (for the wisest have been deceived both in and by a woman,) but let him ascribe it to the goodness of God, who made him a help meet for him, and, perhaps, by some hits and turns of providence, that seemed casual, brought her to him. Every creature is what he makes it. Happy marriages, we are sure, are made in heaven; Abraham's servant prayed in the belief of this, (ien. xxiv. 12.

2.' It is a more valuable gift than house and riches, contributes more to the comfort and credit of a man's life, and the welfare of his familv, is a greater token of God's favour, and about wliich tlie Divine Providence is in a more especial manner crnxcrsant. A good estate may be the inheritau " of fathers, which, bv the common direction (t Prov idence, comes in course to a man: hut no man has a good wife by descent or entail. Parents that are worldly, in disposing of their children, look no further than to match them to house and riches, Init if v.ithal i* was to a prudent tvifr, let Gcd ha\e the gi.v.-.

PROVERBS, XrX.

723

15. Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; ^nd an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

See here the evil of a sluggish, slothful, disposition:

1. It stupifies men, and makes them senseless, and mindless of their own affairs, as if they were cast into a deep, sleep, dreaming much, but doing nothing. Slothful people doze away their time, bury their talents, live a useless life, and are the improfitable burthens of the earth; for any service they do when they are awake they had as' good be always asleep. Even their souls are idle, and lulled asleep, their rational powers chilled and frozen.

2. It impoverishes men, and brings tliem to want; they that will not labour, cannot expect to eat, but must suffer hunger; jiri idle soul, one that is idle in the affairs of his soul, that takes no care or pains to work out his salvation, shall perish for want of that which is necessary to the lite and happiness of the soul.

16. He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.

Here is, 1. The happiness of those that walk ciixumspectly; They that make conscience of keeping- the commandment in every thing, that live by rule, as becomes servants and patients, they keep their own souls, they secure their present peace, and future bliss, and provide every way well tor themselves. If we keep God's word, God's word will keep us from every thing really hurtful.

2. The misery of those that live at large, and ne\'er mind what they do; They that despise their ways shall die, shall perish eternally, they are in the high road to ruin. With I'espect to those that are careless about the end of their ways, and never consider whither they are going, and about the rule of their ways, that will walk in the way of their hearts, and after the course of the world, (Eccl. xi. 9.) that never consider what they have done, or what they are concerned to do, but walk at all adventures, (Lev. xxvi. 21.) right or wrong, it is all one to them; what can come of this but the greatest mischief?

17. He that hath pity upon the poor lend-eth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

Here is, 1. The duty of charity described. It includes two things: (1.) Compassion; which is the inward principle of charity in the heart; it is to have pity on titepoor; those that have not a penny for the poor, yet may have^ity for them, a charitable concern and sympathy; and if a man give all his goods to feed the poor, and have not this charity in his heart, it is nothing, 1 Cor. xiii. 3. We must draw out our souls to the hungry, Isa. Iviii. 10. (2.) Bounty and liberality. We must not only pity the poor, but give, according to their necessity and our ability. Jam. ii. 15, 16. That which he has given. Margin, His deed. It is charity to do for the poor, as Avell as to give; and thus, if they have their limbs and senses, they may be charitable to one another.

2. The encouragement of charity. (1.) A very kind construction shall be put upon it; What is given to the poor, or done for them, God will place it to account as lent to him, lent ufion interest, so the word signifies; he takes it kindly, as if it were done to himself, and he v/ould have us to take the comfort of it, and to be as well pleased as ever any usurer was when he had let out a sum of money into good hands. (2.) A very rich recompense shall be, made for it; he will pay him again, in temporal.

spiritual, and eternal blessings. Almsgiving is the surest and safest way of thri\ing.

18. Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for'his crying.

Parents are here cautioned against a foolish indulgence of tlieir childrtn, that are untoward and viciously inclined, and that discover such an ill temper ot mind as is not likely to be cured but by sc-veritv.

1. iDo not say, that it is all in good time to correct them; no, as socn as ever there appears a corrupt disposition in them, check it immediately, before it gets head, and takes root, and is hardened into a habit; Chasten thy son while there is hope, for, perhaps, if he be let alone awhile, he will be past hope, and a much greater chastening will not do that which now a less would effect. It is easiest plucking up weeds as soon as they spring up, and the bullock tliat is dcsignicd for the yoke should be betimes accustomed to it.

2. Do not say, that it is a pity to correct them, and that because they cry, and beg to be forgiven, you cannot find in your heart to do it; if the point will be gained without correction, well and good; but if you find, as it often proves, that your forgiving them once, upon a dissembled repentance, and promise of amendment, does but imbolden them to offend again, especially, if it be a thing that is in itself sinful, as lying, swearing, ribaldry, stealing, or the like; in such a case, put on resolution, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. It is better that he should cry under the rod, than under the sword of the magistrate, or, which is more fearful, that of divine vengeance.

19. A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment; for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.

1. As we read this, it intimates, in short, that angry men never want wo; those that are of strong, or rather of headstrong, passions, commonly bring themselves, and their families, into trouble and vexatious suits and quarrels, and the provocations they give; they are still smarting, in one instance or other, for their ungoverned heats; and if their friends deliver them out of one trouble, they will quickly in\'olve themsehes in another, and they must do it again; all which trouble to themselves and others would be prevented if they would mortify tlieir passions, and get the rule of their own spirits.

2. It may as well be read. He that is of great wrath, meaning the child that is to be corrected, and is impatient of rebuke, cries, and makes a noise, even that wrath of his against the rod of correction deserves to be punished; for if thou deliver him for the sake of that, thou wilt be forced to punish him so much the more the next time. A stomachful, high-spirited, child, must be subdued betimes, or it will be the worse for it.

20. Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

Note, 1. It is well with those that are wise in their latter end, wise for their latter end, for their future state, for another world, that are found wise when their latter end comes; wise virgins, wise builders, wise stewards; that are wise at length, and understand the things that belong to their peace, before they be hid from their eyes. A carnal worldling, at his eiid, shall be a fool, (Jer. xvii. 11.) but godliness will prove wisdom at last.

2. Those tliat would be wise in their latter e?id, must hear counsel, and receive instruction, in theii

PROVERBS, XIX.

beginnings must be willing to be taught and ruled, willing to be advised and reproved, when they are young. Those that would be stored in wintermust gather in summer.

21. There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.

Here is, 1. Men projecting. They keep their designs to themselves, but they cannot hide them from God, he knows the many devices that are in Tuen's hearts, devices against his counsel, as those, Ps. ii. 1"3. Micah iv. 11. devices without his counsel, no regard had to his providence, as those, James \v. 13. This and the other they will do, and not take God along with them; devices unlike God's counsels; men are wavering in their devices, and often absurd and unjust, but God's counsels are wise and holy, steady and uniform.

2. God overruling. Various men have various designs, according as their inclination and interest leads them, but the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand, whatever comes of the de\aces of men. His counsel often breaks men's measures, and baffles their devices; but their devices cannot in the least alter his counsel, or disturb the proceedings of it, or put him upon new counsels, Isa. xiv. 24.—xlvi. 11. What a check does this give to politic, designing, men, who tliink they can outwit all mankind, that there is a God in heaven, that laughs at them! Ps. ii. 4. What comfort does this speak to all God's people, that all God's purposes, which, we are sure, are right and good, shall be accomplished in due time!

22. The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.

Note, 1. The honour of doing good is what we may laudably be ambitious of. It cannot but be the desire of a man, if he have any spark of virtue in him, to be kind; one would not covet an estate for any thing so much as thereby to be put into a capacity of relieving the poor, and obligmg our friends.

2. It is far better to have a heart to do good, and want ability for it, than have ability for it, and want a heart to it; The desire of a man to be kind, and charitable, and generous, is his kindness, and shall be so construed; both God and man will accept his good-will, according to what he has, and will not expect more. A fioor man, Avho wishes you well, but can promise you nothing, because he has nothing to be kind with, is better than a liar, than a rich man, who makes you believe he will do mighty things, but, when it comes to the setting to, will do nothing. The character of the men of low degree, that they are vanity, from whom nothing is expected, is better than that of men of high degree, that they are a lie, they deceive those whose expectations they raised.

23. The fear of the Lord tendeth to life ; and he that hath it shall abide satisfied ; he shall not be visited with evil.

See what they get by it, that live in the fear of God, and always make conscience of their duty to him.

1. Safety: They shall not be visited with evil; they may be visited with sickness, or other afflictions, but there shall be no evil in them, nothing to hurt them, because nothing to separate them from the love of God, or to hurt the soul.

2. Satisfaction; They shall abide satisfied; they shall have those comforts which are satisfying, and shall have a constant contentment and complacency in them. It is a satisfaction which will abide, whereas all the satisfactions of sense are transient, and

soon gone. Satur pernoctabit, 7ion cubabit inctsna-tus — He shall not go su/i/ierless to bed; he shall have that which will make him easy, and be an entertainment to him in his silent and solitary hours, Ps. xvi. 6, y.

3. True and complete happiness; serious godliness has a direct tendency to life, to all good, to eternal life; it is the sure and ready way to it; there is something in the nature of it, fitting men for heaven, and so leading tlieni to it.

24. A slothful mail hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

A sluggard is here exposed as a fool, for,

1. All liis care is to save himself from labour and cold. See his posture; He hides his hand in his bosom, pretends he is lame, and cannot work; his hands are cold, and he must warm them in his bosom; and, when they are warm there, he must keep them so. He hugs himself in his own ease, and is resolved against labour and hardship. Let those work that love it; for his part, he thinks there is no such fine life as sitting still and doing nothing.

2. He will not be at the pains to feed himself; an elegant hyperbole; as we say, A man is so lazy, that he wovdd not shake fire off" him; so here. He cannot find in his heart to take his hand cut cf his bosom, no, not to put meat into his own mouth. If the law be so, that those who Avill not labour must net eat, he will rather starve than stir: thus his sin is his punishment, and therefore is egregious folly.

25. Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware; and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.

Note, 1. The punishment of scorners will be a means of good to others. When men are so hardened in wickedness, that they will not themselves be wrought upon by the severe methods that are used to reclaim and reform them, ytt such methods must be used for the sake of others, that they may hear and fear, Deut. xix. 20. If the scorner will not be recovered from his sin, the disease being inveterate, yet the simple will beware of venturing upon the sin which exposes men thus. If it cure not the infected, it may prevent the spreadinj^ of the infection.

2. The reproof of wise men will be a means of good to themselves; they need not be smitten; a word to the wise is enough. Do but reprove one that has understanding, and he will so far understand himself and his own interest, that he will understand knowledge by it, and not miss it again, through ignorance and inadvertence, when once he has been told of it; so kindly does he take reproof, and so wisely improve it.

26. He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.

Here is, 1. The sin of a prodigal son. Beside the wrong he does to himself, he is injurious to his good parents, and basely ungrateful to them that were the instruments of his being, and have taken so much care and pains about him, which is a great aggravation of his sin, and renders it exceeding sinful in the eyes of God and man; He wastes his father, wastes his estate which he should have to support him in his old age, wastes his spirits, and breaks his heart, and brings his gray head with sorrow to the grave. He chases away bis mother, alienates her affections from him, which cannot be I done without a great denl of regret and uneasiness

PROVERBS, XX.

725

'o her; he makes her weary of the house, with his rudeness and insolence, and glad to retire for a little quietness; and, when he has spent all, he turns her out of doors.

2. The shame of a prodigal son. It is a shame to himself that he should be so brutish and unnatural; he makes himself odious to all mankind. It is a shame to his parents and family, who are reflected upon, though perhaps without just cause, for teaching him no better, or being some way wanting to him.

27. Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that caiiseth to err from the words of knowledge.

This is a good caution to those who have had a good education, to take heed of hearkening to those who, under pretence of instinicting them, draw them off from those good principles under the influence of which they were trained up. Observe,

1. There is that which seems designed for the instruction, but really tends to the destruction, of young men. The factors for vice will undertake to teach them free thoughts and a fashionable conversation; how to palliate the sins they have a mind to, and stop the mouth of their own consciences; how to get clear of the restraints of their education, and to set up for wits and beaus. This is the mst7-uction which causes to en' from the forms of sound words, which should be held fast in faith and love.

2. It is the wisdom of young men to turn a deaf ear to such instructions, as the adder does to the charms that are designed to insnai-e her. *' Dread hearing such talk as tends to instil loose principles into the mind; and if thou art linked in with such, break off from them; thou hast heard enough, or too much, and therefore hear no more, of the evil communication which comapts good manners."

28. An ungodly witness scorneth judgment ; and the mouth of the wicked devour-eth iniquity.

Here is a description of the worst of sinners, whose hearts are fully set in them to do evil.

1. They set that at defiance which would deter and detain them from sin; An Jing-odly witness is one that bears false witness against his neighbour, and will forswear himself to do another a mischief, in which there is not only great injustice, but great impiety; this is one of the worst of men. Or, An unfrodly witness is one that profanely and atheisti-cally witnesses against religion and godliness, whose instmctions seduce fi-om the words of knowledge; {y. 27.) such a one scorns judgment, laughs at the terrors of the Lord, mocks at that fear, Job xv. 26. Tell him of law and equity, tliat the scriptures and an oath are sacred things, and not to be jested with, that there will come a reckoning day; he laughs at it all, and scorns to heed it.

2. Thev are greedy, and glad of that which gives them an opportunity to sin; The mouth of the wicked eagerlv devours iniquity, drinks it in like water. Job XV. 16.

29. Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools.

Note, 1. Scorners are fools; those that ridicule things sacred and serious, do but make themselves ridiculous; their folly shall be manifest unto all men.

2. Those that scorn judgments cannot escape them, V. 2S. The unbelief of man shall not make God's thi-eatenings of no effect; they that devour in-iquitii swallow the hook with the bait. The civil magistrate has judgments prepared for scorners, for. otherwise, he would bear the sword in vain;

but if he be remiss, and connive at sin, yet God's judgments slumber not, they are prepared, Matth. XXV. 41.

CHAP. XX.

1.

WINE is a mocker, strong drink is raging -, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

Here is, 1. The mischief of drunkenness; Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; it is so to the sinner himself, it mocks him, makes a fool of him, promises him that satisfaction which it can never give him; it smiles upon him at first, but at the last it bites; in reflection upon it, it rages in his conscience; it is raging in the body, puts the humours into a ferment. When the wine is in, the wit is out, and then the man, according as his natural temper is, either mocks like a fool, or rages like a madman. Dnankenness, which pretends to be a sociable thing, renders men unfit for society, for it makes them abusive with their tongues, and outrageous in their passions, ch. xxiii. 29.

2. The folly of di-unkards is easily inferred thence. He that is deceived thereby, that suffers himself to be drawn into this sin, when he is so plainly warned of the consequences of it, is not wise, he shows that he has no right sense or consideration of things; and not only so, but he renders himself incapable of getting wisdom; for it is a sin that infatuates and besots men, and takes away their heart. A dininkard is a fool, and a fool he is likely to be.

2. The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: ivJwso provoketh him to anger sin-neth against his own soul.

See here, 1. How formidable kings are, and what a terror they strike upon those they are angi-y with: Their fear, with which (especially when they are absolute, and their will is a law) they keep their subjects in awe, is as the roaring of a lion, which is very dreadful to the creatures he preys upon, and makes them tremble, so that they cannot escape from him. Those princes that rale by wisdom and love, rule like God himself, and bear his image; but those that rule merely by terror, and with a high hand, do but rule like a lion in the forest, with a brutal power. Oderint, dum metuant — Let them hate, provided they fear.

2. How unwise therefore they are that quarrel with tliem, that are angry at them, and so provoke them to anger; they sin agai?ist their own lives; much more do they do so that provoke the King of kings to angel'. A^'emo me iinpiine lacesset —JVb one shall provoke me with impunity.

3. It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.

This is designed to rectify men's mistakes concerning strife.

1. Men think it is their wisdom to engage in quarrels; whereas it is the greatest folly that can be. He thinks himself a wise man that is quick in resenting affronts, that stands upon every nicety of honour and right, and will not abate an ace of either, that prescribes and imposes, and gives, law, to eveiy body; but he that thus meddles is a fool, and creates a great deal of needless vexation to himself.

2. Men think, when they are engaged in quarrels, that it would be a shame to them to go back, and let fall the weapon; whereas really it is an honour for a man to cease from strife, an honour to withdraw an action, to drop a controversy, to forgive an injury, and to be friends with those that we have fallen out with. It is the honour of a man, a wise man, a man of spirit, to show the command he ha-;

PROVERBS, XX.

of himself, by ceasing from strife, yielding, and stooping, and receding from his just demands, for peace sake, as Abraham, the better man. Gen. xiii. 8.

4. The sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have notliing.

See here the evil of slothfulness, and the love of ease.

1. It keeps men from the most necessary business, from ploughing and sowing when the season is; The sluggard has ground to occupy, and has ability for it, he cayi plough, but he nvill not, some excuse or other he has to shift it off, but the true reason is, it is cold weather; though ploughing time is not in the depth of winter, it is in the borders of winter, when he thinks it too cold for him to be abroad. Those are scandalously sluggish, who, in the way of their business, cannot find in their hearts to undergo so little toil as that of ploughing, and so little hardship as that of a cold Ijlast. I'hus careless are nuuiy in the affairs of their souls; a trifling difficulty will frighten them from the most important duty; but good soldiers must endure hardness.

2. Thereby it deprives them of the most necessary supports; They that roill not plough in seedtime, cannot expect to reap in harvest; and therefore they must beg th\iir bread with astonishment, when the diligent are bringing home their sheaves with joy. He that will not submit to the labour of ploughing, must submit to the shame of begging; they shall beg in harvest, and yet have nothing; no, not then when there is most plenty. Though it may be charity to relieve sluggards, yet a man may, m justice, not relieve them; they deserve to be left to starve. They that would not provide oil in their vessels, begged when the bridegroom came, and were denied.

5. Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water: but a man of understanding will draw it out.

A man's wisdom is here said to be of use to him, for the pumping of other people, and diving into them;

1. To get the knowledge of them. Though men's counsels and designs are ever so carefully concealed by them, so that they are as deefi water which one cannot fathom; yet there are those who, by sly insinuations, and questions that seem foreign, will get out of them both what they have done, and what they intend to do. Tliose therefore who would keep counsel, must not only put on resolution, but stand upon their guard.

2. To get knowlege by them. Some are very able and fit to give counsel, have an excellent faculty of cleaving a hair, hitting the joint of a difficulty, and advising pertinently; but they are modest, and reserved, and not communicative; they have a great deal in them, but it is loath to come out; in such a case, a man of understanding nvill draw it out, as wine out of a vessel. We lose the l)enefit we might have by the conversation of wise men, for want of the art of being inquisitive.

6. Most, men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?

Note, 1. It is easy to find those that will pretend to be kind and lilieral. Many a mm will call himself a man of mercy, will boast what good he has done, and what good he designs to do, or, at least, wh;it an affection he has to well-doing. Most men will talk a great deal of their charity, generosity,

hospitality, and piety, will sound a trumpet to theai-selves, as the Pharisees, and, what little goodness they have, will proclaim it, and make a mighty matter of it.

2. But it is hard to find those that really are kind and liberal; that have done, and will do, more than either they speak of, or care to near spoken of; that will be a true friend in a strait; such a one aS one may trust to is like a black swan.

7, Thejusiinan walketh in his integrity; his children are blessed after him.

It is here observed, to the honour of a good man,

1. That he does well for himself; he has a certain rule, which, with an even steady hand, he governs himself by; He tval/cs in his integrity, he keeps a good conscience, and he has the comfort of it, for it is his rejoicing. He is not liable to those uneasinesses, either in contriving what he shall do, or reflecting on what he has done, which they are liable to that walk in deceit.

2. That he docs well for his family; His children are blessed after him, and fare the better for his sake; God has mercy in store for the seed of the faithful.

A king that

itteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.

Here is, 1. The character of a good governor; He is a king that deserves to be called so, who sits in the throrie, not as a throne of honour, to tiike his ease, and take state upon him, and oblige men to keep their distance, but as a throne of judgment, that he may do justice, right the injured, and punish the injurious; that makes his business his delight, and loves no pleasure comparably to it; that does not devolve the whole care and trouble upon ethers, but takes cognizance of affairs himself, and sees with his own eyes as much as may be, 1 Kings x. 9.

2. The happy effect of a good government. The presence of the prince goes far toward the putting of wickedness out of countenance; if he inspect his affairs himself, those that are emplcyed under him will be kept in awe, and restrained frrm doing wrong. If great men be good men, and will use their power as they may and ought, what gocd may they do, and what evil may they prevent!

9. Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin ?

This question is not only a challenge to any ma-a in the world to prove himself sinless, whatever he pretends, but a lamentation of the corruption of mankind, even that which remains in the best. Alas! rr/;o Cflw sai/, "I am sinless?" ObserA'e,

1. Who the persons are that are excluded from these pretensions; all, one as well is another. Here, in this imperfect state, no person whatsoever can pretend to be without sin. Adam could say so in innocency, and saints can say so in heaven, but none in this life. Those that think themselves as good as they should be, cannot; nay, and those that are really good, will not, dare not, say this.

2. 'What the pret( nsion is that'is excluded. We cannot sav, We have made our hearts clean; though we can say, through gi-ace, "We are cjeaner than we have been," yet we cannot say, "We are clean and pure from all remainders of sin;" or, thrugh we are clean from the gross acts of sin, yet we cannot say, "Our hearts arc clean;" or, though we are washed and cleansed, yet we cannot say, "We ourselves made our own hearts clean," it was the work of the Spirit; or, though we are pure from the sins of many others, yet we cannot say, "\\'e art: fiure

PROVERBS, XX.

727

Irom our sin, tht sn: that easily besets us, the body 'jf death which Paul complained of, Rom. vii. 24.

10. Divers weights, ond clivers measures, both of them are alik<^" abomination to the Lord.

See here, 1. The various arts of deceiving that men have; all which evils the tove of moriey is the root of. In paying and receiving money, whicli was then commonly done by the scale, they had divers weights, an under-weight for what they paid, and an over-weight for what they received; in delivering out, and taking in, goods, they had divers measures, a scanty measure to sell by, and a large measure to buy by. This was doing wrong with plot and con-ti'ivance, and under colour of doing right. Under these is included all manner of fraud and deceit in commerce and trade.

2. The displeasure of God against them; whether they be about the money or the goods in the buyer, or in the seller, they are all alike an abomination to the Lord; he will not prosper the trade that is thus driven, nor bless what is thus got; he hates those that thus break the common faith by which justice is maintained, and will be the Avenger of all such.

11. Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.

The tree is known by its fruits, a man by his doings; even a young tree by its first fruits, a child by his childish things, tuhe'ther his work be clean only, appearing good, (the word is used ch. xvi. 2.) or whether it be right, i-eally good. This intimates,

1. That children will discover themselves; one may soon see what their temper is, and which way their inclination leads them, according as their constitution is. Children have not learned the art of dissembling and concealing their bent, as grown people have.

2. That parents should observe their children, that they may discover their disposition and genius, and both manage them, and dispose of them, accordingly. Drive the nail that will go, and draw out that which goes amiss. Wisdom is herein /irojitable to direct.

12. The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.

Note, 1. God is the God of nature, and all the powers and faculties of nature are derived from him, and depend upon him, and therefore are to be employed for him. It was he that for?ned the eye, and planted the ear, (Ps. xciv. 9.) and the structure of both is admirable; and it is he that preserves to us the use of both; to his providence we owe it that our eves are seeing eyes, and our ears hearing ears. Heaving and seeing are the learning senses, and we mubt particularly own God's goodness in them.

2. God is the God of grace; it is he that gives the ear that hears God's voice, the eye that sees his beauty, for it is he that opens the understanding.

13. Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.

Note, 1. Those that indulge themselves in their ease nray expect to want necessaries, which should have been gotten by honest labour; '• Therefore, though thou must sleep, (nature requires it,) yet love not sleep, as those do that hate business. Love not sleep for its own sake, but only as it fits for further work. Love not much sleep, but rather grudge the time that is spent in it, and wish thou

cculdest live witlii ut it, tlir.t thcu mightcst always be employed in s( me good exercise." We must allow it to our bodies as men allow it to their servants, because tlie}' cannot help it, and otherwise they shall have no good cf them. .They that love sleep are likely to come to poverty, not onlv because they lose the time they spend in excess of sleep, but because they contract a listless, careless, disposition, and are still half asleep, never well awake.

2. Those that stir up themselves to their business may expect to have conveniencies; *' Often thine eyes, awake, and shake off sleep, see how far in the day it is, how thy work wants thee, and how busy others aie about thee! And when thou art awake, look up, look to thine advantages, and do not let slip thme opportunities; apply thy mind closely to thy business, and be in care about it. It is the easy condition of a great advantage; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satiffied with bread; if thou dost not grow rich, yet thou shalt have enough; and that is as good as a feast."

14. It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.

See here, 1. What arts men use to get a good bargain, and to buy cheap. They not only cheapen carelessly, as if they had no need, no mind, for the commodity, when, perhaps, they cannot go without it, (there may be prudence in that,) 1)ut tliey vilify and i-un down tliat which yet they know to be cf value; they cry, " It is naught, it is naught; it has this and the other fault, or perhaps may have; it is not good of the sort; and it is too dear; we can have better and cheaper elsewhere; or have bought better and cheaper." This is the cornmrn way of dealing; and after all, it maybe, they know the contrary of what they afiRrm; but the buyer may think he has no other way of being even with the seller, who does as extra\'agantly commend his goods, and justify the price he sets on them; and so there is a fault en both sides; whereas the bargain would be made every jot as well, if both bu\'er and seller would be modest, and speak as they think.

2. W'hat pride and pleasure men take in a good bargain, when they have got it, though therein they contradict themselves, and own they dissembled when they were driving the bargain; when he has beaten down the seller, who was content to lower his price rather than lose a customer, (as many poor tradesmen are forced to do, small profit is better than none,) then he goes his wav, and boasts what excellent goods he has got at his own pnce, and takes it as an affront and a reflection upon his judgment if any body disparages his bargain. Perhaps he knew the worth of the goods better than the seller himself did, and knows how to get a great deal by them. See how apt men are to be pleased with their gettings, and proud of their tricks; whereas a fraud and a lie are what a man ought to be ashamed of, though he have gained ever so much by them.

15. There is gold, and a multitude of rubies : but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

The lips of knowledge (a good understanding to guide the lips, and a good elocution to diffuse the knowledge) are to be preferred far before gold, and pearl, and rubies; for,

1. They are more rare in themselves, more scarce, and hard to be got. There is gold in many a man's pocket, that has no grace in his^heait. In Solomon's time there was plenty cf gold, (1 Kings x. 21.) and abundance of rubies, every body wore them, they wei'e to be bought in every town; but wisdom is a i rare thing, a precious jewel, few have it so as to du

PROVERBS, XX.

good with it, nor is it to be purchased of the merchants.

2. They are more enriching to us, and more adorning. They make us rich toward God, rich in good works, 1 Tim. ii. 9, 10. Most people are fond of gold, and a ru6y or two will not serve, they must have a multitude of them, a cabinet of jewels, but he that has the lips of knowledge despises these, because he knows and possesses better things.

16. Take his garment that is suretyybr a

stranger; and take a pledge of him for a

strange woman.

Two sorts of persons are here spoken of, that are ruining their own estates, and will be beggars shortly, and therefore are not to be trusted without good security.

1. Those that will be bound for any body that will ask them, that entangle themselves in rash sureti-ship, to oblige their idle companions; they will break at last, nay, they cannot hold out long; these waste by wholesale.

2. Those that are in league with abandoned women, that treat them, and court them, and keep company with them; they will be beggars in a little time, never give them credit without a good pawn. Strange women have strange ways of impoverishing men, to enrich themselves.

17. Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.

Note, 1. Sin may be pleasant in the commission; Bread of deceit, wealth gotten by fraud, by lying and oppression, may be sweet to a man, and the more sweet for its being ill-gotten; such pleasure does the carnal mind take in the success of its wicked projects. All the pleasures and profits of sin arc bread of deceit, they are stolen, for they are forbidden fruit, and they will deceive men, for they are not what they promise. For a time, however, they are rolled under the tongue as a stveet morsel, and the sinner blesses himself in them.

But, 2. It will be bitter in the reflection. Afterward, the sinner's mouth shall be filled with gravel; when his conscience is awakened, when he sees himself cheated, and becomes apprehensive of the wrath of'iod against him for this sin, how painful and uneaiy then is the thought of it! The pleasures of sin are but for a season, and are succeeded with sorrows. Some nations have punished malefactors by mingling gravel with their bread.

18. Every purpose is established by counsel ; and with good advice make war.

Note, 1. It is good in every thing to act with deliberation, and to consult with ourselves at least, and, in matters of moment, with our friends too, before we determine, but especially to ask counsel of God, and beg direction from him, and observe the guidance of his eye. This is the way to have both cur minds and our purposes established, and to succeed well in our affairs; whereas what is done hastily and with precipitation, is repented of at leisure. Take time, and you will have done the sooner. Deliberandum est dill, cjuod statiiendum est semel — A final decision should be preceded by mature deliberation.

2. It is especially our wisdom to be cautious in making war; consider, and take advice, whether the war sh( uld be begun or no, whether it be just, whether it be prudent, whether we be a match for fhe enemy, and able to carry it on when it is too late 1.0 retreat; (Luke xiv. 31.) and, when it is begim, l^.ow, and by what arts, it may be prosecuted, for

skill is as necessary as courage. Going to law is a kind of going to war, and, therefore, must be done with good advice, Prov. xxv. 8. The rule among the Romans was, nee sequi bellum, nee fugere — neither to urge war, nor yet to shun it.

19. He that goeth about as a tale-bearer

revealethsecrets; therefore meddle not with

him that flatlereth with his lips.

Two sorts of people are dangerous to be conversed with.

1. Tale-bearers; though they are commonly flatterers, and by speaking fair msinuate themselves into men's acquamtance. Those are unprincipled people, that go about carrying stories, that make mischief among neighbours and relations, that sow in the minds of people jealousies of their governors, of their ministers, and of one another, that reveal secrets which they are intrusted with, or which, by unfair means, they come to the knowledge of; or, under pretence of guessing at men's thoughts and intentions, tell that of them which is really false. " Be not familiar with such, do not give them the hearing when they tell their tales and reveal secrets, for you may be sure that they will betray your secrets too, and tell tales of you."

2. Flatterers; for they are commonly tale-bearers. If a man fawn upon you, ci^mpliment and commend you, suspect him to have some design upon you, and stand upon your guard; he would pick that out of you, which will serve him to make a story of to somebody else, to your prejudice; therefore meddle not with him that flatters with his lips. Those too dearly love, and too dearly buy, thtir own praise, that will put confidence in a man, and trust him with a secret or business, because he speaks fairly to them.

20. Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

Here is, 1. An undutiful child become very wicked by degrees; he began with despising his father and mother, slighting their instructions, disobeying their commands, and raging at their rebukes, but at length he arrives at such a pitch of impudence and impiety as to curse them, to give them scunnlous and opprobrious language, and to wish mischief to them who were the instruments of his being, and have taken so much care and pains about him; and this, in defiance of God and his law, which has made this a capital crime, (Exod. xxi. 17. Matth. XV. 4.) and in violation of all the bonds of duty, natural affection, and gratitude.

2. An undutiful child become very miserable at last; His lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness; all his honour shall be laid in the dust, and he shall for ever lose his reputation; let him never expect any peace or comfort in his own mind, no, nor to prosper in this world. His days shall be shortened, and the lami> of his life extinguished, according to the re\erse of the promise in the fifth commandment. His family shall be cut off, and his posterit}- be a curse to him; and it will be his eternal ruin, the lamp of his happiness shall be put out in the blackness of darkness, so the word is, even that which is forever, Jude 13. Matth. xxii. 13.

21. An inheritance 7;zay Z>e gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed.

Note, 1. It is possible that an estate ma}- be suddenly raised. There are those who will he rich, by right or wrong, who make no conscience of what they say or do, if they can but get money by it, who.

PROVERBS, XX.

729

when it is in their power, will cheat their own fa-thu. and who sordidly spare and hoard up what they get, gi-udging themselves and tlieir families food convenient, and thinking all lost but what they buy 1 ;nd with, or put out to interest. By such ways as tliLse a man may.grow ricii, may grow very rich, in a little time, at his first setting out.

2. An estate that is suddenly raised is often as suddenl}' ru'.ned; it was raised liastily, but, not being raised honestly, it proves soon ri/ie and soon rotten, (he etid tliereof shall not be blessed of God, and, if he do net bless it, it can neither be comfortable, nor of any continuance; so that he who got it, at the end, will be a fool. He had better have taken time, and built firmly.

22. Say not thou, I will recompense evil:

hut wait on the Lord, and he shall save

thee.

They that live in this world must expect to have injuries done them, affronts given them, and trouble wrongfully created them, for we dwell among briers. Now here we are told what to do when we have wrong done us;

1. We must not avenge ourselves, no, nor so much as think of it, or design it; " Say Jiot thou, no not in thy heart, Iivill recompense evil for evil; do not please thyself with the thought that some time or other thou shalt have an opportunity of being quits with him. Do not wish revenge, or hope for it, much less resolve upon it, no, not when the injury is fresh, and the resentments of it most deep. Never say that thou wilt do a thing which thou canst not m faith pray to God to assist thee in; and that thou canst not do in meditating revenge."

2. We must refer ourselves to God, and leave it to him to plead our cause, to maintain our right, and reckon with those that do us wrong, in such a way and manner as he thinks fit, and in his own due time; "JVait on the Lord, attend his pleasure, acquiesce in his will, and he does not say that he shall punish him tliat has injured thee; instead of desiring that, thou must forgive him and pray for him, but he shall save thee, and that is enough. He will protect thee, so that thy passing by one injury shall not (as is commonly feared) expose thee to another; nay, he will recompense good to thee, to balance thy trouble, and encourage thy patience," as David hoped, when Shimei cursed him, 2 Sam. xvi. 12.

23. Divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord ; and a false balance is not good.

This is to the same purport with what was said V. 10.

1. It is here repeated, because it is a sin that God doubly hates; as lying (which is of the same nature with this sin) is mentioned twice among the seven things that God hates, ch. vi. 17, 19. and because, probably, it was a sin very much practised at that time in Israel, and therefore made light of, as if there were no harm in it, under pretence that, being commonly used, there was no trading without it.

2. It is here added, ji false balance is not good; to intimate that it is not only abominable to God, but unprofitable to the sinner himself; there is really no good to be got by it, no, not a good bargain, for a bargain made by fraud will prove a losing bargain in the end.

24. Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way ?

We are here t mght, that, in all our aff^urs, 1. We have a necessaiy and constant dependence upon God; all our natural actions depend upon hife

Vol. 111.—4 Z

providence, all our spiritual actions upon his grace. The best man is no better than G(d makes him; and every creature is that to us vv-liich it is the will of God that it sh(,uld lie. Our enterprises succeed, not as we desire and design, but as Gt d directs and disposes. The goings even of a strong man, so the word signifies, are of the Lord, for his strength is we ikness witiiout God, nor is the battle alwavs to the strong.

2. We liave no foresight cf future events, and the'/efore know not how to forecast for them; Hcvj can a man understand his oivn way? How can lie tell wh t will befall him, since Gt^d's counsels c> n-cerning him are secret? and therefore how can he of himself contrive what to do, without divine direction? We so little understand our own Avay, that we know not what is good for ourselves, and therefore we must make a \'irtue of necessity, and commit our way unto the Lord, in whose hand it is, follow the guidance, and submit to the disposal, (f Providence.

25. // is a snare to the man icho devoureth that tchich is holy, and after vows to make inquiry.

Two things, by which Gcd is greatly affronted, men are here said to be insnared by, and entanekd not only in guilt, but in trouble and'ruin at length.

1. Sacrilege; men's alienating holy things, and converting them to their own use, which is here called devouring them. What is devoted any way to the service and honour of God, for the support of religion and divine worship, or the relief of the pror, ought to be conscientiously preserved to the purposes designed; and those that directly or indirectly embezzle them, or defeat the purpose for winch they were given, will have a great deal to answer for; Will a man rob (iod in tithes arid offeringsy Mai. iii. 8. Tiiose that hurry over religious offices, (their pi-aying and preaching,) and huddle thtm up in haste, as being impatient to get done, may be said to devour that which is holy.

2. Covenant-breaking. It is a snare to a man, after he has made vows to God, to inquire how he may evade them, or get them dispensed with, and to contrive excuses for the vie latmg of them. It the matter of them was doubtful, and the expres sions ambiguous, that was his fault, he should have made them with more caution and consideration, for it will involve his conscience (if it be tender) in great peiplexities, if he be to inquire concerning them afterward; (Eccl. V. 6.) for when we have opened our mouth to the Lord, it is too late to think cf go ing back. Acts v. 4.

26. A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.

See here, 1. What is the business of magistrates; they are to be a terror to evil-doers. Thev must scatter the wicked, who are linked in confederacies to assist and imbolden one another in doing mischief; and there is no doing this but l)y bringing the whcfi over them, putting the laws in execution aeain-t them, crushing their power, and quashing their ]3ro-jects. Severity must sometimes be used, to rid the country of the.se that are openly Aicious and mischievous, debauched and debauching.

2. What is the qualification ( f magistrates, which is necessary in order to this; they have net d to be both pious and prudent, for it is the wise king, that is both religious and discreet, that is likelv to effect the suppression of vice and reformation of manners.

27. The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts (^1 the belly.

PROVERBS XXI.

We have here the dignity of the soul, tlie great soul of man, that hght wtiich lighteth every man.

1. It is a diA'ine Hght; it is the candle of the Lord, a candle of his hghting, for it is the inspiration of the Abnighty, that gix'es us understanding. He forms the spirit of man within him. It is aifter the image of God that man is created in knowledge. Conscience, that noble faculty, is God's deputy in the soul; it is a candle not only lighted by him, but lighted for him. The Father of spirits is therefore called the Father of lights.

2. It is a discovering light. By the help of reason, we come to know men, to judge of their characters, and dive into their designs; by the help of conscience we come to know ourselves. The spirit of a man has a self-consciousness; (1 Cor. ii. 11.) it searches into the dispositions and affections of the soul, praises what is good, condemns what is otherwise, and judges of the thoughts and intents of the heart. This is the office, this the power of conscience, which we are therefore concerned to get rightly informed, and keep void of offence.

28. Mercy and truth preserve the king; and his throne is upholden by mercy.

Here is, 1. The virtues of a good king; those are mercy and truth, especially mercy, for that is mentioned twice here. He must be strictly faithful to his word, must'be sincere, and abhor all dissimulation, must religiously discharge all the ti-usts reposed in him, must support and countenance tnxth. He must likewise rule with clemency, and by all acts of compassion gain the affections of his people. Mercy and truth are the glories of God's throne, and kings are called gods.

2. The advantages he gains thereby. These virtues will preserve his person, ;.nd support his government, will make him easy and safe, beloved by his own people, and feared by his enemies, if it be possible that he should have any.

29. The glory of youns; men is their strength ; and the beauty of old men is the gray head.

This shows that both young and old have their advantages, and tlierefore must each of them be, according to their capacities, serviceable to the public, and neither of them depise or envy the other.

1. Let not old people despise the young, for they are strong and fit for action, able to go through business, and break through difficulties, which the aged and weak c innot grapple with. The glory of young men is their strength, provided they use it well, (in the service of God and tlieir country, not of their lusts,) and that they be not proud of it, nor trust to it.

2. Let not young: people despise the old, for they are gra\e, and fit ff^r counsel, and though they have not the strengtlx that young men have, yet they have more wisdom and experience. Jiiniores ad labores, seniores ad honores — Laho^ir is for the young, honour for the aged. God has put honour upon tlie old man; for his graii head is his beauty. See Dan. VII. 9.

.?0. The blueness of a wound cleanseth A way evil: so do stripes the inward parts (»r the belly;

Note, 1. Many need severe rebukes. Some chil-tlreii are so obstinate, that their parents can do no gooc vith thcni without sharp correction; some criminals must feel the rigour of the law and public justice, gentle methods Avill not work upon them; thev mu-i be bei'ten black and blue. And the wise i

God sees thi.t his own children sometimes need ver\' shai-p afflictions.

2. Severe rebukes sometimes do a great dea.l of good, as corrosives contribute to the cure of a wound, eating out the proud flesh. The red drives tut even that foolishness which Avas bound up in the liear;, and cleanses away the evil there.

3. Frequently those that most need severe rebukes can worst bear them. Such is the corruption of nature, that men are ;.s loath to be rebuked sharply for their sins as to be beaten till their bones ache. Correction is griei<ous to him that forsakes the way, and yet it is good for him, Heb. xii. 11.

CHAP. XXI. 1. npHE king's heart is in the hand of the JL Lord, as the rivers of water; he turneth it whithersoever he will.

Note, 1. Even the hearts of men arc in God's hand, and not only their goings, as he had said, ch. XX. 24. God can change men's minds, can, by a powerful insensible operation upon their spij-its, turn them from that which they seemed most intent upon, and incline tlicm to tji'at which they seemed most averse to, as the husbandman, by canals and gutters, turns the water througli his grounds as he pleases, which does not alter the nature of the water, or put any force upon it, any more than God's providence does upon the native freedom rf man's will, but directs the course of it to serve his own purpose.

2. Even kings' hearts are so, notwitl'.standing their powers and prerogatives, as much as the hearts of common persons. I'he hearts of kings are imsearchahle to us, much more unmanageable bv us; as they have their Arcana imperii — !^tate secrets, so they have the prerogatives of their crown, but the great God has them not only under his eye, but in his hand. Kings are what he makes them. Those that are most absolute are under Ciod's government; he puts things ijito their hearts. Rev. xvii. 17. Ezra vii. 27.

2. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts.

Note, 1. We are all apt to be partial in judging of ourselves and our own actions, and to think too favourably of our own character, as if there were nothing amiss in it; Kvery way of a man, even his by-way, is right in his own eyes; the proud heart is very ingenious in putting a fiir face upon a frul matter, and in making that appear right to itself, which is far from being so, to stop the mouth of conscience.

2. We are svu'e that the judgment of God concerning us is according to truth. Whatever f ur judgment is concerning ourselves, the Lord ponders the heart. God looks at the heart, and judges of , men according to that, of their actions accoi'ding to their principles and intentions; and his judgment of that is as exact as curs is of that which we ponder most, and more so; he weighs it in an unernng balance, ch. xvi. 2.

3. To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

Here, 1. It is im])lied that many deceive thfin-selves with a conceit, that, if they offer sacrifice, that will excuse tht ni fi'< m doing justice, and ])rc-cure them a dispensation for thi ir unriglitet usness; and this makes their way seein right, v. 2. Tl'ehave fasted, Isa. Iviii. 3. I have peace-offerings with me, rrov. vii. 14.

2. It is plainly declared, that living a good life.

PROVERBS, XXI.

731

doing justly, and loving mercy, are more pleasing to Ciod than the most pompous and expensive instances of devotion; sacrifices were of divine institution, and were then acceptable to God, if they were . offered in faith, and with repentance, otherwise not, Isa. i. 11, 8cc. But moral duties were preferred before them, (1 Sum. xv. 22.) which intimates tliat their excellency was not innate, nor the obligation to them perpetual, Micah vi. 6"8. Much of religion lies in doing judgment and justice, from a principle of duty to God, contempt of the world, and love to our neighbour; and this is more pleasing to God than all burnt-offerings and sacrifices, Mark xii. 33.

4. An high look, and a proud heart, and the ploughing of the wicked, ?> sin.

This may be taken as showing us,

1. The marks of a wicked man. He that has a high look and a proud heart, that cames himself insolently and scornfully toward both God and man; and that is always ploughing and plotting, designing and devising some mischief or other, he is indeed a wicked man. The light of the luicked is sin. Sin is the pride, the ambition, the glory and joy, and the business, of wicked men.

2. The miseries of a wicked man. His raised expectations, his high designs, and most elaborate contrivances and projects, are sin to him; he contracts guilt in them, and so prepares trouble for himself. The very business of all wicked men, as well as their pleasure, is nothing but sin. So Bishop Patrick. They do all to serve their lusts, and have no regard to the glory of God in it, and therefore their ploughing is sin, and, no marvel, when their sacrificing is so, '•//. XV. 8.

5. The thoughts of the diligent terid only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty, only to want.

Here is, 1. The way to be rich. If we would live plentifully and comfortably in the world, we must be diligent in our business, and not shrink from the t >il and troulile of it, but prosecute it closely, improving all advantages and opportunities for it, and doing what we do with all our might; yet we must not be hasty in it, nor hurry ourselves and others with it, but keep doing fair and softly, which, we siy, goes far in a day. With diligence there must be contrivance; the thoughts of the diligent are as necessary as the hand of the diligent. Forecast is as good as work. Seest thou a man thus prudent and diligent? He will have enough to live on.

2. The way to be poor. Those that are hasty, thit are rash and inconsiderate in their affairs, and will not take time to think, that are greedy of gain, by right or wrong, and mike haste to be rich by unjust practices, or unwise projects, they are in the ready road to poverty. Their thoughts and contrivances, by which they hope to raise themselves, \rill ruin them.

6. The getting of treasures by a l}ang tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.

This shows the folly of those that hope to enrich th'jmselves by dishonest practices, by oppressing and overreaching those with whom they deal, by filse-witness-bearing, or by fraudulent contracts; cf thnse that make no conscience cf their assertions when there is any thing to be got by a falsehood. They may perhaps heap up treasures by these means, that which they make their treasure; but,

1. They will not meet with the satisfaction they expect; \i is a. vanity tossed to and fro; it will be disappointment and vexation of spirit to thejii; th^y

will not have the comfort cf it, nor can they put any confidence in it, but will be perpetually uneasy. It will be tossed to and fro by their own consciences, and by the censures cf men; let them expect to be in a constant hurry.

2. They will meet with the destruction they do not expect. While they are seeking wealth by such unlawful practices, tliey are really seeking death, they lay themselves open to the envy and ill will of men by the treasures they get, and to the wrath and curse of God by the lying tongue wherewith they get them, which he will make to fall upon themselves, and sink them to hell.

7. The robbeiy of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment.

See here, 1. The nature of injustice. Getting money by lying, {v. 6.) is no better than downright robbery. Cheating is stealing; you had as good pick a man s pocket, as impose upon him by a lie, in making a bargain which he had no fence against but by not believing you; and it will be no excuse from the guilt of robbery to say tliat he might choose whether he would believe you, for that is a debt we should owe to all men.

2. The cause of injustice. Men refuse to do Judgment, they will not render to all their due, but withhold it, and omissions make way for co7;miissions; they come at length to robbery itself. They that refuse to do justice will choose to do wrong. _ 3. The effect of injustice; it will return upon the sinner's own head. The robbery of the wicked will terrify them, so some; their consciences will be filled with horror and amazement, will cut them, will satv them asunder, so others; it will destroy them, here and for ever, therefore he had said, (v. 6.) They seek death.

8. The way of man is froward and strange; but as for the pure, his work is right.

This shows, that as men are, so is their way.

1. Evil men have evil ways. If the man be froward, his way also is strange; and this is the way of most men, such is the general corruption of mankind. They are all gone aside; (Ps. xiv. 2, 3.) all flesh have perverted their way. But the froward man, the man of deceit, that acts by craft and trick in all he does, his way is strange, contrary to all the rules of honour and honesty; it is strange, fcr you know not where to find him, or when you have him; it is strange, for it is alienated from all good, and estranges men from God and his favour. It is what he beholds afar off, and so do all honest men.

2. Men that are pure are proved to be such by their work, for it is right, it is just and regular; and they are accepted cf God, and approved cf men. The way of mankind in their apostacy is frcward and strange, but as for the pure, those that by the grace of God are recovered cut of that state, of which there is here and there one, their work is right, as Noah's was in the old world. Gen. vii. 1.

9. It is better to dwell in a corner of the house-top, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

See here, 1. What a great affliction it is to a man to have a brawling, scolding woman to his wife, who, upon e\'ery occasion, and ( ften \\\>cn no rrca-sion, breaks cut into passim, and chides either him or those about her, is fretful to herself, and furious to her children and servants, and, in both, vexatious to her husband. If a man has a wide house, spacious and pompcus, this Avill imbitter the ccmfort

"^32

PROVERBS, XXI.

of It to him; a house of society, so the word is, in which a man may be sociable, and entertiiin his friends, this will make both him and his house unsociable, and unfit for the enjoyments of true friendship. It makes a man ashamed of his choice and his management, and disturbs company.

2. What many a man is forced to do under such an affliction. He cannot keep up his authority; he finds it to no purpose to contradict the most unreasonable passion, for it is unruly, and rages so much the more; and his wisdom and grace will not suffer him to render railing, for railing, nor his conjugal affection to use any severity, and therefore he finds it his best way to'retire into a corner of the housetop, and sit alone there, out of the hearing of her clamour; and, if he employ himself well there, as he may do, it is the wisest course he can take. Better do so, than quit the house, and go into bad company, for diversion, as many, who, like Adam, make their wife's sin the excuse of their own.

10. The soul of the wicked desireth evil; his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.

See here the character of a very wicked man.

1. The strong inclination he has to do mischief; His very soiil desires evil, desires that e\ il may be done, and that he may have tlie pleasure, not only of seeing it, but of having a hand in it; the root of wickedness lies in the soul; the desire that men have to do evil, that is the Inst which conceives and brings forth sin.

2. The strong aversion he has to do good; Hi/i neighbour, his friend, his nearest relation, finds no

favour in his eyes, cannot gain from him the least Kindness, thougli he be in the greatest need of it. And, when he is in the pursuit of the evil his heart is so much upon, he will spare no man that stands in his way; his next neighbour shall be used no better than a stranger, than an enemy.

11. When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise; and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.

This we had before, {ch. xix. 25.) and it shows, that there are two ways by which the simple may be m ide wise.

1. By the punishments that are inflicted on those that are inci rrigibly wicked. Let tlie law be executed upon a scorner, and even he that is simple will be awakened and alarmed by it, and will discern, more than he did, tlie e\'il of sin, and will take warning bv it, and take heed.

2. By the instructions that are given to those that are wise and willing to be taught; When the wise is instructcdhy ihc preaching of the word, he, not only the wise himself, l)ut the simple, that stands by, receives knoivledge. It is no injustice at all to take a good lessen to ourselves which was designed for another.

12. The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but Cor/overthrovv-eth the wicked for their wickedness.

1. As we read this verse, it shows the reason why good men, when the}' come to understand things right, will not envy the ])rosperity of e\'il-doers. When they see the house of the wicked, how full it is, perhajjs, of all the good things of this life, they are. tcmjited to envy; but when they wisely consider it, when they look upon it with an eye of faith, when they see God crverthrowing the wicked for their wickedness, that thcic is a curse ujjon their haliita-tion, which will certainly be the nun of it ere long, they see more reason to despise them, or p:tv them, than to fear or envv them.

2. Some give another sense of it; The righteous man, the judge or magistrate, that is intrusted with the execution of justice, and the preservation of the public peace, examines the house of the wicked, searches it for arms, or for stolen goods, makes a diligent inquiry concerning his family, and the cha-ractei's of those about him, that he may by his power overthrow the wicked for their wickedness, and prevent their doing any further mischief, that he may fire the nests where the birds of prey are harboured, or the unclean birds.

13. Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

Here is the description and doom of an uncharitable man.

1. His description; He stofis his ears at the cry of the poor, at the cry of their wants and miseries, he resolves to take no cognizance of them; at the cry of their requests and supplications, he resolves he will not so much as give them the hearing, turns them away from his door, and forbids them to come near him; or if he cannot avoid hearing them, he will not heed them, nor be movi.d by their complaints, nor be prevailed with Ijy their importunities; he shuts ufi the bowels of his comfiussion, and that is equivalent to the stojjping ( f his ears. Acts \ii. 57.

2. His doom; He shall liimstlf be reduced tr straits, which will make liini cry, ;;nd then he shall not be heard. Men will not liear liim, but reward him as he has rewarded others. Gc d will ni;t hear him; for he that showed no mercy shall have judg-ment without mercy; (Jam. ii. 13.) and he that on earth denied a crumb of bix-ud, in hell was denied a drop of water. God will Ije deaf to their prayers who are deaf to the cries of the poor, which, if they be not heard by us, will be heard against us, Exod. xxii. 23.

14. A gift in secret pacifieth anger; and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.

Here is, 1. The power that is comnnnly fc und to be in gifts. Nothing is mere \i(ilent than anger; Oh the force u{strong wrath! And yet a handsome present, jirudently managed, will turn away some men's wrath, when it seemed implacal)le, and discharge the keenest and most jjassionate resentments. Co-vetousness is commonly a master-sin, and has the command of other lusts. Pecunipe obediunt omnia — Afoney cotnmands all things. Thus Jacob pacified Esau, and Abigail Da\id.

2. The policy that is commonly used in giving and recei\ ing bribes; it must be a gift in secret, and a reward in the bosoin; for he that takes it wculd not be thought to covet it, nor known to receive it, nor would he willingly be beholden to him whom he has been offended with; but if it be done privately all is well. No man should be too r])(.n in giving any gift, nor boast of the presents he sends; but if it be a brilic to pervert justice, that is so scandvdous, that those who are fond of it are ashamed of it.

15. It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

Note, 1. It is a pleasure and satisfaction to good men, bnth to see justice administered bv t'le government they live under, right taking ])lace, and ini-quitv suppressed, and also to practise it themselves, according as their sphere is. They n t only do jus tice, but do it with pleasure; not cnly for fear of shame, but for love of virtue.

2. It is a terror to wicked men to see the laws put in execution against vice and profaneness; it is destruction to them; as it is also a vex '\\^vi to tlum to be forced, either for the suppi rt tf their ciiclH, or

PROVEIIBS, XXL

733

for fear of punishment, to do judgment themselves. Or, if we t.ike itas we readit, tlie meaning is; Tliere is true pleasure in the practice of religion, but certain destruction at the end of all vicious courses.

IG. The man that wandereth out of the

vvaj' of understanding sliall remain in the

congiegation of the dead.

Here is, 1. The sinner upon his ramble; He wun-dcru out of the way of understanding, and when oncf" he has left that good way, he wanders endlessly. The way of religion is t/ie ivay of understanding; those that are not truly pious are not truly intelligent; those that wander out of this way break the hedge which God has set, and follow the conduct of the world and the flesh; and they go astray like lost sheep.

2. The sinner at his rest, or rather his ruin; He shall remain {quiescet — he shall rest, hvAwoX. in pace — in peace) in the congregation of the giants, the sinners of the old world that were swept away by the deluge; to that destruction the damnation of sinners is compared, as sometimes to the destruction of Sodom, when they are said to have their portion in fire and brimstone. Or in the congregation of the darnn-ed that are under the power of the second death. There is a ^■ast congregation of danmed sinners, bound in bundles for the fire, and in thut they sliall ren\ain, remain for ever, who are shut out from the congregation of the righteous. He that forsakes the wa\' to heaven, if he return not to it, will certainly sink into the depths of hell.

17. He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor

man; he that loveth wine and oil shall not be

rich.

Here is an argument against a voluptuous, luxu-ri lis, life, taken from the ruin it brings upon men's temporal interests. Here is,

1. The description of an epicure; He loves fdea-sure. God allows us to use the delights of sense soberly and temperately, wine to make glad the heart, and put vigour into the s])irits, and oil to make the face to s/iine, and beautity the countenance; but he tiiat loves these, that sets his heart upon them, covets them earnestly, is solicitous to have all the delights nf sense wound up to the height of j^lcasura-bkiiess, is impatient of every thing that crosses him in his ])leasures, ixlislies these as the best pleasures, and has his mouth by them put out of taste for spi-ritu :1 delights, he is an epicure, 2 Tim. iii. 4.

2. The ijunishment of an epicure in this world; He shall be a /loor man; for the lusts of sensuality are n-t nviintiined but at a great expense; and there are instances of those who want necessaries, and live upon alms, who once could not live witliout dainties and varieties. Many a beau becomes a beggar.

18. The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.

This intimates,

1. Wh It should be done by the justice of men; The wicked, that are the troublers of a land, ought tii be punished, for the preventing and turning away of those national judgments which otherwise will be mflicted, ■ir.d in which even the righteous are many times inv- Ived. Thus, whenAchan was stoned, he was a ransom for the camp of righteous Israel; and ihe seven sons of Saul, when they were hanged, were a ransom for the kingdom of righteous David.

2. What is often done by the providence of God; T/ie righteow is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked comes m. his stead, and so seems as if he were u ransom for him, c/i xi. 8. God will rather leave

many wicked people to be cut off than abandon his own people. I will give men for thee, Isa xliii. 3, 4.

19. // h better to dwell in the wilderness, than \\\\\\ a contentious and an angry wo ' man.

Ncte, 1. Unbridled passions imbitter and spoil tlie comfort of all relations. A peevish angry wife makes her liusband's life uneasy, to whom she should be a comfort and a meet help.' Those cannot dwell in peace and lia])piness that cannot dwell in peace and love. Even those tliat are one flesh, if they be not withal one spirit, have no joy of their unifin.'

2. It is better to have no company than bad company. The wife of tliy covenant is thy companion, and yet if she be peevish and provoking, it is better to dwell in a solitary wilderness, exposed to wind and weather, than in company with her. A man may better enjoy God and himself in a wilderness than among quarrelsome relations and neighbours Seezj. 9.

20. There is treasure to be desired, and oil in the dwelling of the wise: but a foolish man spendeth it up.

Note, 1. Those that are wise will increase wlv.'t V\ey have, and live plentifully; their wisdom will teach them to proj)ortion their expenses to their income, and to lay up for hereafter; so that thej-e is a treasure of things to be desired, and as much as needs he desired, a good stock of all things c( nve-vient, laid up in season, and particularly of oil, one of the staple commodities of Canaan, 13eut. viii. 8. This is in the habitation, or cottage, of the wise; and it is better to have an old-fashioned house, and have it well fiu'nished, than a fine modern one, ill kept. God blesses the endeavours of the wise, and tlien their houses are replenished.

2. Those that are foolish will mispend what they have, upon their lusts, and so bi'ing the stock they had, to nothing. Those manage themselves ill, tliat are in haste to spend what they have, but not in care which way to get more. Foolish children spend what their wise parents had laid up; one sinner destroys much good, as the prodigal son.

21. He that followeth after righteousness and mercy, findeth life, righteousness, and honour.

See here, 1. What it is to make religion our business; it is to follow after righteousness ajid mercy; not to content ourselves with easy performances, but to do our duty with the utmost care and pains, as those that are pressing forward, and in fear of coming short; we must both do justly, and love mercy," and proceed and persevere therein; and though we cannot attain to perfection, yet it will be a comfort to us if we aim at it, and follow after it.

2. What will be tlie advantage of doing so; Those that do follow after righteousness, shall/??z(/ righ-teousncss; God will give them grace to do good, and they shall have the pleasure and comfort of it, thev tliat make conscience of being just to othei-s, shall be justly dealt with by others, and others shall be kind to them. The lewsfollowed after righteousness, and did not find it, because they sought amiss. Rom. ix. 31. Otherwise, Seek and yoji shall find, and with it shall find both life and honour, everlasting life and honour, the crown of righteousness.

22. A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.

Note, 1. Those that have power are apt n. \n\. mise themselves gi'eat things from their power. Tb'

PROVERBS, XXL

city of the mighty tliinks itself impregnable, and iheret'ore its strength is the confidence thereof, what it boasts of, and trusts in, Ijidding defiance to danger. 2. Those that have wisdom, tliougli tliey are so modest as not to promise much, often perform great things, even against tl\ose that are so confident of their strength, by tlieir wisdom. Good conduct will go fai- e\'en against foi-ce; and a stratagem, well managed, may effectually scale the city of the mighty, and edit dow}i the strength it had sucli a confidence in. A wise man will gain upon the affections of jjeo-ple, and conquer them by strength of reason, which is a more noble conquest than that by strength of arms. They that understand their interest will willingly submit themselves to a wise and good man, and the strongest walls shall not hold out against him.

23. Whoso keepeth liis mouth and liis tongue, keepeth his soul from troubles.

Note, 1. It is our great concern to keep our soul from straits, from benig entangled in snares and perplexities, and disquieted with troubles, that we may preserve the possession and enjojment of ourselves, and our souls may be in frame for the service of God.

2. Those that would keep their souls, must keep a watcli before the door of their lips, must keefi the mouth by temperance, that no forbidden fruit go into it, no stolen waters, tliat nothing be eaten or diimk to excess; they must keeji the tongue also, that no forl)idden word go out of the door of the lips, no cori-upt communication. By a constant watchfulness over our words, we shall preAent abundance of mischiefs which an ungoverned tongue runs men into. Keep thy heart, and that will keep thy tongue from sin: keep thy tongue, and that will keep thy heart from trouble.

24. Proud «7/(ihaughty scorner n his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.

See here the mischief of pride and haughtiness.

1. It exposes men to sin, it makes them passionate, and kindles in them the fire of /iroud wrath; they are continually dealing in it, as if it AVcre tlieir trade to be angry, and they had nothing so much to do as to barter passions, and exchange bitter words. Most of the wrath that infl mies the spirits and societies of men, is jiroud nvrath. Men cannot l)ear the least slight, nor in any thing to be crossed or contradicted, but they are out cf humour, and in a heat, immediately. It likewise makes them scornful when they are angry, very abusive witli their tongues, insolent toward those above them, and imperious toward all a!x)ut them; only by pride comes all this.

2. It exposes men to shame; they get a bad name by it, and every one calls Xhiim Jiroud and haughty scorners, and therefore nobody cares for ha\ing anv thing to do with tliem. If men would but consult their reputation a little, and the credit of their pro-fcssion, which suffers with it, they would not indulge their pride and passion as the\' do.

25. The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour. 26. He co-veteth greedily all I he day long; but the righteous giveth and spareth not.

Heie is, 1. The miseries of the slothful, whos hands refuse to labour in an honest calling, by which they might get an honest livelihood ; tliey are as fit for labour as other men, and business offers itself, to which they might lay their hands, and apply their minds, but they will not; herein they fondly think thev do well for tliemsclves; (see ch. xxvi. 16.) Soul, take thine ease; bat reallv thev are enemies to themselves; for, beside that their si'thfulness star\es 'iiem, depriving them of their necessary supports,

their desires at the same time stab them ; thoujiv their hands refuse to labour, their hearts cease liot to covet riches, and pleasures, and lioncurs, wliich yet cannot be ol)ULined without lalxiur; tlieir desires are impetuous and insatial)le, they covet greedily all the day long, and cry. Give, give; they exjKct e\ e-ry body sliould do for tliem, tliough they will do iio-tliing tor tliemselves, much less for any bccu' else; now these desires kill them, they are a peipotii.l vexation to them, fret them to death, and i)eiiiai;s, put them upon such dangerous courses, for the satisfying of tlieir craving lusts, as hasten tliem to an untimely end. Many that must ha\e money, with which to make i)rovision for the flesh, and' wculd not be at the pains to get it honestly, ha\e turned highwaymen, and that has killed them. Those that are slotiiful in tlie affairs of tlieir souls, and yet liave desires toward that wiiich would be the happiness of their souls, those desires kill them, will aggra\ate their condemnation, and be witness against them, that they were convinced of the worth cf spiritual blessings, but refused to I)e at the pains that are ne-cessiirv to the obtaining of them.

2. The honours ( f tlie honest and diligent. The righteous and industrious have their desires satisfied, and enjoy not only that satisfaction, Ijut the further satisfaction of doing good to others. The slotiiful are always craving, and gaping to receive, but the righteous are always full, and contriving to give; and it is more blesseu to give than to receive. They give, and sjiare not; give liberally, and upbraid not; they give a portion to seven, and also to eight, and do not spare for fear of wanting.

27. The sacrifice of the wicked z'.s abomination: how much more, ?i7<e7/, he bringeth it with a wicked mind !

Sacrifices were of divine institution, and, when they were ( ffered in faith, and with repentance and reformation, God was greatly honoured by them, and well pleased in them; Ijut they were often not only unacceptable, but an abomination, to Gcd, and he declared so; which was an indication, both that tliey weix* not required for their own sakes, and that there were better things, and more effectual, in reserve, when sacrifice and offering should be done away. They were an abomination.

1. When they were brought l)y wicked men, who did not, according to the true intent and meaning cf sacrificing, repent of their sins, mortify their lusts, and amend their lives. Cain brought his offering. Even wicked men may be found in the external performances of religious worship; they can freely give God their beasts, their lips, their knees, who would not give him their hearts; the Pharisees gave alms. But when the person is an abojnination, as every wicked man is to Gcd, the performance cannot but be so; even when he brings it diligently; so some read the latter part of the verse. Though their offerings are continually before God, (Ps. 1. 8.) they are an abomination to him.

2. Much more when they were brought with wicked jninds, when their sacrifices were made, not onlv consistent with, but serviceable to, their wickedness: as Absalom's vow, Jezebel's fast, and the Pharisees' long prayers. When men make a show of devotion, that they may the more easily and cf-fectuallv compass some covetous or malicious design; when holiness is pretended, Init s( me wickedness intended; then, especially, the pcrtV.rmance is an abomination, Isa. Ixvi. 5.

28. A false witness shall perish: but the

man that heareth speakcdi constantly.

Here is, 1. Tlie doom of a false witness; He who, for fawur t.o one side, tr m.Jice to the other, giv s

PROVERBS, XXII.

Ill -A false evidence, or makes an affidavit of that .vhicli he knows to be false, or, at least, does not kjiow to Ije true, if it be discovered, his reputation will be ruined; a nuia may tell a lie perhajis in his h iste, but he that gives in a false testimony does it with deliberation and solemnity, and it cannot but Ijj a presumptuous sin, and a forfeiture of man's credit; but, though it should not be discovered, he himself shall be ruined; the vengeance he imprecated upon himself, when he took the false oath, will come upon him.

2. The praise of him that is conscientious; He iv/io hears; obeys the command of God, which is to s/ieak every man truth with his yieighbour; he who testifies nothing but what he has heard and knows to be true, s/ieaks constantly, consistently with himself; he is always in the same story; he speaks mT^wewz— to the end; people will give credit to him, and hear him out; he speaks unto victory, he carries the cause, which the false witness shall lose; he shall speak to eternity;" what is true, is true eternally. The Up of truth is established for ever.

29. A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he directeth his way.

Here is, 1. The presumption and impudence of a wicked man; He hardens his face, brazens it, that he may not blush, steels it, that he may not tremble, when he commits the greatest crimes; he bids defiance to the terrors of the law, and the checks of his own conscience, the I'eproofs of the word and the rebukes of Providence; he will have his wa)', and nothing shall hinder him, Isa. Ivii. 17.

2. The caution and circumspection of a good man; as for the upright, he does not say, What would I do? What have I a mind to? That I will have; but. What should I do? XA'hat does God require of me? What is duty? What is prudence? What is for edification? And so he does not force his way, but directs his way by a safe and ceitain rule.

30. There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel, against the Lord. 31. The horse is prepared against the day of battle : but safety is of the Lord.

The designing, busy, part of mankind are here directed, in all their counsels and undertakings, to have their eye to God, and to believe,

1. That there can be no success agai?7St God, and therefore they must ne\ er act in opposition to him, in contempt of his commands, or in contradiction to his counsels. Though they think they have wisdom, and understanding, and counsel, the best politics and politicians, on their side, yet, if it be against the Lord, it cannot prosper long, it shall not prevail at last. He that sits in heaven laughs at men's projects against him and his Anointed, and will carry his point in despite of them, Ps. ii. !• '6. They that fight agiiinst God are preparing shame and i-uin for themselves; whoever inake war with the Lamb, he will certainly overcome them. Rev. xvii. 14.

2. That there can be no success without God, and thei-efore they must never act but in dependence on him. Be the cause ever so good, and the patrons of it ever so strong, and wise, and faithful, and the means of carrying it on, and gaining the point, ever so probable, still they must acknowledge God, and take him along with them. Means, indeed, are to be used; the horse must he prepared against the day of battle, and the foot too, they must be armed and disciplined; in Solomon's time, even Israel's kings used horses in war, though they were forbidden to multiply them; but, after all, safety and salvation is of the Lord; he can save without armies, but armies cmnot without him; and therefore he must be sought to, and trusted in, for success, and, when succtss is

735

obtained, he must have all the glory. When we are preparing for the day of battle, our great concern must be to make God our Friend, and secure his favour.

CHAP. XXII.

1. A GOOD name is rather to be chosen 1%L. than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

Here are two things which are more valuable, and which we should covet more, than great riches.

1. To be well-spoken of; A nanu; that is, a good name, a name for good things with God and good people, this is rather to be chosen than great riches; that is, we should be more careful to do that by which we may get and keep a good name, than that by which we may raise and increase a great estate. Great riches bring great cares with them, expose men to danger, and add no real value to a man. A fool and a knave may ha\"e great riches, but a good name makes a man easy and safe, supposes a man wise and honest, redounds to the glory of Go'I, and gives a man a greater opportunity of doing good. By great riches we may relieve the bodily wants of others, but by a good name we may recopnviend religion to them.

2. To be well-beloved; to have an interest in the esteem and affections of all about us; this is better than silver and gold. Christ had Jieither silver nor gold, but he grew in favour with God and man, Luke ii. 52. This should teach us to lock with a holy contempt upon the wealth of this world, not to set our hearts upon that, but with all prssil:)le care to think on those things that are lovely, and of good report, Phil. 'w. 8.

2. The rich and the poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all.

Note, 1. Among the children of men. Divine Pro vidence has so ordered it, that some are rich and others poor, and these are intermixed in societies; the Lord is the maker of both; both the Author of their beings, and the Disposer of their lot. The greatest man in the world must acknowledge God to be his maker, and is under the same obligations to be subject to him that the meanest are; and the poorest have the honour to be the work of God's hands as much as the greatest. Have they not all one Father? Mai. ii. 10. Job xxxi. 15. (iod makes some rich, that they may be charitalile to the poor, and others poor, that they may be ser\ iceable to the rich; and they have need one of an( ther, 1 Cor. xii. 21. He makes some poor, to exercise their patience, and contentment, and dependence upcn God; and others rich, to exercise their tliankfulness and beneficence. Even the poor we have always with us, they shall never cease out cf the land, nor the rich neither.

2. Notwithstanding the distance that is in many respects between rich and poor, yet in most things thev meet together, especially before the Lord, who is the maker of them all, and regards not the rich jno7'e than the poor, Job xxxW. 19. J^ich and poor meet together at the bar vi (iod's justice; all guilty before God, concluded under sin, and shapen in ini-quitv, the rich as much as the poor; and they meet at the throne of God's gi'are; the poor :ire as welcome there as the rich. Tliere is the same Christ, the same scripture, the same Spirit, the same covenant of promises, for them both. There is the same heaven for porr saints that there is for rich; Lazarus is in tlie besom of Aliraham: and there is the same hell for rich sinners that there is for poor All stand upon the same level l)efore God, as the^ do also in the grave. The &mall and great are tkert

PROVERBS, XXII.

3. A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth liimself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

See here, 1. The benetit of wisdom and coribidera-tiv)n; A jirudent man, by the help of his prudenci.-, will foresee an evil before it comes, and hide /(/>«-«e//; he will be aware when he is enttring into a temptation, and will put on his armour, and stand on his guard; when the clouds are gathering for a storm, he takes the warning, and flics to the name of the Lord as his strong tower. Noah foresaw the deluge, Joseph the years of famine, and provided accordingly.

2. The mischief of I'ashness and inconsideration; the simple, who believe evei'y word that flatters them, will believe none that warns them, and so they fiass on, and are Jiunished; they venture upon sin, though they are told what will be in the end thereof; they throw themselves into trouble, notwithstanding the fair warning given them, and they repent their presumption when it is too late. See an instance of both these, Exod. ix. 20, 21. Nothing is so fatal to precious souls as this, they will not take warning.

4. By huniihty and the fear of the Lord, are riches, honour, and Ufe.

See here, 1. Wherein religion does very much consist; m humility, and the fear of the Lord; that is, walking humbly with God; we must so revei'ence God's majesty and authority, as to submit witli all humihty to the commands of his word, and the disposals of his providence. We must have such low thoughts of ourselves, as to behave humbly toward God and man. Where the fear of God is, tliei-e will be humility.

2. What is to be gotten by it; riches, and honour, and comfort, and long life, in this world, as far as God sees good; at least, spiritual riches and honour in the favour of God, and the promises and jrn i-legesof the covenant of grace, and eternal life at last.

5. Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.

Note, 1. The way of sin is vexatious and dangerous; In the way of the froward, that crooked way, which is contrary to the will and word of God, thorns and snares are found; thorns of grief for past sins, and snares entangling them in further sin. He that makes no conscience of what he says, and does, will find himself hampered by that imaginary liberty, and tormented by his pleasures. Froward pe';pie, who are soon angry, expose themselves to trcuble at every step. Every thing will fret and vex him that will fret and vex at every thing.

2. The way of duty is safe and easy; He that keejis his soul, that watches carefully over his own heart and ways, is far from those thorns and snares, for his way is both plain and pleasant.

6. Train up a child in the way he should go; and ^^■hon he is old, he will not depart from it.

Here is, 1. A great duty enjoined, particularly to those that are the parent's and instructors of cliil-dren, in order to the ])ropagating of wisdom, that it may not die with them; Train u/i children in thdt age of vanity, to keep them from the sins and snares of it; in that learning age, to prepare them for what they are designed for. Catechise them, initiate them, keep them under discipline; train them as soldiers, who are taught to handle their arms, keep rank, and observe the word of command. Train them

up, not in the way they would go, (the bias of their corrupt hearts would draw them aside,) but in the way they should go, the way in which, if you love them, you would have them go. Train u/i a child according as he is capable, so some take it; with a gentle hand, as nurses feed children, little and often, Deut. vi. 7.

2. A good reason for it, taken from the great ad vantage of this care and pains with children; wlien they grow u/2, when tliey grow old, it is to be hoped, they will not dcjiart from it. Got.d impressions made upon thtm then, will abide upon them all their days. Ordinarily, the vessel retains the savour with winch it was first seasoned. Many, indeed, have ckpai-tcd from the good way in which they were trained up; Solomon liimself did; but it may be a means ii their recovering themselves, as it is supposed Solomon chd. At least, the parents will have the comfort of having done their duty, and used the means.

7. The rich ruleth over the poor, and the

borrower is servant lo the lender.

He had said, (x'. 2.) Rich and poor meet together; but here he finds, here he shows, that, as to the things of this life, there is a great difference; for,

1. Those that have little will be in subjection to those that have much, because tliey have dependence upon them, they ha\e received, and expect to receive, support from them; The rich rule over the poor, and too often more than becomes them, with pride and rigour; unlike to God, who, though he be great, yet despises not any. It is part tt the affliction rf the poor, that they must expect to be trampled upcm; and ])art of tlieir duty, to be serviceable, a;!'far as the)' cm, to those that are kind to tliem, and study to be grateful.

2. Those that are gi ing behind-hand, find themselves to lie mucli at tlie niei'cy of those that are before-hand; Tlie borr(,nver is se)-i'ant to the lender, is obliged tu him, and must si mi times beg, Have patience with me. Therefore it is ])art cf Israel's pro mised happiness, t!u-.t they should lend and not borrow, Ueut. xxviii. 12. And it should be rur endeavour to keep as much as may be cut of debt. Some sell their liberty to gratify their luxurj-.

8. He that soweth iniquity sh.all reap vanity : and the rod of his anger shall fail.

Note, 1. Ill-gotten gains will not prosper; He thai sows iniquity, that does an unjust thing, in Ivpes tc get by it, shall reap vanity; what he gets will iievet do him any good, nor give him any satisfaction. He will meet with nothing but disappointment. They that create trouble to others, do but prepare trouble f( r themselves. Men shall reap as they sow.

2. Abused power will not last. If' the rod of authority turn into a rod of anger, if men i-ule by passion instead of prudence, and, instead of the public welfare, aim at nothing so much as the gratifying of their own resentments, it shall fail, and . be broken, and their power shall not bear them out in their exorbitances, Isa. x. 24, 25.

9. He that hath a bountiful eye shall be

blessed; for he-givcth of his bread to the

poor.

Here is, 1. The description of a charital)le man; he has a bountiful eye, o])]5osed to the evil eye, {ch. xxiii. 6.) and tlie same with the single eye, (Matth. vi. 22.) an eye that seeks out objects of charity, beside those that offer tliemsclves; an eye, that, upon the sight of one in want and misery,;;filets the heart with compassion; an eye, that, with the alms^ gives a pleasant look, whicli makes the alms doubly acceptable. He has also a liberal hand, he give*

PROVERBS, XXII.

m

t>Jhis bread to those that need; his bread, the bread afipointed for his own eating. He will rather abridge himself than see the poor perish for want; yet he does not give all his bread, but of his bread; the poor shall have their share with his own family.

2. The blessedness of such a man; the loins of the })Oor will bless him, all about him will speak well of him, and God himself shall bless him, in answer to many a good prayer put up for him, and he shall be blessed.

10. Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.

See here, 1. What the scorner does; it is implied that he sows discord, and makes mischief, wherever he comes; much of the strife and contention which disturb the peace of all societies is owing to the evil interfireter, as some read it, that consti-ues every tiling into the worst; to those that despise and deride every one that comes in their way, and take a pride in bantering and abusing all mankind.

2. What is to be done with the scorner, that will not be reclaimed; Cast him out of your society, as Ishmael, when he mocked Isaac, was thrust out of Abraham's family. They that would secure the peace must seclude the scorner.

11. He that loveth pureness of heart,yb?^ tlie grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.

Here is, 1. The qualifications of an accomplished, a complete, gentleman, that is fit to be employed in public business; he must be an hones^t man, a man that loves fiureness of heart, and hates all impurity; not only pure from all fleshly lusts, but from all deceit and dissimulation, from all selfishness and sinister designs; that takes care to approve himself a man of sincerity, is just and fair from principle, and delights in nothing more than in keeping his own conscience clear, and void of off"ence. He must also be able to speak with a good grace; not to daub and flatter, but to deliver himself decently and ingeniously, in language as clean and smooth as his spirit.

2. The preferment such a man stands fair for; The king, if he be Avise and good, and understand his own and his people's interest, shall be his friend, shall make him of his cabinet-council, as there was one in David's court, and another in Solomon's, that was called the king's friend; or, in any business that he has, the king will befriend him. Some understand it of the King of kings; a man i7i ivhose spirit there is no guile, and whose speech is always with grace, God will be his Friend, Messiah, the Prince, will be his Friend; this honour have all the saints.

12. The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge ; and he overthroweth the words of the ti'ansgressor.

Here is, 1. The special care God takes to fire-seri'e knowledge, to keep up religion in the world, by keeping up among men the knowledge of himself and of good and evil, notwithstanding the corruption of m-mkind, and the artifices of Satan to blind men's minds and keep them in ignorance; it is a wonderful instance of the power and goodness of the eyes of the Lord, his watchful providence. He preserves men of knowledge, wise and good, (2 Chron. xvi. 9.) particularly faithful witnesses, Avho speak what they know; God pi'otects such, and prospers their counsels. He does, by his grace, preserve knowledge in such, secures his own work and interest in them: see Prov. ii. 7, 8.

2. The just vengeance God takes on tho;« that Vol. Ill—5 A

speak and act against knowledge, against Uieir own knowledge, and against the interests of knowledge and religion in the world; He overthrows the words of the transgressor, and pi-eserves kfiowledge in spite of them. He defeats all the counsels and designs of false and treacherous men, and turns them to their own confusion. ^

13. The slothful jnan saith, Tliei^e is ay lion without, 1 shall be slain in the streets.

Note, 1. Those that have no love for their business will never want excuses to shift it off. Multitudes are ruined, both for soul and body, by their sloth-fulness, and yet still they have something or other to say for themselves; so ingenious are men in putting a cheat upon their own souls! And who, I pray, will be the gainer at last, when the pretences will be all rejected as vain and fiivolous.''

2. Many frighten themselves from real duties by imaginary difficulties; The slothful man has work to do without in the fields, but he fancies there is a lio?i there; nay, he pretends he dares not go along the streets, for fear somebody or other should meet him and kill him. He does not himself think so, he only says so to those that call him up; he talks of a lion without, but considers not his real danger from the devil, that roaring lion, which is in bed with him, and from his own slothfulness, which kills him.

14. The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein.

This is designed to warn all young men against the lusts of uncleanness; as they tender the welfare of their souls, let them take heed of strange women, lewd women, whom they ought to be strange to; of the mouth of strange women, of the kisses of their lips, (c//. vii. 13.) of the words of their lips, their chai'ms and enticements; dread them, have nothing to do with them; for,

1. Those who abandon themselves to that sin prove that they are abandoned of God; it is a deep pit, which those fall into that are abhorred of the Lord, who leaves them to themselves to enter into that temptation, and takes off" the bridle of his restraining grace, to punish them for other sins. Value not thyself upon thy being in favour with such women, when it bespeaks thee under the wrath of God.

2. It is seldom that they recover themselves, for it is a deep pit, it will be hard getting out of it, it so besots the mind, and debauches the conscience, by pleasing the flesh.

15. Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; hut the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

We have here two very sad considerations :

1. That coiTuption is woven into our nature; Sin is foolishness, it is contrary both to cur right reason and to our true interest; it is in the heart, there is an inward inclination to sin, to speak and act foolishly; it is in the heart of children, they bring it into the world with them, it is what they were shapen and conceived in; it is not only found there, but it is bound there, it is annexed to the heart; so some vicious dispositions cleave close to the soul, are bound to it, as the scion to the stock into whicn it is grafted, which quite alters the property; there is a knot tied between the soul and sin, atme-lover's knot; they two become one flesh. It is true of ourselves, it is time of our children, whom we have begot in our own likeness. O God, thou knowest this foolishness.

PROVERBS, XXll.

It will not be got out by fair mt'ans and gentle methods, there must be strictness and severity, and that which will cause grief. Children need to be corrected, and kept under discipline, by their parents; and we all need to be corrected by our heavenly Father; (Heb. xii. 6, 7.) and under the correction we must stroke down foll\', and kiss the rod.

16. He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.

This shows what evil courses rich men sometimes take, by which, in the end, they will impoverish themselves, and provoke God, notwithstanding their abundance, to bring them to want; they ofi-/iress the floor, and t^ive to the rich; that is,

1. They will not ui charity relieve the poor, but withhold from them, that, by saving that which is really the best, but whic]i they think the most needless part, of their expenses, they may increase their riches; but they will make pres'cntsVo the rich, and give them great entertainments, either in pride and vainglory, that they may look great, or m policy, that they may receive it again with advantage; such shall snrely come to Kvant. Many have been beggared by a foolish generosity, but never any by a

Erudent'charity. Christ bids us invite the poor, lUke xiv. 12, 13.

2. They not only will not relieve the fioor, but they o/i/iress them, rob the spital,* extort from their poor tenants and neighbours, invade their rights, who have not wherewithal to defend themselves, and then give bribes to the rich, to protect and countenance them in it; but it is all in vain, they shall come to want. They that rob God, and so make him tlieir Enemy, cannot secure themselves by giving to the rich, to make them their friends.

17. Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. 18. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them -within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. 19. That thy trust may be in the Lord, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. 20. Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge; 21. That ] might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth, that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee ?

Solomon here changes his style and manner of speaking; hitherto, for the most'part, since the beginning of ch. x. he had laid down doctrinal truths, and iDut now and then dropt a word of exhortation, leaving us to make the application as we went along; but liere, to the end of ch. xxiv. he directs his speech to his son, his pupil, to his reader, his hearer, speaking as to a particular person: hitherto, for the most part, his sense was comprised in one verse, hut here usually it is drawn out further. See how Wisdom tries varietv of methods with us, lest we should be cloyed with anv one. We are addressed, in order that our attention mav be awakened, and our application assisted. Ministers must not think it enough to preach before their heai-ers, but must preach to tliem; nor "enough to preach to them all jn general, but shovdd ap])ly themselves to particular persons, as here; Do/"//or; do so and so. Here is,

I. An earnest exhortation to get wisdom and

* A corruption of the word hospital, denoting licrc any charitable foundation.— Ed.

grace, by attending to the words of the wise men, both written and preached; the words of the \)rc phets and priests; and particularly to that knowledge which Solomon, in this book, gives men ot good and evil, sin and duty, rewards and punishments. To tliese words, to this knowledge, the ear must be bowed down, in humilitv and serious attention; and the heart ajifxlied by faith, and love, and close consideration. The ear will not serve without the heart.

II. Arguments to enforce this exhortation. Consider,

1. The worth and weight of the things themselves, which Solomon in this book gives us the knowledg,'. of; they are not trivial things, for amusement and diversion, not jocular proverbs, to be repeated in sport, and in order to pass away time; no, they are excellent things, which concern the gloiy of God, the holiness and happiness of our souls, the welfare of mankind, and all communities; they are princely things, so the word is, fit for kings to speak, and senates to hear; they are things that concern counsels and knowledge, wise counsels, relating to the most important concerns; things which will not only make us knowing ourselves, but enable us to advise others.

2. The clearness of the discovery of these things, and the directing of them to us in particular. They are made known, publicly known, that all may read; plainly known, that he that runs may read; made known this day, more fully than ever before, in this day of light and knowledge; made known in this thy day; but it is only a little while that this light is with thee; perhaps the things that are this day made known ic thee, if thou improve not the dav of thy visitation, may, before to-morrow, be hid Jiitm thine eyes. They are written, for the greater certainty, and that they may be received, and trars mitted, pure and entire, to posterity; but that Avhich the emphasis is here most laid upon, is, that they are made known to thee, even to thee, and written to thee, as if it were a letter directed to thee by name; it is suited to thee and to thy case, thou mayest in this glass see thine own face; it is intended for thee, to be a rule to thee, and by it thou must be judged. We cannot say of these things, They are good things, but they are nothing to us; no, they are of the greatest concern imaginable to us.

3. The agreeableness of these things to us, in respect both of comfort and credit. (1.) If we hide them in our hearts, they will be very pleasing, and yield us an abundant satisfaction; {v. 18.) " // is a pleasant thing, and will be thy constant entertainment, if thou keep thein within thee; if thou digest them, and be actuated and governed by them, and delivered into them as into a mould." The form of godliness, when that is rested in, is but a force put upon a man, and he does but do penance in thai white clothing; those only that submit to tlie power of godliness, and make heart-work of it, find the pleasure of it, ch. ii. 10. (2.) If we make use of them in our discourse, they will he very becoming, and gain us a good reputation; they shall be ft trd in thy lips; *' Si)eak of these things, and thou speakest like thyself, and as is fit for thee to speak, considering thy character; thou wilt also have j^ilciisurc in s]5f;;k-ingof these things, as well as in thinking rf tlum."

4. The advantage designicd us by them. The excellent things which God hath written to us are not like the commands which the master gives his servant, which are all intended for the benefit of the master, but like those which the master gives his scholar, wliich are all intended for the benefit of the scholar. These things must l)e kept by us, foi they are written to us.

(i.) That Ave mav have a confidence in God, and so may have ccmfoit in him, and communion with

I'lOVERBS, XXII.

7 39

him J that thy trust ?7iay be in the Lord, v. 19. We cannot ti-ust in God, except in the way of duty; we are, therefore, taught our duty, that we may have reason to trust in God. Nay, this is itSL-lf one great duty we are to learn, and a duty that is the foundation of all practical religion, to live a life of delight in God, and dependence on him.

(2.) That we may have a satisfaction in our own judgment; " That I might make thee know the certainty of the ivords of truth; That thou maj'est know what is truth, nuiyest plainly distinguish between it and falsehood, and mayest know upon what grounds thou receivest and believest the truths of God." Note, [1.] It is a desirable thing to knew, not only the words of truth, but the certainty ofihem ; that our faith may be intelligent and rational, and may grow up to a full assurance. [2.] The way to know the certainty of the words of truth, is, to make conscience of our duty; for if any man do his will, he shall know for certain that the doctrine is of God, John vii. 17.

(3.) That we maybe useful and serviceable to others for their instruction; '■^That thou mayest give a good account of the words of truth to them that send to thee to consult thee as an oracle;" or, as the margin reads it, " to those that send thee, that employ thee as an agent or ambassador in any business." Knowledge is given us to do good with, that others may light their candle at our lamp, and that we may in our place serve our generation according to the Will of God. And those who make conscience of keeping God's commandments will be best able to give a reason for the ho/ie that is in them.

22. Rob not the poor, because he is poor; neither oppress the afflicted in the gate; 23. For the Lord will plead their cause, anc^ spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.

After this solemn preface, one would have expected something new and suiprising; no: here is a plain and common, but very needful, caution against the barbarous and inhuman practice of oppressing poor people. Observe,

1. The sin itself, and that is, robbing the poor, •tnd making them poorer; taking from those that have but little to lose, and so leaving them nothing. It is bad to rob any man, but most absurd to rob the poor, whom we shculd relieve; to squeeze those with our power, whom we shculd water with our bounty; to o/i/iress the afflicted, and so to add affliction to them; to give judgment against them, and so to patronise those that do rob them; which is as bad as if we robbed them ourselves. Rich men will not suffer themsehes to be wronged, poor men cannot help it, and therefore we ought to be the more careful not to wrong them.

2. The aggravations of the sin. (1.) If their inability, by reason of their poverty, to right themselves, imbolden us to rob theni, it is so much the worse; that is robbing the poor because he is poor; this is not only a base and cowardly thing, to take advantage against a man because he is helpless, but it is unnatural, and bespeaks men worse than beasts. (2.) Or if it be done under colour of law and justice, that is oppressing the affticted in the gate, where they ought to be protected from wrong, and to have justice done them against those that oppress them.

3. The danger that attends this sm. He that robs and oppresses the poor, it is at his peril; for, (1.) The oppressed will find God their powerful ratron; he will plead their cause, and not suffer them to be run down and trampled upon. If men will not appear for them, God will. (2.) The op-l)ressors will find him a just Avenger; he will make reprisals upon them, will spoil the souls of those that tfioil thrm; he will repay them in spirtual judg-

ments, in curses to their souls. He that robs the poor will be found in the end a murderer of himself.

24. Make no friendship with an angry

man, and witii a furious man thou shalt not

go; 25. L.est thou learn his ways, and get

j a snare to thy soul.

Here is, 1. A good caution against bein^ intimate with a passionate man. It is the law of friendship that we accommodate ourselves to our friends, mid be ready to ser\e them, and therefore we oughi te

I be wise and waiy in the choice of a friend, that wo conie not inider that sacred tie to any one whom

' it would be cur folly to accommodate ourselves to; though we nmst be civil to all, yet we must be careful whom we laj'^ in our bosoms, and contract a familiarity with. And, among otliers, a man who is easily provoked, touchy, and apt to resent affronts, who, when he is in a passion, cares not what he sa}s or does, but grows outrageous, such a one is not fit to be mad.- a friend or companion, for he will be ever and anf«i angry with us, and that will be our trouble, anc will expect that we should, like him, be angry with others, and that will be our sin.

2. Gcjod cause given for this caution; lest thozi learn his way. Those we go with we are apt to grow like. Our coriiipt hearts have so much tinder in them, that it is dangerous conversing with those that throw about the sparks of their passion; we shall thereby get a snare to our souls, for a disposition to anger is a great snare to any man, and an occasion of much sin. He does not say, "Lest thou have ill language given thee, or get a broken head," but, which is much worse, " Lest th6u imitate him, to humour him, and so contract an ill habit."

26. Be not thou otie of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. 27. If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?

We have here, as often before, a caution against suretiship, as a thing both imprudent and unjust.

1. We must not associate ourselves, nor contract an intimacy, with men of broken fortunes and reputations, who need, and will urge their friends to be bound for them, that they may cheat their neighbours, to feed their lusts, and, by keeping up a little longer, may do the more damage at last to those that give them credit. Have nothing to do with such; be not thou among them.

2. We must not cheat people of their money, by striking hands ourselves, or becomirig suiety for others, when we have not to pay. If a man by the Divine Providence is disabled to ])ay his debts, he ought to be pitied and helped, but he that takes up money or goods himself, or is bound for another, when he knows that he has not wherewithal to pav, or that which he has is so settled, that the creditors cannot come at it, he does in effect pick his neighbour's pocket; and though, in all cases, compassion is to be used, yet he may thank himself if the law have its course, and his bed be taken from under hnn, which miglit not be taken for a pawn to secure a debt, Exod. xxii. 26, 27. For if a man appeared to be so poor that he had nothing else to give x^v security, he ought to be relieved, and it was honestly done to own it; but for the recovery of a debt, it seems it miglit be taken by the summum jus — tle strict operation of law.

3. We must not niin ovu" own estates and familif a-every man ouglit to be just to himself, and to his wife and children; those are not so who live above what they have, who, by the mismanagement of their own affairs, or by incumbering themselves with the debts of others, waste what they have, and bring themselves to poverty. We may take joyfulhj

PROVERBS, XXIll.

'.he spoiling of our goods, if it be for the testi.ii.],y of a good conscience; but if it be for our own rashness and folly, we cannot but take it heavily.

28. Remove not the ancient land-mark which thy fathers have set.

1. We are here taught not to invade another man's right, though we can find ways of doing it ever so secretly and plausibly, clandestinely and by fraud, without any open force. Let not property in genei'al be entrenched upon, by robbing men of their liberties and pi'ivileges, or of any just ways of main- i taining them. Let not the property of particular j persons be encroached upon; the land-marks, or meer-stones, are standing witnesses to every man's | right, let not those be removed quite away, for i tlience come wars, and fightings, and endless dis- I putes; let them not be removed so as to take from | thy neighbour's lot to thine own; for that is downright robbing him, and entailing of the fraud upon | posteritv.

2. \Ve may infer hence, that a deference is to be paid, in all civil matters, to usages that have prevailed time out of mind, and the settled constitutions of government, in which it becomes us to acquiesce; lest an attempt to change it, under pretence of changing it for the better, prove of dangerous consequence.

28. Seest thou a man dihgentin his business ? lie shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean vien.

Here is, 1. A plain intimation, what a hard thing it is to find a truly ingenious, industrious man; " Seest thou a man diligent in his business? Thou wilt not see many such, so epidemical are dulness and slothfulness." He is here commended, who lays out himself to get business, though it be but in a very low and narrow sphere, and is not easy when he is out of business, who loves business, is quick and active in it, and goes through it, not only with constancy &nd resolution, but with dexterity and expedition, a man of despatch, who knows how to bring a deal of business mto a little compass.

2. A moral prognostication of the preferment of such a man; though now he stands before mean men, is employed by them, and attends upon them, yet \\t will rise, and is likely enough to stand before kings, as an ambassador to foreign kings, or prime minister of state to his own. Seest thou a man diligent in the business of religion? He is likely to excel in virtue, and shall stand before the King of kings.

CHAP. XXIII.

1 - IL^TTHEN thou sittest to eat with a ru-▼ T ler, consider diligently what is before thee; 2. And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. 3. Be not desirous of his dainties; for they are deceitful meat.

The sin we are here warned against, is, luxury and sensuality, and the indulgence of the appetite in eating and drinking, a sin that most easily besets us.

1. We are here told when we enter into temptation, and are in most danger of falling into this sin; " When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, thou hast great plenty before thee, varieties and dainties, such a table as thou hast seldom seen; thou art ready to think, as Ham an did, of nothing but the honour hereby done thee; (Esth. v. 12.)aiid the opportunity thou hast of pleasing thy palate, and forgettcst 'hat there is a snare laid for thee." Perhaps the 'emptation may be stronger and more dangerous to

one that is not used to such entertamments, thaii to one that always sits down to a good table.

2. We are here bid to double our guard at such a time. We must, (1.) Apprehend ourselves to be in danger; '^Consider diligently what is before thee, what meat and dnnk are before thee, that thou mayest choose that which is safest for thee, and which thou art least likely to eat and drink of to excess. Consider what company is before thee, the ruler himself, who, if he be wise and good, will take it as an affront for any of his guests to disorder themselves at his table." And if when we sit to e;.t with a ruler, much more when we sit to eat Avith the Ruler of rulers at the Lord's table, must we consider diligenthj what is before us, that we may not in any respect eat and drink unworthily, unbecomingly, lest that table become a snare. (2.) ^^"e must alarm ourselves into temperance and moderation; "Put a k?iife to thy throat, restrain thyself, as it were with a sword hanging over thy head, from all excess. Let these words, Take heed lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeitirig ana drunkenness, and so that day come upon you at unawares; or those. For all these things God shall bring thee into judgment; or those. Drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of God; be a knife to the throat." The iLatins call luxury, gula — the throat; " Take up arms against tliat sin. Rather be so abstemious, that thy craving appetite will begin to think thy throat cut, than indulge thyself in voluptuousness." We must never /ffrf ourselves without fear, (Jude 12.) but we must in a special manner tear when temptation is before us. (3.) We must reason ourselves into a holy contempt of the gratifications of sense; " If thou be a man given to appetite, thou must, by a present resolution, and an application of the terrors of the Lord, restrain thyself. When thou art in danger of falling into any excess, put a knife to thy throat; that may serve for once. But that is not enough, lay the axe to the root, mortify that appetite which has such a power over thee, be 7iot desirous of dainties." Noi^e, We ought to observe what is our own iniquity, and, if we find ourselves addicted to flesh-pleasing, we must not only stand upon our guard against temptation from without, but subdue the corruption within. Nature is desirous of food, and we are taught to pray for it, but it is lust that is desirous of dainties, and we cannot in faith pray for them, for frequently they are not food convenient either for mind, body, or estate. They are deceitful meat, and therefore David, instead of praying for them, prays against them, Ps. cxli. 4. They are pleasant to the palate, but perhaps rise in tlie stomach, turn sour there, upbraid a man, and make him sick. They do not yield men the satisfaction they promised themselves from them; for those that are given to appetite, when they have that which is very dainty, are not pleased, they are soon weary of it, they must have something else more dainty; the more a luxurious appetite is humoured and indulged, the more humoursome and troublesome it gi-ows, and the more hard to please; dainties will surfeit, but never satisfy. But especially they are, upon this account, deceitful meat, that, while they please the body, tliey prejudice the soul, they over-charge the heart, and unfit it for the service of God, nay, they take away the heart, and alienate the mind, from spiritual delights, and spoil its relish of them. Why then should we co\et that which will certainly cheat us?

4. Labour not to be rich; cease from thine own wisdom. 5. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not ? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away, as an eagle toward heaven.

PROVERBS, XXlIl.

741

As some are given to appetite, (v. 2.) so others to covetousness, and those Solomon here takes to task. Men cheat themselves as much by setting their hearts on money (though it seems most substantial) as by setting them on dainties. Observe,

I. How he dissuades the covetous man from toiling and tormenting himself; {v. 4.) "Do not aitn to be rich; to raise an estate, and to make what thou hast in abundance, mt re than it is." We must endeavour to live comfortably, and provide for our children and families, according as our rank_ and condition are, ])ut we must not seek great things. Be not of those that Avill be rich, that desire it as their chief good, and design it as their highest end, 1 Tim. \'\. 9. Covetous men think it is their wisdom, imagining that if they be rich to such a degree, tliey shall be completely happy; cease from that wisdom, for it is a mistake, a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things ivhich he /lossesses, Luke xii. 15. Tiiose that aim at great things,

1. " Tl\e)- fill their hands with business more than they can gras]), so that tlieir life is both a perfect drudgery and a perpetual hurry; but be not thou such a fool, labour not to be rich. What thou hast and doest, be master of it, and not a slave to it, as those that rise u/i earhj, sit iiji late, and eat the bread of carefulness, and all to be rich." Moderate la-Ijour, that we may have to give, is our wisdom and duty, Eph. iv. 28. Immoderate labour, that we may have to hoard, is our sin and folly.

2. " They fill their heads with project* more than they understand, so that their life is a constant toss of care and fear; but do not thou \'ex thyself, cease from thine own wisdom, go on quietly ni the way of thy Ijusiness, not contriving new ways, and setting thy wits on work to find out new inventions. Acquiesce in God's wisdom, and cease from thine own, ch. iii. 5, 6.

II. How he dissuades the covetous man from cheating and deceiving himself by an inordinate love and pursuit of that which is vanity and vexation of spirit; for,

1. It is not substantial and satisfying; "Wilt thou be such a fool as to set thine eyes, to cause thine eyes to fly with eagerness and violence, ufion that which is not?" Note, (1.) The things of this world are things that are not. They have a real existence in nature, and are the real gifts of Providence, but in the kingdom of grace they are things that are not; they are not a haj)piness and portion for a soul; are not what they promise to be, nor what we expect them to be; they are a show, a shadow, a sham upon the soul that trusts to them; they are not, for in a little while they will not be, they will not be ours, they perish in the using; the fashion of them p;isses away. (2.) It is therefore folly for us to set our eyes upon them; to admire them as the best things, and appropriate them to ourselves as our good things, and to aim at them as our mai-k at which all our actions are levelled; to fly upon them as the eagle upon her prey. " Wilt thou do a thing so absurd in itself? What, thou a reasonable creature, wilt thou dote upon shadows? The eyes are put for rational and intellectual powers; wilt thou thi'ow those away upon such undeserving objects? To set the hands and feet upon the world is well enough, but not the eyes, the eyes of the mind, those were made to contemplate better things. Wilt thou, my son, that professed religion, put such an affront upon God, (towai'd whom thine eyes should ever be,) and such an abuse upon thy own soul?"

2. It is not durable and abiding; Riches are very uncertain things, certainly they are so, they i7iake [hemselves wings, and fiee away. The more we cause our eyes to fly upon tlVem, the more likely they are to flee away from us. (1.) Riches will leave us; those that hold them ever so fast, cannot

hold them always, cannot hold them long; either they must be taken from us, hv we must be taken from them. The goods are said to flow away as a stream, (Job xx. 28.) here to flee away as a bird. (2.) Pernaps they may leave us suddenly; when we have taken a gi'eat deal of pains for them, and begin to take a great deal ot pride and pleasure in them. The covetous man sits hatching upon his wealth, and brooding over it till it is fledged, as the young ones under the hen, and then it is gone. Or, as if a man should be fond of a flight of wild-fowl that light in his field, and call them his own, because they are upon his ground, whereas if he offer to come near them, they take wing immediately, and are gone to another man's field. (3.) The wings they flee away upon are of their own making; they have in themselves the pi'inciples of their own corruption, their own moth and rust. They are wasting in their own nature, and like a handful of dust, which if it be grasped, slips through the fingers. Snow will last awhile, and look pretty, if it be left to lie on the ground where it fell, but if gathered up and laid in the bosom, it is dissolved and gone immediately. (4.) They go irresistibly and irrecoverably, as an eagle toward heaven, that flies strongly, there is no stopping her, and flies out of sight and out of call, there is no bringing her back; thus do riches leave men, and leave them in grief and vexation, if they set their hearts upon them. -

6. Eat thou not the bread of hhri that hath an evil eye, neitlier desire thou his dainty meats: 7. For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. 8. The morsel 7vhich thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.

Those that are voluptuous, and given to appetite, (x^. 2.) are glad to be where there is good cheer stirring, and those that are covetous and saving, that they may spare at home, will be glad to get a dinner at another man's table; and therefore both are here advised not to be forward to accept of every man's invitation, but especially not to thi-ust themselves in, uninvited. Observe,

1. There are those that pretend to bid their friends welcome, that are not hearty and sincere in it. They have a fair tongue, and know what they should say; £at arid d7'ink, saith he, because it is expected that the master of the feast should so compliment his guests; but they have an ex'il eye, and grudge their guests every bit they eat, especially if thev eat freely. They would seem to be liberal in making the entertainment, and would have the credit of it, but they have so great a love to their money, and so little to their friends, that they cannot have tlie comfoit of it, nor any enjoyment of them selves or their friends. The miser's feast is his penance. If a man be so very selfish, and sordid, that he cannot find in his heart to bid his friends welcome to what he has, he ought not to add to that the guilt of dissimulation by inviting them, but let him own himself to be what he is, that the vile person may not be called liberal, or the churl bountiful, Isa. xxxii. 5.

2. One can have no comfort in accepting the entertainments that are given grudgingly; "Eat not thou the bread of such a man, let him keep it to himself. Do not spunge upon those that are bountiful, nor make thyself burthensome to any; but es pecially scorn to be beholden to those that are paltry, and not sincere. Better have a dinner of hei'bs and true welcome, than dainty meats without it. Therefore," (1.) " Judge of the man as his mind is; thou thinkest to pay thy respect to h)m as a ti'iend,

PROVERBS, XXIII.

so thou takest him to be, because he speaks fair; but, as he thinks in his heart, so is he, not as he speaks with his tongue." We are that really, both to God and man, which we are inwardly; and neither religion nor friendship is worth any thing further than as it is sincere. (2.) "Judge of the meat, as the digestion is, and as it agrees with thee. He bids thee eat freely, but, first or last, lie will discover his sordid covetuous humour, and as he thinks in his heart, so he will look and give thee to understand that thou art not welcome, and then the morsel thou hast eaten thou shalt vomit up, the very thought of that will make thee even to vomit the meat thou hast eaten, and eat the words thou hast spoken in returning his compliments, and giving him thanks for his civihties. Thou shalt lose thy stveet words which he has given thee, and thou hast given him."

9. Speak not in the eais of a fool; for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

We are here directed not to cast pearls before swine, (Matth. vii. 6.) and not to expose things sacred to the contempt and ridicule of profane scoffers. It is our duty to take all fit occasions to speak of divine things; but,

1. There are some that will make a jest of ev\ry thing, though it be ever so prudently and pertinently spoken; that will not only despise a wise man's words, but despise even the wisdom of them, that in them which is most improvable for their own edification; they will particularly reproach that, as if it had an ill design upon them, which they must guard against.

2. Those that do so forfeit the benefit of good advice and instruction, and a wise man is not only allowed, but advised, not to speak in the ears of such fools; let them be foolish still, and let not precious breath be thrown away upon them. If what a wise man says in his wisdom will not be heard, let him hold his peace, and try whether the wisdom of that j will be regarded. I

10. Remove not the old land-mark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: 11. For their Redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.

Note, 1. The fatherless are taken under God's special protection; with him they not only find mercy showed to them, (Hos. xiv. 3.) but justice done for them. He is their Redeemer, their Goel, their near Kinsman, that will take their part, and stand up for them with jealousy, as taking himself affronted in the injuries done to them. As their Redeemer, he will plead their cause against those that do them any injury, and, one way or other, will not only defend their right, and recover it for them, but avenge the wrongs done to them. And he is mighty, almighty; his omnipotence is engaged and employed for their protection, which their proudest and most powerful oppressors will find themselves an unequal match for; and that it is at their pei"il to contend with it.

2. Every man therefore must be careful not to injure them in any thing, or to invade their rights; either by a clandestine removal of the old landmarks, or by a forcible entry into their fields. Being fatherless, they have none to right them, and, being in their childhood, they do not so much as apprehend the wrong that is done ihcm. Sense of honour, and much more the fear of God, should restrain men from offering any injury to children, especially fatherless children.

12. Apply thy heart unto instruction, and

thine ears to the words of knowledge. 13 Withhold not correction fiom the child, for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell, 1 j. My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine ; 16. Yea, my reins shall rejoice when thy lips speak right things.

Here is, 1. A parent instructing his child. He is here brought in, persuading him to give his mind to his book, and especially to the scriptures and his catechism; to attend to the words of knowledge, by which he might come to know his duty, and danger, and interest, and not to think it enough to give them the hearing, but to apply his heart to them, to delight in them, and bow his will to the authority of them. The heart is then applied to the instruction, when the instruction is applied to the heart.

2. A pai-ent coTrecting his child. A tender parent can scarcely find in his heart to do it, it goes much against the grain, but he finds it necessarv, it is his duty, and therefore he dares not withhold correction when there is occasion for it; {spare the rod, and spoil the hild;) he beats him with the rod, gives him a gentle correction, the stripes of the sons of men, not such as we give to beasts, lieat hiin with the rod, and he shall not die; the rod will not kill him; nay, it will prevent his killing himself by those vicious courses which the rod will 1)e necessary to restrain him from. For the present, it is not joyous but griexious, both to the parent and to the child; but, when it is given with wisdom, designed for good, accompanied with prayer, and blessed of God, it may prove a happy means of preventing his utter destruction, and delivering his soul fro?n hell. Our great care must be about our children's souls, we must not see them in danger of hell, without using all possible means, Avith the utmost care and concern, to snatch them as brands out of everlasting brniings. Let the body sm^irt, so that the spirit be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

3. A parent encouraging his child, telling him, (1.) What was all he expected; nothing but what would be for his own good, that his heart be wise, and that his lips speak right things; that he be under the government of gof d ])rinciples, and th^t by those principles he particularly maint;'.in a gocd government of his tongue. It is to be hoped, that those will do light things, when they grow up, whoIcain to speak right things when thcv are young, and dare not speak any bad words. (2.) What a comfort it would be to him, if herein he answered his expectation; *'//' thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, shall rejoice in thee; e\'en mine, who have taken so much care and jjains about thee, my heart that has many a time ached for thee, for which thou shouldest study thus to make a gracious requital." Note, The wisdom of children will be the jcy of their parents and teachirs, who have no gi'cater joy than to see them vjalk in the truth, 3 John 4. "Children, if vou be wise and good, devout and conscientious, God will be pleased with yen, and that will be our jov: we shall think our labour, in instructing yoiu, well bestowed; it will be a comfortable answer for the many i)ra\ers we have put up for you; we shall be eased of a great deal of care, shall not need to be so strict and severe in watching over you, and shall, conisequontlv, be the easier, both to vou and to ourselves. We shall rejoice in hope that you will be a credit and comfort to us, if we should live to be old, that you will bear up the name of Christ in your generation, that you will live comfortably in this world, and happily in pprtb.er."

PROVERBS, XXITI.

743

17. Let not thy heart envy sinners: but he thou in the fear of the LbRD all the day long, 18. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.

Here is, 1, A necessary caution against entertaining an)' favourable thoughts of prospering profane-ness; '■^ Let not thine heart envy sinners; do not grudge them either the Hberty they take to sin, or the success they have in sin, it will cost them dear, and they are to be pitied rather than envied. Their prosperity is their portion, (Ps. xvii. 14.) nay, it is their /loison," Prov. i. 32. We must not harbour in our hearts any secret discontent at the j)rovidence of God, tliough it seem to smile upon them, nor wish ourselves in their condition. "Let not thine heart imitate sinners,''^ (so some read it,) do not as they do, walk, not in the way with them, use not the methods they take to enrich themselves, though they thrive by them.

2. An excellent direction to maintain high thoughts of God in our minds at all times. Be thou in the fear of the Lord, every day, and all the day long. We must be in the fear of the Lord, as in our em-

gloyment, exercising ourselves in holy adorings of rod in subjection to his precepts, submission to his providences, and a constant care to please him; we must be in it as in our element, taking a pleasure in contemplating God's glory, and complying with his will. It is to be devoted to his fear, (Ps. cxix. 38.) and governed by it as our commanding principle in all we say and do. All the days of our life we must constantly keep up an awe of God upon our spirits, must pay a deference to his authority, and have a dre-\d of his wrath. We must be always so in his fear as never to be out of it.

3. A good reason for both ol these; {v. 18.) Surely there is an end, an end and expectation, as Jer. xxix. 11. There will be an end of the prosfierity of the wicked, therefore do not envy them; (Ps. Ixxiii. 17.) there will be an end cf thy afflictions^ therefore be not WL-ary of them; an end of thy services, thy work and warfare will be accomplished, perfect love will cast out fear, and thine expectation of the reward not only will be not cut off, or disappointed, but it will be infinitely outdone. The consideration of the end will help to reconcile us to all the difficulties and discoviragements of the way.

19. Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thy heart in the way. 20. Be not among wine-bibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: 21. For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. 22. Hearken imto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. 23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. 24. The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice; and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. 25. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice. 26. My son, give me thy heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. 27. For an whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. 28. She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and in-creaseth the transgressors among men.

Here is good advice for parents to give to their children; words are pgt into their mouths, that they

may^ra.7z them ufi in the wan they should go. Here we have,

1. An earnest call to young people to attend to the advice of their godly parents, not only to this that is here given, but to all other profitable instructions; "Hear, my son, and be wise, v. 19. This will be an evidence that thou art wise, and a means to make thee wiser." Wisdom, as Faith, comes by hearing. And again, {v. 22.) ''Hearken unto thy father who begat thee, and who therefore has an authority over thee, and an affection for thee, and, thou mayest be sure, can have no other design than thine own good." We ought to give reverence to the fathers of our flesh, who begat us, and were the instruments of our being; much more ought we to obey, and be in subjection to, the Father^of our sfiirits, who made us, and is the Author of our being. And since the mother also, from a sense of duty to God, and in love to her child, gives him good instructions, let him not despise her, or her advice, when she is old. When the mother is grown old, we may suppose the children to be grown up; but let them not think themselves past being taught, even by her, but rather respect her the more for the multitude of her years, and the wisdom which they teach. Scornful and insolent young men will make a jest, it may he, of the good advice of an aged mother, and think themselves not concerned to heed what an old woman says; but such will have a great deal to answer for another day, not only as having set at naught good counsel, but as having slighted and grieved a good mother, ch. xxx. 17.

n. An argument to enforce this call, taken from the great comfort which this Avill be to their parents, V. 24, 25. Note, 1. It is the duty of children to study how they may rejoice the hearts of their good parents, and do it yet more and more, so that they may greatly rejoice in them, even when the einl days come, and the years of which they say they have no pleasure in them, but "this, to see their children do well; its Barzillai to see Chimham preferred. 2. Children will be a joy to their parents, if the)^ be righteous arid wise. Righteousness is true wisdom; they who do good, do well for themselves. Those are completely such as they should be, who are not only wise, knowing and learned, but righteous, honest and good; and not only righteous, conscientious and well-meaning, but wise, prudent and discreet in the management of themselves. If such the children be, especially all the children, the father and mother will be glad, and think nothing too much that they have done, or do, for them; they will please themselves in them, and give God thanks for them; particularly she that bare them with pain, and nursed tliem with pains, will rejoice in them, and reckon herself well-requited, and the sorrow more than forgotten, because a wise and good min is the product of it, who is a blessing to the world he was born into.

III. Some general precejjts of wisdom and virtue.

1. Guide thine heart in the way, v. 19. It is the heart that must be taken care of, and directed aright; the motions and affections of the soul must be toward right objects, and under a steady guidance. _ If the heart be guided in the way, the steps will be guided, and the conversation well-ordered.

2. Buy the truth, and sell it not, x'. 23. Truth is that by which the heart must be guided and governed, for without truth there is no goodness; no regular practices without right principles. It is by the power of truth, known and believed, that we must be kept back from sin, and constrained to duty; the understanding must be well-informed with wisdom and instn\ction. And therefore, (1.) We must buv it, be willing to part with any thing for it. He doe's not say at what rate we must buy it, hecfa:se we

PROVERBS, XXIII.

cannot buy it too dear, but must nave it at any rate; whateverit costs us, we shall not repent the bargain. When we are at expense for the means of knowledge, and resolved not to starve so good a cause, then we buy the truth. Riches should be employed for the getting of knowledge, rather tlian knowledge for the getting of riches. When we are at pains in searching after ti-uth, that we may come to the knowledge of it, and may distinguish between it and error, then we buy it. Dii laboribus omnia vendunt — Heaven concedes every thing to the laborious. When we choose rather to suffer loss in our temporal interest, than to deny or neglect the truth, then we buy it; and it is a pearl of such great price, that we must be v/illing to part with all to purchase It, must make shipwreck of estate, trade, preferment, rather than of faith and a good conscience. (2.) We must not sell it; do not part with it for pleasures, honours, riches, any thing in this world; do not neglect the study of it, nor throw off tlie profession of it, nor revolt from under the dominion of it, for the getting or saving of any secular interest whatsoever. Holdfast the form of sound words, and never let it go upon any terms.

3. Give me thine heart, v. 26. God, in this exhortation, speaks to us as unto children; Son, Daughter, Gi-ue me thy heart. The heart is that which the great God requires and calls for from every one of us; whatever we give, if we do not give him our hearts, it will not be accepted. We must set our love upon him. Our thoughts must converse much with him, and on him, as our highest End; the iji-tents of our hearts must be fastened. We must make it our own act and deed to devote ourselves to the Lord, and we must be free and cheerful in it. We must not think to divide the heart between (iod and the Avorld; he will ha^'e all or none; Thou shalt love the Lord thy God tvith all thy heart. To this call we must readilv answer, ''My Father, take my heart, such as it is, and make it such as it should be; take possession of it, and set up thy throne in it."

4. Let thine eyes observe my ways; have an eye to the rule of God's word, the conduct of his providence, and the good examples of his people. Our e^^es must observe these, as he that writes observes his copy, that we may keep in tlie right paths, and may proceed and persevere in them.

IV. Some particular cautions against these sins which are, of all others, the most destmctive to the seeds of wisdom and grace in the soul, which impoverish and ruin it.

1. Gluttony and drunkenness, v. 20, 21. The world is full of examples of this sin, and temptations to it, which all young people are concerned to stand upon their guard against, and keep at a distance from. Be not a nviiie-bibber; we are allowed to drink a little wine, (1 Tim. v. 23.) but not much; not to make a trade of it, never to drink to excess. Be not a riotous eater of flesh, as the Israelites were, who lusted exceedingly after it, saying. Who will give us flesh to eat? Whereas Paul, though he is free to e;it flesh, yet resolves that he will eat no flesh while the world stands, rather than make his brother to offend; so indifferent is he to it, 1 Cor. viii. 13. Be not an excessive eater ofjiesh; intemperance must be avoided in meat as well as drink. Be not a luxurious eater of flesh; not pleased with any tiling but what is very nice and delicate, savoury dishes, and forced meat. Some take not only a pleasure, but a pride, in being curious about their diet, and, as they call it, eating well; as if that were the ornament of a gentleman which is really the shame of a Christian; making a god of the belly. " Be not a wine-bibber, and be not a riotous eater; and therefore, be not among wine-bibbers, nnr among riotous eaters; do not gi\e them counte-

nance, lest thou learn their ways, and insensibly fall into those sins, or at least lose the dread and detestation of them. They covet to have thee among them; for those that are debauched themselves are Aery desirous to debauch others; therefore do no* gratify them, lest thou endanger thyself" He fetches an argument against this sin from the ex pensiveness of it, and its tendency to impoveris.^ men: and if men will not be deterred from it by thv, ruin it brings on their secular interests, which K nearest their hearts, no marvel that they are not frightened from it by what they are told cut of the word of God of the mischief it docs them in their spiritual and eternal concerns. The drunken and the glutton hate to be reformed, though they are told they shall come to poverty; nav, though they are told they shall come to hell. Dninkenness is the cause oi drowsinez.,; it stupifies men, and makes them inattentive to '-.isiness, and then all goes to wreck and ruin: t'.cr.- men that have lived creditably come to b-s clothed with rags.

2. Whoredom: tliat is another sin which takes away the heart that should be given to God, Hos. iv. 11. He shows the danger which attends that sin, V. 27, 28.

(1.) It is a sin from which few recover themselves, when once they are entangled in it. It is like a dee/i ditch, and a narrow flit, which it is almost impossiljle to get out of; and therefore it is wisdom to keep far enough from the brink of it. Take heed of making any approaches toward this sin, because it is so liard to make a retreat from it; c( nscience, which should head the retreat, being debauched by it, and divine grace forfeited.

(2.) It is a sin which bewitches men to their ruin; The adulteress lies in wait as a robber, pretending friendship, but designing the greatest mischief, to rob them of all they have that is valuable, to strip them both of their armour and of their ornaments. Even those who, being virtuously educated, endea-voui "^o shun the adulteress, she will lie in wait for, that .^he may assault them when they are off thr'.r guard, and she has them at an advantage, l.i-i none, therefore, be at any time secure.

(3.) It is a sin that contributes more than ary otlier to the spreading of vice and immorality in .. kingdom; It increases the transgressors among men. One adulteress may be the ruin of many a precious soul, and maj' help to debauch a whole town. It increases the treacherous or perfidious ones; it not only occasions husbands to be false to their wives, and servants to tlieir masters, but many that have professed religion, to throw off their ])rofession, and break their covenants with God. Houses of un-cleanness are therefore such pest-houses as ought to be suppressed by those whose office it is to take care of the public welfare.

29. Who hath wo ? who hath sorrow ? who hath contentions? who liath babbhng? who hath wounds without cause ? wlio liath redness of eyes? 30. They that (any long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine. 31. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup,7/7/e?/ it moveth itself aright: 32. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stiuijeth like an adder. 33. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things: 34. Yea, thou shalt be as lie that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the to)) of a mast. 35. They have stricken me, shalt thou say.,

PROVERBS, XXIII.

745

,'/«(/1 was not sick; they have beaten me, and] kit it not: when shall ] awake? 1 will seek it yet again.

Solomon here gives fair warning against the sin of drunkenness, to confirm what he liad said, v. 20.

I. He cautions all people to keep out of the way of temptations to this sin; (t. 31.) Look not thou up.on the ivine when it is red. Red wine was in Can.ian looked upon as the best wine, it is therefore called the blood of the grafie. Critics judge of wine, among other indications, by the colour of it; some wine, they say, looks charmingly, looks so well, that it even says, " Come and drink me;" it moves itself aright, goes down very smoothly, or perhaps the roughness of it is grateful. It is said of generous, strong-bodied, wine, that it even causes the lifts of those that are asleep to speak, Cant. vii. 9. But look not thou upon it. 1. "Be not ruled by sense, but reason and religion; covet not that which pleases the eye, in hopes that it will please the taste, but let thy serious thoughts correct the errors of thy senses, and convince thee that that which seems delightful is really hurtful, and resolve against it accordingly. Let not the heart walk after the eye, for it is a deceitful guide." 2. "Be not too bold with the charms of this or any other sin; look not, lest thou lust, lest thou take the forbidden fruit." Note, Those that would be kept from any sin, must keep themselves from all the occasions and beginnings of it, and be afraid of coming within the reach of its allurements, lest they be overcome by them.

II. He shows the many pernicious consequences of the sin of di-unkenness, tor the enforcement of this caution. Take heed of the bait, for fear of the hook; At the last, it bites, v. 32. All sin will be bitterness in the end, and this sin particularly. It bites like a serpent; when the drunkard is made sick by his surfeit, thrown by it into a dropsy, or some fatal disease, beggared and ruined in his estate, especially when his conscience is awakened, and he cannot reflect upon it without horror and indignation at himself; but, worst of all, at last, when the cup of drunkenness shall be turned into a cup of trembling, the cup of the Lord's wrath, the dregs of which he must be for ever drinking, and shall not have a drop of water to cool his inflamed tongue. To take off the force of the temptation that there is in the pleasure of the sin, foi'esee the punishment of it, and what it will at last end in, if repentance prevent not. In its latter end it bites, so the word is; think, therefore, what will be in the end thereof.

But he chooses to specify those pernicious consequences of this sin, which are present and sensible.

1. It embroils men in quarrels, makes them quarrel with others, and say and do that which gives others occasion to quarrel with them, v. 29. He asks, Who hath wo? who hath sorrow? Who has not, in this world? Many have wo and sorrow, and cannot help it; but drunkards wilfully create wo and sorrow to themselves. They that have contentions have wo and sorrow; and drunkards are the fools wliose lips enter into contention. When the wine is in, the wit is out, and the passions up; and thence come drunken scuflles, and drunken frays, and drunken disputes over the cups; many a vexatious, ruining law-suit has begmi thus. There is babbling, quarrels in word, and the exchange of scurrilous Imguage; yet it rests not there; you shall have wounds without cause, for causes are things which drunkards are in no capacity to judge of, and tlierefore they deal blows about without the least consideration why or wherefore, and must expect to be ill jke maimer treated themselves. The wounds which men receive in defence of their country, and its just rights, are their honour; hMiwoimds

Vol. III.—5 B

without cause, received in service ot their lusts, are marks of their inf.imy. Nay, drunkards wound themsehes in a tender part, for they have redness of eyes, symptoms of an inwai-d infla'mmaticn; their sight is weakened by it, and their looks deformed. This comes, (1.) Ot'drinking long, tarrying long at the wine,^ and spending that time in dnmken company which should be spent in useful busin'ess, or in sleep, which should fit for business, v. 30. Oh the precious hours which thousands throw away thus; every one of which will be bnuglit into the account at the great day! (2.) Of drinking that which is strong and intoxicating. 77iey go up and down to seek wine that will please them; their great inquiry, "Where is the best liquor?" They seek mixed wine,^ which is most palatal)le, but most heady; so willingly do they sacrifice their i-eason to please their palate!

2. It makes men impure and insolent, v, 33. (1.) The eyes grow unruly, and behold strange women to lust after them, and so let in adultery into the heart. Est Venus in vinis — TVine is oil to the fire of lust. Thine eyes shall behold strange things; so some read it. When men are drunk, the house turns round with them, and eveiy thing looks strangely to them, so that then they cannot trust their own eyes. (2.) The tongue also grows unruly, and talks extravagantly; by it the heart utters perverse things, things contrary to reason, religion, and common civility; which they would be ashamed to speak if they were sober. What ridiculous incoherent nonsense will men talk when they ai-e drunk, who at another time will speak admirably well, and to the purpose!

3. It stupifies and besots men, v. 34. When men are dioink, they know not where they are, nor what they say and do. (1.) Their heads are giddy, and, when they lie down to sleep, they are as if they were tossed by the rolling waves of the sea, or upon the top of a ?nast; hence they complain that their heads swim; their sleeps are commonly unquiet and not refreshing, and their dreams tumultuous. (2.) Their judgments are clouded, and they have no more steadiness and consistency than he that sleeps upon the top of a mast; they drink, and forget tlic law, (^ch. xxxi. 5.) they err through wine, (Isa, xxviii. 7. ) and think as extravagantly as they talk. (3.) They are heedless and fearless of danger, and senseless of the rebukes they are under, either from God or man. They are in imminent danger of death, of damnation, lie as much exposed as if they slept upon the toft of a mast, and yet are secure, and sleep on. They fear no peril when the terrors of the Lord are laid before them; nay, they feel no pain when the judgments of God are actually upon them; they cry not when he binds them. Set a drunkard in the stocks, and he is not sensible of the punishment; " They have stricken me, and I was not sick; I felt it not, it made no impression at all upon me." Drunkenness turns men into stocks and stones, they are scarcely to be reckoned animals, they are dead while they live.

4. Worst of all, the heart is hardened in the sin, and the sinner, notwithstanding all these present mischiefs that attend it, olistinatelv persists in it. and hates to be reformed; When shall I awake? Much ado he has to shake off the chains of his drunken sleep, he can hardly get clear of the fumes of thi wine, though he strives with them, that (being thirsty in the morning) he may return to it again. So perfectly lost is he to all sense of virtue and ho nour, and so wretchedly is his conscience seared, that he is not ashamed to say, I will seek it yet again. There is no hope; no, they have loved drunkards, and after them they will go, Jer. ii. 25. This is adding drunkenness to thirst, and following strong drink; thc>se that do so may read their doom.

PROVERBS, XXIV.

(Deul. xxix. 19, 20.) their two; (Isa. v. 11.) and if this be the end of the sin, with good reason were we bid to stop at the beginning of it; Look not upon the wine xi'hen it is red.

CHAP. XXIV.

1. "O E not thou envious against evil men, _lJ neither desire to be with them: 2. Foi- their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.

Here, 1. The caution given is much the same with that which we had before; {ch. xxiii. 17.) not to envy sinners, not to think them happy, nor to wish ourselves in their condition, though they prosper ever so much in this world, and are ever so merry, and ever so secure; "Let not such a thought ever come into thy mind; Oh that I could shake off the restraints of religion and conscience, and take as great a liberty to indulge the sensual appetite, as I see sucli and such do! No; desire not to be ivith them, to do as they do, and fare as they fare, and to cast i7i thy lot among \\\Qm."

2. Here is another I'eason given for this caution; Be not envious against them; not only because their end will be bad, but because their way is so, v. 2. Do not think with them, for their heart studies destruction to others, but it will prove destruction to themselves. Do not speak like them, for their li/is talk of their mischief. All they say has an ill tendency; to dishonour God, reproach religion, or wrong their neighbour; but it will be mischief to themselves at last. It is therefore thy wisdom to have nothing to do with tliem; nor hast thou any reason to look upon them with envy, but with pity rather, and a just indignation at their wicked pi'ac-tices.

.3. Through wisdom is an house builded, and by understanding it is established; 4. And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. 5. A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increasoth strength. G. For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war; and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

We are tempted to envy those that grow rich, and raise their estates and f imilies by such unjust courses as our consciences will by no means suffer us to use. But, to set aside that tem])tation, Solomon here sh(nvs that a man, with pnident management, m;iy raise his estate and family by lawful and honest means, with a good conscience, and a good name, and the I)lessing of God upon it; and if tlie other be raised a little sooner, yet these will last a great deal longer.

1. That which is here recommended to us, as having the best influence upon our outward pros-pei'ity, is, nvisdom, and understanding, and knoiv-ledge; that is, both piety toward God, (for that is true wisdom,) and prudence in the management of our cutward affairs. We must govern ourselves in every tiling by the rules ,of religion first, and then of discretion. Some, that are truly pious, do not tlu'ive in the world, for want of piiulence; and some, that are prudent enough, yet do not prospei', because they lean to their own understanding, and do not acknowledge God in their ways; therefore l)nth nuist go together to complete a wise man.

2. Thit which is here set before us as the advantage of true wisdom, is, that it will make men's outward affairs prosperous and successful.

(1.) It will build a house, and establish it, v. 3. Men may, by unrighteous practices, build their

houses, but they cannot establish them, for the foundation is rotten; (Hab. ii. 9, 10.) whereas, wluit is honestly got will weai- like steel, and be an inl >> ritance to children's children.

(2.) It will enrich a house, and furnish it, i'. 4. Those that manage their affairs with wisdom and equity, that are diligent in tlie use of lawful means for increasing what they liave, that spare fron luxury, and spend in charity, they are in a fair w wy to have their shops, their warehouses, ihe'iv cha?nbers, filled with all precious and pleasant riches; precious, because got by honest labrm*, and the substance of a diligent man is precious; pleasant, because enjoyed with holy cheerfulness; some think this is to be understood chiefly of spii'itual riches; By knowledge the chambers of tiie soul are filled with gi-aces and comfort of the Spirit, those precious and pleasant riches; for the Spirit, by enlightening the understanding, perfonns all his other operations on the soul.

3. It will fortify a house, and tuni it into a castle; Wisdom is better than weapons of war, offensive or defensive. A wise man is in strength, is in a strong hold, yea, a ?nan of knowledge strengthens might, increases it, v. 5. As we grow in knowledge, we grow in all grace, 2. Pet. iii. 18. Those that/zi-crease in wisdom are strengthened with all 7night, Col. i. 9, 11. A wise man will compass that by his wisdom, which a strong man cannot effect by force of arms. The spirit is strengthened both for the spiritual work, and the spiritual waifare, by tinae wisdom.

(4.) It will govern a house and a kingdom too, and the affairs of both, v. 6. Wisdom will erect a college, or council of state, ^^'isdom will be of use, [1.] For the managing oi the public quarrels, so as not to engage in them but ftn* an honest cause, and with some probability of success; and engaged in, to manage them well, and so as to make either an advantageous peace, or an honourable retreat; By wise counsel thou shalt make war; which is a thing that may prove of ill consequence if not done by wise counsel. [2.] For the securing cf the public peace; In the multitude of counsellors there is safety, for one may foresee the dangei-, and discern the advantages, which another cannot. In our spiritual conflicts, we need wisdom, for our enemy is subtle.

7. Wisdom is too high for a fool; he open-eth not his mouth in the gate. 8. He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person. 9. The thought of foolishness is sin; and the scorner is an abomination to men.

Here is the description,

1. Of a weak man; Wisdom is too high frr him; he thinks it so, and therefore, desjjuiring to attain it, he will take no pains in the pursuit of it, but sit down content without it. And really it is so; he has not capacity for it, and therefore the adxantagcs he has for getting it are all in vain to him. It is no easy thing to get wisdom; those that have natural parts good enough, yet if they be foolisli, if they be slothful and wiil not take pains, if tliey be playful and trifling, and given to their pleasures if they be viciously inclined, and keep bad company, it is too high for them, they arc not likely to reach it. And, for want of it, they are unfit for'the ser\ice of their country, thev open not their mouth in t.'w gate, they are not admitted into the council (;r niieistracy, or, if they are, they are dumb statues, iiiul stand for cyphers, they say nothing, because the\- liave nothing to say, and thev know, that if they should o* 1 fer any thiiig, it would not be heeded, na\-, it wcuiu

PROVERBS, XXIV.

be hissed at. Let young men taJce pains to get wisdom, that they may be qualified for public business, and do it with reputation.

2. Of a wicked man, who is not only despised as a fool is, but detested. Two sorts of wicked men are so.

(1.) Such as are secretly malicious. Though they speik fair, and carry it plausibly, they devise to do evil, are contriving to do an ill turn to those they bear a grudge to, or have an envious eye at; He that does so, shall be called a inischiex'ous fierson, or a master of mischief; which, perhaps, was then a common name of reproach; he shall be branded as an invoitor of evil things (Rom. i. 30.) or if any mischief be done, he shall be suspected as the author of it, or at least accessary to it. This devising evil, is the thought of foolishness, v. 9. It is made light of, and turned off with a jest, as only a foolish thing, but really it is sin, it is exceeding sinful; you cannot call it by a worse name than to call it sin. It is bad to do evil, but it is worse to devise it; for that has in it the subtlety and poison of the old serpent. But it may be taken more generally; We contract guilt, not only by the act of foolishness, but by the thought of it, though it go no further; the first risings of sin in the heart are sin, offensive to God, and mus. be repented of, or we are undone. Not only malicioas, unclean, proud thoughts, but even foolish thoughts are sinful thoughts. If vain thoughts lodge in the heart, they defile it, (Jer. iv. 14.) which is a reason why we should ker/i our hearts iv'th all diligence, and harbour no thoughts there which cannot give a good account of themselves, Gen. vi. 5.

(2.) Such as are openly abusive; The scorner, who'gives ill language to every body, takes a pleasure in affronting people, and reflecting upon them, he is an abomination to 7nen; none that have any sense of honour and virtue will care to keep company with him. Theseat of the scornful is the pestilential chair, (as the Seventy call it, Ps. i. 1.) which no wise man will come near, for fear of taking the infection. Those that strive to make others odious, do but make themselves so.

10. If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.

Nr te, 1. In the day of adversity, we are apt to faint, to droop and be discouraged, to desist from cur work, and to despair of relief. Our spirits sink, and then our hands hang down, and our knees gi'ow feeble, and we become unfit for any thing. And often those that are most cheerful, when they are well, droop most, and are most dejected, when anv thing ails them.

(2.) This is an evidence that our strength is small, and is a means of weakening it more; "It is a sign that thou art not a man of any resolution, any firmness of thought, any consideration, any faith, (for that is the strength of a soul,) if thou canst not bear up under an afflictive change of thy condition. " Some are so feeble, that they can bear nothing; if a trouble does but touch them, (Job. iv. 5.) nav, if it does but threaten them, they faint immediately, and are ready to give up all for gone; and bv this means they render themselves unfit to grapple with their trouble, and unable to help themselves. Be of good courage, therefore, and God shall strengthen thy heart.

11. If thou forbear to deliver .them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; 12. If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pon-iJereth the heart consider it 1 and he that

747

keepeth thy soul doth he not know it ? and shall not he render to evcnj man according to his works ?

Here is, 1. A great duty required of us, and that is, to appear for the relief of oppressed innocency; if we see the lives or livelihoods of any in danger of being taken away unjustly, we ought to bestir ourselves all we can to save them, by disproving the false accusations on which they are condemned^ and seeking out proofs of their innocency. Though the persons be not such as we are under any particular obligation to, we must help them, out ofa general zeal for justice. If any be set upon by force and violence, and it be in our power to rescue them, we ought to do it. Nay, if we see any through ignorance exposing themselves to danger, or fallen in distress, as travellers upon the road, ships at sea, or any the like, it is our duty, though it be with peril to ourselves, to hasten with lielp to them, and not forbear to deliver them, not be slack, or remiss, or indifferent, in such a case.

2. An answer to the excuse that is commonly made for the omission of this duty. Thou wilt say, "Behold we knew it not; we were not aware of the imminency of the danger the person was in; we could not be sure that he was innocent, nor did we know how to prove it, nor which way to do any thing in favour of him, else we would have helped him." Now, (1.) It is easy to make such an excuse as this, sufficient to avoid the censures of men, for perhaps they cannot dispro\'e us, when we say, We knew it not; or, We forgot. The temptation to tell a lie, for the excusing of a fault, is very strong, when we know that it is impossible to be disproved, the truth lying wholly in our own breasts; as when we say. We thought so and so, and really designed it; which no one is conscious of but ourselves. (2.) It is not so easy with such excuses to evade the judgment of God; and to the discovery of that we lie open, and by the determination of that we must abide. Now, [i.] God ponders the heart, and keefis the soul; he keeps an eye upon it, observes all the motions of it; its most secret thoughts and intents are all naked and open before him. It is his prerogative, and that in which he glories; (Jer. xvii. 10.) / the Lord search the heart. He keefis the soul; holds it in life. This is a good reason why we should be tender of the lives of others, and do all we can to preserve them, because our lives have been precious in the sig:ht of God, and he has gi'aciously kept them. [2.] He knows and considers whether the excuse we make be time or no; whether it was because we did not know it, or whether the tnie reason was not because we did not love our neighbour as we ought, but were selfish, and regardless both of God and man. Let this serve to silence all our frivolous pleas, by which we think to stop the mouth of conscience when it charges us with the omission of plain duty. Does not he that ponders the heart consider it? [3.] He will judge us accordingly. As his knowledge cannot be imposed upon, so his justice cannot be biassed, but he will render to every man according to his works, not only the co77miissicn of evil works, but the omission of good works.

13. My son, eat thou honey, because it is good: and the honey-comb, ichich is sweet to thy taste: 14. So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.

We are here quickened to the study of wisdom by

PROVERBS, XXIV.

the consideration both of the pleasure and the profit of it.

1. T{- will be very pleasant; we eat honey because It 18 sweet to the taste, and upon that account we call it good, especially that which i-uns first from the honey-comb. Canaan was said to flow with milk and honey, and it was the common food of the country, (Luke xxiv. 41, 42.) even for children, Isa. vii. 15. Thus should we feed upon wisdom, and relish the good instnictions of it. They that have tasted honey, need no further proof that it is sweet, nor can they by any argument be convinced of the contrary; so those that have experienced the power of truth and godliness are abundantly satisfied with the pleasure of both; they have tasted the sweetness of them, and all the atheists in the world with their sophistry, and the profane with their bantei', camiot alter their sentiments.

2. It will be very profitable. Honey may be snveet to the taste, and yet not wholesome; but wisdom has a future recompense attending it, as well as a present sweetness in it; "Thou art permitted to eat honey, and the agreeableness of it to thy taste invites thee to it; but thou hast much more reason to relish and digest the precepts of wisdom; for, when thou hast found that there shall be a reward, thou shalt be paid for thy pleasure, while the servants of sin pay dear for their pains. Wisdom does indeed set thee to work, but there shall be a reward; it does indeed raise great expectations in thee, but as thy labour, so thy hope, shall not be in vain, thine exfiectation shall not be cut off, {ch. xxiii. 18.) nay, it shall be infinitely outdone."

15. Lay not wait, O wicked man^ against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting-})lace: 16. For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up as:^a'm: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

This is spoken, not so much by way of counsel to wicked men, they will not receive instruction, {ch. xxiii. 9.) but rather in defiance of them, for the encouragement of good people that are threatened by them. See here,

' 1. The designs of the wicked against the righteous, and the success they promise themselves in those designs. The plot is laid deep; they lay wait against the dwelling of the righteous, thinking to charge some iniquity upon it, or compass some design against it; they lie in wait at the door, to catch iiim when he stirs "out, as David's persecutors, Ps. lix. title. The hope is raised high; they doubt not but to spoil his dwelling-place, because he is weak, and cannot su])])C)rt it, because his condition is low and distressed, and he is almost down already. All this is a fruit of the old enmity in the seed of the serpent against the seed of the woman. The bloodthirsty hate the upright.

2. The folly and frustration of those designs.

(1.) The righteous man, whose ruin was expected, recovers himself; lie falls seven times into trouble, but, by tlu' blessing of God upon his wisdom and integrity, \\e rises up again, sees through his troubles, and sees l)ctter times after them. The just man falls, somctimesya//i' sex'CJi times, perha])s into sin, sins of infirmity, through the surprise of temptation; but he rises u/i again, by repentance finds mercy with God, and regains his peace.

(2.) The wicked man, who expects to see his rain, and to help it forward, is undone; he falls into mischief, liis sins and his troubles are his utter destruction.

17. Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth; and let not thy heart be glad when he sturableth; 1 8. Lest the Lord see iU and

it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

Here, 1. The pleasure we are apt to take in the troubles of an enemy is forbidden us; as when any have done us an ill turn, or we bear them ill will only because they stand in our light, or in our way; when any damage comes to them, suppose they/c//; or any danger, suppose they stumble; and our corrupt hearts conceive a secret delight and satisfaction it it; Aha, so would we have it; they are entangled, the wilderness has shut them in. Or, as Tyrus said concerning JeiTisalem, (Ezek. xxvi. 2.) / ^hall be replenished, now she is laid waste. " Men hope in the ruin of their enemies or rivals to wreak their revenge, or to find their account; but be net thou so inhuman; rejoice not when the worst enemy thou hast, falls. There may be a holy joy in the destruction of God's enemies, as it tends to the glory of God, and the welfare of the church; (Ps. Ivih. 10.) but in the ruin of our enemies, as such, we must by no means rejoice; on the contrary, we must weep, even with them when they weep, (as David, Ps. XXXV. 13, 14.) and that in sincerity; not so much as letting our hearts be secretly glad at their calamities.

2. The provocation which that pleasure gives to God is assigned as the reason of that prohibition; The Lord will see it, though it be hid m the heart only, and it will displease him; as it will displease a pnident father to see one child triumph in the correction of another, which he ought to tremble at and take warning by, not knowing how soon it may be his own case, he having so often deserved it. He adds an argument ad hominem — addressed to the individual, " Thou canst not do a greater kindness to thine enemy, when he is fallen, than to rejoice in it; for then, to cross thee and vex thee, God will turji his wrath fro?n him; for, as the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God, so the righteousness of God was never intended to gratify the wrath of man, and humour his foolish passions; rather than seem to do that, he will adjourn the execution of his wrath: nay, it is implied, that when he turns his wrath from him, he will turn it against thee, and the cup of trembling shall be put into thy hand."

19. Fret not thyself because of evil meji^ neither be thou envious at the wicked: 20. For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.

Here, 1. He repeats the caution he had before given against envying the pleasures and successes of v/icked men in their wicked ways. This he quotes from his father David, Ps. xxxvii. 1. We must not in any case f'et ourselves, or make ourselves uneasy, whatever God does in his providence; how disagreeable soever it is to our sentiments, interests, and expectations, we must acquiesce in it. Even that which grieves us must not fret us; nor must our eye be evil against any, because God is good. Are we more wise or just than he? If wicked people prosper, we must not therefore incline to do as they do.

2. He gives a reason for this caution, taken from the end of that way which wicked men walk in; envy not their prosp'eritv; for (1.) There is no true haj)piness in it; There shall be 7io reward to the ex'il man; his prosperity only serves for his present sAib-sistence; these are all the good things he must ever expect; there is none intended him in the world of retribution; he has his reward, Matth. vi. 2. He shall have none. Those are not to be envied that have their portion in this life, and nuist outHve it, Ps. xvii. 14. (2.) There is no continuance in it; their candle shines bright, but it shall presently be

PROVERBS, XXIV

749

hut out, and a final period put to all their comforts, Job xxi. 17. Ps. xxxvii. 1, 2.

21. My son, fear thou the Lord and the king; and meddle not with them that are given to change: 22. For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both ?

Note, 1. Religion and loyalty must go together. As men, it is our duty to honour our Creator, to worshijj and reverence him, and to be always in his fear; as members of a community, incoiporated for mutual benefit, it is our duty to be faithful and dutiful to the government God has set over us, Rom. xiii. 1, 2. Those that are tinily religious will be lo)^al in conscience toward God; tlie godly in the land will be the quiet in the land; and those are not truly loyal, or will be so no longer than is for their interest, that are not religious. How should he be true to his prince, that is false to his God? And if they come in competition, it is an adjudged case; we must obey God rather than men.

2. Innovations in both are to be dreaded. Have nothing to do, he does not say, with them that :hange, for there may be cause to change for the better, but that are given to change, that affect it for change-sake, out of a peevish discontent with that which is, and a fondness for novelty, or a desire to fish in troubled waters; Meddle not with thejn that are give?! to change, either in religion, or in the civil government; co7ne not into their secret, pm not with them in tlieir cabals, nor enter into the mystery of their iniquity.

3. Those that are of restless, factious, turbulent, spirits, commonly pull mischief upon their own heads ere they are aware; Their calamity shall rise suddenly. Though they carry on their designs with the utmost secrecy, they will be discovered, and brought to condign punishment, when they little think of it. JVho knoivs the time and manner of the ruin which both God and the king will bring on their contemners, both on them and them that meddle with them?

23. These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment. 24. He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him: 25. But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them. 26. Every man. shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.

Here are lessons for tvise men, judges, and princes. As subjects must do their duty, and be obedient to magistrates, so magistrates must do their dutv in administering justice to their subjects, both in pleas of the crown, and causes between party and partv. These are lessons for them.

1. Thev must always weigh the merits of a cause, and not be swayed by any regard, one way or other, to the parties concerned; It is not good in itself, nor can it ever do well, to have resficct of ptrsons in judgment; the consequences of it cannot but be the perverting of justice, and doing wrong, under colour of law and equity. A good judge will know the truth, not know faces, so as to countenance a friend, and help him out in a bad cause, or so much as omit any thing that can be said or done in favour of a righteous cause, when it is the cause of an enemy.

2. They must never connive at, or encourage, wicked people in their wicked practices. Magistrates m their places, and ministers in theirs, are to

deal faithfully with the wicked man, though he be a great man, or a particular friend; to convict him of his wickedness, to show him what will be in the end thereof, to discover him to others, that they may avoid him. But if those whose office it is thus to show people their transgressions, palliate them, and connive at them; if they excuse the wicked man, much more if they prefer him and associate with him, which is, in effect, to say. Thou art righteous, they shall justly be looked upon as enemies to the pubHc peace and welfare, which they ought to advance, and the fieople shall curse thein, and cry out shame on them; and even those of other nations shall abhor them, as base betrayers of their ti-ust.

3. They must discountenance, and give check tf, all fraud, violence, injustice, and immorality; and though thereby they may disoblige a particular person, yet they will recommend themselves to the favour of God and man. Let magistrates and mhiis-ters, and private persons too, that are capable of doing it, rebuke the wicked, that they may bring them to repentance, or put them to shame, arid they shall have the comfort of it in their own bosoms: to them shall be delight; when their consciences witness for them that they have been witnesses for Gcd; and a good blessing shall come upon them, the blessing of God and go<;d men; they shall be deemed religious patnns, and their country's patriots. See ch. xxviii. 23.

4. They must always give judgment according to equity; {y. 26.) they must give a right answer, give their opinion, and pass sentence, according to law and the true merits of the cause; and every one shall kiss his lips that doeth so, shall love and hrnour him, and be subject to his orders, for there is a kiss of allegiance as well as of affection. He that in common conversation likewise speaks pertinently and with sincerity, recommends himself to his company, and is beloved and respected by all.

27. Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afteiwards build thy house.

This is a nile of prudence in the man; gement rf household affairs; for all good men should be good husbands, and manage with discretion, which would prevent a great deal of sin, and troulile, and disgrace to their profession.

1. We must prefer necessaries before convenien-cies, and not lay that out for show, which should be expended for the suppoil of the family. We must be content with a mean cottage for a habitation, rather than want, or go in debt for, food convenient.

2. We must not think of building till we can afford it; "First apply thyself to thy work without in the field, let thy ground be put into good order, look after thy husbandry, for that is it by which thou must get; and when thou hast got well by that, then, and not till then, thou mayest think of rebuilding and beautifying thy house, for that is it upon which, and in which, thou wilt have occasion to spend." Many have i-uined their estates and families by laying out money on that which brings nothing in, beginning to build, when they were not able to finish. Some understand it as advice to young men not to many (for by that the house is built) till they have set up in the world, and got wherewith to maintain a wife and children comfortably.

3. When we have any great desien on foot, it is wisdom to take it before us, and make the necessary preparations, before we fall to work, that, when it IS begun, it may not stand still for want of materials. Solomon observed this rule himself in building the house of God; all was made ready before it was brought to the ground, 1 Kings vi. 7.

PROVERBS, XXV.

bour vvithoL t cause; and deceive not with thy lips. 29. Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.

We are here forbidden to be in any thing injurious to our neighbour, particularly in and by the forms of law; either, 1. As a witness; "Never bear a testimony against any man without cause, unless what thou sajest thou knowest to be punctually true, and thou hast a clear call to testify it. Never bear a f Jse testimony against any one;" for it follows, "Deceive not with thy li/is; deceive not thy judge and jury, deceive not those whom thou con-vei'sest with into an ill opinion of thy neighbour. Wlien thou speakest of thy neighbour, do not only speak that which is true, but take heed, lest in the manner of thv speaking thou insinuate any thing that is otherwise, and so should deceive by nmuen-dos or hyperboles."

Or, 2. As a plaintiff or prosecutor. If there be occasion to bring an action or information against thy neighbour, let it not be from a spirit of revenge; Say not, I am resolved I will meet with him, I will do so to him as he has done to me; even a righteous cause becomes unrighteous, when it is thus prosecuted with malice. Say not, I will render to the 7nan according to his work, and make him pay dear for it; for it is God's prerogative to do so, and we must leave it to him, and not step into his throne or take his work out of his hands. If we will needs be our own carvers, and judges in our own cause, we forfeit the benefit of an appeal to God's tribunal; therefore we must not avenge ourselves, because he has said, Vengeance is mine.

30. I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; 31. And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the^ face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. 32. Then I saw, and considered it well; T looked upon zV, and received instruction. 33. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 34. So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an amied man.

Here is, 1. The view which Solomon took of the

field and -vineyard of the slothful man. He did not go on pui-pose to see it, but, as he passed by, observing the fruitfulness of the ground, as it is very proper for travellers to do, and his subjects' management of their land, as it is very proper for magistrates to do, he cast liis eye upon a.field, and a vineyard, unlike all the rest; for though the soil was good, yet there was nothing growing in them but thorns and nettles; not here and there one, but they were all overrun with weeds; and if there had been any fruit, it would have been eaten up by the beasts, for there was no fence, the stone wall was broken down. See the effects of that curse upon the gi'ound, (Gen. iii. 18.) " Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee, and nothing else, unless thou take pains with it." See what a blessing to the world the husbandman's calling is, and what a wilderness this earth, even Canaan itself, would be without it. The king himself is served of the field, but he would be ill served, if God did not teach tlie husbandman discretion and diligence to rid the ground, plant it, sow it, and fence it. See what a great difference there is between some and others in the management even of their worldly affairs, and how little

some consult their reputation, net caring though they proclaim their slothfulness, in the manifest effects of it, to all that pass by, shamed by their neighbour's diligence.

2. The reflections which he made upon it. He paused a little, and considered it, looked again itfior it, and received instruction. He did not brtak out into any passionate censures of the owner, did not call him any ill names, but he endeavoured himself to get good by the observation, and to be quickened by it to diligence. Note, Those that are to give instruction to others, must receive instruction themselves; and instruction may be received, not only from what we read and hear, hvX from what we see, not only from what we see of the works of God, bul from what we see of the manners of men; not only from men's good manners, but from their evil manners. Plutarch relates a saying of Cato Majoi*, That wise men profit more by fools than fools by wise men; for wise men will avoid the faults of fools, but fools will not imitate the virtues of wise men. Solomon reckoned that he received instruction by this sight, though it did not suggest to him any new notion or lesson, but only put him in mind of an observation he himself had formerly made, of the ridiculous follv of the sluggard, who, when he has needful work to do, lies dozing in bed, and cries. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, and still it will be a little more, till he has slept his eyes cut, and, instead of being fitted by sleep for business, as wise men are, he is dulled, and stupified, and made good for nothing. Hence, certain misery attends him; hiapoverty comes as one that travels, it is constantly coming nearer and nearer to him, and will be upon him speedily, and want seizes him as irresistibly as an armed man, a highwayman that will strip him of all he has.

Now this is applicable, not only to our worldly business, to show what a scandalous thing slothful ness in that is, and how injurious to the family, but to the affairs of our souls. Note, (1.) Our souls are cair fields and vineyards, which we are every on*" of us to take care of, to dress, and to keep. They are capable of being improved with good husbandry; that may be got out of them which will be fruit abounding to our account, \^'e are charged with them, to occupy them till our Lord ccme; and a great deal of care and pains it is requisite that we should take about them. (2.) These fields and vineyards are often in a very bad state; not only no fruit brought forth, but all o\'ergi-own with thoma and nettles, scratching, stinging, inordinate lusts and passions, pride, covetousness, sensuality, malice, those are the thorns and nettles, the wild grapes, which the unsanctified heart produces; no guard kept against the enemy, but the stone wall broken down; all lies in common, all exposed. (3.) Where it is thus, it is owing to the sinner's own slothfulness and folly; he is a sluggard, loves sleep, hates labour, and he is void of understanding, understands neither his business nor his interest; he is perfectly besotted. (4.) The issue of it will c( rtainly be the ruin of the soul, and all its welfare. It is everlasting want that thus comes upon it as an armed man. We know the place assigned to the wicked and slothful servant.

CHAP. XXV.

1.

THESE are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, copied out.

This verse is the title of this latter collection of Solomon's provei'bs, for he sought out, and set in order, mariy proverbs, that by them he might be still teaching the people knowledge. Feci. xii. 9. Observe,

PROVERBS, XXV.

75i

1. The proverbs were Solomon's, who was divinely insi)ircd to deliver, for the use of the church, these wise and weighty sentences. We ha\e had many, l>ut still there are more; yet, herein also, Christ is greater than Solomon, for, if we had all upon record tliat Christ said and did, that was instructive, the vjorld could iiot contain the books that should be nvritten, John xxi. 25.

2. I'he publishers were Hezckiah's servants, who, it is likely, herein acted as his servants, being appointed by him to do this good ser\ice to the church, among other goad offices that he did in the law and in the commandments, 2 Chron. xxxi. 21. Whether he employed the prophets in this work, as Isaiah, Hosea, or Micah, who lived in his time, or some that were trained up in the schools of the prophets, or some of the priests and Levites, to wl^om we find him giving a charge concerning divine things, (2 Chron. xxix. 4.) or (as the Jews think) his princes and ministers of state, who were more pro-

Serly called his seii^ants, is not certain; if it was one by Eliakim, and Joah, and Shebna, it was no diminution to their character. They copied out these proverbs from the records of Solomon's reign, and published them as an appendix to the former edition of this book. It may be a piece of very good service to the church to publisli other men's works that have lain hid in obscurity, perhaps a gi'eat while. Some think they culled these out of the 3000 proverbs which Solomon spake, (1 Kings iv. 32.) leaving out those tliat were physical, and that pertained to natural philosophy, and preserving such only as were divine and moral; and in this collection some observe that special regard was had to those observations which concern kings and their administration.

2. It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. 3. The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.

Hei'e is, 1. An instance given of tlie honour of God; It is his glory to conceal a matter. He needs not search into any thing, for he perfectly knows every thing by a clear and certain view, and nothing can be hid from him; and yet liis own way is in the sea, and his fiath in the great ivaters. There is an unfathomable depth in his counsels, Rom. xi. 33. Jt is but a little portion that is heard of him. Clouds and darkness are round about him. We see what lie does, out we know not the reasons. Some refer it to the sins of men; it is his glory to pardon sin, which is covering it, not remembering it, not mentioning it; his forbearance, which he exercises toward sinners, is likewise his honour, in which he seems to keep silence, and take no notice of the matter.

2. A double instance of the honour of kings.

(1.) It is God's glory that he needs not search iyito a matter, l)ccause he knows it without search; but it is the honour of kings, with a close application of mind, and by all the methods of inquiry, to search out tlie matters that are brought before them, to take pains in examining oflFcnders, that they may discover their designs, and bring to light the hidden works of darkness; not to give judgment till they have weighed tilings; nor to lca\e it wholly to others to examine things, but to see with their own eyes.

(2.) It is God's glory tliat he cannot himself be found out Ijy searching, and some of that honour is devolved upon kings, wise kings, that search out matters; their hearts are unsearchable, like the height of heaven, or the depth of the earth, which vve may cmess at, but cannot measure. Princes have

their arcana i?)i/ierii — state secrets, designs which ai-e kept private, and reasons of state, which private persons are not competent judges of, and therefore ought not to pry into. Wise princes, when thev search into a matter, have reacl-.es which one wruld not think of, as Solomon, when he called for a sword to divide the living child with, designing thereby*to discover the true motlier.

4. Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a \ essel for the finer. 5. Take away the wicked//o?/? before the king, and his throne siiall be established in righteousness.

This shows that the vigorous endeavours of a prince to suppress vice, and reform the manners of his people, is the most effectual way to support his government.

Oliscrve, 1. What the duty of magistrates is; To take away the wicked, to use theii- power for the terror of evil works and e\'il workers, not only to banish those that are ^•icious and profane from tlicir ])resence, and forl)id them tlie court, but so to frighten tlicm and restrain them, that they may not spread the infection of their wickedness among tlieir subjects. This is called taking away the dross frojn the silver, which is done b)' the force of fire. Wicked people are the dross of a nation, the scum of the country, and, as such, to be taken away. If men will not do it, God will, Ps. cix. 119. If the wicked be taken away from before the king, if he abandon them, and show his detestation of their wicked courses, it will go far toward the disabling of them to do mischief. The reformation of the court will promote the reformation of the kingdom, Ps. ci. 3, 8.

2. What the advantage will be of their doing this duty. (1.) It will be the bettering of the subjects; they shall be made like silver refined, fit to be made vessels of honour. (2.) It will be the settling of the prince; his throne shall be established in this righteousness; for God will bless his government, the people will be pliable to it, and so it will become durable.

6. Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: 7. For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither, tlian that tiiou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

Here we see, 1. That religion is so far from destroying good manners, that it teaches us to behave ourselves lowly and reverently towards our superi-oi-s, to keep our distance, and give place to those to whom it belongs; " Put not forth thyself nidely and carelessly in the king's presence, rr in" the presence of great men; do not compare with them;" (so some understand it;) "do not \ie with them in apparel, funiiturc, gardens, house-keeping, or retinue, for that is an affront to them, < nd will waste thine own estate."

2. That religion teaches us humilitv and self-denial, which is a better lesson than that of good manners; " Deny thyself the place thou art entitled to, covet not to make a fair show, nor aim at preferment, nor thrust tli\self into the crmpanv of those that ai'e above thee; be content in a low sphere, if that is it which Ciod has allotted to thee." The reason he gives, is, because this is really the way to advancement, as our Saviour shows in a parable that seems to be borrowed from this, Luke xiv. 9. Not that we must therefore p'/etend modest)' and humility, and make a stratagem of it, for the court

PROVERBS, XXV^

ing of honour, but therefore we must really le modest and humble, because God will put honour on such, and so will men too. It is better, more for a man's satisfaction and reputation, to be advanced abo\ e his pretensions and expectations, than to be thrust down below them, in the /iresoice of the firince, whom it was a great piece of honour to be admitted to the sight of, and a great piece of ])re-sumption to look ujjon without leave.

8. Go not forth liastily to strive, l(\st llion know not what to do in the end tliereot", when thy neighbour hatli put thee to shame. 9. Debate thy cause witli thy neighbour himself j and discover not a secret to another; 10. Lest he that heareth il put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away.

Here is good counsel given about going to law:

1. "Be not hasty in bringing an action, before thou hast thyself considered it, and consulted with thy friends about it; Go not forth haatily to strive, do not send for a writ in a passion, or ujjon the first appearance of right on thy side, but weigh the matter deliberately, because we are apt to be partial in our own cause; consider the certainty ot the expenses, and the uncertainty of the success, how much care and vexation it will be the occasion of, and, after all, the cause may go against thee; surely then thou shouldest not go forth hastily to strive.'"

2. " Bring not an action before thou hast tried to end the matter amicably; (v. 9.) Debate thy cause ivith thy neighbour privately, and perhaps you will understand one another better, and see that there is no occasion to go to law." In puljlic quarrels, the war that must at length end, might better have been

Prevented by a treaty of peace, and a great deal of lood and treasure spared. It is so in private quar-I'els; "Sue not thy neighbour as a heathen man and a fiublican, until thou hast told him his fault between thee and him alone, and he has refused to refer the matter, or to come to an accommodation. Perhaps the matter in variance is a secret, not fit to be divulged to any, much less to be brought upon the stage before the country; and therefore end it privately, that it may not l)e discovered." Reveal not the secret of another, so some read it. " Do not in re\'enge, to disgrace thine adversary, disclose that which should be kept private, and which does not at all belong to the cause."

Two reasons he gi\es why we should be thus cautious in going to law; (1.) "Because otherwise the cause will be in danger to i,o against thee, and thou wilt not know what to do, when the defendant has justified himself in what thou didst charge upon him, and made it out that thy complaint was frivolous ;uid vexatious, and that thou hadst no just cause of action, and so jiut thee to shame, nonsuit thee, and force thee to pay costs; all which might have been prevented by a little consideration." (2.) " Because it will turn \'ery much to thy reproach, if thou fdl under the character of being litigious Not only tlie defendant himself, {v. 8.) but he that hears the cause tried, wWlfnit thee to shame, will expose thee as a man of no principle, and thine infamy will not turn away, thou wilt never retrieve thy reputation."

11. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. 12. ^5 an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.

Solomon here shows how much it becomes a nan, > 1. To speak pertinently; ji word upon the wheels,

that runs well, is well circun.stanced m pn.per tim*'. and place, instniction, ad\ice, or comfort, given seasonably, and in ;q)t expressions, adapted to the case of the i)erson s))()ken to, and agreeing with, the character of the person speaking, is like golden lialls resenil)ling ap])les, (,r like tnie apples of a golden colour, (golden rennets,) or perha])s gilded, as sometimes we ha\e gilded laurels, and th(-.se i^m-hossL'd in /lictures of silver, (,r rather, brrugl-it to a taljle in a siher network basket, or in a silver box of that whicli v;v c;dl Jil gree-v/ork, thrcugh whicli the gokhn apjjles might be seen. Diubtless it was some crnament of tlie ta1)lc then well known. As that was very pleasing to tiie eye, so is a word fitly fjioken to the ear.

2. EHjKxially to give a reproof with discretion, and so as to make it accei)tal)le. If it be well given by a wise rr/irover, and well taken by an obedient ear, it is an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of Jiyie gold, very gi-aceful, and well-l)ecoming both the reprover and tlie reproved; botli will lia\e their praise, the repro\er for giving it so prudently, and the reproved tor taking it so ])atiently, and making a good use of it. Others will commend them both, and they will have satisfaction in each other; he who ga\ e the re])roof is pleased that it had the desired effect, and lie to whom it was gi^'cn has reason to be tliankful for it as a kindness. Tl'.at is well given, we say, that is well taken; yet it does not always prove that that is well taken which is v;ell given. It were to be wished that a wise re/irover should always meet with an obedieiit ear, but often it is not so.

13. As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithfiil messenger to them that send him; lor he refrt^siieth the soul of his masters.

See here, 1. What ought to lie the care of a servant, the meanest tliat is sent on an errand, and in-titisted with any business, much more the greatest, the agent and ambassador cf a prince; he ouglit to he faithful to him that sends him, and to see to it that he do not, by mistake or with design, falsify his ti-ust, and that he be in notliing, that lies in his power, wanting to his master's interest. Those that act as factors, by commission, ought to act as carefully as for themselves.

2. How much this will be the satisfaction of the master; it will refresh hissoid, as much as ever the cold of snow (wh'ich in hot countries they jireserve by art all the year round) refreshed the labourers in the harvest,'that bore the burthen and heat of the day. The more important the affair was, and tht more fear of its miscarrying, the more acce])tablc is tlie messenger, if he have managed it successfully and well. A faithful minister. Christ's messenger, should be thus acceptable to us; (Jol) xxxiii. 23.) however, he will be a sweet savour to God, 2 Cor. ii. 16.

14. Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.

He mav be said to boast of a false gift,

1. Who jirctends to have rec"ivcd or given that whicli he never had, which he never gave; makes a noise of his great accomi)lishments, and his good services, but \l is all false; he is not what he pretends to be. Or,

2. Who promises what he will give, and what he will do, but pei-forms nothing; who raises ])eople's expectations of the mighty things he will do for his country, for his friends, what noble legacies he will leave, but either he has not wherewithal, or he never designs it. Such a one is like the moniing

PROVERBS, XXV.

753

cloud, that passes 'y-w^y, and dlsdppoints those who looked for rain from it to water the parched ground; (Jude 12.) Clouds ivithout water.

15 By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.

Two things are here recommended to us, in deal-mg with others, as likely means to gain our point;

1. Patience, to bear a present heat without being put into a heat by it, and to wait for a fit opportunity 'o offer our reasons, and to give persons time to conSvJer them. By this means even a prince may be pe'-suaded to do a thing which he seemed very averse to, much more a common person. That which is justice and reason now will be so another time, and therefore we need not urge them with violence now, but wait for a more convenient season.

2. Mildness, to speak without passion or provocation; a soft tongue breaks the bone; it mollifies the roughest spirits, and overcomes those that are most morose; like lightning, which, they say, sometimes has broken the bone, and yet not pierced the flesh. Gideon with a soft tongue pacified the Ephraimites, and Abigail turned away David's wrath. Hard words, we say, break no bones, and therefore we should bear them patiently; but, it seems, soft words do, and therefore we should, on all occasions, give them prudently.

16. Hast thou found honey? eat so mucli as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.

Here, 1. We are allowed a sober and modcratr-use of the delights of sense; "Hast thou found honey? It is not forbidden fruit to thee, as it \v;is to Jonathan; thou mayest eat of it with thanksgiving to God, who, having created things grateful to our senses, has given us leave to make use of them. Eat as much as is sufficient, and no more; enough is as good as a feast. "

2. We are cautioned to take heed of excess. We must use all pleasure as we do honey, with a check upon our appetite, lest we take more than does us good, and make ourselves sick with it. We are most in danger of surfeiting upon that which is most sweet, and therefore those that fare sumptuousl)' every day have need to watch over themselves, lest their hearts be at any time overcharged. The pleasures of sense lose their sweetness by the excessive use of them, and become nauseous; as honey, which turns sour in the stomach; it is therefore our interest, as well as our duty, to use them with sobriety.

17. Withdraw thy foot from tliy neighbour's house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.

Here he mentions another pleasure whic'i we must not take too much of, that of visiting our friends; the former, for fear of surfeiting ourselves, this, for fear of sui-feiting our neighbour.

1. It is a piece of civility to visit our neighbours sometimes, to show our respect to them and concern for them, and to cultivate and improve mutual acquaintance and love, and that we may have both the satisfaction and advantage of their conversation.

2. It is wisdom, as well as good manners, not to be troublesome to our friends in our visiting of them; not to visit too often, nor stay too long, nor contrive to come at meal-time, nor maike ourselves busy in the affairs of their families; hereby we make ourselves cheap, mean, and burthensome. Th)^ neighbour, who is thus plagued and haunted with thy visits, will be weary of thee, and hate thee, and that will be the destruction of friendship, which should nave been the impi'ovement of it. Post tres aefie

Vol. Ill— 5C

dies, fiiscis vilescit et hos/ies — After the third day, fish and comjiany become distasteful. Familiarity breeds contempt. jVulli te facias nimis sodalem — Be not too intimate with any. He that spungeS upon his friend loses him. How much better a Friend then is God than any other friend; for we need not withdraw cur foot from his house, the throne of his grace; {ch. viii. 34.) the oftener we come to him the better, and the more welcome.

18. A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.

Here, 1. The sin condemned, is, bearing false witness against our neighbour, either in judgment, or in common conversation, contrary to the law of the ninth commandment.

2. That which it is here condemned for, is, the mischievousness of it; it is in its power to ruin not only men's reputation, but their lives, estates, families, all that is dear to them; a false testimony is e\ery thing that is dangerous, it is a maul or club to knock a man's brains out, a flail, which there is no fence against; it is a sword to wound near at hand, and a sharp, arrow to wound at a distance; we have therefore need to pray. Deliver my soul, O Lord, fro 7n lying lips, Ps. cxx. 2.

19. Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot^out of joint.

1. Tlic confidence of an unfaithful w.an (so some read it) vv-ill be like a broken tooth; his policy, his power, his interest, all that which he trusted in to support him in his wickedness, will fail him in time of trouble, Ps. lii. 7.

2. Confidence in an unfaithful man, so we read it; in a man whom we thought trusty, and therefore depended on, but who proves otherwise; it proves not only unserviceable, but painful and vexatious, like a broken tooth, or a foot out of joint, which, when we put any stress upon it, not only fails us, but makes us feel from it; especially in time of trouble, when we most expect help from it; it is like a broken reed, Isa. xxx\i. 6. Confidence in a faithful. God, in time of trouble, will not prove thus; on him we may rest, and in him dwell at ease.

20. As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre; so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart.

1. The absurdity here censured, is singing soJiga to a heavy heart. Those that are in great sorrow are to be comforted by sympathising with them, condoling with tliem, and concuning in their lamentation: if we take that method, the moving oj our lips may assuage their grief; (Job xvi. 5.) but we take a wrong course with them, if AVe think to relieve them by being meny with them, and endeavouring to make them merry; for it adds to their grief, to see their friends so little concerned for them, it puts them upon ripping up the causes of their grief, and aggravating them, and makes them harden themselves in sorrow against the assaults of mirth.

2. The absurdities this is compared to, are, taking away a garment from a man in cold weather, which makes him colder, or pouring vinegar upon nitre, which, like water upon lime, puts it into a ferment; so impropei', so incongruous, is it to sing pleasant songs to one that is of a sorrowful spirit. Some read it in a contrarj' sense; As he that puts on a garment in cold weather wanns the body, or as vinegar upon nitre dissolves it, so he that sings' songs of comfort to a person in sorroAv refreshes him, and dispels his grief.

PROVERBS, XXV.

21. If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: 22. For tliou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.

By this it appears, that, however the scribes and Pharisees had corrupted the law, not onl)- the commandment of loving our brethren, but even that of loving our enemies, was not only a new, but an old, commandment; an Old Testament commandment, though our Saviour has given it us withthe new enforcement of Ills own great example in loving us when we wei'e enemies. Observe,

1. How we must express our love to our enemies; by the real offices of kindness, even those that are expensive to ourselves, and most acceptable to them; "If they be hnngry and thirsty, insteadof pleasing thyself with their distress, and contriving how to cut off supplies from them, relieve them, as Elisha did the Syrians that came to apprehend him," 2 Kings vi. 23.

2. What encouragement we have to do so. (1.) It will be a likely means to win upon them, and bring them over to be reconciled to us; we shall moUifv them as the refiner melts the metal in the crucible, not only by putting it over the fire, but by heaping coals of' fire upon it. The way to turn an enemy into a friend, is, to act toward him in a friendly manner. If it do not gain him, it will aggravate his sin and punishment, and heaj^ the burning coals of God's wrath upon his head, as rejoicing in his calamity may be an occasion of God's turning his wrath from him, ch. xxiv. 17. (2.) However, we shall be no losers l)y our self-denial; "Whether he relent toward tliee or no, the Lord shall reward thee; he shall forgive thee, wl\o thus showest thyself to be of a fjrgiving spirit; he shall provide for thee when thou art in distress, (though thou hast been evil and ungrateful,) as thou dost for thine enemy." However, it shall be recompensed in the resurrection of the just, when kindness done to our enemies shall be remembered, as well as those shown to God's friends.

23. The north wind driveth away rain; so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.

Here see, 1. How we must discourage sin, and witness against it, and particularly the sin of slandering and backbiting; we must frown upon it, and, by giving it an angry countenance, endeavour to put it out of countenance. Slanders would not be so readily spoken as they are, if they were not readily heard'; but good manners would silence the slanderer, if he saw that his tales displeased the com-t)any. We should show ourselves uneasy, if we leard a dear friend, whom we value, evil-spoken of; the same dislike we should show of evil speaking in general. If we cannot otherwise reprove, we may do it by our looks.

2. The g'ood effect which this might, probably, have; who knows but it may silence and drive away a backbiting torjgue? Sin, if it be countenanced, becomes daring, but if it receive any check, it is so conscious of its own shame, that it becomes cowardly, and this particularly; for many abuse those they speak of, only in hopes to curry favour with those they speak to.

24. // is better to dwell in a corner of the house-top, than with a brawling woman, and in a wide house.

This is the same with what he had said, ch. xxi. 9. Observe, 1. How th^se are to be pitied that are

unequally yoked, especially with such as are brawling and contentious, whether husband or wife; for it is equtdly true of both. It is better to be alone than to be joined to one, who, instead of being r-meet help, is a great hindrance to the comfort of hfe. 2. How those may sometimes be envied that live in solitude; as they want the comfort of society, so they are free from the vexation of it. And as there are cases which give occasion to say, " Blessed is the womb that has not bome," so there are which give occasion to say, "Blessed is the man who wa? never married, but who lies like a servant in a corner of the house-tofi."

25. As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

See here, 1. How natural it is to us to desire to hear good news from our friends, and concerning our affairs at a distance. It is sometimes with impatience that we expect to hear from abroad, our souls thirst after it: but we should check the inordi-nateness of that desire; if it be bad news, it will come too soon, if good, it will be welcome at any time.

2. How acceptable such good news will be when it does come, as refreshing as cold water to one that is thirsty. Solomon himself had much trading abroad, as well as correspondence by his ambassadors with foreign courts; and how pleasant it was to hear of the good success of his negotiations abroad, he well knew by experience. Heaven is a countrv afar off; how refreshing is it to hear good news from thence, both in the everlasting gospel, which signifies glad tidings, and in the witness oi the Spirit with our spirits that we are God's children.

26. A righteous man falling down before the wicked, is as a troubled fountain and a corrupt spring.

It is here represented as a very lamentable thing, and a public grievance, and of ill consequence to many, like the troubling of a fountain, and the corru/itirig of a spring, for the righteous to fah down before the wicked; that is,

1. For the righteous to fall into sin, in the sight of the wicked, for them to do any thing unbecoming their profession, which is told iri Gath, axidpublish-ed in the streets of Askelon, and in which \.\\q daugh' ters of the Philistines rejoice; for them that have l)een in refiiitation for wisdom and honour, to fall from their excellency, this troubles the fountainshy grieving some, and corrupts the s/irings by infecting others, and imboldening them to do likewise.

2. For the righteous to be oppressed, and rur. down, and trampled upon, by the violence or sub tlely of evil men, to be displeased, and thrust into obscurity, this is the troubling of the fountains of justice, and con-upting the very springs of government, ch. xxviii. 12, 28.—xxix. 2.

3. For the righteous to be cowardly, to truckle to the wicked, to be afraid of opposing his wickedness, and basely to yield to him, this is a reflection ' upon religion, a discouragement to good men, ;md strengthens the hands of sinners in their sins, and so is like a troubled fountain, and a corru/it s/iring.

27. It is not good to eat much honey; so for men to search their own glory is not glory.

Two things we must l)e graciously dc.d to: 1. To the pleasures of sense, fcr it is not good to eat much honey, though it pleases the taste, and, if eaten with moderation, is very wholesome, vet, if eaten to excess, it becomes nauseous, creates bile, and is tlie occasion of many diseases: it is true of all the delights of the children of men, th.it they will surfeit, but never satisfy, and they are danger-

PROVERBS, XXVI.

755

ous to those that allow themselves the liberal use of them.

2. To the praise cf men. We must not be greedy of that, any more than of pleasure, btcaus-.', for men to search their own glory, to court applause, and covet to make themselves popular, is not their glory, but their shame, every one will laugh at them for it; and the glory which is so courted, when it is got, is not glory, it is really no true honour to a man.

Some give another sense of this verse; To eat much honey is not good, but to search into glorious and excellent things is a great commendation, it is true glory; we cannot therein cfFend by excess. Others thus; As honey, though pleasant to the taste, if used immoderately, oppresses the stomach, so an oA'er-curious search into tilings sublime and glorious, though pleasant to us, if we pry too far, will overwhelm our capacities with a greater glory and lustre than they can bear. Or thus; " You may be surfeited with eating too much honey, but the last of glor}-, of their glory, the glory of the blessed, is glory, it will be ever fresh, and never pall the appetite."

28. He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and witiiout walls.

Here is, 1. The good character of a wise and virtuous man implied; he is one that has 7'ule over his own spirit, he maintains the government of himself, and of his own appetites and passions, and does not suffer them to rebel against reason and conscience. He has the rule of his own thoughts, his desires, his inclinations, his resentments, and keeps them all in good order.

2. The bad case of a vicious man, who has not this rule over his own spirit, who, when temptations to excess in eating or drinking are before him, has no government of himself, when he is provoked, breaks out into exorbitant passions, such a one is like a city that is broken down, and without walls; all that is good goes out, and forsakes him, all that is evil breaks in upon him; he lies exposed to all the temptations of Satan, and becomes an easy prey to that enemy; he is also liable to many troubles and vexations; it is likewise as much a reproach to him as it is to a city to have its walls ruined, Neh. i. 3.

CHAR XXVI.

1. AS snow in summer, and as rain in /jL harvest; so honour is not seemly for a fool.

Note, 1. It is too common a thing for honour to be given to fools, who are utterly unworthy of it, and unfit for it; bad men, who have neither wit nor grace, are sometimes preferred by princes, and applauded and cried up by the people. Folly is set in great dignity, as Solomon observed, Eccl. x. 6.

2. It is very absurd and imbecoming when it is so. It is as incongruous asS7Z07y in summer, and as great a disorder in the commonwealth as that is in the course of nature and in the seasons of the year; nay, it is as injurious as raiii in harvest, which hinders the labourers, and spoils the fniits of the earth when they are ready to be gathered. When bad men are in power, they commonly abuse their power, in discouraging virtue, and giving countenance to wickedness, for want of wisdom to'discern it, iuid grace to detest it.

2. As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by fl}ang; so the curse causeless shall not come.

Here is, 1. The folly of passion; it makes men

scatter causeless curses; wishing ill to others, upon presumption that they are bad, and have done ill, when either they mistake the person, or misunderstand the fact, or call evil good, and good evil. Give honour to a fool, and he thunders out his anathemas against all th.at he is disgusted with, right or wrong. Great men, when wicked, think they have a privilege to keep those about them in awe, by cursing them, and swearing at them; which yet is an expression of the most impotent malice, and shows their weakness as nmch as their wickedness.

2. The safety of innoccncy. He that is cursed without cause, whetlver by furious imprecations or solemn anathemas, the cui'se shall do him no more harm than tlic bird th't flies over his head, than Goliath's curses did to David, 1 Sam. xvii. 43. It will fly awa)^ like the sparrow or the wild dove, which go nobody knows whither, till they return to tlicir proper place, as the curse will at length return upon the head of him that uttered it.

3. A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back.

Here, 1. Wicked men are compared to the horse and the ass; so brutish are they, so imreasonable, so unruly, jmd not to be governed but by force or fear; so low has sin sunk men, so much below themselves! Man indeed is born like the wild ass's colt, but as some, by the grace of God, are changed, and become rational, so others, by custom in sin are hardened, and become more and more sottish, as the horse and the mule, Ps. xxxii. 9.

2. Direction is gi\en to use them accordingly; Princes, instead of giving honour to a fool, (y. 1.) must put disgrace upon liim; instead of putting pow er into his hand, must exercise power over him. A horse unbroken needs a whip for correction, and an ass a bridle for f//rection, and to check him when he would turn out of the way; so a vicious man, who will not be under the guidance and restraint of religion and reason, ought to be whipt and bridled, to be rebuked severely, and made to smart for what he has done amiss, and to be restrained from offending any more.

4. Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. 5. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

See here the nolile s' curity of the scripture-stvle, which seems to contradict itself, but really does not. Wise men have need to be directed how to deal with fools; and tlie\' have never more need of ws-dom than in dealing with such, to know when to keep silence, and when to speak, for there may be a time for both.

1. In some cases, a wise man will not set his wit to that of a fool, so far as to answer him according to his folly. " If he boast of himself, do not answer him by boasting of thyself. If he rail and talk passionately, do not thou rail and talk passionately too. If he tell one great lie, do not thou tell another to match it. If he calumniate thy friends, do not thou calumniate his. If he banter, do not answer him in his own langTiage, lest thou be like him; even thou, who knowest better things, who hast more sense, and hast been better taught."

2. Yet, in other cases, a wise man will use his wisdom for the conviction of a fool; when, by taking notice of what he says, there may be hopes of doing good, or, at least, preventing fuither mischief, either to himself or others. " If thou have reason to think that thy silence will be deemed an evidence of the weakness of thy cause, or of thine own weakness, in such a case, answer him, and let it be an answe. ad homine7n—to the man, beat him at his own we;

PROVERBS XXVI.

[ions, and that will be an answer ad rem — to the point, ov as good as one. If he offer any thing that looks like an argument, answer that, and suit thine answer to his case. If he think, because thou dost not answer him, that what he says is unanswerable, then give him an answer, lest he be ivise in his own cojtceit, and boast of a victory." For (Luke vii. 35.) Wisdom's children must justify her.

6. He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool, cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage. 7. The legs of the lame are not equal; so is a parable in the mouth of fools. 8. As he that bindeth a stone in a sling; so is he that giveth honour to a fool. 9. As a. thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard; so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

To recommend wisdom to us, and to quicken us to the diligent use of all the means for the getting of wisdom, Solomon here shows that fools are fit for nothing; they are either sottish men, who will never think and design at all, or vicious men, who will never think and design well.

1. They are not fit to be intinisted with any business, not fit to go on an errand; (v. 6.) He that does but send a message by the hand of a fool, of a careless, heedless, person, one who is so full of his jests, and so given to his pleasures, that he cannot apply his mind to any thing that is serious, he will find his message misunderstood, the one half of it forgotten, the rest awkardly delivered, and so many blunders made about it, that he had as well have cut off his legs, that is, never have sent him; nay, he will drink damage, it will be very much to his prejudice to liave employed such a one, who, instead of bringing him a good account of his affairs, will abuse him, and put a trick upon him; for, in Solomon's language, a knave and a fool are of the same signification. It will turn much to a man's disgrace to make use of the service of a fool, for people will be apt to judge of the master by his messenger.

2. They are not fit to have any honour put upon them; he had said, {v. 1.) Honour is not seemly for a fool; here he shows that it is lost and thrown away upon him; as if a man should throw a precious stone, or a stone fit to be used in weighing, into a heap of common stones, where it would be I)uried, and of no use; it is as alisurd as if a man should dress up, a stone in' purple, so others; nay, it is dangerous, it is like a stone bound in a sling, with which a man will be likely to do hurt; to give honour to a fool, is to put a sword in a madman's hand, with which we know not what mischief he may do, even to those that put it into his hand.

3. They are not fit to deliver wise sayings, nor should they undertake to handle any matter of weight, though they should be instructed concerning it, and be al)le to say something to it. Wise sayings, as a foolish man delivers them, and applies them, (in such a manner, that one may know he does not rightly understand them,) lose their excellency and usefulness; A parable in the mouth of

fools ceases to be a parable, and becomes a jest. If a man who lives a wicked life, yet speaks religiously, and takes God's covenant into his mouth,

(1.) He does but shame himself and his profession; As the legs of the lame are not equal, by reason of which their going is unseemly, so unseemly is it for a fool to ]n-etend to speak apothegms, and give advice, and for a man to talk devoutly, whose conversation is a constant contradiction to his talk, and gives him the lie. His good words raise him up, but then his bad life takes him down, and so his ir/'s are not equal. "A wise saying (says Bishop

Patrick) doth as ill become a fool as dancing doth a cripple; for as his lameness never so much appears as when he would seem nimble, so the other*s folly-is never so ridiculous as when he would seem wise. As therefore it is best for a lame man to keep his seat, so it is best for a siUy man, and a bad man, to hold his tongue.

(2.) He does but do mischief with it to himself and others, as a drunkard does with a thom, or any other sharp thing which he takes in his hand, with which he tears himself and those about him, because he knows not how to manage it. Those that talk well, and do not live well, their good words wjU aggravate their own condemnation, and others will be hardened by their inconsistency with themselves. Some give this sense of it; The shai-pest saying, by which a sinner, one would think, should be pricked to the heart, makes no more impression upon a fool, no, though it come out of his own mouth, than the scratch of a thom does upon the hand of a man when he is dinink, who then feels it not, nor complains of it, ch. xxiii. 35.

10. The great God, that formed all things, both rewardeth the fool, and revvardeth transgressors.

Our translation gives this verse a different reading in the text, and in the margin; and accordingly it bespeaks, either,

1. The equity of a good God; The Master, or Lord, (so Bab signifies,) or, as we read it. The great God that formed all things at first, and still governs them in infinite wisdom, renders to every man according to his work. He rewards the fool, who sinned through ignorance, who knew not his Lord's will, with few stripes; and he rewards the transgressor, who sins presumptuously, and with a high hand, who knenv his Lord's will, and would not do it, with many stripes. Some understand it of the goodness of God's common providence, even to fools and transgressors, on whom he causes his sun to shine, and his rain to fall. Or it bespeaks,

2. The iniquity of a bad prince; so the margin reads it; A great man grie~L<es all; and he hires the fool, he hires also the transgressors. When a wicked man gets power in his hand, l)y himself, and by the fools and kna^'es whom he employs under him, whom he hires and chooses to make use of, he grieves all who are under him, and is vexatious to them. We should therefore pray for kings, and all in authority, that, under them, our lives may be quiet and peaceable.

11. As a dog returneth to his vomit; so a fool returneth to his folly.

See here, 1. What an abominable thing sin is, and how hateful sometimes it is made to appear, even to the sinner himself. When his conscience is convinced, or he feels smart from his sin, he is sick of it, and vomits it up; he seems then to detest it, and to be willing to part with it. It is in itself, and, first or last, will be to the sinner, more loathsome than the vomit of a dog, Ps. xxxvi. 2.

2. How apt sinners are to relapse into it notwithstanding; as the dog, after he has gained ease by vomiting that which burthened his stomach, yet goes and licks it up again, so sinners, who have been convinced only, and not converted, retvim to sin again, forgetting how sick it made them. The Apostle applies this proverb to those that havt known the way of righteousness, but are turned from it; (2 Pet", ii. 22.) but God will spenu them out of his mouth. Rev. iii. 16.

12. Seest thou a man wise in his own con ceit? there ?>more hope of a fool than of liim

PROVERBS, XXVI

757

Here is, 1. A spiritual disease supposed, and that IS self-conceit. Seest thou a man? Yes, we see many a one, wise in his own cojiceit; who has some little sense, but is proud of it, thinks it much more than it is, more than any of his neighbours have, and enough, so that he needs no more; has such a conceit of his own abilities as makes him opinionative, d;jgmatical, and censorious; and all the use he makes of his kiK V ledge, is, that it pufts him up. Or, if l)y a wise man we understand a religious man, it describes the character of those who, making some show of religion, conclude their spiritual state to be good, when really it is very bad, like Laodicea, Kev. iii. 17.

2. The danger of this disease; it is in a manner desperate, there is more hofie of a fool, that knows, and owns, himself to be such, than of such a one. Solomon was not only a wise man himself, but a teacher of wisdom; and this observation he made upon his pupils, that he found his work most difficult, and least successful, with those that had a good opinion of themselves, and were not sensible that they needed instruction. Therefore he that seems to himself to be wise, must become a fool, that he may be wise, 1 Cor. iii. 18. There is more hope of a publican than of a proud Pharisee, Matth. xxi. 32. Many are hindered from being tnily wise, and religious, by a false and groundless conceit that they are so, John ix. 40, 41.

13. The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way, a lion is in the streets.

When a man talks foolishly, we say. He talks idly; for none betray their folly more than those who are idle, and about to excuse themselves in their idleness. As men's folly makes them slothful, so their slothfulness makes them foolish. Observe,

1. What the slothful man really dreads; he dreads the way, the streets, the place, where work is to be done, and a journey to be gone; he hates business, hates every thing that requires care and labour.

2. What he dreams of, and pretends to dread; a lion in the way. When he is pressed to be diligent, either m his worldly affairs, or in the business of religion, this is his excuse, (and a sorry excuse it is, as bad as none,) There is a lion in the way, some insuperable difficulty or danger which he cannot pretend to grapple with. Lions frequent woods and deserts; and, in the day-time, when man has business to do, they are in their dens, Ps. civ. 22, 23. But the sluggard fancies, or rather pretends to fancy, a lion in the streets, whereas the lion is only in his own fancy, nor is he so fierce as he is painted. Note, It is a foolish thing to frighten ourselves from real duties by fancied difficulties, Eccl. xi. 4.

14. As the door turneth upon his hinges,

so doth the slothful upon his bed.

Having seen the slothful man in fear of his work, here we find him in love with his ease; he lies in his bed on one side till he is weary of that, and then turns to the other, but still in his bed, when it is far in the dav, and work is to be done; as the door is moved, but not removed; and so his business is neglected, and his opportunities let slip. See the sluggard's character.

1. He is one that does not care to get out of his bed, but seems to be hung upon it, as the door ufion the hinges. Bodily ease, too much consulted, is the sad occasion of many a spiritual disease. They that love sleep will prove in the end to have loved death.

2. He that does not care to get forward with his business, in that he stirs to and fro a little, but to

no purpose, he is where he was. Slothful professors turn, in profession, like the door upon the hinges. The world and the flesh are the two hinges on which they are hung, and, though they move in a course of external services, are got into a I'oad of duties, and tread around m them like the horse in the mill, yet tliey get no good, they get no ground, they are never the nearer heaven; sinners unchanged, saints unimproved.

15. The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.

The sluggard is now, with much ado, got out of his bed, but he might as good have lain there still, for any thing he is likely to bring to pass in his work, so awkwardly does he go about it. Observe,

1. The pretence he makes for his slothfulness; He hides his hand in his bosom, for fear cf cold; next to his warm bed is his warm bosom; or, pretending that he is lame, as some do, that make a trade of begging; something ails his hand, he would have it thought that it is blistered with yesterday's hard work; or, it speaks, in general, his aversion to business; he has tried, and his hands are not used to labour, and therefore he hugs himself in his own ease, and cares for nobody. Note, It is ccmmcn for those that will not do their duty, to pretend they cannot; I cannot dig, Luke xvi. 3.

2. The prejudice he sustains by his slothfulness; He himself is the loser by it, for he starves himself; it grieves him to bring his hand to his mouth, he cannot find in his heart to feed himself, but dreads, as if it were a mighty toil, to lift his hand to his head. It is an elegant hyperbole, aggi-avating his sin, that he cannot endure to take the least pains, no, not for the greatest profit, and showing how his sin is his punishment. Those that are slothful in the business of religion will not be at the pains to feed their own souls with the woi-d cf God, the bread of life, nor to fetch in promised blessings by prayer, though they might have them for the fetching-

16. The sluggard is wiser in his owr conceit than seven men that can render a

reason.

Observe, 1. The high opinion which the sluggard has of himself, notwithstanding the gross absurdity and folly of his slothfulness; He thinks himself wisei than seven men, than seven wise men, for they are such as can render a reason. It is the wisdom of a man to be able to render a reason; of a good man, to be able to give a reason of the hope that is in him, 1 Pet. iii. 15. What we do we should be able to render a reason for, though, perhaps, we may not have wit enough to show the fallacy of every objection against it. He that takes pains in religion can render a good reason for it; he knows that he is working for a good Master, and that his labour shall not be in vain. But the sluggard thinks himself wiser than seven such; for, let seven sucli persuade him to be diligent, with all the reasons they can render for it, it is to no pui-pose, his own determination, he thinks, answers enough to them and all their reasons

2. The reference that this has to his slothfulness It is the sluggard, above all men, that is thus self conceited; for, (1.) His good opinion of himself is the cause of his slothfulness; therefore he will not take pains to get wisdom, because he thinks he is wise enough already. A conceit of the sufficiency of our attainments is a great enemy to our improve ment. (2.) His slothfulness is the cause of his good opinion of himself. If he would but take pains to examine himself, and compare himself with the laws of wisdom, he would have other thoughts of himself. Indulged slothfulness is at the bottom pt

PROVERBS, XXVI.

prevailing self-conceitedness. Nay, (3.) So wretchedly besotted is he, that he takes his slothfulness to be his wisdom; he thinks it is his Avisdom to make much of himself, and take all the ease lie can get, and do no more in religion than he needs must, to avoid suffering; to sit still and see what other people do, that he may have the pleasure of finding tault with them. Of such sluggards, who are proud of that Avhich is their shame, there is little hope, v. 12.

17. He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife bdonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.

1. That which is here condemned, is, meddling with strife that belongs not to us. If we must not be hasty to strive in our own cause, {ch. xxv. 8.) much less in other people's, especially theirs that we are no way related to, or concerned in, but light on accidentally as we pass by. If we can be insti-u-rnental to makepeace Ijetween those that are at variance, we must do it, though we should thereby get the_ill-will of both sides, at least, while they are in their heat; but to make ourselves busy in other men's matters, and parties in other rrt^n's quarrels, is not only to court our own troubU' Out to thrust ourselves into temptation. Who made me a judge? Let them end it, as they began it, between themselves.

2. Therefore we are cautioned against it, because of tlie danger it exposes us to; it is like taking a snarling cur by the ears, that will snap at you, and bite you; you had better have let him alone', for you cannot get clear of him when you would, and must thank yourselves if you come off with a wound and dishonour. He that has got a dog by the ears, if he let him go, he flies at him, if he keeps his hold, he has his hands full, and can do notliing else. Let every one ivith cjuietness ivork, and mind his oivn business, and not with unquietness quarrel, and meddle with other people's business.

18. As a mad man who casteth fire-brands, arrows, and death, 19. So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith. Am not I in sport.?

See here, 1. How mischievous those are that make no scruple oi deceiving their neighbours, they are as mad men that cast fire-brands, arrows, ajid death; so much hurt may" they do by their deceits. They value themselves upon it, as politic, cunning, men, but really they are as mad men. There is not a greater madness in the world than a wilful sin. It is not only the passionate, furious, man, but the malicious, deceitful, man, that is a mad man; he does in effect cast fire-brands, arroivs, and death; he does more mischief than he can imagine. Fraud and falsehood liurn like fire-brands, kill, even at a distance, like arrows.

% See how frivolous the excuse is which men commonly make for the mischief they do, that they did it in just; with this they think to turn it off when they are reproved for it, A)7i not I in sfiort? But it will prove dangerous playing with fire, and jesting with edge-tools. Not that those are to be commended who are captious, and can take no jest, they that themselves arc vjise, must suffer fools, (2 Cor. xi. 19, 20.) but tliose are certainly to be condemned who are any way atnisive to their neighbours, impose upr^n their'credulity, cheat them in their bargains with them, tell lies to them, or tell lies of them, give them ill language, or sully their reputation, and then tliink to excuse it by saving that they did but jest; Jni not I in sftort? 'He that sins in jest, must re])ent la earnest, or his sin will be his ruin. Truth is too valuable a thing to be sold for a jest, and so is the reputation of our neigh-

I bour. By lying and slandering in jest, men learn I themselves, and teach others, to lie and slander in I earnest; a false report, raised in mirth, may be spread in malice; and if a man may tell a lie to make himself meny, why not to make himself rich.^ I and so truth (juite perishes, and men teach their tongues to tell lies, Jer. ix. 5. If men would consider that a lie comes from the devil, and brings to hell-fire, surely that would spoil the sport of it; it is casting arrows and death to themselves.

20. Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out; so where there is no tale-bearer, the strife ceaseth. 21. ^s coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife. 22. The words of a tale-bearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

Contention is as a fire, it heats the spirit, bums up all that is good, and puts families and societies into a flame. Now here we are told how that fire is commonly kindled and kept burning, that we may avoid the occasions of strife, and so prevent the mischievous consequences of it. If then we would keep the peace,

1. We must not give ear to tale-bearers, for they feed the fire of contention with fuel; nay, they spread it with combustible matter; the tales they carry are fire-balls; they who, by insinuating base characters, revealing secrets, and misrepresenting words and actions, do what they can to make relations, friends, and neighbours, jealous one of another, to alienate them one from another, and sew discord among them, are to be banished out of families, and all societies, and then strife will as surely cease, as the fire will go out when it has no fuel; the contenders will better understand one another, and come tc a better temper; old stories will soon be forgotten, when there are no new ones told to keep up the remembrance of them, and both sides will see how they have been imposed upon by a common enemy. Whisperers and backbiters are incendiaries not to be suffered.

To illustrate this, he repeats (xi. 22.) what he had said before, (ch. xviii. 8.) that the words of a tale-bearer are as wounds, deep and dangerous wounds, wounds in the vitals; they wound the reputation of him who is belied, and, perhaps, the wound proves incurable, and even the plaister of a recantation (which yet can seldrm be obtained) may not prove wide enough for it; they wound the love and charity which he, to wliom they are spoken, ought to have for his neighbrur, and give a fatal stab to friendship and Christian fellowship. We must therefore not only not be tale-benrers ourselves at any time, nor ever do any ill rffices, but we should not give the least countenance to those that are.

2. We must not associate with peevish, passionate, people, that are exceptions, and apt to put the worst constructions upon eve ry thing, that pick quarrels upon every occasion, and are quick, and high, and hot, in resenting affronts; these are contentious men, that kindle strife, v. 21. The less we have to do with such, the better, for it will be very hard not to quarrel with those that are quai-nlsmie.

23. Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross.

This may be meant, either,

1. Of a wicked heart showing itself in burning li/is, furious, passionate,'outrageous, woi-ds, buiTiing in malice, and persecuting those to whom, or of whom, they are spoken; ill words and ill will agree as well together as a potsherd and the d7-oss of sil-

PROVERBS, XXVIl.

759

ver, which, now that the pot is broken and the dross separ.ited from the silver, are fit to be thrown together to the dunghill.

2. Or of a wicked heart disguising itself with burniijg li/is, burning with the professions of love and friendship, and even persecuting a man with flatteries; this is like a fiotsherd covered with the scum or dross of silver, with which one that is weak may be imposed upon, as if it were of some value, but a wise man is soon aware of the cheat. This sense agrees with the following verses.

24. He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; 25. When he speaketh fair, beheve him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. 26. JVhose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be showed before the whole congregation.

There is cause to complain, not only of the want of sincerity in men's profession of friendship, and that they do not love so well as they pretend, nor will serve their friends so much as they promise, but, which is much worse, of wicked designs in the profession of friendship, and the making of it subservient to the most malicious intentions. This is here spoken of as a common thing; (x*. 24.) He that hates his neighbour, and is contriving to do him a mischief, yet dissembleth with his lifis, professes to have a respect for him, and to be ready to serve him, talks kindly with, him, as Cain with Abel, asks. Art thou in health, my brother? as Joab to Amasa, that his malice may not be suspected, and guarded against, and so he may have the fairer opportunity to execute the purposes of it, this man lays uji deceit within him, he keeps in his mind the mischief he intends to do his neighbour, till he catches him at an advantage. This is malice which has no less of the subtlety, than it has of the venom, of the old serpent in it.

Now, as to this matter, we are here cautioned,

1. Not to be so foolish as to suffer ourselves to be imposed upon by the pretensions of fi'iendship. Remember to distrust when a man speaks fair, be not too forward to believe him, unless you know him well, /'or it is possible there may be seven abominations in his heart, a great many projects of mischief against you, which he is labouring so industriously to conceal with his fair speech. Satan is an enemy that hates us, and }et, in his temptations, speaks fair, us he did to Eve, but it is madness to give credit to him, for there are se-i'en abominations in his heart, seven other s/ii7-its docs (.ne unclean spirit bring more wicked than himself.

2. Not to be so wicked as to impose upon any with a profession of friendship; for, though the fraud may be carried on plausibly awhile, it will be bi'ought to light, V. 26. He whose hatred is covered by deceit, one time or other will be discovered, and his wickedness showed, to his shame and confusion, before the whole congregation; and nothing will do moi'e to make a man odious to all companies. Love (says one) is the best armour, but the worst cloak, and will seiwe dissemblers as the disguise which Ahab put on and perished in.

27. Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it w'ill return upon him.

See here, 1. What pains men take to do mischief to others: As they put a-force upon themselves by concealing it with a profession of friendship, so they put themselves to a great deal of labour to bring it about; it is digging a /lit, it is rolling a atone, hard

work; and yet men will not stick at it, to gratify tlieir passion and revenge.

2. What preparation they hereby make cf mischief to themselves; tlieir violent dealing will return upon their own heads; they shall themselves fall into the /lit they digged, and the stone they rolled will return ujion them, Ps. vii. 15, 16.—ix. 15, 16. The righteous God will take the wise, not only in their own craftiness, but in their own cnaelty. It is the plotter's doom. Haman is hanged on a gallows of his own preparing:

Nee lex esl justior ulla

duam necis artilices arte perire sua— Nor 13 there any law more just than that the contrivers of destruclioo should perish by their own arts.

28. A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth work-eth ruin.

There are two sorts of lies equally detestable.

1. A slandering lie, which avowedly hates those it is spoken cf; A lying tongue hates those that are afflicted by it; it afflicts them by calumnies and reproaches, because it hates them, and can thus smite them secretly where they are without defence; and it hates them, because it has afflicted them, and made them its enemies. The mischief of this is open and obvious; it afflicts, it hates, and owns it, and every body sees it.

2. A flattering lie, which secretly works the ruin of those it is spoken to. In the former, the mischief is plain, and men guard against it as well as they can, but in this it is little suspected, and men betray themselves by being credulous cf their own praises, and the compliments that are passed upon them. A wise man therefore will be more afraid of a flatterer that kisses and kills, than of a slanderer that proclaims war.

CHAP. XXVII. ]. "OOAST not thyself of to-morrow; for

brinj

thou knowest not what a day may forth.

Here is, 1. A good caution against presuming upon time to come; Boast ?iot thyself, no, not of to-inorrow, much less of many days or years to come. This does not forl^id preparing for to-morrow, but presuming upon to-morrow. \A'e must not promise oui-selves the continuance of cur lives and comforts till to-morrow, but speak of it with submission to the will of God, and as those who, with good reason, are kept at uncertainty about it. We must not Jake thought for the morrow, (Matth. vi. 34.) but we must cast our care concerning it UDon God. See James iv. 13--15. We must not put ofi" the great work of conversion, that one thing needful, till to-morrow, as if we were sure of it, but to-day while it is called to-day, hear God's_voice._

1. A good consideration, upon which this caution is grounded; We know not what a day may bring forth; what event may be in the teeming womb of time; it is a secret till it is born, Eccl. xi. 5. A little time may produce considerable changes, and such as we little think of; we know not what the pi-esent day may bring forth, the evening must commend it. A''escis quia serus vesper vehat — Thou knowest not what the close of evening may bring with it. God has wisely kept us in the dark concerning future events, and reserved to himself the knowledge of them, as a flower of the crown, that he may train us up in a dependence upon himself, and a continued readiness for every event, Actsi. 7.

PROVERBS, XXVII.

thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

Note, 1. We must do that which is commendable, for which even strangers may praise us. Our light must shine before men, and we must do good works that may be seen, though we must not do them on pui-pose that they may be seen. Let our own works be such as will praise us, even in the gates, Phil. iv. 8.

2. When we have done it, we must not commend ourselves, for that is an evidence of pride, folly, and self-love, and a great lessening to a man's reputation. Every one will be forward to run him down that cries himself up. There may be a just occasion for us to vindicate ourselves, but it does not become us to applaud ourselves. Projirio laus sordet in ore — Self-/iraise dejiles the mouth.

3. A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a foql's wrath is heavier than them both. 4. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy ?

These two verses show the intolerable mischief,

1. Of ungoverned passion; The wrath of a fool, who, when he is provoked, cares not what he says and does, is more grievous than a great stone, or a load of sand. It lies heavy upon himself. Those who have no command of their passions do themselves even sink under the load of them. The wrath of a fool lies lieavy upon those he is enraged at, to whom, in his fury, he will be in danger of doing some mischief. It is therefore our wisdom not to give provocation to a fool, but, if he be in a passion, to get out of liis way.

2. Of rooted malice; which is as much worse than the former, as coals of juniper are than a fire of thorns; IVrath (it is tnie) is cruel, and does many a barliarous tl\ing, and auger is outrageous; but a secret enmity at the pei-son of another, an envy at his prosperity, and a desire of revenge for some injury or affront, are much more mischievous: one may avoid a sudden heat, as David escaped Saul's javelin, but when it grows, as S;mrsdid, to a settled envy, tlicre is no standing before it; it will pursue, it will overtake. He that grieves at the good of another, will be still contriving to do him hurt, and will keep his anger for ever.

5. Open rebuke is better than secret love. 6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend ; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Note, 1. It is good for us to be reproved, and told of our faults, by our friends. If true love in the heart has but zeal and courage enough to sliow itself in dealing plainly with our friends, and reproving them for what thej" say and do amiss, this is really better, not only than secret hatred, (as Lev. xix. 17. ^ but than secret love, that love to our neigbours which does not show itself in this good fruit, which compliments them in their sins, to the prejudice of their souls; Faithful are the refiroofs of a friend, though, for the present, tliey are painful as nvounds. It is a sign that our friends are faithful indeed, if, in .ove to o'ur souls, they will not suffer sin upon us, nor let us alone in it. The physician's care is to cure the patient's disease, not to please his palate.

2. It is dangerous to be caressed and flattered by an enemij, wliose kisses are deceitful; we can take no pleasure in them, because we can put no confidence in tliem. Joab's kiss and Judas's were deceitful, and therefore we ha\ e need to stand ujjon our guard, that we be not deluded by them: they are to

be deprecated. Some read it, The Lord deliver u» from an enemy's kisses; from lying lifis, andfi m a deceitful tongue.

7. The full soul loatheth an honey-comb ; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

Solomon here, as often in this book, shows that the poor have in some respects the advantage of the rich; for,

1. They have a better relish of their enjoyments than the rich have; hunger is the best sauce. 'Coarse fare, with a good appetite to it, has a sensible pleasantness in it, which they are sti-angers to whose hearts are overcharged with surfeiting. They that fare sumptuously every day, nauseate even delicate food, as the Israelites did the quails; whereas they that have no more than their necessary food, though it be such as the full soul would call bitter, to them it is sweet; they eat it with pleasure, digest it, and are refreshed by it.

2. They are more thankful for their enjoyments; The hungry will bless God for bread and water, while those that -dvcfull think the greatest dainties and varieties scarcely worth giving thanks for. The virgin Mary seems to refer to this, when she says, (Luke i. 53,) The hungry, who know how to value God's blessings, arr filled with good things, but, the rich, who despise them, are justly sent etnpty away.

8. As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.

Note, 1. There are many that do not know when they are well off, but are uneasy with their present condition, and given to change. God, in his providence, has appointed them a place fit for them, and has made it comfortable to them; but they aff"ect unscttledness, they love to wander, they are glad of a pretence to go abroad, and do not care tor staying long at a place; they needlessly absent themselves from their own work and care, and meddle with that which belongs not to them.

2. Those that thus desert the post assigned tc them, are like a bird that wanders from her nest. It is an instance of their folly, they are like a silly bird, they are always wavering, like the wandering bird that hops from bough to bough, and rests no where. It is unsafe; the bird that wanders is exposed; a man's place is his castle, he that quits it makes himself an easy prey to the fowler; when the bird wanders from her nest, tlie eggs and young ones there are neglected. They that love to be abroad leave their work at home undone. Let every man therefore, in the calling wherein he is called, therein abide, therein abide with God.

9. Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart; so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. 10. Thine own friend, and tiiy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into tiiy brother's house in the day of tiiy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near, than a brother far off.

Here is, 1. A charge given to be faithful and constant to our friends, our old friends, to keep up an intimacy with them, and to.be ready to do them all the good offices that lie in our power. It is good to have a friend, a bosom-friend, whom we can be free with, and with whom we may communicate counsels; it is not necessaiy that this friend should be a relation, or any way akin to us, though it is happiest, when, among those who are so, wc find

PROVERBS, XXVII.

761

one fit to make a friend of. Peter and Andrew were brethren, so were James and John; yet Solomon frequently distinguishes between a friend and a l)ro-ther. But it is advisable to choose a friend among our neighbours who live near us, that acqviaintance may be kept up, and kindnesses the more frequently interchanged. It is good also to have a special respect to those who have been friends to our family; " Thine own friend, especially if he have been thy father's friend, formke not;_ fail not both to serve him, and to use him, as there is occasion. He is a tried friend, he knows thine affairs, he has a particular concern for thee, therefore be advised by him." It is a duty we owe to our parents, when they are gone, to love their friends, and consult with them. Solomon's son undid himself by forsaking the counsel of his father's friends.

2. A good reason given why we should thus value true friendship, and be choice of it.

(1) Because of the pleasure of it. There is a great deal of sweetness in conversing and consulting with a cordial friend; it is like ointment and perfume, which are very grateful to the smell, and exhdarate the spirits, it rejoices the heart, the burthen of care is made lighter by unbosoming ourselves to our •friend, and it is a great satisfaction to us to have his sentiments concerning our afF.iirs. The sweetness of friendship lies not in hearty mirth, and hearty laughter, but in hearty counsel, faithful advice, sincerely given and without flattery; by counsel of the soul, so the word is; counsel which reaches the case, and comes to the heart; counsel about soul-concems, Ps. Ixvi. 16. We should reckon that the most pleasant conversation, which is about spiritual things, and promotes the prosperity of the soul.

(2) Because of the profit and advantage of it, especially in a day of calamity; when we are here advised not to go into a brother's house, not to expect relief fi-om a kinsman, merely for kindred-sake, for the obligation of that comnionly goes little fui-tlier than calling cousin, and fails when it comes to the trial of a real kindness; but, rather, to apply ourselves to our neighbours, who are at hand, and will be ready to help us at an exigence. It is wisdom to oblige them by being neiglibourly, and we shall have the benefit of it in distress, by finding them so to us, ch. xviii. 24.

11. My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproach-

eth me. ^t

Children are here exhorted to be -mse and good,

1. That they may be a comfort to their parents, and may make their hearts glad, even when the evil days come, and so recompense them for their care, ch. xxiii. 15.

2. That they may be a credit to them ; " That I may answer him that reproaches me with having been over-strict and severe in bringing up my children, and having taken a wrong method with them, in restraining them from the liberties which other young people take. My son, be wise, and then it will appear, in the cifect, that I went the wisest way to work with my children." Those that have been blest witli a religious education, should carry it so in eveiy thing as to be a credit to their education, and to silence those that say, A young saint, an old devil; and to prove the contrary, A young sairit, an old angel.

12. A prudent man foreseeth the evil,

and hideth himself: butihe simple pass on,

and are punished.

This we hnd befor-, ch. xxii. 3. Note 1. Evil mav be f iresecn. Where there is temptation it is easv to foresee, that, if we thiiist

Vol. III.—5 D

ourselves into it, there will be sin, and as easy to foresee, that, if we venture upon the evil of sin, there will follow the evil of punishment; and, commonly, God warns before he wounds, having set watchmen over us, Jer. yi. 17.

2. It will be well or ill with us, according as we do, or do not, iu\prove the foresight we have of evil before us; The pi'udent man, Joreseeing the evil, forecasts accordingly, and hides himself, Ijut the simple is either so dull that he does not foresee it, or so wilful and slothful that he will take no care to avoid it, and so he Jiasses on securely, and is punished. We do well for ourselves when we provide for hereafter.

13. Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

This also we had before, ch. xx. 16.

1. It shows who they are that are liastening to poverty; those that have so httle consideration as to be bound for every body that will ask them, and those that are given to women. Such as these will take up money as far as ever their credit will go, but they will cei'tainly cheat their creditors at last, nay, they are cheating them all along. An honest man may be made a beggar, but he is not honest that makes himself one.

2. It advises us to be so discreet, in ordering our aflFairs, as not to lend money to those who are manifestly wasting their estate's, unless they give very good security for it. Foolish lending is injustice to our families. He does not say, " Get anotlier to be bound with him," for he that makes himself a common voucher will hive those to be his security who are as insolvent as himself; therefore Take his garment.

14. He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

Note. 1. It is a great folly to be extravagant in praising even the best of our friends and benefactors; it is our duty to give every one his due praise, to applaud those'that excel in knowledge, virtue, and usefulness, and to acknowledge the kindnesses we have received with thankfulness; but to do this with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, to be always harping on tliis string, in all comixmies, even to our friend's face, or so as that he ma)- be j^ure to hear it, to do it studiously, as we do that which we rise early to, to magnify the merits of our friends above measure, and with hyperboles, is fulsome, and nauseous, and savours of hypocrisy and design; praising men for what they have done, is only to get more out of them; and every body concludes the parasite will be well paid for his panegyric or epistle dedicatory. We must not give that praise to our friend, which is due to God only, as some think is intimated in rising early to do it; for in the mom ing God is to be praised. We must not make tot. much haste to praise men, so some understand it; not cry up men too soon for their abilities and performances, but let them first be proved; lest they be lifted up with pride, and laid to sleep in idlen; ss.

2. It is a greater folly to be fond of being ourselves extravagantly praised; a wise man rathci- c unts it a curse, and a reflection upon him ; n< t onl\' d' signed to pick his pocket, but which may really turn to his prejudice. Modest praises (as a great man observes) invite such as are present to add to the commendation, but immodest, immoderate praises tempt tliem to detract rather, and to censure one that they hear over-C'lmmended. And besides, over-praising a man makes liim the object of envy; every mm puts in for a share of reputation, and th'erefoi-e reckons himself

PROVERBS. XXVI].

injured, if another monopolize it, or have more given him than his share. And the greatest danger uf all, is, that it is a temptation to pride; men are apt to think cf themselves above what is meet, when ethers speak of them abc«-e what is meet. Sec how careful blessed Paul was not to be over-valued, 2 Cor. xii. 6.

15. A continual dropping in a very rainy day, and a contentious woman, are alike. 16. Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand which be-vvrayeth itself.

Here, as before, Solomon laments the case of him that has a peevish, passionate, wife, that is continually chiding, and making herself, and all about her, uneasy.

1. It is a grievance that there is no avoiding, for it is like a continual dropfiing in a very rainy day. The contentions of a neighbour may be, like a sharp shower, troublesome for the time, yet, while it lasts, one may take shelter; but the contentions of a ivife are like a constant soaking rain, for which there is no remedy but patience. See. ch. xix. 13.

2. It is a grievance that there is no concealing. A wise man would hide it if he could, for the sake both of his own and his wife's reputation, but he cannot, any more than he can conceal the noise of the wind when it blows, or the smell of a strong perfume. Those that are froward and brawling will proclaim their own shame, even when their friends, in kindness to them, would cover it.

17. Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man shar-peneth the countenance of his friend.

This bespeaks both the pleasure and the advantage of conversation. One man is nobody; nor will poring upon a book in a corner accomplish a man so as reading and studying of men will. Wise and profitable discourse sharpens men's wits; and those that have ever so much knowledge, may, by conference, have something added to them. It sharpens men's looks, and, by cheering the spirits, puts a briskness

grown to m:itui-ity, to keep them in good order, ind gather the figs in their season, he shall be paid for his pains, he shall cat the fruit of it, 1 Cor. ix. 7.

2. Nay, let not a poor scr\ ant think himself incapable of thriving and being preferred; for, if he be diligent in ivaitiug on his ^vaster, ol)senant of him, and obedient to him; \i he ker/i his master, so the word is; if he do all he can for the securing of his person and reputation, and take cure that his estate be not wasted or damaged, such a one shall be honoured; shall not only get a good wc rd, but be preferred and rewarded. ' God is a master who has engaged to put an honour on those that serve him faithfully, John xii. 26.

19. As in water, face answereth to face; sr the heart of man to man.

This shows us that there is a way,

1. Of knowing ourselves; as the water is a looking-glass, in which we may see our faces by reflection, so there are mirrors by which the heart of man is discovered to a man, to himself. Let a man examine his own conscience, his thoughts, affections, and intentions. Let him behold his natural face in the glass of the divine law, (Jam. i. 23.) and he may discern what kind of man he is, and what is histi-ue character, which it will be of great use to every man rightly to know.

2. Of knowing one another by ourselves; for, as there is a similitude between the face of a man and the reflection of it in the water, so there is between one man's heart and another's; for God has fashioned men's hearts alike; and, in many cases, we may judge of otliers by ourselves, which is one of the foundations on which that rule is built, of doing to others as we would be done by, Exc'd. xxiii. 9. A'i-hil est unum iini tarn simile^ tani par, quam omnes inter nos7net ipsos sunius. Sui nemo ipse tarn shnilis (juam omnes sunt omnium — '-JVo one thing is like another as 7nan is to 7nan. J^''o person himself is so like as each person is to all besides. Cic. de Legib. lib. 1. One corinipt heart is like another, ■ nd so is one sanctified heart, for the firmer bears the same image of the earthly, the latter the same image of the hea-

and liveliness into the countenance, and gives a man yenly.

sucli an air as shows he is pleased himself, and / ^^ tt ii j i j. i c ii

makes him pleasing to those about him. Good^/ 20. Hell and destruction are never full:

pk

men's graces are shai-j^ened by converse with those that are good, and bad men's lusts and passions are sharpened by converse with those that ai-e bad, as iron is sharpened by its like, especially by the file. Men are filed, made smooth, and bright, and fit for business, (who were rough, and dull, and inactive,) by conversation. This is designed,

1. To recommend to us this expedient for sharpening ourselves, but with a caution to take heed whom we choose to converse with, because the influence upon us is so great, either for the better or f^r the worse.

2. To direct us what we must have \\\ our eye in convers:ition, to improve both others and ourselves, net to pass away time or banter one another, but to provoke one another to love and to good works, and so to m ike one another wiser and better.

18. Whoso keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof; so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

This is designed to encourage diligence, faithfulness, and constancy, even in mean employments. Though the calling be laborious and despicable, yet those who keep to it will find there is something to be got by it.

1. Let not a poor gardener, who keeps the Jig-tree, be discouraged; though it require constant care and attendance to nurse up fig-trees, and, when they are

so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

Two things are here said to be insatiable, ai.d they are two things near of kin, death and sin.

1. Death is insatiable; the first death, the second death, both are so. The grave is not clogged with the multitude of dead b dies th;t ;tre daily thrown into it, but is still an open sepulchre, and cries. Give, give; hell also has enlarged itself, and still has room iov tlie damned spirits tl\at are committed to that nrison. Tophet is deep and large, Isa. xxx. 33.

2. Sin is insatiable; The eyes of man are never satisfied, nor the appetites of the carnal mind toward profit or pleasure; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is he that loves silver satisfied with silver. Men labour for that which surfeits, but satisfies not; nay, it is dissatisfying; such a pej'pitual uneasiness have men justlv been doomed to, ever since our first parents were not satisfied with all the trees of Eden, but tliey must meddle with the f.rbidden tree. Those whose eyes are ever toward the Lord, in him are satisfied, and shall f ;r ever be so.

21. As the fining-pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

This gives us a tourhs'rne by which we may try ourselves: silver and C'^lfl are trii d by putting them into the furnace Piid fining-p'^t; so is a man ivied by praising him. Let him be extolled an'l pr ferrcd, and then he will show hims-lf what he is.

PROVERBS, XXVIl.

763

1. If a man be made, by the applause that is given him, proud, conceited, and scornful; if he take the glorv to himself, which he should transmit to God, as Herod did; if, the more he is praised, the more cai'cless he is of what he says and does, if he lie in bed till noon, because his name is up; thereby it will appear that he is a vain foolish man, and a man who, th(3Ugh he be praised, has nothing in him truly praisewortliy.

2. If, on the contrary, a man is made, by his praise, more thankful to God, more respectful to his friends, more watchful against every thing that may blemish his reputation, more diligent to improve himself, and do good to others, that he may answer tlie expectations of his friends from him, by this it will appear that he is a wise and good man. He has a good temper of mind who knows how to pass by evil report and good report, and is still the same, 2 Cor. vi. 8.

22. Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

Solomon had said, (cA. xxii. 15.) The foolishness which is bound in the heart of a child 7nay be driven out by the rod of correction, for then the mind is to be moulded, the \ icious h .bits not having taken root; but here he shows, that, if it be nyt done then, it will be next to impossible to do it afterward; if the disease be inveterate, there is a danger of its being incurable. Can the Ethiopian change his skin? Observe,

1. Some are so bad, that rough and severe methods must be used with them, after gentle means have been tried in vain; they must be brayed in a mortar. God will take this way with them by his judgments; the magistrates must take this way with them by tlie rigour of the law. Force must be used with those that will not be ruled by reason, and love, and thv. ir own interest.

2. Some are so incorrigibly bad, that even these rough and severe methods do not answer the end, ihe'ir foolishness ivill not depart from them; so fully are tlieir hearts set in them to do evil; they are often under the rod, and yet not humbled; in the funiace,

'and yet not refined; but, like Ahaz, trespass yet more; (2 Chron. xxviii. 22.) : nd wliat remains, then, but they should be rejected as reprobate silver?

23. Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds; 24. For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation ? 25. The hay appeareth, and the tender grass show-eth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered: 26. The lambs «re for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of thy field; 27. And thou shall have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, andybr the maintenance of thy maidens.

Here is, 1. A command given us to be diligent in our callings; it is directed to husbandmen and shepherds, and those that deal in cattle, but it is to be extended to all other lawful callings; whatever our business is, within doors or without, we must apply cur minds to it. This command intimates, (1.) That we cught to have some business to do in this world, and not to live in idleness. (2.) We ought rightly and fully to understand our business, and know what we have to do, and not meddle with that which we do not understand. (3.) We ought to have an eye to it ourselves, and not turn over all the care nf it lo others; we should, with cur own eyes, inspect the state ofourflocks; it isth* mi.ster's eye that makes

them fat. (4.) We must be discreet and considerate in the management of cur business; knoiv the state of things, and look nvell to them, that nothing may be lost, no opportunity let slip, but every thing done in proper time and order, and so as to turn to the best advantage. (5.) We must be diligent, and take pains; not only sit down and contrive, but be up and doing; " Set thy heart to thy herds, as one in care; lay thy hands, lay thy bones, to thy business."

2. The reasons to enforce this command. Consider,

(1.) The uncertainty of worldly wealth; (t-. 24.) Riches are not for ever. [1.1 Other riches are not so durable as these are; ^'Look ivell to thy flocks and herds, thine estate in the country, and the stock upon that, for these are staple commodities, which, in a succession, will be for ever, whereas riches in trade and merchandise will not be so; the croiun itself may, perhaps, not be so sure to thy family as thy flocks and herds. [2.] Even these riches will go to decay, if they be not well looked after. If a man had an abbey, (as we say,) and should be slothful and wasteful, he may make an end of it; even the crown, and the revenues of it, if care be not taken, will suffer damage, nor will it continue to every ge ?2eration, without very good management. Though David had the crown entailed on his familv, yet he looked ivell to his flocks, 1 Chron. xxvii. 29, 31.

(2.) The bounty and liberality of nature, or, rather, of the God of nature, and his providence; (x'. 25.) The hay appears. In taking care of the flocks and herds, [l.] " There needs no great labour, no ploughing or sowing, the food for them is the spontaneous product of the ground, tliou hast nothing to do but to turn them into it in the summer, ivhe?/ the grass shows itself, and to gather the herbs of the ?nountai7!s for them against winter. Ciod has done his part, thou art ungrateful to him, and unjustly re-fusest to serve his providence, if thru dost not do thine." [2.] "There is an opportunity to l)e observed and improved; a time when the hay appears; but, if thou let slip that time, tliy flocks and herds will fare the worse for it. As fcir ourselves, so for our cattle, we ought, with the ant, to provide meat in summer.

(3.) The profit cf good husbandry in a family; "Keep thy sheep, and thy sheep v^i'll help to keep thee; thou shalt have food for thy children and servants; goats' milk enough; {v. 27.) nnd enough is as good as a feast. Thou shalt huA-c raiment likewise, the lambs' wool shall be for thy clothing. Thou shalt have money to pay thy rent; the e:oats thou shalt have to sell shall be the price of thy field:" nay, as some understand it, " Thou shalt become a purchaser, and buy land to leave to thy children," V. 26. Note, [1.] If we have ford and raiment, and wherewithal to give every bcdy his own, we have enough, and cught to be" nrt only content, but thankful. [2.] Masters of families must provide not only for themselves, but for their fismilies, and see that their servants have a fitting maintenance. [3.] Plain food and plain clothing, if they be but competent, are all we should aim at. " Reckrn thyself well done to, if thcu be cktht d with hnnespun cloth, with the fleece of thy own lambs, and fed with goats' milk; let that serve for thy food which serves for Xh&food of thy household, arid the maintenance of thy maidens; "be not desirous of dainties, far-fetched and dear bought." [4.] This should encourage us to be careful and industrir.us about cur business, that that will bring in a sufficient maintenance for our families; we shall eat the laboui of our hands.

CHAP. XXVIII. 1. nnHE wicked flee when no man pursu-JL eth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

PROVERBS, XXVIII.

See here, 1. What continual frights they are subject to that go on in wicked ways; guilt in the conscience makes men a terror to themselves, so that they are ready to flee when 7ione fiursues; like one that absconds for debt, wlio thinks every one he meets a bailiff. Though they pretend to be easy, there are secret fears which haunt them wherever they go, so that they fear where no present or imminent danger is, Ps. liii. 5. They that have made God their enemy, and know it, cannot but see the whole creation at war with them, and therefore can have no true enjoyment of themselves, no confidence, no courage, but st. fearful looking for of judgment. Sin makes men cowards.

Degeneres animos timor arguit— Fear argues a degenerate soul. Virg.

liuos diri conscia facti mcnshabet attonitos—

The consciousness of atrocious crimes astonishes and confounds.

Juv.

If they flee when none pursues, what will they do when they shall see God himself pursuing them with his armies? Job xx. 24.—^xv. 24. See Deut. xxviii. 25. Lev. xxvi. 36.

2. What a holy security and serenity of mind they enjoy who keefi conscience void of offence, and so keep themselves in the love of God. The righteous are bold as a lion, as a young lion; in the greatest dangers they have a God of almighty power to tnist to; Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed; whatever difficulties they meet with in the way of their duty, they are not daunted by them; J\fone of those things move me.

Hie muruB aheneus esto, nil conscire sibi—

Be this thy brazen bulwark of defence,

Still to preserve thy conscious innocence. HoR.

2. For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.

Note, 1. National sins bring national disorders, and the disturbances of the public repose; For the transgression of a land, and a general defection from God and religion, to idolatry, pi'ofaneness, or immorality, ?nany are the firivces thereof, many at the same time pretending to the sovereignty, and contending for it, by which the people are ci^umbled into parties and fictions, biting and devouring one another. Or many, successively, in a little time, one cutting off another, as 1 Knigs xvi. 8, &c. or soon cut off by the hand of God, or of a foreign enemy, as 2 Kings xxiv. 5, 8cc. As the people suffer for the sins of the prince,

Delirant regcs, plecluntur Achivi—

Kings play the madmen, and their people suffer for it,

SO the government sometimes suffers for the sins of the people.

2. Wisdom will prevent or redress these grievances; By a man, by a people, of understanding, that come again to themselves and their right mind, things are kept in a good order, or, if disturbed, brought back to the old channel again. Or, By a prince of understanding and knowledge, a pi-ivy-counsellor, or minister of state, that will restrain or suppress the tranftgression of the land, and take the right metliods of heahng the state thereof, the good estate of it will be prolonged. We cannot imagine what a great deal of service one wise man may do to a nation in a critical juncture.

3. A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain, which leaveth no food.

See here, 1. How hard hearted poor people fre-nuentlv are to one another; not only net doing such good offices as they might do one to another, but im-

posing upon, and overreaching, one another. Those who know by experience the miseries of poverty, should be compassionate to those who suffer the like, but they are inexcusably barbarous if they be injurious to them.

2. How imperious and griping those commonly are, who, being indigent and necessitous, get into power. If a prince prefer a poor man, he forgets that ever he was poor, and none shall be so oppressive to the poor as he, or squeeze them so cruelly. The hungry leech and the dry sponge suck most. Set a beggar on horseback, and he ivill ride without mercy; he is like a sweefiing rain, which washes away the corn in the ground, and lays and beats out that which is grown, so that it leaves no food. Princes, therefore, ought not to put those into places of trust, who are poor, and in debt, and behind-hand in the world, nor any who make it their main busi-ness'to enrich themselves.

4. They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.

Note, 1. Those that firaise the wicked make it to appear that they do themselvesycTAaA'e the law, and go contrary to it, for that curses and condemns the wicked. Wicked people will speak well of one another, and so strengthen one another's hands in their wicked ways, hoping thereby to silence the clamours of their own consciences, and to serve the interests of the devil's kingdom, which is not done by any thing so effectually as by keeping vice in reputation.

2. Those that do indeed make conscience of the law of God themselves, will, in theirplaces, vigorously oppose sin, and bear their testimony against it, and do what they can to shame ai d suppress it; they will reprove the works of darkness, and silence the excuses which are made for these works, and do what they can to bring gross offenders to punishment, that others may hear and fear.

5. Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord understand all things.

Note, 1. As the prevalency of men's lusts is owing to the darkness of their understandings, so the darkness of their understandings is very much owing to the dominion of their lusts; Men understand not judgment, discern not between truth and falsehood, right and wrong; they understand not the law of God as the i-ule either of their duty or of their doom; and, (1.) Therefore it is that they are evil men; their wickedness is the effect of their ignorance and error, Eph. iv. 18. (2.) Therefore they understand not judgment, because they are evil men, their corruptions blind their eyes, and fill them with prejudices, and, because they do evil, they hate the light. It is just with God also to give them up to strong delusions.

2. As men's seeking the Lord is a good sign tliat they do understand much, so it is a good means of their understanding more, even of their understanding all things needful for them. They that set God's glor)' before them as their end, his favour as tlieir felicity, and his word as their nile, and apply themselves to him upon all occasions by prayer, they seek the Lord, and he will give them the spirit (f wisdom. If a man do his will, he shall kfiow his doctrine, John vii. 17. .,4 good understanding they have, and a better they shall have, that do his commandments, Ps. cxi. 10. 1 Cor. ii. 12, 15.

6. Better is the poor that walkcth in liis uprightness, than he that is perverse z« his wai/s, though he be rich.

PROVERBS, XXVIII.

7GI

Here, 1. It is supposed that a man may •walk in his ufiri^/Uness, and yet be poor in this world; may be poor m the world, which is a temptation to dishonesty, and yet may resist the temptation, and continue to'zya/i(' in his uprighttiess: also that a man may be perverse in his ways, injurious to G<!d and man, and yet be rich, and prosper in the world, for awhile; may be rich, and so he under great obligations, and have great opportunities to do good, and yet be/^crx'erse in his ways, and do a great deal of hurt.

2. It is maintained as a paradox to a blind world, that an honest, godly, poor man, is better than a wicked, ungodly, rich man; has a better character, is in a better condition, has more comfort in himself, and is a greater blessing to the world, and is worthy of much more honour and respect. It is not only certain that his case will be better at death, but it is better in life. When Aristides was by a rich man upbraided with his poverty, he answered, Thy riches do thee more hurt than my poverty does me.

7. Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men^ shameth his father.

Note, 1. Religion is true wisdom, and it makes men wise in every relation; He that conscientiously keeps the lazv is wise, and he will be particularly a wise son, will act discreetly toward his parents, for the law of God teaches him to do so.

2. Bad company is a great hindrance to religion: Those that are companions of riotous men, that choose such for their companions, and delight in their conversation, will certainly be drawn from keeping the law of God, and drawn to transgress it, Ps. cxix. 115.

3. Wickedness is not only a reproach to the sinner himself, but to all that are akin to him; He that keeps rakish c mpany, and spends his time and m ney with them, not only grieves his parents, but shames them, it turns to their disrepute, as if they h^d not done their duty to him. They are ashamed that a child of theirs should be scandalous and abusive to their neighbours.

8. He that by usury and unjust gain in-creasetli his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.

Note, 1. Thrvt which is ill got, though it may increase much, will not last long. A man may perhaps raise a great estate, in a little time, by usury and extortion, fr.iud an 1 oppression of the poor, but it will not continu.-; he gathers it for himself, but it shill prove to have been gathered for somebody else that he has no Icindness for. His estate shall go to decav, and another man's shallbe raised out of the ruins of it.

2. S-'UK'times God, in his providence, so orders it, that that which one got unjustly, another uses charitably; it is str ngely turned into the hands of one that will pity the poor, and do good with it, and so cut off the entail f f the curse which he brought upon it, who got it l)y deceit and violence. Thus, the same Providence that punishes the ciniel, and disables them to do any more hurt, rewards the merciful, :ind enal^lcs them to do so much the more good. To him that has the ten pounds give the pound which the wicked ser\-ant hid in the napkin; for to him that has, and useS it well, more shall be given, Luke xix. 24. Thus the fjoor are repaid, the charitaljle are encouraged, and God is glorified.

9. He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be nbomination

Note, 1. It is by the word and prayer that our communion with tiod is kept up. Gcd speaks to us by his law, and expects we should hear him, and heed him; we speak to him by prayer, to which Ave wait for an answer of peace. How reverent and serious should we be, whenever we are hearing from, and speaking to, the Lord of gloiy!

2. If God's word be net regarded by us, our prayers shall not only be not accepted of God, but they shall be an abomination to him; not only cur sacrifices, which were ceremonial appointments, but e\ en cur prayers, which arc moral duties, and w hich, when they are put up by tlie upright, are so much his delight: see Isa. i. 11, 15. The sinner, whose prayers God is thus angry at, is cne who wilfully and obstinately refuses to obey Gcd's commandments, who will not so much as give them the hearing, but causes his ear to decline the law, and refuses, when God calls; God will, therefore, justly refuse him when he calls: see Prov. i. 24, 28.

10. Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.

Here is, 1. The doom of seducers, who attempt to draw good people, or those who profess to be such, into sin and mischief, who would take a pride I in causing the righteous to go astray in an evil way, in drawing them into a snare, that they may insult over them; they shall nrt gain their point; it is impossible to deceive the elect, but they shall fait themselves into their own pit; and, having been no only sinners, but tempters, not only unrightecus, but enemies to the rigliteous, their condemnatim will be so much the greater, Matth. xxiii. 14, 15.

2. The happiness rf the sincere; they shall net onlv be preserved from the evil way which the wicked would decoy them into, but they sludl have good things, the best things, iii po&session,t\u; graces and comforts of God's Spirit, beside what they have in reversion.

11. The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.

Note, 1. Those that are rich are apt to think themselves wise, because, whatever else they are ignorant of, they know how to get and save; and they that are purse-proud expect that all they say should be regarded as an oracle and a law, and that none should dare to contradict them, but every sheaf bow to theirs; this humour is fed by flatterers, who, because, like Jezebel's prophets, they are fed at their table, cry up their wisdom.

2. Those that are poor often prove themselves wiser than they; A poor man, who has taken pains to get wisdom, having no other way (as the rich man has) to get a reputation, he searches him out, and makes it to appear that he is not such a scholar, nor such a politician, as he is taken to be. See how variously God dispenses his gifts; to some he gives wealth, to others wisdom, and it is easy to say which of these is the best gift, which we should covet most earnestly.

12. When righteous men do rejoice, there

is gi-eat glory: but when the wicked rise, a

man is hidden.

Note, 1. The comfort of the people of God is the honour of the nation in which they live; Tliere is a great glory dwelling in the land when the iightcous do rejoice, when they have their liberty, the free exercise of their rehgion, and are not persecuted; when the government countenances them, auf'

PROVERBS, XXVIJI.

s]jeaks comfortably to them, when they prosper and grow rich, and much more when they are preferred and employed, and have power put into their hands. 2. The advancement of the wicked is the eclipsing of the beauty of a nation; When (he wicked rise, and get head, they make head against all that is sacred, and then a man is hidden, a good man is thrust into obscurity, is necessitated to abscond for his own safety: corruptions prevail so generally, that, as in Elijah's time, there seems to be no good men left, the wicked walk so thick on every side,

13. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsak-eth theiJi shall have mercy.

Here is, 1. _The folly of indulging sin, of palliating and excusing it, denying or extenuating it, diminisli-ing it, dissembling it, or throwing the blame of it upon others; He that thus covers his sins shall not prosper, let him never expect it; he shall not succeed in his endeavour to cover his sin, for it will be discovered, sooner or later; there is nothing hid which shall not be revealed, a bird of the air shall carry the voice, murder will out, and so will other sins. He shall not prosper, he shall not obtain the pardon of his sin, nor can he have any true peace of conscience. David owns himself to have been in a constant agitation while he covered his sins, Ps. xxxii. 3, 4. While the patient conceals his distemper he cannot expect a cure.

2. The benefit of parting with it, both by a penitent confession, and a universal reformation; He that confesses his guilt to God, and is cai-eful not to return to sin again, shall_y??zrf mercy with God, and shall have the comfort of it in his own bosom. His conscience shall be eased, and his ruin prevented: see 1 John i. 9. Jer. iii. 12, 13. When we set sin before our face, (as David, My sin is ever before me,) God casts it behind his back.

14. Happy is the man that feareth al-way: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

Here is, 1. The benefit of a holy caution. It sounds strange, but it is very true; 'Ha/ipy is the man that feareth alway. Most people thnik that they are happy who never fear; but there is a fear which is so far from having torment in it, that it has in it the greatest satisfaction. Happy is the man who alwavs keeps in his mind a holy awe and reverence of God, his glory, goodness, and government, who is always afraid of offending God, and incurring his displeasure, who keeps conscience tender, and has a dread nf the appearance of evil, who is always jealous of himself, distrustful of his own sufficiency, and lives in expectation of troubles and changes, so that, whenever they come, they are no suiprise to him. He who keeps up such a fear as this, will live a life of faith and watchfulness, and therefore ha/i/iy is he, blessed and holv.

2. The danger of a sinful presumption; He that hardens his heart, tliat mocks at fear, and sets God and his judgments at defiance, and receives not the impressions of his word or rod, he shall fall into mischief, his presumption will be his ruin, and, whatever sin (which is the greatest mischief) he falls into, it is owing to the hardness of his heart.

15. As B. roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.

It is written indeed, Thou shalt not s/ieak ex'il of the ruler of thy people; hut, if he be a wicked ruler, that oppresses the pi.'cjjli-, especiallv the ])ocr people, rrbhing them rf the little they have, and mik-mg a prey of them, whatever we may call him, this

scripture calls him a roaring lion, and a ranging bear.

1. In respect of his character; he is brutish, barbarous, and blood-thirst)', he is rather to be put among the beasts cf prey, the wildest and most savage, than to be reckoned of that noble rank of beings whose glory is reason and humanity.

2. In respect of the mischief they do to their .sub jects; they are dreadful as the roaring lion, who makes the forest tremble; they are devouring as ? hungry bear, and the more necessitous they are, the more mischief they do, and the more greedy of gain they are.

16. The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: hut he thai hateth cCvetousness shall prolong his days.

Two things are here intimated to be the causes of the mal-administration of princes;

1. The love of money, that root of all evil; for hating covetousness here stands opposed to oppression, according to Moses's character of good magistrates, ihen fearing God and hating covetousness, (Exod. xviii. 21.) not only not being covetous, but hating it, and shaking the hands from holding of bribes. A ruler that is covetous will neither dc justly nor love mercy, but the people under him shall be bought and sold.

2. Want of consideration; He that hates covetousness shall prolong his government and peace, shall be happy in the affections of his people, and the blessings of his God. It is as much the interest ns the duty of princes to reign in righteousness; oppressors therefore and tyrants are the greatest fools in the world, they want undeistanding, they do not consult their own honour, ease, and safety, but sacrifice all to their ambition cf an absolute and arbitrary power. They might he much happier in the hearts of their subjects, than in their necks or estates.

17. A man that doeth violence to the blood of an?/ person shall fly to the pit; let no man stay him.

This agrees with that ancient law, Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, (Gen. ix. 6.) and speaks,

1. The doom of the shedder of blood; He that has committed murder, though he flies for his life, shall be continually haunted with terrors, shall himself flee to the pit, betray himself, and torment himself, like Cain, who, when he had killed his brother, became a fugitive and a vagabond, and trembled continually.

2. The duty of the avenger of blood; Whether the magistrate, or the next of kin, or whoever are concerned in making inquisition for blood, let them be close and vigorous in the prosecution, and let it not be bought off. They that acquit the murderer, or do any thing to help him off, come in sharers in tlie guilt of blood; nor can the land be purged from blood but by the blood of him that shed it. Numb, xxxv. 33.

18. Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.

Note, 1. Those that are honest are always safe. He that acts with sincerity, thut speaks as lie thinks, li:is a single eye, in every thinir, to the .clory of Ciod and the good of his brethren, that would net, for a* wcrld, do an unjust thing, if he knew it, that in all manner of conversation walks uprightly, he shall be saved hereafter. ^Vc find a ghrit us c inpany of tlirse in whose month was found no guile. Rev.

■. 5. They shall be safe now. Integrity and up-

PROVERBS XXVIII.

767

rightness will preserve men, will give them a holy security in the worst of times; for it will preserve their comfort, their reputation, and all their interests; they mny be injured, they cannot be hurt.

2. Those that are false and dishonest are never safe; He that ispeinjcrse in his.ivays, that thinks to secure himself by fraudulent practices, by dissimulation and treachery, or by an estate ill-got, he s/ia/l fail; nay, he s/ia/l fall at once, not gradually, and with wai-ning given, but suddenly, without previous notice, for he is least safe when he is most secure. He falls at once, and so has neither time to guard against his ruin, nor to provide for it; and, being a surjjrise upon him, it will be so much the greater terror to him.

19. He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that follovveth after x^AW persons shall have poverty enough.

Note, 1. Those that are diligent in their callings take the way to live comfortably; He that tills his land, and tends his shop, and minds his business, whatever it is, he shall have plenty of bread, of that which is necessary for himself and his family, and with which he may be cliaritable to the poor; he shall eat of the labour of his hands.

2. Those that are idle, and careless, and company-keepers, though they indulge themselves in living (as they think) easily and pleasantly, they take the way to live miserably. He that has land, and values himself upon that, but does not till it, neglects his business, will not take pains, but follows after vain persons, drinks with them, joins with them in their frolics and vain sports, and idles away his time with them, he shall \\2t.ve. poverty enough, shall be satiated or replenished with poverty, so the word is; he takes those courses which lead so directly to it, that he seems to ccurt it, and he shall j have his fill of it.

20. A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

Here, 1. We are directed in the time way to be happy, and that is to be holy and honest; He that is faithfulx.0 God and man shall be blessed of the Lord, and he shall abound with blessings of the upper and nether springs. Men shall praise him, and pray for him, and be ready to do him any kindness. He shall abound in doing good, and shall himself be a blessing to the place where he lives. Usefulness shall be the reward of faithfulness, and it is a good reward.

2. We are cautioned against a false and deceitful way to happiness, and that is, right or wrong, raising an estate suddenly. Say not. This is the way to abound with blessiiigs; for he that makes haste to be rich, more haste than good speed, he shall not be innocent; and if he be not, he shall not be blessed of God, but, rather, bring a curse upon what he has; nor, if he be not innocent, can he long be easy to himself; he shall not be accounted innocent by' his neighbours, but shall have their ill-will and ill-word. He does not say that he cannot be innocent, but there is all the pi'obability in the world that he will not prove so; He that hasteth with his feet, sinneth, stumbleth, falleth. Sed quee revercntia legiim, quis metiis, aut pudor, est unquam properantis avari? — IVhat reverence for law, what fear, what shame, was ex'er indicated by an avaricious man hasting to be rich?

21. To have respect of persons is not good : for, for a piece of bread (hat man will transgress.

Note, 1. It is a fundamental error in the admin istration of justice, and that which cannot but lead men to abundance (f transgression, to consider the parties concerned more than the merits of the cause, so as to favour cnc because he is a gentleman, a scholar, my countryman, my old acquaintance, has formerly done me a kindness, or may do me one, rr as of my party and persuasion; and to bear hard en the other party, because he is a stranger, a poor man, has done me an ill turn, is, or has been, my rival, or is not of my mind, crhas voted against me. Judgment is per\ertcd when any consideration of this kind is admitted into the scale, any thing but pure right.

2. Those that are partird will be paltry, those that have once broken through the !:)onds of equity, the ugh, at first, it must be s( me great bribe, seme noble present, that would bias them, yet, when they liave debauched their consciences, thev will, at length, be so sordid, that for a piece of bread they will give judgment against their.consciences; they will rather play at small game th;m sit oiut.

22. He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall conse upon him.

Here again Solomon shows the sin and folly of those that will be rich; they are resolved that they will be so, per fas, per nefus — right or wrong; they will be so with all speed, they are getting hastily an estate.

1. They have no comfort in it; they have an evil eye, they are always grieving at those tiu.t have more than they, anel always grudging their necessary expenses, because they think the f; rmer keep them from seeming rich, the latter from being so, and between both they must needs be perpetually uneasy.

2. They have no assumnce of the continuance of it, and yet take no tliought to provide against the loss of it; Poverty shall come upon them, and the riches which they made wings fc^r, that tliey might fly to them, will make themselves wings to fly from them; but they are secure and improvident, and do not consider this, that while they are making haste to be rich, they :.re really making haste to be poor, else they would n't trust to uncertain riches.

23. He that rebuketh a man, afterwards, shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.

Note, 1. Flatterers may please those for a time; who, upon second thoughts, will detest and despise them. If ever they cenie to be convinced of the evil of those sinful courses they were flattered in, and to be ashanieel of the pride and vanity which were liumoured anel gratified by those flatterita, they will hate the fawning flatterers, as ha\ing had an ill design upon them, and the fulsome flatteries, as having had an ill effect upon them, and being become nauseous.

2. Reprovers may displease those at first, who vet, afterward, when the passion is over, and the bitter physic begins to work well, will love and respect them. He that deals faithfully with his friend, in telling liim of his faults, though he mav put him into some heat for the present, and perhaps have hard words, instead of thanks, for his pains, vet, afterward, he will not only have the comfort in his own bosrni of having dene his duty, but he also, whom he reprn\ ed, will acknowledge thr.t it was a kindness, will conceive an opinion of his wisdom and fiithfulness, and lo( k upon him as fit to be a friend. He that cries em a'^:iinst his suryern f r hurting him when he is searching his v.'ourd, will ytt p'v him w:ll, and thank him t-o, when he hc*5 ci-r.cl iL

PROVERBS, XXIX.

24. Whoso robbeth his father or his mo-iher, and saith, Ft is no transgression: the same is tlie companion of a destroyer.

As Christ shows the absurdity and wickedness of those children who think it is no duty, in some cases, to inaintain their parents, (Matth. xv. 5.) so Solomon here shows the absurdity and wickedness of those who think it is no sin to rob tlien' parents, either by force or secretly, by wheedling them or threatening them, or by wasting what they have, and (which is no better than robbing them) mnning into debt, and leaving them to pay it. Now,

1. This is commonly made light of by untoward children; they say, "// is no transgression, for it will be our own shortly, c ur parents can well enough spare it, we have occasion for it, we cannot live as gentlemen upon the allowance our parents give us, it is too strait for us." With such excuses as these they endeavour to shift off the conviction. But,

2. How light soever an ungov erned youth makes of it, it is really a very great sin; he that does it is the companion of a destroyer; no better than a robber on the highway. What vyickedness will he scruple to commit, who will rob his own parents?

25. He that is of a proud heart stirrelh up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat.

Note, 1. Those make themselves lean, and continually unquiet, that are haughty and quarrelsome, for they are opposed to those that shall be made fat; He that is of a proud heart, that is conceited of himself, and looks with contempt upon all about him, that cannot bear either competition or contradiction, he stirs up strife, makes mischief, and creates disturbance to himself and every body else.

2. Those make themselves fat, and always easy, that live in a continual dependence upon God and his grace; He who puts his trust in the Lord, who, instead of stiTiggling for himself, commits his cause to God, he shall be made fat; he saves the money which others spend upon their pride and contentiousness, he enjoys himself, and has abundant satisfaction in his God; and thus his soul dwells at ease, and he is most likely to have plenty of outward good things. None live so easily, so pleasantly, as those who live by faith.

26. He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

Here is, 1. The character of a fool; he trusts to his own heart, to his own wisdom and counsels, his own strength and sufficiency, his own merit and right jousness, and the good opinion he has of himself; he that does so is a fool, for he tiiists to that, not only which is deceitful above all things, (Jer. xvii. 9.) but which lias often deceived him. Tiiis implies, that it is the character of a wise man (as before, v. 25.) to put his trust in the Lord, and hi his power and promise, and to follow his guidance, Prnv. iii. 5, 6.

2. The c: aifort of a wise man; He that walks •wisely, thit trusts not to his own heart, but is humble and self-diffident, and goes on in the strength of the Lord God, he shall be delivered; wlien the fool, that trusts in /lis own heart, shall be destroyed.

27. He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

Here is, 1. A promise to the charitable; He that jpves to the po$r shall himself be never the poorer for so doing, he shall not lack; if he have but little.

and so be in danger cf lacking, let him give out of his little, and that will prevent it from coming to nothing; as tlie bounty of the widow of Sarepta to Elijah, f^r whom she made a little cake first, when what she had was reduced to a liandful of mf-al. If he liave much, let him give much cut of it, and that will prevent its growing less; he ;uid his shall not want what is given in pious charity. What we gave we have.

2. A threatening to the uncharitable; He that hides his eyes, that lie may nit see the miseries of the poor, norread their petitions, lest his eye should affect his heart, and cxt; rt some relief from himj he shall have many a curse, both from God and man, and neither causeless, and therefore they shall come. Woful is tlie condititm of that man wiio has the word of God, and the prayerji tf the poor, against him.

28. When the wicked rise, men hide themselves : but when they perish, the righteous increase.

This is to the same purport with what we had, V. 12.

1. When bad men are preferred, that which is good is clouded and nin down; \Mien pcwer is put into the hands of the wicked, men hide thcnnselves, wise men retire into privacy, and decline public business, not caring to be employed under them; rich men get out of the way, f )r fear cf being squeezed for what they have; and, which is worst of all, good men abscond, despairing to do good, and fearing to be persecuted and ill-treated.

2. When bad men are displaced, degraded, and their power taken fn.m tlieni, then tliat which is good revives again, then the righteous increase; for, nvhen they perish, good men will be put in their room, who will, by tluir example and interest, countenance religion and righteousness. It is well with a land when the number of good pecple increases in it; and it is therefore the pclicy of all princes, states, and potentates, to encourage them, and to take special care of the good education cf youth.

CHAP. XXIX. 1. ^I¥E that, being often repioved, harden-JJL eth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

Here, 1. The obstinacy of many wicked people in a wicked way is to be greatly lamented. They are often re/iroved by parents and friends, by magistrates and ministers, by tlie providence of (Jcd, and by their own consciences, have had their sins set in order before them, and fair warnings given them of the consequences of them, but all in vain, they harden their necks, perhaps they fling away, and will not so much as give the reproof a patient hearing; or, if they do, yet they go on in the sins for which they are reproved, they will net bow their necks to the voke, but are children of Belial, they refuse reproof, (c//. x. 17.) despise it, {ch. v. 12.) hate it, {ch. xii. 1.)

2. The issue of this obstinacy is to be greatly dreaded; They that go on in sin, in despite of admonition, shall be destroyed; those that will not be reformed must expect to be i-uined; if the rods answer not the end, expect the axes; they shall^ be suddenly destroyed, in the midst of their security, and without re?nedy; they have sinned against the preventing remedy, and therefore let them not expect any recovering remedy. Hell is remediless desti-uction; they shall be destroyed, and no healing, so the word'is. If God wcnuuls, who can heal?

2. When the righteous are in autho)ity,

PROVERBS, XXIX.

76b

Ihe people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

This is what was said before, ch. xxviii. 12, 28.

L The fieofile will have cause to rejoice, or jnoum, according as their rulers are righteous, or wicked; for if the righteous be in authority, sin will be punished and restrained, religion and virtue will be supported and kept in reputation; but'ii the ivick-cd get power in their hands, wickedness will abound, religion and religious people will be persecuted, and so the ends of government will be perverted.

2. The fieofile will actually rejoice, or mourn, according as their rulers are righteous, or wicked. Such a conviction are even the common people under of the excellency of virtue and religion, that they will rejoice when they see it prefen-ed and countenanced; and, on the contrary, let men have ever so much honour and power, if they be wicked and vicious, and use it ill, thev make themselves contemfitible and base before all the fieople, (as those priests, Mai. ii. 9.) and subjects will think themselves miserable under such a government.

3. Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father : but he that keepeth company with hai*-lots spendeth his substance.

Both the parts of this verse repeat what has been often said, but, on comparing them together, the sense of them will be enlarged from each other.

1. Be it observed, to the honour of a virtuous young man, that he loves wisdom, he is a philoso-fiK.r, (for that signifies a lover of wisdom,) for religion is the best philosophy; he avoids bad company, and especially the company of lewd women; hereby he rejoices his parents, and has the satisfaction of being a comfort to them, and increases his estate, and is likely to live comfortably.

2. Be it observed, to the reproach of a vicious young man, that he hates wisdom, he keefis com/iamj with scandalous women, who will be his ruin, both in soul and body; he grieves his parents, and, like the pi'odigal son, devours their living with harlots. Nothing will beggar men sooner than the lusts of uncleanness; and the best preservative from those ruinous lusts is wisdom.

4. The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthrow-eth it.

Here is, 1. The happiness of a people under a good government. The care and business of a prince should be to establish the land, to maintain its fundamental laws, to settle the minds of his subjects, and make them easy, to secure their liberties and properties from hostilities, and for posterity, and to set in order the things that are wanting; this he must do by judgment, by wise counsels, and by the steady administration of justice, without respect of persons, which will have these good effects.

2. The misery of a people under a bad government; yt man of oblations, (so it is in the margin,) overthrows the land; a man that is either sacrilegious or superstitious, or that invades the priest's crffice, as Saul and Uzziah; or a man that aims at nothing but getting money, and will, for a good bribe, connive at the most guilty, and, in hope of one, persecute the innocent; ^uch governors as these V. ill iniin a country.

5. A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.

Those may be said to flatter their neighbours, who commend and applaud that good in them, (the

Vol. III.—5 E

good they do, or the good they have,) wh.ch really either is not, or is not such as they represent it, and who profess that esteem and that affection for them, which really they have not; these spread a net for their feet.

1. For their neighbour's feet, whom they flatter; they have an ill design in it, they would not speak thus fair, but that they hope to make an advantage of them; and it is therefore wisdom to suspect those who flatter us, that they are secretly laying a snare for us, and to stand on our guard accordingly. Or it has an ill effect en those who are flattered; it puffs them up with pride, and makes them conceited and confident of themselves, and so proves a n^t that entangles them in sin.

2. Tor their own feet; so some understand it. He that flatters others, in expectation that they will return his compliments, and flatter him, does but make himself ridiculous and odious even to those he flatters.

6. In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice.

Here is, 1. The peril of a sinful way; there is not only a punishment at the end of it, but a snare in it; one sin is a temptation to another, and there are troubles which, as a snare, come suddenly upon evil men in the midst of their transgressions; nay, their transgression itself often involves them in vexations, their sin is their punishment, and they are holden in the cords of their own iniquity, ch. v. 22.

2. The pleasantness of the way of holiness. The snare that is in the transgression of evil men spoils all their mirth, but righteous men are kept from those snares, or delivered out of them; they walk at liberty, walk in safety, and therefore they sing and rejoice; they that make God their chief Joy, have him for their exceeding Joy, and it is their own fault if they do not rejoice evermore. If there be any true joy on this side heaven, doubtless they have it whose conversation is in heaven.

7. The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: bjit the wicked regardeth not to know ii.

It is pitv but that every one who sues sub forma fiaufieris — as a fiauper, should have an honest cause, (they are of all others inexcusable, if they have not,) because the scripture has so well provided that it should have a fair hearing, and that the judge himself should be of counsel, as for the prisoner, so for the pauper.

1. It is here made the character of a righteous judge, that he considers the cause of the poor; it is every man's duty to consider the poor, (Ps. xli. 1.) but the judgment of the poor is to be considered by those that sit in judgment; they must take as much pains to find out the right in a poor man's cause, as m a rich man's. Sense of justice must make both judge and advocate as solicitous and industrious in the poor man's cause, as if they hoped for the greatest advantage.

2. It is made the character of a wicked man, that because it is a poor man's cause, which there is nothing to be got by, he regards not to know it, in the true state of it, for he cares not which way it goes, right or wrong. See Job xxix. 16.

8. Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.

See here, 1. Who are the men that are dangerous to the public; scornful men; when such are employed in the business of the state, they do things with precipitation, because they scorn to deliberate, and

PROVERBS, XXIX.

willnottike time for consideration and consultation; they do things illegal and unjustifiable, because they scorn to be hampered by laws and constitutions; break their faith, because they scorn to be bound by their word; provoke the people, because they scorn to please them; thus they bring a city into a sjiare by their ill conduct, or, as the margin reads it, they set a city on Jire, they sow discord among the citizens, and run them into confusiun. Those are scornful 7nen that mock at i-eligion, the obligations of conscience, the fears of another world, and every thing that is sacred and serious; such men are the plagues of their generation, they bring God's judgments upon a land, set men together by the cars, and so bring all to confusion.

2. Who are the men that are the blessings of a land; the ivise men, who, by promoting religion, which is true wisdom, tiirii away the nvrath of God, and who, by pioident counsels, reconcile contending parties, and prevent the mischievous consequences of divisions. Proud and foolish men kindle the fires which wise and good men must extinguish.

9. 7/" a wise man contendeth \\\\\\ a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.

A wise man is here advised not to set his wit to a fool's, not to dispute with him, or, by contending with him, to think either of fastening reason upon him, or gaining right from him; If a nvise man contend with a wise man, he may hcpe to be understood, and, as far as he has reason and equity on his side, to carry his point, at least, to bring the controversy to a head, and make it issue amicably; but if he contend with a foolish man, there is no rest; he will see no end of it, nor will he have any satisfaction in it, but must expect to be always uneasy.

1. Whether the foolish man he contends with, rage or laugh, whether he take angrily or scornfully, what is said to him, whether he rail at it or mock at it, one of the two he will do, and so there will be no rest. However it is given, it will be ill taken, and the wisest man must expect to be either scolded or ridiculed, if he contend with a fool. He that fights with a dunghill, whether he be conqueror or conquered, is sure to be defiled.

2. Whether the wise man himself rage or laugh, whether he take the serious or the jocular way of dealing with the fool, whether he be severe or pleasant with him, whether he come with a rod or with the spirit of meekness, (1 Cor. iv. 21.) it is all alike, no good is done. M'e have fiijied unto you, and ye have not danced, mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.

10. The blood-thirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul.

Note, 1. Bad men hate their best friends; The blood-thirsty, all the seed of the old serpent, who was a murderer from the beginning, and inherit his enmity against the seed of the woman, they hate the iifiright, they seek the ruin of good men, because they condemn the wicked world, and witness against it. Christ told his disciples that they should be hated of all men. Bloody men do especially hate upright magistrates, who would restrain and reform them, and put the laws in execution against them, and so really do them a kindness.

2. Good riien love their worst enemies: The just, whom the bloody men hate, seek their soul, pray for their conversion, and would gladly do any thing for their salvation. This Christ taught us, Father forgive them. The just seek his soul, the soul of the upright, whom the l)loody hate, so it is commonly understood; seek to protect it from violence, and save it from, or avenge it at, the hands of the blood-thirsty.

; 11. A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it till afterwards.

Note, 1. It is a piece of weakness to be very open; He is a fool wlio utters all his mind, who tells every thing lie knows, and has in his mouth instantly what ever he has in his thoughts, and can keep no counsel; wlio, whatever is started in discourse, shoots' his bolt; who, when he is provoked, will say any thing that comes uppermost, whcevcr is reflectcci upon bv it; who, when he is to speak of anv business, will say all he thinks, and yet neveF thinks he says enough, whether choice or refuse, com or chaff, pertinent or impertinent, you shall have it all.

2. It is a piece of wisdom to be upon the reserve; ^ wise man will not utter all his mind at once, but will take time for a second thought, or reserve the present thought for a fitter time, when it will be more pertinent, and likelv to answer his intention, will not deliver himself in a continued speech, oi starched discourse, but with pauses, that he may hear what is to be objected, and answer it. .Yon minus interdum oratorium est tacere cjuam dicere — True oratory requires an occasional pause. Plin. Ep. 7. 6.

12. If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.

Note, 1. It is a great sin in any, especially in iii-lers, to hearken to lies; for thereby they not only give a wrong judgment themselves of persons and things, according to the lies they give credit to, but thev encourage others to give them wrong informations. Lies will be told to those that will hearken to them; but the receiver, in this case, is as bad as the thief.

2. Those that do so will have all their servants wicked; all their servants will appear wicked, for they will huve lies told of them; and they will be wicked, for they will tell lies to them. All that have their ear will fill their ear with slanders, and false characters and representations; and so, if princes, as well as people, will be deceived, thev sliall be deceived, and, instead of devolving the guilt of their own false judgments upon their servants that misinformed them, they must share in their servants' guilt, and on them will much of the blame lie for encouraging such misinformations, and giving countenance and ear to them.

13. The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the Lord lighteneth both their eyes.

This shows how wi^ly the great God serves the designs of his providence, by persons of very different tempers, capacities, and conditions in the world; even,

1. Bv those that are contrary the one to the other. Some are poor, and forced to borrow, others are rich, have a great deal oi the mannnon ofunrighte ousness, {deceitful riches they are called,) and th^y are creditors, or usurei's, as it is in tlie margin. Some are poor and honest, and laborious, others rich, slothful, and deceitful; they ?neet toj^ether in the business of this world, and have dealings with one another, and the Lord enlightens their eyes, he causes his sun to sliine upon both, and gives them both the comforts of this life; to some of both sorts he gi\'es his grace; he enlightens the ey( s of the poor, by giving them patience, and of the deceitjul, bv giving them repentance, as Zaccht us. '2. Bv those that we think could be best spared. The poor and the deceitful we are ready to look upon as blemishes of Providence, but God makes even them to display the beauty of Pnnidence; he has wise ends not only in leaving the poor always with us, but in permitting the deceived and the di:

PROVERBS, XXIX.

ni

ceiver, for both are his, (Job xii. 16.) and turn to his praise.

14. The king that faithfully jiidgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.

Here is, 1. The duty of magistrates, and that is, to judge faithfully between man and man, and to determine all causes b'ought before them, according to truth and equity; particularly to take care of the fioor; not to countenance them in an unjust cause, for the sake of tl\eir ])overty, (Exod. xxiii. 3.) but to see that their poverty do not turn to their prejudice, if they have a just cause. The rich will look to themselves, but the fmor and needy the prince must defend, (Ps. Ixxxii. ^.) and plead for, Prov. xxxi. 9.

2. The happiness of those magistrates that do their duty; their throne of honour, their tribunal of judgment, shall be established for ever. This will secure to them the favour of God, and strengthen their interest in the affections of their people, both Avhich will be the establishment of their power, and help to transmit it to posterity, and perpetuate it in the family.

15. The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

Parents, in educating their children, must consider,

1. The benefit of due correction. They must not only tell their children what is good and evil, but they must chide tliem, and correct them too, if need be, when they either neglect that which is good, or do that which is evil. If a reproof will serve without the rod, it is well, but the rod must never be used without a rational and grave reproof; and then, though it may be a present uneasiness both to the father and to the child, yet it will give ivisdom. Vexatio dat intellectum — Vexation sharpens the intellect. The child will take warning, and so will get wisdo7n.

2. The mischief of undue indulgence; ji child that is not restrained or reproved, but is left to hiiii-•ielf, as Adonijah was, to follow his own inclinations, he may do well if lie will, but if he take to ill courses, nobodv will hinder him, it is a thousand to one but he proves a disgrace to his family, and brings his mother, who fondled him, and humoured him in his licentiousness, to shame, to poverty, to reproach, and perhaps will himself be abusive to her, and give her ill language.

16. When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall.

Note, 1. The more sinners there are, the more sin thej'e is; IVhen the wicked, being countenanced by authority, grow numerous, and walk on every side, no marvel if transgression increases, as a plague in the country is said to increase, when still more and more are infected with it. Transgression > grows more impudent and bold, more imperious i and threatening, when there are numy to keep it in ' countenance. In the old world, when men began to multiply, they began to degenerate, and to corrupt themselves and one another.

2. The more sin there is, the nearer is the ruin threatened. Let not the righteous have their faith and hope shocked by the increase of sin and sinners; let them not sav that they have cleansed their hands in vain, or that God has forsaken the earth, but wait with pitience; the transgressors shall fall, the measure of their iniquitv will he full, and then they shall fall fr'-m their dignity and ':^'^Wtr, I'ud fall into dis-

grace and destruction, and the righteous shall have the satisfaction oi seeing their full, (Ps. xxxvn. 34.) perhaps in this world, at furthest, in the judgment of the great day, when the fall of God's implacable enemies will be the joy and triumph of glorified saints. See Isa. Ixvi. 24. Gen. xix. 28.

17. Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest: yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.

Note, 1. It is a very happy thing when children prove the comfort of their parents; good children are so; they give them rest, make them eas\', and free from the many cares they have had concerning them; yea, they give delight unto their souls. It is a pleasure to parents, which none know but those that are l^lessed with it, to see the happy fi-uit of the good education they have given their children, and to have a prospect of their well-doing for both worlds; it gives delight proportionable to the many thoughts of heart that have been concerning them.

2. In order to this, children must be trained up under a strict discipline, and not suffered to do what they will, and to go without rebuke when they do amiss. The foolishness bound up in their hearts must by correction be driven out, when they are young, or it will break out, to their own and "their parents' shame, when they are grown up.

18. Where Mere 25 no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

See here, 1. The misery of the people that want a settled ministry; Where there is no vision, no prophet to expound the law, no priest or Le\ite to teach the good knowledge of the Lord, no means of grace, the word of the Lord is scarce, there is no open vision: (1 Sam. iii. 1.) where it is so, the people perish; tlie word has many significations, any of which will apply here; (1.) The people are made naked, stripped of their ornaments, and so exposed to shame; stripped of their armour, and so exposed to danger. How bare does a place look, without Bibles and ministers, and what an easy prey is it to the enemy of souls! (2.) The people rebel, not only against God, but against their prince; good preach ing would make people good subjects, but, for want (f it, they ar-' turbulent and factious, and despise dominions, because they know no better. (3.) The people are idle, or they play, as the scholars are apt to do when the master is absent; they do nothing to any good pui"pose, but stand all the day idle, and sporting in the market-place, for want of instruction what to do, and how to do it. (4.) They are scattered as sheep having no shepherd, for want of the masters of assemblies to call them and keep them together, Mark \i. 34. They are scattered from God and their duty by apostacies, from one another by divisions; God is provoked to scatter them by his judgments, 2 Chron. xv. 3, 5. (5.) They perish; they are destroyed for lack of knoiv-ledge, Hos. iv. 6. See what reason we have to be thankful to God for the plenty of open vision which we enjoy!

2. The felicity of a people that have not only a settled, but a successful, ministry among them; the people that hear and A-ff/2 thelaiv, among whom religirn IS uppermost; happy are such a people, and e^'ery particular person among them. It is not having the law, but obeying it, and living up to it, that will entitle us to blessedness.

19. A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand, he ^^ il) not answer.

PROVERBS, XXrX.

Here is the description of an unprofitable, sloth-tul, wicked, servant; a slave that serves not from conscience, or love, but purely from fear. Let those that have such servants put on patience to bear the \exation, and not disturb themselves at it. See their character.

1. No rational words will work upon them; they •will not be corrected and reformed, not brought to their business, nor cured of their idleness and laziness, by fair means, no, nor by foul words; even the most gentle master will be forced to use severity with them; no reason will serve their turn, for they are unreasonable.

2. No rational words will be got from them; they are dogged and sullen; and though they understand the questions you ask them, they ivill not give you an answer; though you make it ever so plain to them, what you expect from them, they will not promise to mend what is amiss, or to mind their business. See the folly of those servants whose mouth by their silence calls for strokes; they might be corrected by words, and save blows, but they will not.

20. Seest thou a man that is hasty in his

words 1 there is more hope of a fool than of

him.

Solomon here shows that there is little hope of bringing a man to wisdom that is hasty, either,

1. Through rashness and inconsideration; Seest thou a man that is hasty in his matters, that is of a light, desultory, wit, that seems to take a thing quick, but takes it by the halves, gallops over a book or science, but takes no time to digest it, no time to pause or muse upon a business? There is more hope q/making a scholar, and a wise man, of one that is dull and heavy, and slow in his studies, than of one that has such a mercurial genius, and cannot fix.

2. Throvigh pride and conceitedness; Seest thou a man that is forward to speak to every matter that is started, and affects to speak first to it, to open it, and speak last to it, to give judgment upon it, as if he were an oracle? There is 7nore hope of a modest fool, who is sensible of his folly, than q/"such a self-conceited one.

21. He that dehcately bringeth up a servant from a child, shall have him become his son at the length.

Note, 1. It is an imprudent thing in a master to be too fond of a servant, to advance him too fast, and admit him to be too familiar with him; to suffer liim to be over-nice and curious in his diet, and clothing, and lodging, and so to bring him up delicately, because he is a favourite, and an agreeable servant; it should be rememliered that he is a servant, and, by being thus indulged, will be spoiled for any other place. Servants must endure hardness.

2. It is an ungrateful thing in a servant, but what is very common, to behave himself insolently, because he has been used tenderly. The humble prodigal thinks himself unworthy to be called a son, and is content to be a servant; the pampered slave thinks himself too good to be called a servant, and will be a son at the length, will take his ease and liberty, will be on a par with his master, and perhaps pretend to the inheritance. Let m^sXtvsgive their servants that which is equal and fit for them, and neither more nor less. This is very applicable to the body, which is a servant to the soul; those that delicately bring ufi the body, that humour it, and are over-tender of it, will find that at length it will forget Its place, and become a son, a master, a perfect tyrant.

22. An angry man stiiTeth up strife, and

a furious man aboundeth in transgression.

See here the mischief that flows from an angiy, passionate, furious, disposition.

1. It makes men provcking to one another; jin angry man stirs up strife, is troublesome and quarrelsome in the family and in the neighbourhood, blows the coals, t-nd even forces those to fall eut with him that would live peaceably and quietly by him.

2. It makes men provoking to God; ji furious 7nan, who is wedded to his humours and passions, cannot but abound in transgressiojis; that is a shi which is the cause of many sins; it not only hinders, men from calling upon God's name, but it occasions their swearing and cursing, and profaning Gcd'i name.

23. A man's pride shall bring him low:

but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

This agrees with what Christ said more than once,

1. That those who e.valt themselves shall be abased. They that think to gain respect by lifting up themselves above their rank, by looking high, talking big, appearing fine, and applauding themselves, will, on the contrary, expose themselves to contempt, lose their reputati( n, and provoke God by humbling providences to bring them down and lay them low.

2. That those who humble themselves shall be exalted, and shall be established in their dignity; Honour shall uphold the humble in spirit; tlieir humi lity is their honour, and that sh:'.ll m:;ke them truly and safely great, and recommend them to the es teem of all that are wise and good.

24. Whoso is partner with a thief hatelh

his own soul: he heareth cursing, and be-

wrayeth it not.

See here what sin and niin they involve themselves in, who are drawn away by the enticements of sinners.

1. They incur a great deal of guilt; He does so, that ^oes partner 7vith such as rob and defraud, and casta in his lot among them, ch. i. 11, &c. The receiver is as bad as the tiiicf; and, being drawn in to join with him in the commission of the sin, he cannct escape joining with him in the concealment of it, though it be with the most horrid perjuries and execrations. They hear cursing, when they are sworn to tell the whole truth, but they will not confess.

2. Thev hasti n to utter ruin; they even hate theit own souls, for they wilfullv do that which will be the inevitable destruction of them. See the absurdi ties sinners are guilty nf; they love death, than which nothing is more dreadful, and hate their own souls, than which nothing is more dear.

25. The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso puUeth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

Here, 1. We are cautioned not to dread the power of man; neither tlie power of a prince, nor the power of the multitude; both are formidable enough, but the slavish fear of either brings a snare, exposes men to many insults; (some take a pride in terrifying the timorous;) or, rather, exposes men to many temptations. Abraham, ior fear of man, denied his wife, and Peter his Master,"and many a one his God and religion. We must not shrink from duty, or commit sin, to avoid the wrath of man, nor, though we see it coming upon us, be disquieted with fear, Dan. iii. 16. Ps. cxviii. 6. He must himself die, (Isa. li. 12!) and can but kill cur body, Luke xii. 5.

PROVERBS, XXX.

773

2. We are encouraged to depend upon the power of God, which would keep us from all that fear of man, which has either torment or temptation in it. Whoso puts his trust in the Lord, for protection and supply in the way of duty, he shall be set on high, above the power of man, and above the fear of that

Eower. A lioly confidence in God makes a man oth great and easy, and enables him to look with a gracious contempt upon the most formidable designs of hell and earth against him. If God be my Salvation, I will trust, and not be afraid.

26. Many seek the ruler's favour; but every man's judgment cometh from the Lord.

See here, 1. What is the common course men take to advance and enrich themselves, and make themselves great; t\\Qy seek the ruler's favour, and, as if all their judgment proceeded from him, to him they make all their court. Solomon was himself a ruler, and knew with what sedulity men made their application to him, some on one errand, others on another, but all for \\\& favour. It is the way of the world to make interest with great men, and expect much from the smiles of second causes, which yet are uncertain, and frequently disappoint them. Many take a great deal of pains in seeking the ruler's favour, and yet cannot have it; many have it for a little while, but they cannot keep themselves in it, by some little turn or other they are brought under his displeasure; many have it, and keep it, and yet it does not answer their expectation, they cannot make that hand of it, that they promised them-' selves they should. Haman had the ruler's favour, and yet it availed him nothing.

2. What is the wisest course men can take to be happy; let them look up to God, and seek the favour of the Ruler of i-ulers; for every man's judgment proceeds from the Lord. It is not with us as the ruler pleases; his favour cannot make us happy, his frowns cannot make us miserable; but it is as God pleases; every creature is that to us that God makes it to be, no more and no other; he is the first Cause on which all second causes depend; if he help not, they cannot, 2 Kings vi. 27. Job xxxiv. 29.

27. An unjust man is an abomination to the just; and he that is upright in the way, is abomination to the wicked.

This bespeaks not only the innate contrariety that there is between virtue and vice, as between light and darkness, fire and water, but the old enmity that has always been between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. Gen. iii. 15.

1. All that are sanctified have a rooted antipathy to wickedness and wicked people. They have a good will to the souls of all; (God has so, and would have none perish;) but they hate the ways and practices of those that are impious toward God, and injurious toward men; they cannot hear of them, or speak of them, without a holy indignation; they loathe tile society of the ungodly and unjust, and dread the thought of giving them any countenance, but do all they can to bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end. Thus an unjust man makes himself odious to the just, and it is one part of his present shame and punishment, that good men cannot endure liim.

2. All that are unsanctified have a like rooted an-ti])athy to godliness and godly people; He that is ufiright in the way, that makes conscience of what he says and docs, is an abomination to the wicked, whose wickedness is restrained perhaps, and sup-j)ressed, or, however, shamed and condemned, by the upriglitness of the upright. Thus Cain did, who was of his father the devil. And this is not

only the wickedness of the wicked, that they hate those whom God loves, but their misery too, that they hate those whom they shall shortly see in everlasting bliss and honour, and who shall have do7yii-nion over them in the morning, Ps. xlix. 14.

CHAP. XXX.

This and the following chapter are an appendix to Solomon's proverbs; but they are both expressly called pro-pliecles, in the first verses of both; by which it appears that the penmen of them, whoever they were, were di vinely inspired. This chapter was penned by one that bears the name of Jlgur Ben Jakeh. What tribe he was of, or when he lived, we are not told; what he wrote, being endited by the Holy Ghost, is here kept upon record. We have here, I. His confession of faith, v. 1.. 6. II. His prayer, v. 7. .9. III. A caution against wronging servants, v. 10. IV. Four wicked generations, v. H. .14. V. Four things insatiable, (v. 16, 16.) to which is added, fair warning to undutiful children, v. 17. VI. Four things unsearchable, v. 18. .20. Vii. Four things intolerable, v. 21.. 23. VIII. Four thinj^s little and wise, V. 24. .28, IX. Four things stately, v. 29. to the end.

1. PTHHE words of Agur the son of Jakeh, JL even the prophecy: The man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal. 2. Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. 3. I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. 4. Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended 1 who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment 1 who hath established all the ends of the earth ? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell ? 5. Eveiy word of God is pure; he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

Some make Agur to be net the name of this author, but his character; he was a collector, so it signifies; a gatherer; one that did not compose things himself, but collected the wise sayings and observations of others; made abstracts of the writings of others; which some think is the reason why he says, {v. 3.) "/have not learned wisdom myself, but have been a scribe, or amanuensis, to other wise and learned men." Note, We must net bury our talent, though it be but one, but, as we have received the gift, so minister the same, if it be but to collect what others have written. But we rather suppose it to be his name, which, no doubt, was well known then, though not mentioned elsewhere in scripture.

Ithiel and Ucal are mentioned, either,

1. As the names of his pupils, whom he instructed, or who consulted him as an oracle, having a great opinion of his wisdom and goodness. Probably, they wrote from him what he dictated, as Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah, and by their means it was preserved, and they were ready to attest it to be his, for it was spoken to them; they were two witnesses of it. Or,

2. As the subject of his discourse. Ithiel signi fies God with me, the application of Immanuel, Goa with us. The word calls him God with us; faith appropriates this, and calls him " God with mc, who loved me, and gave himself for me, and into union and communion with whom I am admitted." Ucal signifies the Mighty One, for it is upon one that is mighty, that help is laid for us. Many good

PROVERBS, XXX.

interpreters therefore apply this to the Messiah, for ro him all the propliecies bear witness, and why not this then? It is what Agur spake concerning Jthiel, even concerning Ithiel (that is the name on which the stress is laid) arid Ucal. The mighty God, (Isa. ix. 6.) nvith us, Isa. vii. 14.

Three things the prophet here aims at, I. To abase himself. Before he makes confession of his faith, he makes confession of his folly, and the weakness and deficiency of reason, which make it so necessary that we be guided and governed by faith. Before he speaks concerning the Saviour, he speaks of himself as needing a Saviour, and as nothing without him; we must go out of ourselves before we go into Jesus Christ.

I. He speaks of himself as wanting a righteousness, and having done foolishly, very foolishly. When he reflects upon liimself, he owns. Surely I am more brutish than any man. Every man is become brutish, Jei*. x. 14. But he that knows his own heart, knows so much more evil of himself than he does of any other, that he cries out, " Surely I cannot but think that/a77i more brutish than any man, surely no man has such a corrupt deceitful heart as I have. I have acted as one that has not the understajiding of Adam, as one that is wretchedly degenerated from the knowledge and righteousness in which man was at first created; nay, I have not the common sense and reason of a man, else I had not done as I have done." Agur, when he was applied to by others, as wiser than most, acknowledges himself more foolish than any. Whatever higli opinions others may have of us, it becomes us to ha\e low thoughts of ourselves.

-J. He speaks of himself as wanting a revelation to guide him in the ways of truth and wisdom. He owns, (y. 3.) "/ neither learned nvisdom by any power of my own, the depths of it cannot be fathomed by my line and plummet, nor know I the fcnoiv-ledg'e of the holy ones, the anguls, our first parents in innocencv, nor of the holy things of God, I can get no insight into them, nor make any judgment of them, further than God is pleased to make them known to me." The natural man, the natural powers, perceive not, nay they receive 7iot, the things of the Spirit of God. Some suppose Agur to be asked, as A]:)ollo's oracle was of old, Who was the wisest man ? The answer is. He that is sensible of his own ignorance, especially in divine things. Hoc tantum scio, me nihil scire — .^11 that I know is, that I know nothing.

II. To advance Jesus Christ, and the Father in him; {v. 4.) IVho hath ascended u/i into heaven, &c.

1. Some understand this of God, and of his works, which are both incomparable and unsearchable. He challenges all mankind to give an account of the heavens above, of the winds, the waters, the earth; "Who can pretend to have ascended u/i to heaven, to take a view of the orbs alcove, and then to have descended, to give us a description of them? Who can pretend to have had the command of the winds, to have grasped tliem in his hand, and managed them, as God does, or to have bound the waves of the sea with a sw;id(11ing band, as God has done? Who has established the ends of the earth, or can de-sc.ril)e tlie strength of its f undations, or the extent of its limits? Tell me what is the ?nan's name who can undertake to \ie witli God, or to be of his cabinet council, or if he be dead, what is his name to whom he hatli bequeathed this givat secret."

2. Others refer it to Christ, to Ithiel and Ucal, the Son of God, for it is the Son's name, as well as the Father's, that is here inquired after, and a challenge given to any to ccmi)are with him. We must

.ow exalt Christ as one revealed, they then magni-ned him as one concealed; as one they had heard something of, \mi had very dark and defective ideas

of. We have heard the fame of him with our ears, but cannot describe him; (Job xxviii. 22.) certainly it is God that has gathered the wind in his fists, and bound the waters as in a garpient; but what is hii narne? It is, I am that I am, (Exod. iii. 14.) a name to be adored, not to be understood. What is his Son's name, Ijy whom he docth all these things? The Old-Testament saints expected the jNItssiah to be the Son of the Blessed, and he is here spoken of as a Person distinct from the Father, but his name as yet secret. Note, The gi-eat Redeemer, in the glories of his providence and grace, can neither be paralleled, nor found out to perfection. (1.) The glories of the kingdom of his grace are unsearchable and unparalleled; for who besides has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who besides is perfectly acquainted with botli worlds, and has himself a free correspondence with both, and is therefore fit to settle a correspondence between them, as Mediator, as Jacob's ladder? He was in heaven in the Father's boso?n, (John i. 1, 18.) thence he descended to take our nature upon him; and never was there such condescension! In th;.t nature he again ascended, (Eph. iv. 9.) to receive the promised glories of his exalted state; and who be sides has done this? Rom. x. 6. (2.) The glories of the kingdom of his providence are likewise unsearchable and unparalleled. The same that reconciles heaven and eartli was the Creator of both, and governs and disposes of all. He specifies in his government the three lower elements of air, water, and earth. [1.] The mcticns of the air are of his directing. Satan pretends to be the prince of the power of the air, but even there Christ has all power, he rebuked the winds, rnd they obeyed him. [2.] The bounds of the wattr are of his appointing; He binds them as in a garment; hitherto shall they come, and no further. Job xxxviii. 9" 11. [3.] The foundatioiis of the earth are of his establishing; he founded it at first, he upholds it still; if Christ had not interposed, the foundations of the earth h:id sunk under the load of the curse upon the ground, for man's sin. Who, and what, is the mighty He that doeth all this? W'e c-iunat find out God, nor the Son of God, unto perfection. Oh the depth of that knowledge!

III. To assure us of the truth of the vjord of Gcd, and to recommend it to us, v. 5, 6. Agur's pupils expect to be instructed by him in the things ' f God; " Alas," says he, "I cannot undertake to instruct you; go to the word of God, see what he has there revealed of himself, and of his mind ;'nd will; yru need know no more than what that will teach yru, and that you may rely u])on, as sure and sufficient. Event word of God is pure; there is nrt the h^'.st mixture of falsehood and corruption in it." The words of men are to be he;ird nnd read with jcal' usy, and with allowance, Imt there is nrt the least srr unci to suspect any deficiency in the Word rf God; it is as silver purified sevcJi times, (Ps. xii. 6.) without the least dross or allay; Thy word is very pure, Ps. cxix. 140.

1. It is sure, and therefore we must tnist to it, and venture our souls upon it. Gi d in his word, God in his promise, is a Shield, a sure Protection, to all them that jnit themselves under his protection, and put their trust in him. The word of God, appHed l)y faith, will make us easv in tlie midst cf the greatest dangers, Ps. xlvi. 1, 2.

2. It is sufficient, I'.nd tlureforc we must net add to it; (t'. 6.) ,4dd thou not unto his words, because tliev are pure ;ind perfect. This forbids the advancing of anv thing, not t nly in contr<idicti( n to the word of Ciod, but in comjietition witli it; thrugh it be under tho plausible pntence ff explaining it, yet if it pretend tn be of equal authoritv with it, it is adding to his words, which is not only a np'-oach to them as insufficient, but cpens a dotr to all man-

PROVERBS, XXX.

776

tier of errors and corruptions; for, that one absurdity bein^- granted, that the word of any man, or company ot men, is to be received with tlie same faith and \encration as the word of God, a thousand follow. We must be content with what God lias thought fit to make known to us of his mind, and not covet to be wise above ivhat is written; for, (1.) God will resent it as a heinous aftVont; "He will fe/irove thee, will reckon with thee as a traitor against his crown and dignity, and lay thee under the heavy doom of those that add to his words, or diminish from them," Deut. iv. 2.—xii. 32. (2.) We shall run ourselves into endless mistakes; "Thou wilt be found a liar, a cornipter of the word of truth, a broacher of heresies, and guilty of the worst of forgeries, counterfeiting the broad seal of heaven, and pretending a divine mission, and inspiration, when it is all a cheat. Men may be thus deceived, but God is not mocked. "

7. Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: 8. Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me; 9. Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say. Who is the Lord ? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

After Agur's confession and creed, here follows his litany; where we may observe,

I. The preface to his prayer; Two things hax>e I required, that is, requested, of thee, O God. Before we go to pray, it is good to consider wliat we need, and what the things are which we have to ask of God. What does our case require? Wliat do our liearts desire? What would we that God should do for us' That we may not be to seek for our petition and request, when we should be presenting it. He bes:s. Deny me not before I die. In praying, we should think, of dying, and pray accordingly. "Lord, give me pardon, and peace, and grace, before I die, before I go hence, and be no more; for if I be not renewed and sanctified before I die, it will not be done after; if I do not prevail in prayer before I die, prayers after will not prevail, no, not Lord, Lord. There is none of this wisdom or working in the grave. Deny me not thy grace, for if thou do, I die; I perish, if thou be silent to me, /am like them that go down to the fiit, Ps. xxviii. 1. Deny me not before I die; as long as I continue in the land of the living, let me continue under the conduct of thy grace and good providence."

II. The prayer itself; the two things he requires, grace sufficient, and food convenient.

1. Grace sufficient for his soul; " Remove from me vanity and lies; deliver me from sin, from all corrupt principles, practices, and affi.xtions, from error and mistake, which are at the bottom of all sin; from the love of the world and the things of it, whidi are all vanity and a lie." Some understand it as a prayer for the pardon of sin, for when God forgives sin, he removes it, he takes it away. Or rather, it is a prayer of the same import with that. Lead tis not into temfitation. Nothing is more mischievous to us than sin, and therefore there is nothing which we should more earnestly pray again.st than that we may do no evil.

2. Food convenient for his.body. Having prayed iov the ojierations of divine grace, he here begs the fax'ours of the Di\^ine Providence, but such as may tend to the good, and not to the prejudice, of the soul.

(1.) He prays, that, of God's free gift, he might receive a competent portion of the good things of this Ufe; " Feed me with the bi'ead of my allowance;

such bread as thou thinkest fit to allow me." As to all the gifts of tlie Divine Providence, we must refer ourselves to tlie Divine Wisdom. Or, " the bread that is fit for me, as a man, a master of a family; that which is agreeable to my rank and condition in the world." For as is the inan, so is his competency. Our Saviour seems to refer to this, when he teaches us to pray. Give us this day our daily bread; as this seems to refer to Jacob's vow, in which he wished for no more than bread to eat, and raiment to fxut on. Food convenient for us is what we ought to be content with, tliough we have not dainties, varieties, and superfluities; what is for necessity, though we have not for delight and oniament; and it is what we may in faith pray for, and depend upon God for.

(2.) He prays that he may be kept from every-condition or life that would be a temptation to him.

[ 1. ] He prays against the extremes of abundance and want; Give me neither poverty nor riches. He does not hereby prescribe to God, nor pretend to teach him wliat condition he shall allot to him, nor does he pray against poverty or riches absolutely, as in themselves evil, for either of them, by the grace of God, may be sanctified, and be a means of good to us; but. First, He hereby intends to express tlie value which wise and good men have for a middle state of life, and, with submission to the will of God, desires that that might be his state; neither great honour, nor great contempt. We must learn how to manage both, (as St. Paul. Phil. iv. 12.) but rather wish to be always between both. Optimus pecuniee modus qici nee in paupertatim cedit, nee procul a paupertate discedit — The best condition is that which iieither imjilics poverty, nor yet recedes far from it. Seneca. Secondly, He hereby intimates a holy jealousy he had of himself, that he could not keep his ground against the temptations either of an afflicted, or a prosperous, condition. Others may preserve their integrity in either, but he is afraid of l)oth, and therefore grace teaches him to pray against riches, as much as nature against poverty; but the will of the Lord be done.

[2.] He gives a pious reason for his prayer; {y. 9.) he does not say, " Lest I be rich, and cumbered with care, and envied by my neighbours, and eaten up with a multitude of servants," or, "Lest I be poor, and trampled on, and forced to work hard, and fai-e hard;' but, "Lest I be rich, and sin, or poor, and sin." Sin is that which a good man is afraid of in every condition, and under every event; witness Nehemiah, {ch. vi. 13.) that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin.

First, He dreads the temptations of a prosperous condition, and therefore even deprecates that; Lest I be full, and deny thee, (as Jeshurun, who waxed fat, and kicked, and forsook God who made him, Deut. xxxii. 15.) and say, as Pharaoh in his pride, IVho is the Lord, that I should obey his voiced Prosperity makes people proud, and forgetful of God, as if they had no need of him, and were therefore under no obligation to him. M'7iat can the Almighty do for them? (Job xxii. 17.) And therefore they will do nothing for him. Even good men are afraid of the worst sins, so deceitful do they think their own hearts to be; and they know that the greatest gains of the world Avill not balance the least guilt.

Secondly, He dreads the temptations of a poor condition, and for that reason, and no other, deprecates that. Lest I be poor, and steal. Poverty is a strong temptation to dishonesty, and such as many are overcome by, who are also ready to think it will be their excuse; but it will not bear them out at God's bar, any more than at men's, to say, " I stole because I was poor;" vet if a man steal for the satisfying of his soul when he is hungry, it is a case

PROVLaBS, XXX.

of compassion, {ch. vi. 30.) and what even those that have some principles of honesty in them may be drawn to. But observe why Agur dreads this; not because he should endanger himself by it, "Lest I steal, and be hanged for it, whipt, or put into the stocks, or sold for a bondman; as among the Jews poor thieves were, who had not wherewithal to make restitution; but lest he should dishonour God by it; "Lest I should steal, and take the name of my God in vain, discredit my profession of religion by practices disagreeable to it." Or, "l^est I steal, and, when I am charged with it, forswear myself" He therefore dreads one sin, because it would draw on another, for the way of sin is down-hill. Observe, He calls God his God, and therefore he is afraid of doing any thing to offend him, because of the relation he stands in to him.

10. Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty. 11. There is a generation that curs-eth their father, and doth not bless their mother, 12. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. 13. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eye-lids are lifted up. 14. There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw-teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

Here is, 1. A caution not to abuse other people's servants any more than our own, nor to mike mischief between them and their masters, for it is an ill cfRce, inviduous, and wliat will make a man odinvis, V. 10. Consider, (1.) It is an injury to the servant, whose poor condition makes him an object of pitv, and therefore it is btu-barous to add affliction to him that is afflicted; Hurt not a sein.<ant ivith thy tongue, so the margin reads it; for it argues a sordid disposition to smite any body secretly with the scourge of the tongue, especially a servant, who is not a match for us, and whom we should rather protect, if his master be severe with him, than exasperate him more. (2.) "It will perhaps bean injury to thvself; if a servant be thus provoked, perhaps he will curee thee, will accuse thee, and nring thee into trouble; or give thee an ill word, and blemish thy reputation; or appeal to God against thee, and imprecate his wrath upon thee, who is the Patron and Protector of oppressed inno-cency."

2. An account, upon occasion of this caution, of some wicked generations of men, that are justly abominable to all that are virtuous and good.

(1.) Such as are abusive to their ])arents, give them bad language, and wish them ill, call them bad names, and actually injure them; there is a generation of such; young men of that black character commonly hei'd together, and irritate one another against their parents; n generation of vipers they are, who curse cither their natur.d parents, or their magi^strates, or their ministers, because they cannot endure the yoke; and thry are near of kin to them, who, though they are not yet arrived at such a pitch of wickedness as to curse their pa-^•'•nts, yet do not bless them, cannot give them a good word, and will not pray for them.

(2.) Such as are conceited of tht-mselves, and, under a show and pretence of sanrtitv, hide from others, and perhaps from themselves too, abundance of reigning wickedness in secret; (t. 12.) they arc fiure in their own eyes, as if they were in

all respects siich as they should be: they have a \"ery good opinion of themselves and their own cha-i-acter, that they are not only righteous, but rich and increased ivith goods, (Rev. iii. 17.) and yet are not cleansed from theirjilthiness, the filthiness of their hearts, which they pretend to be the best part of them; they are, it may be, swept and garnished, but they are not washed, not sanctified; as the Pharisees that within were full of all unclean-ness, Matth. xxiii. 25, 26.

(3.) Such as are haughty and scornful to those about them, V. 13. He speaks of them with amazement at their intolerable pride and insolence; O hono lofty are their eyes! IMth what disdain do they look upon their neighbours, as mt worthy to be set with the dogs of their flock! What a distance do they expect everj- body shruld keep; and when they look upon themselves, how do they strut and vaunt, like the peacock, thinking they make themselves illustrious, when really they make themselves ridiculous! There is a generation of such, on whom he that resists the proud will pour contempt.

(4.) Such as are cruel to the poor, and barbarous to all that lie at their mercy; (x'. 14.) their teeth are iron and steel, swords and knives, instraments of cruelty, with which they devour the poor with the greatest pleasure imaginable, and as greedily as hungry men cut their meat, and eat it. Gcd has so ordered it, that the poor we shall have always with us, that they shall never cease out of the land; but there are those who, because they h'^te to relieve them, would, if they could, abolish themy>-om the earth, from among men; especially God's poor. Some understand it of those who wound and ruin others by slanders and false accusations, and severe censures of their everlasting state; their tonyaies, and their teeth too, (which are likewise organs of speech,) are as swords and knives, Ps. Ivii. 4.

15. The horse-leech hath two daughters, cri/ing, Give, give. There are three (hirigs that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, Ft is enough: 16. The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire, that saith not, Tt is enough. 17. The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey /^/^ mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall cat it.

He had spoken before rf those that devoured the poor, (x'. 14.) and had spoken of them h:'st, as the worst of all the four generatirns there mentirned; now here he speaks (^f their insiitiableness in doing this. The temper tht puts them upon it is made up of cruelty and covetrusncss; thrse are two daughters of the horseleech, its genuine ( ffspring, tliat still crv, "Give, give, give more blood, give more money;" for the bloody are still blm d-thirsty; being drunk with blood, they add thirst to tlieir di-unken-ness, and will seek it yet again. They also that love silver shall never be satisfied with silver. Thus, while from these two principles they are devouring the poor, they are centinually uneasy to themselves, asl)a\id's (.neniies, Ps. lix. 14, 15.

Now, 1. For the further illustratien of this, he specifies four other things which are ins;itiable, to which those de\ourers are compared, which say not, It is enough; or. It is wealth. Those are never rich that are always coveting. N<nv these four things that are always craving, are, (1.) The grave into which multitudes fall, and yet still more will f;dl, and it swallows them all up, and returns \vr\c. Hell and destrxiction are nex'er full, ch. xxvii. 20. \^'hen

PROVERBS, XXX.

777

It comes to our tura, we shall find the grave ready for us. Job xvii. 1. (2.) The barren ivomb, which is impatient of its affliction in being barren, and cries, as Rachel did, Give me children. (3.) The parched ground in time of drouglit, (especially in those hot countries,) which still soaks in the rain that comes in abundance upon it, and in a little time wants more. (4.) The. Jire, which, when it has consumed abundance of fuel, yet still devours all the combustible matter that is thrown into it. So insatiable are the corrupt desires of sinners, and so little satisfaction have they even in the gratification of them.

2. He adds a terrible threatening to disobedient children, {y. 17.) for warning to the first of those four wicked generations that curse their parents, {v. 11.) and shows here, (1.) Who they are that belong to that generation; not only they that curse their parents in heat and passion, but, [1.] They that mock at them, though it be but with a scornful eye, looking with disdain upon them, because of their bodily infirmities, or looking sour or dogged at them when they instruct or command, impatient at their checks, and angry at them. God takes notice with what eye children look upon their parents, and will reckon for the leering look and the casts of an evil eye, as well as for bad language given them. [2.] They that desfiise to obey them, that think it a thing below them to be dutiful to their parents, es-

Eecially to the mother, they scorn to be controlled y her; and thus she that bare them in sorrow, in greater sorrow bears their manners. (2.) What their doom will be. They that dishonour their parents shall be set up as monuments of God's vengeance; they shall be hanged in chains, as it were, for the birds of prey to pick out their eyes, those eyes with whicli they looked so scornfully on their good parents. The dead bodies of malefactors were not to hang all night, but before night the ravens would have picked out their eyes. If men do not punish undutiful children, God will, and will load those with the greatest infamy that conduct themselves haughtily toward their parents. Many who have come to an ignominious end, have owned that the wicked courses that brought them to it began in contempt of their parents' authority.

18. There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: 19. The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid. 20. Such is tJie way of an adulterous woman; she eat-eth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness. 21. For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four ivhich it cannot bear: 22. For a servant when he reigneth, and a fool when he is filled with meat; 23. For an odious ivoman when she IS married, and a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

Here is,

I. An account of four things that are unsearchable, too wonderful to be fully known. And here,

1. The three first are natural things, and are only designed as comparisons for the illustration of the last. We cannot trace, {\.) A71 eagle m the air; which way she is flown cannot be discovered, either by the footstep or by the scent, as the way of a beast may upon the ground; nor can we account for the wonderful swiftness of her flight, how soon she is gone beyond our ken. (2.) A serjient ufion

Vol III,—5 F

a rock. The way of a seipent in tlie sand we may find by the track, but not of a serpent upon the hard rock; nor can we describe how a serpent will, without feet, in a little time creep to the top of a rock. (3.) A shifi in the midst of the sea. 1 he leviathan, indeed, makes a path to shine after hiin, one would think the deep to be hoary, (Job xli. 32.) but a ship leaves no mark behind it, and some times it is so tossed upon the waves, that one would wrn-der how it lives at sea, and gains its point. The kingdom of nature is full of wonders; mar\ellcus things which the God of nature does, past finding out.

2. The fourth is a mystery of iniquity, more unaccountable than any of these; it belongs to the depths of Satan, that deceitfulness and that desperate wickedness of the heart, which none can know, Jer. xvii. 9. It is twofold:

(1.) The cursed arts which a vile adulterer has to debauch a maid, and to persuade her to yield to his wicked and abominable lust; this is what a wanton poet wrote a whole book of, long since, De arte amandi — On the art of love. By what pretensions and protestations of love, and all its powerful charms, promises of marriage, assurances of secrecy and reward, is many an unwary virgin bi'ought to sell her virtue, and honour, and peace, and soul, and all to a base traitor; for so all sinful lust is in the kingdom of love. The more artfully the temptation is managed, the more watchful anS resolute ought every pure heart to be against it.

(2.) The cursed arts which a vile adulteress has to conceal her wickedness, especially from her husband, from whom she treacherously departs; so close arc her intrigues with her lewd companions, and so craftily disguised, that it is as impossible to discover her as to track an eagle in the air. She eats the forbidden fruit, after the similitude of Adam's transgression, and then wipes her mouth, that it may not betray itself, and, with a bold and impudent face, says, / have done no wickedness, [1.] To the world she denies the fact, and is ready to swear it, that she is as chaste and modest as any woman, and never did the wickedness she is suspected of. They are works of darkness, which H are industriously kept from coming to light. [2.] To her own conscience (if she have any left) she denies the fault, and will not own that that great wickedness is any wickedness at all, but an innocent entertainment. "See Hos. xii. 7, 8. Thus multitudes ruin their souls by calling evil good, and outfacing their convictions with a self-justification.

II. An account of four things that are intolerable, that is, four sorts of persons that arc very troublesome to the places where they live, and the relations and companies they are in; the earth is disquieted for them, and groans under them as a burthen it cannot bear, and they are all much alike. 1. A serx'unt when he is advanced, and intrusted with power, who is, of all others, most insolent and imperious; witness Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, Nch. ii. 10. 2. A fool, a silly, rude, boisterous, vicious, man, when he is grown ricli, and is partaking of the pleasures of the table, will disturb all the company with his extravagant talk, and the affronts he will put upon those about him. 3. An ill-natured, cross-grained, woman, when she gets a husband; who, having made herself cdif us b}- her pride and sourness, so that one would not 'ha\e thought any body should have loved her, yet, if at last she be married, that honourable estate makes her more intolerably scornful and spiteful than ever. It is a pity that which should sweeten tlie disposition, should have a contrary effect. A gracious woman, when she is married, will be yet more obliging. 4. An old maid-servant that has prevailed with her mistress, by humouring her, and, as we

PROVERBb, XXX.

say, getting the length of her foot, to leave her wliHt she has, or is as dear to her as if she was to be her heir, such a one likewise will be intolerably proud and malicious, and think all too little that her mistress gives her, and herself wi'onged if any thing b^' left from her. Let those, therefore, whom Pro-A'idcnce has advanced to honour from mean begin-nin|:s, carefully watch against that sin wliich will mnst e.isily beset tliem, pride and haughtiness, which will in them, of all others, be most insufferable and inexcusable; and let them humble themselves with the remembrance of the I'ock out of which they were hewn.

24. There be four things ivhich are little

uj3ori the earth, but they are exceeding wise:

25. The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

26. The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; 27. The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; 28. The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.

Agur, having specified four things, that seem ereat, and yet are really contemptible, here specifies four things that are little, and yet are very admirable, great in miniature; in which, as Bishop Patrick observes, he teaches us several good lessons; as, 1. Not to admire bodily bulk, or beauty, or strength, or to value persons, or tliink the better of them, for that, l)ut to judge of men by their wisdom and conduct, their industry and application to business, which are cliaracters that deserve respect. 2. To admire the wisdom and power of the Creator in the smallest and most despicable animals, in an ant as much as in an elepl\unt. 3. To blame ourselves who do not act so much for our own interest as the meanest creatures do for theirs. 4. Not to despise the weak things of the world; there are those that are little upon the earth, poor in the world, and of small account, and yet are exceeding wise, wise for their souls and another world, and those a7-e exceeding wise, nviser than their neighbours. Margin. They are wise, made wise by the special instinct of nature; all that are wise to salvation, are made wise by the grace of God. Those he specifies are,

(1.) T\\c ants; minute animals, and very weak, and vet they are very industrious in gathering proper food, and have a strange sagacity to do it in the summer, the proper time: this is so great a piece of wisdom that we may learn of them to be wise for futurity, ch. vi. 6. When the ravening lions lack, and suffer hunger, the laborious ants have plenty, and know no want.

(2.) The conies, or, as some rather understand it, the Arabian mice, field-mice, weak creatures, and very timorous, yet they ha\e so much wisdom as to make their houses i7i the i-oc/cs, where they are well guarded, and their feebleness makes them take ■ shelter in those natural fastnesses and fortifications. Sense of our own indigence and weakness should drive us to him that is a Rock higher than we, for shelter and support; there let us make our habitation.

(o.) The locusts; they are little also, and7;ar<? 7?o /.•/??;'•, as the bees have, l)ut they go forth all of them by bands, like an army in Ijattle-array; and, observing such good order amons tliemselves, it is not any inconvenience to tliem tliat they have no king. They are called God's grrat army; (Joel ii. 25.) for, when he pleases, he musters, he marshals them, and wages war by them, as he did upon Egypt. They go forth all of them gathered together; lO the margin; sense of weakness should engage us

to keep together, that we may strengthen the hand.'-of one another.

(4.) The spider; an insect, but as great an instance of industry in cur houses as the ants are in the field. Spiders are very ingenious in weaving their webs, with a fineness and exactness, such as no art can pretend to come near; They take hold with their hands, and spin a fine thread cut of their own bowels, with a great deal of art; and they are not only in poor men's cottages, but in kings' palaces, notwithstanding all the care that is there taken to destroy them. Providence wonderfully ketps up those kinds of creatures, not only which men provide not for, but which every man's hand is against, and seeks the destruction of. Those that will mind their business, and take hold of it with their hands, shall be in king's palaces; sooner or later, they will get preferment, and may go en with it, notwithstanding the difficulties and discouragements they meet with. If one well-spun web be swept away, it is but making andther.

29. There be three thirigs which go well, yea, four are comely in going: 30. A lion, which is strongest among beasts, and turn-eth not away for any ; 81, A greyhound; a he-goat also; and a king, against whom there-is no rising up. 32. If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thy hand upon thy mouth. 33. Surely the < burning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood; so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

Here is, 1. An enumeration of four things which are majestic and stately in their going, which lock great.

(1.) A lion, the king of beasts, because strongnt among beasts; among beasts it is strength that gives the pre-eminence, but it is pity that it shruld do so among men, whose wisdojn istheir hcnour, net their strength andybrce. The lion turns riot away, nor alters his pace, for fear of any pursuers, since he knows he is too hard for them. Herein the righteous are bold as a lion, that they turii not away from their duty for fear of any difficulty they meet with in it.

(2.) A greyhound that is girt in the loins, and fit for running; or, as the margin reads it, a horse, which ought not to be omitted aiiK ng the creatures that are comely in going, for so he is, especiallv when he is dressed up in his harness, or trappings."

(3.) A he-goat, the comeliness of whose going is when he goes first, and leads the flock; it is the comeliness of a Cliristian's going, to go first in a good work, and to lead others in the right way.

(4.) A king, who, when he appears in his majesty, is looked upon with reverence and awe, and all • agi'ee that there is no rising up against him; none can compare with him, none can contend with him, whoever does it, it is at his peril. And if there is no rising up against an earthly prince, wo to him then that strives with his 3Iakrr. It is intended that we should learn courage and fortitude in all virtuous actions from the lion, and not to turn away from any difficulty we meet with; from the greyhound we may learn quickness and despatch; from tlic he-goat, the care of our finiily, and th( se under i ur charge; and from a king, to have cur childrc n in subjection with all gravity; and from them all, to ifo well, and to order the steps of our conversation, so as that Wf may not onlv be safe, but comely, in going.

2. A cautKin to us to keep rur temper at all times and under all provocaticns, and to take heed of car

PROVERBS, XXXI.

779

rying our resentments too far upon any occasion, especially when there is a king in the case, against 'whom there is no rising uji; when it is a ruler, or one much our superior, that is offended; nay, the nile is always the same.

(1.) We must bridle and suppress our own passion, and take shame to ourselVes, whenever we are justly charged with a fault, and not insist upon our own innocency; If we have lifted u{i ourselves, either in a jDroud conceit of ourselves, or a peevish opposition to those that are over us, if we have transgressed the laws of our place and station, we have therein done foolishly. Those that magnify themselves over others, or against others, that are haughty and insolent, they do but shame themselves, and betray their own weakness; nay, if we have but thought evil, if we are conscious to ourselves, that we have harboured an ill design in our minds, or it has been suggested to us, we must lay our hand ufion our mouth, [1.] We must humble ourselves for what we have done amiss, and even lie in the dust before God, in sorrow for it, as Job did, when he repented of what he had suid foolishly: {ch, xl. 4.) I will lay my hand upon my mouth; and as the convicted leper, who/m^ a covering upon his upper lip. If we have done foolishly, we must not stand to it Ijefore men, but by silence own our guilt, which will be the best way of appeasing those we have offended. [2. ] We must keep the evil thought we have conceived in our minds from breaking out in any evil speeches; Do not give the evil tin ught an imprimatur — a lice?tse; allow it not to be published, but lay thy hand upon thy mouth; use a holy violence with thyself, if need be, and enjoin thyself silence; as Christ suffered not the evil spirits to speak. It is bad to think ill, but it is much worse to speak it; for that implies a consent to the evil thought, and a willingness to infect others with it.

(2.) We must not irritate the passions of others. Some are so very provoking in their words and conduct, that they even force ivrath, they make those about them angry, whether they will or no, and put them into a passion, who are not only not inclined to it, but resolved against it. Now, i\\\s forcing of ivrath brings forth strife, and where that is, there is confusion and every e^il work. As the violent agitation of the cream fetches all the good out of the milk, and the hard wringing of the nose will extort blood from it, so this forcing of wrath wastes both the body and spirits of a man, and robs him of all tlie good that is in him. Or, as it is in the churning of milk, and the wringing of the nose, that is done by force, which otherwise would not be done; so the spirit is heated by degrees with strong passions, one angry word begets another, and that a third, one passionate debate makes woi-k for another, and so it goes on, till it ends at length in irreconcileable feuds; let nothing, therefore, be-said or done with violence, but every thing with softness and calmness.

CHAR XXXI.

This chapter is added to Solomon's proverbs, some think, because it is of the same author, supposing king Lemuel to be king Solomon; others, only because it is of the same nature, though left in writing by another author, called Lemuel; however U be, it is a prophecy, and therefore given by inspiration and direction of God, which Lemuel was under in the writing of it, and putting it into this form, as his mother was in dictating to him the matter of it. Here is, 1. An exhortation to Lemuel, a young prince, to take heed of the sins he would be tempted to, and to do the duties of the place he was called to, v. ].. 9. IL The description of a virtuous woman, especially in the relation of a wife, and the mistress of a family, which Lemuel's mother drew up, not as an encomium of herself, though, no doubt, it was her own true picture, but either as an instruction to her daughters, as the foregoing verses were to her son, or as a direction to her son lu the choice of a wife; she must be chaste and modest,

uiligent and frugal, dutiful to her husband, careful of her family, discreet in her discourse, and in the education of her children, and, above all, conscientious in her dutv to God; such a one as this, if he can find her, will m'ake him happy, v. 10. .31.

1. npHE words of king Lemuel, the pro-

_fl_ phecy that his mother taught liim.

2. What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? 3. Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that whicli destroyeth kings. 4. li is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink;

5. Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

6. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. 7. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. 8. Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. 9. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

Most interpreters are of opinion that Lenmel is Solomon; the name signifies one that hfor God, or devoted to God; and so it agrees well enough with that honourable name which, by divine appointment, was given to Solomon, (2 Sam. xii. 25.) Je-dediah, beloved of the Lord. Lemuel is supposed to be a pretty, fond, endearing, name, by which his mother used to call him; ajid so much did he value himself upon the interest he had in his mother's affections, that he was not ashamed to call himself by it. One would the rather incline to think it is Solomon that here tells us what his mother taught him, because he tells us, {ch. iv. 4.) what his father taught him. But some think, (and the conjecture is not improbable,) that Lemuel was a prince of some neighbouring countiy, whose mother was a daughter of Israel, perhaps of tlie house of David, and taught him these good lessons. Nc te, 1. It is the duty of mothei-s, as well as fathers, to teach their children what is good, that they may do it, and what is evil, that they may avoid it; when they are young and tender, they are most under the mother's eye, and she has then an opportunity of moulding and fashioning their minds well, which she ought not to let slip. 2. Even kings must be catechised; the greatest of men is less than the least of the ordinances of God. .3. Those that are grown up to maturity should often call to mind, and make mention of, the good instnictions they received Avhen they were children, for their own admonition, the edification of others, and the honour of these who were the guides of their youth.

Now, in this mother's (this queen mother's) cate chism, observe,

I. Her expostulation with the young prince, by which she lays hold of him, claims an interest ii him, and awakens his attention to what she was about to say; {v. 2.) " What, my son? What shall I sav to thee?" She speaks as one considering what advice to give him, and chrosing cut words to reason with him; so full of cr.ncern is she fir his welfare! Or, What is this that thou doest? It seems to be a chiding question. She obser\-ed, when he was young, that he was too much inclined to women and wine, and therefore she found it necessary to take him to task, and deal roundly with him. " What, my son? Is this the course of life thou intendest to

PROVERBS, XXXI.

lead? Have I taught thee no better than this ? I must reprove thee, and reprove thee sharply, and thou must take it well, for,

1. "Thou art descended from me, thou art t/ie »on of my ivomb, and therefore, what I say comes from the authority and affection of a parent, and cannot be suspected to come from any ill-will; thou art a piece of myself, I bare thee with sorrow, and I expect no other return for all the pains I have taken with thee, and undergone for thee, than this. Be wise and good, and then I am well paid.

2. " Thou art devoted to my God; thou art the son of my voivs, the son I prayed to God to give me, and promised to give back to God, and did so;" (thus Samuel was the son of Hannah's vows;) " thou art the son I have often prayed to God to give his grace to; (Ps. Ixxii. 1.) and shall a child of so many prayers miscarry? And shall all my hopes concern-mg thee be disappointed?" Our children that by baptism are dedicated to God, for whom, and in •whose name, we covenanted with God, may well be called the children of our voivs; and as this may be made a good plea with God in our prayers for them, so it may be made a good plea with them in the instructions we give them; we may tell them they are baptized, are the children of our -voivs, and it is at their peril if they break those bonds in sunder, which, in their infancy, they were solemnly brought under.

n. The caution she gives him against those two destroying sins of unclea?2?iess and drunkenness, which, if he allowed himself in them, would certainly be his ruin.

1. Against uncleanness; (x'. 3.) Give not thy strength unto ivomen, unto strange women. He must not be soft and effcminiite, nor spend that time in a vain conversation with the ladies, which should be spent in getting knowledge and despatching business; nor employ that wit which is the strength of the soul in courting and complimenting them, which he should employ about the affairs of his government. " Especially shun all adultery, fomication, and las-civiousness, which waste the strength of the body, and bring into it dangerous diseases. Give not thy ways, thy affections, thy conversation, to that ivhich destroys kings, which has destroyed many, which gave such a shock to the kingdom, even of David himself, in the matter of Uriah. Let the sufferings of others be thy warnings." It lessens the honour of kings, and makes them mean. Are those fit to govern others, that are themselves slaves to their own lusts? It makes them unfit for business, and fills their court with the basest and worst of animals. Kings lie exposed to temptations of this kind, having wherewith Ixith to please the humours, and to bear the charges of the sin, and therefore they ought to double their guard; and if they would preserve their people from the unclean spirit, they must themselves be patterns of purity. Meaner people may also apply it to themselves. Let none give their strength to that which destroys souls.

2. Against drunkenness, v. 4, 5. He must not drink wine, or strong driiik, to excess; he must never sit to drink as they used to do /;;. the day of their king, when the princes made him sick with bottles of wine, Hos. vii. 5. Whatever temptation he might be in from the excellency of the wine, or the charms of the company, he must deny himself, and be strictly sober, considering,

(1.) The indecency of drunkenness in a king; However some may call it a fashionable accomplishment and entertainment, it is not for kings, O Leinuel, it is not for kings, to allow themselves that liberty; it is a disparagement to their dignity, and profanes their crown, liy confusing the head that wears it; that which for the time unmans them, does for the time unking them. Shall we say, They

are gods? No, they are worse than the beasts that perish. All Christians are made to our God king* and priests, and must apply this to themselves. It is not for Christians, it is not for Christians, to drink to excess, they debase themsehes if they da; it ill becomes the heirs of the kingdom, and the spiritual priests, Lev. x. 9.

(2.) The ill consequences of it; (y. 5.) Lest they drink away their understandings and memories, drink, and forget the law by which they are to govern; and so, instead of doing good with their power, do hurt with it, and pervert, or alter tlie judgment of all the sons of affliction, and, when they should right them, wrong them, and add to their affliction. It is a sad complaint which is made of the priests and prophets, (Isa. xxviii. 7.y that they have erred through wine, aiid through strong drink they are out of the way; and the effect is as bad in kings, who, when they are drunk, or intoxicated with the love of wine, cannot but stumble in judgment. Judges must have clear heads, which those cannot have, who so often make themselves giddy, and incapacitate themselves to judge of the most common things.

III. The counsel she gives him to do good.

1. He must do good with his wealth. Great men must not think that they have their abundance, only that out of it they may make provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts' of it, and may the more freely indulge their own genius; no, but that with it they may relieve such as are in distress, v. 6, 7. "Thou hast wine and strong drink at command; instead of doing thyself hurt with it, do others good with it, let the77i have it that need it." Those that have wherewithal must not only give bread to the hungry, and water to the thirsty, but they must give strong d?'ink to him that is ready ta perish through sickness or pain, and wine to those that are melancholy and of heavy heart; for it was ap pointed to cheer and revive the spirits, and makt glad the heart, (as it does where there is need of it,) not to burthen and oppress the spirits, as it does where there is no need of it. We must deny our selves in the gratifications of sense, that we may have to spare for the I'elief of the miseries of others, and be glad to see our superfluities and dainties better bestowed upon those whom they will be a real kindness to, than upon ourselves whom they will be a real injury to. Let those that are ready to perish drink soberly, and it will be a means so to revive their drooping spirits, that they will forget their poverty for the time, and remember their misery 710 more, and so they will be the better able to bear it. The Jews say, that upon this was grounded the practice of giving a stupifying drink to condemned prisoners when they were going to execution, as they did to our Saviour. But the scope of the place is to show that wine is a cordial, and therefore to be used for want, and not for wantonness, by those only that need cordials, as Timothy, who is advised to drink a little wine, only for his stomach^s sake, and his often infiriniiies, 1 Tim. V. 23.

2. He must do good with his power, his knowledge, and interest; must administer justice with care, courage, and compassion, v. 8. 9. (1.) Hfc must himself take cognizance f)f the causes his subjects have depending in his courts, and inspect what his judges and officers do, that he may support those that do their duty, and lay those aside that neglect it, or are partial. (2.) He must, in all matters that come before him, judge righteously, and, without fear of the face of man, boldly pass sentence according to equity; Open thy mouth; which denotes the liberty of speech that princes and judges ought to use in passing sentence. Some ob serve, that wise men only open their mouths, for

PROVERBS, XXXI.

781

fools have their mouths always open, are full of words. (3.) He must especially look upon himself as obliged to be the patron of oppressed innocency; the inferior magistrates perhaps had not zeal and tenderness enough to pltad the cause of the poor and needy, and therefore the king himself must interpose and appear as an advocate, [1.] For those that were unjustly charged with capital crim js, as Naboth was; that were apfiointed to de-structiofi, to gratify the malice either of a particular person, or of a party. It is a case which it well befits a king to appear in, for the preserving of innocent blood. i_'J. ] For those that had actions unjustly brought agtunst them, to defraud tliem of their right, because they were poor and needy, and unable to defend it, not liaving wherewithal to fee counsel; in such a case also kings must be advocates for the poor. Especially, [3.] For those tliat were dumb, and knew net how to speak for tliemselves, either tlirougli weakness or being over-talked by the prosecutor, or overawed by the court. It is generous to speak for tliose that cannot speak for themseh es, that are absent, or have not words at command, or are timorous. Our law appoints the judge to be of counsel for the prisoner.

10. Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 11. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12. She will do him good, and not evil, all the days of her life. 13. She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh \villingly with her hands. 14. She is hke the merchants' ships, she brmgeth her food from afar. 15. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. 16. She considereth a field, and buyeth it; with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. 17. She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. 18. She perceiveth that her merchandise z'sgood: her candle goeth not out by night. 19. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. 20. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. 21. She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet. 22. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry: her clothing is silk and purple. 23. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. 24. She maketh fine linen, and sell-eth if; and dclivereth girdles unto the merchant. 25. Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 26. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. 27. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 28. Her children rise up, and call her blessed; her huslmnd also, and he praiseth her. 29. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 10. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:

but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. 31. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

This description of the -virtuous woman is designed to show what wives the women should make, and what wives the men should choose; it consists of twenty-two verses, eacli beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order, as some of the Psalms; whicli makes s( me think it was no part of the lesson which Lemuel's mother taught him, but a poem by itself, wntten by some other hand, and perhaps had been commonly repeated among the pious Jews, for the ease of which it was made alphalietical. We have the abridgment of it in the New Testament, (1 Tim. ii. 9, 10. 1 Pet. iii. 1..6.) where the duty prescribed to wives agrees with this desci'iption of a good wife; and with good reason is so much stress laid upon it, since it contributes as much as any one thing to the keeping up of religion in families, and the entail of it upon posterity, that the mothers be wise and goo I; and of what consequence it is to the wealth and outward prosperity of a house, every one is sensible. He that will thrive must ask his wife leave. Here is,

I. A general inquiry after such a one; (t. 10.) where observe, 1. The person inquired after, and that is, a xnruous woman; a womaii of strength, so the word is: though the weaker vessel, yet made strong by wisdom and grace, and the fear of God; it is the same word that is used in the character of good judges, (Exod. xviii. 21.) that they are able men, men qualified for the business to which' they are called, meji of ti'uth, fearing God. So it follows, A virtuous womait is a woman of spirit, who has the command of her own spirit, and knows hew to manage other people's; one that is pious and industrious, and a help meet for a man. In opposition to this strength, we read of the weakness of the heart of an imperious, whorish, woma?2, YjZl^. xvi. 30. A virtuous womaji is a woman of resolution, who, having espoused good principles, is firm and steady to them, and will not be frightened with winds and clouds from any part of her duty. 2. The difficul-tv of meeting with such a one; Who can find her? Which intimates that good women are very scarce; many that seem to be so, do not prove so; he th..t thought he had found a virtuous woman was deceived; Behold it was Leah, and not the Rachel he expected. But he that designs to marry ought to seek diligently for such a one, to have this principally in his eye, in all his inquiries, and to take heed that he be not biassed by beauty or gaiety, wealth or parentage, dressing well or dancing well, for all these mav be, and yet the woman not be virtuous; and there is many a woman truly virtuous, who vet is not recommended by these advantagts. 3. The unspeakable Avorth of such a one, and the value which he that has such a wife ought to put upon her, sliowing it by his thankfulness to God, and his kindness and respect to her, whom he nnist never think he can do too much for; her price is far above rubies, and all the rich oraaments with which vain women adorn themselves. The more rare such good wives are, the more they are to be valued.

II. A particular description of her, and of her excellent qualifications.

1. She is very industrious to recommend herself to her husband's esteem and affection. Those that are good really, will be good relatively. A gooc^ woman, if she be brought into the married state, will be a good wife, ancl make it her business to please her husband, 1 Cor. vii. 34. Though she is a woman of spirit herself, yet her desire is to her

PROVERBS, XXXI.

husband, to know his mind, that she may accommodate hei-self to it, and she is wiUing that he rule over her.

(1.) She conducts herself so that he may repose an entire confidence in her; in her chastity, which she never gave him the least occasion to suspect, or to entertlin any jealousy of; she is not morose and r;.'ser\ed, but modest and grave, and has all the m irks of virtue in her countenance and behaviour; her husband knows it, and therefore his heart doth safely trust in her; he is easy, and makes her so. He trusts in her conduct, that she will speak in all companies, and act in all affairs, with pmdence and discretion, so as not to occasion him either damage cr reproach. He tnists in her fidelity to his interests, and that she will never betray his counsels, or have any interest separate from that of his family. When he goes abroad to attend the concerns of the public, he can confide in her to order all his affairs at home, as well as if he himself were there. She is a good wife, that is fit to be trusted, and he a good husband, that will leave it to such a wife to manage for him.

(2.) She contributes so much to his content and satisfaction that he shall have no need of sfioil; he needs not be griping and scraping abroad, as those must be whose wives are proud and wasteful at home. She manages his affairs so that he is always before-hand,, has such plenty of his own, that he is in no temptation to prey upon his neighbours. He | thinks himself so happ)- in her, that he envies not | those who have most of tlie wealth of this world; he j needs it not, he has enough, having such a wife. | Happy the couple that have such a satisfaction as this in each other! I

(3.) She makes it her constant business to do him good, and is afraid of doing any thing, even througli madvcrtency, that may turn to his prejudice, v. 12. She shows her love to him, not by a foolish fondness, but bv prudent endearments, accommodating herself to his temper, and not crossing him, giving him good words, and not bad ones, no, net when he is out of humour; studying to make him easy, to provide what is fit for him both in health and sickness, and attending him with diligence and tenderness when any thing ails him; nor would she, no, not for the world, wilfully do any thing that might be a damage to his person, family, estate, or reputation. And this is her care all the days of her life; not at first onlv, or now and then, when she is in a good humour, but perpetually; and she is not wearv of the good offices she does him; She does him good, not only all the days of his life, hut of her own too; if she survive him, still she is doing him good in her care of his children, his estate, and gjood'name, and all the concerns he left behind him. We read of kindness showed, not only to the living, but to the dead, Ruth ii. 20.

(4.) She adds to his reputation in the world; (t'. 23.) Her husband is hiorvn in the gates, known to have a good wife. Bv his wise counsels, and prudent management of affairs, it appears tliat he has a discreet comjjanion in his bosom, by conversation with whom he improves himself. By his cheerful countenance and pleasant humour, it apjjoars that he has an agreeable wife at home; for manv that have not, have their tf-mpers strangely soured by it. Nay, by his appearing clean and neat in his dress, every thing about him decent and .landsome, yet not gaudy, one may know lie has a gc>od wife at home that takes care of his ch thes. |i

2. She is one that takes pains in the duty of her j' place, and takes pleasure in it. This part of her , character is much enlarged upon here. i

(1.) She hat'-sto sit still and do nothing; Sherats' no) the bread rf idleness, v. 27. Though she needs j not work for her bread, (she has an estate to live I

upon,) yet she will not eat it in idleness, because she knows that we were none of us sent into this world to be idle, and that when we have nothing to do, the de\ il will soon find us something to do, and that it is not fit that those who will not labour should eat. Some eat and drink because thej- can find themselves nothing else to do; and needless visits must be received with fashionable entertainments; these are eating the bread of idleness, which she has no relish for, for she neither gives, nor receives, idle visits or idle talk.

(2.) She is careful to fill up time that none of that be lost. When day-light is done, she does not then think it time to lay by her work, as those are f( reed to do whose business lies abroad in the fields, (Ps. civ. 23.) but, her business lying within doors, and her work worth candle-light, with that she leiigth-ens out the dav; and her candle goes not out by night, V. 18. it is a mercy to have candle-light to supply the want of daylight, and a duty, having that advantage, to improve it. We say o( an elaborate piece. It smells of the lamp.

(5.) She rises early, while it is yet night, (t'. 15.) to give her servants their breakfast, that thtv may be ready to go cheerfully about their work as soon as the day breaks. She is none of those who sit up playing at cards, or dancing, till midnight, till niorn-nig, and then lie in bed till noon; no, the virtuous •ivoman loves her business better than her ease or her pleasure, is in care to be found in the way of her dut}' every hour of the day, and has more true satisfaction m having given meat to her household betimes in the morning, than those can have in the money they have won, much more, in what they have lost, who sat up all night at play. Those that have a family to take care of, should not love their bed too well in a morning.

(4.) She applies herself to the business that is proper for her. It is not in scholar's business, or statesman's business, or husbandman's business, that she employs herself, but in women's lousiness; She seeks wool and flax, where she may have the best of each at the best hand, and cheapest; she has a stock of both by her, and every thing that is necessary to the carrying on both of the woollen and the linen manufacture; {y. 13.) and Avith this, she does not only set the poor on work, which is a very good office, but does herself work, and work willingly, with her hands; she works with the counsel or delight of her hands, so the word is; she goes about it cheerfully and dexterously; lays not only her hand, but her mind, to it, and goes on in it without weariness in well-doing. She lays her own hands to the s/iindle, or spinning-wheel, and her hands hold the distajf; {v. 19.) and she does not reckon it either an abridgment of her liberty, or a disparagement to her dignity, or at all inconsistent with her repose. The spindle and the distaff are here mentioned as her honour, while the ornaments of the daughters of Zion are reckoned up to their reproach, Isa. iii. 18, &:c.

(5.) Slie does what she does with all her might, and does not trifle in it; (x'. 17.) She girds her loins with strength, and strengthens her arjns; she does not em]>lov herself in sitting work only, or in that which IS only the nice i)erformance of the fingers; there are works that are scarcely one remove frcm doing nothing; but, if there be occasion, she will go through with work that requires all the strength she has, which she will use as one that knows it is the way to have more.

3. She is one that makes what she does to tum to a good account by her prudent management of it; she does not toil all night and catch nothing; no, she \\cY<n:\i fierceivcs that Jttr merchandise is good; {v. 18.) she is sensible that i7i all her labour there is profit, and that encourages her to go on in it. She

PROVERBS, XXXI.

783

perceives that she can make things herself better and cheaper ihan she can buy them; she finds by observation what oranch of her employment brings in the best returns, and to that she applies herself most closely.

(1.) She brings in provisions of all things necessary and convenient fur her family, x". 14. No merchants' s/ii/ts, no, not Solomon's navy, ever made a more advantageous return than her employments do. Do they bring in foreign commodities with the effects they export? So does she with the fruit of her labours. What her ground does not produce, she can furnish herself with, if she have occasion for it, by exchanging her own goods for it; and so s/ie brings her food from afar. Not that she values things the more for their being far-fetched, but, if they be ever so far off, if she must have them, she knows how to come by them.

(2.) She purchases lands, and enlarges the demesne of the family; {v. 16.) She co?isiders a field, and buys it. She considers what an advantage it will be to the family, and what a good account it will turn to, and therefore she buys it; or rather, though she have ever so much mind to it, she will not buy it, till she has first considered it, whether it be worth her money, whether she can afford to take so much money out of her stock, as must go to purchase it, whether the title be good, whetlier the ground will answer the character given of it, and whether she has money at command to pay for it. Many have undone themselves by buying without considering; but those who would make advantageous purchases must consider, and then buy. She also filants a vineyard, Ijut it is with the fruit of her hands; she does not take up money, or run into debt, to do it, but she does it with what she can spare out of the gains of her own housewifery. Men should not lay out any thing upon superfluities, till, by the blessing of God upon their industry, they are got before-hand, and can afford it; and then the fruit of the vineyard is likely to be doubly sweet, when it is the fnjit of honest industry.

(3.) She furnishes her house well, and has good clothing for herself and her family; {v. 22.) She makes herself coverings of ta/iestry to hang her rooms, and she may be allowed to use them when they are of her own making; her own clothing is rich and fine, it is sill: and purple, according to her place and rank. Though she is not so vain as to spend much time in dressing her, nor makes the putting on of apparel her adorning, nor values herself upon it, yet she has rich clothes, and puts them on well. The senator's robes which her husband wears are of her own spinning, and they look better, and wear better, than any that are bought. She also gets good warm clothing for her children, and her servants' liveries; she needs not fear the cold of the most pinching winter, for she and her family are well provided with clothes, sufficient to keep out cold, which is the end chiefly to be aimed at in clothing; All her household are clothed in scarlet, strong cloth, and fit for winter, and yet rich, and making a good appearance. They are all double clothed, so some read it; have change of raiment, a winter suit and a summer suit.

(4.) She trades abroad; she makes more than she and her household have occasion for; and therefore, when she has sufficiently stocked her family, she sells fine linen and girdles to the merchants, {xk 24.) who caiTV them to Tyre, the mart of the nations, or some other trading city. Those families are likely to thrive that sell more than they buy; as it is well with the kingdom when abundance of its home-manufactures are exported. It is no disgrace to those of the best quality to sell what they can spare, nor to deal in trade, and send ventures by sea.

(5.) She lays up for hereafter; She shall rejoice \

in time to co?ne, having laid in a good stock for her family, and having good portions for her children. Those that take pains when they are in their prime will have the pleasure and joy of it when they are old, both in reflecting upon it, and in reaping the benefit of it.

4. She takes care of her family, and all the affairs of it, gives ineat to her household, {v. 15.) to every one Ids portion of meat iji due season, sdtlvdi none of her servants liave reason to coni))lain c f being kept short, or faring hard. Slie gives also a portion, an allotment of work, as v^'cll as meat, to her maidens; they shiiU each of them know tlieir business, and have their task. She looks well to the wai/s of her household, {v. 27.) she inspects the manners of all her servants, that she may check what is amiss among them, and oblige them all to behave properly, and do tlieir duty to God and me another, as WL'U as to her, as Job, who put away iniquity far from his tabernacle; and David, who" wruld suffer no wicked tiling in his house. She docs not intermeddle in the concerns of other people's houses, she thinks it enough for her to look well to her own.

5. She is charitable to the poor, v. 20. She is as intent upon giving as she is upon getting, she often serves the poor with her own hand, and she does it freely, cheerfully, and very libcrallv, with pn outstretched hand. Nor doe's slie relic\ e her poor neighbours only, and those that are nigh :;t hand, but sAe reaches'f07-th her hands to the needy that are at a distance, seeking opportunities to do'good and to communicate; which is as good liousewiferv as any thing she does.

6. She is discreet and obliging in all her discourse; not talkative, censorious, or peevish, ;.s some are, that know how to take pains; no, she opeyis her mouth with wisdom; when she does speak, it is with a great deal of prudence, and very much to the purpose; you may perceive by eveiy word she says, how much she governs herself by the rules of wisdom. She not only takes prudent measures herself, but gives prudent 'advice to others; tind this, not as assuming the authority of a dictator, but with the aflfection of a friend, and an obliging air; In her tongue is the law of kindness; all she says is under the government of that law. The law of love and kindness is written in the heart, but it sliows itself in the tongue; if we are kindly affectioned one to another, it will appear by affectionate expressions. It is called a law of kindness, because it gives law to others, to all she "converses with; lier wisdom and kindness together put a commanding power into all she says; they command respect, th'ev command compliance. How forcil)le are right words! In her tongue is the law of grace, or inercy; so some read it, understanding it of the word and law of God, which she delights to talk of amon;;- her children and servants. She is full of pious religious discourse, and manages it prudently; which shows how full her heart is of another world, vxan when her hands are most busy about this world.

7. That which completes and crowns her character, is, that she fears the Lord, v. 30. With all those good qualities she lacks not that one thing needful; she is ti-uly pious, and, in all she docs, is guided and governed by principles rf conscience, and a regard to God; this is that wliich is here preferred far before beauty, that is vain and deceitful; all that are wise and good, account it so, and \a!ue neither themselves nor others on it. Beauty recommends none to God, nor is it any certain indication of wisdom and goodness, but it h'as deceived many a man who has made his choice of a wife by it. There may be an impure deformed scul lodged in a comely and beautiful body; nay, many have been exposed by_ their beauty to 'such temptations as have been the i-uin of their virtue, their honour, and their precious

PROVERBS, XXXI.

souls. It IS a fadjng thing at the best, and therefore vain and deceitful; a fit of sickness will stain and sully it in a little time; a thousand accidents may blast this flower in its pi-ime; old age will ccr-taijily wither it, and death and the grave consume it; but the fear of God i cigning in the heart, is the beauty of the soul; it recommends those that have it, to the favour of God, and is, in his sight, of great price; it will last for ever, and bid dcfi.ince to death itself, which consumes the beauty of tlie body, but consummates the l)eauty of the soul.

III. The happiness of this virtuous woman.

1. She has the comfort and satisfaction of her virtue in her own mind; (i'. 25.) Strength and honour are her clothing, in which she wraps herself, that is, enjoys herself, and in wliich she appears to the woi'ld, and so recommends herself. She enjoys a firmness and constanc\- of mind, has spirit to bear up under the many crosses and disappointments which even the wise and virtuous must expect to meet with in this world; and this is her clothing, for defence as well as decency. She deals honourably with all, and she has the pleasure of doing so, and shall rejoice in time to come; she shall reflect upon it with comfort when she comes ti be old, that she was not idle or useless when she was young. In the day of death it will be a pleasure to her to think that she has lived to some good purpose. Nay, she shall rejoice in an eternity to come, she sViall be recompensed for her goodness \ii\.\\ fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore,

2. She is a great blessing to her relations, v. 28.

(1.) Her children grow up in her place, and they call her blessed; they give her their good word, they are themselves a commendation to her, and they are ready to give great commendations of her; they pray for her, and bless God that they had such a good mother. It is a debt which they owe her, a part^ of that honour which the fifth commandment requires to be paid to father and mother; and it is a double honour that is due to a good father and a good mother.

(2.) Her husband thinks himself so happy in hei', that he takes all occasions to speak well of her, as one of the best of women. It is no indecency at all, but a laudable instance of conjugal love, for husbands and wives to give one another their due praises.

3. She gets the good word of all her neighbours, as Ruth did, whom all the city of her people knew to be a virtuous vjoman, Ruth iii. 11. Virtue will have its praise, Phil. iv. 8. A woman that fears the Lord shall have praise of God, (Rom. ii. 29.) an(' of men too. It is here showed.

I (1.) That she shall be highly praised; {v. 29.) Many have done virtuously; virtuous women, it [ seems, are precious jewels, but not such rare jewels as was represented, v. 10.; there have been nu'.ny, but such a one as this cannot be paralleled; Who can find her equal? She excels them all. Note, Those that are good should aim and covet to excel in virtue. Many daughters, in their father's house, and in the single state, have done virtuously, but a good wife, if she be virtucus, excels them all, and does more good in hci- place than the)' can do in their's. Or, as some explain it, A man cannot have his house so well kept by good daughters as by a good wife.

(2.) That she shall be incontestably praised, without contradiction, v. 31. Some are praised above what is their due, but those that praise her do but give her of the fruit of her hands; they give her that which she has dearly earned, and which is justly owing to her; she is wronged if she have it not.

Note, Those ought to be praised, the fruit of whose hands is praiseworthy. The tree is known by its fmits, and therefore, if the fruit be good, the tree must have our good word. If htr children be dutiful and respectful to her, and conduct themselves as they ought, they then give her of the fruit of her hands; she reaps the benefit of all the care she has taken of them, and thinks herself well paid. Children must thus study to requite their parents, and this is shoiving piety at home, 1 Tim. v. 4. But if men be unjust, the thing will speak itself, her oivn works v,''\\\praise her in the gates, openly before all the people. [1.] She leaves it to her own works to praise her, and does not court the applause of men. Those are none of the traly virtuous women that love to hear themselves commended. [2.] Her own works will praise her; if her relations and neighbours altogether hold their peace, her good works will proclaim her pr^dse. Die widows gave the best encomium of Dorcas, when tliey showed the coats and garments she had made for the poor. Acts ix. 39. [3.] The least that can be expected from her neighbours, is, that they should let her own works praise her, and do nothing to hinder them. They that do that which is good, let them have praise of the same, (Rom. xiii. 3.) and let not us enviously say, or do, any tiling to the diminishing of it, but be provoked by it to a holy emulation. Let none have an ill report from us, that have a good report even of the truth itself Thus is shut up this looking-glass for ladies, which they are desired to open, and dress themselves by; and if they do so, their adorning will be found to praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

Twenty Chapters of the Book of Proverbs, (beginning with ch. 10. and ending with ch. 29.) consisting mostly of entire sentences in each verse, could not well be reduced to proper heads, and the contents of them gathered; I have therefore here put the contents of all these chapters together, which, perhaps, may be of some use to those who desire to see at once all that is said of any one head in these chapters. I take the heads in no method but as they occurred in reading the chapters; some of the verses, perhaps, I have not put under the same heads that another would have put them under, but the most of them fall' (I hope) naturally enough to the places I have assigned them.

(I.) r\Y the comfort, or grief, parents have in their ^-^children, according as they are wise or foolish, godly or ungodly, ch. x.l.—xv. 20.—xvii. 21, 25.—xix. 13, 26.—xxiii. 15, 16, 24, 25.— xxvii. 11.—xxix. 3.

(2.) Of the world's insufficiency, and religion's sufficiency, to make us happy, ch. x. 2, 3.—xi. 4. and the preference to be therefore given to the gains of virtue, above those of this world, ch. xv. 16, 17.—xvi. 8, 16.—xvii. 1.—xix. 1. —xxviii. 6, 11.

(3.) Of slothfulness and diligence, ch. x. 4, 26.— xii. 11, 24, 27.—xiii. 4, 23.—xv. 19.—xvi.

26.—xviii. 9.—xix. 15, 24.—xx. 4. 13.—xxi. 5, 25, 26.—xxii. 13, 29.—xxiv. 30-.34.— xxvi. 13-. 16.—xxvii. 18, 23--27.—xxviii. 19. Particularly the improving or neglecting opportunities, ch. vi. 6.—X. 5.

(4.) Tlie happiness of the righteous, and the mise-ly of the wicked, ch. x. 6, 9, 16, 24, 25, 27 ..30.—xi. 3, 5-.8, 18--21, 31.—xii. 2, 3, 7, 13, 14, 21, 26, 28.—xiii. 6, 9, 14, 15, 21, 22, 25.—xiv. 11, 14, 19, 32.—XV. 6, 8, 9, 24, 26, 29.—XX. 7.—xxi. 12, 15, 16, 18, 21.—xxii. 12.—xxviii. 10, 18.—xxix. 6.

(5.) Of honour and dishonour, ch. x. 7.—xii. 8, 9.

PROVERBS.—CONTENTS.

786

—xviii. 3.—xxvi. 1.—xxvii. 21. And of vainglory, ch. XXV. 14, 27.—xxvii. 2.

(6.) The wisdom of obedience, and foUj^ of disobedience, ch. X. 8,17.—xii. 1,15.—xiii. 1,13,18. —xv. 5, 10,12, 31, 32. xix. 16.-xxviii. 4, 7, 9.

(7.) Of nlischievousness and usefulness, ch. x. 10, 23.—xi. 9--11, 23, 27.—xii. 5, 6, 12, 18, 20. —xiii. 2.—xiv. 22.—xvi. 29, 30.—xvii. 11. —xxi. ^0.—xxiv. 8.—xxvi. 23, 27.

(8.) The praise of wise and good discourse, and the hurt and shame of an ungoverned tongue, ch. X. 11, 13, 14, 20, 21, 31, 32.—xi. 30.—xiv. 3.—XV 2, 4, 7, 23, 28.—xvi. 20, 23, 24.— xvii. 7 —xviii. 4, 7, 20, 21.—xx. 15.—xxi, 23.—xxiii. 9.—xxiv. 26.—xxv. 11.

(9.) Of love and hatred, peaceableness and contention, ch. X. 12.—XV. 17.—xvii. 1, 9, 14, 19. xviii. 6, 17'-19. xx. 3.—xxv. 8.—xxvi. 17, 21.—xxix. 9.

(10.) Of the rich and poor, ch. x. 15, 22.—xi. 28, -xiii, 7, 8,-xiv. 20, 24.-xviii. 11, 23.-xix. 1, 4,7, 22.—xxii. 2,7.—xxviii. 6, 11.—xxix. 13.

(11.) Of lying, fraud, and dissimulation, and of truth and sincerity, ch. x, 18.—xii. 17, 19, 22.—xiii. 5.—xvii, 4,—xx. 14, 17,—xxvi, 18, 19, 24..-26, 28.

fl2.) Of slandering, ch. x. 18.—xvi, 27,—xxv. 23.

(13,) Of talkativeness and silence, ch. x. 19.—xi.

12. xii. 23.~xiii. 3.-xvii. 27, 28.-xxix.ll, 20. (14,) Of justice and injustice, ch. xi. 1.—xiii, 16.—

XVI. 8, 11.—xvii. 15, 26.—xviii, 5,—xx, 10,

23,—xxii. 28.—xxiii. 10, 11.—xxix. 24. (15.) Of pride and humility, ch. xi. 2.—xiii, 10,—

XV. 25, 33.—xvi. 5, 18, 19.—xviii. 12.—xxi.

4.—xxv. 6, 7.—xxviii. 25.—xxix. 23. (16.) Of despising and respecting othei's, ch. xi, 12,

—xiv, 21. (17.) Of tale-bearing, ch. xi. 13.—xvi. 28,—xviii,

8.—XX. 19.—xxvi. 20, 22, (18.) Of rashness and deliberation, ch. xi, 14,—xv.

22.—xviii. 13.—xix. 2,—xx. 5, 18.—xxi.

29 xxii. 3.—xxv. 8"10.

(19.) Ot suretiship, ch. xi. 15.—xvii. 18,—xx. 16.

—xxii. 26, 27.—xxvii. 13. (20.) Of good and bad women, or wives, ch. xi. 16,

22.—xii, 4.—xiv. 1.—xviii. 22.—xix, 13, 14,

—xxi. 9, 19.—xxv, 24.—xxvii. 15, 16. (21.) Of mercifulness and unmercifulness, ch. xi.

17.—xii. 10.—xiv. 21.—xix. 17.—xxi. 13. (22.) Of charity to the poor, and uncharitableness,

ch. xi. 24"26.—xiv. 31.—xvii. 5,—xxii, 9,

16, 22, 23,—xxviii. 27.—xxix. 7, (23.) Of covetousness and contentment, ch. xi. 29,

—XV. 16, 17, 27.—xxiii. 4, 5. (24.) Of anger and meekness, c//. xii. 16.—xiv. 17,

29.—XV. 1, 18.—xvi. 32.—xvii. 12, 26.—

xix. 11, 19.—xxii. 24, 25.—xxv. 15, 28.—

xxvi. 21.—xxix. 22. (25.) Of melancholy and cheerfulness, ch. xii. 25.

—xiv. 10, 13.—XV, 13, 15.—xvii. 22,—xviii,

14.—xxv. 20, 25. f26.) Of hope and expectation, ch. xiii. 12, 19. ^27.) Of prudence and foolishness, ch. xiii. 16.—

xiv. 8, 18, 33.—XV. 14, 21.—xvi. 21, 22.—

xvii. 24.—xviii. 2, 15.—xxiv, 3..7, 27.—

xxvi. 6''11.—xxviii. 5. (28.) Of treachery and fidelity, ch. xiii. 17.—xxv.

13, 19.

(29.) Of good and bad company, ch. xiii. 20.—xiv.

7.—xxviii. 7.—xxix. 3. (30.) Of the education of children, ch. xiii. 24.—

xix. 18. XX. 11.—xxii. 6, 15.—xxiii, 12.-14,

—xxix. 15, 17. (31.) Of the fear of the Lord, ch. xiv, 2, 26, 27,—

XV. 16, 33,—xvi. 6.—xix. 23.—xxii. 4,—

xxiii. 17, 18. (32.) Oftrueandfalsewitness-bearingjcA. xiv, 5,25.

Vol. III.—5 G

—xix, 5,9,28,-xxi. 28.-xxiv, 28,—xxv, 18, (33.) (Jf sconiers, ch. xiv. 6, 9.—xxi. 24.—xxii. 10.

—xxiv. 9.—xxix. 8. (34.) Of credulity and caution, ch. xiv, 15, 16,—

xxvii, 12. (35.) Of kings and their subjects, ch. xiv. 28, 34,

35,—xvi. 10, 12.-15,—xix, 6, 12,—xx, 2, 8,

26, 28.—xxii, 11.—xxiv. 23. .25.—xxv, 2

• -5.—xxviii. 2, 3, 15,16.—xxix. 4,12,14, 26, (36,) Of envy, especially envying sinners,cA, xiv, 30.

—xxiii, 17, 18.—xxiv. 1, 2,19, 20.—xxvii. 4. (37,) Of God's omniscience, and his universal providence, ch. XV, 3,11,—xvi, 1, 4,9, 33,—xvii, 3.—

xix, 21.-XX, 12, 24,-xxi, 1,30, 31.-xxix, 26. (38,^ Of a good and ill name, ch. xv. 30,—xxii, 1. (39,) Of men's good opinion of themselves, ch. xiv.

12.—xvi. 2, 25.—XX. 6.—xxi. 3,—xxvi, 12.

—xxviii, 26, (40,) Of devotion toward God, and dependence on

him, ch. xvi, 3,—xviii, 10.—xxiii, 26.—xxvii.

1.—xxviii. 25.—xxix, 25,

Of the happiness of God's favour, ch. xvi. 7.

—xxix, 26.

Excitements to get wisdom, ch. xvi, 16,—xviii.

1.—xix. 8, 20.—xxii. 17..21.—xxiii. 15, 16,

22..25.—xxiv. 13, 14.—xxvii, 11,

Cautions against temptations, ch. xvi. 17.—•

xix. 27.

Of old age and vouth, ch. xvi. 31,—xvii. 6.—

XX, 29,

(45.) Of servants,cA. xvii. 2.—xix. 10,—xxix. 19,21. (46.) Of bribery, ch. xvi. 8,23—xviii, 16.—xxi. 14.

—xx^'iii. 21, (47,) Of reproof and correction, ch. xvii. 10,—xix.

25,29.—XX, 30.—xxi. 11.—xxv. 12.—xx\a.

3.—xxvii. 5, 6, 22.—xxviii. 23.—xxix. 1.

Of ingratitude, ch. xvii, 13,

Of friendship, ch. xvii, 17,—xviii, 24,—xxvii.

9, 10, 14, 17, Of sensual pleasures, ch. xxi. 17,—xxiii, ]••

3, 6.-8, 19-.21,—xxvii, 7. Of di-unkenness, ch. xx, 1.—xxiii. 29«.35, Of the universal corruption of nature, ch. xx. 9. Of flattery, ch. xx, 19,—xxvi. 28.—^xxviiL 23.—xxix, 5,

Of undutiful children, ch. xx, 20.—xxviii, 24. Of the short continuance of what is ill-gotten, ch. XX. 21.—xxi. 6, 7.—xxii. 8.—xxviii, 8, Of revenge, ch. xx, 22.—xxiv. 17, 18, 29. Of sacrilege, ch. xx. 25.

f58.) Of conscience, ch. xx. 27.—xxvii. 19.

(59,) Of the preference of moral duties before ceremonial, ch. XV, 8,—xxi, 3, 27,

f60.) Of prodigality and vyastefulness, ch. xxi, 20.

(61.) The triumphs of wisdom and godliness, ch. xxi. 22.—xxiv. 15, 16.

f62.) Of frowardness and tractableness, ch. xxii. 5.

^63.) Of uncleanness, ch. xxii. 14.—xxiii. 27, 28.

(64.) Of fainting in affliction, ch. xxiv. 10.

(65.) Of helping the distressed, ch. xxiv. 11, 12.

(66.) Of loyalty to the government, ch. xxiv. 21,22.

(67.1 Of forgiving enemies, ch. xxv. 21, 22.

(68.1 Of causeless curses, ch. xxvi. 2.

(69.) Of answering fools, ch. xxvi, 4, 5,

(70,) Of unsettledness and unsatisfiedness, ch. xxvii, 8,20,

(71.) Of cowardliness and courage, ch. xxviii. 1.

(72.) The people's interest in the character of their rulers, ch. xxviii. 12, 28.—xxix. 2, 16.—xi.

10, 11.

(73.) The benefit of repentance and holy fear, ch.

xxviii. 13, 14. (74.) The punishment of murder, ch. xxviii. 17. {75.) Of hastening to be rich, ch. xxviii. 20, 22. {76. ) The enmity of the wicked against the godlv,

ch. xxix. 10, 27. {77.) The necessity of the means of grace, r'

xxix. 18.

AN

EXPOSITION,

WITH

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS, OF THE BOOK OF

ECCLESIASTES.

We are still among Solomon's happy^ men, his happy servants, that stood continually before him to hear his wisdom; and thej^ are the choicest of all the dictates of his wisdom, such as were more immediately given by divine inspiration, that are here transmitted to us, not to be heard, as by them, but once, and then liable to be mistaken or forgotten, and by repetition to lose their beauty, but to be read, reviewed, revolved, and had in everlasting remembrance. The account we have of Solomon's apostacy from God, in the latter end of his reign, (1 Kings xi. 1.) is the tragical part of his story; we mav suppose that he spake his Proverbs in the prime ff his time, while he kept his integrity, but delivered his Ecclesiastes when he was grown old, (for of the burthens and decays of age he speaks feelingly, ch. xii.) and was, by the grace of God, recovered from his backslidings': there he dictated his observations, here he wrote his own experiences; this is what days speak, and wisdom which the multitude of years teaches. I'he title of the book and the penman we shall meet with in the first verse, and therefore shall here only observe,

I. That it is a sermon, a sermon in print; the text is, {ch. \. 2.) Vanity of vanities, all is vanity; that is the doctrine too; it is proved at large, by m;;ny arguments, and an induction of particulars; and divers objections are answered; and, in theclose, we have the use and application of all, by way of exhortation, to remember our Creator, to fear him, and to kee/i his commandments. There are indeed many things in this book which are dark, and hard to be understood, and seme things which men of coriiipt minds wrest to their own destruction, for want of disting-uishing between Solomon's .ifguments and the objections of atheists and epicures; but there is enough easy and plain to convince us (if we will admit the conviction) of the vanity of the world, and its utter insufficiency to make us happy, the vile-ness of sin, and its certain tendency to make us miserable, and of the wisdom of being religious, and the solid comfort and satisfaction that are to be had in doing our duty both to God and man; this should be intended in every sermon, and that is a good sermon by which these points are in any measure gained.

II. That it is a. fienitential sermon, as some of David's psalms are penitential psalms; it is a recantation sermon, in which the preacher sadly laments his own folly and mistake, in promising himself satisfaction in the things of this world, and even in the forbidden pleasures of sense, which now he finds more bitter than death. His fall is a proof of the weakness of man's nature; Let not the wise man gloTy in his ivisdom, nor say, " I shall never be such a fool as to do so and so," when Solomon himself, the wisest of men, played the fool so egregiously; nor let the rich man glonj in his riches, since Solomon's wealth was so great a snare to him, and did him a great deal more hurt than Job's poverty did him. His recovery is a proof of the power of God's grace, in bringing one back to God that had gone so far from him; it is a proof too of the riches of God's mercy in accepting him, notwithstanding the many aggravations of his sin, pursuant to the promise made to David, that if his children should commit iniquity, they should be corrected, but not abandoned and disinherited, 2 Sam. vii. 14, 15. Let him therefore that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall; and let liim that is fallen, make haste to get up again, and not despaii' either of assistance or acceptance therein.

III. That it i& a. practical, firojitable, sermon. Solomon, being brought to repentance, resolves, like his father, to teach transgressors God's way, (Ps. li. 13.) and to give warning to all to take heed of splitting upon those rocks which had been fatal to him; and these were fruits meet for repentance. The fundamental error of the children of men, and that which is at the bottom of all their departures from God, is the same with that of our first parents, hoping to be as gods, by entertaining themselves with that which seems good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise. ■■ Now the scope of this book is to show that this is a great mistake, that our happiness consists not in being as gods to ourselves, to have what we will, and do what we will, but in having Him that made us to be a God to us. The moral philosophers disputed much about man's felicitv, or chief good, various opinions they had about it, but Solomon, in this l)ook, determines the question, and assures us, that to fear God and keep his commandments, is the whole duty of man. He tried what satisfaction might be found in the wealth of the world, and the pleasures of sense, and at last pronounced all vanity and vexation; yet multitudes will not take his word, hut will make the same dangerous experiment, and it proves fatal to them. He, 1. Shows the vanity of those things in which men commonly look for happiness, as hu

ECCLESIASTES, 1. "07

man learning and policy, sensual delights, honour and power, riches and great possessions. And then, 2. He prescribes remedies against the vexation of spirit that attends them. Though we cannot cure them of their vanity, we may prevent the trouble they give us, by sitting loose to them, enjoying them comfortably, l)ut Living our expectations low from them, and acquiescing in the will of God concerning us in every event, especially by remembering God in the days of our youth, and continuing in his fear and service all our days, with an eye to the judgment to come.

ECCLESIASTES, I.

CHAP. I.

In this chapter, we have, I. The inscription, or title, of the book, V. 1. II. The general doctrine of the vanity of the creature laid down, (v. 2.) and explained, v. 3. III. The proof of this doctrine, taken, I. From the shortness of human life, and the multitude of births and burials in this life, v. 4. 2. From the inconstant nature, and constant revolutions, of all the creatures, and the perpetual flux and reflux they are in ; the sun, wind, and water, v. 5 .. .7. 3. From the abundant toil man has about them, and the little satisfaction he has in them, v. 8. 4. From the return of the same thing's again, which shows the end of all perfection, and that the stock is exhausted, v. 9, 10. 5. From the oblivion to which all things are condemned, v. 11. IV. The first instance of the vanity of men's knowledge, and all the parts of leaining, especially natural philosophy and politics. Observe, 1. The trial Solomon made of these, v. 12, 13, 16, 17. 2. His judgment of them ; that all is vanity, V. 14. For, (1.) There is labour in getting knowledge, V. 13. (2.) There is little good to be done with it, v. 15. (3.) There is no satisfaction in it, v. 18. And if this is vanity and vexation, all other things in this world, being much inferior to it in dignity and worth, must needs be so too. A great scholar cannot be happy, unless he be a true saint.

1. nr^HE words of the Preaclier, the son JL of David, king; of Jerusalem. 2. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities ; all is vanity. 3. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun ?

Here is,

I. An account of the penman of this book; it was Solomon, for no other son of David was king of Jerusalem ; but he conceals his name Solomon, fieacea-ble, because by his sin he had brought trouble upon himself and his kingdom, had broken his peace with God, and lost the peace of his conscience, and therefore was no more worthy of that nnme. Call me not Solomon, call me, Marah, for behold, for peace I had great bitterness. But he calls himself,

1. The preacher; which bespeaks his present character. He is Koheleth, which comes from a'' word which signifies to gather; but is a feminine i termination, by which, perhaps, Solomon intends : to upbraid himself with his effeminacy, which con- | tributed more than any thing to his apostacv; for it j was to please his wives that he set up idols, Neh. xiii. 26. Or the word Soul must be understood, and 1 so Koheleth is, |

(1.) A fieiiitent soul, or one gathered; that had ram- i bled and gone astray like a lost sheep, but was now ! reduced, gathered in from his wanderings, gather- i ed home to his duty, and come at length to himself; the spirit, that was dissipated after a thousand vanities, is now collected, and made to centre in God. Divine grace can make great sinners great converts, and renew even those to repentance, who, after they had knonvn the nvaij of righteousness, turned aside from it, and h''al their hackslidings, though it is a difficult case. It is only the penitent soul that God will accept, the heart that is broken, not the head that is bowed down like a bulrush only for a day, David's repentance, not Ahab's. And it is only the

gathered soul that is the penitent soul, that comes back from its l)y-paths, that no longer scatters its nvay to the strangers, (Jer. iii. 13.) but is united to fear God's name. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak, and therefore we have here the wovds of the penitent, ai d those published. If eminent professors of religion fall into gross sin, they are concerned, for the honour of God, and the repairing of the damage thev have done to his kingdom, openly to testify their repentance, that the antidote may be administered as extensively as the poison.

(2.) A preaching soul, or one gathering. Being \\imse\igathered to the congregation of saints, out of which he had by his sin thrown himself, and being reconciled to the church, he endeavours to gather others to it, that had gone astray like him, and perhaps were led astray by his example. He that has done any thing to seduce his brother, ought to do all he can to restore him. Perhaps Solomon called together a congregation of his people, as he had done at the dedication of the temple, (1 Kings viii. 2.) so now at the re-dedicating of himself. In that assembly he presided as the people's mouth to God in prayer, {v. 12.) in this as God's mouth to them in preaching. God by his Spirit made him a preacher, in token of his being reconciled to him; a commission is an implicit pardon. Christ sufficiently signified his forgiving Peter, by committing his lambs and sheep to his trust. Observe, Penitents should be preachers; they that have taken warning themselves to turn and live, should give warning to others not to go on and die. When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Preachers must be preaching souls, for that only is likely to reach to the heart that comes from the heart. Paul served God ivith his spirit in the gospel of his Son, Roin, i. 9.

2. The son of David. His taking this title inU-mates, (1.) That he looked upon it as a great honour to be the son of so good a man, and valued himself very much upon it. (2.) Tliat he also look ed upon it as a great ;it gravation of his sin, that he had such a father, who had given him a good edu cation, and put up many a good prayer for him; it cuts him to the heart to think that he should be a blemish and disgrace to the name and family of such a one as David. It aggi'avated the sin of Jehoiakim, that he was the son of Josiah, Jer. xxii. 15.. 17. (3.) Tliat his being the son of David encouraged him to repent, and hope for mercy, for David had fallen intj-> sin, by which he should have been warned not t< .sm, but was not; but Da^^d repented, and there in he took example from him, and found mercy as he did. Yet this was not all, he was that son of David concerning whom God had said, that though he would chasten his transgression with the rod, yet he would not break his coz>enant with him, Ps. ixxxix. 34. Christ, the great Preacher, was the Son of David.

3. King of Jerusalem. This he mentions, (1.) As that which was a ^^erv great aggravation of his sin; he was a kinc;. God had done much for him, in raising him to the throne, and vet lie had so ill requited him; his dignity made the bad example

ECCLESIASTES, I.

and influence of his sin the more dangerous, and many would follow his pernicious ways; especially as he was king of Jei-usalem, the holy city, where God's temple was, and of his own building too, where the priests, the Lord's ministers, were, and his prophets who had taught him lietter things. (2.) As that which might give some advantage to what he wrote, for where the word of a king is, there is flower. He thought it no disparagement to him, as a king, to be a preacher; but the people would regard liim the more as a preacher, because he was a king. If men of honour would lav out themselves to do good, what a great deal of good might they do! Solomon looked as great in the pulpit, preaching the vanity of the world, as in histhi'one of ivory, judging.

The Chaldee paraphrase (which, in this book, makes very large additions to the text, or comments upon it, all along) gives this account of Siolo-mon's writing this book; That by the spirit of propliecy he foresaw the revolt of the ten tribes trom his son; and, in process of time, the destruction of Jerusalem and the house of the sanctuary, and the captivity of the people; in tlie foresiglit of which, he suid, Vanity of vayiities, all is vanity; and to that he applies many passages in his book.

II. The general scope and design of the book. What is it that this royal preacher has to say? That which he aims at, is, for the making of us truly religious, to take down our esteem of, and expectation from, the things of this world. In order to this, he shows,

1. That they are all vanity, v. 2. This is the proposition he lays down, and undertakes to prove; inanity of vanities, all is vanity. It was no new text, his father Du\ id had more than once spoken to the same purport. The truth itself here asserted, is, that all is vanity; all beside God, and considered as an abstract from him; the all of this world; all worldly employments and enjoyments; theo//that is in the world; (iJohnii. 16.) ull that which is agreeable to our senses and to our fancies in this pi'csent state, which gains pleasure to ourselves, or reputation with others. It is all vanity, not only in the abuse of it, when it is perverted by the sin of man, but even in the use of it. Man, considered with reference to these things, is vanity, ^Ps. xxxix. 5, 6.) and, if there were not another life after tliis, were made in vain; (Ps. Ixxxix. 47.) and thtjse things, considered in reference to man, (wliateA'er they are in themselves,) are vanity. They are impertinent to the soul, foreign, and add nothing to it; they do not answer the end, nor yield any ti-ue satisfaction; they are uncertain in their continuance, ai'e fading, and perishing, and passing away, and will certainly deceive and disappoint those that put a confidence in 'hem. Let us not therefore love vanity, (Ps. iv. 2.) lor lift u/i our souls to it, (Ps. xxiv. 4.) for we shall but weary ourselves for it, Heb. ii. 13.

It is expressed here very emphatically; not only ill is vain, but in the abstract, ./111 is vanity; as if ./anity were the firofiriuni quarto niodo — firo/ierty >n the fourth mode, of the things of this world, that which enters into the nature of them. They are not only vanity, but vanity of vanities, the vainest k-anity, vanity in the highest degree, nothing but vanity, such a vanity as is the cause of a great deal of vanity. And this is redcnibled, because the thing is certain and past dispute, it is vanity of vanities. This intimates tliat the wise man had his own heart fully convinced of, and much affected with, this truth, and that he was very desirous that others .should be convinced of it, and affected with it, as ne was, but that he found the generality of men very loath to believe it, and consider it; (Jol) xxxiii. 14.) it intimates likewise, that we cannot comprehend and express the vanit}- of this world. But * ho is it that speaks thus slightly of the world? Is

it one that will stand to what he says? Yes, he puts his name to it, saith the preacher. Is it one that was a competent judge? Yes, as much as ever any man was. Many speak contemptuously of the world, because they are hermits, and know itnot,orbeggars,andhave it not; but Solomon knew it, he had dived into nature's depths, (1 Kings iv. 33.) and he had it, more of it perhaps than ever any man had, his head filled with its notions, and^/s belly with its hid treasures, (Ps. xvii. 14.) and he passes this judgment on it. But did he speak as one having authority? Yes, net only that of a king, but that of a prcphet, a preacher; he spake in God's name, and was divinely inspired to say it. But did he not say it in his haste, or in a passion, upon occasion of some particular disappointment? No, he said it deliberately, said it, and proved it, laid it down as a fundamental principle, on which he grounded the necessity of being religious. And, as some think, one main thing he designed, was, to show that the everlasting throne and kingdom which God had by Nathan promised to David and his seed, must be cf another world; for all things in this world are subject to vanity, and thei'efore have not in them sufficient to answer the extent of that promise. If Sc lomon ft und all to be vanity, then the kingdom of the Messiah must ccme, in which we shall inherit substance.

2. That they are insufficient to make us happy And for this he appeals to men's ccnsciences; H hat profit has a man of all the pains he takes? v. 3. Observe here,

(l.)The business of this world described; It is labour, the word signifies both care and toil; it is work that wearies men; there is [i constant fatigue in worldly business; it is labour under the sun, that is a phrase peculiar to this beck, where we meet with it twenty-eight times. There is a world above the sun, a world which needs not the sun, for the glory of God is its light, where there is work without labour, and with great profit, the work of angels; but he speaks of the work under the sun, the pains of which are great, and the gains little. It is under the sun, mider the influence of the sun, by its light and in its heat; as we have the benefit of the light of the day, so we have sometimes the burthen and heat of the diiy; (Matth. xx. 12.) and therefore in the sweat of our face we eat bread; in the dark and cold grave Ihe weary are at rest.

(2.) The benefit of that business inquired into; What profit has a man of all his labour? Solomon says, (Prov. xiv. 23.) In all labour there is profit; and yet here he denies that there is any profit. As to our present condition in the world, it is true that bv labour we get that which we call profit; we eat the labour of our hands; but as the wealth of the world is commonly called substance, and yet it is that which is not, (Prov. xxiii. 5.) so it is called profit, but the question is. Whether it be really so or no? And here he determines that it is not; that it is not a real benefit, tliat it is not a remaining benefit. In short, the wealth and pleasure of this world, if we had ever so much of them, are nt)t sufficient to make us happy, nor will they be a portion for us. [1.] As to the body, and the life that now is, What profit has a man of all his labour? A man's life consists ?!0t in an abundajice, Luke xxii. 15. As goods are increased, care about them is increased, and they are increased that eat of them, and a little thing will imbitter all the comfort of them; and then, what profit has a man of all his labour? Early up, and never the nearer. [2.] As to the soul, and the life that is to come, we ma\- much more tiiily say. What profit has a man of all his labour? All he gets by it will not supply the wants of the soul, nor satisfy its desires, will not atone for the sin ot the soul, nor cure its diseases, nor countervail tVie loss of it; what profit will they be (.f to the soul n

ECCLESIASTES, 1.

789

death, in judgment, or in the everlastnig state? The fruit of our labour in heavenly things is meat that eridures to eternal life, but the fruit of our labour for the world is only meat that perishes.

4. One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. 5. The siin also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to liis place, where he arose. 6. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. 7. All the rivers run into the sea ; yet the sea is not full: unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. 8. All things are full of labour, man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

To pi-ove the vanites of all things under the sun, and their insufficiency to make us happy, Solomon here shows,

1. That the time of our enjoyment of these thmgs is very short, and only while we accomfilish as a hireling his day. We "continue in the world for but one generation, which is continually passing away, to make room for another, and we are passing with it. Our worldly possessions we very lately had from others, and must very shoilly leave to others, and therefore to us they are vanity; they can be no more substantial than that life which is the sui^s^ra-tum of them, and that is but a vafiour, which appears for a little while, and then -vanishes away. While the stream of mankind is continually flowing, how little enjoyment has one drop of that stream of the pleasant banks between which it glides! We may give God the glory of that constant succession of generations, in which the world has hitherto had its existence, and will have" to the end of time; admiring his patience in continuing that sinful species, and his power in continuing that dying species. We may be also quickened to do the work of our generation diligentlv, and serve it faithfully, because it will be over shortly; and, in concern for mankind in general, we should consult the welfare of succeeding generations; but as to our own happiness, let us not expect it within such narrow limits, but in eternal rest and consistency.

2. That when we leave this world, we leave the earth behind us; that abides for ever where it is, and therefore the things of the earth can stand us in no stead in the future state. It is well for mankind in general, that the earth endures to the end of time, when it and all the works in it shall be burnt up; but what is that to particular persons, when they remove to the world of spirits?

3. That the condition of man is, in this respect, worse than that even of the inferior creatures; The earth abides for ever, but man abides upon the earth but a little while. The s^in sets indeed every night, yet it rises again in the morning, as bright and fresh as ever; the winds, though they shift their point, yet, in some point or other still they are; the waters that go to the sea above ground, come from it again under ground; but man lies down and rises not. Job xiv. 7, 12.

4. That all things in this world are moveable and mutable, and subject to a continual toil and toss, constant in nothing but inconstancy, still gointr, never restin-';; it was but once that the sun stood still; when it is risen, it is hastening to set, and when it is set, hastening to rise again; (v. S.Uhe winds are

ever and anon shifting, {xk 6.) and the waters m a continual circulation; {y. 7.) it would be of as bad consequence for them to stagnate, as for the blood in the body to do so. And can we expect rest in a world where all things are thus full of labour, (v. 8.) on a sea that is always ebbing and flowing, and her waves continually working and rolling?

5. That though all things are still in motion, yet they are still where tl;iey were; The sun parts, as it is in the margin, but it is to the same place; the wind tui'ns till it comes to the same place, and so the waters return to the same place whence they came. Thus man, after all the pains he takes to find satisfaction and happiness in the creature, is but where he was, still as far to seek as ever. Man's mind is as restless in its pursuits as the sun, and wind, and rivers, but never satisfied, never contented; the more it has of the world, the more it would have; and it would be no sooner filled with the streams of outward prosperity, the brooks oi honey and butter, (Job XX. 17.) than the sea is with all the rivers that run into it; it is still as it was, a troubled sea that cannot rest.

6. That all things continue as they were, frora the beginning of the creation; (2 Pet. iii. 4.) the earth is where it was, the sun, and wind, and rivers, keep the same course that ever they did, and therefore if they have never yet been sufficient to make a happiness for man, they are never likely to be so, for they can but yield the same comfort that they have yielded: we must therefore look above the sun for satisfaction, and for a new world.

7. That this world is, at the best, a weary land; All is vanity, for all is full of labour; the whole creation is made subject to this vanity, ever since man was sentenced to eat bread in the sweat of his brows. If we survey the whole creation, we shall see all busy; all have enough to do, to mind their own business, none will be a portion or happiness for man; all labour to serve him, but none prove a help meet for him. Man cannot express how full of labour all things are, can neither number the laborious, nor measure the labours.

8. That our senses are unsatisfied, and the cb jects of them unsatisfying. He specifies those senses that perform their office with least toil, and are most capable of being pleased; The eye is not satisfied with seeing, but is weary of seeing always the same sight, and covets novelty and variety. The ear is fond, at first, of a pleasant song or tune, but soon nauseates it, and must have another; both are surfeited, but neither satiated, and what was most grateful becomes ungrateful. Curiosity is still inquisitive, because still unsatisfied, and the more it is humoured, the more nice and peevish it grows, crying. Give, give.

9. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done, is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10. Is there any thing whereof it may be said. See, this is nev/? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. 11. There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be an?/ remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

Two things we are apt to take a great deal cf pleasure and satisfaction in, and value ourselves upon, witli reference to our business and enjoyments in the world, as if they helped to save them from vanity; Solomon here shows us our mistake in both.

1. The novelty of the invention, that it is sucn a!-was never known before. How grateful is it to think

ECCLESIASTES, 1.

that none ever made such advances in knowledge, and such discoveries by it, as we! that none ever made such improvements of an estate or trade, and had the art of enjoying the gains of it, as we have! Their contrivances and compositions are all despised and run down, and we boast of new fashions, new hypotheses, new methods, new expi'essions, which justle out the old, and put them down; but this is all a mistake; The thing that is, and shall be, is the same with that ivhich has been; and that which shall be done, will be but the same with that ivhich is done, for there is no new thing under the sun, v. 9. It is repeated, {v. 10.) by way of question. Is there any thing of which it may be said, with wonder. See this is new; there never was the like? It is an appeal to observing men, and a challenge to those that cry up modern learning above that of the ancients. Let them name any thing which they take to be new, and though perhaps we cannot make it to appear, for want of the records of former times, yet we have reason to conclude that it has been already of old time, ivjiich was before us. What is there in the kingdom of nature, of which we may say, This is new? The works severe finished from the foundation of the world; (Heb. iv. 3.) thmgs which appear new to us, as they do to children, are not so in tliem-selves. The heavens were of old; the earth abides for ever; the powers of nature and the links of natural causes are still the same that ever they were. In the kingdom of Providence, though the course and method of it have not such known and certain rules as that of nature, nor does it go always in the same track, yet, in the general, it is still the same thing over and over again; men's hearts, and the corruptions of them, are still the same: their desires, and pursuits, and complaints, still the same; and what God docs in his dealings with men, is according to the scripture, according to the manner, so that it is all rc])etition. What is sui'prising to us needs not be so, for there has been the like; the like strange advancements and disappointments; the like strange revolutions and sudden turns, sudden turns of affairs; the miseries of human life have always been much the same, arid mankind tread a peipetual round, and, as the sun and wind, are but where they were.

Now the design of this is,

(1.) To show the folly of the children of men, in affecting things that are new, in imagining that they have discovered such things, and in pleasing and priding themselves in them. We are apt to nauseate old things, and to grow weary of what we have been long used to, as Israel of the manna, and covet, with the Athenians, still to tell and hear of some new thing, and admire this and the other as new, whereas it is all what has been. Tatianus the Assyrian, showing the Grecians how all the aits, which they valued themselves upon, owed their original to those nations which they counted barbarous, thus reasons with them; "For shame, do not call those things Eupiia-uc — Inventions, which are but Mz/^d'o-s/; — Imitations. "

(2.) To take us off from expecting happiness and satisfaction in the creature. Why should we look for it thei'e, where never any yet have found it? What reason have we to think that the world should f)e any kinder to us than it has been to those that have gone l:)efore us; since there is nothing in it that is new, and our predecessors have made as much of it as could be made? Yoxir fathers did eat manna, and yet they are dead. See John viii. 8, 9.—vi. 49.

(3.) To quicken us to secure spiritual and eternal Dlessings. If we wmilcl be entertained with new things, we must acquiint ourselves with the things Df God, get a new nature; then old things pass away, and all things become new, 2 Cor. v. 17. The gospel puts a new song into our mouths. In hea-

ven all is new, (Rev. xxi. 5.) all new at first, wholly unlike the present state of things, a new world indeed, (Luke XX. 35.) and all new to eternity, always fresh, always flourishing. This consideration should make us willing to die. That in this world there is nothing but tlie same over and over again, and we can expect nothing from it more or better than we have had.

2. The memorableness of the achievement, that it is such as will be known and talked of hereafter. Many think they have found satisfaction enough in this, that their names shall be perpetuated, that posterit}- will celebrate the actions they have performed, the honours they have won, and the estates they have raised; that their houses shall continue for ever; (Ps. xli. 11.) but herein they deceive themselves. How x^'i.wj former things and persons were there, which in their day looked very great, and made a mighty figure, and yet there is no remembrance of them, they are buried in oblivion! Here and there one person or action that was remarkable, met with a kind historian, and had the good hap t(j be recorded, when, at the same time, there were others, no less remarkable, that were dropt: and therefore we may conclude, that neither shall there be any remembrance of things to come, but that that which we hope to be remembered by will be either lost or slighted.

12. I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem: 13. And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man, to be exercised therewith. 14. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 13. That ivhich is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. 16. I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, ] am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all theT/ that have been before me in Jerusalem; 3'ea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. 17. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. 18. For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

Solomon, having asserted, in general, that all is vanity, and having given some general proofs ( f it, now takes the most effectual method to evince the truth of it, 1. By his own experience; he tried them all, and found them vanity. 2. By an inductirn of particulars; and here he begins with that which bids fairest of all other to be the happiness of a reasonable creature, and that is knowledge and learning; if this be vanity, every thing else must needs be so. Now as to this,

I. Solomon tells us here what trial he had made of it, and that with such advantages, that if tme satisfaction could have been found in it, he had found it.

1. His high station ga\e him an oj^portunity of improving himself in all \y..vts of learning, and p;.r-ticularly in politics and tlie crnduct of human affairs, V. 12. He that is the Jireacher of this doctrine was king over Israel, whom all their neighbours admired as a wise and understanding profile, Dcut. iv. 6. He had his royal seat in Jerusalnn, which then deserved, better than Atliens ever did, to be

ECCLESJASTES, 1.

79:

tAllefl the eye of the world. The heart of a king is ansearcliable, he has reaches of his own, andcz divine sentence is often in his lifis. It is his honour, it is liis business, to search out every matter. Solomon's great wealth and honour put him into a capacity of making !iis court the centre of learning, and the rendezvous of leai-ncd men, of furnishing himself with the best of books, and either conversing or corresponding with all the wise and knowing part of mankind then in being, who made application to him to learn of him, by which he could not but improve himself; for it is in knowledge as it is in trade, all the profit is by barter and exchange; if we have that to say which will insti-uct others, they will have that to say which will instruct us. Some observe how slightly Solomon speaks of his dignity and honour. He does not say, I the preacher ain king, but I was kin^, no matter what I am. He speaks of it as a thmg past, because worldly honours are transitory.

2. He applied himself to the improvement of these advantages, and the oppoilunities he had of getting wisdom, which, though ever so great, will not make a man wise, unless he give his mind to it. Solomon gave his heart to seek and search out all things to be known by wisdoin, v. 13. He made it his business to acquaint himself with all the things that are done under the sun, that are done by the providence of God, or by the art and prudence of man. He set himself to get all the insight he could, into philosophy and mathematics, into husbandry and trade, merchandise and mechanics, into the history of former ages, and the present state of other kingdoms, their laws, customs, and policies, into men's different tempers, capacities, and projects, and the methods of managing them; he set himself not only to seek, but to search, to pry into, that which is most intricate, and whicli requires the closest application of mind, and the nmst vigorous and constant prosecution. Though he was a prince, he made himself a drudge to learning, was not discouraged by its knots, nor took up shtirt of its depths. And this he did, not merely to gratify his own genius, but to qualify himself for the service of.God and his generation, and to make an experiment how far the enlargement of the knowledge would go toward the settlement and repose of the mind.

3. He made very great progress in his studies, wonderfully improved all the parts of learning, and carried his discoveries much further t1vin any that had been before him. He did not condemn learning, as many do, because they cannot conquer it, and will not be at the pains to make themselves masters of it; no, what he aimed at he compassed; he saw all the works that were done under the sun, {v. 14.) works of nature in the upper and lower world, all within this vortex, (to use the modern gibberish,) which has the sun f r its centre; works of art, the product of men's ^vit, in a personal or social capacity. He had as much satisfaction in the success of his searches as ever any man had; he communed with his own heart concerning his attainments in knowledge, with as much pleasure as ever anv rich merchant had in taking account of his stock. He could say, "jLo, /have mag-nified and increased wisdom, have not only gotten more of it mvself, but have don» more to propagate it and bring it into reputation, than any, than all that have been before me in Jerusalem." Note, It becomes great men to be studious, and delight themselves most in intellectual pleasures. Where God gives great advantages of getting knowledge, he expects improvements accordingly. It is happy with a people, when their princes and noblemen study to excel others as much in wisdom and useful knowledge, as they do in honour and estate; and they may

do that service to the commonwealth of learning, by applying themselves to the studies that are proper for them, which meaner persons cannot do.. Solomon must be acknowledged a competent judge of this matter, for he had not only got his head full of notions, but his heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge, of the power and benefit of it, as well as the amusement and entertainment of it; what he knew he had digested, and knew how to make use of. Wisdom entered into his heart, and so became pleasant to his soul, Prov. ii. 10, 11.— xxii. 18.

4. He applied his studies especially to that part of learning, which is most serviceable to the conduct of human life, and, consequently, is the most valuable; {v. 17.) " I gave my heart to know the rules and dictates of wisdom, and how I migVit obtain it; and to know -madness and folly, how I might prevent and cure it; to know the snares and insinuations of it, that I might avoid them, and guard against them, and discover its fallacies." So industrious was Solomon to improve himself in knowledge, that he gained instruction both by the wisdom of piTident men, and by the madness of foolish men; by the field of the slothful, as well as of the diligent.

II. He tells us what was the result of this trial, to confirm what he had said, that all is vanity.

1. He found that his searches after knowledge were very toilsome, and a weariness not only to the flesh, but to the mind; {v. 13.) This sore travail, this difficulty that there is in searching after ti-uth, and finding it, God has given to the sons of men, to be afflicted therewith, as a punishment for our first parents coveting forbidden knowledge. As bread for the body, so that for the soul, must be got and eaten in the sweat of our face, whereas both had been had without labour, if Adam had not sinned.

2. He found that the more he saw of the works done under the sun, the more he saw of their vanity; nay, and the sight often occasioned him vexation of spirit; {v. 14.) " J have seen all the works of a world full of business, have observed what the children of men are doing; and, behold, whatever men think of their own works, I see, all is vanity and vexation of spirit." He had before pronounced SiWvanity, (v. 2.) needless and unprofitable, and that which does us no good; here he adds. It is all vexation of spirit, troublesome and prejudicial, and that which does us hurt. It is feeding upon wind; so some read it, Hos. xii. 1. (1.) The works themselves which we see done, are vanity and vexation to those that are employed in them. There is so much care in the contrivance of our worldly business, so much toil in the prosecution of it, and so much trouble in the disappointments we meet Avith in it, that we may well say. It is vexatiori of spirit. (2.) Thesiglit of them*is vanity and vexation of spirit to the wise observer of them. The more we see of the world, the more we see to make us uneasy, and, with Heraclitus, to look upon all with weeping eyes. Solomon especially perceived that the knowledge of wisdom and folly was vexation of spirit, v. 17. It vexed him to see many that had wisdom not use it, and many that had folly not strive against it. X^Tien he knew wisdom, it vexed him to see how far off it stood from the children of men; and when he saw folly, how fast he saw it bound in their hearts.

3. He found that when he had got some knowledge, he could neither gain that satisfaction to himself, nor do that good to others, with it, which he expected, v. 15. It would not avail,

(1.) To redress the many grievances of human life; "After all, I find that that which is crooked will bf. crooked still, and cannot be made straight."

ECCLESIASTES, 11.

Our knowledge is itself intricate and perplexed, we must go far about, and fetch a great compass, to come at it. Solomon thought to have found out a learer way to it, but he could not; the paths of learning are as much a labyrinth as ever they were. The minds and manners of men are crooked and perverse. Solomon thought, with his wisdom and power together, to have thoroughly reformed his Kingdom, and made that straight which he found crooked; but he was disappcjinled. All the philosophy and politics in the world will not restore the corrupt nature of man to its primitive rectitude; we find the insufficiency of them, both in others and in ourselves. Learning will not alter men's natural tempers, nor cure them of their sinful c//stempers; nor will it change the constitution of thin<4S in this world; a vale of tears it is, and so it will be, when all is done.

(2.) To make up the many deficiencies in the comfort of human life; Tliat which is nvanting there cannot be numbered, or counted out to us, from the treasures of human learning, but what is wanting will still be so; all our enjoyments here, when we have done our utmost to bring them to perfection, are still lame and defective, and it cannot be helped; as they are, so they are like to be. That which is wanting in our knowledge, is so much, that it cannot be numbered. The more we know, the more we sec of our own ignorance. Who can understand his errors, his defects?

4. Ujion the whole, therefore, he concluded that great scholars do but make themselves great mourners; for in much wisdom is much grief, v. 18. There must be a gi-eat deal of pains taken to get it, and a great deal of care not to /orget it; the more we know, the moi'e, we see, there is to be known, and, consequently, we pei'ceive with greater clearness that our work is without end, and the more we see of our former mistakes and blunders, which occasions much grief. The more we sec of men's different sentiments and opinions, (and that is it which ! a great deal of our learning is conversant about,) the mori- at a loss we arc, it may be, which is in the right. Those that increase knowledge have so much the more quick and sensible perception of the calamities of this world, and for one discovery they make that is pleasing, perhaps they make ten that are displeasing, and so they increase sorrow. Let us not therefore be driven off from the pursuit of any useful knowledge, but put on patience to break through the sorrow of it; but let us despair of finding true happiness in this knowledge, and expect it only in the knowledge of God, and the careful discharge of our duty to him. He that increases in heavenly wisd6m, and in an experimental acquaintance with the principles, powers, and pleasures, of the spiritual and divine life, increases joy, such as will shortly be consummated in everlasting joy.

CHAP. II.

Solomon having pronounced all vanity, and particularly knowledge and learningr, which he was so far from giving himself joy of, thit he found the increase of it did but increase his sorrow, in this chapter, he goes on to show what reason he had to be tired of this world, and with what little reason most men are fond of it. I. He shows that there is no true happiness and satisfaction to be had in niirthand pleasure, and the delights of sense, v. 1.. 11. IF. He re-considers the pretensions of wisdom, and allows it to be excellent and useful, and yet sees it clogged with such diminutions of its worth, that it proves insufficient to make a man happy, v. 12 .. 16. 111. He inquires how far the business and wealth of this world will go toward making men h;ippy, and concludes, from his own experience, tnat, to those who set their hearts upon it, it is vanity and vexation of spirit, (v. 17 . . 23.) and that if there be anv good in it, it is only to those that sit loose to it, V. 2 i.', 26.

1. ~W SAID in my heart, Go to now, I will A prove thee with mirth; therc^fore enjoy pleasure : and, behold, this also is vani ty. 2. I said of laughter. It is mad: antl of mirth, W hat doeth it ? 3. I sought in my heart to give myself unto wine, (yet acquainting my heart with wisdom,) and to lay hold on lolly, till I might see what teas that good for the sons of men which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. 4. I made me great works; 1 builded me houses ; I planted me vineyards;

5. I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kiiid o/" fruits

6. 1 made me pools of water, to water therewith the W'Ood that bringeth forth trees; 7. I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me ; 8. I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasures of kings and of the provinces ; I gat me men-sn)gers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. 9. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem; also my wisdom remained with me. 10. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy: for my heart rejoiced in all my labour ; and this was my portion of all my labour. 11. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all icas vanity and vexation of spirit, and there ivas no profit under the sun.

Solomon here, in pursuit of the summiim bonum — the felicity of man, adjourns out of his studv, his library, his elaborately, his ccuncil-cliamber, where he had in vain sought for it, into the park and the play-house, his garden and his sunmier-hcuse; exchanges the company of the philosophers and grave senators, for that of the wits and gallants, and the beaux-csprits, of his court, to try if he could find tiiie satisfaction and happiness among them. Here he takes a great step downward, from the noble pleasures of the intellect to the brutal ones of sense; yet, if he resolve to make a thorough trial, he must knock at this door, because here a great part of mankind imagine they have found that which lie was in quest of.

L He resolved to try what mirth would do, and the pleasures of wit, whether he should be happy '^ he constantly entertained himself and others witn merry stories and jests, banter and drollery; if he should furnish himself with al^ the pretty ingenioxra turns and repartees he could invent cr jiick up, fit to be laughed over, and all the bulls, nnd blundei^, and finlish things, he could hear of, ht to be ridiculed and l.iughed at, so that he might be always in L nierry hum' ur.

1. This experiment made; {v. 1.) "Finding that I in much wisdom is much grief, and that those who I ;rc si rious are apt to be melancholy, I said in my \ heart," (to my heart,) ** Go lo now, I will /irove

ECCLESIASTES, II.

793

j h(' with mirth, I -will try if that will give thee satis-f.iction." Neither the temper of his mind, nor his outward condition, had any thing in them to keep him from being merry, but both agreed, as did all other advantages, to further it, therefore he resolved to take a lease this way, and said, " Enjoy pleasure, and take thy fill of it; cast away care, and resolve to be merry." So a man may be, and yet have none of these fine things which he liere got to enter-tiin himself with; many that are poor are very merry; beggars in a barn ai'e so to a proverb. Mirth is the entertainment of the fancy, and thougli it comes short of the solid delights ot the rational powers, yet it is to be preferred before these that are merely carnal and sensual. Some distinguish man from the brutes, not only as animal rationale — a rational animal, but as animal risibile — a risible aniinal; therefore he that said to his soul, Take thifie ease, eat and drink, added, Jlnd be merry, for it was in order to that that he would eat and drink. " Try therefore," says Solomon, " to laugh and be happy."

2. The judgment he passed upon this experiment; Behold, this also is vanity, like all the rest, it yields no true satifaction, v. 2. I said of laughter. It is mad, or. Thou art mad, and therefore I will have nothing to do with thee; and of mirth, (of all sports and recreations, and whatever pretends to be diverting,) What doeth it? or. What doest thou? Innocent mirth, soberly, seasonably, and moderately, used, is a good thing, fits for business, and helps to soften the toils and chagrins of liuman life; but, when it is excessive and immoderate, it is foolish and fmitless. (1.) It does no good; What doeth it? Cui bono — Of ivhat use is it? It will not avail to quiet a giiilty conscience; no, nor to ease a sorrowful spirit; nothing is more ungrateful than singing sotigs to a heavy heart. It will not satisfy the soul, nor ever yield it true content. It is but a palliative cure to the grievances of this present time. Great laughter commonly ends in a sigh. (2.) It does a great deal of hurt; it is mad, it makes men mad, it Uunsports men into many indecencies, which are a reproach to their reason and religion. They are mad that indulge themselves in it, for it estranges the heart from God and divine things, and insensibly eats out the power of religion. Those that love to be merry forget to be serious, and while they take the timbrel and harp, they say to the Almighty, Depart from us. Job xxi. 12, 14. We may, as Solomon, prove ourselves vjith mirth, and judge of the state of our souls by this; How do we stand affected to it? Can we be merry and wise? Can we use it as sauce, and not as food? But we need not try, as Solomon did, whether it will make a happiness for us, for, we may take his woi'd for it. It is mad; and What doeth it? Laughter and pleasure (says Sir William Temple) come from very different affections of the mind; for as men have no disposition to laugh at things they are most pleased with, so they are very little pleased with many things the}' laugh at.

II. Finding himself not happy in tliat which pleased his fancy, he resolved next to try that which would please tlie palate, v. 3. Since the knovjledge of the creature would not satisfy, he would see what tlie liberal use of it would do; I sought in my heart to give myself unto nvine, to good meat and good drink; xv.inx give themselves to these without consulting their hearts at all, not looking any further than merelv the gratification of the sensual appetite; but Solomon applied himself to it rationally, and as a man; critically, and only to mcdte an experiment. Observe,

1. He did not allow himself any liberty in the use of the delights of sense till he had tired himself with his se\'ere studies; till \\\^increase of wisdom proved an increase of sorrott. he never tliought of giving

Vol. III.-5H

himself to wine. When we have spent ourselves in doing good, we may then most comfortably refresh ourselves with the gifts of God's bounty. Then the delights of sense are rightly used, when they are used as we use cordials, only when we need them; as Timothy drank wine fur his health's sake, 1 Tim. V. 23. / thought to draw my Jiesh voith wine; so the margin reads it, or to wine. Those that have addicted themselves t-.i drinking did at first put a force upon themselves, they drew their flcbh tf it, and with it; but they should remember to whtit miseries they hereby draw themselves.

2. He then looked upon it as folly, and it was w ith reluctance tiiat he gave himself to it; as St. Paul, when he commended himself, called it a weakness, and desired to be borne with in his foolishness, 2 Cor. xi. 1. He sought to lay hold on folly, to see the utmost that that folly would do toward making men happy; but he had like to have carried the jest (as we say) too far. He resolved that the folly should not take hold of him, net get the mastery of him, l)ut he would lay hold on it, and keep it at a distance; yet he found it too hard for him.

3. He took care at the same time to acguainl himself with wisdom, to manage himself wisely in the use of his pleasures, so that they should not do him any prejudice, nor disfit him to be a competent judge of them. When he drew his flesh with wine, he led his heart with wisdoin, so the word is; kept up his pvirsuits after knowledge, did net make a set ot himself, nor become a slave to his pleasures, but his studies and his feasts were foils to each ether, and he tried whether both mixeel together vveuld give him that satisfaction which he could not find in either separately. This Solomon proposed to liim-self, but he found it vanity; for they that think ^.•^ give themselves to wine, and yet to acquaint their liearts with wisdom, will perhaps dccei\e themselves as much as tliey do that think to serve both God and mammon. Wine is a mocker, it is a great cheat, and it will be impossible for any man to say that thus far he will give himself to it, and no further.

4. That which he aimed at, was, net to gratify his appetite, but to find ovit man's happiness, and this, because it preteneled to be so, must be tried among the rest. Observe the description he gives of man's happiness; it is that good for the sorts of men, which they should do under the heaven all their days. (1.) That which we are to inquire after is not so much the good we must have, we may leave that to God, but the good we must elo, that ought to be our care. Good Alaster, what good thing shall I do? Our happiness consists not in being ielle, but in doing aright, in being well employed. If we do that which is good, no doubt we shall have crmfort and praise of the sa?ne. (2.) It is gord to be done u?ider the heaven, while we are here in this world, while it is day, while our doing time lasts; thi? is rur state of work and service, it is in the ether woj d tliat we must expect the retribution, thither cur works will follow us. (3.) It is to be clone all the \!aus of our life; the good we are to do we must ])ersevere in the doing of to the end, wliile our doing time hists; the number of the days of our life, so it is in the margin; the days of our life are numbered to us by him in whose hand our times are, and they are ; 11 to be spent as he directs. But that any man should give himself to wine, in hopes to find cut in th:;t the best wa\' of living in this world, was an absui-dity which Solomon here, in the i-eflection, condemns himself for. Is it possilile tliat this should be the good that iTien should do? No; it is plainly \ery bad.

III. Perceiving quickly that it was folly to give himself to wine, he next tried the most costly entertainments anel amusements of princes and great men. He had a vast income, the re\ enue of his

ECCLESIASTES, 11.

crown \vtts very great, and he laid it out so as might most please his own humour, and make him look great.

1. He gave himself much to building, both m the city and in the country; and, having been at such vast expense, in the beginning of his reign, to build a house for God, he was the more excusable if afterward he pleased his own fancy in building for himself; he began his work at the right end,

Matth. vi. 33.) not as the people (Hag. i. 4.) that .eiled their own houses wliile God's lay waste, and it prospered accordingly. In building, he had the pleasure of employing the poor, and doing good to posteritv. We read of Solomon's buildings, (1 Kings ix. 15-.19.) and they were all great works, such as became his purse, and spirit, and great dig-nitr. See his mistake; he inquired after the ^oorf works he should do, {v. 3.) and, in pursuit of the inquiry, applied himself to great works. Good works indeed are truly great, but many are reputed great works, which are far from being good; wondrous works, which are not gracious, Matth. vii. 22.

2. He took to love a garden, which is to some as bewitching as building; he planted him vineyards, which the soil and climate of the land of Canaan favoured; he made him fine gardens and orchards, (v. 5.) and perhaps the artot gardening was noway inferior tl\en to what it is now; he had not only forests of timber-trees, but trees of all kind of fruit, which he himself had planted; and, if any worldly business would yield a man happiness, surely it must be that which Adam was employed in while he was in in-nocencv.

3. He laid out a great deal of money in waterworks, ponds, and canals; not for sport and diversion, but for use, to water the wood that brings forth trees; {v. 6.) he not only planted, but watered, and then left it to God to give the increase. Sfirings of water are ^reat blessings; (Josh. xv. 19.) but where nature has provided them, art must direct them, to make them serviceable, Prov. xxi. 1.

4. He increased his family. When he proposed to himself to do great work's, he must employ many hands, and thei-'efore procured servants and maidens, which were bought with his money, and of those he had servants born in his house, v. 7. Thus his retinue was enlarged, and his court appeared more magnificent. See Ezra ii. 58.

5. He did not neglect country-business, but both entertained and enriched himself with that, and was not diverted from it either bv his studies, or by his pleasures. He had luri,- ■ fiussessions of great and small cattle, herds and flocks, as his father had before him; (1 Chron. xxvii. 20,31.) not forgetting that his father, in the beginninsr, was a keeper of sheep. Let those that deal in cattleneithcr despise their employment, nor be wearv of it, remembering that Solomon puts his having 'fiossessions of cattle among his gi-eat works and his pleasures.

6. He grew very ricli, and was not at all impoverished by his building and gardening, as many are, who, for that reason only, repent it, and call it vanity and vexation. Solomon scattered, yet increased. He filled his exchequer with silver and gold, which yet did not stagnate there, but were made to circulate thrinigh his kingdom, so that he made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones; (1 Kings x. 27.) nay, he had the Segullah, the peculiar treasure of kings, and of the firovinces, which was, for richness and raritv, more accounted of than silver and gold. The neighbouring kings, and the distant provinces of his own emjiire, sent him the richest presents thev had, to obtain his favour, and the instructions of his wisdom.

7. He had every thing that was charming and diverting; all sorts of melody and music, vocal and instrumental, men-singers and ivomen-singers, the

best ^■oices he could pick up, and all the wind and hand-instruments that were tlien in use. His father had a genius for music, but it should seem he cm ployed it more to serve his devotion than the s( n, who made it more his diversion. These are called the delights of the sons of men; for the gratifications of sense are the things that the generality of people set their affections upon, and take the greatest com placency in. The deliglits of the children rf God are of quite another nature, pure, spiritual, and heavenly, and the delights of angels.

8. He enjoyed, more than ever any man did, i a composition of rational and sensitive pleasures a*, the same time. He was, in this respect, great, ana increased more than all that were before him, that he was wise amidst a thousand earthly enjoyments. It was strange, and the like was never met with.

(1.) That his pleasures did not debauch his judgment and conscience. In the midst of all these entertainments, his wisdom re?nained with him, x'. 9. In tlie midst of all these childish delights, he preserved his spirit manly, kept the possession of his own soul, and maintained the dominion of reason over the appetites of sense; such a vast stock of wisdom had he, that it was not wasted and impaired, as any other man's would liave been, by this course of life! But let none be imboldened hereby to lay the reins on the neck of their appetites, presuming that they may do that, and yet retain their wisdom, for they have not such a strength of wisdom as Solomon had; nay, and Solomon was deceived; for how did his wisdom remain with him, when he lest his religion so far as to build altars to strane,e gods, for the humouring of his strange wives? But thus far his wisdom remained with him, that he was master of his pleasures, and not a slave to them, and kept himself capable of making a judgment of them. He went over into the enemies' country, not ;is a deserter, but as a spy, to discover the nakedness of their land.

(2.) Yet his judgment and conscience gave no check to his pleasures, nor hindered him from extracting the very quintessence of the delights of sense, v. 10. It might be objected against his judgment in tliis matter, that, if his wisdom remained with him, he could not take the liberty that was necessary to a full experimental acquaintance with it; "Yea," said he, "I took as great a liberty as anv man could take, for whatsoex'er rnine eyes desired, I kefit not from them, if it could be compassed by lawful means, though ever so difficult or costly; and as I withheld not any joy from my heart, that I had a mind to, so I withheld not my heart from any joy, but, with a non-obstante — with the full exercise of mv wisdom, I had a high gust of my pleasures, relished and enjoyed them as mucli as ever any Epicure did;" nor was there any thing, either in the circumstances of his condition, or in the temper of his spirit, to sour or imbitter them, or give them any allay. In short, [1.] He had as much pleasure in his business as ever any man had; My heart rejoiced in all my labour; so that the toil and fatig\ie of that were no damp to his pleasures. [2.] He had no less profit by liis business, he met with no disappointment in it to give him any disturliance; This was my fior-tion of all my labour; he had this added to all the rest of liis- pleasures, that in them he did not only see, but eat, the labour of his hands; and this was all he had, for indeed it was all he could ex])cct, frcm his labour. It sweetened his business, that he enjoyed the success of it, and it sweetrncd his enjoyments, that thev were the product of liis business: so that, upon the whole, he was certainly as happy as the world could make him.

Lastly, We have, at length, the judgment he deliberately gave of all this, v. 11. When the Creator had made his great works, he reviewed them

ECCLESIASTES, 11.

791

and behold, all was very good, every thing pleased him; but wlien Solomon reviewed all theivorks that his hands had wrought, with the utmost cost and cai-e, and the labour that he had laboured to do, in order to make himself easy and happy, nothing answered his expectation; behold, all was vanity and vexation of sjiirit, lie had no satisfaction in it, no advantage by it; there was no Jirojit under the sun, neitiier by the employments, nor by the enjoyments, of this world.

12. And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madn(?ss, and folly : for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath becni already done. 13. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. 14. The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walketh in darkness: and 1 myself perceived also that ont^ event happeneth to them all. 15. Tiien said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me: and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. 16. For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of tlie fool for ever; seeing that which no\A' is, in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise ma?^ As the fool.

Solomon having tried what satisfaction was to be had in learning first, and then in the pleasures of sense, and having also put both togetlier, he here compares them with one anotlier, and ])asses a judgment upon them.

1. He sets himself to consider both wisdom and folly. He had considered these before; {ch. i. 17.) but, lest it should be thought lie was tlien too quick in passing a judgment upon them, he here turns himself again to behold them, to see if, upon a second view, and second thoughts, he could gain more satisfaction in the search than he had done upon tlie first. He was sick of his pleasures, and, as nauseating them, he turned from them, tliat he miglit again apply himself to speculation; and if, upon this reheai'ing of the cause, the verdict be still the same, the judgment will surely be decisive; for what can the ?nan do that comes after the king; especially such a king, who had so much of this world to make the experiment upon, and so much wisdom to make it with? The baffled trial needs not be repeated; no m in can expect to find more satisfaction in the world than Solomon did, nor to gain a greater insight into the principles of morality; when a man has done what he can, still it is that which has bee^n already done. Let us learn, (1.) Not to indulge ourselves in a fond conceit that we can mend that which has been well done before us; let us esteem others better than ourselves, and think how unfit we are to attempt the improvement of the performances of better heads and hands than ours, and rather ',wn how much we are beholden to them, John iv. 37, 33. (2.) To acquiesce in Solomon's judgment of the things of this world, and not to think of repeating the trial; for we can never think of hiving such advantages as he had to make the experiment, nor of lieing able to make it with equal application of mind, and so little danger to ourselves.

2. He gives the preference to wisdom far before folly; let none mistake him, as if, when he speaks

0 of the vanity of human literature, he designed only to amuse men with a paradox, or were about to

write (as a great wit once did) Encomium morise — ji panegyric in praise- of folly; no, he is maintaining sacred truths, and therefore he is careful to guard against being misunderstood. I soon saw (says he) that there is an excellency in wisdom more than in folly,^ as much as there is in light above darkness. The pleasures of wisdom, though tliey suffice not to make men happy, yet they vastly transcend the pleasures of wine. Wisdom enlightens the soul with surprising discoveries, and necessary directions for the right goveniment of itself; but sensuality (for that seems to be especially the folly here meant) clouds and eclipses the mind, and is as darkness to it, it puts out men's eyes, makes them to stumble in the way, and wander out of it. Or, though wisdom and knowledge will not make a man happy, (St. Paul shows a more excellent way than gilts, and that is grace,) yet it is much better to have them than to be without them, in respect of our present safety, comfort, and usefulness; for the wise man's eyes are in his head, {v. 14.) where they should be, ready to discover both the dangers that are to be avoided, and the advantages that are to be improved; a wise man has not his reason to seek when he should use it, but looks about him, and is quick-sighted, knows both where to step and where to stop; whereas the fool walks in darkness, and is ever and anon either at a loss, or at a plunge, either bewildered, that he knows not which way to go, 01' embarrassed, that he cannot go forward." A man that is discreet and considerate has the command of his business, and acts decently and safely, as those that walk in the day; but he that is rash, and ignorant, and sottish, is continually making blunders, running upon one precipice or other, his projects, his bargains, are all foolish, and niin his affiiirs. Therefore get wisdom, get imderstanding

3. Yet he maintains that, in respect of lasting happiness and satisfaction, the wisdom of this world gives a man very little advantage: for,

(1.) Wise men and fools fare alike. "It is true, the wise man has very much the advantage of the fool, in respect of foresight and insight, and yet the greatest probaljilities do so often come short of success, that / myself perceived, Ijy my own experience, that 07ie event happens to them all; {v. 14.) those that are most cautious of their health are ns soon sick as those that are most careless of it, and the most suspicious are imposed upon." David had observed that wise men die, and are in\'olved in the same common calamity with the fool and the brutish person, Ps. xlix. 12. See ch. ix. 11. Nay, it has of old been observed, that Fortune favotir's fools, and that half-wi*ced men often thrive most, while the greatest projectors forecast worst for themselves. The same sickness, the same sword, devours wise men and fools.

Solomon applies this mortifying observation to himself, {y. 15.) that, though he was a wise man, he might not glory in his wisdom; I said to my heart, when it began to be proud or secvire, ^4s it happens to the fool, so it happejis to me, even to me; for thus emph-atically it is expressed in the original; "So, «sybr 7/2<', it happens to me. Am I rich? So is many a Nabal that fares as sum])tuouslv r s I do. Is a foolish man sick, does he get a fall? So do I, even I; and neither my wealth nor my wisdi m will be my securitv. And why was I then more wise? Why should I take so much pains to get wisdom, when, as to this life, it will stand me' in so little stead? Then said I in my heart, that this also is vanity." Some make this a correction rf what was said before, like that, (Ps. Ixxvii. 10.) "I said. This is my infirmity; it is my folly to think that wise men and fools are upon a level;" but reallv thev seem to be so, in respect of the event, and therefore it is rather a confirmation of what he had befoi'e said.

ECCLESIASTES, II.

That a man may be a profound philosopher and politician, and yet not be a happy man.

(2.) Wise men and fools are forgotten alike; (v. 16.) 'l.iere is no remembrance of the ivise more than of the fool. It is promised to the righteous, that they shall be had hi everlasting remembrance, and (heir memory shall be blessed, and they shall shortly shine us the stars; but there is no such promise made concerning the wisdom of this world, that that shall perpetuate men's names, for those names only are pei-petuated that are written in heaven, and otherwise the names of this world's wise men are written with those of its fools in the dust. That which now is, in the days to come, shall all be forgotten. What was much talked of in one generation, is, in the next, as if it had never been. New Eersons and new things justle out the very remem-rance of the old, which in a little time are looked upon with contempt, and at length quite buried in oblivion. Where is the wise? Where is the disfxuter of this world? 1 Cor. i. 20. And it is upon this account that he asks. How dies the wise man? As the fool. Between the death of a godly and wicked man there is a great difference, but not between the death of a wise man and a fool; the fool is buried and forgotten; [ch. viii. 10.) and no one remembered the floor man that by his wisdom delivered the city; (ch. ix. 15.) so that to both the grave is a land of forgetfulness; and wise and learned men, when they have been awhile there out of sight, grow out of mind, a new generation arises, that knew them not.

17. Therefore I hated Hfe; because the work that is wrought under the sun h grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 18. Yea, I hated all my labour whicii J had taken under the sun; because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. 19. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool ? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. This h also vanity. 20. Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun. 21. For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity ; yet to a man that hath not laboured tlierein shall he leave it for his portion. This also ?s vanity, and a great evil. 22. For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? 23. For all his days are. sorrows, and his travail grief: yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This also is vanity. 24. There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it 2vas from the hand of God. 25. For who can eat,or who else can hasten herr/nilo, more than T? 26. For God . ii;iv(^th to a man that is good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather, and to heap up, that he may give to hi?n that is good

before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spiriti

Business is a thing taat wise men have pleasure in; they are in their element when they are in their business, and complain if they be out cf business; they may sometimes be tired with their business, but they are not weary of it, nor willing to leave it off: here therefore one would expect to have found the good that men should do, but Solomon tried this too; after a contemplative life, and a voluptuous life, he betook himself to an active life, and found no more satisfaction in it than in the other, still it is all vanity and vexation of spirit; of which he gives an account in these verses. Where observe,

I. What the business was which he made trial cf; it was business under the sun, {y. 17«'20.) abc ut the things of this world, sublunary things, the riches, honours, and pleasures, cf this present time; it was the business of a king. Thei'e is business above the sun, pei-petual business, which is perpetual Ijlessed-ness: what we do, in conformity to that business (doing God's will as it is done in heaven, and in pursuance of that blessedness,) will tuni to a good account, we shall have no reason to hate that labour, nor to despair of it; but it is labour under the sun, labour for the meat that perishes, (John vi. 27. Isa. Iv. 2.) that Solomon here speaks of with so little satisfaction. It was the better sort of business, net that of the hewers of wood and drarvers of water, (it is not so strange if men hate all that labour,) but it was in wisdojn, and knowledge, andecjuity, v. 21. It was rational business, which related to the government of his kingdom, and the advancement of its interests. It was labour managed by the dictates of wisdom, of natural and acquired knowledge, and the directions of justice; it was labour at the council-board and in the courts of justice; it was labour wherein he showed himself wise, {v. 19.) which as much excels the labour wherein men only shew themselves strong, as the endowments of the mind, by which we are allied to angels, do those of the body, which we have in common with the brutes. That which many people have in their eye more than any thing else, m the prosecution of their worldly business, is, to s/zoto themselves wise, to get the reputation of ingenious men, and men of sense and apphcation.

II. His falling out with this business; he socn grew weary of it. 1. He hated all his labour, because he did not meet with that satisfaction in it which he expected: after he had had his fine houses, and gardens, and water-works, awhile, he began to nauseate them, and look upon them with contempt, as children, who are eager for a tov, ?nd fond of it at first, but, when they ha\e played with it awhile, are weary' of it, and tlirow it away, and must have another. This speaks not a gracirus hatred of these things, which is our duty, to love them less than God and religion, (Luke xiv. 26.) nor a sinful hatred of them, which is our folly, to be weary of the place God has assigned us and the work of it, but a natural hatred of them, arising from a surfeit upon them, and a sense of disappointnK nt in them. 2. He caused his heart to despair of all his labour; (v. 20.) lie took pains to possess himself with a deep sense of the vanity of worldly business, that it would not bring in the advantage and satisfaction he had fornie-ly flattered himself with the hopes of Our hearts are \'ery loath to quit theii expectations of great things from the creature, we must go about, must fetch a compass, in arguing with them, to convince them that there is not that in the things of this world which we are apt to promise ourselves from them. Have we so often bored and sunk into this earth for some rich mine of satisfaction, and found not the least sign or token of it

ECCLESIASTES, II.

797

but been always frustrated in the search, and shall we not at length set our hearts at rest, and despair of ever finding it? 3. He came to that, at length, that he hated life itself, {v. 17.) because it is subject to so many toils and troubles, and a constant series of disappointments. God had given Solomon such 1 irgeness of heart, and such vast capacities of mind, that he experienced more than other men of the unsatisfying nature of all the things of this life, and their insufficiency to make them happy. Life itself, that is so precious to a man, and such a blessing to a good man, may become a burthen to a man of business.

III. The reasons of this quarrel with his life and labours. Two things made him weary of them.

1. That his business was so great a toil to himself; the work that he had wrought under the sun was gritTL'Ous unto him, v. 17. His thoughts and cares about it, and that close and constant application of mind, which was requisite to it, were a burthen and f .tigue to him, especially when he grew old. It is the effect of a curse on that we are to work upon. Our business is said to be the work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord had cursed, (Gen. v." 29.) and of the weakening of tlie f iculties we are to work with, and of the sentence pronounced on us, that in the sweat of our face we must eat bread. Our labour is called the vexation of our heart; {v. 22.) it is to most a force upon themselves, so natural is it to us to love our ease. A man of business is descrilied to be uneasy both in his going out and his coming in, v. 23. (1.) He is deprived of his pleasure l^y day, for all his days are sorrow, not only sorrowful, but sorrow itself, na}-, in.iny sorrows and various; his travail, or labrur, all d;iy, is grief Men of business ever and anon meet witli that which vexes them, and is an occasien of anger or sorrow to them. They are apt to fret; the more dealings they have in the world, the of-tener they are made to fret. The world is a vale of tears, even to those tliat have much of it. They that labour are said to be heavy-laden, and are therefore called to come to Christ for rest, Matth. xi. 28. (2.) He is disturbed in his repose by night. When he is overcome with the hurries of the day, and hopes to find relief when he lays his head on his pillow, he is disappointed thei'e; cares hold his eyes waking, or, if he sleep, )'et his heart wakes, and thit takes no rest in the night. See what fools tliey are, th it make themselves drudges to the world, and do not make God their Rest; night and day they cannot but be uneasy. So that, upon the whole matter, it is all vanity, v. 17. This is vanity in particular, (v. 19, 23.) nay, it is vanity and a great fi'il, X'. 21. It is a G;reat affront to God, and a great injury to themselves, tlierefore a great evil; it is a vain thing to rise up. early and sit up. late, in pursuit of this world's goods, which were never designed to be our chief good.

2. That the gains of his business must be all left to others. Prospect of advantage is the spring of action, and the spur of industry: therefore men labour, bee luse they hope to get by it; if the hope fail, the labour flags; and therefore Solomon quarrelled with all the works, the great works, he had made, because they would not be of any lasting advantage to himself.

(1.) He must leax'e them. He could not, at death, take them away with them, nor any share of them, nor should he return any more to them, (Job vii. 10.) mr would the remembrance of them do him any good, Luke xvi. 25. But I must leave all to the man that shall be ajter me, to the generation that comes up in the room of that which is passing away. As there were many before us, who built the houses that we live in, and into whose purchases and la-')ours we have entered, so thei'e shall be many after

us, who shall Ih-e in the houses that we bui.d, and enjoy the fruit rf cur purchases and labours. Never was land lost i( 1 want of an heir. To a gracious scvd this is nn uneasiness at all; why sluuld we grudge others thtir turn in the enjoyments of tliis world, and not rather be pleased, that, when we <r<i gone, those that come after us shall fare the bttter for our wisdom and industry? But to a worldly mind, that seeks for its own happiness in the creature, it is a great vexatic .n to think of leaving the be Ic.ved pelf behind, at this uncertainly.

(2.) He must leave them tothose that wcnkl never have taken so much pains for them, and will thereby excuse himself from taking any pains. He that raised the estate did it by labouring in wisdom, and kyiowledge, and equity; but he that eiijfys it, and spends it, (it may be,) has not laboured therein, {v. 21.) and, more than that, never will; the bee toils to maintain the drone. Nay, it proves a snare to him, it is left \\\m for his portion, which he rests in, and takes up with; and miserable he is in being put off with it for a portion. Whereas if an estate had not come to him thus easily, who kncws but he might have been both industri(us and religious? Yet we ought not to perplex ourselves ab(ut this, since it may prove otherwise, that what is well-get may CO me to one that will use it well, and do good with it.

(3.) He kncws no;t whom he must leave it tr, (for God makes heirs,) or, at least, what he will prove to whom he leaves it, whether a wise man or a fool, a wise man that will make it mere, (r a fool that will bring it to nothing; yet he shall have a rule over all my laboitr, and foolishly undo thct which his father wisely did. It is pro>bable that S(l(mon wrote this very ftehngly, bting afraid what Roho-boam wo.ukl prove. St. Jeirm, in his con^mmtary on this passage, applies this to the go,od bo( ks which Solomon wrote, m which he had shewn himself wise, but he knew net into whcse hands they would fall, perhaps into the hands of a fool, who, according to the perverseness of his heart, makes a bad use of wha.t was well written. So that, r;prn the whole matter, he asks, {v. 22.) What has wan of all his labour'/ What has he to himself, : nd to his own use? ^'X^hat has he that will go with him into another world?

IV. The best use which is therefore to be made of the Avcalth of this world; and that is, to use it cheerfully, to take the comfort of it, r.nol ck) good with it. With this he concludes the chapter, v. 24* •26. There is no true happiness to be f< und in these things; they are vanity, and if happiness be expected from them, the disappointment will be vexation of s/iirit; hut he will put us in a wav to make the best of them, and to avoid the inconveniences he haol observed. 1. Wemust not o\ er-toil ourselves, so as, in pursuit of more, to rob ourselves of the comfort of what we have. 2. We must not over-hoard for hereafter, nor lose our own enjoyment of what we have, to lay it up for those that shall come after us, but serve ourselves cut of it first. Observe,

(1.) "\Miat that good is which is here recommend ed to us; and which is the utmost pleasure and profit we can expect or extract from the business and profit of this world, and the furthest we can go to rescue it from its vanity, and the vexation that is in it.

[1.] We must do our duty with them, and be more in care how to use an estate well, for the ends for which we were intrusted with it, than how to raise or increase an estate. This is intimated, xu 26. where those only are saiol to have the comfort of this life, who are goool in God's sight; and again, good before God, tixily good, as Noah, whom God saw righteozis before him. We must set God always before us, and give diligence in every thing tc.

ECCLESIASTES, III.

approve ourselves to him. The Chaldee paraphrase Siiys, A man should viake his soul to enjoy good by keefiing the commandments of God, and walking in the ways that are right before him; and {v. 25.) by studying the words of the law, and being in care about the day of the great judgmeiit that is to come.

[2. ] We must take the comfort of them. Those things will not make a happiness for the soul; all tlie i^ood we can have out of them is for the body, and if we make use of them for the comfortable sui)port of that, so that it may be fit to serve the soul, and able to keep pace with it in the ser\ ice of God, then they turn to a good account. There is therefore nothing better for a man, as to tliese things, than to allow himself a sober cheerful use of them, according as his rank and condition are, to -ave meat and drink of them for himself, his family, his friends, and so delight his senses, and make Ins soul enjoy good, all the good that is to be had out of them; do not lose that, in pursuit of that good, wliich is not to be had out of them. But observe. He would not have us to give up business, and take our ease, tliat we may eat and drink; no, we must enjoy good in our labour; we must use these things, mt to excuse us from, but to make us diligent and cheerful in, our worldly business.

[3.] We must herein acknowledge God, we must see that // is from the hand of God; First, The good. things themselves that we enjoy, are so, not only the products of his creating power, but the gifts of his providential bounty to us. And then they are truly pie isant to us, when we take them from the hand of God as a Father, when we eye his wisdom giving us that which is fittest for us, and acquiesce in it, and taste his love and goodness, relish them, and are thankful for them. Secondly, A heart to enjoy them is so; this is the gift of God's grace. Unless he gives us wisdom to make a right use of what he has, in his providence, bestowed upon us, and, withal, peace of conscience, tliat we may discern God's favour in the world's smiles, we cannot make our s' uls enjoy any good in them.

(2.) Why we should have this in our eye, in the management of ourselves as to this world, and look up to (rod for it.

[1.] Because Solomon himself, with all his possessions, could aim at no more, and desire no better; (•:'. 23.) " Jl'ho ca?i haste?i to this more than I? This isthat wliich I was ambitious of, I wished f( r no more, and those that have but little, in comparison with what I have, may attain to this, to be content with what they liavc, and enjoy the good of it." Y' t S'jlomin could not obtain it by his own wisdom, with::ut the special grace of God, and therefore directs us to expect it from the hand of God, and pray to him f r it.

[2.] Because riches are a blessing, or a curse, to a man, acording as he has, or has not, a heart to make good use of them.

First, God makes them a reward to a good man, if with them he give him wisdom, and knowledge, and joy, to enjoy them cheerfully himself, and to communicate them charitably to others. To those who are good in God's sight, who are of a good spirit, honest and sincere, pay a deference to their God, and have a tender concern for all mankind, God will give wisdom and knowledge in this world, and joy with the righteous in the world to come; so the Chaldee. Or, he will give that wisdom and knowledge in things natural, moral, ])olitical, and divine, which will be a constant joy and pleasure to them.

Secondly, He makes them a punishment to a bad man, if he denies him the heart to take the comfort of them, for they do but tantalize him, and tyrannize over him; To the sin77er God gives travail, by leaving him to himself and his own foolish counsels.

to gather and to heafi ufi that which, as to himself, will not only burthen him like thick clay, (Hab. ii. 6.) but be a witness against him, and eat his flesh as it were fire; (Jam. v. 3.) while God designs, by an overiiding providence, to give it to him that is gocd before him; for the wealth of the sinner is laid it/i for the just, and gathered Jor him that will /lily the floor. Note, 1. Godliness, with contentrnent, is great gain; and those only have ti-ue jo\- that are good in God's sight, and that have it from him, ; nd m him. 2. Ungodliness is commonly punished with discontent and an insatiable covetousncss, which uve sins that are their own punishment. 3. Wlun G( d gi\ es abundance to wicked men, it is with design to force them to a resignation in favour of his t.wn children, when they are of age, and ready for it; as the Canaanites kept possession of the gocd l.nd till the time appointed for Israel's entering upon it. Lastly, The burthen of the song is still the same; This IS also vanity and vexation of s/iirit. It is vanity, at the best, even to the good man; when he has all that the sinner has scraped together, it will not make him happy without something else; but it is vejcation ofs/iirit to the sinner to see what he had laid tip, enjoyed by him that is good in God's sight, and therefore evil in his. So that, take it which way you will, the conclusion is firm, All is vanity, ar.'d vexation of spirit.

C^HAP. III.

Solomon having showed the vanity of studies, pleasures, and business, and made it to appear that happiness is not to be found in the schools of the learned, in the gardens of Epicurus, or upon the exchanpre, he proceeds, in this chapter, further to prove his doctrine, and the inference he had drawn from it; That therefore we should cheerfully content ourselves with, and make us of, what God has friven us, by showing, I. The mutability of nil human affairs, v. 1.. 10. II. The immutability of the divine counsels concerning them, and the unfcarchable-ness of those counsels, v. 11 . . 15, HI. The vanity of worldly honour and power, which are abused for thf-support of oppression and persecution, if men be not go verned by the fear of God in the use of it, v. 16. For a check to'proud oppressors, and to show them their vanity,he reminds them, I. That they will be called to account for it in the other world, v. 17. 2. That their condition, in reference to this world, (for of that he speaks,) is no better than that of the brutes, v. 18.. 21. And therefore he concludes, that it is our wisdom to make use of what power we have, for own comfort, and not to oppress others with it.

1. ^TnO every thing there is a season, anci A a time to every purpose under the heaven : 2. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to phick up that ivhich is planted; 3. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4, A time to weep, and a time to laugh ; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5, A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refmin from embracing;. 6. A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away ; 7. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8. A time to love, and a time to hate: a time of war, and a time of peace. 9, ^^^lat profit hatii he that worketh in that wherein he la-boureth? 10. I have seen tiie travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be ex» ercised in it.

ECCLESIASTES, TIL

799

The scope of these vei'ses, is, to show,

1. That we live in a world of changes. That the sevei-al events of time, and conditions of human life, are vastly different from one another, and yet occur l)romiscuously, and we are continually passing and repassing between them; as in the revolutions of eveiy day and every year. In the wheel of nature, (Jam. iii. 6.) sometimes one spoke is uppermost, and by and by the contrary; there is a constant ebbing and flowing, waxing and waning; from one ex-trc-me to the other does the fashion of this world change, ever did, and ever will.

2. That evei'y change concerning us, and the time and season of it, is unalterably fixed and determined by a Supreme Power; and we must take things as they come, for it is not in our power to change what is appointed for us. And this comes in here as a reason why, when we are in prosperity, we should be easy, and yet not secure; not secure, because we live in a world of changes, and therefore have no reason to say. To-morrow shall be as this day; the lowest valleys join to the highest mountains; and yet to be easy, and, as he had advised, {ch. ii. 24.) to enjoy the good of our labour, in a humble dependence upon God "and his providence, neither lifted up with hopes, nor cast down with fears, but with evenness of mind expecting every event. Here we have,

I. A general proposition laid down. To every thing there is a season, v. 1. 1. Those things which seem most contrary the one to the other, will, in the re-\olution of affairs, each take their turn, and come into play. The day will gi\'e place to the night, and the night again to the day. Is it summer? It will be winter. Is it winter? Stay awhile, and it will be summer. Every purpose has its lime. Tlie clearest sky will be clouded, Post gaudia luctus — Joy succeeds sorrow; and the most cloudy sky will clear up; Post nubila Phoebus — The sun will burst from behind the cloud. 2. Those things which to us seem most casual and contingent, are, in the counsel and foreknowledge of God, punctually determined, and tlie very hour of them fixed, which can neit'.ier be anticipated nor adjourned a moment.

II. The proof and illustration of it by the induction of particulars, twenty-eight in number, according to the days of the moon's revolution, which is always increasing or decreasing between its full and change; some «f these changes are purely the act of God, others depend more uj)on the will of man, but all are determined by the divine counsel. Every thing under heaven is thus changeable, but in heaven there is an unchangeal)le state, and an unchangeable counsel, concerning these things.

1. There is a time to be born, and a tijue to die; these are determined by the divine counsel, and, as we were bom, so we must die, at the time appointed. Acts xvii. 26. Some observe that there is a tiine to be born, and a time to die, but no time to live; that is so sliort, that it is not worth mentioning; as soon as we are horn, we begin to die. But as there is a ti?ne to be born, and a time to die, so there will be a time to rise again, a set time when they that lie in the grave shall be remembered. Job xiv. 13.

2. A time for God to filant a nation, as tliat of Israel in Canaan, a«f/, in order to that, to pluck u/i the seven nations that were /ilanted there, to make room for them; and at length there was a time when God spake concerning Israel too, xo /ihick u}i and to destroy, when the measure of their iniquity was full, Jer. xviii. 7, 9. There is a time for men to /ilant, a time of the year,' a time of their lives, but when that -which was /ilanted is grown fruitless and useless, it is time to filuck it tifi.

3. A time to kill, when the judgments of God are abroad in a land, and lay all waste; but when he returns in ways of mercy, then is a time to heal 'vhat he has torn, (Hos. vi. 1, 2.) to comfort a peo- I

pie after the time that he has afflicted them, Ps. xu 15. There is a time when it is the wisdom of rulers to use severe methods, but there is a time vv'lien it is as much their wisdom to take a more gentle course, and to apply themselves to lenitives, not corrosives.

4. A time to break down a family, an estate, a kingdom, when it has ripened itself for destructicm; but God will find a time, if they return and repent, to rebuild what he has broken down; there is a time, a set time, for the Lord to build up Zion, Ps. cii. 13, 16. There is a time for men to break ttfi he use, and break off trade, and so to break down, which they that are busy building up both must expect and prepare for.

5. A time when God's providence cr.Us to weep and mourn, and when man's wisdom and grace will comply with the call, and will weep and mourn, as in times of common calamity and danger, and then it is very absurd to laugh, and dance, and make merry; (Isa. xxii. 12, 13. Ezek. xxi. 10.) but then, on the other hand, there is a time when God calls to cheerfulness, a time to laugh a?id dance, and tlien he expects we should seri'c him withjoyfulness and gladness of heart. Observe, Tlie time of mourning and weeping is put first, before that of laugliter and dancing, for we must first sow in tears, and then reap in joy.

6. A time to cast away stones, by breaking down and demolishing fortifications, when God gives peace in the borders, and there is no more occasion for them; but there is a time to gather stones together, for the making of strong holds, t'. 5. A time for old towers to fall, as that in Silonm, (Luke xiii. 4.) and for the temple itself to be so ruined, as tliat ?iot one stone should be lef upon another; but also a time for towers and trophies too to be erected, when national affairs prosper.

7. A time to einbrace a friend, when we find him faithful, but a time to refrain from embracing, when we find he is unfair or unfaithful, and that we have cause to suspect him; it is then our prudence to be shy, and keep at a distance. It is commonly applied to conjugal embraces, and explained by 1 Cor. vii. 3-'5. Joel ii. 16.

8. A time to get, get money, get preferment, get good bargains and a good interest, wlien opportu-nit)' smiles; ?i time when a wise man will seek, (so tlie word is,) when he is setting cut in the world, and has a growing family, when he is in his prime, when he prospers, and has a run of business, then it is time for him to be l)usy, and make hay when the sun shines. Tliere is a time to get wisdom, and knowledge, and grace, when a man has a price put into his hand; but then let him expect there will come a time to spend, when all he has will l)e little enough to serve his turn. Nay, there will cnme a time to lose, when what has lieen got fast will lie scattered as fast, and cannot be held fast.

9. A time to keep, when we have use for what we have got, and can keej) it without running the hazard of a good conscience; but there may come a time to cast away, when love to God may ol^lige us to cast away what we have, because we must denv Christ, and wrong our consciences, if we keep it, (Matth. X. 37, 38.) and rather to make shipwreck of all than of the faith; nay, when lo\eto ourselves mav oblige us to cast it away, when it is for the saving of our lives, as it was when Jonah's mariners lieaved their cargo into the sea.

10. A time to rend the garments, as upon occasion of some great grief, and a time to sew them again, in token that the grief is over. A time to undo what we have done, and a time to do again what we have undone. Jerom applies it to the rending of the Jewish church, and the sewing and making up of the gospel church thereupon.

ECCLESIASTES, HI.

11. ^ time when it becomes us, and is our wisdom and duty, to kefp silence, when it is an evil time, (Amos V. 13.) when our speaking would be the cast-iiiff ofjiearl before sivijie, or when we are in danger of speaking amiss; (Ps. xxxix. 2.) but there is also a time to speak for the glory of God and the edification of others, when silence would be the betraying of a righteous cause, and when with the mouth confession is to be made to salvation; and it is a great part of Christian prudence to know when to speak and when to hold our peace.

12. A time to love, and to show ourselves friendly, to be free and cheerful, and it is a pleasant time; but there may come a time to hate, when we shall see cause to break off all familiarity with some that we have been fond of, and to be upon the reserve, as having found reason for a suspicion, which love is loath to admit.

Lastly, A time ofivar, when God draws the sword for judgment, and gives it commission to devour; when men draw the sword for justice and the maintaining of their rights; when there is in the nations a disposition to war; but we may hope for a ti7ne of peace, when the sword of the Lord shall be sheathed, and he shall make wars to cease, (Ps. xlvi. 9.) when the end of the war is obtained, and when there is on all sides a disposition to peace. War shall not last always, nor is there any peace to be called lasting, on this side the everlasting peace. Thus in all these changes God has set the one over against the other, that we may rejoice as though we rejoiced not, and weep as though we wept not.

III. The inferences drawn from this observation. If oui-present state be subject to such vicissitude,

1. Then we must not expect our portion in it, for the good things of it are of no certainty, no continuance; (ly. 9.) PVhatprofit has he thai works? What can a man promise himself from planting and building, when that which he thinks is brought to perfection may so soon, and will so surely, be plucked up and broken down.'' All our pains and care will not alter either the mutable nature of the things themselves, or the immutable counsel of God concerning them.

2. Then we must look upon ourselves as upon our probation in it. There is indeed no profit in that wherein we labour; the thing itself, when we have it, will do us little good; but if we maktf a right use of the disposals of Providence about it, there will be profit in that; {v. 10.) I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of me7i, not to make up a happiness by it, but to be exercised in it, to have various graces exercised by the variety of events, to have their dependence upon God tried by every change, and to be trained up to it, and tauglit both hoiv to want and how to abound, Phil. iv. 12. Note, (1.) There is a great deal of toil and trouble to be seen among the children of men; labour and sorrow fill the world. (2.) This toil and this trouble are wliat God has allotted us; he never intended this world fiir our rest, and therefore never appointed us to take our ease in it. (3.) To many it proves a gift; God gives it men, as the physician gives a medicine to his patient, to do him good. This travail is given us, to make us weary of the world, and desirous of the remaining rest. (4.) It is given us, that we may be kept in action, and may always have something to do; for we were none of us sent into the world to be idle. Every change cuts us out some new work, which we should be more solicitous about than about the event.

11. He hatli made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world iu their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh fi-om the beginning

to the end. 12. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his hfe. 13. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of his labour; it h the gift of God. 14. I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth zV, that men should fear before him. 15. That which hath been is now: and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth thai which is past.

^^'e have seen what changes there are in the world, and must not expect to find the world morr sure to us than it has been to others. New here he shows the hand of God in all those changes; it is he that has made every creature to be that to us that it is, and therefore we must have our eye always up unto him.

1. We must make the best of that which is, and must believe it best for the present, and accommodate ourselves to it; He has made every thing very beautiful in his time, {y. 11.) and, therefore, while its time lasts, we must be reconciled to it; nay, we must please ourselves witl\ the beauty of it. Note, (1.) Every thin^ is as God has made it; it is really as he appointed it to be, not as it appears to us. (2.) That which to us seems most unpleasant, in its proper time, is altogether becoming. Cold is as becoming in winter as heat in summer; and the night, in its turn, is a black beaut)', as the day, in its tuni, is a bright one. (3.) There is a wonderful harmony in the divine providence, and all its disposals; so that the events of it, when thty come to be considered in their relations and tendencies, together with the seasons of them, will appear very beautiful to the glory of God, and the comfort cf those that trust in him. Though we see not tlie complete beauty of providence, yet we shall see it, and a glorirus sight it will be, when the mystery of God shall he finished; then every thing shall appear to have been done in the most proper time, and it will be the wonder of eternity, Deut. xxxii. 4.

2. We must wait with patience fov the full discovery of that which to us seems intricate snd pei plexed, acknowledging that we cannot find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end, and therefore must judge nothing before the time. We are to believe that God has made all beautiful, every thing is done well, as in creation, so in providence, and we shall see it when the end comes,1)ut till then we are incompetent judges of it. \\'hile the picture is in drawing, and the house in building, we see not the beauty of either, but when the artist has put his last hand to them, and given them theii finishing strokes, then all appears very good. We see but the middle of God's works, not from the beginning of them, then we should see how admirably the plan was laid in the divine counsels, nor to the end of them, which crowns the action, then we should see the product to be glorious; but we mus* wait till the vail l)e rent, and not arraign God's proceedings, nor pretend to pass a judgment on them. Secret things belong not to us.

Those words. He has set the world in their hearts, are differently understood. (1.) Some make them to be a reason why we mav know more of God's work than we do; so Mr. "Pemble, "Ciodhasnot left himself without witness of his righteous, equal, and beautiful ordering of things, but has set it forth to be observed in the book of the world, and this he has set in men's hearts, given man a large desire, and a power, in good measure, to comprehend and

ECCLESIASTES, 111.

80i

0 uTerstand the history of nature, with the course of f h iman affah's, so that if men did but give themselves :< the exact observation of things, they might, in oio'^t of them, perceive an c.dmirable order and con-t.iv.uice." {2.^ Others make them to be a reascn whv w^ do not know so much of God's works as we .nirJiht; sj Bishop Reynolds; " We have the world so much in our hearts, are so taken up with thouglits and cai'es uf worldly things, and are so exercised in our travail concerning them, that we have neither time nor spirit to eye God's hand in them." The world has not only gained possession of tlie heart, but has formed prejudices there against the beauty of God's works.

3. We must be pleased with our lot in this world, and cheerfully acquiesce in the will of God concern-mg us, and accommodate ourselves to it. There is no certain, lasting, good in these things; what good there is in them, we are here told, -v. 12, 13. We must make a good use of them,

(1.) For the benefit of others. All the good there is in t/ie?7i, is to do good with them, to our families, to our neighbours, to the poor, to the public, to its civil and religious interests. What have we our beings, capacities, and estates, for, but to be some way serviceable to our generation? We mistake, if we think we were born for ourselves; no, it is our business (o do good, it is m that that there is the truest pleasure, and what is so laid out, is best laid up, and will turn to the best account. 01)serve, It is to do good in this life, which is short and uncertain; we ha\e but a little time to be doing good in, and therefore h:xl need to redeem time. It is in this life, where we are in a state of trial and probation for another life. Every man's life is his opportunity of doing that which will make for hmi in eternity.

(2.) For our own comfort. Let vis make ourselves easy, rejoice, and enjoy the good of our labour, as it is the gift of God, and so enjoy God in it, and taste his love, return him thanks, and make him the Centre of our joy; eat and drink to his glory, and serz^e kim with joiif illness of heart in the abundance of all things. If all things in this world be so uncertain, it is a foolish thing for men sordidly to spare for the present, that they may hoard up all for hereafter; it is better to live cheerfully and usefully upon what we have, and let to-morrow take thought for the things of itself Grace and wisdcim to do this is the gift of God, and it is a good gift, which ci'owns the gifts of his providential bounty.

4. We must be entirely satisfied in all the disposals of the Divine Providence, both as to personal and public concerns, and bring our minds to them, because God, in all, performs the thing that is appointed for us, acts according to the counsel of his will; and we are here told,

(1.) That that counsel cannot be altered, and therefore it is our wisdom to make a virtue of necessity, by submitting to it. It must be as God wills; '/ knoTV (and every one knows it, that knows any thing of God) that ivhatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever, v. 14. He is in one mind, and who can turn him ? His measures are never broken, nor is he ever put upon new counsels, but what he has purposed shall be effected, and all the world cannot defeat or disannul it. It behoves us therefore to say, "Let it be as God wills," for how cross soever it may be to our designs and interests, God's will is his wisdom.

(2.) That that counsel needs not to be altered, for there is nothing amiss in it, nothing that can be amended. If we could see it altogether at one view, w e should see it so perfect, that nothing can be jiut to it, for there is no deficiency in it, nor any thing taken from it, for there is nothing in it unne-t£ssary, or that can be spared. Like the word of (rod, thv works of God are each perfect in their

Vol. III. —5 T

kind, and it is presumption fcr us either to add to them, nr to diminish fn-m thtm, Dcut. iv. 2. It is therefore as much fur interest as our duty, to bring cur wills to the will of God.

5. We must study to answer God's end in all his providLiiccs, which is, in general, to make us religious. God doeth all, that meji should fear before him, to convince them that there is a God above them, that has a sove-eign dc;minion over them, at wliose disposal they are, and all their ways, and in whose hands their times are, and all events concerning them; and that tlierefore they ought to have their e},es ever toward him, to worship and adore him, to acknowledge him in all their ways, to 1)0 careful in every thing to please him, and afraid of cfflnding him in any thing. God thus changes his disposals, and yet is unchangeable in his counsels, not to perplex us, much less to drive us to despair, but to teach us our duty to him, and engage us to do it. That which God designs in the government of the world, is, the support and advancement of religion among men.

6. Whate\'er changes we see or feel in this world, we must acknowledge the inviolable steadiness of God's government. The sun rises and sets, the moon increases and decreases, and yet both are where they were, and their revolutions are in the same method from the beginning, according to the ordijiances of heaven; so it is with the events of Providence; (x». 15.) That nvhich has been, is now. God has not of late begun to use this method; no, things were ahvays as mutable and uncertain as they are now, and so they will be; that which ii> to be has already been; and therefore we speak inconsiderately, when we say, " Surely the world was never so bad as it is now," or, "None ever met with such disappointments as we meet with," or, "The times will never mend;" they may mend with us, and, after a time to mourn, there may come a time to rejoice, but that will still be liable to the common character, to the common fate. The world, as it has been, is, and will be, constant in inconstancy; for God requires that which is fiast, re-pe;its what he has formerly done, and deals with us no otherwise than as he has used to do with good men; and shall the earth be forsaken for us, or the rock removed out of his place? There has no change befallen us, nor any temptation by it taken us, but such as is common to men. Let us not be proud and secure in prosperity, for God may recall a past trcul)le, and order that to seize us, and spoil our mirth; (Ps. xxx. 7.) nor let us despond in adversity, for God may call back the comforts that are past, as he did to Job. We may apply this to our past actions, and our behaviour under the changes that ha\'e affected us, God will call us to account for that which is past; and therefore when we enter into a new condition we should judge ourselves for our sins in our former condition, prosperous or afflicted.

16. And, moreover, I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness luas there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity ^ms there. 17. I said in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose, and for every work. 18. 1 said in my heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 19. For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so

ECCLESIASTLS, III.

oieth the other; yea, they have all one ! breath: so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 20. All go unto one place: all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? 22. Wherefore I perceive that Mot is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works: for that is his portion ; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

Solomon is still showing that every thing in this world, without piety and the fear of God, is vanity. Take away religion, and there is nothing valuable among men, nothing for the snke of which a wise man would think it worth while to live in this world. In these verses, he shows that power, than which there is nothing men are more ambitious of, and life itself, than which there is nothing men are more fond, more jealous, of, are nothing without the fear of God.

I. Here is the vanity of man as mighty; man in his best estate, man upon the throne, where his authority is submitted to, man upon the judgment-seat, where his wisdom and justice are appealed to, and where, if he be governed by the laws of religion, he is God's vicegerent; nay, he is of those to whom it is s:dd, Ye are gods; but without the fear of God it is nanity, for, set that aside, and,

1. The judge will not judge aright, will not use his power well, but will abuse it; instead of doing good with it, will do hurt with it, and then it is not only vanity, but a lie, a cheat to himself, and to all about him, x'. 16. Solomon perceived,' by whr.t he had read of former times, what he heard of other countries, and what he had seen in some corrupt judges, even in the land of Israel, notwithstanding all his care to prefer good men, that there was tvickediiess in the place of judg!ne7it. It is not so above the sun; far be it from God that he should do iniquity, or pervert justice; but under the sttn it is often found that that which should be the refuge proves the prison of oppressed innocency. Man, being in honour, and not understanding what he ought to do, becomes like the beasts that perish, like the beasts of prey, even the most ravenous, Ps. xlix. 20. Not only from the persons that sat in judgment, but even in the places where judenif nt was, in pretence, administered, and righteousness was expected, there was iniqiiitij; men met with the greatest wrongs in those courts to which they fled for right; this is vanity and vexation; for, (1.) It had been better for the people to have had no judges than to have had such. (2.) It had been better for the judges to have had no power than to have had it and used it to such ill purposes; and so they will sav another day.

2. The judge will himself be judged for not judging right. When Solomon saw how judgment was perverted among men, he locked up to Ci( d the Judge, and looked forward to the day of his judgment; {v. 17.) I said in my heart, that this unrigli-teous judgment is not so conclusive as both sides take it to be, for there will be a review of the judgment; God shall jtidge between the righteous and theivicked, shall judge /"or the righteous, and plead their cause, though now it is run down, and judge against the wicked, and reckon with them for all their unrighteous decrees, and the griex'ousness which they have prescribed, Isa. x. 1. With an eye of faith we may see, not only the period, but the punishment, of the pride and cruelty cf oppressors.

(Ps. xcii. 7.) and it is an unspeakable comfort to the oppressed, that their cause will be heard over again. Let them therefore wait with patience, for there is another Judge that stands before the door. And thfugh the day of affliction may last long, yet there is a time, a set time, for the examination of every purpose and ex'cry work done under the sun. Men have their dav now, but God's day is coming, Ps. xxxvii. 13. W'ith God there is a time for the re-liearing of causes, redressing of grievances, and reversing of unjust decrees, though as yet we see it not here. Job xxiv. 1.

II. Here is the \ anity of man as mortal. He now comes to s-peak more generally concerning the estate of the sons of men in this world, their life and being on earth, and shows that their re?soh, without religion and the fear of God, advanced them but little above the beasts. Now observe,

1. What he aims at in this account of man's estate.

(1.) That God may be honoured, may be justified, may be glorified; that they might clear God, so the margin reads it; that, if men have an uneasy life in this world, full of vanity and vexation, they may thank themselves, and lay no blame of God; let them clear him, and not s^'y, that he made this world to be man's prison, and life to be his penance; no, God made man, in respect both of honour and comfort, little lower than the angels; if he be mean and miserable, it is his own fault. Or, that God, the word of God, might manifest them, and discover them to themselves, and so appear to be quick and powerful, and a Judge of men's cha racters; and we may be made sensible how open we lie to God's knowledge and judgment.

(2.) That men may be humbled, may be vilified, may be mortified; that they migit see that they themselves are beasts. It is much to convince proud men that they are hut men, (Ps. ix. 20.) much more to convince men that they are beasts, that, being destitute of religion, they are as the beasts that perish, as the horse and the mule that have no understanding. Proud oppressors are as beasts, as roanng lions, and ranging bears. Nay, every man that minds his body only, and not his soul, makes himself no better than a brute, and must wish, at least, to die like one.

2. The manner in which he verifies this account" that which he undertakes to prove, is, that a worldly, carnal, earthly-minded, man, has no pre-eminence above the beast, for all that which he sets his heart upon, places his confidence, and expects a happiness, in, is vanity, v. 19. Some make this to be the language of an atheist, who justifies himself in his iniquity, {v. 16.) and evades the argument taken from the judgment to come, {v. 17.) by pleading th;'t there is not another life after this, but that when man dies, there is an end of him, and therefore, while he lives, he may live as he lists; but others rather think Solomon here speaks as he himself thinks, and that it is to be understood in the same sense with that of his father, (Ps. xlix. 14.) JJke sheep they are laid in the grave, and that he intends to show the vanity of this world's wealth and honours, "by the equal "condition in mere outward respects" (as Bishop Reynolds expounds it) "between men and beasts."

(1.) The events concerning both seem much rdike; {y. 19.) That which befalls the sons of men, is no (ther than that which befalls beasts; a great dcnl of knowledge of human bodies is gained by the ; na-tomy of the bodies of brutes. "V\"hcn the deluge swept away the old world, the berists perished with mankind. Horses and men are killed m battle with the same weapons of war.

(2.) The end of both, to an eye of sense, seems alike too; They all have one breath, and brc;.thc in

ECCLESIASTES, IV.

803

t Ae same air, and it is the general description of both, mat m their nostrils is the breath of life, (Gen. vii. 22.) and, therefore, us the one dies, so dies the other; in their expiring there is no \'isible difHrtnce, but death makes much the s tme change with a beast that it does with a man.

[1.] As to their bodies, the change is altogether the same, except the different respects that are paid to them l)y the survivors. Let a man be buried with the burial of an ass, (Jer. xxii. 19.) and what pre-eminence then has he above a beast? Tlie touch of the dead body of a man, by the law of Moses, contracted a greater ceremonial pollution than the touch of the carcase even of an unclean beast or fowl. And Solomon here observes, that all go unto one jilace, that dead bodies of men land beasts putrefy idike, all are of the dust, in their original, for we "see all turn to dust again, in their corruption. What little reason then have we to be proud of our bodies, or any bodily accomplishments, ■when the}- must not only be reduced to the eartli very shortly, but must be so in common with the beasts, and we must mingle ovn- dust with theirs!

[2.] As to their spirits, there is indeed a vast difference, but not a \ isible one, -v. 21. It is certain that the s/iirit of the sons of men at death is ascending, it goes ufhvard to the Father of spirits, wlio made it, to tlie world of spirits, to which it is allied; it dies mt with the body, but is redeemed from thepotver of the grave, Ps. xHx. 15. It goes ufixvard, to be judged, and determined to an unchangeable state. It is as certain that the s/iirit of the beast goes donvmvard to the earth, it dits with the body, it perishes, and is gone at death. The soul of a beast is, at death, like a candle blown out, there is an end of it; whereas the soul of a man is then like a candle taken out of a dark lantern, which leaves the lantern useless indeed, but does itself shine brigliter. This great difference there is between the spirits of men and beasts; and a good reason it is wliy men should set their affections on things above, and lift up their souls to those things, not suffering them, as if they were the souls of brutes, to clea\ e to this earth. But 'tvho knows this difference? We cannot see the ascent of the one, and the descent of the other, with our bodily eyes; and therefore those that live by sense, as all carnal sensualists do, that walk in the sight of their eyes, and will n;^.t admit any other discoveries, by their own rule of judgment, have no fire-eminence above the beasts, IVho knows? Who considers this? Isa. liii. 1. Very few; were it better considered, the world would' be every way better; but most men live as if they were to be here always, or as if, when they die, tliere were an end of them; and it is not stvmge that those Hve like beasts, who think they shall die like beasts; but on such the noble faculties of reason are perfectly lost and thrown away.

3. An inference drawn from it; (i'. 22.) There is nothing better, as to this world, nothing better to be had out of our wealth and honour, than that a man should rejoice in his own works. (l.)_Keep a clear conscience, and never admit iniquity into the filace of righteousness. Let every man firove his own •work, and approve himself to God in it, so shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, Gal. vi. 4. Let him not get or keep anv thing but what he can rejoice in. See 2 Cor. i. 12. "(2.) Live a cheerful life. If God have prospered the work of our hands unto us, let us rei^ice in it, and take the'comfort of it, and not make it a burthen to ourselves, and leave others the PY of it; for that is our portion, not the portion of cur souls," miserable are they that have their portion ir. this life, (Ps. xvii. 14.) and fools are they that choose it ar.d take up with it, (Luke xii. 19.) 'mt it -s the portion of the body; that only v/hich we

enjoy is ours out of this world; it is taking what is to be had, and making the best of it; and the rea son is, because none can give us a sight of what shall be after us; either who shall have our estates, ] or v;hat use they will make of them. When we are gene, it is likely we shall not see what is after us; there is no correspondence that we know of between the ether world and this. Job xiv. 21. They in the ctli; r world will be wholly taken up with that v/orld, so th :t they will not care for seeing what is done in this; and while we are here, we cannot foresee what shall be after us, either as to our families er the pubhc; it is not for us to know the times and seasons that shall be after us; which, as it should be a restraint to our cares about this world, so it should be a reason for our concern about another. Since death is a final farewell to this life, let us look before us to another life.

CHAP. IV.

Solomon, having showed the vanity of this world, in the temptation which Ihose in power feel to oppress and trample upon their subjects, here further shows, I. The temptation which (he oppressed feel to discontent and impatience, v 1.. 3. II. The temptation which those that love their ease feel to take their ease and neglect business, for fear of being envied, v. 4. .6. III. The folly of hoarding up abundance of worldly wealth, t. 7, 8. IV. A remedy' against that folly, in being made sensible of the benefit of society and mutual assistance, V. 9.. 12. V. The mutability even of royal dignity, not only through the folly of the prince himself, (v. 13, 14.) but through the fickleness of the people, let the prince be ever so discreet, v. 15, 16. It is not the prerogative even of kings themselves to be exempted from the vanity and vexation that attend these things; let none else then expect it.

1. C^O I returnecl, and considered ail theop-i<3 pressions that are done under the sun: and,behold, the tears of such as ivere oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there loas power; but they had no comforter. 2. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead, more than the living M'hich are yet alive. 3. Yea, better is he than both they which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

Solomon had a large soul, (1 Kings iv. 29.) and it appeared by this, among other things, that he had a very tender concern for the miserable part of mankind, and took cognizance of the afflictions of the afflicted. He had taken the oppressors to task, {ch. iii. 16, 17.) ond put them in mind of the judgment to come, to be a curb to their insolence; now here he observes the oppressed; this he did, no doubt, as a prince, to do tliem justice, and avenge them of their adversaries, for he both feared God and regarded men: but here he does it as a preacher, and shows,

1. The troubles of their condition; (x'. 1.) of these he speaks very feelingly, and with compassion. It grieved him,

(1.) To see might prevailing against right, to see so much oppression done under the sun; to see servants, and labourers, and poor workmen, oppressed by their masters, who take advantage of their necessity to impose what ternis they please upon them; debtors oppressed by cruel creditors, and creditor? too by fraudulent debtors; tenants oppressed by hard landlords, and orphans by treacherous guardians; and, worst of all, subjects oppressed by"^ arbitrary princes and unjust judges. Such oppressions are done under the sun, above the sun righteousness reigns for ever. Wise men will consider these qfi-

ECCLESIASTES, IV.

/iressions, and contrive to do something for tlie re- I Let' of those that are oppressed. Blessed is he that I considers the poor. i

(2.) To see how those that were wronged laid to j heart tlie wrongs that were done them. He beheld ■ the tears of such as were ofifiressed, and perhaps j could not forbear weeping with them. The world | is a place of weepers; look wliicli way we will, we j have a melancholy scene presented to us, the tears \ of those that are oji^iressed with one troul>le or other. They find it is to no purpose to comj)lain, and therefore mourn in secret, (as Job ch. xvi. 20. —XXX. 28.) but RleHsed are they that mouryi.

(3.) To see how unable they were to help themselves; 071 the side of their o/i/iressors there was /lower, wlieu tlu;y hud done wrong, to stand to it, and make good wh it the\- had done, so that the I)oor were Ijorne down witli a strong hand, and had no way to do themselves right. It is sad to see power misplu.ced, and that which was given men to enable them to do good, perverted to support them in doing wi-ong.

(4.) To see how they and their calamities were slighted by all about them. They wept, and needed comfort, but there was none to do that friendly office, they had no comforter, their oppressors were powerful and threatening, and therefore they had no comforter; they that should comfort tliem durst not, for fear of displeasing the o])pressors, and being made their companions for offering to be their comforters. It is sad to see so little humanity among men.

2. The temptations of their condition. Being thus hardly used, they are tempted to hate and despise life, and to envy those that are dead and in tlieir graves, and to wish they liad never been born; {y. 2, 3.) and Solomon is read)- to agree with them, t M- it serves to prove that all is vanity and vescation, since life itself is often so; and if we disregard it, in comparison with the fa\T)ur and fruition of God, (as St. Paul, Acts xx. 24. Phil. i. 23.)_ it is our praise; but if (as here) only for the sake of the miseries that attend it, it is our infirmitv, and we judge therein after the fiesh, as Job and Elijah did.

(1.) He here thinks them happy who have ended this miserable life, have done their part, and quitted the stage; / praised the dead that are already dead, slain outright, or that had a speedy passage tlirough the world, made a short cut OAcr tlie ocean f)f life, dead already, before they had well begun to live; I was pleased with their lot, and had it been in their own choice, shovdd have praised their wisdom, for but looking into the world, and then retiring, as not liking it. I concluded that it is better with them than with the living that are yet alive, and that is all, dragging the long and heavy chain of life, and wearing out its tedious minutes. This may be compared, not with Job iii. 20, 21. but with Rev. xiv. 13. where, in times of persecution, (and such Solomon is here describing,) it is not the passion of man, but the Spirit of God, that says, 7??f'.s's-cd are the dead which die in the Lord fro?n henceforth. Note, The condition of the saints that a\-e dead, and gone to rest with God, is, upon many ac-cmnts, better and more desirable than the condition of living saints that are yet ijonlinued in their work and warfare.

(2.) He thinks them happy, who never began this miserable life; nay, they are happiest of all; He that has not been is ha/ipier than both they. Better never to have been born than to be born to see the evil work that is done tinder the sun; to sec so much wickedness committed, so mucli wrong done, ana not only to be in no capacity to mend the matter, but to suffer ill fordoing well. A good man, liow calamitous a condition soever he is in, in this world, cannot have cause to wish he had never been

born, since he is glonfying the Lord even in t1. e fires, and will 1)e happy at last, for ever happy; w t ought any to wisli so while they are alive, tor whi c there is life, there is hope; a man is never undone till he is in hell.

4. Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man. is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. 5. The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh. G. Better is a handful wil/i quietness, than both the hands full irit/i travail and vexation of spirit.

Here Solomon returns to the observation and c(.n-sideration of the vanitv and \ exation of spirit tliat attend the business of this world, which he had spoken of before, ch. ii. 11.

1. If a man be acute, and dexterous, and successful in his business, he gets the ill-will of his neighbours, V. 4. Though he takes a great deal of pams, and goes through all travail, does not get liis cttute easily, but it costs him a great deal of hard labrur, nor does he get it dishonestly, he wrongs no man, defrauds no man, but by every right work, by ap-pl}"ing himself to his own proper business, and managing it by all the ruU s of ecjuity and fair-dealing, yet for this he is envied of his neighbour, i-.nd the more for the reput;'.tion he has got l^y his honesty. This shows, (1.) What little conscience most men have, that they will bear a grudge to a neighbour, give him an ill word, and do him an ill turn, (nly because he is more ingenious and industric us than themselves, and has more of the bh ssing of heaven. Cain envied Abel, Esau J;'cob, and Saul Da\id, and all for their right works. This is downright diabolism. (2.) What little c mfort wise ;!nd useful men must expect to have in tliis world. Let them behave themselves ever so cautiously, they cannot escape being CTivied; and who can stand before envy? Prov. xxvii. 4. Tliey that excel in virtue will always be an eye-sore to those that exceed in vice; which should not discourage us from anj- right work, but drive us to expect the praise of it, nc t fiv m men, but from God, and not to count upon satisfsictirn and happiness in the creature; for if right works prove vanity and vexation of spirit, no works tinder the sun can jirove otherwise. But fir ei<ery right work a man shall be accepted of his God, and then he needs not mind though he lie envied of his neighbour, only it may make him love the world the less.

2. If a man be stujiid and dull, and blundering in his Inisincss, he does ill for himself; {v. 5.) The fool that goes abcnit his work as if his ha?ids were muffled and folded together, that does every thing awkwardly; the sluggard, (for he is a fool,) that loves his ease, and folds his hands together to keep them warm, because they refuse to l;ibour, he eats his own flesh, is a cannibal to himsi If, brings himself into such a pocir condition that he has notliing to eat but his own flesh, into such a desperate condition, that he is ready to eat his own flesh fir \ex-ation; he has a dog's life, hunger and ease. Because he sees active men, that thrive in the w( rid, cnvie<^, he runs into the other extreme; and, lest he sliould be envied for his right works, he does every thing wrong, and does not deserve to be pitied. Note, Idleness is a sin that is its own punishment.

The following words, (r. 6.) Better is a handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit, may be taken either, (1.) As the sluggard's argument for the excuse of himself in his idleness; he folds his hands together, and abuses and misaj^pHcs a good truth for his jus

ECCLESIASrES, IV.

BOb

tification; as it, because a little with quietness is better than abundance with strife, therefore a little with idleness is better than abundance with honest labour: thus ivise in his own conceit is he, Prov. xxvi. 16. But, (2)1 rather take it as Solomon's advice to keep the mean between that /raz'a//which will m.ike a man e?ivied, and that slothfulness which will make a man eat his own Jlesh. Let us by honest industry lay hold on the handful, that we niay not want liecessaries, but not gras]j at both the hands full, which will but create us -vexation of s/iirit. Moderate pains and moderate gains will do best. A mm may have but a handfuloi the world, and yet may enjoy it and himself with a great deal of quietness, with content of mind, peace of conscience, and the love and good will of his neighbours, while many that have both their hands full, have more than heart could wish, have a great deal of travail and vexation with it. ■ Those that cannot live on a little, it is to be feared, would not live as they should, if they had ever so much.

7. Then I letumed, and I saw vanity under the sun. 8. There is one alone and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is (here no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he^ For whom do 1 labour, and bereave my soul of good ? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail. 9. Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 10. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but wo to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. 11. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? 12. And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Here Solomon fastens upon another instance of the vanity of this world, that frequently the more men have of it, the more they would have; and on this they are so intent, that they have no enjoyment of what they have. Now Solomon here shows,

1. That selfishness is the cause of this evil; (v. 7, 8.) There is one alone that minds none but himself, cares for nobody, but would, if he could, be placed alone in the midst of the earth; thei-e is not a second, nor does he desire there should be, one mouth he thinks enough in a house, and grudges every thing that goes beside him. See how this covetous muckworm is here described.

(1.) He m ikes himself a mere slave to his business. Though he has no charge, neither child nor brother, none to take care of but himself, none to hang upon him, or draw from him, no poor I'ela-tions, nor dares he marry, for fear of the expense of a family, yet is there no end of his labour, he is at it night and day, early and late, and will scarcely allow necessary rest to himself and those he employs. He does not confine himself within the bounds of his own calling, but is for having a hand in any thing that ,he can get by. See Ps. cxxvii. 2.

(2.) He never thinks he has enough; His eye is not satisfied with riches. Covetousness is called the lust of the eve, (1 John ii. 16.) because the beholding of it with his eyes is all that the worldling seems to covet, Eccl. V. 11. He has enough for his back, (as Bishop Reynolds observes,) for his belly, for his

calling, for his family, for his living decently m the world, but he has not enough for his eyes; though he can but see it, can but count his money, and not find in his heart to use it, yet he is not easy because he has not more to regale his eyes with.

(3.) He denies himself the comfort of what he has. He bereaves his soul of good. If our souls be bereaved of good, it is we ourselves that do bereave them; others may bereave us of outward good, but cannot rob us of our graces and comforts, our spiritual good things; it is ovn* own fault if we do not enjoy ourselves; yet many are so set upon the world that, in pursuit of it, they bereave their souls of good here and for ever, make shipwreck of faith and of a good conscience, bereave themselves not only of the favour of God and eternal life, but of the pleasures of this world too, and this present life. Worldly people, pretending to be wise for themselves, are really enemies to themselves.

(4.) He has no excuse for doing this; He has neither child nor brother; none that he is bound to, on whom he may lay out what he has to his satisfaction wliile he lives; none that he has a kindness for, for whom he may lay it up to his satisfaction, and to whom he may leave it when he dies; none that are poor or dear to him.

(5.) He has not consideration enough to show himself the folly of this: he never puts this question to himself, "For whom do I labour thus? Do I labour, as I should, for the glory of God, and that I may have to give to those that need? Do I consider that it is but for the body that I am labouring, a dying body; it is for others, and I know not for whom; perhaps for a fool that will scatter it as fast as I have gathered it; perhaps for a foe, that will be ungrateful to my memory?" Note, It is wisdom for those that take pains about this world, to consider whom they take all this pains for; and whether it be really woi-th while to bereave themselves of good, that they may bestow it on a stranger. If men do not consider this, it is vanity, and a sore travail; they shame and vex themselves to no purpose.

2. That sociableness is the cure of this evil. Men are thus sordid, because they are all for themselves. Now Solomon shows here, by divers instances, that it is not good for man to be alone; (Gen. ii. 18.) he designs hereby to recommend to us both marriage and friendship, two things which covetous misers decline, because of the charge of them; but such are the comfort and advantage of them both, if pi-udently contracted, that they will very well quit cost. Man, in paradise itself, could not be happy without a mate, and therefore is no sooner made than matched.

(1.) Solomon lays this down for a truth, That ttvo are better than one, and more happy jointly, than e-ither of them could be separately; more pleased in one another than they could be «\ themselves only; mutually serviceable to each other's welfare, and by a united strength more likely to do good to others; They have a good reward of their labour; whatever service they do, it is returned to them another wav. He that serves himself only, has himself only for his pay-master, and commonly proves more unjust and ungrateful to himself than his friend, if he should serve him, would be to him; witness him that labours endlessly, and vet bereaves his soul of good; he has no reward of his labour; but he that is kind to another has a good reward; the pleasure and advantage of holy love will be an abundant recompense for all the work and labour of love.

(2.) Hence he infers the mischief of sohtude; Wo to him that is alone: he lies exposed to many temptations which good company and friendship would prevent and help him to guard against; hf

ECCLESIASTES, IV.

wants that advantage which a man has by the countenance of his friend, as iron has of being sharpened by iron. A monastic hfe then was sui'ely never intended for a state of perfection, nor should those be reckoned the greatest lovers of God who cannot find in their hearts to love any one else.

3. He proves it by divers instances of the benefit of friendship and good conversation.

(1.) Occasional succour in an exigence. It is good for two to travel together,/or (/"one happen to fall, and perhaps so as not to be able to get up himself, the other will be ready to help him ufi; a friend in need is a friend indeed; whereas if one travel alone, and get a fall, he may be lost for want of a little help. If a man fall into sin, his friend will help to restore him ivith the spirit of meekness; if he fall into trouble, his friend will help to comfort him and assuage his grief.

(2.) Mutual warmth. As a fellow-traveller is of use, (amicus pro vehiculo — a friend is a good substitute for a carriage, ) so is a bed-fellow; If tivo lie together, they have heat So virtuous and gracious affections are excited by good society, and Christians warm one another by provoking one another to love and to good works.

(3.) United strength. If an enemy find a man alone, he is likely to prevail against him; with his own single strength he cannot make his part good, but, if he have a second, he may do well enough, two shall withstand him; "You shall help me against mine enemy, and I will help you against your's;" according to the agreement between Joab and Abishai, (2 Sam. x. 11.) and so both are conquerors, whereas, acting separately, both had been conquered; as was said of the ancient Britons, when the Rom-ins invaded them, Diim singulipiig-nant, miiversi xnncuntur — While they fight in detached parties, they sacrifice the general cause. In our spiritual warfare we may be helpful to one another as well as in our spirituil work; next to the comfort of communion with God, is that of the communion of saints. He concludes with this proverb, A threefold cord is not easily broken, any more than a bundle of arrows, though each single thread and each single arrow is. Two together he compares to a threefold cord; where two are closely joined in holy love and fellowship, Christ will by his Spirit come to them, and make the third, as he jomed himself to the two disciples going to Emmaus, and then there is a threefold cord that can never be broken. They that dwell in love dwell in God, and God in them.

13. Better is a poor and a wise child than An old and foolish king;, who will no more be admonished. 14. For out of prison he jometh to rei^n; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor. 15. I consiaered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead. 16. There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Solomon was hims^^lf a kinsr, and therefore may l)e allowed to spcnk mm\- freely than another, concerning the vanity of kiny;ly state and dignitv, which he shows here to he ;in uncert'tin tiling, he 1\:k1 said so, Prov. xxvii. 24. T/ie crown doth not endure to every generation; and his s-ni fcmd it so. Nothing is more slippery than the highest post of honour, without wisdom and the people's love.

1. Akingisnothappy,unlesshe have wisdom, v. 13, 14. He that is tinily wise, pi-udent, and pious, though he be poor in the world, and very young, and, upon both accounts, despised and little notice taken of, is better, more tmly viduable and worthy of respect, is likely to do better for himself, and to be a greater l)lcssing to his generation, than a king, than an old king, a man therefore venerable, both for his gravity and for his dignity, if he be foolish, and knows not how to manage pul)lic affairs himself, nor will be admonished and advised by others; who knows not to be admonished, will not suffer ;.ny counsel or admonition to be given him; no eve about him dares contradict him; he will not hearken to the counsel and admonition that are given him. It is so far fi rm being any part of the honour of kings, that it is the greatest dishonour to them that can be, not to be admonished. Folly and wilfulness commonly go together, and those that most need admonition, can worst bear it; but neither age nor titles will secure men respect, if they have not true wisdom and virtue to recommend them; while wisdom and virtue will gain men honour, even under the disadvantages of youth and poverty.

To prove the wise child better than the foolish king, he shows what each of them come to, v. 14. (1.) ^ poor man by his wisdom conies to be preferred, as Joseph, who, when he was but young, was brought out of prison to be the second man in the kingdom; to which story Solomon seems liere to refer. Providence sometimes raises the poor out of the dust to set them among princes, Ps. cxiii. 7, 8. Wisdom has wrought not only the liberty of men, but their dignity, raised them from the dunghill, from the dungeon to the throne. (2.) A king by his folly and wilfulness comes to be impoverished; though he was born in his kingdo?n, came to it by inheritance, though he has lived to be old in it, and has had time to fill his treasures, yet, if he take ill courses, and will no more be admonished as he has been, thinking, because he is old, he is past it, he becomes poor, his treasure is exhausted, and perhaps he is forced to resign his crown, and retire into privacy.

2. A king is not likely to continue, if he have not a confirmed interest in the affections of the people; that is intimated, but somewhat obscurely, in the two last verses. (1.) He that is king must have a successor, a second, a child that shall stand up /?; his stead; his own, suppose, or perhaps that fioor and wise child spoken of, v. 13. Kings, when they grow old, must have the mortification of seeing those that are to justle them rut, and stand up in their stead. (2.) It is common with the people to adore the rising sun; all the living which walk under the sun are with the second child, ure in his interests, are conversant with him, and make their curt to him more than to the father, whom they look upon as going off, and despise because his best days are past. Solomon considered this, he saw this to be the disposition of his own pet pie, wliich appeared immediately after his death, in their complaints of his government, and their affectation of a clinnge. (3.) People are never long '^asy and satisfied; There is no end, no rest, of all the people; they ;re continually fnnd of chanires, and know nrt wliat they would have. (4.) This is no new thinp", but it has been the way of all that have been before them; there have been instances of this in every age, even Samuel and David C(nld net .■!hva\s please. (5.) As it has been, so it is like to be still; Thetj that come after will be of the same spirit, and shall not long rejoice in him whom at first they seemed extremely fond of. To-day, Hosanna, tomorrow, Crucifii. (6.) It cannot but be a great grief to princes, to see themselves tlnis sliglited by those they have studied to oblige, and have depended

ECCLESIASTES, V.

807

'A

u; there is no faith in man, no steadfastness; ■a is vanity and vexation of sfiirit.

CHAPTER V.

Solomon, in this cliapter, discourses, I. Concerning the •worship of God, prescribing that as a remedy against all those vanities which he had already observed to be in ■wisdom learning, pleasure, honour, power, and business. That we may not be deceived by those things, nor have our spirits vexed with the disappointments we meet in them, let us make conscience of our duty to God, and keep up our communion with him; but withal, he ijives a necessary caution against the vanities which arc-noo often found in religious exercises, which deprive ihem of their excellency, and render them unable to help aeainst other vanities. If our religion be a vain religion, how (Treat is that vanity! Let us therefore take heed of van^itv, 1. In hearing the word, and offering sa-critice, V. 1. '2. In prayer, v. 2, 3. 3. Ininaking vows, V. 4. .6. 4. In pretending to divine dreams, v. 7. Now, (1.) For a remedy against those vanities, he prescribes the fear of God, v. 7. (2.) To prevent the offence that might arise from the present sufferings of good people, he directs us to look up to God, v. 8. II. Concerningthe wealth of this world, and the vanity and vexation that attend it. The fruits of the earth indeed are necessary to Ihe support of life, (v. 9.) but as for silver, and gold, and riches 1. They are unsatisfying, v. 10. 2. They are unprofitable, V. 11. 3. They are disquieting, v. 12. 4. Thev often prove hurtful and destroying, v. 13. 5. They are jperishintr, v. 14. 6. They must be left behind when we die, v. 15, 16. 7. If we have not a heart to make use of them, thev occasion a great deal of uneasiness, V. 17. And therefore he recommends to us the comfortable use of that which God has given us, with an eye to him that is Giver, as the best way both to answer the end of our having it, and to obviate the mischiefs that commonly attend great estates, v. 18..20. So that, if we can but learn out of this chapter how to manage the business of religion, and the business of this world, (which two take up most of our time,) so that both may turn to a good account, and neither our sabbath-days nor our week-days may be lost, we shall have reason to say, We have learned two good lessons.

1 ^^ EEP thy foot when thou goest to the J_\ house of God, and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. 2. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter ani/ thing before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. .3. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fooPs voice is hioion by multitude of words.

Solomon's design in driving us off from the world, by showing us its vanity, is to drive us to God and to our duty; that we may not walk in the way of the world, but by religious rules, nor depend upon the wealth of the world, but on religious advantages; and therefore,

I. He here sends us to the house of God, to the place of public worship, to the temple, which he himself had built at avast expense; when he reflected with regret on all his other works, {ch. v.. 4.) he did not repent of that, but reflected on it with pleasure, yet mentions it not, lest he should seem to reflect on it with pride; but he here sends those to it tluit would know more of the vanity of the world, and would find that happiness which is in vain sought for in the creature. David, when he was perplexed, went into the sanctuary of God, Ps. Ixxiii. 17. Let our disappointments in the creature turn our eyes to the Creator, let us have recourse to the word of God's grace, and consult that, to the throne of his grace, and solicit that. In tlie word and prayer there is a balm for every wound.

II. He charges us to behave ourselves well there,

that we mav not miss of cur end in coming thither. Religious exercises are not vain things, but, if we mismanage them, they become vain to us. And therefore,

1. We must address ourselves to them with aL possible seriousness and care; " Keep, thy foot, not keep it back from the house of God, (asProv. xxv. 17.) nor go slowly thither, as one unv/illing to.draw nigh to God, but 'look well to thy goings, ponder the path of thy feet, lest thou take a false step. Address thyself to the worship of God with a solemn pause, and take time to compose thyself for it, not going about it witli precipitation, which is callec* hasting with the feet, Prov. xix. 2. Keep thy thoughts from roving and wandering from the work; keep thy affections from nuining out toward wrong objects,'for in the business of God's house there is work enough for the whole man, and all too little to be employed." Some think it alludes to the charge given to Moses and Joshua, to put off their shoes, (Exod. iii. 5. Josh. v. 15.) in token of subjection and reverence. Keep thy feet clean, Exod. xxx. 19. 2. We must take heed that the sacrifice we bring be not the sacrifice of fools, of wicked men, for they are fools, and their sacrifice is an abomination to the Lord; (Prov. xv. 8,) that we bring not the torn, and the lame, and the sick, for sacrifice; for we are plainly told that it will not be accepted, and therefore it is folly to bring it; that we rest not in the sign and ceremony, and the outside of the performance, without regarding the sense and meaning of it, for that is the sacrijce of fools; bodily exercise, if that be all, is a jest; none but fools will think tlms to please him who is a Spirit, and requires the heart; and they will see their folly when they find what a great deal of pains they have taken to no purpose for want of sincerity. They are fools, for thev consider not that they do evil; they think they are'dt^ing God and themselves good service, when reallv they are putting a great affront upon God, and a great cheat upon their own souls, by their hypocritical devotions. Men may be doing evil, even then when they profess to be doing good, and even then when th^v do not know it, when they do not consider it. They know not but to do evil, so some read it. Wickedminds cannot choose but sin, even in the acts of devotion. Or, They consider not that they do evil; they act at a venture, right or wrong, pleasing to God or not, it is all one to them.

3. That we may not bring the sacrifice of fools, we must come to God's house with hearts disposed to know and do our duty. We must be ready to hear. (1.) We must diligently attend to the word of God read and preached; " Be swift to hear the exposition which the priests give of the sacrifices, declaring the intent and meaning of them, and do not think it enough to gaze upon what they do, for it must be a reasonable serx'ice, otherwise it is the sacrifice of fools." (2.) We must resolve to comply with the will of God as it is made known to us; hearing is often put for obeying, and that is it that is better than sacrifice, 1 Sam. xv. 22. Isa._ i. 15, 16. We then come in a right frame to holy duties, when we come with this upon our heart, Sfieak, Lord, for thy servant hears. Let the word of the Lord come, (said a good man,) ai^d if I had 600 necks I would bow them all to the authority of it.

4. We must be verv cautious and considerate in all our approaches aiid addresses to God; {v. 2.) Be not rash with thy mouth, in making either prayers, or protestations, or promises; let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God. Note, (1.) When we are in the house of God, in solemn assemblies for religious worship, we are in a special manner before God, and in his presence; there where he has promised to meet his people,

i where his eyp is upon us, and ours ought to be unto

ECCLESIASTES, V.

him. (2 ) We have something to say, something to utter before God, when we draiv nigh to him in holy duties; he is one nvith whom ive have to do, with Aviiom we have business of vast importance. If we come without an errand, we shall go away without any advantage. (3.) What we utter before God must come from the heart, and therefore we must not be rash with our mouth, ne\ cr let our tongue outnm our thoughts in our devotions; the words of our mouth must always be the product of the meditations of our hearts. Thoughts are words to God, and words are but wind, if they be not copied from the thoughts. Lip-labour, though ever so well laboured, if that be all, is but lost labour in religion, Matth. XV. 8, 9. (4.) It is not enough that what we say comes from the heart, but it must come from a composed heart, and not from a sudden heat or passion. As the mouth must not be rash, so the heart must not be hasty; we must not only think, but think twice, before we speak, when we are to speak either from God in preaching, or to God in prayer, and not utter any thing indecent and undigested, 1 Cor. xiv. 15.

5. We must be sparing of our words in the presence of God, we must be reverent and deliberate; not talk to God as boldly and carelessly as we do to one another, not speak what comes uppermost, not repeat things over and over, as we do to one another, that what we say may be understood and remembered, and may make impression; no, when v/e speak to God, we must consider,

(1.) That between him and us there is an infinite distance; God is in heaven, where he reigns in glory over us and all the children of men, where he is attended with an innumerable company of holy angels, and \sfar exalted above all our blessing and praise. We are on earth, the footstool of his throne; we are mean and vile, unlike God, and utterly unworthy to receive any favour from him, or to have any communion with him; therefoi-e we must be very grave, humble, and serious, and be reverent in speaking to him, as we are when we speak to a great man that is much our superior; and, in token of this, let our words be few, that they may be well chosen. Job ix. 14. This does not condemn all long prayers; were, they not good, the Pharisees had not used them for a pretence; Christ prayed all night; and we are bid to continue in prayer; but it condemns careless, heartless praying, vain repetitions, (Matth. VI. 7.) repeating Pater-nosters by tale. Let us speak to God, and q/'him, in his own words, words which the scripture teaches; and let our words, words of our own invention, be few, lest, not speaking by rule, we speak amiss.

(2.) That the multiplying of words in our devotions will make them the sacrifices of fools, v. 3. As confused dreams, frightful and pei-plexed, and such as disturb the sleep, are an evidence of a hurry of business which fills our head; so, many words, and hasty ones, used in prayer, are an evidence of folly reigning in the heart, ignorance of, and unac-quaintedness with, both God and ourselves, low thoughts of God, and careless thoughts of our own souls. Even in common conversation, a fool is known by the multitude of words; the}' that know le ist talk most, {ch. x. 11.) pirticularlv in d' voticn; there, no doul)t, a prating fool shall fall, (Prov. x. 8. 10.) shall fall short of accc))tancc. Those are fjols indeed who think they shall be heard, in prayer, for their much speaking.

4. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hntli no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. ^ 5. Better is it that thou sliouldest not vow, ji liian that thou shouldest vow and not pay. li

6. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the uork of thy hands? 7. For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also di vers vanities; but fear thou God. 8. if thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, maivel not at the matter : fo» he that is higher than the highest regardeth and there be higher than they.

Four things we are exhorted to in these verses;

I. To be conscientious in paving our \ows. A vow is a bond upon the soul, (Kumb. xxx. 2.) b)-which we solemnly oblige < urselves, not only, in general, to do that which we are already bound to do, but, in some particular instances, to do that which we were not under any antecedent oblig;'.tion to do, whether it respects honouring God, or ser\ ing the interests of his kingdom among men. Whcii, under the sense of some affliction, (Ps. Ixvi. 14.) or in the pursuit of some mercy, (1 Sam. i. 11.) thcu hist vowed such a vow as this unto God, know that thou hast opened thy mouth u?ito the Lord, and thou canst 7iotgo back; therefore,

1. Pay it; perform what thou hast promised, bring to God what thou hast dedicated and devoted to him, pay that which thou hast vowed, pav it in full, and keep not back any part of the price, pay it in kind, do not alter it, or change it, so the l;.w was. Lev. xxvii. 10. Have we vowed to give our own selves unto the Lord? let us, then, be as good as our word, act in his service, to his gloiy, and not sacrilegiously alienate ourselves.

2. Defer not to pay it; if it be in the power of thine hands to pay it to-day, leave it not till to-morrow; do not beg a day, nor put it oflPto a more convenient season. By delay the sense of the rbligation slackens and cools, and is in danger of wearing off; we thereby discover a loathness and backwardness to perform our vow; and Qui non est hodie, eras minus aptus erit — He who is not inclined to-day, will be averse to-morrow; the longer it is put (iff, the more difficult it will be to bring ourselves to it; death may not only prevent the payment, but fetch thee to judgment, under the guilt of a broken vow.

Two reasons are here given why we should speedily and cheerfully pay our vows. (1.) Because otherwise we aflTront God; we plav the foul with him, as if we designed to put a trick upon him; and God has no pleasure in fools; (more is implied than is expressed;) the meaning is. He greatlv abhors such fools, and such foolish dealings. Has he need of fools? No; Be not deceived, God is not mocked, but will surely and severelv reckon with those that thus play fast and loose with him. (2.) Because otherwise we wrong ourselves, we lose the benefit of the making of the vow, nay, we incur the penalty for the breach of it; so that it had been better a great deal not to have vowed, more s:ife, and more to our advantage, than to vonu and not fiay. Not to have vowed had been but an omission, but to vow and not pat/, incurs the guilt of treachery and perjurv; it is lying to God, Acts v. 4.

11. To be cautious in making our vows; this is necessary in order to our being conscientious in performing them, V. 6. 1. We must take heed that we never vow anv thing that is sinful, or m;iy be nn occasion of sin, for such avow is ill-made, and must be broken. Suffer not thy mouth, by such a \o\\', to cause thy flesh to sin, as Herod's rash promise cause(f him to cut off the head of John the Bap'-l'at.

ECCLESIASTES, V.

800

2. We must not vow that which, through the frailty of the flesh, we have reason to fear we shall not be able to perform; as those that vow a single hfe, and yet know not how to keep their voiv. Hereby, (1.) Tkey Hiiame themselves; for they are forced to saif before the angel. It ivas an error; that either they did not mean, or did not consider, what they said; and, take it which way you will, it is bad enough. "When thou hast made a vonv, do not seek to evade it, nor find out excuses to get clear of the obligation of it; say not before the priest, who is called the angel, or messenger, of the Lord of hosts, that, upon second thoughts, thou hast changed thy mind, and desirest to be absolved from the obligations of thy vo'iv; but stick to it, and do not seek a hole to creep out at." Some by the angel understand the guardian angel, which they suppose to attend every man, and to inspect what he does. Others understand it of Christ, the Angel of the covenatit, who is present with his people m their assemblies, who searches the heart, and cannot be imposed upon; firovoke him not, for God's name is in him, and he is represented as strict and jealous, Exod. xxiii. 20, 21. (2.) They expose themselves to the wrath of God, for he is angry at the voice of those that thus lie unto him "with their mouth, and flatter him with their tongue, and is displeased at their dissimulation, and destroys the works of their hands, blasts their enterpi'ises, and defeats those purposes which, when they made these vows, they were seeking to God for the success of. If we treacherously cancel the words of our mouths, and revoke our vows, God will justly oveithrow our projects, and walk contrary, and at all adventures, with those that tlius walk contrary, and at all adventures, with him. It is a snare to a man, after vows, to make inquiry.

III. To keep up the fear of God, v. 7. Many, of old, pretended to have known the mind of God by dreams, and were so full of them, that they almost made God's people forget his name by their dreams; (Jew xxiii. 25, 26.) and many, now, perplex themselves with their frightful or odd dreams, or with other people's dreams, as if thev foreboded this or the other disaster; those that heed dreams shall have a multitude of them to fill their heads with; but in them all there are divers vanities, as there are in many words, and the more, if we regard them. ** They are but like the idle impertinent chat of children and fools, and therefore never heed them, forget them, instead of repeating them, lay no stress upon them, draw no disquieting conclusions from them, but year thou God, ha^'e an eye to his sovereign dominion, set him before thee, keep thyself in his love, and be afraid of offending him, and then thou wilt not disturb thyself with foolish dreams." The way not to be dismayed at the signs of heaven, nor afraid of the idols of the heathen, is, to fear God as King of nations, Jer. x. 2, 5, 7.

IV. With that to keep down the fear of man, v. 8. "Set God before thee, and then, if thou seest the o/i/iression of the floor, thou wilt not mai-vel at the matter, nor find fault with Divine Providence, nor think the worse of the institution of magistracy, when tliou seest the ends of it thus perverted, nor of religion, when tliou seest it will not secure men from suffering wrong. Observe here,

1. A melancholy sight on earth, and such as cannot out trouble every good man that has a sense of justice and a concern for mankind, to see the ofi-firession of the fioor, because they are poor, and cannot right themselves, and the violent fierx<erting of judgment and justice in a firovince, oppression under colour of law, and backed with power. The kingdom in general may have a good government, and yet it mav so hap])en that a particidar/;roTi2»7cc inav lie cimmitted tn a bad man, by whose mal-ad-xninistration justice may be perverted; so hard it is

Vol. III.— 5K

for the wisest of kings, in giving preferments, to b'^ sure of their men; they can but redress the griev ance when it appears.

2. A comfortable sight in heaven. When things look thus dismal, we may satisfy ourselves with this,

(1.) That, though oppressors be high, God is above them, and in that very thing wherein they dealjiroudly, Exod. xviii. 11. God is higher than the highest of creatures, than the highest of princes, than the king that is higher than Agag, (Numb, xxiv. 7.) than the liighest angels, the thrones and dominioris of the upper world; God is the Most High over all the earth, and his glory is above the heavens; before him, princes are worms, the brightest but glow-worms.

(2.) That, though oppressors be secure, God has his eye upon them, takes notice of, and will reckon for, all their violent perverting of judgment; he regards, not only sees it, but obsei'ves it, and keeps it on record, to be called over again; his eyes are ufion their ways. See Job xxiv. 23.

(3.) That there is a world of angels, for there are higher than they, who are employed by the divine justice for protecting the injured, and punishing the injurious. Sennacherib bore himself high upon his potent army, but one angel proved too hard tor him and all his forces. Some, by those that are higher than they, understand the great council of the nation, the presidents to whom th.e/irinces of the provinces are accountable, (Dan. vi. 2.) the senate that receives complaints against the proconsuls, the courts above, to which appeals are made from the inferior courts, which are necessary to the good government of a kingdom. Let it be a check to oppressors, that perhaps their superiors on earth may call them to an account; however, God, the Supreme in heaven, will.

9. Moreover, the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.

10. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase. This is also vanity.

11. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? 12. The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. 13. There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. 14. But those riches perish by evil travail; and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. 15. As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. 16. And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind? 17. All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

Solomon had showed the vanity of pleasure, gaiety, and fine works, of honour, power, and royal dignity; i'.nd there is many a covetous worldling that will agree with him, and speak as slightly as he does of these things; but money, he thinks, is a substantial

ECCLESIASTES, V.

thing, and, if he can but have enough of that, he is happy; that is the mistake which Solomon attacks, and attempts to rectify, in these verses; he shows that tliere is as much vanity in great riches, and the Uist of the eye about them, as there is in the lusts of the flesh, and the firide of life; and a man can make himself no more happy by hoarding an estate tlian by spending it.

I. \ic gr.ints that the products of the earth, for the support and comfort of human life, are valuable tilings; {v. 9.) T/ie firojit of the earth is for all; man's b(xly, being made of the earth, thence has its maintenance; (Job xxviii. 5.) and that it has so, and thtit a barren land is not made his dwelling, (as he luis deserved for being rebellious, Ps. Ixviii. 6.) is an instance of God's great bounty to him. There is Jirojit to be got out of the earth, and it is for all, all need it, it is appointed for all, there is enough fur all; it is not only for all men, but for all the inferior creatures; the same ground brings jfrass ybr the cattle that brings herbs for the service of men. Israel had bread from heaven, angels^ food, but (which is a humbling consideration) the earth is our storehouse, and the beasts fellow-commoners with us. The king himself is sejmed by the field, and would be ill-served, would be quite starved, without its products. This puts a great honour upon the husbandman's calling, that it is the most necessary of all other to the support of man's life; the many have the benefit of it, the mighty cannot live without it; it is for all, it is for the king himself. Th(jse that have an abundance of the fruits of the earth, must remember they are for all, and therefore must look upon themselves but as stewards of their abundance, out of which they must give to those that need; dainty meats and soft clothing are onlyyb?-some, but \\\c fruit of the earth is for all. And even those that suck the abundance of the seas, (Dent, xxxiii. 19.) cannot !)e without the fruit of the earth, while those that have a competency of the fruit of the earth may despise the abundance of the seas.

II. He maintains that the riches that are more than these, that are for hoarding, not for use, are vain things, and will not make a man easy or happy. That which our Saviour has said, (Liike xii. 15.) that a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses, is what Solomon here undertakes to prove by divers arguments.

1. The more men have, the moi'e they would have, V. 10. A man may have but a little silver, and be satisfied with it, may know when he has enough, and covet no more. Godliness, with contentment, is great gain. I have enough, says Jacob; / have all, and abound, says St. Paul: but, (1.) He that loves silver, and sets his heart upon it, will never think he has enough, but enlarges his desire as hell, (Hab. ii. 5.) lays house to house and field to field, (Isa. v. 8.) and, like the daughters of the horse-leech, still cries. Give, give. Natural desires are at rest when that which is desired is obtained, but corrupt desires are insatiable; nature is content with little, grace with less, but lust with nothing. (2.) He that has silver in abundance, and has it increasmg ever so fast upon him, yet does not find that it yields any solid satisfaction to his soul; there are bodily desires which silver itself will not satisfy; if a man be hungry, iiii^ots of silver will do no more to satisfy his hunger than clods of clay; much less will worldly abundance satisfy spiritual desires; he that has ever so much silver, covets more, not only of that, but of something else, something of another nature. They that make themselves drudges to the world are spending their labour for that which satisfies not, (Isa. Iv. 2.) which fills the belly, but will never fill the soul, Ezek. vii. 19.

2. The more men have, the more occasion thev

have for it, and the more they have to do with it, so that it is as broad as long; when goods increase, they are increased that eat them, V. 11. The more meat, the more mouths. Does the estate thrive.'' And does not the family, at the same time, grow more numerous, and the children grow up to need more.'' The more men have, the better house they must keep, the more servants they must employ, the more guests they must entertain, the more they must give to the poor, and the more they will have hanging on them, for where the carcase is, the eaglen will be. What we have, more than food and rai ment, we have for others; and then what good is there to the owners themselves, but the pleasure of beholding them with their eyes? And a poor pleasure it is: an empty speculation is all the difference between the owners and the sharers; the owner sees that as his own, which those about him enjoy as much of the real benefit of as he; only he has the satisfaction of doing good to others, which indeed is a satisfaction to one who believes what Christ said, that it is more blessed to give than to receive; but to a covetous man, who thinks all lost that goes beside himself, it is a constant vexation to see others eat of his increase.

3. The more men have, the more care they have about it, which perolexes them, and disturbs their repose; {-v. 12.) refi-eshing sleep is as much the sup port and comfort of this life as food is. Now, (1.) Those commonly sleep best that work hard, and have but what they work for; The sleeji of the labouring man is sweet, not only because he has tired himself with his labour, which makes his sleep the more welcome to him, and makes him sleep soundly, but because he has little to fill his head with care about, and so break his sleep. His sleep is sweet, though he eat but little, and have but little to eat, for his weariness rocks him asleep; and, though he eat much, yet he can sleep well, for his labour gets him a good digestion. The sleep of the diligent Christian, and his long sleep, is sweet, for, having spent himself and his time in the service of God, he can cheerfully return to God, and repose in him as his Rest. (2.) Those that have every thing else often fail to secure a good night's sleep; either their eyes are held waking, or their sleeps are unquiet, and do not refresh them; and it is their abundance that breaks their sleep, and disturbs it; both the abundance of their care, (as that rich man's, who, when his ground brought forth plentifully, thought within himself, What shall I do? Luke xii. 17.) and the abundance of what they eat and drink, which overcharges the heart, makes them sick, and so hinders their repose. Ahasuerus, after a banquet of wine, could not sleep; and perhaps consciousness of guilt, both in getting and using what they have, breaks their sleep as much as any thing; but God gives his beloved sleep.

4. The more men have, the more danger they are in, both of doing mischief, and of having mischief done them; (v. 13.) There is ari evil, a sore evil, which Solomon himself had seen undei the sun, in this lower world, this theatre of sin and wo— riches kept for the owners thereof, (who have been industrious to hoard them and keep them safe,) to their hurt, they had better have been without them. (1.) Their riches do them hurt, make them proud, secure, and in love with the world, draw away their hearts from God and duty, and make it very difficult for them to enter into tlie kingdom of heaven, nay, help to shut them out of it. (2.) They do hurt with their riches, which not only put ihcm into a capacity of gratifying their own lusts, and living luxuriously, but give them an opportunity (}f op-

gressing others, and dealing hardly with them. (3.) tftcn they sustain hurt by their riches; they would not be envied, would not be robbed, if thcv were not

ECCLESIASTES, V.

811

rich. It is the fat beast that is led first to the sIaugA>er. A very rich man (as one observes) has sometimes been excepted out of a general pardon, both as to life and estate, merely on account of his vast and overgrown estate; so riches ofteri take away the life of the owners thereof, Prov. i. 19.

5. Tlie more men have, the more they have to lose, and perhaps they may lose it all, v. 14. Those riches that have been laid up with a great deal of pains, and kept with a great deal of care, perish by evil travail, by the very pains and care which they take to secure and increase them; many a one has ruined liis estate by being over-solicitous to advance it, and make it more, and has lost all by catching at all. Riches are perishing things, and all our care about them cannot make them otherwise; they TTUilce themselves wings, and ^y away. He that thought .\e should have made his son a gentleman leaves him \ beggar; he begets a son, and brings him up in the prospect of an estate, but, when he dies, leaves it under a charge of debt as much as it is worth, so tliat there is nothing in his hand. This is a common case; estates that made a great show do not prove tvhat they seemed, but cheat the heir.

6. How much soever men ha\ e when they die, they must leave it all behind them; (v. 15, 16.) jis he came forth of his mother^s womb naked, so shall he return; only as his friends, when he came naked into the world, in pity to him, helped him with swaddling-clothes, so, when he goes out, they help him with grave-clothes, and that is all: see Job i. 21. Ps. xlix. 17. This is urged as a reason why we should be content with such things as we have, 1 Tim. vi. 7. In respect of the body, we must go as we came, the dust shall return to tlie earth as it was; but sad is our case if the soul return as it came, for we were born in sin, and, if we die in sin unsancti-fied, we liad better never been born; and that seems to be the case of the worldling hei'e spoken of, for i he is said to return i?i all points as he came, as sinful, as misei'able, and mucli more so. This is a sore evil; he thinks it so, whose heart is glued to the world, that he shall take nothing of his labour which he may carry away in his hand; liis riches will not go with him into another world, nor stand him in any stead there. If we labour in religion, the grace and comfort we get by that labour we may carry away in our hearts, and shall be the better for it to eternity; that is meat that endures: but, .if we labour only for the world, to fill our hands with that, we cannot take that away with us; we are bom with our hands griping, but'die with them extended, letting go what we held fast. So that, upon the whole matter, he may well ask. What profit has he that has laboured for the wind?

Note, Those that labour for the world labour for the wind; for that which has more sound than substance, which is uncertain, and always shifting its point, unsatisfying, and often hurtful, which we cannot hold fast, and which, if we take up with it as our portion, will no more feed us than the wind, Hos. xii. 1. Men will see that they have laboured for the wind, when, at death, they find the profit of their labour is all gone, gone like the wmd, they know not whither.

7. Those that have much, if they set their hearts upon it, have not only uncomfortable deaths, but uncomfortable lives too, V. 17. This covetous worldling, that is so bent upon raising an estate, all his days he eats in darkness and much sorrow, and it is his sickness and wrath; he has not only no pleasure of his estate, nor any enjoyment of it himself, for he eats the bread of sorrow, (Ps. cxxvii. 2.) but a great deal of vexation to see others eat of it. His neces-S'iry expenses make him sick, make him fret, and he stems as if l\e were angry that himself and those abou*- him cannc*' live without meat. As we read

the last clause, it intimates how ill this covetous worldling can bear the common and unavoidable calamities of human life; when he is in health, he eats in darkness, always dull with care and fear about what he has; but, if he be sick, he has much sorrow and wrath with his sickness; he is vexed that his sickness takes him oif from his business, and hinders him in his pursuits of the world; vexed that all his wealth will not give him any ease or relief; but especially terrified with the apprehensions of death, (which his disease are the harbingers of,) of leaving this world, and the things of it, behind him, which he has set his aifections upon, and removing to a world he has made no preparation for. He has not any sorrow after a godly sort, does not sorrow to repentance, but he has sorrow and wrath, is angry at the providence of God, angry at his sickness, angry at all about him, fretful and peevish, which doubles his affliction, which a good man lessens and lightens by patience and joy in his sickness.

18. Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comelyyb?' one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him; for it is his portion. 19. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. 20. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him'm the joy of his heart.

Solomon, from the vanity of riches hoarded up, here infers, that the best course we can take, is, to use well what we have, to serve God with it, to do good with it, and take the comfort of it to ourseh es and our families; this he had pressed before, ch. ii. 24.—iii. 22. Observe,

1. What it is that is here recommended to us; not to indulge the appetites of the flesh, or to take up with present pleasures or profits for our portion, but soberly and moderately to make use of what Providence has allotted for our comfortable passage through this world. We must not starve ourselves, either througli covetousness, because we cannot afford ourselves food convenient, or through eagerness in our worldly pursuits, or through excessive care and grief, but eat and drink what is fit for us, to keep our bodies in good plight for the serving of our souls in God's service. We must not kill ourselves with labour, and then leave others to enjoy the good of it, but take the comfort of that wliich our hands have laboured for, and tliat not now and then, but all the days of our life which God gives us. Life is God's gift, and he has appointed us the number of the days oi our hfe: (Job xiv. 5.) let us therefore spend those days in serving the Lord our God with joyfulness and gladness of heart. W^e must not do the business of our calling as a drudgery, and make ourselves slaves to it, but we must rejoice in our labour, not grasp at more business than we can go through without perplexity and disquiet, but take a pleasure in the calling wherein God has put us, and go on in the business of it with cheerfulness; this is to rejoice in our labour, whatever it is, as Zebulon in his going out, and Issachar in his tents.

2. What is urged to recommend it to us.

(1.) That it is good and comely to do this; il is well, and it looks well; they that cheerfully use what God has given them, thereby honour the Givei", answer the intention of the gift, act rationally and generously, do good in the world, and make what they have turn to the best account, and this is both

ECCLESIASTES, VI.

their credit and their comfort; it is good and comely; there is duty and decency in it

(2.) That it is all the good we can have out of the things of this world; it is our fiortion, and in doing thus we take our fiortion, and make the best of bad. This is our part of our worldly possessions; God must have his part, the poor theirs, and our families tlieirs, but this is ours, it is all that falls to our lot out of them.

(3.) That a heart to do thus is such a gift of God's grace as crowns all the gifts of his providence. If God has given a man riches a?id ivealt/i, he completes the favour, and makes that a blessing indeed, if, withal, he gives him fioiver to eat thereof, wisdom and grace to take the good of it, and to do good with it. If this is God's gift, we must covet it earnestly as the best gift relatmg to our enjoyments in this world.

(4.) That this is the way to make our own lives easy, and to relieve ourselves against the many toils ana troubles wliich our lives on earth are incident to; {y. 20.) He shall not much remember the days of his life, tlie days of his sorrow and sore travail, his working days, his weeping days; he shall either forget them, or remember them as waters that pass away; he shall not much lay to heart his crosses, nor long retain the bitter relish of them, because God answers him in the joy of his heart, balances all the grievances of his labour with the joy of it, and recompenses him for it, by giving him to eat the labour of his hands. If he does not answer all his desires and expectations, in the letter of them, yet he answers them with that which is more than equivalent, in the joy of his heart. A cheerful spirit is a great blessing; it makes the yoke of our employments easy, and the burthen of our afflictions light.

CHAP. VI.

In this chapter, I. The royal preacher goes on further to show the vanity of worldly wealth, when men place their happiness in it, and are eager and inordinate in laving it up. Riches, in the hands of a man that is wioe and generous, are g'ood for something, but, in the hands of a sordid, sneaking, covetous, miser, they are good for nothing. 1. He takes an account of the possessions and enjoyments which such a man may have. He has wealth, (v. 2.) he has children to inherit it, (v. 3.) and lives long, V. 8, 9. 2. He describes his folly in not taking the comfort of it; he has no power to eat of it, lets stangers devour it, is never filled with good, and, at last, has no burial, V. 2, 3. 3. He condemns it as an evil, a common evil, vanity, and a disease, v. 1,2. 4. He prefers the condition of a still-born child before the condition of such a one, v. 3. The still-born child's infelicity is only negative, (v. 4, 5.) but that of the covetous worldling is positive; he lives a great while, to see himself miserable, v. 6. 6. He shows the vanity of riches, as pertaining only to the body, and giving no satisfaction to the mind, (v. 7, 8.) and of those boundless desires with which covetous people vex themselves, (v. 9.) which, if they be gratified ever so fully, leave a man but a man still, v. 10. II. He concludes this discourse, of the vanity of the creature, with this plain inference from the whole, That it is folly to think of making up a happiness for ourselves in the things of this world, v. 11, 12. Our satisfaction must be in another life, not in this.

1. npHERE is an evil which I have seen JL under the sun, and it is common among men: 2. A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease. 3. If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days ol his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also

thai he have no burial; I say, that an un-

j timely birth w better than he: 4. For he

: cometh in with vanity, and departeth in

j darkness, and his name shall be covered

with darkness. 5. Moreover, he hath not

seen the sun, nor known anj/ thin^: this hath

more rest than the other. 6. Yea, though

he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath

he seen no good: do not all go to one place?

Solomon had showed, in the close of the foregoing chapter, how good it is to make a comfortable use of the gifts of God's providence; now here he shows the evil of the contrary, having, and not using, gathering to lay up for I know not what contingent emergencies to come, not to lay out on the most urgent occasions present; this is an evil which Solomon himself saw under the sun, v. 1. A great deal of evil there is under the sun; there is a world above the sun, where there is no evil, yet God causes his sun to shine ufion the evil as well as iipon the good, which is an aggravation of the evil. God has lighted up a candle for his servants to work by, but thejr bury their talent as slothful and unprofitable, and s* waste the light, and are unworthy of it. Solomon, as a king, inspected the manners of his subjects, and took notice of this evil as a prejudice to the public, who are damaged, not only by men's prodigality on the one hand, but by their penuriousness on the other; as it is with the blood in the natural body, so it is with the wealth of the body politic; if, instead of circulating, it stagnates, it will be of ill consequence. Solomon, as a preacher, observed the evils that were done, that he might reprove them and warn people against them. This evil was, in his days, common, and yet then there was great plenty of silver and gold, which, one would think, should have made people less fond of riches; the times also were peaceable, nor was there any prospect of trouble, which to some is a temptation to hoard; but no providence will of itself, unless the grace of God work with it, cure the corrupt affection that is in the carnid mind to the world and the things of it; nay, when riches increase, we are most apt to set our hearts ufion them. Now concerning this miser, observe,

I. The abundant reason he has to serve God with joyfulness and gladness of heart; how well God has done for him;

1. He has given him riches, wealth, and honour, V. 2. Note, (1.) Riches and wealth commonly gain people honour among men. Though it be but an image, if it be a golden image, all fieofile, nations, and languages, wiW fall down, and worshifi it. (2.) Riches, wealth, and lionour, are God's gifts, the gifts of his providence, and not given, as his rain and sunshine, alike to all, but to some, and not to others, as God sees fit. (3.) Yet they are given to many that do not make a good use of them, to many to whom God does not give wisdom and grace to take the comfort of them, and serve God with them. The gifts of common providence are bestowed on m;mv to whom are denied the gifts of special gracc^ without which the gifts of providence often do morer hurt than good.

• 2. He wants nothing for his soul, of all that he de-

[ sires. Providence has been so liberal to liim, that

I lie has as much as heart could wish, and more, Ps.

! Ixxiii. 7. He does not desire grace for his soul, the

lietter part; all he desires, is, enough to gratify the

sensual appetite, and tiiat he has: his belly is 'filled

with these hid treasures, Ps. xvii, 14.

o. lie is supposed to have a numerous family, to beget a hwidred children, whicli are the stay and strength of his house, and as a quiver full of c-

ECCLESIASTES, VI.

813

rows to him, which are the honour and credit of his house, and in whom he has the prospect of having his name built up, and having all the immortality this world can give him. T/iey are full of children, (Ps. xvii. 14.) while many of God's people are written childless, and stript of all.

4. To complete his happiness, he is supposed to live many years, or rather many days, for our life is to be reckoned rather by days than years; the days of his years arc many, and so healthful is his constitution, and so slowly does age creep upon him, th.it they are likely to be many more. Nay, he is supposed to live a thousand years, which no man (thut we know of) ever did; nay, a thousand years (wee told, a small part of which time, one would think, were enough to convince men, by their own experience, of the folly both of those that expect to find all good in worldly wealth, and of those that expect to find any good in it but in using it.

II. The little heart he has to use this which God gives him, for the ends and pui-poses for which it was given him. This is his fault and folly, that he renders not again according to the benefit done unto him, and serves not the Lord God, his Benefactor, ivithjoyfulness and gladness of heart, in the abundance of all things: in the day of prosperity he is not joyful. Tristis es, et felix? Art thou hafifiy, yet sad'^ See his folly:

1. He cannot find in his heart to take the comfort of what he has himself. He has meat before him, he has wherewith to maintain himself and his family comfortably, but he has not Jioiver to eat thereof; his sordid niggardly temper will not suffer him to lay it out, no not upon himself, no not upon that which is most necessary for himself. He has not power to reason himself out of this absurdity, to conquer his covetous humour. He is weak indeed, who has not power to use what God gives him, for God gives him not that/;ower but withholds it from him, to punish him for his other abuses of his wealth; because he has not the will to serve God with it, God denies him the power to serve himself with it.

2. He suffers those to prey upon him, that he is under no obligations to; A stranger eateth it. This is the common fate of misers, they will not tnist their own children, perhaps; but retainers and hangers-on, that have the art of wheedling, insinuate themselves into them, and find ways of devouring what they have, or getting it to be left to them by their wills. God orders it so that a stranger eats it; strangers devour his strength, Hos. \ii. 9. Prov. V. 10. This may be well called vanity, and an evil disease. What we have we have in vain, if we do not use it; and that temper of mind is certainly a most wretched distemper, which keeps us from using it. Our worst diseases are those from the corruption of our own hearts.

3. He deprives himself of the good that he might have had of his worldly possessions; not only forfeits it, but robs himselt of it, and tlirows it from him; His soul is not filled ninth good, v. 3. He is still unsatisfied and uneasy. His hands are filled with riches, his barns filled, and his bags filled, but his soul is not filled with good, no, not with that good, for it is still craving mere. Nay, {v. 6.) he has not seen gOod, he cannot so much as please his eye, for that is still looking further, and looking with envy on those that have more. He has not even the sensible good of an estate. Though he looks not beyond the things that are seen, yet he looks not with any true pleasure on them.

4. He has no burial, none agreeable to his rank, no decent burial, but the burial of an ass; either through the sordidnets of his temper he will not allow himself a fashionable burial, but forbids it, or the strangers that ha^■e eaten him up leave him so ooor, at last, that he has not wherewithal, or those

I to whom he leaves what he has have so little esteem for his memory, and are so greedy of what they are to have from him, that they will not be at the charges of burying him handsomely, which his own children, if he had left it to them, would not have grudged him.

III. The preference which the preacher gives to an untimely Ijirth before him; An untimely birth, a child that is carried from the womb to the gi-ave is better than he. Better is the fruit that drops from the tree before it is ripe, than that which is left to hang on till it is rotten. Job, in his passion, thinks the condition of an untimely birth better than his, when he was in adversity;" (Job iii. 16.) but Solomon here proncunces it better than the condition of a worldling in his greatest prosperity, when the world smiles upon him.

1. He grants the condition (;f an untimely birth, upon many accounts, to be very sad; {v. iv. 5.) He comes in with vanity, for, as to this world, he that is born, and dies immediately, was born in vain, and lie departs in darkness, little or no notice is taken of him; being an abortive, he has no name, or, if he had, it would soon be forgotten and buried in oblivion, it would be covered with darkness, as the body is with the eartli. Nay, {v. 5.) he has not seen tHe sun, but from the darkness of the womb he is hurried immediately to that of the grave, and, which is worse than not being known to any, he has not known any thing, and therefore has come short of that which is the greatest pleasure and honour of man. Those that live in wilful ignorance, and know nothing to puiposc, are no better than an untimely birth that has not seen the sun, nor know?i a?iy thing.

2. Yet he prefers it before that of a covetous miser; this untimely birth has more rest than the other, for this has some rest, but the other has none; this has no trouble and disquiet, but the other is in pei-pe-tual agitation, and has nothing but trouble, trouble of his own making. The shorter the fife is, the longer the rest; and the fewer the days, and the less we have to do with this troublesome world, the less trouble we know.

'Tis better die a cliild at four, Than live, and die so at fourscore.

The 1-eason he gives why this has more rest, is, because all go to one place to rest in, and this is sooner at his I'est, v. 6. He that lives a thousand years goes to the same place with the child that does not live an hour, ch. iii. 20. The grave is the place we shall all meet in. Whatever differences there may be in men's condition in this world, they must all die, are all under the same sentence, and, to outward appearance, their deaths are alike. The grave is, to one as well as another, a land of silence, of darkness, of separation from the living, and a sleeping-place. It is the common rendezvous of ricli and poor, honourable and mean, learned and unlearned; the short-lived and long-lived meet in the grave, only one rides post thither, the other goes by a slower conveyance; the dust of both min- . gle, and lie undistinguished.

7. All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. 8. For wliat hath the wise more than the fool ? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? 9. Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: tliis is also vanity and vexation of spirit. 10. That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither

ECCLESIASTES, VI.

may he contend with him that is mightier jl

than he. jj

The preacher here further sl\ows the vanity and folly of heaping up worldly wealth, and expecting happiness in it

1. How much soever we toil about the world, and get out of it, we can have for ourselves no more than a maintenance; (^v. 7.) ^11 the labour of man is for his mouth, which craves it of him; (Prov. xvi. 26.) it is but food and raimejit, what is more, others have, not we; it is all for the mouth; meats are butybr the belly, and the belly for meats, there is nothing for the head and heart, nothing to nourish or enrich the soul. A little will serve to sustain us comfortably, and a great deal can do no more.

2. Those that have ever so much, are still craving; let a man labour ever so much for his ?nouth, yet the apfietite is 7iot filled. (1.) Natural desires ai-c still returning, still pressing; a man may be fensted to-dav, and yet hungry to-morrow. (2.) Worldly sinful desires are insatiable, ch. v. 10. Wealth to a worldling is like drink to one in a dropsy, which does but increase the thirst. Some read the wliole verse thus; Though all a man's labour fall out to his own mind, (^ori ejus obveniat — so as to corresfiond with his views, Juv.) just as himself would have it, yet his desire is not satisfied, still he has a mind to something more. (2.) The desires of the soul find nothing in the wealth of the world to give them any satisfaction. The soul is not filled, so the word is. When God gave Israel their re-guest, he seyit leanness into their souls, Ps. cvi. 15. He was a fol, who, when his barns were full, said. Soul, take thine ease.

3. A fool may have as much worldly wealth, and may enjoy as much of the pleasure of it, ae a wise man; nay, and perhaps not be so sensible of the vexation of it; What has the wise more than the fool? V. 8. Perhaps he has not so good an estate, so good a trade, nor such good preferment, as the fool has. Nay, suppose them to be equal in their possessions, what can a wise man, a scholar, a wit, a politician, squeeze out of his estate more than needful supplies? But a half-witted man may do this. A fool can fare as well and relish it, can dress as well, and make as good a figure in any public appearance, as a wise man; so that if there were not pleasures and honour peculiar to the mind, which the wise man has more than the fool, as to this world they would be upon a level.

4. Even a poor man, who has business, and is discreet, diligent and dexterous, in the management of it, may get as comfortably through this world as he that is loaded with an overgrown estate. Consider what the poor has less than the rich, if he but knows to walk before the living, knows how to conduct himself decently, and do his duty to all, how to get an honest livelihood by h.is labour, how to spend his time well, and improve his opportunities. What has he? Why, he is better beh ved, and more respected, among his neigl\bours, find has a better interest, than many a rich man that is griping and haughty. Mliat has he? Why, he has as much of the comfort of this life, has food and raimeiit, and is therewith content, and so is as ti-uly rich as he that ha.s abundance.

5. The enjoyment of what we have cannot but be acknowledged more rational than a greedy grasping at more; {y. 9.) Better is the sight of the eyes, making the best of that which is present, thai) the wandering of the desire, the uneasy walking of the soul after things at a distance, and the affecting of a va-liety of imaginary satifactions. He is much happier that is always content, though he has evei so little, than he that is always coveting, though he |

has ever so much. We cannot say. Better is the sight of the eyes than the fixing of the desire upon God, and the resting of the scul in him; it is better to live by faith in things to come than to live by sense, which dwells only upon present things; but better is the sight of the eyes thaji the roving of the desire after the world, and the things cf it, than which nothing is more uncertain nor more unsatisfying at the best. This wandering of the desire is vanity and vexation ofsfiir't; it is vanity at the best; if what is desired be obtained, it proves not what we promised ourselves from it, but comn'only the wandering desire is crossed and disappoii.ted, and then it turns to vexation of spirit.

6. Our lot, whatever it is, is that which is appointed us by the counsel of God, which ctmnot be altered, and it is therefore our wisdom to reconcile ourselves to it, and cheerfully to acquiesce in it; (x*. 10.) That which has been, or, as some read it, that which is, and so likewise that which shall be, is named already, it is already determined in the divine foreknowledge, and all our care and pains cannot make it otherwise than as it is fixed; Jacta est alea — 772*? die is cast; it is therefore folly to quarrel with that which will be as it is, and wisdom to make a virtue of necessity. We shall have what pleases God, and let that please us.

7. Whatever we attain to in this world, still we are but men, and the greatest possessions and preferments cannot set us above the common accidents of human life; That which has been, and is, that busy animal that makes such a stir and such a noise in the world, is named already; he that made him gave him his name, and it is known that it is man, that is his name by which he must know himself, and it is a humbling name, Gen. v. 2. He called their name jidam; and all theirs have the same character, red earth. Though a man could make himself master of all the treasures of kings and provinces, yet he is a man still, mean, mutable, and mortal, and may at any time be involved in the calamities that ai-e common to men. It is good for rich and great men to know and consider that they are but men, Ps. ix. 20. // is known that they are but men; let them put what face they will upon it, and, like the king of Tyre, set their heart as the heart of God, yet the Eg}'ptians are men, and not gods, and it is known that they are so.

8. How far soever our desires wander, and how closely soever our endeavours keep pace with them, we cannot strive with the Divine Providence, but must submit to the disposals of it, whether we will or no. If it is man, he may not contend with him that is mightier than he; it is presumption to arraign God s proceedings, and to charge him with foUv or iniquity; nor is it to any pui-pose to com-plam of him, for he is in one mind, and who can turn him? Elihu pacifies Job with this incontestable principle. That God is greater than man, (Job xxxiii. 12.) and therefore man may not contend with him, nor resist his judgments, when they come with commission. A man cannot with the greatest riches make his part good against the arrests of sickness or death, but must yield to his fate.

11. Seeing there be many thhigs that increase vanity, what is man the better? 1 i\ For who knoweth what is good for man in this hfe, all the days of his vain life \\\\\q\\ hespendeth as a shadow? For who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

Here, 1. Solomdn lays down his conclusion, which he had undertaken to prove, as that which was fully

ECCLESIASTES, VII.

815

confirmed by the foregoing discourse; There be many things that increase vanity; the life of man is vain, at the best, and there are abundance of accidents that concur to make it more so; even that which pretends to increase the wealth and pleasure, does but increase the vanity, and make it more vexatious.

2. He draws some inferences from it, which serve further to evince the truth of it.

(1.) That a man is never the nearer to true hap-

?incss for the abundance that he hasin this world; Vhat is man the better for his wealth and pleasure, his honour and preferment? What remains to man? What residuum has he, what overplus, what real advantage, when he comes to balance his accounts? Nothmg that will do him any good, or turn to account.

(2.) That we do not know what to wish for, because that which we promise ourselves most satisfaction in, often proves most vexatious to us; Who hiows what is good for a man in this life, where every thing is vanity, and any thing, even that which we most covet, may prove a calamity to us? Thoughtful people are in care to do every thing for the best, if they knew it; but as it is an instance of the corruption of our hearts, that we are apt to desire that as good for us which is really hurtful, as children that cry for knives to cut their fingers with; so it is an instance of the vanity of this world, that what, accor ling to all probable conjectures, seems to be for the best, often proves otherwise; such is our short-sightedness concerning the issues and events of things, and such broken reeds are all our creature-confidences. We know not how to advise others for the best, nor how to act ourselves, because that which we apprehend likely to be for our welfare may become a trap.

(3.) That therefore our life upon earth is what we have no reason to take any great complacency in, or to be confident of the continuance of: it is to be reckoned by days, it is but a vain life, and we spend it as a shadow, so little is there m it substantial, so fleeting, so uncertain, so transitory, is it, and so little in it to be fond of, or to be depended on. If all the comforts of life be vanity, life itself can have no great reality in it, to constitute a happiness for us.

(4.) That our expectations from this world are as uncertain and deceitful as our enjoyments are. Since every thing is vanity. Who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun? He can no more please himself with the hopes of what shall be after him, to his children and family, than with the relish of what is with him, since he can neither foresee himself, nor can any one else foretell to him, what shall be after him; nor shall he have anv intelligence sent him of it when he is gone; his sons c^ime to honour, and he knows it not; so that, look ♦'hich way we will. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.

CHAP. VII.

Solomon had given many proofs and instances of the yanity of this world and the thinps of it; now, in this chapter, I. He recommends to us some good means proper to be used for the redress of these o-rievances, and the arming of ourselves against the mischief we are in danger of from them, that we may make the best of the bad. As, j 1. Care of our reputation, v. 1. 2. Seriousness, v. 2.. : 6. 3. Calmness of spirit, v. 7. . 10. 4. Prudence in the nanagementof all our affairs, v. 11, 12. 6. Submission ' to the will of God in all events, accommodating our- ! selves to every condition, v. 13.. 15. 6. A conscientious avoidin<T of all dangerous extremes, v. 16.. 18. 7. Mildness and tenderness toward those that have been injurious to us, V. 19.. 22. In short, the best way to save ourselves from the vexation which the vanity of the world creates us, is, to keep our temper, and to maintain a strict government of our passions. 11. He laments his own iniquity, as that which was more vexatious tiian

any of these vanities, that mystery of iniquity, the having of many wives, by which he was drawn away from God and his duty, v. 23.. 29.

1. 4 GOOD name is better than precious J\- ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. 2. // is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to th(i house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay il to his heart. 3. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 4. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning: but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. 6. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of a fool. This also is vanity.

In these verses, Solomon lays down some great truths, which seem paradoxes to the unthinking part, that is, the far greatest part, of mankind.

I. That the honour of virtue is really more valuable and desirable than all the wealth and pleasure in this world; (y. 1.) A good name is before good ointment, so it may be read; it is preferable to it, and will be rather chosen by all that are wise. Good ointment is here put fof- all the profits of the earth, among the products of which oil was reckoned one of the most valuable, for all the delights of sense, for ointment and perfume, which rejoice the heart, and it is called the oil of gladness, nay, and for tlie highest titles of honour with which men are dignified, for kings are anointed. j1 good name is better than all riches; (Prov. xxii. 1.) a name for wisdom and goodness with those that are wise and good— the memory of the just; this is a good that will bring a more grateful pleasure to the mind, will give a man a larger opportunity of usefulness, and will go further and last longer, than the most precious box of ointment; for Christ paid Mary for her ointment with a good name, a name in the gospels, (Matth. xxvi. 13.) and we are sure he always pays with advantage.

II. That, all things considered, cur gf^ing out of the world is a greater kindness to us than our coming into the world was; The day of death is preferable to the birth-day; though, as to others, there was joy when a child was born into the nvorld, and where there is death, there is lamentation, yet, as to ourselves, if we have lived so as to merit a good name, the day of our death, which will put a period to our cares, and toils, and sorrows, and remove us to rest, and joy, and eternal satisfaction, is better than the day of our birth, which ushered us into a world of so much sin and trouble, vanity and vexation. We were born to uncertainty, but a good man does not die at uncertainty. The day of our birth clogged our souls with the burthen of the flesh, but the clay of our death will set them at liberty from that burthen.

III. That it will do us more good to go to a funeral than to go to a festival; {v. 2.) It is better to go to the house of mourning, and there weep with them that weep, than to go to the house of feasting, to a wedding, or a wake, there to rejoice with them that do rejoice. It will do us more good, and make better impressions upon us. We may lawfully go to both, as there is occasion; our Saviour both feasted at the wedding of his friend in Cana, and wept at the grave of his friend in Bethany; and we may possibly both glorify God, and do good, and get good, in the house of feasting; but, considering how Ave

ECCLESIASTES, vll.

are apt to be vain and frothy, proud and secure, and indulgent of the flesh, it is better for us to go to the house of mourning, not to see the pomp ot the funeral, but to share in the sorrow ot it, and to learn good lessons, both from the dead, who is going thence to his long home, and from the mourners, who go about the streets.

The uses to be gathered from the house of mourning, are, 1. By way of information; That is the end of all men; it'/.? the end of man as to tliis world, a hnal period to his state here, he shall return no more to his house; it is the end of all men; all have sinned, and therefore death passes ufion all; we must thus be left by our friends as the mourners are, and thus leave, as the dead do. What is the lot of others will be ours; the cup is going round, it will come to our turn to pledge it shortly. 2. By way of admonition: The living will lay it to his heart. Will they? It were well if they would; thty that are spiritually alive nvill lay it to heart, and, as for all the survivors, one would think they should; it is their own fault if they do not; for nothing is more easy and natural than by the death of others to be put in mind of our own. Some perhaps ivill lay that to heart, and consider their latter end, who would not lay a good sermon to heart.

For the further proof of this, {v. 4.) he makes it the character, (1.) Of a wise man, that his heart is in the house of mourning; he is much conversant with mournful subjects; and it is both an evidence and a furtherance of his wisdom; the house of mourning is the wise man's school, where he has learned many a good lesson, and there, where he is serious, he is in his element. When lie is in the house of mourning, his heart is there, to improve the spectacles of mortality that are presented to him; nay, when he is in the house of feastiiig, his heart is in the house of mourning, by way of sympathy with those that are in sorrow.

(2.) It is the character of a fool, that \\\?, heart is in the house of mirth; his heart is all upon it, to be merry and jovial, his whole delight is in sport and gaiety, in merry stories, merry songs, and merry companv, merry days, and merry nights. If he be at any time in the house of mourning, he is under a restraint, his heart at the same time is in the house of mirth; this is his folly, and helps to make him more and more foolish.

IV. That gravity and seriousness better become us, and are better for us, than mirth and jollity, v. 3. The common proverb says, "An ounce of mirth is worth a pound of sorrow;" but the preacher teaches us a contrary lesson; Sorrow is better than laughter, more agreeable to our present state, where we are daily sinning, and suflFering ourselves, naore or less, and daily seeing the sins and sufFerings of ethers. While we are in a vale of tears, we should conform to the temper of the climate: it is also more for our ad\'antage, for by the sadness that appears in the countenance,' the fieart is often made better. Note, 1. That is best for us which is best for our iouls, by wliich the he<art is made better, though it be unpleasing to sense. 2. Sadness is often a happy means of s.riousness, and that affliction which is impairing to the health, estate, and family, may be impro\ ing to the mind, and make such impressions upon that, as may alter its temper very much for the better; nviy make it humble and meek, loose from the world,' penitent for sin, and careful of duty. Vexatio dat intellectum — Vexation sharpens the intellect. Pcriisscm nisi periissem —/ had perished, if I had not been made wretched. It will follow, on the contrary, that by the mirth and frolicksome-ness of the countenance the heart is made worse, more vain, carnal, sensual, and secure, more in love with the world, and more estranged from God and spiritual things, (Job xxi. 12, 14.) till it become

utterly unconcenK In the afflictions of Joseph, as those, Amos vi. 5, 6. and the king and Hamany Esth. iii. 15.

V. That it is much better for us to have cur corruptions mortified by the rebuke of the wise tlum to have them gratified by the song of fools, v. 5. Many that would be very well pleased to hear tlie information of tlie wise, and much more to have their commendations and consolations, yet do net care for hearing their rebukes, that is, care not frr being told of their faults, though ever so wisely; but therein they are no friends to themselves, for re-proofs of instruction are the way of life, (Prov. vi. 23.) and though they be not so pleasant as the song of fools, they are more wholesome. To hear, net only with patience, but with pleasure, the rebuke of the wise, is a sign and means of wisdom; but to be fond of the song of fools, is a sign that the mind is vain, and is the way to make it more so. And what an absurd thing it is for a man to dote so much upon such a transient pleasure as the laughter of a fool is, which may fitly be compared to the bummg of thorns under a pot, which makes a great noise, and a great blaze, for a little while, but is gone pre-sentlv, scatters its ashes, and c(^ntributes scarcely any thing to the production of a boiling lieat, for that requires a constant fire! The laughter of a fool is noisy and flashy, and is net an instance of tnae joy. This is also vanity, it deceives men to their destraction, for the'end of that inirth is heavi-?iess. Our blessed Saviour has read us our doom; Blessed are ye that weep now, for ye shall laugh; wo to you that laugh now, for ye shall mourn and weep, Luke vi. 21, 25.

7. Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart. 8. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; and the patient in spirit is better Uian the proud in spirit. 9. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. 10, Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these ? for thou dost not inquuie wisely concerning this.

Salomon had often complained Ijefore of the op-p7-essions which he saw under the sun, which gave occasion for many melancholy speculations, and were a great discouragement to vii-tue and piet}'.

Now here,

I. He grants the temptation to be strong; {v. 7.) Surely, it is often too true, that oppressio77S make a wise man mad. If a wise man be much and long oppressed, he is very apt to speak and act unlike himself, to lay the reins on the neck of his passions, and break out into indecent complaints against God and man, or to make use of unlawful dishonourable means of relieving himself. The righteojis, when the rod of the wicked rests long on their lot, are in danger of putting forth their hands to iniquity, Ps. cxxv. 3. When even wise men have unreasonable hardships put upon them, they have much ado to keep their temper, and to keep their place. It destroys the heart of a gift, so the latter clause may be read; even the'generous heart that_ is ready to give gifts, and a gracious heart that is endowed with manv excellent gifts, is destroyed by being oppressed. 'We should therefore make great allowances to those that are abused, and ill dealt with, and not be severe in our censures of them, though they do not act so discreetly as they should; we know not what we should do if it were our own case.

II. He argues against it; let us not fret at the

ECCLESJASTES, VII.

017

powei- and success of oppressors, nor be envious at them, for,

1. The character of oppressors is very I)ad, so some understand, v. 7. It he that had the i-eputa-tion of a wine man, becomes an ofi/iressor, he bc-v;omes a mad man, his reason is departed from liim, he is no better than a roaring Hon and a ranging bear, and the gifts, the bribes, he takes, the gains he seems to reap by liis oppressions, do but destroy his heart, and quite extinguisii the poor remains of sense and virtue in him, and therefore he is ratlier to be pitied than envied; let him alone, and he will act so foolishly, and drive so furiously, tliat in a little time he will ruin himself.

2. The issue, at length, will be .good; Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; by faith see what the end will be, and with patience expect it When proud men begin to oppress tlieir poor honest neighbours, they think their power will bear them out in it, they doubt not but to carry the day, and gain the point; but it will prove better in the end than it seemed in tlie beginning, their power will be broken, their wealth gotten by oppression will be wasted and gone, they will be humbled and brought down, and reckoned with for their injustice, and oppressed innocency will be both relieved and recompensed. Better ivas the end of Moses's treaty with Pharoah, that proud oppressor, when Israel was brought forth with triumph, than the begimiing of it, when the tale of bricks was doubled, and every thing looked discouraging.

He arms us against it with some necessary directions. If we would not be driven mad by oppression, but preserve the possession of our own souls,

1. We must be clothed with humility; for the proud in spirit are they tliat cannot bear to be trampled upon, but grow outrageous, and fret themselves, when they are hardly bestead; that will break a proud man's heart which will not break a humble man's sleep. Mortify j)nde, therefore, and a lowly spirit will easily be reconciled to a low condition.

2. We must put on patience; bearing patience, to submit to the will of God in the affliction, and waiting patience, to expect the issue in God's due time. The fiatient in spirit are here opposed to the proud in spirit, for where there is humility, there will be patience; those will be thankful for any thing, who own they deserve nothing at God's hand; and the patiejit are said to be better than the proud, they are more easy to themselves, more acceptable to others, and more likely to see a good issue oi their troubles.

3. We must govern ovir passion with wisdom and grace; {y. 9.) Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; those that are hasty in their expectations, and cannot brook delays, are apt to be angry if they be not immediately gratified; " Be not angry at proud oppressors, or any that are the instruments of your trouble." (1.) "Be not soon angry, not quick in apprehending an affront, and resenting it, nor forward to express your resentments of it." (2.) *' Be not lo7ig angry;" for though anger may come into the bosom of a wise man, and pass through it as a way-faring man, it rests only in the bosom of fools, there it resides, there it remains, there it has the innermost and uppermost place, there it is hugged as that which is dear, and laid in the bosom, and not easilv parted with. *He therefore that would approve himself so wise as not to give place to the deT'il, must not let the sun go down upon his wrath, Eph. iv. 26, 27.

4. We must make the best of that which is; (x;. 10.) "Take it not for gi'anted that the former days were better than these, nor inquire what is the cause that they were so, for therein thou dost not inquire wisely, since thou inquirest into the reason oi the

Vol. III.—5 L

' thing before thou art sure that tlie thing Itself is ti-ue; and besides, tliou art so much a stranger lo the times ]xist, and such an incompetent judge even of the present times, tliat thou canst not expect a satisfactory answer to the inquiry, and therefore thou dost not inquire wisely; nay, the supposition is a foolish reflection upon the pi-ovidence of God in the government of the world." Note, (1,) It is folly to cry out of the badness of cur own times, when we ha%e moi-e reason to cry out of the badness of our own hearts, (if men's hearts were bettei-, the times would mend,) and when we have more reason to be thankful that they are not worse, but that even in the worst of times we enjoy manv mercies, wliich help to make them not only tolerable, but comfortable. (2.) It is folly to cry up the goodness of fomier trnies, so as to derogate from the mercy of God to us ni our own times; as if former ages had not the same thmgs to complain of that we have, or if, perhaps, HI some respects, they had not, yet as if God had been unjust and unkind to us in casting our lot in an n-on age, compared with the golden ages that went before us; tins arises from nothing but fretfulness and discontent, and an aptness to pick quarrels with God himself We are not to think there is any universal decay in nature, or degeneracy in morals, God has been always good, and men always bad; and if, in some respects, tlie times are now worse than they have been, perhaps, in other respects, they are better.

11. Wisdom is good \\ ith an inheritance; and by it tliere is profit to them that see the sun. 12. For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge • is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it. 13. Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight which he hath made crooked ] \ 4. In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him. 15. All things have I seen in the days of my vanity : there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness. 16. Be not righteous over-much; neither make thyself over-wise : why should-est thou destroy thyself ? 17. Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time ? 18. /; is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thy hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all. 19. Wisdom strength-eneth the w^ise more than ten mighty men wdiich are in the city. 20. For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not. 21. Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken, lest thou hear thy servant curse thee: 22. For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.

.Solomon, in these verses, recommends wi.;dom to us as the best antidote against those distempers of mind, which we are liable to, by reason of the

ECCLESIASTES, VII.

vanity and vexation of spirit that there ai-e in the things of this world.

Here are some of the praises and the precepts of wisdom.

1. 'i'tie praises of wisdom. Many things are liere said, in its commendation, to engage us to get and retain wisdom.

1. Wisdom is necessary to the riglit managing and improving of our worldly ijossessions; JVisdoni is ffood ivith an inliei'itance; an inheritance is good for little without wisdom. Though a rnan have a great estate, tliough it come easily to him, by descent from his ancestors, if he have not wisdom to use it for the end for which lie has it, he had better ha>e been without it. Wisdom is not only good for the poor, to make them content and easy, but it is good for the rich too, good with riches to keep a man from getting hurt by them, and to enable a man to do good \vith them. JV^isdom is tfood of itself, and m.^kes a man useful; but if he have a good estate witli it, that will put him into a greater capacity of being useful, and with his wealth he may be more serviceable to his generation, than he could have been without it; he will also make friends to himself, Luke xvi. 9. Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, yea, better too, so tlie margin reads it; it is more our own, more our hont.ur, will make us greater blessings, will remain longer with us, and turn to a better account.

2. It is of great advantage to us throughout the whole c urse of our passage through this world; by it there is real projit to them that see the sun, both to those that have it, and to their ontemporaries. It is pleasant to see the sun, {ch. xi. 7.) but that pleasure is not comparable to the pleasure cf wisdom. The light of this world is an adv;'.ntage to us in doing the business of tliis world;' (John xi. 9.) but to them that h ive that advantage, unless withal they have wisdom wherewith to manage their business, that advantage is worth little to them. The clearness of the eye of the understanding is of greater use to us than bodily eye-sight.

3. It contributes much to our safety, and is a shelter to us from the storms of trouble, and its scorching heat; it is a shadow, so the word is, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. JVisdo?n is a defence, and iho7iey, that is, as money is a defence. As a I'ich man makes his Avealth, so a wise man makes his wisdom, a strong city. In the shadow of wisdom, (so the words nm,) and in the shadow of money, there is safety. He puts wisdom and money ti)gether, to confirm what he had said before, that wisdom is good with an inheritance. Wisdom is as a wall, and money may serve as a thorn-hedge, wh'ch protects the field.

4. It is joy and true happiness to a man. This is the excellency of knowledge, divine knowledge, not only above money, but above wisdom too, human wisdom, the wisdom of this world, tliat it gives life to them that have it. The fear of the Lord, that is 7visdo?n, and that is life, it prolongs life. Men's wealth exposes their lives, but their wisdom protects them. Nay, whereas wealth will not lengthen out the natural life, true wisdom will give spiritual life, the earnest of eternal life; so much better is it to get wisdom than gold !

5. It will put strength into a man, and be his stay and support; {v. 19.) Wisdom strengthens the wise, strengthens their spu'its, and makes them bold and resolute, by keepuig them always on sure grounds; it strengthens their interest, and gains them friends and reputation; it strengthens them for their services under their sufferings, and against the attacks that are made upon them, ?nore than ten mighty men, great commanders, strengthen the city. They that are tnily wise and good are taken under God's protection, and are safer than if

ten of the mightiest men in the city, men of the* greatest i)ower and interest, should undertake to secure them, and l)ecome their patrons.

II. Seme of the precepts of wisdom, that wisdom wliich will l)e of so much advantage to us.

I. We nuist have an eye to God and to his han'' in every tiling that befalls us; (t'. 13.) consider thr work of God. To silence our complaints concerning cross e\ents, let us consider the hand cf God in them, and not open cur mouths against that which is his doing; let us look ui)on the disposal of our condition and all tlie circumstances of it as the work of God, and consider it as tlie product cf his eternal counsel, which is fulfilled in e\ ery thing that befalls us. Consider that every work ot Grd is wise, just, and good, and there is' an admirable beauty and harmony in his works, and all will appear, at last, to have been for the best. Lit us therefore give him the glory rf ;dl his works concerning us, and study to answer his designs in them. Consider the work of God, as that Avhich we cannot make any alteration of Who can make that straight which he has ?nade crooked!^ Who can change the nature of things from what is settled by the Gcd of nature* If he speak trouble, who can make peace? And if he hedge up the way with thorns, who can get forward? If desolating judgments go forth with commission, who can put a stop to them ? Since therefore we cannot mend God's work, we ought to make the best of it.

We must accommodate ourselves to the varicus dispensations of Providence, that respect us, and do the work and duty of the day in its day, v. 14. Observe,

(1.) How the appointments and events of Providence are counterchanged. In this world, at the same time, some are in prosperity, ethers are in adversity; the same persons, at one time, are in great prosperity, at another time, in great adversity; nay, one event prosperous, and another grie\ous, may occur to the same person at the same time; both come from the hand of Grd, out of his mouth both evil and good, proceed, (Isa. xiv. 7.) and he has set the one over against the other, so that there is a verv short and easy passage between them, and they are a foil to each other; day and night, summer and winter, are set the one over against the other, that in prosperity we may rejoice as though we rejoiced not, and in adversity may weep as though we wept not, for we may phiinly see the one frrm the other, and quickly exchange the one for the other; and it is to the enii that man may find nothing after him, that he may not be at any certainty concerning future events, or the continuance of the present scene, but may live in a dependence Upon Providence, and be ready for whatever happens. Or, that man may find nothing in the word of God which he can pretend to amend.

(2.) How we must comply with the will of God, in events of both kinds. Our religion, in general, must be the same in all conditions, but the particular instances and exercises of it must vary, as our outward condition does, that we may walk after the Lord. [1.] In a day of prosperity, (and it is but a day,) we must be joyful, be in good, be doing good, and getting good,' maintain a holy cheerfulness, and se}-ve the Lord with gladness of heart in the abundance of all things. " V\-heu the world snhles, rejoice in Ciod, and praise him, and let the joy of the Lord be thy strength." [2.] In ;; day of ad-versity, (and "that is but a day tor,) consider. Times of affliction are proper times f r consideration, then God calls Xa consider, (Hay. i. 5.) then, if ever, we are disposed to it, and no good will be gotten by the affliction without it. We cannot answer God's end in afflicting us, unless we consider ^vhv and wlierefore he contends with us. And con-

ECCLESIASTES, VIl.

81 y

sideration is necessary also to oui* comfoit and support under our afflictions.

3. We must not be offended at the greatest prosperity of wicked people, nor at the saddest calamities that may befall tlie godly in this life, xk 15. Wisdom will" teach us how to construe those dark chapters of Providence, so as to reconcile them with the wisdom, holiness, goodness, and faithfulness, of God. We must not think it strange; Solomon tells us there were instances rf this kind in his time; " ylll things have I seen in the days of my XHmity; I have taken notice of uU that passed, and this has been as surprising and perplexing to me as any thing." Observe, riiough Solomon was so wise and great a man, yet he calls the days of his life tlie days of his vanity, for the best days on earth are so, in comparison ■with the days ot' eternity. Or perhaps he refers to the days of his ai>ostacy from God, (those were indeed tlie days of his vanity,) and reflects upon this as one thing that tempted liim to infidelity, or,_ at least, to indifferency in religii n, that he saw just men /lerishingin their righteousness, that the greatest piety would not secure men from the greatest afflictions by the hand of God, nay, and sometimes did expose men to the greatest injuries from tlie hands of wicked ;ind unreasonable men. Naboth perished in his righteousness, and Abel long before. He had also seen wicked men prolr nging their lives in their wickedness; Wxey live, and become old, yea, and are mighty in jioiver; (Jol) xxi. 7.) by their fraud and violence they screen themselves from the sword of justice. "Now, in this, consider the work of God, and let it not be a stumbling-block to t^-^e." The calamities of the righteous are preparing them for their future blessedness, and the wicked, while their days are prolonged, are but ripening for ruin. There is a judgment to come, which will rectify this seeming irregularity, to the glory of God, and the full satisfaction of all his people, and we must wait witli patience till then.

4. Wisdom will be of use both for caution to saints in their wa)', and for a check to sinners in their way.

(1.) As to saints, it will engage them to proceed and persevere in their righteousness, and yet will be an admonition to them to take heed of running into extremes; A just man may fierish in his righteousness, but let him not, by his own imprudence and rash zeal, pull trouble upon his own head, and then reflect upon Providence as dealing hardly with him; (xk 16.) "Be not righteous over-much. In the acts of righteousness, govern thyself b}' the rules of prudence, and be not transportc d, no not by a zeal for God, into any intemperate heats or passions, or any practices unbecoming thy character, or dangerous to thine interests." Note, There may be over-doing in well-doing. Self-denial and mortification of the flesh are good; but if we prejudice ovir health by it, and unfit ourselves for the service of God, we are righteous over-much. To reprove those that offend, is good, but to cast that pearl before swine, who will turn again and rend us, is to be righteous over-much. " Make not thyself over-wise; be not opinionative, and conceited of thine own abilities: set not up for a dictator, nor pretend to give law to, and give judgment upon, all about thee: set not up for a critic, to find fault with every thing that is said and done, nor busy thyself in other men's matters; asif th'^u knewest every thing, and couldest do any thing. Why shouldest thou destroy thyself as fools often do b\- meddling with strife that belongs not to them? Why shouldest thou provoke authority, and run thyself into the briers, by needless contradictions, and by going out of tliy sphere to correct what is amiss!* Be wise as serpents, beware of men."

(2.) As to sinners, if it cannot prevail with them \o forsake their sins, yet it may restrain them from

growing very cxorlntant. It is tnie, thei-e is a wicked man that prolongs his life in his wickedness; {v.15.^ but let ncne say, therj.f.^re they may safely be as wicked as tiiey will; no, be not over-much wicked, {v. 17. ) do nc t run to an excess cf riot. Many that vt'ill not be wrought upcn by the fear of Gcd, and a dread of the torments of hell, to avoid all sin, will }et, it they have e\er so little consideration, avoid these sins that ruin their health and estate, ;.nd txpcs-e them to public justice. And Solomon htre makes use of these considcraticns. " The magistrate bears not the sword in vain, has a quick eye and a heavy hand, and is a terror to fuil-doers; therefore be afraid of ccming \s ithin his reach, be net so ftclish as to lay thyself (pen to the law, why shouldest thou die before thy time? Sole mm, in these two cautions, had probably a s]xcial regard to some cf his own subjects that were disaffected to his government, and were im ditating the revolt which they made immediately after his de; th. Some, it may be, quarrelled with the sins cf their governor, and made that their pretence; to them he says. Be not righteous over-much. Others were weary of the strictness cf the government, and the temple-service, and that made them desirous to set up another king; but he frightens both from their seditious practices with tlie sword of justice, and others likewise from meddling with them that were given to change.

5. Wisdom will direct us in the mean between two extremes, and keep us always in the way cf our duty, which we shall find a plain and safe way; {v. 18.) "// is good that thou shouldest take hold of this, this wisdcm, this care, not to rvin thyself into snares; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand, ne\'er slacken thy diligence, nor abate thy resclu-tion to maintain a due decorum, and a good government of thyself; take hold of the bridle by which thy headstrong passions must be held from hurrying thee into one mischief or other, as the horse and mule that have no understanding; and, having taken hold of it, keep thine hold, and withdraw not thine liand from it, tor if thou do, the liberty that they will take will be as the letting forth of water, liiid thou wilt net easily recovc r tlij' hold again. Be conscientious, and yet be cautious, and to this exercise thyself Govern thyself steadily bv the principles of religion, and thou shalt find, that he that f-ars God shall come forth out of all those straits and difficulties which they i-un themselves into that cast oft' that fear." The fear of the Lord is that wisdom which will serve as a clue to extricate us out of the most intric;ite labyrinths. Honesty is the best policy. Tliey that triily fear God have but one end to serve, and therefore act steadilv. Gcd has hkewise promised to direct those that fear him, and to order their steps not only in the right way, but cut of every dangerous way, Ps. xxxvii. 23,'24.

6. Wisdom will teach us how to conduct ourselves in reference to the sins and offences of others, wliich commonly contribute more than any thing else to the disturbance of our repose, which contract both guilt and grief

(1.) Wisdom teaches us not to expect that those we deal with should be faultless; we ourselves are not so, no not the best. This wisdom strengthens the wise as much as any thing, and arms them against the danger that arises from provocation, {v. 19.) so that they are not put into disorder by it; they consider that those they have dealings and cor versation with are not incarnate angels, but siniui sons and daughters of Adam, even the best a?-e so, insrmuch that there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not, v. 20. Solomon has this in his prayer, (1 Kings viii. 46.) in his pro verbs, fProv. xx. 9.) and here in his preach Vig.

ECCLESIASTES, VII.

N te, [1.] It is the character of just men, that they do good; for the tree is known by its fruits. [2. J The best men, and they that do most good, yet cannot say tliat they are perfectly free from sin: even those that are sanctified are not sinless. None that live on this side heaven live without sin; if zve say. We have not sinned, ive deceive ourselves. [3.] We sin even in our doing good; there is something defective, nay something offensive, in our best performances. That which, for the substance of it, is good, and pleasing to God, is not so well done as it should be, and omissions in duty are sins, as well as omissions of duty. [4.] It is only just men upon earth that are subject thus to sin and infirmity; the spirits of just men, when they are got clear of the body, are made perfect in holiness, (Heb. xii. 23.) and in heaven they do good, and sin not.

(2.) Wisdom teaches us not to be quick-sigh ed, or quick-scented, in apprehending and resenting affronts; but to wink at many of the injuries tliat are done us, and act as if we did not see them; {y. 21.) " Take no heed to all vjords that are spoken, set not thy heart to them; vex not thyself at men's peevish reflections upon thee, or suspicions of thee, but be cs a deaf inan that hears not; (Ps. xxxviii. 13, 14.) be not solicitous or inquisitive to know what people say of thee; if they speak well of thee, it will feed thy pride, if ill, it will stir up thy passion; see therefore that thou approve thyself to God and thine own conscience, and then heed not what men say of thee. Hearkeners, we say, seldom hear good of themselves; if thou heed every word that is spoken, perhaps thou tvilt hear thine own servant curse thee, when he thinks thou dost not hear him; thou wilt be told that he does, and perhaps told falsely, if thou have thine ear open to tale-bearers, Prov. xxix. 12. Nay, perhaps it is true, and thou mayest stand behind the curtain, and hear it thyself, mayest hear thyself not only blamed and despised, but cursed, the worst said of thee, and wished to thee, and that by a servant, one of the meanest rank, of the abjects, nay, by thy own servant, who should be an advocate for thee, and protect thy good name, as well as thy other interests; perhaps it is a servant thou hast been kind to, and yet he requites thee thus ill: and this will vex thee, thou hadst better not have heard it. Perhaps it is a servant thou hast wronged, and dealt unjustly with, and though he dares not tell thee so, he tells others so, and tells Crod so, and then thine own conscience will join with him in the reproach, which will make it much more uneasy." The good names of the greatest lie much at the mercy even of the meanest. And perhaps there is a great deal more evil said of us than we think there is, and by those from whom we little expected it. But we do not consult our own repose, no, nor our credit, though we pretend to be jealous of it, if we take notice of eveiT word that is spoken diminishingly of us; it is easier to pass by twenty such affronts than to avenge one.

(3.) Wisdom puts us in mind of our own faults; (v. 22.) "Be not enraged at those that speak ill of thee, or wish ill to thee; for oftentimes, in that case, if thou retire into thyself, thy own conscience will tell thee that thou thyself hast cursed others, spoken ill of them, and wished ill to them, and thou ait paid in thine own coin." Note, When any affront or injury is done us, it is seasonable to examine our consciences, whether we have not done tlie same, or as bad to others; and if, upon reflection, we find we have, we must take that occasion to renew our repentance for it, must justify God, and make use of it to qualify our own resentments. If we be ti-ulv angry with ourselves, as we ought to be, for backbiting and censuring others, we shall be the less angry with others for backbiting and censuring us. We iKJit show all meekness towards all men, fo'- we

ourselves were sometimes foolish. Tit. iii. 2, 3. Matth. vii. 1, 2. James iii. 1, 2.

23. All this have I proved by wisdom I said, I will be v.ise; but it ifos far from me. 24. That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out ? 2.5. I applied my heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness rmd madness: 26, And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken iiy her. 27. Behold, this have I found, (saith the Preacher,) counting one by one, to find out the account; 28. Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found: but a woman among all those have I not found. 29. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

Solomon had hitherto been prc'ving tlie vanity (f the world, and its utter insufficiency to make men happy; now here he comes to show the vileness rf sin, and its certain tendency to make men miserable; and this, as thcf rmer, he proves from his own experience, and it was a deiir-brught experience. He is here, more than any where in all tliis book, putting on the h;ibit rf a penitent. He reviews what he had been discoursing of already, and tells us th'^t what he had said was what he knew, and was well assured of, and what he resolved to stand by; jlll this have I proved bii wisdom, v. 23. Now here,

I. He owns and laments the deficiencies of his wisdom. He had wisdrm enf ugli to see the vanity of the world, and to experience that that would n't make a portion for a s;ul; but, when he came to inquire further, he fc und himself at a loss, his eye was too dim, his line was too short, and though he discovered this, tlicre were many other things which he could not prove bv wisdom.

1. His searches were industrious. God had gi^-^en him a capacity for knowledge above any; he set up with a great stock of wisdom; he had the largest opportunities of improving himself that ever any man had. And, (1.) He resolved, if it were possible, to g;;in his point; / said, J will be wise; he earnestly desired it as highly \ aluable, he fully designed it as that which he looked vipon to be attainable, he determined not to sit down short of it, Prov. xviii. 1. M:iny are not wise, because they ne ver said they would be so, being indifferent to it; but Solomon set it uji for the mark he aimed at. When he made trial nf sensual pleasures, he still thouglit to acquaint his heart with wisdom, {ch. ii. 3.) and not to be diverted from the pursuits of that; but perhaps he did net find it so easy a thing as he imagined, to keep up his correspondence with wisdom, while he addicted himself so much to his pleasures. However, his will was goc d; he said, I will be wise. And that was not all, (2.) He resrlved to sj)are no pains; (v. 25.) " / afifilied my heart; I and my heart turned every way, I left no stone unturned, no means untried, to compass what I had in view. I set myself to know, and to search, and to seek out, wisdom, to accomplish mvself in all useful leaminc", philosophv, and divinity." If he had n^t tlms cV s'ly applied himself to ;tudy, it had be. n but a jes!

ECCLESIASTES, VII.

831

for him to sav, I will be wise; for those that will attain the end must take the right way. Solomon was a man of great quickness, and yet, instead of using that (with many) as an excuse for slothfulness, he pressed it upon himself as an inducement to diligence, and tlie easier lie found it to master a good notion, the more intent he would be that he might be master of the more good notions. Those that have the best parts should take the greatest pains, as tliose thai hav e the largest stock should trade most. He applied himself not only to know what lay uii the surface, but to search what lay hid out of the coauiion view and road; nor did he search a little way, and then give it over, because he did not presentlv find what he searched for, but he sought it. out, went to the bottom of it; nor did he aim to know things only, but the reason of things, that he mii,'ht give an accoimt of them.

2. Yet 1 is success was not answerable or satisfying; "I said, I will he wise, btit it was far from me, I could not c:nnp s it. After all. This only I know, that I know nuthi/ig; and the more I know, the more I see there is to be known, and the more sensible I am of my own ignorance. That which is far off, and exceeding deefi, who can find it out?" He means God lumself, his counsels and his works; wl\en he searciied into these, he presently found himself puzzled and run aground; he could 7iot order his speech by reason of darkness. It is higher thaji heaven, vjhat can he do? Job xi. 8. Blessed be God, there is nothing which we have to do which is not plain and easy; the word is nigh us; (Prov. viii. 9.) but there is' a great deal which we would wish to know, which is/ar off, and exceeding deep, among the secret things which belong not to us. And, proljably, it is a culpable ignorance and error that Solomon here laments, that his pleasures, and the many amusements of his court, had blinded his eyes, and cast a mist before them, so that he could not attain to true wisdom, as he designed.

II. He owns and laments the instances of his folly, in which he had exceeded, as, in wisdom, he came short. Here is,

' 1. His inquiry concerning the evil of sin. He afi-filied his heart to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness. Observe, (1.) The knowledge ot sin is a difficult knowledge, and hard to be attained; Solomon took pains for it. Sin has many disguises with which it palliates itself, as being lo.ith to appear sin, and it is very hard to strip it of these, and to see it in its true nature and colours. (2.) It is necessary to our repentance for sin, that we be acquainted with the evil of it, as it is necessary to tlie cure of a disease, to know its nature, causes, and malignity. St. Paul therefore valued the divine law, because it discovered sin to liim, Rom. vii. 7. Solomon, who, in the days of his folly, had set his wits on work to invent ])lensures, ;ind sharpen them, and was ingenious in making ])rovision for the flesh, now that God had open.d his eves, is as industrious to find out the aggravations of sin, and so to put an edge upon his repentance. Ingenious sinners should be ingenious penitents, and wit and learning, among the other spoils of the strong man armed, should be divided by the Lord Jesus. (3.) It well becomes penitents to sav the worst they can of sin, f(n- the truth is, we can never s])eak ill enmigh of it. Solomon liere, for his further humiliation, desired to see more, [1.] Of the sit fulness of sin; that is it wliich he lays tlie greatest stress upon in this inquiry, to know the wickedness of folly; by which perhap.-. he means his own iniqiiitV, the sin of uncleanness, for that was commonlv c died folly in Israel, Gen. xxxiv. 7. Dent. xxii. 21. Judg. xx. 6. 2 Sam. xiii. 12. When he indulged himself in it, he made a light matter of ?t; but now he desires to see the wickedness oi it, ts great wickedness, so Joseph speaks of it. Gen.

xxxix. 9. Or it may be taken there genei-allv for all sin. Many extenuate their sins with this. They were folly; liut Solomon sees "jvickedness in those follies; an oftence to God, and a wrong to conscience; 771 is is wickedtiess, Jer. iv. 18. Zech. v. 8. [2.] Of the folly of sin; as there is a wickedness in folly, so there is zfollv in wickedness, even foolishness and madness. Wilful siiuiers are fools and madmen; they act contrary both to right reason and to their true interest.

2. The result of this inquiry.

(1.) He now discovered more than ever of the evil of that great sin which he himself had been g\iilty of, the loving of many strange women; (1 Kings xi. 1.) this is that which he here most feelingly laments, and in very pathetic expressions.

j[l.] He found the remembrance of the sin very grievous. Oh how heavy did it lie upon his conscience, what an agony was he in upon the thought of it; the wickedness, the foolishness, the madness, that he had been guilty of! I find it more bitter than death. As great a terror seized him, in reflection ut)on it, as if he had been under the arrest of death. Thus do they that have their sins set in order before them by a sound conviction, cry out against them; they are bitter as gall, nay, bitter as death, to all tiiie penitents. Uncleanness is a sin that is, in its own nature, more pernicious than death itself. Death may be made honourable and comfortable, but this sin can be no other than shame and pain, Piw. V. 9, 11.

[2.] He had found the temptation to the sin very dangerous, and that it was extremely difficult, an^ next to impossible, for those that ventured into the temptation to escape the sin, and for those that had fallen into the sin to recover themselves by repentance. The heart of the adulterous woman is snares and nets; she plays her game to ruin souls with as much art and subtlety as ever any fowler used to take a silly bird. The methods such sinners use are both deceiving and destroying as snares and nets are. The unwary souls are enticed into them by the bait of pleasure, which they greedily catch at, and promise themselves satisfaction in; but they are taken before they are aware, and taken irrecoverably. Her hands are as bands, with which, under colour of fond embraces, she liolds those fast that she has seized; they are held in the cords of their own sin, Prov. v. 22. Lust gets streng-th by l)eing gratified, and its charms are more prevalent. [3.] He reckoned it a great instance of God's favour to any man, if by his grace he has ke])t him from tliis sin; Ife that pleases God shall escape from her, shall be j)reserved either from being tempted to this sin, or from being overcome by the temptation. Those that are kept from this sin, must acknowledge it is God that keejis them, and not any strength or resolution of their own, must acknowledge it a great mercy; and they that would have grace, sufficient for them, to arm them against this sin, must be careful to please God in every thing, by keeping his ordinances. Lev. xviii. 30.

[4.] He reckoned it a sin, that is, ;is sore a punishment of other sins as a man can fall under in this life; The sinner shall be taken by her. First, Those that allow themselves in other sins, by whicli their minds are I)linded, and their consciences debauched, are the more easily drawn to this. Secondly, It is just with God to leave them to themselves to fall into it. See Rom. i. 26, 28. Rph. iv. 18, 19. Thus does Solomon, as it were, with horror, bless himself from the sin in which he had plunged himself.

(2.) He now discovered more tlian ever of the general corruption of man's nature. He runs up that stream to the fountain, as his fatlv.M- had done before him, on a like occasion; (Ps. Ixi. 5.) Behold, I was shafien in iniquity.

ECCLESIASTES, VIII.

[1.] He endeavoured to find out the number of his actual transgressions; {-v. 27.) ^'Behold, this have I found, this I hoped to have found, I thought 1 could have understood my errors, and have brought in a complete list, at least, of the heads of them; I thought I could have counted them one by one, and have found out the account." He desired to find them out as a penitent, that he might the more particularly acknowledge them; and, generally, the more particular we are in the confession ot sin, the more comfort we have in the sense of the pardon; he desired it also, as a preacher, that he might the more particularly give warning to others. Note,_A sound conviction of one sin will put us upon inquiring into the whole confederacy; and the more we see amiss in ourselves, the more diligently we should mquire further into our own faults, that what we see not may be discovered to us. Job xxxiv. 32.

[2.] He soon found himself at a loss, and perceived that they were innumerable; {v. 28.) ^''which yet my soul seeks, I am still counting, and still desirous to find out the account, but I find not, I cannot count them all, nor find out the account of them to perfection. I still make new and amazing discoveries of the desperate wickedness that there is in my own heart," Jer. xvii. 9, 10. Who can know it? Who can understand his errors? Who can tell hoiu often he offends? Ps. xix. 12. He finds thatif God enters hito judgment with him, or he with himself, for all his thoughts, words, and actions, he is not ible to ansnuer for one of a thousand. Job ix. 3. This he illustrates, bv comparing the corruption of his own heai-t and life with the corruption of the world, where he scarcely found one good man among a thousand, nay, among all the thousand wives and concub'.ncs wliich he had, he did not find OTie good Tjoman; "Even so," says he, " when I come to recollect and review my own thoughts, words, and actions, and all the passages of my life past, perhaps among those that were manly I might find one good among a thousand, and that was all, the rest even of those had some corruption or other in them." He found {v. 20.) that he had sinned even in doing good; but for those that were eflFeminate, that passed in the indulgence of his pleasures, they were all naught; in that part of his life there did not appear so much as one of a thousand good. In our hearts and lives there appears little good, at the best, but sometimes none at all. Doubtless, this is not intended as a censure of the female sex in general; it is probable that there have been, and are, more good women than good men; (Acts xvii. 4, 12.) he merely alludes to his own sad experience; and perhaps there may be this further in it, he does, in his proverbs, warn us against the snares both of the evil man and of the strange woman, Prov. ii. 12, 16.—iv. 14.—v. 3. Now he had observed the ways of the cx'/7 women to be more deceitful and dahgerous than those of the evil men, that it was more difficult to discover their frauds and elude their snares; and therefore he compares sin to an adulteress, (Prov. ix. 13.) and perceives he can no more find out the deceitfulness of his own heart than he can that of a stninge woman, whose ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.

^3.] He therefore runs up all the streams of actual transgression to the fountain of original cornip-tion. The source of all the folly and madness that are in the world, is in man's apostacy from God, and his degeneracy from his primitive rectitude; {v. 29.) " Lo, this only have I found; when I could not find out the particulars, yet the gross account was manifest enough; it is as'clear ;is the sun, that man is corrupted and revolted, and is not as he was made." Observe,

First, How man was made by the wisdom and goodness of God; God made man ii/iright; Adam

the first man, so the Chaldee. God made him and he made him upright, such a one as he should be^ being made a rational creature, he was, in all respects, such a one as a rational creature should be, upright, without any irregularity, one could find no fault in him; he was upright, determined to Gtd only, in opposition to the many iyiventions which he afterwards turned aside to. Man, as he came out of God's hands, was (as we may say) a little picture of his Maker, who is good and upright.

Secondly, How he was marred, and, in efiect, unmade, Ijy his own folly and badness; They have sought out many inventions; they, our first parents, or the whole race, all in general, and e\ ery cne in particular. They have sought out great inventions, so some; inventions to become great as g(;ds, Gen. iii. 5. Or, the inventions of the great ones, so seme; of the angels that fell, the Magnates. Or, many inveiitions. Man, instead of resting in what God had found for him, was for seeking to mend himself, like the prodigal that left his father's house, to seek his fortune. Instead of being for one, he was for many; instead of being for God's institutions, he was for his own inventions. The law of his creation would not hold him, but he would be at his own disposal, and follow his own sentiments and inclinations. Vain man would be wise, wiser than his Maker; is giddy and unsettled in his pursuits, and therefore has many inventions. They that forsake Gcd, wander endlessly. Men's actual transgi'essions are multiplied. Solomon could not find out hew many they are; {v. 28.) but he found they were very many. Many kinds of sins, and those often repeated; they are more than the hairs on our heads, Ps. xh 12.

CHAP. VIII.

Solomon, in this chapter, comes to recommend Avisdom to us, as the most powerful antidote against both the temptations and vexations that arise from the vanity of the world. Here is, 1. T!ie benefit and praise of wisdom, T. 1. II. Some particular instances of -wisdom prescribed to us. 1. We must keep in due subjection to the g^overnmenl God has set over us, v. 2-.5. 2. We must pet ready for sudden evils, and especially for sudden death, v. 6 . . 8. 3. We must arm ourselves against the temptation of an oppressive government, and not think it strange, v. 9, 10. The impunity of oppressors makes them more daring, (v. 11.) but in the issue it will be well with the,righteous and ill with the wicked; (v. • 12, 13.) and therefore the present prosperity of the wicked and afflictions of the ritrhteous ought not to be a stumbling-block to us, v. 14. 4. We must cheerfully use the gifts of God's providence, v. 15. 5. We must with an entire satisfaction acquiesce in the will of G<id, and, not pretending to find the bottom, we must humbly and silently adore the depth of his unsearchable counsels, being assured they are all wise, just, and good, v. 16, 17.

1. "V\7HO is as the wise man? and who ▼ V knowoth the interpretation of a tiling? a man's wisdom niaketh liis face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. 2. I counsel thee to keep the king's comniandment, and that in regaid of the oath of God. 3. Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he docth whatsoever plraseth him. 1. Where the word of a king is, there is pow er ; and who may say unto liim. What doest thou? 5. Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.

Here is,

I. An enconiium of wisdom, {v. 1.) that is, of

ECCLESIASTES, Mil.

S2J

tme piety, guided in all its exercises l)y j^rudence and discretion. The wise man is tlie good man, that knows God, and glorifies him, knows liimself, and docs well for himself; liis wisdom is a grc;it happiness to him; for,

1. It atlvanccs him above liis neighliours, and makes liim more excellent tlian they; IV/io i.s an ifie wine Diany Note, Heavenly wisdom will make a man an incomparable man. No man witliont grace, though he be learned, or noble, or rich, is to be compared witli a man that has true grace, and is therefore accepted of (iod.

2. It makes him useful among his neighbours, and very serviceable to them; IVho but tlie wise man knows the interjiretation of a thing, understands the times and the events of tliem, and their critical junctures, so as to direct what Israel ought to do? 1 Chron. xii. 32.

3. It l)eautifies a man in the eyes of his friends; it makes his face to shine, as Moses's did when lie came down from the mount; it puts honour upon a man, and a lustre on his whole conversation, makes him to be regarded and taken notice of, and gains him respect; (as Job xxix. 7, &c.) it makes him lovely and amiable, and the darling and blessing of his country; The strength of his face, the sourness and severity (rf his countenance, (so some understand the list clause,) shall be changed by it into that which is sweet and obliging. Even those whose natural temper is rough and morose, by wisdom are strangely altered, they become mild and gentle, and learn to look pleasant.

4. It imljoldens a man against his adversaries, their attempts, and their scorn; The boldness of his face shall be doubled by wisdom; it will add \ery much to his courage in maintaining his integrity, when lie not only has an honest cause to plead, but by his wisdom knows how to manage it, and wliere to find the interfxretation of a thing. He shall not be ashamed, but shall s/ieak with his enemy in the gate.

II. A particular instance of wisdom pressed upon us, and that is, subjection to authority, and a dutiful and peaceable perseverance in our allegiance to the government which Providence has set over us. Oi)-serve,

1. How the duty of subjects is here described:

(1.) We must be observant of the laws. In all those things wherein the civil power is to inter])ose, whether legislative or judicial, we ought to submit to its order and constitutions; I counsel thee; it may as well be supplied, / charge thee, not only as a prince but as a preacher: he might do both; "I recommend it to thee as a piece of wisdom; I say, whatever those say that are given to change, keeji the king's commandmetit; wherever the sovereign power is lodged, be subject to it. Observe the mouth of a kiiig," (so the phrase is,) "say as he says, do as he bids thee; let his word be a law, or rather let the law be his word." Some understand the following clause as a limitation of this obedience; " Keefi the king's commandment, yet so as to have a regard to the oath of God, so as to keep a good conscience, and not to violate thy oljligations to God, which are prior and simerior to thine oliligations to the king. Render to Ccesar the things that are Caesar's, but so as to reserve pure and entire to God tlie things that are his."

(2.) We must not be forward to find fault with the public administration, or quarrel with every thing that is not just according to our mind, nor quit our post of service under the go\ernment, and tlirow it up, upon every discontent; {xk 3.) "Be not hasty to go out of his sight, when he is disjjleased at thee, {cli. x. 4.) or wlien thou art displeased at him; fly not off in a passion, nor entertain such jealousies of him as will tempt thee to renounce the

court, 01- forsr.ke the kingdom." Solomon's subjects, as soon as his liead was laid low, went directly contrary to this rule, when, ui)r,n tlic rougli answer whic)i Helioboam gave tliem, tliey were hasty to go out of his sight, would not take time for second thoughts, nor admit projiosals (f acccmmodation, but cried, To your toils, 0 Israel. " There may ]jerhaps be a just cause foi- to go out of his sight; but be not hasty to do it, act with great deliberation."

(3.) We nuist not persist in a fault when it is sliowed us; " Stand not in an evil thing; in any offence thou hast given to tliy i)rince, humble thyself, and do not justify tliyself, for that will make the offence much more offensive. In any ill design thcu hast, upon some discontent, conceived against thy prince, do not proceed in it; Ijut if thou hast done foolishly in lifting tt/i thyself, or hast thought evil, lay thy hand up07i thy mouth," Prov. xxx. 32 Note, Though we may by surprise be drawn int( an e\ il thing, yet we must not stand in it, liut recede from it as soon as it ajipears to us to be evil.

(4.) We must prudently accommodate eurselves to our opportunities, Ijoth for our own relief, if we think ourselves wronged, and for the redress of public grievances; A wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment; {v. 5.) it is the wisdom of subjects, in applying themselves to their prince, to inquire and consider liotli at what season, and in what manner, they may do it l^est and most effectually, to pacify his anger, obtain his favour, or obtain the revocation of any grievous measure prescribed. Esther, in dealing with Ahasuerus, took a deal of pains tc discern both time and judg7ne7it, and it sped accordingly. This may be taken as a general rule of wisdom, that every thing should be well-timed; and our enterprises are then likel)' to succeed, wlien we eml^race the exact opportunity for them.

2. What arguments are here used to engage us to be suliject to the liiglier powers; they are much the same with those which St. Paul uses, Rom. xiii. 1, &c.

(1.) We init-st needs be subject, for conscience-sake, andtliat is the most powerful principle of sul^jection; we nuist l)e sul^ject because of tlie oath of God, the. oath of allegiance, which we lia\ e taken to be faith-iid to tlie go\'eniment; the covenant betnveen the king and the /leojile, 2 Chrrn. xxiii. 16. David made a covenant, cr cjintract, with the elders of Israel, though he was King by divine designation, 1 Chron. xi. 3. " Kee/i the king's commaiidments, for he has sworn to rule thee in the fear of God, and thou hast sworn, in that fear, to be faithful to him." It is called t/te oath of God, because lie is a Witness to it, and will avenge the violation of it.

(2.) For wrath's sake; because of the sword which the prince bears, and the power he is intrusted with, which make him very formidable; He does whatsoever Jileases him; he lias a great authority, and a great ability to support that autliority; {y. 4.) Where the word of a king is, giving orders to seize a man, there is Jiovjer; there are many that will execute his orders, which makes the wrath of a king, (jr supreme go\ernment, like the roaring of a lion, and like messengers of death. Jl'ho may say unto him. What doest thout He that contradicts him, does it at his peril. Kings will not bear to have their orders disputed, but expect they should lie obeyed. In short, it is dangerous contending with so\'ereignty, and what many lune rejjented. A subject is an unequal match for a ])rince. He may command me, who has legions at command.

(3.) For the sake of our own comfort; Whoso kee/is the commandmeyit, and lives a quiet and peaceable life, shall feel 7io exnl thing; to which that of the apostle answers, (Rom. xiii. 3.) Wilt thou then not be afraid of the jioiver of the king? Do thai

ECCLESIASTES. VIII.

which is good, as becomes a dutiful and loyal subject, and thou shall, ordinarily, have praise of the same. He that does no ill, shall feel no ill, and needs fear none.

6. Because to every purpose there is time and judgment; therefore tiie misery of man is great upon him. 7. For he knovveth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be? 8, There is no man that hath power over the spirit, to retain the spnit; neither hath he power in the day of death; and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

Solomon hud said, {v. 5.) that a wise ?na?i's heart discerns time and judgment; a man's wisdom will go a great way, by the blessing of God, in moral prognostications; but here he shows that few have that wisdom, and that even the wisest may yet be surprised by a calamity which they had not any foresight of, and therefore it is our wisdom to expect, and prepare for, sudden changes. Observe,

1. All the events concerning us, witli the exact time of them, are determined and appointed in the counsel and foreknowledge of God, and all in wisdom; To every Jiurjiose there is a time prefixed, and it is the btst time, for it is time and judgment, time appointed both in wisdom and rigliteousness; the appointment is ujt chargeable with folly or iniquity.

2. We are very much in the dark concerning fu- | ture events, and the time and season of them; Man knows not that which shall be himself; and who can tell him when or how it shall be? v. 7. It cannot either be foreseen by him, or foretold to him; the stars cannot foretell a man what shall be, n(jr any of the arts of divination;. God lias, in wisdom, concealed from us the knowledge of future events, that we may be always ready for changes.

3. It is our great unhappiness and misery, that, because we cannot foresee an evil, we know not how to avoid it, or guard against it, and, because we are not aware of the proper successful season of actions, therefore we lose our opportunities, and miss our way; Because to every purpose there is but one way, one method, one proper opportunity, therefore the misery of man is great upon him; because

It is so hard to hit that, and it is a thousand to one but he misses it. Most of the miseries men labour under had been prevented, if they could have been ioreseen, and the happy time discovered to avoid them. Men are miserable, because they are not sufficiently sagacious and attentive.

4. Whatever other evils may be avoided, we are all under a fatal necessity of dying, v. 8.

(1.) When the soul is rcciuir'ed, it must be resigned, and it is to no purpose to dispute it, either by arms or arguments, ourselves, or by any friend; There is no man that has power over his own spirit 10 retain it, when it is summoned to return to God who gave it. It cannot fly any where out of the jurisdiction of death, nor find any place where its writs do not run. It cannf)t abscond so as to escape death's eye, tliough it is hid from the eyes of all living. A man has no power to adjourn the day of liis death, nor can he by praters or bribes obtain a reprieve; no Ijail will be taken, no essoine,* protection, or im|) irlance,t allowed. We have not power over the spirit of a friend, to retain that; the prince, with all his authority, cannot prolong the life of the most valuable of his subjects, nor the physician, with his medicines and metliods, nor the soldier, with his • Excusf - Ep T Respite.— Ed.

force, nor the orator, with his eloquence, nor the best saint, with his intercessions. The stroke of death can by no means be put by, when our days are dettTmmed, and the hour appointed us is come.

(2.) Death is an enemy that wc must all enter the lists with, sooner or later; There is no discharge in that war, no dismission from it, either of the men of business, or of the faint-hearted, as there was among the Jews, Deut. xx. 5, 8. While we live, we are struggling with death, and we shall never put off the harness till we put off the body, never obtain the discharge till death has obtained the mastery; the youngest is not released as a fresh-water soldier, nor the oldest as miles emeritus — a soldier whose merits have entitled him to a discharge. Death is a battle that must be fought; There is no sending to thatnvar, so some read it; no substituting another to muster for us, no champion admitted to fight for us; we must ourselves engage, and are concerned to provide accordingly, as for a battle.

(3.) Men's wickedness, by whicli they often evade or outface the justice of the prince, cannot secure them from the arrest of death, nor can the most obstinate sinner harden his heart against those terrors. Though he strengthen himself ever so much in his wickedness, (Ps. lii. 7.) death will be too strong for him; the most subtle wickedness can.not outwit death, nor the most impudent wickedness outbrave death. Nay, the wickedness which men give themselves to, will be so far from delivering them from death, that it will deliver them up to death.

9. All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt. 10. And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This is also vanity. 11. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12. Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and his dai/s be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him : 13. But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his daj^s, vhich are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God,

Solomon, in the beginning of the chapter, had warned us against having any thing to d(i with seditious subjects; here, in these verses, he encourages us, in reference to the mischief of tyrannical and oppressive rulers, such as he had complained of before, ch. iii. 16.—iv. 1.

1. He had observed many such rulers, v. 9. In the serious views and reviews he had taken rf the children of men and their state, he had observed that many a time one man rules over another to his hurt; that is, (1.) To the hurt of the i-uled, many understand it so; whereas they ought to be God's ministers vmto their subjects for their good, (Rem. xiii. 4.) to administer justice, and to ])reserve the l)ublic peace and order, they use their power for tluir luirt, to invade their property, encroach upon their liberty, and patronise the acts of injustice. It is sad with a people, when those that should protect their religion and rights aim at the destruction of both. (2.) To tlie hurt of the rulers, so we rcnde'

ECCLESIASTES, VIII.

826

It, to their own hurt, to the feeding of their pride and covetousness, the gratifying of their passion and revenge, and so, to the filling up of the measure of their sins, and the hastening and aggravating of their ruin. Agnis agendo refiatitur — What hurt men do to others, will return, in the end, to their Givn hurt. 2. He had observed them to prosper and flourish in the abuse of their power; {xk 10.) / aaiv those •wicfc'd rulers co?ne and go fro?n the place of the holy; go in st ite to, and return in pomp from, the

?lace of judicature, (which is culled the place of the folij One, because the judgment is the Lord's, (Deut. i. 17.) and he Judges among the gods, (Ps. Ixxxii. 1.) and is with them in the judgment, (2 Chron. xix. 6.) and they continued all their days in office, were never reckoned with for their mal-ad-ministration, but died in honour, and were buried magnificently; their commissions were durante vita — during life, and not quamdiu se bene gesserint — during good behaviour; and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done; their wicked practices were not remembered against them to their reproach and infamy when they were gone. Or rather, it denotes the vanity of their dignity and power, for that is his remark upon it in the close of the verse; This is also vanity. They are proud of their wealth, and power, and honour, because they sit in the/ilace of the holy; but all this cannot secure, (1.) Their bodies from being buried in the dust; I saw them laid in the grave; and their pomp, though it attended them thither, could not descend after them, Ps. xlix. 17. (2.) Nor their names from being buried in oblivion; for they were forgotten, as if they had never been.

3. He had observed that their prosperity hardened them in their wickedness, v. 11, It is true of all sinners in general, and particularly of wicked rulers, that, because sentence against their evil works is not executed speedily, they think it will never be executed, and therefore they set the law at defiance, and their hearts are full in them to do evil; they venture to do so much the more mischief, fetch a greater compass in their wicked designs, and are secure and fearless in it, and commit iniquity with a i hi^h hand. Observe, (1.) Sentence is past against evil works, and evil workers, by the righteous Judge i of heaven and earth, even against the evil works of i princes and great men, as well as of inferior per- I sons. (2.) The execution of this sentence is often ' delayed a great while, and the sinner goes on, not j only unpunished, but prosperous and successful, i (3.) Impunity hardens sinners in impiety, and the patience of God is shamefully abused by many, who, mstead of being led by it to repentance, are confirmed by it in their impenitency. (4.) Sinners herein deceive themselves, for though the sentence be 720; executed speedily, it will be executed the more severely, at last. Vengeance comes slowly, but it comes surely; and wrath is in the mean time treasured up. against the day of wrath.

4. He foresaw such an end of all these things as would be sufficient to keep us from quarrelling with the Divine Providence upon account of them. He supposes a wicked ruler to do an unjust thing a hundred times, and that yet his punishment is deferred, and God's patience toward him is prolonged, much beyond what was expected, and the days of his power are lengthened out, so that he continues to oppress; yet he intimates that he should not be discouraged.

(1.) God's people are certainly a happy people, though they be oppressed; It shall be well with them that fear God, I say, with all them, and them only, which fear before him. Note, [1.] It is the charac-Xt r of God's people that they/ear Godf. have an awe of him upon their hearts, and make conscience of their duty to him; and this, because they see his eye

Vol. III.—5 M

always upon them, and they know it is their concern to approve themselves to him. When they lie at the mercy of proud oppressors, they fear God more than they fear them. They do not quarrel with the providence of God, but submit to it. [2. ] It is the happiness of all that fear God, that in the worst of times it shall be well'with them; their happiness in God's fav(,ur cannot be prejudiced, nor their communion with God interrupted, by their troubles; they are in a good case, for they are kept in a good frame under their troubles, and in the end they shall have a blessed deliverance from, and an abundant recompense for, their troubles. And therefore surely I know, I know it by the premise of God, and the experience of all the saints, that, however it goes with others, it shall go well with them. All is well that ends well.

(2.) Wicked people are certainly a miserable people; though they prosper, and prevail, for a time, the curse is as sure to them as the blessing is to the righteous; It shall not be well with the wicked, as others think it is, who judge by outward appearance, and as they themselves expect it will be; nay, wo to the wicked, it shall be ill with them; (Isa. ili, 10, 11.) they shall be reckoned with for all the ill they have done; nothing that befalls them shall be really well for them. A''ihil potest ad males peri'enirt quod prosit, imo nihil quod non noccat —Ab event can occur to the wicked which will do them good, rather, no event which will not do them harm. Seneca. Note, [1.] The wicked man's days areas a shadow, not onl}' uncertain and dechning, as all men's days are, but altogether unprofitable. A good man's days have some substance in them; he lives to a good purpose; a wicked man's days are all as a shadow, empty and worthless. [2.] These days shall not be prolonged to what he promised himself; he shall not live out half his days, Ps. Iv. 23. Though they may he prolonged, (v. 12.) bevond what others expected, j^t his dav shall com'e to fall. He shall fall short^ everlasting life, and then his long life f n earth will be worth little. [3.] God's great quarrel with wicked people is for their not fearing before him; that is at the bottom of their wickedness, and cuts them off from all happiness.

14. There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there he just vien, unto ^hom it happeneth according to the \\o\k of the wicked: again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous. I said, that this also is vanity. 15. Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry; for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun. 16. When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (ibr also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:) 17. Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot rind out the work that is done under the sun; because though a man labour to seek 1 / out, yet he shall not find it; yea, further, though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.

Wise and good men have, of old, been perplexed with this difficulty, how the prosperity of the wicked

ECCLESIASTES, IX.

and the troubles of the righteous can be reconciled with the holiness and goodness of the God that {governs the world; concerning this, Solomon here gives us his advice.

1 He would not have us to be surprised at it, as though some strange thing happened, for he himself saw it in his dnys, v. 14. (1.) He saw Just Ttirn, to ivliom it liafijiened according to the work of the nvickcd, wlic), notwithstanding their righteousness, sufftred very hard things, and continued long to do s , as if they were to be punished for some great wickedness. (2.) He saw ivicked men, to ivhorn it hapfiened according to the work of the righteous, who prospered as remarkably as if they liad been rewarded for some good deed, and that from themselves, from God, from men. We see the just troubled and perplexed in their own minds, the wicked easy, fearless, and secure; the just crossed and afflicted by the Divine Providence, the wicked prosperous, successful, and smiled upon; the just censured, reproached, and mn down, by the higher powers, the wicked applauded and preferi'ed.

2. He would have us to take occasion hence, not to ch-irge God with iniquity, but to charge the world with \anit\'. No fault is to be found with God; but as to the world, This is -vanity upon the earth, and again, This is also vanity, it is a certain evidence tliat the things of this world are not the best things, nor were ever designed to make a portion and happiness for us, for, if they had, God would not have allotted so much of this world's wealth to his worst enemies, and so much of its troubles to his best friends; there must therefore be another life after this, the joys and griefs of which must be re;d and substantial, and able to make men truly happv or truly miserable, for this world does neither.

3. He would have us not to fret and perplex ourselves about it, or make ourselves uneasy, but cheerfully to enjoy what God has given us in the world, t.T be content with it, ans|*nake the best of it, though it be much Ijctter with ojiers, and such as we think verv unworthv; {y- "^^-^ Then I commended joy, a holv security and serenity of mind, arising from a confidence in God, and his power, providence, and promise, because a ?7ian has no better thing under the sun (tliough a good man has much better things above the sun) than to eat and drink, that is, soberly and thankfully to make use of the things of this life accoi'ding as his rank is, and to be cheerful, whatever happens,/or ^//o^ &;^a// abide with him of his labour, tliat is all the fruit he has for himself of the pains that lie takes in the business of the world; let him therefore take it, and much good may it do hin\; and let him not deny himself that, out of a pee^'ish discontent, because the world does not go as he would hive it; That shall abide with him during the days of his life which God gives him under the sun. Our present life is a life under the sun, but we Iniik for the life of the world to come, which will commence and contmue when the sun shall be turned into darkness, and shine no more. This present life must be reckoned Ijy days; this hfe is given us, and the days of it allotted to us, by the counsel of God, and therefore, while it does last, we must accommodate ourselves to the will of God, and study to answer the ends of life.

4. He would not have us undertake to give a reason for that which God does, for his way is in the sea, a?id his fiath in the great waters, })ast finding out, and therefore we must be contentedly and piously ignorant of the meaning of God's proceed-mgs in the government of the world, v. 16, 17. Here he shows,

(1.) That both he himself and many others had vciy closely studied the point, and searched far into the reasons of the prosperity of the wicked and the afflictions of the righteous; he, for his part, had afi-

filied his heart to know this wisdom, and to see tht business that is done, by the Divine Providence, ufion the earth, to find cut if there were any certain scheme, any constant rule or method, by which the affairs of this lower world were administered, any course of government as sure and steady as the course of nature, so that l)y what is doiie now we might as certainly foretell what will be done n' xt, as by the moon's changing now we can foretell when it will be at the full; this he would fain have found out. Others had likewise set themselves to make this inquiry with so close an application, that they could not find time for sleefi, either day or night, nor find in their hearts to sleep, so full of anxiety were they about these things. Some think Solomon speaks of himself, that he was so eager in prosecuting this great inquiry, that he could not sleep for thinking of it.

(2.) That it was all labour in vain, T'. 17. When we look upon all the works of God, and his providence, and compare one part with another, we cannot ^nd that there is any such certain method by which the work that is done under the sun is directed; we cannot discover any key by which to decypher the character, nor, by consulting precedents, can we know the practice of this court, nor what the judgment will be. [1.] Though a man be ever so industrious, th(-ugh he labour to seek it out; [2.] Though he be ever so ingenious, though he be a wise man in other things, and can fathom the counsels of kings themselves, and trace them by their footsteps; nay, [3.] The ugh he be very confident of success, though he think to kiiow it, yet he shall not, he cannot, find it out. God's ways are above ours, nor is he tied to his CAvn former ways, but his judgments are a great deep.

CHAP. IX.

Solomon, in this chapter, for a further proof of the vanity of this world, <rives us four observations which he had made upon a survey of the state of tlie children of men in it. I. He observed, that, commonly, as to outward things, good and bad men fare much alike, v. 1 . 3. II. That death puts a final period to all our employments and enjoyments in this world, (v. 4. .6) whence he infers that it is our wisdom to enjoy the comforts of life, and mind the business of life, while it lasts, v. 7.. 10. III. That God's providence often crosses the fairest and most hopeful probabilities of men's endeavour, and great calamities often surprise men ere they are aware, V. 11, 12. IV. That wisdom oflen makes men very useful, and yet gains them little respect, and that persons of great merit are slitrhted, t. 13 ..18. And what is there then in this world, that should make us fond of it?

1. TT^OR all this I considered in my heart, JC even to declare all this, titat the righteous, and the wise and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth eithei love or hatred hj all that is before them. 2. All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked ; to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. 3. This is an evil among all thi7igs that are done under the sun, tiiat there is one event unto all: yea also, the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness win their heart while they live, and after that the?/ go to the dead.

It has been observed concerning those who havi* pretended to search for the philosopher's stone, that

ECCLESIASTES, IX.

827

though they could never find what they sought for, yet in the search they have hit upon many other useful discoveries and experiments. Thus Solomon, when, in the close of the foregoing chapter, he aji-plied his heart to knoiv the ivork of God, and took a great deal of pains to search into it, though he despaired of finding it out, yet lie found out that which abundantly recompensed him for the search, and gave him some satisfaction, which he here gives us; for tlierefore he considered all this in his heart, and weighed it deliberately, that he might declare it for the good of others. Note, What we are to declare we should first consider, think twice before we speak once; and what we have considered we should then declare; I believed, therefore have I sfioken.

The great difficulty which Solomon met with in studying the book of providence, was, the little difference that is made between good men and bad, m the distribution of comforts and crosses, and the disposal of events; this has pei-plexed the minds of many wise and contemplative men; Solomon discourses of it in these verses, and though he does not undertake to find out this work of God, yet he says that which may prevent its being a stumbling-block to us.

1. Befoi'e he describes the temptation in its strength, he lays down a great and unquestionable truth, which he resolves to adhere to, and which, if firmly believed, will be sufficient to break the force of the temptation. This has been the way of God's people in grappling with this difficulty. Job, before he discourses of this matter, lays down the doctrine of God's omniscience, (Job xxiv. 1.) Jeremiah the doctrine of his righteousness, (Jer. xii. 1.) another prophet that of his holiness, (Hab. i. 13.) the psalmist that of his goodness and peculiar favour to his own people; (Ps. Ixxiii. 1.) and that is it which Solomon here fastens upon, and resolves to abide by, that though good and evil seem to be dispensed promiscuouslv, yet God has a particular care of, and concern for, his own people; The righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God, under his special protection and guidance; all their affairs are managed by him for their good; all their wise and righteous actions are in his hand, to be recompensed in the other world, though not in this. They seem as if they were given up into the hand of their enemies, but it is not so; men have no power against them, but what is given them from above; the events that affect them do not come to pass by chance, but all according to the will and counsel of God, which will turn that to be for them which seemed to be most against them. Let this make us easy, whatever happens, that all God's saints are in liis hand, Deut. xxxiii. 3. John x. 29. Psalms xxxi. 15.

2. He liys this down for a rule. That the love and hatred of God are not to be measured and judged of by men's outward condition. If prosperity were a certain sign of God's love, and affliction of his hatred, then it might justly be an offence to us to see the wicked and godly fare alike. But the matter is not st; JVo man knows either love, or hatred, by all that is before them in this world, by •■hose things that are the objects of sense. These we may know by that which is within us; if we love God with all our heart, thereby we may know that he loves us; as we may know likewise that we are under his wrath, if we be governed by that car-nd mind which is enmity to him; these will be known by.that which shall be hereafter, by men's everlasting state; it is certain that men are happy or miserable, according as they are under the love or hatred of God, but not according as they are under the smiles or frowns of the world; and therefore if Ood loves a righteous man, (as certainly he does,)

he IS happy, though the world frown upon him; and if he hate a wicked man, (as certainly he does,) he is miserable, though the world smile upon him; then is the offence of this promiscuous distribution of events ceased.

3. Having laid down these principles, he acknowledges that all things come alike to all; so it has been formerly, and therefore we are not to think it strange, if it be so now, if it be so with us and our families. Some make this, and all that follows to V. 13. to be the perverse reasonings of the atheists against the doctrine of God's providence; but I rather take it to be Solomon's concession, which he might the more freely make, when he had fixed those truths which are sufficient to guard a^.^a'nsc any ill use that may be made of what he grants. Observe here, v. 2.

(1.) The great difference that there is between the characters of the righteous and the wicked, which, in several instances, are set the one over against the other, to show that though all things come alike to all, yet that does not in the least confound the eternal distinction betw.een moral good and evil, but that remains immutable. [1.] The righteous are clean, have clean hands and pure hearts; the wicked are unclean, under the dominion of unclean lusts, pu7-e perhaps in their own eyes, but not cleansed from their Jilthiness. God will cer tainly put a difference between the clean and the unclean, the precious and the vile, in the other world, though he docs not seem to do so in this. [2.] Tlie righteous sacr//?cp, they make conscience of worshipping God according to his will, both with inward and outward worship; the wicked sacrifice not, they live in the neglect of God's worshi]), and gi-udge to part with any thing for his honour. What is the Almighty, that they should sert'e him'^ [3.] Tlie righteous are good, good in God's sight, they do good in the world; the wicked are simiers, violating the laws of God and man, and provoking to both. [4.] The wicked man swears, has no veneration for the name of God, but profanes it by swearing rashly and falsely; but the righteous man fears an oath, swears not, but is sworn, and then with great reverence; he fears to take an oath, because it is a solemn appeal to God as a Witness and Judge; he fears, when he has taken an oath, to break it, because God is righteous, who takes vengeance.

(2.) The little difference there is between the conditions of the righteous and the wicked in this world; There is one ei'ent to both. Is David rich.* So is Nabal. Is Joseph favoured by his prince? So is Haman. Is Ahab killed in a battle? So is Jo-siah. Are the bad figs carried to Babylon? So are the good, Jer. xxiv. 1. There is a vast difference between the original, the design, and the nature, of the same event to the one and to the other; the effects and issues of them are likewise vastly different; the same providence to the one is a savour of life unto life, to the other, of death unto death, though, to outward appearance, it is the same.

4. He owns this to be a very great grievance to those that are wise and good; This is an evil, the greatest perplexity, among all things that are done under the sun; (v. 3.) nothing has given me more dis-turljance than this, that there is one extent unto all. It hardens atheists, and strengthens the hands rf evil-doers; for therefore it is that Me hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, :^T\d fully set in them to do evil, ch. viii. 11. When they see that there is one event to the righteous and the wicked, they wickedly infer thence, that it is all one to God whether they are righteous or wicked, and therefore they stick at nothing to gratify their lusts.

5. For the further clearing of this great difficulty, as he began this discourse with the doctrine of the

ECCLESIASTES, IX.

happiness of the righteous, (whatever thev may suffer, they and their works are in the hands of God, and therefore in good hands, they could not be in better,) so he concludes with the doctrine of the misery of the wicked; however they may prosper, madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. Envy not the prosperity of evil-doers, for, (1.) They are now madmen, and all the delights they seem to be blessed with are but like the ple.isant dreams and fancies of a distracted man. They are mad ufion their idols, (Jer. 1. 38.) are mad against God's people. Acts xxvi. 11. When the prodigal repented, it is said, He came to himself, (Luke XV. 17.) which intimates that he had been beside himself before. (2.) They will shortly be dead men. They make a mighty noise and bustle while they live, but after awhile they go to the dead, and there is an end of all their pomp and power; they will then be reckoned with for all their madness and outrage in sin. Though, on this side death, the righteous and the wicked seem alike, on the other side death there will be a vast difference between them. 4. For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5. For the living know that they shall die : but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward ; for the memory of them is forgotten. 6. Also their love and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. 7. Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merrj^ heart; for God now accepteth thy works. 8. Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. 9. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, whicli he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in tliis life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. 10. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither tliou goest.

Solomon, in a fret, had praised the dead more than the livi?!g; {ch. iv. 2.) but here, considering the advantages of life to pr. p ire iv death, and make sure the hope of a better lif^", he seems to lie of another mind.

I. He shows the advantages which the living have above those that are dead, t. 4- -6.

1. While there is life there is hofie. Dum sfiiro, sfiero — While I breathe, I hope. It is the privilege of the living, that they are joined to tlie living, in relation, commerce, and conversation, and, while thev are so, there is hope. If a man's condition be, upon anv account, bad, there is hope it will be amended; if the heart be full of evil, and madness be in it, yet, while there is life, there is hope, that, by the grace of God, there may be a blessed change wrought; but after men.^o to (he dead, {v. 3.) it is too late then; he that is tlien filthy will be filthy still, for ever filthy. If men 1)e thrown aside as useless, yet, while they are joined to the living, there is hope that they may yet again take root, and bear fruit; he that is alive, is, or may be, good for something, out he that is dead, as to this world, is not capable of being any further serviceable; therefore a living dog is better than a dead lion, the meanest beggar

alive has that comfort of this world, and does that service to it, which the greatest prince, when he is dead, is utterly incapable of.

2. While there is life, there is an opportunity of preparing for death; The living Arnow. that which the dead have no knowledge of, particularly they knotv that they shall die, and are, or may be, thereby influenced to prepare for that great change, which will come certainly, and may come suddenly. Note, The living cannot but know that they shall die, that they must needs die; they know they are under a sentence of death; they are already taken into custody by its messengers, and feel themselves declining. This is a needful, useful, knowledge; for wliat is our business, while we live, but to get ready to die? The living know they shall die, it is a thing yet to come, and therefore provision may be made for it; the dead know they are dead, and it is too late, they are on the other side the great gulf fixed.

3. Wlien life is gone, all this world is gone with it, as to us. (1.) There is an end of all our acquaintance with this world, and the things of it; The dead know not any thing of that which, while they lived, they were intimately conversant with. It does not appear that they know any thing of what is done by those they leave behind. Abraham is ignorant ot us; they are removed into darkness. Job x. 22. (2.) There is an end of all their enjoyments in this world; They have no more a reward for their toils about the world, but all they got must be left to others; they have a reward for their holy actions, but not for their worldly ones; the meats and the belly will be destroyed together, John vi. 27. 1 Cor. vi. 13. It is explained, v. 6. JVeither have they any more a portion for ever; none of tliat which they imagined would be a portion for ever, of that which is done, and got under the sun. The things of this world will not be a portion for the soul, because they will not be a portion for ever; they that choose them, and have them for their good things, have only a portion in this life, Ps. xvii. 14. The world can only be an annuity for life, not 3. portion for ever. (3.) There is an end of their name; there are but few whose names survive them long, the grave is a land of forgetfulness, for the me7nory of them that are laid there, is ^oon forgotten; t\\e\r place knows them no more, nor the lands they called by their own names. (4.) There is an end of their affections, their friendships, and enmities; Their love, and their hatred, and their envy, are now perished; the good things they loved, the evil things thev hated, the prosperity of others, which they envied, are now all at an end with them. Death parts those that loved one another, and puts an end to their friendship, and those that hated one another too, and puts an end to their quarrels. Actio moritur cum persona — The person and his actions die together. There we shall be never the better for our friends, their love can do us no kindness; nor ever the worse for our enemies, their hatred and envy can do us no damage. There the wicked cease from troubling. Those things which now so affect us, and fill us, which we are so concerned about, and so jealous of, will there be at an end.

II. Hence he infers that it is our wisdom to make the best use of life tliat we can, while it does last, and manage wisely what remains of it.

1. Let us relish the comforts of life while we \\\e, and cheerfully take our shai'e of the enjoyments of it. Solomon, having been himself ensnared by the abuse of sensitive delights, warns others of the danger, not bv a total prohibition of them, but by directing to the sober and moderate use of them; we may use the world, but must not abuse it; take what is to be had out of it, and expect no more.

Here we have, (1.) The particular instances of this cheerfulness prescribed; "Thou that art droop-

ECCLESIASTES, IX.

829

in^ and melancholy, go thy raay, like a fool as thcu art, and get into a better temper of mind."

[1.] "Let thy spii'it be easy and pleasant, then Ifct there he joy and a merry heart within;" a _^ood heart, so the word is; which distinguishes this trom c irnal mirth and sensual pleasure, which are the evil of the heart, both a symptom, and a cause, of much evil there. We must enjoy ourseh es, enjoy our friends, enjoy our God, and be careful to keep a good conscience, that nothing may disturb us in these enjoyments. We must serve God with gladness, in the use of what he gives us, and be libtr<d in communicating it to others, and not suffer cur-sel\-es to be oppressed with inordinate care and grief about the world. We must e<.t oui- bread as Israelites, not in our mour?7ing; (Dcut. xxvi. 14.) as Christians, with gladness and liberality of heart, Acts ii. 46. See Deut. xxviii. 47.

[2.] " Make use of the comforts and enjoyments w^hich God has given thee; eat thy bread, drink thy wine, thine, not another's; not the bread of deceit, or the wine of violence, but that which is honestly got, else thou cunst not eat it with any comfort, nor 1 expect a blessing upon it; thy bread, and thy wine, such as are agreeable to thy place and station, not extravagantly above it, nor sordidly below it; lay out what God has given thee, for the ends for which thou art intrusted with it, as being but a steward."

[3.] ''Evidence thy cheerfulness; (v. 8.) Let thy garments be always white; observe a proportion in thine expenses; reduce not thy food, in order to gratify thy pride, nor thy cloathing, in order to gratify thy voluptuousness. Be neat, wear clean linen, and be not slovenly." Or, "Let thy garments be white, in token oi joy and clieerfulness," which were expressed by white raiment; (Rev. iii. 4.) " and, as a further token of joy, let thy head lack-no ointjnent that is fit for it;" our Saviour admitted this piece of pleasure at a feast, (Matth. xxvi. 7. ) and David observes it among the gifts of God's bounty to him, (Ps. xxiii. 5.) Thou anointest my head with oil. Not that we must place our happiness in any of the delights of sense, or set our hearts upon them, but what God has given us we must make as comfortable a use of as we can afford, under the limitations of sobriety and wisdom, and not forgetting the poor.

[4.] "Make thvself agreeable to thy i-elations; L'x>e joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest; do not engross thy delights, making much of thyself only, and not caring what becomes of those about thee, but let them share with thee, and make them easy too. Have a wife; for even in paradise/^ was not good for man to be alone. Keep to thy wife, to one, and do not multiplv wives;" (Solomon had found the mischief of that;) " keep to her only,, and have nothing to do with any other." How can a man live joyfully with one with whom he does not live honestly? "Love thy wife; and the wife whom thou lovest thou wilt be likely to live joyfully with." When we do the duty of relations, we may expect the comfort of them. See Prov. v. 19. "Live with thv wife, and delight in her society; live joyfully w'th her, and be most cheerful when thou art with her. Take pleasure in thy family, thy vine and thy olive plants."

(2.) The qualifications necessary to this cheerfulness; "Rejoice, and have a merry heart, if God now accepts tlni works. If thou art reconciled to God, and recommended to him, then thou hast reason to be cheerful, otherwise not." Rejoice not, O Israel, for Joy, as other people, for thou hast gone a whoriiig from thy God, Hos. ix. 1. Our first care must be to make our peace with God, and obtain his favour, to do thvit which he will accept of, and then, Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy. Note, 'I hcse whose works God has accepted have reason

'to be cheerful, and ought to be so. "Now that I thou eatest the bread of thy sacrifices with joy, and I partakest of the wine of thy drink-offerings with a I inep-y heart, now God accepts thy works: thy re-j ligicus services, when performed with holy' joy, \ are pleasing to God; he loves to have his servants j sing at their work, it proclaims him a gocd Master. j (3.) The reasons for it; " Live joyfully, for,"

[].] " It is all little enough to make thy passage ; through this world easy and comfortable; The days of thy life are the days of thy vanity; there is nothing here but trouble "and disappointment; thou wilt have time enough for sorrow and grief when thou canst not help it, and therefore live joyfully while thou canst, and perplex not thyself with I thoughts and cares about to-morrow; sufficient to j the day is the evil thereof. Let a gracious serenity ! of mind be a powerful antidote against the vanity ct I the world."

I [2.] "It is all thou canst get from this world; ! That is thy portion in the things oi this life; in God, and another life, thou shalt have a better portion, and a better recompense for thy labours in religion; but for thy pains ivhic.i thou takest about the things under the sun, this is all thou canst expect, and therefore do not deny this to thyself."

2. Let us apply ourselves to the business of life, while life lasts, and so use the enjoyments of it, as by them to be fitted for the employments; " Therefore eat with joy, and a merry heart, net that thy soul may take its ease, (as Luke xii. 19.) but that thy soul'may take the more pains, and the joy of the Lord maybe its strength, and oil to its wlieels," V. 10. Whatsoever thy hand finds to do, do it with thy might. Observe here, (1.) There is not only something to be had, but something to be done, in this life, and the chief good we are'to inquire after, is, the good we should do, Eccl. ii. 3. Tliis is the world of service, that to come is the world of recompense; this is the world of probation and preparation for eternity; we are here upon business, and upon our behaviour. (2.) Opportunity is to direct and quicken duty; that is to be done, Avhich our hand Ji7ids to do, which occasion calls for; and an active hand will always find sometluTig to do that will turn to a good account. What must be done, of necessity, our hand will here find a price in it for the doing of, Prov. xvii. 16. (3.) What good we have an opportunity of doing, we must do, while we have the opporunity, and do it with our might, with care, vigour, and resolution, whatever difficulties and discouragements we may m.eet with in it. Harvest-days are busy days; and we must make hay while the sun shines. Serving God and working out our salvation must be done with all that is within us; and all little enough. (4.) There is good reason why we should work the works of him that sent us, while it is day, because the night comes, wherein no man can work, John ix. 4. We must up and be doing now with all possible diligence, because our doing-time will be done shortly, and we know not how soon. But this we know, that if the work of life be not done when our time is done, we art undone for ever; There is no work to be done, 7ioi device to do it, no knowledge for speculation, nor wzWowz for practice,/72 the grave, whither thou goest We are all going toward the grave, every day brings us a step nearer it; when we are in the grave, it will be too late to mend the errors of life, too late to repent, and make our peace with God, too late to lay up any thing in store for eternal life; it must be done now or never. The gi'ave is a land of darkness and silence, and therefore there is no doing any thing for our souls there, it must be done now or never, John xii. 35.

11. I returned, and saw under the sun

ECCLESIASTES, IX.

that the ra.ce is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. 12. For man also knovveth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. / The preacher here, for a further proof of the va-/nity of the world, and to con\ince us that all our ^ ivorks are in the hand of God, and not in our own hand, shows the uncertainty and contingency of future events, and how often they contradict the prospects we have of them. He had exhorted us {v. 10.) to do what wc have to do with all our might; but here he reminds us, that, when we have done all, we must leave the issue with God, and not be confident of the success.

1. We are often disappointed of the good we had great hr^pes of, v. 11. Solomon had himself made the observation, and so has many a one since, that events, both in public and private affairs, do not al-t "syways agree even with the most rational prospects and probabilities. A''ulHfortuna tain dedita est, ut multa tentanti ubique respondeat — Fortune surrenders herself to no one, so as to ensure him success, /lOTJever nitmerous his undertakings. Seneca. The issue of affairs is often unaccountably cross to every one's expectation; that the highest may not presume, nor the lowest despair, but all may live in a humble dependence upon God, from whom every man's judgment proceeds.

(1.) He gives instances of disappointment, even there where means and instruments were most encouraging, and promised fair.

[1.] One would think that the lightest of foot

/ should, in nnining, win the prize; and jet the race

"' is not alwavs to the swift, some accident happens to

retard them, rr they are too secure, and therefore

remiss, and let those that are slower get the start

of tliem.

[2.] One would think that, in fighting, the most numerous and pov.'erful army should be always victorious, and, in single combat, that the bold and mightv champion sh' uld win the laurel; but the battle is not always to the strong; a host of Philistines was onre put to flight by Jonathan and his man; one of you shall chase a thousand; the goodness of the cause has often carried the day against the most formidable p-nver.

[3.] One would think that men of sense should alwa\s be men of substance, and that those who know how to live in tlie world should not only have a plentiful maintenance, but get great estates; and yet it d'les not always prove so; even bread is not always to the wise, much less riches always to men of understanding. Many ingenious men, and men of business, who were likely to thrive in the world, have strangely gone backward, and come to nothing.

[4.] One would think that those who understand men, and have the art of management, should always get preferment, and obtain the smiles of great -• men; but many ingenious men have been disappointed, and have spent their days in obscurity, nav, have fallen into disgrace, and perhaps ruined themselves, by those very methods by wliich they hoped to have raised themselves; for faxnjur is not always to men of skill, but fools are favoured, and wise men frowned upon.

(■2.) He resolves all these disappointments into an ovfT-'.iiling power and providence, the disposals of

which to us seem casual, and we call them chance, but really they are according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, here called time in the language of this hook, ch. iii. 1. Ps. xxxi. 15 Time and chance happen to them all. A sovereign Providence breaks men's measures, and blasts their hopes, and teaclies them that the way (,f man is not in himself, but subject to the divine will. We must use means, but not trust to them; if we succeed, we must give God the praise; (Ps. xliv. 3.) if we l)e crossed, we must acquiesce in his will, and take our lot.

2. We are often surprised with the evils we were in little fear cf; {%). \2.) Alan knows not his time, the time of his calamity, his fall, his death, which, in scripture, is called our daij, and our liour. (1.) We know not what troubles" are before us, which will take us c ff cur business, and take us out of the world, what time and chance will happen to us, nor what one day, or a night, may bring forth. It is 720/ for us to k)iow the times, no, not our own time, when, or how, we shall die. God has, in wisdom, kept us in the dark, that we may be always ready. (2.) Perhaps we may meet with trouble in that very thing wherein we promise ourselves the greatest satisfaction and ad\ antage; as the fishes and the birds are drawn intr> the snare and net by the bait laid to allure them, which they greedily catch at, so are the sons of men often snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them, before they are aware. And these things too come alike to all. Men often find their bane where they sought their bliss, and catch their death where they thought to have found a prize. Let us therefore never be secure, but always ready for changes, that, though they may be sudden, they may be no surprise or terror to us.

13. This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unio me: 14. There icas a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it. 15. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. 16. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength : nevertheless the poor man"'s \\ isdom is despised, and his words are not heard. 17. The \Aords of wise men are heard in quiet, more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. 18. Wisdom is better than weapons of war : but one sinner destroyeth much good.

Solomon still recommends wisdom to us as ne-cessarv to the preserving of our peace and the perfecting of our business, notwithstanding the vanities and crosses which human affairs are subject to. He had said, {x\ 11.) Bread is not always to the wise; yet he would not therefore be thought either to disparage, or to discourage, wisdom; no, he still retains his principle, that wisdom excels folly as 7nuch as light excels darkness, {ch. ii. 13.) and we ought to lo\e and embrace it, and be governed by it, for the sake of its own intrinsic worth, and the capacity it gives us of being serviceable to others, thougli we cur-selves should not get wealth and preferment by it. This wisdom, this which he here descrilxs, wisd-^m which enables a man to serve his countr\-, ,iu; of pure affection to its intuvsts, when he himself gains no advantage by it, no, not so much as thanks f r his pains, or the reputation of it, this is the wisdom which, Solomon says, seemed great mito him, v. 13

ECCLESIASTES, IX.

83i

A public spirit, in a private sphere, is wisdom, which those who understand things that differ, cannot but look upon as very magnificent.

I. Solomon here gives an instance, which, probably, was a case in fact, in some neighbouring country, of -cX/ioor man who with his wisdom did great service in a time of public distress and danger; {xk 14.) There was a little city, (no great prize, whoever was master of it,) there were but/tw men •within it to defend it, and men, if men of fortitude, are the best fortifications of a city; here were fe7V men, and, because few, feeble, fearful, and ready to give up their city as not tenable. Against this little city a great king came with a numerous ai'my, and besieged it, either in pride, or covetousness to possess it, or in revenge for some afFi'ont given him, to chastise and destroy it; thinking it stronger than it was, he built great bulwarks against it, from which to batter it, and doubted not m a little time to make himself master of it. What a great deal of unjust vexation do ambitious princes give to their harmless neighbours! This great Icing needed not fear this little city; why then should he frighten it? It would be little profit to him; why then should he put himself to such a great expense to gain it? But, as unreasonably and insatiably greedy as little people sometimes are to lay house to house, andjield to field, great kings often are, to lay city to city, and province to province, that they may be placed alone in the earth, Isa. v. 8. Did victory and success attend the strong? No; there was found in this little city, among the few men that were in it, one floor wise man; a wise man, and yet poor, and not preferred to any place of profit or power in the city; places of trust were not given to men according to their merit, and meetness for them, else such a wise man as this had not been a poor man. Now,

1. Being wise, he served the city, though he was poor; in their distress they found him out, (Judg. xi. 7.) and begged his advice and assistance; and//e by his wisdom delivered the city, either by prudent instructions given to the besieged, directing them to some unthought-of stratagem for their own security, or by a prudent trenty with the besiegers, as the woman at Abel, 2 Sam. xx. 16. He did not upbraid them with the contempt they had put upon him, in leaving him out of their council, nor tell them he was poor, and had notliing to lose, and therefore cared not what became of the city; but did his best for it, and was blessed with success. Note, Private interests and personal resentments must always be sacrificed to the public go<id, and forgotten when the common welfare is concerned.

2. Being poor, he was slighted by the city, though he was wise, and had been an instrument to save them all from ruin; JVo man remembered that same floor man, his good services were not taken notice of, no recompense was made him, no marks of honour put upon him, but he lived in as much poverty and obscurity as he had done before; riches nvere not to this man of understanding, nn' favour to this inan of skill. Many who have well merited of their prince and country have been ill paid; such an ungrateful world do we live in. It is well that useful men h we a God to trust to, who will be their bountiful Rewirder; for, among men, great services are often envied, and rewarded with evil for good.

II. From this instance he draws some useful inferences; looks upon it, and receives instniction.

1. Hence he observes the great usefulness and excellencv of wisdom, and what a blessing it makes men to their country; Wisdom is better than strength, X'. 16. A prudent mind, which is the honour of a man, is to be preferred before a robust body, in which many of the brute creatures excel man. A man may by his wisdom effect that which he could

never compass by his strength; and may overcome those, by outwitting them, who are able to overpower him. Nay, wisdom is better than weafions q/Ti^ffr, offensive or defensive, T'. 18. Wisdom, x.\\;.i\. is, religion and pietv, (fir a wise man is liere opposed to a sinner,) this is better than all military endowments or accoutrements, for it will engage God for us, and then wc are safe in the greatest perils, and successful in the greatest enterprises. If God be for us, who cari be against us, or stand before us?

2. Hence he observes the commanding force and power of wisdom, though it labour under external disadvantages; {v. 17.) The words of wise men are heard in quiet; what they speak, being rational and to the purpose, being spoken calmly and with deliberation, (though, not being rich and in authority, they dare not speak loud, nor with any great assurance,) will be hearkened to and regarded, will gain respect, nay, will gain the point, and sway with men, more than the imperious clamour of him that rules among fools, who, like fools, chrse him to be their ruler", for his noise and blustering, and, like fools, think he must by those methods carry the day with every body else. A few close arguments are worth a great many big words; and those will strike sail to fair reasoning, who will answer them that hector and insult according to their folly. Hoiv forcible are right words! What is spoken wisely "should be spoken calmly, and then it will be heard

in quiet, and calmly considered. But passion will lessen the force even of reason, instead of adding any force to it.

3. Hence he observes that wise and good men, notwithstanding this, must often content themselves with the satisfaction of having done good, or, at least, endeavoured it, and offered at it, when they cannot do the good they would do, nor have the praise they should have. Wisdom capacitates a man to serve his neighbours, andhe offers his service; but, alas, if he be poor, his wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard, v. 16. Many anian is buried alive in poverty and obscui-ity, who. if he had but fit encouragement given him, might be a great blessing to the world; many a pearl is lost in its shell. But there is a day coming, when wisdom and goodness shall be in honour, and the righteous shall shine forth.

4. From" what he had observed of the great good which one wise and virtuous man may do, he infers what a great deal of mischief one wicked man may do, and what a great deal of good he may be the hinderance of; One sinner destroyeth much good. (1.) As to himself, a sinful condition is a wasteful condition. How many of the good gifts both of nature and Providence does one sinner destroy, and make waste of—good sense, good parts, good learning, a good disposition, a good estate, good meat, good drink, and aliundance of God's good creatures, all made use of in the service of sin, and so destroyed and lost, and the end of giving them frustrated and perverted! He who destroys his own soul destroys much good. (2.) As to others, what a great deal of mischief may one wicked man do in a town or coun-trv! One sinner, who makes it his business to debauch others, may defeat and frustrate the intentions of a great many good laws, and a great deal of good preaching, and draw many into his pernicious wavs; one sinner may be the ruin of a town, as one Achan troubled the whole camp of Israel. The wise man, who delivered the city, had had his due respect and recompense for it, but that some one sinner hindered it, and invidiously diminished the service. And many a good project, well laid for the public welfare, has been destroyed by some one subtle adversary to it. The Avisdom of some would have healed the nation, but through the wickedness

ECCLESIASTES, X.

of a few, it would not be healed. See who are a kingdom's friends and enemies, if one saint does much good, and one sinner destroys much good.

CHAP. X.

This chapter seems to be like Solomon's proverbs, a collection of wise sayings and observations, rather than a part of his sermon; but the preacher studied to be sententious, and set in order many proverbs, to be brought in in his preaching. Yet the general scope of all the observations in this chapter, is, to recommend uisdom to us, and its precepts and rules, as of great use for the right ordering of our conversation, and to caution us against folly.

1. He recommends wisdom to private persons, who are in an inferior station. 1. It is our wisdom to preserve our reputation, in managing our affairs dexterously, v. 1 .. 3. 2. To be submissive to our superiors, if at any time we have offended them, v. 4. 3. To live quiet and peaceable lives, and not to meddle with those that are factious and seditious, and are endeavouring to disturb the government, and the public repose; the folly and danger of which disloyal and turbulent practices he shows, V. 8.. 11. 4. 'i"o govern our tongues well, v. 12 .. 15. 5. To be diligent in our business and provide well for our families, v. 18, 19. 6. Not to speak ill of our rulers, no not in secret, v. 20. 11. He recommends wisdom to rulers; let them not think that, because their subjects must be quiet under them, therefore they may do what they please; no, but, 1. Let them be careful whom they prefer to places of trust and power, v. 5 .. 7.

2. Let them manage themselves discreetly, be generous, and not childish; temperate, and not luxurious, v. 16, 17. Happy the nation, when princes, and people, make con-cience cf their duty, according to these rules.

1 TT^EAD flies cause the ointment of the 3J apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: 50 doth a Uttle folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. 2. A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. 3. Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.

In these verses, Solomon shows,

1. What great need wise men have to take heed of being guilty of any instance of folly; for a little folly is a great blemish to him that is i?t re/nitatio?i for ivisdom and honour, and is as hurtful to his good nam-" as dead flies are to a sweet perfume, not only spoiling the sweetness of it, Ijut making it to send forth a stinkini^ savour. Note, (1.) True wisdom IS true honour, and will gain a man a reputation, which is like a box of precious ointment, pleasing and verv v 'luable. (2.) The reputation that is got hardlij, and liy a great deal of wisdom, may be easily lost, and by a to/e/o//(/; because envy fastens up;n emhiency, and makes the worst of the mistakes anl miscarriages of those who are cried up for wisdom, and improves them to their disadvantage; so th t the folly which in another would not be taken notice of, in them is severely censured. Those who make a great profession of religion have need to walk \ery circumspectly, to abstain from all appearances of evil, and approaches towai'ds it, because many eyes are \\\wn them, that watch for their halting; their character is soon sullied, and they have a great deal of reputation to lose.

2. What a deal of advantage a wise man has above a fool in the management of business; (t. 2.') A wise man's heart is at his right hand, so that he goes about liis business with dexterity, turns his hand readily to it, and goes through it with despatch; his counsel and courage are ready to him, whenever he has occasion for them; but n fool's heart is at his left hand, it is always to seek when he has any thing to do that is of importance, and therefore he goes awkwardly about it, like a man that is left-handed; he is soon at a loss, and at liis wit's end.

3. How apt fools are, at every turri, m proclaim then- own folly, and expose themselves; he that is either witless or graceless, either silly or wicked, if he be ever so little from under the check, and left to himself, if he but walk by the way, soon shows what he is; his wisdom falls him, and, by some impropriety or other, he says to every one he meets, that he is a fool, {v. 3.) he discovers it as plainly as if he had told them so. He c;mnet con ceal it, and he is not ashamed of it. Sin is the re • proachof sinners, whertver they go.

4. If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding paci-fieth great offences. 5. There is an evil which 1 have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedcth from the ruler: 6. Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. 7. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth. 8. He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall Ijite him. 9. Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby. 10. If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct. 11. Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment ; and a babbler is no better.

The scope of these verses is to keej) subjects loyal and dutiful to the government; in Solomon's reign, the people were very rich, and lived in prosperity, which perhaps made tlieni jn-eud and petulant, ancl when the ts.xes were high, th^ ugh they liael enough to pay them with, it is pn)l:)able that many carried it insolently toward the g(:\crnment, and threatened to rebel. To such Sole mon here gives seme necessary cautions.

I. Let not subjects carry on a quarrel with their prince upon any private personal disgust; (7'. 4.) "If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, if, upon some misinformation given liim, or srme mismanagement of thine, he is displeased at thee, and threaten thee, \q\. leave not thy place, forget net the duty of a subject, revolt not fi'om thy allegiance, do not, in a passion, quit thy post in his service, and throw up thy coriimission, as despairing ever to regain his favour; no, wait awliile, and thou wilt find he is not implacable, but that yielding fiac'Jies great offences." Sole mon speaks for himself, and for everv wise and good man that is a master, or a magistrate, that lie could easily forgi\e those, upon their sul)mission, whom yet, upon their provocaticn, lie had been very angry with. It is fairer and better to vield to an angry ])rince than to contend witli ]\\m.

II. Let not subjects commence a quarrel witli their prince, though the public administraticn be not in everv thing as they would have it. He grants there is an evil often seen under the sun, ar.d it is a king's evil, an evil wliich the kingrnly can cure, frr it is an error which proceeds fro7n the ruler; (x'. 5.) it is a mistake which riders, consulting their personal affections more than the ])ublic interests, arc too often guilty of, tliat men are not preferred according to their merit, hut folly is set in great dignity, men of shattered brams, and broken fortunes, are put in places of power and trust, while the rich men of good sense and good estates, whose interest would oblige them to be ti-ue to the ])ublic, and whose abundance would be likely to set them above temptations to bribery and extortion, yet sit in low

ECCLESIASTES, X.

833

places, and can get no preferment; {v. 6.) either the ruler knows not how to value them, or the terms f^f preferment are such as they cannot in conscience :omply with. It is ill with a people, when vicious men are advanced, and men of worth arc kept under hatches. This is illustrated; (y. 7.) I have see?i servants u/ion horses; men not so much of mean extraction and education, (if that were all, it were the more excusable, nay, there is many a wise servant, who with good reason has rule over a son that causes sha?ne,) but of sordid, servile, merctnaiy, dispositions, I have seen these riding in pomp and state as princes, while princes, men of noble birth and qualities, fit to rule a kingdom, have been forced to wal/c as sen-ants ufion the earth, poor, and despised. Thus God, in his providence, punishes a wicked people; but as far as it is the ruler's act and deed, it is certainly his error, and a great exnl, a grievance to the subject, and very provoking; but it is an error under the sun, which will certainly be rectified above the sun, and when it shall shine no more, for in heaven it is only wisdom and holiness that are set in great dignity. But if the prince be guilty of this error, yet let not the subjects leave their places, nor rise up against the government, nor form any project for the alteration of it; nor let the prince carry on the humour too far, nor set such servants, such beggars, on horseback, as will ride furiously over the ancient landmarks of the constitution, and threaten the subversion of it.

1. Let neither prince nor people violently attempt any changes, nor make a forcible entry upon a national settlement, for they will both find it of dangerous consequence, which he shows here by four similitudes, the scope of which is to give us a caution not to meddle to our own hurt. Let not princes invade the rights and liberties of their subjects; let not subjects mutiny and rebel against their princes: for, (1.) He that digs a pit for another, it is ten to one but he falls into 7V himself, and his violent dealing I'eturns upon his own head. If princes become tyrants, or subjects become rebels, all histories will tell both what is likely to be their fate, and that it is at their utmost peril, and it were better for both to be content within their own bounds. (2.) Whoso breaks a hedge, an old hedge, that has long been a landmark, let him expect that a serpe?it or adder, such as harbour in rotten hedges, will bite him; some viper or other will fasten upon his hand, Acts xxviii. 3. God, by his ordinance, as by a hedge, has enclosed the prerogatives and powers of princes, their persons are under his special protection; those therefore that form any treasonable designs against their peace, their crown and dignity, are but twisting halters for themselves. (3.) Whoso removes stones, to pull down a wall or building, does but pluck them upon himfelf, he shall be hurt therewith, and will wish that he had let them alone. Those that go about to altera well-modeled, well-settled, government, under colour of redressing some grievances, and correcting some faults in it, will quickly perceive, not only that it is easier to find fault than to mend, to demolish that which is good than to build up that which is better, but that they thrust their own fingers into the fire, and overwhelm themselves in the ruin they occasion. (4.) He that cleaves the wood, especially if, as it follows, he has sorry tools, {y. 10.) he shall be endangered thereby, the chips, or his own axe-head, will fly in his face. If we meet with knotty pieces of timber, men of perverse and ungovernable spirits, and we think to master them by force and violence, and hew them to pieces, they may not only prove too hard for us, but the attempt may turn to our damage.

2. Rather let both prince and people act towards each other with prudence, mildness, and good temper; IVisdom. is firojitable to direct the ruler

Vol. III.— 5 N

how to manage a people that are inclined to be tur bulent, so as neither, en the one hand, by a supine negligence, to inibolden and encourage them, nor, on the ether hand, by rigour and severity, to exasperate and provoke them to any seditious practices. It is likewise profitable to direct the subjects how to act towards a prince that is inclined to bear hard upon them, so as not to alienate his affections from them, but to win upon him, by humble remonstrances, (not insolent demands, such as the people made upon Rehoboam,) by patient submissions, and peaceable expedients. The same inile is to be observed in all relations, for the preserving of the comfort of them; let wisdom direct to gentle methods, and forbear violent ones.

(1.) Wisdom will teach us to whet the tool we are to make use of, rather than, by leaving it blunt, oblige ourselves to put to so much the more strength, V. 10. We might save ourselves a great deal of labour, and prevent a great deal of danger, if we did whet before we cut, consider and premeditate what is fit to be said and done in every difficult case, that we may accommodate ourselves to it, and may do our work smoothly and easily both to others and to ourselves. Wisdom will direct how to sharpen and put an edge upon' both ourselves and those we employ, not to work deceitfuUv, (Ps. liii. 2.) but to work cleanly and cleverly. The mower loses no time when he is whetting his scythe.

(2.) Wisdom will teach us to enchant the serpent we are to contend with, rather than think to out-hiss it; {v. 11.) The serpent will bite, if he be not by singing and music charmed and enchanted, against which tlierefore he stops his ears; (Ps. Iviii. 4, 5.) and a babbler is no better to all those who enter the lists with him, and therefore must not think by dint of words to out-talk him, but by prudent management to enchant him. He that is lord of the tongue, so the phrase is, a ruler that has libertv of speech, and may say what he will, it is as dangerous dealing with him, as with a serpent un-charmed; but, if you use the enchantment of a mild and humble subrriission, you may be safe, and out of danger; herein wisdom, the meekness of wisdom, is profitable to direct. By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, Prov. xxv. 15. Jacob enchantf"d Esau with a present, and Abigail David. To tl> •se that may say any thing, it is wisdom to say notl mg that is provoking.

12. The words of a wise man's mouth are isracious: but the hps of a fool will swallow up himself. 13. The beginning of the vA'ords of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. 14. A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and ^vhat shall be after him who can tell him? \b. The labour of the foolish wearieth eveiy one of them; because he knoweth not how to go to the city.

Solomon having showed the benefit of wisdom, and of what great advantage it is to us in the management of our affairs, here shows the mischief of folly, and how it exposes men, which perhaps comes in as a reflection upon those rulers who set folly in great dignity.

1. Fools talk a great deS. to no purpose, and they show their folly as much by the multitude, impertinence, and mischievousness of their words, as by anything; whereas the words of a wise man's moutn are gracious, are grace, manifest grace in his heart, and minister grace to the hearers, are good, and such as become him, and do good to all about him.

}J34

ECCLESIASTES, X.

the lifis of a fool not only expose liim to repro£L-.h, and make him ridiculous, but ivill swallow up. himself, and bring him to ruin, by provoking the government to take cognizance of his seditious talk, and call him to an account for it. Adonijah foolishly sfiake against his own life, 1 Kings ii. 23. Many a man has been sunk by having his own tongue fall vjxon him, Ps. Ixiv. 8.' See what a fool's talk is.

(1.) It takes rise from his own weakness and wickedness; The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; the foolishness bound up in his heart, that is the corrupt spring out o^ which all these polluted streams flow, the evil treasure out of which evil things are brought. As soon as he begins to speak, you may perceive his folly; at the very first he talks idly, and passionately, and like himself.

(2.) It rises up to fury, and tends to the hurt and injury of others; The end of his talk, the end it comes to is madness; he will presently talk himself into an indecent heat, and break out into the wild extravagancies of a distracted man; the end he aims atj is, mischief; as, at first, he appeared to i have little government of himself, so, at last, it ap- I

Eears he has a great deal of malice to his neigh- . ours; that root of bitterness bears gall and wornri-wood. Note, It is not strange if those that begin foolishlv, end madly; for an ungoverned tongue, the more liberty it is allowed, grows the more violent.

(3.) It is all the same over and over; {v. 14.) ^ fool also is full of words, a passionate fool especially, that runs on endlessly, and never knows when to take up; he will have tlie last word, though it be but the same with that which was the first; what is wanting in the weiglit and strength of his words, he endeavours in vain to make up in the number of them; and they must be repeated, because otherwise there is nothing in them to make them regarded. Note, M;my, who are empty of sense, are full of words, and the least solid are the most noisy. The following words may be taken either, [1.] As checking him for his vainglorious boasting in the multitude of his words, what he will do, and what he will have, not considering that which every body knows, that a man cannot tell what shall be in his own time, while he lives, (Prov. xxvii. 1.) much less can one tell what shall be after him, when he is dead and gone. Would we duly consider our own ignorance of, and uncertainty about, future events, it would cut off a great many of th? idle words we foolishly multiply. 'Or, [2.] As mocking him for his tautologies; he is full of words, for, if he do but speak the most trite and common thing, a man cannot tell what shall be, because he loves to hear himself talk, he will sav it again, what shall be after him, who can tell him? like Battus in Ovid:

Sub illis

Montibus (inquit) erant, et erant sub montibus illia — Under those mountains were they, They were under those mountains, I say.

A^hence vain repetitions are called Battologies, Matth. vi. 7.

2. Fools toil a great deal to no purpose; {y. 15.) The labour of the foolish, to accomplish their designs, wearies exiery one of them. (1.) They weary themselves in that labour which is very foolish and absurd. All their labour is for the world and the body, and the meat that perishes, and in this labour they spend their strength and exhaust their spirits, and weary themselves for very vanity, Hab. ii. 13. Isa. Iv. 2. They choose that service which is perfect drudgery, father than that which is perfect liberty. (2.) That labour which is necessary, and would be profitable, and might be gone through with ease, wearies them, because they go about it awkwardly, and foolishly, and so make their busi-

ness a toil to them, which, if they applied them selves to it piiidently. would be a pleasure to them. Many complain of the labours of religion as griev ous, which they would have no reason to complain of, if the exercises of Christian piety were always* under the direction of Christian prudence. The foolish tire themselves in endless pursuits, and never bring any thing to pass, because they know not how to go to the city, because they have not capacity to apprehend the plainest thing, such as the entrance into a great city is, where one would think it were impossible for a man to miss his road. Men's im-

Erudent management cf their business robs them oth of the comfort and of the benefit of it. But it is the excellency of the way to the heavenly city, that it is a highway, in which the way-faring men, though fools, shallnot err; (Isa. xxxv. 8.) yet sinful folly makes men miss that way.

16. Wo to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning ! 17. Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! 18. By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. 19. A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merr}^: but money answereth all things. 20. Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.

Solomon here observes,

1. How nmch the happiness of a land depends upon the character of its rulers; it is well or ill, with the people, according as the princes are good, or bad.

(1.) The people cannot be happy when their princes are childish and voluptuous; (t. 16.) Wo unto thee, O land, even the land of Canaan itself, though otherwise the glory of all lands, when thy king is a child, not so much in age (Solomon himself was young when his kingdom was happy in him) as in understanding; when the prince is weak and foolish as a child, fickle and fond of changes, fretful and humoursome, easily imposed upon, and hardly brought to business, it is ill with the people. The body staggei's, if the head be giddy. Perhaps Solomon wrote this, with a foresight of his sen Re-hoboam's ill conduct; (2 Chron. xiii. 7.) he ivas a child all the days of his life, and his fi\mily and kingdom fared the worse for it. Nor is it much better with a people, when their princes eat in the morning, make a god of their belly, and make themselves slaves to their appetites. If the king himself were a child, yet if the princes and privy counsellors are wise and faithful, and apply themselves to business, the land may do the better; but if they addict themselves to their pleasures, "and pi-cfer the"gratifications of the flesh before the despatch of the public business, which theydisfit themselves for by eating and drinking in a morning, when judges are epicures, and do not eat to live, but live to eat, what good can a nation expect?

(2.) The people cannot but be happy, when their rulers are generous and active, sober and temperate, and men of business, v. 17. The land is then blessed, [1.] When the sovereign is governed by principles of honour, when the king is the son of nobles, actuated and animated by a noble spirit, which scorns to do any thing base, and unbecoming so high

ECCLESIASTES, XL

a character, which is soUcitous for the pubhc welfare, and prefers that before any private interests. Wisdom, virtue, and the fear of God, beneficence, and a readiness to do good to nil mankind, tlusc ennoble the royal blood. [2.] When the subordinatt magistrates are more in care to discharge- tlieir trusts than to gratify their appetites, when they eat in due season, that is, when tliey have despatched their business, and got them an appetite. God gives the creatures their meat in due season, (Ps. cxlv. 15.) let us not t ike curs unseasonably, lest we lose the comfort of seeing God give it us. Magistrates should eat for strength, that their Ijodies may be fitted to serve tlieir souls in the service of God and their country, and not for 'drunkenness, to make themselves unfit to do any thing either for God or man, and particularly tn sit in judgment, for thcv will err through wine, (Isa. xxviii. 7.) will f/77;//C-and forget the laiv, (Prov. xxxi. 5.) It is well with a people, when tlieir princes are examples of temperance, when those that ha\e most to spend upon themselves know how to deny themselves.

2. Of what ill consequence slothfvilness is both to private and public affairs; {v. 18. Bij much sloth fulness and idleness of the hands, the neglect of business, and the love of ease and pleasure, the building decays, drops through first, and by degrees drops down; if it be not kept well covered, and care be not taken to repair the breaches, as any happen, it will rain in, and the timber will rot, and the house will become unfit to dwell in: it is so with the family and the aflFairs of it; if men cannot find in their hearts to take pains in their callings, to tend their shops, and look after their own business, they will soon run in debt, and go behind-hand, and, instead of making what they have, more, for their children, will make it less; it is so with the public; if the king be a child, and will take no care, if the firinces eat in the morning, and will take no pains, the affaii's of tlie nation suffer loss, and its interests are prejudiced, its hon(mr sullied, its power weakened, its borders encroached upon, the course of justice obstructed, the treasure exhausted, and all its foundations out of course; and all this, through the slothfulness and self-seekingof those that should be the repairers of its breaches, and the restorer's of paths to dwell in, Isa. Iviii. 12.

3. How industrious, generally, all are, both princes and people, to get money, because that serves for all purposes, x'. 19. He seems to prefer money before mirth; A feast is made for laughter, not merely for eating, but chiefly for pleasant conversation, and the society of friends; not the laughter of the fool, which is madness, but that of wise men, by which they fit themselves for business, and severe studies. Spiritual feasts are made for spiritual laughter, holy joy in God. Wine makes merrv, makes glad the life, but money is the measure of all things, and answers all things. Pecunia obediunt omnia — Money commands all things. Though wirie makes merry, it will not be a house for us, nor a bed, nor clotliing, nor provisions and portions for children; but money, if men have enough of it, will be all these. The feast cannot be made without money, and though men have wine, they are not so much disposed to be merry, unless they have money for the necessary supports of life. Money, of itself, answers nothing; it will neither feed" nor clothe, but, as it is the instrument of commerce, it answers all the occasions of this present life; what is to be had, may be had for money, but it answers nothing to the soul; it will not procure the pardon of sin, the favour of God, the peace of conscience; the soul, as it is not redeemed, so it is not maintained, with corruptible things, as silver and gold. Some refer this to rulers; it is ill with the people when they give up themselves to luxury and riot,

835

feasting and making merry, not only because thciv business is neglected, but because 7nona/ must be had, to answer all these things, and, iii order to that, t!ie people squeezed by heavy taxes.

4. How cautious subjects 'have iieed to be, that tliey liarbour not any disloval pui-poses in their niinds, nor keep up any factious cabals or consultations against the government, because it is ten tc one that tliey are discovered and brought to light, ■V. 20. "Though rulers should be eiulty of some I errors, yet be nrt, upon all cccasirns, arraigning thtir administration and nuining them down", but make the best of them. "Here, (1.) The command teaches us our duty; Curse not the king, no, not inthy thought, do not wish ill to the government in tliy mind." All sin begins there, and there-fire the first risings cf it must be curbed and suppressed, and particularly that of treason and sedition. Curse not the rich, the princes and governors, in thy bed-chamber, in a conclave or club, of persons disaffected to the govemment; associate not with such; come not into their secret; join not with ^hem in speaking ill of the government, cr plotting against it." (2.) The reason consuUs cur safety; "Though the design be carried on ever so closely, a bird of the air shall can^ the -voice to the king, who has more spies about than thou .M-t aware of, and that which has wings shall tell the matter, to thy confusion and niin." God sees what men do, and hears what they say, in secret; and, when he pleases, lie can bring to hght by strange and unsuspected ways. Wouldest thou then not be hurt by the powers that be, nor be afraid o/them? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same; but if thou do that which is evil, be afraid, Rom. xiii. 3, 4.

CHAR XL

In this chapter, we have, I. A pressing exhortation to works of charity and bounty to the poor, as the best cure of the vanity which our worldly riches are subject to, and the only way of makingr them turn to a substantial good account, V. 1..6. 2. A serious admonition to prepare for death and judgment, and to befrin betimes, even in the days of^ our youth, to do so, v. 7. .10.

1. ^AST thy bread upon the waters: for \J thou shalt find it after many days. 2. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight: for thou knowest not what evil shalf be upon the earth. .3. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty flicmse/irs upon the earth : and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the f)lace where the tree falleth, there it shall be. 4. He that observ-eth the wind, shall not sow; and lie that re-gardeth the clouds shall not reap. 5. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grotv in the womb of her that is with child; even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. 6. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

Solomon had often, in this book, pressed it uprn rich people to take the comfort rf their riches themselves; here he presses it upon them to do good to others with them, and to abound in liberality to the poor, which will, another day, abound to their account. Observe,

ECCLESIASTES, XI.

I, How the duty itself is recommended to us, v. 1.

1. Cast thy bread upon the waters, thy bread-corn xipon the loiv places, so some understand it, alluding to the husbandman, \^\io goes forth, bearing precious seed, sparing bread-com from his family for his seedness, knowing tliat, without tliat, he can have no harvest anotlier year; thus the charitable man takes from his bread-corn for seed-corn, abridges himself to supply the poor, tliat lie may S01V beside all waters, (Isa. xxxii. 20.) because, as he sows, he must reap. Gal. vi. 7. We read of the harvest of the river, Isa. xxiii. 3. Waters, in scripture, are put for multitudes, (Rev. xvi. 5.) and there are multitudes of poor, we do not want objects of charity; waters are put also for mourners, the poor are men of sorrows. Thou must give bread, the necessary supports of life, not only give good words, hnt good things, Isa. Iviii. 7. It must be ^//z/bread, that which is honestly got; it is no charity, but injury, to give that which is none of cur own to give; first, do justly, and then love mercy. " Thy bread, which thou didst design for thyself, let the poor have a share with thee, as they had with Job, ch. xxxi. 17. Give freely to the poor, though it may seem thrown away and lost, as that which is cast ufion the vjaters. Send it a voyage, send it at a venture, as merchants that trade by sea; trust it upon the waters, it shall not sink."

2. " Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; be free and liberal in works of charity." (1.) '* Give much, if thou hast much to give, not a pittance, but a portion, not a bit or two, but a mess, a meal; give a large dole, not a paltry one; give good measure, (Luke vi. 38.) be generous in giving, as they were, when, on festival days, they sent portions to them for whom nothirig was prepared, (Neh. viii. 10.) worthy portions." (2.) "Give to many, to seven, and also to eight; if thou meet with seven objects of charity, give to them all, and then, if thou meet with an eighth, give to that, and if with eight more, give to them all too. Excuse not thyself with the good thcu hast done, from the good thou hast further to do, but hold on, and mend. In hard times, when the number of the poor increases, let thy charity be proportionably enlarged." God is rich in mercy to all, to us, though unworthy, he gives liberally, and upbraids Tiot with, former gifts, and we must be merciful, as our heavenly Father is.

II. The i-easons with Avhich it is pressed upon us. Consider,

1. Our reward for well-doing is very certain. " Though thou cast it upon the waters, and it seem lost, thou thinkest thou hast given thy good word with it, and art likely never to hear of it again, yet thou shall find it after many days, as the husbandman finds his seed again in a plentiful harvest, and the merchant his venture in a rich I'eturn. It is not lost, but well laid out, and well laid up; it brings in full interest, in the pi-esent gifts of God s providence, and graces and comforts of his spirit; and the principal is sure, laid up in heaven, for it is lent to the Lord." Seneca, a heathen, could say, JVihil magis fiossidere me credam quam bene donata —/ possess nothijig so completely as that which I have given away. Hoc habeo quodcunque dedi; hce sunt divi-iJ{S cert£ in quacunque sortis humane levitate — Whatever I have imparted I still possess; these •iches remain with me through all the vicissitudes ")[life. " Thou shalt find it, perhaps not quickly, ()ut after many days; the return may be slow, but it is sui'e, and will be so much the more plentiful." Wheat, the most valuable grain, lies longest in the ground. Long voyages make the best retunis.

2. Our opportunity for av ell-doing is very uncertain; " Thou knowest not what evil may be upon the ~arth, which may deprive thee of thine estate, and put thee out of a capacity to do good, and therefore,

while thou hast wherewithal, be liberal with it; im prove the present season, as the husbandman in sowing his ground, before the frost comes." We have reason to expect ex'il upon the earth, for we are born to trouble; what the evil may be we know not, but, that we may be ready for it, whatever it is, it is our wisdom, in the day of prosperity, to be in good, to be doing good. Many make use of this as an argument against giving to the poor, because they know not what hard times may come, when they may want themselves; whereas we should therefore the rather be charitable, that, when evil days come, we may have the comfort of having done good while we were able; we would then hope to find mercy both with God and man, and therefore should now show mercy. If by charity we ti-ust God with what we have, we put it into good hands, against bad times. ,

III. How he obviates the objections which might be made against this duty, and the excuses of the uncharitable.

1. Some will say, that what they have is their own, and they have it for their own use, and will nsk. Why should we cast it thus up07i the waters? Why should / take my bread, and my flesh, and give it to I know ?iot whom? So Nabal pleaded, 1 Sam. xxv. 11. Look up, man, and consider how soon thou wouldest be starved in a barren ground, if the clouds over thy head should plead thus, that they have their waters for themselves; but thcu seest, when they are fill of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth, to make it fniitful, till they are wearied and spent with watering it, Job xxxvii. 11. Are the heavens thus bountiful to the poor earth, that is so fiir below them, and wilt thou grudge thy bounty to thy poor brother, who is bone of thy bone? —Or thus; some will sav, I'hough we give but little to the poor, yet, thank God, we have as charitable a heart as any. Nay, says Solomon, if the clouds be fill of rain, they will empty themselves; if there be charity in the heart, it will show itself, Jam. ii. 15, 16. He that draw^ out his soul to the hungry will reach forth his hand to them as he has ability.

2. Some will say that their sphere of usefulness is low and narrow, they cannot do the good that they see others can, who are in more public stations, and therefore they will sit still, and do nothing. Nay, says he, in the place where the tree falls, or happens to be, there it shall be, for the benefit of those to whom it belongs; every man must labour to be a blessing to that place, whatever it is, where the providence of God casts him; wherever we are, we may find good work to do, if we have but hearts to do it. Or thus; some will say, *' Many present themselves as objects of charity who are unworthy, and I do not know whom it is fit to give it to."* " Trouble not thyself about that;" (says Solomon;) " give as discreetly as thru canst, and then be satisfied, that, though the person should prove undeserving of thy charity, yet, if thou give it with an honest heart, thou shalt not lose thy i-eward; which way soever the charity is directed, north or south, thine shall be the benefit of it." This is commonly applied to death; therefore let us do good, and, as good trees, bring forth the fruits of righteousness, because death will shortly come, and cut us down, and we shall then be determined to an unchangeable state of happiness or misery, according to what was done in the body. As the'tree falls at death, so it is likely to lie to all etemitv.

3. Some will object the many discouragements they have met with in their charity; they have been reproached for it as proud and pharisaical; they have but little to give, and they shall be despised, if they do not give as others do; they know not but their children may come to want it, and they had better lay it up for them; they have taxes to pay.

ECCLESIASTES, XL

837

and pui-cliases to make; they know not what use will be made of their charity, nor what construction will be put upon it; these, 'and a hundred such objections, he answers in one word; (x'. 4.) He that obsei~v€s the wind shall not sovj, which signifies doing good; and lie that regards the clouds shall not reap, which signifies getting good; if we stand thus magnifying every little difficulty, and making the worst of it, starting objections, and fancying hardship and danger where there is none, we shall ne\-er go on, much less go through, with our work, nor make any thing of it. If the husbandrnan should decline or leave off sowing for the sake of every flying cloud, and reaping for the sake of every blast of wind, he would make but an ill account of his husbandry at the year's end. The duties of religion are as necessary as sowing and reaping, and will turn as much to our own advantage; the discouragements we meet with in these duties are but as winds and clouds, Avhich will do us no harm; and which those that put on a little courage and resolution will despise and easily break through. Note, Those that will be deterred and driven oflF by small and seeming difficulties from great and real duties, will never bring any thing to pass in religion, for there will always ai-is'e some ivind, some cloud or other, at least in our imagination, to discourage us. Winds and clouds are in God's hands, ai-e designed to try us, and our Christianity obliges us to endure hardness.

4. Some will say, " We do not see in which way what we expend in charity should ever be made up to us, we do not find ourselves ever the richer; why should we depend upon the general promise of a blessing on the charitable, unless we saw which way to expect the operation of it?" To this he answers, " Thou knoivest not the work of God, nor is it fit thou shouldest; thou mayest be sure he will make good his word of promise, though he does not tell thee how or which Avay_, and though he works in a way by himself, according to the counsels of his unsearchable wisdom; he will work, and none shall hinder; but then he will work, and none shall direct or prescribe to him; the blessing shall work insensibly, but irresistibly; God's work shall certainly agree with his word, whether we see it or no." Our ignorance of the work of God he shows in two instances. (1.) We know not what i^the way of the S/iirit; of the wind, so some; we know not whence it comes, or whither it goes, or when it will turn; yet the seamen lie ready waiting for it, till it turns about in favour of them; so we must do our duty, in expectation of the time appointed for the blessing. Or it may be understood of the human soul; we know that (jod made us, and gave us these souls, but how they entered into these bodies, are united to them, animate them, and operate upon them, we know not; the soul is a mystery to itself, no marvel then thaX the work of God is'sotous. (2.) We know not how the bones are fashioned in the womb of her that is with child; we cannot describe the manner either of the formation of the body, or of its information with a soul; both, we know, are the work of God, and we acquiesce in his work, but cannot, m either, trace the process of the operation; we doubt not of the birth of the child that is conceived, though we know not how it is formed, nor need we doubt of the performance of the promise, though we perceive not how things work towards it. And we may well trust God to provide for us that which is convenient, without our anxious disquieting cares, and therein to recompense us for our charity, since it was without any knowledge or forecast of ours, that our bodies were curiously wrought in secret, and our souls found the way into them; and so the argument is the same, and urged to the same intent, with that of our Saviour, (Matth. vi. 25.) The life, the living soul that God has given us, is more than

meat; the body, that God has made us, is more than raiment; let him therefore that has done the greater for us be cheerfully depended upon to do the lesser. 5. Some say, " We have been charitable, have given a great deal to the poor, and never yet saw any I'eturn for it; many days are past, and we ha\ e not foujid it again." To which he an''wers, {v. 6. ) " Yet go on, proceed and persevere in well-doine, let slip no opportunity. In the morning, sow thy seed upon the objects of charity that offer themselves early, a7id, in the evening, do not withhold thy hand, under pretence that thou art weary; as thou hast opportunity, be doing good, some way or other, all the day long, as the husbandman follows his seed-ness from morning till night. In the inorning of youth, lay out thyself to do good; give out of the little thou hast to begin the world with; and, in the evening of old age, yield not to the common temptation old people are in to be penurious; even then withhold not thy hand, and think not to excuse thyself from charitable works by purposing to make a charitable will, but do good to the last, for thou knowest not which work of charity and piety shall prosper, both as to others and as to thyself, this or that, but hast reason to hope that both shall be alike good. Be not weary of well-doing, for in due season, in God's time, and that is the best time, you shall reap. " Gal. vi. 9. This is applicable to spiritual charity, our pious endeavours for the good oi the souls of others; let us continue them, for, though we have long laboured in vain, we may at length see the success of them. Let ministers, in the days of their seedness, sow both morning and evening; for who can tell which shall prosper?

7. Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold tlie siiii: 8. But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that Cometh is vanity. 9. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart chctu' thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. 10. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; for childhood and youth are vanity.

Here is an admonition both to old people aiid to young people, to think of dying, and get ready for it. Having, by many excellent precepts, taught us how to live well, the preacher comes now, toward the close of his discourse, to teach us how to die well, and to put us in mind of our latter end.

I. He applies himself to the aged, writes to them as fathers, to awaken them to think of death, v. 7, 8. Here is,

1. A rational concession of the sweetness of life, which old people find by experience; Truly the light is sweet; the light of the sun is so; it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to behold \t; light was the first thing made in the formation of the great world, as the eye is one of the first in the formation of the body, the little world; it is pleasant to see the light; the heathen were so charmed with the pleasure of it, that they worshipped the sun; it is pleasant by it to see other things, the many agreeable prospects this world gives us; the light of life is so. Light is put for life, Job iii. 20, 23. It carr>nt be denied that life is sweet; it is sweet to bad men, because they have their portion in this life; it is sweet to men, because they have this life as the time of \

ECCLESIASTES, Xi.

preparation for a better life; it is sweet to all men; nature says it is so, and there is no disputing against it; nor can death be desired for its own sake, but dreaded, unless as a period to present e\ ils, or a passage to future good. Life is sweet, and therefore we have need to double a guard upon ourselves, lest we love it too well.

2. A caution to think of death, even in the midst of life, and of life when it is most sweet, and we are most apt to forget death; If a man live many years, yet let him rem,ember the days of darkness are com-mg. Here is, (1.) A summer's day supposed to be enjoyed—that life may continue long, even many years, and that, by the goodness of God, it may be made comfortable, and a man may rejoice in them all. There are those that live many years in this world, escape many dangers, receive many mercies, and therefore are secure tliat they shall want no good, and that no evil shall befall them, that the pitcher which has come so often from the well, safe and sound, shall never come home broken. But who are they that live many years, and rejoice in them all? Alas! none; we have but hours ot joy for months of sorrow. However, some rejoice in their years, their many years, more than others; if these two things meet, a prosperous state, and a cheerful spirit, these two indeed may do much towards enabling a man to rejoice in them all, and yet the most prosperous state has its allays, and the most cheerful spirit has its damps; jovial sinners have their melancholy qualms, and cheerful saints have their gracious sorrows; so that it is but a supposition, not a case in fact, that a man should live majiy years, and rejoice in them all. But, (2.) Here is a winter's night proposed to be expected, after this summer's day; yet let this hearty old man remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. Note, [1.] There are days of darkness coming, the days of our lying in the grave; there the body will lie in the dark, tliere the eyes see not, the sun shines not. The darkness of death is opposed to the light of life, the grave is a land of darkness. Job x. 21. [2.] Those days of darkness will be ?7iany; the days ot our lying under ground will be more than the days of our living above ground. They are many, but they are not infinite; many as they are, they will be numbered and finished when the heavens are no more, Job xiv. 12. As the longest day will have its night, so the longest night will have its morning. [3. ] It is good for us often to remember those days of darkness, that we may not be lifted up with pride, nor lulled as'eep in carnal security, nor even transported into indecencies by vain mirth. [4. ] Notwithstanding the long continuance of life, and the many comforts of it, yet we must i-emember the days of darkness, because those will certainly come, and they will come with much the less terror, if we have thought of them before.

II. He applies himself to the young, and writes to them as children, to awaken them to think of death; {y. 9, 10.) here we have,

1. An ironical concession to the vanities and pleasures of youth; Rejoice, 0 young man, in thy youth. Some make this to be the counsel which the atheist and the epicure give to the young man, the poisonous suggestions against which Snlonif^n, in the close of the verse, ])rescribesa powerful antidote. But it is more emphatical, if we take it, as it is commonly understood, by way of irony, like tliat of Elijali to the priests of Baal, Cry aloud, for he is a god; or of Micaiah to Ahib, Go to Ramoth-Gilead, and /irosfier; or of Christ to his disciples, Slce/i on now. " Rejoice, 0 xjoung man, in thy youth, li\'e a merry life, follow thy sports, and take thy pleasures: let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, cheer thee with its fancies and foolish hopes; entertain '.hyself with thy pleasing dreams, walk ii: the ways

of thy heart, do wliatever thou hast a mind to do, and stick at nothing that may gratify the sensual appetite; Quiccjuid libet licet — Make thy will thy law; walk in the ways of thy heart, and let thine heart walk Lifter thine eyes, a rambling heart after a roving eye; what is pleasing to thine own eyes do it, whether it be pleasmg in the eyes of Grd tr no," Solomon speaks thus ironically to the young man, to intimate, (1.) That this is that which he would do, and which he would fain have leave to do, in which he places his happiness, and en wliich he sets his heart. (2.) That lie wishes all about him would give him this counsel, would prophesy to him such smooth things as these, and cannot brock any advice to the contrary, but reckons those his enemies that bid him be sober and serious. (3.) To expose liis folly, and the great absurdity of a voluptuous vicious course of lire; the very description of it, if men would see things entirely, and judge of them impartially, is cnc ugh to shew how contrary to reason those act that live such a life. The very opening of the cause is enough to determine it without any argument. (4.) To show, that, if men give themselves to such a course of life as this, it is just with God to give them up to it, to abandon them to their own hearts' lusts, that they may walk in their own counsels, Hos. iv. 17.

2. A powerful check given to these vanities and pleasures; "Know thou, that for all these things God shall bring thee into judgment, and dvdy consider that, and then live such a luxurious life, if thou canst, if thou darest." This is a xixas-x^/^-'— a corrective to the foregoing concession, and plucks in the reins he had laid on the neck of the young man's lust. "Know then, for a certainty, that, if thru dost take such a liberty as this, it will be thy everlasting ruin, thou hast to do with a God who will not let it go unpunished." Note, (1.) There is a judgment to come. (2.) We must everyone of us be brought into judgment, however we may now put far from us that evil day. (3.) We shall be reckoned with for all our carnal mirth and sensual pleasures in that day. (4.) It is good for all, but especially for young people, to know and consider this, that they may not, by the indulgence of their youthful lusts, treasure u/i unto themselves wrath against that day of wrath, the wrath of the Lamb.

3. A word of caution and exhortation inferred from all this, v. 10. Let young people loc k to themselves, and manage well both their souls and their bodies, their heart and their flesh. (1.) Let them take care that their minds be not lifted up with pride, or disturbed with anger, or any sinful passion; Remove sorrow, or anger, j'rom thy heart; the word signifies any disorder or perturbation of the mind. Young people are apt to be impatient of check and control, to vex and fret at any thing that is humbling and mortifying to them, and their proud hearts rise against everything that cresses and con-^ tradicts them. They are so set upon that which is pleasing to sense, that they canm t bear any thing that is displeasing, but it goes with srrrow to their heart; their pi-ide < ften disquiets them, and makes them uneasy. " Put that away, and the love of the world, and lay thine expectations low from tlie creature, and then disa])pointments will not be occasions of sorrow and anger to thee." Some by sorrow here understand that carnal mirth described v. 9. the end of which will be bitterness and sorrow. Let them keep at a distance fi-om every thing which will be sorrow in the reflection. (2.) Let them take care that their bodies be not defiled by intemperance, uncleanness, r>r any fleshly lusts; "Put away evil from the flesh, awX let not the members of thy body be instruments of unrighteous ncss. The evil of sin will be the evil of jiunishment, and that wl:ich thou art fond of, as good for the

ECCLESIASTES, Xll.

839

flssh, because it gratifies the appetites of it, will prove evil, and hurtful to it, and therefore put it far from thee, the further the bettei'."

The preacher, to enforce his admonition both to old and young, urges, as an effectual argument, that which is the great argument of his discourse, the vanity of all present things, their unceitainty and insufficiency.

1. He reminds old people of this; (v. 8.) Jll that comes is vanity; yea, though a man live many years, and rejoice in them all. AH that is come already, and all that is yet to come, how much soever men promise themselves from the concluding scenes, it is all vanity. What will be, will do no more to make men happy than what has been. All that :ome into the world are vanity; they are altogether 60, at their best estate.

2. He reminds young people of this; Childhood and youth are va?iity. The dispositions and actions of childhood and youth have in them a great deal of impertinence and iniquity, sinful vanity, which young people have need to watch against, and get cured. The pleasures and advantages of childhood and youth have in them no certainty, satisfaction, or continuance; they are passing away; these flowers will soon wither, and these blossoms fall; let them therefore knit them into good fruit, which will continue and abound to a good account.

CHAP. XII.

The wise and penitent preacher is here closing his sermon; and he closes it, not only like a good orator, but like a good preacher, with that which was likely to make the best impressions, and which he wished might be powerful and lasting upon his hearers. Here is, I. An exhortation to young people to begin betimes to be religious, and not to put it off'to old age, (v. 1.) enforced with arguments taken from the calamities of old age, (v. 1 . . 5.) and the great change that death will make upon us, v. 6, 7. II. A repetition of the great truth he had undertaken to prove in this discourse, the vanity of the world, v. 8. III. A confirmation and recommendation of what he had written in this and his other books, as worthy to be duly weighed and considered, v. 9 . . 12. IV. The tvhole matter summed up and concluded with a charge to all to be truly religious, in consideration of the judgment to come, V. 13, 14.

l.TOEMEMBER now thy Creator in XV the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 2. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened ; nor the clouds return after the rain : 3. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those tliat look out of the windows be darkened ; 4. And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low ; and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird; and all the daughters of music shall be brought low : 5. Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond-tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: 6. Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the foun-

tain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern : 7. Then siiall tiie dust return to the earth as it was ; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Here is,

I. A call to young people to think of God, and mind their duty to him, when they are ycung; l^e-member now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. This is, 1. The royal preacher's application"cf his sermon concerning the vanity of the world, and every thing in it. '' Y( u that are young flatter ycur-selyes with expectations of great things from it, but believe those that have tried, it yields no solid satisfaction to a soul; therefore, that you may not be deceived by this vanity, nor too much disturbed by it, remember your Creator, and so guard yourselves against the mischiefs that arise from the vanity cf the creature." 2. It is the royal physician's antidote against the particular diseases of youth, the love of mirth, and the indulgence of sensual pleasures, the vanity which childhood and youth are subject to; to prevent and cure this, remember thy Creator. Here is, (1.) A great duty pressed upon us, to rernember God as our Creator; not only to remember that God is our Creator, that he made us, and not ive ourselves, and is therefore our rightful Lord and Owner, but we must engage ourselves to him with the considerations which his being cur I Creator lays us under, and pay him the honour and ' duty which we owe him as our Creator. Re?nem-ber thy Creators; the word is plural, as it is. Job XXXV. 10. Where is God ?ny Makers? For Gcd said. Let its make man, us. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. (2.) The proper season for this duty; in the days of thy youth; the days of thy choice, so some; thy choice days, thy choosing "days". " Begin, in the beginning cf thy days, to remember him frcm whom thou hadst thy being, and go on according to that good beginning. Call him to mind when thcu art young, and keep him in mind throughout all the days of thy youth, and ne\er forget him. Guard thus against the temptations cf youth, and thus improve the advantages of it."

n. A reason to enforce this command; While the evil days come not, and the years, of which thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. Do it quickly,

1. " Before sickness and death come; do it while thou livest, for it will be too late to do it when death has removed thee from this state of trial and probation to that of recompense and retril^ution." The days of sickness and death are the days of evil, terrible to nature, ei.nl days indeed to those that have forgotten their Creator; these evil daiis will come, sooner or later; as yet they come not; for God is long-suffering to iis-nvard, and gives us space to repent; the continuing of life is but the deferring of death, and, while life is continued and death deferred, it concerns us to prepare, and get the property of death altered, that we may die comfortably.

2. Before old age comes, which, if death prevent not, will come, and they will be years of which we shall say. We hax<e 7io pleasure in them; when we shall not relish the delights of sense, as Barzillai, (2 Sam. xix. 35.) when we shall be loaded with bodily infirmities, old and blind, or old and lame; when we shall be taken off from our usefulness, and our strength shall be labour and sorrow; when Me shall either have parted with our relations, and rll our old friends, or be afflicted in them, and see thf m weary of us; when we shall feel ourselves die by inches; these years draw nigh, when all that comes will be vanity, the remaining months all months of vanity, and there will be no pleasure but in the reflection of a good life on earth, and the expectation cf a better life in heaven.

ECCLESIASTES, XII.

These two arguments he enlarges upon in the following verses, only inverting the order, and shows,

(1.) How many are the calamities of old age, and that, if we shoul'd live to be old, our days will be such as we sliall have no fikaaure in: which is a good reason why v/e should return to God, and make our peace with him, in the days of our youth, and not put it off till we come to be old; for it will be no thanks to us to leave the pleasures of sin, when they have left us, nor to return to God, v/lien need forces us; it is the greatest absurdity and ingratitude imaginable, to give the cream and flower of our days to the devil, and reserve the bran and refuse and dregs of them for God; this is offering the torn, and the lame, and the sick, for the sacrifice; and besides, old age being thus clogged with infirmities, it is the greatest folly imaginable to put off that needful work till then, which requires the best of our strength, when our faculties are in their prime, and especially to make the work more difficult by a longer continuance in sin, and, laying up treasures of guilt in the conscience, to add to the burthens of age, and make them much heavier. If the calamities of age will be such as here represented, we shall have need of something to support and comfort us then, and nothing will be more effectual to do that than the testimony of our consciences for us, that we began betimes to remember our Creator, and have not since laid aside the remembrance of him. How can we expect God should help us when we are old, if we will not serve him when we are young? See Ps. Ixxi. 17, 18.

The decays and infirmities of old age are here elegantly described in figTirative expressions, which have some difficulty in them to us now, who are not acquainted with the common phrases and metaphors used in Solomon's age and language; but the general scope is plain—to show how uncomfortably, gene-rallv, the days of old age are.

[i.] Then the sun and the light of it, the moon, and the stars, and tlie light which they borrow from it, will be darkened; they look dim to old people, in consequence of the decay of their sight; their countenance is clouded, and the beauty and lustre of it are eclipsed; their intellectual powers and faculties, which are as lights in the soul, are weakened; their understanding and memory fail them, and their apprehension is not so quick, nor their fancy so lively, as it has been; (light is often put for joy and prosperity;) the days of their mirth are over, and they have'not pleasure either of the converse of the day or the repose of the night, for both the sun and the moon are darkened to them.

[2.] Then the clouds return after the rain; as, when the weather is disposed to wet, no sooner isone cloud blown over than another succeeds it, so it is with old people, when they are got free from one pain or ailment, they are seized with another, so that their distempers are like a continual dro/i/iing in a -verii rainy day. The end of one trouble is, in this world, but the" lieginning of another,_and deep calls unto deep. Old people are often afflicted with defiuxions of rheum, like soaking rain, after which still more clouds return, feeding the humoui', so that it is continually grievous, and therein the body, as it were, melts away.

[3.] Then the kee/icrs of the house tremble; the head, which is as the watch-tower, shakes, and the arms and hands, which are ready for the preserva-lion of the body, shake too, and grow feeble, upon every sudden approach and attack of danger; that vigour of the animal spirits, which used to I)e exerted for self-defence, tails, and cannot do its office; old people arc easily dispirited and discouraged.

[4.] Then the strong men shall bo-iV themselves; the legs and thighs, which used to support the body,

and bear its weight, bend, and cannot serve for labour, as they have done, but are soon tired. Old men, that have been in their time strong men, are become weak, and stoop for age, Zech. viii. 4. God takes no pleasure in the legs of a man, (Ps. cxlvii. 10.) for their strength will soon fade; but in the J^ord Jehovah there is everlasting strength, he has everlasting arms.

[5.] Then the grinders cease, because they are few; the teeth, with which we grind our meat, and prepare it for concoction, cease to do their part, because they arefeiv; they are rotted and broken, and perhaps have been drawn, because they ached; some old people have lost all their teeth, and others have but few left; and this infiiTnity is the more considerable, because the meat, not being well chewed, for want of teeth, is not well digested, which has as much an influence as any thing upon the other decays of age.

[6. ] Those that look out of the tvindonvs are darkened; the eyes wax dim, as Isaac's, (Gen. xxvii. 1.) and Ahijah's, 1 Kings xiv. 4. Moses was a rare instance of one, who, when 120 years old, had good eye-sight, but ordniarily, the sight decays in old people as soon as any tiling, and it is a mercv to them that art helps nature with spectacles. We have need to improve our sight well while we have it, because the light of the e}'es may be gone before the light of life.

[7. ] The doors are shut in the streets; old people keep within doors, and care not for going abroad to entertainments; the lips, the doors of the mouth, are shut in eating, because the teeth are gone, and the sound of the grinding with them is loiv, so that they have not command of their meat in their mouths, which they used to have; they cannot digest their meat, and theiX'foi'e little grist is brought to the mill.

[8.] Old people rise up. at the voice of the bird; they have no sound sleep as young people have, but a little thing disturbs them, even the chirping of a bird; they cannot rest, for coughing, and therefore rise up at cock-crowing, as soon as any body is stirring; or they are apt to be jealous, and timorous, and full of care, which breaks their skep, and makes them rise early; or they are apt to be superstitious, and rise up, as in a fright, at those voices of birds, of ravens, or screech-owls, which soothsayers call ominous.

[9.] With them, all the daughters of music are brought low; they have neither \oice nor ear, can neither sing themselves, nor take any pleasure, as Solomon had done in the days of his youth, in singing men and singing women, and ynusical instrn ments, ch. ii. 8. Old people grow hard of hearing, and unapt to distinguish sounds and voices.

[10.] They are afraid of that which is high, afraid to go to the top of any high place, either because, for want of breath, they cannot reach it, or, their heads being giddy, or, their legs failing them, they dare not venture to it; or they frighten themselves with fancies, that that which is high will fall upon them. Fear is in the way; they can neither rule nor walk Avith their usual b( Idness, but are afraid of every thing that lies in their way, lest it throw them down.

[11.] y/ie almond-tree flourishes; the old man's hair is grown white, so that his head looks like an almond-tree in the blossom. The almond-tree blossoms before any other tree, and therefore fitly shows what haste old age makes, in seizing ujjon men; it prevents their expectations, and comes faster upon them than they thought of. (iray hairs arc here and there upon them, and they perceive it not.

[12.] llie grasshopper is a burthen, and desire

fails. Old men can bear nothing, the lightest thing

il sits heavy upon them, both on their bodies and on

ECCLESIASTES, XIJ.

841

iheir minds, a little thing sinks and breaks them;

f)erhaps the grasshopfier was some food that was ookcd upon to be very light of digestion; John Baptist's meat ivas locunts; but even that Hes heavy upon an old man's stomach, and theref(n'c desire fads, he has no appetite to his meat, neither shall he regard the desire of vjomen, as that king, Dan. xi. 37. Old men becjme mindless and listless, and the pleasures of sense are to them tasteless and

S-iUltSS.

It is probable that Solomon wrote this when he was himself old, and could speak ft elingly cf the infirmities of age, which perhaps grew the faster upon him, for the indulgence he had given himself in sensual jjleasures. Some old pecj)le bear up better than others under the decays ei age, but, more or less, the days of old age are imd will be evil days, and of little pleasure. Great care therefore should be taken to pay respect and lionour to old people, that they may have something to balance their grievances, and nothing may be done to add to them. And all this put together makes up a good reason why we should remember oxir Creator in the days of our youth, that he may remember us with favour, when these evil days come, and his comforts may delight our souls when the delights of sense are in a manner worn off.

(2.) He shows how great a change death will make with us, which will be either the prevention or the period of the miseries of old age. Nothing else will keep them off, nor any thing else cure them. "Therefore remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, because death is certainly before thee, perhaps it is very near thee, and it is a serious thing to die, and thou shouldest feel concerned with the utmost care and diligence to prepare for it."

[1.] Death will fix us in an unchangeable state; Man shall then go to his long home, and all these infirmities and decays of age are hai'bingers of, and advances toward, that awful remoAe. At death, man goes from this world, and all the employments and enjoyments of it; he is gone for good and all, as to his present state; he is gone home; for here he was a stranger and pilgrim; both soul and body go to the place whence they came, v. 7. He is gone to his rest, to the place where he is to fix. He is gone to his home; to the housr of his world, so some; for this world is not his. He is gone to his long home; for the days of his lying in the grave will be many. He is gone to his house of eternity; net only to his house whence he shall never return to this world, but to the house where he must be for ever. I'his should make us willing to die, that at death we must go home; and why should we not long to go to cur Father's house? And this should quicken us to get ready to die, that we must then go to our long home, to an ex>erlasting habitation.

[2. J Death will be an occasion of sorrow to our friends that love us; when man goes to his long home, the mourrwrs go about the streets, the real mourners, and those, as now with us, distinguished by their habits as they go along the streets; the mourners for ceremony, that were hired to weep for the dead, lioth to express and to excite the real mourning. When we die, we not only remove to a melancholy house before us, but we leave a melan-cholv house behind us. Tears are a tribute due to the dead, and this, among other circumstances, makes it a serious thing to die. But in vain do we g. tn the house of mourning,, and see the mourners g-} about the streets, if it do not help to make us serious and jiious mourners in the closet.

[3.] Death will dissolve the frame of nature, and take down the earthly house of this tabernacle, which is elegantly described, t. 6. Then shall the « iver cord, by which soul and body were wonder-tnllv fastened together, be loosed, that sacred knot V^OL. III.—5 O

untied, and those old friends be forced to part; then shall the golden boivl, which held the waters of life for us, be broken; then shall the pitcher, with which we used to fetch up water, for the constant support of life, i;nd the repair of its decays, be broken, even at the fjuntain, so that it can fetch up no more, and the ivlieel, all those organs that serve for the collecting and distributing cf ncurishment, shall be broke?!, and disal)led to do their office any mere; the body shall become like a watch when the spring is broken, the motion of all the wheels is stepped, and they all stand still; the machine is taken to I)ieces; the heart beats no more, nor does the blood circulate. Some apply this to the ornaments and utensils of life; rich people must, at death, leave behind tliem their clothing, and furniture oi silver and gold, and poor people their earthen pitchers, and the drawers of water will have their wheel broken.

[4. ] Death will resolve us into our first principles, X'. 7. Man is a strange sort of creature, a ray of heaven united to a clcd of earth; at death, these are separated, and each goes to the place whence it came.

First, The body, that clod of clay, returns to its own earth, it is made cf the earth; Adam's body was so, and we are of the same mould; it is a house cf clay, at death it is laid in the earth, and in a little time will be resolved into earth, not to be distinguished frcm common earth, accoi-ding to the sentence, (Gen. iii. 19.) Dust thou art, and therefore to dust thou shalt returii. Let us net therefore indulge the appetites of the body, ncr pamper it, (it will be worms' meat shortly,) nor let sin reign i?i our mortal bodies, for they are mortal. Rem. vi. 12.

Secondly, The soul, that beam of light, returns to that God, who, when he 7nade man of the dust of the ground, breathed into him the breath of life, to make him a living soul, (Gen. ii. 7.) and forms the spirit of every man within him. When tlie fiie consumes the wood, the flame ascends, when the ashes return to the earth rut of which the weed grew. The s(ul does not die with the b('dy;itis redeemed from the power of the grave; (Ps. xlix. 15.) it can subsist without it, and will in a state of separation from it, as the candle burns, and burns brighter, when it is taken out of the dark lantern It removes to the world of spirits, to which it is al lied. It goes to God as a Judge, to give account of itself, and to be lodged eitlier with the spirits in prison, (1 Pet. iii. 19.) or with the spirits in paradise, (Luke xxiii. 43.) according to what was done in the body. Tliis makes death terril)le to the wicked, whose souls go to God as an Avenger; and comfortable to the godly, whose sculs go to God as a Father, into whose hands they cheerfully c< mmit them, through a Mediator, cut of whcn'i sinners may justly dread to think cf going to God.

8. Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher: all is vanity. 9. And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still tane;ht the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed and sought out, 07id set in order many proverbs. 10. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words; and that ichich iras \\\\i-Xenu'as upright, even words of trutli. H. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened hij the masters of assemblies, which are given froifi one shepherd. 12. And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

Sclomon is here drawing towards a close, and is

ECCLESIASTES, XIL

loath to part, till he has gained his point, and prevailed with his hearers, with his readers, to seek for that satisfaction in God only, and in their duty to him, whicli tlicy can never hud in the creature.

I. He repeats his text, x'. 8. 1. As that wliich he liad fully demonsti-ated the truth of, and so made good his undertaking in this sermon, wlierein he had kept close to liis text, and both his reasons and ids application were to the purpose. 2. As that which he desired to inculcate both upon others and upon himself; to have it ready, and to make use of it, u])on all occasions; we see it daily pnjved, let it therefore be daily ///zproved; Vayiity of vanities, all is vanity.

II. He recommends what he had written upon this subject, by divine direction and inspiration, to our sei-icus consideration. The words of this Ijook are faithful, and well worth}- our acceptance, for,

1. They are the words of one that was a convert, a penitent, that could speak by dear-bought exi^e-rience of the vanity of the world, and the fully of expecting great things from it. He was Cohelttli, one gathered in from his wanderings, and gatliered home to that God from whom he had revolted. Vanity of vanities, saith the penitent. All true penitents are convinced of the vanity of the world, for they find it can do nothing to ease them of the burthen of sin, which they complain of.

2. They are the words of one that was wise, wiser than any; endued with extraordinary measures of wisdom'; famous for it among his neighbours, who all sought unto him, to hear his tvisdom, and therefore a competent judge of this matter; not only wise as a prince, but wise as a preaclier—and preachers have need of wisdom to win souls.

3. He was one that made it his business to do good, and to use wisdom aright; Because he was himself wise, but knew he had not his wisdom for himself, any more than he had it from himself, he still taught the /leople that k'nowledge w\\\c\\ he had found useful to himself, and hoped might be so to them too. It is the interest of princes to have their people well taught in religion, and no disparagement to them to teach them themselves the good knowledge of the Lord, but their duty to encourage those wiiose office it is to teach them, and to speak comfortably to them, 2 Chron. xxx. 22. Let not the people, the common people, be despised, no, not by the wisest and greatest, as either unworthy or incapable of good knowledge; even those that are well taught, have need to be still taught, that they may grow in knowledge.

4. He took a great deal of pains and care to do good, designing to teach the people knowledge; he did not put them off with any thing that came next to hand, because they were inferior people, and he averv wise man; liut, considering the worth of the souls'he preaclud to, and the weight of the subject he preached on, he gave good heed to what he read and heard from others, that, ha\ing stocked himself ■well, he mi^ht bring out of his treasury things new and old. He gave good heed to what he spake and wrote himself, and was choice and exact in it; all he did was el ilxirate. (1.) He chose the most profitable way of preaching, by proverl)s, or short sentences, which would be more easily apprehended and remembered than long and laboured periods. (2.) He did not content himself with a few parables, or wise sayings, and repeat them again and again, but he furnished himself with many proverbs, a great variety of grave discourses, that he might have somctliing to say on every occasion. (3.) He did not onlv give them such obserxations as were obvious and trite, but he sought oxit such as were surprising and uncommr.n; he digged into tlie mines of knowledge, and did not only pick up what lay on the surface. (4.) He did not deliver his heads and

observations at random, as they came to mind, but metliodised them; and set thein in order, that they might appear in more strength and lustre.

5. He put what he had to say in such a dress as he tliought would be most jjleasing; He sought to find out acceptable words, words of delight; {v. 10.) he took care tliat gof:d matter might not be sixaled by bad strife, and b}' the ungi'atefulness and incongruity of the expression. Alinisters should study, not for big words, or for fine words, but acceptable words, sucli as are likely to jdeiise men f(;r their good, to edification, 1 Cor. x. 33. They that wi.uld win souls must contrive how to win upon thtm with words fitly spoke?!.

6. That which lie wrote ior (in- instruction is of unquestionalde certainty, and what we may rely upon; That which was written was upright and sin cere, according to the real sentiments of the peri-man, even words of truth, the exact re]3resentation of the thing as it is. These arc sure not to nuss then way w!io are guided by tliese words. What good will acceptable ivords do us, if tlicy be net u/iright, and words of truth'/ Most are foi- smooth things, that flatter them, rather than right tilings, that direct them; (Isa. xxx. 10.) l)ut to tliose that understand themselvts, and their own interest, words of truth will alwa)s hi:acceptable words.

7. That which he and other holy men wrrte, will be of great use and adviiiitage to us, es]jecially being inculcated upon us by the exjjt sitioii rf it, v. li. Here observe, (1.) A ddible benefit accruing to us

i from divine truths, if duly ajipllcd and imiJroved; they 'cWQ profitable for doctrine, for refiroof fr correction, and instruction in righteousness. They are of use, [1.] To excite us to our duty; they are as goads to the ox that draws tlie jdough, putting him forward when he is dull, and quickening him, to mend his jrace. The trutlis c f (rod //rick nie)i to the heart, (Acts ii. 'c>7.) and ]nit them upni bctliir.k-ing themselves, when they trifle and grow i-emiss, and exerting tliemselves with more vigcur in tlieir work. Wliile our good affections are so apt as they are, to grow flat and cool, we have need of these goads. [2.] To engage us to persevere in our duty; they are as nailsXo those that are waxering and inconstant, to fix them to tliat which is good; tliey are OS ^^oof/« to such as are dull, and draw back, and nails to such as are desultory, and draw aside; means to establish the heart, and confirm go(xl resolutions, that we may not sit loose to cur duty, nor ever be taken off from it, but that what good there is in us may be as a Jiail fastened iii a sure place, Ezra ix. 8. (2.) A double way of communicating divine truths, in order to these benefits. [1.] By the scriptures, as the standing rule, the words of the wise, oi the prophets, who are called wise men, Matth. xxiii. 34. These we have in black and white, and may have recourse to them at an}- time, and make use of them as goads and as nails; by them we may teach ourselves, let them but come with pungency and power to the soul, let tlie impressions of them be deep and dural)le, and they will make us wise to salvation. [2.] By the ministry; to make the words of the wise mere ])rofitabk to us, it is appointed that they should be impressed and fastened liy the masters of assemblies, solemn assemblies for religious worship are an ancient divine institution, intended for the honour of God and the edification of his church, and are not only serviceable, but necessary, to those ends. The re must be masters of these assemblies, who are Christ's ministers, and, as such, are to preside in tliem, to 1)0 God's mouth to tlie peo])le, and theii''s to God. Tlieir business is to fasten i\\e words of the wise, an<l drive them as nails to the head, in order to which, the word of God is likewise as a hammer, J-:r xxiii. 29.

ECCLESIASTES, XII.

843

That which is written, and thus recommended to us, is of divine origin. Though it comes to us through various hands, (many wise men, and many masters of assemblies,) yet it is given by one and the same shepherd, the great Shefiherd of Israel, that leads Josefih like a jlock, Ps. Ixxx. 1. _ God is that one Shepherd, whose good Spirit endited the scriptures, and assists the masters of the asseiiiblies in opening and applying the scriptures. These ivords of the wise are Ijhe time sayings of God, on wliich we m:\y rest our souls; from that cne Shepherd all ministers must receive what they deliver, and speak according to the light of the written word.

9. The sacred inspired writings, if we will but make use of tlieni, are sufficient to guide us in the way to true happiness, and we need not, in the pursuit of that, to toil ourselves with the search of other writings; (v. 12.) ^nd further, nothing now remains but to tell thee that of makitig' many books there is no end; (1.) Of ivriting many books. If what I have written, serve not to convince thee of the vanity of the world, and the necessitv of beine religious, neither wouldest thou be convinced, if I should write ever so much. "If the end be not attained in the use of those books of scripture which God has blessed us witli, neither should we obtain the end, if we had twice as many more; nay, if we had so many that the whole world could not contain them, (John xxi. 25.) and much study of them would but confound us, and would rather be a ivea-ri?iess to the flesh than any advantage to the soul; we have as much as God saw fit to give us, saw fit for us, and saw us fit for. Much less can it be expected that those who will not by these be admonished, should be wrought upon by other writings. Let men write ever so many books for tlie conduct of hum:!n life, write till they have tired themselves with nuich study, they cannot give better instructions than those we have from the word of God. Or, (2.) Of buying many books, making ourselves misters of them, and masters of what is in them, by much study; still the desire of learning would be unsatisfied; it will give a man indeed the best entertainment, and the best accomplishment, this world can afford him, but if we be not by these admonished of the vanity of the world, and human learning, among other things, and its insufficiency CO make us happy without time piety, alas, there is no end of it, nor real benefit by it; it will weary the body, but never give the soul any ti"ue satisfaction. The great Mr. Selden subscribed to this, when he owned that in all the books he had read, he never found that on which he could rest his soul, but in the holy scripture, especially Tit. ii. 11, 12. By these therefore let us hQ admonished.

13. Let lis hear the conclusion of the ".vhole matter; Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14. For God shall brinsi; every work into jnd2;ment, with every secret thing, whether ii he good, or whether it he evil.

The great inquiry wliich Solomon prosecutes in this book, is, IVhat is that good ivhich the sons of men should do? ch. ii. 3. What is the true way to true happiness, the certain means to attain our great end? He had in vain sought it among those things which most men are eager in pursuit of, but 'lere, at length, he has found it, by the help of that

discovery which God anciently made to man, (Job xxviii. 28.) That serious godliness is the only way to true happiness; I^et us hear the conclusion of the whole matter, the return entered upon the writ of inquiry, the result of this diligent search; yru shall have all I have been driving at in two words. He does not say, £)o you hear it, but Let Jis hear it; for preachers must themselves be Vearers of that word which they preach to ethers; must hear it as from God; those are teachers by the halves, who teach others, and not themselves, Rom. ii. 21. Every word of Gcd is pure and precious, but some words are worthy of more special remark, as this here; the Masorites begin it with a capital letter, as that Dent. vi. 4. Solomon himself puts a nota bene before it, demanding attention in these words, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matte?: Observe here,

1. The summary of religion. Setting aside all matters of doubtful disputation, to be religious, is, to fear God and keeji his com mandments. (1.) The root of religion is the fear of God reigning in the heart; a reverence of his majesty, a deference to his authority, and a dread of liis wrath. Fear God, worship God, give him tlie honour due to his name, in all the instances of true devotion, inward and outward. See Rev. xiv. 7. (2.) The rule of religion is the law of God revealed in the scriptures. Our fear toward God must be taught by his commandments, (Isa. xxix. 13.) and those we must keep, and carefully observe. Wherever the fear of God is uppermost in the heart, there will be a respect to all his commandments, and care to keep them. In vain do we pretend to fear God, if we do net make conscience of our duty to him.

2. The vast importance of it; This is the whole duty of man; it is all his business, and all his blessedness; our whole duty is summed up in this, and our whole comfort is bound up in this. It is the concern of every man, and (ught to be his chief and continual care; it is the common concern of all men, of their whole time. It is nothing to a man Avhe ther he be rich or poor, high or low, but it is the main matter, it is all to a man, to fear God, and do as he bids him.

3. A powerful inducement to this, x\ 14. We shall see of what vast consequence it is to us, that we be religious, if we crnsidcr the account we must every one of us shortly give of ourselves to Gcd; thence he argued against a voluptuous and vicious life, {ch. xi. 9.) and here for a religious life. God shall bring ei'ery work into judgmejit. Note, (1.) There is a judgment to come, in which every man's eternal state will be finally determined. (2.) God himself will be the Judge, God-man will, not only because he has a right to judge, but because he is perfectly fit for it; infinitely wise and just. (3.) Every work will then be brought into judgment, will be inquired into, and called over again. It will be a dav to bring to remembrance ei>ery thing done in the body. (4.) The great thing to be then judged of concerning e~uery work, is, whether it be good or evil, conformable to the will of God, or a violation of it. (5.) Even secret things, bcth good and evil, will be brought to light, and brought to account, in the judgment of the great day; (Rom. ii. 16.) there is no good work, no bad work, hid, but shall then be made manifest. (6.) In consideration of the judgment to come, and the strictness of that judgment, it highly concerns us now to De veiy strict in our walkings with God, that we may give itfi our account with joy.

AN

EXPOSITION,

^ WITH

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS

OF THE

SONG OF SOLOMON.

Ml scripture, we are sure, is given by ins/iiration of God, and is firojitable for the support and advancement of the interests of his kingdom among men, and it is never the less so for there being found in it some things dar/c and hard to be understood, ivhich they that are unlearned and unstable, ivrest to their oivn destruction. In our behef both of the divine extraction, and of the spiritual exposition, of this b6ok, we are confirmed by the ancient, constant, and concurring, testimony, both of the church of the Jews, to whom were committed the oracles of God, and who never made any doubt of the authority of this book, and of the Cliristian church, wh)i !i happily succeeds them in that trust and honour.

I. It must be confessed, on the one liand, that if he who rarely reads this book, be asked, as the eunuch was, Understandest thou what thou readest? he will have more reason than he had to say, Hoiv can I, except some man shall guide me'' The books of scriptui'c-history and prophecy are very like one another, but this Hong of Solomon's is very unlike the songs of his father David; there is not the name of God in it, it is never quoted in the New Testament, we find not in it any expressions of natural religion, or pious devotion, no, nor is it introduced by vision, or any of the marks of immediate revelation; it seems as liird as anv pai-t of scripture to lie made a savour of life unto life, nay, and to those who cc^me totlie reading of it with carnal minds, and connipt affections, it is in danger of being made a savour of death xinto death; it is a flower out of which they extract poison; and therefore the Jewish doctors advised their voung people not to read it till they were thirty years old, lest by the abuse of that which is most pure and sacred, {horrendum dictii — horrible to say.') the flames of lust should be kindled with fire fi'om hca\'cn, which is intended for tlie altar only. But,

II. It must be confessed, on the other hand, that, with the help of the many faithful guides we have for the understanding of tliis book, it appears to be a very bright and powerful ray of heavenly light, admirably fitted to excite pious and devout affections in holy souls, to draw out their desires toward God, to increase their delight in him, and improve their acquaintance and communion with him. It is an allegory, the letter of which kills those who rest in that, and look no further, but the spirit of which gives life, 2 Cor. iii. 6. John vi. 63. It is a parable, wliich makes divine things more difficult to those who do not love them, but more plain and pleasant to those who do, Matth. xiii. 14, 16. Experienced Christians here find a countcqjart of their experiences, and to them it is intelligible, while they neither understand it, nor relish it, who have no part or lot in the matter. It is a song, an Epithalamiuin, rr nuptial song, wherein, by the exjiressions of love between a bridegroom and his bride, are set fortli, and illustrated, tlie mutual affections that pass between God and a distinguished remnant of mankind. It is a pastoral; the bride and bridegroom, for the more lively representation of humility and innocence, are brought in ;is a shepherd and his shepherdess. Now, i. This song might easily be taken in a spiritual sense bv the Jcwisli cliurch, for whose use it was first composed, and was so taken, as ajri:)ears, by the Clialdee Parajjlirnse and the most ancient Jewish expositors. God betrothed tlie people of Israel t'n himself, he entered into covenant with them, and it was a marriage-covenant. He had given abundant

firoofs of his lo\'e to them, and required of them that thev should love him with all their heart and soul. dolatTV was often spoken of as spiritual adultery, and doating upon idols, to prevent which, this song was penned, representing the complacency wliich God took in Israel, and which Israel ought to take in God, and encouraging then\ to continue faithful to him, thouph he might seem sometimes to withdi-aw and hide himself fr^m them, nnd to wait for the furtlier manifestation of himself in the promised Messiah. 2. It mav more easily be taken in a spiritual sense by the Christian church, because the condescensions and communications of divine love appear more rich and free imder the gospel than they did under the law, and tlie communion between hea\rn and earth more familiar. God sometirnes spake of himself as tl\e Husband of the Jewish church, (Isa. Ixiv. 5. Hos. ii. 16, 19.) and rejoiced in it as his bride, Isa. Ixii. 4, 5. But more frequentlv is Christ represented as the Bridegroom of his church, (Matth. xxv. 1. Rom. vii. 4. 2 Cor. xi. 2. 'Ey)h. v. 32.) ;>nd the church as the bride, the Lamb's wife, Rev. xix. 7.—xxi. 2, 9. Pursuant to this metaphor, Clirist and the church in general, Christ and particular believers, ai-e here discoursing with abundance of mutual esteem and endearment. The l)est key to this book is the 45th Psalm, which we find applied to Christ in the New Testament, and therefore this ousrht to be so too. It requires some pains to find oiit what may, probably, be the meaning of the Holy Spirit in the several parts of this book: as David's songs are many of them level to the capacity of

SOLOMON'S SONG, I.

845

he meanest, ant! there are shallows in them, in which a lamb maj- wade, so this of Solomon's will exercise the capacities of the most learned, and there are deptlis in it, in wliich an elephant may swim. But, when the meaning is found out, it will be of admiraljle use to excite pious and devout aft'ccticns in us; and tlie same truths which are i)lainly laid down in otlier scriptures, when they are extracted cut of this, come to the soul witli a more pleasing power. Wlicn we ap])ly ourselves to the study of tliis book, we must not only, with Moses and Joshua, jiut off our shoe from off our foot, and even forget that we have bodies, because the Jiiace ivhere nve stand is holy ground, but we must, with John, coine iifi hither, must spread our wings, take a noljle flight, and soar upward, till by faith and holy love we enter into the holiest, for this is no other than the house of God, ana this is the gate of heaven.

SOLOiMON'S SONG, 1.

CHAP. I.

In this chapter, after the title of the book, (v. 1.) we have Christ and his church, Christ and a believer, expressing-their esteem for each other. I. The bride, the church, speaks to the Bridegroom, (v. 2.. 4.) to the daui^hlers of Jerusalem, (v. o, 6.) and then to the Bridegroom, v. 7. II. Christ, the Bridegroom, speaks in answer to tiie complaints and request of his spouse, v. 8.. 11. III. The church expresses the great value she has for Christ, and the delights she takes in communion with him, v. 1"2..14. IV. Christ commends the church's beau',)', v. 15. V. The church returns the commendation, v. 16, 17. Wiiere there is a fire of true love to Christ in the heart, this will be of use to blow it up into a flame.

1.

T

HE song of songs, whicli is Solomon's.

We have here the title of this book, showing,

1. The nature of it; it is a song, that it miglit the better answer the intention, which is to stir up the affections, and to heat them, which poetry will lie verv instrumental to do. The subject is pleasing, and therefore fit to be treated of in a song, in singing of which we may make melody with our hearts unto the Lord. It is evangelical; and gospel-times should be times of joy, for gospel-grace puts a iieiv song into our mouths, Ps. xc^'ili. 1.

2. The dignity of it; it is the song of songs, a most excellent song; not only above any human composition, or above all the other songs which Solomon peimed, but even above any otlier of the scripture-songs, as having more of Christ in it.

5. The penman of it; it is Solomon's; it is not the song of fools, as many of the songs of love are, but the song of the wisest of men; nor can any man give a better proof of liis wisdom than to celebrate the love of God to mankind, and to excite his own love to God, and that of others with it. Solomon's songs were a thousand and five; (1 Kings iv. 32.) those that were of otlier subjects are lost, but this of serai)hic love remains, and will, to the end of time. Solomon, Hke liis father, was addicted to poetry, and, which way soever a man's genius lies, lie should endeavour to honour God, and edify tlie chiu'ch, witli it. One of Solomon's names was Je-didiah, beloved of the Lord; (2 Sam. xii. 25.) and none so fit to write of the Lord's love, as he that had himself so great an interest in it; none of all the apostles wrote so much of love, as he that was himself the Ijeloved disciple, and lay in Clirist's bosom. Solomon, as a king, had great affairs to mind and manage, wliich took up much of his thoughts and time, )'et he found heart and leisure for this and other religious exercises. Men of business ought to be devout men, and not to tliink that their business will excuse them from that which is every man's gi-eat business—to keep up communion witli God. It is not certain when Solomon penned this saci-ed song; some think that he penned it after he recovered himself by the grace of God from his back-slidings, as a further proof of his repentance, and as if, l)y doing good to many with this song, he would atone fot the hurt he had perhaps done witli loose,

j vain, amorous, songs, when he loved many strange [ wives; now lie turned his wit tlie riglit way. It is 1 more probable that he penned it in the beginning of 1 liis time, while he kept close to God, and kept up ! his communion with him; and perhaps he put this j song, with his fatlier's psalms, into the hands of the I chief musician, for the service of tlie temple, not j without a key to it, for the right understanding of i it. Some thnik tliat it was penned upon occasion of his marriage with Pharaoh's daughter, but that is uncertain; tlie tower of Lebanon, whicli is mentioned in this book, {ch. vii. 4.) was not built, as it is supposed, till long after that marriage. "VVe may reasonal)ly think that wlien in the height of his prosperity he loved the Lord, (1 Kings iii. 3.) he thus sensed him with joijfulness and gladness of heart in the abundance of all things. It mav be rendered. The song of songs, which is concerning Solomon, who, as the son and successor of David, on whom the covenant of royalty was entailed, as the founder of the temple, and as one that excelled in wisdom and wealth, was a type of Chi-ist, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and yet is a greater than Solomon; this is therefore a song concerning him. It is here fitly placed after Ecclesiastes; for when by that bock we are thoroughly convinced of the vanity of the creature, and its insufficiency to satisfy us, and make a happiness for us, we shall be quickened to seek for happiness in the love of Christ, and that true transcendent pleasure which is to be found onl\- in communion with God through him. The voice in the wilderness, that was to prepare Christ's way, cried, Alljlesh is grass.

2. Let him kiss me with the kisses of liis mouth: for thy love is better than wine. 3. Because of the savour of thy good oint ments, thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. 4. Draw me, we will run after thee. The King hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee; we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee. 5. I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem; as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. 6. Look not upon me, because 1 a}n black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angiy with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; b?tt mine own vineyard have I not kept.

The spouse, in tliis dramatic poem, is liere first introduced addressing herself to the Bridegi-oom, and then to the daughters of Jcnisalem.

I. To tlie Bridegroom; not giving liim any name or title, but beghniiug abniptl}-, Let him kiss 7ne;

R46

SOLOMON'S SONG, I.

like Mary Magdalen to the supposed Gardener, (Johnxx. 15.) If t/iou/laveborne/iii7i/iencp,mQcm-m^ Christ, but not naming liim; the heart had been bcf.ire taken up with the thoughts of him, and to this rehttive those tlioughts were the antecedent, that good matter which the lieart was cnditing, Ps. xl\. 1. They that are full of Christ themselves are ready to think thrt others should l)e so too.

Two things the spouse desires, and pleases herself with the thoughts of.

]. The Bridegroom's friendship; {v. 2.) "Let him kiss me nvith the kisses of his month; be reconciled to me, and let me know that he is so, let me have the tokens of his favoin*." Thus the Old Testament Church desired Christ's manifesting himself in the flesh, to be no longer vuidcr the law as a schoolmaster, under a disjjensation of bondage and *crror, but to recei\e tlie communications of divine grace in the gospel, in wliich Ciod is reconciling the world unto himself, binding up and healing what by the law was torn and smitten; as the mother kisses the child that she has chidden. " Let him no longer send to me, but come himself; no longer speak by rngels and prophets, but let me have the words of his own mouth, those graciojis ivorcls, (Lukeiv. 22.) which will be to me as the kisses of his mouth, siu'e tokens of reconciliation, as Esau's kissing Jacob was." All gospel-duty is summed up in our kissing the Son; (Ps. ii. 12.) so all gospel-grace is sunmied up in ]\\s kissing us, as the father of the prodigal kissed him when he returned a penitent. It is a kiss of peace. Kisses are opposed to wounds; (Prov. xxvii. 6.) so are the kisses of grace to the wounds of the law. Thus all true believers earnestly desire the manifestations of Christ's love to their souls; they desire no more to make them happy tlian the assurances of his fa\our, the lifting up of the light of his countenance vipnn them, (Ps. iv. 6, r,) and the knowledge of that love of his which passes knowledge; this is the one thing they desire, Ps. xxvii. 4. They are ready to welcome the manifestations of Christ's love to their souls by liis Spirit, and to return them in the liumble professions of l^ve to him, and comj^lacency in him, aliove all. " The fruit of his li/is is peace, Isa. Ivii. 19. Let him give me ten thousand kisses, whose very fruition makes me desire him the more, and whereas all other pleasures sour and wither by using, those of the Spirit become more delightful." So Bishop Reynolds.

She gives several reasons for this desire.

(1.) Because of the great esteem she had for his love; Thy love is better than u^ive. Wine makes glad the heart, revives the drooping spirits, and exhilarates them, but gracious souls take more pleasure in loving Christ, and lieing loved of him, in the fruits and gifts of his love, and in tlie ])ledges and assurances of it, than any man ever took in the most exquisite delights of sense, and it is more reviving to them than ever tlie richest cordial was to one readv to faint. Note, [1.] Christ's love is in itself, and in the accovint of all the saints, more valuable and desirable than the best entertaimiicnts this world can give. [2.] Those only may expect the kisses of Christ's mouth, and the comfortable tokens of his favoiu", who prefer his love before all the delights of the children of men, who would rather forego those delights than forfeit his fivonr, and take more pleasure in sjnritiral joys than in anv bodily refi-eshments whatsoever. Observe here the change of the person; Let him kiss me; there she speaks of him as absent, or as if she was afraid to speak to him; but, in the next words, she sees him near at hand, and therefore dii'Ccts her speech to him, " Tliy love, thu loves," (so the word is,) "I so earnestly desire, because I highlv esteem it."

(2.) Because of the diffusive fragrancy of his love,

![ and the fruits of it; {v. 3.) " Because of the savour of thy good ointment, the agrecableness r.nd >c-ceptaijleness of thy graces and comforts to till ihat rightly understand both them and themsehcs, ihi/ name is an ointment poured forth, then art sr, arid all that whereby thou hast made thyself known; thy very name is precious to all the saints, it is an ointment and periume which rejoices the hemt." The unfolding of Christ's name is as the (.jKuing cf a box of pre cious ointment, which the roc m is tilled with the odour of; the preaching of his g( s]xl was the Jnanifesting of the savour of his knowledge in every /ilace, 2 Cor. ii. 14. The Spirit was the oil of gladness wlierewith Christ was anointed, (Heb. i. 9.) and all true believers have that unction, (1 John ii. 27.) so that he is precious to them, and they to him, and to one another. ^ good naine is a /irecious ointment, but Christ's name is more fragrant th;in any other. Wisdom, like oil, makes the face to shine; but the Redeemer outshines, in beauty, all others. The name of Christ is net now like ointment sealed up, as it had been long, (^sk not after my name, for it is secret,) but like oint-ment floured forth; which denotes both the freeness and the fulness of the communications of his grace by the gosjnl.

(3.) Because of the general affection that all holy souls have to him; Therefore do tlie virgins love thee. It is Christ's love shed abroad in our hearts, that draws them out in love to him; all that are pure from the corruptions of sin, that preserve the chastity of their own spirits, and are true to the vows by which they have devested themsehes to God, that not only suffer not their affections to be violated, but caiuiot bear so much as to be solicited l)y the world and the flesh, those are the virgins that love Jesus Christ, mulfjlloiv him whithersoever he goes. Rev. xiv. 4. And because Christ is the Darling of n\\ the pure in heart, let him be ours, and let our desire be toward him and toward the kisses of his mouth.

2. The Bridegroom's fellowship, v. 4. Observe here,

(1.) Her ])etition for divine grace; Draw vie. This implies sense of distance from him, desire of union with him; "Draw me to thyself, draw me nearer, draw me home to thee." She had prayed that he Avould draw nigh to her; {v. 2.) in order to that, she ])rays that he would draw her nigh to him. " Draw me, not only with the moral suasion which there is in the fragrancy of the gcod ointments, not only with the attractives of that name which is as ointment poured forth, but with supernatural grace, with the cords of a 7nan and the bands of love," Hos. xi. 4. Christ has told us that ncnie come to him but such as the Father draws, John \\. 44. We are not only weak, and cannot come of ourselves any further than we arc helped, but we are naturally backward and averse to come, and therefore must pray for tliose influences and ojierations of the Spi-T'it, bv the power of which we are of unwilling made willing, Ps. ex. 3. "Draw me, else I move not; overpower the world and the flesh that would draw me from thee." We are not driven to Christ, but di-awn in such a way as is agreeable to rational creatures.

(2.) Her promise to improve that grace; Draw me, and then we will run after thee. Sec how the doctrine of special and effectual grace consists with our duty, and is a powerful engagement and enc< u-ragement to it, and yet reserves all the glory of all the good that is in us to God only. Observe, [1.] The flowing forth of the soul after Christ, and its ready compliance with him, are the effect of his grace; we could not run after him, if 1 e did not draw us, 2 Cor. iii. 5. Phil. iv. 13. [2.] The grace which God gives us we must diligently imjin-ve;

SOLOMON'S SONG, I.

84}

when Christ by his Spirit draws us, we must with cur spirits run after him. As God says, I will, and you a/iall, (Ezek. xxxvi. 27.) so we must say, " 'J'/irju shaft, and we will; thou shalt wo?-/: in us bot/i to will and to do, and therefore we will Avork (UC(ur own salvation;" (Piiil. ii. 12, 13.) not only we will walk, but we will run, after thee; this denotes eagerness of desire, readiness of affection, \igijurof pursuit, and swiftness of motion. IVhen iliou shalt enlarge my heart, then / will run the wai/ of thy commandments; (Ps. cxix. 32.) when thy right hand upholds me, then my soul follows hard after thee; (Ps. Ixiii. 8.) when with loving-kindness to us he draws us, (Jer. xxxi. 3.) we with loving-kindness to him must i-un after him, Isa. xl. 31. Observe tlie difference between the petition and the promise; " Draw me, and then we will run." "W hen Christ pours out his Spirit upon the church in general, which is his bride, all the members of it do thence receive enlivening, quickening influences, and are made to run to him with the more cheerfulness, Isa. Iv. 5. Or, "Draw me," ''says the believing soul,) " and then I will not only follow thee myself as fast as I can, but will bring all mine along with me; We will run after thee, I and the virgins that love thee, {v. 3.) 1 and all that I have any interest in, or influence upon, / and my house, (Josh. xxiv. 15.) I and the transgressor's, whom I will teach thy ways," Ps. li. 13. Those that put themselves forth, in compliance with divine grace, shall find that their zeal will firovoke many, 2 Cor. ix. 2. Those that are lively will be active; when Philip was drawn to Christ, he drew Nathanael; and they will be exemplary, and so will win those that would not be won by the word.

(3.) The immediate answer that was given to this prayer; The King has drawn me, has brought me into his chambers. It is not so much an answer fetched by faith from the word of Christ's grace, as an answer fetched by experience from the workings of his grace. If we observe, as we ought, the returns of prayer, we may find that sometimes, while we are yet sfieaking, Christ hears, Isa. Ixv. 24. The BridegrrKjiTi is a King; so much the more wonderful is his condescension in the invitations and entertainments that he gi\es us, and so much the greater reason have we to accept of them, and to ^un after him. God is the King that has made the marriage-su/ifier ior h\s Srin, (Matth. xxii. 2.) and irings in even the fioor and the maimed, and even the most shy and bashfnl are compelled to come in. They that are drawn to Christ are brought not only into his courts, into his palaces, (Ps. xlv. 15.) but into his presence-chamber, where his secret is with them, (Ps. XXV. 14.) where he is free with them, (John xiv. 21.) and where they are safe in his pa-/ilion, Ps. xxvii. 5. Isa. xxvi. 20. Those that wait at wisdom's gate, shall be 7nade to come (so the word is) into her chambers, they shall be led into truth and comfort.

(4.) The wonderful complacency which the spouse takes in the honour which the king put upon her. B(.'m^ bi-ought into the chafnber, [1.] «'We have what we would have; our desires are crowned with uns])eakable deliglits; all ovir griefs vanish, and we will be glad and rejoice. If a day in the courts, much more an hour in the chambers, is better than a thousand, than ten thousand, elsewhere." They that are, through grace, brought into covenant and communion with God, have reason to go on their way rejoicing, as the eunuch; (Acts viii. 39.) and that joy will enlarge our heart, and be our strength, Neh. viii. 10. [2.] All our joy shall centre in God; " We will rejoice, not in the ointments, or the chambers, but in thee. It is God only that is owv exceeding Joy, Ps. xliii. 4. We have no joy but in Christ, and which we are indebted to him for." Gaudium

in Domino — Joy in the Lord, was the ancient salutation, and Salus in Domino semfuterjia — Eternal salvation in the I.ord. [3.] "We will retain the relish and savour (f this kindness of thine, and never forget it; we will remember thy loves more than wine; not only thy love itself, {v. 2.) but the very remembrance of it, sliall be more grateful to us than the strc ngest cordial to the spirits, or the most palatable liquor to the taste. We will remember to give thanks for thy love, and it shall make more durable inipressirns upon us than any thing in this world.

(5.) The communion which a gracious scul has witli all the saints in this communion with Christ. In the chambers to which we are brought, we not only meet with him, but meet with one another; (1 John i. 7.^ for the upright love thee; the congregation, the generation, of the upright love thee. Whatever others do, all that are Israelites indeed, and faithful to God, will love Jesus Christ. Whatever differences of apprehension and affection tliere may be among Christians in other things, this they are all agreed in, Jesus Christ is precious to them. The upright here are the same witli the virgins, V. 3. All that remeinber his love more than wi?ie, will love him with a superlative love. Kor is any love acceptable to Christ but the love of the upright, love in sincerity, Eph. \\. 24.

II. The spouse applies herself to the daughters of Jerusalem, v. 5, 6. The church in general, being in distress, speaks to particular churches to guard them against the danger they were in, of being offended at the church's sufferings, 1 Thess. iii. 3. Or, the believer speaks to those tliat were professors at large in the church, but not of it; or to weak Christians, babes in Christ, that labour under nmcli ignorance, infirmity, and mistake, not perfectly instmcted, and yet willing to be taught, in the things of God. She observed these by-standers look disdainfully upon her, because of her lilackness, in respect both e)f sins and sufferings, uprn the account of which they thought she had little reason to expect the kisses she wished for, {v. 2.) or to expect that they should join with her in her joys, v. 4. She therefore endea\ours to remove this off ence; she owns she is black; guilt blackens; the heresies, scandals, and offences, that ha])pen in the church, make her black; and the best saints have their failings; sorrow blackens, that seems to be especially meant; the church is often in a low condition, mean, and poor, and in appearance despicable; hei- beauty sullied, and her face foul with weeping; she is in mourning weeds, clothed with sackcloth, as the Nazarites that were become blacker than a coal. Lam. iv. 8.

Now, to take off this offence,

1. She asserts her own comeliness notwithstanding; {xK 5.) I am black, but comely; black as the tents of Kedar, in which the shepherds lived, wliich were very coarse, and never whitened, weather-beaten and discoloured bv long use; but comely as the curtains of Solomon', the furniture of whose rooms, no doubt, w;is sumptuous and rich, in pro-])ortion to the stateliness of his houses. The church is sometimes black with persecution, but comely in patience, constancy, and consolation, and never the less amiable in the eyes of Christ; black in the account of men, but cornely in God's esteem; black in some that are a scandal "to her, but comehi in others tliat are sincere, and arc an honour to her." Tnie believers are black in themselves, but comely in Christ, with the comeliness that he puts upon them; black outwardly, for the world knows them riot, but all glorious within, Ps. xlv. 13. St. Paul was weak, and yet strong; (2 Cor. xii. 10.) and so the church is black, and yet comely; a believer is a sinner, and yet a saint; his own righteousness are as^plthy rags, but he is clothed with the robe of Christ's righte ■

SOLOMON'S SONG, I.

ousness. The Chaldee Paraphrase applies it to the people of Israel's blackness when they made the golden calf, and their comeliness when they repented of it.

2. She gives an account liow she came to be so black. The blackness was n.t natural, but contracted, and was owing to the hard usage tliat had been given her; Look not ujion me, so scornfully, because I am black. We must take heed with what eye we look upon the church, ebpecially when she is in black, fhou shouldest not have looked ufion the day of thy brother, the day of liis affliction, Obad. 12. Be not offend', d; for,

(1.) I am black, by reason of my suffcnngs; The sun has looked ujion me. She was fair and ccjmely, whiteness was her pn per colour, but she got this blackness by the burthen and heat of the day, which she was forced to bear. She was sun-bunit, scorched witli tribulation and persecution; (Matth. xiii. 6, 21.) and the greatest beauties, if exposed to the weather, are soonest tanned. Observe how she mitigates her troubles; she does not say, as Jacob, (Gen. xxxi. 40.) In the day the drought consumed me, but The sun has looked upon me; for it becomes not God's suffering people to make the worst of their sufferings. But what was the matter? [1.] She fell under tlie displeasure of those of her own house; My mother^ children ivcre angry with me. She was in perils by false brethren: her foes were those of her onvn house, (Matth. x. 36.) brethren by nature, as men; by profession, members of the same sacred corporation; the children of the church her mother, but not of God her Father; they ivere angry with her. The Samaritans, who claimed kindred to the Jews, were vexed at any thing that tended to the prosperity of Jerusalem, I^eh. ii. 10. Note, It is no new thing for the people of God to fall under the anger of their own mother's children. It was thou, a man, mine equal, Ps. Iv. 12, 13. This makes the trouble the more irksome and grievous; from such it is taken unkindly; and tlie anger of such is implacable; a brother offended is hard to he won. [2.] They dealt very hardly with her; They made me the keeper of the vineyards; First, " They seduced me to sin, drew me into false worships, to serve their gods, which was like dressing their vineyards, keeping the vine of Sodom; and they would not let me kee/t my own vineyard, serve my own God, and observe those pure worships which he gave me in charge, and which I do, and ever will, own for mine." These are the grievances which good people complain most of in a time of persecution, that their consciences are fcjrccd, and that those, who rale them with rigour, say to their souls, Bow down, that we may go over, Isa. li. 23. Or, Secondly, "They brought me into trouble, imposed that upon me which was toilsome, and bur-hensome, and very disgraceful." Keeping the vineyards was base, ser\ ile, work, and very laborious, Isa. Ixi. 5. Her mother's children made her the dnidge of the family. Cursed be their anger for It was fierce, and their wrath for it was cruel. The spouse of Christ has met with a great deal of hard usage.

(2.) "My sufferings are such as I have deserved; for my own vineyard have I not kept. How unrighteous soever my brethren are in persecuting me, G'ld is righteous in permitting them to do so. I am justly made a slavish keeper of men's vineyards, because I have been a careless keeper of the vineyards God has intrusted me with." Slothful servants of God arc justly made to serve their enemies, that they ?nay know his service, and the service of the kings of the countries, 2 Chron xii. 8. Deut. ixviii. 47, 48. Ezek. xx. 23, 24. "Think not the worse of the Avays of God for my sufferings, for I smart for my own folly." Note, When God's peo-

ple are oppressed and persecuted, it becomes them to acknowledge their own sin to be the procuring cause of their troubles, especially that carelessness in keeping their \ ineyards, so that it has been like the field of the slothful.

7. Tell mc, O thou whom my soul lov-eth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy Jlock to rest at noon : for why should I be as one that turnelh aside by the flocks of thy companions ? 8. if thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy waj-forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. 9. ] have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. 10. Thy checks are comely with rows ofjcicek, thy neck with chains of gold. 11. W q will make thee borders of gold, with studs of silver.

Here is,

I. The humble petition whicli the spcuse presents to her Beloved, the shtphtrdess to the Shepherd, the church and every believer to Christ, for a mere free and intimate ccmmunion with him. She turns from the daughters of Jerusalem, to whr m she had complained both of her sins and of her trc ubles, i nd looks up to heaven for relief and succcur against both, V. 7. Where cbserve, 1. The title she gives to Christ, 0 tho7i whom my soul loveth. Note, It is the undoubted character of all true believers, that their sculs love Jesus Christ, which intimates both the sincerity and the strength of their love; they loxte him with all their hearts; and they that do so may come to him boldly, and may humbly plead it with him. 2. The opinion she has of him as the good Shepherd of the sheep; she dcubts not but he feeds his flock, and makes them rest at noon. Jesus Christ gracirusly provides both repast and repose for his sheep; they are not starved, but well fed; not scattered upcn the mountains, but fed together; fed m green pastures; and, in the hot time of the da)', led by the still waters, anel made to lie down under a cool refreshing shade. Is it with Goel's people a noon-time of outward troubles, inward conflicts? Christ has rest for them, he carries them in his arms, Isa. xl. 11. 3. Her request to him that she might be admitted into his society; Tell me where thou feedest. Those that would be told, that would be taught, what they are concerned to know and do, must apply themselves to Jesus Christ, and beg of him to teach them, to tell them. " I'ell me where to find thee, where I may have ccn\crsation with thee, where thou feedest anel tendcst thy flock, that there I may ha\'e some of thy company." Observe, by the way. We should not, in love to our fricnels and their compsuiy, tempt them, or urge them, to neglect their business, but desire such an en joyment of them as will consist with it, and,rather, if we can, to join with them in their business, and lielp to forward it. " Tell me where thou feedest, and there I will sit v/ith thee, walk with thee, feed mv flocks with thine, and not hinder thee or myself, but bring mv work with me." Note, They, whose souls love Jesus Christ, earnestly desire to have communion with him, by his word in which he speaks to us, and by prayer in which we speak to him, and to share in the privileges of his flock; and we may learn from the care he takes of his chuich to provide conven-ent fooel and rest for it, how to take care of oui own souls, which are our charge. 4. The plea she uses for the enforcing this reciuest; " For why should I be as one that turns aside tv.

SOLOMON'S SONG, 1.

849

:n after, the Jlocks of thy comfianions, that pretend to be so, but are really thy competitors and rivals with thee." Note, Turning aside fi-om Christ, after other lovers, is that which gracious souls dread, 'ind deprecate, more than any thing else. " Thou wouldest not have me to turn aside, no, nor to be as one that turns aside; tell me then, O tell me, where I may be near thee, and I will never leave thee." (1.) Why should I lie under suspicion, and look as if 1 belonged to some other, and not to thee? Jl'hy should I be thought by the flocks of our compaiiious to be a deserter from thee, and a retainer to some other shepherd?" Good Christians will be afraid cf giving any occasion to those about them to question their faith in Christ, and their love to him; they would not do any thing that looks like unconcerned-ness about their souls, or uncharitableness toward their brethren, or that savours of indifference and disaffection to holy ordinances; and we should pray to God to direct us into, and keep us in, the way of our duty, that we may not so much as see?)i to come short, Heb. iv. 1. (2.) "Why should I He in temptation to turn aside, as I do while I am absent from thee?" We should be earnest with God for a settled peace in communion with (iod through Christ that we may not be as waifs and strays, ready to be picked up by him that next passes by.

II. The gracious answer which the Bridegroom gives to this request, v. 8. See how ready God is to answer prayer, especially prayers for instruction; even while she is yet speaking, he hears. Observe, 1. How affectionately he speaks to her; O thou fairest airiong- women. Note, Believing souls are fair, in the ejes of the Lord Jesus, above any other. Christ sees a beauty in holiness, whether we do or no. The spouse had called herself black, but Christ calls \\evfair. Those that are low in their own eyes, are so much the more amiable in' the eyes of Jesus Christ. Blushing at their own deformity (says Mr. Durham) is a chief part of their beavity. 2. How mildly he checks her for her ignorance, in these words, If thou know not, intimating that she might have known it, if it had not been her own fault. What! dost thou not know where to find me and my flock? Compare Chi'ist's answer to a like address of Philip's, (John xiv. 9.) Have I been so long time with yore, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? But, 3. With what tenderness he acquaints her where she might find him. If men say, Lo, here is Christ, or, lo, he is there, believe them not, go not after them, Matth. xxiv. 23, 26. But, (1.) Walk in the way of good men; (Prov. ii. 20.) follow the track, ask for the good old way, oljserve the footsteps of the flock, and go forth by them. It will not serve to sit still, and cry, " Lord, show me the way," but we must bestir ourselves to inquire out the way; and we may find it by looking which way the footsteps of the flock lead, what has been tlie practice of godly people all along; let that practice be ours, Heb.'vi. 12. 1 Cor. xi. 1. (2.) Sit under the direction of good ministers; *' Feed thyself, and thy kids, beside the tents of the under-shep-herds: Bring thy charge with thee," (it is probable that the custom was to commit the lambs and kids to the custody of the women, the shepherdesses,) **they shall all be welcome; the shepherds will be no hindrance to thee, as they were to Reuel's daughters, (Exod. ii. 17.) but helpers rather, and therefore abide by their tents." Note, Those that would liave acquaintance and communion with Christ, must closely and conscientiouijly adhere to holy ordinances, must join themselves to his people, and attend to his ministers. Those that have the charge of families, must bring them with them to religious assemblies; let their kids, their children, their servants, have the benefit of the shepherds^ tents.

III. The high encomiums which the Bridegroom

Vol. III.— 5P

gives of his spouse. To be givai in marriage, in the Hebrew dialect, is to be praised; (Ps. Ixxviii. 63. margin;) so this tptmse is here; her husband praises t\m virttious woman, (Prov. xxxi. 28.) he praises her, as is usual in poems, by similitudes. 1. He calls her his love; {v. 9.) it is an endearing conipcUation often used in this hot k; "My friend, my companion, my familiar." 2. He compares her to a set of strong and statclv horses in Pharaoh's chariots. Egyjit was famous for the best horses, Solomon had his from thence, and Pharaoh, no doubt, had the choicest the country afforded for his own chariots. The church had complained of her own weakness, and the danger she was in of being made a prey of by her enemies; "Fear not," says Ciirist; "I have made thee like a company of horses, 1 have put strength into thee as I ha^-e done into the horse, [Jch xxxix. 19.) so that thou shalt with a gracious boldness 77iock at fear, {and not be affright-efl',) like the lion, Prov. xx\iii. 1. ''KThe Lord has Tnade thee as his goodly horse in the day of battle, Zech. X. 3. I have compared thee to my company of horses which triumphed over Pharaoh's chariots, the holy angels, horses of fire.'" Hab. iii. 15. Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses; and see Is;'.. Ixiii. 13. "V\^e are weak in ourselves, but if Christ make us as horses, strong and bold, we need net fear what all the powers of darkness can do against us. 3. He admires the beauty and ornaments cf her ccuntennnce; {v. 10.) Thy cheeks are co?ncly with rows of jewels, the attire of the head, curls of hair, or favourites, so some; or knots of ribbands; thy neck also with chai?:s, such as persons of the first rank wear, chains of gold. The ordinances of Christ are the ornaments cf the church; the graces, gifts, and comforts of the Spirit, are the adorning of every beHeving soul, and beautify it; these render it, in the sight of God, of great price. The ornaments of the saints are many, but all orderly disposed in 7'ows and chains, in which there is a mutual connexion with, and dependence upon, each other. The beauty is not frcm any thing in themselves, from the neck, or from the c'heeks,\ui from the ornaments with which they are set off". It was comeliness which I put upon thee, saith the Lord God; for we were boi-n not only naked, but polluted, Ezek. xvi. 14.

IV. His gracious purpose to add to her ornaments; for where God has given true grace, he will give more grace; to him that has shall he given. Is the church couragec-us in her resistance of sin, as the horses in Pharaoh's chariots? Is she comely m the exercise of grace, as with rows of jewels, and chains of gold? She shall be yet further beautified; (x'. 11.) JVewill make thee borders of gold, inlaid, or enamelled, with studs of silver. Whatever is wanting, sliall be made up, till the church and every true believer come to be perfect in beauty; see Ezek. xvi. 14. This is here undertaken to be done bv the concurring power of the three persons in the Godhead; We wtd do it; like that, (Gen. i. 26.) " Let us make man; so let us new-make him, and perfect his beauty." The same that is the Author, will be the Finisher, of the good work; and it cannot miscarrv. 12. While, the King sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. 13. A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. 14. My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of En-gedi. \5. Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair, thou hnst doves" eyes. 16. Behold, thou art fair, my btlov-ed,yea, pleasant: also our bed is green. 17.

SOI.OMON^S SONG, T.

The beams of our house are cedar, mid our rafters of fir.

Here the conference is carried on between Christ :ind his spouse, and endearments are mutually ex-•■.lianged.

I. Believers take a great complacency in Christ, and in communion with him. To you that believe, he is firecious, above any thing in this world, 1 Pet. ii. 7. Observe,

1. The humble reverence believei-s have for Christ as their Sovereign, v. 12. He is a King, in respect both of dignity and dominion; he wears the crown of honour, he bears the sceptre of power, both which are the unspeakable satisfaction of all his people. This'King has his royal table spread in the gospel, in which is made for all nations a feast of fat things, Isa. xxv. 6. Wisdom has furnished'her table, Prov. ix. 1. He sits at this table X.osee his guests, (Mutth. xxii. 11.) to see that nothing be wanting that is fit for tliem: he su/is with them, and they with him; (Rev. iii. 20.) he has fellowship with them, and rejoices in them; he sits at his table to liid them welcome, and carve for them, as Christ brake the Jive loaves, and gave to his disciples, that they might distribute to the multitude; he sits there to receive petitions, as Ahasuerus admitted Esther's petition at the banquet ofwifie. He has promised to be present with liis people in his ordinances always. Then believers do him all the honour they caii, and study how to express their esteem of him, and gratitude to him, as Mary did when she anointed his head with the ointment of sfiikenard that was very costly, one pound of it worth three hundred /letice, and so fragrant, that the house ivas Jilled with the /ileasing odour of it; (John xii. 3.) which story seems as if it wei'e designed to refer to this passage, for Christ was then sitting at table. When good Christians, in any I'e-ligious duty, especially in the ordinance of the Lord's supper, where the King is pleased, as it were, to sit with us at his own table, have their graces exercised, their hearts l^roken by repentance, healed by faith, and inflamed with holy love and desire towards Christ, and with joyful expectations of the glory to be revealed, then the sfiikenard sends forth the smell thereof; Christ is pleased to reckon himself honoured by it, and to accept of it as an instance of respect to him, as it was in the wise men of the East, who paid their homage to the new-born King of the Jews, by presenting to him frankincense a?ul myrrh. The graces of God's Spirit in the hearts of believers are exceeding precious in themselves, and pleasing to Christ; and his presence in ordinances draws them out into act and exercise. If he withdraw, graces wither and languish, as plants in the absence of the sun; if lie approach, the face of the soul is renewed, as of the earth in the spring; and then it is time to bestir ourselves, that we may not lose the gleam, nor lose the gale; fir nothing is done acceptably, but what grace docs, Heb. xii. 28.

2. The strong affection tney have for Christ as their Beloved, their well-beloved, v. 13. Christ js not onlv beloved l^y all l)elie\'ing souls, Init is their well-beloved, tlieir best-beloved, their only beloved; lie has that place in their liearts, which no rival can be admitted to, the innermost and uppermost place. Observe,

(1.) How Christ is accounted of by all believers; He is a bundle of myrrh, and a cluster of camfihire, something, we may he sure, nay every thing, that is pleasant and deliglitful. Tlie doctrine of his gos-

f»el, and the comforts of his S])irit, are very re-reshing to tlicm, and they rest in his love; none of all the delights of sense are comjjarable to the spiritual pleasure they have in meditating on Christ,

and enjoying him. There is a complicated sweetness in Christ, and an abundance of it; thei^e is a bundle of myrrh, and a cluster of camfihire; we are not straitened in him in whom there is all fulness. The word translated camfihire, is cofiher, the same word tliat signifies a/o?;f7?ze»^ or firopitiation; Clirist is a Cluster of merit and righteousness to all believers; therefore he is dear to them, because he is the firo/iitiation for their sins. Observe whai a stress the spouse lays upon the application; he if unto me, and again, unto me all that is sweet; what ever he is to others, he is so to me; he loved me, and gave himself for me; he is my 1 ord, and my God.

(2.) How he is accepted; He sftall lie all night between my breasts, near my heart. Christ lays the beloved disciples in his bosom; why then shculd not they lay their l^eloved Saviour in tlieir bosoms? why should not they embrace him with both arms, and hold him fast, with a resolution never to let him go? Christ must dwell in the heart, (Eph. iii. 17.) and, in order to that, the adulteries must be put from between the breasts; (Hos. ii. 2.) no pretender must have his place in the soul. He shall be as a bundle of myrrh or perfume bag, between my breasts, always sweet to me; or his effigies in miniature, his love-tokens, shall be hung between my breasts, according to the custom of those that are dear to each other. He shall not only be laid there for awhile, but shall lie there, shall abide there.

n. Jesus Christ has a great complacency in his' church, and in every true believer; they are amiable in his eyes; {v. 15.) Behold, thou cirt fair, my love; and again, Behold, thou art fair. He says tliis, not to make her proud, (humility is one principal ingredient in spiritual beauty,) but, 1. To show that there is a real beauty in holiness; that all who are sanctified are thereby beautified; they are truly fair. 2. That he takes great delight iri that good work, which his grace has wrought on the souls of believers; so that, though they have their infirmities, whatever they think of themselves, and the world thinks of them| he thinks them fair. He calls tliem friends; the hidden mayi of the heart, in that which is not corrujitible, is in the sight of God of great jirice, 1 Pet. iii. 4. 3. To comfort weak believers, who are discouraged by their own blackness, let them be told again and again that they are fair. 4. To engage all who are sanctified to be very tliankful for that grace which has made them fair, who bv nature were deformed, and changed the Ethiopian's skin. One instance of the beauty of the spouse is here mentioned, that she has doves' eyes, as ch. iv. 1. Those are fair, in Christ's account, wlio have not the piercing eye of the eagle, 1)ut the pure and chaste eye of the dove; not like the hawk, who, when he soars upward, still has his eve upon the prev on earth; but a humble modest eve, such an eve as discovers a simplicity and godly sincerity, and a dove-like innocency. Eyes enhght-ened and guided by the Holy Spirit, that blessed Dove; weeping eyes; I <lid mourn as a dove, Ezck. vii. 16.

in. The church expresses her value for Christ, and retums esteem for esteem; (t. 16.) Behold, thoii'art fair. See how Christ ann believers praise one another. Israel saith of God, Ulio is like thee? (Exod. XV. 11.) And God saitli of Israel, Who is like thee? (Deut. xxxiii. 29.) L'^rd, saith the church, ♦'Dost thou call me fair? No; if we speak of strength, thou art strong; (Job ix. 19.) so, if of beauty, thou art fair; I am fair no otherwise than as I have tliine i'mage stamped u])on me; thou art the great Original, I am but a faint and imperfect copy, I am but thine umbra — the shadow of thee; (John i. 16.—iii. 34.) Thou art fair in thyse.f, and (which is more) fileasant to all that are thine. Many

SOLOMON'S SONG, 11.

851

are fair enough to look at, and yet the sourness of their temper renders them unfileasant; but^AoM art fair, yea, fileasant. " Christ is fileasant, as he is ours, in covenant with us, in relation to us. Thou art fileasant now, when the King sits at his table. Christ is always precious to believers, but in a special mSiixnev fileasant, when they are admitted into communion with him, when they hear his voice, and see his face, and taste his lo\'e. It is good to be here. Having expressed her esteem of her husband's person, she next, like a loving spouse, tliat is transported witli joy for having disposed of herself so well, applauds the accommodations he had for her entertaiimient; \\\&hed, his house, his rafters, or galleries, (v. 16.) which may fitly be applied to thc^se holy ordinances in which believers have fellowship with Jesus Christ, receive the tokens of his love, and return their pious and devout affections to him, increase their acquaintance with him, and improve their advantages by him. Now, 1. These she calls ours, Christ and believers have a joint interest in them. As husband and wife are heirs together, (1 Pet. iii. 7.) so believers are joint heirs ivith Christ, Rom. viii. 17. They are his institutions, and their privileges; in them Christ and believers meet. She does not call them mine, for a believer will own nothing as his, but what Christ shall have an interest in; Yvorthine, for Christ has said, All that I have is thine, Luke xv. 31. All is otirs, if we are Christ's. They that can by f lith lay claim to Christ may lav claim to all that is his. 2. These are the best of the kind. Does the colour of the bed, and the furniture belonging to it, help to set it off? Otir bed is green, a colour which, in a pastoral, is preferred before any other, because it is the colour of the fields and groves, where the shepherd's business and delight are. It is a refreshing colour, good for the eyes, and it denotes fruitfulness. / am like a green olive-tree, Ps. Iii. 8. We are married to Christ, that tve should bring forth unto God, Rom. vii. 4. The beams of our house are cedar; {v. 17.) which, proljably, refers to tlie temple Solomon had lately built for communion between God and Israel, which was of cedar, a strong sort of wood, sweet, durable, and which will never rot, typifying the firmness and continuance of the church, the gospel-temple; the galleries for walking are ofjir, or cy-firess, some s^rt of wood that was pleasing both to the sight and to the smell, intimating the delight which the saints take in walking with Clirist, and convei's-ing with him. Every thing in the covenant of grace, (on which footing all their treaties are carried on,) is very firm, very fine, and very fragrant.

CHAP. IT.

In this chapter, I. Christ speaks both concernin<r himself, and concerninpr his church, v. 1, 3. II. The church speaks, 1. Remembering the pleasure and satisfaction she had in communion with Christ, v. 3,4. 2. Enter-taininsr herself with the present tokens of his favour, and taking care that nothing happen to intercept them, v. 5 .. 7. 3. Triumphing in his approaches toward her, v. 8, 9. 4. Repealing the gracious calls he had given her to go along with him a walking, invited bv the pleasures of the returning spring, (v. 10- -13.) out of her obscurity, (v. 14.) and the charge he had given to the servants to destroy that which would be hurtful to his vineyard, v. 15. 5. Rejoicing in her interests in him, v. 16. 6. Long-in? for his arrival, v. 17. They whose hearts are fiUcd with love to Christ, and hope of heaven, know best what these things mean.

1. X AM the rose of Sharon, and the lily A of the valleys. 2. As the lily among the thorns, so ?,s my love among the daughters.

See here, 1. What Christ is pleased to compare nimself to; and he condescends very much in the

comparison; he that is the Son of the Highest, the bright and morning Star, c;dls and owns himself th^ Rose of Sliaron, and the Lily of the -valleys, to express his presence with his people in this world, the easiness of their access to him, and the beauty and sweetness which they find in him; and to teach them to adorn themselves with him, as shepherds and shepherdesses, when they appeared gay, Avcie decked with I'oses and lilies, garlands and chaplcis of fie.wers. The rose, for beauty and fragrancy, is the cliief of flowers, and our Savioiu' prefers the clothing of the lily before that of Solomon iii all hut glo?-y. Christ is the Hose of Sharon, where, pro-liably, the best roses grew, and in most plenty; the Rose of the field, so some; denoting that the gosptl salvation is a common salvation; it lies open to all; whoever will may come, and gather tlie rose-buds of privileges and comforts that grow in the covenant of grace; he is not a Rose locked up in a garden, but all may come and receive benefit by him, and comfort in him. He is a JAly for whiteness, a Lily of the valleys for sweetness, for those which we call so are a strong perfume. He is a Lily of the valleys, or lonv places, in his humiliation, exposed to injury; humble souls see most beauty in him; what • ever he is to others, to them that are in the valley.i he is a Lily. He is the Rose, the Lily; there is none besides; whatever excellency is in Christ, it is in him singularly, and in the highest degree.

2. Wliat he is pleased to compare his church to; {v. 2.) (1.) She is as a lily; he himself is the Lily, \v. 1.) she is as the lily; the beauty of belie\ers consists in their conformity and resemblance to Jesus Christ; they are his love, and so they are as lilies, for those are made like Christ in wlM)se hearts his love is shed abroad. (2. ) As a lily among thorns; as a lily compared with thorns; the church cf Christ as far exceeds all other societies, as a bed of roses excels a bush of thorns; as a lily compassed with thorns. The wicked, the daughters of this world, such as have no love to Christ, are as thorns, worthless and useless, good for nothing but to stop a gap; nay, they are noxious and hvntful, they came in with sin, and are a fi-uit of the curse; they choke good seed, and hinder good fruit, and their end is to be burned. God's people are as lilies among them, scratched and tern, shaded and obscured, by them, they are dear to Christ, and yet exposed to hardships and troubles in the world; they must expect it, for they are planted cmor/^ thorns, (Ezek. ii. 6.) but they are ne\ertheless dear to him, he docs net overlook or under\alue any cf his lilies for their being among thorns. When they are among thorns, they must still be as lilies, must maintain their in-nocency and purity, and, though they are among thorns, must not be turned into thorns, must not render raiVnig for railing, and if they thus preserve their character, they shall still be owned as conformable to Christ. Grace in the soul is a lily among thorns, corruptions are thorns in the fiesh, (2 Cor. xii. 7.) ai'e as Canaanites to God's Israel; (Josli. xxiii. 13.) but the lily that is now among thorns, shall shortly be transplanted out of this wilderness into that p iradise where there is no firick-ing brier or grieving thorn, Ezek. xxviii. 24.

3. As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. T sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste 4. He brought me to the banqueting-house, and his banner over me urns love. 5. Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples-for I am sick of love. 6. His left hana ?.s under my head, and his right hand doth ern-

SOLOMON'S SONG, 11.

brace me. 7. 1 charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

Here,

I. The spouse commends her Beloved, and prefers him before all othei's; As the afifile-tree among the trees of the wood, which perhaps does not grow so high, nor spread so wide, as some other trees, yet is useful and serviceable to man, yielding pleasant and profitable fruit, while the other trees arc of little use, no, not tlie cedars themselves, till they are cut down, so is my Beloved among the so}is, so far does he excel them all, all the sons of God, the angels; that honour was put upon him, which, was never designed for them; (Heb. i. 4.) all the sons of men; he is fairer, how much more does he excel than all, than the choicest of them, Ps. xl\-. 2. Name what creature you will, and you will find Christ has the pre-eminence above tliem all. The world is a barren tree to a soul, Christ is a fruitful one.

II. She remembers the abundant comfort she has had in communion with him; she sat doiv)i by him nuith great delight, as shepherds sometimes repose themselves, sometimes converse with one another, under a tree.

A double advantage she found in sitting down so near the Loi'd Jesus. 1. A refreshing shade; I sat down under his shadow, to be sheltered by him from the scorching heat of the sun, to be cooled, and so to take some rest. Christ is to believers as the shadow of a gi'eat tree, nay, of a great rock in a weary land, Isa. xxxii. 2—xxv. 4. When a poor soul is parched with convictions of sin, and the terrors of the law, as David, (Ps. xxxii. 4.) when fatigued with the troubles of this world, as Elijah when he sat down under the juniper tree, (1 Kings xix. 4.) they find that in Christ, in his name, his graces, liis comforts, and his undertaking for poor sinners, which revives them, an 1 keeps them from fainting; they that are weary and heavy laden in Christ may find rest. It is not enough to pass by this shadow, but we must sit down under it; here will I dwell, for I have desired it; and we shall find it not like Jonah's gourd, that soon withered, and left him in a heat, both inward and outward, but like the tree of life, the leaves whereof were not only for shelter, but for the healing of the nations. We must sit down under this shadow with delight, must put an entire confidence in the protection of it, (as Judges:ix. 15.) and take an entire complacency in the refreshment of it. But that is not all. 2. Here is pleasing, nourishing, fond; this tree drops its fruits to those that sit down under its shadow, and they are welcome to them, and will find them sweet unto their taste, whatever they ai-e to others; believers have tasted that the Lord Jesus is gra-cioiis, (1 Pet. ii. 3.) \\\% fruits are all the precious privileges of the new covenant, purchased by his blood, and communicated by his Spirit; promises ire sweet to a believer, yea, and precepts too; I de-'ight in the law of God after the inward man. Par-Ions are sweet, and peace of conscience sweet, assurances of God's love, joys of the Holy Ghost, the hopes of eternal life, and the present earnests and f iretastes of it, are sweet, all sweet to those that liavc their spiritual senses exercised. If our mouths 1)6 put nut of taste for the pleasures of sin, divine ■onsolatioiis will be sweet to our taste, sweeter than honey a?id the lioney-comb.

III. She owns herself obliged to Jesus Christ for all the benefit and comfort she had in communion with him; {v. 4.) " I sat down under the apple-irpf, '.^l:id to be there, but he admitted me, nay,

he pressed me, to a more intimate communion him; Come in, thou blessed of the Lord, why sti

witn

^ stand-est thou without'' He brought me to the house of wine, the place where he entertains his special friends; from lower to higher measures and degrees of comfort; from the fruit of the afifde-tree to the more generous fi-uit of the vine. To him that values the divine joys he has, more shall be given. One of the rabbins, by the banqueting-house, understands the tabernacle of the congregation where the interpretation of the law was given; surely then w'c may apply it to Cliristian assemblic s, where the gospel is preached, and gnsjjtl-ordinances are administered, particularly the Lord's supper, thv.t banquet of wine, especially to the inside of thrse ordinances, communion with God in them. Observe, 1. How she was introduced; "//i" brought me, wrought in me an inclinaticn to draw nigh to God, helped me over my discouragemtnts, took me by the hand, guided and led me, and gave me an access with boldness to God as a Father, Eph. ii. 18. We had never come into the banqueting-house, and never been acquainted with spirituil pie; sures, if Christ had not brought us, by opening for us a nev,' and living way, and opening in us anew and living fountain. 2. How she was entertained; His banner over me was loz'e; he brought me in with a banner displayed over my head, net as one he triumphed over, bA as one he triumphed in, j-nd whrm he always caused to triumph with him, and in him, 2 Cor. ii. 14. The gospel is compared to a banner, or ensign, (Isa. xi. 12.) and that which is represented in this banner, written in it in letters of geld, letters of blood, is love, love; and tliis is the entertainment in the banqueting-house. Christ is the Captain of our salvation, and he enlists all his soldiers under the banner of love; in that they centre, to that they must crn-tmually have an eye, and be animated by it; the love of Christ must constrain them to fight manfully. When a city was taken, the conquerer set up his standard in it; "He has conquered me with his love, overcome me with kindness, and that is the banner over me." This she speaks of as what she hael fe.rmerlv had experience of, and she remembers it with delight. Eaten bread must not be forgotten, but reme mbered Avith thankfulness to that God who has fed us with manna in this wildornc^s.

IV. She pn fesses her strong affection and most passionate love to Jesus Christ; {\k 5.) I am sickof love, overcome, overpoAycreel by it. David explains this, when be savs, (Ps. cxix. 20.) My soul breaks for the longing that it has unto thy judgments, and, (f. 18.) My soul faints for thy salvation; languishing with care to make it sure, and fear of coming short of it. The spouse was now absent perhaps from her Beloved, waiting for his return, and cannot bear the grief and distance of delay. O how mucli better is it with the soul when it is sick of love to Christ, than when it is surfeited with the lo\e of this world! She cries out for cordial; "O stay me with flagons, or ointments, c>Y flowers, any thing that is reviving; comfort me with apples, with the fruits of that Apple-tree, Christ, (7'. ,".) with tlie merit and mediation of Christ, and the reuse of his love to my soul." Note, The}- that p.re sick of love to Christ, shall not want spiritual supports, while they are yet waiting for spiritual comforts.

V. She exiK-riences the ])ower and tenderness of divine gi'ace, relieving her in her ])resent faintings, V. 6. Though he seemed to have withdrawn, vet he was even then a very present Help. 1. To sustain the loAc-sick soul, and to keep it frf)m fainting away; "His left hand is under my head, to bear it up, nav, as a pillow to Inv it casv." Dnvid experienced God's hand ui^liolding him tlv n wh< n His soul was following hard afer God, (Ps. Ixiii.

SOLOMON^S SONG, II.

8.) and Job, in a state of desertion, yet found that God fint strength into him, Job xxiii. 6. All his saints are in his hand, which tenderly holds their aching heads. 2. To encourage the love-sick soul to continue waiting till he returns; " Foi', in the mean time, his right hand embraces me, and thereby gives me an unquestionable assurance of his love." Believers owe all their strength and comfort to the sumjorting left hand, and embracing right hand, of the Lord Jesus.

VI. Finding her l^eloved thus nigh unto her, she IS in great care that her communion with him be not interrupted; (x^ 7.) I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, the mother of us all, charges all her daughters, the church charges all her members, the believing soul charges all its powers and faculties, the spouse charges herself, and all about her, not to stir ufi, or awake, her love until he please, now that he is asleep in her arms, as she was borne up in his, v. 6. She gives them this charge by the rocs and the hitids of the field, by every thing that is amiable in their eyes, and dear to them, as the loving hind, and the pleasant roe; " My love is to me dearer than those can be to you, and will be disturbed, like them, with a very little noise." Note, 1. Those that experience the sweetness of communion with Christ, and the sensible manifestations of his love, cannot but desire the continuance of these blessed views, these blessed visits. Peter would make tabernacles upon the holy mount, Matth. xvii. 4. 2. Yet Christ will, when he pleases, withdraw those extraordinary communications of himself, for he is a free Agent, and the Spirit, as the wind blows where and when it listeth, and in his pleasure it becomes us to acquiesce. But, 3. Our care must be, that we do nothing to provoke him to withdraw, and to hide his face; that we carefully watch over our own hearts, and suppress every thought that may grieve his good Spirit. Let those that have comfort, be afraid of sinning it away.

8. The voice of my beloved! behold, he Cometh leaping upon the mountains, skip-pmg upon the hills. 9. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice. 10. My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. 11. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over cmd gone; 12. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turde is heard in our land. 13. The fig-tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

The church is here pleasing herself exceedingly with the thoughts of her furtlier communion with Christ, after she is recovered from her fainting fit.

1. She rejoices in his approach, x>. 8. (1.) She hears him speak; "It is Me voice of my Beloved calling to me to tell me he is coming." Like one of his own sheep, she knows his voice before she sees him, and can easily distinguish it from the voice of a stranger, (John x. 4, 5.)' and, like a faithful mend of the Bridegroom, she rejoices greatly because of the Bridegroom's voice, John iii. 29. With what an air of triumph and exultation does she cry out, '♦ It is the voice of my Beloved, it can be the voice of no other, for none beside can speak to the heart, and make that burn." (2.) She sees him

come, sees the goings of our God, our King, Ps. Ixviii. 24. Behold, he comes. This may very well be applied to the prospect which the Did Testament saints had of Christ's coming in the flesh. Abraham saw his day at a distance, and was glad. The nearer the time came, the clearer disco\erics were made of it; and they that waited for the consolation of Israel with an eye of faith, saw him come, and triumphed in the sight. Behold, he comes; for they had heard him say, (Ps. xl. 7.) Lo, I come; to which their faith here affixes its seal. Behold, he comes, as he has promised. [1.] He comes cheerfully and with great alacrity; he comes leaping and skipping like a roe, and like a young hart, {v. 9.) as one pleased with his own undertaking, and that had his heart upon it, and his delights with the sons of men. When he came to be baptized with the baptism of blood, how was he straitened till it was accomplished! Luke xii. 50. [2-] He comes, slighting and surmounting all the difficulties that lay in his way; he comes leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills, so some read it; making nothing of the discouragements he was to break through; the curse of the law, the death of the cross, must be undergone, all the powers of darkness must be grappled with; but, before the resolution of his love, these great mountains become plains. Whatever opposition is given at any time to the deliverance of God's church, Christ will break through it, will get over it. [3.] He comes speedily, like a roe, or a young hart; they thought the time long, (every day a year,) but really he hastened; as now, so then, surely he comes quickly; he that shall come, will come, and will not taiTy. When he comes for the deliverance of his people, he fliea upon a cloud, and never stays beyond his time, which is the best time. We may apply it to particular believers, who find, that, even when Christ has withdrawn sensible comforts, and seems to forsake, yet it is but for a small moment, and he will soon return, with everlasting loving-kindness.

2. She pleases herself with the glimpses she has of him, and the glances she has of his favour; He stands behind our wall, I know he is there, for sometimes he looks forth at the vjindow, or looks m at it, and d\s])la.\s hi?}iself 'hrough the lattice. Such was the state of the Old Testament church while it was in expectation oi tiie coming of the Messiah; the ceremonial wall is called a wall of partition, (Eph. ii. 14.) a vail; (2 Cor. iii. 13.)" but Christ stood behind that wall, they had him near them, they had him with them, though they could not see him clearly; he that was the substance was not far off from the shadows, Col. ii. 17. They saw him looking through the windows of the ceremonial in-stit\itions, and smiling through those lattices; in their sacrifices and purifications Christ discovered himself to them, and gave them intimations and earnests of his grace both to engage and to encourage their longings for his coming. Such is our present state in comparison with what it will be at Christ's second coming; we now see him through a glass darkly, the body is a wall between us and him, through the windows of which we now and then get a sight of him, but not face to face, as we hope to see him shortly. In the sacraments Clirist is near us, but it is behind the wall of external signs, through those lattices he manifests himself to us; but we shall shortly see him as he is. Some understand this of the state of a believer when he is under a cloud; Christ is out of sight and vet not far off. See Job xxxv. 14. and compare Job xxiii. 8"10 She calls the wall that interposed between her and her Beloved, our wall, because it is sin, and no thing else, that separates between us and God. and that is a wall of our own erecting; (Isa. lis. 1.) behind that he stands, .is waiting tn he tr^^

SOLOMON'S SOxNG, II.

cious, and ready t.. .yc reconciled, upon our rejjent-ance. Then he looks in at the -windovj, observes the frame of our hearts and the woi-king of our souls; he looks forth at the window, and shows himself in giv-uigthem some comfort, that they may continue hoping for his return.

3. She repeats the gi-acious invitation he had given her to come a walking with him, v. 10--IS. She rememljers what her Beloved said to her, for it had made a very pleasing and powerful impression upon her, and the word that cjuickejis us we shall never forget. She relates it for the encouragement of others, telling them what he had said to her soul, and done for her soul, Ps. Ixvi. 16.

(1.) He called her his love and his fair one; whatever she is to others, to him she is acceptable, and in his eyes she is amial>le. Those that take Christ for their Beloved, he > ill own them as his; never was any love lost that was bestowed upon Christ. Christ, by expressing his love to behevers, invites and encourages them to follow him.

(2.) He called her to rise and come away, (v. 10.) and again, (ly. 13.) the repetition denotes backwardness in her; (we have need to l^e often called to come awav with Jesus Christ, precept must be upon precept, and line upon line;) but it denotes eaiTiestness in him; so much is his heart set upon the welfare of precious souls, that he importunes them most pressingly to that which is for their own good.

(3.) He gave for a reason the return of the spring, and the pleasantness of the weather; which is elegantly descriljed in a gi-eat variety of expressions.

[1.] The winter is past, the dark, cold, and barren, winter: long winters and hard ones pass away at last, they do not endure always. And the spring-would not be so pleasant as it is, if it did not succeed the winter, whicli is a foil to its beaut)-, Eccl. vii. 14. The face neither of the heavens, nor the earth, is always the same, Ijut subject to continual vicissitudes, diurnal and annual. The -winter is past, but not past away for ever, it will come again, and we must provide for it in summer, Prov. vi. 6, 8. We must weep in winter, and rejoice in summer, as thougl\ we wept and rejoiced not, for both are passing.

[2. ] The rain is over and gone, the winter-rain, the cold stormy rain, it is over now, and the dew is IS the dew of herbs. Even the rain that drowned the world was over and gone at last, (Gen. viii. I•■3.) and God promised to drown the world no more, which was a type and figure of the covenant of c;rac(', Isa. liv. 9.

[3.] The flowers afifiear on the earth; all winter they are dead and Ijuried in their roots, and tliere )s no sign of tliem, but in the spring they revi\e, anrl show themselves in a wonderful variety ;\nd verdure, and, like the dew that ])roduces them, tarry not for man, Mic. v. 7. They a])i)ear, but they will soon disa])pear again, and man is hei-ein like the flower of the field. Job xiv. 2.

[4.] The time of the singing of birds is come. The little Ijirds, wliich all the winter lie hid in their retirements, and scarcely live, when t'le s]n'ing returns, forget all the calamities of tlie winter, and to the best of tlieir capacity chant fortli tlie ])raises of their Creator. Doubtless, he who understands the birds that cry for want, (Ps. cxlvii. 9.) takes notice ^f those that .Hingforjoy, Ps. ci\'. 12. The singing -r tlie birds may sliame om* silence in God's praises, .vho are l)ette'r fed, (Mattli. vi. 26.) and better t uight, (Jol). xxxv. 11.) and are of more value than many sjiarrows. Tlu.'v live witliout inordinate care, (Matth. vi. 26.) and therefore tliey sing, wliile we •T;urmur.

f 5.] The voice of the turtle is heard in our land,

k'Mcl". is one of the season-birds, mentioned Jer. viii.

7. that ol)serve the, time of their coming, anc' tne time of their singing, and so shame us who know ?iot the judgme7it of the Lord, understand not the times, nor do that which is beautiful in its season, do not sing in singing time.

[6.] The Jig-tree Jiuts forth her green ^figs, by wliich we know that summer is nigh, (^lutth. xxiv. 32.) wlien the green figs will be ripe figs, and fit for use, and the vines with the tender gra/ie gi^'t^ a good S7nell: the earth jiroduccs not onlj' flowers, (v. 12.) hut fruits; and the smell of the fruits which are profital)le, is to be preferred far before that of the flowers, wliich are onl\- for show and pleasure. Sc'ipents, they say, are driven away by tlie smell of vines; and who is the old seipent, and who the trae vine, we know very well.

Now this description of the returning spring, as a reason for coming away with Christ, is api^licable,

First, To tlie introducing of the gospel ni the room of tlie Old Testament dispensation, during which it had been winter-time with the church. Christ's gospel warms that which was cold, and makes that fruitful which was before dead and barren; when it comes to any i)lace, it puts a beautv and glory upon that place, (2 Cor. iii. 7, 8.) and gives ministers occasion for joy. Spring-time is pleasant time, and so is gospel-time. Aspice vcnturo IcEtentur ut omnia s£clo — Behold what joy the dawning age inspiresl said Virgil, from the Sil^yls, perhaps with more reference to the setting up of the Messiah's kingdom at that time than he himself thought of. See Ps. xcvi. 11. Arise then, and improve this springtime; come away from the world and the flesh, come mX.0 fellowship with Christ, 1 Cor. i. 9.

Secondly, To the delivering of the church from the power of persecuting enemies, and the restoring of liljerty and peace to it, after a severe winter of suffering and restraint. When the storms of trcu-h\e are over and gone, when the voice of the turtle, the joyful sound of the gosjx-l of Christ, is ;igain lieard, and ordinances are enjoj^ed with freedom, then arise and come away to improve the happy juncture. Walk in the light of the Loi-d, sing in the ways of the Lord: when the churches had rest, then were they edified. Acts ix. 31.

Thirdly, To the conversion of sinners from a state of nature to a state of grace; that blessed change is like the return of the spring, a universal change, and a very comfortable one; it is a new creation, it is l)eing I)om again. The soul that was hard, and cold, and frozen, and unprrfital)h', like the earth in the winter, becomes fruitful, like tlie earth in spring; and, by degrees, like it, brings its fruits to perfection. Tliis blessed change is owing purely to the approaches p.nd influences of the Sun of Righteousness, wlio calls to us from heaven to arise, and come away; come, gather in summer.

Fotirthly, To tlie consolations of the saints after a state of inward dejection and desjiondency. A child of Ciod, under doubts and fears, is like the eartli in winter, its nights long, its days dark, good affections cliilled, nothing dom-, notliing got, the hand sealed up. But conif irt will return, tlie birds shall sing ;igain, and the flowers jq^jiear; arise, therefore, ])oor (lroo])ing soul, and covu- anvay with thy belo\ed. Arise and shake thyself from the dust, Isa. Iii. 2. Arise, .shine, for thy light is come, (Isa. Ix. X.^walk in that light, Isa. ii. 5.

Fifthly, To the resurrection of the l)ody at the last day, and the glory to l)e revealed. Tlie bones that lay in tlie grave, as tlie roots of ])laiits in the irronnd during the winter, sliall i\\fn flouri.sh as an //("?Vj, Isa. Ixvi. 14.—xxvi. 19. That will lie an eter-n;d farewell to winter, and a joyful entrance u))on an everlasting spring.

14. O my tlove, tliaf art in the clefts of

SOLOMON'S SONG, 11.

855

the rock, in the «iecret places of the stairs, Ifit me see thy counionance, let me hear thy V oice ; for sweet is thy voice, and thy coun-t( nance is comely. 15. Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines : for our vines have tender grapes. 16. iNIy beloved is mine, and 1 am his: He feedeth among the lilies. 17. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away: turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe, or a young hart, upon the mountains of Bether.

Here is, 1. The encouraging invitation which Christ gives to the church, and every believing soul, to come into communion with him, v. 14. (1.) His love is now his dove; David had called the church God's turtle-dove, (Ps. Ixxvii. 19.) and so she is here called; a dove for beauty, her wings covered with silver, (Ps. Ixviii. 13.) for innocence and inof-fensivenessj a gracious spirit is a dove-like spirit, harmless, loving quietness, and cleanliness, and faithful to Christ, as the turtle to her mate. The Spirit descended like a dove on Christ, and so he does on all Christians, making them of a meek and quiet sfiirit. She is Christ's dove, for he owns her; and delights in her; she can find no i-est but in him and liis ark, and therefore to him, as her Noah, she returns. (2.) This dove is iti the clefts of the rock, and in the secret places of the stairs. This speaks, either, [1.] Her praise; Christ is the Rock, to whom she flies for shelter, and in whom alone she can think herself safe, and find herself easy, as a dove, in the hole of a rock, when struck at by the birds of prey, Jer, xlviii. 28. Moses was hid in a cleft of the rock, that he might behold something of God's glory, wliich otherwise he could not have borne the brightness of She retires into the secret places oftlie stairs, where she may be alone, undisturbed, and may the better commune with her own heart. Good Christians will find time to be private. Christ often withdrew to a mountain himself alone, to pray. [2.] Her blame; she crept into the clefts of the rock, and the secret places, for fear and shame; any where to hide her head, being heartless and discouraged, and shunning even the sight of her Beloved, being conscious to herself of her own unfitness and unworthi-ness to come into his presence, and speak to him, she drew back, and was like a silly dove without heart, Hos. vii. 11. (3.) Christ graciously calls her out of her retirements; Come, let me see thy coun-tenance, let me hear thy voice; she was mourning like a dove, (Isa. xxxviii. 14.) bemoaning herself like the doves of the valleys, where they are near the clefts of the impending rocks, mourning for her iniquities, (Ezek. vii. 16.) and refusing to be comforted. But Christ calls her to lift ^ip her face without spot; being purged from an evil conscience, (Job. xi. 15.—xxii. 26.) {.<:> come boldly to the throne of grace, having a great High Priest there, (Heb. iv. 16.) to tell what her petition is, and what her request; Let me hear thy voice, hear what thou hast to say; what would ye that I should do unto you? Speak freely, speak up, and fear not a slight or repulse. (4.) For her encouragement, he tells her the good thoughts he had of her, whatever she thought of herself; Sweet is thy voice; thy praying voice, though thou canst but chatter like a crane or a swallow, (Isa. xxxviii. 14.) it is music in God's ears; he has assured us, that the prayer of the upright is his delight; he smelled a sweet savour from Noah's sacrifice, and the spiritual sacrifices are no less acceptable, 1 Pet. ii. 5. This does not so much commend our services, as God's gracious condescension in making the best of them, and the effica-

cy of the ?nuch ijicetise which i.^ cjfferLii wiJi the prayers of saints. Rev. viii. 3. "That countenance of thine, which thru art ashamed of, is ccmely, though now mournful, much more will it be so when it becomes cheerful." Then the voice of prayer is sweet and acceptable to Gcd, when the countenance, the conversation in which we show ourselves before men, is holy, and so comely and agreeable to our profession; tKose that are sanctified h"ve the best comeliness.

2. The charge which Christ gives to his servants, to oppose and suppress that which is a terror to his chui'ch, and drives her, like a poor frighted dove into the clefts of the rock, and which is an obstruction and prejudice to the interests cf his kir gdom in this world, and in the heart; {v. 15.) Take us the foxes, (take them for us, for it is go( d service both to Christ and the church,) the little foxes, that creep in insensibly; for, though they are little, they do great mischief, they spoil the vines, which they must by no means be sufteixd to do at any time, especially now when our vines have tender grapes, that must be preserved, or the vintage will fail. Believers are as vines, weak, but useful, plants, their finiits are as tender grapes at first, which mus* have time to come to maturity. This chv.rge, to take the foxes, is, (1.) A charge to particular believers to mortify their own corruptions, their sinful appetites and passions, which are as foxes, little foxes, that destroy their graces and comforts, quash good motions, crush good beginnings, and prevent their coming to perfection. Seize the little foxes, the first risings ot sin, the little ones of Babylon, (Ps. cxxxvii. 9.) those sins that seem little, for they often prove very dangerous. Whatever we find a hmderance to us in that which is good, we must put away. (2.) A charge to all in their places to oppose and prevent the spreading of all such opinions and practices as tend to corrupt men's judgments, debauch their consciences, perplex their minds, and discourage their inclinations to virtue and piety; persecutors are foxes, (Luke xiii. 32.) false prophets are foxes, Ezek. xiii. 4. Those that sow the tares of heresy or schism, and, like Dio-trephes, trouble the peace of the church, and obstruct the progress of the gospel, thev are Xhe foxes, the little foxes, which must not be knocked c j the head, {Christ came not to destroy men's lives, -but taken, that they may be tamed, or else restrained from doing mischief.

3. The believing profession which the church makes of her relation to Christ, and the satisfaction she takes in her interest in him, and communion with him, v. 16. He had called her to rise, and come away with him, to let him see her face, and hear her voice; now this is her answer to that call, in which, though at present in the dark, and at a distance, (1.) She comforts herself with the thoughts of the mutual interest and relation that were between her and her beloved; My beloved to me, and I to him, so the original reads it very emphatically; the conciseness of the language speaks the largeness of her affection; "What he is to me, and I to him, may better be conceived than expressed." Note, 1. It is the unspeakable privilege of all true believers, that Christ is theirs; My bekved is mine; this denotes not only propriety, ("I have a title to him,") but possession and tenure, "I receive from his fulness;" believers are partakers cf Christ, they have not only an interest in him, but the enjoyrnent of him, are taken not only into covenant, but into communion, with him. All the benefits of his glorious undertaking, as Mediator, are made over to them. He is that to them, which the world neither is, nor can be, all that which they need_ and desire, and which will make a complete happiness for them. All he is, is theirs, and all he has, all

d6r>

SOLOMON'S SONG, 111.

he has done, md all he is doing; all he has promised in the gospel, all he has prepared in heaven, all is yours. 2. It is the undoul)ted character of all true believers, that they are Christ's, and tlicn, and then only, he is theirs: they have given their own selves to him, (2 Cnr. viii. 5.) they receive his doctrine and obey his law, they bear his image, and csjioiise his interest; they belong to Christ. If we be his, his whoUj.', his only, his for ever, we may take the conifort of his being ours. (2.) She comforts herself with the thoughts of the communications of his grace to liis people; He feeds ainoiig the lilies. When s!ie wants the tokens of his favour to her in particular, she rejoices in the assurance of liis presence with all believers in general, who are as lilies in his eye; he feeds among them, he takes as much pleasure in them, and their assemblies, as a man does in his table or in his garden, fur he walks in the midst of the golden candlesticks, he delights to converse with them, and to do them good.

4. _ The church's hope and expectation of Christ's oniing, and her prayer grounded thereupon.

(1.) She doubts not but that the day nvill break, and the shadows will Jlee away. The gospel-day will dawn, and the sliadows of the ceremonial law will flee away; this was the comfort of the Old Testament churcli, that after the long night of that dark dispensation, tlie day-sfiring from on high wojild at length visit them, to give light to them that sit in darkness; when the sun rises, the shades of the night vanisli, so do the sliadows of the day when the substance con\es. The day of comfort will come after a niglit of desertion. Or it may refer to the second coming of Christ, and the eternal liappi-ness of the saints; the shadows of our present state will flee away, our darkness and doubts, our griefs and all our grievances, and a glorious day shall (lawn, a morning when the u/iright shall have dominion, a day tl\at sliall have no night after it.

(2.) She begs the presence of her Beloved, in the meantime, to supjiort and comfort her; " Turn, my beloved, turn to me, come and visit me, come and relieve me, be with me a kv ays to the end of the age. In the day of my extremity, make haste to lielp me, make no long tai'rying. Come over even the mountains of division, interposing time and da^'s, with some gracious anticipations of tl\at liglit and love."

(3.) She begs that he would not only turn to her for the present, l)ut hasten liis coming to fetch her to himself; " F.ven so, come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Though there be mountains in the way, thou canst, like a roe, or a young hart, step over them with ease, 0 show thyself to me, or take me uji to thee."

CHAP. III.

In this chapter^ I. The church gives an account of a sore trial wherewith she was exercised tlirouffh tlie withdraw-in"^ of her beloved from her, the pains she was at before she recovered the comfortable sense of his favour again, and the resolution she took, when she did recover it, not to lose it again, as she had done Ihroujxh her own carelessness, V. 1 ..5. II. The daughters of Jerusalem admire the excellencies oflhe church, v. 6. III. The church admires .Jesus Christ under the person of Solomon, his bed, and the life-guards about it, (v. 7, 8.) his chariot, v. 9, 10. She calls upon the daughters of Zion, who were admiring her, to admire him rather, especially as he appeared on his coronation-day, and the day of his nuptials, V. 11.

l.X>Y night on my hod I soua;ht him Ji3 wliom my ^oul loveth : I souijlit him, but I Ibimd him not. 2. 1 will rise now, and go al)oul tlie citv; in the streets, and in the broad ways, I will seek him whou' my soul lovotb I sought him, but

1 found him not. 3. The watchmen thai go about the city found me: to wliom I sf/id, Saw^yehim whom my soul loveth ? 4. ft was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth-: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. 5. 1 charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by tlie roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake mj/ love, till he please.

God was not wont to say to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me, in vain; and yet here we have the spouse for a great while seeking her lieloved in vain, but finding him at last, to her unspeakable satisfaction. It was hard to the Old Testament church to find Christ in the ceremonial law, and the types and figures which then were of good things to come; long was the consolation of Israel looked for before it came; the watchmen of that churcli gave little assistance to those who inquired after him; but at length Simeon had him in his arms, whom his sovl loved. It is applicable to the case of particular believers, who often walk in darkness a great while, but at even time it shall be light, and they that seek Christ to the end shall find him at length. Observe,

1. How the spouse sought him in vain ufion her bed, {y. 1.) when she was up and looking aljout her, grace in act and exercise, though her beloved was withdrawn, yet she could not see him at a distance, {ch. ii. 8.) but now it was otherwise. She still continued her affection to him, still it was he whom her soul loved, that bond of tlie covenant still continued firm; '* Though he slay me, I wiU trust in him; tliougli he lea^■e mc, I will love him. \Anien I liave him not in my arms, I liave him in my heart." But slie wanted the conmuinion she used to have Asith liim; as David, when he thirsted for God, for the living God. She sought him, but, (1.) It was by nigltt on her bed, it was late and lazy seeking. Her understanding was chnided, it was by night, in the dark; her affections were chilled, it was on her bed, half asleep. The wise virgins slumbered in the al)sence of the Bridegroom. It was a dark time with the l^eliever; she saw not her signs, and yet she sought them. They whose souls love Jesus Christ will continue to seek him, even in the silence and solitude: their reins instruct them to do so, even in the night season. (2.) She failed in her endeavour. Sometimes he h found of them that seek him not, (Isa. Ixv. 1.) but here he is not f<;und of one that sought him; either for the .punishment of her corruptions, her slothfnlness and seeurit}-, (we miss of comfort, because we do not seek it aright,) or for the exercise of graces, her faith and ])aticnce, to try whether slie will continue seeking; the woman of Canaan soui:;ht Clirist, and found him not at first, that she might find him, at length, so much the more to her lionour and comfort.

2. How she sought him in vain abroad, v. 2. She had made trial of secret worship, and had gone through the duties of the closet, iiad remembered him on her bed, and meditated on him in the night-watches, (Ps. Ixiii. 6.) but she did not meet with comfirt; ^ly sore 7-an in the night, and then 17-e-membrred God, a}id was troubled; (Ps. Ixxvii. 2, 3.) and )'et she is not driven Ciff' liy the disa]ip(Mnt-ment from the use of further means; she reso]\es, " / w'll rise now, I will not lie here if I cannot find my Beloved here, nor l>e content if he hv withdrawn. / will rise now withcut delay, and seek him immf

857

fiir.tely, lust he withdraw further from me." Those that would seek Christ so as to find him, must Icse no time. / ivill rise out of a warm bed, and i^o out, in a ci.ld dark night, in quest of my beloved. Those that seek Christ must not startle at difficulties. / "iuiil rise, and go about the city, the holy city, in the streets, and the broad-Wciys; for she knew he was not to Oe found in any blind by-ways; we must seek in the city, in Jerusalem, wliich was a type of the gospel-churcli. The likeliest place to hud Christ is in the temple, (Luke ii. 46.) in the streets of the gospel-church, in holy ordinances, where the children of Zion pass and repass at all hours. She had a good purpose, when she said, / will rise now, but tile good performance was all in all; she arose, and sought him. Those that are in pursuit of Christ, the knowledge of him, and communion with him, must turn every stone, seek every where; and yet ahe found him not; she was still unsatisfied, uneasy, as iob, when he looked on all side^, but could not perceive any tokens of the divine favour, (Job. xxiv. 8, 9.) and the Psalmist often, when he complained that God hid his face from him, Ps. Ixxxviii. 14. We may be in the way of our duty, and yet may miss of comfort, for the wind bloweth where it listeth. How heavy is the accent on this repeated complaint, I sought him, but I found hiin not! Like that of Mary Magdalen, TJiey hai-e taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him, John XX. 13.

3. How she inquiredof the watchmen concerning him, V. 3. In the night the watchmen go about the city, for the preservation of its peace and safety, to guide and assist the honest and quiet, as well as to be a check upon those that are disorderly; these met her in her walks, and she asked them if they could give her any tidings of her Beloved. In the streets and broad ways of Jerusalem, she might meet with enough to divert her from her pursuit, and to entertain her, though she could not meet her Beloved; but she regards none in comparison with him. Gracious souls press through crowds of other delights and contentments, in pursuit of Christ whom they prefer Ijefore their chief joy. Mary Magdalen sees angels in the sepulchre, I)ut that will not do, unless she see Jesus. Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? Note, We must evidence the sincerity of our love to Christ by our solicitous inquiries after him. The children of the bride-chamber will moui'n, when the bridegroom is taken away, (Matth. ix. 15.) especially for the sin which provoked him to withdraw; and if we do so, we shall be in care to recover the sense of his favour, and diligent and constant in the use of proper means; in order thereunto, we must search the scriptures, be much in prayer, keep close to ordinances, and all with this upon our heart, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? Those only who have seen Christ themselves are likely to direct others to a sight of him. When the Greeks came to worship at the feast, they applied themselves to Philip, with such an address as this of the spouse to the watchmen. Sir, we would see Jesus, John xii. 21.

4. How she found him at last, v. 4. She passed from the watchmen as soon she perceived they could give her no tidings of her Beloved; she would not stay with them, because he was not amongthem, but went on seeking; for (as Ainsworth observes) the society neither of brethren, nor of •the church, nor of ministers, can comfort the afflicted conscience, unless Christ himself be apprehended by faith. But soon after she paited from the watchmen she found him whom she sought, and then called him, him wlioin my soul loveth, with as much delight as before with desire. Note, Those that continue seeking Christ shall find him at last, and when perhaps they are almost ready to despair of finding him. See Ps. xlii. 7, 8.—IxxVii. 9, 10. Isa.

Vol. hi.— 5 Q

hv. 7, 8. Disappointments must not drive us away from gracious jjursuits; hold out, in faith and patience, the vision is for an appointed time, and though the w.itchmen can give us no account of it, at the end it shall \\.s,t\i sjieak, and not lie; and the comfort that comes in after long waiting, in the use of means, will be so much the sweeter at last.

5. How close she kept to him, when she had found him; she is, now, as much in fear of losing him, as, before, she was in care to find him; I held him, held him fast, as the women, when they met with Christ after his resurrection, held hitn by the feet, and worshipped liim, Matth. xxviii. 9. "/ would not let him go. Not only, I would never do any thing to provoke him to depart, but I would by faith and prayer prevail with him to stay, and by tlie exercise of grace preserve inward peace. I'hose that know how hard comfort is come by, and how dear it is bcjught, will be afraid of forfeiting it, and playing it away, and will think nothing too much to do to keep it safe. A^on minor est virtus quam <juc£rere porta tueri — j4s much is i?nplied in securing our acquisitions as in making them. They that have laid hold on wisdom must retain her, Prov. iii. 18. Those that hold Christ fast, in the arms of faith and love, shall not let him go, he will abide with them.

6. How desirous she was to make others acquainted with him; " I brought him to my mother's house, that all my relations, all who are dear to me, mi'ght have the benefit of communion with him." When Zaccheus found Christ, or leather was found of him, salvation came to his house, Luke xix. 9. Wherever we find Christ, we must take him home with us to our houses, especially to our hearts. The church is our mother, and we should be concerned for her interests, that she may have Christ present with her, and be earnest in prayer for his presence with his people and ministers always. They that enjoy the tokens of Christ's favour to their own souls, should desire that the church, and all religious assemblies in their public capacity, might likewise enjoy the tokens of his favour.

7. What care she was in that no disturbance might be given him; {v. 5.) she repeats the charge she had before given {ch. ii. 7.) to the daughters of Jerusalem, not to stir zip, or awake, her Love. When she had brought him into her mother's house, among her sisters, she gives them a strict charge to keep all cjuiet, and in good order, to be very ob-ser\ ant ot him, careful to please him, and afraid of offending him. The charge given to the church in the wilderness concerning the angel of the covenant, who was amongthem, explains this; (Exod-xxiii. 21.) Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not. See that none of you stir out of your places, lest )ou disturb him, but with quietness work, and mind your own business; make no noise, let all clamour and bitterness be put fdr from you, for that

frieves the Holy Spirit of God, Eph. iv. 50, 31. ome make this to be Christ's charge to the daughters of Jerusalem, not to disturb or disquiet his church, nor trouble the minds of the disciples; for Christ is very tender of the peace of his church, and all the meml)ers of it, even the little ones; and those that trouble them shall bear their judgment, Gal. V. 10.

6. Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant ?

These are the words of the daughters of Jerusalem, to whom the charge was given, v. 5. They had looked sh^•lv upon the bride, because she was black; (ch. i. '6.') but now they admire her, and

SOLOMON'S SONG, III.

speak of her with great respect; ll^ho is this? How beautiful she looks! Who would have expected such a comely and magnificent person to co?ne out of the nvildeniess? As when Christ rode in triumph into Jerusalem, they said, Who is this? And cf the accession of strangers to the church, she herself says, with wonder, (Isa. xlix. 21.) Who has begotten me these?

1. This is applicable to the Jewish church, when, after forty years' wandering in the wilderness, they came out of it, to take a glorious possession of the l.uid of promise; and this may very well be illustrated Ijy what Balaam said of them at that time, when tliey ascended out of the wilderness like fiil-lars of smoke, and he stood admiring them, From the top of the rocks I see him. How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob! Numb, xxiii. 9.—xxiv. 5.

2. It is applicable to any public deliverance of the church ot God, as particularly out of Babylon, the Old Testament, and the New Testament Babylon; tlien the church is like fiillars of smoke, ascending upward in devout affections, the incense of praise, from which, as from Noah's sacrifice, God smells a sweet savour; then she is amiable in the eyes of her friends, and her enemies too cannot but have a veneration for her, and worship at her feet, knowing that God has loved her. Rev. iii. 9. Sometimes the fear of the Jews was upon their neighbours, when they saw that God was with them of a truth, Esth. viii. 17.

3. It is applicable to the recovery of a gracious soul out of a state of desertion and despondency. (1.) She ascends out of the wilderness, the dry and barren land, where there is 7io ivay, where there is no water, where travellers are still in want, and ever at a loss; here a poor soul may long be left to wander, but shall come up, at last, under the conduct of the Comforter. (2.) She comes up//A'e/;27-lar-s of smoke, like a cloud of incense ascending from the altar, or the smoke of the burnt-offerings. This intimates a fire of pious and devout affections in the soul, whence this smoke arises, and the mounting of the soul heaven-ward in this smoke, (as Judges xiii. 20.) the heart lifted up to God in the heavens, as the sjiarks Jly upward. Christ's return to the soul gives life to its devotion, and its communion with God is most reviving, wlicn it ascends out of a wilderness. (3.) She is perfumed with myrrh and frankincense; she is replenished with the graces of God's Spirit, which are as sweet spices, or as the holy incense, which, being now kindled by his gi-a-cious returns, sends forth a very fragrant smell; her devotions be now peculiarly lively, she is not only acceptable to God, but amiable in the eyes of others also, who are ready to cry out with admiration, Who is this? What a monument of mercy is this! The graces and comforts with which she is perfumed, are called tha powders of the merchant, for they are far-fetched, and dear-bovight, by our Lord Jesus, that blessed Merchant, who took a long voyage, and was at vast expense, no less than that of his own l)lood, to purchase them for us. They are not the products of our own soil, nor the growth of oui- own country; no, they are imported from the heavenly Canaan, the better country.

7. Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the vahant of Israel. 8. They all hold swords, being expert in war; every man Iiath his sword upon histhii;h, because of fear in the night. 9. King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of liobanon. 10. He made the pillars thereof o/silver, the bottom thereof o/'gold, the covering of it of purple;

the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem. 11. Go forth O ye daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon with the crown where\\ith liis mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

The daughters of Jerusalem stood admiring the spouse, and commending her, but she overlooks their praises, is not puffed up with them, but transfers all the glory to Christ, and directs them to look oflFherto him, recommends him to their esteem, and sets herself to applaud him. Here he is three times called Solomon, and we have tliat name but three times besides in all this song, ch. i. 5.—viii. 11, 12. It is Christ that is here meant, who is greater than Solomon, and of whom Solomon was an illustrious type for his wisdom and wealth, and especially his building of the temple.

Three things she admires him for;

1. The safety of his bed; {v. 7.) Behold his bed, even Solomon's, very rich and fine; for such the curtains of Solomon were. His bed, which is above Solomon's, so some read it. Christ's bed, though he had not where to lay his head, is better than Solomon's best bed; the church is his bed, for he has said of it. This is my rest for ex>er, here will I dwell. The hearts of believers "are his bed, for he lies all night between their breasts, Eph. iii. 17. Heaven is his bed, the rest into which he entered, when he had done his work. Or, it may be meant of the sweet repose and satisfaction which gracious souls enjoy in communion with him; it is called his bed, because, though we are admitted to it, and therefore it is called our bed, {ch. i. 16.) yet it is his peace that is our rest, John xiv. 27. I will give you rest, Matth. xi. 28. It is Solo?non's bed, whose name signifies/ieacf, because in his daysJudah and Israel dwelt safely under their vines and Jig-trees.

That which she admires his bed for, is, the guard that surrounded it; they that rest in Christ not only dwell at ease, (many do so who yet are in the greatest danger,) but they dwell in safety; their holy serenity is under the protection of a holy security; this bed had threescore valiant men about it, as yecmen of the guard, or the band of gentlemen-pensioners, they are of the valiant of Israel, and a great many bold and brave men David's reign had produced; the life guard-men are well-armed; they all hold swords, and know how to hold them, they are esc-pert in war, well skilled in all the arts of it; they are posted about the bed at a convenient distance; they are in a posture of defence, every man with his sword ufion his thigh, and his hand upon his sword, ready to draw upon the first alarm, and this, because of fear in the night, because of the danger feared; for the lives of princes, even the wisest and best, as they are more precious, so they are more exposed, and require to be more guarded, than the lives of common persons. Or, because of the fear of it, and the apprehension which tlie spouse may have of danger, these guards are set for her satisfaction, that she may be quiet from the fear of evil, which believers themselves are subject to, especially in the night, when they are under a cloud as to their spiritual state, or in any outward trouble more than ordinary. Christ himself was under the sjjecial protection of his Father in his whole undertaking; In the shadow of his hand has he hid me; (Isa. xlix. 2.) he had legions of angels at his command. The church is well guarded, more are with her than are against her; lest any hurt tliis.vineyard, God himself keeps it night and day; (Isa. xxvii. 2, 3.) particvilarly believers, when they repose themselves in Christ, and with him, though it

SOLOMON'S SONG, III.

859

may be night-time with them, and they may have their fears bt, the night, are yet safe, as safe as Solomon himself in the midst of his guards; the angels have a charge concerning them, ministers are appointed to watch for their souls, and they ought to be valiant men, exfiert in the spiritual warfare, holding the sword of the Sfiirit, which is the word of God, and having that girt u/ion their thigh, always ready to them for the silencing of the fears of God's people in the night. All the attributes of God are engaged for the safety of believers; they are kept as m a strong hold by his power, (1 Pet. i. 5.) are safe in his jiame, (Prov. xviii. 10.) his peace protects those in whom it rules, (Phil. iv. 7.) and the effect of righteousness in them is quietness and as-suraiice, Isa. xxxii. 17. Our danger is from the rulers of the darkness of this world, but we are safe in the armour of light.

II. The splendour of his chariot, u. 9, 10. As Christ and believers rest in safety under a sufficient guard, so when they appear publicly, as kings in their coaches of state, they appear in great magnificence. This chariot was of Solomon's own contriving and making, the materials very rich, silver, and gold, and cedar, and fiurfile: he made it for himself, and yet made it ^br the daughters of Jerusalem, to oblige them. Some by this chariot, or coach, or chaise, (the word is no where else used in scripture,) understand the human nature of Christ, in which the divine nature rode as in a chariot; it was a divine workmanship; A body hast thou fire-pared me; the structure was very fine, but that which was at the bottom of it, was, love, pure love to the children of men. Others make it to represent the everlasting gospel, in which, as in an open chariot, Christ shows himself, and, as in a chariot of war, rides forth triumphantly, conquering, and to conquer. The pillars, the seven pillars, (Prov. ix. 1.) are of silver, for the words of the Lord are as silver tried, (Ps. xii. 6.) nay, they are better Man thousands of gold and silver; it is hung with/mr/z/f, a princely colour, all the adornings of it are dyed in the precious blood of Christ, and that gives them this colour; but that which completes the glory of it, is love, it is fiaved with love, it is lined with love, not love of strangers, as Solomon's was in the days of his defection, but love of the daughters of Jerusalem, a holy love. Silver is better than cedar, gold than silver, but love is better than gold, better than all, and it is put last, for nothing can be better than that. Tlie gospel is all love.

Mr. Durham applies it to the covenant of redemption, the way of our salvation, as it is contrived in the eternal counsel of God, and manifested to us in the scripture. This is that work of Christ himself, wherein the glory of his grace and love to sinners most eminently appears, and which makes him amiable and admirable in the eyes of believers; in this coxenant, love is conveyed to them, and thev are carried in it to the perfection of love, and, as it were, ride in triumph. It is admirably framed and contrived, both for the glory of Christ, and for the comfort of believers; it is well-ordered in all things, and sure; (2 Sam. xxiii. 5.) it ha.s fiillars that cannot be shaken: it is made of the wood of Lebanon, which c^n never rot; the basis of it is gold, the most lasting metal; the blood of the covenant, that rich fiur/ile, is the cover of this chariot, by which believers are sheltered from the wind and storms of divine wrath, and the troubles of this world; but the midst of it, and that which is all in all in it, is love, that love of Christ which fiasses knowledge, and the dimensions of which are immeasurable.

III. The lustre of his royal person, when he appears in his greatest pomp, v. 11. Here observe,

1. The call that is given to the daughters ofZion, to acquaint themselves with the glories of king So-

lomon; Go forth, and behold him. The multitude of the spectators adds to the beauty of a splendid cavalcade; Christ, in his gospel, manifests himself; let each of us add to the number of those that give honour to him, by giving themselves the satisfaction of looking upon him. Who shovild pay respects to Zion's King, but Zion's daughters? They have reason to rejoice greatly when he comes, Zech. ix. 9. (1.) Behold him, then; look with pleasure uprn Christ in his glory; look upon him with an eye of faith, with a fixed eye: here is a sight worth seeing; behold, and admire him, behold, and love him; look upon him, and know him again. (2.) Go forth, and behold bim, go off from the world, as those that see no beauty and excellency in it, in comparison with what is to be seen in the Lord Jesus. Go cut of yourselves, and let the sight of his transcendent beauty put you out of conceit with yourselves. Go forth to the place where he is to be seen, to the street through which he passes, as Zaccheus.

2. The direction that is given them to take special notice of that which they would not see every day, and that was, his crown, either the crown of gold adorned with jewels, which he wore on his coronation-day; (Solomon's mother, Bath-sheba, though she did not procure that for him, yet, by her seasonable interposal, she helped to secure it to him when Adonijah was catching at it;) or the garland, or crown ot flowers and green tied with ribbands, which his mother made for him, to adorn the solemnity of his nuptials. Perhaps Solomon's coronation-day was his marriage-day, the day of his espousals, when the garland his mother crowned him with was added to the crown his people crowned him with. Applying this to Christ, it speaks, (1.) The many honours put upon him, and the power and dominion he is intrusted with; Go forth, and see king Jesus, with the crown wherewith his Father crowned him, when he declared him his beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased; when he set him as king upon his holy hill of Zion; when he advanced him to his own right hand, and invested him with a sovereign authority, both in heaven and in earth, and put all things under his feet. (2.) The dishonour put upon him by his persecutors. Some apply it to the crown of thorns, with which his mother, the Jewish church, crowned him on the day of his death, which was the day of his espousals to his church, when he loved it, arid gave himself for it; (Eph. v. 25.) and it is observable, that when he was brought forth wearing the crown of thorns, Pilate said, and said it to the daughters of Zion, Behold the man. (3.) It seems especially to mean the honour done him by his church, as his mother, and by all ti-ue believers, in whose hearts he is formed, and of whom he has said. These are my mother, and sister, and brother, Matth. xii. 50. They give him the glory of his undertaking; to him is glory m the church, Eph. iii. 21. When believers accept of him as theirs, and join themselves to him in an everlasting covenant, [1.] It is his coronation-day in their souls; before conversion they were crowning themselves, but then they begin to crown Christ, and continue to do so from that day forward; they appoint him their Head, they bring every thought into obedie7:ce to him; they set up his throne in their hearts, and cast all their crowns at his feet. [2.] It is the day of his espousals, in which he betrothes them to him tV r ever in loving-kindness and in mercies, jfiins them to himself in faith and love, and gives himself to them in the promises and all he has, to be theirs. Thou shalt not be for another, so will I also be for thee; (Hos. iii. 3.) and to him they are presented as chaste virgins. [3.] It is the day of the gladness of his heart; he is pleased with the honour that his people do him, pleased with the progress of his interest among them. Does Satan fall before them? In that

SOLOMON'S SONG, IV.

hour Jesus rejoices in spirit, Luke x. 18, 21. There is joy in heaven ovei- repenting sinners; the family is glad when the prodigal son returns. Go forth, and behold Christ's grace towards sinners, as his crown, his brighest glory.

CHAP. IV.

In this chapter, I. Jesus Christ, having espoused his church to himself, (ch. iii. 11.) highly commends her beauty in the several expressions of it, concluding her fair, all fair, (v. I.. 5.) and again, v. 7. II. He retires himself, and invites her Avith him, from the mountains of terror to those of delight, v. 6, 8. HI. He professes his love to her, and his delight in her affection to him, v. 9.. 14. IV. She ascribes all she had, that was valuable in her, to him, and depends upon the continued influence of his grace, to make her more and more acceptable to him, v. 15, 16.

1. TOEHOLD, thou art fair, my love; be-Jl3 hold, thou art fair: thou hast doves' eyes vathin thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from mount Gilead. 2. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing, whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them. 3. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples «re like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. 4. Thy neck is like the tower of David, builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. 5. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. 6. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountains of myrrh, and to the liill of frankincense. 7. Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

Here is,

I. A large and particular account of the beauties of the church, and of gracious souls on whom the image of God is renewed, consisting m the beauty of holiness. In general, he that is a competent judge of beauty, whose judgment, we are sure, is accord-in,^ to truth, and what all must subscribe to, he has said, Behold, thou art fair. She had commended him, and called all about her to take notice of his glories; hereby she recommends herself to him, gains his favour, and, in return for her respects, he calls to all about him to take notice of her graces. Those that honour Christ, he will honour, 1 Sam. ii. 30. He does dot flatter her, nor design hereby either to make her proud of herself, or to court her praises of him; but, 1. It is to encounige her under her present dejections; whatever others thought of her, she was amiable in his eyes. 2. It is to teach her what to value herself upon, not any external advantages, (which would add nothing to her, and the want of which would deprive her of nothing that was really excellent,) but upon the comeliness of grace which he had put upon her. 3. It is to invite others to think well of her too, and to join themselves to her; Thou art w;/ love, thou lovest me, and art loved of me, and therefore thou art fair; all the beauty of the saints is derived from him, and they shine by reflecting his light; it is the beauty of the Lord our God that is ufion us, Ps. xc. 17. iShe was espoused to him, and that made her beautiful. Uxor fidget radiis niariti — The sfiouse shines in her hits-band's rays. It is repeated; Thou art fair, and again. Thou art fair; noting not only the'certainty of it, but the pl'iasure he took in speaking of it.

As to the i-epresentation here made of the beauty of the church, the images are certainly very bright, tlie shades strong, and the comparisons bold; net proper indeed to represent any external beauty, for they were not designed to do so, but the beatity of holiness, the new man, the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corrufitible. Seven particulars are specified, a number of perfections, for the church is enriched with manifold graces by the seven s/iirits that a7-e before the throne. Rev. i. 4. 1 Cor. i. 5, 7.

(1.) Her eyes; a good eye contributes much to a beauty; Thou hast doves' eyes, clear and chaste, and often cast up toward heaven. It is not the eagle'.s eye, that can face the sun, but the dove's eye, a humble, modest, mournful, eye, that is the praise of those whom Christ loves. Ministers are the church's eyes; (Isa. Iii. 8.) Thy watchmen shall see eye to eye; they must be like doves' eyes; harmless and inoffensive, Matth. x. 16.) having their co^fer-sation in the world, in simplicity and godly sincerity. Wisdom and knowledge are the eyes of the new man; they must be clear, but not haughty, not exercised in things too high for us. When our aims and intentions are sincere and honest, then we have doves' eyes; when we look not unto idols, (Ezek. xviii. 6.)" but have our eyes ever toward the Lord, Ps. XXV. 15. The doves' eyes are within the locks, which are as a shade upon them, so that, [1.] They cannot fully see; as long as we ai-e here in this world, we know but in part; a hair hangs in our eyes, we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness; death will shortly cut those locks, and then we shall see all things clearly. [2.] They cannot be fully seen, but as the stars through the thin clouds. Some make it to intimate the bashfulness of her looks; she suffers not her eyes to wander, but limits them within her locks.

(2.) Her hair; it is compared to a flock of goats, which looked white, and were, on the top of the mountains, like a fine head of hair: and the sight was the more pleasant to the spectator, because the goats have not only gravity from their beards, but they are cornely in going; (Pro\'. xxx. 29.) but it was most pleasant of all to the owner, much of whose riches consisted in his flocks. Christ puts a value upon that in the church, and in believers, which others make no more account of than of their hair; he told his disciples that the very hairs of their head were all numbered, as carefully as men number their flocks, (Matth. x. 30.) and that not a hair of their head should perish, Luke xxi. 18. Some By the hair here understand the outward conversation of a believer, which ought to be comely, and decent, and agreeable to the holiness of the heart. The apostle opposes good works, such as become the professors of godliness, to the plaiting of the hair, 1 Tim. ii. 9, 10. Mary Magdalen's hair was beautiful when she wiped the feet of Christ with it.

(3.) WcY teeth, V. 2. Ministers are the church's teetli; like nurses, they chew the meat for the babes of Christ. The Chaldee Paraphrase applies it to the priests and Levites, who fed upon the sacrifices as the representatives of the people. Faith, by which we feed upon Christ, meditation, by which we ruminate on the word, and chew the cud upon what we have heard, in order to the digesting of it, are the teeth of the new man. These are here compared to a flock of sheep; Christ called his disciples and ministers a little flock. It is the praise of teeth to be ex>en, to be white, and kept clean, like sheep from the washing, and to be firm and well-fixed in the gums, and not like sheep that cast their young: for so the word signifies, which we translate barren. It is the praise of ministers to be even in mutual love and concord, to be jmre and clean from all moral pollutions, and to be fruitful, bringing forth souls to Christ, and nursing his lambs.

SOLOMON^S SONG, IV.

861

(4.) Her lifis; these are compared to a thread of scarlet; {v. X) red lips are comely, and a sien of health, as the paleness of the lips is a sign of faint-ness and weakness; her li/is were of the colour of scarlet, but thin lijis, like a thread of scarlet; the a"xt words explain it; T/nj speech is comely, always w'ith grace, ffood, and to the use ofedfying, which adds much to the beauty of a Christian. When we praise God with our lips, and with the mouth make cotfession of him to salvation, then they are as a thread of scarlet. All our good works and good words must be washed in the blood of Christ, dyed like the scarlet thread, and then, and not till then, they are acceptable to God. The Chaldee applies it t J the chief priest, and his prayers for Israel on the day of atonement.

(5. )'Her temfiles, or cheeks, which are here compared to a/z/fce o//20/;2e^'-?-a;;a^^, fruits which, when cut in two, have red veins, or specks, in them, like a blush in the face. Humility and modesty, blushing to lift up our faces before God, blushing at the renumbrance of sin, and in a sense of our unworthi-ness of the honour put upon us, will beautify us very mucli in the eyes of Christ. The blushes of Christ's bride are within her locks, which intimates (says Mr. Durham) that she blushes when no other sees, and for that which none sees but God and conscience; also that she seeks not to proclaim her humility, but modestly covers that too; yet the evidences of all these, in a tender walk, appear, and are, comely.

(6.)'Her neck; this is here campared to the tower of David; {v. 4.) this is generally applied to the grace of faith, by which we are united to Christ, as the body is united to the head by the neck; this is like the tower of David, furnishing us with weapons of war, especially bucklers and shields, as the soldiers were supplied with them out of that tower; for faith is our shield, (Eph. vi. 16.) they that have it never want a buckler, for God will compass them with his favour as with a shield. When this neck is like a tower, straight, and stately, and strong, a Christian goes on his way, and works with courage and magnanimity, and does not hang a drooping head, as he does when faith fails. Some make the Melds of the mighty 7nen, that are here said to hang up in the tower of David, to be the monuments of the valour of David's worthies; their shields were preserved, to keep in remembrance them and their heroic acts, intimating, that it is a great encouragement to the saints to hold up their heads, to see what great things the saints in all ages have accomplished and won by faith. In Heb. xi. we have the shields of the mighty men hung up, the exploits of believers, and tlie trophies of their victories.

(7.) Her breasts; these are like two young roes that are twins, v. 5. The church's breasts are both for ornament, (Ezek. xvi. 7.) and for use, they are the breasts of her consolation, (Isa. Ixvi. 11.) as she is said to suck the breasts of kings, Isa. Ix. 16. Some apply these to the two Testaments; others to the two sacraments, the seals of the covenant of gi'ace; others to the ministers, who are to be spiritual nurses to the children of God, and to give out to them the sincere milk of the word, that they may grow thereby; and, in order to that, are themselves to feed among the lilies were Christ feeds, (cA. ii. 16.) that they may be to the babes of the church as full breasts. Or, the breasts of a believer are his love to Christ, which he is pleased with, as a tender husband is with the affection of his wife, who is therefore said to be to him as the loving hind, and (he pleasant roe, because her breasts satisfy him at all times, Prov. v. 19. This includes also his edifying others, and conmiunicating grace to them, which adds much to a Christian's beauty. II. The Bridegroom's resolution hereupon to re-

tire to the mountain of myrrh, (v. 6.) and there to make his residence. This mountain of myn-h is supposed to signify the mount Moriah, on which the temple was built, where incense was daily burnt to the honour of (iod; Christ was so pleased with the beuuty of his church, that he chose this to be his rest fr>r ever, here lie will dwell till the day break and the shadows flee aivay. Christ's parting premise to his disciples, as the representatives of the church, answers to this; Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. "VMiere the ordinances of God are duly administered, there Christ will be, afid there we must meet him at the door of the tabernacle of the meeting. Some make these to be the words of the spouse, either modestly ashamed oithc praises given her, and willing to get out cf the hearing of them, or desirous to be constant to the holy hill, not doubting but there to find suitable and sufficient succour and relief in all her straits, and there to cast anchor, and wish for the day which, at the time appointed, would break, and the shadows Jiee away. The holy hill (as some observe) is here called both a mountain of myrrh, which is bitter, and a hill of frankincense, which is sweet, for there we have occasion both to mourn and rejoice; repentance is a bitter sweet, but in heaven it will be all frankincense, and no myrrh. Prayer is compared to incense, and Christ will meet his praying people, and will bless them.

III. His repeated commendation of the beauty of his spouse; {v. 7.) Thou art all fair, my love. He had said, {v. 1.) Thou art fair; but here he goes further, and, in review cf the particulars, as of those of the creation, he pronounces allvery good; '* Thou art all fair, my love, thou art all over beautiful, and there is nothing amiss in thee, and thou hast all beauties in thee; thou art sanctified wholly in every part, all tilings are become new, (2 Cor. v. 17.) there is not only a new face and a new name, but a new man, a new nature; there is no spot in thee, as far as thou art renewed." The spiritual sacrifices must be without blemish; there is no spot but such as is often the spot of God's children, ncne of the leopard's spots. The church, when Christ shall present it to himself a glorious church will be altogether without spot or wrinkle, Eph. v. 27.

8. Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, Avith me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the hons' dens, from the mountains of the leopards. 9. Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. 10. How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices! 11. Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb ; honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. 12. A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse ; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. 13. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard; 14. Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.

These are still the words of Christ to his chiircli, expressing his great esteem cf her and affection tc

SOLOMON'S SONG, IV.

her, the opinion he had of her beauty and excellency, the desire he had of, and the delight he had in, her converse and society. And so ought men to love their wives as Christ loves the church, and takes pleasure in it as if it were spotless and had no fault, when yet it is compassed with infirmity.

Now, observe liere,

I. The end aring names and titles by which he calls her, to express his love to her, to assure her of it, and to engage and excite her love to him. Twice here he calls her My sfiouse, (v. 8, 11.) and three times My sister, my spouse, v. 9, 10, 12. Mention was made {cli. iii. 11.) of the day of his esfiousals, and, after that, she is called his sfiouse, nut before. Note, There is a marnage-covenant between Christ and his church, between Christ and every ti'ue believer. Christ calls his church his sfiouse, and his calling her so makes her so. "I have Detrothed thee unto me for ever; and as the bridegroom I'ejoices over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." He is not ashamed to own the relation, but, as becomes a kind and tender husband, he speaks affectionately to her, and calls her his sfiouse, which cannot but strongly engage her to be faithful to him. Nay, because no one relation among men is sufficient to set forth Christ's love to his church, and, to show that all this must be understood spiritually, he owns her in two relations, wliich, among men, are incompatible. My sister, my sfiouse. Abraham's saying oi Sarah, She is my sister, was interpreted as a denying her to be his wife; but Christ's church is to him both a sister and a sfiouse, Matth. xii. 50. a sister and mother. His calling her sister, is gi'ounded upon his taking our nature upon him in his incarnation, and his making us partakers of his natu're in our sanctificaticn. He clothed himself with a body, (Heb. ii. 14.) and he clothes believers with his Sfiirit, (1 Cor. vi. 17.) and so they become his sisters. They are children of God his Father, (2 Cor. vi. 18.) and so they become his sisters; he that sanctifies, and they that are sanctified, are all of one, (Heb. ii. 11.) and he owns them, and loves them, as his sisters.

n. The gracious call he gives her to come along with him as a faitl\ful bride, that must forget her own people and her fatlier's house, and leave all to cleave to him. Ubi tu Caius, ibi ego Caia — IVhere thou Caius art, I Caia will be. Come roith me from Lebanon, v. 8.

It is, 1. A precept; so we take it, like that, (f//. ii. 10, 13.) Rise ufi, and come an-ay. All that are by faith come to Christ, must come with Christ, in holy obedience to him, and compliance with him. Being joined to him, we must walk with him. This is his command to us daily, ''Come with me, my sfiouse; come with me to God as a Father, come witli me onward, heavenward, come forward with me, come up with me; come with me from Lebanon, from the tofi of Amana, from the lions' dens." These mountains are to be considered, (1.) As seemingly delightful places; Lebanon is called that goodly mountain, Deut. iii. 25. We read of the glory of Lebanon, (Isa. xxxv. 2.) and its goodly smell, Hns. xiv. 6. We read of the pleasant f/ew q/" Hermon, (Ps. cxxxiii. 3.) and the joy of Herman; (Ps. Ixxxix. 12.) and we may suppose the other moimtains here mentioned to be pleasant ones; and so this is Christ's call to his spouse to come off from the world, all its products, all its pleasures, to sit loose to all the delights of sense; all those must do so that would come with Christ; they must take their affections off from all present things; yea, though thev be placed at the upper end of the world, on the top. of Amana, and the top of Shenir, thougli they enjoy tlie higliest satisfactions the creature can propose to give, yet they must come away from them all, and live above the tops of the high-

est hills on earth, that they may have their conversation in heaven. Come from those mountains, to go along witli Christ to the holy mountain, the moini tain of myrrh, v. 6. Even while we h ve cur resi dence on these mountains, yet we must look from them, look above them. Shall we lift up our eyes to the hills? No; our helfi comes from (he Lord, Ps. cxxi. 1, 2. We must look beyond them, tci the things that are not seen, (as these high hills are,) that are eternal. From the tops of Shenir and Hermon, which were on the other side Jordan, as frcm Pisgah, they could see the land of Canaan; frrm this world we must look forward to the better cc un-try. (2.) They are to be considered as really dangerous; these hills indeed are pleasant enough, but there are in them lions' dens; they are mountains of the leofiards, mountains of prey, though they seem glorious and excellent, Ps. Ixxvi. 4. Satan, that roaring lion, is the. firince of this world, in the things of it he lies in wait to devc lu-; en the tops of these mountains there are many dangerous temptations to those who take up their residence in them; and therefore come with me from them; let us not set our hearts upon the thmgs of this world, and tlien they can do us no hurt. Come with me from the temples of idolaters, and the societies of wicked people; so some understand it; Come out from among them, and be ye separate. Come from under the dominion of your own lusts, which are as lions and leofiards, fierce upon us, and making us fierce.

2. It maybe taken as a promise; Thou ^\\?Atcome with me from Lebanon, from the lions' dens; that is, (1.) " Many shall be brought home to me, as living members of the church, from every point, from Lebanon in the north, Amana in the west, Hermon in the east, Shenir in the south, from all parts, to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Matth. viii. 11. See Isa. xlix. 11, 12. ?>ome from the tops of these mountains, some of the great men of this world, shall give themselves to Christ. (2.) The church shall be delivered from her persecutors, in due time: though now she dwells among lions, Ps. Ivii. 4.) Christ will take her with himself from among their dens.

III. The great delight Christ takes in his church, and in all believers. He delights in them,

1. As in an agreeable bride, adorned for her husband, (Rev. xxi. 2.) who greatly desires her beauty, Ps. xlv. 11. No expressions of love can be more passionate than these here, in which Christ manifests his affection to his church; and yet that great proof of his love, his dying for it, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, goes far beyond them all. A spouse, so dearly bought and paid for, could not but be dearly loved; such a price being given for her, a high value must needs be put upon her accordingly; and both together may well set us a wondering at the height ana depth, and length and breadth, of the love oj Christ, which passes knowledge, that love in which he gave himself for us, and gives himself to us. Observe,

(1.) How he is affected towards his spouse; Thou hast ravished jny heart; the word is used only here. Thou hast hearted me, or. Thou hast unhearted me. New words are coined to express the iuexprcssible-ness ff Christ's sui-prising love to his church; and the strength of that love is set forth by that wliich is a weakness in men, who are so much in love with one object, as to be heartless to every thing else. This may refer to that love which Christ had to the chosen remnant, before the woi-lds v.cre, wlun his delights were with the sons of men, (Prov. \iii. 31.) that" first love, which brought him from hea\en to earth, to seek and save them at such vast expense, yet including the complacency he takes in them when he brought them to himself. Note, Christ's

SOLOMON'S SONG, IV.

863

neart is upon his church; so it has appeared all along; his treasure is in it, it is his fieculiar treasure, (Exod. xix. 5.) and therefore there his heart is also. " Never was love like unto the love of Clirist. wliich made him e\ en mindless of himself, when he emptied himself of his glory, and despised all shame and pain, for our sakes. The wound of lo\'e towards us, which he had from eternity in himself, made him neglect all the wounds and re-pi-oaches of the cross;" so Bishop Reynolds here. Thus let VIS love him.

(2.) What it is that affects him with delight.

[1.] The regard she has to him; Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, those dove's eyes, clear and chaste, (which were commended, t. 9.) with one glance of those eyes. Christ is wonderfully pleased with tliose that look unto him as their Saviour, and through the eye of faith dart their affections to him above any rival whatsoever, and whose eyes are ex^er towards him; he is soon aware of the first look of a soul towards him, and meets it with his favours.

[2.] The ornaments she has from him, that is, the obedience she yields to him, for that is the chai}i of her neck, the graces that enrich her soul, which are connected as links in a chain; the exercise of these graces in a conversation which adorns both herself and the doctrine of Jesus Christ, which she professes to believe, as a gold chain is an ornament to persons of quality, and an entire submission to the commanding power of his law, and the constraining power of his love; having shaken off the bands of our neck, by which we were tied to this world, (Isa. lii. 2.) and the yoke of our transgressions, we are bound with the cords of love, as chains of gold, to Jesus Christ, and our necks are brought under his sweet and easy yoke, to draw in it; this recommends us to Jesus Christ, for this is that true wisdom which, in his account, is an ornament of grace unto the head, and chains about thericck, Prov. i. 9.

[3.] The affection she has for him; How fair is thy love! how beautiful is it! Not onlv thy love itself, but all tlie fruits and products of it, its working in the heart, its works in the life. How well does it become a believer thus to love Christ, and what a pleasure does Christ take in it! Nothing recommends us to Christ so as this does. Honv much better is thy love than ivinel Than all tlie wine that was poured out to the Lord in the drink-offerings; hence the fruit of the vine is said to cheer God and man. Judges ix. 13. She had said of Christ's love. It is better than wine; {ch. i. 2.) and now Christ says so of her's; there is nothing lost by praising Christ, nor will he be behindliand with his friends in kindness.

[4.] The ointments, the odours, wherewith she is perfumed, the gifts and graces of the Spirit, her good works, which are an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-fileasing to God, Phil. iv. 18. The smell of thine ointment is better than all s/iices, such as the queen of Sheba presented to Solomon, camel-loads of them, (1 Kings x. 2.) or, rather, than all the spices that were used in compounding the holy incense which was burned daily on the golden altar; love and obedience to Ciod are more pleasing to Christ than sacrifice or incense. The smell of her garments too, the ■visible professions she makes of religion, and relation to Christ, before men, and wherein she appears to the world, this is very grateful to Christ, as the smell of I^eba-non. Christ having put upon his spouse the nvhite ra/7?2e?7? of his own rghteousness, (Rev. iii. 8.) and the righteousness of saints, (Rev. xix. 18.) and this perfumed with holy joy and comfort, he is well-pleased with it.

[5.] Her words, both in her devotions to God, and her discourses with men; (v. 11.) T/iy lips, O

my spouse, drop as the honey-comb, drop that which is very sweet, and drop it freely and plentifully. If what (iod speaks to us be sweeter to us than the honey and the honey-comb, (Ps. xix. 10.) what we say to him in prajcr and praise shall also !:)e pleasing tc him;_ S%vcet is thy voice. And if, out of a good treasure in the heart] we bring forth good things, if oui s/ieech be always with grace, if oui- li/is use knowledge aright, if they disperse know/edge, they tlien, in Christ s account, even drop as the hoiwif-comb^ out-droj) it. Honey and milk (the two staple crm-modities of Canaan) are under thy tongue; that is, in thy heart; not only reserved there for thv own \ise as a sweet morsel for thyself, but ready' there for the use of others. In the' word rf God there is sweet and wholesome nourishment, milk for babes, honey for those that are grown u]), Clirist is well pleased with those that are full of his Avrrd.

2. As in a pleasant garden. And well may a very great delight l)e compared to the delight taken in a garden, when the happiness of Adam in innocency was represented b)' the putting of him in a garden, a garden of pleasure. This comparison is pursued, V. 12» • 14. The church is fitly ccmjiared to a garden, to a garden which, as usual, had a fountain in it; where Solomon made him gardens nm\ orchards, he made him pools of water, (Eccl. ii. 5, 6.) not only for curiosity and diversion, in water-works, but for use, to water the garde?is; Eden was well watered,Gcn. ii. 10.—xiii. 10. Observe,

(1.) The peculiarity of this garden; it ha garden enclosed, a paradise 'separated fnm the common earth; it is appropriated to God, he has set it apart for himself. Israel is God's p( rtion, the lot of his mhcritance. _ It is enclosed for secrecy; the saints are God's hidden ones, therefore the world knows them riot; Clirist walks in his garden unseen. It is enclosed foi- safety; a hedge of protection is made about it, which all the powers of darkness cannot either find or make a gap in. (iod's vinejard is fenced; (Isa. v. 2.) there is a wall alMut it,' a wall of fire. It has a spring in it, and a fountain, but it is a .spring shut up, and a fountain sealed, which sends its streams abroad, (Pro\-. v. 16.) but it is itself carefully locked up, that it may not by any injurious hand be muddied or ])olluted. The souls of believers are as gardens enclosed; grace in them is as a spring .shut up there in the hidden man of the heart, where the water that Christ gives is a well of living water, John iv. 14.—vii. ^38. The Old Testament church was a garden enclosed bv the partition wall of the ceremonial law; the Bible was then a spring shut up and a fojintnin sealed, it was confined to one nation; but now the wall of separation is removed, the gospel preached to every nation, and in Jesus Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew.

(2.) The products of this garden; it is as the garden of Eden, where the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, Gen. ii. 9. Thy plants, or ]:)lantations, are an orchard of fiomegranates with pleasant fruits, V. 13. It is not like the vineyard of the man void of imderstanding, that was all grow?! over with thorns and nettles; but litre are fruits, pleasant fruits, all trees of frankincense, and all the chief s/iices, V. 14. Here is great plenty of fruits, and great \'ariety, nothing wanting which niieht either beautif\-, or eijrich, this garden, might make it either dehghtful or serviceable to its gi-t-:,t Lord; every thing here is the best of the kind; their chief spices were much more valuable, Ixcause much more durable, than the choicest of our flowers. Solomon was a great master in botany as well as other parts of natural philosophy; he treated largely of trees, (1 Kings iv. 33.) and perhaps had reference to some specific qualities of the fruits here specified.

SOLOMON'S SONG, V.

which made them very fit for the purpose for which he alhides to them; but we must be content to observe, in general, that saints in the churcli, and graces in the saints, are very fitly compared to these fruits and sfiices; for, [1.] They are planted, and do not grow of themselves; the trees of ris^liteousness are the filanting of the Lord, (Isa. Ixi. 3.) grace springs from an incorruptible seed. [2.] They are precious and of high value; hence we read of the precious sons of Zion and their ftrecious faith, they are plants of renown. [3.] They are pleasant, and of a sweet savour to God and man, and, as strong aromatics, diffuse their fragrancy. [4.] They are profitable and of great use; saints are the blessings of this earth, and their graces are their riches witli which they trade as the merchants of the east with their s/2/ce*. [5.] They are permanent, and will be preserved to goqd pui-pose, when flowers are withered and good tor nothing. Grace, reduced into glory, will last for ever.

15. A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon. 16. Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

These seem to be the words of the spouse, the chui'ch, in answer to the commendations which Christ, the Bridegroom, had given cf her as a pleasant fruitful garden. Is she a garden?

1. She owns her dependence upon Christ himself to make this garden fruitful; to him she has an eye, {v. 15.) as the Fountain of gardens, not only the Founder of them, by whom they are planted, and to whom they owe their being, but the Fountain of them, by whom they are watered, nnd to whom they owe their continuance and well-being, and without whose constant supplies.they would soon become like the dry and barren wilderness; to him she gives all the glory of her fruitfulness, as being nothing without him; O Fountain of gardens, Fountain of all good, of all grace, do not thou fail me. Does a believer say to the church, ^11 my sfirings are in thee, m thee.'O Zion.'' (Ps. Ixxxvii. 7.) The church transmits the praise to Christ, and says to him, ylll my sfirings are in thee; thou art the Well of living waters, (JTcr. ii. 13.) out of which

flow the streams from Lebanon, the river Jordan, whi( h had its rise at the foot of mount Lebanon, and che waters of the sanctuary, which issued out from under the threshold of the house, Ezek. xlvii. 1. Thev tliat are gardens to Christ, nuist acknowledge hirn a Fountain to them, from whose fulness they receive, and to whom it is owing that their souls are as a watered garden, Jer. xxxi. 12. The city of God on earth is made glad with the rn'er that"flows from this Fountain, (Ps. xlvi. 4.) and the new Jeiaisalem has its fiure river of water of life /iroceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, Rev. xxii. 1.

2. She implores the influences of the blessed Spirit to mike this garden fragrant; ("i:'. 16.) jinvake, 0 north wind, and come, thou south. This is a prayer, (1.) For tlie church in gcner d, that there may be a plentiful effusion of the Spirit upon it, in order to its flourishing estate. Mmisters' gifts are the spices; when the Spirit is poured out, t\\e?,e flow forth, and then the wilder7iess becomes a fruitful

field, Isa. xxxii. 15. This prayer was answered m the pouring out of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, (Acts. ii. 1.) ushered in by a mighty wind; then the apostles, who were bound up before, flowed .''oith, and were a sweet savour to God, 2 Cor. ii.

15. (2.) For particular believers. Note, [1.] Sanctified souls are as gardens, gardens of the Lord, en closed for him. [2.] Graces in the soul are as spices in these gardens, that in them which is valuable and useful. [3.] It is very desirable that the spices of grace should flow forth both in pious and devout aff'cctions, and in holy, gracious actions, that with them we may honour God, adorn our prcjfession, and do that which will be grateful to gocd men. [4.] The blessed Si^irit, in his operations upon the soul, is as the north and the south wind, which blows where it listrth, and from several points, John iii. 8. There is the north wind of convictions, and the south wind of cnnifoiti:-; but all, like the wind, brought ozit of God's treasuries, and fulfilling his word. [5.] The flowir.g forth of the spices of gi-acc depends upon the gales of the Spirit; he stirs up good affections, and works in us both to will and to do that which is good; it is he that makes manifest the savour of his knowledge by us. [6.] We ought therefore to wait upon the Spirit cf grace for his quickening influences, to pray for them, and to lay our souls under them. God has promised to give us his Spirit, but he will for this be mquired of. 3. She invites Christ to the best entertainment the garden affords; Let my Beloved then coine into his garden, and eat his fileasant fruits; let him have the honour of all the products of the garden, it is fit he should, and let me have the comfort of his acceptance of them, for that is the best account they can be made to turn to. Observe, (1.) She calls it/n's garden; for those that are espoused to Christ call nothing their own, but what they have devoted to him, and desire to be used for him. When the spices flow forth, then it is fit to be called his garden, and not till then. The fruits cf the garden are his fileasant fruits, for he planted them, watered them, and gave the increase. What can we pretend to merit at Christ's hands, when we can invite him to nothing but what is his own already? (2.) She begs he would visit it, and accept of what it produced. The believer can take little pleasure in his garden, unless Christ, the Beloved cf his soul, come to him, nor have any joy of the fi-uits cf it, unless they redoimd some way or other to the glory of Christ, and he will think all he has, well bestowed upon him.

CHAP. V.

In this chapter, we have, I. Christ's frracious acceptance of the invitation which his church had given him, and the kind visit which he made to her, v. 1. II. The account which the spouse gives of her own folly, in putting a slight upnn her Beloved, and the distress she was in, by reason of his wilhdranings, v. 2..8. ITI. The inquiry of the daughters of Jerusalem concerning the amiable perfections of her Beloved, (v. 9.) and her particular answer to that inquiry, v. 10..16. Unto you that believe he is thus precious.

1. TT AM come into my garden, my sister, 3l my spouse: 1 have gathered my myrrh with my spice; 1 have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

These words are Christ's answer to the church's prayer in the clf^se of the foregoing chapter, I^t ?ni/ Beloved come into his garden; here he is come, and lets her know it. See how ready God is to hear prayer; how ready Christ is to accept the invitations that his people give him, though we are backward to hear his calls, and accept his invitations. He is free in condescending to us, while we are shy of ascending to him. Observe how the return answered the request, and outdid it.

1. She called him her Beloved, (and really he

SOLOMON'S SONG, V.

865

was so,) and therefore invited him, because she loved him; in return to this, he called her his sister and s/iouse, as several times before, ch. iv. Those that make Clirist their best Beloved, shall be owned by him in the nearest and dearest relations.

2. She called the garden his, and the pleasant fi'uits of it his, and he acknowlede:es them to be so; It is ?ny garden, it is my s/iice. Wlien God was displeased with Israel, he turned them off to Moses; They are thy fieople; (Exod. xxxii. 7.) and he called the appointed feasts of the Lord their a/i-fiointed feasts; (Isa. i. 14.) but, now that they are in his favour, he owns them for his garden; though of small account, yet it is mine. They that in sincerity give up themselves and all tliey have, and can do, to Jesus Christ, he will do them the honour to stamp them, and what they have, and do, for him, with his own mark, and say. It is mine.

3. She invited him to come into his garden, and he says, I am come, Isa. Iviii. 9. Thou shalt cry, and he shall say. Here I am. When Solomon prayed that God would come, and take possession of the house he had built for him, he did come, his glory filled the house, (2 Chron. vii. 2.) and {v. 16.) he let him know that he had chosen and sanctified this house, that his name m.ight be there for ever. Thev that throw open the door of their souls to Jesus Christ, shall find him ready to come into them; and in every place where he records his name, he will meet his people, and bless them, Exod. xx. 24.

4. She desired him to eat his pleasant fruits, to accept of the sacrifices offered in his temple, which were as the fruits of his garden, and he does so, but finds they were not ready for eating, therefore he does himself gather them; as the fruits are his, so is the preparation of them; he finds the heart unready for his entertainment, but does himself draw out into exercise those gracious habits wliich he had planted there. What little good there is in us, would be shed and lost if he did not gather it, and preserve it to himself.

5. She only desired him to eat the fruits of the garden, but he brought along with him something more, honey, and ivine, and inilk, whicli yield substantial nourishment, and which were the products of Canaan, Immanuel's land. Christ delights himself greatly in that which he has both conferred upon his people, and wrought in them. Or we may suppose this to have been prepared by the spouse herself, as Esther prepared for the king her husband a banquet of ivine; it is but plain fare, and what is natural, honey and milk, but, being kindly designed, it is kindly accepted; imperfections are overlooked, the honey-comb is eaten with the honey, and the weakness of tlie flesh passed bv, and pardoned, because the sfiirit is willing. When Christ appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, he did eat with them a piece of honey-comb, (Luke xxiv. 42, 43.) in which this scripture was fulfilled. He did not drink the wine only, which is liquor for men, for great men, but the milk too, which is liquor for children, little children, for he was to be the holy child Jesus, that had need of milk.

6. She only invited him to come himself, but he, bringing his own entertainment along with him, brings his friends too, and invites them to share in the provisions. JJie more the merrier, we say, and here, where there was so much plentv, there was not the woi-se fare. When our Lord Jesus fed five thousand at once> they ctid all eat, and ivere filted. Christ invites all his friends to the wine and milk which he himself drinks of, (Isa. Iv. 1.) to the feast of fat things, and wines on the lees,, Isa. xxv. 6. The great work of man's redemption, and the riches of the covenant of gi-ace, are a feast to the Lord Tesus, and they ought to be so to us. The invitation

Vol. III.—5 R

! is veryfree, and hearty, and loving; Eat, 0 friends. If Christ comes to sup with us, it is we that sup with him. Rev. iii. 20. Eat, O friends. Those only that are Christ's friends are welcome to his table; his enemies, that will not have him to reign over them, have no part or lot in the matter. Drink, yea, drink abundantly. Christ, in his gospel, has made plentiful provision for poor souls; /le fills the hungry with good things; there is enough for all, there is enough f )r each, we are not straitened in him or in his grace; let us not therefore be straitened in our own bosoms. Ojien thy mouth wide, and Christ will fill it. Be not drunk with wine, be filed with the Spirit, Eph. v. 18. Those that entertain Christ must bid his friends welcome with him; Jesus and his disciples were called together to the marriage, (John ii. 2.) and Christ will liave all his friends to rejoice with him in the day of his espousals to his church, and, in token of that, to feast with him. In spiritual and heavenly joys there is no danger of exceeding; there we may drink abun dantly, dritik of the river of God's pleasures, (Ps. xxxvi. 8.) and be abundantly satisfied, Ps. Ixv. 4.

2. I sleep, but my heart waketh : it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. 3. I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on ? I have washed ray feet; how shall ] defile them ? 4. My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the dooi\ and my bowels were moved for him. 5. I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped 7cith myrrh, and my fingers with sweet-smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. 6. 1 opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake; I sought him, but 1 could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. 7. The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the \vr]]s took away my vail from me. 8. 1 charge you, O claughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.

In this song of loves and joys, we have here a very melancholy scene; the spouse here speaks, net to her Beloved, (as before, for he is witlidrawn,) but of him, aixl it is a sad story she tells of her own folly and ill conduct toward him, notwithstanding his kindness^ and of the just rebukes she fell under for it; perhaps it may refer to Solomon's own apos-tacy from God, and the sad effects of that apostacy, after God had come into his garden, had taken possession of the temple he Iiad built,, and he had feasted with God upon the sacrifices; (v. 1.) however, it is applicable to the too common case both of churches and particular believers, who bv their carelessness and security provoke Christ to withdraw from them. Observe,

I. The indisposition that the spouse was mider, and the listlessness that had seized her; {v. 2.) 1 sleep, but my heart wakes.. Here is, 1.. Corruption appearing in the actings of it; I sleep; the wise virgins slumbered. She was on her bed, {ch. v\. 1..) but now she sleeps. Spiritual distempers, if not striveu against at first,, are apt to grow upon us„ ami

SOLOMON'S SONG, V.

to get ground. She slefit; pious affections cooled, she neglected her duty, and grew remiss in it, she indulged herself in her ease, was secure and off her watch. This is sometimes the bad effect of more than ordinary enlargements, a good cause. St. Paul himself was in danger of being puffed up with abundant revelations, and of saying, Soul, take thine ease, which made a thorn in the flesh necessary for him, to keep him from sleeping. Christ's disciples, when he was come into his garden, the garden of his agony, were heavy with sleep, and could not watch with him. True Christians are not always alike lively and vigorous in religion. 2. Grace remaining, notwithstanding, in the habit of it; ^^My heart ivakes, my own conscience reproaches me fur it, and ceases not to rouse me out of my sluggishness. The sfiirit is willing, and, after the inner man, I delight in the law of God, and with my mind I serve that. I am, for the present, overpowered by j temptation, but all does not go one way in me. I j sleep, but it is not a dead sleep, I strive' against it, j it is not a sound sleep, I cannot be easy under this j indisposition." Note, (1.) We ought to take notice | of our own spiritual slumbers and distempers, and to reflect upon it with sorrow and shame that we have fallen asleep, when Christ has been nigh us in his garden. (2.) When we are lamenting what is amiss in us, we must not overlook the good that is wrought in us, and preserved alive. " My heart wakes in Christ, who is dear to me as my own heart, and is my Life; when I sleep, he neither slumbers nor sleefis. "

II. The call that Christ gave to her, whenshe was under this indisposition; It is the voice of my Beloved; she knew it to be so, and was soon aware of it, which was a sign that her heart was awake. Like the child Samuel, she heard at the first call, but did not, like him, mistake the person; she knew it to be the voice of Christ. He knocks, to awaken us to come and let him in; knocks by his word and Spirit, knocks by afflictions and by our own consciences; though' this is not expressly quoted, yet, probably, it is referred to, (Rev. iii. 2'0.) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. He calls sinners into covenant with him, and saints into communion with him. Those whom he loves he will not let alone in their carelessness, but will find some way or other to awaken them, to rebuke and chasten them. When we are unmindful of Christ, he thinks of us, and provides that our faith fail not. Peter denied Christ, but the Lord turned, and looked upon him, and so brought him to himself again.

Obsei've how moving the call is. Open to me, my sister, mv love. 1. He sues for entrance, who may demand it; and knocks, who could easily knock the door down. 2. He gives her all the kind and most endearing titles imaginable. My sister, ?ny love, my dove, my undefiled; he not only gives her no hard names, nor upbraids her with unkindncss in not sitting up for him, but, on the contrary, studies how to express his tender affection to her still; his loving-kindness he will not utterly take away. Those that by faith are espoused to Christ, he looks upon as his sisters, his loves, his doves, and all that is dear; and, being clothed with his righteousness, they are undefiled. This consideration should induce her to open to him. Christ's love to us should engage ours to him, even in the most self-denying instances. Ofien to me. Can we deny entrance to such a friend, to such a guest? Shall we not converse more with one that is infinitely worthy of our acquaintance, and so affectionately desirous of it, though we only can b? gainers by it? 3. He pleads distress, and begs to be admitted sub forma paufie-rts — under the character of a poor traveller, that wants a lodging; " My head is wet with the dew, with the cold drops of the night; consider what

hardships I have undergone to merit thee, which surely may merit from thee so small a kindness as this." When Christ was crowned with thorns, which, no doubt, fetched blood from his blessed head, then was his head wet with the dew; " Consider what a grief it is to me to be thus unkindly used, as much as it would be to a tender husband to be kept out of doors by his wife in a rainy stormy night." Do we thus requite him for his love? The slights which careless souls put upon Jesus Christ are to him as a continual dropping in a very rainy day.

III. .The excuse she made to put off htr compliance with this call; {y. 3.) I have put off my coat, how shall I put it on again? She is half asleep, she knows the voice of her Beloved, she knows his knock, but cannot find in her heart to open to him; she was undressed, imd would not be at the pains to dress her again; she had washed her feet, and would not have occasion to wash them again. She could not send another to open the door, (it must be our own act and deed to let Christ into cur hearts,) and yet she was loath to go herself; she did not say, / will not open, but How shall I? Ncte, Frivolous excuses are the language of prevailing slothfulness in religion; Christ calls to us to open to him, but we pretend we have no mind, or we have no strength, or we have no time, and therefore think we may be excused, as the sluggard that will not plough by reason of cold. And those who ought to watch for the Lord's coming, with their loijis girt, if they ungird themselves, and put off their coat, they will find it difficult to recover their former resolution, and to put it on again; it is best therefore to keep tight. Making excuses, (Luke xiv. 18.) is interpreted making light of Christ; (Matth. xxii. 5.) and so it is. Those put a great contempt upon Christ that cannot find in their hearts to bear a cold blast for him, or get out of a warm bed.

IV. The powerful influences of divine grace, by which she was made willing to rise, and open to her Beloved. When he could not prevail with her by persuasion, he put in his hand by the hole of the door, to unbolt it, as one weary of waiting, v. 4. This intimates a work of the Spirit upon her soul, by which she was of unwilling made willing, Ps. ex. 3. The conversion of Lydia is represented by the opening of her heart, (Actsxvi. 14.) and Christ is said to open his disciples' understandings, Luke xxiv. 45. He WvaX. formed the spirit of man within him knows all the avenues to it, and which way to enter into it; he can find the hole of the door, at which to put in his hand for the conquering of prejudices, and the introducing of his own doctrine and law. He has the key of David, (Rev. iii. 7.) with which he opens the door of the heart in such a way as is suited to it, as the key is fitted to the wards of the lock; in such a way as not to put a force upon its nature, but only upon its ill nature.

V. Her compliance with these methods rf divine grace at last; My botvels were moved for him. The will was gained by a good work wrought upon the affections; My bowels were moved for him, as those of the two disciples were, when Christ made their heart to burn within them. She was moved with compassion to her Beloved, because his heed was wet with the dew. Note, Tenderness of spirit, and a heart of flesh, prepare the soul for the reception of Christ into it; and therefore his love t() us is represented in such a way as is most affecting. Did Christ redeem us in his pity? Let us in pity receive him, and, for his sake, tho'se that are liis, when at anv time they arc in distress.

This good work, wrought upon her affections, raised her up, and made her ashamed of her dulness and slothfulness; {v. 5.) I rose up to open to my Beloved; his grace inclining her to do it, and con quering the opposition of unbelief. It was lier own

SOLOMON'S SONG, V

8G7

act, and vet he wrought it in her. And now her hand drof^fied with myrrh ufion the handles of the lock. Either, 1. She found it there when she up-plied her hmd to the lock, to sho~t it b ick; he that fiut in his hand by the hole of the door, Itft it there as an e\idence that he had t^een there. When Christ has wrought powerfully upon a soul, he leaves a blessed sweetness in it, which is very delightful to it; with this he oiled the lock, to make it go easy. Note, Wl^en we apply ourselves to our duty, in the lively exercises of f lith, under the influence of divine grace, we shall find it will go Oii much more readily and sweetly than we expected. If we will but rise up, to open to Christ, we shall find the difficulty we apprehended in it, strangely overcome, and shall s ly with Daniel, Now let nn/ Lord sfif-ak, for thou hast strengthened me, Dan. X. 19. Or, 2. She brought it thither. Her boivels being moved for her Beloved, who had stood so long in the cold and wet, when she c ime to open to him, she prepared to anoint his head, and so to refresh and comfort ]\im, and perhaps to prevent his catching cold; she was in such haste to meet him, that she would n-)t stay to make the usual preparation, but dipped her hand in her box of ointment, that she might readily anoint liis head, at his first coming in. Those that open the doors of their hearts to Christ, those everlasting doors, must meet him with the lively exercises of f.iith, and other graces, and with these must anoint him.

VI. Her s id disappointment, when she did open to her Belo\'cd. And here is the most melancholy part of the story; / opened to my Beloved, as I intended, but, alas! my Beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone; my Beloved was gone, was gone, so the word is. She did not open to him at his first knock, and now she came too late, when afterward she would have inherited this blessing. Christ will be sought while he may be found; if we slip our time, we lose our passage. Note, 1. Christ justly rebukes our delays with his denials, and suspends the communications of comfort from those that are remiss and drowsy in their duty. 2. Christ's departures are matter of great grief and lamentation to believers. The royal psalmist never complains of any thing with such sorrowful accents as God's hiding his face from him, and casting him off', ^nd forsaking him. The spouse here is ready to tear her hair, and rend her clothes, and wring her hands, crying. He is gone, he is gone; and that which cuts her to the heart, is, tliat she mav thank herself, she provoked him to withdraw. If Christ departs, it is because he takes something unkindly.

Now observe what she does, in this case, and what befell her.

(1.) She still calls him her Beloved, being resolved, how cloudy and dark soever the day be, she will not quit her relation to him, and interest in him. It is a weakness, upon every apprehension either of our own failings, or of God's withdrawings, to conclude hardly as to our spiritual state. Every desertion is not despair. I will say, Lord, I believe, though I must say. Lord, helfi my unbelief. Though he leave me, I love him, he is mine.

(2.) She now remembers the words he said to her, when he called her, and what impressions they made upon her, reproaching herself for her folly in not complying sooner with her convictions. " My soul failed when he spake; his words melted me when he sviid, Mu head is wet with the dew; and yet, wretch thit I was! I lay still, and made excuses, and did not open to him." The smothering and stifling of our convictions is a thing that wiU be very bitter in the reflection, when God opens our eves. Sometimes the word has not its effect immediately upon the heart, but it melts it afterward,

upon second thoughts; My soul-now melted because of his words which he had spoken before.

(3.) She did not go to bed again, but went in pursuit of him; I sought him, I called him. She niiglii have saved herself this labour, if she would but have bestirred herself, when he first called; but we cut ourselves out a great deal of work, and create ourselves a great deal of trouble, by cur own slcth-fulness and carelessness in improving our oppcrtun;-tie.s. Yet it is her praise, tliut, when her Bclovtd is withdrawn, she continues seeking him; her desires toward him are made more strong, and her inquiries after him more solicitous, by his witlidrawings. She calls liim by prayer, calls after him, and begs of him to return; and she not cnly prays, but uses means, she seeks him in the ways wherein she used to find him.

(4.) Yet still she missed of him; I could not fine him, he gave me no answer. She had no evidence of his favour, no sensible cr mforts, but was altogether in the dark, and in doubt, concerning his love toward her. Note, There are those who have a ti-ue love for Christ, and yet have not immediate answers to their prayers forhis smiles; but he gives them an equivalent, if he strengthens them with strength in their souls, to continue seeking him, Ps. cxxxviii. 3. St. Paul could not prevail for the removing of the thorn in the Jiesh, but was answered with grace sufficient for him.

(5.) She was ill-treated by the watchmen; They found me, they smote me, they wounded me, v. 7. rhey took her for a lewd woman, (because she went about the streets at that time cf night, when tliey were walking their rounds,) and beat her accordingly. Disconsolate saints are taken for sinners, and are censured and reproached as such. Thus Hannah, when she was praying in the bitterness of her soul, was wounded and smitten by Eli, one of the prime watchmen, when he said to her, How long ivilt thou be drunken? So counting her a daughter of Belial, 1 Sam. i. 14, 15. It is no new thing for those that are cf the loyal loving subjects of Zion's King, to be misrepresented by the watchmen of Zion, as enemies, or scandals, to his kingdom; they could not abuse and persecute them but by putting them into an ill name. Seme apply it to those ministers who, though watchmen by office, yet misapply the word to awakened consciences, and, through unskilfulness, or contempt of their eriefs, add affliction to the afflicted, and make the hearts of the righteous sad, whom God would not have made sad, (Ezek. xiii. 22.) discouraging those who ought to be encouraged, and talking to the grief of those whom God has wounded, Ps. lix. 26. Those watchmen were bad enough, that could not, or would not, assist the spouse in her inquiries after her Beloved; {ch. iii. 3.) but there were much worse that hindered her with their severe and uncharitable censures, smote her and wounded her with their reproaches, and, though they were the keepers of the wall of Jerusalem, as if they had been the breakers of it, took away her vail from her, rudely and barbarously, as if it had been onlv a pretence of modesty, but a cover of the contrary. They whose outward appearances are all good, and yet are invidiously condemned, and run down, for hypocrites, have reason to complain, as the spouse here, of the taking away of their vail from them.

(6.) When she was disabled by the abuses the watchmen gave her, to prosecute her inquiiy herself, she gave charge to those about her, to assist her in the inquiry; {v. 8.) I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, all my friends and acquaintance, if you find my Beloved, it may be you mav meet with him before I shall, what shall ye tell himV So some read it; " Speak a good word for me, tell

SOLOMON'S SONG, V.

him that I a?n sic/c of love." Observe here, [1.] What her condition was, she loved Jesus Christ to that degree, that his absence made her sick, extremely sick, she could not bear it, and she was in pain for his return, as a woman in travail, as Ahab tor Naboth's vineyard, which he so passionately coveted. This is a sickness which is a sii^i of a healthful constitution of soul, and will certainly end well, a sickness that will l)e not unto death, but life. It is better to be sick of love to Christ than at ease in love to the world. [2.] What course she took in this condition; she did not sink into desjjair, and conclude slie should die of her disease, but she sent after her Beloved; she asked the ad\ice of her neighljours, and Ijegged their jjrayers for her, that they would intercede with him on lier behalf; " Tt-U liim, tlmugh 1 was careless, and foolish, and slothful, and rose not up so soon as I should ha\ e done, to open to ]\\m, yet I love him; lie kno-ivs allt/tifig-.t, he knows that I do; represent me to him as sincere, thougli in many instances coming sliort of my dut}-; nay, represent me to liim as an ol)ject of his pity, that he may have compassion on me, and help me." She does not bid them tell liim how the watchmen had abused her; liow unrigliteous soe\er they were in it, she acknowledges tliat the Lord is righteous, and therefore bears it patiently; but "'I'ell him that I am wounded witli love to him." Gracious souls are more sensible of Christ's withdrawings than of any other trouble whatsoever.

Langui't ainaiis, r.on laiiguet amor— 'i'he lover lanijuislics, but not his love.

9. Wliat is thy beloved more than another beloved,O thou fairest among women? what is tliy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us? 10. iMy beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. 11. His head is as the most line gold ; his locks are husUy, and black as a raven : 12. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set: 13. His cheeks are as a he.d of spices, as sweet flowers; his lips like lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh: 14. His hands are as gold rings set with the IxM-yl; his belly is as bright ivory overlaid ?/.77A sapphires: 15. His legs rtre r/s pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold ; his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars: 16. His mouth fs most sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of .Jerusalem.

Here is,

I. Tl\e question which the daughters of Jerusalem put to the spouse conceming her Beloved, in answer to the charge she had given them, v. 9. Observe,

1. The respectful title they give to the spouse, O thou fairest among women. Our Lord Jesus makes liis Sf)ouse trulv amiable, not only in his eyes, but in the eyes of all the daugliters of Jerusalem. The cl\urcli is the most excellent society in the world; the communion of saints the l)est communion, and the beauty of the sanctuary a transcendent l)eautv; the saints are the most excellent peo])le; luiliness'is the symmetry of tlie s' ul; it is its at^reenu-nt with itself, it recommends itself to all tliat are com])etent jtulges of it; even tliose tl\at have little acqtuiin-t mce wiih Christ, as tliose daugliters of Jerusidem

here, cannot but see an amiable beauty in those that l)ear his image, which we should love, wherever we see it, though in different dresses.

2. Their inquiry C(;ncerning her Beloved. ''What is thy Beloved more than another beloved? If thou wilt iiave us to find him for thee, give us his marks, that we may know him, when we see him."

(1.) Some take it for a fliglity question, blaming her for making sucli ado about ]\im; " Wlw sliould-est thou be so passicniate in-inquiring after tliy Beloved, more than others are after theirs? Wh\- sli'ould-est thou be so set up( n him more than others that yet have a kindness for him?" Those that are zealous in religion are men wondered at by such as are indifferent to it. Tlie many careless ones laugh at the few that are solicitous a.nd serious, "What is there in him, that is so very charming, more tlian in another person? If he be gone, tliou, who art the /a/res; among vjojuen, wilt soon h.a\'e another Avith an equal flame." Note, Cani:il hearts see notliing excellent or extraordinary in the Lord Jesus, in his person or offices, in his doctrine or in his favours; as if tliere were no more in the knowledge of Christ, and in commmiion witli liim, than in the knowledge of the world, and in its ccnversation.

(2.) Others r;ither take it for a serious question, and suppose that they wlio put it, ir.tended, [1.] To comfort the s])ouse, who, they knew, would recover new spirits, if slie did l)iit talk awliile of her Beloved; nothing would please her better, or give a more powerful di\ersion to her grief, than to be piit upon the ])leasing task of descril)ing the beauties of her Beloved. [2.] To inf.rm tliemselves; tliey had lieard, in genend, that he was excellent and glorious, but they desired to know more ])articularly. They wondered what moved tlie spouse to cliarge them concerning l\er Beloved, with so much vehemence and conceni, and therefore concluded tliei'e must be something more in him than in another beloved, which they are willing to l)e convinced of. Theri there l^egin to be some hopes of jjeople, when tliey begin to inquire concerning Christ and his transcendent perfections. And scnnetimes the extraordinary zeal of one, in inquiring aftei" Christ, may be a means to jirovoke many; (2 Cor. ix. 2.) as the apostle, by the faitli cf the Gentiles, would stir up the Jev/s to a liol\' enuilation. Rom. xi. 14. See John iv. 10.

II. The account which the s])cuse gives of her Beloved, in answer to tliis question. We should always lie ready to instruct and assist those that are inquiring after Clirist. Experienced Cliristians, who are well acquainted witli Christ tliemselves, should do all they can to make others acquainted with him.

1. She assures them, in general, that he is one of incomparable perfections, and unparalleled worth; {v. 10.) "Don't you know my Belovedi* Can the daughters of Jeiusalem be ignorant of him that is Jerusalem's Crown, and crowned Head? Let me tell you then. "

(1.) That he has every thing in him that is lovely and amiable; AIij beloved is white and rnddy, the colours that make up a complete beauty. This points not at any extraordinary beauty of his body, when he should be incarnate. It was never said of the child Jesus, as of the child Moses when he was born, that he was exceeding fair; (Acts vii. 20.') nay, he /lad no form nor comeliness, (Isa. liii. 2.) but his divine glory, and the c^mcurrence of e\ery thing in him as Mediator, to make him tiidy lovely in the eyes of those that are enlightened to discern spiritual things. In him we may behold the beauty oftfie Lord, he was the holy child Jesus, that was his fairness. If we look upon him as made to us M'isdo))!, Jiighteousness, Sancti/ication, and Ne-dem/ition, he ajijiears, in all, very amiable. His hive to us renders him verv lovelv; he is .^/.iie'm

SOLOMON'S SONG, V.

86U

the spotless innocency of his life, ruddy in the bloody sufferings he went through at his death; ivhite in his glory, as God; (when he was transfigured, his raiment was ivhite as the light;) ruddy in his assuming the nature of man, Jdam — ?-ed earth; white in his tenderness toward his people, ruddy in his terrible appearances against his and their enemies. His coiTvplexion is a very happy composition.

(2.) That he has that loveliness in him wliich is not to be found in any other; He is the chieftst among ten thousand; a nonesuch for beauty, fairer than the children of inen, than any of them, than all cf them; there is none like him, n^-r any to be compared with him; ever}- tiling else is to be accounted loss and dung, in comparison of him, Phil. iii. 8. He is higher than the kings of the earth, (Ps. Ixxxix. 27.) and has obtained a more excellent ?7am<? than anv of the principalities and powers of the upper or lower world, Phil. ii. 9. Heb. i. 4. He is a Standard-bearer among ten thousand; so the word is, the tallest and comeliest of the company. He is himself lifted ufi as an Ensign, (Isa. xi. 10.) to whom we must be gathered, and.must always have an eye. And there is all the reason in the world that he should have the innermost and uppermost place in our souls, who \s\.\\q fairest often thousands m himself, and the finest of twenty thousands for us. 2. She gives a particular detail of his accomplishments, conceals not his power or comely proportion; every thing in Christ is amial)le. Ten instances she here gives of his beauty, which we need not be nice in the application of, lest the wringing of them bring forth blood, and prove the wresting of them. The design, in general, is, to show that he is every way qualified for his undertaking, and has all that in him which may recommend him to cur esteem, love, and confidence. Christ's appearance to John, (Rev. i. 13, &c.) may be compared with the description which the spiuise gives of him here, the scope of both being to represent him transcendently glorious, that is, both great and gracious, made lovely in the eyes of believers, and making them happy in himself.

(1.) His head is as the most fine gold; The head of Christ is God, (1 Cor. xi. 3.) and it is promised fi the saints, that the Ahnighty shall be their Gold, (J jb xxii. 25.) their Defence, their Treasure; much more was he so to Christ, in whom dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Col. ii. 9. Christ's ht ad bespeaks his sovereign dominion ovtr all, and liih vital influence upon his church and all its members; this is as gold, gold; the former word signifies shining gold, the latter strong solid gold; Christ's sovereignty is both beautiful and powerful. Nebuchadnezzar's monarchy is comp.u'ed to a head of gold, (Dan. ii. 38.) because it excelled all the other monarchies, and so does Christ's government.

(2.) His locks are bushy and black; not black as the tents of Kedar, Avliose blackness was their de-formitv, t^ Avliich therefore the church compares herself, {ch. i. 5.) hut black as a raven, whose blackness is his beauty. Sometimes Christ's hair is represented as white, (Rev. i. 14.) denoting his eter-nitv, that he is the Ancient of days; but here as black and bushy, bespeaking him ever young, and that there is in him no decay, nothing that waxes old. Every thing that belongs to Christ is amiable in the eyes of a believer, even his hair is so; it was pitv that it should be wet, as it was, with the dew, and these locks with the dro/is of the night, while he waited to be gracious, v. 2.

(3.) His eves are as the eyes of doves, fair and clear, and chaste and kind, by the rivers of waters, which doves delight in, and in which, as in a glass, thev see themselves; they are washed, to make them clean, washed with milk, to make them white, and fitly set. neither starting out nor sunk in. Christ

is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, for they are dove's eyes, Hab. i. 13. All believers speak with pleasure of the omniscience of Christ, as the spouse here of his eyes; for though it be terrible to his enemies as aflame of fire, (Rev. i. 14.) yet it is amiable and comfortable to his friends as doves' eyes, for it is a witness to their integrity; Thou knowest all things, thou knoivest that I love thee. Blessed and holy are they that walk always as under the eye cf Christ.

(4.) His cheeks (the risings of the face) are as a bed of spices, raised in the gardens, which are the beauty and wealth of them, and as sweet flowers, or towers of sweetness. There is that in Christ's countenance which is amiable in the eyes of all the saints, in the least glimpse of him, for the cheek is but a part of the face. The half discoveries Christ makes of himself to the soul are reviving and refreshing, fragi-ant above the richest flowers and perfumes.

(5.) His lips are like lilies, not white like lilies, but sweet and pleasant; such are the words of his lips to all that are sanctified, sweeter than honey, and the honey-comb; such the kisses of his lips, all the communications of his grace; grace is poured into his lips, and they that heard him wondered at the graciousvjords which proceeded out of his mouth. His lips are as lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh. Never any lilies in nature dropped myrrh, but nothing in nature can fully set forth the beauty and excellency of Christ, ancl therefore, to do it by ccm-pai-ison, there must be a composition of images.

(6.) His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl, a noted precious stone, v. 14. Great men had their hands adorned with gold rings on their fingers, set with diamonds or rther precious stones; but, in her eye, his hands themselves were as gold rings; all the instances of his power, the works of his hands, all the pei-formances of his providence and grace, are all rich, and pure, and precious gold, as the precious onyx' and the sapphire; all fitted to the purpose for which they were designed, as gold rings to the finger; and all "beautiful and very becoming, as rings set with beryl. His hands, which are stretched forth, both to receive his people, and to give to them, are thus rich and comely. _ V

(7.) His bowels are as bright as ivory, for so it should be rendered, rather than his belly, for it is the same word that was used for bowels, {v. 4.) and is often ascribed to God, (as Isa. Ixiii. 15. Jer. xxxi. 20.) and so it denotes his tender compassion and affection for his spouse, and the love he has to her even in her desolate and deserted state. This love of his is like bright ivory finely polished, and richly overlaid with sapphires'. The love itself is strone and firm, and the instances and circumstances of it are bright and sparkling, and add much to the inestimable value of it.

(8.) His legs are as pillars cf marble, so strong, so stately, and no disgrace, no, not to the sockets of fine gold, upon which they are set, v. 15. This bespeaks his stabilitv and steadfastness; where he sets his foot, he will fix it; he is able to bear all the weight of the govemment that is upon his shoulders, and his legs will never fail under him; this sets forth the statcliness and magnificence of the goings of our God, our King, in his sanctuary, (Ps. "ixviii. 24.) and the steadiness and evenness of all his dispensations toward his people. The ways of the Lord are equal, they are all mercy and truth; these are the pillars of marble, more "lasting than the pillars of heaven.

(9.) His countenance (h\^ port and mien) is as Lebanon, that stately hill; his aspect beautiful and charming, like the prospect of that pleasant forest or park, excellent as the cedars, which, in height and strength, excel other trees, and are of excellent use.

SOLOMON'S SONG, VI.

Christ is a goodly Person; the more we look u])on him the more beauty we shall see m him.

(lO.) His mouth is tnost sweet, it is sweetness itself, it is sweetnesses; so the word is; it is ]>ure essence, nay, it is the quintessence of all delights, v. 16. The words of his mouth are all sweet to a believer, sweet as milk to babes, to whom it is agreeable, as honey to those that are grown u\), (Vs. cxix. 103.) to whom it is delicious. The kisses of his mouth, all the tokens of his love, have a transcendent sweetness in therp, and are most delightful to them who have their spiritual senses exercised. To you that believe he is precious.

3. She concludes with a full assurance both of faith and hope, and so gets the mastery o'f her trouble.

(1.) Here is a full assurance of faith concerning the complete beauty of the Lord Jesus; " He is altogether lovely. Why should I stand to mention particulars, when ihrougliout there is nothing amiss?" She is sensible she does him wrong in the ])articular descriptions of him, aTid comes far short of the dignity and merit of tl\e subject, and therefore she tjreaks off with this gener;d encomium; He is truly lovely, he is wlioUy so; there is nothing in him but what is amiable, and nothing amial)le but what is in him; he is all desires, he has all in him that one can desire, and therefore all her desire is towards him, and s'le seeks him thus carefully, and cannot rest contented in the want of him. Who cannot but love him who is so lovely?

(2.) Here is a full assurance of hope concerning her own interest in him; " This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend; and therefore wonder not tliat I thus long after him." See with what a holy boldness she claims relation to him, and then with what a holy triumph she proclaims it. It is propriety that sweetens excellency. To see Christ, and not to see him as ours, would be rather a torture than a happiness; but to see one that is thus lovely, and to see him as ours, is a complete satisfaction. Here is a true believer, '

[1.] Giving an entire consent to Christ; " He is mine; my Lord, and my God; (John xx. 28.) mine, according to the tenor of the gospel-covenant; mine in all relations; bestowed upon me, to be all that to me that my ])oor soul stands in need of."

[2.] Taking an entire complacency in Christ. It is spoken of here with an air of triumph; "This is lie whom I have chosen, and to whom I ha\e given up myself; none but Christ, none but Christ; this is he on whom my heart is, for he is my Best-beloved; this is he in whom I trust, and from whom I expect all good, for this is my Friend." Note, Those that make Christ their Beloved, shall have him' their Friend; he has l^een, is, and will be, a special Friend to all believers. He loves those that love him; and those that have him their Friend have reason to glory in him, and speak of him with delight. " Let others be governed by the love of the world, and seek their happiness in its friendship and favours, This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend. Others may do as they please, but this is my soul's Choice, my soul's Rest, my Life, my Joy, my All; this is he whom I desire to live and die with."

CHAP. VI.

fn this chapter, I. The daughters of Jerusalem, moved with the description which the church had given of Christ, inquire after him, v. 1. II. The church directs them where ihey may meet with him, v. 2, 3. III. Christ is now found of those that sought him, and very highly applauds the beauty of his spousp, as one extremnly smitten ^vith it, (v. 4.. 7.) preferring tier before all others, (v. 8, 9.) rccommcndinnr h'T to the love and esteem of all her neighbours, (v. 10.) and, lastly, acknowledging the impressions which her beauty had made upon him, and the great delight he toolt in it, v. II.. 13.

1. Xi;^HITHER IS thy beloved gone,0 ▼ ▼ tliOLi fairest among women I whither is tliy beloved turned aside, that we may seek him witli thee ? 2. My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in tiie gardens, and to gather lilies. 3. I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.

Here is,

I. The inquiry which the daughters of Jerusalem made concerning Christ, v. 1. They still continue their high thoughts of the church, and call her, as before, \.\\c fairest among women; for true sanctity is true beauty. And now they raise their thoughts higher concerning Christ, Whither is thy Beloved gone? that we may seek hivi with thee. 1 his would 1)0 but an indecent, unacceptable, compliment, if the song were not to be understood spiritually; for love is jealous of a ri\al, wculd monopolize the Beloved, and cares not that others should join in seeking him; but they that tnily love Chri.st are dcsirrus that others should love him too, and be joined to him; nay, the greatest instance of duty and respect that the church's children can show to their mother, is, to join with her in seeking Christ.

The daughters of Jerusalem, had asked, {ch. V. 9.) What is thy Beloved more than another beloved? wondering that the spouse should be so passionately in love with him, are now of another mind, and are themselves in love with him; for, 1. The spouse had described him, and showed them his excellencies and perfections; and therefore, though they have not seen him, yet, believing, they love him. They that undervalue Christ, do so because they do not know him; when God, by his word and Spirit, discovers him to the soul, with that ray of light the fire of love to him will be kindled. 2. She had expressed her own love to him; her rest in that love, and had triumphed in it; This is my Beloved; and that flame in her breast scattered sparks into theirs. As sinful lusts, when they break out, defile many, so the pious zeal of some may provoke many, 2 Co'r. ix. 2.

The spouse had bespoken their help in seeking her Beloved; {ch. \. 8.) but now they beg hers, for they perceixe that now the cloud she had been under began to scatter, and the sky to clear up, and, Avhile she was describing her Beloved to them, she herself retrievid her comfort in him. Drooping Christians would find ])cncfit themselves by talking ( f Christ, as well as do good to others.

Now here, (1.) They inquire concerning him, " Whither is thy Beloved gone? Which way must we steer our course, in pursuit of him?" Note, Those that are made acquainted with the excellencies of Christ, and the c(/mfr,it of an interest in him, cannot but be inquisitive aftt r him, and desirous to know where they may meet witli him. (2.) Tliey offer their ser\ ice to the spouse to accompany her in quest of him; We will seek him with thee. Tliose that would find Christ must seek him, seek liim early, seek him diligently; and it is best seeking Christ in concert, to join with those that are seeking him. \\'e must seek for comnuinion with Christ, in cr nun union with saints. We know whither our Beloved is gone; he is gone to heaven, to his Father, and our Father, he took care to send us notice of it, that we might know how to direct to him, John xx. 17. We must by faith see him there, and by ])rayer seek him there; with boldness, e7iter into the holiest, and herein must join with the generation of them that seek him, (Ps. xxiv. 6.) even with all that i?i every place call upon him, 1 Cor. i. 2. We miist pray with, and for, others.

SOLOMON'S SOxNG, VI.

871

II. The answer which the spouse gave to this in-quiiy, V. 2, 3. Now she complains not any more as she nad done, (c/i. v. 6.) "He is gone, he is gone," that she knew not where to find him, or doubted she had lust him for ever; no,

1. Now she knows very well where he is; (v. 2.) " My Beloved is not to be found in the streets of the citv, and the crowd and noise that are there, there I have in vain looked for him;" (as his parents sought him among their kindred and acquaintance, and found him not;) "but he is gone down to his garden, a place of privacy and retirement." The more we withdraw from the hurry of the world, the more likely we are to have acquaintance with Christ, who took his disciples into a garden, there to be witnesses of the agonies of his love. Christ's church is a garden enclosed, and separated from the open common of the world; it is his garden, which he has planted, as he did the garden of Eden, which he takes care of, and delights in: though he is gone up to paradise above, yet he comes down to his garden on earth; it lies low, but he condescends to visit it, and wonderful condescension it is. Will God in very deed dwell with man upon the earth? Those that would find Christ, may expect to meet with him in his garden, the church, for ther'e he records his name; (Exod. xx. 24.) they must attend upon him in the ordinances which he has instituted, the word, sacraments, and prayer, wherein he will be with us always, even to the end of the world. The spouse here refers to what Christ had said, {ch. v. 1.) Ia?n come into my garden; it is as if she had said, " What a fool was I to fret and toil myself in seeking him where he was not, when he himself had told me where he was." Words of dii'ection and comfort are often out of the wav, when we have occasion to use them, till the blessed Spirit brings them to our remembrance, and then we wonder how we overlooked them. Christ has told us that he would come into his garden, thither therefore we must go to seek him.

The beds, and lesser gardens, in this greater, are the particular churches, the synagogues of God in the land; (Ps. Ixxiv. 8.) the spices and lilies are particul ir believers, the planting of the Lord, and pleasant in his eyes. When Christ comes down to his church, it is, (1.) To feed among the gardens, to feed his flock, which he feeds not, as other shepherds, in the open fields, but in his garden; so well are tiley provided for! Ps. xxiii. 2. He comes to feed liis friends, and entertain them; there you may not only find him, but find his table richly furnished, and a hearty welcome to it. He comes to feed himself, to please himself with the products of his own grace in his people; for the Lord takes pleasure m those that fear him. He has manv gardens, many particular churches of different sizes and shapes; but, while they are his, he feeds in them all, m;ini-fests himself among them, and is well pleased with them. (2.) To gather lilifs, w\\erew\th.he\sp\ef\sc(\ to entertain and adorn liimsclf; he picks the lilies one by one, and gathers them to himself; and there will be a general harvest of them at the great day, when he will send forth his angels, to gather all his lilies, that he may be for ever glorified and admired in them.

2. She is very confident of her own interests in him; {v. 3.) " I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine; the relation is mutu il, and the knot is tied, which cannot be loosed, for he feeds among the lilies, and my communion with him is a certain token of mv interest in him." She had said this before; (ch. ii. 16.) but, (1.) Here she repeats it, as that which she resolved to abide bv, and which she took an unspeakable pleasure and satisfaction in; she liked her choice too well to change. Our communion with God is verv much maintained and kept

up by tlie frequent renewing of oui covenant with him, and rejoicing in it. (2.) She had occasion to repeat it, for she had acted unkindly to her Beloved, and, for her so doing, he had justly withdrawn himself from her, and therefore there was occasion to take fresh hold of the covenant, which continues firm between Christ and believers, notwithstanding their failings and his frowns, Ps. Ixxxix. 30-'35. "I have been careless and wanting in my duty, and yet I am my Beloved's;" for every transgression in the covenant does not throw us out of covenant. " He has justly hid his face from me and denied me his-comforts, and yet my Beloved is mine;" for rebukes and chastenings are not only consistent with, but they flow from, covenant love. (3.) When we want a full assurance of Christ's love, we must live by a faithful adherence to him; "Though I have not the sensible consolation I used to have, yet I will cleave to this, Christ is mine, and I am his." (4.) Though she had said the same, before, yet now she inverts the order, and asserts his interest in her first; "lam my Beloved's, tnt\Ye]y devoted and dedicated to him; and then her interest in him and in his grace; "My Beloved is mine, and I am happy, truly happy, in him." If our own hearts can but witness for us that we are his, there is no room left to question his being ours; for the covenant never breaks on his side. (5.) It is now her comfort, as it was then, that he feeds among the lilies, that he takes delight in his people, and converses freely with them, as we do with those with whom we feed; and therefore, though, at present, he be withdrawn, 1 shall meet with him again; 1 shall yet praise hiin, who is the health of my counter nance, and my God.

4. Thou art oeautiful, O my love, as Tir-zah; comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. 5. Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of ^oats that appear from Gilead. 6. Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep, which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. 7. As a piece of pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks. 8. There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. 9. My dove, my un-defiled, is but one: she is the on/?/ one of her mother, she is the choice ojie of her that bare her: the daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. 10. Who is she that looketh fortli as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?

Now we must suppose Christ graciously returned to his spouse, from whom he had withdrawn himself, returned to converse with her, for he speaks to her, and makes her to hear joy and gladness; returned to favour her, having forgiven and forgotten all her unkindnesses, for he speaks very tenderly and respectfully to her.

I. He pronounces her truly amiable; (r. 4.) Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, a city in the tribe of Manasseh, whose name signifies pleasant, or acceptable; the situation, no doubt, being very happy, and the buildings fine and uniform. Thou art comely as Jerusalem, a city compact together, (Ps. cxxii. 3.) and which Solomon had built and

SOLOMON'S SONG, VI.

l)eautified, the joy of the ivhole earth; it was an honour to the world, (whether they thought so or no,) that there was such a city in it. It was the holy city, and that was the greatest beauty of it; and fitly is the church' compared to it, for it was figured and typified by it. The gospel-church is the Jerusalem that is above, (Gal. iv. 26.) the heavenly Jerusalem; (Heb. xii. 22.) in it God has his sanctuary, and is, in a special manner, present; thence he has the tribute of praise issuing; it is his rest for ever, and therefore it is comely as Jerusalem, and, being so, is terrible as an army ivith banners. Church-censures, duly administered, stJ-ike an awe upon men's consciences; the word (the weapons of lier wai-fare) cast cloivn imaginations, (2 Cor. X. 5.) and even an unbehever is convinced and judged by the solemnity of holy ordinances, 1 Cor. xiv. 24, 25. The saints by 'faith overcome the world; (1 John v. 4.) nay, hke Jacob, they have fioioer with God, and prevail, (ien. xxxii. 28.

II. He owns himself in love with her, v. 5. Though, for a small moment, and in a little wrath, he had hid his face from her, yet now he gathers her with very surprising instances of everlasting bving-kindness, Isa. liv. 8. Turn thine eyes toward me; so some read it; " Turn the eyes of faith and love toward me, for they have lifted me up; look unto me, and be comforted." Wlien we are calling to God to turn the eye cf his favour towards us, he is calling to us to turii the eye of our obedience towards him. We read it as a strange expression of love, •' Turn away thine eyes from me, for I cannot bear the brightness of 'them, theif have quite overcome me, and I am prevailed with to overlook all that is past;" as God said to Moses, when he interceded for Israel, " Let me alone, or I must yield," Exod. xxxii. 10. Christ is pleased to borrow these expressions of a passionate lover, only to express the tenderness of a compassionate Redeemer, and tlie delight he takes in his redeemed, and in tlie workings of his own grace in them.

III. He repeats, almost word for word, part of the description he had given of her beauty, {ch. 4. I'-o.) her hair, her teeth, her temples; (v. 5--7.) not because he could not have described it in other words, and by other similitudes, but to show that he had still the same esteem for lier, since her un-kindness to him, and his withdrawings from her, that he had before; lest she should' think, that, tliough he would not quite cast her off, yet he would think the worse of her wliile he knew her, he says the same of her now, that he had done, for tho'se to whom much is forgiven, will love the more, and, consequently, will be the more beloved, for Christ has said, I love those that love me. He is pleased with his people, notwithstanding their weaknesses, when tliey sincerely repent of them, and return to their duty, and commends them as if they were al-readv arrived at perfection.

IV. He prefers her before all her competitors, and sees all the Ijeauties and perfections of others meeting and centering in her; (x'. 8, 9.) " There are, it may be, threescore queens, who, like Estlier, have by their beauty attained to the royal state and dignity, and fourscore concubines, whom kings have preferred before their own queens, as more charming, and tliese attended by their maids of honour, virgins without number, who, when there is a ball at court, appear in great splendour, with beauty that dazzles the eyes of the spectators; but my dove, my undefiled, is but one, a holy one."

"l. She excels them all. Go through all the world, and view the societies of men that reckon themselves wise and liappy, kingd(^ms, courts, senates, councils, or whatever incorporations you may think valuable, they are iif^ne of tliem to 'be compared with the church of Christ; their honours and beauties

are nothing to her's. Who is like unto thee, O Israel? Deut. xxxiii. 29.—iv. 6, 7.

There are particular persons, as virgins ibithou. number, who are famed for their accomplishments, the beauties cf their address, language, and performances, but the beauty of holiness is beyond all other beauty; " My dove, my undejiled, is one, has that one beauty, that she is a dove, an undefiled dove, and mine, and that makes her excel the queens and virgins, though they were ever so many."

2. She includes them all; "Other kings have many queens, and concubines, and virgins, with whose conversation they entertain themselves, but my dove, my undejiled, is to me instead of all; in that one I have njore than they have in all theirs." " Though there are many particular churches, some of great dignity, others of less, some of longer, others of shorter, standing, and many particular believers, of different gifts and attainments, some more eminent, others less so, yet they all constitute but one catholic church, are all but parts of that whole, and that is my dove, my undejiled." Christ is the Centre of the church's unity; all the children of God, that are scattered abroad, are gathered by him, (John xi. 52.) and meet in him, (Eph. i. 10.) and are all his doves.

V. He shows how much she was esteemed, not by him only, but by all that had acquaintance with her, and stood in relation to her. It would add to her praise to say, 1. That she was her mother's darling; she had that in her, from a child, which recommended her to the particular affection of her parents; as Solomon himself is said to ha^•e been tender, and a?! only one in the sight of his mother, (Prov. iv. 3.) so was she the only one of her mother, as dear as if she had been an only one; and if there were many more, yet she was the choice 07ie of her that bare her; more excellent than all the societies of men this world ever produced. All the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, are nothing, in Christ's account, compared with the church, which is made up of the excellent ones of the earth, Xhfi precious sons of Zion, comparable to Jne gold, and more excellent than thtir neighbours. 2. That she was admired by all her acquaintance, not only the daughters, who were her juniors, but even the queen and the concubines, who might have reason to be jealous of her as a rival; they all blessed her, and wished well to her, praised her, and spake well of her; the daughters of Jerusalem called her the fairest ainong women; all agreed to give her the pre-eminence for beauty, and every sheaf bowed to hers. Note, (1.) Those that have any sense of things, cannot but be convinced in their consciences, (whatever they say,) that godly people are excellent people: many will give them their good word, and more, their good will. (2.) Jesus Christ takes notice what people think and speak of his church, and is well ])lcascd with them that honour such as fear the Lord, and takes it ill of those that despise them, particularly when they are under a cloud, that offend any of his little ones.

VI. He produces the encomium that was given of her, and makes it his own; {x\ 10.) Who is she that looks forth as the moiming? This is applicable both to the church in the world, and to grace in the heart.

1. They are amiable as the light, the most beautiful of all visible things; Christians art, or should be, the lights cf the world. The patriarchal church looked forth as the morning, when the promise cf tlie Messiah was first made known, and the day-spring froin on high visited this dark world. The Jewish church -waafair as the moon; the ceremonial law was an imperfect light, it shone by reflection, it was chancing as the morn, did not mrike day, ncr was the Stin of righteousness yet risen; but

SOLOMON'S SONG, VI.

873

the Christian church is clear as the sun, exhibits a great light to them that sit in darkness. Or, we m IV apply it to the kingxlom of grace, the gospel-kingdom. (1.) In its rise, it looks forth as the morning after a dark night; it is discovering, (Job xxxviii. 12, 13.) and very acceptable, looks forth pleasantly us a clear morning; but it is small in its l)eginnings, and scarcely perceptible at first. (2.) It is, at the best, in this world, but/a/?- as the moon, which shines with a borrowed light, which has her chmges and eclipses, and her spots too, and, when at the full, does but rule by night. But, (3.) When it is perfected in the kingdom of glory, then it will be clear as the sun, the church clothed ivith the sun, with Christ the Sun of righteousness. Rev. xii. 1. They that love God will then be as the sun when he goes forth in his strength; (Judg. v. 31. Matth. xiii. 43.) they shall shine in inexpressible glory, and that which is perfect will then come; there shall be no darkness, no spots, Isa. xxx. 26.

2. The beauty of the church and of believers, is not only amiable, but awful as an army ivith banners. The church, in this world, is as an army, as the camp of Israel in the wilderness; its state is militant; it is in the midst of enemies, and is engaged in a constant conflict with them. Believers are soldiers in this army. It has its banners; the gospel of Christ is an ensign, (Isa. xi. 12.) the love of Christ, ch. ii. 4. It is marshalled, and kept in order and under discipline; it is terrible to its enemies, as Israel in the wilderness was, Exod. xv. 14. When Bdaam saw Israel encamped according to their tribes, by their standards, with colours displayed, he said, Honv goodly are thy tents, O Jacob ! Numb. xxiv. 5. When the church preserves her purity, slie secures her honour and victory; when she is fair as the moon, and clear as the sun, she is truly great and formidable.

11. I went down into the garden of nuts, to see the fruits of the valley, a7id to see whether the vine flourished, atid the pomegranates budded. 12. Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib. 13. Return, return, O Shu-lamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shu-lamite? As it were the company of two ai'raies.

Christ being now returned to his spouse, and the breach being entirely made up, and the falling out of these lovers being the renewing of love, Christ here gives an account both of the distance and of the reconciliation.

1. That when he was withdrawn from his church as his spouse, and did not comfort her, yet even then he had his eye upon it as his garden, which he took care of; (v. 11.) " Iivent down into the garde?! of nuts, or nutmegs, to see the fruits of the valley, with complacency and concern, to see them as mv own." When he was out of sight, he was no farther off than the garden, hid among the trees of the garden, in a low and dark valley: but then he was observing how the vine flourished, that he might do all that to it which was necessary to promote its flourishing, and might delight himself in it as a man does in a fruitful garden. He went to see whether the pomegranates budded. Christ observes the first beginnings oi the good work of grace in the

■ soul, and the early buddings of devout affections and inclinations there; and is well pleased with them, as we are with the blossoms of the spring.

2. That yet he could not long content himself *ith this, but suddenly felt a powerful, irresistible,

Vol. III.—5 S

inclination in his own bosom to return to his church. as his spouse, being moved with her lamentations after him, and her languishing desiie towaids him; {v. 12.) " Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib; I could not any longer keep at a distance, my repentings were kin died together, and I presently resolved to fly back to the arms of my love, my dove." Thus Joseph made himself strange to his brethren, for awhile, to chastise them for their former unkindnesses, and make trial of their jjresent temper, till he could no longer refrain himself, but, or ever he was aware, burst out into tears, and said, / am Jose/ih, Gen. xlv. 1, 3. And now the spouse perceives, as David did, (Ps. xxxi. 22.) that though she said in her haste J am cut off from before thine eyes, yet, at the same time, he heard the voice of her su/i/ilications, and be came like the chariots of Amminadib, which were noted for their beauty and swiftness. ]\Ty so ul/i itt me in the chariots of my willing jieofile; so some read it; " the chariots of their faith and hope, and love, their desires, and prayers, and expectations, which they sent after me, to fetch me back, as chariots of fire, with horses of fire." Note, (1.) Christ's people are, and ought to be, a willing people. (2.) If they continue seeking Christ, and longing after him, even when he seems to withdraw from them, he will graciously return to them in due time, perhaps sooner than they think, and with a pleasing surprise. No chariots sent for Christ shall return empty. (5.) All Christ's gracious returns to his people take rise from himself. It is not they, it is his own soul, that puts him into the chariots of his people; for he is gracious because he will be gracious, and loves his Israel because he would love them; not for their sakes, be it known to them.

3. That he, being returned to her, kindly courted her return to him, notwithstanding the discouragements she laboured under. Let her not despair of obtaining as much comfort as ever she had before this distance happened, but tnke the comfort of the return of her Beloved, v. 13. Here,

(1.) The church is called the Shulamite, referring either to Solomgn, the bridegroom in type, by whose name she is called, in token of her relation to him, and union with him; thus believers are called Christia77s from Christ; or referring to ^a-lem, the place of her birth and residence, as the Avomanof Shunem is called the Shu7iamite. Heaven is the Salem whence the saints have their birth, and where they have their citizenship; those that belong to Christ, and are bound for heaven, shall be called Shulamites.

(2.) She is invited to return, and the invitation most earnestly pressed; Return, retury?; and again, '* Return, return; recover the peace thou hast lost and forfeited; come back to thy former composed-ness and cheerfulness of spirit." Note, Good Christians, after they have had their comfort disturbed, are sometimes hard to be pacified, and need to be earnestly persuaded to return again to their rest. As revolting sinners have need to be called to acain and again, ( Tun? ye, turn ye, why will ye die") so disquieted saints have need to be called to again and again, Tiam ye, turn ye, why will ye droop? whi) art thou cast down, 0 my sord?

(3.) Being returned, she is desired to show her face. That we may look upon thee. Go no longer with thy face covered like a mrurner. Let these that have made their popce witli God, lift ufi their faces without ^.jiot; (J'b. xxii. 26.) let them come boldly to his thnne of grace. Christ is pleased with the cheerfulness and humble confidence ct his people, and would have thfm look ploas;,n'. Let us look upon thee, not I cnly, but the holv <:• gels, who rejoice in the consolation rf saints, as well as in the conversion of sinners: net I onlv, but all

SOLOMON'S SONG, VII.

the daughters." Christ and believers are pleased with the l^eauty of the church.

(4.) A sliort account is given of what is to be seen in ner. l^he question is asked, What will ye see in the Shulamite'/ And it is answered, As it were the company of two armies.

[1.] Some think she gives this account of herself; she is shy of appearing, unwilling to be looked upon, having, in her own account, no form or comeliness. Alas! says she, What will you see i7i the Shulamite? Nothing that is worth your looking upon; nothing but us it were the company of two armies actually engaged, where nothing is to be seen but blood and slaughter. The watchmen had smitten her, and wounded her, and she carried in her face the marks of those wounds, looked as if she had been fighting. She had said, (cA. i. 6.) Look not upon me, because I am black; here she says, " Look not upon me, because I am bloody." Or, it may denote the constant struggle that is between grace and corruption in the souls of believers; they are in them as two armies continually skirmishing, which makes her ashamed to show her face.

[2.] Others think her Beloved gives this account of her. " I will tell you what you shall see in the Shulamite; you shall see as noble a sight as that of two armies, or two parts of the same army, drawn out in rank and file; not only as an army with ban-7iers, but as two armies, with a majesty double to what was before spoken: she is as Mahanaim, as the two hosts which Jacob saw, (Gen. xxxii. 1, 2.) a host of saints, and a host of angels ministering to them; the church militant, the church triumphant. " Behold two armies; in both the church appears beautiful.

CHAP. VII.

In this chapter, I. Christ, the royal Bridegroom, goes on to describe the beauties of his spouse, the church, in many instances, and to express his love to her, and the delight he has in her conversation, v. 1..9. II. The spouse, the church, expresses her great delight in him, and the desire that she had of communion and fellowship with him, v. 10. .13. Such mutual esteem and endearment are there between Christ and believers! And what is heaven but an everlasting interchanging of loves between the holy God and holy souls!

1. XIOW beautiful are thy feet with shoes, jn O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman: 2. Thy navel is like a round goblet which wanteth not liquor; thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies: 3. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins: 4. Thy neck is jis a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fish-pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbin; thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon,which looketh toward Damascus: 5. Thy iiead upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair upon thy head like purple: the King is held in the galleries. 6. How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! 7. This thy stature is like to a palm-tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes. 8. I said, I will go up to the palm-tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof; now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nos(? like apples; 9. x\nd the roof of thy motith like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth doum

sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

The title which Jesus Christ here gives to the church is new, O princess daughter, agreeing with Ps. xlv. 13. where she is called tlie king's daughter. She is so, in respect to her new birth, born from above, begotten of God, and his workmanship, bearing the image of the King of kings, and guided by his Spirit. She is so by marriage; Christ, by betrothing her to himself, though he found her mean and despicable, has made her a prince's daughter;, she has a princely disposition,^ something in her truly noble and generous; she is daughter and lieir to the Prince of the kings of the earth; if children, then heirs.

Now here we have,

I. A large description of the beauty of the spouse, which, some think, is given by the" virgins her companions, and that those were they wlio called upon her to return; it seems rather to be given by Chris* himself, and that it is designed to express his love to her, and delight in her, as before, ch. iv. 1, &c. and ch. vi. 5, 6. The similitudes are here different from what they were before, to show that the beauty of holiness is such as nothing in nature can reach; you may still say mere of it, and yet still come short of it. That commendation of the spouse, ch. 4. was immediately upon the espousals; (ch. iii. 11.) this, upon her return from a by-path; {ch. \i. 13.) yet this exceeds that, to show the constancy of Christ's love to his people; he loves them to the end, since he made them precious in his sight, and honourable. The spouse had described the beauty of her Beloved in ten particulars; (ch. v. 11, &c.) and now he describes her in as many, for he will not be behindhand with her in respects and endearments. Those that lionour Christ he will certainly honour, and make honourable. As the prophet, in describing the corruptions of degenerate Israel, reckonsy/'OT/z the sole of the foot even unto the head, (Isa. i. 6.) so here tlie beauties of the cliui'ch are reckoned from foot to head, that, as the apostle speaks, when he is comparing the churcli, as here, to the natural body, (1 Cor. xii. 23.) more abundant honour might be bestowed on those parts of the body, which we think to be less honourable, and which therefore lacked honour, v. 24.

1. Yi<i.v feet are here praised; the feet of Christ's ministers are beautiful in the eyes of the church, (Isa. Iii. 7.) and her feet are here said to be beautiful in the eyes of Christ; How beautiful are thy feet with shoes! When believers, being made free from the captivity of sin, (Acts xii. 8.) stand fast in the liberty with which they are made free, presei've the tokens of their enfranchisement, have their feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of jieace, and walk steadily according to tlie rule of the gospel, then their feet are beautiful with shoes, they tread firm, being well armed against the troubles they meet with in their way. When we rest not in good affections, but they are accompanied with sincere endeavours and resolutions, then our feet are beautified with shoes. See Ezek. xvi. 10.

2. The joints of the thighs are here said to be like jewels, and those curiously wrought by a cunning workman. This is explamed by Eph. iv. 16. and Col. ii. 19. where the mystical body of Christ is said to be held together by joi?its and bands, as the hips and knees (both which are the joints of the thighs) serve the natural body in its strength and motion. The church is then comely in Christ's eyes, when those joints are kept firm by holv love and unity, and the communion of saints. When believers act in religion from good principles, and are steady and regular in their whole nun ersation, and turn themselves easily to every duty in its timi* and place, then the joints are like jewels.

SOLOMON'S SONG, VII.

875

3. The navel is here compared to a round cup or goblet, that wants not any of tlie agreeable liquor that one would wish to find in it, such as David's cup that ran over, (Ps. xxiii. 5.) well-shaped, and not as that misei'able infant whose navel was not cut, Ezek. xvi. 4. The fear of the Lord is said to be health to the 7iavel. See Prov. iii. 8. When the soul wants not that fear, then the ?iavel wants not liquor.

4. The belly is like a heap of wheat in the stoi-e-chamber, which perhaps was sometinries, to make show, adorned with flowers. The wheat is useful, the lilies beautiful; there is every thing in the church, which may be to the membei-s of tliat body either for use or for ornament. All the l)ody is nourished from the belly; it denotes the spiritual prosperity of a believer, and the healthful constitution of the soul, all in good plight.

5. The breasts are like two young roes that are twi7is, -v. 3. By the breasts of the church's consolations those are nourished who are born from its belly, (Isa, xlvi. 3.) and by the navel received nourishment in the womb. This comparison we had before, ch. iv. 5.

6. The neck, which before was compared to the tower of David, {ch. iv. 4.) is here compared to a tower of ivory, so white, so precious; such is the faith of the saints, by which they are joined to Chi-ist their Head. The name of the Lord, improved by faith, is to the saints as a strong and impregnable tower.

7. The eyes are likened to the fish-fiools in Hesh-bon, or the artificial fish-ponds, by a gate, either of Jerusalem, or of Heshbon, which is called Bath-rabbim, the daughter of a multitude, because a great thoroughfare. The understanding, the intentions of a believer, are clean and clear as these ponds. The eyes, weeping for sin, are as fountains, (Jer. ix. 1.) and comely with Christ.

8. The nose like the tower of Lebanon, the forehead or face set like a flint, (Isa. 1. 7.) undaunted as that tower was impregnable. So it denotes the magnanimity and holy bravery of the church, or, as others, a spiritual sagacity to discern things that differ, as annnals strangely distinguished by the smell. This tower looks toward Damascus, the head city of Syria, denoting the boldness of the thurch, in facing its enemies, and not fearing them.

9. The head like Carmel, a very high hill near the sea, t^. 5. The head of a believer is lifted ufi above his enemies, (Ps. xxvii. 6.) above the storms of the lower region, as the top of Carmel was, pointing heaven-ward. The more we get above this world, and the neai'er to heaven, and the more t^cure and serene we become by that means, the more amiable we are in the eyes of the Lord Jesus.

10. The hair of the head is said to be like purple. This denotes the universal amiablencss of a believer in the eyes of Christ, even to the hair, or, as some understand it, the pins with wliich the hair is dressed. Some by the head and the hair understand the governors of the church, who, if they be careful to do their duty, add much to her pomeli-ness. The head like crimson, (so some read it,) a7id the hair like purple, the two colours worn by great men.

n. The complacency which Christ takes in his churcli thus beautified and adorned; she is lovely indeed, if she be so in his eyes; as he puts the cr'nie1i"''ss \ipon her, so it is his love that makes this comeliness tinily valuable; for he is an unexceptionable Judge.

1. He delighted to look upon'his church, and to converse with it, rejoicing in that habitable part of his earth; the Kin^ is held in the galleries, and cannot leave them. This is explained by Ps. cxxxii. 13, 14. The Lord has chosen Zion, saying, This is my

rest for ever, here will I dwell; and Ps. cxlvii. 11. The Lord takes pleasure in those that fear him. And if Christ has such delight in the galleries of communion with his people, much more reason have they to delight in them, and to reckon a day there better than a thousand.

2. He was even struck with admiration at the beauty of his church; {v. 6.) How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love! How art thou made fair! So the word is; "not bom so, but made so with the comeliness which I have put upon thee. Holiness is a beauty beyond expression; the Lord Jesus is wonderfully pleased with it: the outward aspect of it is fair, the inward disposition of it is pleasant and highly agreeable, and the complacency he has in it is inexpressible; 0 my dearest for delights; so some read it.

3. He determined to keep up communion with his church.

(1.) To take hold of her as of the boughs of a palm-tree. He compares her stature to a palm-tree; {v. 7. ) so straight, so strong, does she appear, when she is looked upon in her full proportion. The/;a/77z-tree is observed to flourish most when it is loaded; so the church, the more it has been afflicted, the more it has multiplied, and the branches of it are emblems of victory. Christ says, " / will go up to the palm-tree, to entertain myself with the shadow of it, {v. 8.) and I will take hold of its boughs, and observe the beauty of them." What Christ has said, he will do, in fiwour to his people; we may be sure he will do it, for his kind purposes are never suffered to fall to the ground; and if he take hold of the boughs of his churcli, take early hold of her branches, when they are young and tender, he will keep his hold, and not let them go.

(2.) To refresh himself with her fruits. He compares her breasts (her pious affections toward him) to clusters of grapes, a most pleasant fiuit; {v. 7.) and he repeats it; {y. 8.) They shall be, they shall be to me, as clusters of the vine, which make glad the heart. "Now that I come up to the palm-tree, now thy graces shall be exerted and excited." Christ's presence with his people kindles the holy heavenly fire in their souls, and then their breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, a cordial to themselves, and acceptable to him. And since God, at first, breathed into men's nostrils the breath of life, and breathes the breath of the new life still, the smell q/'their nostrils is like the smell of apples, or oranges, which is pleasing and reviving. The Lord smelted a sweet savour from Noah's sacrifice, Gen. viii. 21. And, lastly, the roof of her mouth is like the best wine; {jv. 9.) her spiritual taste and relish, or the words she speaks to God and man, which come not from the teeth outward, but from the roof of the mouth, these are pleasing to God; the prayer of the upright is his delight. And when those that fear the Lord speak one to G?20/Ae?" as becomes them, the Lord hearkens and hears with pleasure, Mai. iii. 16. It is like that wine which is, [1.] Very palatable and grateful to the taste; it goes down sweetly, \tgoes straightly; so the margin reads it; it moves itself aright, Prov. xxiii. 31. The pleasures of sense seem right to the carnal appetite, and go down smoothly, but they are often wrong, and, compared witli the pleasure of communion with God, they are harsh and rough; nothing goes down so sweetly with a gracious soul, as the wine of God's consolations. [2.] It is a great cordial; the presence of Christ by his Spirit with his people shall be reviving and re-freshmg to them, as that strong wine which makes the lips even of those that are asleep, (that are ready to faint away in a dehquium,) to speak. Unconverted sinners are asleep, saints are often drowsy, and listless, and half asleep; but the word and Spirit of Christ will put life and vigour into the soul, and

SOLOMOxN'S SONG, VTl.

out of the abundance of the heart that is thus filled, the inouth will sfieak. When the apostles were filled with the Spirit, they spake with tongues the wonderful worku of God; (Acts ii. 10, 12.) and they who, in opposition to being drunk with wine, wherein is eocccss, arc filled with the S/iirit, sfieak to themselves in psalms and hymns, Eph. V. 18, 19. When Christ is thus commending the sweetness of his spouse's love, excited by the manifestation of his, she seems to put in that word, for my Beloved, as in a parenthesis. " Is there any thing in me that is pleasant or valuable? As it is from, so it is/or my B -loved." Theii he delights in our good aftections and services, when they are all for him, and devoted to his glory.

10. I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me. 11. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. 12. Let us get up early to the vineyards ; let us see if the vine flourish, lohether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves. 13. The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits^ new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

These are the words of the spouse, the church, the believing soul, in answer to the kind expressions of Clirist's love in the foregoing verses.

I. She here triumphs in her relation to Christ, and her interest in him, and in his name will she boast all the d ly long. With what a ti-ansport of joy and holy exultation does she say, (x". 10.) "lam my Beloved's, not mv own, but entirely devoted to him, and owned by him." If we can truly say that_ Christ is our Best-beloved, we ma)' be confident that' we are his, and he will save us, Ps. cxix. 94. The gracious discoveries of Christ's love to us should engage us greatly to rejoice in the hold he has of us, his sovereignty over us, and propriety in us; which is no less a spring of comfort than a bond of duty. Intimacy of communion with Christ should help to

^tlear up our interest in him.

Glorying in this, that she is his, to serve him, and reckoning that lier honour, she comforts herself with tliis, that his desire is toward her, that is, he is her Husband; it is a periphrasis of the conjugal relation, Gen. iii. 16. Christ's desire was strongly toward his chosen remnant, when he came from heaven to earth to seek and save them; and when, in pursuance of his undertaking, he was even straitened till the baptism of blood he was to pass through for them was accomj-ilished, I^uke xii. 50. He desired Zion for a habitation; this is a comfort to believers, that, whosoever slights them, Christ has a desire toward them, such a desire as will again bring him from heaven to earth, to receive them to himself; f'r he longs to have them all with him, John xvii. 24.—xiv. 3.

II. She humbly and earnestly desires communion with him; {v. 11, 12.) " Come, my Beloved, let us take a walk together, that I may receive counsel, instruction, and comfort, from thee, and may make known my wants and grievances to thee, with freedom, and without interruption." Thus Christ walked witli the two disciples that were going to the village called Emmaus, and talked with them, till he made tlirir hearts burn within them. Observe here,

1. Ha\ing received fresh tokens of his love, and full assur.mce? of her interest in him, she presses firward toward further acquaintance with him; as blessed Paul, who desired yet more and more of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, Phil.

iii. 8. Chi-ist has made it appear how much his desire is toward us, and we are very ungrateful, if ours be not toward him. Note, Communion with Christ is that which all that are sanctified earnestly breathe after; and the clearer discoveries he make's them of his love, the more earnestly do thev desire it. Sensual pleasures pall the camal appetite, and soon give it a surfeit, but spiritual delights whet the desires, whose language is, Kothing more than God, but still more and more ofhi?n. Christ had said, / will go up to the palm-tree; Come, saith she. Let us go. The promises Christ has made us of communion with him are not to supersede, but quicken and encourage, our prayers for that communion.

2. She desires to go forth into the fields and villages, to have this communion with him. Those that would converse with Clirist must go forth from the world, and the amusements of it, must avoid every thing that would divert the mind and be a hinderance to it, when it should be wholly taken up with Chi'ist; we must contrive how to attend upon the Lord without distraction, (1 Cor. vii. 35.) for therefore the spouse here covets to get out oi the noise of the town. J^et us go forth to him without the camp, Heb. xiv. 13. Solitude and retirement befriend communion with God: therefore Lsaac went out into the field to meditate and pray. Enter into thy closet, and shut thy door. A believer is never less alone than when alone with Christ, where no eye sees.

(3.) Having business to go abroad, to look after the grounds, she desires the company of her Beloved. Note, Wherever we are, we may keep up our communion with God, if it be not our own fault, for he is always at our right hand, his eye always upon us, and both his word and his ear always nigh us. By going about our worldly affairs with heavenly lioly hearts, mixing pious thoughts with common actions, and having our eyes ever toward tlie Lord, we may take Christ along with us whithersoever we go. Nor should we go any whither, where we cannot in faith ask him to go along with us.

(4.) She is willing to rise betimes, to go along with her Beloved; Let us get up earlij to the vineyards; it intimates her care to improve opportunities ot conversing with her Beloved; when the time ap pointed is come, we must lose no time, but, as the woman, (Mark xvi. 2.) go very early, though it bo to a sepulchre, if we be in hopes to meet him there. Those that will go abroad with Christ, must begin betimes with him, early in the morning of their days; must begin every day with him, seek him early, seek him diligently.

(5.) She will be content to take up her lodging in the villages, the huts or cottages which the country people built for their shelter, when they attended their business in the fields; there, in these mean and cold dwellings, she will gladly reside, if she may but have her Beloved with her; his presence will make them fine and pleasant, and convert them into palaces. A gracious soul can reconcile itself to the ])oorest accommodations, if it may have communion with God in them.

(6.) The most pleasant delightful fields, even in the spring-time, when the country is most ])leasnnt, will not satisfy her, unless she have her Beloved with her. No delights on earth can make a believer easy, unless he enjoy God in all.

3. She desires to be better acquainted with the state of her own soul, and the present postui-e of its affairs; (r. 12.) Let us see if the vine flourish. Our own souls are our vineyards; they are, or should be, planted with vines and pomegranates, clioice and useful trees; we are made keepers of these vineyards, and therefore are concerned often to look into them, to examine the state of our own souls; to s'' whether the vine flourishes, whether our grace*

SOLOMON'S SONG, VIIl.

877

be m act and exercise, whether we be fruitful in tlie fruits of righteousness, and whether cur fruit abound. And especially let us inquire whether tlie tender gra/ies aji/iear, and whether the pomegranates bud forth, what good motitnsaiid dispLsitions there arc m us, that ai"e yet but _\oung and tender, thut they may be protected and cherished with a particular care, and may not be nipped, or blasted, or rubbed ufF, but cultivated, thai the} may bring f-.rth fruit unto perfection. In this inquiry into our own spii'itu il state, it will be good to take Christ along with us; because his presence will make the X'inejiourish, and the tender if7-a/ie aji/iear, as the returning sun revives the gardens; and because to him we are concerned to approxe ourselves; if he sees the vinejiourish, and the tender t^rajie a/ipear; if we can appeal to him. Thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee; if his Spirit witness with our spirit, that our souls prosper, it is enough. And if we would be acquainted with ourselves, we must beg of him to search and try us, to help us in the search, and discover us to ourselves.

4. She promises to her Beloved the best entertainment she can give him at her countiy-seat; for he wil. come in to us, and sup with us, Rev. iii. 20.

(1.) She promises him her best aft'ections; and, vhatever else she had for him, it would utterly be contenmed, if her heart were not entire for him; " There therefore will I give thee my loves; I will repeat the professions of it, honour thee with the tokens of it; and the outgoings of my soul toward thee, in adorations and desires, shall be quickened and enlarged, and my heart offered up to thee in a holy fire."

(2.) She promises him her best provision, v. 13. There we shall find pleasant odours, f^r the mandrakes give a smell; the love-Jiowers or lovely ones, so the word signifies, or the love fruits; it was something that was in all respects very grateful, so valuable, that Rachel and Leah had like to have fallen out about it. Gen. xxx. 14. We shall also find that which is good for food, as well as pleasant to the eye, all the rarities that the country affords; At our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits. Note, [1.] The fmits and exercises of grace are pleasant to the Lord Jesus. Note, [2.] These must be carefully laid up for him, devoted to his service and honour, must be always ready to us when we have occasion for them, as that is which is laid up at our gates, that, by our bringing forth much fruit, he may be glorified, John xv. 18. Note, [3.] There is a great variety of these pleasant finiits, with which our souls should be well stocked; we must have all sorts of them, grace for all occasions, netv and old, as the good householder has in his treasury; not only the products of this year, but remainders of the last, Matth. xiii. 52. We must not only have that ready to us, for the service of Christ, which we have heard, and learned, and experienced, lately, but must retain that which we have formerly gathered; nor must we content ourselves only with what we have laid up in store, in the days of old, but, as long as we live, must be still adding something new to it, that our stock may increase, and we may be thoroughly furnished for every good work. Note, [4. ] Those that truly love Christ will think all they have, even their most pleasant fruits, and what they have treasured up most carefully, too little to be bestowed upon him, and he is welcome to it all; if it were more and better, it should be at his service. It is all from him, and therefore it is fit it should be all for him.

CHAP. Vlfl.

The affections between Christ and his spouse are as strong and lively here, in this closing chapter of the song, as ever, and rather more so. 1. The spouse continues her

importunity for a more intimate communion and fellowship with him, v. 1 .. 3 II. She charges the daughters of Jerusalem not to interrupt her communion with her Beloved; (v. 4.) and they, thereupon, admire her dependence on him. v. 5. HI She begs of her Beloved, whom she raises up by her prayers, (v. 5.) that he would by bis grace conlirm that blessed union with him, to which she was admitted, v. 6, 7. IV. She makes intercession for others also, that care mifrht be taken of them, (v. 8, 9.) and pleases herself with the thoughts of her own interest in Christ, and his affection to her, v. 10. V. She owns herself his tenant for a vineyard she held of him at Baal-hamon, v. 11, 12. VI. The song concludes with an interchanging of parting requests. Christ charges his spouse that she should often let him hear from her; (v. 13.) and she begs of him that he would hasten his return to her, V. 14.

1. ^\ THAT thou iccrt as my brother, \^ that sucked the breasts of my mother! ^ihcn I should find thee \\ithout, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised. 2. I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, ivho would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate: 3. His left hand should be under my head, and his.right hand should embrace me. 4. J charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.

Here, 1. The spouse wishes for a constant intimacy and freedom v/ith the Lord Jesus. She was already betrothed to him, but, the nuptials being not yet solemnized and published, (the bride, the Lamb's wife, will not be completely read}- till his second coming,) she was obliged to be shy, and to keep at some distance; she therefore wishes she may be taken for his sister, he having called her so, {ch. V. 1.) and that she might have the same chaste and innocent familiarity with him that a sister has with a brother, an own brother, that sucked the breasts of the same mother with her, who would therefore be exceeding tender of her, as Joseph was of his brother Benjamin. Some make this to be the prayer of the Old Testament saints for the hastening cf Christ's incarnation, that the church might be the better acquainted with him, v;\\cw, forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh ana blood, he should also himself likewise take part of the same, and not be ashamed to call them brethren. It is rather the wish of all believers for a more intimate communion with him, that they might receive the Spirit of sanctifcation, and so Christ might be as their Brother, that they might be as his brethren, which then they are, when by grace they are made partakers of a divine nature, and he that sanctifies, and they that are sanctified, are both of one, Heb. ii. 11, &c. It becomes brethren and sisters, the children of the same parents, that have been nursed at the same breast, to be very loving to, and tender of, one an other; such a love the spouse desires might be between her and her Beloved, that she might call him brother.

2. She promises herself then the satisfaction ot making a more open profession of her relation to him, than at present she could make; " When I should find thee without, anywhere, even before company, / would kiss thee, as a sister does her own brother, especially her little brother that is now sucking the breast of her mother;" for so some understand it; "I v/ould use all the decent freedom with thee that cculd be, and should not be despised for it, as doing any thir.-g unbecoming the modesty of my sex." The church, since Christ's

SOLOMON'S SONG, VIII.

incarnation, can better own him than she could before, when she would have been laughed at for being so much in love with one that was not yet born. Christ is become as our Brother; wherever we find him, therefore, let us be ready to own our relation to him, and affection for him, and not fear being despised for it, nor regard that any more than David did, when he danced before the ark; If this be to be vile. I will be yet more -vile. Nay, let us hope that we sh.dl not be despised so much as some imagine; Of the ?naid-servants of whom thou hast sfioken I shall be had in honour. Wherever we find the image of Christ, though it be without, among those that do not follow him with us, we must love it, and testify that love, and we shall not be des/iised for it, but catholic charity will gain us respect.

3. She promises to improve the opportunity she should then have for cultivating an acquaintance with him; {v. 2.) " / would lead thee, as my brother, by the arm, and hang upon thee; I would show thee all the house of my precious things, would bring thee into my mother's house, into the churcli, into the solemn assemblies, (cA. iii. 4.) into my closet;" (for there the saints have most familiar communion witli Christ;) " and there thou wouldest instruct me;" (so some read it;) as brethren inform their sister of what they desire to be instructed in. Those that know Christ, shall be taught of him; and therefore we should desire communion with Christ, that we may receive instruction from him. He is come, that he might give us an understanding; or, " My mother would instruct me, when I have thee with me." It is the presence of Christ, in and with his church, that makes the word and ordinances instructive to her children, which shall all be taught of God.

4. She promises him to bid him welcome to the best she had; she would cause him to drink of her sfiiced wine, and the juice of her pomegranate, and bid him welcome to it, wishing it better, for his sake. The exercise of grace and the performance of duty are spiced wine to the Loi'd Jesus, very acceptable to him, as expressive of a grateful sense of his favours. Those that are pleased with Christ must study to be pleasing to him; and they will not find him hard to be pleased. He reckons hearty welcome his best entei'tainment; and if we have that, he will bring his entertainment along with him.

5. She doubts not but to experience his tender care of her, and affection to her; {y. 3.) that she should be supported by his power, and kept from fainting in tlie liardest services and sufferings; His left hand shall be under my head; and that she should be comforted with his love; His right hand should embrace me. Thus Christ laid his riglit hand upon John, when he was ready to die away. Rev. i. 17. See also Dan. x. 10, 18. It may be read as it is, ch. ii. 6, His left hand is under my head; for the words are the same in the original, and so it bespeaks an immediate answer to her prayer; she was answered with strength i?i her soul, Ps. cxxxviii. 3. While we are following hard after Christ, his right hand sustains us; (Ps. Ixiii. 8.) underneath are the everlasting arms.

6. She charges those about her to take heed of doing any thing to interrupt the pleasing communion she now had with her Beloved, {v. 4.) as she had done before, when he thus strengthened and comforted her with his presence: {ch. ii. 7.) Let me charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, and reason with you. Why should you stir ufi, and why should you awake, my Love, until he will? Tlie church, our common mother, charges all her children, tliat they never do any thing to provoke Christ to withdraw, which we are very prone to do. Why should you put such an affront upon him ? Why

should you be such enemies to yourselves? We should thus reason with ourselves when we are tempted to do that which will grieve the Spirit. "What! ami weary of Christ's presence, thut I affront him, and provoke him to depart from nie? Why should I do that which he will take so unkindly, and which I shall certainly repent of ?"

(5. Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved/) I raised thee up under the apple-tree : tiiere thy mother brought thee forth ; there she brought thee forth that bare thee. 6. Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thine arm : for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave : the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. 7. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man vyould give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

Here,

I. The spouse is very much admired by those about her. It comes in a parenthesis, but in it gospel-grace lies as plain, and as much above ground, as any where in this mystical song; Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved? Some make these the words of the Bridegroom, expressing himself well pleased with her reliance on him, and resignation of herself to his guidance. They are rather the words of the daughters of Jerusalem, to whom she spake; {y. 4.) they see her, and bless her; the angels in heaven, and all her friends on earth, are the joyful spectators of her bliss. The Jewish church came up from the wilderness, supported by the divine power and favour, Deut. xxxii. 10, 11. The Christian church was raised up from a low and desolate condition by the grace of Christ relied on. Gal. iv. 27. Particular Ijelievers are then amiable, nay, admirable, and divine grace is to be admired in them, when by the power of divine grace they are biought up from the wilderness, leaning with a holy confidence and complacency upon Jesus Christ t/ieir Beloved. This bespeaks the beauty of a soul, and the wonders of divine grace: 1. In the conversion of sinners. A sinful state is a wilderness, remote from communion with God, barren and dry, and in which there is no true comfort, it is a wandering wanting state; out of this wilderness we are concerned to come up, by true repentance, in the strength of the grace of Christ, supported by our Beloved, and carried in his arms. 2. In the consolation of saints. A soul convinced of sin, and truly humbled for it, is in a wilderness, quite at a loss; and there is no coming out of this wilderness, hvA /i"a??m^ on Christ as our Beloved, by faith, and not leaning to our own understanding, nor trusting to any righteousness or strength of our own as sufficient for us, but going forth, and going on, in the strength of the Lord God, and making mention of his righteousness, even his only, who is the Lord our Righteousness. 3. In the salvation of those that belong to Christ. We must go up from the wilderness of this world, having our conversation in licaven; and, at death, we must remove thither, leaning upon Christ; must live and die by faith in him; To me to live is Christ; and it is he that is Gain in deatli.

II. She addresses herself to her Belo\cd.

1. She puts him in mind of the former ex])crience which she and others had had of comfort and sue cess in applying to him. (1.) For her own part; " Iraised tfiee up under the apple-tree, I have many

SOLOMON'S SONG, VIII.

879

a time wrestled with thee by prayer, and have prevailed. When I was alone in the acts of devotion, retired in the orchard, under the afifile-tree," (winch Christ himself was compared to, {ch. ii. 3.) as JSfathanid under the Jig-tree (John i. 48.) meditating and praying, then / raised thee up, to help me, and comfort me, as the disciples raised him up n the storm, saying. Master, cai-est thou not that lue perish? (Mark iv. 38.) and the church, (Ps. xliv. 23.) Awake, ivhy slee/iest thou? Note, The experience we have had of Christ's readiness to yield to the importunities of our faith and prayer, should encourage us to continue instant in our addresses to him, to strive more earnestly, and not to faint; / sought the Lord, and he hea7-a me, Ps. xxxiv. 4. (2.) Others also had had like experience of comfort in Christ, as it follows there, (Ps. xxxiv. 5.) They looked unto him, as well as I, and were lightened. There thy mother brought thee forth, the universal church, or believing souls, in whom Christ was formed. Gal. 'v. 15. They were in pain for the comfort of an interest in thee, and travailed in fiain with great sorrow, so the word here signifies; but they Arow^A? thee forth, the pangs did not continue always, they that had travailed in convictions, at last brought forth in consolations, and the fiain was forgotten tor joy of the Saviour's birth; by tliis very similitude our Saviour illustrates the joy which his disciples would have in liis return to them, after a mournful separation for a time, John xvi. 21, 22. After the bitter pangs of repentance, many a one has had the blessed birth of comfort; why then may not I?

2. She begs of him that her union with him might be confirmed, and her communion with him continued, and made more intimate; {v. 6.) Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal ufion thine arm; (1.) "Let me have a place in thy heart, an interest in thy love;" this is that which all those desire above any thing, that know how much their happiness is bound up in tlie love of Christ. (2.) "Let me never lose the room I have in thy heart; let thy love to me be ensured, as that deed which is sealed not to be revoked, that cabinet which is sealed up, not to be robbed. Let nothing ever prevail either to separate me from thy love, or, by suspending the communications of it, to deprive me of the comfortable sense of it." (3.) "Let me be always near and dear to thee, as the signet on thy right hand, not to be parted with, (Jer. xxii. 24.) engraven upon the palms of thy hand, (Isa. xlix. 14.) loved with a peculiar love." (4.) " Be thou my High Priest; let my name be written on thy breastplate, nearer thy lieart, as the names of all the tribes were engraven like the engravings of a signet, in twelve precious stones on the breast-plate of Aaron, and also on two precious stones on the two shoulders or arms of tlic Ephod," Exod. xxviii. 11, 12, 21. (5.) "Let thy power be engaged for me, IS an evidence of thy love to me; let me be not only a seal upon thine heart, but useal upon thine arm; let me be ever borne up in tliine arms, and know it to my comfort." Some make these to be the words of Christ to his spouse, commanding her to be ever mindful of him, and of his love to her; however, if we desire and expect that Christ should set us as a seal on his heart, surely we cannot do less than set him as a seal on ours.

3. To enforce tliis petition, she pleads the power of love, or her love to him, which constrained her to be thus pressing for the tokens of his love to her.

(1.) Love is a violent vigorous passion, [l-] It is strong as death; the pains of a disappointed lover are like the pains of death; nay, the pains of death are slighted, and made nothing of, in pursuit of the beloved Object. Christ's love to us was strong as death; for it brake through death itsjlf; he loved

us, and gave himself for us. The love of tine be lievers to Christ is strong as death, for it makes them dead to every thing else; it even parts between soul and body, while the soul, upon the wings of devout affections, soars up to heaven, and even forgets that it is yet clothed and clogged with flesh. Paul, in a rapture of this love, knew not whether he M-as in the body, or out of the body. By it a believer is cnjcified to the world. [2.] Jealousy is cruel as the grave, which swallows up and devours all; those that trnly love Chi-ist arc jealous ci every thing that would draw them frem him, and especially jealous of themselves, lest they should do any thing to provoke him to withdraw from them, and, rather than do so, would pluck out a right eye and cut off a right hand, than which wh;.t can be more cruel? Weak and trembling saints, who conceive a jealcusy of Christ, doubting of his love to them, find that jealousy to prey upon them like the grave, nothing wastes the spirits more; but it is an evidence of the strength of their love to him. [3.] The coals thereof, its lamps, and flames, and beams, are very strong, and bum with incredible fury and irresistible force, as the coals of fire that have a jnost vehement Jiame, -dLJlame of the Lord, (so seme read it,) a powerful piercing "flame, as the lightning, Ps. xxix. 7. Holy love is a fire that begets a vehement heat in the soul, and consumes the dross and chaf! that are in it, melts it down like wax into a new form, and carries it upward as the sparks towanl God and heaven.

(2.) Love is a valiant and victorious passion. Holy love is so; the reigning love of God in the soul is constant and fii-m, and will not be drawn off" from him, either by fair means or foul, by life or death, Rom. viii. 38.

[1.] Death, and all its terrors, will not frighten a believer from loving Christ; Many waters, though they will quench fire, cannot guench this love, no, nor'the floods drown it; {v. 7.) the noise of these waters will strike no terror upon it let them do their worst, Christ shall still be the Best-beloved. The overflowing of these waters will strike no damp upon it, but it will enable a man to rejoice in tribulation; Though he slay me, I will love him, and trust in him. No waters could quench Christ's love to us, nor any floods drown it; he waded through the greatest difficulties, even seas of blood. Love sat king upon the floods; let nothing then abate our love to him.

[2.] Life, and all its comforts, will not entice a believer from loving Christ; If a man could hire him with all the substance of his house, to take his love off from Christ, and set it upon the world and the flesh again, he would reject the proposal with the utmost disdain; as Christ, when the kingdoms of this world, and the glory of them, were ofitred him, to buy him off from his 'undertaking, said, Get thee hence, Satan; it would utterly be contemned; offer those things to those that know no better. Love will enable us to repel, and triumph over, temptations from the smiles of the world, as rnuch as from its frowns. Some give this sense of it; If a man would give all the substance of his hotisc to Christ, as an equivalent instead of love, to excuse it, it would be conte7nned. He seeks not ours but us; the heart, not wealth. If I give all my goods to feed the poor, and have not love, it is nothing, 1 Cor. xiii.l. Thus believers stand afil-cted to Christ; the gifts of his providence cannot content them without the assurances of his love.

8. We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister, in the day when she shall be spoken for ? 9. Tf she be a wall, we will build upon her

SOLOMON'S SONG, VIII.

a palace of silver: and if she he a door, u e will inclose her with boards of cedar. 10. r am a wall, and my breasts like towers; then was I in his eyes as one that found favour. 11. Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon: he let out the vineyard unto keepers: every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver. 12. My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

Christ and his spouse having sufficiently confirmed their love to each other, and agreed it to l)e on both sides strong as death, and inviolable, they are here, in these verses, like a loving husband and his wife, consulting together about their affairs, and considering what they should do. Yoke-fellows, having laid their hearts together, to contrive about their relations, and about their estates; and, accordingly, this happy pair are here advising with one another about a sister, and a vineyard.

1. They are here consulting about their sister, their little sister, and the disposing of her.

1. The spouse proposes her case with a compassionate concern; {v. 8.) We have a little sister, and she has no breasts, she is not grown up to maturity; what shall we do for this little sister of ou7's in the day that she shall be spoken for, so as that we may do well for her?

(1.) This maybe understood as spoken by the Jewish church concerning the Cientile world. God had espoused the church of the Jews to himself, and she was richly endowed, but what shall become of the poor Gentiles, the barren that has not borne, and the desolate? Isa. liv. 1. Their condition (say the pious Jews) is very deplorable and forlorn; they ai'e sisters, childi'en of the same fathers, God and Adam, but they arc little, because not dignified with the knowledge of God; they have no breasts, no divine revelation, no scriptures, no ministers, no breasts of consolation drawn out to them, whence they might suck, being strangers to the covenants of promise; no breasts of instruction tliem-selves to draw out to their children to nourish them, (1 Pet. ii. 2.) What shall vje do for them? We can but pity them, and pray for them. Lord, what wilt thou do for them? The saints, in Solomon's time, might know, from David's psalms, that (iod had mercy in store for them, and they begged it might be hastened to them. Now the tables ai'e turned, the Gentiles are betrothed to Christ, and ought to return the kindness by an equal concern for the bringing in of the Jews again, our eldest sister, that once had breasts, but now has none. If we take it in this sense, the unbelieving posterity of these pious Jews contradicted this prayer of their fathers; for when the day came that the Gentiles should l)e spoken for, and courted to Christ, instead of considering what to do for them, they plotted to do all they could against them, which filled up til" measure of their iniquity, 1 Thess. ii. 16. Or,

(2.) It may be applied to any other that belong to the election of grace, but are yet uncalled; they are remotely related to Christ and his church, and sisters to them both; other sheefi that are not of this fold, John X. 15. Acts xviii. 10. They have no breasts, none yet fasliioned, (Ezek. xvi. 7.) no affection to Christ, no principle of grace. The day will come when they shall be s/ioken for; when the chosen shall be called, shall be courted for Christ, oy the ministci's, the friends of the Bridegroom. A

blessed day it will be, a day of visitation! What shall we do, in that day, to promote the match, to conquer their coyness, and persuade them to consent to Christ, and present themselves chaste virgins to him? Note, Those that through grace are In-ought to Christ tlu-mselves, sliould contrive wliat tliey may do to lulp ethers to him, to carry on the great design of his gospel, wliich is to espouse souls to Christ, and convert sinners to him from whom the)' have revolted.

L'. Christ soon determines what to do in this case, and his spouse agiecs with him in it; {v. 9.) If she be a wall, if the good work be (Mice begun witli the Gcntik's, with the sculs tliat are to be called in, if the little sister, when she shall be s/token for by the gospel, will but receive tlie word, and build herself upi n Christ the Foundation, and frame lier doings to turn to the Lord, as tlie wall is in order to the house, we will build ii/ion her a fialace of silver, or build her up into such a palace; we will carry on the good work that is begun, till the wall l3ecc:mes a palace, the wall of stone a ])alace cf silver; which goes beyond the boast of Augustus Cxsar, that what he found brick he left marble. This little sister, when once she is joined to the Lord, shall be made to grow into a holy temjile, a habitation of God through the Sfiirit, Epli. ii. 21, 22. Jfs/ie he a door, when this palace comes to l)e finished, and the doors of this wall set up, which was the last thing done, (Neh. vii. 1.) then vje will enclose her wit)i boards of cedar, Ave will carefully and cftectually protect her, that she shall receive no d;:mage. Jl'e will do it; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, all concur in contriving, carrying on, and crowning, the blessed work when the time comes. Whatever is wanting shall be set in order, and the work of faith shall be fulfilled with power. Though the l^eginnings of grace 1)e small, the latter end sliall greatly increase. The church is in care concerning those that are yet uncalled. "Let me alone," says Christ, "I will do all that which is necessary to be done for them. Ti-ust me with it."

3. The spouse takes this occasion to acknowledge with thankfulness his kindness to her, t'. 10. She is very willing to trust him with her little sister, for she herself had liad great experience of his grace, and, for her part, she owed her all to it; I am a wall, and my breasts like towers. This she speaks, not as upbraiding her little sister that had no breasts, but comforting herself concerning her, that he who had made her what she is, who had built her up upon himself, and made her to grow up to maturity, could, and would do the same kindnt ss for those whose case she bore upon her heart; Then was lin his eyes as one that found favour. See,

(1.) What she values hci-self upon, her having found favour in the eyes of Jesus Christ; those are happ}', truly happy, and for ever so, that have the favour of God, and are accepted of him.

(2.) How she ascribes the good work of God in her to the good will of God toward her; "He has 7nade me a wall, and my breasts as towers, and tlien in that instance more tlian in any thing, I experienced his love to me." Hail, thou that art highly favoured, for in thee Christ is formed.

(3.) What pleasure Ciod takes in the work cf his own hands. When we are made as a wall, as a brazen wall, (Jer. i. 18.—xv. 20.) that stands firm against the blast of the terrible ones, (Isa. xxv. 4.) then (iod takes delight in us to do good.

(4.) With what joy and triumph we ought to speak of God's grace towards us, and with what satisfaction we should look back upon the special times and seasons when we were in his eijcs as those that find favour; these were days never to be forgotten.

II. They are here consulting about a vineyard

SOLOMON'S SONG, VIII.

831

they had in the country, the church of Christ on earth, considered under the notion of a vineyard; {v. 11, 12.) Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-ha-mon, liad a kingdom in the possession of a multitude, a numerous people. As he was a type of Christ, so his vineyard was a type of the church of Christ. Our Saviour has given us a key to these verses in the parable of the vineyard let out to unthankful husbandmen, Matth. xxi. 33. The bargain was, that every one of the tenants having so much of the vineyard assigned him as would contain a thousand vines, he was to pay the annual rent of a thousand pieces of silver; for we read, (Isa. vii. 23.) that in a fruitful soil there were a thousand vines at a thousaiid silverlings. Observe,

1. Christ's church is his vineyard, a pleasant and peculiar place, privileged with many honours; he delights to walk m it, as a man in his vineyard, and is pleased with its fruits.

2. He has intrusted each of us with this vineyard, as keepers of it; the pi'ivileges of the churcli are that good thing which he has committed to us, to be kept as a sacred trust; the service of the church is to be our business, according as our capacity is; Son, go work to-day in my vineyard. Adam, in innocency, was to drcfi the garden, and to keep it.

3. He expects rent from those that are employed in his vineyard, ?nd intrusted witli it. He comes, seeking fruit, ard requires gospel-duty of all those that enjoy gospel-privileges. Every one, of what rank or degree soever, must bring glory and honour to Christ, and do some service to the interest of his kingdom in the world, in consideration of what benefit and advantage they enjoy bj'^ their share of the privileges of the vineyard.

4. Though Christ has let out his vineyard to keepers, yet still it is his, and he hashij eye always upon it for good; for if he did not watch over it night and day, (Isa. xxvii. 1, 2.) the watchmen, to whom he has let it out, would keep it hut in vain, Ps. cxxvii. 1. Some take these for Chi'ist's words; (x' 12.) My vineyard, vjhich is mine, is before ?ne; and they observe how he dwells upon his propriety in it; It is 7ny vineyard, winch is mine; so dear is his t-.i-^.\.n to him, it is his own in the world, (John xui, 1.) and therefore he will always have it under his protection; it is his own, and he will look after it.

5. The church, that enjoys the privileges of the vineyard, must have them alwavs before her; the keeping of the vineyard requires constant care and diligence. They are rather the words of the spouse; My vineyard, which is mine, is before me. She had Jamented her fault and folly in not keeping her twn vineyard, {ch. i. 6.) but now she resolves to deform. Our hearts are our vineyards, which we 'oust keep with all diligence; and therefore we aust have a watchful jealous eye upon them at all .imes.

6. Our great care must be to pay our rent for ivhat we hold of Christ's vineyard, and to see that we do not go behindhand, nor disappoint the messengers he sends to'receive the fruits; (Matth. xxi. 34.) ThC'U, 0 Solomon, must have a thousand, and shalt have. The main of the profits belong to Christ; to him and his praise all our fruits must be dedicated.

7. If we be careful to give Christ the praise of our church-privileges, we may then take to oui-selves the comfort and benefit of them. If the Owner of the vineyard has had his due, the keepers of it shall be well paid for their care and pains; they shall have two hundred, which sum, no doubt, was looked upon as good profit. They that work for Christ are working for themselves, and shall be unspeakable gainers by it.

13. Thou that dwellest in the gardens, Vol. III. 5 T

the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it. 14. Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.

Christ and his spouse are here parting for awhile; she must stay below in the gardens on earth, where she has work to do for him, he must remove to the mountains of spices in heaven, where he has business to attend for her, as an .Advocate with the Father. Now observe with what mutual endearments they part:

1. He desires to hear often from her; she is ready at her pen, she must be sure to write to him, she knows how to direct it; {y. 13.) "Thou that, for the present, dwellest in the gardens, dressing and keeping them till thou remove from the garden below to the paradise above; thou, O believer, whoever tliou art, that (liveliest in the garden, of solemn ordinances, iji the gardens of church-fellowship and communion, the com/ianions are so happy as to hear thy voice, cause me to hear it too."

Observe, (1.) Christ's friends should keep a good correspondence one with another, and, as dear companions, speak often to one another, (Mai. iii. 16.) and hearken to one another's voice; they should edify, encourage, and respect, one another. They are companions in the kingdom and patience of Christ, and therefore, as fellow-travellers, should keep up mutual freedom, and not be shy of, or strange to, one another. The communion of saints is an article of our covenant, as well as an article of our creed; to exJiort one another daily, and be glad to be exhorted one by another. Hearken to the voice of the church, as far as it agrees with the voice of Christ; his companions will do so.

(2.) In the midst of our communion with one another, we must not neglect our communion with Christ, but let him see our countenance, and hear our voice; he here bespeaks it; ''The companions hearken to thy voice, it is a pleasure to them; cause me to hear it. Thou makest thy complaints to them when any thing grieves thee'; why dost thou not bring them to me, and let me hear them? Thou art fi'ee with them; be as free with me, pour out thy heart to me." Thus Christ, when he left his disciples, ordered them to send to him upon every occasion; Ask, and ye shall receive. Note, Christ not only accepts and answers, but even courts, his people's prayers, not reckoning them a trouble to him, but an honour and a delight, Pro\-. xv. 8. We cause him to hear our prayers, when Ave not only pray, l)ut wrestle and strive in prayer. He loves to be pressingly importuned, which is not the manner of men. Some i-ead it, "Cause me to be heard; thou hast often an opportunity of speaking to thy companions, and they hearken to what thou sayest; speak of me to them, let my name be heard among them, let me be the subject of thy discourse." " One word of Christ," (as Archbishop Usher used to say,) "before you part." No subject is more becoming, or should be more pleasing.

2. She desires his speedy return to her; (v. 14.) Make haste my Beloved, to come again, and receive me to thyself; be thou like a roe, or a young hart. Upon the ?nountains of spices; let no time be lost; it is pleasant dwelling here in the gardens, but to depart and be with thee is far better; that therefore is it I wish, and wait, and long for. Eveti so, come. Lord Jesus, come quickly. Observe,

(1.) Though Jesus Christ be now retired, he will return. The heavens, those high mouyitains of sweet spices must contain him, till the times of refreshing shall come; and those times will come, when every eye shall see him, in all the pomp and power of the upper and better world; the mystery of God being finished, and the mystical body rompleted.

SOLOMON'S SONG, VllL

(2.) True believers, as they are looking for, so they are hastening to, the coming of that day of the L,ord; not that they would have him make more haste tlian good speed, but that the intermediate counsels may all be fulfilled, and then that the end may come—the sooner the better. Not that they think him slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but thus they express the strength of their affections to him, and the vastness of their expectations from him when he comes again.

(3.) Those only that can in sincerity call Christ their Beloved, their Best-beloved, can, upon good grounds, desire him to hasten his second coming. As for those whose hearts go a wlioring after the woi'ld, and who set their affections on the things of the earth, they cannot love his appearing, but dread it ratlier, because then the earth, and all the things of it, which tliey have chosen for their portion, will be burnt up: but they that truly love Christ, long for his second coming, because it will be the crown both of his glory and their bliss.

(4.) The comfort and satisfaction which we sometimes have in communion with God in grace here, should make us breathe the more earnestly after the immediate vision, and complete fruition, of him in the kingdom of glory. The spouse, after an en-

dearing conference with her Beloved, finding it must break off, concludes with this affectionate request for the perfecting and perpetuating of this happiness in the future state. The clusters of grapes, that meet us in this wilderness, should make us long for the full vintage in Canaan. If a day in his courts be so sweet, what then will an etemitv within the vail be! If this be heaven, O that 1 were there!

(5.) It is good to conclude our devotions with a joyful expectation of the glory to be revealed, and holy humble breathings towards it. We should not part but with the prospect of meeting again. It is good to conclude eveiy sal:)bath with thoughts of the everlasting sabbath, which shall have no night at the end of it, nor any week-day to come after. It is good to conclude every sacrament with thoughts of the everlasting feast, when we shall sit down with Christ at his table in his kingdom, to rise no more, and drink of the wine new there; and to break- up every religious assembly, in hopes of the general assembly of the church of the Jirst-bom, when time and days shall be no more. Let the blessed Jesus hasten that blessed day. Why are his chariot wheels so long a coming? Why tarry theivheels of his chariots?

END OF VOLUME THIRD.

This book made available by the Internet Archive.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Pages

Back Cover